斯倫貝謝公司 (SLB) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the SLB earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

女士們先生們，謝謝你們的支持。歡迎參加 SLB 收益電話會議。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to turn the conference over to the Senior Vice President of Investor Relations & Industry Affairs, James R. McDonald. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議轉交給投資者關係和行業事務高級副總裁詹姆斯·R·麥克唐納 (James R. McDonald)。請繼續。

Thank you, Leah. Good morning, and welcome to the SLB Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Today's call is being hosted from Houston following our Board meeting held earlier this week. Joining us on the call are Olivier Le Peuch, Chief Executive Officer; and Stephane Biguet, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，莉亞。早安，歡迎參加 SLB 第四季和 2023 年全年收益電話會議。今天的電話會議是在本週早些時候舉行的董事會會議之後在休士頓舉行的。與我們一起參加電話會議的還有執行長 Olivier Le Peuch；和財務長 Stephane Biguet。

Before we begin, I would like to remind all participants that some of the statements we will be making today are forward-looking. These matters involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those projected in these statements. I, therefore, refer you to our latest 10-K filing and our other SEC filings.

在開始之前，我想提醒所有與會者，我們今天將發表的一些聲明具有前瞻性。這些事項涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致我們的結果與這些聲明中預測的結果有重大差異。因此，我建議您參閱我們最新的 10-K 文件和其他 SEC 文件。

Our comments today may also include non-GAAP financial measures. Additional details and reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in our fourth quarter press release, which is on our website.

我們今天的評論可能還包括非公認會計準則財務指標。更多詳細資訊以及與最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的調整可以在我們網站上的第四季新聞稿中找到。

With that, I will turn the call over to Olivier.

這樣，我會將電話轉給奧利維爾。

Thank you, James. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us on the call today. In my prepared remarks, I will discuss our fourth quarter and full year results, highlight a number of achievements and share our thoughts on the outlook for 2024 and our financial ambitions. Stephane will then provide more detail on our financial results, and we'll open the line for your questions. Let's begin.

謝謝你，詹姆斯。女士們先生們，感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。在我準備好的演講中，我將討論我們第四季和全年的業績，重點介紹一些成就，並分享我們對 2024 年前景和財務目標的想法。然後史蒂芬將提供有關我們財務業績的更多詳細信息，我們將開通您的提問熱線。讓我們開始。

The fourth quarter was an impressive conclusion to the year's financial results. We grew revenue both sequentially and year-on-year, and we achieved cycle-high margins and cash flows during the quarter. Our strong performance was fueled by the international and offshore markets and was supported by robust sales in digital and integration of the acquired Aker subsea business.

第四季是今年財務業績的一個令人印象深刻的結論。我們的收入環比和同比增長，並且在本季度實現了周期高的利潤率和現金流。我們的強勁業績受到國際和離岸市場的推動，並得到了數位銷售的強勁銷售和收購的 Aker 海底業務的整合的支持。

Throughout the year, we witnessed continued growth in international and offshore markets, where customers are focused on enhanced production and capacity additions. We've also seen further investments in digital technologies for planning and operational efficiencies. This is driving growth today and presenting opportunities into the future.

全年，我們見證了國際和離岸市場的持續成長，客戶專注於提高產量和增加產能。我們還看到了對數位技術的進一步投資，以提高規劃和營運效率。這正在推動當今的成長並為未來帶來機會。

The international shift in investment has accelerated during the year with fourth quarter revenue growth driven by the Middle East and Asia and Europe and Africa while we continue to benefit from long-cycle developments, capacity expansions and exploration and appraisal activities.

今年國際投資轉移加速，中東、亞洲、歐洲和非洲推動第四季營收成長，同時我們繼續受益於長週期開發、產能擴張以及勘探和評估活動。

Specific to offshore, we delivered a very strong fourth quarter as we grew our legacy portfolio and harnessed a strong performance from our OneSubsea joint venture. On this note, I would like to extend my thanks to the entire Aker subsea team, who have joined us 3 months ago and have already contributed very well to our strong year-end results.

具體到海上，我們在第四季度取得了非常強勁的業績，因為我們擴大了傳統投資組合，並利用了 OneSubsea 合資企業的強勁業績。在此，我要向整個 Aker 海底團隊表示感謝，他們在 3 個月前加入我們，並為我們強勁的年終業績做出了巨大貢獻。

Exiting the year, our international revenue and margins reached new cycle highs, marking our 10th consecutive quarter of year-on-year double-digit revenue growth on the international front. And we delivered exceptional free cash flow of $2.3 billion in the quarter.

今年結束時，我們的國際收入和利潤率創下了新的周期高點，標誌著我們在國際方面連續第十個季度實現兩位數的同比收入增長。本季我們實現了 23 億美元的非凡自由現金流。

Next, let me reflect on our accomplishments for the full year. We fulfilled our full year financial ambitions, growing revenue by 18%, surpassing our revenue growth target for the year and achieving adjusted EBITDA growth in the mid-20s. Additionally, we generated $4 billion in free cash flow, our highest since 2015.

接下來，讓我回顧一下全年的工作成果。我們實現了全年財務目標，營收成長了 18%，超越了全年營收成長目標，並實現了 20 多歲調整後 EBITDA 成長。此外，我們還產生了 40 億美元的自由現金流，這是自 2015 年以來的最高水準。

In the Core, across Production Systems, Reservoir Performance and Well Construction, we grew revenue by more than 20% and expanded pretax operating margins by almost 300 basis points. This was driven by strong activity internationally and offshore, new technology deployments and strong product sales. Notably, we achieved our highest-ever revenue in the Middle East, led by impressive growth in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and East Mediterranean.

在核心領域，跨生產系統、油藏績效和油井建設，我們的收入成長了 20% 以上，稅前營業利潤率擴大了近 300 個基點。這是由國際和海外的強勁活動、新技術部署和強勁的產品銷售所推動的。值得注意的是，我們在中東地區實現了有史以來最高的收入，其中沙烏地阿拉伯、阿拉伯聯合大公國、埃及和東地中海地區的成長令人印象深刻。

Offshore also continued its positive momentum, led by remarkable growth in Brazil and Angola and very solid increases in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Guyana and Norway. This was supported by the contribution from the acquired Aker subsea business, which enabled us to expand in certain markets, mainly in Norway and Australia. Additionally, our fit-for-basin business model continued to deliver differentiated value in North America, resulting in revenue growth outperforming the rig count.

離岸業務也繼續保持積極勢頭，巴西和安哥拉的顯著增長以及美國墨西哥灣、圭亞那和挪威的強勁增長帶動了這一勢頭。這得益於收購的 Aker 海底業務的貢獻，這使我們能夠在某些市場（主要是挪威和澳洲）進行擴張。此外，我們的「適合盆地」業務模式繼續在北美提供差異化價值，導致收入成長超過鑽機數量。

In digital, we continue to witness the adoption of our digital workflow and data/AI platform as customers work to enhance efficiency and returns by integrating our connected and autonomous drilling, data and AI solutions. We now have more than 6,000 DELFI users and have generated 125 million compute hours, both representing more than 40% growth year-on-year. As a result, we achieved full year digital revenue of more than $2 billion with our new technology platforms comprised of cloud, edge and AI growing at a CAGR of 60% since 2021.

在數位化方面，隨著客戶透過整合我們的互聯和自主鑽井、數據和人工智慧解決方案來提高效率和回報，我們繼續見證我們的數位工作流程和數據/人工智慧平台的採用。我們現在擁有超過 6,000 名 DELFI 用戶，產生了 1.25 億個運算小時，較去年同期成長超過 40%。因此，我們憑藉由雲端、邊緣和人工智慧組成的新技術平台，全年數位收入超過 20 億美元，自 2021 年以來複合年增長率為 60%。

In new energy, we forged new partnerships and made new investments in capture technology for carbon capture and storage. We are seeing very positive momentum in this space. And we are also -- we are actively participating in more than $400 million of CCS tenders globally. Additionally, in geothermal and geo-energy, we are partnering with government agencies in the Middle East on lower carbon electricity and in Europe on zero-carbon heating and cooling solutions.

在新能源領域，我們建立了新的合作夥伴關係，並對碳捕獲和封存的捕獲技術進行了新的投資。我們在這個領域看到了非常積極的動力。我們也積極參與全球價值超過 4 億美元的 CCS 招標。此外，在地熱和地能方面，我們正在與中東的政府機構合作開發低碳電力，並與歐洲的政府機構合作開發零碳供暖和製冷解決方案。

As we advanced our three engines of growth, we also continue to deliver for our customers and stakeholders by achieving our lowest recordable injury rate and highest level of operational reliability on record. This is also reflected in industry surveys, where we are growing customer satisfaction through performance and value creation.

在我們推動三大成長引擎的同時，我們也持續為我們的客戶和利害關係人提供服務，實現有史以來最低的可記錄傷害率和最高水準的營運可靠性。這也反映在產業調查中，我們透過績效和價值創造來提高客戶滿意度。

Finally, we reduced our emission intensity across Scope 1, 2 and 3 on the path to achieving our 2025 emissions reduction commitment. Moving forward, we are well positioned to capture further growth. And I look forward to building on this strong success in the year ahead. I want to thank the entire SLB team for delivering these impressive results.

最後，我們降低了範圍 1、範圍 2 和範圍 3 的排放強度，以實現 2025 年減排承諾。展望未來，我們已做好充分準備以實現進一步成長。我期待在未來的一年裡繼續取得這一巨大成功。我要感謝整個 SLB 團隊取得了這些令人印象深刻的成果。

Turning to the macro. The characteristics of breadth, resilience and durability that have defined this cycle remain fully in place. This continues to be supported by the imperative of energy security to meet rising global demand, confirming our belief in the longevity of the cycle. After a year of demand growth in 2023, we anticipate further growth in 2024 that will continue to support the ongoing multiyear investment cycle.

轉向宏觀。定義這一周期的廣度、彈性和耐用性特徵仍然完全存在。為滿足不斷增長的全球需求，能源安全的必要性繼續支持這一點，證實了我們對週期壽命的信念。經過 2023 年一年的需求成長，我們預計 2024 年將進一步成長，這將繼續支持正在進行的多年投資週期。

In international markets, growth momentum is set to continue with more than 2/3 of total investment taking place in the Middle East, offshore and gas resource plays. In the Middle East, growth will be led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which continue to commit significant investments to increase production capacity in both oil and unconventional gas, followed by Iraq and Kuwait. Meanwhile, in Asia, countries such as China, Malaysia, Indonesia and India are leading new gas exploration and development. And across other international basins, we anticipate strong activity led by Brazil and followed by West Africa and Australia.

在國際市場，成長動能將持續，總投資的 2/3 以上將發生在中東、近海和天然氣資源領域。在中東，成長將由沙烏地阿拉伯和阿拉伯聯合大公國引領，它們將繼續投入大量投資以提高石油和非常規天然氣的產能，其次是伊拉克和科威特。同時，在亞洲，中國、馬來西亞、印尼和印度等國家正在引領新天然氣的勘探和開發。在其他國際盆地，我們預期巴西將引領強勁的活動，其次是西非和澳洲。

Looking across this wide baseload of activity, a significant portion is taking place offshore, where capital expenditures will continue their growth momentum in 2024. As a result, the rig count will continue to rise, mainly in the Middle East and Asia, responding to a strong FID pipeline in both shallow and deepwater. All in all, we see the potential for more than $100 billion in global offshore FIDs in both 2024 and 2025, underscoring the enduring strength of the offshore markets and supporting a very favorable subsea outlook for years to come.

縱觀這一廣泛的基本負荷活動，很大一部分發生在海上，資本支出將在 2024 年繼續保持增長勢頭。因此，鑽機數量將繼續增加，主要是在中東和亞洲，以應對淺水和深水的強大FID 管道。總而言之，我們預計 2024 年和 2025 年全球海上 FID 的潛力將超過 1000 億美元，這凸顯了海上市場的持久實力，並支持未來幾年非常有利的海底前景。

In this context, although geopolitical tensions persist in several regions, we do not expect any significant impact to activity in 2024, absent further escalation. Additionally, although we have witnessed short-term commodity price fluctuate over the past few months, long-cycle investment in the Middle East, offshore and gas markets remain decoupled from short-term pricing, which will continue to support the resilience of these markets.

在此背景下，儘管地緣政治緊張局勢在多個地區持續存在，但我們預計，如果局勢不進一步升級，2024 年的經濟活動不會受到任何重大影響。此外，儘管過去幾個月我們看到短期大宗商品價格波動，但中東、海上和天然氣市場的長週期投資仍與短期定價脫鉤，這將繼續支撐這些市場的彈性。

In North America, following a noticeable moderation of activity in the later part of 2023, we anticipate capital discipline to continue. Consequently, investment levels will be sustained at 2023 exit rates with minimum -- minimal increase in activity as the region focuses on sustaining its record output from last year. This will drive further adoption of technology as operators aim to further improve efficiency and recovery rates.

在北美，隨著 2023 年下半年經濟活動明顯放緩，我們預期資本紀律將持續下去。因此，投資水準將維持在 2023 年退出率，且活動增幅最小，因為該地區致力於維持去年創紀錄的產出。隨著營運商旨在進一步提高效率和回收率，這將推動技術的進一步採用。

Now let me explain how we expect these factors to drive our performance in 2024. In the international markets, we expect full year revenue growth reaching the mid-teens, led by the Middle East and Asia and Europe and Africa. This growth will take place both onshore and offshore with offshore benefiting from our newly formed OneSubsea joint venture, which enters the year with close to $4.5 billion of subsea production system backlog. We expect to deliver more than $4 billion in additional subsea bookings in 2024, representing an increase of more than 25% year-on-year as the market continues to expand.

現在讓我解釋一下我們預計這些因素將如何推動我們 2024 年的業績。在國際市場上，我們預計全年營收成長將達到 15%左右，其中以中東、亞洲、歐洲和非洲為首。這一成長將發生在陸上和海上，其中海上受益於我們新成立的 OneSubsea 合資企業，該合資企業今年的海底生產系統積壓訂單接近 45 億美元。我們預計，隨著市場的持續擴張，2024 年海底預訂量將超過 40 億美元，年增超過 25%。

For clarity, when excluding the impact of Aker contribution and the expected decline in Russia, we expect double-digit international growth for the year. Meanwhile, in North America, although activity has moderated, we expect full year revenue growth reaching the mid-single digits, driven by our technology-leveraged portfolio in both U.S. land and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

為清楚起見，在排除阿克貢獻和俄羅斯預期下降的影響時，我們預計今年的國際成長將達到兩位數。同時，在北美，儘管經濟活動有所放緩，但在我們在美國陸地和美國墨西哥灣的技術槓桿投資組合的推動下，我們預計全年收入成長將達到中個位數。

Turning to the divisions. We expect all Core divisions to grow, led by Production Systems and Reservoir Performance. Digital & Integration is also expected to grow with digital growing in the high-teens, primarily driven by new technology platforms while APS remains flat. Directionally, we expect further margin expansion, driven by tight service capacity internationally, pricing and increased technology adoption. This will result in year-on-year EBITDA growth in the mid-teens.

轉向部門。我們預期所有核心部門都會在生產系統和油藏績效的帶領下成長。數位化和整合預計也將隨著數位化的成長而成長，這主要是由新技術平台推動的，而 APS 則保持平穩。從方向上看，我們預計，在國際服務能力緊張、定價和技術採用增加的推動下，利潤率將進一步擴大。這將導致 EBITDA 年成長 10%左右。

With continued growth in earnings, our proven ability to generate cash and confidence in the long-term outlook, we are pleased to announce that the Board of Directors have approved a 10% increase in our quarterly dividend. And we'll also increase our share repurchase program in 2024. Combined, we are targeting a return -- to return more than $2.5 billion to shareholders in 2024, an increase of more than 25% compared to 2023.

隨著盈利的持續增長、我們證明的創造現金的能力以及對長期前景的信心，我們很高興地宣布，董事會已批准將我們的季度股息增加 10%。我們也將在 2024 年增加股票回購計畫。總的來說，我們的目標是在 2024 年向股東返還超過 25 億美元，比 2023 年成長 25% 以上。

Looking to the first quarter. We anticipate the typical pattern of activity, beginning with the combined effects of seasonality and the absence of year-end digital sales. As a result, on a year-on-year basis, we expect first quarter revenue growth in the low-teens and EBITDA growth in the mid-teens. This will be followed by an activity rebound in the second quarter and further acceleration of growth in the second half of the year, particularly in the international markets. This will support the ambitions we have set for the full year revenue and earnings growth.

展望第一季。我們預期典型的活動模式，首先是季節性和缺乏年終數位銷售的綜合影響。因此，與去年同期相比，我們預計第一季營收成長將達到兩位數以下，EBITDA 成長將達到兩位數左右。隨後，第二季的經濟活動將出現反彈，下半年的成長將進一步加速，特別是在國際市場上。這將支持我們為全年收入和獲利成長設定的目標。

I will now turn the call over to Stephane.

我現在將把電話轉給史蒂芬。

Thank you, Olivier, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Fourth quarter earnings per share, excluding charges and credits, was $0.86. This represents an increase of $0.08 sequentially and an increase of $0.15 when compared to the same period of last year.

謝謝奧利維爾，女士們先生們早安。第四季每股收益（不包括費用和貸項）為 0.86 美元。這意味著比上一季增加了 0.08 美元，與去年同期相比增加了 0.15 美元。

We recorded $0.09 of charges during the fourth quarter of this year, $0.06 related to the devaluation of the peso in Argentina and the remaining $0.03 related to merger and integration costs associated with our acquisition of the Aker subsea business, which closed at the beginning of the quarter. We anticipate that we will incur additional charges as integration activities continue over the course of 2024.

We recorded $0.09 of charges during the fourth quarter of this year, $0.06 related to the devaluation of the peso in Argentina and the remaining $0.03 related to merger and integration costs associated with our acquisition of the Aker subsea business, which closed at the beginning of the四分之一.我們預計，隨著整合活動在 2024 年持續進行，我們將產生額外費用。

Our full year 2023 revenue of $33.1 billion grew 18% year-on-year. While this revenue is roughly the same as the pre-pandemic level of 2019, our adjusted EBITDA in 2023 in absolute dollars was 22% higher. As a result, our full year 2023 EBITDA margin of 24.5% has expanded 430 basis points over this period on a similar revenue base. This highlights the high grading of our portfolio over the last few years, our significantly improved operating leverage and our favorable market position, particularly internationally and offshore.

我們 2023 年全年營收為 331 億美元，年增 18%。雖然這筆收入與 2019 年大流行前的水平大致相同，但我們 2023 年調整後的 EBITDA（以絕對美元計算）高出 22%。因此，我們 2023 年全年 EBITDA 利潤率為 24.5%，在此期間在類似的收入基礎上擴大了 430 個基點。這突顯了我們過去幾年投資組合的高評級、顯著改善的營運槓桿以及我們有利的市場地位，特別是國際和離岸市場地位。

Fourth quarter revenue of $8.99 billion increased 8% sequentially with the acquired Aker subsea business accounting for approximately 70% of the increase. Fourth quarter pretax operating margin of 20.8% improved 52 basis points sequentially and 101 basis points year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the fourth quarter of 25.3% was 95 basis points higher than the same period of last year.

第四季營收為 89.9 億美元，季增 8%，其中收購的 Aker 海底業務約佔成長的 70%。第四季稅前營業利益率為 20.8%，季增 52 個基點，年增 101 個基點。第四季調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 25.3%，比去年同期高出 95 個基點。

I will now go through the fourth quarter results for each division. Fourth quarter Digital & Integration revenue of $1 billion increased 7% sequentially with pretax operating margin expanding 197 basis points to 34%. This growth was due to increased digital revenue across all areas, led by the Middle East and Asia and Europe and Africa.

我現在將介紹每個部門的第四季業績。第四季數位與整合收入為 10 億美元，較上季成長 7%，稅前營業利潤率擴大 197 個基點，達到 34%。這一增長歸因於以中東、亞洲、歐洲和非洲為首的所有地區的數位收入增加。

Reservoir Performance revenue of $1.7 billion grew 3% sequentially, primarily due to increased activity internationally, mainly in the Middle East and Africa. Pretax operating margin increased 88 basis points to 21.4%, representing the highest level of this cycle, driven by higher activity and improved pricing.

油藏動態收入為 17 億美元，環比成長 3%，這主要是由於國際活動（主要是中東和非洲）的增加。在活動增加和定價改善的推動下，稅前營業利潤率成長 88 個基點，達到 21.4%，是本週期的最高水準。

Well Construction revenue of $3.4 billion was essentially flat sequentially as international growth of 2% was offset by a decline in North America revenue, resulting from lower U.S. land rig count. Pretax operating margin increased 35 basis points sequentially.

油井建設收入為 34 億美元，與上一季基本持平，國際成長 2% 被美國陸上鑽機數量減少導致的北美收入下降所抵銷。稅前營業利益率較上季成長 35 個基點。

Lastly, Production Systems revenue of $2.9 billion increased 24% sequentially, largely due to the acquired Aker subsea business. Excluding this effect, revenue grew 4% sequentially due to strong international sales. Pretax operating margin expanded 153 basis points to 15%, its highest level this cycle on higher sales of midstream, artificial lift and subsea production systems.

最後，生產系統收入為 29 億美元，環比成長 24%，這主要歸功於收購的 Aker 海底業務。排除此影響，由於國際銷售強勁，營收季增 4%。稅前營業利潤率擴大 153 個基點至 15%，這是由於中游、人工舉升和海底生產系統銷售額增加而達到的本週期最高水準。

Looking ahead to the full year of 2024. We expect continued margin expansion in our Core, driven by sustained operating leverage, a favorable geographic mix and pricing tailwinds. In our Digital & Integration division, we expect margins to remain approximately at the same level as 2023 as digital margins will increase due to the accelerated adoption of our new technology platforms while APS margins will decrease as a result of higher amortization expenses. All in all, as mentioned by Olivier, strong year-on-year revenue growth and continued margin expansion will result in adjusted EBITDA growth in the mid-teens in 2024 when compared to 2023.

展望 2024 年全年。我們預計，在持續的營運槓桿、有利的地理組合和定價順風的推動下，我們的核心業務利潤率將持續擴張。在我們的數位與整合部門，我們預計利潤率將大致保持在與2023 年相同的水平，因為數位利潤率將因新技術平台的加速採用而增加，而APS 利潤率將因攤銷費用增加而下降。總而言之，正如 Olivier 所提到的，與 2023 年相比，強勁的年收入成長和持續的利潤率擴張將導致 2024 年調整後 EBITDA 的成長達到十幾歲左右。

Now turning to our liquidity. We generated $3 billion of cash flow from operations and $2.3 billion of free cash flow during the fourth quarter. This exceptional performance resulted in full year free cash flow of $4 billion, which is the highest level we have achieved since 2015. This was due to a combination of very strong year-end receivable cash collections, increased customer advances, improved inventory turns and the receipt of a prior year tax return.

現在轉向我們的流動性。第四季我們產生了 30 億美元的營運現金流和 23 億美元的自由現金流。這項出色的業績導致全年自由現金流達到40 億美元，這是我們自2015 年以來實現的最高水準。這是由於年末應收帳款現金回款非常強勁、客戶預付款增加、庫存週轉率提高以及收到上一年的報稅表。

As a result of this exceptional free cash flow performance, we reduced our net debt by $1.4 billion during the quarter to $8 billion. This represents our lowest net debt level since the first quarter of 2016. Capital investments, including CapEx and investments in APS projects and exploration data, were $742 million in the fourth quarter and $2.6 billion for the full year. Looking ahead, we will continue to be disciplined as it relates to our capital investments. Despite the continued revenue growth, our 2024 capital investments will remain at approximately the same level as in 2023.

由於自由現金流表現出色，本季我們的淨債務減少了 14 億美元，達到 80 億美元。這是我們自 2016 年第一季以來的最低淨債務水準。第四季的資本投資（包括資本支出以及對 APS 專案和勘探資料的投資）為 7.42 億美元，全年為 26 億美元。展望未來，我們將繼續在資本投資方面遵守紀律。儘管收入持續成長，我們 2024 年的資本投資將維持與 2023 年大致相同的水平。

Finally, during the fourth quarter, we repurchased 1.8 million shares of our stock for a total purchase price of $100 million. For the full year, we returned a total of $2 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock repurchases. Our continued capital discipline, combined with the confidence we have that 2024 will be another year of strong cash flow generation, will enable us to increase our returns to shareholders in 2024. In this regard, when combining the increased quarterly dividend that we announced today with increased share repurchases, we are targeting to return more than $2.5 billion to our shareholders in 2024.

最後，在第四季度，我們回購了 180 萬股股票，總購買價為 1 億美元。全年，我們以股息和股票回購的形式向股東返還總計 20 億美元。我們持續的資本紀律，再加上我們對2024 年將是另一個強勁現金流產生的一年的信心，將使我們能夠在2024 年增加股東回報。在這方面，當我們將今天宣布的增加季度股利與隨著股票回購的增加，我們的目標是在 2024 年向股東返還超過 25 億美元。

I will now turn the conference call back to Olivier.

我現在將電話會議轉回給奧利維爾。

Thank you, Stephane. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we will start the Q&A. So Leah, back to you.

謝謝你，史蒂芬。女士們先生們，我想我們將開始問答環節。那麼莉亞，回到你身邊。

(Operator Instructions) And first, we go to the line of James West with Evercore ISI.

（操作員說明）首先，我們前往 James West 與 Evercore ISI 的路線。

So Olivier, curious to hear your thoughts. Clearly, you're looking for another year of pretty strong growth in EBITDA and revenue. But it seems to me like we've got a lot of particularly deepwater rigs that are going to start turning to the right here very soon and particularly in the second half. And it's -- there should be an exit rate that's even higher than that type of growth as we go into '25. I think, is that a fair assumption? Or am I getting ahead of my skis here in terms of kind of what the overall market opportunity is going to be as we step through this year and get into the '25/'26 period?

奧利維爾，很想聽聽你的想法。顯然，您正在尋找 EBITDA 和收入又一個強勁增長的一年。但在我看來，我們有很多特別深水的鑽井平台很快就會開始向右轉向，特別是在下半年。當我們進入 25 世紀時，退出率應該甚至高於這種類型的成長。我想，這是一個合理的假設嗎？或者，當我們跨過今年並進入「25/」26 時期時，就整體市場機會而言，我是否領先於我的滑雪板？

No, that's correct. I think, James, thank you for laying out, I think, the theme of offshore. I think offshore is a distinct attribute of this cycle, has really already delivered in terms of total activity visibly beyond 2019 and includes both shallow and deepwater that have both grown visibly in the last 24 months, shallow, mainly driven by addition of rigs that we continue to see coming in the Middle East and Asia region and deepwater across all the deepwater basins.

不，這是正確的。我想，詹姆斯，謝謝你闡述了離岸的主題。我認為近海是這個週期的一個獨特屬性，實際上已經在2019 年之後明顯地實現了總活動量的增長，包括淺水和深水，它們在過去24 個月中都有明顯增長，淺水主要是由我們增加的鑽井平台推動的。中東和亞洲地區以及所有深水盆地的深水區將繼續看到這種趨勢。

And we anticipate, albeit at a more moderate rate for deepwater and shallow, the rig activity to continue to increase and the exit rate of '24 to be above in terms of rig count, offshore rig count, total offshore rig count exit rate of '23 as a benefit. I think both the offshore activity and the deepwater, where we have the benefit of the scale with our subsea venture, will benefit.

我們預計，儘管深水和淺水鑽機活動的速度較為溫和，但鑽機活動將繼續增加，並且就鑽機數量、海上鑽機數量、總海上鑽機數量退出率而言，「24」的退出率將高於「24 ” 23作為福利。我認為海上活動和深水活動都將受益，我們在深水活動中受益於我們的海底業務的規模優勢。

Hence, we continue to see growth, not only in '24 but running out to '25 and beyond. As I said, the total FID for offshore keeps being $100 billion for each of '24 and '25. And this is not only supporting activity next year and '25 but support longevity of offshore investments beyond. So we are -- we remain very constructive on that environment. And yes, we see the exit rate to be above last December in 12 months from now.

因此，我們不僅在 24 年而且在 25 年及以後繼續看到成長。正如我所說，「24 年」和「25 年」每年的離岸 FID 總額都保持在 1000 億美元。這不僅支持明年和 25 年的活動，而且支持以後離岸投資的壽命。因此，我們對這種環境仍然非常有建設性。是的，我們預計 12 個月後的退出率將高於去年 12 月。

Okay, okay, perfect. That's great to hear. And then maybe a quick follow-up in terms of CapEx. I don't know, Stephane, if you want to take this one. But CapEx seems to be -- it seems like you're going to keep it at the same type of level that it's been that wasn't in '23. But there's going to be a lot of -- a lot more activity. And so does that number eventually need to move higher? And when it does, if it does, do you still believe that you could maintain this 5% to 6% of revenue per CapEx dollars ratio?

好吧好吧，完美。聽到這個消息我很高興。然後可能是資本支出方面的快速後續。我不知道，史蒂芬，你是否願意接受這個。但資本支出似乎將維持在 23 年的水準。但將會有很多——更多的活動。那麼這個數字最終需要提高嗎？當它發生時，如果確實如此，您是否仍然相信您可以維持每資本支出美元收入 5% 至 6% 的比率？

So look, James, yes, we are still growing going into '24 and beyond. But this level of CapEx we spent in '23, we think, remains adequate for this year as well. You have to think about the mix of activities as well amongst all divisions. So we think we can very well address the upcoming growth within this envelope without having to increase nominally throughout the year, unless growth is much more than expected. But we were comfortable with this and we will remain indeed within our guidance. And it's actually the low end of our guidance on the CapEx side.

所以看，詹姆斯，是的，進入 24 年及以後我們仍在成長。但我們認為，我們在 23 年花費的資本支出水準對於今年來說仍然足夠。您必須考慮所有部門之間的活動組合。因此，我們認為我們可以很好地解決這個範圍內即將到來的成長，而不必全年名義上成長，除非成長遠遠超過預期。但我們對此感到滿意，並且我們確實將保持在我們的指導範圍內。這實際上是我們對資本支出的指導的低端。

Our next question is from David Anderson with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的大衛安德森。

So maybe we could start off with the Middle East here. So another double-digit sequential quarter out of MENA, clearly an enormous runway of activity in front of you the next several years between unconventional gas and the number of capacity expansion projects underway.

所以也許我們可以從中東開始。因此，中東和北非地區又一個兩位數的連續季度，顯然在未來幾年中，非常規天然氣和正在進行的產能擴張項目數量之間存在著巨大的活動。

My question is how you see top line versus margins evolving. Can you maintain this pace of growth in the region in '24? Or are we getting close to capacity in terms of the number of rigs available, service equipment, even E&P capacity is pretty tight over there?

我的問題是您如何看待營收與利潤率的變化。您能否在 24 年保持該地區的這種成長速度？或者我們已經接近可用鑽機數量、服務設備的容量，甚至那裡的勘探與生產能力也相當緊張？

And I guess, conversely, should we start seeing margins expand further as contracts reprice due to tightness? I noted that the tendering of Safaniyah was delayed by 9 months. I'm wondering maybe that's some sticker shock from pricing. So perhaps it's already underway, but just a little bit more details in terms of capacity and pricing in the Middle East, please.

相反，我想，隨著合約因緊張而重新定價，我們是否應該開始看到利潤率進一步擴大？我注意到Safaniyah的招標被推遲了9個月。我想知道這可能是定價帶來的一些衝擊。也許它已經在進行中，但請提供更多有關中東產能和定價的細節。

Yes. No, thank you, Dave. I think we have been very pleased with the activity and the way we have been able to turn this activity growth in the last 18 months and the last 12 months, particularly into revenue, benefiting from our strength on the ground in the Middle East. I think I would characterize beyond the capacity expansion and unconventional gas, which is a dual benefit for activity, I will also characterize the activity in the Middle East to be very broad. It's not two countries leading this, it's almost every country in the region that we see further activity and we'll derive from it further revenue growth.

是的。不，謝謝你，戴夫。我認為我們對這項活動以及我們能夠在過去 18 個月和過去 12 個月將這項活動的成長（特別是轉化為收入）的方式感到非常滿意，這得益於我們在中東的實力。我認為，除了產能擴張和非常規天然氣（這對活動有雙重好處）之外，我還將中東的活動描述為非常廣泛。引領這一趨勢的不是兩個國家，而是該地區幾乎每個國家，我們都看到了進一步的活動，我們將從中獲得進一步的收入成長。

So we are not at capacity. We don't see an inflection down of our revenue growth potential in the region, benefiting from our technology, market position with each national company in the region and capability for integration to harness the power of our technology into performance for our customers, hence delivering higher revenue from rate of activity. So we are confident. When it comes to our capacity, yes, equipment capacity, and everybody has been disciplined in the region. And hence, we have been responding and benefiting from pricing in the last 18 months.

所以我們還沒有滿載。我們沒有看到我們在該地區的收入成長潛力下降，這得益於我們的技術、在該地區每個國家公司的市場地位以及利用我們技術的力量為客戶提供績效的整合能力，從而提供來自活動率的更高收入。所以我們有信心。說到我們的能力，是的，設備能力，並且該地區的每個人都受到紀律處分。因此，我們在過去 18 個月裡一直在響應定價並從中受益。

And as a consequence, our margins have expanded in the region and have supported what you have seen as our international margin expansion year-on-year have been a driver for margin expansion internationally. We expect this to continue as we execute 2024. But again, it's a long duration cycle, both by the nature of the investment decoupled from short-term pricing on commodities. So we remain very confident about our market position first and the market outlook and our ability to differentiate to performance, integration, technology and then continue this success in '24 and '25 and again well into the second half of the decade.

因此，我們的利潤率在該地區有所擴大，並支持了您所看到的我們的國際利潤率同比增長一直是國際利潤率擴張的驅動力。我們預計這種情況將在 2024 年執行時繼續下去。但同樣，這是一個長期週期，無論是由於投資的性質還是與大宗商品的短期定價脫鉤。因此，我們首先對我們的市場地位、市場前景以及我們在性能、整合、技術方面實現差異化的能力充滿信心，然後在 24 年和 25 年以及本世紀下半葉繼續取得這一成功。

Yes. A long way from the peak. That's pretty clear, at least in that part of the region. I was wondering if we could shift over on the digital side. I know there are a number of comments in the release today regarding increasing digital adoption by your customers. I was hoping you could expand on that a little bit.

是的。距離巔峰還很遠。這非常清楚，至少在該地區的部分是這樣。我想知道我們是否可以轉向數位方面。我知道今天的新聞稿中有很多關於提高客戶數位化採用率的評論。我希望你能對此進行一些擴展。

Is that simply about customers using DELFI more? Or as they get more comfortable with it, is there a certain application gaining traction? Is there any metrics you can give us in terms of year-over-year usage from your bigger customers? And I'm also just kind of curious, in order to grow digital revenue by essentially 50% over the next 2 years, is this primarily coming from an increased digital adoption of existing customers? Or do you also need new customers to get to that target?

這僅僅是因為客戶更多地使用 DELFI 嗎？或者當他們越來越熟悉它時，是否有某個應用程式獲得了關注？您可以提供我們有關大客戶的同比使用情況的任何指標嗎？我也有點好奇，為了在未來 2 年內將數位收入成長 50%，這主要來自於現有客戶數位化採用的增加嗎？或者您還需要新客戶來實現該目標嗎？

Okay. Let me come back first on some metrics that I think we have highlighted into my opening remarks. And I think this relates to the adoption of DELFI, indeed, adoption of a number of users, use of cloud compute on our DELFI platform and use of additional edge or AI capability that we offer to our customers, the combination of which, as I said, has grown 60% in the last 2 years on a CAGR rate. And the adoption metrics that we shared, both the number of users and the number of hours of compute power that we serve to our customers on the cloud, have been growing by 40%.

好的。讓我先回顧一下我認為我們在開場白中強調的一些指標。我認為這與DELFI 的採用有關，事實上，與許多用戶的採用、我們DELFI 平台上雲端運算的使用以及我們為客戶提供的額外邊緣或人工智慧功能的使用有關，正如我所言，這與DELFI的採用有關。據說，過去 2 年複合年增長率增長了 60%。我們分享的採用指標，包括用戶數量和我們在雲端上為客戶提供的運算能力小時數，已經成長了 40%。

So yes, the adoption is growing, both measured by, as always said, one customer at a time that transition from our legacy desktop offering to our cloud and by expansion of our workflows, data, AI capability that we offer to existing or new customers. So it's a combination of transition of the existing customers to the cloud and adoption of data and AI capability because we are offering our platform that the industry is recognizing and adopting. And finally and maybe one of the most exciting part that adds a dimension of growth is the digital operation, both drilling and production digital operation.

所以，是的，採用率正在成長，正如我們常說的那樣，一次一個客戶從我們的傳統桌面產品過渡到我們的雲，以及我們向現有或新客戶提供的工作流程、數據、人工智慧功能的擴展來衡量。因此，這是現有客戶向雲端的過渡以及資料和人工智慧功能採用的結合，因為我們提供的平台得到了業界的認可和採用。最後，也許是增加成長維度的最令人興奮的部分之一是數位化運營，包括鑽井和生產數位化營運。

You have seen some of the announcements that have been highlighted in recent weeks and months. And last week, a further alignment with a partner to accelerate doing automation and autonomous systems, so the drilling adoption on the operation production with our partner, Cognite. And this is supplementing, I would say, the core growth of transitioning our geosound customers from desktop to the cloud.

您已經看到了最近幾週和幾個月來突出顯示的一些公告。上週，我們與合作夥伴進一步協調，加速自動化和自主系統的開發，因此與我們的合作夥伴 Cognite 一起在營運生產中採用了鑽井技術。我想說，這是對我們的地聲客戶從桌面過渡到雲端的核心成長的補充。

So you have three dimensions. You have the cloud transition with existing customers and adoption of new customers coming to SaaS solution. You have the data and AI. It's a new market. It's a rebirth of the data management that scale into the cloud and AI, unlocking the power of data through AI in our industry. And finally, digital operation. These three trends are supporting our growth ambition, both this year and next year. And this span all the customer segments across the globe. And you will keep seeing some announcement of customer adoption on our solutions.

所以你有三個維度。您可以與現有客戶進行雲端過渡，並讓新客戶採用 SaaS 解決方案。你擁有數據和人工智慧。這是一個新市場。這是資料管理的重生，擴展到雲端和人工智慧，透過人工智慧在我們的產業釋放資料的力量。最後是數位化營運。這三個趨勢正在支持我們今年和明年的成長目標。這涵蓋了全球所有客戶群。您將不斷看到一些客戶採用我們的解決方案的公告。

Next, we go to Scott Gruber with Citigroup.

接下來，我們請教花旗集團的史考特‧格魯伯。

I want to touch on Transition Technologies, you noted over $1 billion in sales. And I realize a lot of these are new and focused on emissions reduction. And I believe that the bucket there is separate from new energy, correct me if I'm not accurate.

我想談談 Transition Technologies，您提到銷售額超過 10 億美元。我意識到其中很多都是新的並且專注於減排。我相信那裡的桶子與新能源是分開的，如果我不準確，請糾正我。

Olivier, I wanted to ask about the outlook for these technologies and the growth of sales of these technologies as the uptake by customers around the world seems pretty strong. Can you speak to the multiyear outlook? And is the cadence of growth for Transition Technologies additive to the growth rate from the Core?

奧利維爾，我想問這些技術的前景以及這些技術的銷售成長，因為世界各地的客戶對這些技術的採用似乎相當強勁。您能談談多年的展望嗎？轉型技術的成長節奏是否會影響核心的成長率？

No, I think you are correct first in stating that this is distinct from our focus on the five themes that we have in new energy and distinct from the CCS I mentioned, where we have a lot of success in geothermal. And it represents a portfolio of technology that we have that we are developing, that we are promoting to our customers that have a distinct lower emission carbon intensity compared to existing or legacy technology and have net effect on our customer for their Scope 1 or their Scope 3 upstream, as we call it, emissions but also have the characteristic to bring efficiency.

不，我認為你首先指出的是正確的，這與我們對新能源領域五個主題的關注不同，也與我提到的 CCS 不同，我們在地熱方面取得了巨大的成功。它代表了我們正在開發的技術組合，我們正在向客戶推廣這些技術，與現有或傳統技術相比，這些技術具有明顯較低的排放碳強度，並對我們的客戶的範圍1 或範圍產生淨影響3.我們所說的上游，排放同時也具有帶來效率的特性。

So customer is looking for low-cost, low-carbon output and continue to adopt this technology by contrast with alternate technology that exists in the market as they deliver not only lower carbon but also deliver higher efficiency, which are the way we characterize this technology. So yes, we are very pleased with adoption. Some technology are very unique, like almost zero-carbon solution. Some solutions are really game-changing such as some of our processing -- subsea processing solution that's having a net impact on the carbon footprint of subsea operation. Some technology are disrupting for the future, such as electrical full -- subsea and electrical full completion technology. And hence, we are seeing accelerated adoption of this.

因此，客戶正在尋求低成本、低碳產出，並繼續採用該技術，與市場上現有的替代技術相比，因為它們不僅提供更低的碳，而且還提供更高的效率，這就是我們描述該技術的方式。所以，是的，我們對採用感到非常滿意。有些技術非常獨特，例如幾乎零碳的解決方案。有些解決方案確實改變了遊戲規則，例如我們的一些處理——海底處理解決方案，它對海底作業的碳足跡產生了淨影響。有些技術正在顛覆未來，例如海底電氣全完井技術和電氣全完井技術。因此，我們看到它的採用加速。

And finally, we say that we are also seeing, following the COP28, much more interest into our methane emission management solution. And you have had seen the announcement we made with Eni, supporting them as a global company to make an assessment and assessing their emission intensity from methane and proposing abatement solutions. So this is a mix of technology, will continue to be growing in our technology mix and that supports our ambition for sustainable future and a balanced plan but also aligned with our customers on lower-carbon, lower-cost future.

最後，我們說，在 COP28 之後，我們也看到人們對我們的甲烷排放管理解決方案產生了更多興趣。你們已經看到了我們與埃尼公司發布的公告，支持他們作為一家全球性公司進行評估，評估他們的甲烷排放強度並提出減排解決方案。因此，這是一種技術組合，將在我們的技術組合中繼續成長，支持我們對永續未來的雄心和平衡的計劃，同時也與我們的客戶在低碳、低成本的未來上保持一致。

Right. Got it. Appreciate that color. And then Stephane, one for you. Appreciate the cash return target for '24. Can you also provide some broader color on the cash conversion rate? The working capital release in 4Q was very impressive. So curious, thinking about the working capital outlook for '24, tax rate, et cetera.

正確的。知道了。欣賞那個顏色。然後是史蒂芬，一位適合你的人。欣賞 24 年的現金回報目標。您能否提供有關現金兌換率的更廣泛的資訊？第四季的營運資金釋放非常可觀。很好奇，思考 24 年的營運資金前景、稅率等等。

Scott, so look, yes, we were also very pleased with the fourth quarter and full year free cash flow. And indeed, in the fourth quarter, it's coming almost entirely from the working capital. So now we do expect, as I say, 2024, to be another very strong year of free cash flow. And it will show the same quarterly pattern we usually see.

斯科特，所以你看，是的，我們對第四季度和全年的自由現金流也非常滿意。事實上，在第四季度，它幾乎完全來自營運資金。因此，正如我所說，現在我們確實預計 2024 年將是自由現金流又非常強勁的一年。它將呈現與我們通常看到的相同的季度模式。

So in the first quarter, the working capital will clearly increase. We have the payment of annual incentives to employees, as you may know. And then we'll have the reversal of certain exceptional items that occurred in the last quarter of 2023. So we'll see the effect in Q1 as usual. But then this will be followed by a gradual improvement in subsequent quarters, in line with what we observed this year. So hopefully, we can have another very strong finish of the year in 12 months from now and deliver a strong performance as well.

所以第一季營運資金會明顯增加。如您所知，我們向員工支付年度獎勵。然後我們將逆轉 2023 年最後一個季度發生的某些特殊項目。因此，我們將像往常一樣在第一季看到效果。但隨後幾季將逐步改善，這與我們今年觀察到的情況一致。因此，希望我們能夠在 12 個月後再次迎來強勁的年度收官，並取得強勁的業績。

Next, we go to Luke Lemoine with Piper Sandler.

接下來，我們將與派珀·桑德勒 (Piper Sandler) 一起採訪盧克·勒莫因 (Luke Lemoine)。

Olivier, you noted the bookings and backlog at OneSubsea. And last call, you talked about some of the commercial and operational objectives. And I wanted to see if you could just talk about how customer engagement and dialogue has progressed with the enhanced offering you now have.

Olivier，您注意到 OneSubsea 的預訂和積壓情況。上次通話中，您談到了一些商業和營運目標。我想看看您是否可以談談客戶參與和對話如何透過您現在擁有的增強產品而取得進展。

Thank you, Luke. I think we are very pleased first with the first quarter of the subsea joint venture we have with Aker and Subsea 7. I think the results speak for themselves. I think it was a direct contributor to the PS, the Production Systems performance in the fourth quarter, both on the top line and the margins. So we are very pleased. And I think as I said, I could not be more pleased than this.

謝謝你，盧克。我認為我們首先對我們與 Aker 和 Subsea 7 建立的海底合資企業的第一季感到非常滿意。我認為結果不言而喻。我認為這是第四季度生產系統 PS 表現的直接貢獻者，無論是在營收還是利潤率。所以我們非常高興。我想正如我所說，我不能比這更高興了。

Now going forward, I think our objective continues to be to extract more value through synergy and to fully seize this deepwater offshore cycle that is in full fledge happening, where we see, as I said earlier, a strong outlook. So our priority is to benefit from integration capability. And as you have seen that we have announced some alliance, and one of them with bp, where I think customers are approaching us, organizing that subsea integration capability across the SPS and SURF are augmented by our ability to deliver and understand the reservoir as well as deliver well construction.

現在，展望未來，我認為我們的目標仍然是透過協同作用獲取更多價值，並充分抓住這個正在全面發展的深水離岸循環，正如我之前所說，我們看到了強勁的前景。因此，我們的首要任務是從整合能力中受益。正如你所看到的，我們已經宣布了一些聯盟，其中之一是與 bp 合作，我認為客戶正在與我們聯繫，組織跨 SPS 和 SURF 的海底整合能力透過我們交付和了解油藏的能力得到增強作為交付良好建設。

So hence, opportunity to have integrated asset development, integrated tieback delivery and more opportunity in the space that is a full integrated subsea and beyond to extract better economics and to extract more importantly -- equally importantly, a higher recovery, combining our reservoir subsurface domain expertise, our well placements and our subsea boosting and processing capability, all combined to extract and create a little bit of more value for subsea market going forward from economics and from production recovery.

因此，有機會進行綜合資產開發、綜合回接交付，以及在完全綜合的海底及其他領域獲得更多機會，以獲取更好的經濟效益，並更重要的是，結合我們的油藏地下領域，獲得更高的採收率專業知識、我們的井位以及海底增壓和處理能力，所有這些結合在一起，可以從經濟和生產恢復中為海底市場提取並創造更多價值。

So that's where we see trends coming. And we have a portfolio that is unique with the portfolio particularly on the boosting and processing and tieback capability that is unmatched on the market. And we have digital reservoir technology on our Core portfolio that complements this and help and will support this alliance integration capability. So I can only be pleased with the prospects ahead of us. And the feedback from our customers so far is very positive on our capability.

這就是我們看到的趨勢。我們擁有獨特的產品組合，特別是在市場上無與倫比的升壓、處理和回接能力方面。我們的核心產品組合中擁有數位油藏技術，可以補充這一點，並幫助並將支持這種聯盟整合能力。因此，我只能對我們面前的前景感到滿意。到目前為止，客戶的回饋對我們的能力非常正面。

Our next question is from Saurabh Pant with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Saurabh Pant。

Olivier, maybe I want to touch on exploration a little bit. You talked about that on the call today. You highlighted Asia. I think you talked about China, Malaysia, India, some of the other countries exploring for gas. I know you've talked about exploration in the past.

奧利維爾，也許我想談談探索。您今天在電話中談到了這一點。您強調了亞洲。我想你談到了中國、馬來西亞、印度以及其他一些勘探天然氣的國家。我知道你過去曾談論過探索。

So we are seeing at least a little bit of a tangible recovery happening on the exploration side. Maybe you can expand on that a little bit. What do you expect over the next couple of years on both the gas and the oil side and just maybe remind us how impactful that is for SLB?

因此，我們看到勘探方面至少出現了一點切實的復甦。也許你可以對此進行一些擴展。您對未來幾年對天然氣和石油有何期望，也許只是提醒我們這對 SLB 有多大影響？

Yes, thank you. I think, yes, we have commented before that we have seen resurgence and rebound of exploration activity [especially] in the last 2 or 3 years. This cycle has added exploration activity back to the cycle. And I think it has been driven by the desire to find new gas reserves to respond to the gas supply security concerns. And also, it has benefited from the continued exploration of oil around the existing offshore hubs in the form of infrastructure-led exploration.

是的，謝謝。我想，是的，我們之前曾評論過，我們已經看到勘探活動的復甦和反彈，[特別是]在過去的兩三年裡。此週期將勘探活動重新加入週期中。我認為這是由於尋找新的天然氣儲備以應對天然氣供應安全問題的願望所驅動的。此外，它還受益於現有海上樞紐周圍以基礎設施主導的勘探形式持續進行的石油勘探。

And also, in new frontier, replicating the success that Exxon had in Guyana of their basins. So when you look at it from where it's happening, what is unique in this cycle, it's happening everywhere. We have exploration activity, mostly offshore. That's where I think the actual success of new reserves have been mostly and in all offshore basins, both shallow and deepwater, infrastructure-led exploration in existing mature or deepwater markets and in new frontier. So you have seen new frontier happening in Namibia. You have seen new frontier in Surinam, in upcoming Brazil Ecuador margin. You have exploration in East -- West Colombia side. You have furthermore in West Africa South.

而且，在新領域，複製埃克森美孚在圭亞那盆地的成功。因此，當你從它發生的地方來看，這個週期中的獨特之處在於，它無所不在。我們有勘探活動，大部分是海上勘探活動。我認為，新儲量的實際成功主要是在所有近海盆地（淺水和深水）、現有成熟或深水市場以及新領域的基礎設施主導勘探中。所以你已經看到納米比亞正在發生新的前沿。您已經在蘇利南看到了新的前沿，即將到來的巴西厄瓜多爾邊緣。您將在哥倫比亞東-西一側進行勘探。此外，還有西非南部。

And you have what is maybe a little bit new this cycle, more exploration coming back in Asia from India, as I said, Malaysia, China. And I think this is what constitutes a little bit of the unique cycle is broad. And it's here, in my opinion, to stay because the economics of offshore have improved significantly over the last couple of cycles. And attributes of reserves, both gas and oil, with low-carbon intensity and the ability to deliver a long plateau of production is unique. So access to offshore acreage, better economics, better quality of potential geological reserves have all driven this. And we have increased the success.

這個週期可能有點新，更多的探索從印度、馬來西亞、中國回到亞洲。我認為這就是構成了一點點的獨特循環的廣闊之處。在我看來，這種現象將繼續存在，因為離岸經濟在過去幾個週期中已經有了顯著改善。天然氣和石油儲量的屬性、低碳強度以及提供長期生產平台的能力是獨一無二的。因此，獲得近海面積、更好的經濟效益、更好的潛在地質儲量品質都是推動這一趨勢的因素。我們增加了成功率。

And we have exposure in Reservoir Performance with Reservoir Performance evaluation segments that are benefiting from it and has introduced technology that are really in high demand like Ora. And we have a lot of exposure, obviously, as well in the digital segment with our seismic data capability processing and our digital geosounds offering that both benefit from this as a consumption. So we are pleased with the market position we have. And we believe that this exploration appraisal is here to stay because it's very broad, diverse and across many basins, particularly in offshore.

我們在油藏性能評估領域有所涉足，並從中受益，並引入了像 Ora 這樣真正需求量很大的技術。顯然，我們在數位領域有很多曝光，我們的地震資料能力處理和數位地質聲音產品都從中受益。因此，我們對我們所擁有的市場地位感到滿意。我們相信這種勘探評估將會持續下去，因為它非常廣泛、多樣化，並且跨越許多盆地，特別是在近海盆地。

Fantastic, okay. I have one very quick follow-up, if I may, on the Middle East side. I know you talked about that on the prepared remarks and the Q&A early on. But just to go back to that, I think one thing you noted in the press release was that you expect the record Middle East growth to continue beyond 2025. If you can elaborate a little bit, Olivier, on what gives you the confidence, the line of sight beyond 2025. Maybe part of that is just on the gas side of things, not just oil, right? But elaborate a little bit on the line of sight you have beyond 2025 on the Middle East.

太棒了，好吧。如果可以的話，我在中東方面有一個非常快速的後續行動。我知道您很早就在準備好的發言和問答中談到了這一點。但回到這一點，我認為您在新聞稿中指出的一件事是，您預計中東創紀錄的增長將持續到2025 年之後。奧利維爾，如果您能詳細說明是什麼給了您信心， 2025 年之後的視線。也許其中一部分只是在天然氣方面，而不僅僅是石油，對吧？但請詳細說明 2025 年後您對中東的看法。

Yes. I think first, you have to realize that the capacity expansion program announced by the multiple countries that have met their commitments extend from '27 to '30-plus, 2035 or '40 from the last country that have expanded this. And hence, I think the capacity will be -- continue to be seeing addition both land and offshore to respond to that capacity expansion. Gas, I think, is here for the long in the Middle East for two reasons.

是的。我認為首先，你必須認識到，多個已履行承諾的國家宣布的產能擴張計劃從最後一個擴大這一計劃的國家開始，從“27年”延長到“30年以上”、“2035年”或「40年」。因此，我認為陸地和海上的產能將繼續增加，以應對產能擴張。我認為，天然氣在中東長期存在有兩個原因。

First, there are gas reserves that are really at a very good economic point, particularly in Qatar, and will continue to present an LNG feed to the global gas market. But also, unconventional reserves are seeing a significant investment. And we expect this to actually grow fast in the coming years in two or three countries that are focused on unconventional gas. So the combination of this is giving us the confidence that the record-ever investments that we have seen last year in Middle East will continue in '24, '25 and has potential to expand well into the second half of the decade.

首先，天然氣儲量確實處於非常好的經濟水平，特別是在卡達，並將繼續為全球天然氣市場提供液化天然氣。而且，非常規儲備也得到了大量投資。我們預計，未來幾年，在兩三個專注於非常規天然氣的國家，這種情況實際上會快速成長。因此，這一切使我們相信，去年在中東看到的創紀錄的投資將在 24 世紀、25 世紀繼續下去，並有可能在本世紀下半葉繼續擴大。

And our next question is from Neil Mehta with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的尼爾·梅塔。

A couple of questions for me. The first is on EBITDA margins. Congrats on crossing that 25% EBITDA margin mark. How should we think about the margin path in 2024? And as you think about the upside and downside factors that could drive you on that metric, how should we think about that?

有幾個問題問我。第一個是 EBITDA 利潤率。恭喜您突破 25% EBITDA 利潤率大關。我們該如何思考2024年的利潤率路徑？當您考慮可能影響該指標的上行和下行因素時，我們應該如何考慮？

Clearly, we see upside in '24 and continued margin expansion as we expressed earlier. Really, the -- I'm sure you will back-calculate, but our guidance of mid-teens EBITDA growth in absolute dollars will be achieved with revenue growth but clearly with margin expansion across our Core and in digital, as I mentioned. So yes, we continue to see margin expansion. We have great operating leverage. We have pricing tailwinds in our backlog and new technology adoption. And this is pushing margins together with the favorable mix. As you well know, offshore is helping margins as well. So it subside -- it's continued to subside from now on.

顯然，正如我們之前所說，我們看到了 24 年的上漲空間以及利潤率的持續擴張。真的，我相信你會反算，但正如我所提到的，我們對 EBITDA 絕對值成長的指導將透過收入成長來實現，但顯然是透過我們核心和數位領域的利潤率擴張來實現的。所以，是的，我們繼續看到利潤率擴張。我們擁有巨大的經營槓桿。我們的積壓訂單和新技術的採用有定價優勢。這與有利的組合一起推動了利潤率的提高。眾所周知，離岸業務也有助於提高利潤率。所以它消退了——從現在開始它會繼續消退。

Okay. It does sound like geo mix, operating leverage pricing, a lot of different factors there, that's helpful. And then in terms of North America, I recognize it's a smaller business for you. But you indicated in the comments, you expect in North America to grow in 2024 despite weaker rig count and activity. Can you talk about what's driving that and how you're able to outperform in the face of a tougher North America macro? And where are you seeing the technology adoption from a customer perspective?

好的。這聽起來確實像是地理組合、營運槓桿定價，還有很多不同的因素，這很有幫助。然後就北美而言，我認識到這對您來說是一個較小的業務。但您在評論中表示，儘管鑽機數量和活動較弱，但您預計北美地區將在 2024 年實現成長。您能談談是什麼推動了這一趨勢，以及面對更嚴峻的北美宏觀形勢，您如何能夠跑贏大盤？從客戶的角度來看，您在哪裡看待科技的採用？

No, we're very pleased with our performance in North America in retrospect in 2023 as we visibly outperformed the rig count and we were able to grow sequentially visibly. And we expect indeed to continue to outperform the market. And it comes from multiple factors, the mix factor of exposure we have with great exposure in Gulf of Mexico as well as East Canada and Alaska, where we see potential of technology adoption and giving us the benefits of our mix.

不，回顧 2023 年，我們對北美的表現非常滿意，因為我們的表現明顯超過了鑽機數量，我們能夠連續顯著增長。我們預計確實會繼續跑贏大盤。它來自多種因素，我們在墨西哥灣、加拿大東部和阿拉斯加擁有很大的曝光度，在那裡我們看到了技術採用的潛力，並為我們帶來了我們的組合的好處。

But also, in the U.S. land market, I think we had a transition to a fit-for-basin and a technology leverage-focused portfolio in U.S. land and, to some extent, in Canada. And we have seen this as a success with adoption of some really unique drilling technology, particularly digital CCS giving us the tailwind to outperform the market in 2023, and we see this continuing.

而且，在美國土地市場，我認為我們在美國土地以及某種程度上在加拿大已經過渡到適合盆地和以技術槓桿為重點的投資組合。我們認為，透過採用一些真正獨特的鑽井技術，特別是數位 CCS，我們取得了成功，為我們在 2023 年跑贏市場提供了有利條件，而且我們認為這種情況將持續下去。

Now the priority for customers remain clearly efficiency and recovery in U.S. land market. And hence, more efficiency on the trading well construction side, more recovery, use of digital, use of ESPs and also low carbon when it matters will continue to make the impact and serve us very well. And the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and other offshore market performance through integration, performance through execution and reliability of our execution, I think, will continue to be paramount for our customers.

現在，客戶的首要任務顯然仍然是美國土地市場的效率和復甦。因此，在貿易井建設方面提高效率、更多的回收、數位化的使用、ESP 的使用以及重要時的低碳將繼續產生影響並為我們提供良好的服務。我認為，美國墨西哥灣和其他離岸市場透過整合實現的績效、透過執行實現的績效以及我們執行的可靠性將繼續對我們的客戶至關重要。

And as long as we continue to deliver at this level, we'll get rewarded with market position and contract and pricing. And hence, we'll be able to outperform the rig count, hence our guidance up to or reaching the mid-single digit in 2024 against the market outlook.

只要我們繼續保持這個水平，我們就會獲得市場地位、合約和定價的回報。因此，我們將能夠超越鑽機數量，因此我們的指導意見將在 2024 年根據市場前景達到或達到中個位數。

Next, we'll go to Arun Jayaram with JPMorgan.

接下來，我們將與摩根大通一起前往阿倫賈亞拉姆。

I wanted to get your thoughts on what you're seeing in the international markets in terms -- perhaps you could compare and contrast the spending behavior you're seeing from the NOCs versus the IOCs?

我想了解您對國際市場的看法—也許您可以比較和對比國家石油公司和國際石油公司的支出行為？

Thank you, Arun. I think if I were to characterize at the highest level, I think that we have seen significant traction in the last 2 years and rebound of investment internationally by the international companies with a delay coming from the contractual nature and also from the investment execution decision from national companies. We anticipate national companies to actually grow faster in -- as we turn into 2024, led in particular by the Middle East region with leading NOCs clearly growing.

謝謝你，阿倫。我認為，如果我要從最高層面來描述，我認為我們在過去兩年中看到了國際公司的巨大吸引力和國際投資的反彈，但由於合約性質以及投資執行決策而出現了延遲。國家企業。我們預計，隨著 2024 年的到來，國內企業實際上會成長得更快，特別是在中東地區的帶動下，領先的國家石油公司的成長明顯。

But I think the momentum we have gained, which was leading the pack to some extent in IOC in 2023, we expect due to the nature of our mix, offshore exposure still a very solid exploration appraisal for a few of them, will continue to give us momentum in the IOCs internationally. And I will not forget about international independents that have a market position, particularly in some offshore markets. And they are continuing to execute on their plan. And so we are pleased, and I think we are looking forward to the national companies accelerating collectively speaking their growth in 2024 compared to the IOCs.

但我認為，我們所獲得的勢頭，在2023 年的IOC 中在某種程度上處於領先地位，我們預計，由於我們組合的性質，海上業務對其中一些公司來說仍然是一個非常可靠的勘探評估，將繼續提供我們在國際奧委會中的勢頭。我不會忘記擁有市場地位的國際獨立公司，特別是在一些離岸市場。他們正在繼續執行他們的計劃。因此，我們很高興，我認為我們期待國家公司在 2024 年集體加速成長，與國際奧委會相比。

Great. And my follow-up, Olivier, at the Analyst Day in 2022, you highlighted a target of $3 billion in new energy revenue by the end of the decade. I was wondering if you could give us a sense of where you're at in terms of that path, that journey and maybe some of the areas where you're seeing the most traction today.

偉大的。我的後續行動，奧利維爾，在 2022 年分析師日上，您強調了到本十年末新能源收入達到 30 億美元的目標。我想知道您能否讓我們了解您在這條道路、那段旅程以及您今天看到的一些最具吸引力的領域方面所處的位置。

I think as you remember and just resetting the scene for everyone, I think we had identified five domains which we believe we have adjacency, we have potential and we have a technology portfolio, we believe, to bring to market and disrupt and participate in a larger scale, CCS, geothermal/geo-energy, energy storage, critical mineral and hydrogen that are both -- that all of them have different horizons of growth and different scale potential for us.

我想，正如你們所記得的，剛剛為每個人重置了場景，我認為我們已經確定了五個領域，我們相信我們與這些領域相鄰，我們有潛力，我們有一個技術組合，我們相信，可以將其推向市場，顛覆並參與更大規模的CCS、地熱/地能、能源儲存、關鍵礦物和氫——它們對我們來說都有不同的成長前景和不同的規模潛力。

So we have been for the last 2 or 3 years seeding investments, developing organically and inorganically technology positions. We are very pleased with the momentum in CCS and geothermal going ahead of our expectation in terms of -- for CCS sequestration studies and participation to exploration in this market and geothermal by its growth potential going beyond the established basins. So we believe that our $3 billion target would be a combination of organic growth on these adjacent markets and inorganic development into the less adjacent markets.

因此，在過去的兩三年裡，我們一直在進行種子投資，開發有機和無機技術職位。我們對 CCS 和地熱能的發展勢頭感到非常高興，因為 CCS 封存研究和參與該市場的勘探以及地熱能的增長潛力超出了現有盆地，超出了我們的預期。因此，我們相信，我們 30 億美元的目標將是這些鄰近市場的有機成長和不太鄰近市場的無機發展的結合。

And we believe that CCS is likely to be leading in terms of potential contributor to this ambition, followed by likely hydrogen starting to be in a position that will more impact later part of the cycle in the next decade. So we feel confident by the early investment we are making. And we feel confident about the development of the market, the support of the incentive across many regions and early stage of success in CCS particularly as we execute this.

我們相信，CCS 可能在實現這一目標的潛在貢獻者方面處於領先地位，其次是氫可能開始處於對未來十年循環後期產生更大影響的位置。因此，我們對我們正在進行的早期投資充滿信心。我們對市場的發展、許多地區激勵措施的支持以及 CCS 的早期成功充滿信心，特別是在我們執行這項計劃時。

We have time for one more question, that is from Roger Read with Wells Fargo.

我們還有時間回答一個問題，這個問題是來自富國銀行的羅傑·里德（Roger Read）提出的。

Congratulations on the quarter. Olivier, I'd like to follow up a little bit on the last question on the spending, IOCs, NOCs, international E&P, which you mentioned. We generally want to, let's say, look at the oil strip or assume a flat oil price. If spending is going to increase second half '24, a fairly positive outlook as you showed kind of '25 and beyond, would you characterize overall reinvestment by the industry is still too low, in other words, we don't need a higher oil price to get higher spending and investment? Or would you say we are simply dependent on oil prices? I'm just kind of curious, the way you're looking at it from, I guess, productive capacity, these companies and countries need and where they sit on excess capacity today versus that oil price outlook.

恭喜本季。奧利維爾，我想對您提到的有關支出、國際石油公司、國家石油公司、國際勘探與生產的最後一個問題進行一些跟進。比方說，我們通常希望觀察油帶或假設油價持平。如果支出將在 24 年下半年增加，正如您在 25 年及以後表現出的相當積極的前景，您是否認為該行業的整體再投資仍然太低，換句話說，我們不需要更高的石油價格價格以獲得更高的支出和投資？還是你會說我們只是依賴石油價格？我只是有點好奇，我想，你是如何看待這些公司和國家所需的生產能力，以及他們今天的過剩產能與油價前景的比較。

I think I will turn it a little bit upside down and realize that, well, our operators are looking at it national companies, IOCs, then looking at the demand that we continue to grow throughout the decade and realize that if they continue to execute on their capital discipline, they need to accelerate the supply coming from international market to fulfill this demand that will continue to grow and will put more pressure on the demand-supply balance.

我想我會把它顛倒過來，並意識到，我們的營運商正在關注國家公司、國際石油公司，然後關注我們在這十年中持續增長的需求，並意識到，如果他們繼續執行他們的資本紀律，需要加速來自國際市場的供應，以滿足這種持續增長的需求，並將給供需平衡帶來更大的壓力。

So some of them are responding to capacity expansion program. Some of them are responding by accelerating the exploration appraisal or their development of existing international acreage that they have and development. So that's what we see. It applies to both for oil and gas. And gas is being more driven by regional dynamics on either consumption or gas security access, be it Asia or be it East Mediterranean, to feed Europe, Asia for energy security and domestic consumption.

因此，其中一些正在響應產能擴張計劃。其中一些公司正在透過加快勘探評估或開發其擁有和開發的現有國際面積來回應。這就是我們所看到的。它適用於石油和天然氣。天然氣更多地受到消費或天然氣安全准入方面的區域動態的推動，無論是亞洲還是東地中海，為歐洲、亞洲提供能源安全和國內消費。

Both these factors are driven by demand. The economics at the current level, still favorable for long-cycle investment. The price of offshore international development and the economics have improved through the cycle. The benefits of efficiency, integration, technology have turned into making the offshore investment more attractive for the long run. Hence, it has re-attracted investments.

這兩個因素都是由需求驅動的。目前的經濟水平，仍有利於長週期投資。離岸國際開發的價格和經濟性在整個週期中都得到了改善。從長遠來看，效率、一體化和技術的優勢已經使離岸投資更具吸引力。因此，它重新吸引了投資。

I will not try to comment on does the industry needs more or less. I think the industry is certainly having the incentive today and have put a program in place with the FID pipeline that confirms that it is attractive. It will be met with demand in the long outlook and our confidence into the longevity of the cycle internationally and into the breadth and resilience across oil and gas of the investment profile we are seeing from operators.

我不會試圖評論這個行業是否需要更多或更少。我認為該行業今天肯定有動力，並已通過 FID 管道製定了一項計劃，證實了它的吸引力。它將滿足長期前景的需求以及我們對國際週期的持久性以及我們從營運商看到的石油和天然氣投資概況的廣度和彈性的信心。

And then the follow-up question that kind of ties into that, obviously, a meaningful dividend raise here and a consistent increase in dividend from the COVID era. But as you look forward, recognizing it's the Board that decides the dividend, but how should we think about the dividend evolving back to the sort of 2014 to 2019 era, when it was substantially higher than today? I know there have been some changes, acquisitions and share count and all that. But whether it's an aggregate dollar dividend or a per share metric, how do you think about the dividend within the overall framework here?

接下來的問題顯然與此相關，即有意義的股息提高以及新冠時代股息的持續增加。但當你展望未來時，認識到是董事會決定股息，但我們應該如何看待股息演變回 2014 年至 2019 年時代，當時股息比今天高得多？我知道發生了一些變化、收購和股份數量等等。但無論是美元股息總額還是每股指標，您如何看待整體框架內的股息？

Thanks for the question, Roger. Really, the way we look at it is it goes beyond the dividend. We prefer looking at the total payout to shareholders, including buybacks. So the dividend itself, yes, 10%, we're happy. We can do this. We're happy it was approved by our Board. It's on the back, of course, of the strong free cash flow generation we had in '23 and our confidence we can replicate that in the future. But we want to go at the right pace so that it remains sustainable in the future, and we can do more dividend increases in the future as long as they are reasonable.

謝謝你的提問，羅傑。事實上，我們看待它的方式超出了股息的範圍。我們更喜歡關注股東的總派息，包括回購。所以股息本身，是的，10%，我們很高興。我們做得到。我們很高興它得到了董事會的批准。當然，這得益於我們在 23 年創造的強勁自由現金流，我們有信心在未來能夠複製這一點。但我們希望以正確的速度前進，以便在未來保持可持續，並且只要合理，我們可以在未來進行更多的股息增加。

But again, total payout is what we are focusing on. We are increasing it from $2 billion in '23, including buybacks, to hopefully more than $2.5 billion in 2024. So if you back-calculate this, of course, with the new amount of dividend, that means a minimum of $1 billion of share buybacks. And as the year evolves, we will review that every quarter. And we'll address that potentially above the $1 billion minimum as reasonable.

但同樣，總支出才是我們關注的焦點。我們將把它從 2023 年的 20 億美元（包括回購）增加到 2024 年的 25 億美元以上。所以，如果你用新的股息金額反算一下，這意味著至少 10 億美元的股票回購。隨著時間的推移，我們將每個季度進行審查。我們將在合理的情況下解決可能高於 10 億美元最低限額的問題。

And ladies and gentlemen, I'll turn the conference back to Olivier Le Peuch for closing comments. Please go ahead.

女士們、先生們，我將把會議轉回由 Olivier Le Peuch 發表閉幕評論。請繼續。

Thank you, Leah. Ladies and gentlemen, as we conclude today's call, I would like to leave you with the following takeaways. First, our fourth quarter and full year 2023 results underscore SLB's differentiated ability to general returns throughout the cycle. We delivered strong revenue growth and free cash flow above expectations and continue to expand EBITDA and operating margins. With momentum across our three engines of growth and our returns-focused strategy in place, we will continue to build on this success in the year ahead.

謝謝你，莉亞。女士們、先生們，在我們結束今天的電話會議時，我想向你們傳達以下要點。首先，我們的 2023 年第四季和全年業績突顯了 SLB 在整個週期內實現整體回報的差異化能力。我們實現了強勁的收入成長和超越預期的自由現金流，並繼續擴大 EBITDA 和營業利潤率。憑藉我們三大成長引擎的動力和以回報為中心的策略，我們將在未來一年繼續鞏固這一成功。

Second, the macro environment remains very compelling for our business with investment and activity predicated in international and offshore basins. Combined with tight service capacity and an emphasis on performance and digital, we are well positioned to expand our lead by delivering exceptional value to our customers.

其次，宏觀環境對我們的業務仍然非常有吸引力，投資和活動主要集中在國際和近海盆地。結合嚴格的服務能力以及對性能和數位化的重視，我們有能力透過為客戶提供卓越的價值來擴大我們的領先地位。

Finally, I remain very confident in our strategy and impressed by the outstanding performance of our teams. I'm fully confident in our ability to deliver our 2024 financial targets and continue increasing shareholder returns. I look forward to sharing our progress with you throughout the year. With this, I will conclude today's call. Thank you all for joining.

最後，我對我們的策略仍然充滿信心，並對我們團隊的出色表現印象深刻。我對我們實現 2024 年財務目標並繼續增加股東回報的能力充滿信心。我期待與您分享我們這一年的進步。我就這樣結束今天的電話會議。感謝大家的加入。

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude your conference for today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。