渥肯建材 (VMC) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Welcome, everyone, to the Vulcan Materials Company first-quarter 2025 earnings call. My name is David, and I'll be your conference call coordinator today. Please be reminded that today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay later on the company's website. (Operator Instructions)

早安.歡迎大家參加 Vulcan Materials Company 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。我叫大衛，今天我將擔任您的電話會議協調員。請注意，今天的通話正在錄音，稍後可在公司網站上重播。（操作員指示）

Now I'll turn your call over to your host, Mr. Mark Warren, Vice President of Investor Relations for Vulcan Materials. Mr. Warren, you may begin.

現在我將您的電話轉給主持人、Vulcan Materials 投資者關係副總裁馬克沃倫先生。沃倫先生，你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. With me today are Tom Hill, Chairman and CEO; and Mary Andrews Carlisle, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝接線員，大家早安。今天與我一起出席的還有董事長兼首席執行官湯姆·希爾 (Tom Hill) 和高級副總裁兼首席財務官瑪麗·安德魯斯·卡萊爾 (Mary Andrews Carlisle)。

Today's call is accompanied by a press release and a supplemental presentation posted to our website, vulcanmaterials.com. Please be reminded that today's discussion may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties.

今天的電話會議將附上一份新聞稿和一份補充演示文稿，發佈在我們的網站 vulcanmaterials.com 上。請注意，今天的討論可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受風險和不確定性的影響。

These risks, along with other legal disclaimers, are described in detail in the company's earnings release and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are defined and reconciled in our earnings release, supplemental presentation and other SEC filings. (Operator Instructions)

這些風險以及其他法律免責聲明在該公司的收益報告和向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中有詳細描述。非公認會計準則財務指標的調節在我們的收益報告、補充報告和其他 SEC 文件中進行了定義和調節。（操作員指示）

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Tom.

說完這些，我會把電話轉給湯姆。

Thank you, Mark, and thank all of you for joining the Vulcan Materials earnings call this morning. Our first-quarter results showcase the powerful combination of our two-pronged growth strategy, to improve earnings through compounding profitability in our organic business and adding strategic assets to our portfolio. Consistently expanding aggregates cash gross profit per ton is key to successfully growing earnings through varied macroeconomic backdrops.

謝謝你，馬克，也謝謝大家今天上午參加 Vulcan Materials 財報電話會議。我們第一季的業績展現了我們雙管齊下的成長策略的強大組合，即透過提高有機業務的獲利能力和向我們的投資組合增加策略資產來提高收益。持續提高每噸總現金毛利是成功在各種宏觀經濟背景下增加收益的關鍵。

In the first quarter, our teams delivered an impressive 20% year-over-year improvement. Complemented by the contribution from prior year acquisitions, the strong performance in our legacy business led to a 27% improvement in adjusted EBITDA and 420 basis points of expansion in adjusted EBITDA margin.

第一季度，我們的團隊取得了令人印象深刻的 20% 的年成長。加上前幾年收購的貢獻，我們傳統業務的強勁表現使調整後的 EBITDA 提高了 27%，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率擴大了 420 個基點。

I'm pleased with how our teams are executing on our Vulcan Way of Selling and Vulcan Way of Operating disciplines to consistently enhance our performance regardless of the demand backdrop.

我很高興看到我們的團隊能夠按照 Vulcan 銷售方式和 Vulcan 營運方式執行，無論需求背景如何都能持續提升我們的績效。

Aggregates shipments in the first quarter were 1% lower than the prior year. Shipments from acquired aggregates facilities, partially offset the impacts of extremely cold weather across many of our markets and one less shipping day in the quarter.

第一季的總出貨量比上年下降了 1%。收購的骨材設施的出貨量部分抵消了我們許多市場極端寒冷天氣和本季減少一天的出貨量的影響。

Our commercial execution and commitment to January price increases yielded 290 basis points of sequential price growth from the fourth quarter. In Aggregates, freight-adjusted price improved 7% on a year-over-year basis. On a mix adjusted basis, Aggregates freight-adjusted price improved 8.5% over the prior year.

我們的商業執行和一月份價格上漲的承諾使價格較第四季度環比增長了 290 個基點。就骨材而言，經運費調整後的價格比去年同期上漲了 7%。經混合調整後，集料運費調整後價格較前一年上漲 8.5%。

Our operational execution and discipline in the quarter were noteworthy. Aggregates freight-adjusted unit cash cost of sales declined 3% compared to the prior year. Moderating inflationary pressures, a relentless focus on plant efficiencies and some timing benefits of delayed expenditures due to weather conditions, all contributed to the cost performance.

我們本季的營運執行和紀律值得注意。整體而言，經運費調整後的單位現金銷售成本與去年相比下降了 3%。緩和的通膨壓力、對工廠效率的持續關注以及由於天氣條件而延遲支出的一些時間優勢，都有助於提高成本績效。

Trailing 12 months, Aggregates cash gross profit grew to $10.99 per ton within $0.01 of our $11 to $12 goal and a ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Our Aggregates business is performing well. Our Downstream businesses are also performing well.

過去 12 個月，骨材現金毛利成長至每噸 10.99 美元，距離我們的 11 至 12 美元目標僅差 0.01 美元，連續第九個季度達到兩位數成長。我們的骨材業務表現良好。我們的下游業務也表現良好。

Cash unit profitability in both Asphalt and Concrete expanded considerably by 19% and 77%, respectively. Total cash gross profit improved by over 50% through same-store unit profitability improvement and the benefit of the prior year acquisitions.

瀝青和混凝土現金部門獲利能力均大幅提升，分別成長了 19% 和 77%。透過同店單位獲利能力的提高和上一年收購的收益，總現金毛利提高了 50% 以上。

We delivered a strong start to the year, and we're focused on carrying that momentum forward as we navigate increasing macroeconomic volatility driven by the uncertainty in trade policy and unclear trajectory of interest rates.

我們今年取得了強勁的開局，我們致力於保持這一勢頭，同時應對貿易政策的不確定性和利率軌跡不明朗所導致的宏觀經濟波動加劇。

We believe that private demand will continue to face challenges this year, while public demand remains a healthy offset. Affordability issues and elevated interest rates persist as headwinds in residential construction activity.

我們認為，今年私人需求將繼續面臨挑戰，而公共需求仍將保持健康成長。負擔能力問題和利率上升持續成為住宅建築活動的阻力。

Single-family starts and permits have been declining recently and multifamily activity remains weak as anticipated. However, overall single-family inventory levels, particularly in Vulcan states are below average historic levels and mortgage performance measures do not point to distress in housing markets.

近期單戶住宅開工量和許可量一直在下降，而多戶住宅活動也如預期般依然疲軟。然而，整體單戶住宅庫存水平，特別是在瓦爾肯州，低於歷史平均水平，抵押貸款績效指標並未表明房地產市場陷入困境。

Demographics in Vulcan markets support a consistent need for additional housing. So we continue to believe that the timing of additional interest rate reductions and overall improvement in affordability will dictate when residential construction activity returns to growth.

瓦肯市場的人口統計數據支持了對額外住房的持續需求。因此，我們仍然相信，進一步降低利率和整體負擔能力改善的時機將決定住宅建築活動何時恢復成長。

While the trends in private, nonresidential demand vary across categories, the interest rate environment and macroeconomic uncertainty seem to be delaying the timing of recovery in starts. Importantly, warehouse activity, the largest category in private nonresidential construction appears to be stabilizing after multiple years of declines and data center activity in our markets continues to accelerate.

雖然私人非住宅需求的趨勢因類別而異，但利率環境和宏觀經濟的不確定性似乎正在推遲開工復甦的時間。重要的是，倉庫活動（私人非住宅建築中最大的類別）在經歷多年下滑之後似乎正在趨於穩定，並且我們市場中的資料中心活動繼續加速。

On the public side, IIJA related spending remains a catalyst with two-thirds of the highway dollars yet to be spent. Public construction is poised for continued steady demand growth. Trading 12-month contract awards in Vulcan states continue to outpace other markets.

在公共方面，IIJA 相關支出仍然是催化劑，因為三分之二的高速公路資金尚未花掉。公共建築需求可望持續穩定成長。瓦肯州 12 個月合約授予的交易繼續超過其他市場。

Capital plans in 9 of our top 10 states are up and voters passed $45 billion of transportation spending ballot initiatives in the November election cycle in 12 of our key states. And as I said, public demand is healthy and remains an important offset to private demand challenges in 2025.

我們前 10 名的州中有 9 個州的資本計劃已經出台，並且在 11 月的選舉週期中，12 個關鍵州的選民通過了 450 億美元的交通支出投票倡議。正如我所說，公共需求是健康的，並且仍然是 2025 年私人需求挑戰的重要抵消因素。

Our teams are closely monitoring the local market conditions and are well positioned to respond to an ever-evolving environment by controlling what we can control. That is how we perform on the commercial and operational side of our business.

我們的團隊密切關注當地市場狀況，並透過控制我們能夠控制的因素來應對不斷變化的環境。這就是我們在商業和營運方面的表現。

By staying focused on our disciplines, I am confident in our ability to execute. We continue to expect to deliver between $2.35 billion and $2.55 billion of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.

透過專注於我們的學科，我對我們的執行能力充滿信心。我們仍預期 2025 年調整後 EBITDA 將達到 23.5 億至 25.5 億美元。

Now I'll turn the call over to Mary Andrews for some additional commentary on our first quarter. Mary Andrews?

現在我將把電話轉給瑪麗·安德魯斯，請她對我們的第一季做出一些補充評論。瑪麗安德魯斯？

Thanks, Tom, and good morning. Our consistent success and compounding results in our Aggregates-led business is translating to attractive free cash flow. Over the last 12 months, we have generated $869 million of free cash flow, a 93% conversion of net earnings. We have allocated this capital to grow our business and return cash to shareholders.

謝謝，湯姆，早安。我們在以骨材為主導的業務中取得的持續成功和複合績效正在轉化為具有吸引力的自由現金流。在過去的 12 個月中，我們產生了 8.69 億美元的自由現金流，淨收益轉換率為 93%。我們分配這筆資金是為了發展我們的業務並向股東返還現金。

We have deployed $2.2 billion for strategic acquisitions and returned $336 million to shareholders, while generating a return on invested capital of 16.2% and maintaining debt to adjusted EBITDA leverage within our target range of 2 times to 2.5 times. At the end of the first quarter and following the March redemption of our 2025 senior notes for $400 million, our net debt to adjusted EBITDA leverage was 2.2 times with over $190 million of cash on hand.

我們已部署 22 億美元用於策略性收購，並向股東返還 3.36 億美元，同時實現了 16.2% 的投資資本回報率，並將債務與調整後 EBITDA 的槓桿率維持在 2 倍至 2.5 倍的目標範圍內。在第一季末，我們在 3 月以 4 億美元贖回了 2025 年優先票據，此後，我們的淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 槓桿率為 2.2 倍，手頭上有超過 1.9 億美元的現金。

A disciplined approach to capital allocation and a well-positioned balance sheet are fundamental to our long-term success. Our liquidity position and financial flexibility are competitive strengths as we navigate an uncertain macro economy, evaluate strategic growth opportunities and continue to create value for our shareholders.

嚴謹的資本配置方法和良好的資產負債表是我們長期成功的基礎。在我們應對不確定的宏觀經濟、評估策略成長機會並持續為股東創造價值的過程中，我們的流動性狀況和財務靈活性是競爭優勢。

Our first-quarter results provided an outstanding start to 2025. Our organic business delivered strong results in all three segments, and the operations acquired in 2024 are performing well. We continue to evaluate the potential direct and indirect impacts of tariffs to our business.

我們第一季的業績為 2025 年開了個好頭。我們的有機業務在三個領域都取得了強勁的業績，2024 年收購的業務表現良好。我們將繼續評估關稅對我們業務的潛在直接和間接影響。

While we may experience some tariff-related inflationary pressures in our operating costs, we do not currently anticipate these impacts to have a material effect on earnings. Importantly, we have a proven business model that has successfully navigated a variety of external disruptions in recent history.

雖然我們的營運成本可能會面臨一些與關稅相關的通膨壓力，但我們目前預計這些影響不會對收益產生重大影響。重要的是，我們擁有成熟的商業模式，成功應對了近代歷史上各種外部幹擾。

We remain focused on what we can control and expanding our Aggregates cash gross profit per ton regardless of the macro backdrop. Capital expenditures in the quarter were $105 million, and we continue to expect to spend between $750 million and $800 million for the full year.

無論宏觀背景如何，我們仍然專注於我們能夠控制的事情並擴大每噸骨材的現金毛利。本季的資本支出為 1.05 億美元，我們預計全年資本支出將在 7.5 億美元至 8 億美元之間。

SAG expenses in the quarter were in line with our expectations, and we continue to expect full year SAG expense of between $550 million and $560 million.

本季的 SAG 支出符合我們的預期，我們繼續預計全年 SAG 支出將在 5.5 億美元至 5.6 億美元之間。

I'll now turn the call back over to Tom to provide a few closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給湯姆，讓他做幾點結束語。

Thank you, Mary Andrews. I want to thank the men and women of Vulcan Materials for their hard work in the first quarter that translated to an outstanding safety and financial performance. Most importantly, they stayed focused on keeping each other safe.

謝謝你，瑪麗安德魯斯。我要感謝 Vulcan Materials 的員工在第一季的辛勤工作，這帶來了出色的安全和財務表現。最重要的是，他們始終致力於確保彼此的安全。

And their commitment to executing each day is showing up in our bottom line. Our focus is on what is ahead, maintaining our solid momentum and continuing to leverage our Vulcan Way of Selling and Vulcan Way of Operating disciplines to compound profitability in our legacy business, capture synergies from acquisitions and deliver value for our shareholders.

他們每天執行的承諾都體現在我們的底線上。我們著眼於未來，保持強勁勢頭，繼續利用 Vulcan 銷售方式和 Vulcan 營運方式來增強我們傳統業務的盈利能力，從收購中獲取協同效應，並為股東創造價值。

And now, Mary Andrews and I will be happy to take your questions.

現在，瑪麗安德魯斯和我很樂意回答大家的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Jerry Revich, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的傑瑞·雷維奇。

Good morning, Jerry.

早安，傑瑞。

Yes, hi, good morning.

是的，你好，早安。

Hi Tom, Mary Andrews, Mark. Really impressive price/cost spread you folks put up in the quarter. Tom, I'm wondering if you could just talk about how you're thinking about midyear price increases and cost cadence given the strong performance and the spread.

你好，湯姆、瑪麗安德魯斯、馬克。你們在本季實現的價格/成本差額確實令人印象深刻。湯姆，我想知道您是否可以談談，鑑於強勁的業績和價差，您對年中價格上漲和成本節奏有何看法。

Yeah, I guess as it goes to price, I would tell you, as expected, we carried really good momentum into the year with prices up 7%, mix adjusted up 8.5%. I think it was a combination of two things. January 1 price increases pretty much went as expected. And then we had really good pricing in our backlog, and we continue to have good pricing in our backlog.

是的，我想就價格而言，我會告訴你，正如預期的那樣，我們在今年保持了非常好的勢頭，價格上漲了 7%，混合調整上漲了 8.5%。我認為這是兩件事的結合。1 月 1 日的價格上漲基本上符合預期。然後，我們的積壓訂單的定價非常好，並且我們繼續對積壓訂單保持良好的定價。

So I thought the first quarter started the year off really good, keep our guidance at 5% to 7%, remembering that we have to turn that price into profit. And you saw Vulcan Way of Selling, you couple with Vulcan Way of Operating do that in Q1 with unit margins up some 20%.

因此我認為第一季的開局非常好，我們將預期成長率保持在 5% 到 7%，記住我們必須將價格轉化為利潤。您看到了 Vulcan 的銷售方式，再加上 Vulcan 的運作方式，第一季的單位利潤率上升了約 20%。

So a really good start to the year. And I think what that is, is simply the Vulcan Way of Selling and Vulcan Way of Operating at work. As it goes to midyear, we started those discussions now. We'll have those talks about midyear in all of our markets. I would expect a range of outcomes by market and by product line, much like the last couple of years.

所以今年的開始確實很好。我認為，這只不過是瓦肯人的銷售方式和瓦肯人的經營方式在運作。隨著時間進入年中，我們現在開始討論這些。我們將在所有市場進行年中討論。我預計各市場和各產品線會出現一系列結果，就像過去幾年一樣。

In those discussions, as we always say, the midyears will impact '26 more than they will '25. So a really good start to the year and pleased with the performance and pleased with the execution of the Vulcan Way of Selling and Vulcan Way of Operating.

在這些討論中，正如我們常說的，中期因素對26年的影響將大於對25年的影響。所以今年的開局真的很好，對業績很滿意，對 Vulcan 銷售方式和 Vulcan 營運方式的執行也很滿意。

Congratulations to the team. Thanks.

祝賀該團隊。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Tyler Brown, Raymond James.

泰勒布朗、雷蒙詹姆斯。

Hey, morning. Hey, look, Tom, there's a lot of hand-wringing about the outlook for volumes. Maybe more so on the private side, you guys kind of mentioned it upfront. But obviously, the 10 years in the housing market has been a little bit stubborn. But just in broad strokes, can you kind of give us an update on how you would kind of characterize the organic rock volumes in '25 if you kind of parse them between resi, nonresi and public? Just kind of how do you get to that flattish organic volume?

嘿，早安。嘿，湯姆，你看，人們對銷量前景有很多擔憂。也許從私人角度來說更是如此，你們已經提前提到了這一點。但顯然，房地產市場這十年來已經有些頑強了。但簡單地說，如果您將 25 年的有機岩石體積分為住宅、非住宅和公共類型，您能否向我們介紹您如何描述這些體積？那麼，您是如何獲得這種較為平坦的有機體積的呢？

Yeah, so I think what we're saying is our guidance of 3% to 5% with the acquisitions, we keep that guidance. We think -- as we said -- as you said, we got challenges on the private side. But we see continued really healthy growth on the public side, both in the highway and in non-highway infrastructure and the non-highway infrastructure is really going well.

是的，所以我認為，我們所說的收購指導價是 3% 到 5%，我們會維持這項指導價。我們認為——正如我們所說——正如您所說，我們在私人方面面臨挑戰。但我們看到公共領域，包括公路和非公路基礎設施，都持續保持健康的成長，而且非公路基礎設施發展得非常好。

Q1 shipments were down 1%, but that's -- it wasn't linear. January and February were down 7%, really driven by the extremely cold weather that we saw in the winter. And then we got to March, shipments grew by 9%. It was aided -- that was aided by acquisitions and a little bit easier weather comps.

第一季出貨量下降了 1%，但這並不是線性的。一月和二月下降了 7%，這主要是由於冬季極端寒冷的天氣所致。到了三月份，出貨量增加了 9%。它得到了幫助——這得益於收購和稍微容易的天氣補償。

So at this point, I think we stick to our guide of 3% to 5%, challenged private, stronger public. Now remember, that's probably going to be back half loaded. And if you remember last year, we had a really weather-challenged back half of the year, so a lot easier comps going into it.

因此，在這一點上，我認為我們堅持 3% 到 5% 的指導方針，挑戰私營部門，增強公共部門實力。現在請記住，這很可能是半載的。如果你還記得的話，去年下半年我們的天氣狀況確實很糟糕，因此比賽開始後就輕鬆了很多。

I think if you kind of look at what's going on in the market right now -- people ask all time, are you getting projects counseled or held? Projects that have started or go. They're not held, they're not canceled. Now we're bidding a lot of big projects that people seem to be on the pause button kind of waiting for some uncertainty.

我認為，如果你看一下現在市場上正在發生的事情——人們總是問，你是否得到了專案諮詢或擱置？已啟動或正在進行的專案。它們沒有被舉行，也沒有被取消。現在我們正在競標很多大項目，但人們似乎都暫停了，等待著一些不確定性。

And you couple that with, importantly, I think if you look at our bookings, they're up substantially on the public side. They're up slightly on private work. If you look at total backlogs, they're up year-over-year. So we're starting to see some water build behind the dam. The challenges, I think, will be on probably the fixed concrete plant side driven by challenges in private demand.

再加上這一點，重要的是，如果你看看我們的預訂量，你會發現公共預訂量大幅增加。他們在私人工作方面略有進步。如果你看一下總積壓量，你會發現它們比去年同期成長了。所以我們開始看到大壩後面積水。我認為，挑戰可能在於固定混凝土廠方面，由私人需求的挑戰所驅動。

So a mixed bag, a decent start to the year. But again, I'd point you to back half loaded for volumes.

所以，這是一個好壞參半的結果，但對於今年來說是一個不錯的開始。但是，我再次提醒您，要返回半載的磁碟區。

Yeah, great color, mixed bag. Got it. Thank you.

是的，顏色很棒，混合包。知道了。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Anthony Pettinari, Citigroup.

花旗集團的安東尼佩蒂納裡。

This is actually Asher Sohnen on for Anthony. Thanks for taking my question. I just wanted to ask for maybe an update around kind of your thoughts on administrative policy. Like have you seen any kind of pressure on the pace of IIJA rollout project starts, maybe IRA-related projects from any of the policy attitudes or kind of executive orders we see.

這實際上是 Asher Sohnen 代替 Anthony 上場。感謝您回答我的問題。我只是想詢問一下您對行政政策的看法。例如，您是否看到任何政策態度或行政命令對 IIJA 推廣計畫啟動速度造成壓力，也許是 IRA 相關計畫的壓力。

And I think last quarter, there really wasn't much of an impact. So I just wanted to an update?

我認為上個季度確實沒有太大的影響。所以我只是想了解一下最新情況？

No, really no impact to us. I think when it comes to the highway work or public demand, there's no uncertainty of highway funding at the federal level. IIJA funds are flowing, I'd say, as expected. Actually, the states right now are working on their new budgets. It appears that we'll see in our states, growth over the next fiscal year, which starts kind of mid-summer.

不，確實對我們沒有任何影響。我認為，當談到公路工程或公眾需求時，聯邦政府對公路的資金投入是沒有不確定性的。我想說，IIJA 資金正在流入，正如預期的那樣。實際上，各州目前正在製定新的預算。看來我們將在下一個財政年度（大約從仲夏開始）看到各州的經濟成長。

You got to remember, obviously, there was also four local -- excuse me, 40 local road and bridge measures in last year's election, which was an additional $45 billion. So short story is no impact from -- as far as funding for infrastructure.

你必須記住，顯然，去年的選舉中還有四項地方——對不起，是 40 項地方道路和橋樑措施，額外投入了 450 億美元。因此，就基礎設施資金而言，短篇小說沒有影響。

We actually see growth in federal, state and local funding probably for the next couple of years in our markets, including 2025. As I said in my opening comments, you still got two-thirds of the IIJA funding yet to be spent. So we feel really good about the public side.

實際上，我們預計未來幾年，包括 2025 年，我們市場中的聯邦、州和地方資金可能會成長。正如我在開場白中所說，IIJA 資金的三分之二尚未使用。因此，我們對公眾方面感到非常滿意。

Got it. Thanks. That's good to hear. I'll turn it over.

知道了。謝謝。聽到這個消息真好。我把它翻過來。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Keith Hughes, Truist.

基斯·休斯，Truist。

Thanks for the question and great quarter here. I guess question is on costs. Costs were down. Can you just talk about specifically what happened in the quarter? And what's your outlook on the cost side is for the rest of the year?

感謝您的提問，這是一個很棒的季度。我想問題是關於成本的。成本下降了。能具體談談本季發生的事情嗎？您對今年剩餘時間的成本前景有何展望？

Yeah, I would tell you -- I would take you back to our original guide on costs. While the quarter was -- it was a great quarter. Look, we were down 3%, excellent performance for our operating teams. We got cost down 3% with slightly lower volumes and very, very cold conditions in January, February.

是的，我會告訴你——我會帶你回顧我們最初的成本指南。雖然這個季度——這是一個偉大的季度。你看，我們下降了 3%，但我們的營運團隊表現非常出色。由於 1 月和 2 月產量略有下降且天氣非常寒冷，我們的成本下降了 3%。

I'm proud of operators. But I attribute the performance to three things. One, as I said, improving operating efficiencies, the Vulcan Way of Operating is starting to kick in. We should see that get better as we progress through the year and really get that technology to work in those quarries. Second, I thought our folks did a really good job controlling spending matched to diminished ability to operate in the cold weather.

我為操作員感到驕傲。但我認為這種表現有三點原因。首先，正如我所說，提高營運效率，Vulcan 運作方式開始發揮作用。隨著時間的推移，我們應該會看到情況變得越來越好，並真正讓這項技術在這些採石場發揮作用。其次，我認為我們的員工在控制支出方面做得非常好，以應對寒冷天氣下的營運能力下降。

And the third is we simply had some cost pushback. I mean we had some projects because of the bad weather stripping and other things that we just couldn't do in the quarter. So cost, as we always say, it's going to -- it's lumpy quarter-to-quarter by nature. We take the full year, we take you back to our guide, which is kind of that low to mid-single digit. Now we'll do our best to beat that, and we got the Vulcan Way of Operating executing. And so I think we got a shot at beating it. But at this point, too early to call, I'd take you back to guidance.

第三，我們只是遇到了一些成本上的阻力。我的意思是，由於惡劣的天氣剝離和其他原因，我們本季無法完成一些項目。因此，正如我們常說的那樣，成本本質上是逐季度波動的。我們以全年數據為準，帶您回到我們的指南，該數據處於低到中等個位數之間。現在我們將盡最大努力克服這一困難，並採用 Vulcan 的操作方式。所以我認為我們有機會戰勝它。但現在下結論還為時過早，我還是建議你回顧指導。

Okay, great. Thank you.

好的，太好了。謝謝。

Kathryn Thompson, Thompson Research Group.

凱瑟琳·湯普森，湯普森研究小組。

Good morning, and thank you for taking my question today. I wanted to circle back just on two different things that tie into your Vulcan Way of Operating selling and the outlook. So contacts that we speak to in the heavy materials space, and we're finding that they just have and have not seen the construction, industrial value chain.

早安，感謝您今天回答我的問題。我想回到與 Vulcan 營運方式銷售和展望相關的兩件不同的事情。因此，我們與重質材料領域的聯絡人進行了交談，發現他們只了解建築和工業價值鏈。

But what strikes us is on the heavy materials side. Things are maybe not quite as bad as some of the headlines show. Could you, Mary -- also, first, are you seeing any type of significant project either cancellations or delays? And how does your Vulcan Way of Operating selling hope differentiate yourself as you deal with a more uncertain environment? Thank you.

但令我們震驚的是重型材料方面。事情可能並不像某些標題所顯示的那麼糟糕。瑪麗，您能否——首先，您是否看到任何類型的重大項目被取消或延遲？那麼，當您面對更不確定的環境時，您推銷希望的 Vulcan 經營之道如何讓您脫穎而出呢？謝謝。

Yeah, so on project delays or cancellations, what we started seems to be going. Nothing is canceling. Once it started, nothing is put on hold. As I said a minute ago, we are seeing -- we're bidding a lot of work, Kathryn.

是的，關於專案延遲或取消，我們開始的事情似乎正在進行中。沒有什麼可以取消。一旦開始，一切都不會停止。正如我剛才所說，我們看到——我們正在投標很多工作，凱瑟琳。

And it's just not going right away. I think that is good news, a little bit frustrating, but good news because people are assessing projects. I think they just are not willing to pull the trigger until we get rid of some of the macro volatility. And as I said, if I look at our bookings, both on public and private, they're doing very well. Backlogs are healthy.

但事情不會馬上發生。我認為這是個好消息，雖然有點令人沮喪，但這是一個好消息，因為人們正在評估專案。我認為，在我們消除一些宏觀波動之前，他們只是不願意採取行動。正如我所說，如果我查看我們的預訂情況，無論是公共預訂還是私人預訂，都會發現它們都做得很好。積壓情況良好。

So I think there is some pent-up demand out there that will go later on once the world gets a little clearer. As it comes to the Vulcan Way of Selling or Vulcan Way of Operating, I attribute the consistency in improvement in unit margins over the last two-plus years, that's what I attribute that to because it just gives us a lot of clarity and forward-looking information to our sales group and operators of how we run our business.

因此我認為，存在一些被壓抑的需求，一旦世界變得更加明朗，這些需求就會消失。談到 Vulcan 銷售方式或 Vulcan 營運方式，我認為過去兩年多來單位利潤率的持續提高是其原因，我之所以這麼認為是因為它為我們的銷售團隊和運營商提供了許多清晰且具有前瞻性的信息，說明我們如何運營我們的業務。

We're a little bit further ahead in the Vulcan Way of Selling, and you're seeing that in price, and you're seeing that in execution of how we run our markets and ability to see forward in those markets. Vulcan Way of Operating, good quarter, but one quarter does not trend make.

我們在 Vulcan 銷售方式上稍微領先一點，您可以從價格上看到這一點，也可以從我們營運市場的方式以及預見這些市場的能力上看到這一點。Vulcan 的經營方式，一個季度不錯，但有一個季度沒有形成趨勢。

So we got to prove that out. I am pleased with the technology that is now being put to work in our 125, 120 largest operations, very early stages of that. So I think we'll -- again, we'll have to lot of hard work for our operators throughout 2025 and beginning of 2026. But it is paying off, and we are seeing improved efficiencies.

所以我們必須證明這一點。我很高興看到這項技術目前正在我們 125 家、120 家最大的企業中投入使用，而且目前還處於非常早期的階段。所以我認為，我們將不得不在 2025 年和 2026 年初為我們的營運商付出很多努力。但它正在產生效益，我們看到了效率的提升。

You put all that together, and it just gives us a model that is able to take advantage of tailwinds and offset headwinds of how we consistently execute.

將所有這些放在一起，就為我們提供了一個模型，該模型能夠利用順風並抵消我們持續執行的逆風。

Great. Thank you very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Trey Grooms, Stephens.

特雷格魯姆斯、史蒂芬斯。

Hey, Trey.

嘿，特雷。

Hey, good morning, Tom. Good morning, Mary Andrews, Mark. And congrats on the good quarter. So the profitability has been touched on several times here, but 20% cash gross profit improvement, that's per unit. That's about as strong as we've seen. And I know there has been some puts and takes, and it sounded like the moderating inflation, of course, the productivity improvements.

嘿，早上好，湯姆。早安，瑪麗安德魯斯，馬克。恭喜本季取得良好業績。這裡已經多次提到獲利能力，但 20% 的現金毛利成長是按單位計算的。這大概是我們所見過的最強的了。我知道這其中存在一些利弊，聽起來像是通貨膨脹的緩和，當然還有生產力的提高。

But I guess the one piece that I want to try to get my head around on as far as kind of thinking about the cadence as we move through the year would be on the things you pointed out, Tom, around some maybe delayed expenditures with stripping and things like that, that I understand are hard to call when that's going to happen, especially when weather is not your friend in a given quarter.

但是我想，就我們這一年中的節奏而言，我想嘗試理解的一點就是你所指出的事情，湯姆，關於一些可能因剝離而延遲的支出和諸如此類的事情，我理解很難預測什麼時候會發生這種情況，特別是在某個季度天氣不好的時候。

But is there anything that you could give us on how to think about maybe the cadence of that? Is it going to be lumpy in a quarter here or there? How we should think about just the profitability as we kind of go through the quarters here?

但是您能否告訴我們如何思考這問題的節奏？這裡或那裡的某個季度會出現波動嗎？當我們經歷這些季度時，我們應該如何考慮獲利能力？

Sure. I'll take that kind of in pieces. First of all, volume, as we said, it will be back half loaded, both from a timing and a comp perspective, I think that's how I'd look at volume. On pricing, I think we'll be pretty consistent. I would guide you to that 5% to 7% quarter-to-quarter.

當然。我會把這些分成幾個部分。首先，正如我們所說，成交量將會回到半載狀態，無論是從時機還是從競爭角度來看，我想這就是我對成交量的看法。在定價方面，我認為我們會保持相當的一致性。我會指導您實現季度環比增長 5% 至 7%。

I think we'll be pretty consistent as we operate through the year with price. Cost, it's a harder call. We -- as I always say, that cost is going to be lumpy. But as an investor, you want it that way because we need to spend the money when we need to spend the money and proactively not try to time it or you'll have unpredicted maintenance and higher maintenance costs.

我認為我們全年的營運價格都會保持相當的一致性。成本，這是一個很難決定的問題。我們——正如我常說的，這筆費用將會很高。但作為投資者，您希望這樣做，因為我們需要在需要花錢的時候花錢，而不是主動地嘗試安排時間，否則您將面臨不可預測的維護和更高的維護成本。

So again, volume back half loaded, price pretty consistent 5% to 7%, cost a little bit lumpy. Look, we had a great start to the year on cost. I would love to tell you we're going to beat the guide of low to mid, but we just need to see a few more quarters before we go there. Obviously, our operators, that is their goal. That's what they want to do, but we've got to play that out for a little while.

因此，交易量再次回到半滿狀態，價格相當穩定在 5% 到 7% 之間，成本略有波動。瞧，我們今年在成本方面有了一個好的開始。我很想告訴你們，我們將打破中低檔的指導，但在達到這個目標之前，我們還需要觀察幾個季度。顯然，對於我們的營運商來說，這就是他們的目標。這就是他們想要做的，但我們必須花一點時間來實現它。

Yeah, understood. And I guess just with that, if you could maybe touch to the downstream segments because you're expecting, I think, some improvement there as well, which we saw some in quarter? Is that kind of still the thought around downstream?

是的，明白了。我想，就此而言，您是否可以談談下游部分，因為您預計那裡也會有一些改善，我們在本季度也看到了一些改善？下游還有這種想法嗎？

Yeah, Trey, our downstream businesses are performing really well. We still expect them to contribute cash gross profit of about $360 million for the year, two-third asphalt, probably one-third ready-mix. And importantly, like you said, that's really a combination of strong unit profitability growth in the legacy operations, coupled with the contribution from the acquisition.

是的，Trey，我們的下游業務表現非常好。我們仍然預計他們今年將貢獻約 3.6 億美元的現金毛利，其中三分之二來自瀝青，大約三分之一來自預拌混凝土。重要的是，正如您所說，這實際上是傳統業務強勁的單位獲利成長與收購貢獻的結合。

So both asphalt and ready-mix got off to a good start, and we still expect that level of profitability for the year.

因此，瀝青和預拌混凝土都取得了良好的開端，我們仍然預計今年的獲利水準將達到這一水準。

Yeah, got it. Thank you. I'll pass it on. Good luck.

是的，明白了。謝謝。我會傳達的。祝你好運。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Garik Shmois, Loop Capital

施莫伊斯（Garik Shmois），Loop Capital

Thanks, and hey, good morning, and congrats on the quarter. I was hoping you could speak to pricing in a little bit more detail. First, if you could, maybe help us understand where you are on integrating Wake Stone and getting pricing there up to the average?

謝謝，嘿，早安，恭喜本季取得佳績。我希望您能更詳細地談談定價問題。首先，如果可以的話，能否幫助我們了解您在整合 Wake Stone 以及將其定價提高到平均水平方面所取得的進展？

And then secondly, just on the midyears, I know it's early days and you mentioned traction should be similar to prior years. But just curious if you're getting any pushback or what kind of feedback you're getting considering the private construction slowdown from your ready-mix customers? Or are you seeing perhaps some more understanding given the expectations for inflation moving forward?

其次，就年中而言，我知道現在還為時過早，您提到的牽引力應該與前幾年相似。但我只是好奇，考慮到預拌混凝土客戶的私人建築放緩，您是否遇到任何阻力或收到什麼樣的回饋？或者，考慮到未來通膨的預期，您是否看到了更多的理解？

Yeah, so I think that I would call -- like I said, I would call pricing as expected. Our January 1s went well. Mid-years, we're just starting those conversations, so to be seen. Pricing is always easier with growing demand, and we're seeing that where we got some challenges on the private side. We're seeing good growth on the public side, which is always helpful. That's also a lot more predictable.

是的，所以我想我會打電話——就像我說的，我會按預期打電話定價。我們的 1 月 1 日一切順利。今年年中，我們才剛開始這些對話，所以還有待觀察。隨著需求的增長，定價總是變得更容易，我們看到私人方面面臨一些挑戰。我們看到公共方面出現了良好的增長，這總是有幫助的。這也更加可預測。

So I would -- I guess, I would call it as expected from a pricing perspective and to be seen kind of with mid-years.

所以我想，從定價角度來看，我認為它符合預期，並且會在年中看到。

Yeah, and then just overall, Garik, I think as it relates to the acquisitions, same as expected. Performance was good in the first quarter. We continue to expect approximately $150 million of contribution for the full year and working hard to capitalize on our Vulcan Way of Selling and Vulcan Way of Operating disciplines to capture synergies with the acquisition as well as improving the legacy business.

是的，總的來說，Garik，我認為這與收購有關，與預期相同。第一季業績表現良好。我們繼續預計全年貢獻約 1.5 億美元，並努力利用我們的 Vulcan 銷售方式和 Vulcan 營運方式原則來獲得與收購的協同效應並改善傳統業務。

Okay, makes sense. Thank you.

好的，有道理。謝謝。

Steven Fisher, UBS.

瑞銀的史蒂文·費雪。

Morning. Thanks very much. Congrats on the profit performance. Just wanted to follow up a question on the bidding, which you've addressed a couple of times, where you said some things are paused, which sounds like it's really on the private side. But within those pauses, how broad would you say those are?

早晨。非常感謝。恭喜獲利表現。我只是想跟進一個關於競標的問題，你已經回答過幾次了，你說有些事情暫停了，這聽起來像是私人的事情。但是在這些停頓中，您認為這些停頓有多寬泛？

Is that mainly kind of very interest rate sensitive commercial type projects? Or is it also on things that are more perhaps structural in nature, things like the data centers or semiconductors or pharma, bio or where we're seeing these bigger projects that seem to have good momentum. I'm just curious how broad you're seeing that hesitancy on the decision making that move right ahead?

這主要是對利率非常敏感的商業類型的項目嗎？或者它也涉及本質上更具結構性的事物，例如資料中心、半導體、製藥、生物或我們看到的這些似乎勢頭良好的大型專案。我只是好奇，您認為這種猶豫在做下一步決策時有多大程度上存在？

I'd say it's not real broad. You're seeing some big commercial projects that people are taking bids on and not pull the trigger as far as public work, it's a go and nothing is being paused there. I don't think it's that wide out there. As far as data centers, that is a bright spot for us.

我想說它並不是很廣泛。你會看到一些大型商業項目正在招標，但公共工程卻沒有啟動，一切都在進行中，沒有任何暫停。我認為那裡沒有那麼寬。就資料中心而言，這對我們來說是一個亮點。

We're doing a lot of data center work right now, [6%] of the data centers that are under construction are in our footprint. If you look at what's coming up in data centers, 80% of the proposed data centers are within 30 miles of a Vulcan quarry. So that will be a really bright spot for us and one that is a go.

我們目前正在進行大量的資料中心工作，[6%] 在建的資料中心都在我們的覆蓋範圍內。如果你看一下即將建成的資料中心，你會發現 80% 的擬議資料中心都位於 Vulcan 採石場 30 英里範圍內。所以這對我們來說將是一個真正的亮點，並且是一個可行的方案。

I think it would be interesting to watch the data center over the next few years because that's going to lead to substantial power generation construction, which will be very Aggregate-intensive for us over the next three to five years. And so that will, too, will be a bright spot coming on nonresidential.

我認為觀察未來幾年的資料中心將會很有趣，因為它將導致大量的發電建設，這對我們來說在未來三到五年內將是非常密集的。因此，這也將成為非住宅領域的亮點。

So it's -- the pause is big commercial work. I don't think it's that widespread. It's just interesting that you see some of those big projects will bid it and this timing is just pushed back. I think for me, it's good news because sooner or later is going to go.

所以，暫停是一項重大的商業工作。我不認為這種情況如此普遍。有趣的是，你會看到一些大型專案會進行競標，而這個時間只是被推遲了。我認為對我來說這是個好消息，因為遲早都會發生這種事。

Perfect. Thank you.

完美的。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Timna Tanners, Wolfe Research.

坦納斯（Timna Tanners），沃爾夫研究公司（Wolfe Research）。

Hey, good morning. I wanted to ask about not the direct impact of tariffs. I recognize you said those were limited, but the impact of the tariff-related uncertainty perhaps on your customers and acquisition candidates? Just wondering if there's anything incremental you can touch on there, please. Thanks.

嘿，早安。我想問的不是關稅的直接影響。我知道您說這些影響是有限的，但關稅相關的不確定性可能會對您的客戶和收購候選人產生影響嗎？我只是想知道您是否可以談論任何增量內容。謝謝。

Yeah, so to be clear on tariffs. We're constantly evaluating the possibilities of our impact on our business. I think our model really limits the direct impact for Vulcan. At this point, we don't think tariffs move the needle on our cost outlook. You got to remember, we own our largest cost, which is cost component, which is the rock on the ground.

是的，所以要明確關稅。我們不斷評估我們對業務產生影響的可能性。我認為我們的模型確實限制了對 Vulcan 的直接影響。目前，我們認為關稅不會影響我們的成本前景。你必須記住，我們擁有最大的成本，即成本組成部分，也就是地面上的岩石。

And then you also got to remember, our model allows us to rapidly offset any cost volatility. And because you saw that when we had breakneck inflation, which is probably a lot bigger impact than the tariffs. A watch, as you said -- a watch for us on tariffs is the cost impact to private construction. I think that was a little early to call, but it is something that everybody -- that I think we need to be thoughtful of.

然後你還必須記住，我們的模型使我們能夠快速抵消任何成本波動。因為你看到了，當我們面臨極度通膨時，其影響可能比關稅大得多。正如您所說，我們需要關注關稅對私人建築的成本影響。我認為現在下結論還為時過早，但我認為這是我們每個人都需要深思熟慮的事情。

Okay. But regarding like M&A candidates, are they acting differently because of the uncertainty? Or can you speak to your customers' impact? Again, recognize that a minimal impact direct is great.

好的。但對於併購候選人來說，他們是否會因為不確定性而採取不同的行動？或者您能談談您的客戶的影響嗎？再次，要認識到最小的影響直接是巨大的。

Yeah, On the heavy construction business like ready-mix and asphalt, I don't see a big impact at this point as far as customers are concerned. As far as M&A, we called out some smaller deals that we're talking about right now. I don't think tariffs are having a big impact. What I do think is with M&A, it typically slows in times of volatility and you're seeing that right now.

是的，就客戶而言，我認為目前對於預拌混凝土和瀝青等重型建築業務不會產生太大影響。就併購而言，我們提到了一些目前正在討論的小型交易。我認為關稅不會產生很大的影響。我確實認為，在市場波動時期，併購通常會放緩，而你現在就看到了這種情況。

So we may have to let the world spin a little bit before you see substantial M&A, but I think that's a temporary pause.

因此，我們可能必須讓世界稍微運轉一下，才能看到大規模的併購，但我認為這只是暫時的。

Yeah, and I think, Timna, importantly, for us, we have the balance sheet, obviously very well positioned for future growth as M&A opportunities do arise. The key for us is obviously to continue to be disciplined as we evaluate those so that we can deliver attractive returns on capital over time and continue to grow our leading aggregates position, but we like our position and are well prepared to act in the M&A market if any of this uncertainty does impact that.

是的，我認為，Timna，對我們來說重要的是，我們擁有資產負債表，隨著併購機會的出現，這顯然為未來的成長做好了準備。對我們來說，關鍵顯然是在評估這些因素時繼續保持紀律，以便我們能夠隨著時間的推移提供有吸引力的資本回報，並繼續增強我們領先的總體地位，但我們喜歡我們的地位，並且如果任何不確定性確實影響到這一點，我們已做好在併購市場採取行動的準備。

Got it. Okay, thanks again.

知道了。好的，再次感謝。

Jean Veliz, D.A. Davidson.

吉恩·維利茲、D.A.戴維森。

All right, congrats on quarter. Thank you. You mentioned that on the private bookings was up slightly. Could you -- do you mind commenting a little bit about what kind of work are you seeing that are picking up slightly to your bookings?

好的，恭喜本季。謝謝。您提到私人預訂量略有增加。您能否—您介意稍微評論一下您看到哪些類型的工作使您的預訂量略有增加？

I think the bright spot on the private side is data centers, and it's -- the majority of those are in our footprint. I think on the public side, it's obviously -- highway work is up. But a really bright spot for us is infrastructure. The non-highway work, which is water ports and airports, that's -- those bookings are up substantially and again, a bright spot.

我認為私人方面的亮點是資料中心，其中大部分都在我們的覆蓋範圍內。我認為從公共方面來看，顯然——高速公路工程已經開始了。但對我們來說，真正的亮點是基礎設施。非公路工程，即水港和機場，這些訂單大幅增加，再次成為亮點。

But on the private side, I think it's two things is that data centers are up and we're starting to see kind of the bottom of warehouses. We think we've hit the bottom of that. So it's not as big a drag as it was maybe a year ago.

但從私人方面來看，我認為有兩件事：資料中心正在崛起，而我們開始看到倉庫的底部。我們認為我們已經找到了問題的根源。因此，它造成的拖累可能不像一年前那麼大。

And with the comment on warehouses, does that offset some of the residential? Or is this just a nice pickup that you hope to carry on through '26 -- into '26?

關於倉庫的評論，這是否抵消了部分住宅的影響？或者這只是一個不錯的選擇，您希望在 26 年繼續保持下去——進入 26 年？

I think the offset of single family is really on the public side. It's really highways and non-highway infrastructure. I mean that has helped a little bit, but the real offset is the public demand.

我認為單戶住宅的偏移確實在公共方面。它實際上是高速公路和非高速公路基礎設施。我的意思是，這有一點幫助，但真正的抵消因素是公眾的需求。

Great. Thank you so much.

偉大的。太感謝了。

Michael Feniger, Bank of America.

美國銀行的麥可費尼格。

Hey guys, morning. Thanks for having me in. I just wanted to ask, Tom, with the conversation around tariffs in terms of just your own price cost. I mean if contractors out there are bracing for higher input costs for materials, equipment, other areas.

大家好，早安。謝謝你邀請我。湯姆，我只是想問一下，關於關稅的討論是否只涉及你自己的價格成本。我的意思是，如果承包商準備承擔材料、設備和其他領域的更高投入成本。

Does this give you cover to be able to raise pricing even if your own cost, it looks like you're actually trending lower. When we see what's happening with oil prices today and diesel. So I'm just wondering with the amount of aggregates that is in these projects, if all these other items are seeing inflationary and your customers are bracing for that, how do you kind of think about that when it comes to pricing relative to your costs that might not be going up to that degree?

這是否能為您提供保障，讓您能夠提高價格，即使您自己的成本實際上看起來呈現下降趨勢。當我們看到今天的油價和柴油價格走勢。所以我只是想知道，對於這些項目中的總量，如果所有這些其他項目都出現通貨膨脹，而您的客戶也為此做好了準備，那麼當涉及到相對於可能不會上漲到那種程度的成本的定價時，您會如何看待這一點？

Well, I think, first of all, we don't price on cost. We price on earning it with our customers. I think if you look at tariffs, you've also got to put a little bit of perspective of what we saw with inflation over the last two or three years, which was breakneck and the market absorbed it. I think the tariff thing will shake out. I think that -- I don't think it'll have an impact on pricing when it comes to aggregates.

嗯，我認為，首先，我們不根據成本定價。我們的價格取決於與客戶共同贏得的價格。我認為，如果你看一下關稅，你還必須對過去兩三年的通貨膨脹情況進行一些了解，當時通貨膨脹非常嚴重，市場吸收了它。我認為關稅問題將會得到解決。我認為——就總量而言，它不會對定價產生影響。

Philip Ng, Jefferies.

傑富瑞的 Philip Ng。

Hey, good morning. It's Jesse Barone on for Phil. Just a question on asphalt. Obviously, oil has come down here in the first quarter and then taking another step down in 2Q. Just curious kind of how that kind of translates into your own pricing and then on the cost side, kind of what the lags are there? Thank you.

嘿，早安。傑西·巴羅內 (Jesse Barone) 代替菲爾 (Phil)。這只是關於瀝青的一個問題。顯然，油價在第一季已經下跌，然後在第二季再次下跌。只是好奇這如何轉化為您自己的定價，然後在成本方面，存在哪些延遲？謝謝。

So I thought asphalt had a good performance in the quarter despite the cold weather. The cash gross profit was up 24%. We did have some savings with liquid, which is about $3 million. But that product line continues to perform extremely well. And I think that with the public demand growth that we're seeing, it's a good story for the asphalt business and a good story for the aggregate component of the asphalt business. So a real support for us.

因此我認為儘管天氣寒冷，但瀝青在本季仍表現良好。現金毛利成長24%。我們確實有一些流動儲蓄，大約 300 萬美元。但該產品線的表現依然非常出色。我認為，隨著公眾需求的成長，這對瀝青業務和瀝青業務的骨材部分來說都是一個好兆頭。這對我們來說是真正的支持。

All right, thanks, I'll turn it over.

好的，謝謝，我會轉過去的。

Michael Dudas, Vertical Research.

邁克爾·杜達斯，垂直研究。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, Tom, Mary Andrews, and Mark.

謝謝您，接線生。早上好，湯姆、瑪麗安德魯斯和馬克。

Good morning.

早安.

Mary Andrews, you highlighted in your prepared remarks your cash conversion, which is very solid. Maybe you can talk about for the next several quarters, how that looks any meaningful changes from what we've seen in history. And as you think about CapEx growth versus maintenance and this deferred or maybe delay in M&A, given the volatility that we've seen, maybe we'll see more in stock prices and you did buy back some stock, but you had the debt repayment.

瑪麗安德魯斯，您在準備好的演講中強調了您的現金轉換，這是非常可靠的。也許您可以談談接下來的幾個季度，與我們歷史上所見的情況相比，這看起來有什麼有意義的變化。當您考慮資本支出成長與維護以及併購的遞延或延遲時，考慮到我們所看到的波動，也許我們會看到股價進一步上漲，您確實回購了一些股票，但您需要償還債務。

Is that something that is certainly on the table maybe in the near term if we still get that volatility on the repurchase side? Thank you.

如果回購方面仍然存在波動，那麼短期內是否肯定會考慮這個？謝謝。

Yeah, so I think first, as it relates to cash conversion, that has stayed at an attractive level. We would expect that to continue going forward. From a CapEx perspective, for 2025, we still plan to spend the $750 million to $800 million that we had communicated. As you know, that's a bit higher than last year, primarily due to some spending on some large plant rebuild projects.

是的，所以我認為首先，就現金轉換而言，它一直保持在一個有吸引力的水平。我們預計這種情況將持續下去。從資本支出的角度來看，到 2025 年，我們仍計劃花費我們已經溝通過的 7.5 億至 8 億美元。如您所知，這比去年略高，主要是因為一些大型工廠重建項目的支出。

But I would tell you, we've been consistently reinvesting at what we believe to be appropriate levels for the needs of the business. So I wouldn't anticipate any big changes there. We are always evaluating lots of different growth CapEx opportunities.

但我想告訴你，我們一直在按照我們認為適合業務需求的水平進行再投資。所以我預計那裡不會有任何重大的變化。我們一直在評估許多不同的成長資本支出機會。

And to the extent that we believe those can deliver good growth and attractive returns over time, we'll evaluate those as they come up, and that could be a good use of capital going forward, depending on what the other opportunities are, but really no changes to our approach to capital allocation at this point.

如果我們相信這些項目能夠隨著時間的推移帶來良好的成長和有吸引力的回報，那麼我們會對它們進行評估，這可能是未來資本的良好利用，這取決於其他機會，但目前我們的資本配置方法實際上沒有任何變化。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Angel Castillo, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的安吉爾‧卡斯蒂略 (Angel Castillo)。

Hi, good morning. Thank you for taking my question, and congrats on the strong quarter. Just two quick ones for me. First on the power generation opportunity, Tom, that you mentioned. Could you just give us a sense of kind of the order of magnitude of how much more kind of intensity in terms of Aggregates, power generation might be? And just to clarify, is that kind of just the nuclear side? Or is there broader kind of power generation being more Aggregates intensive?

嗨，早安。感謝您回答我的問題，並祝賀本季業績強勁。我只想簡單說兩句話。首先談談你提到的發電機會，湯姆。您能否為我們介紹一下，就總量而言，發電強度可能達到多少數量級？需要澄清的是，這只是核子方面的問題嗎？或者是否有更廣泛的、更密集的發電方式？

And then maybe one last one on price would just be, you talked a lot about it from the VMC side, but curious if you're seeing anything in terms of competitors' discipline or mom-and-pops and kind of trends and how they're going about mid-years?

然後也許最後一個關於價格的問題是，您從 VMC 方面談了很多，但好奇您是否看到了競爭對手的紀律或夫妻店的趨勢以及他們在年中的表現？

I'd take the pricing question first. On the mid-years, it's a little early on those as we're just beginning those conversations. I think that when it comes to midyears, we have those conversations every year and have those -- have had that probably for the last four years. So I guess, no surprise and to be expected and nothing's changed as far as timing or the conversations on mid-years.

我首先要回答的是定價問題。對於年中而言，現在談論這些還為時過早，因為我們才剛開始這些對話。我認為，當談到年中時，我們每年都會進行這樣的對話，並且可能在過去四年裡一直在進行這樣的對話。所以我想，這並不令人意外，也是意料之中的，就時間安排或年中談話而言，沒有任何改變。

As far as power generation, I would tell you, it's probably going to be more of a late '26, '27 play and go on for probably about five years. Those will be extremely aggregates intensive. Those are big projects. I expect more gas generation power projects than nuclear early on, maybe nuclear later, but too early to call on that one. But those will be -- and they'll be in the markets like Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, Illinois, where the big data center project are.

就發電而言，我想告訴你，這很可能是 26 年末、27 年的一個階段，並且可能會持續五年左右。這些將是極其密集的聚集體。這些都是大項目。我預計早期天然氣發電項目的數量將超過核能發電項目，也許以後會是核能發電項目，但現在下結論還為時過早。但這些將會存在——它們將會在德克薩斯州、喬治亞州、維吉尼亞州、亞利桑那州、伊利諾伊州等擁有大型資料中心專案的市場。

That's where I expect a lot of those and even some in other states. But there's just a lack of power generation that we're seeing right now. So -- and if you talk to the power generation companies, they're just going to have to expand, and I think we'll see that over the next five years.

我預計那裡會出現很多這樣的人，甚至其他州也會有一些這樣的人。但我們目前看到的是發電不足。所以——如果你與發電公司交談，你會發現他們必須擴張，我認為我們將在未來五年內看到這一點。

Very helpful, thank you.

非常有幫助，謝謝。

David MacGregor, Longbow Research.

麥格雷戈（David MacGregor），長弓研究公司（Longbow Research）。

Yeah, thanks for taking the questions, and congrats on the strong quarter. I guess I wanted to just follow up on the discussion around tariffs and you're noting that it's not going to be very impactful to the business. But I'm just wondering about the Downstream in ready-mix.

是的，感謝您回答這些問題，並祝賀本季業績強勁。我想我只是想跟進有關關稅的討論，而您指出這不會對業務產生很大影響。但我只是想知道預拌混凝土中的下游情況。

And you've got tariffs that are likely to hit Mediterranean, Southeast Asian imports as well as report levies on many of these cement-carrying vessels. I'm just wondering how you expect that to come into play in terms of the ready-mix market and how you manage your margins through that?

關稅可能會對地中海和東南亞的進口產生影響，許多運載水泥的船隻也會被徵收關稅。我只是想知道您認為這對預拌混凝土市場有何影響，以及您如何透過它來管理利潤？

And then just secondly, if I could just ask about the cost performance, which was really impressive. But obviously, diesel, petroleum, liquid asphalt, you're getting a break there. But anything going on in terms of maintenance and repair, subcontracting services or parts? Any kind of moderation in inflation in those boxes as well?

其次，如果我可以問一下性價比的話，這確實令人印象深刻。但顯然，柴油、石油、液態瀝青等都得到了突破。但是在維護和維修、分包服務或零件方面有什麼進展嗎？這些盒子裡的通貨膨脹也受到任何形式的緩和嗎？

So on the cost piece first, we have seen some moderation on inflation, and it's not coming down. It's just not going up as fast as it was a year or two ago. So that is helpful. I think operating efficiencies has helped that, too. And then as I said, we actually just pushed some costs back in the year because it was too cold to do some projects that we wanted to do.

首先從成本方面來看，我們看到通貨膨脹有所緩和，但並沒有下降。只是成長速度不如一兩年前快了。這很有幫助。我認為營運效率也對此有所幫助。然後正如我所說的，我們實際上只是推遲了今年的一些成本，因為天氣太冷，無法進行我們想做的一些項目。

As far as tariffs, I don't see a big impact on our business or our -- the ready mix or the asphalt businesses on tariffs at this point. Obviously, that could change. But at this point, we don't see a big impact on it.

就關稅而言，我認為目前關稅不會對我們的業務或我們的預拌混凝土或瀝青業務產生重大影響。顯然，這種情況可能會改變。但目前我們還沒有看到它受到太大的影響。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Brian Brophy, Stifel.

布萊恩·布羅菲（Brian Brophy），Stifel。

Hello, this is Andrew Maser on for Brian. I just wanted to ask another on the plant automation journey. I think earlier in the call, you said that these tools are now implemented in 125 locations or 75% of volumes. I was wondering where you expect these numbers to be by the end of this year or next year?

大家好，我是 Brian 的 Andrew Maser。我只是想問另一個關於工廠自動化歷程的人。我想在早些時候的通話中，您說過這些工具現在已經在 125 個地點或 75% 的數量中實施。我想知道您預計今年年底或明年這些數字會達到多少？

And then, is there any way to frame the benefits that you're beginning to see from these initiatives, either from a volume throughput or unit cash cost savings perspective? Thank you.

那麼，從產量或單位現金成本節約的角度來看，有什麼方法可以描述您從這些舉措中開始看到的好處嗎？謝謝。

Yeah, so what I -- let me be clear, we put the instrumentation in those -- the top 100, 120 plants. We have not fully implemented that instrumentation at this point, probably maybe 20%, 30% of the plants are we getting the full efficiencies out of.

是的，所以我 — — 讓我說清楚，我們在前 100 家、前 120 家工廠中安裝了儀器。目前我們還沒有完全實施該儀器，大概只有 20% 到 30% 的工廠達到了全部效率。

And I think it will take this year a little bit into next year before we can match the technology to the operating abilities and the production. And what you're trying to do there is maximize throughput, minimize downtime and maximize throughput of critical sizes, whether it's asphalt rock or concrete rock, and that's where the efficiencies come in.

我認為我們還需要今年到明年一段時間才能將技術與營運能力和生產相匹配。您要做的是最大限度地提高吞吐量、最大限度地減少停機時間並最大限度地提高關鍵尺寸的吞吐量，無論是瀝青岩還是混凝土岩，這就是效率的體現。

Again, early stages of getting the full benefit out of that. Too early to call what that means except for degrees of good. But each plant -- when you look at these, you may get 4% out of one plant, 10%, 12% efficiencies out of another plant. Way too early to call about what that means from a tons per hour, tons per critical size hour or dollars per ton benefit. But it sure is going to help. So -- and that's why we do it.

再次強調，這是從中獲得全部利益的早期階段。除了好壞程度不同之外，現在判斷其意義還為時過早。但每個工廠——當你看到這些時，你可能會從一家工廠獲得 4% 的效率，從另一家工廠獲得 10% 或 12% 的效率。現在就從每小時噸數、每小時每關鍵尺寸噸數或每噸美元的效益來判斷這意味著什麼還為時過早。但它肯定會有幫助。所以——這就是我們這樣做的原因。

And there are no further questions on the line at this time. I'll turn the program back to Tom Hill for any additional or closing remarks.

目前我們還沒有其他問題。我將把節目交還給湯姆·希爾，請他發表任何補充或結束語。

Thank you for your time this morning. Thank you for your interest in Vulcan Materials Companies. We hope that you and your families stay safe and healthy, and we look forward to talking to you throughout the quarter.

感謝您今天上午抽出時間。感謝您對 Vulcan Materials Companies 的關注。我們希望您和您的家人保持安全和健康，並期待在整個季度與您交談。

Good morning.

早安.

And this does conclude today's program. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接。