惠而浦 (WHR) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to Whirlpool Corporation's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Release Call. Today's call is being recorded.

早上好，歡迎參加惠而浦公司 2023 年第二季度收益發布電話會議。今天的通話正在錄音。

For opening remarks and introductions, I would like to turn the call over to Senior Director of Investor Relations, Korey Thomas.

對於開場白和介紹，我想將電話轉給投資者關係高級總監 Korey Thomas。

Thank you, and welcome to our second quarter 2023 conference call. Joining me today are Marc Bitzer, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Jim Peters, our Chief Financial Officer. Our remarks today track with a presentation available on the Investors section of our website at whirlpoolcorp.com.

謝謝，歡迎參加我們的 2023 年第二季度電話會議。今天加入我的還有我們的董事長兼首席執行官 Marc Bitzer；以及我們的首席財務官吉姆·彼得斯 (Jim Peters)。我們今天的言論與我們網站 Whirlpoolcorp.com 投資者部分的演示文稿一致。

Before we begin, I want to remind you that as we conduct this call, we'll be making forward-looking statements to assist you in better understanding Whirlpool Corporation's future expectations. Our actual results could differ materially from these statements due to many factors discussed in our latest 10-K, 10-Q and other periodic reports.

在開始之前，我想提醒您，在我們進行本次電話會議時，我們將做出前瞻性聲明，以幫助您更好地了解惠而浦公司的未來期望。由於我們最新的 10-K、10-Q 和其他定期報告中討論的許多因素，我們的實際結果可能與這些陳述存在重大差異。

We also want to remind you that today's presentation includes the non-GAAP measures outlined in further detail on Slide 3 of the presentation. We believe these measures are important indicators of our operations as they exclude items that may not be indicative of results from our ongoing business operations. We also think the adjusted measures will provide you with a better baseline for analyzing trends in our ongoing business operations. Listeners are directed to the supplemental information package posted on the Investor Relations section of our website for the reconciliation of non-GAAP items to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

我們還想提醒您，今天的演示文稿包括幻燈片 3 中進一步詳細概述的非公認會計原則措施。我們相信這些指標是我們運營的重要指標，因為它們排除了可能無法表明我們持續業務運營結果的項目。我們還認為調整後的措施將為您提供更好的基準來分析我們正在進行的業務運營的趨勢。聽眾可閱讀我們網站投資者關係部分發布的補充信息包，以將非公認會計準則項目與最直接可比的公認會計準則衡量指標進行核對。

(Operator Instructions) With that, I'll turn the call over to Marc.

（操作員說明）這樣，我會將電話轉給 Marc。

Thanks, Korey, and good morning, everyone. As you will have noted in our earnings release, we did post another quarter of solid sequential improvement, and it was a quarter which puts us firmly on track towards our full year guidance. If you look at the drivers of this improved performance, we did not get a lot of help from the macro environment. The global industry demand was down, but frankly, that is exactly what we expected.

謝謝，科里，大家早上好。正如您在我們的收益報告中註意到的那樣，我們確實發布了又一個季度的穩健連續改善，這個季度使我們堅定地朝著全年指引邁進。如果你看看這種性能提升的驅動因素，我們並沒有從宏觀環境中得到很多幫助。全球行業需求下降，但坦率地說，這正是我們的預期。

It was instead our consistent and disciplined execution of our operational priorities that drove this improvement. We were able to achieve meaningful cost reductions, we improved our supply chain, our product innovations drove strong consumer demand and we gained market share. In short, we did what we told you we would do.

相反，我們對運營優先事項的一致和嚴格執行推動了這一改進。我們能夠實現有意義的成本降低，我們改善了供​​應鏈，我們的產品創新推動了強勁的消費者需求，並且我們獲得了市場份額。簡而言之，我們做了我們告訴過你我們會做的事情。

As we're looking towards the second half of 2023, we are leaving our industry demand outlook unchanged. Even though we are starting to see early but clear signs of a strengthening U.S. housing market, which will benefit us disproportionately, the broader consumer sentiment is still cautious and not yet pointing towards more discretionary purchases.

展望 2023 年下半年，我們保持行業需求前景不變。儘管我們開始看到美國房地產市場走強的早期但明顯的跡象，這將使我們受益匪淺，但更廣泛的消費者情緒仍然持謹慎態度，尚未指向更多的隨意購買。

We are also seeing the operating environment essentially return to pre-pandemic conditions with stabilized supply chains, improved inventories and a promotional environment which is similar to pre-pandemic levels. Frankly, this is an environment we have demonstrated that we can successfully operate and create value in.

我們還看到，經營環境基本恢復到大流行前的狀況，供應鏈穩定，庫存改善，促銷環境與大流行前水平相似。坦率地說，我們已經證明這是一個我們可以成功運營並創造價值的環境。

Turning to Slide 6, I will provide an overview of our second quarter results. The world we are operating in today is very different from the first half of 2022, where supply chains were fragile, inventories were historically low, promotions were largely absent and inflation was at historically unprecedented levels.

轉向幻燈片 6，我將概述我們第二季度的業績。我們今天所處的世界與 2022 年上半年有很大不同，當時供應鏈脆弱，庫存處於歷史低位，基本沒有促銷活動，通貨膨脹達到歷史空前水平。

In the second half of 2022, we saw global demand shift with industry declines in key countries. We continued to experience this trend into the first half of 2023 with global demand declines in the mid-single digits. Second quarter year-over-year revenue declined 6% versus the prior year, in line with expectations. The promotional landscape is normalizing at pre-pandemic levels, negatively impacting price and mix. Yet, we continue to gain momentum with year-over-year share gains in the Americas through improved supply chains and our strong product lineup.

2022年下半年，我們看到全球需求發生變化，主要國家的行業出現下滑。到 2023 年上半年，我們繼續經歷這種趨勢，全球需求下降幅度為中個位數。第二季度收入同比下降 6%，符合預期。促銷形勢正在大流行前的水平正常化，對價格和產品組合產生負面影響。然而，通過改善供應鍊和強大的產品陣容，我們在美洲的份額同比增長，繼續獲得動力。

In Q2, we delivered a strong operating margin of 7.3%. This represents a 200 basis point expansion from the first quarter, driven by our strong cost takeout actions. These actions delivered $150 million of year-over-year benefit and are on track to our full year target of $800 million to $900 million of cost takeout and delivered strong second quarter ongoing earnings per share of $4.21, in line with expectations.

第二季度，我們實現了 7.3% 的強勁營業利潤率。在我們強有力的成本削減行動的推動下，這比第一季度增長了 200 個基點。這些行動帶來了 1.5 億美元的同比效益，有望實現我們 8 億至 9 億美元成本削減的全年目標，並帶來強勁的第二季度持續每股收益 4.21 美元，符合預期。

Now turning to Slide 7, I will share more details on our second quarter EBIT margin. The second quarter was unfavorably impacted by the normalization of promotions, which reemerged in the second half 2022, and are now following historical seasonal trends. Sequentially, price/mix negatively impacted margins by 50 basis points with a year-over-year impact of 350 basis points.

現在轉向幻燈片 7，我將分享有關我們第二季度息稅前利潤率的更多詳細信息。第二季度受到促銷正常化的不利影響，促銷正常化於 2022 年下半年重新出現，目前正遵循歷史季節性趨勢。隨後，價格/組合對利潤率產生了 50 個基點的負面影響，同比影響達 350 個基點。

Our strong cost takeout actions delivered 275 basis points both sequentially and year-over-year. And as expected, marketing & technology and foreign currency negatively impacted margins. Overall, we are pleased with our second quarter performance, delivering ongoing EBIT margin of 7.3%.

我們強有力的成本削減行動使環比和同比增長了 275 個基點。正如預期的那樣，營銷和技術以及外匯對利潤率產生了負面影響。總體而言，我們對第二季度的業績感到滿意，息稅前利潤率為 7.3%。

Turning to Slide 8, you can see we are on track to deliver $800 million to $900 million of year-over-year cost takeout benefits, including $300 million to $400 million of reduced raw material costs and $500 million of additional cost takeout actions driven by enhanced supply chain resiliency, reduced parts complexity with approximately 50% fewer parts since 2021 and improved transportation rates and reduced premium freight costs.

轉向幻燈片 8，您可以看到我們有望實現 8 億至 9 億美元的同比成本削減效益，其中包括 3 億至 4 億美元的原材料成本降低以及 5 億美元的額外成本削減行動增強供應鏈彈性，降低零件複雜性，自 2021 年以來零件減少了約 50%，並提高了運輸率並降低了額外運費。

Additionally, in aggregate, we have reduced our salaried workforce by 7% and remain disciplined with discretionary spending and other indirect costs. The cost actions we took over the past quarters were fully on track towards delivering our cost takeout targets. While the chart shows high year-over-year cost reduction in Q3 and Q4, it is important to note that this is entirely driven by the baseline effects in the second half of 2022 and will not require additional new cost takeout actions.

此外，總的來說，我們已將受薪員工人數減少了 7%，並繼續嚴格控制可自由支配支出和其他間接成本。我們在過去幾個季度採取的成本行動完全符合實現我們的成本削減目標。雖然圖表顯示第三季度和第四季度的成本同比大幅下降，但值得注意的是，這完全是由 2022 年下半年的基線效應驅動的，不需要採取額外的新成本削減行動。

Now I will turn it over to Jim to review our regional results.

現在我將把它交給吉姆來審查我們的區域結果。

Thanks, Marc. Good morning, everyone.

謝謝，馬克。大家，早安。

Turning to Slide 10, I'll review results for our North America region. Year-over-year share gains and the addition of InSinkErator was more than offset by industry decline of 1% and increased promotions, resulting in 5% revenue decline. The region delivered sequential margin expansion with solid double-digit EBIT margins of 10.3% as our strong cost takeout actions continue to gain traction alongside the integration of InSinkErator. We expect the region to deliver 100-plus basis point margin expansion each quarter driven by strong cost takeout actions. We are confident in the structural strength of our North America business and continue to expect our actions to deliver strong results, exiting the year with 12% to 13% EBIT margins.

轉到幻燈片 10，我將回顧北美地區的結果。同比份額增長和愛適易的加入被行業下降 1% 和促銷活動增加所抵消，導致收入下降 5%。隨著我們強有力的成本削減行動以及 InSinkErator 的整合繼續獲得牽引力，該地區的利潤率連續增長，息稅前利潤率為 10.3%，達到穩定的兩位數。我們預計，在強有力的成本削減行動的推動下，該地區每個季度的利潤率將增長 100 個基點以上。我們對北美業務的結構實力充滿信心，並繼續期望我們的行動能夠帶來強勁的業績，以 12% 至 13% 的息稅前利潤率結束今年。

Turning to Slide 11, I'll provide additional color around the U.S. housing market. During our earnings call in October of 2022, we presented our upbeat long-term view on the U.S. housing market. Nothing has changed, and we are very optimistic about mid- and long-term housing-driven demand trends, currently representing 15% of the total industry demand.

轉向幻燈片 11，我將提供有關美國房地產市場的更多信息。在 2022 年 10 月的財報電話會議上，我們提出了對美國房地產市場的樂觀長期看法。一切都沒有改變，我們對中長期住房驅動的需求趨勢非常樂觀，目前佔行業總需求的15%。

New housing construction has significantly lagged historical averages for more than a decade. For perspective, there was only 1 year in the 40 years prior to the Great Recession in which fewer than 1.2 million new homes were built. Much of the period between 2007 and 2017 was below this level, leading to the oldest U.S. housing stock in the country's history. In total, we estimate 3 million to 4 million unit undersupply of housing. While we do not expect housing starts to reach a steady state of supply to fill this gap in the near term, we do believe housing starts will begin to increase to 1.7 million units annually or higher due to the housing shortage.

十多年來，新建住房建設明顯落後於歷史平均水平。相比之下，大衰退之前的 40 年中，只有一年的新房建造量低於 120 萬套。 2007 年至 2017 年間的大部分時間都低於這一水平，導緻美國出現了歷史上最古老的住房存量。總的來說，我們估計有 300 萬至 400 萬套住房供應不足。雖然我們預計新屋開工量短期內不會達到穩定的供應狀態以填補這一缺口，但我們確實相信，由於住房短缺，新屋開工量將開始增加到每年 170 萬套或更高。

Turning to Slide 12, you can see we are well positioned to capture this trend as the #1 choice for homebuilders. The combination of: one, the best brand portfolio with multiple $1 billion brands, including Whirlpool, Maytag and KitchenAid; two, an innovative product portfolio that targets 90% of the consumers; and three, our strong final-mile delivery capabilities across the region, strongly positions Whirlpool to drive value creation as the housing market rebounds. With every new home having a full suite of typically 5 new appliances, it is not surprising that we have become the #1 choice for U.S. homebuilders, serving 8 of the top 10 national builders.

轉向幻燈片 12，您可以看到我們處於有利位置，可以抓住這一趨勢，成為住宅建築商的第一選擇。組合：一是最佳品牌組合，擁有多個價值 10 億美元的品牌，包括惠而浦 (Whirlpool)、美泰克 (Maytag) 和 KitchenAid；二是針對90%消費者的創新產品組合；第三，我們在整個地區強大的最後一英里交付能力，使惠而浦能夠在房地產市場反彈時推動價值創造。由於每套新住宅通常都配備全套 5 種新電器，因此我們成為美國住宅建築商的第一選擇也就不足為奇了，我們為全國排名前 10 的建築商中的 8 家提供服務。

Turning to Slide 13, I'll review our results for our Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Organic second quarter revenue was down approximately 12%, driven by continued industry demand weakness across key countries. EMEA margin expansion was driven by strong cost takeout actions alongside held-for-sale accounting benefits due to reduced depreciation that will continue each quarter until the transaction closes, which is expected in Q4 of this year.

轉向幻燈片 13，我將回顧我們在歐洲、中東和非洲地區的結果。由於主要國家/地區的行業需求持續疲軟，第二季度有機收入下降了約 12%。歐洲、中東和非洲地區的利潤率擴張是由強勁的成本削減行動以及因折舊減少而持有待售的會計收益所推動的，這種收益將每個季度持續到交易完成為止，預計交易將於今年第四季度完成。

Turning to Slide 14, I'll review the results for our Latin America region. The region saw demand improvement in Mexico and year-over-year share gains resulting in a 4% revenue increase. Inflationary pressures were partially offset by higher volumes, resulting in solid EBIT margins of 6.5%.

轉向幻燈片 14，我將回顧拉丁美洲地區的結果。該地區墨西哥的需求有所改善，份額同比增長，導致收入增長 4%。通脹壓力被銷量增加部分抵消，息稅前利潤率為 6.5%。

Turning to Slide 15, I'll review results for our Asia region. Excluding the impact of currency, revenue declined approximately 8%, driven by consumer demand weakness. Sequential share gains drove a 15% revenue increase compared to the first quarter. The region delivered EBIT margins of 3.7% with our strong cost takeout actions offset by negative price/mix.

轉向幻燈片 15，我將回顧亞洲地區的結果。排除匯率影響，受消費者需求疲軟的推動，收入下降約8%。與第一季度相比，連續的份額增長帶動收入增長 15%。該地區的息稅前利潤率為 3.7%，我們強有力的成本削減行動被負價格/組合所抵消。

Turning to Slide 16, I will discuss our full year guidance. We are reaffirming our ongoing EPS range of $16 to $18 and free cash flow guidance of approximately $800 million. We continue to expect to deliver approximately 60% of our full year earnings in the second half of the year, driven by our cost structure reset. We now expect to deliver EBIT margins of 7.25% as promotional spend has slightly increased and demand weakness in EMEA has been greater than anticipated.

轉向幻燈片 16，我將討論我們的全年指導。我們重申目前的 EPS 範圍為 16 至 18 美元，自由現金流指導為約 8 億美元。在成本結構重置的推動下，我們仍然預計下半年將實現全年收益的約 60%。由於促銷支出略有增加且歐洲、中東和非洲地區的需求疲軟程度超出預期，我們目前預計息稅前利潤率為 7.25%。

Our guidance also includes updated expectations for our adjusted effective tax rate, now 10% to 15% for the year. As the Europe transaction progresses, we will continue to assess the adjusted tax rate, which has the potential to be at the low end of our range. We continue to expect to deliver $800 million of free cash flow.

我們的指導還包括對調整後有效稅率的最新預期，目前今年為 10% 至 15%。隨著歐洲交易的進展，我們將繼續評估調整後的稅率，該稅率有可能處於我們範圍的低端。我們繼續預計將提供 8 億美元的自由現金流。

Turning to Slide 17, we show the drivers of our updated full year ongoing EBIT margin guidance. We have updated our expectation of price/mix by 25 basis points to a negative 250 basis point impact reflecting a global promotional environment at pre-pandemic levels. All other margin drivers remain unchanged. We now expect to deliver solid margins of 7.25% for the year.

轉向幻燈片 17，我們展示了更新後的全年持續息稅前利潤率指導的驅動因素。我們將價格/組合預期上調了 25 個基點，至負面 250 個基點影響，反映了全球促銷環境處於大流行前的水平。所有其他利潤驅動因素保持不變。我們現在預計今年的利潤率為 7.25%。

Turning to Slide 18, we show our regional guidance. We see no change to our full year regional industry expectations. While second quarter North America industry shipments were slightly favorable versus our prior expectation, this was largely driven by retailer restocking and slightly higher retailer inventory levels. The consumer sellout was relatively stable with a low single-digit decline. And while there might be some uptick in consumer demand driven by the housing rebound, consumer sentiment in the region continues to be impacted by macro uncertainty. Therefore, our market assumptions are unchanged. Overall, we expect continued EBIT margin expansion driven by our strong cost takeout actions as well as raw material inflation tailwinds.

轉向幻燈片 18，我們展示了我們的區域指導。我們認為全年區域行業預期沒有變化。雖然第二季度北美行業出貨量略好於我們之前的預期，但這主要是由零售商補貨和零售商庫存水平略高推動的。消費者銷售相對穩定，降幅較小。儘管房地產反彈推動消費者需求可能有所回升，但該地區的消費者信心繼續受到宏觀不確定性的影響。因此，我們的市場假設不變。總體而言，我們預計，在我們強勁的成本削減行動以及原材料通脹的推動下，息稅前利潤率將持續擴張。

In North America, we expect to deliver full year margins of approximately 11.5% with the region's strong cost takeout actions partially offsetting a promotional environment that is at normal pre-pandemic levels. We expect to partially offset the impact of the promotional environment with positive mix driven by a strong lineup of new product introductions delivering year-over-year share gains. We now expect EMEA to deliver approximately 1.5% margins as the region continues to be impacted by soft consumer sentiment. Lastly, EBIT margin expectations for Latin America and Asia remain unchanged.

在北美，我們預計全年利潤率將達到約 11.5%，該地區強勁的成本削減行動部分抵消了大流行前正常水平的促銷環境。我們預計，通過一系列強大的新產品推出帶來的積極組合將部分抵消促銷環境的影響，帶來同比份額增長。我們現在預計 EMEA 將實現約 1.5% 的利潤率，因為該地區繼續受到消費者信心疲軟的影響。最後，拉丁美洲和亞洲的息稅前利潤率預期保持不變。

Now I will turn the call over to Marc.

現在我將把電話轉給馬克。

Thanks, Jim.

謝謝，吉姆。

Turning to Slide 20, let me provide an update on our portfolio transformation. Whirlpool today is very different from Whirlpool of the past. In the last 5 years, we have taken several significant steps to transform the company into a higher-growth, higher-margin business based on 3 structural pillars: small appliances, major appliances and commercial appliances. These steps in changing our company portfolio laid the foundation for a company with a double-digit EBIT margin profile, which is very different from our historic mid- to high-single-digit profile.

轉向幻燈片 20，讓我介紹一下我們的投資組合轉型的最新情況。今天的惠而浦與過去的惠而浦有很大不同。在過去的五年裡，我們採取了幾項重大舉措，將公司轉型為一家基於小家電、大型家電和商用電器三大結構支柱的高增長、高利潤企業。這些改變我們公司投資組合的步驟為公司實現兩位數的息稅前利潤率奠定了基礎，這與我們歷史上中高個位數的情況有很大不同。

As we look forward, we are reassessing our operating segment structure in anticipation of a potential change after the completion of the Europe transaction. During one of our future earnings calls, we expect to share more information about our assessment and potential re-segmentation, specifically about our strong value-creating small domestic appliance business.

展望未來，我們正在重新評估我們的運營部門結構，預計歐洲交易完成後可能會發生變化。在我們未來的一次財報電話會議中，我們希望分享更多有關我們的評估和潛在的重新細分的信息，特別是有關我們強大的創造價值的小型家用電器業務的信息。

Turning to Slide 21, I will provide an update on InSinkErator and how it is strengthening our portfolio. Our integration efforts are well underway and nearing completion after acquiring InSinkErator in Q4 2022. InSinkErator's rich history and strong product legacy had us very excited about the brand's largest launch, NextGen, which we presented during our last earnings call. We continue to be pleased with the sustained EBIT margins of approximately 20%, contributing approximately 50 basis points to our consolidated EBIT margins.

轉向幻燈片 21，我將介紹愛適易的最新情況以及它如何增強我們的產品組合。在 2022 年第四季度收購 InSinkErator 後，我們的整合工作正在順利進行，並已接近完成。InSinkErator 豐富的歷史和強大的產品傳統讓我們對該品牌最大的產品 NextGen 感到非常興奮，我們在上次財報電話會議上介紹了該產品。我們對持續約 20% 的息稅前利潤率感到滿意，為我們的綜合息稅前利潤率貢獻了約 50 個基點。

Turning to Slide 22, I will provide an update on our EMEA transaction. In January, we agreed to contribute our European major domestic appliance business into a newly formed entity with Arçelik. The Europe transaction and the regulatory processes are ongoing and progressing as expected, including executing an agreement to sell our Middle East and Africa business. We continue to expect to close the Europe transaction in the fourth quarter of 2023. Until then, we will continue to focus on EMEA delivering the best products and consumer-preferred brands.

轉向幻燈片 22，我將提供有關我們的 EMEA 交易的最新信息。一月份，我們同意將我們的歐洲主要家用電器業務併入與 Arçelik 成立的新實體。歐洲交易和監管流程正在進行中，並按預期進展，包括執行出售我們的中東和非洲業務的協議。我們仍然預計在 2023 年第四季度完成歐洲交易。在此之前，我們將繼續專注於歐洲、中東和非洲地區，提供最好的產品和消費者喜愛的品牌。

Let me also remind you of the benefits of this transaction. We will own approximately 25% of a new company, which will be well positioned to deliver value to consumers through attractive brands, sustainable manufacturing, product innovation and best-in-class consumer services. And it's expected to have over EUR 6 billion of annual sales with of over EUR 200 million of cost synergies.

我還要提醒您這項交易的好處。我們將擁有一家新公司約 25% 的股份，該公司將能夠通過有吸引力的品牌、可持續製造、產品創新和一流的消費者服務為消費者提供價值。預計年銷售額將超過 60 億歐元，成本協同效應將超過 2 億歐元。

We have a potential to unlock long-term value creation through our ability to monetize our minority interest. Coupled with a 40-year Whirlpool brand licensing agreement, we expect $750 million net present value of future cash flows. Additionally, post closing, we expect the transaction to improve our value creation metrics by $250 million of incremental free cash flows and 150 basis points improvement in ongoing EBIT margin.

我們有潛力通過將少數股權貨幣化的能力來釋放長期價值創造。加上 40 年惠而浦品牌授權協議，我們預計未來現金流淨現值為 7.5 億美元。此外，交易完成後，我們預計該交易將提高我們的價值創造指標，增加 2.5 億美元的自由現金流，並將持續的息稅前利潤率提高 150 個基點。

Turning to Slide 23, I will discuss our capital allocation priorities, which remain unchanged. We remain committed to funding innovation and growth and expect to invest over $1 billion in capital expenditures and research and development this year. Additionally, we are confident in our ability to generate strong free cash flows. This, coupled with our balance sheet strength, provides us the flexibility to support our commitment to returning cash to shareholders. In the first half of 2023, we returned $193 million in cash to shareholders, representing nearly 70 consecutive years of dividends.

轉向幻燈片 23，我將討論我們的資本配置優先事項，這些優先事項保持不變。我們仍然致力於為創新和增長提供資金，預計今年將在資本支出和研發方面投資超過 10 億美元。此外，我們對產生強勁自由現金流的能力充滿信心。這與我們的資產負債表實力相結合，為我們提供了靈活性，以支持我們向股東返還現金的承諾。 2023年上半年，我們向股東返還了1.93億美元現金，相當於連續近70年的分紅。

Turning to Slide 24, let me further discuss our commitment to maintaining our strong investment-grade credit rating. We are confident that we are well on our way to delivering debt leverage to below historical norms and towards our target of 2x or below with $1.3 billion cash on hand and strong free cash flow which, as mentioned earlier, we expect to be $250 million higher after the close of the Europe transaction. We continue to prioritize debt repayment with approximately $500 million of acquisition-related term loan paydown expected by the end of the year.

轉向幻燈片 24，讓我進一步討論我們對維持強勁投資級信用評級的承諾。我們相信，憑藉 13 億美元的手頭現金和強勁的自由現金流，我們正在將債務槓桿率降至歷史正常水平以下，並實現 2 倍或以下的目標，正如前面提到的，我們預計將增加 2.5 億美元歐洲交易結束後。我們繼續優先考慮債務償還，預計到年底償還約 5 億美元的收購相關定期貸款。

Turning to Slide 25, I will review our healthy debt ladder and how it gives us flexibility and derisks our balance sheet. We have an attractive weighted average interest rate of approximately 4.25% with 70% of our debt held at a fixed rate of just over 3%. Additionally, over $2 billion of our debt is due after 2030. This gives us a balance sheet flexibility to deliver strong shareholder returns and maintain our solid investment-grade rating.

轉向幻燈片 25，我將回顧我們健康的債務階梯，以及它如何為我們提供靈活性並降低我們的資產負債表風險。我們的加權平均利率約為 4.25%，具有吸引力，其中 70% 的債務以略高於 3% 的固定利率持有。此外，我們超過 20 億美元的債務將於 2030 年之後到期。這使我們能夠靈活地實現資產負債表，以實現強勁的股東回報並維持穩定的投資級評級。

Turning to Slide 26, let me close with a few remarks. Despite a dynamic external environment, we delivered another solid quarter with sustained margin expansion. Through strong execution of our operational priorities, we delivered results in line with our expectations and remain on track to deliver $16 to $18 of ongoing earnings per share and approximately $800 million of free cash flow.

轉向幻燈片 26，讓我以幾句話結束。儘管外部環境不斷變化，我們仍實現了又一個穩健的季度業績，利潤率持續增長。通過強有力地執行我們的運營優先事項，我們取得了符合我們預期的業績，並繼續實現每股 16 至 18 美元的持續收益和約 8 億美元的自由現金流。

More importantly, the strength of our brands and products is resonating with consumers with 1 point of year-over-year share gains. With our strong position as the U.S. builders' #1 choice and serving 8 of the top 10 national builders, Whirlpool is well positioned to benefit from a housing-driven demand recovery, and we continue to unlock value with our ongoing portfolio transformation.

更重要的是，我們的品牌和產品實力引起了消費者的共鳴，份額同比增長了1個百分點。憑藉我們作為美國建築商第一選擇的強大地位，並為全國排名前 10 的建築商中的 8 家提供服務，惠而浦完全有能力從住房驅動的需求復蘇中受益，並且我們將通過持續的投資組合轉型繼續釋放價值。

Now we will end our formal remarks and open it up for questions.

現在我們正式發言結束，開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) And your first question comes from the line of Mike Rehaut from JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自摩根大通的 Mike Rehaut。

First question, I wanted to hit on the promotional environment, if I could. You kind of mentioned it's now reverted back to pre-pandemic levels, which I guess is maybe a little higher than perhaps you were expecting at the beginning of the year, and it appears the driver of the reduced North American margin outlook. I was hoping to get a sense from you in terms of how this affects -- how this might affect price cost in the back half and into '24?

第一個問題，如果可以的話，我想談談促銷環境。您提到它現在已恢復到大流行前的水平，我想這可能比您年初的預期要高一些，這似乎是北美利潤率前景下降的驅動因素。我希望從您那裡了解這將如何影響——這將如何影響下半年和 24 年的價格成本？

And also, from a margin perspective in North America, I believe last quarter, you were expecting to end the year at roughly 14%. Just want to get a sense of how that changes and how we should think about the new baseline for the business outside of additional price/mix gains in '24.

而且，從北美的利潤率角度來看，我相信上個季度，您預計年底的利潤率約為 14%。只是想了解一下這種情況如何變化，以及我們應該如何考慮 24 年額外價格/組合收益之外的業務新基準。

First of all, Mike, it's Marc. So let me try to answer that fairly wide question. On the promotional environment first, you asked a question about where we expect -- is it higher than we expected. I would rather call it the promotion normality came earlier than expected. And what I mean with that, we always assumed that at one point, the normal promotional environment will return back to pre-pandemic levels. Honestly, we probably would have expected more close to Q3, Q4, and it now basically came in Q2. So that's, as such, not a surprise. It just happened 1 or 2 quarters earlier. That's the only change.

首先，邁克，我是馬克。那麼讓我嘗試回答這個相當廣泛的問題。首先，關於促銷環境，您問了一個關於我們期望的問題——是否高於我們的預期。我寧願稱其為晉升常態，比預期來得更早。我的意思是，我們總是假設在某一時刻，正常的促銷環境將恢復到大流行前的水平。老實說，我們可能會期望更接近第三季度、第四季度，但現在基本上是在第二季度。因此，這並不奇怪。這只是一兩個季度前發生的事情。這是唯一的改變。

The level of promotional depth is, frankly, not surprising relative to what we've seen pre-pandemic. So I wouldn't see that as an overly concern. Well, in that context, what I really want to remind everybody on the call is -- and refer back to Page 7 of our presentation because I think that tells the full story, and I think it's very helpful in that context because you see both a year-over-year comparison on our margin walk and the sequential.

坦率地說，與我們在大流行前看到的情況相比，促銷深度並不令人意外。所以我不認為這是一個過度的擔憂。嗯，在這種情況下，我真正想提醒參加電話會議的每個人的是 - 請回顧我們演示文稿的第 7 頁，因為我認為這講述了完整的故事，而且我認為這在這種情況下非常有幫助，因為您會看到兩者我們的利潤率變動和連續變動的同比比較。

If you first start on the year-over-year comparison, you see, and Jim alluded to this one earlier, yes, there is a big price/mix decline year-over-year. But I really want to remind everybody, Q1 and Q2 last year were pretty much the last quarter basically absent of any promotion. It was basically kind of a dark period from a promotion perspective. These promotions started to kind of resume in the marketplace in Q3 and Q4. So you saw the slow ramp-up. So as such, yes, the year-over-year comparisons look big, but that's not surprising given that we all knew promotions are coming back into the market.

如果你首先開始同比比較，你會看到，吉姆早些時候提到過這一點，是的，價格/組合同比下降很大。但我真的想提醒大家，去年Q1和Q2幾乎是最後一個季度，基本上沒有任何促銷。從促銷角度來看，這基本上是一個黑暗時期。這些促銷活動在第三季度和第四季度開始在市場上恢復。所以你看到了緩慢的增長。因此，是的，同比比較看起來很大，但這並不奇怪，因為我們都知道促銷活動正在重返市場。

The more relevant perspective and we pointed towards with already in the last earnings call is right now the sequential look. Sequentially, over Q1, we lost 0.5 point of market share. Keep in mind, Q2 in the marketplace has Memorial Day and July 4th in there. So by definition, it's a little bit more promotional-heavy than the Q1 is. So the 0.5 price decline, I wouldn't call that out of a norm.

我們在上次財報電話會議中已經指出的更相關的觀點是現在的順序外觀。結果，在第一季度，我們失去了 0.5 個百分點的市場份額。請記住，市場第二季度有陣亡將士紀念日和 7 月 4 日。因此，根據定義，它比 Q1 的促銷力度更大一些。因此，價格下降 0.5 倍，我不會認為這是不正常的。

Even more relevant is when you look at relative the cost takeout. Sequentially, we took 2.75 points of cost out. Put it differently, basically, we basically reinvested in the marketplace 20% of our cost takeout. I would call that as a very measured and reasonable approach to approaching promotions. And frankly, it worked for us because we picked up market share and we expanded our overall margin by 2 points.

更相關的是當你查看相對成本支出時。隨後，我們扣除了 2.75 個點的成本。換句話說，基本上，我們將成本支出的 20% 重新投資於市場。我認為這是一種非常慎重且合理的促銷方式。坦率地說，這對我們很有效，因為我們提高了市場份額，並將整體利潤率提高了 2 個百分點。

So put that all in context, I would consider the promotional environment, yes, we're back to pre-pandemic levels. We know how to operate in that environment very successfully as we have evidenced over many years and I think as we have evidenced in Q2.

因此，綜合考慮，我會考慮促銷環境，是的，我們回到了大流行前的水平。我們知道如何在這種環境中非常成功地運營，正如我們多年來所證明的那樣，我認為正如我們在第二季度所證明的那樣。

Now more specifically also to the North American margin, we expect North American margin by year-end to be around 12% to 13%. And also coming back to this pre-pandemic margin run rate, that was pretty much a margin run rate we had coming into the pandemic. It was around 12% or 12 plus in North America. And yes, we fully expect that to be back on that level and then we can see where we can expand it from there on.

現在更具體地說是北美利潤率，我們預計到年底北美利潤率將在 12% 至 13% 左右。回到大流行前的保證金運行率，這幾乎是我們進入大流行病時的保證金運行率。在北美，這一比例約為 12% 或 12 以上。是的，我們完全期望回到那個水平，然後我們可以看到可以從那裡擴展它。

Great. No, I appreciate that, Marc. Secondly, I wanted to hit on InSinkErator for a little bit. I wanted to get a little color or more granularity on how the product launch is unfolding and what that's contributing to the business. And also just in context of that or maybe in addition to that, I think more broadly, I think you did notch down the full year revenue contribution outlook. So I wanted to understand the drivers of that as well.

偉大的。不，我很感激，馬克。其次，我想接觸一下愛適易（InSinkErator）。我想了解一下產品發布的進展情況以及它對業務的貢獻。就在這種情況下，或者除此之外，我認為更廣泛地說，我認為您確實降低了全年收入貢獻前景。所以我也想了解其驅動因素。

Yes. And Michael, again, let me give a context on InSinkErator. First of all, we are very pleased with that business. The margins hold up very strongly. It's up 20% plus. So it's a very EBIT-accretive business. We like the team. We like the product lineup. We like the production efficiency. It is a very, very strong business.

是的。邁克爾，再次讓我介紹一下愛適易的背景。首先，我們對這項業務非常滿意。利潤率非常強勁。上漲了20%以上。所以這是一個非常能增加息稅前利潤的業務。我們喜歡這個團隊。我們喜歡這個產品陣容。我們喜歡生產效率。這是一項非常非常強大的業務。

There's obviously 2 factors. One is a broader revenue. I would say, InSinkErator is even more exposed to the U.S. housing market than our normal appliance business. And as such, we always expected the first half or the first 3 quarters of this year will be somewhat soft from housing before the housing fully rebounds. So that is one element, but hasn't changed in terms of where we are from a market share perspective on InSinkErator.

顯然有兩個因素。一是更廣泛的收入。我想說，愛適易比我們的普通家電業務更受美國房地產市場的影響。因此，我們一直預計，在房地產全面反彈之前，今年上半年或前三季度的房地產將會有所疲軟。這是一個因素，但從愛適易市場份額的角度來看，我們所處的位置並沒有改變。

The second part, in particular, on the new product introduction of NextGen, first of all, you need to know that NextGen carries margins which are stronger than the rest of the line. So inherently, it's a margin-accretive product. And right now, you're going through what we call the phase-in and phase-out. So we started the first shipments actually in July. So that is now underway. But in the short term, given that we have product placement cost and the phase-in/phase-out costs, which we do not capitalize, we take it into our ongoing cost, it's actually even a slight burden in both Q2 and Q3. But the inherent margin of NextGen is very attractive, and we're now fully in the process of ramping up the production. And we would expect the full sales element of a new product to be fully visible in Q4.

第二部分，特別是關於NextGen的新產品介紹，首先，你需要知道NextGen的利潤率比其他產品線要強。因此，從本質上講，它是一種利潤增值產品。現在，您正在經歷我們所說的逐步引入和逐步淘汰。所以我們實際上在七月份開始了第一批發貨。現在正在進行中。但短期來看，考慮到我們有植入成本和逐步淘汰成本，我們沒有資本化，我們將其計入持續成本，實際上在第二季度和第三季度甚至是一個輕微的負擔。但 NextGen 的固有利潤非常有吸引力，我們現在正全力提高產量。我們預計新產品的全部銷售要素將在第四季度完全可見。

Your next question comes from the line of David MacGregor from Longbow Research.

您的下一個問題來自 Longbow Research 的 David MacGregor。

I wonder if you could just talk a little bit about volume demand or market demand right now. I mean we had the core 6 number out that you indicated in your prepared remarks included some restock. I wonder if there's any way of just giving us a sense of what you're seeing right now in terms of replacement demand versus the builder channel, which you've highlighted is a growing importance to you, versus maybe discretionary demand is obviously down. But just try and unbundle that for us to give us a better understanding of just the composition of the volume growth.

我想知道您是否可以談談現在的銷量需求或市場需求。我的意思是，我們已經拿出了您在準備好的評論中指出的核心 6 號，其中包括一些補貨。我想知道是否有什麼方法可以讓我們了解您現在在替換需求與建築商渠道方面所看到的情況，您強調了這一點對您來說越來越重要，而可自由支配的需求可能明顯下降。但嘗試將其分解，以便我們更好地了解銷量增長的構成。

David, it's a very good question. So first of all, it's a little bit similar to what we already qualitatively alluded from Q1, the discretionary side of the demand continues to remain soft, and we see that in the major appliances. And I think as one of your colleagues pointed out, we see it almost in small domestic appliances. That's the nature of discretionary demand, which is right now still impacted by uncertainty in consumer sentiment, which is still not in the positive territory.

大衛，這是一個非常好的問題。首先，這與我們在第一季度已經定性提到的情況有點相似，可自由支配的需求繼續保持疲軟，我們在大型家電中看到了這一點。我認為正如您的一位同事所指出的，我們幾乎在小型家用電器中看到了這一點。這就是可自由支配需求的本質，目前該需求仍受到消費者信心不確定性的影響，消費者信心仍不樂觀。

What is holding up strong is replacement side, as we always expected, because we said post-pandemic becomes increased usage of appliance, which drive replacement demand, and that is holding up very strong. To put it on in the numbers, as you've seen the kind of industry, and I'm more referring to U.S. industry, shipments were minus 1%. In all transparency, the consumer sellout, we expected to be slightly weaker, and we think it was around minus 3%, minus 4%, pretty much in line with what we initially guided the industry shipments to. The difference is retailers were restocking what were pretty low inventory levels. So there's a restocking element in there, and that explains the difference.

正如我們一直預期的那樣，強勁的是更換方面，因為我們說大流行後家電的使用量增加，這推動了更換需求，而且這種勢頭非常強勁。從數字上看，正如您所看到的那種行業，我更多地指的是美國行業，出貨量為-1%。從所有透明度來看，我們預計消費者銷售量將略有下降，我們認為約為-3%、-4%，與我們最初指導行業出貨量基本一致。不同之處在於零售商正在補充庫存水平相當低的庫存。所以那裡有一個補貨元素，這解釋了差異。

Now going forward, as you know, we left the industry assumption unchanged, frankly, because there's still uncertainty out there. Now -- but there are clear, and that's probably to your point, clear signs and data points about the housing recovery. And what I'm referring to, I mean, in this morning, a number of nationally recognized big builders came up with numbers, the order intake of the builders is very strong across the board. You do the math, to pick an order, translates into an appliance shipment anywhere 6 to 10 months after the order comes. That's just the time it takes to build the house. And as you know, appliance always come in last when the house has been completed.

現在，如您所知，坦率地說，我們保持行業假設不變，因為仍然存在不確定性。現在，關於房地產復甦的跡象和數據很明顯，這可能正是您的觀點。我指的是，今天早上，一些全國公認的大型建築商拿出了數字，建築商的訂單量全面強勁。您計算一下，選擇訂單後，設備會在訂單到達後 6 到 10 個月內發貨到任何地方。這正是建造房子所需的時間。如您所知，房屋完工後，電器總是最後出現的。

So we do know there's a significant momentum building on the builder side. The only question is, how much of that will fall into the calendar year of '23 versus '24? But it will come because these orders are real and that I think we've seen now 6 or 7 builders have really impressive order intake. So that potentially could translate into some upside on the industry shipment. But right now, we've been reluctant to already update that because, again, there's still uncertainty on the discretionary side. But we know, and we see it, the housing momentum is starting to build, and that's very, very positive news for us.

所以我們確實知道建築商方面正在形成強大的勢頭。唯一的問題是，其中有多少會落入“23 年”和“24 年”這一日曆年？但它會到來，因為這些訂單是真實的，而且我認為我們現在已經看到 6 或 7 個建築商擁有非常令人印象深刻的訂單量。因此，這可能會轉化為行業出貨量的一些上升空間。但現在，我們一直不願意更新這一點，因為同樣，自由裁量權方面仍然存在不確定性。但我們知道，而且我們也看到了，房地產市場的勢頭正在開始增強，這對我們來說是非常非常積極的消息。

And then just as a follow-up, you talked about the cost takeout program, and you've got some very well-defined goals for 2023. And you mentioned most of that is just coming from the year-ago comp. What does that imply in terms of the 2024 carryover benefit at this point?

然後，作為後續行動，您談到了成本削減計劃，並且您為 2023 年制定了一些非常明確的目標。您提到其中大部分都來自一年前的比較。就 2024 年結轉效益而言，這意味著什麼？

Yes. David, this is Jim. And what I'd start with is, first off, we are extremely happy with, as you said, that we're on track to deliver the $800 million to $900 million. And we're seeing what we expected in raw materials. I think as we look forward, and we haven't and we won't give guidance yet, at least on next year, but as we look forward, there are some of these actions, obviously, as we've had headcount reduction via attrition throughout the year, but also different projects we've implemented that have reduced costs within our products that will carry over into next year.

是的。大衛，這是吉姆。我首先要說的是，正如您所說，我們非常高興我們正在按計劃交付 8 億至 9 億美元。我們正在看到我們對原材料的預期。我認為，當我們展望未來時，我們還沒有也不會提供指導，至少在明年，但當我們展望未來時，顯然會採取一些行動，因為我們已經通過以下方式削減了員工人數全年的損耗，而且我們實施的不同項目也降低了我們產品的成本，這些成本將延續到明年。

I mean, if you look on a typical basis, and as we've always said that we typically, in any year, target to do at least 0.5 to 1 point of cost reduction. Typically, give or take, 25% to 35%, 40% of that is carryover. So right now, at this point in time, we don't have a specific number, but we do expect to come into next year with some strong tailwinds from a cost perspective.

我的意思是，如果你從典型的角度來看，正如我們一直所說的那樣，我們通常在任何一年的目標是至少降低 0.5 到 1 個百分點的成本。通常，給予或接受 25% 到 35%，其中 40% 是結轉。因此，目前，我們還沒有具體的數字，但我們確實預計明年從成本角度來看會帶來一些強勁的推動力。

Your next question comes from the line of Susan Maklari from Goldman Sachs.

您的下一個問題來自高盛的 Susan Maklari。

My first question is around the mix. Are you saying that, that has been changing either positively or negatively for you? And what role is that having within that price/mix shift that we're seeing?

我的第一個問題是關於混合的。你是說這對你來說是積極的還是消極的變化？在我們看到的價格/組合變化中，它扮演什麼角色？

Susan, it's Marc. I think overall, we don't see the big mix down effect, which some people have referred to, and in particular North America. Actually, if you would look in the detail, our JennAir business, our KitchenAid business are performing very well. So we feel pretty good about it. Coupled with that, we have a couple of product introduction like the Maytag Pet, the dishwasher, which really are just [re-lifting] the mix. So -- and of course, mix also going forward will be a major lever to offset any promotion pressure.

蘇珊，我是馬克。我認為總體而言，我們沒有看到一些人提到的大混合效應，特別是北美。事實上，如果你仔細觀察，我們的 JennAir 業務、我們的 KitchenAid 業務表現得非常好。所以我們對此感覺很好。除此之外，我們還推出了一些產品，例如 Maytag Pet、洗碗機，它們確實只是[重新提升]組合。因此，當然，未來的混合也將成為抵消任何促銷壓力的主要槓桿。

So I would say in general terms, for North America, but it's also pretty true for most available regions, there's a slight positive mix, and that is right now offset by the promotion pressure out there. But again, mix, in particular for product innovation, so far has been a good guy for us.

所以我想說，一般來說，對於北美來說，但對於大多數可用地區來說也是如此，有輕微的積極組合，而現在已經被那裡的促銷壓力所抵消。但同樣，混合，特別是在產品創新方面，到目前為止對我們來說一直是一個好東西。

Okay. That's helpful. And then you're targeting the $300 million to $400 million in terms of raw materials for the year. Can you talk about any changes to where you expect to fall within that range, especially as perhaps some of the raws have moved over the last few months and what that could imply for the back half of the year?

好的。這很有幫助。然後，今年原材料的目標是 3 億至 4 億美元。您能否談談您預期在該範圍內的變化，尤其是一些原材料在過去幾個月中發生了變化，這對今年下半年意味著什麼？

Yes, Susan, this is Jim. And what I would say is, if you remember in Q1, as we kind of, at the end of Q1, we talked about, we thought we're at the lower end of that range as we were looking at where the commodity prices were. Now as we look at where we are today and what happened within the second quarter, commodity prices have improved some, but we're still within the range. And whether we're at the midpoint or slightly better than the midpoint, we're probably at that point.

是的，蘇珊，這是吉姆。我想說的是，如果你還記得在第一季度，正如我們在第一季度末所說的那樣，我們認為我們處於該範圍的下限，因為我們正在研究大宗商品價格的情況。現在，當我們看看今天的情況以及第二季度發生的情況時，大宗商品價格有所改善，但仍在範圍內。無論我們處於中點還是略好於中點，我們都可能處於那個點。

So it won't have a significant impact for us in the back half of the year against what we guided before, what we're guiding now, because it's still within that range that we thought. So I don't think it's going to be a big impact for us. And then as I mentioned earlier, we won't be guiding for next year until later, until in January of 2024.

因此，它不會對我們下半年的指導產生重大影響，因為它仍在我們認為的範圍內。所以我認為這不會對我們產生很大的影響。正如我之前提到的，我們要等到晚些時候（2024 年 1 月）才會為明年提供指導。

Your next question comes from the line of Sam Darkatsh from Raymond James.

您的下一個問題來自 Raymond James 的 Sam Darkatsh。

A couple of questions. First off, getting back to North America margins, specific second half versus first half, it looks like you're guiding, I don't know, somewhere around 13% or so in the back half versus the 10% in the first half. I think we can back into the sequential benefits of RMI and cost takeout, and we can guess at pricing. But the one thing we really can't see externally is your volume production plans sequentially. There's a lot of moving pieces, obviously, with market share and moving expectations around volumes. But can you be specific as to what you're expecting for volume production, specifically in the second half versus the first half?

有幾個問題。首先，回到北美的利潤率，具體是下半年與上半年的情況，我不知道，看起來你在指導，下半年大約為 13% 左右，而上半年則為 10%。我認為我們可以回到 RMI 和成本削減的連續效益，並且我們可以猜測定價。但我們確實無法從外部看到的一件事是你們的批量生產計劃。顯然，市場份額和銷量預期的變化有很多變化。但您能否具體說明一下您對批量生產的預期，特別是下半年與上半年的情況？

Sam, it's Marc. First of all, again, first half in our margins, we're now 10.15% over 10.2% in the back half. And we said earlier, we expect to exit with 12% to 13%, which again essentially is spot on to pre-pandemic level in North America margin.

薩姆，我是馬克。首先，再說一遍，上半年我們的利潤率是 10.15%，下半年是 10.2%。我們之前說過，我們預計將以 12% 至 13% 的利率退出，這基本上又達到了北美利潤率大流行前的水平。

First of all, structurally, as you know, there is a little bit of a seasonal element in the back half over first half. One is volume-related because you tend to ship more in the second half than the first half. And the second part is our more seasonal business, in particular KitchenAid, the mix of which, as you know, is margin-accretive, tends to be a little bit higher in the back half. So these are the structural elements.

首先，從結構上來說，正如你所知，後半場比上半場有一點季節性因素。一是與數量相關，因為下半年的出貨量往往比上半年多。第二部分是我們更具季節性的業務，特別是KitchenAid，正如你所知，其組合可以增加利潤，在下半年往往會更高一些。這些是結構要素。

Now specifically to the question about production level of inventory, I think you're rightfully pointing out to last year, we had to take down production significantly in Q3 and Q4. But frankly, it's a fairly costly manner to do it. I would say right now coming into Q3, I think we're much better balanced. And we feel very good about right now our inventory levels. Our supply chain is basically, except for some very small residual items, is running very smoothly. So I don't see this kind of the need for this draconian action, which we had to undertake in Q3 and Q4. So as such, we expect a pretty leveled production volume similar to Q1, Q2.

現在具體到有關庫存生產水平的問題，我認為您去年正確地指出，我們不得不在第三季度和第四季度大幅削減產量。但坦率地說，這是一種相當昂貴的方式。我想說，現在進入第三季度，我認為我們的平衡要好得多。我們對目前的庫存水平感覺非常好。我們的供應鏈基本上，除了一些非常小的殘留物品之外，運行得非常順利。因此，我認為沒有必要採取這種嚴厲的行動，而我們必須在第三季度和第四季度採取這一行動。因此，我們預計產量將與第一季度、第二季度相當持平。

And then my second question, the corporate overhead line bounces around a lot, and it's hard for us to model. And it looks like it was considerably below at least where we were thinking. I was imagining it was going to be maybe a $70 million quarterly run rate, excluding items, and it came in around, call it, around $20 million or so. What was that due to? I'm guessing it was a confluence of items, but what were the primary drivers of that? How should we model that corporate overhead number going forward, Jim?

然後是我的第二個問題，公司的管理費用波動很大，我們很難建模。看起來至少比我們想像的要低得多。我原以為季度運行費可能會達到 7000 萬美元（不包括其他項目），結果大約是 2000 萬美元左右。那是因為什麼？我猜這是多種因素的融合，但其主要驅動因素是什麼？吉姆，我們應該如何對未來的公司管理費用進行建模？

Yes, Sam, and here's what I think you should do is if you kind of look back historically over the last, let's just say, 3 years or even longer than that, typically, on an average, we run between $50 million and $60 million per quarter in that line. And if you actually take where we are year-to-date, I think we're at like $47 million, $48 million. So I think you should continue to model at that type of number, especially maybe a little bit closer to the lower end of that range because some of our cost takeout actions we're doing are obviously falling into there, so you'd be slightly lower than historical averages.

是的，山姆，如果你回顧一下過去的歷史，比如說，三年甚至更長的時間，我認為你應該做的是，通常，我們平均運行在 5000 萬到 6000 萬美元之間該行的每季度。如果你真的考慮一下我們今年迄今為止的情況，我認為我們的收入約為 4700 萬美元、4800 萬美元。所以我認為你應該繼續以這種類型的數字進行建模，特別是可能更接近該範圍的下限，因為我們正在做的一些成本削減行動顯然落入其中，所以你會稍微低於歷史平均水平。

Now specific items that drive changes within there, I'm not going to get into a lot of them, but obviously, you have certain accruals that can be related to employee-related expenses or certain accruals that can be related to some of the legal cases that we're resolving in EMEA as we close that out. And so those just caused some fluctuations between quarters, but we -- for a full year, we do not expect to be outside of our normal range of $50 million to $60 million average per quarter.

現在，推動其中變化的具體項目，我不會深入討論其中的很多內容，但顯然，您有某些應計費用可能與員工相關費用相關，或者某些應計費用可能與某些法律相關。當我們結束該問題時，我們正在歐洲、中東和非洲地區解決這些案例。因此，這些只是在季度之間造成了一些波動，但我們——全年而言，我們預計不會超出每季度平均 5000 萬美元至 6000 萬美元的正常範圍。

So Sam, maybe just adding to what Jim was alluding to, again, and the corporate expense base has 2 structural items. One is the ongoing corporate, call it, infrastructure cost, [year 1] are kind of all these one-timers, Hybrid deal costs or other actions. So of course, the latter one is always a little bit difficult to model because that's the nature of the ins and outs.

所以 Sam，也許只是再次補充 Jim 提到的內容，公司費用基礎有 2 個結構性項目。一個是正在進行的企業，稱之為基礎設施成本，[第一年]是所有這些一次性的、混合交易成本或其他行動的一部分。當然，後一種模型總是有點難以建模，因為這就是來龍去脈的本質。

But it's important to look also the underlying of corporate infrastructure. As we alluded to in our remarks, our prepared remarks, our overall salaried workforce is down 7% year-over-year. That is a very, very significant number. And that is also visible in our corporate expenses. Keep in mind, we are starting to reposition our corporate headquarters basically to a potential post-Europe environment. So we took proactive measures. And as such, our ongoing corporate expenses were lower than they were several years ago. So there is also this element which is just structurally and structurally lower than it was a couple of years before.

但了解企業基礎設施的底層也很重要。正如我們在我們的講話中提到的，我們準備好的講話中，我們的受薪員工總數同比下降了 7%。這是一個非常非常重要的數字。這在我們的公司開支中也可見一斑。請記住，我們開始重新定位我們的公司總部，以適應潛在的後歐洲環境。所以我們採取了積極的措施。因此，我們持續的企業支出低於幾年前。所以還有一個元素，它在結構上和結構上都比幾年前要低。

Your next question comes from the line of Eric Bosshard from Cleveland Research.

您的下一個問題來自克利夫蘭研究中心的埃里克·博斯哈德（Eric Bosshard）。

Two questions, if I could. I guess, first, for Jim, just a housekeeping question. The comment was made that mix was stable. I'm curious, can you just help us understand the North American organic revenue, as InSinkErator looks like it's down then 7%, 8%, 9%, and it sounds like your units are up better than the industry, what -- is that all price? Can you just help us understand the mechanics between the gap between your dollar decline and your apparent unit volume growth?

如果可以的話，有兩個問題。我想，首先，對於吉姆來說，這只是一個家務問題。評論認為混合是穩定的。我很好奇，您能否幫助我們了解北美的有機收入，因為 InSinkErator 看起來下降了 7%、8%、9%，而聽起來您的單位增長得比行業更好，什麼是都是這個價格嗎？您能否幫助我們了解您的美元下跌與單位銷量明顯增長之間的差距機制？

Yes. So as you said that year-over-year, we did pick up share, and so that would obviously be a positive. Still within the quarter, as we said, the industry was down slightly, so that would be a negative. And then as Marc talked about earlier with the promotional environment, that's your incremental piece that you just have to take off of the top there to say -- and again, when you're looking year-over-year, as he highlighted earlier, last year in the first half of the year, it was -- there were not many promotions at that point in time. So that's having a significant impact year-over-year. But then as we get to the back half of the year, it will have much less of an impact, and that's why you see the full year average for price/mix being below where this quarter is when you walk it year-over-year.

是的。正如您所說，我們的份額確實逐年上升，這顯然是積極的。正如我們所說，該行業仍在本季度內略有下降，因此這將是一個負面影響。然後，正如馬克早些時候談到的促銷環境，這是你的增量部分，你只需要把上面的部分取下來就可以說——而且，當你逐年查看時，正如他之前強調的那樣，去年上半年，當時沒有太多促銷活動。因此，這逐年產生了重大影響。但當我們進入今年下半年時，它的影響就會小得多，這就是為什麼當你逐年查看時，你會看到全年價格/組合的平均水平低於本季度的水平。

Eric, it's Marc. The additional comment I want to make is that you keep in mind, when we show the North America business, there is the U.S. core business or when you have other elements like InSinkErator, KitchenAid, small domestic appliance and you have Canada in there. The pure U.S. core business was better than the number which we showed for North America. What hurt us in Q2 was Canada was fairly weak. And Canada had, the last couple of years, very strong years, and this year is kind of way softer than the prior year from an industry perspective. And the small domestic appliance business was also softer than prior year. So these were 2 offsetting items, but the U.S. core business was slightly better than the number you see here.

埃里克，這是馬克。我想補充的一點是，請記住，當我們展示北美業務時，有美國的核心業務，或者當有其他元素（例如愛適易、KitchenAid、小型家用電器）時，還有加拿大。純美國核心業務比我們在北美展示的數字要好。第二季度對我們造成傷害的是加拿大相當疲軟。過去幾年，加拿大的經濟表現非常強勁，但從行業角度來看，今年的情況比前一年要軟一些。小家電業務也較上年疲軟。因此，這是兩個抵消項目，但美國核心業務略好於您在此處看到的數字。

Okay. And then secondly, a strategic question, I guess, for you, Marc, which is from a promotional standpoint, I'm curious how -- what your thoughts are. I guess, first of all, is the promotional environment now stable or more intense in the back half than the first half? And then within this, are you here planning to focus on participating and maintaining or improving market share? Or is your focus more on margin and less on promotion and share? I'm just curious how we should think about that relative to your guidance.

好的。其次，我想，對於你來說，馬克，從促銷的角度來看，這是一個戰略問題，我很好奇你的想法是什麼。我想，首先，現在的促銷環境是穩定還是下半年比上半年更激烈？那麼在此範圍內，您是否打算專注於參與並保持或提高市場份額？或者您更關注利潤而不是促銷和份額？我只是好奇我們應該如何根據您的指導來思考這一點。

Yes, Eric. So first of all, I would describe the promotional environment, it's back to normal. Okay? I know that sounds boring, but that's pretty much it. And we know how to operate in that environment fairly effectively and efficiently, which also means we've always said we will participate in promotions as long as they're value creating.

是的，埃里克。首先，我會描述一下促銷環境，一切都恢復正常了。好的？我知道這聽起來很無聊，但僅此而已。我們知道如何在這種環境中相當有效和高效地運營，這也意味著我們一直表示，只要促銷活動能夠創造價值，我們就會參與其中。

Also from an overall margin and margin expansion, of course, we are kind of -- there will always be an element where some of the cost savings, you have to reinvest in the marketplace. We've done that in Q2, and the math overall worked for us very well where we expanded market share and expanded margin. And that is also going to be our -- the balancing act going forward. We want to continue to win market share, but we certainly will expand also our margins. So that's the balancing act.

當然，從整體利潤率和利潤率擴張來看，我們總是會存在一個因素，即您必須將一些成本節省重新投資於市場。我們在第二季度就做到了這一點，總體而言，數學對我們來說非常有效，我們擴大了市場份額並擴大了利潤率。這也將是我們未來的平衡行動。我們希望繼續贏得市場份額，但我們當然也會擴大我們的利潤率。這就是平衡行為。

So again, overall, the promotional environment, it just came a little bit earlier, but it's right now not to levels which kind of -- which we wouldn't know how to operate in. We know and feel very confident about the cost takeout, and some of that will be reinvested in the marketplace, but not all of it.

所以，總的來說，促銷環境只是來得早了一點，但現在還沒有達到我們不知道如何運作的水平。我們知道並且對成本支出非常有信心，其中一些將重新投資於市場，但不是全部。

Your next question comes from the line of Mike Dahl from RBC Capital Markets.

您的下一個問題來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場部的邁克·達爾 (Mike Dahl)。

Marc, just a follow-up on that. Presumably, some of your competitors have some cost tailwinds as well, maybe not to the same extent as you do, given some of your company-specific items and not just the RMI tailwinds. But in an environment where gross prices have still risen substantially over the past few years, sellout is a little soft and costs are down across the industry, what -- how do you handicap the risk of just the other competitors leaning more into promotion and reinvesting more some of the overall cost tailwinds into promotion here in the back half?

馬克，只是後續行動。想必，您的一些競爭對手也有一些成本優勢，但考慮到您公司的一些特定項目而不僅僅是 RMI 優勢，程度可能與您不同。但在過去幾年總價格仍然大幅上漲、銷售略顯疲軟且整個行業成本下降的環境下，您如何降低其他競爭對手更多地傾向於促銷和再投資的風險更多一些整體成本順風因素會在後半段進入促銷階段嗎？

Yes. Michael, I can only repeat what I said before. First of all, the raw materials, yes, it's probably fair to assume that it's more or less most people kind of benefit from the same tailwinds. Now with different color, keep in mind that North American raw materials were particularly bad the last couple of years, worse than some of the Asian raw materials. So I would say, right now, you come to a period where the North America production slightly gets more raw material benefit than an Asian production. So that is already one differentiating element.

是的。邁克爾，我只能重複我之前說過的話。首先，原材料，是的，可以公平地假設大多數人或多或少都從同樣的順風中受益。現在顏色不同，請記住，過去幾年北美原材料特別糟糕，比一些亞洲原材料還要糟糕。所以我想說，現在，北美生產比亞洲生產獲得了更多的原材料效益。所以這已經是一個差異化因素。

I would say, on the company-specific cost takeout actions, and you've seen that before, I mean, our own numbers, more than half of our cost takeout is discrete to us. That's what we are doing, okay? I would pride ourselves, we took actions early and fairly decisive. So I would see -- we see some of these cost elements or reductions probably earlier and more than most other competitors. Now I mean, obviously, we've got to see.

我想說，關於公司特定的成本削減行動，你之前已經看到，我的意思是，我們自己的數字，我們一半以上的成本削減對我們來說是離散的。這就是我們正在做的，好嗎？我為自己感到自豪，我們很早就採取了相當果斷的行動。所以我認為——我們可能比大多數其他競爭對手更早、更多地看到其中一些成本要素或減少。現在我的意思是，顯然，我們必須看看。

So as such, we feel confident about our cost takeout. We know how to operate in a promotional environment, as was evidenced and demonstrated in Q2. From that perspective, I don't expect a change in the back half relative to what we've seen right now around July 4th.

因此，我們對我們的成本支出充滿信心。正如第二季度所證明和展示的那樣，我們知道如何在促銷環境中運營。從這個角度來看，我預計後半部分相對於 7 月 4 日左右我們所看到的情況不會發生變化。

Got it. Okay. And then just a follow-up. With respect to inventory in the channel, I mean, inventory was running fairly lean. You called out some restock. How would you characterize inventory at retail now? Is it back to normal? Is it still climbing back toward normal off of levels that are still, you characterized, too lean? Or are there any pockets where you think there's now, relative to the sellout environment, potentially a little too much?

知道了。好的。然後只是後續行動。就渠道中的庫存而言，我的意思是，庫存運行得相當精簡。你叫了一些補貨。您現在如何描述零售庫存？恢復正常了嗎？它是否仍在從你所描述的仍然太瘦的水平恢復到正常水平？或者您認為，相對於銷售旺盛的環境，現在有哪些地方可能有點太多了？

Yes, Michael. First of all, we got to recognize and remind ourselves, the last 3 years, we've seen extreme swings on manufacturer and retail inventory levels. I mean this was a bullwhip effect, up and down, and that's what we've seen in the last couple of years. I think we're now back to a normal environment on many fronts, including trade inventories, which I would consider back-to-normal trade inventory levels. And basically, the retailers over the last half year took -- basically took an advantage of restocking to required levels, and that's how we would look at this one.

是的，邁克爾。首先，我們必須認識到並提醒自己，在過去的三年裡，我們看到製造商和零售庫存水平出現了極大的波動。我的意思是，這是一種向上和向下的牛鞭效應，這就是我們在過去幾年中看到的。我認為我們現在在許多方面都回到了正常環境，包括貿易庫存，我認為恢復到正常的貿易庫存水平。基本上，零售商在過去的半年里基本上利用了將庫存補充到所需水平的優勢，這就是我們看待這個問題的方式。

But right now, from what we've seen, we don't see excessive inventories out there. You also know there's one trade customer who doesn't carry inventory. So it's not -- they're not excessive inventories out there. Again, I would just describe them as normal retail inventory levels, which we see out there and which are basically all pointing to this post-pandemic environment normalcy.

但目前，從我們所看到的情況來看，我們並沒有看到庫存過多。您還知道有一位貿易客戶沒有庫存。所以不是——它們的庫存並不過多。再說一遍，我只是將它們描述為正常的零售庫存水平，我們看到的情況基本上都指向這種流行病後的環境常態。

Your next question comes from the line of Liz Suzuki from Bank of America.

您的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Liz Suzuki。

So just as we think about the ongoing tax rate in 2024 and beyond, I mean, what do you think is kind of a normalized level? It's obviously quite suppressed this year. But just as we think going forward and, I mean, I know you're not giving 2024 guidance, but in just any normal year, what do you think a tax rate should be that we incorporate into our models?

因此，正如我們思考 2024 年及以後的現行稅率一樣，我的意思是，您認為正常化水平是多少？今年顯然受到了相當的壓制。但正如我們思考未來一樣，我的意思是，我知道您不會給出 2024 年的指導，但在任何正常年份，您認為我們應該將稅率納入我們的模型中？

Yes. So Liz, this is Jim. And historically, we have said that we thought the tax rate on an ongoing basis and on a cash basis would be closer to the 2025 rate over an extended period of time. Now what I would say is as we go through our divestiture of EMEA, we have a significant amount of tax assets there that have resulted from losses that we've incurred over the years and funded and paid for already. And as we go through this process, we're really looking at our ability to utilize many of those because like I said, these are losses that we did incur.

是的。麗茲，這是吉姆。從歷史上看，我們曾說過，我們認為持續和現金基礎上的稅率在較長一段時間內會更接近 2025 年的稅率。現在我要說的是，當我們剝離歐洲、中東和非洲地區時，我們在那裡擁有大量稅收資產，這些資產是我們多年來遭受的損失造成的，並且已經提供資金和支付。當我們經歷這個過程時，我們確實在考慮利用其中許多的能力，因為就像我說的，這些是我們確實遭受的損失。

And what we're finding is that we're finding more and more opportunity to continue to utilize those. And so that's why this year, we think, similar to last year, we're going to be in the 10% to 15% range. I think over a midterm, we could see a rate that's below that historical thing that I was quoting of 20% to 25% and maybe even closer to the 15% to 20% at least for a period of time or closer to the 15%.

我們發現，我們正在尋找越來越多的機會來繼續利用這些。因此，我們認為，今年與去年類似，我們的增長率將在 10% 到 15% 的範圍內。我認為在中期選舉中，我們可能會看到一個低於我引用的歷史數據的 20% 到 25%，甚至可能更接近 15% 到 20%，至少在一段時間內或更接近 15% 。

But until we get to the end of this year, we get through all of this transaction, we look at the global footprint that we have and the remainder and then we look at the assets that we have, it's hard for us to give a longer-term guidance, but I do believe it will be better than we've set historically. And in addition to that, I do believe we'll be able to realize significant amount of just cash benefits over the period of years as we utilize some of those losses that we've already incurred.

但直到今年年底，我們完成了所有這些交易，我們看看我們擁有的全球足跡和其餘部分，然後我們看看我們擁有的資產，我們很難給出更長的時間長期指導，但我確實相信它會比我們歷史設定的更好。除此之外，我確實相信，隨著我們利用已經發生的一些損失，我們將能夠在幾年內實現大量現金收益。

Got it. That makes sense. And just a follow-up on the price/mix guidance, which for the year is estimated to be below what the first half is tracking at. I mean, is most of that improvement in the back half of the year easier comparisons? Or do you think it's -- is it more going to be concentrated in the homebuilder side of the business versus retail? I'm just curious how you think about pricing by channel as we get into the back half.

知道了。這就說得通了。這只是價格/組合指導的後續行動，預計今年的價格/組合指導將低於上半年的跟踪水平。我的意思是，下半年的大部分改進是否更容易比較？或者你認為它會更多地集中在房屋建築商方面而不是零售方面？我只是好奇當我們進入後半部分時您如何看待按渠道定價。

This is Marc. I can take it. I'll basically fully come back to the earlier comments. By definition, you have baseline effects of last year. Keep in mind, first half last year basically had no promotions, and they were building in the second half. So that's the element of where the comparison is getting a lot easier in the back half because, again, every quarter, the promotions have been building.

這是馬克。我可以接受。我基本上會完全回到之前的評論。根據定義，您具有去年的基線效應。請記住，去年上半年基本上沒有促銷活動，而下半年則在進行促銷活動。因此，這就是後半段的比較變得容易得多的因素，因為每個季度的促銷活動都在不斷進行。

So as such, I mean, this 2.5 on a full year base of just a quarter difference versus what we had in mind, but just a reflection is, yes, we saw the normal promotional environment kind of one quarter earlier when we originally expected, but not fundamentally different from baseline and where we expected the year-end to be.

因此，我的意思是，全年基礎上的 2.5 與我們的預期只有四分之一的差異，但只是一個反映，是的，我們比我們最初預期的提前一個季度看到了正常的促銷環境，但與基線和我們對年底的預期沒有根本不同。

So I think with that, we -- that was pretty much the last question which we had. And I want to take the opportunity to thank you all for joining us today. Hopefully, as you heard before, we feel very good about the Q2. I mean this was a quarter with 200 basis points of margin expansion, which is a significant step-up. It's a step-up fully back to pre-pandemic margin run rates. You also see or heard that we kind of -- we start seeing positive signals on the market demand environment more towards the end of the year, but they're undeniable. And they will, at one point, provide tailwinds for us for our industry, and we feel good about it.

所以我認為，這幾乎是我們提出的最後一個問題。我想藉此機會感謝大家今天加入我們。希望正如您之前所聽到的，我們對第二季度感覺非常好。我的意思是，這個季度的利潤率擴大了 200 個基點，這是一個顯著的進步。這是完全回到大流行前的保證金運行率的一步。您還看到或聽到，我們在年底時開始看到市場需求環境的積極信號，但它們是不可否認的。他們將在某一時刻為我們的行業提供順風，我們對此感覺良好。

So with that, we feel good about where we are in Q2, puts us on track towards reaffirming our full year guidance. And I'm looking forward to talk to you again at the Q3 earnings call. Thanks a lot for joining us.

因此，我們對第二季度的狀況感到滿意，這使我們有望重申全年指導。我期待在第三季度的財報電話會議上再次與您交談。非常感謝您加入我們。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

女士們先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。