Westlake Corp (WLK) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Westlake Corporation fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, this conference is being recorded today, February 24, 2026.

女士們、先生們，早安。感謝您的耐心等待。歡迎參加 Westlake 公司 2025 年第四季及全年業績電話會議。（操作說明）提醒各位女士、先生，本次會議於2026年2月24日進行錄音。

I would now like to turn the call over to today's host, Jeff Holy, Westlake's Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Sir, you may begin.

現在，我想把電話交給今天的主持人，韋斯特萊克副總裁兼首席會計官傑夫霍利。先生，您可以開始了。

Thank you, Amber. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Westlake Corporation conference call to discuss our fourth quarter and full year results for 2025. I'm joined today by Albert Chao, our Executive Chairman; Jean-Marc Gilson, our President and CEO; Steve Bender, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and other members of our management team.

謝謝你，安珀。各位早安，歡迎參加 Westlake Corporation 的電話會議，我們將討論 2025 年第四季和全年業績。今天與我一同出席的有：執行董事長趙明；總裁兼執行長讓-馬克·吉爾森；執行副總裁兼財務長史蒂夫·本德；以及我們管理團隊的其他成員。

During the call, we will refer to our two reporting segments: Housing and Infrastructure Products, which we refer to as HIP or Products. And Performance and Essential Materials, which we refer to as PEM or Materials. Today's conference call will begin with Jean-Marc, who will open with a few comments regarding Westlake's performance. Steve will then discuss our financial and operating results, after which Jean-Marc will add a few concluding comments, and we'll open the call up to questions.

在電話會議中，我們將提及我們的兩個報告部門：住房和基礎設施產品，我們簡稱為 HIP 或產品。以及性能和基本材料，我們稱之為 PEM 或材料。今天的電話會議將由讓-馬克開始，他將首先就韋斯特萊克的表現發表一些評論。接下來，史蒂夫將討論我們的財務和營運業績，之後讓-馬克將補充一些總結性評論，然後我們將開放問答環節。

During the fourth quarter of 2025, we wrote off inventory and accrued expenses totaling $495 million related to the decision to shut one styrene and three chlorovinyl facilities in North America and our epoxy facility in Pernis, Netherlands and PEM. We also recognized $16 million of accrued expenses within our HIP footprint optimization actions and the sale of a compounding business. We refer to these expense items, which in aggregate were $511 million, as the identified items in our earnings release and on this conference call.

2025 年第四季度，我們註銷了與關閉北美一家苯乙烯工廠和三家氯乙烯工廠以及位於荷蘭佩爾尼斯和 PEM 的環氧樹脂工廠相關的存貨和應計費用共計 4.95 億美元。我們也確認了 HIP 足跡優化措施和出售複合業務中產生的 1,600 萬美元應計費用。我們在獲利報告和本次電話會議中將這些費用項目稱為已確定的項目，總額為 5.11 億美元。

References to income from operations, EBITDA, net income and earnings per share on this call exclude the financial impact of the identified items. As such, comments made on this call will be in regard to our underlying business results using non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures is provided in our earnings release, which is available in the Investor Relations section of our website.

本次電話會議中提及的營業收入、EBITDA、淨收入和每股盈餘均不包括已確定專案的財務影響。因此，本次電話會議中的評論將圍繞我們使用非GAAP財務指標的基本業務表現。我們在獲利報告中提供了這些非GAAP財務指標與GAAP財務指標的調節表，該報告可在我們網站的投資者關係部分查閱。

Today, management is going to discuss certain topics that will contain forward-looking information that is based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. These forward-looking statements suggest predictions or expectations and thus are subject to risks or uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in Westlake's SEC filings. We encourage you to learn more about these factors by reviewing these SEC filings, which are also available on our Investor Relations website.

今天，管理層將討論一些主題，其中包含基於管理層信念、假設以及管理層目前可獲得的資訊的前瞻性資訊。這些前瞻性陳述包含預測或預期，因此存在風險或不確定性。這些風險和不確定性在 Westlake 向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中有所討論。我們建議您查閱這些提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件，以了解更多相關信息，這些文件也可以在我們的投資者關係網站上找到。

This morning, Westlake issued a press release with details of our fourth quarter and full year results. This document is available in the Press Release section of our website at westlake.com. We have also included an earnings presentation, which can be found in the Investor Relations section on our website.

今天上午，韋斯特萊克發布了一份新聞稿，詳細介紹了我們第四季度和全年的業績。這份文件可在我們網站 westlake.com 的「新聞稿」欄位中找到。我們還附上了一份收益報告演示文稿，可在我們網站的「投資者關係」欄位中找到。

A replay of today's call will be available beginning today, two hours following the conclusion of this call. This replay may be accessed via Westlake's website. Please note that information reported on this call speaks only as of today, February 24, 2026, and therefore, you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay. Finally, I would advise you that this conference call is being broadcast live through an Internet webcast system that can be accessed on our web page at westlake.com.

今天電話會議的錄音回放將於今天會議結束後兩小時開始提供。觀眾可透過西湖學院的網站觀看本次比賽重播。請注意，本次通話中報告的資訊僅代表截至 2026 年 2 月 24 日的情況，因此，請注意，任何重播時，有時效性的資訊可能不再準確。最後，我要告知各位，本次電話會議正在透過網路直播系統進行現場直播，您可以透過造訪我們網站 westlake.com 來觀看直播。

Now I would like to turn the call over to Jean-Marc Gilson. Jean-Marc?

現在我想把電話交給讓-馬克·吉爾森。讓-馬克？

Thank you, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us to discuss our fourth quarter and full year 2025 results. Our fourth quarter EBITDA of $196 million is net of $511 million of identified items that reflect our announced plan to restructure the businesses and reset our cost position to address the persistent macroeconomic challenges and volatility in trade policies we are experiencing.

謝謝你，傑夫，大家早安。感謝您參加我們關於2025年第四季和全年業績的討論。我們在第四季度 EBITDA 為 1.96 億美元，扣除了 5.11 億美元的已確定項目，這些項目反映了我們宣布的重組業務和調整成本狀況的計劃，以應對我們正在經歷的持續宏觀經濟挑戰和貿易政策波動。

Despite continued industry pressures, we have taken decisive action to strengthen our global manufacturing footprint, and we'll continue to deliver on our commercial commitments while executing our three-pillar strategy, which we expect to contribute $600 million of growth earnings improvement in 2026 while maintaining our focus on our long-term strategy of value creation. Westlake's cost-saving measures gained significant traction across every business in 2025, and we delivered over $170 million of structural cost reductions.

儘管面臨持續的行業壓力，我們仍採取了果斷行動來加強我們的全球製造佈局，我們將繼續履行我們的商業承諾，同時執行我們的三大支柱戰略，我們預計該戰略將在 2026 年帶來 6 億美元的增長收益，同時我們將繼續專注於創造價值的長期戰略。2025 年，Westlake 的成本節約措施在各個業務部門都取得了顯著成效，我們實現了超過 1.7 億美元的結構性成本削減。

Looking at our fourth quarter results, HIP performed well while experiencing the typical seasonal decline in sales volume and earnings and the added impact of lower construction activity in the fourth quarter. The year-over-year decline in sales reflected lower new housing construction activity in North America, but that decline was partially offset by solid municipal pipe sales volumes as we benefited from the growth in infrastructure spending in cities across North America.

從我們第四季度的業績來看，HIP 在經歷了典型的季節性銷售量和收益下降以及第四季度建築活動減少的額外影響的情況下，表現良好。銷售額同比下降反映了北美新房屋建設活動的減少，但由於北美各地城市基礎設施支出的增長，市政管道銷售額的強勁增長部分抵消了這一下降。

Turning to PEM. The fourth quarter was a continuation of the trends that we witnessed throughout 2025, with results reflecting a decline in volume and price with margin compressions across our product portfolio as we serve the stable global industrial and manufacturing base. As we discussed in December, global overcapacity in certain products created downward pressure on the sales price for many of PEM's products, leading to a sharp decline in PEM's profitability compared to historical levels. These pricing pressures continued in the fourth quarter with a further 5% decline in PEM's average sales prices compared to the third quarter of 2025.

轉向PEM。第四季延續了我們在 2025 年全年所看到的趨勢，由於我們服務於穩定的全球工業和製造業基礎，我們的產品組合的銷售和價格均有所下降，利潤率也受到壓縮。正如我們在 12 月討論的那樣，某些產品的全球產能過剩給 PEM 的許多產品的銷售價格帶來了下行壓力，導致 PEM 的盈利能力與歷史水平相比急劇下降。這些價格壓力在第四季度仍在持續，PEM 的平均銷售價格與 2025 年第三季相比進一步下降了 5%。

Our three-pillar strategy, which I outlined in December, is expected to contribute a $600 million improvement in earnings in 2026. Let me summarize each of these pillars, as significant steps have already been taken to drive this earnings performance strategy forward. First, we have taken decisive actions to close higher-cost PEM assets that largely sold products into low-priced export markets.

我在 12 月提出的三大支柱策略預計將在 2026 年帶來 6 億美元的收益成長。讓我來總結一下這些支柱，因為為了推進這項獲利績效策略，我們已經採取了重要的步驟。首先，我們採取了果斷措施，關閉了成本較高的PEM資產，這些資產的產品主要銷往低價出口市場。

We closed an epoxy manufacturing site in Pernis, the Netherlands, a nonintegrated PVC plant in China, three North American chlorovinyl assets, a styrene asset and three HIP fabrication sites. These actions contributed to a 6% reduction in our headcount and an even more significant reduction in our contractor workforce in 2025. Having now shuttered all of these assets, we expect to see an improvement in earnings of $200 million in 2026 from footprint optimization.

我們關閉了位於荷蘭佩爾尼斯的環氧樹脂製造廠、位於中國的非一體化PVC工廠、三個北美氯乙烯資產、一個苯乙烯資產和三個HIP製造廠。這些措施導致我們在 2025 年減少了 6% 的員工人數，並大幅減少了承包商員工人數。現在所有這些資產都已關閉，我們預計到 2026 年，透過優化佈局，收益將增加 2 億美元。

Second, we have redoubled our efforts to address reliability in plant operations. Thus, we expect to deliver a $200 million year-over-year EBITDA improvement from better plant reliability in 2026. Third, building on the successful structural cost reduction efforts achieved in 2025, we have implemented an additional structural company-wide cost reduction program that we expect will deliver $200 million in 2026. These decisive steps and the commitment to deliver improved financial performance through these self-help actions will deliver better utilized assets and an improved cost structure to compete in a global marketplace.

其次，我們加倍努力解決工廠運作可靠性問題。因此，我們預計到 2026 年，由於工廠可靠性提高，EBITDA 將比上年增長 2 億美元。第三，在 2025 年成功實施結構性成本削減措施的基礎上，我們又實施了一項全公司範圍的結構性成本削減計劃，預計 2026 年將節省 2 億美元。這些果斷的舉措以及透過這些自助行動來改善財務績效的承諾，將帶來更有效率的資產利用和更優化的成本結構，從而在全球市場中更具競爭力。

I would like now to turn our call over to Steve to provide more detail on our financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025. But before I do that, I would like to make an additional comment. As you may have seen in the 8-K we issued yesterday, our colleague and long serving Chief Financial Officer, Steve Bender, has informed us that he plans to retire later this year once his replacement has been appointed and appropriate transition has occurred.

現在我謹將電話轉交給史蒂夫，請他詳細介紹我們2025年第四季和全年的財務表現。但在此之前，我想補充一點。正如您可能在我們昨天發布的 8-K 文件中看到的那樣，我們的同事兼長期擔任首席財務官的史蒂夫·本德 (Steve Bender) 已告知我們，他計劃在今年晚些時候退休，屆時他的繼任者將被任命，並且過渡工作也將完成。

We are tremendously grateful for the countless contribution that Steve has made to the company over the years. He joined Westlake in 2005, not long after the company's 2004 initial public offering, and he has been instrumental to the significant growth in the company that the company enjoyed since then. Steve will be with me on several more earnings calls in 2026, so this is not yet a goodbye. Nonetheless, we wanted to take this moment to express our gratitude to Steve.

我們非常感謝史蒂夫多年來為公司所做的無數貢獻。他在 2005 年加入 Westlake 公司，當時距離該公司 2004 年首次公開募股不久，此後該公司取得的顯著增長對他起到了至關重要的作用。2026 年，史蒂夫還會和我一起參加幾次財報電話會議，所以這還不是告別。儘管如此，我們還是想藉此機會向史蒂夫表達我們的感激之情。

Now let's turn to the fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results. Steve?

現在讓我們來看看2025年第四季和全年的財務表現。史蒂夫？

Thank you, Jean-Marc, for those comments. Thank you very much, and good morning, everyone. As a reminder, my comments regarding income from operations, EBITDA, net income and earnings per share all exclude the financial impact of the identified items.

感謝Jean-Marc的評論。非常感謝，大家早安。再次提醒，我對營業收入、EBITDA、淨收入和每股盈餘的評論均不包括已確定專案的財務影響。

Westlake reported a net loss of $33 million or a loss of $0.25 per share in the fourth quarter on sales of $2.5 billion. The net loss in the fourth quarter of 2025 was $5 million lower than the third quarter of 2025, primarily due to lower average sales prices and lower sales volumes. For the fourth quarter of 2025, our utilization of the FIFO method of accounting resulted in an unfavorable pretax impact of $2 million compared to what earnings would have been if we reported on the LIFO method. This is only an estimate and has not been audited. We delivered an additional $60 million of cost reductions in the fourth quarter, thereby achieving the $170 million of total cost reductions in 2025 and accomplishing our 2025 target of structural cost reductions.

Westlake公司第四季淨虧損3,300萬美元，即每股虧損0.25美元，銷售額為25億美元。2025 年第四季淨虧損比 2025 年第三季減少了 500 萬美元，主要原因是平均銷售價格下降和銷售量下降。2025 年第四季度，我們採用先進先出法（FIFO）會計方法，導致稅前虧損 200 萬美元，而如果我們採用後進先出法（LIFO）進行報告，則應獲得更高的收益。這只是一個估算值，未經審計。我們在第四季又實現了 6,000 萬美元的成本削減，從而在 2025 年實現了 1.7 億美元的總成本削減目標，並完成了我們 2025 年的結構性成本削減目標。

For the full year of 2025, we reported a net loss of $116 million and EBITDA of $1.1 billion. Compared to our 2024 results, 2025 sales of $11.2 billion declined 8%. The lower full year of 2025 sales were the result of a 5% decline in sales volume, driven primarily by PVC resin and epoxy resin, and a 3% decline in average sales price driven primarily by pipe and fittings and PVC resin.

2025 年全年，我們報告淨虧損 1.16 億美元，EBITDA 為 11 億美元。與我們 2024 年的業績相比，2025 年的銷售額為 112 億美元，下降了 8%。2025 年全年銷售額下降，主要是由於銷售量下降 5%（主要受 PVC 樹脂和環氧樹脂的影響）和平均銷售價格下降 3%（主要受管道和配件以及 PVC 樹脂的影響）。

Before I discuss the details of our segment results, I want to provide some high-level thoughts on the quarter and the year as a whole. Our HIP segment performed very well, and we were very pleased with the stability and resiliency of the portfolio businesses that we've assembled. At the same time, as we discussed in December, our PEM segment was impacted by global overcapacity, particularly in polyethylene and the chlorovinyls chain that drove lower average sales prices and margins. As Jean-Marc discussed throughout 2025, we took the necessary actions to adjust to the changing global balance of supply and demand and to position our PEM segment for improved profitability in 2026 and beyond.

在詳細介紹我們各業務板塊的業績之前，我想先就本季和全年的情況做一些概括性的看法。我們的 HIP 業務部門表現非常出色，我們對所組成的投資組合企業的穩定性和韌性感到非常滿意。同時，正如我們在 12 月討論的那樣，我們的 PEM 業務受到了全球產能過剩的影響，特別是聚乙烯和氯乙烯產業鏈，這導致平均銷售價格和利潤率下降。正如 Jean-Marc 在 2025 年所討論的那樣，我們採取了必要的措施來適應不斷變化的全球供需平衡，並為我們的 PEM 業務部門在 2026 年及以後提高盈利能力做好準備。

Moving to the specifics of our segment performance. HIP sales in the fourth quarter declined 8% year-over-year, driven by a decrease in sales volumes. The sales volume decline was mostly driven by PVC compounds and exterior building products, which were most exposed to lower residential construction activity and was only partially offset by the continued solid sales volume in pipe and fittings. HIP's EBITDA margin of 16% in the fourth quarter of 2025 was below the prior year period due to unfavorable changes in sales mix and some higher costs.

接下來具體分析我們業務板塊的業績表現。第四季 HIP 銷售額較去年同期下降 8%，主要原因是銷售量下降。銷售量下降主要是由於 PVC 化合物和外牆建材受住宅建築活動減少的影響最大，管道和配件的持續強勁銷售量僅部分抵消了這一影響。由於銷售組合的不利變化和一些成本的增加，HIP 2025 年第四季的 EBITDA 利潤率為 16%，低於去年同期。

Shifting focus to PEM's -- excuse me, to HIP's full year 2025 results. EBITDA of $839 million and EBITDA margin of 20% were in line with our guidance and expectations. While HIP's 2025 sales and EBITDA were below the prior year, we are pleased with its ability to manage the slower new residential construction environment better than the overall industry due to its broad geographical footprint and deep product offering that make it a supplier of choice for many large national homebuilders. HIP's resilient sales and EBITDA in 2025 also supported by strong customer adoption of our innovative PVCO pipe as well as continued solid demand growth for municipal pipe in general.

將重點轉移到 PEM 的——抱歉，是 HIP 的 2025 年全年業績。EBITDA 為 8.39 億美元，EBITDA 利潤率為 20%，符合我們的指導和預期。儘管 HIP 2025 年的銷售額和 EBITDA 低於上一年，但我們對其能夠比整個行業更好地應對新住宅建設放緩的環境感到滿意，這得益於其廣泛的地域覆蓋和豐富的產品供應，使其成為許多大型全國性住宅建築商的首選供應商。HIP 2025 年的穩健銷售額和 EBITDA 也得益於客戶對我們創新 PVCO 管道的強勁接受，以及市政管道整體需求的持續穩健成長。

Moving to PEM segment. Fourth quarter EBITDA of $45 million decreased by $45 million from the third quarter of 2025. The sequential decrease in EBITDA was the result of 5% lower average sales price, driven primarily by polyethylene and PVC resin, and a 2% lower sales volume due to seasonal customer inventory destocking, which was partially offset by a $27 million benefit from annuitizing certain pension obligations, among other small onetime items. PEM's fourth quarter EBITDA margin of 3% decline from 5% in the third quarter of 2025, driven by lower average sales price, which was partially offset by a $26 million benefit from sequential lower planned turnarounds and unplanned outages.

進入PEM領域。第四季 EBITDA 為 4,500 萬美元，比 2025 年第三季減少了 4,500 萬美元。EBITDA 環比下降是由於平均銷售價格下降 5%（主要受聚乙烯和 PVC 樹脂的影響）以及銷售量下降 2%（由於季節性客戶庫存清倉），部分被某些退休金義務年金化帶來的 2700 萬美元收益以及其他一些一次性小額項目所抵消。PEM 第四季 EBITDA 利潤率為 3%，低於 2025 年第三季的 5%，主要原因是平均銷售價格下降，但計劃內檢修和計劃外停機時間環比減少帶來的 2600 萬美元收益部分抵消了這一影響。

Shifting focus to PEM's full year 2025 results. EBITDA of $267 million was lower than 2024 due to higher feedstock and energy cost, an elevated level of line and unplanned outages and lower level sales price. Weak mobile industrial manufacturing activity, combined with overseas capacity additions, created global overcapacity in certain materials in 2025. This global overcapacity drove lower average sales prices and margins in PEM, particularly for polyethylene and chlor-alkali and chlorovinyls.

將重點轉向PEM 2025年全年業績。由於原料和能源成本較高、生產線和計劃外停機時間較長以及銷售價格較低，EBITDA 為 2.67 億美元，低於 2024 年的水準。2025 年，疲軟的行動工業製造活動加上海外產能的增加，導致某些材料的全球產能過剩。全球產能過剩導致PEM產品的平均銷售價格和利潤率下降，尤其是聚乙烯、氯鹼和氯乙烯產品。

In response, we made the necessary decision in December to close three of our nonintegrated and higher cost North American chlorovinyl assets that sold into low-priced export markets. As we discussed in December, we expect these actions to provide an annual EBITDA benefit for PEM of approximately [$100 million] starting in 2026 by reducing our exposure to the low-priced export market.

為此，我們在 12 月做出了必要的決定，關閉了我們在北美的三個非一體化且成本較高的氯乙烯資產，這些資產主要銷往低價出口市場。正如我們在 12 月討論的那樣，我們預計這些措施將透過減少我們對低價出口市場的風險敞口，從 2026 年開始為 PEM 帶來每年約 1 億美元的 EBITDA 收益。

Turning to the balance sheet and cash flows. As of December 31, 2025, cash and securities were $2.9 billion, and total debt was $5.6 billion. Our balance sheet continues to be well positioned for the 16-year average debt maturity life. For the fourth quarter of 2025, net cash provided by operating activities was $225 million, while capital expenditures were $241 million. For the full year of 2025, we returned $335 million to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. We continue to look for opportunities to strategically deploy our balance sheet in order to continue to create long-term value for our shareholders.

接下來來看資產負債表和現金流量表。截至 2025 年 12 月 31 日，現金及證券為 29 億美元，總負債為 56 億美元。我們的資產負債表依然能夠很好地應對16年的平均債務到期期限。2025 年第四季度，經營活動產生的淨現金為 2.25 億美元，而資本支出為 2.41 億美元。2025 年全年，我們以股利和股票回購的形式向股東返還了 3.35 億美元。我們將繼續尋找機會，策略性地運用我們的資產負債表，以便繼續為股東創造長期價值。

Turning our attention to 2026. Let me address some of your modeling questions and provide some guidance for the year ahead. Our three-pillar strategy, which was outlined in December, is expected to contribute $600 million of improvement in earnings in 2026. Through these self-help structural actions, we are better positioned to serve our value customers and navigate the current macro environment. We have revamped our operating model and now have better utilized benefits and a lower cost structure to compete in the global marketplace with improved financial performance.

讓我們把目光轉向2026年。讓我來解答你們的一些建模問題，並為未來一年提供一些指導。我們在 12 月提出的三大支柱策略預計將在 2026 年帶來 6 億美元的收益成長。透過這些自助式的結構性措施，我們能夠更好地服務我們的重要客戶，並應對當前的宏觀環境。我們改進了營運模式，現在能夠更好地利用福利，降低成本結構，從而在全球市場中更具競爭力，並提高財務表現。

Now turning to our guidance for HIP. Housing and industry consultants and a consensus of economists forecast that housing starts to range between 1.3 million and 1.4 million in 2026 and for home affordability based on lower interest rates to improve. Furthermore, we expect HIP to benefit in 2026 from the recent acquisition of ACI with a now expanded compound product offering and strong customer relationships, the strong 2026 structural savings that we've initiated and the benefits from plant optimization actions taken in 2025. Thus, based on our current view of demand and prices, we expect 2026 revenue in our HIP segment to be between $4.4 billion and $4.6 billion with an EBITDA margin of 19% to 21%.

現在來看我們關於 HIP 的指導意見。住房和產業顧問以及經濟學家一致預測，2026 年住房開工量將在 130 萬至 140 萬套之間，而基於較低利率的住房負擔能力將會改善。此外，我們預計 HIP 將在 2026 年受益於最近收購 ACI，從而擴大化合物產品供應範圍並建立牢固的客戶關係，以及我們啟動的 2026 年強勁的結構性節約措施和 2025 年採取的工廠優化措施帶來的益處。因此，根據我們目前對需求和價格的看法，我們預計 2026 年 HIP 業務部門的營收將在 44 億美元至 46 億美元之間，EBITDA 利潤率為 19% 至 21%。

For 2026, we expect a $100 million year-over-year reduction in our capital expenditures to approximately $900 million, similar to our depreciation run rate. For the full year of 2026, we expect our effective tax rate to be approximately 17%. We also expect cash interest expense to be approximately $215 million.

預計到 2026 年，我們的資本支出將比上年減少 1 億美元，降至約 9 億美元，與我們的折舊運行率相似。預計 2026 年全年實際稅率約為 17%。我們也預計現金利息支出約為 2.15 億美元。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Jean-Marc to provide the current outlook of our business. Jean-Marc?

現在我想把電話交給讓-馬克，讓他介紹我們公司目前的業務前景。讓-馬克？

Thank you, Steve. 2026 represents an inflection point, following the actions we have taken to optimize our manufacturing footprint, streamline our cost position and operate our assets to serve our customers. We have positioned Westlake for a stronger, more resilient and profitable future as we navigate the challenging macro environment with our three-pillar action plan, together with our long-term strategy and our investment discipline.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。 2026年是一個轉捩點，此前我們已採取措施優化生產佈局、精簡成本結構並有效營運資產，以更好地服務客戶。我們透過三支柱行動計畫、長期策略和投資紀律，使 Westlake 能夠在充滿挑戰的宏觀環境中保持更強大、更有韌性和更盈利的未來。

Turning to our outlook for demand. We expect a rebound from the seasonal lows of the fourth quarter. We are also seeing signs of improvement in global industrial and manufacturing activity to start the year. The January US ISM reading of 53 was the first month in expansionary territory in a year, and the average 30-year mortgage rate sits at 6.2% today, down from 7% a year ago, which improves the affordability of new houses. So overall, some signs of improvement in the market, which has us cautiously optimistic that we will see sales volume growth in each of our segments in 2026.

接下來談談我們對需求的展望。我們預計第四季將出現反彈，擺脫季節性低點的影響。今年年初，我們也看到全球工業和製造業活動出現改善跡象。美國1月ISM指數為53，是近一年來首次進入擴張區間；目前30年期抵押貸款平均利率為6.2%，低於一年前的7%，提高了新房的可負擔性。因此，總體而言，市場出現了一些改善跡象，這讓我們謹慎樂觀地認為，到 2026 年，我們各個細分市場的銷售量都將成長。

Sustainability and environmental stewardship remains critical to our mission at Westlake, having established a target to reduce our carbon emissions intensity by 20% by the year 2030. I'm happy to report that in November, we released our 2024 sustainability report, which showed that we achieved our emissions reduction goal six years early.

永續發展和環境管理仍然是西湖學院使命的關鍵所在，我們已製定目標，到 2030 年將碳排放強度降低 20%。我很高興地報告，我們在 11 月發布了 2024 年永續發展報告，報告顯示我們提前六年實現了減排目標。

Before I open the call to your questions, I want to close by highlighting Westlake's foundational strength, which continued to serve us well. These strengths include a diversified and complementary portfolio of businesses, our vertically integrated business model, our globally advantaged feedstock and energy position in the US and our investment-grade rated balance sheet with $2.9 billion of cash and securities.

在正式開始回答大家的問題之前，我想最後先強調一下韋斯特萊克的基礎優勢，這優勢一直對我們大有裨益。這些優勢包括多元化和互補的業務組合、垂直整合的商業模式、我們在美國擁有的全球優勢原料和能源地位，以及我們擁有29億美元現金和證券的投資等級資產負債表。

We have streamlined our operating model and have reset our cost structure. As we navigate the cycle in PEM, we have a more competitive business that is positioned to grow more efficiently with our customers. The expected steady improvement in housing construction will provide HIP the ability to continue to capitalize on its very broad and deep product offering to grow our business and to create value for our shareholders. We remain focused on execution, cost discipline and value-driven growth.

我們精簡了營運模式，並重新調整了成本結構。隨著我們在PEM產業週期中不斷前行，我們的業務更具競爭力，能夠與客戶一起更有效率地成長。預計房屋建設的穩定改善將使 HIP 能夠繼續利用其非常廣泛和深入的產品供應來發展業務並為股東創造價值。我們將繼續專注於執行、成本控制和價值驅動型成長。

Thank you very much for listening to our earnings call. I will now turn the call over to Jeff.

非常感謝各位收聽我們的財報電話會議。現在我將把通話轉給傑夫。

Thank you, Jean-Marc. Before we begin taking questions, I'd like to remind listeners that our earnings presentation, which provides additional clarity into our results, is available on our website, and a replay of this teleconference will be available two hours after the call has ended. We'll provide that information again at the end of the call. Amber, we will now take questions.

謝謝你，讓-馬克。在開始回答問題之前，我想提醒各位聽眾，我們的收益報告（其中對我們的業績有更清晰的說明）可在我們的網站上找到，本次電話會議的錄音回放將在會議結束後兩小時提供。我們將在通話結束時再次提供該資訊。Amber，現在開始回答問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

David Begleiter, Deutsche Bank.

大衛‧貝格萊特，德意志銀行。

Jean-Marc and Steve, can you go back to the HIP business in Q4 and break down the beat versus what you announced back in mid-December of roughly $90 million?

Jean-Marc 和 Steve，你們能否回顧一下第四季度的 HIP 業務，並分析一下實際業績與你們在 12 月中旬宣布的約 9000 萬美元的業績相比如何？

Yes. So David, thank you very much for the question. And as you could see, when we compare the result in PEM quarter-over-quarter, we did identify specifically, some annuitization of some pension benefits. You can see that we also shuttered some of these assets in the fourth quarter. And so the three chlorovinyl plants had actually been down during the entire fourth quarter. So the losses that we saw accruing during that period no longer were accruing.

是的。大衛，非常感謝你的提問。正如你所看到的，當我們比較 PEM 的季度環比結果時，我們確實具體發現了一些退休金福利的年金化。您可以看到，我們在第四季也關閉了其中一些資產。因此，這三家氯乙烯工廠實際上在整個第四季都處於停產狀態。因此，我們在那段時間內看到的虧損不再繼續發生。

So when I think about this, we had a volume reduction of only about 2% and a price reduction really in PVC and in polyethylene. So the beat was really attributable to beginning to take the proactive steps in our three-pillar initiatives by removing the losses that we saw accruing from those sales in that low price market and begin to take some of those cost reduction initiatives at the tail end of 2025.

所以仔細想想，我們的產量只減少了大約 2%，而 PVC 和聚乙烯的價格確實降低了。因此，業績的提升實際上歸功於我們在三大支柱計劃中開始採取積極措施，消除我們在低價市場銷售中看到的損失，並在 2025 年末開始採取一些成本削減措施。

Very clear. And just on polyethylene in February. What are your expectations around your announced price increases and potential realization?

非常清楚。僅二月份就聚乙烯而言。您對已宣布的價格上漲及其最終實現情況有何預期？

Well, as we think about 2026, we have seen some improvement in demand and some improvement in price action. But remember, we also had some adjustments at the end of the year of 2025. And so the announced increase in polyethylene price that we saw in January of about $0.05 really begins to offset some of the nonmarket adjustment, which is a market adjustment at the end of last year. And we've made further announcements in price actions for February. We'll see how February plays through, but we have another price announcement also on the table for February.

展望2026年，我們看到需求和價格走勢都出現了一些改善。但請記住，我們在 2025 年底也做了一些調整。因此，我們在 1 月看到的聚乙烯價格上漲約 0.05 美元，確實開始抵消一些非市場調整，即去年底的市場調整。我們已就二月份的價格走勢發布了更多公告。我們拭目以待二月份的走勢，但我們二月還有另一個價格公告即將發布。

Patrick Cunningham, Citi.

派崔克‧坎寧安，花旗銀行。

I'm curious on your outlook for chlorovinyl and PVC chain in 2026. It seems maybe cautiously optimistic with some demand pull through into the HIP business, but still dealing with some structural supply issues. So how would you frame the supply and demand outlook and sort of direction from price and margin in 2026?

我對2026年氯乙烯和PVC鏈的前景很感興趣。雖然對 HIP 業務的需求有所回升，但似乎仍持謹慎樂觀態度，不過仍面臨一些結構性供應問題。那麼，您如何看待2026年的價格和利潤率對供需前景和發展方向的影響？

Well, I think, Patrick, as you look at the price action that we've seen so far is indicative of some restocking that's going on. I would say that we remain cautiously optimistic. We've seen some, as I mentioned, some price action in PVC risk, and we've seen some improvement in price, but we're still not fully recovered from the end of the year price adjustments that we saw in PVC. So we've seen an announcement also in February. And we've also noticed that inventory, as I say, a restocking by some of our customers.

嗯，帕特里克，我認為，從我們目前看到的價格走勢來看，這表明正在進行一些補貨。我認為我們仍保持謹慎樂觀的態度。正如我之前提到的，我們已經看到PVC風險價格出現了一些波動，價格也出現了一些改善，但我們仍然沒有完全從年底PVC價格調整中恢復過來。所以我們在二月也看到了相關公告。正如我所說，我們也注意到一些客戶正在補貨。

But I'd say we're still very cautious in terms of how we look out through the year because I don't have that long-term availability and visibility. I can only see out several months. But I think the early signs that we see in pricing initiatives in PVC and in caustic signal that we see some improvement in restocking, but it's hard to know whether this will play through the entire quarter, and for that matter, the entire year.

但我認為，在展望今年的未來時，我們仍然非常謹慎，因為我沒有長期的計劃和安排。我只能預見未來幾個月的情況了。但我認為，我們在PVC和腐蝕性材料定價舉措中看到的早期跡象表明，補貨情況有所改善，但很難知道這種情況是否會持續整個季度，甚至全年。

We've also seen -- I'd also note that with the actions that we've seen in terms of an export market, export market prices have started to trend higher. And I think attributable to some of the reduction of duty drawback that certain markets like China are providing, it's going to effect in April, but the actions taken already suggest that prices have moved up in export market pricing.

我們也看到——我還想指出，就出口市場而言，我們看到的種種舉措表明，出口市場價格已經開始呈現上漲趨勢。我認為，部分原因是由於中國等某些市場提供的退稅減少，雖然將在 4 月生效，但目前採取的措施表明，出口市場價格已經上漲。

Understood. Very helpful. And then maybe just some clarification on the HIP guidance. I'm assuming that includes three quarters of ACI. You have a slightly lower margin guide. Is the bulk of that coming from the dilutive margin impact there? Or are there any other mix impacts we should be monitoring?

明白了。很有幫助。然後或許還需要對 HIP 指南做一些澄清。我假設這包括四分之三的ACI。您的邊距指南略低一些。其中大部分是否來自稀釋利潤率的影響？或者有其他需要我們關注的混合影響嗎？

No, it's really not an impact of ACI, and we closed that in January. And so I do expect that it will be a contributor all year long. But I would say, Patrick, it's really looking at the numbers that we've guided to 1.3 million to 1.4 million starts in '26, similar to '25. And just recognizing that as we work through the starts numbers this year, that product mix can have an impact in the overall margin that we see in the HIP business, but we still remain to say cautiously optimistic about the contributions that HIP will make this year in '26.

不，這真的不是 ACI 的影響，我們已經在 1 月結束了那項討論。因此，我預計它將在全年都做出貢獻。但我想說，派崔克，我們真正應該關注的是，我們預測 2026 年的比賽開賽次數將達到 130 萬到 140 萬次，與 2025 年的情況類似。我們意識到，隨著今年啟動數量的減少，產品組合可能會對 HIP 業務的整體利潤率產生影響，但我們仍然對 HIP 在 2026 年的貢獻持謹慎樂觀態度。

Duffy Fischer, Goldman Sachs.

達菲費雪，高盛集團。

First question, just on the $600 million of cost help this year. How does that play through the year? If you could kind of walk quarter-by-quarter, how do we add up to that $600 million for the year?

第一個問題，僅關於今年6億美元的成本援助。這會如何影響全年的安排？如果以季度計算，我們該如何得出全年 6 億美元的目標？

Yes. Good question, Duffy. And I would say that as we've taken the actions in '25, some of the savings that we achieved in '25 were attributable to the actions that we took in '25. And those will continue to play through for the year through 2026. And so those actions that we've taken cover things such as logistics, procurement and a variety of other initiatives to really drive reductions in costs, which we think will be structural in nature.

是的。問得好，達菲。我想說，由於我們在 2025 年採取了行動，我們在 2025 年取得的一些節省歸功於我們在 2025 年採取的行動。這些比賽將持續到 2026 年。因此，我們採取的這些行動涵蓋了物流、採購以及其他各種旨在真正降低成本的舉措，我們認為這些降低本質上是結構性的。

So we think that as we think about the ratable benefit that we expect to see, we do expect to see that ratable benefit of cost reductions to play through the year. Of course, we've shuttered those assets at the end of the year for that second pillar. And so certainly, those operations are down, no longer exposed as heavily we were to that low-priced export market. So I do expect those also to be coming through the course of 2026.

因此，我們認為，在考慮預期可獲得的效益時，我們確實預期成本降低所帶來的可獲得效益將在這一年中發揮作用。當然，為了實現第二個支柱目標，我們已經在年底關閉了這些資產。因此，這些業務肯定已經減少，我們不再像以前那樣嚴重依賴低價出口市場。所以我預計這些也會在 2026 年陸續到來。

The third pillar is reliability. And of course, we have to earn that each and every day. But we're very confident we've made significant investments in our plants, significant training of our people. '24 and '25 were years of very elevated levels of planned turnarounds. And therefore, associated with some of those planned turnarounds were the unplanned outages as we brought those plants up or attempted to 2026 will be a year with far fewer planned turnarounds. So we do have a high expectation that we'll be able to deliver on that third pillar of reliability.

第三大支柱是可靠性。當然，這一切都需要我們每天努力爭取。但我們非常有信心，我們已對工廠進行了大量投資，並對員工進行了大量的培訓。 2024年和2025年是計畫內檢修量非常高的兩年。因此，與一些計劃內的檢修相關的，是我們在啟動或嘗試運行這些工廠時發生的計劃外停機。 2026 年將是計畫內檢修次數大幅減少的一年。因此，我們對能夠實現可靠性這第三個支柱抱有很高的期望。

Fair enough. And then at the midpoint of your HIP guidance, you're basically $60 million better on EBITDA than you were last year. Again, how does that portend for kind of each quarter? Are there still some quarters where you may be down year-over-year, even if you hit the midpoint? Or maybe first half, second half, just to kind of help us get the shape for the HIP earnings this year?

很公平。然後，按照您 HIP 指導的中點計算，您的 EBITDA 比去年增加了 6000 萬美元。那麼，這對每季的情況又意味著什麼呢？即使達到年中目標，是否仍有一些季度可能出現年減？或者，可以分上半年、下半年，大致了解一下今年 HIP 的收益狀況？

Yes. And Duffy, good question. The fourth quarter and the first quarter of each year tend to be weaker quarters just seasonally. I mean, those who are in the Midwest or Northeast have seen the heavy snowfall in the winter season play through. And so as we think about it, it slows down demand and the construction activities. So the fourth quarter and the first quarter of each year tend to be a slower period of activity.

是的。達菲，問得好。每年的第四季和第一季通常都是季節性的淡季。我的意思是，中西部或東北部的人們都親眼目睹了冬季的大雪。因此，仔細想想，這會減緩需求和建築活動。因此，每年的第四季和第一季往往是經濟活動較為放緩的時期。

But nevertheless, quarter two and quarter three tend to be much stronger. So that same cycle that we see play through in '25 should be similar in terms of the shape of the curve if you think about it in 2026. So we do expect, again, a cautiously optimistic outlook for HIP, and the guidance we have for starts is similar to those in 2025.

不過，第二季和第三季往往表現強勁得多。因此，如果我們考慮 2026 年的情況，就會發現 2025 年出現的週期在曲線形狀上應該與之類似。因此，我們再次對 HIP 的前景持謹慎樂觀態度，我們對開工量的指導與 2025 年的類似。

Josh Spector, UBS.

瑞銀集團的 Josh Spector。

I wanted to just ask on HIP, where you guys continue to talk about, I think relatively strong growth in the infrastructure segment around pipe and fittings. But the infrastructure subsegment sales are actually down more than the Housing Products segment, both year-on-year and sequentially. So does that mean that the composites business is down much more? Or what am I missing between that more positive commentary in the segment results?

我想在 HIP 論壇上問一下，你們一直在討論管道和配件等基礎設施領域的相對強勁增長。但基礎設施子部門的銷售額實際上比住房產品部門的銷售額下降更多，無論是同比還是環比。那是不是代表複合材料業務的下滑幅度更大？或者，在節目結果中那些較為正面的評論之間，我錯過了什麼？

Yes. Good question. And the answer is that a lot of that municipal pipe actually goes into neighborhoods and subdivisions, which actually are not in that subsegment. And so there are sales, not only the cities and counties and states, but also into major developers who may be developing those neighborhoods and those subdivisions with infrastructure pipe and fittings. And so it's really a mix between those two subsegments within the HIP segment.

是的。問得好。答案是，許多市政管道實際上通往居民區和住宅區，而這些地方實際上並不屬於該子區段。因此，不僅是城市、縣和州，還有大型開發商，他們可能會用基礎設施管道和配件來開發這些社區和住宅區。因此，它實際上是 HIP 細分市場中這兩個子細分市場的混合體。

We are seeing really continued strong growth in the volume in that side of the business. And so when I think and speak to municipal pipe, it isn't always necessarily in the infrastructure subsegment because some of that is in the housing subsegment related to nationwide builders who are building out infrastructure in their neighborhoods and subdivisions.

我們看到該業務領域的銷售持續強勁成長。因此，當我想到市政管道並談論它時，它並不總是屬於基礎設施子領域，因為其中一些屬於住房子領域，與全國各地的建築商在其社區和住宅區建設基礎設施有關。

Okay. No, that's helpful. And maybe actually, a similar point to what Duffy was asking. If I look at the cost savings, is any of that being attributed to HIP? So if EBITDA is up $60 million at the midpoint, you're doing an acquisition, is the organic up? Is there cost savings? Is there something else we're missing in the moving parts there?

好的。不，這很有幫助。或許，這其實和達菲提出的問題有相似之處。如果我看一下成本節約情況，其中有多少是歸功於 HIP 的？如果 EBITDA 在中間值時增加了 6,000 萬美元，而你正在進行收購，那麼內生成長是否也成長了呢？是否有節省成本的方案？是不是我們忽略了其他一些關鍵因素？

Yes. As we think about the pillar that we talked about of cost reduction, yes, the HIP side of the business does have a meaningful contribution in that cost savings initiative. And so as we look forward, they and all the other functions are also contributing. So there's a meaningful contribution in that pillar that HIP is making. So I do expect them to continue to make those contributions in '26.

是的。當我們思考我們剛才提到的降低成本這一支柱時，是的，HIP 業務方面確實對這項成本節約計劃做出了有意義的貢獻。展望未來，它們以及所有其他職能部門也都在做出貢獻。因此，HIP 在這一領域做出了有意義的貢獻。所以我預計他們在 2026 年將繼續做出這些貢獻。

Frank Mitsch, Fermium Research LLC.

米奇 (Frank Mitsch)，費米研究有限責任公司。

And let me echo Jean-Marc's appreciation for your job, Steve. It's been a pleasure working with you. Of course, we'll work with you, I guess, in another one or two calls. Steve, in 2025, Westlake registered negative free cash flow. I was wondering what your expectations are in terms of free cash flow for 2026?

史蒂夫，我也要像讓馬克一樣，對你的工作表示讚賞。和您一起工作非常愉快。當然，我想我們再透過一兩次電話就能和你溝通清楚了。史蒂夫表示，到 2025 年，韋斯特萊克的自由現金流為負。我想知道您對2026年的自由現金流有何預期？

Good question, Frank. And our objective really is to generate strong results to drive strong cash flows. But as you can see, a lot of the self-help that we have with these three pillars is really focused, and the predominance really is on the PEM side of the business. And you can see that our capital expenditure plan for 2026 is also $100 million lower than we had in 2025. So our real focus is really to drive free cash flow for the entire business as we go forward.

問得好，弗蘭克。我們的目標是創造強勁的業績，從而推動強勁的現金流。但正如你所看到的，我們圍繞這三大支柱開展的大量自助活動都非常集中，而且主要集中在 PEM 業務方面。可以看到，我們 2026 年的資本支出計畫也比 2025 年減少了 1 億美元。因此，我們真正的重點是推動整個業務未來的自由現金流。

And so while we have no real visibility beyond the next several months, from our order book, I would say our real objective really is to drive real cost savings, improvement in reliability and really make this business really a cash flow positive generating business. But as you know, we don't give necessarily direct guidance on a lot of those metrics, but that is clearly our objective.

因此，雖然我們對未來幾個月的情況尚無確切的了解，但從我們的訂單來看，我認為我們真正的目標是真正實現成本節約、提高可靠性，並真正使這項業務成為一家能夠產生正現金流的業務。但如您所知，我們並不一定對許多指標給予直接指導，但這顯然是我們的目標。

Okay. Terrific. And I was wondering if you guys could opine on the news the other day. Following the Supreme Court decision on tariffs, the administration came out and said it was looking at putting emergency tariffs on several items, including plastic pipes. So I'm curious if you could offer some comments there as to the necessity there and what expectations you might have in terms of tariff benefits, et cetera?

好的。了不起。我想問大家對前幾天的新聞有什麼看法。最高法院就關稅問題作出裁決後，政府表示正在考慮對包括塑膠管道在內的幾種商品徵收緊急關稅。所以我很想知道您能否就此發表一些看法，例如這樣做的必要性，以及您在關稅優惠等方面可能有哪些期望？

Yes, Frank, good question again. And I would say that our materials are all subject to the USMCA rules, guidelines. And so therefore, the impact to tariffs has really been de minimis, but really immaterial.

是的，弗蘭克，又是一個好問題。我想說，我們所有的材料都受美墨加協定規則和準則的約束。因此，對關稅的影響微乎其微，甚至可以說無關緊要。

Okay. Great. But the fact that they called out plastic pipes among, I think, six or seven items, is there something going on there where the domestic plastic pipe industry needs tariff protection?

好的。偉大的。但是，他們點名批評了塑膠管道，我認為只提到了六到七種產品，這是否意味著國內塑膠管道產業需要關稅保護？

Frank, I would say that what we've seen is all throughout the course of 2025 and frankly, in the previous administration, that the current administration has really used the USMCA treaty as a way to make sure that those items that were embodied in that treaty are not hit with additional tariffs. So that is our expectation.

法蘭克，我想說，從2025年至今，坦白說，從上屆政府到現任政府，我們都看到了美墨加協定（USMCA）的實際運用，以確保該協定中包含的那些項目不會受到額外關稅的影響。這就是我們的預期。

John Roberts, Mizuho.

約翰·羅伯茨，瑞穗銀行。

And thanks as well, Steve. And also welcome Bob Patel to the Board. OxyChem is a large competitor. Do you see any changes in how they compete after the change in ownership a couple of months ago?

也謝謝你，史蒂夫。同時歡迎鮑伯·帕特爾加入董事會。OxyChem是一家實力雄厚的競爭對手。你認為在幾個月前所有權變更後，他們的競爭方式有什麼改變嗎？

We have not at this stage.

目前我們還沒有。

Okay. And then your competitor cited weakness in domestic merchant chlorine. Did you see that weakness as well? And what's the near-term outlook for domestic merchant chlorine?

好的。然後你的競爭對手指出國內商用氯氣供應不足。你也發現這個弱點了嗎？那麼，國內商品氯的近期前景如何？

Yes. As you know, we're a much smaller producer of domestic chlorine now with some of the actions that we've taken in December. But as we think about it, our view is that the weakness in chlorine is driven -- excuse me. The weakness in chlorine we've seen is really attributable to some of the weakness that we've seen really in some of the vinyl side of the business. And of course, in the first quarter and the fourth quarter of the year, we also have a reduction in demand for water treatment and some of the precursors going in refrigerants.

是的。如您所知，由於我們在 12 月採取的一些措施，我們現在的國內氯氣產量已經大大減少了。但仔細想想，我們認為氯的弱點是──抱歉。我們看到氯氣產業的疲軟實際上是由乙烯基產業某些環節的疲軟造成的。當然，在第一季度和第四季度，我們對水處理和一些冷媒前驅物的需求也有所下降。

And so all of those speak to kind of the lesser pull on chlorine, whether it is construction materials, water treatment or precursors to refrigerants. And so it doesn't surprise that there is a slowdown in demand in fourth quarter and first quarter for those kind of materials.

因此，所有這些都表明氯的需求量較小，無論是建築材料、水處理或冷媒的前驅物。因此，這類材料在第四季和第一季的需求放緩也就不足為奇了。

Jeff Zekauskas, JPMorgan.

Jeff Zekauskas，摩根大通。

You talked about $600 million in benefits from plant reliability, cost reduction and footprint changes. But I was wondering, what's the EBITDA base that these benefits should come from? So last year, your EBITDA was [11.40]. Should a rational agent add $600 million to the [11.40] and get, I don't know, [17.40]? Or because business deteriorated through the course of 2025, the EBITDA base is lower than the $600 million in cost should be added to? Could you give us an idea of how to put the two numbers together?

您提到，工廠可靠性、成本降低和占地面積變化可帶來 6 億美元的收益。但我很想知道，這些收益應該來自哪個 EBITDA 基數？所以去年，你的 EBITDA 是[11.40]一個理性人如果將 6 億美元加到 [11.40] 中，會得到什麼結果，我不知道，[17.40]？還是因為2025年業務惡化，導致EBITDA基數低於應加上的6億美元成本？您能給我們一些關於如何將這兩個數字結合起來的想法嗎？

Yes. And so Jeff, as you think about it, the actions that we've taken in December impacted four of the North American plants. And frankly, the full shuttering of the Pernis facility wasn't completed until really very tail end of 2025. And so when you think about the contributions of that first pillar of site optimization, we really get that full benefit starting in 2026. In terms of the cost initiatives, yes, we achieved $170 million of cost reductions that were structural in nature, but the guidance we've continued to provide for 2026 is an additional $200 million on top of those achieved in 2025.

是的。所以傑夫，你仔細想想，我們在 12 月採取的行動影響了北美的四家工廠。坦白說，佩爾尼斯工廠的全面關閉直到 2025 年底才真正完成。因此，當我們考慮網站優化第一支柱的貢獻時，我們真正從 2026 年開始就能獲得全部好處。就成本控制措施而言，是的，我們實現了 1.7 億美元的結構性成本削減，但我們對 2026 年的持續指導意見是在 2025 年實現的成本削減基礎上再增加 2 億美元。

And of course, the reliability issues, as I mentioned earlier, again, '25 was an incredibly busy year of planned outages and a number of unplanned outages around those outages as well. And given that our plan for 2026 is far fewer planned turnaround activity and maintenance activities, I do expect that we'll see those benefits accrue in this year as well. So back to your question, I think that you could think of a starting point when we took those actions at the plants as a way to build that math.

當然，還有可靠性問題，正如我之前提到的，2025 年是計劃內停電非常繁忙的一年，而且在這些停電前後還發生了一些計劃外停電。鑑於我們 2026 年的計畫是大幅減少計畫內的檢修活動和維護活動，我預計我們今年也將看到這些好處的顯現。回到你的問題，我認為你可以把我們在工廠採取這些行動作為建立數學模型的起點。

Okay. And when you think about your opportunities in PVC volume in 2026, do you think you'll grow more in the export market or more in the domestic market? Do you think the growth rates will be comparable? How do you assess the volume opportunities in PVC for 2026?

好的。展望 2026 年 PVC 銷售的發展機遇，您認為出口市場成長會更大還是國內市場成長會更大？你認為成長率會相近嗎？您如何評估 2026 年 PVC 的銷售成長機會？

And so Jeff, when you think about the vinyl demand that we see, it's really going into largely building products of one sort or the other, whether it is in pipe, fitting, siding, trim and other applications. That's more than 50 -- closer to 65% of the overall vinyl resin demand. And so as you can see, our outlook for HIP is reflective really of a year of construction activities similar to 2025.

所以傑夫，當你思考我們看到的乙烯基需求時，它實際上主要用於各種建築產品，無論是管道、配件、壁板、裝飾條還是其他應用。這超過了 50%——接近乙烯基樹脂總需求的 65%。因此，正如您所看到的，我們對 HIP 的展望實際上反映了與 2025 年類似的建築活動年。

We've seen a really thin level of inventories being carried by our customers all throughout '25 because prices continue to trend lower. And the restocking that we've seen in the first part of this year is reflective of some of the demand pull that we've seen and the rebuilding of those inventories. We've been able to nominate prices in vinyl. So as we look forward, we are, again, cautiously optimistic as we see the demand pull on PVC resin going into construction materials and some of the other compounded materials that we sell through our compounds businesses.

2025 年全年，我們看到客戶的庫存水準都非常低，因為價格持續走低。今年上半年出現的補貨現象反映了我們所看到的市場需求拉力以及庫存的重建。我們已經能夠為黑膠唱片設定價格。展望未來，我們再次保持謹慎樂觀的態度，因為我們看到建築材料以及我們透過化合物業務銷售的其他一些複合材料對 PVC 樹脂的需求拉動。

Can you comment on the opportunities in PEM in PVC?

能否談談PEM在PVC領域的機會？

Yes. In PEM, again, we're selling a significant portion of our resin into our own HIP segment. And certainly, I think given our lower cost structure that we've achieved through these rationalization actions that we've taken in the plants through our cost reductions, we think we have a much better cost structure and certainly be looking to initiate sales initiatives with many of those customers going forward domestically. Given the fact that we've pulled back from exports through those actions that we took in December, I do expect our exposure to export volumes will be greatly diminished.

是的。同樣，在 PEM 領域，我們也把很大一部分樹脂銷售給了我們自己的 HIP 部門。當然，我認為，鑑於我們透過在工廠採取的成本削減措施，實現了更低的成本結構，我們擁有了更好的成本結構，並且肯定會尋求在國內與許多客戶開展銷售活動。鑑於我們在 12 月採取的措施已經減少了出口，我預計我們對出口量的風險敞口將大大降低。

Hassan Ahmed, Alembic Global Advisors.

Hassan Ahmed，Alembic Global Advisors。

Steve, I know a bit premature, but great working with you over the years and wishing you all the best for your retirement. Quick question around -- I know a lot was discussed around HIP segment's EBITDA guidance, but just wanted to switch over to the sales guidance. I know you guys are talking about a return to sort of more normalized longer-term sort of sales growth in '26 of 5% to 7% even though, if I heard you correctly, you're assuming similar housing starts in '26 to '25. But sort of flipping through the presentation, it seems a chunk of that growth you're expecting coming from the ACI acquisition as well as product innovations. So I'm just trying to understand the significance of both those innovations as well as the ACI contribution to that growth?

史蒂夫，我知道現在說這些有點早，但這些年來和你一起工作非常愉快，祝你退休生活一切順利。問個小問題——我知道大家對 HIP 業務板塊的 EBITDA 指引討論了很多，但我只想轉而討論一下銷售指引。我知道你們在討論的是 2026 年銷售成長將恢復到 5% 到 7% 的較為正常的長期水平，儘管如果我理解正確的話，你們假設 2026 年的房屋開工量與 2025 年類似。但粗略瀏覽簡報，似乎你們預期成長的大部分將來自對 ACI 的收購以及產品創新。所以我想了解這兩項創新及其對ACI發展所做貢獻的意義？

Yes. I do expect that ACI will be a very nice contributor. It brings a broader portfolio offering, rather than just adding to our existing PVC portfolio that we had. It brings an expanded portfolio in silicon and cross-linked polyethylene. It will be a nice contributor.

是的。我預計ACI將會是個非常優秀的貢獻者。它帶來了更廣泛的產品組合，而不僅僅是在我們現有的PVC產品組合基礎上擴展。它帶來了矽和交聯聚乙烯領域的擴展產品組合。它將是一個不錯的貢獻者。

But I would also say the innovations that we've seen in products such as our PVCO plant, which we'll be starting up at the end of this year, such as other product innovations in our Westlake Royal exterior businesses, we think will continue to be a nice driver in not only the revenue growth, but also margin growth. So this product innovation is certainly a huge element within the HIP side of the business, and it continues to have us be selected as supplier of choice by many of the nationwide builders. So that innovation remains very much key and central to the growth as we see in HIP. So that the long-term guidance that you highlighted is very much as we see it still on track.

但我也想說，我們在產品方面看到的創新，例如我們將在今年年底啟動的 PVCO 工廠，以及我們在 Westlake Royal 外牆業務中的其他產品創新，我們認為將繼續成為推動收入成長和利潤成長的良好動力。因此，這種產品創新無疑是 HIP 業務的重要組成部分，也正因如此，我們才能繼續被許多全國性建築商選為首選供應商。因此，正如我們在 HIP 中看到的那樣，創新仍然是成長的關鍵和核心。因此，您強調的長期指導方針與我們目前的看法基本一致，仍在按計劃進行。

Understood. Very helpful. And as a follow-up, I know you guys have been busy sort of optimizing the footprint and the like. And obviously, $200 million of incremental EBITDA coming from that. But if we step back a second and you guys take a look at the broader portfolio, I mean, obviously, you're getting deeper and deeper into building products.

明白了。很有幫助。另外，我知道你們一直在忙著優化佔地面積等等。顯然，這將帶來 2 億美元的增量 EBITDA。但是，如果我們退後一步，從更廣泛的角度來看，我的意思是，很明顯，你們在產品開發方面越來越深入。

And as you take a look at the ethylene, polyethylene side, it seems fairly oversupplied. If rationalization doesn't happen, it will remain that way for a while. So I'm just trying to understand, from a portfolio perspective, do you guys still see a role for that part of the portfolio? Or would you potentially consider divesting that at some stage?

當你觀察乙烯和聚乙烯方面時，你會發現它們的供應似乎相當過剩。如果無法進行合理化調整，這種情況還會持續一段時間。所以我想了解的是，從投資組合的角度來看，你們是否仍認為這部分投資組合還有存在的價值？或者您有可能在某個階段考慮剝離該項投資？

Well, again, our focus, as you know as well, is to really be focused on value creation. And so as I think about opportunity sets in both the PEM side and the HIP side, the answer is where we see really the strength really continuing to play through and the fact that we've continued to underbuild in North America, we think that the opportunities to deploy capital on the HIP side of the business probably have the nearest term return potential. But that does not mean that we would not invest in a valued opportunity on the PEM side of the business. It really is just where is the best investment opportunity for that dollar, be it in HIP or in PEM. So our focus remains very much value-oriented and driving really long-term value creation.

如您所知，我們的重點始終是創造價值。因此，當我思考PEM和HIP兩方面的機會時，答案是：在我們看到真正實力持續發揮的地方，以及我們在北美持續建設不足的情況下，我們認為在HIP業務方面部署資本的機會可能具有近期回報潛力。但這並不意味著我們不會投資PEM業務的有價值機會。實際上，關鍵在於這1美元在哪裡能找到最佳的投資機會，無論是在HIP還是PEM。因此，我們的重點仍然是價值導向，並致力於創造真正的長期價值。

And if that takes us into PEM or into HIP and we see that opportunity, that's where the funds will be deployed. But given where we are in the various business cycles, I would say the predominance of the opportunities near term would probably be in HIP. That doesn't mean there couldn't be some opportunities on the PEM side. In other words, we continue to watch both.

如果這讓我們進入 PEM 或 HIP 領域，並且我們看到了這樣的機會，那麼資金就會投入那裡。但鑑於我們所處的商業週期階段，我認為近期機會主要集中在高收益產品領域。但這並不意味著PEM方面就沒有機會了。換句話說，我們會繼續關注兩者。

Aleksey Yefremov, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Aleksey Yefremov，KeyBanc 資本市場。

This is Ryan on for Aleksey. I just wanted to ask the first question. In the deck, you mentioned competitive market pressures in pipe and fittings. So I was just curious if maybe you could provide some more color there? And how much was pricing down for pipe and fittings versus the broader HIP segment with flat pricing year-on-year?

這是瑞恩替阿列克謝發言。我只想問第一個問題。在報告中，你提到了管道和配件市場面臨的競爭壓力。所以我只是好奇，能否再補充一些細節？與整體HIP（高流量管道）領域價格同比持平的情況相比，管道和配件的價格下降了多少？

Yes. And so as we think about the pipes and fittings business, it remains really a very good business. But certainly, with some of the slowdown in construction activity, we continue to make inroads from a volume perspective. But naturally with some of the pressures on affordability and some of the slowdown in construction activity, there is going to have to be some pressure on pricing. But we do believe that we're at a point where we are -- our product innovation -- and I've mentioned PVCO earlier.

是的。所以，當我們思考管道和配件行業時，它仍然是一個非常好的行業。但可以肯定的是，儘管建築活動有所放緩，但從數量上看，我們仍在不斷取得進展。但隨著住房負擔能力面臨一些壓力，以及建築活動放緩，價格自然會面臨一些壓力。但我們確實相信，我們目前處於這樣的階段——我們的產品創新——我之前也提到PVCO。

Our product innovation, we think, allows us to really continue to penetrate that market with innovative products, which bring really solid margins to the business. And so while there's always the ebb and flow in each region across the country in terms of volume and pricing, so it's hard to give you a direct pricing number because it varies by region across the country. I would say that the innovative products that we're bringing forth specifically in our pipes and fittings business continue to drive really long-term good value there. And I just want to remind you that we're really the only player in the US markets that provides both the integrated solution of fittings and pipe, and I would add, engineering.

我們認為，我們的產品創新使我們能夠繼續以創新產品打入市場，從而為公司帶來非常可觀的利潤。因此，儘管全國各地不同地區的銷售和價格總是會有起伏，但很難給出一個直接的價格數字，因為價格因地區而異。我認為，我們在管道和配件業務中推出的創新產品，將繼續為該領域帶來真正的長期價值。我只想提醒各位，我們是美國市場上唯一一家能夠同時提供配件和管道一體化解決方案的公司，而且我還想補充一點，我們還提供工程服務。

So we're able to sit down with a customer and say we can engineer the project for you, we can deliver the pipe and deliver the fitting. So there is a integrated value of providing the service as well as the products to provide an integrated solution to a customer. And I would say that we continue to see real good innovation in that business, and I expect to see future PVCO plans continuing to be built and grow that market space.

因此，我們可以坐下來與客戶溝通，告訴他們我們可以為他們設計項目，我們可以提供管道和配件。因此，提供服務和產品具有綜合價值，可以為客戶提供一體化的解決方案。我認為，我們繼續看到該行業湧現許多優秀的創新，我期待看到未來的 PVCO 項目繼續推進，並擴大市場份額。

Okay. I appreciate the comprehensive answer there, Steve. And just the last one for me. Maybe can you just give us your thoughts on caustic soda? How do you kind of feel about market balance and pricing over the next couple of months?

好的。史蒂夫，非常感謝你詳盡的解答。這是我最後一個了。您能否談談您對苛性鈉的看法？您對未來幾個月的市場平衡和定價有何看法？

Caustic is a market that we've seen -- begin to see some price traction. We've announced pricing initiatives of $75 a ton back in December and have had a second price announcement of $65 a ton that was announced just last month. And so we are seeing some ability to get traction on those price announcements. And so when you think of our two announcements, it totaled $140 a ton. We do expect that we'll achieve some of that. And that is really coming from some of the industrial and manufacturing demand that we see at the very tail end of the year and early this year so far.

我們已經看到腐蝕性物質市場開始出現價格上漲的跡象。我們在去年 12 月宣布了每噸 75 美元的定價方案，上個月又宣布了每噸 65 美元的第二次定價方案。因此，我們看到這些價格公告有一定的影響力。因此，算上我們宣布的兩項措施，總計每噸140美元。我們預計能夠實現其中的一些目標。這實際上源於我們在今年年底和今年年初看到的工業和製造業需求。

Matthew DeYoe, Bank of America.

馬修‧德約，美國銀行。

Steve, I guess just a follow-up on that. And you mentioned earlier, you were seeing some signs of industrial recovery. Like, is Westlake seeing something specifically in its order books? Or is this kind of just like the read on PMIs?

史蒂夫，我想就此事再補充一點。正如你之前提到的，你看到了一些工業復甦的跡象。例如，Westlake 的訂單簿中是否發現了什麼特別之處？還是這和解讀採購經理人指數（PMI）有點類似？

Well, it's both. When you think about the PMI, it certainly is a positive signal. We'd like to see more of those positive signals play through. But I would also say that the volumes that we're seeing in some of the infrastructure business that we mentioned earlier continue to be constructive as we go forward.

嗯，兩者都是。從採購經理人指數（PMI）來看，這無疑是一個正面的訊號。我們希望看到更多這樣的正面訊號發揮作用。但我還想說，我們之前提到的一些基礎設施業務的交易量，在未來仍將保持積極態勢。

It's still early in the first quarter. As I mentioned, the first quarter is typically a slower demand period. So we're wanting to take a look and see how does the rest of the year play through. So it's -- as I say, we're cautiously optimistic, but there is a constructive view here as we look forward into 2026.

現在才第一季初期。正如我之前提到的，第一季通常是需求較為疲軟的時期。所以我們想看看今年剩下的時間會如何發展。所以——正如我所說，我們持謹慎樂觀的態度，但展望 2026 年，我們抱持著建設性的看法。

Okay. And just to kind of follow up on Dave's question a bit. And I don't know, maybe it's blunt, but we were locked down -- or the Street was locked down in the 4Q on account of the unabsorbed fix costs from the assets that were eventually closed. Clearly, we saw a lot of those charges hit GAAP income. So is the outperformance on an adjusted basis just like saving money faster once the assets were closed? Or is it just some creative adjusting on the unabsorbed fixed costs? And --

好的。我再補充一下戴夫的問題。我不知道，也許這麼說有點直白，但我們——或者說華爾街——在第四季度被封鎖了，因為最終關閉的資產產生的未消化的修復成本。顯然，我們看到許多這類費用都計入了GAAP收入。那麼，調整後的超額收益是否就像資產關閉後更快節省資金一樣？或者這只是對未吸收的固定成本進行了一些創造性的調整？和--

No, actually -- I was just going to answer the first part of your question. And I would say what you're really seeing is the impact of being able to be really taking the actions that we announced in December and really taking steps to really reduce our cost and shut our assets that were not creating real value. So that's really what you begin to see play through in fourth quarter. And we -- as we think about our three-pillar strategy, this is why we have the confidence that we can deliver on that three-pillared strategy. Sorry, did you have a -- rest of your question?

不，其實──我原本只是想回答你問題的第一部分。我想說，你們現在真正看到的，是我們能夠真正採取我們在 12 月宣布的行動，真正採取措施來降低成本並關閉那些沒有創造真正價值的資產所帶來的影響。所以，這就是你在第四節開始看到的比賽趨勢。而我們——在思考我們的三大支柱策略時，這就是為什麼我們有信心實現這個三大支柱策略的原因。抱歉，您的問題還有剩餘部分嗎？

Yes, I was just going to say, is it fair to say now that if you're seeing this faster in 4Q when we have a big beat here, does that mean like the tailwind for 2026 is less than $600 million, all else equal, because now you're going to be comping some good savings in 4Q?

是的，我正想說，如果第四季度我們大幅超出預期，我們看到這種情況加速發展，那麼是否可以這樣說：在其他條件相同的情況下，2026 年的利好因素將小於 6 億美元，因為第四季度我們將節省一些成本？

Well, no, I think the guidance that we provided was achieved that $600 million in those three pillars throughout 2026. And so as you see that we took actions in '25 related to cost related to optimizing our footprint. And I think we're still very comfortable that, that $600 million is going to get fully contributed over the course of the year.

不，我認為我們提供的指導目標是在 2026 年實現這三大支柱領域 6 億美元的目標。因此，正如你所看到的，我們在 2025 年採取了與成本相關的措施，以優化我們的業務規模。而且我認為我們仍然非常有信心，這 6 億美元將在年內全部到位。

Arun Viswanathan, RBC Capital Markets.

Arun Viswanathan，加拿大皇家銀行資本市場。

I'll echo all the other comments, Steve. Great working with you over the last several years. I think good luck in your retirement, and we'll be speaking again soon, obviously. But just wanted to follow up on that same line of questioning here. So if we take your HIP guidance, that implies around $900 million of EBITDA at the midpoint, if you say, 20% margins on $4.5 billion of sales.

史蒂夫，我同意其他人的所有評論。過去幾年與您合作非常愉快。祝您退休生活一切順利，我們很快就會再次聯繫。但我想就這個問題再進一步探討一下。因此，如果我們採納您的 HIP 指導意見，這意味著 EBITDA 中位數約為 9 億美元，假設銷售額為 45 億美元，利潤率為 20%。

And then your PEM guidance can be interpreted to be the $267 million that you did in '25, plus maybe $600 million of increase. So that would be $1.75 billion, maybe at the midpoint. What would you call out as decrements to that or maybe other positive drivers? Are we missing anything else? Or are those the most important components?

那麼，您的PEM預期可以解讀為2025年實現的2.67億美元，再加上可能6億美元的成長。所以，中間值大概是17.5億美元。您認為哪些因素會削弱這些正面因素或其他正面因素的影響？我們還遺漏了什麼嗎？或者說，這些是最重要的組成嗎？

As Jean-Marc noted, the $600 million is a gross number. So there will be some cost to achieve some of those initiatives that we've outlined here. But as we think -- and again, setting the market conditions aside, because now this is factoring in the market conditions. So all of this is just really focused on the self-help initiatives of these three pillars.

正如讓-馬克所指出的，6億美元是一個毛數字。因此，要實現我們在這裡概述的一些舉措，需要付出一定的代價。但是，正如我們所想——再次強調，暫且不考慮市場狀況，因為現在我們已經將市場狀況考慮在內了。所以這一切都真正聚焦在這三大支柱的自助措施。

And so as we look forward into 2026, certainly, we'll take the market conditions as they come. But certainly, we'll be very focused on delivering these actions that we've outlined here on this three-pillared strategy. There will be some cost to achieve that $600 million savings initiatives in each one of those three pillars. But we think that we've got a good effort underway in those three pillars. We recognize for reliability.

因此，展望 2026 年，我們當然會根據市場狀況靈活應對。但可以肯定的是，我們將非常專注於落實我們在此概述的三支柱策略中的各項行動。要在上述三大支柱領域分別達成 6 億美元的節省目標，都需要付出一定的代價。但我們認為，我們在這三大支柱領域已經取得了不錯的進展。我們認可其可靠性。

We have to earn that each and every day. But the actions to rationalize the footprint that we've already taken and initiatives to negotiate reduced cost, and we'll be focused on that all throughout the rest of the year. As you would imagine, we're not just going to rest on those actions that we've taken in 2025. We'll continue to look for other opportunities to reduce our cost throughout the rest of this year, above and beyond those that we've outlined already.

我們必須每天努力爭取。但我們已經採取了合理化佈局的措施，並積極主動地協商降低成本，我們將在今年餘下的時間裡專注於此。正如你所想，我們不會只滿足於我們在 2025 年所採取的那些行動。今年剩餘時間裡，我們將繼續尋找其他降低成本的機會，除了我們已經概述的那些機會之外。

Okay. And understanding you just completed an acquisition here. What else needs to be done, I guess, from your portfolio standpoint, would you be looking to integrate further downstream in building products, continue to grow out that business? Or do you feel like your position now is quite set? What else are you guys kind of looking at from an M&A standpoint?

好的。而且要知道，你們剛完成了一筆收購。我想，從你的投資組合角度來看，還需要做些什麼？你會考慮進一步向下游整合建築產品，繼續發展這項業務嗎？還是你覺得你現在的地位已經相當穩固了？從併購的角度來看，你們還在關注哪些面向？

Well -- and thank you for the question. I would say that starting with the HIP side of the business, certainly improving the portfolio depth and breadth is certainly a focus that we always have. ACI is a good example of adding both a geographical position as well as product breadth. As we think about the other components of our HIP business to add further depth and breadth is certainly something that we've talked about. And I mentioned innovation is a huge piece of our focus. That can come from both organic or inorganic growth opportunities.

好的——謝謝你的提問。我認為，首先從 HIP 業務方面來看，提高投資組合的深度和廣度無疑是我們一直以來的重點。ACI 就是一個很好的例子，它既擴大了地理位置，又拓展了產品範圍。當我們思考如何進一步擴大 HIP 業務的其他組成部分時，這當然是我們討論過的事情。我之前也提到過，創新是我們工作的首要任務。這既可以來自有機成長機會，也可以來自無機成長機會。

On the PEM side, we certainly continue to look for ways where we can improve our positioning. So as we think about on the PEM side, there's still opportunities to further integrate the business and improve the logistics are related to those businesses that improve the overall profitability by cost reductions. So there are all kinds of efforts, both on the HIP side as well as on the PEM side to improve the integrated model that we have integrated not only from a product set, but also from a managing cost set perspective. So it's really focused on both sides of the business to be able to integrate and run the business smoothly and effectively and cost effectively.

在PEM方面，我們當然會繼續尋找方法來改善我們的市場地位。因此，從 PEM 的角度來看，仍然有機會進一步整合業務並改善物流，這與那些透過降低成本來提高整體獲利能力的業務相關。因此，無論是 HIP 方面還是 PEM 方面，都在做出各種努力來改進我們整合的整合模型，不僅從產品集的角度，而且從成本集管理的角度。因此，它真正關注的是業務的兩個方面，以便能夠順利、高效且經濟地整合和運營業務。

Peter Osterland, Truist Securities.

彼得‧奧斯特蘭（Peter Osterland），Truist 證券公司。

I just wanted to start by following up on the profitability improvement plan. Just from the actions you've already announced and that are embedded in that $600 million of improvement this year, is there some amount that you would expect to be realized on a year-over-year basis in '27? And could you size that?

我只想先跟進一下獲利能力提升計劃的進展。僅從您已宣布的行動以及今年 6 億美元的改進措施來看，您預計 2027 年每年能實現多少成長？你能告訴我它的尺寸嗎？

Yes. And so as you think about the initiatives that we've taken in '25 of $170 million, those were structural in nature, those in 2026 of an additional $200 million. So we do expect, since these are structural benefits, to continue to have that carry through into '27.

是的。因此，當你思考我們在 2025 年採取的 1.7 億美元的舉措時，這些舉措本質上是結構性的；而 2026 年採取的額外 2 億美元的舉措也是如此。因此，由於這些都是結構性優勢，我們預計這些優勢將持續到 2027 年。

As I mentioned earlier in my comments, we're continuing to look for areas where we can continue to find ways to reduce our cost. These can be in the manufacturing areas, support area, logistics and procurement. So as we think about those, we'll continue to then enunciate those as we go forward over the course of 2026. But those changes that we've already announced, '25 and '26, are structural in nature, and I expect them to carry forward into future years.

正如我之前在評論中提到的，我們將繼續尋找可以降低成本的領域。這些領域可能包括製造領域、支援領域、物流和採購。因此，當我們思考這些問題時，我們將在 2026 年繼續闡明這些問題。但我們已經宣布的 2025 年和 2026 年的那些變化本質上是結構性的，我預計它們將延續到未來幾年。

Okay. Great. And then just on cash flow. Do you expect free cash flow to be positive in 2026? And I guess what are some of the major drivers aside from earnings growth to be aware of? Could you highlight your working capital expectations or any nonrecurring cash costs associated with asset closures this year?

好的。偉大的。然後就只考慮現金流了。您預計2026年自由現金流為正嗎？那麼，除了獲利成長之外，還有哪些主要驅動因素需要關注呢？能否重點介紹您對今年營運資金的預期，或與資產關閉相關的任何非經常性現金成本？

Yes. And so as -- if we -- as we think about 2026, working capital is always an issue that we need to kind of keep our eye on. As we think about some of the price initiatives, that can certainly have an impact on working capital. So as we think about the overall cash generation of the business, as I say, as we think about that, looking at our CapEx program, our guidance for 2026 is $900 million. And so as we think about working capital and CapEx, we'll want to keep those a close eye on.

是的。所以，當我們展望 2026 年時，營運資金始終是我們需要密切關注的問題。當我們考慮一些價格調整措施時，這些措施肯定會對營運資金產生影響。因此，當我們考慮公司的整體現金流時，正如我所說，當我們考慮這一點，審視我們的資本支出計劃時，我們對 2026 年的預期是 9 億美元。因此，在考慮營運資金和資本支出時，我們需要密切注意這些方面。

Because, as I mentioned to one of the other callers earlier, we clearly recognize that generating free cash flow is critically important to our stakeholders, and that is always a strong objective as we go through any year, including this year. That will be our objective. That will be our big focus.

因為正如我之前向其他來電者提到的那樣，我們清楚地認識到，產生自由現金流對我們的利益相關者至關重要，這始終是我們每年的重要目標，包括今年。這將是我們的目標。這將是我們工作的重點。

Matthew Blair, TPH.

Matthew Blair，TPH。

Steve, congrats on your retirement. It's been great working with you over the years here. I want to circle back on -- I want to circle back to your comments on the removal of the VAT rebate in China, which I think is scheduled for April 1. I think China's PVC exports are nearly 10% of the global PVC market. And do you think that PVC is roughly breakeven in China, the rebate is 13%.

史蒂夫，祝賀你退休。這些年來和你一起工作非常愉快。我想再談談您之前關於中國取消增值稅退稅的評論，我認為取消增值稅退稅的日期定在 4 月 1 日。我認為中國PVC出口量佔全球PVC市場份額的近10%。你認為PVC在中國的利潤率大致能達到損益兩平嗎？回扣是13%。

It seems like this could be a pretty meaningful impact on the market, meaningfully reduced volumes, export volumes coming out of China. Does that all make sense to you, do you agree with that? And is there anything else that you would add there?

這似乎會對市場產生相當大的影響，導致銷售量大幅下降，尤其是來自中國的出口量。你覺得這些說法都合理嗎？你同意這些說法嗎？您還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yes, it's a good question. And I was just looking at some statistics this morning. China represents about 15 or so percent of global PVC capacity. And similar in caustic capacity, but they're not exporting that much. Not the 15% that I just mentioned, they're exporting much less than that as a percentage of their total domestic production.

是的，這是個好問題。我今天早上剛好在看一些統計數據。中國約佔全球PVC產能的15%左右。腐蝕能力也類似，但它們的出口量並不大。不是我剛才提到的 15%，他們的出口額佔國內總產量的比例遠低於這個數字。

But the focus that they've initiated on removing effective April 1, that VAT drawback or that duty drawback is about a 13% impact in overall pricing. We've actually seen the benefits of that announcement play through in export pricing already. It's targeted in PVC. And so we've already seen export prices in PVC begin to rise because of the expectation that, that duty drawback will not be available to them going forward. And so I think it's an indication by the authorities there in China that they really need to find actions to rationalize some of those exports that are being disruptive to the market, both internationally but also domestically.

但他們從 4 月 1 日起開始取消增值稅退稅或關稅退稅的舉措，將對整體價格產生約 13% 的影響。事實上，我們已經看到該公告帶來的好處體現在出口定價上。它主要針對PVC材質。因此，我們已經看到 PVC 出口價格開始上漲，因為預計未來他們將無法享受退稅優惠。因此，我認為這表明中國當局確實需要採取措施，使一些擾亂市場（包括國際市場和國內市場）的出口合理化。

Great. And then the incremental $200 million of cost reductions in 2026, I just want to clarify here, does that all stem from the asset closures that you already did in the fourth quarter of 2025? Or will there be incremental cost reduction efforts as you progress through 2026?

偉大的。那麼，關於 2026 年新增的 2 億美元成本削減，我想在這裡澄清一下，這是否都源自於你們在 2025 年第四季已經完成的資產關閉？或者，隨著時間推移，到 2026 年，是否會逐步降低成本？

Yes. These are incremental above and beyond the actions taken in December or earlier in the year in '25. So I think about these, these include initiatives in the manufacturing arena, initiatives in logistics, procurement, domestically as well as internationally, that add up to well over 50% of the $200 million that we've talked about in cost reduction initiatives. So these are not solely only tied to those initiatives and footprint optimization.

是的。這些是在 2025 年 12 月或年初採取的行動之外的進一步舉措。所以我認為這些舉措包括製造業領域的舉措、物流領域的舉措、國內和國際採購領域的舉措，這些舉措加起來超過了我們之前討論的 2 億美元成本削減舉措的 50%。因此，這些不僅與這些舉措和足跡優化有關。

Vincent Andrews, Morgan Stanley.

文森安德魯斯，摩根士丹利。

Congrats, Steve. This is Turner on for Vincent. So since last year, consultants have been calling for a pretty significant chlorine price declines this year, which I understand is driven largely by vinyl's weakness. Has the situation evolved this year, perhaps due to, I don't know, the VAT export rebate elimination or perhaps something else on demand or orders? And could you provide color on how you see chlor-alkali and vinyls earnings trending this year?

恭喜你，史蒂夫。這是特納為文森主持的節目。因此，從去年以來，顧問公司一直預測今年氯氣價格將大幅下降，據我了解，這主要是由於乙烯基價格疲軟所致。今年情況是否有所改變？或許是因為增值稅出口退稅取消，或許是因為其他一些需求或訂單方面的原因？您能否談談您認為今年氯鹼和乙烯基產品的收益走勢如何？

Yes, it's a good question. And I would say that, as I mentioned earlier, given the demand pull that we're seeing in PVC going into construction activity, we see a similar year in '26 to 2025. So the construction activity we see as being similar. So the demand pull, I think there -- I would say though that given the indications we've seen in industrial and manufacturing demand for caustic, we've actually seen those numbers tick up. And that tick up in demand has driven them to reinventory, and that reinventory position has caused us to recognize that pricing has just gotten too low in caustic soda.

是的，這是個好問題。正如我之前提到的，鑑於我們看到建築活動中對 PVC 的需求拉動，我們認為 2026 年至 2025 年的情況也類似。因此，我們看到的建築活動是類似的。所以，我認為需求拉動是主要原因——不過，鑑於我們在工業和製造業對腐蝕性物質的需求方面看到的跡象，我們實際上已經看到這些數字有所上升。需求的上升促使他們重新進貨，而重新進貨的情況讓我們意識到，燒鹼的價格已經降得太低了。

So as you could see, and I mentioned earlier, we've initiated two price initiatives at $75 a ton that we initiated in late December, and then another in January of $65 a ton, so a total of $140 a ton. And so while I can see the consultants are speaking to caustic price increases, we do think we'll get some traction on that.

正如你所看到的，正如我之前提到的，我們已經啟動了兩項價格舉措，第一項是 12 月下旬啟動的每噸 75 美元，第二項是 1 月啟動的每噸 65 美元，總計每噸 140 美元。因此，雖然我看到顧問們正在談論腐蝕性物質價格上漲的問題，但我們認為我們會在這方面取得一些進展。

On the chlorine front, I would say that, again, we'll have to see how the year plays through from a vinyl demand. As we sit through fourth quarter and first quarter, as I mentioned earlier in my commentary that fourth quarter and first quarter tend to be weaker demand periods for chlorine, simply because of the slower construction season pulling less on chlorine, lesser demand in the precursors for refrigerants, and frankly, lesser water treatment demand. So no surprise that we'd see some slowdown in pricing slowdown in demand in chlorine.

關於氯氣方面，我想說，我們還是要看看今年黑膠唱片的需求如何。正如我在先前的評論中提到的，第四季度和第一季往往是氯的需求疲軟期，原因很簡單，建築旺季放緩，對氯的需求減少，冷媒前體的需求減少，坦白說，水處理的需求也減少了。因此，氯氣價格和需求成長放緩也就不足為奇了。

But a lot is uncertain. As we look forward into the year, it's -- I just don't have the visibility -- I wish I had -- for the midyear or the tail end of 2026, our visibility really is more limited than that. So I would say that as we look forward, we actually are fairly -- we see again, some bright spots in pricing in caustic, bright spots, pricing in PVC. But I don't want to then extrapolate that until we see more of how 2026 will play through.

但很多事情都存在不確定性。展望未來一年，我實在無法看清——我希望我能看清——到 2026 年年中或年底的情況，但我們的能見度實際上比這要有限得多。所以我想說，展望未來，我們實際上相當——我們再次看到，腐蝕性物質的價格出現了一些亮點，PVC 的價格也出現了一些亮點。但我不想在看到2026年的具體情況之前就妄下結論。

That makes a lot of sense. So skipping over to the HIP segment. Can you talk about some of the swing factors that could take us to the low end versus the high end of the 19% to 21% EBITDA margin guide? And any color on related drivers such as price, mix or synergies?

這很有道理。接下來我們直接進入髖關節部分。您能否談談可能導致 EBITDA 利潤率預期在 19% 至 21% 區間的低端和高端之間波動的因素？對於價格、產品組合或綜效等相關驅動因素，您有什麼看法？

Yes, I'd say it's really going to be a function primarily in mix. We certainly have seen a lot of discussion on affordability over the course of the last several years. And so to address affordability and be the producer of choice by many of the nationwide homebuilders, we have a good, better, best range of products, and each one of those range of products have a different margin associated with them. But it's important that, nevertheless, we're picked because of the quality and the ability to deliver those products. And we have that range of products. And so being able to have that volume is very important, but a big swing could be simply product mix over the course of the year.

是的，我認為這主要取決於混音。在過去幾年裡，我們確實看到了許多關於住房負擔能力的討論。因此，為了解決價格承受能力問題，並成為全國眾多房屋建築商的首選生產商，我們推出了好、更好、最好的產品系列，每個系列的產品都有不同的利潤率。但無論如何，重要的是，我們之所以被選中，是因為我們的產品品質和交付能力。我們擁有此系列產品。因此，能夠達到這樣的銷售量非常重要，但銷售量的大幅波動可能只是由於一年中的產品組合變化所造成的。

Abigail Eberts, Wells Fargo.

阿比蓋爾·埃伯茨，富國銀行。

So looking at PEM, I'm curious about your expectations for the cost side. If you look at what the consultants have, obviously, polyethylene pricing is looking to be higher on a more or less apples-to-apples basis in 2026. But on the flip side, integrated margins are looking like they might be down up to double digits. Is that around in line what you're looking for? And also for your February price increase, are you around $0.05 in line with your peers?

所以，在討論PEM時，我很好奇您對成本方面的期望。如果你看看顧問的預測，很明顯，到 2026 年，聚乙烯的價格在大致相同的條件下將會更高。但另一方面，綜合利潤率似乎可能會下降兩位數。這差不多是你想要的那種嗎？另外，關於你們二月的價格上漲，你們的漲幅在 0.05 美元左右，與同行基本一致嗎？

So certainly, as you know, well, we're also a buyer of ethylene, and that ethylene goes into our production of PVC. And so we have seen elevated pricing in ethylene. Ethane has been pretty volatile over the last several months. Run up in natural gas, and ethane has followed the run up. And also some pullback in pricing, but ethylene has remained pretty elevated. From a pricing perspective in polyethylene, we did see a recognition of $0.05 in January. But remember, in December, we also saw some price adjustments in the non-price -- in the adjusted December --

當然，如您所知，我們也是乙烯的買家，而乙烯用於我們生產PVC。因此，我們看到乙烯價格上漲。過去幾個月，乙烷的價格波動相當劇烈。天然氣價格上漲，乙烷價格也隨之上漲。價格也有回落，但乙烯價格仍居高不下。從聚乙烯的定價角度來看，我們在 1 月確實看到了 0.05 美元的漲幅。但請記住，12 月我們也看到非價格因素（即調整後的 12 月）出現了一些價格調整。--

Reset.

重置。

Reset. Thank you. We do have an announced increase in February of $0.05. We'll see how the market plays through over the course of February and into March. But we have announced an additional increase in February.

重置。謝謝。我們已宣布二月將漲價0.05美元。我們將觀察市場在二月和三月期間的趨勢。但我們已宣布二月將再次加薪。

Kevin McCarthy, Vertical Research Partners.

Kevin McCarthy，Vertical Research Partners。

Steve, it's been a real pleasure over the last 21 years. I wish you all the best. Most of my questions have been asked and answered, but maybe a couple to probe here. First, I wanted to ask you about asset utilization. If I look at slide 4, your $200 million of savings from footprint optimization, I think, was crafted before we saw the PMI and the incremental goodness in your order book.

史蒂夫，過去21年與你相處非常愉快。祝你一切順利。我的大部分問題都已經被問過並得到了解答，但或許還有幾個問題想在這裡探討一下。首先，我想問一下資產利用率方面的問題。如果我看第 4 張投影片，我認為，你們透過優化版面節省的 2 億美元是在我們看到 PMI 和你們訂單簿中新增收益之前製定的。

So I guess my question would be, if I look at it on an apples-to-apples basis, do you think what you're seeing now would support a contention that you would see an uplift in utilization, let's say, in chlorovinyls and polyolefins, irrespective of your rationalizations that could help earnings more than the $200 million would suggest?

所以我想問的是，如果我進行同等比較，你認為你現在看到的情況是否支持這樣一種觀點，即氯乙烯和聚烯烴的利用率將會提高，而不管你提出的那些可能使收益超過 2 億美元的理由是什麼？

Yes. I will take the asset utilization has been a little bit uneven across the business last year. After the big turnaround in ethylene, polyethylene chain, we saw really good performance in the second half of the year. So -- and with no turnaround in 2026 and maybe one in 2027 for LACC, we are expecting that our olefin business will continue to run at very high utilization rate.

是的。我認為去年公司各部門的資產利用率略有不平衡。在乙烯、聚乙烯產業鏈中發生重大轉變後，我們在下半年看到了非常好的表現。因此，鑑於 LACC 在 2026 年沒有好轉，2027 年也可能沒有好轉，我們預計我們的烯烴業務將繼續以非常高的利用率運作。

Last year, most of the issues were on the chlorovinyl side. Now the combination of better operating performance. And the shutdown of assets, I think, will lead to a significant improvement into operating rates. And operating rates were -- that we think will be conducive together with all the cost savings to much better results in 2026.

去年，大部分問題都出在氯乙烯。現在，性能更佳的組合。我認為，資產停產將顯著提高營運效率。營運率－我們認為這將與所有成本節約一起，在 2026 年帶來更好的業績。

Okay. And then, Steve, maybe a small question for you on the tax line. I think you guided to a 17% rate for 2026, which was a little bit lower than we might have guessed. Has your tax rate come down on a structural basis? And if so, what is driving that?

好的。史蒂夫，我可能想問你一個關於稅務的小問題。我認為你預測 2026 年的利率將達到 17%，這比我們預想的要低。你們的稅率是否從結構上有所下降？如果真是如此，那麼是什麼原因導致這種情況發生？

Yes, Kevin, question -- good question. And the answer is because of our operating performance in 2025, I have some net operating losses that I'm able to utilize in 2026. So what you see in my effective tax rate of 17% is really overseas -- taxes overseas, international tax rates. And I'm actually trying to utilize those NOLs generated in '25 and '26.

是的，凱文，問得好。答案是，由於我們在 2025 年的經營業績，我有一些淨營業虧損可以在 2026 年加以利用。所以，你看到的我的實際稅率 17% 實際上是海外稅——海外稅收、國際稅率。實際上，我正在嘗試利用 2025 年和 2026 年產生的那些淨營業虧損。

Thank you. At this time, the Q&A session has ended. I would like to turn it over to Jeff Holy for closing remarks.

謝謝。問答環節至此結束。我謹將發言權交給傑夫·霍利，請他作總結發言。

Thank you. Thanks, everyone, for participating in today's call. We hope you'll join us again for our next conference call to discuss our first quarter 2026 results.

謝謝。感謝各位參加今天的電話會議。我們希望您能再次參加我們的下一次電話會議，討論我們 2026 年第一季的業績。

Thank you for your participation in today's Westlake Corporation fourth quarter and full year earnings conference call. As a reminder, this call will be available for replay beginning two hours after the call has ended. The replay can be accessed via Westlake's website. Goodbye.

感謝您參加今天西湖公司第四季及全年業績電話會議。提醒各位，本次通話結束後兩小時即可收聽回放。可以透過西湖高中的網站觀看比賽重播。再見。