Advanced Drainage Systems Inc (WMS) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Advantage Drainage Systems first quarter of fiscal year 2026 results conference call. My name is Tamika, and I am your operator for today's call. (Operator Instructions)

女士們、先生們，早安，歡迎參加 Advantage Drainage Systems 2026 財年第一季業績電話會議。我叫塔米卡，我是今天為您接聽電話的接線生。（操作說明）

I would now like to turn the presentation over to your host for today's call, Mr. Mike Higgins, Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations. Sir, you may begin.

現在，我謹將今天的演講交給本次電話會議的主持人，公司策略與投資者關係副總裁麥克‧希金斯先生。先生，您可以開始了。

Good morning, everyone. With me today, I have Scott Barbour, our President and CEO; and Scott Cottrill, our CFO. I would also like to remind you that we will discuss forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those forward-looking statements because of various factors, including those discussed in our press release and the risk factors identified in our Form 10-K filed with the SEC.

各位早安。今天陪我一起來的有我們的總裁兼執行長史考特·巴伯，以及我們的財務長史考特·科特里爾。我還要提醒各位，我們將討論前瞻性陳述。由於各種因素，包括我們在新聞稿中討論的因素以及我們在向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表格中確定的風險因素，實際結果可能與這些前瞻性聲明有重大差異。

While we may update forward-looking statements in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, all of which speak only as of today. Lastly, the press release we issued earlier this morning is posted on the Investor Relations section of our website. A copy of the release has also been included in an 8-K submitted to the SEC. We will make a replay of this conference call available via webcast on the company website.

雖然我們將來可能會更新前瞻性聲明，但我們不承擔任何更新義務。您不應過度依賴這些前瞻性陳述，所有這些陳述僅代表截至今日的情況。最後，我們今天早上發布的新聞稿已發佈在我們網站的投資者關係版塊。新聞稿的副本也包含在提交給美國證券交易委員會的 8-K 文件中。我們將透過公司網站的網路直播提供本次電話會議的錄音回放。

With all that said, I now will turn the call over to Scott Barbour.

說了這麼多，現在我將把電話交給斯科特·巴伯。

Thank you, Mike, and good morning, everyone. Thank you all for joining us on today's call. We generated strong results in the first quarter, delivering a resilient 33.5% adjusted EBITDA margin despite a challenging market environment. The ADS and Infiltrator teams executed well and remain focused on driving profitable growth and operational excellence by executing our market share model, introducing new products, pursuing acquisitions and investing capital for long-term growth.

謝謝你，麥克，大家早安。感謝各位參加今天的電話會議。儘管市場環境充滿挑戰，但我們在第一季取得了強勁的業績，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率仍保持在 33.5% 的穩健水平。ADS 和 Infiltrator 團隊表現出色，並將繼續專注於透過執行我們的市場份額模式、推出新產品、進行收購和投資資本來實現長期成長，從而推動獲利成長和卓越營運。

Revenue increased 2% overall, primarily driven by the Orenco acquisition. Organic sales were down slightly, though our core nonresidential and residential end markets were resilient in the quarter. Importantly, Allied products and Infiltrator, which are two of our higher-margin categories, increased revenue in the quarter. We continue to build on the strong foundation of the ADS story.

整體營收成長 2%，主要得益於 Orenco 的收購。雖然有機銷售額略有下降，但我們的核心非住宅和住宅終端市場在本季表現穩健。值得注意的是，Allied 產品和 Infiltrator 這兩個利潤率較高的類別在本季實現了營收成長。我們將繼續鞏固ADS的強大基礎。

We operate in highly attractive water segments supported by secular tailwinds from changing climate patterns as well as the increasing awareness of the societal value of proper stormwater and on-site wastewater management, ultimately driving long-term demand for the company's products. ADS is the only company with solutions that extend throughout the entire stormwater system on a national scale. Through our best-in-class portfolio of water management products, we deliver solutions that are safer, faster to install and lower costs through savings on labor and equipment.

我們在極具吸引力的水務領域開展業務，這得益於氣候模式變化帶來的長期利好，以及人們對妥善處理雨水和現場廢水的社會價值的認識不斷提高，最終推動了對公司產品的長期需求。ADS是唯一一家能夠提供覆蓋全國整個雨水系統解決方案的公司。我們憑藉一流的水管理產品組合，提供更安全、安裝更快捷、成本更低的解決方案，從而節省人力和設備成本。

To meet the needs of our customers and communities, we continue to bring innovative solutions to the market that expand and evolve our product offering. In June, ADS launched the Arcadia hydrodynamic separator, a high-performance water quality separator product designed to remove suspended solids. With industry-leading performance, this product addresses the need to protect water resources from pollution.

為了滿足客戶和社區的需求，我們不斷為市場帶來創新解決方案，以擴展和發展我們的產品系列。6 月，ADS 推出了 Arcadia 水力分離器，這是一款高性能水質分離器產品，旨在去除懸浮固體。該產品性能卓越，滿足了保護水資源免受污染的需求。

This product comes on the heels of the new stormwater treatment solution, the EcoStream Biofiltration product launched in the latter half of fiscal 2025. Both of these water quality products are designed to remove pollutants such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sediments, metals, and hydrocarbons in different applications.

該產品緊接著新的雨水處理解決方案 EcoStream 生物過濾產品之後推出，該產品於 2025 財年下半年上市。這兩種水質處理產品均旨在去除不同應用中的污染物，例如氮、磷、沉積物、金屬和碳氫化合物。

Water quality remains a key growth area for ADS, and this category has grown at high-teens CAGR over the last three years as regulations requiring stormwater treatment continue to evolve. Our new engineering and technology center equipped with a 90,000 gallon closed-loop hydraulics lab allowed us to test and commercialize these products more quickly than was previously possible.

水質仍然是 ADS 的關鍵成長領域，過去三年，隨著雨水處理法規的不斷發展，該類別的複合年增長率達到了兩位數以上。我們新建的工程技術中心配備了一個90000加侖的閉環液壓實驗室，使我們能夠比以前更快地測試和商業化這些產品。

For context, that is the amount of water used by the average US household over the course of 2.5 years. This lab has the capacity to move water at 2,300 gallons per minute and compare that to the water pressure in your average kitchen sink of 2 to 3 gallons per minute, and it will give you an idea of the capability of our new engineering and technology center.

作為參考，這是美國一般家庭 2.5 年的用水量。這個實驗室每分鐘可以輸送 2300 加侖的水，而普通廚房水槽的水壓只有每分鐘 2 到 3 加侖，對比之下，你就能了解我們新的工程技術中心的實力了。

Additionally, demand in the advanced treatment market is also a key focus area, and we are pleased with Orenco's strong start to the year with growth in commercial applications as well as controls. Orenco's performance was a significant contributor to driving Infiltrator's 21% growth this quarter, complemented by double-digit organic growth in on-site wastewater tanks where conversion to plastic remains highly relevant.

此外，先進處理市場的需求也是一個重點領域，我們很高興看到 Orenco 今年開局強勁，在商業應用和控制方面均取得了成長。Orenco 的出色表現對 Infiltrator 本季 21% 的成長起到了推動作用，同時，現場廢水罐的兩位數有機成長也為之增色不少，而塑膠的轉換仍然非常重要。

Domestic Allied Product sales increased 1%, driven by demand in the multifamily residential market, where we experienced double-digit growth of key products like retention/detention chambers, water quality products and our stormwater capture structures. More broadly, residential market demand was highly variable depending on geography and application. While multifamily construction improved, single-family housing continues to be impacted by the interest rate environment and affordability constraints.

國內相關產品銷售額成長了 1%，這主要得益於多戶住宅市場的需求，其中滯留/蓄水池、水質產品和雨水收集結構等關鍵產品實現了兩位數的成長。更廣泛地說，住宅市場需求因地理位置和用途而異。雖然多戶住宅建設有所改善，但單戶住宅仍受到利率環境和可負擔性限制的影響。

From a geographic lens, we saw better land development activity in the West and Northeast, but the DIY channel we serve to -- service through big box retailers was challenged. Infiltrator core products, both leachfield chambers and septic tanks significantly outperformed the market. We will continue to drive growth through product introductions and material conversion opportunities while also building on the relationships with the large national and regional homebuilders to drive above-market growth in residential construction.

從地理角度來看，我們看到西部和東北部的土地開發活動更加活躍，但我們服務的 DIY 管道——透過大型零售商提供的服務——卻面臨挑戰。Infiltrator 的核心產品，包括滲濾場池和化糞池，其性能均顯著優於市場平均值。我們將繼續透過產品推出和材料轉換機會來推動成長，同時加強與大型全國性和區域住宅建築商的關係，以推動住宅建設實現高於市場平均水平的成長。

In the nonresidential market, growth was driven by acquisitions and strong execution from our sales team, particularly in commercial construction activity in the Midwest, Atlantic Coast, South and Southeastern United States. We continue to see good activity in data centers and large projects and believe that underlying demand in key geographies was impacted by heavy rainfall and high temperature, particularly in May and June.

在非住宅市場，成長主要得益於收購以及銷售團隊的出色執行，尤其是在美國中西部、大西洋沿岸、南部和東南部地區的商業建築活動中。我們繼續看到資料中心和大型專案活動良好，並認為主要地區的潛在需求受到了強降雨和高溫的影響，尤其是在 5 月和 6 月。

With respect to infrastructure, despite revenue being down this quarter compared to the prior year, it was actually the third highest revenue quarter in the company's history. As a reminder, this segment is more concentrated in geographies where we have stronger approvals and often large projects like airports can make quarterly performance uneven.

就基礎設施而言，儘管本季收入較上年同期有所下降，但實際上是該公司歷史上收入第三高的季度。需要提醒的是，該業務板塊更集中於我們審批力道較大的地區，像機場這樣的大型專案往往會導致季度業績不穩定。

That said, over the long term, the demand drivers remain strong. Over 50% of the IIJA's highway and street funds will be spent over the next five years, so we continue to feel good about the overall direction of the infrastructure market.

也就是說，從長遠來看，需求驅動因素依然強勁。IIJA超過50%的公路和街道資金將在未來五年內支出，因此我們對基礎設施市場的整體方向仍然感到樂觀。

Moving to profitability. This quarter's 33.5% adjusted EBITDA margin is among the highest in the company's history despite a challenging demand environment. Excluding Orenco, the consolidated margin would have been 34.1%. Importantly, overall pricing remains stable sequentially as expected. Price/cost was favorable in the quarter, benefiting from favorable material costs as well as product mix.

邁向盈利。儘管需求環境充滿挑戰，本季調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率仍達到 33.5%，是該公司歷史上最高的利潤率之一。若排除 Orenco，合併後的利潤率為 34.1%。重要的是，整體價格如預期般保持穩定。本季價格/成本較為有利，這得益於有利的材料成本以及產品組合。

Manufacturing costs were unfavorable as expected due to the fixed cost absorption on inventory produced over the winter months. We were able to offset a portion of that with favorable transportation cost driven by the better performance of new assets and implementation of new programs. Also of note, we recently began to wind down operations at a distribution yard and a small pipe manufacturing operation.

正如預期的那樣，由於冬季幾個月生產的庫存吸收了固定成本，因此製造成本並不理想。由於新資產性能更佳、新項目實施，運輸成本降低，我們得以抵銷其中一部分損失。另外值得一提的是，我們最近開始逐步關閉一個配送中心和一個小型管道製造廠。

With the capacity investments in the region and the acquisition of River Valley Pipe, we were able to eliminate some inefficient production while also improving our customer service and delivery.

透過對該地區的產能投資以及對 River Valley Pipe 的收購，我們得以消除一些低效率的生產環節，同時改善我們的客戶服務和交付。

Over the last year, we have taken fixed cost out of the ADS network by closing two pipe production operations, a recycling facility, and three distribution yards without compromising any customer service. We can do this because of the investments we have made in new lines, rebuilds and the planning programs implemented over the last several years.

過去一年，我們透過關閉兩家管道生產企業、一家回收廠和三個配送中心，降低了 ADS 網路中的固定成本，同時沒有影響任何客戶服務。我們之所以能夠做到這一點，是因為我們在過去幾年中對新線路、改造項目和規劃方案進行了投資。

To illustrate this point, on average, ADS production per line increased by over 20% compared to pre-COVID levels, and the strategic capital invested over the last several years has allowed us to remove inefficient equipment from the network.

為了說明這一點，平均而言，ADS 每條生產線的產量比 COVID 疫情前的水平提高了 20% 以上，過去幾年投入的戰略資本使我們能夠從網路中移除低效的設備。

I'm very proud of the team for the performance delivered in a challenging quarter. Their disciplined execution and commitment to continuous improvement resulted in our safest quarter ever, achieving a record low total recordable incident rate below 1.5 compared to an industry average of 3.2. These achievements reflect our ongoing focus on operational excellence and safety, which are foundational elements of our sustainable growth strategy.

我為團隊在充滿挑戰的季度中所取得的成績感到非常自豪。他們嚴謹的執行力和對持續改進的承諾，使我們取得了有史以來最安全的季度，總可記錄事故率創歷史新低，低於 1.5，而行業平均為 3.2。這些成就體現了我們對卓越營運和安全的持續關注，而卓越營運和安全是我們永續成長策略的基石。

When you stack up our strengths, the scale, the product portfolio, our go-to-market strategy and the ability to invest in both our businesses, our people, and industry growth, you can see ADS as a powerful value proposition.

當你把我們的優勢、規模、產品組合、市場進入策略以及投資於自身業務、員工和產業成長的能力綜合起來，你會發現 ADS 是一個強大的價值主張。

In summary, we continue to execute effectively in a challenging environment, preserving strong margins and enhancing our mix towards more profitable products and geographies. Our self-help operational initiatives are now bearing fruit. We've increased the capacity of the existing production lines and added new ones in strategic areas to meet customer demand. We've also upgraded the service and delivery experience for our customers, leveraging new digital tools across our platform.

總而言之，我們在充滿挑戰的環境中繼續有效執行，保持強勁的利潤率，並優化產品組合，轉向利潤更高的產品和地區。我們的自助行動舉措現在正在取得成效。我們提高了現有生產線的產能，並在戰略區域增加了新的生產線，以滿足客戶需求。我們也透過在整個平台上運用新的數位工具，提升了客戶的服務和交付體驗。

While we navigate the near-term environment, we do so within the eye towards the future. We remain firmly committed to our long-term vision and we'll continue investing in the capabilities that will position us for future success. Overall, that long-term outlook for our business remains strong, supported by compelling secular tailwinds driving demand for water management solutions across the US.

在應對近期環境的同時，我們始終著眼於未來。我們始終堅定不移地致力於我們的長期願景，並將繼續投資於能夠讓我們在未來取得成功的能力建設。整體而言，我們業務的長期前景依然強勁，這得益於推動美國各地對水資源管理解決方案需求的強勁長期利多因素。

Now I'll turn the call over to Scott Cottrill.

現在我將把電話交給斯科特·科特里爾。

Thanks, Scott. On slide 5, we present our first quarter fiscal 2026 financial performance. Revenue increased 2% to $830 million despite challenging end market demand. Importantly, we believe our results outpaced our end markets overall, demonstrating the resilience of the ADS business model.

謝謝你，斯科特。在第 5 張投影片中，我們展示了 2026 財年第一季的財務表現。儘管終端市場需求面臨挑戰，但營收仍成長了2%，達到8.3億美元。重要的是，我們相信我們的業績總體上超過了終端市場，這證明了 ADS 商業模式的韌性。

As Scott noted, from a profitability perspective, we are very pleased with the 33.5% adjusted EBITDA margin in the first quarter. A couple of things I feel are worth reiterating. First, pricing remained stable sequentially as we had indicated and expected. Second, price/cost was favorable year-over-year. From a manufacturing perspective, while we did experience unfavorable fixed cost absorption during the quarter, we were able to partially offset such with favorable transportation as well as favorable variable manufacturing cost performance.

正如斯科特指出的那樣，從盈利能力的角度來看，我們對第一季 33.5% 的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率非常滿意。有幾點我覺得值得重申。首先，價格按週期保持穩定，正如我們之前指出和預期的那樣。其次，價格/成本較去年同期有利。從製造角度來看，雖然本季固定成本吸收情況不佳，但我們透過有利的運輸成本和有利的變動製造成本表現，部分抵銷了這種不利影響。

Regarding SG&A costs, the year-over-year increase was primarily driven by the acquisition of Orenco as well as continued investments in areas that drive long-term shareholder value, such as resources and talent at our world-class engineering and technology center. We have worked to offset these increases by containing costs in travel, marketing, and other discretionary expenses.

關於銷售、一般及行政費用，年比增加主要是由於收購 Orenco 以及對推動股東長期價值的領域（例如我們世界一流的工程和技術中心的資源和人才）的持續投資所致。我們透過控制差旅、行銷和其他可自由支配支出來抵消這些成長。

Again, despite choppy end market demand, it is important to highlight the company's performance and the resulting 33.5% EBITDA margin, one of the highest margins in the company's history despite end market weakness, demonstrated the continued resilience of the ADS business model.

再次強調，儘管終端市場需求波動不定，但公司業績和由此產生的 33.5% EBITDA 利潤率（儘管終端市場疲軟，但仍是公司歷史上最高的利潤率之一）值得關注，這表明 ADS 商業模式持續具有韌性。

On slide 6, we present our free cash flow for the quarter. We generated $222 million of free cash flow year-to-date compared to $126 million in the prior year, primarily driven by better working capital performance. Of note, we expect the OBBVA to result in an incremental $30 million to $40 million of free cash flow this fiscal year.

在第 6 張投影片中，我們展示了本季的自由現金流。今年迄今為止，我們已產生 2.22 億美元的自由現金流，而去年同期為 1.26 億美元，主要得益於營運資本表現的改善。值得注意的是，我們預計 OBBVA 將在本財年帶來 3,000 萬至 4,000 萬美元的額外自由現金流。

Thoughtful capital allocation continues to be a key focus for the management team and our Board, given the strong cash generation of this business. We spent $53 million on capital expenditures in the first quarter and we now expect to spend approximately $200 million to $225 million for the full year, focusing on innovation and product development at the new world-class engineering and technology center as well as increasing our recycling capacity in the Southeast, continued investment in customer service, productivity and automation as well as executing on growth in key geographies.

鑑於公司強勁的現金流，審慎的資本配置仍是管理團隊和董事會關注的重點。我們在第一季投入了 5,300 萬美元用於資本支出，現在預計全年將投入約 2 億至 2.25 億美元，重點放在新建的世界級工程和技術中心的創新和產品開發上，以及提高我們在東南部的回收能力，繼續投資於客戶服務、生產力和自動化，並在關鍵地區實現增長。

We ended the quarter with less than one turn of net leverage and over $1.2 billion in available liquidity, including $638 million of cash on hand. This level of financial strength gives us exceptional flexibility to invest with conviction and respond quickly to strategic opportunities as they arise. Our capital allocation priorities remain focused on value creation levers such as capital expenditures, innovation and acquisitions.

本季末，我們的淨槓桿率不到 1 倍，可用流動資金超過 12 億美元，其中包括 6.38 億美元的現金。這種雄厚的財務實力賦予我們極大的靈活性，使我們能夠堅定地進行投資，並迅速抓住出現的策略機會。我們的資本配置重點仍集中在創造價值的槓桿上，例如資本支出、創新和收購。

Moving on to slide 7. While pleased with our performance in Q1, given the continued uncertain demand environment, our guidance ranges remain unchanged. We remain focused on executing our long-term strategic plan to drive consistent long-term growth, margin expansion, and free cash flow generation.

接下來是第7張投影片。儘管我們對第一季的業績感到滿意，但鑑於需求環境持續存在不確定性，我們的業績預期範圍保持不變。我們將繼續專注於執行我們的長期策略計劃，以推動持續的長期成長、利潤率擴張和自由現金流的產生。

With that, I will open the call for questions. Operator, please open the line.

接下來，我將開始接受提問。接線員，請接通線路。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Bryan Blair, Oppenheimer.

布萊恩布萊爾，奧本海默。

A very solid start to the year. I guess to level set on Q1 outperformance, can you estimate the impact of weather in terms of project delays and remind us of the easy comp dynamics from Q1 '25? In the end, I guess, I'm just trying to get to the net impact of Q1 '26 deferrals versus prior year project timing.

今年開局非常穩健。為了平衡第一季超額完成的業績，您能否估算一下天氣對工程延誤的影響，並提醒我們2025年第一季的簡單比較動態？最後，我想，我只是想弄清楚 2026 年第一季延期與上一年專案進度相比的淨影響。

Okay. Bryan, this is Scott B. The unpacking how things are moving because of weather, I mean that's kind of how I interpret your question. And I do think that early in the first quarter, April, May, some things were moving around by week, delayed 2, 3, 4, or 5 weeks. So stuff certainly moved around between the fourth quarter of last year and this quarter. Some stuff moved into this quarter. I'm not sure that it was hugely detrimental to us because it's just as a delay. This stuff kind of comes back. And if I recall correctly, last year was -- there's probably some stuff pulled into the quarter.

好的。布萊恩，我是史考特B。我正在分析天氣因素如何影響事物的發展，我的意思是，我大概就是這樣理解你的問題的。而且我認為在第一季初期，也就是四月、五月，有些事情的進展是以周為單位的，延遲了 2、3、4 或 5 週。所以，從去年第四季到今年本季，很多事情都改變了。有些東西轉移到了本季。我不確定這是否對我們造成了巨大的不利影響，因為它只是造成了延誤而已。這種事總會再發生。如果我沒記錯的話，去年——可能有些東西被算進了這個季度。

Yeah. Bryan, I would say last year, we -- it was probably $15 million to $20 million when you look at the kind of favorable impact that happened in Q4 that was stolen from Q1. So that would kind of be there. I would agree with Scott. Things kind of moved around in the quarter, but --

是的。布萊恩，我想說去年，我們——考慮到第四季度發生的、從第一季竊取的有利影響，我們可能損失了 1500 萬到 2000 萬美元。所以，大概就是這樣。我同意斯科特的觀點。本季情況有所變化，但是--

Kind of evened out.

基本平衡了。

Kind of evened out, right. And as we get through July and August, we think it's kind of a normal run rate, assuming no other significant weather events that delayed things.

差不多平衡了，對吧。隨著七月和八月的到來，我們認為這將是一個正常的運行速度，前提是沒有其他重大天氣事件導致延誤。

And I guess what I'm trying to really always us out of these situations is demand overall is just kind of tepid. It's very regional. And as things -- as weather moves them back and forth a little bit, we've got to be careful not to get too excited when stuff kind of moves around by a couple of weeks or from one month to the next.

我想說的是，我一直試圖從這些情​​況中擺脫的問題是，整體需求比較疲軟。這具有很強的地域性。而且，由於天氣原因，事情可能會有所波動，所以我們必須小心，不要因為事情在幾週或一個月內有所變動就過於興奮。

Our overall view of the demand is -- it's rather flattish and tepid. So when we can grow in residential and nonresidential, these very core markets across both the Infiltrator and the ADS platform, we feel like we're doing pretty good and more than holding serve in our key markets and geographies.

我們對市場需求的整體看法是──相當平淡乏力。因此，當我們在住宅和非住宅領域，也就是 Infiltrator 和 ADS 平台的核心市場實現成長時，我們感覺我們做得相當不錯，並且在我們的主要市場和地區保持了良好的發展勢頭。

Absolutely. That seems to be the case. I appreciate the color there. Price/cost always keen focus and turned positive a little earlier than anticipated. I guess given price stability, continued sequential stability, anticipated mix, current visibility on input costs, what does your team expect for Q2 price/cost? And is there any shift to the neutral full year impact that you've baked into that?

絕對地。看來情況確實如此。我喜歡那裡的顏色。價格/成本一直是關注的重點，並且比預期更早地轉為積極。我想，考慮到價格穩定、持續的周期性穩定、預期的產品組合以及目前對投入成本的了解，您的團隊對第二季的價格/成本有何預期？您是否已將全年中性影響的預期調整納入考量？

Now, let's start with the last part of that first. So price/cost for the year still expected to be flat. And then, again, a little bit favorable versus our expectation in the first quarter, as you indicated. But again, remember, last year, kind of we didn't have the pricing impact until our fiscal second quarter. So again, a little bit of pricing that we had to deal with on a year-over-year basis in that first quarter.

現在，我們先從最後一部分開始。因此，預計今年的價格/成本仍將保持不變。而且，正如您所指出的，第一季的業績也略好於我們的預期。但請記住，去年我們直到第二財季才感受到價格上的影響。所以，我們在第一季必須處理一些與去年同期相比的價格問題。

But we lap in the second quarter. So that will be something as you look at that progression from Q1 to Q2 and then through the remainder of the year. But again, sequentially, pricing has remained relatively flat, like we've been talking about. So that's very good.

但我們在第二節比賽中領先。所以，當你觀察從第一季到第二季以及今年剩餘時間的進展時，這將是一個值得關注的問題。但同樣地，從價格走勢來看，價格一直保持相對平穩，正如我們一直在討論的那樣。那非常好。

Matthew Bouley, Barclays.

馬修·布雷，巴克萊銀行。

I wanted to start on CapEx. I think the guide was reduced from $275 million to that $200 million to $225 million. So I just wanted to check on if anything has changed around the capital projects you're planning to invest in this year. This is just timing or if we should kind of read any implications to share repurchase or potentially a little bit more dry powder for M&A?

我想先從資本支出著手。我認為指導價從 2.75 億美元降到了 2 億美元，再降到了 2.25 億美元。所以我想確認一下，您今年計劃投資的資本項目是否有任何變化。這只是時機問題，還是我們應該從中解讀出一些關於股票回購或可能為併購儲備更多資金的暗示？

Matt, it's Scott here. It's just timing. Some of the larger projects we had are just moving to the right a little bit. And again, it doesn't impact our ability to meet our anticipated demand. Scott hit on the efficiencies and productivity and some of the other things that we've done strategically to meet the demand in certain regions. So it's just -- it's timing.

馬特，我是史考特。只是時機問題。我們的一些大型專案只是稍微向右移動了一點。再次強調，這不會影響我們滿足預期需求的能力。斯科特談到了提高效率和生產力，以及我們為滿足某些地區的需求而採取的一些其他策略措施。所以，關鍵在於時機。

Okay. Got it. And then secondly, on Infiltrator, that organic growth of nearly 1%. Obviously, the residential end market is fairly choppy here in terms of starts. I think I heard you mention that you saw double-digit organic growth in on-site wastewater. So I guess I was wondering if you could expand on that a little bit and how that plays into your outlook? And could we expect to see that on-site wastewater side of it, perhaps offsetting this residential backdrop here?

好的。知道了。其次，在 Infiltrator 上，有機成長率接近 1%。顯然，就新房開工量而言，這裡的住宅終端市場波動較大。我好像聽你說過，現場廢水的有機物排放量實現了兩位數的成長。所以我想知道您能否再詳細談談這一點，以及它如何影響您的觀點？我們是否可以期待看到現場污水處理的情況，或許可以抵銷這裡住宅區的背景？

So this is Scott B. And Craig is here with us today, too, from Infiltrator. And it's tanks. It's tanks that are -- that continue to gain share and grow through new distribution points, new models that we introduced over the last 18 months, tooled and introduced over the last 18 months.

這位是 Scott B.，今天還有來自 Infiltrator 的 Craig 也來到了我們節目現場。還有坦克。正是這些坦克——透過新的分銷點和我們在過去 18 個月中推出的新型號，不斷獲得市場份額並實現增長，這些新型號是在過去 18 個月中開發和推出的。

And in the core leach field, I think that we are in the right spot where our -- the types of plate homes or geographies that are -- that use our products have on-site wastewater treatment are kind of higher mix towards that versus municipal there. So we continue to do really great work there in new products, running our programs through the distribution and again, just executing well in Winchester, Kentucky. They're very nice facility.

在核心滲濾場，我認為我們正處於正確的位置，因為我們的產品所服務的住宅類型或地理位置，其現場廢水處理的比例比市政廢水處理的比例要高得多。因此，我們在新產品方面繼續取得非常好的成績，透過分銷管道開展我們的項目，並且在肯塔基州溫徹斯特的執行力也很強。他們的設施非常好。

John Lovallo, UBS.

瑞銀集團的約翰·洛瓦洛。

I wanted to ask about last quarter, you talked about the first quarter perhaps being the softest margin, given pricing dynamics and also the worst fixed cost absorption. So curious if that still stands? I mean it doesn't seem like the outlook would imply that. But is there any change in the cadence of how you're looking at the margins through the year?

我想問一下上個季度的情況，您提到第一季可能是利潤率最低的季度，因為價格動態以及固定成本吸收情況最差。很好奇這個說法現在是否仍然成立？我的意思是，從目前的情況來看，前景似乎並不表明會是這樣。但是，您在全年觀察利潤率的節奏上是否有任何變化？

John, this is Scott B. Scott C, wants to talk, I can tell also. But we worked our tail off to try to offset what we saw as really poor absorption through the winter months, flushing out in our first fiscal quarter. So we worked very hard in other areas that were period cost, particularly in transportation and logistics to make that a better story than we anticipated. Does it inform the rest of the year?

約翰，這是斯科特·B。斯科特·C想跟你談談，我也能感覺到。但是，我們竭盡全力彌補冬季幾個月來吸收率非常低的情況，並在第一財季中解決了這個問題。因此，我們在其他與時期成本相關的領域，特別是運輸和物流方面，付出了巨大的努力，使最終結果比我們預期的要好。它對接下來一年的情況有影響嗎？

We're not changing our guide. It's just the first quarter. We're honestly more worried about demand than we are our ability to perform on cost or resin and stuff like that. So that's why we're cautious. I mean I use this word tepid around demand. And I really -- we just don't want to get ahead of ourselves there. So that's how we're thinking about it.

我們不會更改指南。這只是第一季。說實話，我們更擔心的是市場需求，而不是我們在成本控制、樹脂供應等方面的能力。所以這就是我們謹慎的原因。我的意思是，我通常在需求方面使用“溫吞”這個詞。我真的——我們不想在這方面操之過急。這就是我們的想法。

Scott, do you want to add anything to that?

史考特，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

No, you nailed it. Perfect.

不，你說得對。完美的。

Okay. No, that makes a lot of sense. And then it looks like you guys didn't buy back any stock in the quarter. I mean how should we sort of think about repos going forward? You guys are planning of cash. You lowered your CapEx. How are you thinking about repos as we move forward?

好的。沒錯，這很有道理。看來你們這季並沒有回購任何股票。我的意思是，我們今後該如何看待程式碼倉庫？你們打算用現金嗎？你降低了資本支出。展望未來，您對代碼倉庫有何看法？

Yeah. It's something we're looking at, John. We continue to look at it. So we'll look. It's just something we measure based on our capital needs right now and what we're investing in there. And as you heard me say, some of those projects are moving out to the right a little bit. So we've got a little bit of availability, a little bit more cash. The OBBVA Bill is going to give us a little bit more cash flow than what we had thought as well coming into this year from the bonus depreciation and the R&D piece of that.

是的。約翰，我們正在研究這個問題。我們會繼續關注此事。所以我們會看看。這只是我們根據目前的資金需求和投資方向來衡量的一種方式。正如你剛才聽到的，其中一些項目正在向右移動一點。所以我們手頭稍微寬裕了一些，也多了一點現金。OBBVA 法案將為我們帶來比我們預期更多的現金流，這主要得益於今年的額外折舊和研發支出。

So again, a little bit more cash to deploy than what we thought. So again, I would look to us looking at that here in the next couple of quarters. And again, as we look at that based on our working capital needs, our capital expenditures, our innovation, and other investments that we're making, it becomes a key part of that disciplined and balanced capital allocation approach that we want to use.

所以，我們實際上可投入的現金比預想的要多一些。所以，我再次強調，我們接下來幾季會繼續關注這個問題。再次強調，當我們根據我們的營運資金需求、資本支出、創新以及我們正在進行的其他投資來審視這一點時，它就成為了我們想要採用的嚴謹而平衡的資本配置方法的關鍵組成部分。

So right now, we're comfortable where we are, but that doesn't mean that in the next couple of quarters, we take what I'll around excess cash and put that to work. So that's how I talk to it.

所以目前我們對現狀感到滿意，但這並不意味著在接下來的幾個季度裡，我們會把多餘的現金投入使用。這就是我跟它說話的方式。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Trey Grooms, Stevens.

Trey Grooms，史蒂文斯。

This is Ethan on for Trey. I wanted to hone in on Allied and Infiltrator, and those two segments seeing stronger growth versus Pipe and how you guys are seeing a nice mix benefit there. So any sense on how you guys are expecting that sort of relative performance to trend for the year?

這是伊桑替特雷發言。我想專注於盟軍和滲透者這兩個細分市場，這兩個細分市場比管道市場成長更快，以及你們是如何從中獲得不錯的收益的。那麼，你們對今年這種相對錶現的趨勢有什麼預期嗎？

Maybe any margin mix benefits versus what had been baked in the guidance? And I think I also heard that there was some geographic mix benefits as well. So any more color on that would be great.

或許利潤率組合方面會有一些利好因素，與先前預期中的預期有所不同？而且我好像還聽說，地域多元化也帶來了一些好處。如果能提供更多細節就太好了。

So good question. And we will continue to really drive the Allied -- work on programs to get higher attach rates of Pipe and Allied Products. And what I mean by that, we are working on a lot of programs to sell the full package and to increase our penetration of the Allied Products at a greater rate than we increased our penetration of plastic pipe. That is -- goes on in every geography. Some are ahead of others. And those geographies that are a little behind in that, we're doing some new things to try to stimulate that.

問得好。我們將持續大力推動相關產業的發展－致力於提高管道及相關產品的附加率。我的意思是，我們正在進行許多項目，以銷售全套產品，並以比塑膠管道滲透率增長更快的速度提高聯合產品的滲透率。也就是說，這種情況在世界各地都會發生。有些領先其他選手。對於那些在這方面稍微落後的地區，我們正在採取一些新的措施來刺激它們的發展。

Infiltrator is Infiltrator. It's new products. It's the tanks. The -- we continue to invest heavily in that business from a capital and resource perspective and acquisition perspective to drive that at a higher growth rate. As part of our algorithm is to drive Allied and Infiltrator at higher growth rates than the basic Pipe business.

滲透者就是滲透者。這是新產品。是坦克車。我們將繼續從資本、資源和收購的角度對該業務進行大量投資，以推動其實現更高的成長率。我們演算法的一部分是推動 Allied 和 Infiltrator 的成長率高於基礎 Pipe 業務的成長率。

That said, I think it's kind of built into our guidance, those relative growth rates. And when we can execute on that, sometimes we get a little bump. I think we probably got some right now. The other thing I would add to that is the really nice program that the Infiltrator team is working on the Orenco acquisition. That mixes them down a bit. They kind of take that personally. So they're working really -- some really good programs.

也就是說，我認為這些相對成長率已經體現在我們的指導方針中了。當我們能夠做到這一點時，有時會取得一些小小的成功。我想我們現在應該已經拿到一些了。我還要補充一點，Infiltrator 團隊正在為收購 Orenco 而開展的計劃非常出色。這樣可以稍微混合一下。他們有點把這當成針對他們個人的攻擊。所以他們確實在努力——推出了一些非常好的項目。

And Orenco team is doing a good job executing those programs as a matter of fact. So that's another big work item for us as a company is to continue to improve the profitability of that acquisition. So those are kind of our major levers. I think we've built it into our guide mostly. But to the extent we can exceed our expectations around growth, that would help the gross margin mix of the company.

事實上，Orenco團隊在執行這些專案方面做得很好。因此，我們公司面臨的另一項重要工作是繼續提高此次收購的獲利能力。所以這些就是我們主要的槓桿作用。我認為我們已經基本將其納入了指南中。但是，如果我們能夠超出預期實現成長，將有助於提高公司的毛利率結構。

Got it. That's very helpful. And I appreciate the color there. And quickly shifting to the cost of the price/cost equation. Materials seem to be a bit of a good guy there. Any color that you can give on what's driving the outperformance there? And yes, any more color on that would be helpful.

知道了。那很有幫助。我很喜歡那裡的色彩。然後迅速轉向價格/成本等式中的成本問題。材料方面似乎還不錯。您能否透露一下是什麼因素導致了這種優異的表現？是的，如果能提供更多細節就更好了。

Yeah. Any time you talk about price/cost, starting with the price side, obviously, we've got a little bit of that headwind we talked about for the pricing that started coming off a little bit in the second quarter of last year continuing as we move. You obviously got some mix that goes into there that makes it on that side a little bit better than what we had thought.

是的。任何時候談到價格/成本，首先從價格方面來說，顯然，我們遇到了一些之前討論過的價格方面的不利因素，這種不利因素從去年第二季度開始有所下降，並且隨著時間的推移仍在持續。顯然，你們那裡混合了一些因素，使得那邊的情況比我們預想的要好一些。

On the resin side of the house, we have really good visibility of that. We know it's on the balance sheet. We know it's going to release over the next couple of months through cost of sales in our gross margin. So again, not a lot of surprise there. But again, to your point, a nice tailwind. So --

從房子的樹脂部分看出去，視野非常好。我們知道它在資產負債表上。我們知道這筆費用將在未來幾個月內透過銷售成本計入毛利率而釋放出來。所以，這並不令人意外。不過，正如你所說，確實是一股不錯的順風。所以--

It's execution.

關鍵在於執行。

Yes. So it's execution. It's good price/cost management through both Pipe, Allied Products and Infiltrator.

是的。所以關鍵在於執行。透過 Pipe、Allied Products 和 Infiltrator，實現了良好的價格/成本管理。

Garik Shmois, Loop Capital.

Garik Shmois，Loop Capital。

Congrats on the quarter. I wanted to ask just first on the -- this cost absorption that you had previously called out and saw in the first quarter. I just wanted to be clear that, that's fully behind you and there's no lingering impact as you move into Q2.

恭喜你本季取得佳績。我首先想問一下——您之前提到並在第一季看到的成本吸收問題。我只是想明確一點，這件事已經徹底過去了，進入第二季不會有任何後續影響。

Yeah, nothing worth highlighting there. We got most of that behind us like we talked about.

是的，沒什麼好提的。正如我們之前討論的那樣，大部分事情都已經過去了。

Okay. And then just wanted to follow up, just in light of the tepid backdrop that you're seeing on the demand side. I think I can predict the answer to this question, but are you seeing any change in the competitive landscape? I know you're getting a ton of questions.

好的。然後，鑑於目前需求方面疲軟的情況，我想再跟進一下。我想我可以預測這個問題的答案，但是你認為競爭格局有什麼改變嗎？我知道你收到了很多問題。

With respect to new capacity that's come on in certain regions over the last several quarters, any thoughts on the competitive backdrop, given demand, in your words, remains pretty tepid?

鑑於過去幾季某些地區新增產能，您認為在需求依然疲軟的情況下，市場競爭格局如何？

Yeah. Okay. I appreciate that you continue to get those questions. And nothing new there. I mean we continue to execute well. And I think there's a few things to point out here. One is sequentially, our pricing has been very consistent for the last 4 or 5 quarters. And we have managed pricing against whatever competitive thing we face, mainly in Pipe. We've done that and kept our pricing consistent for a year now, and we continue to grow in residential and nonresidential, which are our two biggest segments and is where people try to come after us.

是的。好的。我很感激大家繼續提出這些問題。這沒什麼新鮮的。我的意思是，我們繼續保持著良好的執行力。我認為這裡有幾點需要指出。首先，從價格走勢來看，過去 4 到 5 個季度以來，我們的定價一直非常穩定。我們已經控制了價格，以應對我們面臨的各種競爭，主要是管道行業。我們已經做到了這一點，並且一年來一直保持價格穩定，我們在住宅和非住宅領域也持續成長，這兩個領域是我們最大的細分市場，也是其他人試圖超越我們的地方。

We continue to work our costs pretty darn well, and the profitability of that Pipe thing is pretty consistent. We've executed a lot of different materials programs, engineering programs. Our logistics and transportation team has done a great job of working new programs and using our new assets. We've completely refreshed our truck and trailer fleet over the last year, 1.5 years. So we've done all these things to kind of manage price, materials, conversion through the CapEx. We offset a lot of that under-absorption.

我們繼續很好地控製成本，而且管道項目的盈利能力也相當穩定。我們已經實施了許多不同的材料項目和工程項目。我們的物流和運輸團隊在執行新專案和利用新資產方面做得非常出色。在過去一年半的時間裡，我們對卡車和拖車車隊進行了全面更新。因此，我們採取了所有這些措施，透過資本支出來控制價格、材料和轉換。我們彌補了很大一部分吸收不足的情況。

And our margins are pretty good. I mean the resiliency of the margins in the face of that competition over the last year that you guys have been bringing up, it's not like we never had competition. We've always had some. I think we're proving that we have a resilient model. And I don't believe in a tepid environment of demand like this that radical price actions increase demand. They don't. I mean there's only so many projects that are going to come to the market, and you got to have price discipline around that.

我們的利潤率相當不錯。我的意思是，正如你們在過去一年裡一直提到的，面對激烈的競爭，利潤率展現出了很強的韌性，這並不是說我們從未經歷過競爭。我們一直都有一些。我認為我們正在證明我們擁有一個具有韌性的模式。我不認為在這種需求疲軟的環境下，激進的價格調整措施能夠增加需求。他們不。我的意思是，市場上會有一定數量的項目，所以必須控制價格。

So I feel pretty good where we are. And I sometimes feel like I don't know what more I can do to demonstrate that we know how to manage this environment. But we'll keep trying, keep working our programs, keep nailing down 30% plus margins. I guess we'll just keep moving on that path. I know that was a long answer, Garik, but I felt I wanted to really try to put that to bed for you.

所以我覺得我們目前的狀況還不錯。我有時覺得我不知道還能做些什麼來證明我們知道如何應對這種環境。但我們會繼續努力，繼續推進我們的項目，繼續爭取30%以上的利潤率。我想我們只能繼續沿著這條路走下去了。我知道我的回答很長，加里克，但我真的想盡力幫你把這件事徹底弄清楚。

No. Thanks for that.

不。謝謝。

David Tarantino, Keybanc Capital Markets.

David Tarantino，Keybanc Capital Markets。

Maybe just on infrastructure. It sounds like the sales drop is more of a function of tough compares. So maybe could you walk us through the underlying demand trends there and how we should expect this to move forward?

或許只是基礎建設的問題。聽起來銷量下降更多是因為去年同期基數較高所致。那麼，您能否為我們分析該地區的潛在需求趨勢，以及我們應該預期未來的發展趨勢？

Yeah, there are some tough comps in infrastructure, really driven by a lot of very nice airport projects that occurred a year ago. We're pretty strong in that, particularly in the retention/detention area. And those -- I mean, I don't like, hey, non-repeated of big projects, but that's kind of what happens in that segment.

是的，基礎設施領域存在一些很難的競爭，這主要是由於一年前發生的許多非常好的機場項目所致。我們在這方面實力很強，尤其是在拘留/扣留領域。而那些——我的意思是，我不喜歡，嘿，大型專案不重複，但這就是那個領域發生的事情。

Mike, on the Pipe side?

麥克，你是管道那邊的嗎？

Yeah, I think on the Pipe side, David, it's been kind of highly variable, and we've talked to you guys previously about this. Scott mentioned it in the prepared comments about how our participation varies by state depending on the strength of kind of our approvals and acceptance. And it's really a case where we kind of have half the states doing pretty well and then half the states being a bit slow.

是的，大衛，我認為管道方面的情況變化很大，我們之前也和你們談過這個問題。斯科特在事先準備好的評論中提到，我們的參與程度因州而異，取決於我們批准和接受​​的力度。實際上，一半的州發展得相當不錯，而另一半州則發展得比較緩慢。

And I would say as we look forward, project identification is flat, but we're not seeing as much at the DOT level, but seeing more at the local public infrastructure level, which those projects tend to be a bit smaller than what you see for the DOT.

展望未來，專案識別數量趨於平穩，但我們在交通運輸部層級看到的專案不多，而是在地方公共基礎設施層級看到的更多，這些專案往往比交通部的專案規模要小一些。

I think there's some other things you see out there, too, right? I know everybody talks about, Hey, only 50% of the infrastructure bill money has been outlaid, so there's stuff to come. But when you look at it, I think the contract counts nationwide by the various people you track, they're anywhere down from 3% to 11%, but the value of those contracts is up.

我想你還能看到其他一些東西，對吧？我知道大家都在說，嘿，基礎建設資金只撥付了 50%，所以還有很多工作要做。但仔細觀察，我認為根據你追蹤的各個機構的數據，全國範圍內的合約數量下降了 3% 到 11%，但這些合約的價值卻上升了。

So kind of what we're seeing is, Hey, it's costing more to do these projects. So kind of more money, more cost, but less projects out there. But again, it's a big focus for us. We continue to work kind of our go-to-market strategy, our market share model against executing there, and we'll continue to work that.

所以我們看到的情況是，嘿，做這些專案的成本越來越高了。所以資金更多了，成本更高了，但專案卻更少了。但再次強調，這是我們關注的重點。我們將繼續努力，根據我們的市場進入策略和市場份額模型來執行，並將繼續努力。

Okay. Great. And then maybe following up on non-res. Could you just give us a little bit more color on what you're seeing in terms of the pipeline of projects and orders relative to the tepid environment you guys outlined in the guide? And maybe frame for us how the conversion outgrowth is tracking relative to these trends?

好的。偉大的。然後或許可以跟進未解決的問題。能否請您更詳細地介紹一下，相對於您在指南中提到的疲軟環境，目前您看到的項目和訂單狀況如何？或許可以為我們分析一下轉換率成長相對於這些趨勢的變化？

Yeah. I would say the kind of the forward-looking indicators around project identification and quoting and the other kind of third-party metrics we look at kind of line up with a tepid environment. We still think -- even though our share might be more mature in nonresidential versus residential or infrastructure, in those key states in the South and the Southeast, where we have lots of opportunity for share gain, we're seeing strong sales in the quarter and we would attribute some of that to a little bit of, hey, those geographies might be a little stronger from an activity standpoint, but also, too, that we're taking share.

是的。我認為，圍繞專案識別和報價的前瞻性指標以及我們所關注的其他第三方指標都表明，市場環境較為疲軟。我們仍然認為——儘管我們在非住宅領域的市場份額可能比住宅或基礎設施領域更成熟，但在南部和東南部的那些關鍵州，我們有很多機會獲得市場份額，我們在本季度看到了強勁的銷售業績，我們認為部分原因在於，從活動角度來看，這些地區的市場可能更強勁一些，但同時也是因為我們正在佔市場份額。

When you look at the states this quarter, that were strongest from a volume perspective on nonresidential. We like those states that we see, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, California. Those are all states that you guys have heard us talk about. They're kind of in that lower half, the smile, the crescent, whatever you want to call it.

從本季非住宅交易量來看，各州表現最強勁。我們喜歡我們看到的那些州，例如佛羅裡達州、德克薩斯州、田納西州和加利福尼亞州。這些都是你們之前聽我們談過的狀態。它們位於下半部分，也就是微笑、月牙形，或是你想怎麼稱呼它都行。

And we had good volume growth in the quarter there. So that shows us that, Hey, the markets aren't like on fire there. There might be a little better than the national average, but we're being successful taking share like Scott was talking about. The markets are tough. So you're trying to get more share of wallet, acquire new customers, do more conversion. HP has been strong growth in those states as well. So I think it's -- we kind of attributed to, hey, we need to control, we can control, and that's the execution of our go-to-market strategy.

而且我們當季的銷售成長也很理想。所以這說明，嘿，那裡的市場並沒有像火熱的市場那樣火爆。可能比全國平均水平略好一些，但正如斯科特所說，我們在市場份額的獲取方面取得了成功。市場行情艱難。所以你正在努力提高客戶錢包份額、獲取新客戶、提高轉換率。惠普在這些州也實現了強勁成長。所以我覺得——我們把它歸因於，嘿，我們需要控制，我們可以控制，這就是我們市場進入策略的執行。

Mike Halloran, Baird.

麥克哈洛蘭，貝爾德。

Just a couple of quick guidance questions. Just following up on it. First, on the revenue side, you had that slide last quarter that pretty aggressively or detailed the revenue outlook from an end market perspective moving through the year. Curious if that's changed?

幾個簡單的指導性問題。我只是跟進一下。首先，在營收方面，上個季度的那張投影片非常積極地從終端市場的角度詳細闡述了全年的營收前景。想知道情況是否有改變？

If there's been any moving pieces in the thought process to the tepid market sitting here? And whether you just think normal seasonality is what's embedded in the guidance from where first quarter is, some sort of deterioration? Any context around that would be great.

造成當前市場低迷的原因有哪些？你是否認為第一季的業績預期僅僅反映了正常的季節性因素，還是出現了某種程度的惡化？如果能提供一些背景資訊就太好了。

No. I think our look to the end markets mirrors what we went out with guidance-wise as adjusted for seasonality, as you mentioned, Michael. So no change to our outlook right now to those end markets, hence why we're leaving our guidance unchanged.

不。我認為，正如你所提到的，邁克爾，我們對終端市場的展望與我們根據季節性因素調整後的績效指引一致。因此，目前我們對這些終端市場的展望並沒有改變，這也是我們維持績效指引不變的原因。

Okay. That's what I figured. And then similarly on the margin line of things, if I hear all of the commentary around the puts and takes with margins, there really wasn't anything unsustainable in the first quarter margin here other than possibly mix. I heard Scott B's comments on more concern over what demand looks like back half of the year.

好的。我猜也是這樣。同樣地，就利潤率而言，如果我聽取所有關於利潤率的買賣評論，那麼除了可能存在的混合因素外，第一季的利潤率實際上並沒有什麼不可持續的地方。我聽到了 Scott B 的評論，他更擔心上半年的需求前景。

That's partially why there's some caution around -- on the margin line. But what I would like to confirm here is a couple of things. One, just that the sequentials as you're thinking about the margins haven't really changed or the thought process around it hasn't really changed.

這也是為什麼在損益平衡點附近會有些謹慎的原因之一。但我在這裡想確認兩件事。第一，只是你思考邊距時所考慮的順序並沒有真正改變，或者圍繞它的思考過程並沒有真正改變。

And then secondarily, are there any moving pieces here that we need to think about other than, again, maybe mix normalizing that would lead to more compression than normal versus that first quarter number? Because essentially, if you look at the next three quarters relative to where the first quarter it is, there is an implication of something a little bit worse than normal. It doesn't seem that's what you're saying. So any context there would be helpful.

其次，除了混合標準化之外，還有什麼其他因素需要考慮嗎？混合標準化可能會導致比第一季資料更大的壓縮。因為從本質上講，如果你把接下來的三個季度與第一個季度的情況進行比較，你會發現這意味著情況比正常情況略微糟糕一些。看來你並不是這個意思。所以，任何相關背景資訊都會很有幫助。

No, that's exactly what we're not saying. So again, I think when you look at that kind of how those margins will convey through the year, especially Q1 to Q2. Q2 usually looks a lot like Q1. Obviously, there's going to be puts and takes there based on our Q1 performance. But again, it's one quarter, choppy, tepid end markets. So again, we're comfortable leaving the guidance ranges where they are right now.

不，我們恰恰沒說這句話。所以，我認為，當你觀察這些利潤率將如何貫穿全年，尤其是從第一季到第二季時，你會發現這一點。第二季度通常與第一季非常相似。顯然，根據我們第一季的業績，市場會有買賣雙方的預期。但話說回來，這只是一個季度，市場波動較大，終端市場表現平淡。所以，我們再次決定維持目前的指導範圍不變。

Yeah. What I would add is my worry, Mike, is the demand side. And if that demand side is weaker than I anticipated in the plan, is that going to cause me some absorption problems? Again, I got to go work. So -- but as far as pricing and materials and our ability to convert and our ability to transport, the mix of Infiltrator and Allied versus Pipe and all that, I'd say we're kind of per the norm in terms of these first half, second half, and then relative growth rates of the various segments.

是的。麥克，我還要補充一點，我擔心的是需求面。如果需求方面比我計劃中預期的要弱，這會給我造成一些吸收問題嗎？我又得去上班了。所以——但是就定價、材料、我們的轉換能力、運輸能力、滲透者和盟軍與管道等因素而言，我認為我們在上半年、下半年以及各個細分市場的相對增長率方面都處於正常水平。

Thank you

謝謝

Ryan Connors, Northcoast Research.

Ryan Connors，北海岸研究公司。

Northcoast Research. I had a couple of questions here. Most of mine have been answered, but a couple of big picture. First of all, I know there's been some drama in the -- among some of the bigger players in distributions, some new players coming in. I'm just curious if there's anything to call out there in terms of any impact on your business from a volume or a margin standpoint? Any -- is there inventory building or drawdown, any discounting? Anything with that volatility in the channel that's -- yeah?

北海岸研究。我這裡有幾個問題。我的大部分問題都得到了解答，但還有一些關於大局的問題。首先，我知道分銷領域中一些較大的參與者之間發生了一些戲劇性的變化，也有一些新參與者加入。我只是好奇，從銷售或利潤率的角度來看，這是否會對您的業務產生任何影響？是否有庫存增加或減少，是否有折扣？任何在通道中波動性如此之大的東西——是嗎？

Good question in drama, and drama is a good word, I'd say. And the answer is that we believe that to be largely in the past for -- relative to us. And there would be nothing from an inventory build or mix or different behavior that we would call out on that. I mean we're always dealing with some level of change in drama relative to distribution and end markets and customers. It was a bit heightened there for a while, but I'd say it's calmed down, Ryan. And we do, though, always look for opportunities to run programs, to do stuff, but it's not affecting our business in any spectacular way.

這是個關於戲劇的好問題，而且「戲劇」這個詞用得很好。答案是，我們認為這在很大程度上已經成為過去——就我們而言。庫存建構、組合或不同行為方面沒有任何異常，我們不會對此提出異議。我的意思是，在分銷、終端市場和客戶方面，我們總是會面臨一定程度的變化。瑞恩，那裡的局勢一度比較緊張，但我覺得現在已經平靜下來了。不過，我們確實一直在尋找機會進行專案、做事情，但這並沒有對我們的業務產生任何顯著的影響。

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. And then second, just big picture. If my math is correct, Pipe was barely 50% of sales in the quarter, it's 50.1% is what I got. So kind of heading towards this milestone where Pipe actually becomes less than half of the company, which is pretty amazing when we remember the days when it was 90-10 Pipe and Allied Products. So what's the long-term vision?

知道了。好的。那很有幫助。其次，從大局來看。如果我沒算錯的話，Pipe 在本季的銷售額僅佔總銷售額的 50%，我算出來是 50.1%。所以，我們正朝著這個里程碑邁進，Pipe 業務實際上已經占公司不到一半的份額，考慮到以前 90% 是 Pipe，10% 是 Allied Products，這真是令人難以置信。那麼，長遠願景是什麼？

Should we expect Pipe to just continue to be declining in the mix over two, three, four years and at some point, it's a third or a quarter of the company? Or do we kind of stabilize and we should think about that 50-50 kind of being where the company wants to be longer term?

我們是否應該預期管道業務在未來兩三年甚至四年內持續下滑，並在某個時候只占公司總業務的三分之一或四分之一？或者我們應該趨於穩定，並考慮讓這種 50-50 的局面成為公司長期發展的目標？

Yes. So again, another good question. I don't see it being a quarter or a third of the business for sure. I see it kind of bouncing around its 50-50. And I always kind of come back to our long-term strategy is to grow the Infiltrator business and the Allied Products business faster than the Pipe business because we believe we are less penetrated and particularly in the Allied products than the Pipe. So we, therefore, have more kind of open space and growth opportunities. So we will continue to work that.

是的。這又是一個好問題。我並不認為它會占到業務的四分之一或三分之一。我覺得可能性在五五開之間波動。我總是會回到我們的長期策略，那就是讓滲透者業務和相關產品業務的成長速度超過管道業務，因為我們相信我們在相關產品領域的滲透率低於管道業務。因此，我們擁有更多的開放空間和發展機會。所以我們會繼續努力。

Whether it goes to 40% at some point, I would see that being the kind of the low watermark of it. But we do think it's very important for us as a company to grow our higher-margin product lines faster than the company average to create positive mix for the company. So that's kind of core to my strategy for the company.

雖然它最終可能會達到 40%，但我認為這已經是它的最低點了。但我們認為，對於公司而言，以高於公司平均的速度發展高利潤產品線，從而為公司創造積極的產品組合，是非常重要的。所以這可以說是我公司策略的核心。

Got it. Thanks.

知道了。謝謝。

At this time, there are no further questions. I will now hand the call back over to our presenters for any closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題了。現在我將把電話交還給各位主持人，請他們作總結發言。

We appreciate all the questions today and the participation in the call. We feel good about the quarter. We feel good about how we are executing. I'll just reiterate, we're worried about demand. And I don't think it's things that we might do -- that we're doing, I think it's just the environment that we're in.

我們感謝大家今天提出的所有問題以及參與電話會議。我們對本季業績感到滿意。我們對目前的執行情況感到滿意。我再重申一遍，我們擔心需求不足。我不認為這是我們可能會做的事情——或者我們正在做的事情，我認為這只是我們所處的環境造成的。

But we also know we have the right long-term trends and long-term water positioning for our on-site septic business, our wastewater business through Infiltrator, our Allied Products and Pipe business through ADS. So we like the hand we're dealt. We see good needs from the cash backs and opportunities of the cash. So we'll -- we continue to be very focused on that as a management team and our Board. That said, we appreciate it. Thank you. We look forward to the follow-up calls and seeing you all around.

但我們也知道，我們擁有正確的長期趨勢和長期的水資源定位，適用於我們的現場化糞池業務、透過 Infiltrator 開展的廢水業務、透過 ADS 開展的聯合產品和管道業務。所以我們對目前的處境很滿意。我們看到了現金回饋帶來的良好需求和機會。所以，作為管理團隊和董事會，我們將繼續非常關注這一點。儘管如此，我們還是表示感謝。謝謝。我們期待後續的電話溝通，也期待與大家見面。

This concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。現在您可以斷開線路了。