Advanced Drainage Systems Inc (WMS) 2026 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Advanced Drainage Systems fourth quarter and fiscal year 2026 results conference call. My name is Tracy, and I'm your operator for today's call. (Operator Instructions)

各位女士、先生，早安，歡迎參加 Advanced Drainage Systems 2026 會計年度第四季暨全年業績電話會議。我是 Tracy，擔任今天電話會議的接線員。（接線員指示）

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.

現在我想把簡報交給今天電話會議的主持人——企業策略與投資人關係副總裁 Mike Higgins 先生。先生，您可以開始了。

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. With me today I have Scott Barbour, our President and CEO; Scott Cottrill, our Chief Financial Officer; and Craig Taylor, President of our Infiltrator business.

各位早安。感謝今天加入我們。今天與我一同出席的有：總裁暨執行長 Scott Barbour；財務長 Scott Cottrill；以及 Infiltrator 事業總裁 Craig Taylor。

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. 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.

我也要提醒各位，我們將討論前瞻性陳述。由於各種因素，實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述有重大差異，包括我們新聞稿中所討論者，以及我們向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交之 Form 10-K 中所列的風險因素。雖然我們未來可能會更新前瞻性陳述，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，且其內容僅反映截至今日的情況。

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.

最後，我們今天稍早發布的新聞稿已張貼於本公司網站的投資人關係（Investor Relations）專區。該新聞稿副本亦已包含於提交給 SEC 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重播。

I'll now turn the call over to Scott Barbour.

接下來我把電話交給 Scott Barbour。

Thank you, Mike, and good morning, everyone. Thank you all for joining us on today's call. We are pleased to close out fiscal year 2026 with strong results, and we have a lot to cover today, including our fourth quarter performance, full year results, an update on the NDS integration, and a preview of what lies ahead as we prepare for our upcoming Investor Day.

謝謝你，Mike，各位早安。感謝各位參加今天的電話會議。我們很高興以強勁的成果結束 2026 會計年度。今天我們有許多內容要分享，包括第四季表現、全年結果、NDS 整合進度更新，以及在我們準備即將到來的投資人日之際，對未來的前瞻。

A lot happened in the fourth quarter. Despite the quarter being our most weather-dependent and seasonally variable period, we executed well and delivered results that reflect the strength and breadth of our portfolio. The diversification across our Allied products, Infiltrator business and the HP pipe products, combined with the continued execution of our market share model allowed us to navigate a challenging demand environment and close the fiscal year on a strong note. Let me touch on a few highlights.

第四季發生了很多事情。儘管本季是我們最受天候影響、季節性波動最大的期間，我們仍執行得當，交出反映我們產品組合強度與廣度的成果。我們在 Allied 產品、Infiltrator 事業以及 HP 管材產品之間的多元化配置，加上持續落實市占率模型，使我們得以在具挑戰性的需求環境中穩健應對，並以強勢表現為本會計年度畫下句點。我先談幾個重點。

As you saw in the press release, following the acquisition of NDS, we updated our reporting segments to Stormwater and wastewater as reflected in the results today. The Stormwater segment contains the legacy ADS business, Pipe and Allied Products as well as acquisitions we have made in the space, NDS, Coltec, and River Valley Pipe. The wastewater segment contains the legacy Infiltrator business as well as the acquisition of Orenco.

如各位在新聞稿中所見，隨著完成 NDS 的收購，我們更新了申報分部，調整為雨水（Stormwater）與污水（Wastewater），並反映在今天的結果中。雨水分部包含 ADS 既有業務——管材與 Allied 產品——以及我們在該領域的收購案：NDS、Coltec 與 River Valley Pipe。污水分部包含既有的 Infiltrator 業務，以及收購的 Orenco。

Stormwater revenue increased 12%, driven by a 43% increase in Allied Products sales, including the $49 million contribution from the NDS acquisition that closed February 2. On an organic basis, Stormwater sales increased 2% overall with a 12% growth in Allied Products.

雨水分部營收成長 12%，主要由 Allied 產品銷售成長 43% 所帶動，其中包含 2 月 2 日完成交割的 NDS 收購案貢獻的 4,900 萬美元。以有機基礎計算，雨水分部銷售整體成長 2%，其中 Allied 產品成長 12%。

Once again, revenue in several highly profitable products grew double digit, including the StormTech retention detention chambers, the NyloPlast capture structures and our water quality product line. These product lines continue to benefit from new product introductions and ongoing customer programs. Pipe revenue decreased 2%, reflecting softness in the residential and infrastructure markets. Agriculture sales increased 30% in the quarter as customers bought ahead of price increases.

再一次地，多項高獲利產品的營收呈現雙位數成長，包括 StormTech 蓄滯洪（retention/detention）模組、NyloPlast 集水結構體（capture structures）以及我們的水質產品線。這些產品線持續受惠於新產品導入與持續性的客戶專案。管材營收下滑 2%，反映住宅與基礎建設市場需求偏弱。本季農業銷售成長 30%，因客戶在漲價前提前採購。

Pricing remained stable throughout the quarter and material costs were favorable relative to the prior year. Wastewater revenue increased 4% with strong activity in the Southeast and South. Tank products increased double digits, driven by material conversion, product line expansion and additional distribution.

本季定價維持穩定，且材料成本相較去年同期更為有利。污水分部營收成長 4%，東南部與南部地區活動強勁。槽體（Tank）產品呈現雙位數成長，主要由材料替代（material conversion）、產品線擴充與新增通路所帶動。

Leach field sales remained resilient and our advanced treatment systems, including Orenco, continued to gain share in both residential and commercial applications. From an end market perspective, sales in our core nonresidential market increased 6% with strength in the West and Midwest.

滲濾場（leach field）銷售維持韌性，而我們的先進處理系統（包括 Orenco）在住宅與商用應用中持續提升市占。從終端市場角度來看，我們核心的非住宅市場銷售成長 6%，其中西部與中西部表現強勁。

Sales of Allied Products experienced broad-based growth across the US as we continue to focus on selling the complete package. Sales in the residential end market increased 18%, including the impact from NDS. Excluding NDS, residential sales decreased 1%. Single-family housing continues to face headwinds from affordability and interest rate dynamics in addition to geopolitical uncertainty. Importantly, we continue to see improving trends in the multifamily development.

Allied 產品銷售在全美呈現廣泛成長，我們持續聚焦於銷售完整解決方案（complete package）。住宅終端市場銷售成長 18%，其中包含 NDS 的影響。若排除 NDS，住宅銷售下滑 1%。獨棟住宅持續面臨可負擔性與利率變動的逆風，並受到地緣政治不確定性的影響。重要的是，我們持續看到多戶型住宅（multifamily）開發趨勢改善。

The Infiltrator core residential business continues to significantly outperform the market, driven by new products and new distribution partners. We remain confident we have the right strategies and portfolio to increase our participation in the residential market as conditions inevitably improve.

Infiltrator 的核心住宅業務持續顯著優於市場表現，主要由新產品與新的經銷夥伴所驅動。我們仍有信心，隨著市場狀況終將改善，我們具備正確的策略與產品組合，以提升在住宅市場的參與度。

Moving to profitability. Adjusted EBITDA increased 6% in the quarter, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 27.8%. This quarter's resilient margin is a reflection of the favorable growth product mix and price cost as well as operational self-help initiatives and the capital invested over the last several years.

接著談獲利能力。本季調整後 EBITDA 成長 6%，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 27.8%。本季具韌性的利潤率反映了有利的成長型產品組合與價差（price-cost），以及營運自助（self-help）改善措施與過去數年投入的資本所帶來的效益。

Turning to the NDS integration. We are pleased with the progress made since closing the acquisition in February. The NDS team is a strong cultural fit, and we are on track to achieve our integration milestones. We continue to expect $25 million in annual cost synergies by year three, and we are increasingly excited about the revenue synergy opportunities as we expand the collective product portfolio across our distribution and retail channels. We look forward to talking about NDS at Investor Day.

接著談 NDS 整合。我們對自 2 月完成收購以來的進展感到滿意。NDS 團隊在文化上高度契合，我們也正按計畫達成整合里程碑。我們仍預期在第三年達成每年 2,500 萬美元的成本綜效，且隨著我們在經銷與零售通路擴展整體產品組合，我們對營收綜效機會也愈發期待。我們期待在投資人日進一步談論 NDS。

Regarding the upcoming Investor Day, which will take place on June 18 at our engineering and technology center in Hilliard, Ohio. We are looking forward to sharing updates on our differentiated growth strategy and our resilient profit platform as well as our medium-term financial targets and the payoff from the significant capital we have deployed over the last several years. We hope to see you all there. Please reach out to the Investor Relations team with any questions about the event.

關於即將到來的投資人日，將於 6 月 18 日在俄亥俄州希利亞德（Hilliard）的工程與技術中心舉行。我們期待分享我們差異化的成長策略與具韌性的獲利平台之最新進展，以及中期財務目標，並說明過去數年大量資本部署所帶來的回報。希望能與各位現場相見。如對活動有任何問題，請聯繫投資人關係團隊。

Fiscal year 2026 was a milestone year for ADS, and I'm very proud of the entire organization for how we executed. We closed a highly strategic acquisition of NDS almost entirely with cash on hand, delivered one of our most profitable years in our history, generated significant free cash flow, returned $155 million to shareholders and continue to invest in the capabilities that will define our next phase of growth. We significantly outperformed our two largest markets, nonresidential and residential, increasing 8% and 7%, respectively.

2026 會計年度是 ADS 的里程碑之年，我對整個組織的執行表現感到非常自豪。我們幾乎完全以手上現金完成極具策略性的 NDS 收購，創下公司歷史上獲利表現最亮眼的年度之一，產生可觀的自由現金流，回饋股東 1.55 億美元，並持續投資於將定義我們下一階段成長的能力建設。我們在兩大市場——非住宅與住宅——的表現顯著優於市場，分別成長 8% 與 7%。

These two markets represent over 80% of our revenues. The self-help operational initiatives we launched over a year ago are clearly bearing fruit, and our teams executed at a high level despite a challenging demand environment, resulting in the second highest adjusted EBITDA margin in the company's history of 31.6%. As we look into fiscal 2027, overall demand at this point looks similar to fiscal 2026 with a slightly more negative outlook on agriculture and single-family housing.

這兩個市場合計占我們營收超過 80%。我們在一年多前啟動的營運自助改善措施已明顯開花結果；儘管需求環境具挑戰性，我們團隊仍以高水準執行，使調整後 EBITDA 利潤率達到 31.6%，為公司歷史第二高。展望 2027 會計年度，截至目前整體需求看起來與 2026 會計年度相近，但對農業與獨棟住宅的展望略為更偏負面。

Demand is very choppy with order patterns shifting as customers try to get orders in ahead of price increases. This could result in an air pocket this summer, though we expect this to normalize overall within the first half of the year.

需求波動很大，訂單型態也在變動，因客戶試圖在漲價前提前下單。這可能導致今年夏季出現短暫的需求空窗期（air pocket），不過我們預期整體將在上半年內回歸正常。

The nonresidential market is modestly more resilient, expected to be flat to up low single digits. Activity in this market is driven by strength in large projects like data centers. We are well positioned to win these jobs due to the solutions package, installation benefits, last mile delivery and the national network that we have, all of which position us to capture a larger portion of the storm water system.

非住宅市場的韌性略高，預期將持平至小幅成長（低個位數）。該市場的活動主要由資料中心等大型專案的強勁需求所帶動。憑藉我們的解決方案組合、安裝效益、最後一哩交付以及全國性網路，我們具備良好條件贏得這些案子；上述優勢也使我們能夠在雨水系統中取得更大的市占份額。

The residential market remains under pressure with interest rates as well as economic and geopolitical uncertainty impacting construction activity. We expect to outperform the market, driven by our sales efforts to work with large national and regional homebuilders, focus on the cross-selling opportunities and capitalize on the growing portions of the market, such as advanced treatment and the multifamily development.

住宅市場仍承受壓力，利率以及經濟與地緣政治不確定性正影響施工活動。我們預期將優於市場表現，動能來自我們的銷售努力：與大型全國性與區域性建商合作、聚焦交叉銷售機會，並把握市場中成長中的部分，例如先進處理與多戶型住宅開發。

When you stack up our strengths, the scale, product portfolio, go-to-market strategy, installation benefits, logistics capabilities and our ability to invest in the business, people and industry growth, you see the ADS value proposition remains both relevant and powerful. Overall, the long-term outlook for our business remains strong, supported by compelling secular tailwinds driving demand for water management solutions across North America.

當你把我們的優勢加總來看——規模、產品組合、上市策略、安裝效益、物流能力，以及我們對業務、人員與產業成長的投資能力——你會看到 ADS 的價值主張仍然既切合需求且具強大競爭力。整體而言，我們業務的長期展望依然強勁，受惠於推動北美水管理解決方案需求的結構性長期利多。

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

接下來我把電話會議交給 Scott Cottrill。

Thanks, Scott. Before I get into the details, I want to step back and highlight a few key takeaways from the quarter. We delivered excellent financial performance, exceeding the top end of both our revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance ranges. We also closed the NDS acquisition in early February, representing a $1 billion investment that strengthens our portfolio and positions us well for long-term growth.

謝謝，Scott。在我進入細節之前，我想先退一步，強調本季幾個關鍵重點。我們交出優異的財務表現，營收與調整後 EBITDA 皆超越指引區間上緣。我們也在 2 月初完成 NDS 收購，這是一筆 10 億美元的投資，強化了我們的產品組合，並使我們在長期成長上具備良好定位。

As you saw in our press release, we announced a new segment and reporting structure to better align with how we think about and manage the business. And finally, we fortified the balance sheet through a series of capital structure actions that extended our weighted average maturities to more than six years while lowering our weighted average cost of debt by 30 basis points. These actions, combined with our strong cash generation, resulted in year-end leverage of only 1.6 times, inclusive of the $1 billion NDS acquisition and most importantly, provides the flexibility and optionality to support our capital allocation priorities in fiscal 2027.

如同你在新聞稿中所見，我們宣布新的事業部與報導架構，以更貼近我們思考與管理業務的方式。最後，我們透過一系列資本結構行動強化資產負債表，將加權平均到期年限延長至六年以上，同時把加權平均負債成本降低 30 個基點。這些行動結合我們強勁的現金創造能力，使年末槓桿倍數僅 1.6 倍（已包含 10 億美元 NDS 收購），更重要的是，為我們在 2027 會計年度的資本配置優先事項提供彈性與選擇性。

For the fourth quarter, revenue increased 10% to $677 million, including the impact from NDS. On an organic basis, revenue from Allied Products, tanks, and residential advanced treatment all increased by double digits, as Scott mentioned. Importantly, we believe our results outpaced the underlying end markets, demonstrating the differentiated growth strategy and resiliency of the NDS business model.

第四季營收成長 10% 至 6.77 億美元，包含 NDS 的影響。以有機基礎計算，如 Scott 所提，Allied Products、儲槽以及住宅先進處理的營收皆呈雙位數成長。重要的是，我們認為本季表現超越了終端市場的整體走勢，展現 NDS 商業模式的差異化成長策略與韌性。

From a profitability perspective, we are very pleased with the 27.8% adjusted EBITDA margin for the fourth quarter. A couple of things I feel worth noting regarding the quarterly results. First, the fourth quarter is the fourth consecutive quarter of volume growth and favorable price cost. Regarding manufacturing and transportation costs, we are seeing significant inflation on diesel and common carrier rates, and we experienced incremental transportation costs related to the strong demand during the quarter, particularly in the West, coupled with increased oil prices and greater macroeconomic uncertainty.

就獲利能力而言，我們對第四季 27.8% 的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率感到非常滿意。關於本季表現，有幾點我認為值得一提。第一，第四季是連續第四個季度出貨量成長，且價格/成本關係有利。在製造與運輸成本方面，我們看到柴油與一般承運商費率出現顯著通膨；此外，本季需求強勁（尤其在西部）帶來額外運輸成本，再加上油價上升與更高的總體經濟不確定性。

Importantly, we continue to benefit from the capital invested over the last several years in new production lines and automation improvements. Regarding SG&A, the year-over-year increase was driven primarily by the acquisition of NDS as well as incremental compensation expense related to the strong full year results.

重要的是，我們持續受惠於過去數年在新產線與自動化改善上的資本投入。在 SG&A（銷售、一般及管理費用）方面，年增主要來自 NDS 收購，以及因全年強勁表現而增加的薪酬費用。

On slide 8, we present our free cash flow. For the full fiscal year, we generated $569 million in free cash flow compared to $369 million in the prior year, primarily driven by increased profitability and effective working capital management. The OBBBA contributed an incremental $35 million of free cash flow benefit in fiscal 2026.

在第 8 張投影片，我們呈現自由現金流。全會計年度我們產生 5.69 億美元自由現金流，較前一年的 3.69 億美元增加，主要由獲利提升與有效的營運資金管理所帶動。OBBBA 在 2026 會計年度額外貢獻 3,500 萬美元的自由現金流效益。

Cash from operations for the full year totaled $819 million, representing an 85% conversion of our adjusted EBITDA. In February, we refinanced near-term maturities of our 2027 senior notes and our Term Loan B as well as increased our revolving credit facility to $750 million.

全年營運活動現金流合計 8.19 億美元，相當於調整後 EBITDA 的 85% 轉換率。2 月，我們為 2027 年到期的優先票據與 Term Loan B 的近期到期部分進行再融資，並將循環信用額度提高至 7.5 億美元。

Our weighted average cost of debt is now 5.65%, which we view as highly favorable in the current environment, and our weighted average maturities are now over six years as compared to two years prior to these transactions. We ended the fiscal year with leverage of approximately 1.6 times, as I mentioned previously. In addition, in the fourth quarter, we repurchased 720,000 shares of common stock under our existing repurchase authorization.

我們目前的加權平均負債成本為 5.65%，在當前環境下我們認為相當有利；而在完成這些交易後，我們的加權平均到期年限已超過六年，相較交易前約兩年大幅延長。如我先前提到，我們在會計年度結束時的槓桿倍數約為 1.6 倍。此外，在第四季，我們依既有的庫藏股授權回購了 72 萬股普通股。

Moving to slide 9. Thoughtful capital deployment continues to be a key focus for the management team and the Board, given the strong cash generation of the business. In fiscal 2026, we deployed $1.4 billion of capital with $1.2 billion invested in growth. We spent $250 million of that on capital expenditures with investments focused on executing growth initiatives in key geographies, customer service, productivity and automation initiatives, expanding our production capacity at Infiltrator as well as increasing our recycling capacity in the Southeast.

接著看第 9 張投影片。鑑於公司強勁的現金創造能力，審慎的資本部署仍是管理團隊與董事會的重點。在 2026 會計年度，我們部署了 14 億美元資本，其中 12 億美元投向成長。其中我們投入 2.5 億美元資本支出，投資重點在於於關鍵地區推動成長計畫、提升客戶服務、推進生產力與自動化計畫、擴充 Infiltrator 的產能，以及提高東南部的回收產能。

We also returned $155 million to shareholders through dividends and repurchases, an increase of 29% over the prior year. Today, in a separate press release, we announced an 11% increase in our dividend, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to returning capital to shareholders while also continuing to invest in the growth of the business.

我們也透過股利與回購向股東返還 1.55 億美元，較前一年增加 29%。今天，我們在另一份新聞稿中宣布將股利提高 11%，展現我們在持續投資業務成長的同時，也持續致力於向股東返還資本。

Moving on to slide 10. We are introducing our fiscal year 2027 guidance today. Based on current visibility, backlog of existing orders, our end market outlook and the trends we see entering the fiscal year, including the continued integration of NDS, we are establishing the following guidance ranges for fiscal year 2027. We expect revenue to be in the range of $3.35 billion to $3.55 billion and adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $1 billion to $1.50 billion (sic - "$1.05 billion").

接著看第 10 張投影片。我們今天發布 2027 會計年度指引。基於目前能見度、既有訂單的在手訂單量、終端市場展望，以及我們在進入新會計年度時觀察到的趨勢（包括持續整合 NDS），我們建立以下 2027 會計年度指引區間。我們預期營收介於 33.5 億至 35.5 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 介於 10 億至 15 億美元（原文誤植 - "10.5 億美元"）。

For guidance purposes, we are assuming significant year-over-year inflationary cost pressure on input material costs as well as transportation costs. We've taken pricing actions to offset these inflationary pressures on a dollar-for-dollar basis. We expect normal revenue seasonality with approximately 55% of revenue in the first half of the year. Quarterly revenue patterns in the first half of the year may be affected by customers trying to buy ahead of anticipated price increases.

就指引假設而言，我們預期投入材料成本與運輸成本將面臨顯著的年增通膨壓力。我們已採取定價措施，以逐美元（dollar-for-dollar）抵銷這些通膨壓力。我們預期營收季節性將回歸正常，上半年約占全年營收的 55%。上半年各季營收走勢可能會受到客戶為因應預期漲價而提前採購的影響。

This guidance also includes approximately $300 million of revenue from NDS for the full fiscal year. We remain focused on executing our long-term strategic plan to drive consistent long-term growth, margin expansion and free cash flow generation. With that, I will open the call for questions.

此指引亦包含 NDS 全會計年度約 3 億美元的營收貢獻。我們仍專注於執行長期策略計畫，以推動穩健的長期成長、利潤率擴張與自由現金流產生。接下來，我將開放提問。

Operator, please open the line.

接線員，請開放線路。

(Operator Instructions) Mike Halloran, Baird.

(接線員指示) Baird 的 Mike Halloran。

So let's start on the guidance and how you guys are thinking about the composition from here. Obviously, Scott, you talked to a bunch of moving pieces as we sit here.

那我們先從指引開始，以及你們接下來如何思考其組成。很明顯地，Scott，你談到了我們目前所處情況下的許多變動因素。

Maybe two things, I guess. One, how are you thinking about the sequential revenue dynamics versus normal? I know you just mentioned some prebuy activity. How does that functionally play out?

我想可能有兩點。第一，你們如何看待相較於正常情況的營收環比變化動態？我知道你剛提到一些提前採購活動。這在實務上會如何展開？

That will be the first question. And then I'll have a follow-up to it.

這會是第一個問題。接著我會再追問一個。

So was it on the -- yes. So this is Scott Barbour, Mike. And the question is around how is the first half going to perform kind of sequentially month by month or quarter to quarter. First half, second half is normally in that 55% to 60% range in the first half, and then you got that 40% to 45% in the second half just based on seasonality.

所以是在那個——是的。所以我是 Scott Barbour，Mike。問題是關於上半年將如何表現，按月的連續走勢或按季的連續走勢。通常上半年、下半年的分布是：上半年約占 55% 到 60%，下半年約占 40% 到 45%，主要是季節性因素。

So we see it lining up largely the same. The only thing as Scott mentioned and I did as well in our remarks, we've had a couple of price increases already announced into the market. We see some prebuying going on here in the first fiscal quarter of our year. So again, do we see that kind of evening out and getting to where we've got our guide for that first half dynamic coming and normalizing is the word I would kind of use by the end of 1H, first half of the year.

所以我們看到大致上會以相同方式對齊。唯一的差異是如 Scott 提到、我在發言中也提到的，我們已經宣布了幾次價格上調進入市場。我們看到在我們財年的第一個會計季度出現一些提前採購（prebuying）。所以再說一次，我們是否會看到這種情況逐步拉平，並在上半年末、也就是年度上半年結束前，回到我們對上半年動態的指引並趨於正常化——「正常化」是我會用的詞。

Yes, we do. So again, first quarter might be a little bit elevated from what we've seen on a historical basis, but we see that normalizing in Q2 and getting back to that 55% to 60% of the full year in the first half on a revenue performance basis.

是的，我們會。所以同樣地，第一季可能會比歷史基準略高一些，但我們看到在第二季（Q2）會正常化，並在營收表現上回到上半年占全年 55% 到 60% 的水準。

No, that makes sense, right? So a little pull forward from 2Q to 1Q, but flattens out. Okay. Then the follow-up is maybe a similar dynamic on the margin side. Given the timing on the pricing and the inflation, the pull forward, does that mean that the fiscal first may be a little compressed on the margin line relative to how that would normally play out and then 2Q, you start getting more balanced out on a margin dollar basis before being more normal from there sequentially in the back half of the year? Is that the thought process on the margin line within the guidance?

不，這很合理，對吧？所以從第二季（2Q）稍微提前到第一季（1Q），但之後會趨於平坦。好。那追問可能是毛利率端也有類似的動態。考量定價與通膨的時點、以及提前拉貨，是否意味著財年第一季的毛利率相較於正常情況可能會稍微被壓縮，然後到第二季（2Q）開始在毛利額（margin dollar）基礎上更趨平衡，之後在下半年按序列變化會更正常？這是否就是指引中對毛利率線的思考邏輯？

I think that's a fair way to look at it, Mike. I think you've got a little bit more of the volume kicking in, in that first quarter based on the pull ahead with the pricing actions we've taken mostly starting to hit in the fiscal second quarter. And again, we've assumed right now that's a dollar-for-dollar basis. So as we move through the year, that's going to be dilutive to margins. I mean, again, it's focusing on the dollars right now and that uncertainty that we're managing.

Mike，我覺得這樣看是合理的。我認為第一季因為價格行動帶來的提前拉貨，量會多一些，而我們採取的定價措施大多會從財年第二季開始反映出來。而且我們目前的假設是以「一美元對一美元」（dollar-for-dollar）的方式。所以隨著年度推進，這會對毛利率造成稀釋。我的意思是，我們現在重點放在金額（dollars）以及我們正在管理的那個不確定性。

So -- but that's fair to look at it that way as we progress through the year.

所以——但隨著年度推進，用這種方式來看是公平的。

Can I add one thing to that, Mike? This is Scott B. Matching those up is really tough as materials and transportation costs, we run a big fleet, uses a lot of diesel every freaking month. So those are tough to match up. And we -- this is based on these things kind of normalizing.

Mike，我可以補充一點嗎？我是 Scott B。要把這些對上真的很難，因為材料與運輸成本——我們有一支很大的車隊，每個該死的月都用很多柴油。所以這些很難精準對上。而我們——這是基於這些因素會某種程度正常化的假設。

But there's -- it's going to be a little choppy. I just want to kind of get that out there. We're on top of it, but it's hard to perfectly time these things on a month or a quarter basis.

但——它會有點顛簸。我只是想把這點先講清楚。我們有掌握住，但要在按月或按季的基礎上完美地抓準時點很難。

That makes sense. But -- and you're saying basically on the dollar side of things, you're covered and relatively neutral. Yes, but it's just the math behind the margins that becomes an optical head, right?

這很合理。但是——你的意思基本上是在金額端，你們是有覆蓋、而且相對中性的。是的，但就是毛利率背後的數學會在視覺上造成逆風，對吧？

A little bit of SG&A on that fixed cost leverage. But again, that's -- but yes, it's a gross margin dollar for dollar.

還有一點是 SG&A 在固定成本槓桿上的影響。但再說一次——不過是的，毛利額是以一美元對一美元來看。

I think we talked about this with the Board yesterday. And clearly, we think the right thing to do is get it dollar for dollar, but don't try to pressure the margin on these kind of what we would view as extraordinary escalations driven by these events. in some of our really important input markets. And that's our strategy. That's what we're going to do, and we feel good about that.

我想我們昨天和董事會談過這件事。而且很明確地，我們認為正確的做法是做到一美元對一美元，但不要試圖在這些我們視為由事件驅動、屬於異常的成本飆升上去硬壓毛利率——尤其是在我們一些非常重要的投入市場。這就是我們的策略。這就是我們要做的事，而且我們對此感覺良好。

And we're willing to kind of work our way through that margin compression optics. And when we've done this before, over the long term, we kind of come out favorable on the long end of that and very similar to how we've done this in the past with, I think, even better tools and positioning than we had before.

而且我們願意在這種毛利率被壓縮的「觀感」中一路走過去。過去我們也做過，長期來看，我們通常在那個長端的結果是有利的；而且這次非常類似於我們過去的做法，只是我認為我們現在的工具與布局甚至比以前更好。

Yes. I mean, to Scott's point, we talk a lot about pricing and dollar for dollar, but it's not lost on us that we also have that recycling lever that we can pull on the resin side of the house. We also have the internal fleet versus the external common carrier fleet. So there's a bunch of dynamics and other items that we're obviously levering behind the scenes to work on all of that as well to help mitigate those costs.

是的。我的意思是，呼應 Scott 的觀點，我們談了很多定價與一美元對一美元，但我們也沒有忽略：在樹脂端我們還有回收這個槓桿可以拉動。我們也有自有車隊相對於外部的共同承運人（common carrier）車隊。所以有很多動態與其他項目，我們顯然也在幕後運用這些槓桿來處理，協助緩解那些成本。

Matthew Bouley, Barclays.

Matthew Bouley，Barclays。

So apologies, I'm going to keep beating that horse on price cost for a second here. Big topic today. So my question is on your kind of competitive positioning and demand, et cetera. So maybe focusing on the competitive side first. versus your plastic competitors, you just mentioned your vertical integration and recycling capabilities, but then also versus concrete pipe, et cetera, and kind of considering the cost of transportation here.

先道歉一下，我要再就「價格與成本」這件事多追問一下。今天這是個大主題。所以我的問題是關於你們的競爭定位與需求等等。也許先聚焦在競爭面：相對於你們的塑膠競爭對手，你們剛提到垂直整合與回收能力；另外相對於混凝土管等替代品，並考量目前的運輸成本。

What are you seeing out there from a competitive perspective? And how do you think that ultimately plays through with your ability to actually get the price you need in the market given this fairly unprecedented level of cost inflation?

你們在市場上從競爭角度看到了什麼？而在這種相當前所未見的成本通膨水準下，你們認為這最終會如何影響你們在市場上實際取得所需價格的能力？

All right. Okay, Matt. We'll keep going on price cost. So number one is we're out in the market. We are trying to get ahead of this.

好。好的，Matt。我們就繼續談價格與成本。第一，我們正在市場上行動。我們正試著走在這件事前面。

The inflation of this magnitude and breadth and speed, if you don't get ahead of it, you're really in bad shape. So we're -- we went to get ahead of that, probably ahead of our competitors in many places.

這種幅度、廣度與速度的通膨，如果你不走在前面，你的處境會非常糟。所以我們——我們去搶先一步，在很多地方可能比競爭對手更早。

But we're holding the line and our orders and rate are holding up nicely. We would -- in the -- so that's in general. And as you know, this thing is kind of regional, and it's better behaved in some areas versus others. But I'd say right now versus our competitors, they are experiencing similar inflationary pressures that we are, and I'm thinking about the plastic pipe guys.

但我們守住了底線，我們的訂單與接單率（rate）維持得很好。我們會——總體而言是這樣。而且如你所知，這件事有點區域性，有些地區表現得比較好，有些則不然。但我會說，就目前而言，相較於我們的競爭對手，他們也正承受與我們類似的通膨壓力——我指的是那些塑膠管的業者。

As you said, obviously, we use all of our scale of buying in the virgin market and pivoting to the recycled material quite quickly over the last 60 days, honestly, faster than I thought we could. And our team is doing a really nice job, both getting -- procuring the right material and converting the right material. And we have that new asset in Cordell, Georgia ramping up next month. So our timing couldn't be better on this recycling activity, which, again, we believe, makes us extremely competitive against any regional competitor on the plastic pipe.

如你所說，顯然我們運用在原生料市場的採購規模，並在過去 60 天內相當快速地轉向回收材料——老實說，比我原本以為我們能做到的還快。而我們的團隊做得非常好，包含取得——採購到合適的材料，以及把合適的材料轉換加工。而且我們在喬治亞州 Cordell 的新資產下個月就要開始爬坡。所以在這項回收活動上，我們的時點再好不過；而這也讓我們相信，我們在塑膠管領域對任何區域型競爭對手都極具競爭力。

On the concrete side, they are not facing the same escalations we are. So our value prop has probably compressed a little bit, particularly in certain regions. But we don't think that's a permanent thing. We believe that, that's some of the normal dynamics. But I would recognize that in certain places, that has become much more competitive, our value prop versus the concrete guys.

在混凝土那一邊，他們沒有面臨我們這樣的成本飆升。所以我們的價值主張可能被壓縮了一些，特別是在某些地區。但我們不認為那是永久性的。我們相信那是一些正常的動態。但我也會承認，在某些地方，我們相對於混凝土業者的價值主張確實變得更具競爭壓力。

But we'll work our way through that. And we're thinking about other things and products and techniques to get even more competitive against those guys than we have been.

但我們會一步一步把這些處理好。而且我們也在思考其他事項、產品與技術，好讓我們在與那些對手競爭時，比我們過去做得更具競爭力。

Okay. No, that's perfect. I really appreciate all that color, exactly what I was looking for. So I'll move to another topic. I'm sure there will be more asked on that.

好的。不，這很完美。我非常感謝你提供這些細節，正是我想了解的。那我就換到另一個主題。我相信之後還會有人就這點再提問。

But the non-resi end market, so you're guiding that to be modestly positive or flat to up low single digits, excuse me, in the next fiscal year. Sounded like large projects are what's carrying that, but I'm curious if you can kind of just, I guess, unpack that a little bit regionally by vertical, where are you seeing more of that strength?

不過在非住宅終端市場方面，你們對下一個會計年度的指引是小幅正成長，或持平到小幅個位數成長，抱歉。聽起來是大型專案在支撐，但我想請你們從區域與垂直領域的角度再拆解一下：你們在哪些地方看到更多強勁動能？

You highlighted data center a couple of times. How much of that is kind of carrying the load here versus other areas that might still be more choppy on the non-resi side?

你們提到資料中心好幾次。在非住宅端仍較為波動的情況下，資料中心在這裡到底扮演了多大程度的支撐角色，相較於其他領域呢？

So I'm going to say a few words, Matt, and then I'll hand it over to Mike Higgins. But in general, our biggest focus and strength is on that nonres market from the ADS legacy business. In those Allied products, our coverage, the HP products in there, our I12, I mean, we just have a great product line for a wide, wide breadth of nonresidential. And I think that's what we've been seeing over the last year or so is that we are consistently outperforming in that market. So and it's across lots of kind of jobs.

Matt，我先說幾句，然後交給 Mike Higgins。但整體而言，我們最大的重點與優勢是在 ADS 傳統業務所涵蓋的非住宅市場。在 Allied 產品方面，我們的覆蓋、其中的 HP 產品、我們的 I12——我的意思是，我們擁有非常強的產品線，能涵蓋非常非常廣泛的非住宅應用。我認為過去一年左右我們看到的是：我們在該市場持續跑贏同業。而且這涵蓋了各式各樣的案子。

I'll turn it over to Mike. He has a lot of insights around that kind of by segment and geography.

我把時間交給 Mike。他對於依不同區隔與地理區域的情況有很多洞見。

Yes. I mean, Matt, you hit on the data centers. That's obviously a lot of activity there. Again, kind of a small part of what we do. But what we've seen all year from answering the project type or project segment thing first is we've just seen pretty solid growth in activity in just kind of general purpose commercial construction, institutional construction has been pretty solid.

是的。Matt，你提到資料中心。那裡顯然有很多活動。同樣地，這在我們業務中算是相對小的一部分。但我們今年整體看到的情況是——先回答你關於專案類型或專案區隔的問題——一般用途的商業建築活動呈現相當穩健的成長，機構類建築也相當穩健。

When you look at geographically for the year, we had probably 35-plus states that were showing positive growth in nonres. Again, there was parts of the Midwest that were really good. We still continue to see good nonresidential growth in those states that we have a lot of focus on Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Texas and California were very positive for the year as well. And Scott touched on this a little bit.

從地理分布來看，今年大概有 35 個以上的州在非住宅方面呈現正成長。同樣地，中西部有些地區表現非常好。我們仍持續在一些我們高度聚焦的州看到良好的非住宅成長：佛羅里達、維吉尼亞、北卡羅來納、德州與加州今年也都非常正面。Scott 也稍微提到這點。

That's our best opportunity to sell the complete package, right? Two-thirds of our Allied products go into that nonresidential end market. And as the year has evolved, I think our sales team and our product management team has done a really nice job of really just increasing our focus on what we call attachment, managing the project funnel, being upfront, exploiting is a little bit of a strong word, but exploiting our position in the marketplace, our reach in the engineering firms the project resource center that we have that aids these engineers and designs and makes things very simple for them with our tools and our other programs.

那是我們銷售完整方案的最佳機會，對吧？我們 Allied 產品中有三分之二是進入非住宅終端市場。而隨著今年的推進，我認為我們的銷售團隊與產品管理團隊做得非常好，持續提升我們對所謂「附加銷售（attachment）」的聚焦、管理專案漏斗、提前介入；「利用」這個詞可能有點強，但就是善用我們在市場上的地位、我們在工程顧問公司的觸及，以及我們的專案資源中心——它能協助這些工程師進行設計，並透過我們的工具與其他方案讓他們的工作變得非常簡單。

So I think it's just a very high level of execution on that. It's not easy. The market is not great. But you know what I mean, but the -- where those opportunities are, our sales force is very nimble and flexible and can go find them and can execute on that. And that's what you saw in those results this year.

所以我認為這就是非常高水準的執行力。這並不容易。市場並不算好。但你懂我的意思——在有機會的地方，我們的銷售團隊非常靈活、彈性很大，能去找到機會並把它執行到位。這就是你今年在結果中看到的表現。

Bryan Blair, Oppenheimer.

Bryan Blair，Oppenheimer。

So level set a little bit on the top line outlook. I think you had mentioned $300 million in NDS contribution. With regard to the recast segments, how should we think of organic storm water and wastewater growth for fiscal '27?

我想先把營收展望的基準再釐清一下。我記得你提到 NDS 貢獻 3 億美元。就重分類後的部門來看，我們應該如何思考 2027 會計年度雨水（storm water）與廢水（wastewater）的有機成長？

Yes. The way, Bryan, this is Scott. The way I would talk to it or at the midpoint of our guide is roughly a flat end market based on the end market dynamic and what we're seeing out there, basically flat on the volume side of the house. Price cost, we've talked about kind of having the pricing in the market to offset the cost -- inflationary cost pressures we're seeing. And then you got the $300 million for the full year for NDS.

是的。Bryan，我是 Scott。我會這樣說：以我們指引的中位數來看，基於終端市場的動態以及我們目前看到的情況，終端市場大致持平，基本上在出貨量（volume）面是持平。至於價差與成本（price/cost），我們談過，我們在市場上有定價能力來抵銷我們看到的成本——通膨性的成本壓力。然後 NDS 全年是 3 億美元。

So that's the way to kind of get to that $3.45 billion at the midpoint of our revenue guide.

所以用這樣的方式，就能在我們營收指引的中位數推導到 34.5 億美元。

Okay. Understood. It sounds like NDS integration is tracking well. You reiterated confidence in $25 million in cost synergies by year three. What should we assume for fiscal '27 synergies?

好的。了解。聽起來 NDS 整合進度良好。你們重申對第三年達成 2,500 萬美元成本綜效的信心。那 2027 會計年度的綜效我們應該怎麼假設？

And then perhaps more importantly, maybe you can speak to some of the cross-selling opportunities that are starting to be realized.

然後也許更重要的是，你能否談談一些正在開始實現的交叉銷售機會？

Well, I'm going to let Cottrill answer the what in the plan. I'm not allowed to answer those, Bryan.

嗯，我會讓 Cottrill 來回答計畫裡的內容。Bryan，那些我不能回答。

The cross-selling, we are going to talk a lot about that at the Investor Day. We think that's a great topic to talk about in the Investor Day for the longer-term plan. What I would just kind of parenthetically add to that is we get more excited about the cross-selling as we go forward in time over these last couple of months. They're not all easy to get to quickly, but they're there. And it's channel, it's product line, it's sales force.

至於交叉銷售，我們會在投資人日（Investor Day）談很多。我們認為這是很適合在投資人日、針對長期計畫來討論的好主題。我想順帶補充的是：過去這幾個月，隨著時間往前推進，我們對交叉銷售越來越興奮。不是每一項都能很快達成，但機會確實存在。而且它涵蓋通路、產品線、銷售團隊。

It's a lot of good things. It's just not one dimensional. But then I'll hand over the other one to Scott.

有很多正面的因素。它不是單一面向。至於另一個問題，我就交給 Scott。

Yes. I'll say right now, we're, a, really excited, like Scott said on the call about the opportunities in front of us. B, we're ahead of the acquisition model and where we saw the phasing over those three years. Again, cross-selling is becoming one of those things that's really, as Scott just mentioned, coming out is an even bigger opportunity than what we had thought going into it. So I'm not going to give you a dollar amount.

是的。我先說，目前我們——a，就像 Scott 在電話會議上說的——對眼前的機會非常興奮。b，我們的進度領先於併購模型，以及我們原先預期在三年期間的分階段推進。同樣地，交叉銷售正如 Scott 剛提到的，逐漸顯現為一個比我們當初進入時所預期更大的機會。所以我不會給你一個金額。

All I'll tell you is that in the first year of that three-year plan, it was basically a back-end year two, year three kind of ramp, if you will, to get to that run rate synergy by year three. So we didn't assume a lot here in the first full year, but I'll tell you that we're well ahead of that. So that's the way I would respond to that question.

我只能告訴你，在那個三年計畫的第一年，原本基本上是假設在第二年後段、第三年才會加速爬升（ramp），以在第三年達到那個綜效的運行率（run rate）。所以我們在第一個完整年度並沒有假設太多，但我可以告訴你，我們的進度遠遠超前。所以我會這樣回應你的問題。

Jeff Hammond, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Jeff Hammond，KeyBanc Capital Markets。

Just on -- I think you said wastewater and Stormwater, you think flat volumes. And I guess wastewater being heavily res and down to mid- to high single market, pretty impressive. Can you just talk about, again, what's driving the outgrowth there? And then I think you mentioned in the prepared remarks about an air pocket potentially in that resi end market. Maybe just expand on that.

我想再問一下——我記得你說廢水和雨水你們預期出貨量持平。而我猜廢水端高度偏住宅，市場下滑中個位數到高個位數，你們還能有這樣的表現相當令人印象深刻。你能再談談，究竟是什麼在驅動你們的超越市場成長（outgrowth）嗎？另外我想你在事先準備的講稿裡提到住宅終端市場可能會出現一段「空窗期」（air pocket）。也請再多延伸說明一下。

So let me take the air pocket first, and I'm going to hand over to Craig Taylor, who runs the Infiltrator business in that wastewater segment for us to answer kind of what that outgrowth is. But the air pocket is, Jeff, just simply people buying ahead of these pricing -- announced price increases. We're limiting that. We're managing that. That's not an open-ended thing, but it's not unfamiliar behavior of our customers in inflationary times or ahead of price increases.

那我先談一下「空窗期」（air pocket），接著我會交給負責我們在該廢水細分市場 Infiltrator 業務的 Craig Taylor，來回答那個增長來源大概是什麼。不過這個空窗期，Jeff，說穿了就是大家在這些定價——已公告的漲價——之前提前採購。我們正在限制這種情況。我們正在管理這件事。這不是無止境的狀況，但在通膨時期或漲價之前，客戶出現這種行為也並不陌生。

We really -- what we expect is Q1 to be a little heavy and bountiful from a volume standpoint, but we expect that to correct itself in the second quarter. And this guidance, this plan, our discussion really says that it's all normalized within the first half of the year versus the second half of the year, which is usually how we guide is first half, second half revenue.

我們真正——我們預期第一季從量的角度會稍微偏重、也比較豐收，但我們預期第二季會自我修正。而這份指引、這個計畫、我們的討論其實是在說：相較於下半年，這些都會在上半年內恢復正常；而我們通常給指引的方式是以上半年、下半年營收來看。

But I'm just trying to get the marker out there with you guys that if we -- if the volume and the sales are big or above expectations in Q1, there's an air pocket out there for sure. And I just don't want to get -- I've been telling the Board and then preparing for today, I made it pretty clear. I wanted to get this out there with you all, so you're not surprised. So that's really the wrap on that part of the remarks, Jeff. Now Craig can tell you how we're outperforming the market in the residential really driven by his business.

但我只是想先跟各位把這個標記講清楚：如果——如果第一季的出貨量和銷售很大、或高於預期，那後面肯定會有一段空窗期。我只是不想——我一直在跟董事會說，也在為今天做準備，我講得很清楚。我想先把這點跟各位說明，免得你們到時候覺得意外。所以，Jeff，這部分的說明大概就到這裡。接下來 Craig 可以跟你說，我們在住宅端如何優於市場表現，主要是由他的業務所帶動。

Jeff, yes, the wastewater business is going to be challenged on the residential side, but we've had a really good run here with our new products that we've introduced into the market, specifically around our tanks business and then also around our advanced treatment systems, too. The tanks, we've expanded the product category. We've been able to take market share there.

Jeff，是的，廢水業務在住宅端會面臨挑戰，但我們這段時間靠著導入市場的新產品表現得非常不錯，特別是在我們的儲槽（tanks）業務，以及先進處理系統（advanced treatment systems）方面。在儲槽方面，我們擴大了產品類別。我們也因此能夠取得市占。

And then on the advanced treatment systems, again, with the Orenco acquisition and the Infiltrator, we've put that together. We're attacking the advanced treatment markets and picking up some pretty good share there. Also, we've been able to get more distribution points. for our tanks out in the market. And this has really helped offset that slowdown in the residential market for our business right now, but we see the new products continue to provide some growth moving forward.

另外在先進處理系統方面，同樣地，透過收購 Orenco 以及 Infiltrator，我們把這些整合在一起。我們正積極切入先進處理市場，並在那裡拿到相當不錯的市占。同時，我們也讓儲槽產品在市場上取得更多的配銷據點。這確實有助於抵消目前住宅市場放緩對我們業務的影響，但我們也看到新產品在未來仍會持續帶來一些成長。

Bob, we just add one thing, a couple of things to that, that very good -- they had -- Infiltrator had very great spread or distribution points in leach field products, the traditional. And as they've introduced the tanks and expanded the number of displacements or SKUs in that offering, it's really been able to get into the additional distribution points.

Bob，我再補充一點、幾點：那非常好——他們——Infiltrator 在傳統滲濾場（leach field）產品上原本就有非常廣的覆蓋或配銷據點。而隨著他們導入儲槽並擴增該產品線的替代品項或 SKU 數量，確實讓我們能進入更多額外的配銷據點。

So think about wherever we sell the leach field, we want to be selling a tank, and we're still relatively underpenetrated on that. So that, along with these advanced treatment products and an intense focus on getting the regulatory side of that lined up, which they do very, very well. I think that's why you're seeing the beat versus the market there. I mean it's the scale, it's their obvious technology prowess and those new products kind of just driving through that market left and right.

所以你可以這樣想：我們在哪裡賣滲濾場產品，就希望也能在那裡賣儲槽，而我們在這方面的滲透率仍相對偏低。因此，這一點再加上這些先進處理產品，以及在法規端把相關要求對齊的高度聚焦——而他們在這方面做得非常、非常好。我想這就是你看到我們相對市場更好的原因。我的意思是，這是規模、他們明顯的技術實力，以及那些新產品在市場上左右開弓地推進所帶來的。

Okay. Great. And then on the balance sheet is in pretty good shape despite the acquisition. I know you were kind of protecting the balance sheet ahead of that NDS deal. But stock really taking a hit around this inflation concern.

好的。很好。另外，儘管做了收購，你們的資產負債表看起來仍相當健康。我知道你們在 NDS 交易之前一直在保護資產負債表。但股價因為通膨疑慮而受到不小的打擊。

Just how are you thinking about kind of the lean on buybacks versus maybe what the pipeline looks like here in the near term?

那你們現在怎麼看待：偏向做庫藏股回購，還是近期期待的併購/投資案源（pipeline）會是什麼樣子？

So I'll say a few words. I think Cottrill will want to chime in on this as well, Jeff. But -- so you were right. We conserved cash ahead of that deal, practically paid all cash for it. I knew that would give a high level of certainty to get the deal done.

我先說幾句。我想 Cottrill 也會想補充，Jeff。不過——你說得沒錯。我們在那筆交易之前保留現金，幾乎是全現金支付。我知道那會大幅提高交易完成的確定性。

We got a buyback authorized with the Board shortly after that.

之後不久，我們也取得董事會核准了一項回購授權。

We weren't immediately exercising on that. But in February, when this conflict began and our stock went down with the Board, we went and authorized that, and we exhausted that $200 million here recently. We'll go back in and try to use our balance sheet to do that prudently while maintaining the right level of liquidity to run our business. We're going to consume some working capital this year, as our receivables go up, as our inventory costs go up, we know that and let that alarm anyone.

我們並沒有立刻執行。但在二月，當衝突爆發、我們的股價下跌時，我們就與董事會一起啟動並核准執行，而且最近已把那 2 億美元用完了。我們會再回到董事會，並嘗試在維持足夠流動性以營運的前提下，審慎地運用資產負債表來做這件事。今年我們會消耗一些營運資金，因為應收帳款會上升、庫存成本也會上升；我們知道這點，也不希望讓任何人因此感到緊張。

So we're kind of planning and budgeting for that. And even with that, to repurchase and doing that, we really got room to go do something if we really want to -- if the right one came up. You add to that, Scott?

所以我們已把這些納入規劃與預算。即便如此，在回購與執行之後，如果我們真的想做——如果出現合適的標的——我們仍然有空間去做一些事情。Scott，你要補充嗎？

I think you did a great job summarizing it. The only thing I'd say is right now, we got to digest NDS, which we're focused on. But to Scott's point, if one of those strategic assets becomes available, we've got the financial flexibility to do more than consider that. It would be more manageable.

我覺得你總結得很到位。我唯一想說的是，目前我們得先消化整合 NDS，這是我們的重點。但如 Scott 所說，如果那些策略性資產之一變得可取得，我們具備財務彈性，不只是「考慮」而已。那會更可控、更好管理。

Yes, that would be what we'd have to work on. But we've got the balance sheet, to your point, where it needs to be. Working capital as a percent of sales came in slightly below the 20% target that we have at the end of '26. We've got that going up to about 21% at the end of fiscal '27 just based on the inflationary cost pressures. Again, we saw the same activity in '21, '22.

是的，那會是我們需要著手處理的。但如你所說，我們的資產負債表已在應有的位置。營運資金占銷售比重在 26 財年年底略低於我們設定的 20% 目標。基於通膨成本壓力，我們預期到 27 財年年底會上升到約 21%。同樣地，我們在 21、22 年也看到相同的情況。

So we kind of know what happens to the balance sheet.

所以我們大致知道資產負債表會發生什麼變化。

We know how to manage the balance sheet. We have a great S&OP process. NDS has a very active working capital management program underway right now, significant opportunity to bring that down as part of our synergy program. Our synergy programs were in, yes, are all on the revenue and EBITDA side. Mostly they are, for sure.

我們知道如何管理資產負債表。我們有很好的 S&OP（銷售與營運規劃）流程。NDS 目前也正在推動非常積極的營運資金管理計畫，作為我們協同效益計畫的一部分，有很大的機會把它降下來。我們的協同效益計畫，是的，主要都在營收與 EBITDA 端。大多數確實如此。

But we've got a bunch going on, on the working capital side as well and the cash flow generation. So you'll see us bring that down as well and manage it. So to Scott's point, we target 2 times levered in uncertain times and with the macroeconomic uncertainty, the end markets where they are, we'll be prudent. So we'll target staying below the 2 right now. We're at 1.6 times, as we mentioned.

但我們在營運資金端以及現金流創造方面也有很多工作在進行。所以你也會看到我們把它降下來並加以管理。因此如 Scott 所說，在不確定時期我們的目標是槓桿倍數 2 倍；在總體經濟不確定、終端市場現況如此之下，我們會保持審慎。所以目前我們會以維持在 2 倍以下為目標。如我們提到的，目前是 1.6 倍。

but we'll manage that actively. And we see it as a really advantage of the company and where we can deploy that capital. So we'll keep managing that as we go forward.

但我們會積極管理。我們也把這視為公司的重要優勢，以及我們可以如何部署資本的空間。所以我們會在往前走的過程中持續管理。

John Lovallo, UBS.

John Lovallo，瑞銀（UBS）。

You've Matt Johnson here on for John. Appreciate the time. I guess, could you guys just talk a little bit about your ability to flex up recycled resin right now? I guess kind of where does your recycled usage sit today? How quickly can you ramp that up?

我是代替 John 上線的 Matt Johnson。感謝撥冗。我想請教一下，你們目前在提高再生樹脂使用量方面的彈性如何？也就是說，你們目前再生料的使用占比大概在哪裡？你們能多快把它拉升？

And then also just any color you guys can give on what the cost spread between virgin and recycled looks like today?

另外，你們能否分享一下目前原生料與再生料之間的成本價差大概是什麼樣子？

So I'm going to let Scott Cottrill answer the virgin -- when he's got in there, like I said, I'm not allowed to answer this question.

所以我會讓 Scott Cottrill 來回答原生料的部分——他既然在這裡，如我所說，我不被允許回答這個問題。

So what you saw in '26 is we love our recycling program. We see a lot of advantages. It's usually that 15% to 20% benefit, but that can invert at times. And what we saw in '26 is it was a much more friendly virgin resin market for us. So you saw us toggle a little bit more towards the virgin and the recycled side of the house.

所以你在「26 年看到的是，我們很喜歡我們的回收計畫。我們看到很多優勢。通常大概有 15% 到 20% 的效益，但有時也可能反轉。而我們在「26 年看到的是，對我們而言原生樹脂市場更友善。所以你看到我們在原生與再生這兩邊稍微做了一些切換。

What you see us now doing is toggling back to the recycled resin.

你現在看到我們正在做的是再切回使用再生樹脂。

The other thing I'll say is we're also putting the cash flow and the balance sheet to work. We have a significant expansion in our recycling capacity and capability going on in the Southeast US right now, putting that closer to our facilities in that region, which makes a lot of sense on the transportation side and conversion side of the house. So again, we have a lot of capability, capacity and ability and agility to toggle back the recycling pretty quick. And we're already in the middle of doing that right now.

另外我想說的是，我們也在運用現金流與資產負債表。我們目前正在美國東南部大幅擴張回收產能與能力，把回收設施更靠近該區域的工廠，這在運輸端與加工轉換端都很合理。所以再說一次，我們有很多能力、產能與彈性，可以很快把回收比例切回來。而我們現在已經正在進行當中。

Yes. So we won't disclose kind of the percentage recycled that we're going to. We will acknowledge that the prior year that we just closed was much lower than normal because of the pricing dynamics in the market at the time. That said, this recycling activity for us is a long-term operational component of the company. It really bears a lot of fruit in these inflationary times like this and mitigates a lot of cost.

是的。所以我們不會揭露我們要採用的再生料比例。我們會承認，剛結束的上一年度因為當時市場的定價動態，比例比正常水準低很多。話雖如此，對我們而言，回收活動是公司長期營運的一個組成部分。在像現在這樣的通膨時期，它確實能帶來很多成果並降低不少成本。

And so we're flexing that pretty hard.

所以我們正在非常積極地運用這個槓桿。

And in fact, as I said earlier, we're flexing it hard. The team is going faster than I thought we would be able to do. We're also able to get the material into our recycling facilities. In other words, there's enough material out there to get. That's always -- you got to work that very, very hard.

事實上，如我先前所說，我們正在大力推動。團隊推進的速度比我原本以為我們能做到的還快。我們也能把材料送進我們的回收設施。換句話說，外面有足夠的材料可以取得。這一點一直都是——你必須非常、非常努力去做。

So I think it's a unique competitive advantage of the company that we're going to press the floor on right now.

所以我認為這是公司一項獨特的競爭優勢，而我們現在會把油門踩到底。

Appreciate that, guys. And I guess just kind of bigger picture here. I know you guys have, I would say, a pretty long history of navigating through different inflationary environments. I think the way you guys typically talk about it is you put through price and then you hold on to the majority of that even as costs kind of normalize. But I guess, do you guys see that playing out any differently this time around?

謝謝各位。我想從更宏觀的角度來看。我知道你們在不同通膨環境下應對的歷史相當長。我想你們通常的說法是先把價格調上去，然後即使成本之後回歸正常，也能保留其中大部分。但我想問的是，這次你們覺得會不會有不同的發展？

Or I guess asked differently, does the softer demand environment right now make that more challenging to do?

或者換個問法，目前較疲弱的需求環境會不會讓這件事更具挑戰？

That's a good question. And certainly, that is a factor. I think the way you overcome some of that softer demand is selling the package of products that we have, making sure we're using the scale of the distribution that we have across both the wastewater and the storm water businesses. Will the dynamics on the other end, as you suggest, play out perhaps a little differently than the past because of competitive intensity? Maybe, maybe not.

這是個好問題。而且這確實是一個因素。我認為克服部分需求偏弱的方法，是把我們的產品組合打包銷售，並確保我們能運用在污水與雨水兩大業務上所具備的通路規模。至於你提到的另一端的動態，是否會因競爭強度而與過去略有不同？也許會，也許不會。

It will be really regional and local if it does. It won't be a nationwide outbreak type thing. But I feel pretty good about our tools to go and work that on the other side. I feel pretty confident about the value proposition we have versus our competitors on the other side of this. So we'll see how it plays out.

如果真的有差異，會更偏向區域性與在地性。不會是全國性的大規模擴散。但我對我們在另一端可以運用的工具相當有信心。我也很有信心，我們相較競爭對手的價值主張在這之後仍然很強。所以就看後續如何發展。

I appreciate the question.

謝謝你的提問。

I understand where you're going. But it's not just enough to say we've done this before, we know how to do it. I think it is more -- we've done it before. We have a playbook. We have tools, we have experience.

我理解你想問的方向。但不只是說「我們以前做過，我們知道怎麼做」就夠了。我認為更重要的是——我們以前做過。我們有作戰手冊。我們有工具，也有經驗。

We acknowledge that it could be a little different on the other side, but I would never bet against us to be able to understand and adjust to that accordingly in a very profitable manner.

我們承認在另一端可能會有些不同，但我絕不會押注我們無法理解並相應調整，而且能以非常有利可圖的方式做到。

Collin Verron, Deutsche Bank.

Deutsche Bank 的 Collin Verron。

I guess I just wanted to start on one of the other levers that you talked about other than recycling was on the transportation side. You made a comment about internal fleet versus common carrier exposure. Can you just sort of help us understand sort of your ability to flex that and kind of what the benefit of that could be from a dollar standpoint?

我想先從你們提到的另一個槓桿開始，除了回收之外，是運輸端。你們提到自有車隊相對於一般承運商曝險。能否請你們協助我們理解你們在這方面的彈性，以及從金額角度可能帶來的效益？

So again, Scott Barbour, good question on our logistics. We are an ultimate last mile carrier with our fleet to our trade deliveries. And anything within a certain mileage of our factories and distribution centers, we deliver on that fleet.

所以再說一次，Scott Barbour，關於我們物流的好問題。我們用自有車隊做的是最終端的「最後一哩」配送，送到我們的通路交付點。在距離我們工廠與配送中心一定里程範圍內的訂單，我們都用自有車隊配送。

It's roughly 70% of our revenue for the legacy business, the ADS business. And what -- here's what I think and that why this is the right long-term investment in inflationary -- high inflationary transportation times where both diesel and the rate, in other words, there's two components on common carriers. It's the rate they charge you to carry, and that's a supply and demand and then it's the cost of diesel to operate that.

對於傳統業務、也就是 ADS 業務而言，這大約涵蓋我們 70% 的營收。而我認為——這也是為什麼這在通膨、尤其是高通膨的運輸時期是一項正確的長期投資，因為柴油與運價都在上升；換句話說，一般承運商有兩個成本組成。一個是他們向你收取的運價，這取決於供需；另一個是柴油成本，也就是他們營運所需的燃料成本。

It also can be their wages of drivers, but it's mainly the diesel. Right now, both rate and diesel are accelerating quickly. On my private fleet, I really only have diesel accelerating. So I've become much more competitive versus common carriers in my fleet.

另外也可能包含司機薪資，但主要還是柴油。目前運價與柴油都在快速上升。而對我的自有車隊而言，我基本上只有柴油在上升。因此，相較於一般承運商，我的車隊變得更具競爭力。

Now what does that mean? That means I can probably expand my radius of delivery from my points to make myself more competitive against competitors that are largely on common carrier, not last-mile delivery like we have. And again, part of our scale, our balance sheet, all those things we've done over a long period of time to create that kind of thing. So this is the time when these kinds of -- in these inflationary times, on the logistics, it's our fleet inflates at a lower rate, basically just on the diesel.

那這代表什麼？這代表我可能可以擴大從各據點出貨的配送半徑，讓自己相較那些主要依賴一般承運商、而不像我們有最後一哩配送能力的競爭對手更具競爭力。同樣地，這也是我們規模、資產負債表，以及我們長期投入所打造出來的成果。所以在這種通膨時期，就物流而言，我們的車隊通膨幅度較低，基本上只反映在柴油上。

And on the recycling, where we have an additional tool versus the virgin material buy to mitigate cost. These kinds of times really show the long term -- the benefit of the long-term investments the company has made and how it positions us in these more difficult periods. So that's why I'm so confident we win on the other side based on that other question. I mean, because we have these tools and insights that I think are really unique in this industry.

而在回收方面，我們相較於採購原生材料，多了一個降低成本的工具。這種時期真的能顯示公司長期投資的效益，以及它如何讓我們在較困難的期間仍能站穩位置。所以我才會對我們在另一端能勝出如此有信心，呼應剛才那個問題。我的意思是，因為我們有這些工具與洞見，我認為在這個產業裡非常獨特。

Great. That's really helpful color. And I guess after the NDS acquisition and sort of your portfolio with Infiltrator, I guess, is there any way to think about sort of how you guys look at the end markets and your ability to outperform? Is there a category or an end market that you guys expect to see the biggest share gains? I'm looking at that residential assumption being down the most here, but like given your portfolio or your expanded portfolio, is the opportunity for share gains really in that resi market?

很好。這些補充資訊非常有幫助。我想問的是，在完成 NDS 併購、以及你們與 Infiltrator 的產品組合之後，是否有什麼方式可以思考你們如何看待終端市場，以及你們超越同業的能力？是否有某個品類或終端市場，你們預期會看到最大的市占提升？我看到這裡住宅端的假設下修最多，但以你們的產品組合或擴大的產品組合來看，市占提升的機會主要真的在住宅市場嗎？

Is it really across the board? I'd just be curious as to how you guys think about the puts and takes on the outperformance within the different end markets.

真的是全面性的嗎？我只是好奇你們怎麼看待在不同終端市場中，超越表現的取捨與利弊。

I think we probably have more opportunity in residential. Because that's really where NDS is stronger. We have our strength in Infiltrator in residential kind of participation and their growth. You kind of see where they're growing in residential. The nature of the two are a little different. Infiltrator is more new construction, a third R&R.

我認為我們在住宅市場可能有更多機會。因為那正是 NDS 較強的地方。我們在住宅端的優勢在於 Infiltrator 的參與度以及他們的成長。你可以看到他們在住宅市場的成長。兩者的性質有些不同。Infiltrator 偏向新建案，約三分之一是維修與翻新（R&R）。

NDS kind of flips that. But there's no doubt we've gotten bigger in residential. Our legacy business relatively underpenetrated in residential. We think this might give us a few more insights there that cross-selling comes in play more on the residential. However, on the nonresidential side, there are some great products NDS has that we do not have for our package solutions package that we sell basically into these projects.

NDS 則剛好相反。但毫無疑問，我們在住宅市場的規模變大了。我們的既有業務在住宅端相對滲透率不足。我們認為這可能會讓我們在那裡獲得更多洞見，並且交叉銷售在住宅端會更能發揮作用。不過在非住宅端，NDS 有一些我們沒有、但對我們所銷售、基本上導入這些專案的整體套裝解決方案非常好的產品。

Think of these channel drains in particular, those will be a very nice addition to our product lines. So I think to answer your question, maybe more on the residential than the nonresidential, both have runway.

特別是想想這些線性排水溝（channel drains），它們會是我們產品線非常好的補強。所以我想回答你的問題：可能住宅端比非住宅端更明顯，但兩邊都有成長空間。

Trey Grooms, Stephens.

Trey Grooms，Stephens。

This is Ethan on for Trey. You briefly touched in the prepared remarks on maybe leveraging SG&A a little bit to mitigate some of that COGS inflation. Any more color on the initiatives here? I know you've previously guided to SG&A as a percent of sales in the past. So if you can provide any color on what guide assumes from an SG&A standpoint would be great.

我是代替 Trey 的 Ethan。你在事先準備的發言中簡單提到，可能透過稍微槓桿化 SG&A 來緩解部分 COGS 通膨。能否再多提供一些相關措施的細節？我知道你們過去曾對 SG&A 佔銷售額的比例提供指引。所以如果能補充一下這次指引在 SG&A 方面的假設會很有幫助。

Yes. I mean, again, the SG&A for this past year has a lot of moving pieces to it. But as you think through next year, I would guide you to use kind of a 14% SG&A as a percent of revenue kind of a number. We're getting back to kind of a normalized number for us as to where we go. So again, you've got NDS coming in on a full year.

好的。我的意思是，去年 SG&A 有很多變動因素。但當你思考明年時，我會建議你用大約「SG&A 佔營收 14%」這樣的數字。我們正回到對我們而言較正常化的水準。另外，NDS 會以全年完整併入。

So obviously, that's incremental increase that you've got going on there. But then you've got the initiatives that we all have here that we have every year on managing our costs all the way from T&E and everything else that we put into place. We do a really good job, I think, of putting -- shining a light on it in the different cost centers. in managing that cost bucket really well. But we also know that we have to invest for the future.

所以很明顯，那會帶來增量的增加。但同時我們也有每年都在做的各項成本管理措施，從差旅與交際（T&E）到我們推行的其他措施。我認為我們在不同成本中心把焦點打亮、把這個成本項目管理得非常好。但我們也知道必須為未來投資。

So we do that to make sure that we're supporting the long-term growth and strategic initiatives of the company. So there's always going to be some dollar increase there. But in a year like this year coming up and we look at that revenue growth due to this price/cost dynamic that's happening, we should expect to get some real nice leverage on that SG&A fixed cost line. So going down to about 14% from the 15% plus we were this past year is the way I think about it.

所以我們會這麼做，以確保支援公司的長期成長與策略性計畫。因此金額上總會有一些增加。但像接下來這一年，當我們看到因為目前的價格/成本動態而帶動的營收成長時，我們應該可以在 SG&A 這條固定成本線上取得相當不錯的槓桿效益。所以我會這樣看：從去年 15% 以上降到大約 14%。

Right. Right. Got it. That's all very clear. And maybe switching gears to -- just making sure we understand the assumptions around the volume guide.

對。對。了解。這些都很清楚。另外也許換個方向——只是想確認我們對於出貨量（volume）指引的假設理解正確。

The guide assumes volume flat. Obviously, your performance has been trending above this rate, and you still expect to outperform the market, but there's a lot of moving pieces, right, because of the customer buying ahead of the price increases.

指引假設出貨量持平。顯然你們的表現一直高於這個水準，而且你們仍預期會優於市場，但有很多變動因素，對吧，因為客戶會在漲價前提前採購。

And you also made comments around some potential regional compression of your value prop relative to concrete pipes. So I guess my question is, is this implied deceleration in volume more a reflection of what you're seeing on the ground in terms of underlying demand, perhaps in response to these price increases or just some understandable conservatism on the volume outlook?

你們也提到，相對於混凝土管，你們的價值主張在某些地區可能會被壓縮。所以我的問題是：這個隱含的出貨量減速，更多是反映你們在第一線看到的基礎需求（可能因應這些漲價而有所反應），還是只是對出貨量展望採取合理的保守態度？

I think -- this is Scott Barbour. I think our conservatism on the volume is really related to the market and the end market and demand. And if you recall, I said nonres, we think it will be more of the same. Agriculture will be a little compressed year over year and the residential, particularly on the pipe side, will be compressed year over year because land development projects are slowing down. There is no volume compression due to competitive activity.

我想——我是 Scott Barbour。我認為我們對出貨量的保守，主要與市場、終端市場以及需求有關。如果你記得，我說過非住宅端，我們認為會大致維持相同狀況。農業端年對年會稍微被壓縮，而住宅端，特別是管材這一塊，年對年會被壓縮，因為土地開發專案正在放緩。出貨量的壓縮並不是因為競爭活動造成的。

Ethan, you're correct, we do think these dynamics will happen in the market, and we will meet what we got to go do to get the business that we want on a local basis. So it's more the end market behavior.

Ethan，你說得對，我們確實認為市場上會出現這些動態，而我們會在地方層級做我們必須做的事，以拿到我們想要的業務。所以更多是終端市場行為所致。

Got it. That's very clear. And yes, your ability to outperform the market in this environment is definitely encouraging.

了解。這非常清楚。而且是的，你們在這種環境下仍能優於市場的能力，確實令人鼓舞。

There are no further questions at this time. I will turn the call back to Scott Barbour for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我將把電話會議交回 Scott Barbour 做結語。

Thanks. I appreciate it, and I appreciate the questions and the quality of the questions. We probably went a little deeper than we normally do on some of those. But as many of you said, there are a lot of moving pieces right now. And I just don't want to have any surprises as we go through the year as different things are kind of emerging.

謝謝。我很感謝，也感謝各位的提問以及問題的品質。我們在其中一些議題上可能比平常講得更深入一些。但正如許多人所說，現在有很多變動因素。我只是不希望在我們走過這一年、各種事情逐步浮現時出現任何意外。

And so that's kind of why we went a little deeper than we normally would. Allison prepared us with like three pages of Q&A for this. But we're just trying to let you know what's going on. We feel good about this plan. We feel good about the year we closed. We feel good about this plan.

所以這就是為什麼我們比平常更深入一些。Allison 為這次準備了大概三頁的問答。但我們只是想讓你們知道正在發生什麼。我們對這個計畫感到樂觀。我們對剛結束的這一年感到樂觀。我們對這個計畫感到樂觀。

We know it's not going to be easy. But like I said earlier, the tools that we have the experience, the footing of the company in the broadest possible way are, I think, a lot better today than they were when we encountered other environments like this, and we're very confident of that. So we appreciate you all coming in today into the call. We look forward to some discussions later on. And let's have a nice memorial today -- a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. Thanks.

我們知道這不會容易。但就像我先前說的，我們所擁有的工具、經驗，以及公司在最廣泛層面上的基礎，我認為今天都比我們在過去遇到類似環境時要好得多，我們對此非常有信心。所以感謝各位今天參與電話會議。我們期待之後再進一步交流。也祝大家今天——以及接下來的陣亡將士紀念日週末——平安且愉快。謝謝。

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參與。您現在可以掛線。