Worthington Enterprises Inc (WOR) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Worthington Industries' Third Quarter Fiscal 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) This conference being recorded at the request of the Worthington Industries. If anyone objects, you may disconnect at this time. I'd now like to introduce Marcus Rogier, Treasurer and Investor Relations Officer. Please go ahead.

下午好，歡迎來到 Worthington Industries 的 2023 財年第三季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）本次會議是應 Worthington Industries 的要求錄製的。如果有人反對，您此時可以斷開連接。我現在想介紹財務主管兼投資者關係官 Marcus Rogier。請繼續。

Thank you, Audra. Good morning, and welcome to Worthington Industries Third Quarter Fiscal 2023 Earnings Call. On our call today, we have Andy Rose, Worthington's President and Chief Executive Officer; and Joe Hayek, Worthington's Chief Financial Officer. In addition, we also have Tim Adams, who will become the CFO of the Steel Processing business after we complete the planned business separation.

謝謝你，奧德拉。早上好，歡迎來到 Worthington Industries 2023 財年第三季度財報電話會議。今天，Worthington 總裁兼首席執行官安迪·羅斯 (Andy Rose) 應邀出席了我們的電話會議； Worthington 的首席財務官 Joe Hayek。此外，我們還有蒂姆亞當斯，他將在我們完成計劃的業務分離後成為鋼鐵加工業務的首席財務官。

Before we get started, I'd like to remind everyone that certain statements made today are forward-looking within the meaning of the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and that could cause actual results to differ from those suggested. We issued our earnings release yesterday after the market close. Please refer to it for more details on those factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. Today's call is being recorded, and a replay will made available later on our worthingtonindustries.com website.

在開始之前，我想提醒大家，根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》，今天發表的某些聲明具有前瞻性。這些陳述受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與建議的結果不同。我們在昨天收市後發布了收益報告。有關可能導致實際結果出現重大差異的因素的更多詳細信息，請參閱它。今天的通話正在錄音中，稍後將在我們的 worthingtonindustries.com 網站上提供重播。

At this point, I will turn the call over to Joe for a discussion of the financial results.

在這一點上，我將把電話轉給喬討論財務結果。

Thank you, Marcus. Good morning, everyone. I'll go over the consolidated results and provide some additional color on the building products, consumer products and sustainable energy solutions businesses, and then Tim Adams will go through Steel's results. Tim, as many of you know, is currently the Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development for our Steel business, and will be the Chief Financial Officer for the steel company when we complete the planned separation of our businesses.

謝謝你，馬庫斯。大家，早安。我將回顧一下綜合結果，並為建築產品、消費品和可持續能源解決方案業務提供一些額外的顏色，然後蒂姆亞當斯將回顧鋼鐵公司的結果。正如你們許多人所知，蒂姆目前是我們鋼鐵業務的戰略和企業發展副總裁，當我們完成計劃中的業務分離時，他將擔任鋼鐵公司的首席財務官。

In Q3, we reported earnings of $0.94 a share versus $1.11 in the prior year quarter. There were a few unique items impacting the quarterly results, including the following: we incurred pretax expense of $6 million or $0.10 per share related to the planned separation of our steel processing business into a new public company, which we expect to complete by early calendar 2024. We also incurred modest restructuring and other nonrecurring gains and losses, which offset during the quarter. This compares to restructuring and impairment charges of $0.02 per share in the prior year.

在第三季度，我們報告的每股收益為 0.94 美元，而去年同期為 1.11 美元。有幾個獨特的項目影響了季度業績，包括：我們產生了 600 萬美元或每股 0.10 美元的稅前費用，這些費用與計劃將我們的鋼鐵加工業務分離到一家新的上市公司有關，我們希望在早期完成2024 年。我們還發生了適度的重組和其他非經常性損益，這些損益在本季度被抵消。相比之下，上一年的重組和減值費用為每股 0.02 美元。

Excluding these items, we generated earnings of $1.04 per share in the current quarter compared to $1.13 per share in the prior year. In addition, in Q3, we had inventory holding losses estimated to be $27 million or $0.41 per share compared to inventory holding losses of $25 million or $0.37 per share in Q3 2022.

排除這些項目，我們在本季度產生的每股收益為 1.04 美元，而去年同期為每股收益 1.13 美元。此外，在第三季度，我們的庫存持有損失估計為 2700 萬美元或每股 0.41 美元，而 2022 年第三季度的庫存持有損失為 2500 萬美元或每股 0.37 美元。

Consolidated net sales in the quarter of $1.1 billion decreased 20% from the prior year due to lower average selling prices in Steel Processing as steel prices fell significantly compared to the prior year. Gross profit for the quarter increased slightly to $144 million, and our gross margin increased to 13% from 10% in Q3 of last year, primarily due to improved spreads in steel processing, combined with a favorable mix in building products.

本季度的綜合淨銷售額為 11 億美元，較上年同期下降 20%，原因是鋼材價格較上年同期大幅下跌，鋼鐵加工的平均售價較低。本季度的毛利潤小幅增長至 1.44 億美元，我們的毛利率從去年第三季度的 10% 增長至 13%，這主要是由於鋼鐵加工的價差有所改善，加上建築產品的有利組合。

Our adjusted EBITDA in Q3 was $99 million, down from $112 million in Q3 of last year, our trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA is now $443 million. With respect to cash flows on our balance sheet, Cash flow from operations was $182 million in the quarter, and free cash flow was $159 million. In the first 3 quarters of fiscal 2023, they have generated $327 million in free cash flows.

我們在第三季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 9900 萬美元，低於去年第三季度的 1.12 億美元，我們過去 12 個月的調整後 EBITDA 現在為 4.43 億美元。關於資產負債表上的現金流，本季度運營現金流為 1.82 億美元，自由現金流為 1.59 億美元。在 2023 財年的前 3 個季度，他們產生了 3.27 億美元的自由現金流。

During the quarter, we invested $23 million on capital projects, paid $15 million in dividends and received $60 million in dividends from our unconsolidated JVs. As in the prior 2 quarters, the dividends we received from unconsolidated JVs exceeded their equity earnings as their working capital levels have normalized, allowing them to pay out earnings that were not distributed in the prior fiscal year.

本季度，我們在資本項目上投資了 2300 萬美元，支付了 1500 萬美元的股息，並從未合併的合資企業獲得了 6000 萬美元的股息。與前兩個季度一樣，我們從未合併的合資企業收到的股息超過了他們的股權收益，因為他們的營運資本水平已經正常化，使他們能夠支付上一財年未分配的收益。

Fiscal year-to-date, we have received dividends from unconsolidated JVs totaling $190 million. Looking at our balance sheet and liquidity position. Funded debt at quarter end of $693 million decreased by $5 million sequentially. Net interest expense of $6 million was down $2 million year-over-year, primarily due to higher interest income earned on our cash balances and to a lesser extent, lower average debt levels. We continue to operate with low leverage levels, and our net debt to trailing EBITDA leverage ratio is under 1x. We believe we are very well positioned for the future with ample liquidity, ending Q3 with $267 million in cash and $675 million in availability under our revolving credit facilities. Nearly all of that cash is currently held in overnight AAA-rated government money market funds. Yesterday, the Board declared a dividend of $0.31 per share for the quarter, which is payable in June of 2023.

本財年迄今，我們已從未合併的合資企業收到總計 1.9 億美元的股息。查看我們的資產負債表和流動性狀況。季度末融資債務為 6.93 億美元，環比減少 500 萬美元。淨利息支出為 600 萬美元，同比下降 200 萬美元，這主要是由於我們的現金餘額賺取的利息收入增加，而在較小程度上，平均債務水平較低。我們繼續以低杠桿水平運營，我們的淨債務與往績 EBITDA 槓桿比率低於 1 倍。我們相信，我們擁有充足的流動性，為未來做好了充分準備，在第三季度結束時，我們的循環信貸額度下有 2.67 億美元的現金和 6.75 億美元的可用資金。幾乎所有這些現金目前都持有隔夜 AAA 級政府貨幣市場基金。昨日，董事會宣布本季度派發每股 0.31 美元的股息，將於 2023 年 6 月支付。

Now I'll now spend a few minutes on each of the businesses. In Consumer Products, net sales in Q3 were $163 million, up slightly from $162 million a year ago. Increase was driven by higher average selling prices, which were partially offset by lower volumes. Adjusted EBIT for the consumer business was $18 million and EBIT margin was 11% compared to $27 million and 16.5% last year. The prior year quarter created a very tough comp, as price increases were implemented at the beginning of the quarter last year and resulted in record EBIT. Whereas the current quarter was negatively impacted by higher input costs and other inflationary cost pressures.

現在我將花幾分鐘時間介紹每項業務。在消費品方面，第三季度的淨銷售額為 1.63 億美元，略高於一年前的 1.62 億美元。增長是由更高的平均售價推動的，這部分被較低的銷量所抵消。消費者業務的調整後息稅前利潤為 1800 萬美元，息稅前利潤率為 11%，而去年為 2700 萬美元和 16.5%。上一季度創造了一個非常艱難的競爭，因為價格上漲是在去年季度初實施的，並導致創紀錄的息稅前利潤。而本季度受到更高的投入成本和其他通脹成本壓力的負面影響。

As we mentioned on our Q2 earnings call, the destocking of our customers has largely been completed. We saw a strong sequential volume growth of 16% and EBIT growth of $4 million sequentially in Consumer. The team continues to do an excellent job serving our customers and delivering value-added products while investing in innovation and new product development. We are optimistic getting into Q4, which is usually a seasonally strong period for the consumer business.

正如我們在第二季度財報電話會議上提到的那樣，我們客戶的去庫存已經基本完成。我們看到消費者業務的銷量環比增長 16%，息稅前利潤環比增長 400 萬美元。該團隊繼續出色地為我們的客戶提供服務並提供增值產品，同時投資於創新和新產品開發。我們對進入第四季度持樂觀態度，這通常是消費者業務的季節性旺季。

Building Products generated net sales of $152 million in Q3, up 14% from $133 million in the prior year quarter. The increase was driven by a favorable product mix and higher average selling prices which were partially offset by lower volumes. Building Products generated adjusted EBITDA of $51 million in the quarter and EBIT margin was 33.9% compared to $50 million and 37.3% in Q3 of last year. Increase in EBIT was primarily driven by improvements in our wholly owned businesses, which saw operating income increased by $3 million or 29% year-over-year due to favorable product mix and higher average selling prices. This increase was partially offset by slightly lower equity earnings contributions from our Building Products JVs, which combined contributed $38 million in Q3 or $2 million less than the prior year.

建築產品在第三季度產生了 1.52 億美元的淨銷售額，比去年同期的 1.33 億美元增長了 14%。這一增長是由有利的產品組合和較高的平均售價推動的，但部分被較低的銷量所抵消。建築產品在本季度產生了 5100 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA，息稅前利潤率為 33.9%，而去年第三季度為 5000 萬美元和 37.3%。息稅前利潤的增長主要是由我們全資擁有的業務的改善推動的，由於有利的產品組合和更高的平均售價，營業收入同比增長 300 萬美元或 29%。這一增長被我們的建築產品合資企業的股權收益貢獻略有下降所部分抵消，它們在第三季度貢獻了 3800 萬美元，比上一年減少了 200 萬美元。

Both ClarkDietrich and WAVE have continued to perform very well, delivering solid results in end markets that have been impacted by interest rates and economic uncertainty. As with the Consumer business, in Q2, we mentioned that many of our customers in building products were destocking and that we expected this trend to gradually improve. We have started to see this improvement in many of our product lines and volumes increased 5% sequentially from Q2.

ClarkDietrich 和 WAVE 繼續表現出色，在受到利率和經濟不確定性影響的終端市場中取得了可觀的業績。與消費業務一樣，在第二季度，我們提到我們的許多建築產品客戶正在去庫存，我們預計這種趨勢會逐漸改善。我們已經開始在我們的許多產品線中看到這種改進，並且銷量從第二季度開始連續增長 5%。

Our teams in building products continue to do a good job executing and focusing on sustainable long-term growth. We believe that we will see a return to more seasonally normal volume levels in the coming quarters. Sustainable Energy Solutions, net sales in Q3 of $32 million were up slightly compared to $31 million in the prior year, driven by higher average selling prices. The business reported an adjusted EBIT loss of $1 million in the current quarter compared to a loss of $3 million in the prior year quarter.

我們的產品構建團隊繼續出色地執行並專注於可持續的長期增長。我們相信，我們將在未來幾個季度看到更季節性的正常交易量水平。 Sustainable Energy Solutions，第三季度的淨銷售額為 3200 萬美元，與去年同期的 3100 萬美元相比略有上升，這主要受平均售價上漲的推動。該業務報告本季度調整後息稅前利潤虧損 100 萬美元，而去年同期虧損 300 萬美元。

The operating environment in Europe continues to be challenging, but our team is doing an excellent job of leveraging the investments that we have made in capabilities and in facilities, positioning that business very well as hydrogen and alternative fuel solutions are increasingly adopted. At this point, I will turn it over to Tim.

歐洲的運營環境仍然充滿挑戰，但我們的團隊在利用我們在能力和設施方面所做的投資方面做得非常出色，定位該業務以及氫和替代燃料解決方案越來越多地被採用。在這一點上，我會把它交給蒂姆。

Thanks, Joe. In Steel Processing, net sales of $757 million were down 28% from $1.1 billion in Q3 of last year, primarily due to lower average selling prices. In Q3 of last year, the market price for hot-rolled steel averaged $1,400 per ton, while in Q3 of this year, the market price was just over $700 per ton, resulting in a 30% decrease in our average selling prices. Total tons shipped were down 8%, driven by a 17% decrease in toll volume due in part to the divestiture of our WSP joint venture facility in Jackson, Michigan.

謝謝，喬。在鋼鐵加工領域，淨銷售額為 7.57 億美元，比去年第三季度的 11 億美元下降了 28%，這主要是由於平均售價較低。去年第三季度，熱軋鋼材的市場平均價格為每噸 1,400 美元，而今年第三季度，市場價格剛剛超過每噸 700 美元，導致我們的平均銷售價格下降了 30%。總運輸噸數下降了 8%，原因是通行費減少了 17%，部分原因是我們剝離了位於密歇根州傑克遜的 WSP 合資工廠。

Excluding the impact of divestitures, direct sale tons were up 2%, while total tons shipped were down 9%. Direct sale tons made up 56% of the mix in the current quarter compared to 51% in Q3 of 2022. From a demand perspective, we're seeing modest increases in automotive production but we experienced some soft in construction, which has been impacted by rising interest rates and the related slowdown in both residential and nonresidential construction.

排除資產剝離的影響，直銷噸數增長了 2%，而總運輸噸數下降了 9%。直銷噸數佔本季度組合的 56%，而 2022 年第三季度為 51%。從需求的角度來看，我們看到汽車產量略有增長，但我們的建築業出現了一些疲軟，這受到了以下因素的影響利率上升以及住宅和非住宅建築的相關放緩。

In Q3, Steel Processing reported adjusted EBIT of $8 million which was up slightly from $7 million in the prior year quarter. Also in Q3, we had estimated inventory holding losses of $27 million or $0.41 per share compared to losses of $25 million or $0.37 per share last year. Since steel prices bottomed in late calendar 2022, they've increased by over $550 per ton. And as a result, we anticipate we will swing to inventory holding gains in Q4, that could more than offset losses of $27 million that we estimated for the current quarter.

第三季度，Steel Processing 報告調整後息稅前利潤為 800 萬美元，略高於去年同期的 700 萬美元。同樣在第三季度，我們估計庫存持有損失為 2700 萬美元或每股 0.41 美元，而去年的損失為 2500 萬美元或每股 0.37 美元。自從鋼鐵價格在 2022 年底觸底以來，每噸已上漲超過 550 美元。因此，我們預計我們將在第四季度轉向庫存持有收益，這可能會抵消我們估計的本季度 2700 萬美元的損失。

Our Steel team continues to do an excellent job in a fluid pricing and demand environment. And as the world increasingly embraces EVs and electrification, our recent acquisitions position us well to gain share in the rapidly growing market for lightweighting and electrical steel laminations.

我們的鋼鐵團隊在不斷變化的定價和需求環境中繼續表現出色。隨著世界越來越多地接受電動汽車和電氣化，我們最近的收購使我們能夠很好地在快速增長的輕量化和電工鋼疊片市場中獲得份額。

At this point, I will turn it over to Andy.

在這一點上，我會把它交給安迪。

Thank you, Tim. Good morning, everyone. Our fiscal third quarter results were solid despite significant inventory holding losses from falling steel prices in late 2022. This trend has since reversed itself with steel prices rising swiftly by $550 per ton during the current quarter. As expected, the bottoming of steel prices, along with depleted inventories at many of our customers, led to steady demand across our end markets. While we cannot control the volatility of steel prices, our purchasing and price risk management teams do a great job minimizing exposure to these fluctuations for both Worthington and our customers.

謝謝你，蒂姆。大家，早安。儘管 2022 年底鋼鐵價格下跌導致庫存持有量大幅減少，但我們第三財季的業績依然穩健。此後這一趨勢發生了逆轉，本季度鋼鐵價格每噸迅速上漲 550 美元。正如預期的那樣，鋼材價格觸底，加上我們許多客戶的庫存枯竭，導致我們終端市場的需求穩定。雖然我們無法控製鋼鐵價格的波動，但我們的採購和價格風險管理團隊做得很好，可以最大限度地減少 Worthington 和我們的客戶受到這些波動的影響。

We run a balanced book of business and hedge our purchases and our customers' purchases were prudent. We see this as a key competitive advantage of our business that helps minimize risk and benefits both our customers and our shareholders. Although many of our end markets have yet to experience material changes as a result of the Federal Reserve's continued rate hikes. The impact on banks and finance companies is beginning to rear its ugly head.

我們經營平衡的業務賬簿並對我們的購買進行對沖，我們的客戶的購買是謹慎的。我們將此視為我們業務的關鍵競爭優勢，有助於最大限度地降低風險並使我們的客戶和股東受益。儘管我們的許多終端市場尚未因美聯儲持續加息而發生重大變化。對銀行和金融公司的影響開始抬頭。

Hopefully, the impact on the overall economy will be muted. Higher rates are a potential headwind for commercial construction projects and auto financing. But the $1.3 trillion of approved government investment spending from the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will certainly stimulate demand and likely benefit many of our businesses down the road.

希望對整體經濟的影響會減弱。較高的利率是商業建築項目和汽車融資的潛在阻力。但是，《降低通貨膨脹法案》、《CHIPS 和科學法案》以及《基礎設施投資和就業法案》批准的 1.3 萬億美元政府投資支出肯定會刺激需求，並可能使我們的許多企業受益。

A big thank you to our employees who continue to make it happen for our customers despite the continued volatility in supply chains, commodity prices and, more recently financial markets. After 2 ESG awards and the Best Places to Work in IT award last quarter, Worthington received 2 more outstanding awards during this quarter. We were named a John Deere Partner-level Supplier for the 11th year in a row, and Tempel Steel was named Best Supplier Award 2022 by Mahle, a leading manufacturer of electric motors for EVs. Our employees earn this recognition with their commitment and dedication to our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders every day.

非常感謝我們的員工，儘管供應鏈、大宗商品價格以及最近的金融市場持續波動，他們仍繼續為我們的客戶實現這一目標。在上個季度獲得 2 個 ESG 獎項和 IT 最佳工作場所獎後，Worthington 在本季度又獲得了 2 個傑出獎項。我們連續第 11 年被評為 John Deere 合作夥伴級供應商，Tempel Steel 被領先的電動汽車電機製造商 Mahle 評為 2022 年最佳供應商獎。我們的員工通過每天對我們的客戶、供應商和其他利益相關者的承諾和奉獻贏得了這一認可。

Thank you, and congratulations. Our Worthington 2024 plan separated into 2 distinct financially strong growth companies is progressing well. Once complete, we will have a market-leading company with premier brands in fast-growing, attractive end markets and consumer products, building products and sustainable energy poised to capitalize on key trends in sustainability, technology, construction and outdoor living. With higher margins and lower asset intensity, this business should benefit from premium sector multiples. Worthington Steel is and will continue to be a best-in-class value-added steel processor with a unique capability set and excellent growth opportunities in automotive lightweighting and electrical steel laminations, positioned to take advantage of expanding opportunities in electrification, sustainability and infrastructure spending. In anticipation of the planned separation, we have been strengthening our balance sheet by building cash so that both companies are positioned to have modest leverage and ample liquidity to drive their strategies. Once the separation is complete, we are likely to continue with our historical balanced capital allocation strategy. Both businesses will be run with our philosophy and Golden Rule principles and utilize the Worthington business system of transformation, innovation and acquisitions to drive growth and shareholder value.

謝謝你，祝賀你。我們的 Worthington 2024 計劃分為 2 家財務強勁的成長型公司，進展順利。一旦完成，我們將擁有一家市場領先的公司，在快速增長、有吸引力的終端市場和消費品、建築產品和可持續能源領域擁有一流品牌，隨時準備利用可持續發展、技術、建築和戶外生活的主要趨勢。憑藉更高的利潤率和更低的資產密集度，該業務應受益於優質行業倍數。 Worthington Steel 是並將繼續成為一流的增值鋼材加工商，在汽車輕量化和電工鋼疊片方面具有獨特的能力和極好的增長機會，定位於利用電氣化、可持續性和基礎設施支出方面不斷擴大的機會.考慮到計劃中的分離，我們一直在通過建立現金來加強我們的資產負債表，以便兩家公司都能夠擁有適度的槓桿和充足的流動性來推動他們的戰略。一旦分離完成，我們可能會繼續我們歷史上的平衡資本配置策略。這兩項業務都將遵循我們的理念和黃金法則原則，並利用沃辛頓的轉型、創新和收購業務系統來推動增長和股東價值。

We just finished our annual strategic presentations to the Board of Directors, and I can say with confidence that the businesses are performing well, and are very well positioned to deliver on our goal of making money for shareholders and increasing the value of their investment. While we cannot control the economy, the Fed or the status of financial institutions, we are financially strong and well equipped for whatever comes next.

我們剛剛向董事會完成了年度戰略報告，我可以自信地說，這些業務表現良好，並且完全有能力實現我們為股東賺錢和增加投資價值的目標。雖然我們無法控制經濟、美聯儲或金融機構的地位，但我們財力雄厚，並為接下來發生的一切做好了充分準備。

To all of our customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders and other stakeholders. Thank you for your continued partnership and we look forward to shared success in the coming months and years. We'll now take questions.

致我們所有的客戶、供應商、員工、股東和其他利益相關者。感謝您一直以來的合作夥伴關係，我們期待在未來的歲月里共同取得成功。我們現在開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our first question from Martin Englert at Seaport Research Partners.

（操作員說明）我們將從 Seaport Research Partners 的 Martin Englert 那裡回答我們的第一個問題。

I know many of the end markets have seen some seasonal gains and demand activities in volumes, and you clearly illustrated that when you were running through some of the segments here. But can you discuss some of the positive and negative trends year-on-year across some of the key end markets here where you have a meaningful exposure?

我知道許多終端市場在數量上都出現了一些季節性增長和需求活動，當你在這裡瀏覽某些細分市場時，你清楚地說明了這一點。但是，您能否在這裡討論一些您擁有重要風險敞口的關鍵終端市場的一些同比積極和消極趨勢？

Sure. In the steel business, we have seen some modest year-over-year growth in automotive. A little bit of a headwind in the construction end markets. That transcends steel and also building products, building products of some areas where there was some year-over-year growth, but the product lines that we have that are really geared towards residential construction saw a bit of headwind I think that same thing is true in the consumer business.

當然。在鋼鐵業務中，我們看到汽車業務同比略有增長。建築終端市場有點逆風。這超越了鋼鐵和建築產品，一些地區的建築產品同比增長，但我們擁有的真正面向住宅建築的產品線遇到了一些阻力我認為同樣的事情是真的在消費者業務中。

Okay. Anything more specific when we think about like a broader industrial agriculture?

好的。當我們考慮更廣泛的工業化農業時，還有什麼更具體的嗎？

Yes. There's -- I mean everything to an extent, it will be impacted by interest rates. Generally, I think, is fine and showing a little bit of year-over-year growth in the industrial, on a macro basis, the industrial complex, certainly in North America has here, to date, hasn't been as impacted by tech or as finance, but not immune to it.

是的。在某種程度上，我的意思是一切都會受到利率的影響。總的來說，我認為這很好，並且在宏觀基礎上顯示出工業的同比增長，工業綜合體，當然在北美，到目前為止，還沒有受到技術的影響或作為金融，但也不能倖免。

Okay. That's helpful. What would be your -- I mean, you noted that you're going to likely pivot from inventory holding losses. I believe you said it's likely a gain in the current quarter. Any goalposts or framework regarding what that gain might be?

好的。這很有幫助。你會是什麼 - 我的意思是，你注意到你可能會從庫存持有損失中脫穎而出。我相信你說過這可能是本季度的收益。關於收益可能是什麼的任何目標或框架？

Yes, Martin, this is Tim. As we're looking at it now, we have visibility out about 3 months. We can look about a quarter out. We think that the gains could more than offset the losses that we estimated for this quarter. So we estimated $27 million, and we think it could flip the other way and quite that entire amount out.

是的，馬丁，這是蒂姆。正如我們現在所看到的，我們有大約 3 個月的可見性。我們可以看看大約四分之一。我們認為收益可以抵消我們對本季度的估計損失。因此，我們估計為 2700 萬美元，我們認為它可能會以另一種方式翻轉，並且將全部數額減掉。

Okay. That's helpful. If I could, one other one here on the business separation. I mean, thus far, and even the prior quarter, the commentary seems to me that everything is going according to plan, meaning reasonably well. Any other details you can share as far as maybe what's gone better than expected or perhaps been more challenging as you kind of continue to make progress here?

好的。這很有幫助。如果可以的話，另一個關於業務分離的。我的意思是，到目前為止，甚至上一季度，在我看來，評論似乎一切都在按計劃進行，意思是相當不錯。您可以分享任何其他細節，因為可能比預期的要好，或者隨著您在這裡繼續取得進展而更具挑戰性？

Yes, Martin, this is Andy. I would agree with your sentiment. I think we believe this has gone as well as could be expected up to this point. The next probably a major milestone for us is we're getting ready to file a Form 10 with the SEC. It will be confidential. People won't be able to see that, but that's kind of the next major milestone. One of the comments that I would make is we hired some outside expertise to kind of help us with the process here and while we are in control of making the decisions, the process has been followed very well, and I think it's been very effective. We've announced the first level of leadership, we are closing in on being able to announce sort of, I would say, the balance of leadership and other positions in most of our major functions. And so we're excited about that. We're not quite there yet, but we're getting close.

是的，馬丁，這是安迪。我同意你的觀點。我認為我們相信，到目前為止，這已經達到了預期的水平。下一個對我們來說可能是一個重要的里程碑是我們準備向美國證券交易委員會提交 Form 10。這將是保密的。人們將無法看到這一點，但這是下一個重要的里程碑。我要發表的評論之一是，我們聘請了一些外部專家來幫助我們完成這裡的流程，雖然我們可以控制決策，但流程得到了很好的遵循，我認為它非常有效。我們已經宣布了第一級領導層，我們即將能夠宣布，我想說，我們大多數主要職能部門的領導層和其他職位之間的平衡。所以我們對此感到興奮。我們還沒有到那一步，但我們已經接近了。

And I know our employees are excited about us getting to that milestone. But we haven't -- one of the things that I think you fear in these situations is that when you dig into the process that you're going to have the potential for a showstopper to arise, and we have not had any of that. It's been pretty methodical, and where we've run into road blocks. We've been able to solve those pretty quickly. So as of now, we feel good about the process. We're on time. and on schedule for early 2024, and we'll continue to push forward.

我知道我們的員工對我們達到那個里程碑感到很興奮。但我們沒有——我認為你在這些情況下擔心的一件事是，當你深入研究這個過程時，你將有可能出現一個阻礙因素，而我們沒有任何這樣的情況.這是非常有條理的，我們遇到了障礙。我們已經能夠很快解決這些問題。所以到目前為止，我們對這個過程感覺良好。我們準時。並按計劃於 2024 年初完成，我們將繼續推進。

What's -- you mentioned the employees kind of very excited to see the next [outside] with leadership and as you go through this, what's the overall sentiment of the folks working the day-to-day here as you announced that I imagine there's continued messaging around it. I guess what is their thought on it?

什麼是 - 你提到員工們非常興奮地看到下一個 [外部] 領導層，當你經歷這個時，當你宣布我想像有繼續的時候，在這裡日常工作的人們的總體情緒是什麼消息圍繞它。我猜他們對此有何想法？

Yes. We've actually spent a fair amount of time communicating and soliciting feedback from employees, whether that's through our quarterly employee meetings, our employee councils. We've also been doing a number of lunches with small group, lunches with employees to solicit feedback. And I would say, for the most part, I think folks understand why we're doing what we're doing. They think it makes sense. There's nobody that really likes uncertainty. And so I think if there is anxiety around the process, it's more about what does it mean for me? Which company am I going to be in? .

是的。我們實際上已經花了相當多的時間來溝通和徵求員工的反饋，無論是通過我們的季度員工會議還是我們的員工委員會。我們也一直在與小團體共進午餐，與員工共進午餐以徵求反饋。我想說，在大多數情況下，我認為人們理解我們為什麼要做我們正在做的事情。他們認為這是有道理的。沒有人真正喜歡不確定性。所以我認為如果圍繞這個過程感到焦慮，更多的是它對我意味著什麼？我要去哪家公司？ .

But I will tell you that one of the things that I've learned in my 14 years at Worthington, is we have an outstanding employee base. And when people understand and believe in the direction they will engage and drive the company forward. And I think that's absolutely what's happened. We have a lot of people that are doing their day job and also working very hard on the Worthington 2024 project, and they've embraced it. And one of the rewarding things about this is seeing people excel and step up into new roles and really help us accomplish this together. So it's been -- I think it's been a pretty good process. It hasn't been without a few speed bumps along the way, but nothing major.

但我會告訴你，我在 Worthington 的 14 年中學到的一件事是，我們擁有出色的員工基礎。當人們理解並相信方向時，他們就會參與並推動公司向前發展。我認為這絕對是發生了什麼。我們有很多人在做他們的日常工作，也在為 Worthington 2024 項目努力工作，他們已經接受了它。其中一件有益的事情是看到人們表現出色並擔任新角色，並真正幫助我們共同實現這一目標。所以它一直 - 我認為這是一個非常好的過程。一路上也有一些減速帶，但沒什麼大不了的。

Interesting. And any issues with trying to sell some of these seats here or it doesn't sound like you're losing people as solely as a result of this or anything abnormal outside of just the kind of typical churn, but I know it's been challenging in recent years just to fill seats in general.

有趣的。試圖在這裡出售其中一些席位的任何問題，或者聽起來你並不是因為這個或任何異常情況而失去人，只是因為這種典型的流失，但我知道這一直具有挑戰性近幾年才補席位一般。

Yes. There hasn't been any, what I would call, outside of normal course turnover within the company that we've observed. One of the things that does happen here when you stand up a new separate public company is you need to populate that company with a number of positions that just don't exist in the business today. So examples would be sort of the finance function, public reporting function, the legal function, tax. And so it creates opportunities for upward mobility for people, which is nice to see. You get people that have earned the right to step into those roles and see what they can do there. So that's one of the rewarding things that does come from this process.

是的。在我們觀察到的公司內部，沒有任何我稱之為正常課程更替的人。當您建立一家新的獨立上市公司時，這裡確實會發生的事情之一是您需要為該公司提供許多當今企業中不存在的職位。例如，財務職能、公共報告職能、法律職能、稅收。因此，它為人們創造了向上流動的機會，這是很高興看到的。你會得到有權進入這些角色的人，看看他們能在那裡做什麼。所以這是從這個過程中得到的回報之一。

Excellent. I appreciate all the color, and it seems like you're dealing well with -- considering all the work -- extra work on your desk with the separation, yes.

出色的。我很欣賞所有的顏色，看起來你處理得很好——考慮到所有的工作——你辦公桌上的額外工作與分離，是的。

We'll move next to Katja Jancic at BMO Capital Markets.

我們將搬到 BMO Capital Markets 的 Katja Jancic 旁邊。

Can you talk a bit more about the Building and Consumer Products, specifically what your near-term expectations are when it comes to volumes and margins?

您能否多談談建築和消費品，特別是您對銷量和利潤率的近期預期？

So we don't really comment on margins, but I will say, and it's a fair question. We saw sequential growth in Q3 coming off of the destocking and Q2 and Q3 tend to be a little slower there and Q4 tends to be seasonally a bit stronger for both the consumer and the Building Products business. So we would -- we expect to have kind of sequential growth in both of those businesses this quarter.

所以我們並沒有真正評論利潤率，但我會說，這是一個公平的問題。我們看到第三季度的連續增長來自去庫存，第二季度和第三季度往往會稍微放緩，而第四季度對於消費者和建築產品業務來說往往季節性更強一些。因此，我們希望 - 我們預計本季度這兩項業務都會出現連續增長。

Okay. And just one more on the dividends from the equity investments. How should we think about them going forward? Should they come more to the normalized historical levels?

好的。還有一個關於股權投資的股息。我們應該如何看待他們的未來？它們是否應該更多地達到正常化的歷史水平？

Yes, you're exactly right. Over time, that should approximately be pretty close to 100% of what their equity earnings are. And we talked about this a year ago, those businesses were making a lot of money but had money tied up in working capital. Those working capital levels have normalized. And so we're seeing outsized dividends from our unconsolidated JVs. Over time, we always anticipate that they will pretty much approximate what the earnings are. That's the way those businesses are run.

是的，你完全正確。隨著時間的推移，這應該大約接近他們股票收益的 100%。一年前我們談到了這一點，這些企業賺了很多錢，但資金卻被營運資金佔用了。這些營運資金水平已經正常化。因此，我們從未合併的合資企業中看到了巨額股息。隨著時間的推移，我們總是預計它們將非常接近收益。這就是這些企業的運作方式。

We'll move next to John Tumazos at John Tumazos Very Independent Research.

我們將搬到 John Tumazos Very Independent Research 的 John Tumazos 旁邊。

I'm so happy that you weathered almost $1,300 a ton fall in hot-rolled sheet with maintaining profitability. The things weren't worse because that's on the order of $1 billion notional holding loss. Could you just walk us through the secret sauce of how the damage wasn't worse, how much of the volume was tolling? Whether you used futures contracts, you probably didn't have excess inventory at the peak of prices or it would have been worse. Your inventory turnovers probably were very good. And I want you to please take a victory lap and explain how you control things so well in the worst steel price downturn, I hope we ever see.

我很高興你們在保持盈利的情況下經受住了每噸近 1,300 美元的熱軋薄板跌幅。事情並沒有變得更糟，因為這大約是 10 億美元的名義持有損失。您能否向我們介紹一下損壞如何沒有變得更糟的秘訣，有多少音量在收費？無論您使用期貨合約，您都可能在價格高峰時沒有過剩庫存，否則情況會更糟。您的庫存周轉率可能非常好。我希望你能慶祝勝利並解釋你如何在最嚴重的鋼鐵價格低迷時期控制得如此之好，我希望我們能看到。

Well, thank you, John. I don't think we're the kind of folks who would like to take victory laps. But you heard pieces of the answers, I think, in Andy's remarks and in Tim's. We have historically taken advantage of what we feel is one of our best assets, which is our team that manages price risk and we have a balanced book. We can do things in the markets that can offer customers fixed prices or different things. And we just -- we manage our inventories as best we can. Our inventories obviously are down this quarter from where they were a year ago when steel prices were really just past their peak.

嗯，謝謝你，約翰。我不認為我們是那種想要慶祝勝利的人。但我想，你在安迪和蒂姆的評論中聽到了部分答案。從歷史上看，我們一直利用我們認為是我們最好的資產之一，這是我們管理價格風險的團隊，而且我們有一個平衡的賬簿。我們可以在市場上為客戶提供固定價格或不同的東西。我們只是 - 我們盡我們所能管理我們的庫存。本季度我們的庫存明顯低於一年前的水平，當時鋼鐵價格剛剛超過峰值。

Our days numbers are in line and feel pretty good. But ultimately, as Andy said, we can't control various markets, but we do understand markets, and we do everything we possibly can to take care of our customers. But also to protect our own balance sheet and P&L in volatile markets. Honestly, it's sometimes difficult to navigate those things, but it also creates opportunities for us because we are as sophisticated and as good at what we do as we are. It allows us to potentially take share to offer customers things that others can't offer and ultimately kind of consolidate our leadership position in a lot of those markets.

我們的天數是一致的，感覺很好。但最終，正如安迪所說，我們無法控制各種市場，但我們確實了解市場，我們會盡一切可能照顧我們的客戶。還要在動蕩的市場中保護我們自己的資產負債表和損益表。老實說，有時很難駕馭這些事情，但它也為我們創造了機會，因為我們和我們一樣老練，也很擅長我們所做的事情。它使我們有可能獲得份額，為客戶提供其他人無法提供的東西，並最終鞏固我們在許多這些市場中的領導地位。

If I could ask another. The November 28 business segment asset allocation was $1.8 billion for steel processing $1.4 billion for the other 3 segments and $0.2 billion for other, which I assume was corporate cash balances. Is it reasonable to expect the apportionment of debt and cash at the split up to be proportional to the assets?

如果我可以問另一個。 11 月 28 日的業務部門資產配置為鋼加工 18 億美元，其他 3 個部門 14 億美元，其他 2 億美元，我認為這是公司現金餘額。期望拆分時債務和現金的分配與資產成正比是否合理？

Not exactly. The way that we're thinking about it is that the cash that we build -- the debt that we have today is not portable per se, at least most of it. But our plan is to set up both companies to be successful, John, and that will mean as Andy indicated, low leverage and ample liquidity. The details of that will be flushed out much closer to the actual spin, but rest assured, we're going to feel pretty good, not only with -- on those balance sheets, but on the debt relative to that business' profitability.

不完全是。我們考慮的方式是，我們積累的現金——我們今天擁有的債務本身是不可轉移的，至少其中大部分是不可轉移的。但我們的計劃是讓兩家公司都取得成功，約翰，這將意味著正如安迪所指出的那樣，低杠桿和充足的流動性。其細節將在更接近實際旋轉時被清除，但請放心，我們會感覺非常好，不僅是在那些資產負債表上，而且在與該業務盈利能力相關的債務上。

If you'll be patient with another question or 2. Maybe the conventional wisdom in the demerger is that steel prices are volatile and steel processing might have a discounted valuation, but the other business is a premium separated from steel processing. As I look back at the history of the company, there were many acquisitions into new areas. And one of the strengths of Worthington is when the acquisitions didn't work you made them shrink or go away really fast. The consumer Building Products company probably has a bigger universe for potential acquisitions. Maybe that's a source of risk thinking back to custom cabs and energy storage tanks or 30, 40 years ago, injection molding plastic and dashboards for cars and all these ideas that fell by the wayside. Could you tell us a little bit about the acquisition policies for the 2 companies and how you roll that risk?

如果你耐心回答另一個問題或 2。也許分拆的傳統觀點是鋼鐵價格波動，鋼鐵加工可能有折扣估值，但另一項業務是與鋼鐵加工分開的溢價。當我回顧公司的歷史時，有許多新領域的收購。 Worthington 的優勢之一是，當收購不起作用時，你會讓它們迅速收縮或消失。消費品建築產品公司可能有更大的潛在收購空間。也許這是風險的來源，回想起定制的駕駛室和儲能罐，或者 30、40 年前，汽車的注塑成型塑料和儀表板，以及所有這些被擱置的想法。你能告訴我們一些關於這兩家公司的收購政策以及你如何規避風險嗎？

Yes. And I think, John, you've heard us talk about M&A is 1 of the 3 value drivers of how we want to grow the business as it exists today and will be for both companies going forward. I will tell you and Tim can comment on this if he like when I'm done. For the steel company, we've always believed that they are a natural consolidator of the steel processing space, and they will continue to look opportunistically to do that. But the great thing about where they are positioned today is with our laser welding business and with our electrical steel laminations business, Tempel that we acquired a year or so ago, there are significant organic growth opportunities in that business that will require capital. And so while they will continue to look to do M&A transactions, I think they will be equally as many or more organic growth opportunities to expand and grow that business. That's one of the things I'm very excited about with the steel company is it actually is very well positioned to be a growth business in an industry that really historically has not been. So that's exciting.

是的。而且我認為，約翰，你聽說過我們談論併購是我們希望如何發展現有業務的 3 個價值驅動因素之一，並將對兩家公司的未來發展產生影響。我會告訴你，如果蒂姆願意，他可以在我完成後對此發表評論。對於鋼鐵公司，我們一直認為他們是鋼鐵加工領域的天然整合者，他們將繼續尋找機會這樣做。但他們今天所處的位置最重要的是我們的激光焊接業務和我們一年左右前收購的電工鋼疊片業務 Tempel，該業務存在重要的有機增長機會，需要資金。因此，儘管他們將繼續尋求進行併購交易，但我認為他們將同樣有更多或更多的有機增長機會來擴大和發展該業務。這是我對這家鋼鐵公司感到非常興奮的事情之一，它實際上非常有能力成為一個歷史上從未有過的行業中的成長型企業。所以這很令人興奮。

With respect to new Worthington, the 3 business segments that we operate in, Consumer Products, Building Products and Sustainable Energy, there are going to be acquisition opportunities. I would suggest that we won't be doing what I would call major transformative M&A in any of those segments. What we will be doing is looking to buy attractive tuck-in acquisitions that fit strategically with the product portfolios, that we have that are either new brands or consolidation opportunities where we can consolidate our leadership position in the markets that we operate in.

關於新沃辛頓，我們經營的 3 個業務部門，消費品、建築產品和可持續能源，將有收購機會。我建議我們不會在任何這些領域進行我稱之為重大變革性併購的事情。我們將要做的是尋求購買有吸引力的收購，這些收購在戰略上與產品組合相匹配，我們擁有新品牌或整合機會，我們可以鞏固我們在我們經營的市場中的領導地位。

But I don't -- you reference cabs and I don't anticipate you will see us venturing into businesses that are significantly different than what we're doing today. Just because the opportunity set in consumer and building products is pretty substantial from our perspective.

但我不——你提到出租車，我不認為你會看到我們冒險進入與我們今天所做的截然不同的業務。只是因為從我們的角度來看，消費和建築產品中的機會非常可觀。

And can I add on to that, Andy ? Yes. I think Andy hit it right on the head. We will be selective in the Steel Processing business unit going forward and disciplined in how we go about acquisitions, but we've got lots of runway related to electric vehicles to the transformer market, which Tempel is also involved in. The grid needs to be modernized and grown to be able to handle all these EVs that are being forecasted in the future. So we think the future is pretty bright from an organic growth and strategic capital perspective.

我可以補充一點嗎，安迪？是的。我認為安迪正中要害。我們將在未來的鋼鐵加工業務部門中有選擇性，並在我們如何進行收購時遵守紀律，但我們有很多與電動汽車相關的跑道進入變壓器市場，Tempel 也參與其中。電網需要經過現代化和發展，能夠處理未來預測的所有這些電動汽車。因此，從有機增長和戰略資本的角度來看，我們認為未來是非常光明的。

Finally, could you just explain, we've gone 3 straight quarters without any share repurchases even though we ended February 28 with almost $5 a share in cash.

最後，您能否解釋一下，我們已經連續 3 個季度沒有任何股票回購，儘管我們在 2 月 28 日結束時每股現金接近 5 美元。

Yes. I mean, John, as you know, historically, we have pursued what I refer to as a balanced capital allocation approach. We've been a dividend paying company where we've historically, at least over the last 10 or 12 years, paid out around 25% of our earnings. We have complemented shareholder-friendly activities with share repurchases. We've leaned in heavier when we think -- when we thought it made more sense that the valuation was more attractive. And then we've balanced that with growth through CapEx and M&A. The reason we have not been buying stock in the last year has nothing to do with value. We actually believe there's a tremendous amount of value right now, and that's why we're pursuing the Worthington 24-spin transaction.

是的。我的意思是，約翰，正如你所知，從歷史上看，我們一直追求我所說的平衡資本配置方法。我們一直是一家派息公司，從歷史上看，至少在過去 10 或 12 年裡，我們支付了大約 25% 的收益。我們通過股票回購來補充股東友好活動。當我們認為 - 當我們認為估值更具吸引力更有意義時，我們已經傾向於更重。然後我們通過資本支出和併購實現了增長平衡。我們去年沒有購買股票的原因與價值無關。我們實際上相信現在有巨大的價值，這就是我們追求 Worthington 24-spin 交易的原因。

However, one of our priorities here is to make sure that when we do launch these 2 separate companies that they are very well capitalized to take advantage of the opportunities in front of them. And we believe the opportunities are immense for both businesses. So we want to start out with low leverage and lots of liquidity to sort of jump on those opportunities. And so that's why we've been focused on building cash. I do think even though it's a little frustrating because we do think there's a lot of value in our stock right now, it's rewarding to see how much cash we actually have been able to generate during the past year. So -- it's been a good thing for us.

然而，我們的首要任務之一是確保當我們推出這兩家獨立的公司時，他們有足夠的資本來利用他們面前的機會。我們相信這兩家公司的機會都是巨大的。因此，我們希望從低杠桿和大量流動性開始，以抓住這些機會。這就是為什麼我們一直專注於建立現金。我確實認為，儘管這有點令人沮喪，因為我們確實認為我們的股票現在有很多價值，但看到我們在過去一年中實際能夠產生多少現金是值得的。所以 - 這對我們來說是一件好事。

We'll take our next question from Phil Gibbs at KeyBanc.

我們將接受 KeyBanc 的 Phil Gibbs 的下一個問題。

So on the FIFO, this is a swing, right? And so you're basically saying you're moving from a $25 million headwind to a $25-plus million tailwind. I just wanted to get that part straight. And then as it relates to steel having risen aggressively in the last several months, do you feel like there was any sort of pull forward you may have seen in the February quarter from that? And is there any potential margin challenges in the nonsteel processing businesses from the rise that we've seen?

所以在 FIFO 上，這是一個擺動，對嗎？所以你基本上是說你正在從 2500 萬美元的逆風轉向 25 多萬美元的順風。我只是想弄清楚那部分。然後，由於它與鋼鐵在過去幾個月中大幅上漲有關，您是否覺得在 2 月季度您可能已經看到了任何形式的推動？從我們所看到的增長中，非鋼加工業務是否存在任何潛在的利潤挑戰？

Yes, Phil, this is Tim. A couple of things. One, based on what we know today and based on how fast steel prices have risen, we had $27 million of estimated holding losses this quarter. So yes, we do plan to see that or we expect to see that flip to a positive this next quarter. So yes, that's what we were trying to get across a little bit earlier. As far as pull ahead, we thought that would happen. We didn't see a lot of that so far because a lot of the steel price increases were related to spot prices and contract guys were staying with the contracts they had negotiated before. So we didn't really see a lot of pull ahead.

是的，菲爾，這是蒂姆。幾件事。第一，根據我們今天所知道的情況以及鋼鐵價格上漲的速度，我們本季度的估計持有損失為 2700 萬美元。所以是的，我們確實計劃看到這一點，或者我們希望在下個季度看到這種情況轉為積極。所以是的，這就是我們試圖更早一點傳達的內容。就向前推進而言，我們認為那會發生。到目前為止，我們並沒有看到很多這樣的情況，因為很多鋼材價格上漲都與現貨價格有關，而合同商則繼續遵守他們之前談判達成的合同。所以我們並沒有真正看到很多領先。

And then, Phil, to your question, it's Joe. On Consumer and Building Products, those input costs we tried really hard to hedge a majority of those purchases. And so the decline in steel prices at the end of last year, and then the rise the last several months. It shouldn't really have any kind of material negative impact on those prices. We hope that over time, we get to do better than we have been historically on those hedges.

然後，菲爾，關於你的問題，是喬。在消費品和建築產品方面，我們非常努力地嘗試對沖大部分採購的投入成本。所以鋼材價格在去年年底下降，然後在最近幾個月上漲。它不應該對這些價格產生任何實質性的負面影響。我們希望隨著時間的推移，我們能夠比以往在這些對沖上做得更好。

And then as it relates to net working capital. I think this quarter was a nice positive for you tail end of the steel price declines. But what does net working capital look like for you all just from the source or use and the make order or as far as you can see?

然後與淨營運資金有關。我認為本季度對鋼鐵價格下跌的尾聲來說是一個很好的積極因素。但是，僅從來源或使用和製造訂單或就您所見，淨營運資金對你們來說是什麼樣的？

There's a little bit of a lag, as you know, through the balance sheet, but the higher steel prices will take up some working capital. The offset to that, obviously, with Q4 and Q1 typically being seasonally stronger as we should see higher volumes running through the P&L.

正如你所知，通過資產負債表會有一點滯後，但較高的鋼鐵價格將佔用一些營運資金。顯然，第四季度和第一季度的抵消通常是季節性的，因為我們應該看到更高的交易量貫穿損益表。

And then lastly, anything from a high level that surprised you all good or bad in the February quarter? I know you all had an outlook for (inaudible) improved earnings, but anything that surprise either way relative to what you were thinking a few months ago?

最後，在 2 月季度有什麼讓你們感到驚訝的高水平事情是好是壞？我知道你們都對（聽不清）收益改善有預期，但與幾個月前的想法相比，有什麼令人驚訝的嗎？

Yes. Maybe just one comment. If you sort of take it month-to-month because of the inventories that have been depleted at our customers the latter half of 2022, the bottoming of steel prices, December was a little bit slow. And we anticipated that January and February would pick up. But you never know for sure until it actually happens, but that's exactly the way this played out. And there is a debate going on around the impact of a lot of the noise in the financial markets around what that's going to mean for the economy.

是的。也許只有一個評論。如果由於我們客戶的庫存在 2022 年下半年耗盡（鋼價觸底）而按月計算，那麼 12 月的增長速度有點慢。我們預計 1 月和 2 月會好轉。但在它真正發生之前你永遠無法確定，但這正是結果的方式。圍繞金融市場中大量噪音的影響，圍繞這對經濟意味著什麼展開了一場辯論。

And I think as of right now, we haven't seen a big impact on our business. It's kind of a return to normal seasonal patterns and -- with maybe some changes driven by the steel price volatility, right? When steel prices decline a lot, if you can, you hold off buying steel because you think it's going down. When steel prices rapidly rise, people then would buy typically try and buy ahead where it made sense, but you heard Tim say we didn't see a ton of that, at least in the first couple of months of the calendar year. It will be interesting to see what happens with steel prices over the next quarter or 2. If you look at the futures curve, obviously, people anticipate that, that's going to settle back down. So we'll see.

而且我認為截至目前，我們還沒有看到對我們的業務產生重大影響。這是一種回歸正常的季節性模式，並且 - 可能有一些變化是由鋼鐵價格波動驅動的，對吧？當鋼鐵價格大幅下跌時，如果可以的話，你會推遲購買鋼鐵，因為你認為它會下跌。當鋼鐵價格迅速上漲時，人們通常會在合理的時候提前購買，但你聽說蒂姆說我們沒有看到太多這樣的情況，至少在日曆年的前幾個月是這樣。看看下一季度或第二季度鋼鐵價格會發生什麼將會很有趣。如果你看一下期貨曲線，顯然，人們預計，這將會回落。所以我們拭目以待。

(Operator Instructions) There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the conference back over to Andy Rose for any closing remarks.

（操作員說明）目前沒有其他問題。我想將會議轉回給 Andy Rose 作閉幕詞。

Great. Thanks for joining us today, and we'll look forward to speaking to everyone in June. Have a great day.

偉大的。感謝您今天加入我們，我們期待在 6 月與大家交談。祝你有美好的一天。

Thanks, everybody.

謝謝大家。

And that does conclude today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。