Ecovyst Inc.(纽约证券交易所代码:ECVT)公布了其2024年第二季度的财务业绩，显示调整后的EBITDA为5700万美元，销售额总额为2.12亿美元，比去年有所下降。尽管在某些细分市场需求强劲，但该公司在可持续燃料和排放控制的催化剂材料方面面临销售下滑，导致这些产品的销售预期下调。战略举措，包括股票回购和对Pajarito粉末的股权投资，以及一项修订后的定期贷款，预计将降低利息成本。Ecovyst对其长期增长保持乐观，特别是在可持续航空燃料和先进回收技术方面，尽管近期存在不利因素，并且由于需求疲软和飓风Beryl的影响而修改了年度展望。

关键的外卖

• Ecovyst在2024年第二季度调整后的EBITDA为5700万美元，销售额为2.12亿美元。
• 对再生服务和原硫酸的需求强劲。
• 可持续燃料和排放co催化剂材料的销售控制应用程序被拒绝。
• 公司完成了战略举措，扩大了产能。
• 由于市场变化，Ecovyst调整了销售预期条件和减少的激励。
• 该公司在本季度结束时拥有8,300万美元现金和1.56亿美元可用流动资金。

公司前景

• Ecovyst预计将会对重建和治疗服务的需求持续强劲。
• 该公司预计，在催化剂销售和先进回收技术的推动下，未来两年的销售额将有所增长。
• 预计到今年年底，净债务杠杆率将达到3倍左右。
• 预计2024年产生的自由现金流将同比增加。

悲观的亮点

• 与去年同期相比，第二季度的销售额下降了1700万美元。
• 由于需求疲软和飓风Beryl，该公司下调了今年的销售额并调整了EBITDA指导。
• 可持续燃料和排放公司催化剂销售的逆风预计控制将持续12至18个月。

乐观的亮点

• Ecovyst看到了可持续航空燃料的增长潜力。
• 该公司已采取措施降低成本，并推迟了一些支出。
• 长期增长机会仍然是Ecovyst关注的焦点。

错过

• 预计在今年剩余时间内，可持续燃料业务占总销售额的比例将低于10%。
• 催化剂材料的销售下降影响了整体财务业绩。

问答集锦

• Ecovyst解决了RIN价格下跌对其Zeolyst业务的影响，并指出由于持续的低价格而推迟投资的长期决定。
• 该公司并没有失去可持续燃料和排放公司的客户控制空间。

以其目前的财务状况和战略计划，Ecovyst正在一个充满挑战的市场环境中航行。该公司优化资产负债表和投资增长领域的努力反映了其对长期成功的承诺，即使它面临短期障碍。金融界将密切关注Ecovyst继续适应市场动态，并努力实现其修订后的年度目标。

InvestingPro见解

Ecovyst Inc.(纽约证券交易所代码:ECVT)第二季度的业绩和战略举措引起了金融界的关注，最近来自InvestingPro的数据更深入地了解了该公司的地位。Ecovyst的市值约为7.7916亿美元，从其财务指标和股票表现来看，该公司正努力应对市场挑战。

InvestingPro Data显示，Ecovyst的市盈率(P/E)为13.93，这表明其估值可能会吸引那些寻找潜在被低估股票的投资者。截至2024年第二季度，该公司过去12个月的收入为6.8949亿美元，尽管同期收入增长略有下降，降幅为-9.31%。尽管面临这些挑战，Ecovyst的毛利率仍然保持在28.05%的强劲水平，表明相对于其销售而言，其成本管理是有效的。

两个InvestingPro提示突出了Ecovyst当前形势的关键方面。首先，管理层一直在积极回购股票，这可能表明他们对公司未来的业绩和股东价值的潜在增长充满信心。其次，该股目前的交易价格接近52周低点，分析师预测该公司今年将实现盈利，这可能为投资者提供一个买入机会。

InvestingPro平台提供了对Ecovyst的更多见解，共有11条InvestingPro提示可供用户寻求更深入的分析。这些提示提供了对Ecovyst财务状况、股票表现和市场预期的全面看法，这对于做出明智的投资决策是非常宝贵的。有关更详细的提示和数据，投资者可以访问http://k1.fpubli.cc/file/upload/202408/05/xndvgmpp5hg。PQ Group Holdings (ECVT) 2024年第二季度:

接线员:早上好。我叫麦迪逊，今天由我担任您的会议接线员。欢迎参加Ecovyst 2024年第二季度财报电话会议和网络直播。请注意，今天的电话正在录音中，应该会持续大约一个小时。目前，所有参与者都被置于仅听模式，以防止任何背景噪音。发言人发言后，将有问答时间。[接线员说明]我现在把会议交给投资者关系部主任吉恩·谢尔斯。请继续。

吉恩·谢尔斯:谢谢，接线员。早上好，欢迎参加Ecovyst 2024年第二季度财报电话会议。今天早上和我通话的是Kurt Bitting, Ecovyst的首席执行官;以及Ecovyst首席财务官Mike Feehan。今天上午，我们将按照事先准备好的发言，回答大家的提问。请注意，今天分享的一些信息是前瞻性信息，包括有关公司财务和经营业绩、战略、预期的最终用户需求趋势和2024年财务展望的信息。此信息受风险和不确定性的影响，可能导致实际结果和公司计划的实施发生重大变化。今天分享的任何前瞻性信息仅适用于此日期。这些风险在公司提交给美国证券交易委员会的文件中进行了讨论。今天的电话会议中提到的非公认会计准则财务指标与其相应的公认会计准则指标的对账可以在我们的收益发布和演示文稿中找到，这些材料发布在我们的网站@ecovyst.com的投资者部分。我现在把电话交给库尔特·比廷。

Kurt Bitting: Thank you, Gene and good morning. Overall, we are pleased with our results for the second quarter of 2024. We delivered financial results above our forecast and we made solid progress on a number of strategic initiatives. During the quarter, we continued to see strong demand for regeneration services supported by high refinery utilization and favorable economics for alkylate with regeneration volume up compared to the second quarter of 2023. The Sales volume was also look for virgin sulfuric acid and treatment services compared to the year ago quarter. And in our Advanced Materials and Catalysts segment, sales of advanced silicone increased compared to the second quarter of 2023 on higher sales of chemical catalysts. However, during the quarter, we saw lower sales of catalyst materials used in the production of sustainable fuels & emission control applications. All in, for the second quarter, we delivered adjusted EBITDA of $57 million. In terms of the continued strategic positioning of Ecovyst, it was a very successful quarter. By the end of May, we had completed the 4 turnarounds planned for eco services in the first half of the year. The work also progressed for our polyethylene catalyst production capacity expansion at our Kansas City site. Reflecting our balanced approach to capital allocation, during the quarter, we also repurchased 552,000 shares of Ecovyst common stock for a total cost of $5 million. In addition, as we announced last week, our work during the quarter culminated in an equity investment in Pajarito Powders, a company with expertise and supports and catalysts for green hydrogen and fuel cells. This transaction is consistent with our stated strategy of leveraging our material science capabilities as we continue to position Ecovyst for growth in emerging markets. Through this investment, we gain access to and support for scaling technologies that we believe will position us to support and participate in future growth of hydrogen economy as we believe hydrogen produced through electrolysis can be widely used as a low carbon fuel for heavy-duty transportation and industrial applications. Lastly, during the quarter, we strengthened our balance sheet through an amendment and extension of our term loan facility which reduced the interest rate spread and extended the maturity of the facility until June of 2031. As we turn to Slide 6, I'll discuss our near-term demand outlook. In Ecoservices, we anticipate a favorable demand forecast for regeneration, treatment services and catalyst activation throughout the remainder of the year. We anticipate that regeneration will continue to experience strong demand, driven by persistent high refinery utilization rates and healthy afloat margins. Our Treatment Services segment is expected to continue to experience high volumes as it serves as a sustainable waste management solution for numerous chemical producers along the Gulf Coast. And despite anticipating a dip in utilization rates among renewable diesel manufacturers, we are observing a rising need for ex-situ catalyst activation which is expected to contribute to a buoyant outlook for 1032 in the latter half of the year. For virgin sulfuric acid, we expect continued positive demand for mining with copper demand sustained by continued expansion of copper mining projects in North America and borates demonstrating a normalization of inventories and stable demand. And even though the nylon industry's rebound remains subdued, we anticipate a year-over-year increase in virgin sulfuric acid sales for the nylon end use in 2024. For the remainder of our virgin sulfuric acid sales which supports a wide range of industrial end uses, including chlor-alkali and chemicals, water treatment, paper and packaging and spot sales into various end uses, we have adopted a more conservative view of demand and pricing for the second half of 2024. Turning to Advanced Materials and Catalysts. In advanced silicones, global polyethylene demand is expected to be up 2% to 3% in 2024. However, the demand outlook continues to vary by geography. In North America, demand is positive with operating rates expected to approach 90% supported by exports. Producers in North America and in the Middle East, where we have sales concentration continue to have a cost advantage with lower energy and feedstock costs and we expect these geographies to benefit disproportionately as global polyethylene demand recovers. However, projections for Europe reflect flat demand with lower operating rates of approximately 80%. And in Asia, operating rates also continue in the low 80% range with subdued demand and new capacity continuing to come online. Overall, we continue to expect our sales of polyethylene catalysts and supports to be up in 2024 relative to 2023 but the magnitude of the increase remains dependent upon global demand conditions as well as customer sourcing and inventory decisions. For the Zeolyst Joint Venture, we now see weaker demand for catalyst materials used in sustainable fuel production and emission control application and this has led us to revise our sales expectations for these end uses in the second half of this year. As a reminder, we provide catalyst materials that are used in the dewaxing phase of renewable diesel production and these catalyst materials sales are primarily made to the licensors of sustainable fuels production technology. Market conditions and customer sentiment evolved rapidly over the course of the second quarter and this is leading to our revised outlook for sales into renewable diesel production. Specifically, the pricing and value for renewable identification numbers or RINs which are a key incentive for renewable diesel producers declined significantly. RIN credits traded above $1.50 for several years, contributing positively to the overall economics for renewable diesel production, particularly for smaller producers. However, with the development of an imbalance between renewable diesel production and demand, value of RINs credits has decreased significantly recently falling below $0.50. With the lower pricing for RINs credits and with increased feedstock costs and higher overall costs due to inflation, many producers are re-evaluating production economics. As a result, there has been a slowdown in new capacity additions and with lower near-term operating rates; we expect catalyst light to be extended, pushing out sales associated with periodic catalyst change-outs. Longer term, we continue to believe the leading technologies offered by our Zeolyst Joint Venture position us well to participate in the future growth opportunities for sustainable fuel production. While near-term economics for renewable diesel were challenged, we believe that demand for our catalyst materials will improve as producers retrofit the renewable diesel processes and add new units to produce sustainable aviation fuels, where demand is expected to triple by 2030 due to both governmental mandates and carbon reduction targets set by the airlines. We have also revised our expectations for sales of our catalyst used in emission control applications for the balance of the year. Economic conditions in the EU, the U.K. and in the U.S., including the effects of inflation and higher interest rates has adversely impacted purchasing activity for heavy-duty diesel vehicles. For the month of May, sales of Class 8 trucks in the U.S. were down 18% compared to May of 2023, with May 2024 representing the 10th consecutive month of sales declines for Class 8 vehicles. Year-to-date, sales of these heavy-duty vehicles in the U.S. are down 15%. In addition, although Euro 7 legislation was previously expected to go into effect in 2025, the EU has softened NOx reduction requirements and has delayed the implementation of Euro 7 for heavy-duty vehicles for 4 years, significantly impacting vehicle sales in 2024. Given the delay in both the implementation of Euro 7 and the need for compliance with more fuel emission requirements, there is little incentive to upgrade truck fleet now and this is having an adverse impact on our catalyst material sales for emission control applications for the balance of 2024. For sales of hydrocracking catalysts, we continue to see good demand which led to a strong first half and expect a similarly strong second half for 2024. However, as we discussed in our first quarter earnings call, with 2023 representing a peak year in the replacement cycle for hydrocracking catalysts, we expect overall sales of hydrocracking catalysts in 2024 to be below peak levels in 2023. And as we look into the future, we still have a positive outlook for catalyst sales and advanced recycling technologies. We expect sales to grow over the next 2 years. We are aligned with key players in the industry and expect a dozen advanced recycling plants to be built and commissioned in the next few years. I'll now turn the call over to Mike for a more detailed discussion of our financial results for the second quarter.

Michael Feehan: Thank you, Kurt. Ecovyst sales for the second quarter of 2024, including our proportionate 50% share sales from the Zeolyst Joint Venture were $212 million, down $17 million compared to the second quarter of 2023. Eco Services benefited from strong demand for regeneration services and virgin sulfuric acid. And sales in advanced silicas increased on higher chemical catalysts. However, lower net pricing in Ecoservices associated with the timing and contractual pass-through effect of lower variable costs as well as lower sales for catalyst materials used in the production of sustainable fuels & emission control applications drove the overall lower sales year-over-year. Second quarter 2024 adjusted EBITDA was $57 million, down compared to $79 million in the second quarter of 2023, reflecting the lower sales within the Zeolyst Joint Venture, unfavorable net pricing, mostly attributable to the timing of the contractual cost pass-through effect and higher planned turnaround and maintenance costs in Ecoservices. This was partially offset by the higher sales volume in both Ecoservice and Advanced silicas. Moving to the next slide. The unfavorable net pricing impact is reflected in the price and variable cost drivers, netting to a $13 million negative impact on our adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter. The lower net pricing was driven primarily by the timing and the mechanical contractual pass-through of certain costs, including energy and other index costs. Our pricing continues to exceed our variable costs. The unfavorable variance is a result of the period-over-period comparison and the quarterly timing lag. Overall, volume and mix were lower in the quarter as the lower sales in the Zeolyst Joint Venture more than offset the increase in regeneration services and virgin sulfuric acid. The balance of the decrease is largely associated with higher costs, including the costs associated with the planned turnaround and maintenance activity, higher networking costs and costs associated with our reliability initiatives which we had previously discussed. Turning to the segment results. I'll start with the highlights for Ecoservices. Ecoservices sales for the second quarter of 2024 were $154 million, down 3%. Sales volume was up for regeneration services, virgin sulfuric acid and treatment services. However, the sales contribution from higher volume in Ecoservices was offset by the unfavorable net pricing in the quarter. Looking to the second half of the year, we believe headwinds associated with the unfavorable timing and contractual pass-through effect of certain costs are largely behind us. Second quarter 2024 adjusted EBITDA for Ecoservices was just under $50 million. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin was primarily driven by the net pricing impact, the higher planned turnaround and maintenance costs and networking costs to support the turnarounds. These items were only partially offset by the benefit of higher volume in the quarter. Sales for advanced silicas of $29 million were up nearly $3 million on higher sales of chemical catalysts. However, sales for the Zeolyst Joint Venture decreased $16 million on lower sales of catalyst materials used in the production of sustainable fuels & emission control applications. As Kurt noted, we now expect softer demand for catalyst materials used for sustainable fuel & emission control in the second half of the year. Adjusted EBITDA for Advanced Materials and Catalyst was just under $15 million. The decrease compared to the second quarter of 2023 was primarily driven by the lower volume in the Zeolyst Joint Venture. Turning to cash and leverage on the next slide. Ecovyst continues to have strong cash generation capability which we believe will continue to support a balanced approach to capital allocation. For the first 6 months of the year, adjusted free cash flow was just over $14 million compared to $2 million for the first half of 2023, reflecting higher dividends received from the Zeolyst Joint Venture in the first quarter, offsetting the lower earnings, higher interest and taxes. During the quarter, we refinanced our term loan, extending the maturity to 2031 and reducing the interest rate spread by 35 basis points, saving over $3 million in annual interest costs. In light of this transaction, our balance sheet is in exceptionally strong shape. We continue to have interest rate caps in place that limit our interest rate exposure and our average cost of debt is expected to be approximately 5.5% during 2024. During the second quarter, we repurchased 552,000 shares of our stock at an average price of $9.05 per share for a total of $5 million. We ended the second quarter with $83 million of cash and have available liquidity of $156 million. Considering the use of cash for refinancing our term loan and share repurchases and with the reduction in the trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA, our net debt leverage ratio at quarter end was 3.3x. With the expected cash generation over the balance of the year and excluding any impact of share repurchases or M&A activity, we expect to end the year with a leverage ratio of approximately 3x. As noted in this morning's earnings release, we have revised our outlook for the balance of the year, considering the expected softer demand for sales of catalyst materials used for the production of sustainable fuel& emission control applications and to reflect the moderate impacts of Hurricane Beryl and a more cautious view with regard to industrial demand, particularly for sales versus sulfuric acid. The revisions to our full year 2024 expectations are reflected on Slide 13 with the revised outlook as follows. We now expect that GAAP sales will be in the range of $700 million to $740 million, $15 million lower at the midpoint compared to our prior guidance range. With the revised outlook for catalyst sales used in the production of sustainable fuel& emission control applications, we now expect sales for the Zeolyst Joint Venture to be between $115 million to $135 million, down $30 million at the midpoint. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $230 million to $245 million. In terms of segment expectations; for the full year 2024, we expect adjusted EBITDA for Ecoservices will be in the range of $195 million to $205 million. Advanced Materials and Catalyst is expected to be in the range of $65 million to $70 million and we continue to expect our corporate cost to be around $30 million on an annual basis. We have revised our guidance for free cash flow to a range of $75 million to $85 million, down $15 million at the midpoint. But we are also providing full year guidance for adjusted net income to be in the range of $53 million to $74 million and we expect adjusted diluted income per share to be in the range of $0.45 to $0.63. In terms of specific guidance for the third quarter, we expect third quarter adjusted EBITDA for Ecoservice to be between $53 million and $57 million. For Advanced Materials and Catalysts, we expect third quarter adjusted EBITDA to be between $13 million to $15 million. Assuming unallocated corporate expenses of $7 million to $8 million, we expect consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter to be between $58 million and $65 million. We expect adjusted net income of $14 million to $21 million with adjusted diluted income per share to be in the range of $0.12 to $0.18. I will now hand the call back to Kurt for some closing remarks.

Kurt Bitting:谢谢你，Mike。回顾我们2024年上半年的业绩，我相信Ecovyst团队在执行运营和战略计划方面做得很好，因为我们继续在不确定的经济环境中进行管理。在这样做的过程中，今年上半年，我们超出了内部对财务结果的预期。对于Ecoservices而言，我们相信Ecoservices所有产品的销量以及EBITDA将呈现同比增长。特别是对于我们的再生业务，尽管有迹象表明炼油利润率面临压力，但我要重申的是，对我们再生服务的需求更多地与阿巴拉契亚地区的盈利能力有关，预计到2024年，阿巴拉契亚地区的盈利能力将保持正值。对于初硫酸的销售，我们仍然预计2024年的销售量将比2023年有所增长，但我们对经济环境仍持谨慎态度，这将导致初硫酸的整体工业需求存在一些不确定性。虽然第二季度的生态服务业绩反映了与可变成本合同传递的时间效应相关的净定价压力，但我们相信，随着我们进入第三季度，这种时间效应的不利因素在很大程度上已经过去。随着我们对下半年可持续燃料和排放控制应用的销售前景进行了修订，我们的目标是通过降低制造成本和推迟支出来减轻近期市场疲软的影响。我们对Ecovyst在基础业务和新兴技术领域的增长前景充满热情。我们同样渴望支持我们的新合作伙伴，帕加里托粉末，因为他们开发和扩大他们的解决方案，燃料电池和绿色制氢。最后，即使我们修改了财务前景，我们预计2024年的自由现金流将同比增长，在我们为未来定位Ecovyst时，为资本配置提供持续的灵活性。虽然我们看到Zeolyst合资企业的两个特定终端用途近期疲软，但我们预计Ecoservices和高级硅胶的销量将适度增长，我们将继续执行我们已经制定的战略计划，以实现整个Ecovyst产品组合的长期增长。这个时候，我会让接线员打开电话热线回答问题。

接线员:[接线员说明]我们将回答BMO资本市场的约翰·麦克纳尔蒂的第一个问题。

身份不明的分析师:我是凯莱布，找约翰。我很好奇，低指引有多少与飓风Beryl的影响以及工业需求的下降以及可再生燃料前景的影响有关。

Kurt Bitting: Beryl的影响是几百万美元。在指导展望中，我们为这两项业务提供了一些范围。最终，大约一半来自生态服务方面，另一半来自AM&C方面。与工业方面处女的疲软有关，这主要是在生态服务行业。然后，当然，我们对可持续燃料的看法的改变，主要是与排放控制有关，这一点推动了AM&C的变化。

身份不明的分析师:就可再生燃料的逆风而言，你预计这种逆风会持续多久?是那种25岁的事吗?或者这只是未来几个季度的动态?

Kurt Bitting:我们的观点是可再生柴油市场是目前真正的驱动力。在未来的12到18个月里，它可能会面临逆风。RIN信用额度持续下降，这显然导致了生产商推迟投资决策，并降低了该领域的利用率，从而影响了催化剂的消费。我们认为，这种情况可能会持续12到18个月。然而，随着可持续航空燃料装置的建成，我们确实看到了未来的积极前景，预计2025年至2030年期间，可持续航空燃料的需求将增加两倍。因此，如果核心经济继续下去，将会有新的装置建成，需要我们生产的脱蜡催化剂材料，以及现有的可再生柴油装置。生产商和一些公司已经宣布，他们将把现有的可再生柴油机组转换为可持续航空机组。

接线员:下一个问题是KeyBanc资本市场的Aleksey Yefremov。

阿列克谢·叶夫列莫夫:你能提供一些参考资料吗?相对于经济衰退前的水平，你们现在的可再生柴油业务有多低?我不知道，是下降了20%还是100%?这里的压力更大吗?还是稍微稳定了一点，比如在接下来的12到18轮里横冲直撞?

Michael Feehan:之前，我们曾说过，可持续燃料业务约占我们AM&C业务总销售额的10%或略高于10%。现在我们看到，今年剩下的时间里，这一比例将低于10%，可以称之为中位数到高个位数的百分比。正如科特刚才提到的，我们所看到的是短期的。但从长期来看，我们确实看到了增长的能力，特别是在供需动态变化以及SAF业务方面。

Aleksey Yefremov:在Ecoservices的定价方面，上半年会有滞后效应。你认为他们会在下半场消失吗?如果不是，你认为什么时候会发生?你认为当我们不再看到滞后效应时，定价会是什么样子?

Michael Feehan:首先，我想说的是，我们对基本定价没有任何顾虑。我们的总体定价超过了可变成本，显然我们的业务是有利可图的。这很大程度上是机械传递的本质以及成本产生的时间。所以当你看一段时间的比较时，我们在去年第二季度有很大的收益。而今年，你只是没有同样的比较同样的好处。所以它看起来是一个很大的负数。因此，我们预计这种趋势不会持续下去。因此，你会看到今年剩余时间的影响要小得多，但上半年的整体影响确实会影响你的整体同比比较。但在下半年，你不会看到同样的动态。

接线员:下一个问题来自花旗银行的帕特里克·坎宁安。

帕特里克·坎宁安:我想我只是想继续讨论我们的可再生燃料和排放控制催化剂前景不佳的问题。首先，你能否谈谈监管方面的不确定性，无论是雪佛龙(NYSE:CVX)的决定、选举结果，还是客户对其购买模式的看法?然后就可再生燃料的冷却需求而言，是否有任何成本优化以及您如何定位您的业务?在未来的12到18个月里，你会因为预期的需求疲软而采取行动吗?

库尔特·比特廷:我认为就目前可再生或可持续燃料的宏观环境而言，在供需不平衡的情况下，费用驱动对RIN信用造成了压力，导致利用率降低，导致我们之前提到的投资推迟。在监管方面，我的意思是，还有一些问题需要解决，可再生能源配额，我想可再生能源数量的义务将在选举后确定。所以我认为这可能会对未来产生影响。环境保护署已经宣布，他们要等到大选结束后才会做出决定。所以我认为我们在这方面有点停滞不前。但从长远来看，正如我们提到的，我们确实看到了可持续航空燃料背后的动力，因为航空公司已经对他们打算购买的可持续航空燃料的数量做出了很大的承诺，而且欧盟已经实施了实际的法规，其他地方也正在考虑实施这些法规。在成本控制方面，我们已经在7月份采取措施，从那些受影响的，我想说的是，未充分利用的单位中去除成本，这些单位主要集中在Zeolyst合资企业，在排放控制和可再生燃料方面。从正确的角度来看，这可能相当于从生产计划中取消一个班次。我们还推迟了一些支出。但这些成本都不会集中在这些领域。现在，这些成本控制将影响我们在催化剂和先进材料领域正在进行的其他事情，我们正在扩大堪萨斯城的聚乙烯基地，所有这些事情仍将向前发展，这些成本降低根本不会影响到这一点。

帕特里克·坎宁安:然后，我想问迈克一个问题。你已经指出当杠杆低于3倍时，最终会降到25倍。你期望偿还的债务余额是多少?我知道你说过可能会在今年余下的时间里专注于有限的并购和回购?是否有一些独立的不利因素或有利因素会使现金转换更好，或者你的一些基础在哪里?

Michael Feehan:所以从杠杆的角度来看，我们预计今年年底的杠杆率将达到我们的3倍左右。我们确实预计我们的自由现金流仍将保持强劲。你会注意到我们的自由现金流指引下降了，但没有我们的EBITDA下降那么多。我们仍然相信我们有强大的现金产生能力，并预计它将高于去年。所以我们继续产生现金。我们的核心业务完好无损。正如库尔特所提到的，我们一直在做其他一些事情来推迟支出，并采取适当的行动来帮助支持这一代人向前发展。

接线员:下一个问题来自杰富瑞的劳伦斯·亚历山大。

劳伦斯·亚历山大:首先，我们可以看看你所做的调整，比如暂时性的和结构性的。当你考虑2025年EBITDA的基础是什么时，你认为我们应该使用什么?其次，考虑到你目前与客户的讨论，你能谈谈在未来四五年的时间里，SAF和回收方面的收入机会是什么吗?如果你的计划得以实施，行业也按预期发展，那么如果你在供应链中占有公平份额，你的收入机会是什么?

Michael Feehan:首先我要指出的是，我们不会在2025年提供任何更新的指导，但我要告诉你的是，从方向的角度来看，我们对今年的情况非常满意，从数量的角度来看，特别是在再生服务方面。我们确实看到了初硫酸的增长。不过，比今年早些时候要谨慎一些，但与去年相比，这仍然是一个良好的增长组成部分。我们的基本定价很坚挺，预计未来几年还会持续下去。我们的成本结构和Ecoservice现在管理在一个合适的水平上，我们谈到了与可靠性项目相关的更高成本和更高的周转成本，这将会缓和下来。因此，我们预计2025年将在18个月后继续朝着正确的方向发展。这将影响我们进入明年。我们的加氢裂化催化剂今年表现不错。它还没有达到去年2023年的峰值。然而，这是一个强劲的一年，我们继续看到明年也将是积极的。因此，在一些较新的领域，无论是先进的回收利用还是酶开发的功能化二氧化硅业务，这些都是积极的，这些都将使我们在2025年进入积极的自然状态。

Kurt Bitting:我想补充一句，Laurence。迈克提到了一些可持续航空燃料，我们看到了增长，正如我们所说的先进回收，有12个单位正在建设中。我们预计，我们的产品将从2025年和26年开始在这一领域得到普及，并将持续下去。我将回到生态服务方面。所有产品的销量都将逐年上升(技术难度)。

接线员:谢谢。下一个问题来自BWS Financial的Hamed Khorsand。

我想问一下Zeolyst到底发生了什么。你一直在做的字符串评论，RIN已经下降了一年多。那么现在有什么不同呢?是狂热者失去了一个客户吗?这听起来很突然，RIN是一个借口，只是听起来有点偏离[技术难度]。

接线员:请稍等。请等待我们解决技术问题。

Hamed Khorsand:你好?我们回来了吗?

接线员:您好。你就快来了。下一个问题来自BWS金融公司的Hamed Khorsand。

Hamed Khorsand:我想问的是关于可持续燃料方面和Zeolyst。这是否意味着客户流失，因为RIN价格已经下降了一年。所以我很惊讶过了一年你才看到任何影响。

Kurt Bitting:我认为我们在这个领域并没有失去客户。我的意思是，我们是脱蜡催化剂材料的领先供应商。但话虽如此，我们的最终客户，正如我们所说，往往是催化剂技术提供商或可再生能源生产商的技术提供商。因此，在大多数情况下，我们一旦被排除在实际的生产者本身之外，在某些情况下，他们是有意生产可再生能源的生产者或生产可再生燃料的综合炼油公司。我们对此的看法是信用额度下降，持续的性质导致了这些长期的决定，人们将推迟投资和催化剂的寿命，因为低利用率影响了催化剂的消耗，或者现在催化剂的使用导致了销售放缓，因为长期低利用率来自于RINs信用额度。一旦移到那里。我认为，更多的是由于长期的性质，即信用额度一直低于这个水平，这已经开始在一些活动中达到顶峰。

哈米德•霍桑:那么就贵公司的成本管理而言，它的可管理性如何?当销售回升时，贵公司在降低成本，这些成本是否也会回升?或者你能永远保持这些?

Kurt Bitting:很明显，我们会在这些回来的时候再看。我们确实有能力扩大规模。从本质上讲，我之前提到的是转移到受影响的生产地点或生产线的等量转移。所以我们有能力缩减规模这只是一种以什么速度回来的方式。我们现有的产能能应付吗?或者我们必须回去把这些成本加回来。因此，这实际上是销售恢复速度的一个函数。

接线员:[接线员说明]我们将回答CL King和David Silver的下一个问题。

大卫·西尔弗:我想我想问的第一个问题是，就你们的初榨酸产品的机会而言，我想听听您对今年下半年的看法。我认为这方面的需求一直在减弱，或者说几个季度以来并没有特别强劲?我只是在想你在指导中暗示的退让。库尔特，这个市场是否存在一种动态，当工业活动减弱时，可能会有一些新的参与者进入，换句话说，他们不能在内部使用他们所有的专属产品，然后他们倾向于寻找进入你喜欢的市场的渠道。换句话说，这只是你看到的需求下降吗?或者可能有一些更复杂的事情，在一些传统市场中，较弱的工业需求变成了一些加剧的竞争?

Kurt Bitting:所以在今年下半年，对于纯硫酸，我们预计销量将同比增长，Ecoservices下半年的EBITDA也将同比增长。话虽如此，当我们给出今年的初步指导时，我们计划在今年上半年实现4次转型。我们认为今年下半年将是一个复苏的市场。我们的大部分周转活动都完成了。我们有足够的数量来满足现货市场，我想说的是短期合约市场，如果工业活动健康，其他生产商也在好转，那么通常会有一个健康的现货市场来销售额外的材料，这些材料通常价格较高，只是因为它们的短期和机会主义性质。所以我们现在看到的只是总体上对整个工业环境的谨慎，并没有真正影响我们现有的需求，但它只是使那些边际的现货销售受到影响，我们通常有能力利用我们的规模。我们只是对我们捕捉这些人的能力持谨慎态度，因为他们可能不存在，因为现有的市场可能能够满足这种需求。

大卫·西尔弗:我想问您的第二件事可能是关于重做和延长定期贷款的决定。所以当我最初读到公告时，我注意到，那笔定期贷款实际上要到2028年左右才到期。实际上，你已经延长了3年。我的想法或假设是，重做定期贷款的动力会在你这边。银行总是急于赚取更多的费用，但这需要大量的时间和精力来处理大量的文书工作。但是也许，迈克，如果你不介意分享一下你的想法为什么现在或者六月中旬是延长这个期限的合适时机?除了每年节省300万美元左右的利息外，你还从那里得到了什么其他的关键特征，你认为这些特征是你当时考虑并做出决定的一部分?

Michael Feehan:所以市场上围绕公司和他们的资产负债表肯定存在一些问题。我们认为这是一个进入市场的机会。我们聘用的银行家在帮助我们把握时机方面做得很好。当然，我们能够以相对较低的成本做到这一点，将投票率延长了3年，并减少了总体利息支出，正如你提到的，每年大约300万美元。NPV和这样做的价值都很高。我们也感到非常非常满意，从资本配置的角度来看，这将有助于支持我们拥有强大的资产负债表的故事，产生现金，并有能力将这些现金用于我们未来需要做的事情。因此，我们认为现在是退出市场的合适时机，这让投资者感到放心，我们的资产负债表很强劲，也让我们能够继续执行我们的战略，在必要时增加利率上限。正如我们提到的，我们在未来几年对冲了75%的风险。因此，我们今年的加权平均资本成本约为5.5%。所以，这再次给投资者带来了安慰，因为他们知道，对我们这样的公司来说，利息不是一个大问题。

大卫·西尔弗:最后一个问题。根据最新的数据，你可能会，我不知道，在一段时间内收入可能会低于趋势水平。你对你们的主要资本支出有什么想法吗我特别想说的是堪萨斯城。但原来的时间线在这里还有意义吗?或者，如果我们确实进入了工业活动的疲软期，那可能会有一些不同的时间安排?

Kurt Bitting:显然，聚乙烯的增长率比过去的3%到4%要低一些。正如我们在电话会议上所说，目前这一比例约为2%至3%。我们确实预计聚乙烯催化剂的销量将同比增长。堪萨斯城的投资实际上与客户的承诺有关，他们同时也在建设资产，因此我们需要这些催化剂，据我们所知，他们正在前进。因此，我们目前无意减缓在堪萨斯城的扩张，只是我们有下游客户的承诺要满足。

大卫·西尔弗:好的。非常感谢。

接线员:谢谢。我们现在没有其他问题了。Ecovyst 2024年第二季度财报电话会议和网络直播结束。感谢您的参与，您可以随时断开连接。

本文是在人工智能的支持下生成的，并由编辑审阅。欲了解更多信息，请参阅我们的T&C。

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