Margin Sustainability
Q: Can current margins be sustained despite demand fluctuations?
A: Management believes that the strong margins can be sustained at current levels. In Q2, despite volumes not increasing much, margins held due to disciplined focus on value over volume. They expect to maintain margins around 30% for Metal Coatings and 20% for Precoat, acknowledging that fourth-quarter seasonality may cause slight variations.

Capital Allocation and Shareholder Returns
Q: What could lead to increased shareholder returns or dividend hikes?
A: The company is focused on paying down debt, targeting a leverage of 2x. While they are considering dividends as an opportunity, they prefer to prioritize acquisitions and investments in CapEx and technology for now.

M&A Opportunities
Q: What is the appetite and outlook for acquisitions?
A: The company is active in the M&A pipeline, particularly in the galvanizing sector, with interest in regions like the Northwest Rocky region and the Southeast. They are open to both one-off and multi-site opportunities but do not anticipate closing any deals before the end of the third quarter.

Sales and EBITDA Guidance
Q: What factors could influence meeting sales and EBITDA guidance?
A: Recent events, such as hurricanes, have mitigated previous concerns and may even turn positive. The low end of the sales range is considered out of the question, and they feel more confident about equity income from the Avail joint venture.

Zinc Price Volatility Impact
Q: How are zinc price fluctuations affecting pricing and outlook?
A: The company experiences a 6- to 8-month lag in zinc costs and expects costs to continue decreasing this year. Volatility can make it easier to adjust prices, and while current fluctuations aren't causing great concern, they are monitoring the situation closely, especially with annual commitments being negotiated soon.

Missouri Facility Ramp-up
Q: How will revenue ramp up from the new Missouri facility?
A: The line will start ramping at the start of fiscal year 2026 (March), but they don't expect to reach peak revenue in the first year. By the second year, they anticipate being at the lower end of the $50-60 million revenue estimate.

Electrical T&D Demand
Q: What is the visibility on the Electrical T&D side?
A: Demand in the Electrical T&D sector is very strong and continues to grow, especially with recent hurricane damage increasing the need for poles and towers.

Hurricane Impact
Q: How will recent hurricanes affect the business?
A: The company stands ready to support recovery and rebuilding efforts, with fabrication likely occurring outside the affected states. They expect a 3- to 6-month lag before seeing ramp-up from rebuilding work, which could positively impact demand and pricing.

Productivity and Market Share Gains
Q: Is there room for more productivity and market share gains?
A: There are still opportunities, especially on the Precoat side. In galvanizing, they are in mid- to later innings on productivity improvements but have room to focus on bringing lower-performing facilities up to higher standards. There are more market share gain opportunities on the Precoat side through customer conversions.

Data Center Demand
Q: How is data center demand benefiting the business?
A: The company benefits from data center construction as they paint panels used in these facilities. This represents a significant opportunity, with many data centers being built and more planned.

Interest Expense Expectations
Q: What are the expectations for interest expense in the back half?
A: The company refinanced their Term Loan B in September, reducing overall interest rates. About 50% of their debt is fixed through swap arrangements, resulting in a 75 basis point rate reduction, or around $7 million in savings.

Impact of Rate Cuts on Demand
Q: Have recent rate cuts affected demand?
A: The company has not seen significant changes yet. Customers are waiting on election outcomes and further rate cuts before adjusting CapEx plans, so impacts may be seen next year.