从各季度#博枫基建股东信# 中摘抄一些时效性不高的文字。使用有道机器翻译。$Brookfield基础设施(BIP)$
【Overview 概述】
Over the last several months, the rapid spread of the COVID-19 (“covid”) virus from country to country has meant that business conditions have changed, almost overnight. In an effort to contain its spread, governments everywhere have taken unprecedented measures including the implementation of travel bans, self-imposed quarantine periods and other mandated closures, which has materially disrupted economic activity.
过去几个月来，Covid -19病毒在国与国之间的迅速传播意味着商业环境几乎在一夜之间发生了变化。为了遏制疫情的传播，世界各地的政府都采取了前所未有的措施，包括实施旅行禁令、自我隔离期和其他强制关闭，这在很大程度上扰乱了经济活动。
In the first quarter of 2020, Brookfield Infrastructure generated Funds from Operations (FFO) totaling $358 million, an increase of 2% compared to the prior year. This solid performance is a demonstration of the quality of our asset base and the critical services they provide. The economic slowdown impacted our port assets early in the quarter, while other businesses were affected near the end of the quarter, as more stringent measures constraining personal mobility were enacted. The effective shutdown of the global economy created challenges for some of our businesses, however, we have robust preparedness measures in place across the organization to protect our people and we are working hard to maintain uninterrupted service across our portfolio.
在2020年第一季度，$Brookfield基础设施(BIP)$ 的运营现金流(FFO)总计3.58亿美元，与前一年相比增长了2%。这一坚实的业绩证明了我们的资产基础及其提供的关键服务的质量。
经济放缓在本季度初影响了我们的港口资产，而其他业务在接近季度末时受到影响，因为我们实施了更严格的限制个人流动性的措施。全球经济的有效关闭给我们的一些业务带来了挑战，然而，我们在整个组织中采取了强有力的准备措施来保护我们的员工，我们正在努力保持我们所有业务的不间断服务。
Our management team has experience operating through numerous periods of market dislocation and uncertainty. The distinguishing factors of this downturn are the suddenness and extent of the economic contraction that has taken place, the level of central bank and government intervention to support the economy, and the concurrent oil price decline.
我们的管理团队有经历过多次市场混乱和不确定时期的经验。此次经济衰退的显著因素是: 经济收缩的突然性和程度、央行和政府支持经济的干预力度，以及同时出现的油价下跌。
Regardless of the differences in both the cause and severity of the stress, Brookfield Infrastructure was well prepared financially to react to these challenging conditions. Our business strategy is underpinned by four main pillars: (i) maintain high levels of liquidity at all times, (ii) finance our assets with long duration, fixed rate debt, (iii) invest in high-quality, well-contracted assets, and (iv) diversify the portfolio by both geography and sector.
尽管压力的原因和严重程度存在差异，BIP在财务上做好了充分准备，以应对这些具有挑战性的情况。我们的业务战略由四个主要支柱支撑:
(i) 在任何时候保持高水平的流动性，
(ii) 通过长期固定利率债务为我们的资产提供融资，
(iii) 投资于高质量的、契约良好的资产，
(iv) 按地域和行业分散投资组合。
While it is too early to comment on learnings from the pandemic, our conviction regarding the attractiveness and sustainability of the infrastructure sector has been reinforced. It is with considerable pride that we can report that every operating business owned by Brookfield Infrastructure was deemed an essential service and thus has been operating throughout this period. Furthermore, our experience to date has shown that our utility, data and energy assets, which generate approximately 70% of our FFO, will be only modestly affected by the current environment. Our transportation infrastructure assets are experiencing near-term volume related variations due to the shutdown measures but the diversity and quality of these assets across rail, roads and ports is minimizing the overall impact to the company.
虽然现在就从大流行中吸取的教训发表评论还为时过早，但我们对基础设施部门的吸引力和可持续性的信念得到了加强。我们非常自豪地报告，BIP拥有的每一个运营业务都被视为必不可少的服务，因此在整个期间都在运营。
此外，到目前为止，我们的经验表明，我们的公用事业、数据和能源资产(约占我们FFO的70%)只会受到当前环境的轻微影响。
由于关闭措施，我们的交通基础设施资产正在经历近期的体量变化，但这些资产在铁路、公路和港口的多样性和质量正在将对公司的整体影响降至最低。
Efforts are already underway in many countries to restart the economy in a thoughtful, prudent manner. We believe that the most challenging period is behind us, but we are well prepared to react should the lockdowns persist or get reinstated due to a second wave of infections. During this period of stress, we have also been progressing the closing of our Indian telecom tower transaction and active in evaluating investment opportunities in the capital markets where we believe we will earn out-sized returns once the economy recovers. In aggregate, we expect to deploy over $700 million into these high value, strategic initiatives in the short term.
许多国家已经在以深思熟虑、审慎的方式努力重启经济。我们认为，最具挑战性的时期已经过去，但我们已做好充分准备，应对因第二波感染浪潮而持续或恢复封锁的情况。
在这段压力时期，我们也一直在推进完成印度电信塔交易，并积极评估资本市场的投资机会，我们相信一旦经济复苏，我们将在资本市场获得巨大回报。总的来说，我们预计在短期内为这些高价值的战略计划部署超过7亿美元。
【Resilient Business Model 有韧性的商业模式】
Investors often ask about the sustainability of cash flows both during and following economic downturns. Predicting future results is always precarious, but we have a few months of experience operating through this new environment which we can reflect on. The prevailing global economic environment will affect our near-term results although the diversity and contractual frameworks underpinning our assets should cushion the overall impact.
投资者经常询问在经济衰退期间和之后现金流的可持续性。预测未来的结果总是不可靠的，但我们有几个月在这种新环境下运作的经验，我们可以进行反思。当前的全球经济环境将影响我们近期的业绩，尽管支撑我们资产的多样性和合同框架应能缓冲总体影响。
Before delving into our operations, we would note that one factor affecting our near-term results is foreign exchange rates, particularly the strength of the U.S. dollar versus the Brazilian Real. We remain confident that foreign exchange rates will eventually normalize, but in the short run, converting results at some of our Brazilian investments into U.S. dollars will understate their strong performance in the local currency.
在深入研究我们的业务之前，我们要注意到影响我们近期业绩的一个因素是汇率，特别是美元对巴西雷亚尔的强势。我们仍然相信，汇率最终将恢复正常，但在短期内，将我们在巴西的一些投资的结果换算成美元，将低估它们以当地货币计算的强劲表现。
When we measure the resiliency of our business, we begin with our utilities, energy and data infrastructure operations, which contribute roughly 70% of our annual FFO. On a local currency basis, nearly all these businesses continue to perform in-line with budget. The stability and sustainability of these results reflect the regulated and capacity-based contractual frameworks of these operations. While a few of our assets in these segments have moderate exposure to market-sensitive revenues, the impact to our overall results is expected to be less than 1% annually, even in a scenario where covid has a prolonged effect.
当我们衡量我们业务的韧性时，我们从公用事业、能源和数据基础设施业务开始，这些业务约占我们年度FFO的70%。按当地货币计算，几乎所有这些企业都继续按照预算执行。这些结果的稳定性和可持续性反映了这些以规管和以容量为基础的合同框架。
虽然我们在这些领域的一些资产对市场敏感的收入有适度的敞口，但即使在新冠疫情长期影响的情况下，预计对我们整体业绩的影响每年也不到1%。
The only other variable that may affect results is the timing of commissioning our backlog of secured growth due to construction slowdowns or stoppages. As an example, the pace of construction at our U.K. regulated distribution business slowed significantly in April as a national construction shutdown was implemented across the U.K. and home builders suspended operations. While home construction is recommencing in May, activity levels may remain depressed for the balance of the year due to social distancing protocols.
可能影响业绩的唯一其他变量是由于施工放缓或停工而改变我们扩张项目的投入使用时点。举例来说，我们在英国受监管的分销业务的建设速度在4月份明显放缓，因为英国各地实施了全国性的建筑停工，住宅建筑商暂停了运营。虽然房屋建设将在5月重新开始，但由于社交距离协议，今年剩下的时间里活动水平可能会保持低迷。
The impact on our 2020 results is expected to be approximately 2%. More importantly, the potential decrease in FFO would only reflect a delay in the recognition of accounting revenue and not a permanent loss of cash flows or economic value as the backlog should eventually be added to rate base.
预计对我们2020年业绩的影响约为2%。更重要的是，潜在的运营现金流减少只会反映会计收入确认的延迟，而不是现金流或经济价值的永久损失，因为待完成项目最终还是会转换为规管资产。
Approximately 30% of our annual FFO comes from our transport segment, which includes rail, ports and toll roads. This is the segment where we have the most exposure to GDP sensitive volumes. Our rail assets, which generate approximately 50% of the FFO in our transport segment, have proven very resilient in the current environment, and ran on budget in the first quarter. For the month of April, rail volumes in aggregate are approximately 7% below planned levels. Our rail networks carry predominantly basic bulk goods (iron ore, agricultural and pulp & paper inputs and finished goods). Our exposure to inter-modal traffic, which has been more impacted by reduced trade flows, is relatively low.
我们每年约30%的运营现金流来自我们的运输部门，包括铁路、港口和收费公路。这是我们对GDP敏感运量敞口最大的领域。
我们的铁路资产，约占我们运输部门运营现金流的50%，在当前环境下非常有韧性，并在第一季度按预算运行。4月份，铁路总运量比计划水平低了约7%。我们的铁路网络主要运输基本的大宗商品(铁矿石、农产品、纸浆和纸张投入和制成品)。我们对更受贸易量减少影响的多式联运的敞口相对较低。
Our port assets are predominantly container terminals. We experienced volume declines of approximately 15% in the first quarter as container volumes from Asia were lower as a result of lockdowns in that key export region. Our port volumes started to rebound early in the second quarter as production from China came back online but are still running approximately 10% below plan today due to the general decline in economic activity. Overall, our port volumes have been relatively robust as our assets are predominantly in the U.K., Australia and California, where the goods we move are critical to the basic functioning of these local economies.
我们的港口资产主要是集装箱码头。第一季度，由于亚洲关键出口地区的封锁，来自亚洲的集装箱运量下降了约15%。随着中国生产的恢复，我们的港口吞吐量在第二季度初开始反弹，但由于经济活动的普遍下降，目前仍比计划低约10%。总体而言，我们的港口运量一直相对强劲，因为我们的资产主要在英国、澳大利亚和加州，我们在这些地方运输的货物对这些地方经济的基本运作至关重要。
Our toll roads have been the most impacted from a volume perspective, with traffic declines of approximately 40% across our portfolio. The positive here is that in most jurisdictions where we operate, regulators have acknowledged that the current conditions qualify as a force majeure event, which positions us for the possibility of being kept whole on a value basis via either direct compensation or extension of the duration of our concessions.
从运量的角度来看，我们的收费公路受到的影响最大，整个投资组合的交通量下降了约40%。积极的一面是，在我们开展业务的大多数地区，监管机构已经承认，目前的状况符合不可抗力事件的条件，这使我们有可能通过直接补偿或延长我们的特许权期限，在价值上不受到损失。
We believe that the reduction in FFO due to the economic impact of covid is temporary and that the long-term run-rate earnings capacity of our overall business is for the most part unaffected. Furthermore, while our distribution payout ratio may exceed our target levels for the balance of the year, our distributions remain well covered by operating cash flows. We also have ample liquidity and no near-term refinancing requirements of any consequence, providing us the flexibility to pursue new investments.
我们认为，由于新冠肺炎的经济影响而减少的运营现金流是暂时的，我们整体业务的长期利润率盈利能力在很大程度上不会受到影响。此外，虽然我们的分配派息比率可能超过本年度馀下的目标水平，但营运现金流仍足以应付我们的分配。我们也有充足的流动性，没有任何短期再融资需求，为我们提供了进行新投资的灵活性。
【Outlook 前景】
Our outlook for the balance of the year is guided by the current state of affairs and the cautious approach most governments are taking towards opening up their economies. We are nonetheless encouraged by reports from our colleagues who work in certain parts of Asia that have commenced reopening procedures, that many business activities have returned to ‘near normal’, even with new norms regarding social distancing. Our current view of global operating conditions is that the closure of non-essential businesses will largely continue through the second quarter, after which we should see a steady recovery, with the exact cadence varying by region.
我们对今年余下时间的展望，是根据目前的形势和大多数国家政府在开放经济方面采取的谨慎态度来确定的。尽管如此，我们仍然受到来自在亚洲某些地区工作的同事的报告的鼓舞，这些地区已经开始重新开放程序，许多商业活动已经恢复到“接近正常”，即使在保持社交距离方面有了新的规范。我们目前对全球经营状况的看法是，非必要企业的关闭将基本上持续到第二季度，之后我们应该会看到稳步复苏，具体速度因地区而异。
While the significant stimulus injected into the economy by governments should help speed up the recovery, we expect the shape of the recovery to be more of a ‘swoosh’ than a ‘U’ or ‘V’. Assuming no significant second wave of infections in the fall, we anticipate most sectors and regions will return to a more normalized environment by the end of the year or during the first half of 2021. If that is not the case, we have contingency plans in place and are confident in our ability to manage our existing operations, while also identifying investment opportunities.
虽然政府向经济注入的大规模刺激措施应该有助于加速复苏，但我们预计复苏的形状更可能是“耐克勾形”，而不是“U形”或“V形”。假设今年秋季没有重大的第二波感染，我们预计大多数行业和地区将在今年年底或2021年上半年恢复到更加正常的环境。
如果情况并非如此，我们已经制定了应急计划，并对自己管理现有业务的能力有信心，同时也会发现投资机会。
Our business is very resilient, and we are actively looking for potential opportunities to grow the portfolio on a value basis. We take a long-term view when analyzing businesses and will not get caught up in the near-term negativity. As we have discussed in the past, we tend to be more cautious when the economic environment is frothy and we look to invest in scale when capital is scarce.
我们的业务非常有韧性，我们正在积极寻找潜在的机会，在价值的基础上增长投资组合。在分析企业时，我们有长远的眼光，不会陷入短期的负面情绪。正如我们过去讨论过的那样，当经济环境存在泡沫时，我们倾向于更加谨慎; 当资本稀缺时，我们倾向于进行规模投资。
To that end, we began investing in the capital markets aggressively in March but have pulled back somewhat in April as the markets quickly recovered. We would describe our current investment posture as optimistically patient. We believe that a large scale, value opportunity will arise over the next 12 months. We are reminded of our experience during the Global Financial Crisis in 2009/2010, when the transformative Babcock and Brown investment (BBI) we made did not present itself to us until almost nine months after the Lehman bankruptcy.
为此，我们在3月份开始大举投资资本市场，但随着市场迅速复苏，我们在4月份有所收缩。我们将当前的投资态势描述为乐观、耐心。我们相信，未来12个月将出现大规模的价值机会。这让我们想起了2009/2010年全球金融危机期间的经历，当时我们做出的具有变革意义的Babcock and Brown(BBI)投资是直到雷曼兄弟(Lehman)破产近9个月后才出现在我们面前的。
We passed on many opportunities before the right one came along. Our situation is vastly better today than when we executed the BBI transaction. Our market capitalization is approximately 15X greater, we have a committed infrastructure fund to invest alongside that is approximately 20X larger, and our sector and geographic expertise and scale is greater. We have a seasoned team focused on identifying transactions, with a particular focus on large scale, value opportunities in the transport, energy and utilities sectors.
在合适的机会出现之前，我们放弃了很多机会。我们现在的情况比我们执行BBI交易时好多了。我们的市值大约是现在的15倍，我们有一个承诺投资的基础设施基金，大约是现在的20倍，我们的行业和地理专业知识和规模也更大。我们有一个经验丰富的团队，专注于识别交易机会，特别关注交通、能源和公用事业领域的大规模价值机会。
On behalf of the Board and management of Brookfield Infrastructure, we thank all our unitholders and shareholders for their ongoing support. We wish you and your families continued health during these most unsettling and challenging of times.
我们谨代表BIP的董事会和管理层，感谢我们所有的股东和股东一直以来的支持。我们祝愿你们和你们的家人在这最不安和最具挑战的时刻保持健康。