Thomas Hill: Well, as always, we would tell you that it’s Aggregates and we are an Aggregate company. We have the highest percentage of EBITDA in Aggregates of probably anybody in the sector. And that’s what we do. Now we have strategic downstream. And as we always say, it’s a portfolio, we look at it as a portfolio and if one of those sectors or geographies doesn’t – doesn’t earn appropriate return or worse to somebody else would divest of it and plow that money back into our Aggregates business. So I think that nothing has changed as far how we look at the world. And as we look at the growth part of the M&A in greenfields, it will be aggregates-focused.
Kathryn Thompson: Perfect. Thank you so much.
Thomas Hill: Thank you.
Operator: We’ll turn now to Trey Grooms with Stephens.
Thomas Hill: Hi, Trey.
Mary Andrews Carlisle: Good morning.
Trey Grooms: Hey. Good morning. I kind of want to follow-up on the comment, Mary Andrews, you had earlier about cash gross profit per ton. Clearly, it was up 10% in the quarter. I think you were maybe initially looking for mid to high single-digit improvement. So maybe a little better there. And then full year is mid – I think looking for mid-teens type of improvement. So I guess the first one is kind of how we see that progress. I think it’s going to accelerate somewhat as we go through the year, but any way to help us kind of think about that as we progress through the year to get to that mid-teens for the full-year? And then maybe stepping back a little bit longer term. These are clearly better numbers of better performance than the historical kind of average of profitability improvement. How are you thinking about that longer term? Do you think it has the opportunity to kind of see a long-term better kind of consistent improvement versus kind of historicals?
Thomas Hill: Yes. Let me take your last question first about long-term. This is why we have developed the Vulcan Way of Selling and Vulcan Way of operating disciplines. I think they secure our ability to improve cash gross profit per ton, which we’ve done trailing 12-month basis every quarter except for one flat for five years. That’s pretty good consistency even with some of the dynamics that are out there. So I think that overall in history, versus history, we’re in a better place for higher improvements in cash gross profit per ton, and that’s not by accident, that’s by design, and we’ve been working on that now for years, and it is working and those tools are only getting better or we’re getting better implementing them.
I think as far as this year is concerned, as we talked about, as we progress through the year, you’ve got cost increases decelerating and as inflation comps get easier and our operating efficiencies get better. So that’s one piece of that. And then I think as we march through the year, we have the ability to continue to raise prices, both in what we do on project work, but also a fixed plant. So you put all that together, I think as we progress through the year, we have the opportunity to continue to march our unit margins improvement through the year.
Trey Grooms: Okay. Got it. All right. Thank you very much. I’ll pass it on.
Thomas Hill: Sure.
Operator: We’ll go next to Jerry Revich with Goldman Sachs.
Thomas Hill: Hi, Jerry.
Mary Andrews Carlisle: Good morning.
Jerry Revich: Hey. Hi, Tom, Mary Andrews. Good morning everyone. I’m wondering if you could just talk about how you expect the pricing cadence to play out this year over the past couple of years, third quarter versus second quarter, we saw a big $0.60 type step up in pricing. Is that feels like that’s what you’re assuming this year to get to the guidance. But maybe Mary Andrews, you could expand on how you expect the cadence to play out? And how much higher could that be if we do implement midyear price increases? Thank you.
Mary Andrews Carlisle: Yes, sure. I would expect a cadence of Jerry likely some sequential growth in the second quarter, more in the third quarter, as you referenced, and then we would typically see less in the fourth quarter due mostly to seasonality. And the magnitude of the mid-years, which as Tom referenced earlier, it’s just too early to call at this point, but that’s what would influence that third quarter sequential improvement and to what level that gets and where we fall out overall.
Jerry Revich: Okay. And then in terms of just the exit rate with double-digit pricing growth exiting the year and potential midyear is on top of it, I guess that suggests the starting point for 2025, should be in the high single-digit pricing range just from a carryover effect. And I just want to make sure that, that’s consistent with how you folks are thinking about it?
Thomas Hill: Yes. I think when it comes to mid-year, we’re going to call that when we earn it. And I think we feel good about midyear, and I think those conversations are going fine. As I said, they mean a lot for 2025. I do think it’s a bit early to call what 2025 is going to start out. We got to get mid years under our belt and take a look at what we’re going to do in the first part of 2025. But I do think it’s – I do think that I feel good about the midyears and I think it is a good omen for 2025 pricing.
Jerry Revich: Okay. Thank you.
Thomas Hill: Sure.
Operator: Next, we’ll hear from Mike Dahl with RBC Capital Markets.
Thomas Hill: Hey, Mike.
Michael Dahl: Tom, Mary Andrews. Thanks for taking the question. I’m going to follow up again on kind of midyear. I think last quarter, you talked about how those conversations would be April conversations, so maybe it’s just semantics and you want to have those really finalized before you communicate to us. But I’m wondering if just given some of the wet weather to start the year, if some of those conversations perhaps got pushed out a little bit relative to your expectations or how you characterize that? And any other regional differences in pricing that you may be experiencing relative to what you thought coming into the year?
Thomas Hill: I don’t think weather had anything to do with it. I think you may have read a little bit too much into the April month comment. You send the letters out in April, you spend May having those conversations and you finalize in end of May, kind of beginning of June. So I don’t see anything different in timing or sequencing versus what we did last year. Like I said, I think I’m encouraged by the conversations that we’re having, and I think that we will implement a solid midyear price increases. But I wouldn’t read anything into the comment on weather versus – excuse me, comment on April versus how this goes. It’s really kind of a process. We introduced it in April, have a conversation in May and again, finalize it in June.
