美國雅培 (ABT) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Abbott's First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) This call is being recorded by Abbott. With the exception of any participants' questions asked during the question-and-answer session, the entire call, including the question-and-answer session, is material copyrighted by Abbott. It cannot be recorded or rebroadcast without Abbott's expressed written permission.

早上好，謝謝你的支持。歡迎來到雅培 2023 年第一季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）雅培正在錄製此通話。除了問答環節中任何與會者提出的問題外，整個電話會議，包括問答環節，都是雅培版權所有的材料。未經雅培明確書面許可，不得錄製或轉播。

I would now like to introduce Mr. Scott Leinenweber, Vice President, Investor Relations, Licensing and Acquisitions.

我現在想介紹投資者關係、許可和收購副總裁 Scott Leinenweber 先生。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. With me today are Robert Ford, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Bob Funck, Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Robert and Bob will provide opening remarks. Following their comments, we'll take your questions. .

早上好，感謝您加入我們。今天和我在一起的是董事長兼首席執行官羅伯特·福特； Bob Funck，財務執行副總裁兼首席財務官。羅伯特和鮑勃將致開幕詞。根據他們的意見，我們將回答您的問題。 .

Before we get started, some statements made today may be forward-looking for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the expected financial results for 2023. Abbott cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott's operations are discussed in Item 1A, Risk Factors, to our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

在我們開始之前，根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》，今天發表的一些聲明可能是前瞻性的，包括 2023 年的預期財務結果。雅培警告說，這些前瞻性聲明受風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中所示的結果存在重大差異。可能影響雅培運營的經濟、競爭、政府、技術和其他因素在我們截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的 10-K 表格年度報告的第 1A 項“風險因素”中進行了討論。

Abbott undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments except as required by law. On today's conference call, as in the past, non-GAAP financial measures will be used to help investors understand Abbott's ongoing business performance. These non-GAAP financial measures are reconciled with the comparable GAAP financial measures in our earnings news release and regulatory filings from today, which are available on our website at abbott.com.

除法律要求外，雅培不承擔因後續事件或發展而公開發布對前瞻性陳述的任何修訂的義務。在今天的電話會議上，與過去一樣，將使用非 GAAP 財務指標來幫助投資者了解雅培的持續經營業績。這些非 GAAP 財務指標與我們今天發布的收益新聞和監管文件中的可比 GAAP 財務指標相一致，可在我們的網站 abbott.com 上查閱。

Note that Abbott has not provided the GAAP financial measure for organic sales growth on a forward-looking basis because the company is unable to predict future changes in foreign exchange rates, which could impact reported sales growth. Unless otherwise noted, our commentary on sales growth refers to organic sales growth, which is defined in the quarterly results press release issued earlier today.

請注意，雅培未提供前瞻性有機銷售增長的 GAAP 財務指標，因為該公司無法預測未來匯率的變化，這可能會影響報告的銷售增長。除非另有說明，否則我們對銷售增長的評論是指有機銷售增長，這是在今天早些時候發布的季度業績新聞稿中定義的。

With that, I will now turn the call over to Robert.

有了這個，我現在將把電話轉給羅伯特。

Thanks, Scott. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Today, we reported strong results to start the year. First quarter adjusted earnings per share were $1.03, which is above consensus estimates, driven entirely by strong underlying base business performance, excluding COVID testing. Organic sales growth excluded COVID testing increased 10% led by double-digit growth in Medical Devices, Established Pharmaceuticals and Nutrition.

謝謝，斯科特。大家早上好，感謝您加入我們。今天，我們報告了年初的強勁業績。第一季度調整後的每股收益為 1.03 美元，高於市場普遍預期，這完全是由強勁的基礎業務業績推動的，不包括 COVID 測試。有機銷售增長不包括 COVID 測試增長 10%，這主要得益於醫療器械、成熟藥品和營養品的兩位數增長。

As you'll recall, back in January, I expressed some optimism that the headwinds Abbott and other companies faced over the last few years were starting to peak and in some cases ease a bit. As we move through the first part of the year, that's exactly what we continue to see. Most notably, the impact of COVID has rapidly and significantly lessened. As part of this transition, certain behavioral shifts have been evident across society. One simple illustrative example has been the significant increase in travel and tourism, we've all seen, heard about or experience firsthand.

你會記得，早在一月份，我就樂觀地表示，雅培和其他公司在過去幾年面臨的逆風開始達到頂峰，在某些情況下有所緩和。當我們度過今年上半年時，這正是我們繼續看到的。最值得注意的是，COVID 的影響已迅速顯著減弱。作為這種轉變的一部分，某些行為轉變在整個社會都很明顯。一個簡單的說明性例子是旅行和旅遊業的顯著增長，我們都看到、聽到或親身體驗過。

A much more relevant and important behavioral shift that we're seeing in health care globally has been the increased priority people are putting on getting healthy and staying healthy. And for our businesses, the impacts have been increased routine diagnostic testing volumes, improved medical device procedure trends and strong demand for consumer-based health products. The net results this past quarter was strong, broad-based growth across our portfolio.

我們在全球醫療保健領域看到的一個更為相關和重要的行為轉變是人們越來越重視獲得健康和保持健康。對於我們的業務而言，這些影響包括常規診斷測試量的增加、醫療設備程序趨勢的改進以及對基於消費者的健康產品的強勁需求。上個季度的淨結果是我們投資組合的強勁、廣泛的增長。

Importantly, this growing focus on health adds to and enhances other favorable demographic trends such as a global population that's growing older and living longer and increasing access to health care around the world. Combination of these favorable market dynamics, along with the strength of our growth platforms and new product pipeline provides a strong foundation for sustainable, top-tier growth going forward.

重要的是，這種對健康的日益關注增加並增強了其他有利的人口趨勢，例如全球人口的老齡化和壽命的延長以及世界各地獲得醫療保健的機會增加。這些有利的市場動態的結合，以及我們增長平台和新產品管道的實力，為未來可持續的頂級增長奠定了堅實的基礎。

I'll now summarize our first quarter results in more detail before turning the call over to Bob. I'll start with Established Pharmaceuticals, or EPD, where sales increased 11% in the quarter. This continues EPD's impressive stretch of consistent strong performance, including double-digit growth each of the last 2 years. Growth this past quarter was led by strong performance in Brazil, China and Southeast Asia and across several therapeutic areas, including cardiometabolic, gastroenterology, CNS and pain management.

在將電話轉給 Bob 之前，我現在將更詳細地總結我們第一季度的業績。我將從 Established Pharmaceuticals 或 EPD 開始，該公司本季度的銷售額增長了 11%。這延續了 EPD 令人印象深刻的一貫強勁表現，包括過去兩年每年兩位數的增長。上個季度的增長得益於巴西、中國和東南亞以及多個治療領域的強勁表現，包括心臟代謝、胃腸病學、中樞神經系統和疼痛管理。

Turning to Nutrition, where sales increased more than 10% in the quarter. In the U.S., Pediatric Nutrition growth of more than 35% included the impact of lower sales in the first quarter of last year due to a voluntary recall of certain infant formula products. We continue to make good progress, increasing manufacturing production and recovering market share in this business. Internationally, total Nutrition sales grew mid-single digits overall, and sales in global Adult Nutrition also grew mid-single digits, driven by strong performance of our market-leading Ensure brand.

轉向營養，該季度銷售額增長超過 10%。在美國，兒科營養品增長超過 35%，其中包括由於自願召回某些嬰兒配方奶粉產品而導致去年第一季度銷售額下降的影響。我們繼續取得良好進展，增加製造產量並恢復該業務的市場份額。在國際上，在我們市場領先的 Ensure 品牌的強勁表現的推動下，營養品總銷售額整體增長了中個位數，全球成人營養品的銷售額也增長了中個位數。

Moving to Diagnostics, where as forecasted, sales growth was negatively impacted by a significant decrease in COVID testing sales compared to the first quarter of last year. Excluding COVID testing, organic sales growth was led by mid- to -high single-digit growth in Core Lab, Rapid and Point of Care Diagnostics. In Core Lab Diagnostics, growth was led by strong performance in the U.S. and Europe, which was partially offset by soft market conditions in China early in the year, though we're seeing improving market demand over the last several weeks. Excluding China, Core Laboratory Diagnostics sales grew nearly 8% globally.

轉向診斷，正如預測的那樣，與去年第一季度相比，COVID 測試銷售額大幅下降對銷售增長產生了負面影響。不包括 COVID 測試，有機銷售增長是由核心實驗室、快速和護理點診斷的中高個位數增長帶動的。在 Core Lab Diagnostics 方面，美國和歐洲的強勁表現帶動了增長，儘管我們看到過去幾週市場需求有所改善，但今年年初中國的疲軟市場狀況部分抵消了這一增長。除中國外，Core Laboratory Diagnostics 全球銷售額增長近 8%。

And I'll wrap up with Medical Devices, where sales grew 12.5% globally on an organic basis, including mid-teens growth in the U.S. and double-digit growth internationally.

我將總結醫療設備，其全球銷售額有機增長 12.5%，其中包括美國的中十幾歲增長和國際兩位數的增長。

In Diabetes Care, sales of FreeStyle Libre grew more than 25% on an organic basis in the quarter, including approximately 50% growth in the U.S. and mid-teens internationally. During the quarter, Libre received U.S. FDA clearance for connectivity with automated insulin delivery systems. We're working with leading insulin pump manufacturers to integrate their systems with both Libre 2 and Libre 3 as soon as possible.

在糖尿病護理領域，FreeStyle Libre 的銷售額在本季度有機增長了 25% 以上，其中美國和國際青少年的銷售額增長了約 50%。在本季度，Libre 獲得了美國 FDA 與自動胰島素輸送系統連接的許可。我們正在與領先的胰島素泵製造商合作，盡快將他們的系統與 Libre 2 和 Libre 3 集成。

In cardiovascular devices, sales grew more than 8% overall in the quarter. And impressively, organic sales growth rate improved sequentially compared to the prior quarter in every one of our cardiovascular device businesses. This broad-based strength was led by strong double-digit growth in Heart Failure and Structural Heart.

在心血管設備方面，本季度銷售額整體增長超過 8%。令人印象深刻的是，與上一季度相比，我們每一項心血管設備業務的有機銷售增長率均有所提高。這種廣泛的實力是由心力衰竭和結構性心臟的強勁兩位數增長帶動的。

In Heart Failure, sales of CardioMEMS grew more than 30%, which represents the third quarter in a row that CardioMEMS sales have grown more than 25%. In Electrophysiology, performance was led by high teens growth in Europe, including strong, broad-based performance across big 5 European countries, which was driven by cardiac ablation catheters and mapping systems.

在心力衰竭領域，CardioMEMS 的銷售額增長超過 30%，這是 CardioMEMS 銷售額連續第三個季度增長超過 25%。在電生理學方面，歐洲青少年的高速增長引領了業績，包括歐洲 5 大國家強勁、廣泛的業績，這是由心臟消融導管和標測系統推動的。

In Structural Heart, growth was led by double-digit growth of MitraClip, along with strong contributions from 3 recently launched products, Amulet, Navitor and TriClip, which combined to grow nearly 50% in the quarter. And lastly, in Neuromodulation sales grew 11%, driven by a recent launch of Eterna, our first rechargeable neurostimulation device for pain management, which targets a large segment of the market where we didn't previously compete.

在 Structural Heart 中，增長由 MitraClip 的兩位數增長帶動，以及最近推出的 3 種產品 Amulet 、 Navitor 和 TriClip 的強勁貢獻，這三款產品在本季度合計增長了近50%。最後，在神經調節方面的銷售額增長了 11%，這得益於我們最近推出的 Eterna，這是我們第一款用於疼痛管理的可充電神經刺激設備，它針對的是我們之前沒有參與競爭的大部分市場。

So in summary, we're off to a very good start to the year, exceeding financial expectations on both top and bottom lines. The strong performance we're achieving is broad-based and fueled by strong execution, new products and improving market conditions. And our core foundational growth platforms have strong momentum and are achieving exceptional results, positioning us well for top-tier growth going forward.

因此，總而言之，我們今年的開局非常好，在頂線和底線上都超出了財務預期。我們取得的強勁業績基礎廣泛，並受到強大的執行力、新產品和不斷改善的市場條件的推動。我們的核心基礎增長平台勢頭強勁，取得了非凡的成果，為我們未來的頂級增長做好了準備。

And now I'll turn over the call to Bob. Bob?

現在我將把電話轉給鮑勃。鮑勃？

Thanks, Robert. As Scott mentioned earlier, please note that all references to sales growth rates, unless otherwise noted, are on an organic basis.

謝謝，羅伯特。正如 Scott 之前提到的，請注意，除非另有說明，否則所有提及的銷售增長率均基於有機增長。

Turning to our first quarter results. Sales decreased 14.5% on an organic basis due to, as expected, a year-over-year decline in COVID testing-related sales. Excluding COVID testing-related sales, underlying base business organic sales growth was 10% in the quarter. Foreign exchange had an unfavorable year-over-year impact of 3.3% on first quarter sales. During the quarter, we saw the U.S. dollar strengthen somewhat versus several currencies, which resulted in a slightly more unfavorable impact on sales compared to exchange rates at the time of our earnings call in January.

轉向我們的第一季度業績。正如預期的那樣，由於與 COVID 測試相關的銷售額同比下降，銷售額有機下降 14.5%。排除與 COVID 測試相關的銷售額，本季度基礎業務有機銷售額增長 10%。外匯對第一季度銷售額的同比不利影響為 3.3%。在本季度，我們看到美元兌幾種貨幣有所走強，這導致與 1 月份財報電話會議時的匯率相比，這對銷售產生了稍微不利的影響。

Regarding other aspects of the P&L, the adjusted gross margin ratio was 55.9% of sales, which reflects flow-through impacts from the elevated inflation we experienced last year on certain manufacturing and distribution costs as well as an unfavorable impact from foreign exchange. Adjusted R&D was 6.4% of sales and adjusted SG&A was 28.3% of sales in the first quarter. Lastly, our first quarter adjusted tax rate was 14%.

關於損益的其他方面，調整後的毛利率為銷售額的 55.9%，這反映了我們去年經歷的高通脹對某些製造和分銷成本的流動影響以及外彙的不利影響。第一季度調整後的研發佔銷售額的 6.4%，調整後的 SG&A 佔銷售額的 28.3%。最後，我們第一季度調整後的稅率為 14%。

Turning to our outlook for the full year. We now forecast total underlying base business organic sales growth, excluding COVID testing sales, to be at least high single digits. We're now forecasting COVID testing-related sales of around $1.5 billion, which is below the full year forecast of approximately $2 billion we provided in January due to current testing dynamics we're seeing in the market.

轉向我們對全年的展望。我們現在預測，不包括 COVID 測試銷售額在內的基礎業務總有機銷售額增長至少為高個位數。我們現在預測與 COVID 測試相關的銷售額約為 15 億美元，低於我們在 1 月份提供的全年預測值約 20 億美元，這是由於我們在市場上看到的當前測試動態。

For the second quarter, we forecast COVID testing sales of around $200 million. Based on current rates, we expect exchange to have an unfavorable impact of a little more than 1% on full year reported sales, which includes an expected unfavorable impact of a little more than 2% on second quarter reported sales. Lastly, our full year adjusted earnings per share guidance of $4.30 to $4.50 remains unchanged, but now reflects a lower earnings contribution from COVID testing sales compared to expectations in January, offset by raising our underlying base business earnings forecast by a little more than $0.10 based on our strong performance and outlook.

對於第二季度，我們預測 COVID 測試銷售額約為 2 億美元。根據當前匯率，我們預計匯率對全年報告銷售額的不利影響略高於 1%，其中包括對第二季度報告銷售額的預期不利影響略高於 2%。最後，我們調整後的全年每股收益 4.30 美元至 4.50 美元的指引保持不變，但現在反映出 COVID 測試銷售的收益貢獻低於 1 月份的預期，但被我們將基礎業務收益預測提高略高於 0.10 美元所抵消我們強勁的表現和前景。

With that, we'll now open the call for questions.

有了這個，我們現在將打開問題電話。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question will come from Larry Biegelsen from Wells Fargo.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自 Wells Fargo 的 Larry Biegelsen。

Congratulations on a nice start to the year. So Robert, you raised the base business organic growth and held EPS flat despite lower expected COVID testing sales. Can you please provide more color on the trends you're seeing across your businesses and geographies that allowed you to maintain EPS? And how does that feed into 2024? It sounds like you're thinking more about the base business, ex testing going forward? And I have 1 follow-up.

祝賀你今年開局不錯。因此，羅伯特，儘管 COVID 測試銷售額預期較低，但您提高了基礎業務的有機增長並保持每股收益持平。您能否提供更多關於您在您的業務和地區看到的趨勢的顏色，這些趨勢使您能夠維持每股收益？這對 2024 年有何影響？聽起來您更多地考慮的是基礎業務，即未來的測試？我有 1 個跟進。

Sure, Larry. I think that you summarized it pretty well there. We reduced our COVID forecast right now from $2 billion to about $1.5 billion, but maintained the previous guidance, and that was the result of a better performance that we're seeing in our base -- in our underlying base business. I think that's actually a pretty great trade-off to have our base business have a raise of just over $0.10 here, offsetting this decline in COVID testing.

當然，拉里。我認為你在那裡總結得很好。我們現在將 COVID 預測從 20 億美元下調至約 15 億美元，但保持了之前的指導，這是我們在基礎業務中看到的更好表現的結果。我認為讓我們的基礎業務在這裡增加超過 0.10 美元，抵消了 COVID 測試的下降，這實際上是一個非常好的權衡。

As I said in my comments in the beginning, Larry, back in January, we were seeing already some signs of a better environment, right, specifically in devices we're starting to see already the hospitals and the systems starting to get their handle on staffing shortages. From an inflation perspective, we talked about some of the commodities starting to turn a little bit, not all of them, but some of them starting to turn.

正如我在一開始的評論中所說，拉里，早在 1 月份，我們就已經看到了一些改善環境的跡象，對吧，特別是在設備方面，我們已經開始看到醫院和系統開始處理它們人員短缺。從通貨膨脹的角度來說，我們談到了一些商品開始一點點轉向，不是全部，而是其中一些開始轉向。

So that's really translated, I'd say, in improving top line on the base business, better diagnostic testing, more procedures. I'd say if you look at the procedure trends throughout the quarter, if you look at cardio specifically of around 8%, you look at the way we exited February and specifically March, they were double digits in March. So the real impact there was, I'd say, the reopening of China in January and the beginning of the quarter. That created a little bit of friction, but it was pretty broad-based across the systems in Diagnostics and Devices, U.S., Europe, Asia. We saw good performance in Japan also. So that gave us a lot of confidence that we're on the right trajectory here.

因此，我想說，這真的轉化為改善基礎業務的頂線、更好的診斷測試、更多的程序。我想說的是，如果你看看整個季度的程序趨勢，如果你特別關注 8% 左右的有氧運動，你會看看我們退出 2 月的方式，特別是 3 月，它們在 3 月是兩位數。因此，我想說，真正的影響是中國在 1 月份和本季度初重新開放。這造成了一點摩擦，但它在美國、歐洲和亞洲的診斷和設備系統中具有相當廣泛的基礎。我們在日本也看到了不錯的表現。所以這給了我們很大的信心，我們在這裡走在正確的軌道上。

And I'd say we're forecasting at least these high single-digit growth for the base business. And that's because of what we've been talking about over these last couple of years, which is reinvesting some of those COVID revenues and profits into the base business. So we're able to drive accelerated growth through without having to provide extra funding, let's call it that way, to that growth. So I think there's a real strong start to the year to see double digits in Devices, EPD, Nutrition, we continue our recovery there. So it's a really good strong start to the year. I think it's very sustainable. Of course, we're going to keep pushing and wanting more. But I think it's a good starting point.

我想說我們預測基礎業務至少會有這些高個位數的增長。這是因為我們在過去幾年一直在談論的事情，即將部分 COVID 收入和利潤重新投資到基礎業務中。因此，我們能夠在無需提供額外資金的情況下推動加速增長，讓我們這樣稱呼這種增長。因此，我認為今年在設備、EPD、營養方面有一個真正強勁的開端，我們將在那裡繼續復甦。所以這是今年一個非常好的強勁開端。我認為這是非常可持續的。當然，我們會繼續努力，想要更多。但我認為這是一個很好的起點。

Regarding your 2024 question. I get it -- these last couple of years, Larry, usually in our first call, it's always about what's going to happen in the next year because of COVID. So I get that question. I'd say right now, I'm not going to give any specific guidance, but if you look at our underlying base business, we're a little over -- right now, we're forecasting for this year a little over $4 of EPS. And we always start our planning process here as double digits.

關於您的 2024 年問題。我明白了——在過去的幾年裡，拉里，通常在我們的第一次通話中，它總是關於明年因為 COVID 會發生什麼。所以我得到了那個問題。我現在要說的是，我不打算給出任何具體的指導，但如果你看看我們的基礎業務，我們就有點結束了——現在，我們預測今年略高於 4 美元每股收益。我們總是在這里以兩位數開始我們的計劃過程。

This year, we're forecasting really strong double-digit growth because like we've talked about, making those investments, getting the leverage through the P&L and not having to invest to get that additional earnings growth. And that's our starting point as we go into next year, targeting that double-digit EPS growth. And I think it starts with driving a strong top line. And if we maintain a strong top line, which I'm sure we'll get into all the growth drivers here, I feel very good about them and the sustainability of them and the investment and the execution.

今年，我們預測兩位數的增長非常強勁，因為就像我們談到的那樣，進行這些投資，通過損益表獲得槓桿作用，而不必投資以獲得額外的收益增長。這是我們進入明年的起點，目標是實現兩位數的每股收益增長。我認為首先要推動強勁的收入。如果我們保持強勁的收入，我相信我們會在這裡討論所有增長動力，我對它們以及它們的可持續性以及投資和執行感到非常滿意。

So we keep that strong top line. There's obviously work that we got to continue to do on margin and margin expansion, and that's a big area of focus for us. Those are really the elements here. Strong top line on the base business going into 2024 and targeting that double-digit growth with that top line and margin expansion.

所以我們保持強勁的收入。顯然，我們必須繼續在利潤率和利潤率擴張方面做一些工作，這是我們關注的一個重要領域。這些確實是這裡的元素。進入 2024 年的基礎業務收入強勁，目標是通過收入和利潤率擴張實現兩位數的增長。

That's super helpful. Just for my follow-up, Robert, Cardio and Neuro was strong this quarter at about 8.5% organic. Can you talk about the trends there and the sustainability of that? There's still concerns in the investment community about your EP business with PFA competition coming.

這非常有幫助。就我的後續行動而言，Robert、Cardio 和 Neuro 本季度表現強勁，有機率約為 8.5%。您能談談那裡的趨勢及其可持續性嗎？隨著 PFA 競爭的到來，投資界仍然對您的 EP 業務感到擔憂。

Sure. Well, like I said, I think the trends in the quarter were very positive. I think, like I said, I think it's a combination of improving conditions. I think the hospital systems have done a really good job right now at managing through the staffing shortages, and we're starting to see the impact there. And then the combination of our product launches and execution of those product launches. Like I said, I think it was pretty broad-based across the geographies. And really, the only challenge we had was in January in China, but I think we're starting to see, again, a lot of growth in that market, too. So I think it's very sustainable.

當然。好吧，就像我說的，我認為本季度的趨勢非常積極。我認為，就像我說的，我認為這是改善條件的結合。我認為醫院系統目前在管理人員短缺方面做得非常好，我們開始看到那裡的影響。然後結合我們的產品發布和這些產品發布的執行。就像我說的，我認為它在各個地區的基礎都非常廣泛。事實上，我們遇到的唯一挑戰是 1 月份在中國，但我認為我們也開始再次看到該市場的大量增長。所以我認為這是非常可持續的。

Regarding your question on PFA. Yes, I mean, I think it's an interesting technology. We've been working on it for several years now, Larry. And haven't been as public about what we're doing. That's probably driven by my direction to the team, but I think we'll share more about it at [HRS] this year in terms of everything we've done. As a backdrop to that, I guess I would say one of the benefits of having a very large installed open mapping system based on the markets, we actually get to see these systems being used in real world. And it's a great product development tool to be quite honest with you.

關於你關於心理急救的問題。是的，我的意思是，我認為這是一項有趣的技術。拉里，我們已經為此努力了好幾年。也沒有公開我們正在做的事情。這可能是由我對團隊的指導所驅動的，但我認為我們將在今年的 [HRS] 上就我們所做的一切分享更多相關信息。作為背景，我想我會說擁有一個基於市場的非常大的已安裝開放式地圖系統的好處之一，我們實際上可以看到這些系統在現實世界中被使用。老實說，這是一個很棒的產品開發工具。

So a lot of our focus and the development of our program, Larry, is really looking at some of the gaps and some of the challenges we're seeing in these first-generation catheter systems and really looking at addressing those. So I think what the team has been working on is really unique and differentiated. So I don't think that PFA will be the one tool to rule all tools. I think that it will be a tool that will be important. We're obviously working on our system. I think that the companies that are going to be winning in this space are going to be those that can effectively work with PFA and at the same time, work with RF.

因此，拉里，我們的很多重點和我們項目的發展實際上是在研究我們在這些第一代導管系統中看到的一些差距和一些挑戰，並真正著眼於解決這些問題。所以我認為團隊一直在做的事情是非常獨特和與眾不同的。所以我認為 PFA 不會成為統治所有工具的唯一工具。我認為這將是一個重要的工具。我們顯然正在研究我們的系統。我認為，將要在這個領域獲勝的公司將是那些能夠有效地與 PFA 合作並同時與 RF 合作的公司。

So I think there are a couple of questions that are going to still need to be answered over the next 12 to 18 months, Larry. I think safety and efficacy is one that still needs to be -- we see certain signals in certain markets. So those, I think, need to kind of work their way through the type of cases, type of patients that are going to be used with this product. I think one big question on the PFA is kind of can it actually improve real-world procedure times.

所以我認為在接下來的 12 到 18 個月內，仍有幾個問題需要回答，拉里。我認為安全性和有效性仍然是需要的——我們在某些市場看到了某些信號。因此，我認為，那些人需要通過案例類型、將要使用該產品的患者類型來解決問題。我認為關於 PFA 的一個大問題是它能否真正改善現實世界的程序時間。

I think that's the big question I have in terms of what I've been seeing, what our teams have been seeing. And then given all the pressures that the health systems have is a 3x to 4x premium on RF, is that actually sustainable. So bottom line, I think our device, cardio device portfolio is well developed across all the different areas of growth opportunities that we have. And I think that PFA is going to be an important technology that we've been working and investing on to bring to market and looking more as a second-generation product.

我認為這是我所看到的、我們的團隊所看到的最大問題。然後考慮到衛生系統所面臨的所有壓力是 RF 的 3 到 4 倍溢價，這實際上是可持續的。所以歸根結底，我認為我們的設備、有氧設備產品組合在我們擁有的所有不同增長機會領域都得到了很好的發展。我認為 PFA 將成為一項重要的技術，我們一直在努力和投資，以將其推向市場，並將更多地視為第二代產品。

Our next question comes from Josh Jennings from Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 Cowen 的 Josh Jennings。

Congrats on the strong start to the year. I was hoping to ask 1 question and related follow-up. But what is -- Rob, just to help think through some of the core gross margin and operating margin trajectories from the core business with the COVID testing, volumes coming down and the historic margin contribution in the last couple of years, but I'd love to just hear about drivers of gross and operating margin expansion. Like pre-COVID, we were thinking 50 basis points or up to 50 basis points of operating margin expansion was plausible for your business. And maybe just help us think through the trajectories, but also any leverage you can pull to support double-digit EPS growth trajectory in 2024, if there's some unpredictable headwinds that pop up. I just have 1 related follow-up.

祝賀今年開局強勁。我希望問 1 個問題和相關的跟進。但是，Rob，只是想通過 COVID 測試來幫助思考核心業務的一些核心毛利率和營業利潤率軌跡，銷量下降以及過去幾年的歷史性利潤率貢獻，但我會喜歡只聽聽毛利率和營業利潤率增長的驅動因素。與 COVID 之前一樣，我們認為 50 個基點或最多 50 個基點的營業利潤率擴張對您的業務來說是合理的。也許只是幫助我們思考軌跡，但如果突然出現一些不可預測的逆風，你可以利用任何槓桿來支持 2024 年每股收益兩位數的增長軌跡。我只有 1 個相關的跟進。

Sure. I mean I think as I said to Larry, I mean, I think it starts with the top line, right, and being able to drive that top line and especially the top line coming from our med device portfolio, which obviously has margins that are accretive to the overall company. So looking at the growth drivers there, whether it's the Structural Heart portfolio, the EP portfolio, Libre and Diabetes or recovery in Nutrition. I mean, I think these are all important areas of top line growth that will drive accretion to our margins.

當然。我的意思是我認為就像我對拉里說的那樣，我的意思是，我認為它從頂線開始，對，並且能夠推動頂線，尤其是來自我們醫療設備組合的頂線，這顯然有利潤率對整個公司都有好處。因此，看看那裡的增長動力，無論是結構心臟產品組合、EP 產品組合、自由和糖尿病還是營養恢復。我的意思是，我認為這些都是收入增長的重要領域，將推動我們的利潤增長。

One of the challenges that we all faced has been the impact of inflation on our input costs. And as I said, I think some of those are normalizing a little bit. I think last year, a lot of the focus was just to ensure that we had access to all the raw materials, right? And I think in those situations, we ultimately had to deal with elevated prices. And I think that some of these will unwind over time. This is not a -- I don't think this is a quick fix, but it's definitely an area that we're going to see steady improvement over the next couple of years here in terms of improvement.

我們所有人都面臨的挑戰之一是通貨膨脹對我們投入成本的影響。正如我所說，我認為其中一些正在正常化一點。我想去年，很多重點只是為了確保我們能夠獲得所有原材料，對吧？我認為在那些情況下，我們最終不得不應對價格上漲。而且我認為其中一些會隨著時間的推移而放鬆。這不是 - 我不認為這是一個快速解決方案，但它絕對是我們將在未來幾年內在改進方面看到穩步改進的領域。

We've been able to take price where we can to offset some of those inputs, those cost input increases, but I think it's really the focus on the top line with our device portfolio that drives the accretion and then combined with focusing on our gross margin improvement programs, which we have across all of the businesses and that get the attention and the focus every month in our operating meeting. So the combination of those 2 factors are what gives us confidence for that margin expansion.

我們已經能夠在我們可以抵消其中一些投入的地方採取價格，這些投入增加，但我認為這真的是對我們設備組合的頂線的關注推動了增長，然後結合對我們總收入的關注我們在所有業務中都有提高利潤率的計劃，每個月都會在我們的運營會議上引起關注和關注。因此，這兩個因素的結合使我們對利潤率擴張充滿信心。

Mr. Jennings, please make sure your line is not on mute.

詹寧斯先生，請確保您的線路未處於靜音狀態。

I was on mute. I apologize. I wanted to just, related follow-up, you already touched on taking price, Rob. And would love to hear mostly on the device business, how pricing is shaping up in 2023. But also if you could touch on any other businesses where price is turning into a tailwind for your business that would be great to hear.

我是靜音的。我道歉。我只想說，相關的後續行動，你已經談到了定價，Rob。並且很想听到主要關於設備業務的信息，2023 年的定價是如何形成的。而且，如果你能談談價格正在成為你業務的順風的任何其他業務，那將是很高興聽到的。

Yes. I think on price, we've historically, as a company, our high single-digit growth really driven by volume, whether it's expanding markets or taking market share. I'd say on the device side, pricing historically has been a headwind for us. I'd say, over the last 12 to 18 months, it hasn't been one. So we've been able to, at least, kind of hold pricing, I wouldn't say gone out and did big pricing increases, but at least being able to hold pricing. I'd say more on the consumer side of the business, Josh, is where we've been able to kind of take price. If you look at our Nutrition business, we haven't been able to offset 100% of the commodity increase, but we've been able to apply some price increases globally across the portfolio.

是的。我認為在價格方面，從歷史上看，作為一家公司，我們的高個位數增長實際上是由銷量驅動的，無論是擴大市場還是佔據市場份額。我會說在設備方面，歷史上的定價對我們來說一直是一個不利因素。我想說，在過去的 12 到 18 個月裡，它從來沒有發生過。所以我們至少能夠保持定價，我不會說出去並大幅提高價格，但至少能夠保持定價。我想在業務的消費者方面說更多，Josh，這是我們能夠接受價格的地方。如果你看看我們的營養業務，我們無法抵消 100% 的商品增長，但我們已經能夠在全球範圍內對整個產品組合實施一些價格上漲。

In our Established Pharmaceutical business, there are segments of the market where it is more kind of cash pay. And we've been able to implement pricing increasing there. I think the team in EPD has done a pretty good job at how to implement those and still have good share positions across our therapeutic areas. So those are probably the areas that we've been able to implement pricing increases. And to your point on tailwind, if we start to see the commodities and some of the input costs come down, especially these more consumer-based businesses, I think the strength of our brands, whether it's in Nutrition or an EPD, there's an opportunity there to have that kind of tailwind.

在我們成熟的製藥業務中，有些市場更傾向於現金支付。我們已經能夠在那裡實施價格上漲。我認為 EPD 的團隊在如何實施這些方面做得很好，並且在我們的治療領域仍然佔有很好的份額。因此，這些可能是我們能夠實施價格上漲的領域。關於順風的觀點，如果我們開始看到商品和一些投入成本下降，尤其是這些更多以消費者為基礎的企業，我認為我們品牌的實力，無論是在營養還是 EPD 方面，都有機會那裡有那種順風。

Our next question comes from Robbie Marcus from JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Robbie Marcus。

Great. Congrats on a nice quarter here. Maybe to start, Robert, we just saw you get approval earlier this week for Medicare reimbursement for type 2 patients that use basal insulin for Libre 3. Clearly, a really big opportunity. But would love to get your thoughts on, first, how this impacts Abbott. And then broader how you see improving reimbursement, both in the U.S., around the world evolving over the next few years and the benefit it could add to the Libre business?

偉大的。祝賀你在這裡度過了一個愉快的季度。也許開始吧，羅伯特，我們剛剛看到你在本週早些時候獲得批准，為使用 Libre 3 基礎胰島素的 2 型患者提供醫療保險報銷。顯然，這是一個非常大的機會。但首先，我很想听聽您的想法，這對雅培有何影響。然後更廣泛地說，您如何看待未來幾年在美國和世界各地不斷發展的報銷改善以及它可以為 Libre 業務帶來的好處？

Sure, Robbie. I've talked about how this is an important part of the growth strategy and an important part of the market opportunity for [CGMs] as a whole. We've been investing and generating the clinical data to be able to kind of support this. So this is a great opportunity for us. I'd say I talked about, there's about 4 million type 2 basal insulin users here in the U.S., about 1/3 of them are on Medicare. So it will start there. I think we built a robust kind of position in this patient segment, and that includes not only the clinical data that we produced, but building a sales force that's focused more on the primary care side. I think the product lends itself very well to this patient population also.

當然，羅比。我已經談到這是增長戰略的重要組成部分，也是 [CGMs] 整體市場機會的重要組成部分。我們一直在投資並生成臨床數據，以便能夠對此提供支持。所以這對我們來說是一個很好的機會。我想說的是，在美國這里大約有 400 萬 2 型基礎胰島素使用者，其中大約 1/3 在享受醫療保險。所以它將從那裡開始。我認為我們在這個患者領域建立了穩固的地位，這不僅包括我們產生的臨床數據，還包括建立一支更專注於初級保健方面的銷售隊伍。我認為該產品也非常適合這個患者群體。

So I think we're excited about the opportunity. I think I've sized it at about $1 billion plus in terms of opportunity in the short term here. And as the CMS reimbursement starts to play out, we know that there will be eventually a spill onto private payers here in the U.S. It's difficult to forecast that because each plan will look at its own population and make its own determinations. But I think that provides a nice tailwind of growth over the next couple of years for this franchise.

所以我認為我們對這個機會感到興奮。就短期內的機會而言，我認為我已經將其規模定為 10 億美元以上。隨著 CMS 報銷開始發揮作用，我們知道最終會溢出到美國的私人付款人身上。很難預測，因為每個計劃都會考慮自己的人口並做出自己的決定。但我認為這為該特許經營權在未來幾年提供了良好的增長動力。

And I don't think it's just a U.S. situation. We're seeing other countries around the world also start to expand the reimbursement. And it's a combination of both the clinical data that supports the use of CGMs on this patient group and also specifically, I'd say, for FreeStyle Libre the value proposition in terms of being able to support a larger group of patients have the benefits without necessarily having to have a significant premium, I guess, call it over that. So we've seen markets outside the U.S. already kind of do that, and we're seeing good results in terms of its implementation. So I think it's a great opportunity for the category and more specifically for Libre.

我不認為這只是美國的情況。我們看到世界上其他國家也開始擴大報銷範圍。它結合了支持在該患者群體中使用 CGM 的臨床數據，特別是，我想說，對於 FreeStyle Libre，在能夠支持更多患者群體方面的價值主張具有無需一定要有一個顯著的溢價，我想，稱之為。因此，我們已經看到美國以外的市場已經這樣做了，並且我們在實施方面看到了良好的結果。所以我認為這對於該類別來說是一個很好的機會，更具體地說，對於 Libre 來說。

Great. And maybe a quick follow-up here. Structural Heart had been challenged throughout the pandemic, and here we are with a nice double-digit growth quarter from you. Can you speak to -- is this the start of a strong recovery here? Anything in the quarter that feels durable to you? And then also, you had some, in my opinion, good TriClip data at [ACC] earlier this year. Your thoughts on how that might evolve over the year as well.

偉大的。也許在這裡快速跟進。 Structural Heart 在整個大流行期間都受到了挑戰，在這裡我們有一個不錯的兩位數增長季度。你能談談——這是強勁復甦的開始嗎？本季度有什麼讓您覺得經久耐用的嗎？然後，在我看來，你今年早些時候在 [ACC] 獲得了一些很好的 TriClip 數據。您對這一年可能如何演變的想法也是如此。

Yes. I mean I think we've always looked at our Structural Heart portfolio over the -- at least the last 3, 4 years and made all the investments in terms of building a product pipeline, building commercial infrastructure globally in the market. So this is definitely an area of growth. I think the entire portfolio looks really strong and really durable and really sustainable, Robbie, whether it's our position in mitral, our building of our position in the tricuspid area. We're entering the aortic area with Navitor seeing good momentum over there also. Amulet, the launch of Amulet also. So I think we've really built a strong pipeline of products and commercial footprint here. So I think it's doing what -- this quarter, what we've always envisioned it to do, which is to be a top-tier growth contributor to Abbott.

是的。我的意思是，我認為我們一直在關注我們的 Structural Heart 產品組合——至少在過去的 3、4 年裡，並在構建產品管道、在全球市場上構建商業基礎設施方面進行了所有投資。所以這絕對是一個增長領域。我認為整個投資組合看起來非常強大，非常耐用，真正可持續，羅比，無論是我們在二尖瓣的位置，還是我們在三尖瓣區域的位置。我們正在進入主動脈區域，Navitor 在那裡也看到了良好的勢頭。佛牌，推出佛牌也。所以我認為我們真的在這裡建立了強大的產品線和商業足跡。所以我認為它正在做的事情——這個季度，我們一直設想它要做的事情，那就是成為雅培的頂級增長貢獻者。

Regarding your question on TriClip, I agree with you, too. I was pleased with the results. I was pleased with the outcome. As I said in the past, I don't think it's a one study, and that's it. I think you have to continue to invest in generating clinical data. It's what we did with MitraClip. But the trial enrolled really fast. And I think that's always a good sign in terms of the speed of enrollment, in terms of its acceptance and excitement from the physicians. And that's because there's not a lot of good treatment options for these patients.

關於你在 TriClip 上的問題，我也同意你的看法。我對結果很滿意。我對結果很滿意。正如我過去所說，我認為這不是一項研究，僅此而已。我認為你必須繼續投資於生成臨床數據。這就是我們對 MitraClip 所做的。但是試驗註冊的速度非常快。而且我認為，就註冊速度、醫生的接受度和興奮度而言，這始終是一個好兆頭。那是因為這些患者沒有很多好的治療選擇。

As you know, traditional surgery over here has got a high mortality rate, and diuretics don't really work well. So I think the measures we saw in terms of the TR reduction, the quality of life improvement scores, I think they are probably some of the best that we've ever seen in a heart failure trial. So the bottom line, I think these patients are in rough shape, and I think the physicians know this. So we feel good about the data. We've already submitted it to the FDA. So that's been submitted.

如您所知，這裡的傳統手術死亡率很高，而且利尿劑效果不佳。所以我認為我們在 TR 減少、生活質量改善得分方面看到的措施，我認為它們可能是我們在心力衰竭試驗中見過的最好的措施之一。所以最重要的是，我認為這些患者的情況很糟糕，我認為醫生們都知道這一點。所以我們對數據感覺良好。我們已經將其提交給 FDA。所以已經提交了。

I know the CMS will probably review this in parallel. And I believe that click-based devices here are going to be the first option. They've got strong efficacy data and a very good safety data also. So I think -- you think it's good data, I think it's good data, too, and I'm cautiously optimistic here of bringing this product. We're seeing great momentum in Europe. So that's a proof point here that I can tell you is a lot of great growth that we're seeing in Europe.

我知道 CMS 可能會同時對此進行審查。我相信這里基於點擊的設備將成為首選。他們有強大的療效數據和非常好的安全數據。所以我認為——你認為這是很好的數據，我也認為這是很好的數據，我對推出這個產品持謹慎樂觀的態度。我們在歐洲看到了巨大的發展勢頭。所以這是一個證明點，我可以告訴你，我們在歐洲看到了很多巨大的增長。

Our next question will come from Rick Wise from Stifel.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Stifel 的 Rick Wise。

Sorry for my scratchy voice, a little bit. I was hoping we could talk about Diagnostic broadly ex COVID, you're thinking about what's next, broadly for the franchise as COVID wanes. But more specifically, we haven't had an [Alinity] update in a while. I know this is a multi-platform, multiyear rollout process. Where are we in that process? How much more do we have to go? And any other diagnostic perspectives you'd want to share?

對不起，我的聲音有點沙啞。我希望我們能廣泛地談論診斷，除了 COVID，你正在考慮下一步，隨著 COVID 的減弱，特許經營權的廣泛性。但更具體地說，我們已經有一段時間沒有 [Alinity] 更新了。我知道這是一個多平台、多年的推出過程。我們在那個過程中處於什麼位置？我們還有多少路要走？還有其他您想分享的診斷觀點嗎？

Thanks, Rick. Yes, I mean, I think -- so the way we were thinking about Alinity and Alinity rollout, it was a multi-platform, multiyear rollout, right? If you look at these contracts, that you enter in there between 7 to 10 years. So you're really looking at 12%, 15% of the market that's up for renewal every year. So we always looked at this as multiyear. It did take a back seat a little bit, I would say, during COVID as a lot of hospital systems weren't necessarily focused on RFPing their diagnostic, really just focusing on treating patients and doing the tests related to COVID. So what we began to see, I'd say, probably middle of last year, definitely into the end of the last -- definitely into Q4 of last year and going into this quarter is those RFPs in that process are restarting back up again.

謝謝，瑞克。是的，我的意思是，我認為——所以我們考慮 Alinity 和 Alinity 推出的方式是多平台、多年推出，對吧？如果您查看這些合同，您會發現您在其中輸入了 7 到 10 年。所以你真的看到每年有 12%、15% 的市場需要更新。因此，我們始終將其視為多年。我想說，在 COVID 期間，它確實退居二線，因為許多醫院系統不一定專注於 RFPing 他們的診斷，實際上只是專注於治療患者和進行與 COVID 相關的測試。所以我們開始看到，我想說，可能是去年年中，肯定是去年年底 - 肯定是去年第四季度，進入本季度，那個過程中的那些 RFP 正在重新啟動。

So -- and I think we saw this a little bit on our growth rate here, again, excluding COVID. And you look at our Core Lab business, which is the predominant base of our Diagnostic business, growing 7% if you take out China, which started off a little bit roughly in the 8%, which is the range that we tend to target here, Rick. So I think we're restarting the process and reaccelerating it. I think it's going well.

所以——我認為我們在這裡的增長率上看到了一點點，不包括 COVID。你看看我們的核心實驗室業務，它是我們診斷業務的主要基地，如果你去掉中國，它增長了 7%，中國開始時略微在 8% 左右，這是我們在這裡傾向於瞄準的範圍，瑞克。所以我認為我們正在重新啟動該過程並重新加速它。我認為一切順利。

I think we saw good growth in the U.S. and good growth in Europe and that's good. One of the areas that got impacted during COVID also was transfusion. So we saw a drop in donations during COVID. So I'm glad there was inventory in the blood banks to be able to deal with that. But now we're starting to see donation start to ramp up again and the rebuilding of inventories and the picking up of donations. So I think that, that's also another positive sign.

我認為我們看到了美國的良好增長和歐洲的良好增長，這很好。在 COVID 期間受到影響的領域之一也是輸血。所以我們看到在 COVID 期間捐款有所下降。所以我很高興血庫中有庫存能夠處理這個問題。但現在我們開始看到捐贈開始再次增加，庫存重建和捐贈開始增加。所以我認為，這也是另一個積極的跡象。

And specifically on the blood bank side, our system Alinity s system, it really requires a lot less manual labor. There's a lot of automation in there. And I think that's something that we're seeing a lot from the blood banks as donations are ramping up again, the ability to take advantage of that increased demand with our system. So I would say that we could probably grow faster than that, but I think it would come at some margin erosion because you're going to have to place a lot of boxes to be able to get to the double-digit growth.

特別是在血庫方面，我們的系統 Alinity 的系統確實需要更少的體力勞動。那裡有很多自動化。而且我認為這是我們從血庫中看到的很多東西，因為捐贈再次增加，利用我們系統增加的需求的能力。所以我想說我們可能會增長得更快，但我認為這會帶來一定的利潤率侵蝕，因為你將不得不放置很多盒子才能實現兩位數的增長。

So I think that this growth rate that we've established here 7%, 8%, 8.5% is the right growth rate where we can actually drive top line growth and at the same time, drive bottom line profitability. I think our margin profile in this business is probably one of the highest amongst the industry. So I think the team has done a really good job at finding that right balance. So all in all, I think -- it took a little bit of break during COVID, but it's restarted right now, and I like the systems we have, the position we have and the commercial execution that's in place.

所以我認為我們在這裡建立的 7%、8%、8.5% 的增長率是正確的增長率，我們可以在其中實際推動收入增長，同時推動利潤率。我認為我們在該業務中的利潤率可能是業內最高的之一。所以我認為團隊在找到正確的平衡方面做得非常好。因此，總而言之，我認為——在 COVID 期間稍作休息，但現在已經重新開始，我喜歡我們擁有的系統、我們擁有的位置以及現有的商業執行。

Okay. That's very thorough. As a follow-up, I wanted to focus on Nutritional, but I'm going to also sneak in a quick CardioMEMS as well. Nutritional, it's great to see the 10% performance, the strong U.S. recovery. It sounds like you're making solid progress. What's next -- when do we get back to normal in your view? And what is the new normal growth? And just to sneak in the CardioMEMS, jeez, I've been watching the CardioMEMS story, Robert, for over a decade back to St. Jude days. And I always thought it was great technology. What's Abbott's special sauce that you're driving such a superb performance? And where do we go from here with CardioMEMS. So why -- what's happening?

好的。這是非常徹底的。作為後續行動，我想專注於營養，但我也打算偷偷快速了解一下 CardioMEMS。營養，很高興看到 10% 的表現，強勁的美國復甦。聽起來你正在取得穩固的進步。下一步是什麼——在您看來我們什麼時候恢復正常？什麼是新常態增長？只是為了偷偷了解 CardioMEMS，老天，我一直在看 CardioMEMS 的故事，羅伯特，從聖裘德時代開始已有十多年了。我一直認為這是偉大的技術。雅培有什麼特殊的醬汁可以讓你的表現如此出色？ CardioMEMS 的發展方向是什麼？那麼為什麼——發生了什麼？

I guess on the Nutrition side, I think the team has made a lot of progress. They work incredibly hard at this. Our manufacturing and our market recovery are in line with our expectations. I've talked about -- we've talked about this business being between 4% to 6% in terms of the target growth range, maybe towards the upper end of that range. And ultimately, that's when everything kind of normalizes and you don't have some of these comps, that's what I expect this business to be in.

我想在營養方面，我認為團隊取得了很大進步。他們為此非常努力。我們的製造業和市場復甦符合我們的預期。我已經談過——我們已經談過這項業務的目標增長范圍在 4% 到 6% 之間，可能接近該範圍的上限。最終，那是一切都正常化而你沒有這些補償的時候，這就是我期望這項業務的結果。

Regarding CardioMEMS, this has been a little bit of a journey for us. I think we found the right combination here of what I would call, making the investments that we needed to make on the clinical -- generating the clinical data and the clinical trial. We've obviously had an expansion in our label that happened last year. But I think the biggest and most important part here is commercial execution on the ground and thinking about workflow in the hospital systems, right, managing that and addressing that and working with the hospitals to address this workflow has been probably the biggest impact that the team has had. And then we're going to continue to invest in more clinical data and product upgrade. So I feel great about this product.

關於 CardioMEMS，這對我們來說是一個小小的旅程。我認為我們在這裡找到了我所說的正確組合，進行了我們需要在臨床上進行的投資——生成臨床數據和臨床試驗。很明顯，我們的品牌在去年發生了擴張。但我認為這裡最大和最重要的部分是實地商業執行和思考醫院系統中的工作流程，對，管理和解決這個問題並與醫院合作解決這個工作流程可能是團隊最大的影響曾有過。然後我們將繼續投資更多的臨床數據和產品升級。所以我對這個產品感覺很好。

Our next question comes from Vijay Kumar from Evercore ISI.

我們的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Vijay Kumar。

Congrats on the (inaudible) this morning, and I had 1 back, Robert, on this base EPS question. I think based on some of the numbers you disclosed, it looks like the base earnings EPS is about $4.10 in fiscal ['23], excluding COVID testing. Assuming base EPS grows double digits, historical average algorithm, we're looking at something like 450-ish for fiscal '24. The variables here are of endemic COVID testing run rate, [what if] inflation coming down and capital deployment assumptions, right? So if you could just parse out, is $250 million, $300 million like a right number for endemic COVID testing. And what is your current inflation -- total gross inflation that Abbott has taken a hit on versus prepandemic? And what part of that inflation is coming down? Or could there be some pricing offsets in that cap deployment?

恭喜今天早上（聽不清），羅伯特，關於這個基本的 EPS 問題，我得到了 1 次回复。我認為，根據您披露的一些數字，不包括 COVID 測試，財政 ['23] 的基本收益 EPS 似乎約為 4.10 美元。假設基本每股收益增長兩位數，歷史平均算法，我們正在尋找 24 財年的 450 左右。這裡的變量是地方性 COVID 測試運行率、[如果] 通貨膨脹下降和資本部署假設，對嗎？所以，如果你能分析出來，是 2.5 億美元，3 億美元就像地方性 COVID 測試的正確數字。你目前的通貨膨脹率是多少——雅培受到打擊的總通貨膨脹率與大流行前相比？通脹的哪一部分正在下降？或者在該上限部署中可能會有一些定價抵消？

Sure. So I think you've got the numbers kind of in the right direction there, Vijay, if I followed all of that. And I would say, as I said, that primary driver of that is going to be the base business performance driving that growth. Regarding COVID for 2024, listen, I'm going to need to see a little bit how the testing environment evolves. We brought down the forecast for this year based on what we're seeing. I'd say there's very little public investment, I would say, in testing.

當然。所以我認為你的數字方向是正確的，Vijay，如果我遵循所有這些的話。正如我所說，我會說，主要驅動力將是推動增長的基本業務績效。關於 2024 年的 COVID，聽著，我需要了解一下測試環境是如何演變的。我們根據我們所看到的情況下調了今年的預測。我會說在測試方面的公共投資很少。

So it's mostly now a private market. I think we do very well in that segment with the brand that we've built, not just here in the U.S., but overseas also. But it might be a little bit early to try and forecast what COVID is going to be next year. But I think the number you threw out there of a few hundred million dollars is maybe a good starting point. But again, we're going to have to see how that evolves during the year. Regarding your inflation question, I'm going to ask Bob to address it.

所以它現在主要是一個私人市場。我認為我們憑藉我們打造的品牌在該領域做得很好，不僅在美國這裡，而且在海外也是如此。但是，現在嘗試預測明年的 COVID 情況可能還為時過早。但我認為你拋出的幾億美元的數字可能是一個很好的起點。但同樣，我們將不得不看看這一年的發展情況。關於你的通貨膨脹問題，我要請鮑勃來解決。

Yes. Vijay, so we saw a lot of inflation, which we talked about on the last few calls, really hitting us last year, it was probably tuned around $1 billion. We saw some carryover inflation there into this year, but we've essentially been able to offset that through some of the gross margin programs we have across our businesses, which Robert talked on as well as taking some price in some of the areas of the business, again, with more consumer-facing businesses. So we've really been able to kind of mute that carryover inflation this year, but we still have probably about $1 billion, call it, 240, 250 basis points worth of -- where the headwind currently sitting in our gross margin.

是的。 Vijay，所以我們看到了很多通貨膨脹，我們在最近幾次電話會議上談到了這一點，去年真的打擊了我們，它可能調整到 10 億美元左右。今年我們看到了一些結轉通貨膨脹，但我們基本上已經能夠通過我們在業務中的一些毛利率計劃來抵消這一點，羅伯特談到了這一點，並在一些領域採取了一些價格業務，再次，與更多面向消費者的業務。因此，我們今年確實能夠抑制結轉通脹，但我們仍然可能有大約 10 億美元，稱之為 240、250 個基點的價值——目前我們毛利率的逆風。

Understood. And then sorry, Robert, capital deployment, I think CSI acquisition, people thought was on the smaller side. How are you thinking about capital deployment? And then one on product side. The Libre U.S. number, 50% was a big number. Is there anything from a competitive perspective that's going on? Is Abbott gaining share? Or is this the underlying market growth?

明白了。然後抱歉，羅伯特，資本部署，我認為 CSI 收購，人們認為是在較小的一邊。您如何考慮資本配置？然後是產品方面的一個。 Libre U.S. 的數字，50% 是一個很大的數字。從競爭的角度來看，有什麼事情正在發生嗎？雅培正在獲得份額嗎？或者這是潛在的市場增長？

I'll talk about us. I mean I think the 50% growth there is pretty strong. We've been at this rate for couple of quarters now. I think it's a combination of our product launch and our execution and expansion of the market. So I think the 50% here is -- like I said, I don't know what the other manufacturers are going to -- are seeing, but that 50%, I'd say that's our growth rate. And so I think it's doing very well. Sorry, what was your first question? It got...

我會談談我們。我的意思是我認為那裡 50% 的增長非常強勁。我們已經有幾個季度保持這種速度了。我認為這是我們產品發布與我們的執行和市場擴張的結合。所以我認為這裡的 50% 是——就像我說的，我不知道其他製造商會怎樣——正在看到，但那 50%，我會說這是我們的增長率。所以我認為它做得很好。抱歉，你的第一個問題是什麼？它得到了...

On cap deployment, cap deployment.

關於上限部署，上限部署。

Yes. I mean I think you guys almost feel like you want to have like some sort of model from us in terms of how we do this. I guess the best model -- the only model that we're looking at is what's the best return for our shareholders here. And what we found is having this kind of balanced approach where we're committed to a strong and growing dividend. We make the investments in our organic opportunities to drive organic growth. And we've been doing those in Med Device, in Diagnostics, in Nutrition.

是的。我的意思是，我認為你們幾乎覺得你們想要從我們這裡獲得某種模式，就像我們如何做到這一點一樣。我想最好的模式——我們正在尋找的唯一模式是我們股東的最佳回報。我們發現採用這種平衡的方法，我們致力於獲得強勁且不斷增長的紅利。我們對我們的有機機會進行投資以推動有機增長。我們一直在 Med Device、Diagnostics 和 Nutrition 領域開展這些工作。

And if there's an opportunity for M&A, to able to add to the portfolio, then we'll do that. And we announced the -- our intention to acquire CSI. And I think it was fit exactly our criteria here, Vijay, which is -- it's a great strategic fit, wanted to build more of a position in the peripheral side. You've been seeing what we've been doing. We acquired a thrombectomy company about 1.5 years ago, now looking at atherectomy with CSI. So it's a good strategic fit.

如果有機會進行併購，能夠增加投資組合，那麼我們就會這樣做。我們宣布了——我們打算收購 CSI。我認為這完全符合我們的標準，Vijay，這是一個很好的戰略契合，希望在外圍建立更多的位置。你一直在看我們一直在做什麼。大約 1.5 年前，我們收購了一家血栓切除術公司，現在正在研究 CSI 的斑塊切除術。所以這是一個很好的戰略契合。

They have a strong position in a growth area that we like, and we believe that we can add value and the deal made sense financially for the company. So that kind of fits into our framework of how we look at M&A and how I've talked about it. So the allocation is balanced, and we'll look at what's the best return for our shareholders as we allocate the capital.

他們在我們喜歡的增長領域擁有強大的地位，我們相信我們可以增加價值，這筆交易對公司來說在財務上是有意義的。因此，這符合我們如何看待併購以及我如何談論它的框架。所以分配是平衡的，我們將在分配資本時考慮什麼是股東的最佳回報。

Our next question comes from Joanne Wuensch from Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Joanne Wuensch。

Nice quarter. A couple of catch-up questions. Can you update your guidance and thoughts on interest expense, and where you are on share purchases in the quarter and plans for the year? And I'll toss my real question in. EPD, another quarter of double-digit growth, what is driving that? And in your view, how sustainable is that in a potentially recessionary environment?

不錯的季度。幾個追趕問題。您能否更新您對利息支出的指導和想法，以及您在本季度和年度計劃中的股票購買情況？我會拋出我真正的問題。EPD，又一個四分之一的兩位數增長，是什麼推動了這一點？在您看來，在潛在的衰退環境中，這種情況的可持續性如何？

Okay. I'll take the EPD question here. Listen, I think that this is a -- we've been doing this for many years here, I would say. I think we've carved out this, I talked about this, nice little space for us in the global pharma market, which is, I call, fast-growing emerging markets with a branded generic focus. There's a way of how to operate in this. It's not operating the way you would operate with proprietary pharma. And it's different from operating in pure generics.

好的。我將在這裡回答 EPD 問題。聽著，我認為這是——我們已經在這裡做了很多年了，我會說。我認為我們已經解決了這一點，我談到了這一點，我們在全球製藥市場上的小空間，我稱之為快速增長的新興市場，以品牌仿製藥為重點。有一種操作方法。它的運作方式與專有製藥公司不同。而且它與純仿製藥不同。

And I think that what you're seeing now is really an organization that has kind of figured out the right sweet spot on how to execute on this strategy. And you're seeing the results over the last couple of years. We tend to really focus on local for local. We pick the right markets, and we develop portfolios that are relevant for those specific markets by having local R&D, local manufacturing. So that's done very well for us. And I think the team has done a really good job at driving profitability. So not just the top line, but also the bottom line.

而且我認為您現在看到的確實是一個組織，它已經找到了執行該戰略的正確最佳位置。你看到了過去幾年的結果。我們傾向於真正關注本地的本地。我們選擇合適的市場，並通過本地研發和本地製造開發與這些特定市場相關的產品組合。所以這對我們來說做得很好。而且我認為該團隊在提高盈利能力方面做得非常好。因此，不僅是頂線，還有底線。

One of the challenges here, Joanne, is obviously FX, but they've actually -- this group has actually driven absolute dollar profit growth in the business. So I think they've figured out how to do this really well, not just with portfolios, but also channels and integrating that. It is a very unique model. And I think the team have done a really good job at understanding it.

喬安妮，這裡的挑戰之一顯然是外匯，但他們實際上——這個團隊實際上推動了業務的絕對美元利潤增長。所以我認為他們已經想出瞭如何很好地做到這一點，不僅僅是投資組合，還有渠道和整合。這是一個非常獨特的模型。而且我認為團隊在理解它方面做得非常好。

From a geography perspective, I mean, in my opening comments, a lot of growth in Southeast Asia, a lot of growth in Latin America for us and great growth in India, too. As you know, we've got a large business in India there, too. So I think it's working very well. And I think it's very sustainable, too, given the dynamics of these markets. Regarding your question on interest...

從地理角度來看，我的意思是，在我的開場白中，東南亞有很多增長，拉丁美洲有很多增長，印度也有很大增長。如您所知，我們在印度也有很大的業務。所以我認為它運作良好。考慮到這些市場的動態，我認為它也非常可持續。關於你的興趣問題...

Yes. So Joanne, in terms of kind of net interest expense for the year, we're forecasting a few hundred million dollars there. And then you had a question on share buybacks. As you know, historically, we do buybacks to offset dilution. And so we did some buybacks in the first quarter, again, a few hundred million dollars' worth of buybacks.

是的。所以喬安妮，就今年的淨利息支出而言，我們預測那裡有幾億美元。然後你有一個關於股票回購的問題。如您所知，從歷史上看，我們進行回購以抵消稀釋。因此，我們在第一季度進行了一些回購，價值數億美元的回購。

Operator, we'll take 1 -- go ahead.

接線員，我們將採取 1 - 繼續。

Our next question will come from Danielle Antalffy from UBS.

我們的下一個問題將來自瑞銀的 Danielle Antalffy。

Just a question on specifically 2 components of the Structural Heart business. The first being MitraClip. Robert, just curious about what you're seeing in that market. That was a market that was severely impacted by both COVID mortality and hospital staffing constraints. Just curious about where you think we are in the recovery specifically in that market? You did seem to put up another decent growth quarter this quarter. And then I have 1 follow-up on Amulet.

只是關於結構心臟業務的兩個具體組成部分的問題。第一個是 MitraClip。羅伯特，只是想知道你在那個市場上看到了什麼。這是一個受到 COVID 死亡率和醫院人員配置限制的嚴重影響的市場。只是想知道您認為我們在那個市場的複蘇中處於什麼位置？您本季度似乎確實實現了另一個不錯的增長季度。然後我對 Amulet 進行了 1 次跟進。

Sure. I think it was double-digit growth in the quarter. I think what we saw there was continued international momentum, and I think that's a great opportunity for us is to be able to expand the technology internationally. We have a new manufacturing site that we invested in, that's up and running, and I think that will give us the opportunity to be able to expand this more internationally. So I think that's a great growth driver for us.

當然。我認為這是本季度的兩位數增長。我認為我們看到的是持續的國際勢頭，我認為這對我們來說是一個很好的機會，能夠在國際上擴展這項技術。我們投資了一個新的製造基地，該基地已經啟動並正在運行，我認為這將使我們有機會在國際上進一步擴展。所以我認為這對我們來說是一個巨大的增長動力。

And then recovery in the U.S. As I said, I think some of the systems have figured out how to manage the staffing shortage, our teams play an important role in that also. So I think that -- listen, I'm cautiously optimistic here that this part of the ramping up of MitraClip has been addressed. From our side, we continue to focus on driving the patient referral funnel. I mean that was probably one of the areas that got shut down that we were starting to build. So I'm starting to see good momentum there on building those patient referral funnels.

然後是美國的複蘇。正如我所說，我認為一些系統已經找到了解決人員短缺的方法，我們的團隊在這方面也發揮著重要作用。所以我認為——聽著，我對 MitraClip 的這部分升級已經得到解決持謹慎樂觀的態度。在我們這邊，我們繼續專注於推動患者轉診渠道。我的意思是，這可能是我們開始建設的被關閉的領域之一。所以我開始看到建立那些患者轉診渠道的良好勢頭。

Okay, that's great. And then on Amulet, the question I have there is really about where you think you are in the launch. I mean that's a product that very high growth market. But let's be honest, you launched, I think, that product during Omicron right? So just curious about how you would characterize where you are in the launch of Amulet.

好的，那太好了。然後在 Amulet 上，我的問題實際上是關於你認為你在發射中的位置。我的意思是這是一個非常高增長市場的產品。但老實說，我認為你在 Omicron 期間推出了該產品，對嗎？所以很好奇你會如何描述你在 Amulet 發佈時所處的位置。

Yes. And listen, it's going well. We've got a nice kind of ramp. I guess I wanted that ramp to be a little bit more vertical. I would say one of the challenges we face there is exactly like you said, it's difficult to launch a product right into the pandemic. We saw that with a couple of products also. But I think that the team has done a really good job here of being thoughtful about how to build a strong and sustainable position in the market. We're not in the entire market. We haven't gone out and launched into all the accounts. But the accounts that we have launched into, Danielle, we're actually seeing roughly about a 25% market share into those accounts.

是的。聽著，進展順利。我們有一個很好的坡道。我想我想讓那個斜坡更垂直一點。我想說的是，我們面臨的挑戰之一就像您所說的那樣，很難在大流行中推出產品。我們也看到了一些產品。但我認為團隊在考慮如何在市場上建立強大和可持續的地位方面做得非常好。我們不在整個市場。我們還沒有出去並啟動所有帳戶。但是我們已經啟動的賬戶，Danielle，我們實際上看到這些賬戶大約有 25% 的市場份額。

So I think that's the right kind of base to work off from ensuring that the accounts that we're in, we're starting to see repeat usage, continued usage, expanded usage. And as we start to see more of that, then we'll start to ramp up and start to go to new accounts. So I think this is an exciting area for us. Yes, I would want it to be a little bit more vertical in terms of its launch, but I'm very optimistic about the product, about the team, about the position that we built in. So -- and we're investing in it, right? We've got our CATALYST trial here that's enrolling pretty well, too, comparing Amulet to NOACs. So I think this is a great opportunity, a great area of investment and growth for us.

因此，我認為這是確保我們所處帳戶的正確基礎，我們開始看到重複使用、持續使用、擴大使用。當我們開始看到更多這樣的內容時，我們將開始增加並開始使用新帳戶。所以我認為這對我們來說是一個令人興奮的領域。是的，我希望它在發布方面更垂直一點，但我對產品、團隊以及我們建立的地位非常樂觀。所以——我們正在投資對的？我們在這裡進行了 CATALYST 試驗，將 Amulet 與 NOAC 進行了比較，該試驗的註冊情況也很好。所以我認為這是一個很好的機會，對我們來說是一個很好的投資和增長領域。

Operator, we'll take 1 more question.

接線員，我們再回答 1 個問題。

And our last question will come from Matt Miksic from Barclays.

我們的最後一個問題將來自巴克萊銀行的 Matt Miksic。

Thanks so much for squeezing me in. So you covered a lot of ground, obviously, out of here. So maybe, Robert, if I could just ask -- just 1 follow-up on your comments this morning, which came across, I think, to most folks as noticeably more bullish and encouraged by what you saw in Q1? And maybe just recognizing that investor expectations have also risen a bit throughout Q1 as checks and everything came in during the quarter. But would you describe what you're seeing in the environment as something like a volume recovery or some other companies have used this backlog concept or something that might is strong now and may ease whenever, later in the year? Or is what you're seeing maybe something more general in terms of lifting productivity and volumes that could be more sustainable?

非常感謝你把我擠進來。所以你覆蓋了很多地方，很明顯，離開這裡。所以也許，羅伯特，如果我可以問 - 只是對你今天早上的評論進行 1 次跟進，我認為，對於大多數人來說，你在第一季度看到的情況明顯更加樂觀和鼓舞？也許只是認識到投資者的預期在整個第一季度也有所上升，因為支票和所有東西都在本季度收到。但是，您是否會將您在環境中看到的情況描述為卷恢復之類的東西，或者其他一些公司已經使用了這種積壓概念，或者現在可能很強大並且可能在今年晚些時候隨時緩解的東西？或者你所看到的可能是更普遍的提高生產力和更可持續的產量方面的東西？

Yes. I guess the way I'm seeing this, and I've traveled quite a bit during this first quarter, and I made the statement in my opening remarks. I sense in talking to systems and talking to consumers, again, not just in the U.S., but around the world that there is this focus now of, okay, COVID is behind us, but I want to stay healthy, I want to get healthy, and I want to stay there. So as it relates to procedures, what I'm seeing is people say, listen, I've been putting this off not because of COVID, not because there's some sort of backlog. But I've been putting this off for a couple of years, I want to go and address this. Or on the consumer side of our products, whether it's EPD or Nutrition, we're seeing, again, a lot more focus on, okay, I'm going to spend some of my disposable income on these products, on these health products.

是的。我想我是這樣看的，在第一季度我走了很多路，我在開場白中做了這樣的陳述。在與系統和消費者交談時，我再次感覺到，不僅在美國，而且在全世界，現在都在關注，好吧，COVID 已經過去了，但我想保持健康，我想變得健康，我想留在那裡。因此，就程序而言，我看到的是人們說，聽著，我一直在推遲這件事，不是因為 COVID，也不是因為有某種積壓。但我已經推遲了幾年，我想去解決這個問題。或者在我們產品的消費者方面，無論是 EPD 還是營養，我們再次看到更多關注，好吧，我將把我的一些可支配收入花在這些產品上，這些健康產品上。

So I don't see this as like a backlog aspect here that we're going to work our way through. Maybe there's some areas or geographies that you might have a little bit of that. But we tend to -- on the procedure side, we tend to work with the systems and we play a role and preplanning this procedure. So we have a sense of what the funnel is. And I don't see like this oversized funnel over here because of a backlog. What I do see is more funnel just because people are wanting to invest in their health. And on the flip side of that is I think the systems have figured out whether it's in diagnostics or whether it's in cardio procedures, they figured out how to deal with some of these staffing issues that I don't think are -- will ever be back to normal.

所以我不認為這是我們要解決的積壓問題。也許在某些地區或地區你可能有一點這樣的。但我們傾向於 - 在程序方面，我們傾向於使用系統，我們發揮作用並預先計劃此程序。因此，我們了解漏斗是什麼。由於積壓，我在這裡看不到這個超大漏斗。我確實看到更多的漏斗，因為人們想要投資於他們的健康。另一方面，我認為系統已經弄清楚它是在診斷中還是在心臟手術中，他們想出瞭如何處理我認為不會 - 永遠不會出現的一些人員配備問題恢復正常。

So I think that what you're seeing are systems, obviously, addressing some of the shortfalls, but not just by hiring, but also using technology, working with companies to figure out how to offset some of that delta and labor shortage. So I think this is very sustainable. And I think you're seeing some of the companies that are reporting -- yesterday, I think we saw some companies report talk about growth and procedure [change]. So I think it is sustainable. I don't think it's a bolus of backlog, so at least that's how we're seeing it, at least on our products.

所以我認為你所看到的是系統，顯然，解決了一些不足，但不僅僅是通過招聘，而且還使用技術，與公司合作找出如何抵消部分三角洲和勞動力短缺的方法。所以我認為這是非常可持續的。而且我認為你看到一些公司正在報告 - 昨天，我認為我們看到一些公司報告談論增長和程序[變化]。所以我認為這是可持續的。我不認為這是積壓的一團，所以至少我們是這樣看待它的，至少在我們的產品上是這樣。

I'll just wrap up here then. I think like I said in my comments, I think we're off to -- we're definitely off to a very strong start to the year here. Growth in our underlying base business has accelerated, and it's strong, and it's across the board, whether it's the different product groups, platforms or geographies. We're now forecasting at least high single-digit growth in our underlying base business year. And I think this is a pretty unique and differentiated growth profile. Part of it is market conditions improving, but I also think part of it is our new product pipeline that continues to be highly productive. So we're really pleased with how we started off the year. And with that, we'll wrap up, and thank you for joining us.

那我就在這裡結束吧。我想就像我在評論中所說的那樣，我認為我們將要 - 我們今年肯定會有一個非常強勁的開端。我們基礎業務的增長已經加速，而且很強勁，而且是全面的，無論是不同的產品組、平台還是地域。我們現在預測我們的基礎業務年度至少會有高個位數的增長。我認為這是一個非常獨特和差異化的增長模式。部分原因是市場狀況有所改善，但我也認為部分原因是我們的新產品線繼續保持高效。所以我們對今年的開端感到非常滿意。至此，我們將結束，感謝您加入我們。

Thank you, operator, and thank you for all of your questions. This now concludes Abbott's conference call. A webcast replay of this call will be available after 11:00 a.m. Central Time today on Abbott's Investor Relations website at abbottinvestor.com. Thank you for joining us.

謝謝接線員，也感謝您提出的所有問題。雅培的電話會議到此結束。本次電話會議的網絡直播重播將於美國中部時間今天上午 11:00 後在雅培的投資者關係網站 abbottinvestor.com 上播出。感謝您加入我們。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a wonderful day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。每個人，祝你有美好的一天。