Acme United Corp (ACU) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the Acme United Corporation's first-quarter 2025 financial results conference call. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to your host, Mr. Walter Johnsen, Chairman and CEO. Please go ahead, sir.

大家好，歡迎參加 Acme United Corporation 2025 年第一季財務業績電話會議。現在，我想將電話轉給主持人、董事長兼執行長沃爾特·約翰森先生。先生，請繼續。

Good morning. Welcome to the first-quarter 2025 earnings conference call for Acme United Corporation. I'm Walter C. Johnsen, Chairman and CEO. With me is Paul Driscoll, our Chief Financial Officer, who will first read the safe harbor statement. Paul?

早安.歡迎參加 Acme United Corporation 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。我是董事長兼執行長 Walter C. Johnsen。和我一起的是我們的財務長保羅·德里斯科爾 (Paul Driscoll)，他將首先宣讀安全港聲明。保羅？

Forward-looking statements in this conference call, including without limitation, statements related to the company's plans, strategies, objectives, expectations, intentions, and adequacy of capital and other resources are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

本次電話會議中的前瞻性陳述，包括但不限於與公司計劃、策略、目標、期望、意圖以及資本和其他資源的充足性有關的陳述，均根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法》的安全港條款作出。

Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties, including, among others, those arising as a result of a challenging global macro-economic environment characterized by continued high inflation, high interest rates, and the imposition of new tariffs or changes in existing tariff rates.

投資者應注意，此類前瞻性陳述涉及風險和不確定性，包括但不限於因持續高通膨、高利率以及徵收新關稅或改變現有關稅稅率等具有挑戰性的全球宏觀經濟環境而產生的風險和不確定性。

In addition, we have experienced supply chain disruptions, and we may experience these disruptions in the future. We are also subject to additional risks and uncertainties as described in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in our current earnings release.

此外，我們已經經歷了供應鏈中斷，並且將來可能會經歷這些中斷。我們也面臨著我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的定期文件和當前收益報告中所述的額外風險和不確定性。

Thank you, Paul. Acme United had a solid quarter in 2025. Our net sales were $46 million compared to $45 million in the first quarter of 2024. Net income for the first quarter of 2025 was $1.7 million compared to $1.6 million last year. Earnings per share increased 5% from $0.39 to $0.41.

謝謝你，保羅。Acme United 在 2025 年的一個季度表現穩健。我們的淨銷售額為 4,600 萬美元，而 2024 年第一季為 4,500 萬美元。2025 年第一季淨收入為 170 萬美元，而去年為 160 萬美元。每股收益從 0.39 美元增長 5% 至 0.41 美元。

Our First Aid business in the first quarter of 2025 increased 14%, which drove our growth. The Westcott cutting tools had a very large initial order of craft products to a major mass market retailer in the first quarter of last year. Sales of these craft items were strong, and the product family continues to grow. Our DMT sharpeners continued to gain placement in major retailers in the kitchen segment and had strong growth in the quarter.

我們的急救業務在 2025 年第一季成長了 14%，推動了我們的成長。去年第一季度，Westcott 切削工具向一家大型福斯市場零售商下達了一筆非常大的工藝品訂單。這些工藝品的銷售勢頭強勁，而且產品系列還在不斷擴大。我們的 DMT 磨刀器繼續在廚房領域的主要零售商中佔據一席之地，並在本季度實現了強勁增長。

The European business decreased 7% in the first quarter due to a large promotion in 2024 that did not repeat this year. We have broadened the first aid and medical product line in Europe and begun new distribution in Switzerland and the Netherlands. We plan to strengthen the First Aid sales team in Germany and are preparing for our first sales booth at the MEDICA show in Dusseldorf in the fall. The Canadian office channel sales were soft, but the First Aid business continued to grow. We have new first aid distribution in the mass and industrial markets, and we are also increasing the sales team in Canada.

由於 2024 年的大規模促銷活動今年沒有重複，歐洲業務在第一季下降了 7%。我們擴大了歐洲的急救和醫療產品線，並開始在瑞士和荷蘭開展新的分銷業務。我們計劃加強德國急救銷售團隊，並正在為秋季在杜塞爾多夫 MEDICA 展會上的第一個銷售展位做準備。加拿大辦公通路銷售疲軟，但急救業務持續成長。我們在大眾和工業市場有新的急救分銷，我們也正在增加加拿大的銷售團隊。

Last month, we installed our first robotic system in our Rocky Mount, North Carolina plant. This system has four robots that process bulk antiseptic packets for our First Aid product line, orient them for packaging, fold smart compliance boxes, and fill them. This custom-design machine costs about $650,000, replaces seven employees and has less than a two-year payback. We have just ordered a second system for our Vancouver, Washington First Aid plant.

上個月，我們在北卡羅來納州洛基山的工廠安裝了第一個機器人系統。該系統有四個機器人，負責處理我們急救產品線的散裝消毒劑包、對其進行包裝定向、折疊智慧合規盒並進行填充。這台客製化設計的機器成本約為 65 萬美元，可取代七名員工，投資回收期不到兩年。我們剛剛為華盛頓溫哥華急救工廠訂購了第二套系統。

Our Spill Magic product line has increased substantially since we purchased the company about five years ago. Its items include bodily fluid and bloodborne pathogen cleanup kits, as well as general materials from removing fluids from spills. We have outgrown our current facility outside Nashville, Tennessee, and are evaluating a new facility to purchase. Our intention is to install automated powder transfer and filling equipment once we own an appropriate site.

自從我們五年前收購 Spill Magic 公司以來，我們的產品線大幅增加。其產品包括體液和血源性病原體清理套件，以及清除溢出液體的一般材料。我們現有的位於田納西州納許維爾郊外的工廠已經不堪重負，因此正在考慮購買新的工廠。一旦我們擁有合適的場地，我們的目的是安裝自動粉末轉移和填充設備。

As you may know, tariffs are paid by the importer on the cost of products. We have focused relentlessly on reducing our internal overhead and worked with some of our customers to ship domestically in full containers. We have generated over $2 million in annual productivity savings from capital projects and our production operations.

您可能知道，關稅是由進口商根據產品成本支付的。我們一直致力於降低內部管理費用，並與一些客戶合作，在國內使用整箱貨物進行運輸。我們每年透過資本項目和生產營運節省了超過 200 萬美元的生產力。

We are uncertain what the tariff levels will be in the coming months, but we are experienced in dealing with past tariffs and high inflation. Although the tariff uncertainty is uncomfortable, we also view it as an opportunity to gain market share.

我們不確定未來幾個月的關稅水準會是多少，但我們在處理過去的關稅和高通膨方面經驗豐富。儘管關稅的不確定性令人不安，但我們也將其視為獲得市場份額的機會。

We have eight plants in the United States that we intend to use to build competitively priced products and a broad network of sources in India, Egypt, Thailand, and other locations. The current environment may create new opportunities for acquisitions. We believe that our strengths in sourcing and manufacturing and strong financial resources could add significant value to potential acquisitions.

我們在美國擁有八家工廠，打算利用這些工廠生產具有價格競爭力的產品，並在印度、埃及、泰國和其他地區建立廣泛的貨源網路。目前的環境可能會創造新的收購機會。我們相信，我們在採購和製造方面的優勢以及強大的財務資源可以為潛在的收購增加巨大的價值。

I will now turn the call to Paul.

現在我將電話轉給保羅。

Acme's net sales for the first quarter of 2025 were $46 million compared to $45 million in 2024, a 2% increase in net sales. And the US segment increased 3% in the quarter, mainly due to higher sales of first aid and medical products sales. School and office products declined due to first-time craft sale in the first quarter of 2024.

Acme 2025 年第一季的淨銷售額為 4,600 萬美元，而 2024 年為 4,500 萬美元，淨銷售額增長了 2%。美國分部本季成長了 3%，主要原因是急救和醫療產品銷售額增加。由於 2024 年第一季首次出現工藝品銷售，學校和辦公用品銷量下降。

Net sales in Europe for the first quarter of 2025 declined 4% in local currency compared to the first quarter of 2024 due to timing. Net sales in Canada for the first quarter of 2025 increased 6%, and local currency due to higher sales of first aid products. The gross margin was 39.0% in the first quarter of 2025 versus 38.7% in the first quarter of 2024. SG&A expenses for the first quarter of 2025 were $15.5 million or 34% of net sales compared with $14.8 million or 33% of net sales for the same period of 2024.

由於時間原因，2025 年第一季歐洲淨銷售額以當地貨幣計算與 2024 年第一季相比下降了 4%。2025 年第一季加拿大的淨銷售額成長了 6%，由於急救產品銷售額增加，當地貨幣也成長了。2025 年第一季的毛利率為 39.0%，而 2024 年第一季的毛利率為 38.7%。2025 年第一季的銷售、一般及行政費用為 1,550 萬美元，佔淨銷售額的 34%，而 2024 年同期為 1,480 萬美元，佔淨銷售額的 33%。

Net income for the first quarter of 2025 was $1.65 million or $0.41 per diluted share compared to net income of $1.63 million or $0.39 per diluted share for the same period of 2024, an increase of 1% in net income and 5% in earnings per share.

2025 年第一季淨收入為 165 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.41 美元，而 2024 年同期淨收入為 163 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.39 美元，淨收入增長 1%，每股收益增長 5%。

The company's bank debt less cash on March 31, 2025, was $27 million compared to $32 million on March 31, 2024. During a 12-month period, we purchased the assets of Elite First Aid for $6.1 million, paid $2.2 million in dividends, and generated approximately $12 million in free cash flow.

截至 2025 年 3 月 31 日，該公司的銀行債務減去現金為 2,700 萬美元，而 2024 年 3 月 31 日為 3,200 萬美元。在 12 個月期間，我們以 610 萬美元的價格收購了 Elite First Aid 的資產，支付了 220 萬美元的股息，並產生了約 1,200 萬美元的自由現金流。

Thank you, Paul. I will now open the call to questions.

謝謝你，保羅。我現在開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) Jim Marrone, Singular Research.

（操作員指示） Jim Marrone，Singular Research。

My first question is with regards to acquisition and the second will be with regards to tariffs. With regards to the acquisitions, you mentioned in your prepared comments that you're looking at making an acquisition in the near future. I'm just curious whether it would be a geographic one or with regards to product line. And should it be product line, will it be focused on medical kits and cutting tools, or would you be expanding into other products related to what you currently have?

我的第一個問題是關於收購，第二個問題是關於關稅。關於收購，您在準備好的評論中提到您正在考慮在不久的將來進行收購。我只是好奇它是與地理位置有關還是與產品線有關。它應該是產品線嗎？它會專注於醫療套件和切割工具嗎？還是會擴展到與現有產品相關的其他產品？

And then I'll ask a question with regards to tariffs after you answered the acquisitions.

在您回答收購問題後，我會問一個有關關稅的問題。

Okay, thank you for that question. Regarding the acquisition strategy, we have two major businesses: the cutting tool business and of course first aid, and either one of them are great places to add acquisitions. We have been working very hard in the [space]. And as you can imagine, there are ways to expand there, both with our competitors horizontally as well as companies that supply components that go into our first aid kits. Geographically, we're looking at North America in either of those product lines.

好的，謝謝你的提問。關於收購策略，我們有兩大業務：切削刀具業務，當然還有急救業務，其中任何一個都是進行收購的好地方。我們一直努力[空間]。正如您所想像的，我們可以透過多種方式進行擴展，既可以橫向擴展我們的競爭對手，也可以與為我們的急救箱提供零件的公司進行擴展。從地理位置上看，我們正在關注北美的這兩條產品線。

Let me go on a little bit about why this is a special time for us. First, we have large market shares in both of our businesses, so we have not only the ability to have leverage on our suppliers. But also, we have a good pulse of the market globally. Secondly, if these tariffs hold, they will put substantial working capital pressure on our competitors as they buy inventory at a higher price to replace what they sold, as well as they replace in receivables with a higher level of receivables because you priced out a higher product.

讓我稍微解釋一下為什麼這對我們來說是一個特別的時刻。首先，我們在兩個業務中都佔有很大的市場份額，因此我們不僅有能力對供應商施加影響。而且，我們對全球市場也有很好的把握。其次，如果這些關稅持續下去，它們將對我們的競爭對手造成巨大的營運資金壓力，因為他們會以更高的價格購買庫存來替換他們所銷售的產品，而且由於你為更高的產品定價，他們會用更高水平的應收賬款來替代應收賬款。

Some of our competitors don't have balance sheets to sustain that, and we do. So as we're looking at the acquisition area, we can see our competitors having substantially harder margin pressure than perhaps we will, and they will have a more difficult time financing their ongoing businesses. So we're looking aggressively in both areas.

我們的一些競爭對手沒有資產負債表來維持這一水平，而我們有。因此，當我們審視收購領域時，我們可以看到我們的競爭對手面臨的利潤壓力比我們大得多，而且他們在為正在進行的業務融資時面臨更大的困難。因此，我們正在積極探索這兩個領域。

Jim, you want to ask the second question on tariffs?

吉姆，你想問第二個關於關稅的問題嗎？

Yeah, I can. But before I do that, just with regards to the acquisition. So do you anticipate attractive valuations on the offers that (technical difficulty) as a result of these headwinds? And then if so, what kind of EV to be the kind of multiples would you be looking at?

是的，我可以。但在此之前，我先談談收購事宜。那麼，您是否預期這些不利因素（技術難度）會導致報價具有吸引力？那麼如果是這樣的話，您會考慮哪種類型的 EV 來實現這種倍數呢？

Well, first, we pay fair prices, so I don't expect us to be finding great bargains, but you never know. Relative to how we value a company, that really depends a lot on what value add we bring to the situation. As some of our best deals have had no sales at all. For example, Camillus Knives Company, which we bought out of bankruptcy, and we sold it for 100 times. So it's not really a formula based on valuation, but clearly, we're fair -- we pay fair prices in the market, and that would continue.

嗯，首先，我們支付的是公平的價格，所以我不指望我們能找到很划算的東西，但誰也不知道。相對於我們如何評估一家公司，這實際上很大程度上取決於我們為公司帶來了什麼附加價值。因為我們的一些最優惠的交易根本沒有成交。例如，我們從破產邊緣收購了卡米勒斯刀具公司，然後以 100 倍的價格出售。因此，這並不是一個基於估值的公式，但顯然，我們是公平的——我們在市場上支付公平的價格，而且這種情況會持續下去。

Great. Thank you for that. With regards to the tariffs, though, you said there's a lot of tariff uncertainty. Are you looking at it from the supply side as far as what you're buying products at, or are you looking at it in terms of your sales and any potential heading from that? And also, aside from the tariffs, there may be some recessionary headwinds, and do you anticipate that impacting the business at all?

偉大的。謝謝你。不過，關於關稅，您說存在著許多不確定性。您是從供應角度來看待您購買的產品，還是從銷售角度以及由此產生的任何潛在趨勢來看待它？此外，除了關稅之外，還可能存在一些經濟衰退的阻力，您預期這會對業務產生影響嗎？

Well, let me just address the tariffs in a broader sense. Right now, anything that we look at buying in China has 145% tariff. A week ago, the tariff was less -- three weeks ago it was 20%. We don't know what the tariffs will be three weeks from now for China, and that's the biggest manufacturer in the world for everybody.

好吧，讓我從更廣泛的意義上來談談關稅問題。目前，我們在中國購買的任何商品都有 145% 的關稅。一周前，關稅較低——三週前為 20%。我們不知道三週後對中國的關稅會是多少，而中國是世界上最大的製造商。

So you can imagine many customers, and including ourselves, are postponing delivery of product until we get clarity on what duty we pay. If we, for example, import product from China today, we pay 145% tariff. If the tariff drops to 30%, we're still stuck with the 145% we paid right now. Companies, all the major mass market retailers do a lot of direct importing from China, so they're paying the duties. They're doing the same thing we are.

因此你可以想像，包括我們自己在內的許多客戶都在推遲產品交付，直到我們明確知道需要繳納的關稅為止。例如，如果我們今天從中國進口產品，我們要支付145%的關稅。如果關稅降至 30%，我們仍然需要支付現在的 145%。公司，所有主要的大眾市場零售商都從中國直接進口大量商品，因此他們要繳納關稅。他們正在做和我們同樣的事情。

We're operating on the inventory that we have today, by and large, and what we're producing in the US and Canada, and we're being very cautious about how fast we ship that product because we don't want to get caught paying a high tariff which perhaps drops.

總的來說，我們目前經營的都是庫存，以及我們在美國和加拿大生產的產品，我們對產品的出貨速度非常謹慎，因為我們不想支付可能下降的高關稅。

At some point, we'll have to say pencils down, we're paying the tariff and we bring product in. And that would be a more sizable price increase. So when I talk about uncertainty, what I'm talking about is the price you pay for the product and the ultimate price you pay, that you charge the consumer, and we're trying to be smart about that to pass the best value we can to that consumer.

在某個時候，我們必須說放下鉛筆，我們支付關稅並引進產品。這將是一次更為大幅的價格上漲。因此，當我談到不確定性時，我指的是您為產品支付的價格以及您向消費者收取的最終價格，我們正試圖明智地處理這個問題，以便將最好的價值傳遞給消費者。

Great. And are you looking at alternative sources to the sourcing from China? Like, is there any options with regards to US-based supply lines and that adjustment that way?

偉大的。您正在尋找中國採購的替代來源嗎？例如，對於美國的供應線和相關調整，有什麼選擇嗎？

Well, sure. Remember that we have eight plants in the United States. We're making a lot of products here and we're getting busier here. That's why we're expanding Spill Magic in Tennessee. That's why we're increasing our automation in the US, both in Rocky Mountain and in Vancouver, Washington. So one major source for us at least is we're a domestic producer.

嗯，當然。請記住，我們在美國有八家工廠。我們在這裡生產很多產品，而且我們在這裡變得越來越忙。這就是我們在田納西州擴大 Spill Magic 的原因。這就是為什麼我們要在美國洛磯山脈和華盛頓州溫哥華加強自動化。因此，至少對我們來說，一個主要來源是我們是國內生產商。

The second is many of the factories in China are moving production to locations like Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and we've been participating with that for some time. Although there are tariffs now and we don't know the certainty of where they'll be, but in December, we began shipping some items out of Thailand that formerly were made in China.

第二，中國許多工廠正在將生產轉移到越南、泰國、柬埔寨等地，我們也參與其中有一段時間了。雖然現在有關稅，我們也不知道具體會徵收到什麼程度，但從 12 月開始，我們開始將一些以前在中國製造的商品運出泰國。

We've shifted other products to India, and we've got a robust sourcing, but you can't move overnight. And the tariff regime that has gone in place in two weeks means although there's room to expand over six months, there's not much room to change in two days. I hope that helps a little bit.

我們已將其他產品轉移到印度，我們擁有強大的採購能力，但不可能一夜之間就實現。兩週內實施的關稅制度意味著，雖然六個月內還有擴大的空間，但兩天內改變的空間並不大。我希望這能有所幫助。

It does, Walter. Thank you for that clarity. And again, good order. Thanks.

確實如此，沃爾特。感謝您的澄清。再次，秩序良好。謝謝。

Jeffrey Matthews, Ram Partners.

傑弗裡·馬修斯（Jeffrey Matthews），Ram Partners。

I have three questions, Walter. The first is on guidance. You haven't talked about the year ahead financially. And at the LD Micro conference last week, you talk, you did talk -- I think it was $3 million of inventory that you wisely bought ahead when the current administration was elected.

我有三個問題，沃特。一是引導。您還沒有談論未來一年的財務狀況。在上週的 LD Micro 會議上，您談到了——我認為您在現任政府當選時明智地提前購買了價值 300 萬美元的庫存。

I assume you're on LIFO, so does that mean if you have to start ordering stuff from China, you're going to take a big hit in the near term on your cost of goods sold? Or is there just no clarity at all right now to make any kind of comment on that?

我假設您採用的是後進先出法，那麼這是否意味著如果您必須開始從中國訂購商品，那麼您的銷售成本在短期內會受到很大打擊？或者現在根本沒有任何明確的消息可以對此作出評論？

We're on FIFO, first of all.

首先，我們採用先進先出 (FIFO) 原則。

Oh, okay.

哦好的。

Yeah. And I don't expect a big hit, but we do have -- when we start -- that inventory that we brought in was a safety stock and it's one that was very good to have done. You eventually run through your inventory, and you do eventually have to buy at a higher price, and you have to match your pricing to your costs. So we've been modeling that very, very carefully. And we've gone through the first two tariff increases that occurred, and that's the first 20%, and we're now implementing those increases. But the big one, 245% for China, we haven't, and we're trying to be smart with it.

是的。我並不期望出現大的衝擊，但是當我們開始時，我們引入的庫存是安全庫存，這是非常好的。您最終會用完庫存，並且最終必須以更高的價格購買，並且必須將定價與成本相匹配。因此我們一直非常非常仔細地進行建模。我們已經經歷了前兩次關稅上調，也就是前 20%，我們現在正在實施這些上調。但對中國來說，最大的目標稅率是 245%，我們還沒有，我們正在努力巧妙地利用它。

As far as guidance, I think it'd be -- even Walmart pulled off guidance because you have to have a stability of your cost base to be able to forecast what your sale is going to be. And I think that will occur, but it hasn't occurred yet.

就指導而言，我認為——甚至沃爾瑪也做出了指導，因為你必須保持成本基礎的穩定性才能預測銷售額。我認為這會發生，但目前還沒有發生。

And remember, this is the 17th, and I think it was April 2, when Liberation Day was announced, so it's been two weeks of chaos and a lot of modeling. And what we've done is we haven't pushed through a price increase. We've kept our head and we've watched as things have unfolded, but we will begin to be announcing the next round of price increases, which will probably come pretty much matching the increased costs.

請記住，這是 17 號，我記得宣布解放日是在 4 月 2 日，所以這兩週一直很混亂，而且做了大量的建模工作。我們所做的就是沒有推動價格上漲。我們一直保持冷靜，觀察著事態的發展，但我們將開始宣布下一輪價格上漲，其幅度可能與成本的增加基本一致。

Got it. Okay, thanks on that. And then to follow up on the acquisition side. In the past, you've been very opportunistic. And I can't think of a company with a better track record, frankly, maybe Berkshire Hathaway, if you exclude precision cast parts, but you've had a just a terrific track record on acquisitions.

知道了。好的，謝謝。然後跟進收購方面。過去，你非常善於抓住機會。坦白說，我想不出有哪家公司擁有比伯克希爾哈撒韋更好的業績記錄，如果不包括精密鑄造零件的話，波克夏在收購方面擁有非常出色的業績記錄。

Could there be a larger more transformative deal in this environment for you than you've typically done? Or do you think it's going to look more like the opportunistic, smaller tuck-in or new product line acquisitions that you've done in the past?

在這種環境下，您能否達成比以往更大、更具變革性的交易？或者您認為它看起來更像您過去所做的機會主義、規模較小的收購或新產品線收購？

Well, that's an interesting question because what we've been doing opportunistically is when something fits well and the pricing is good, we've acted. And if it was a larger company, we have the wherewithal to do that and it's scalable. The team certainly knows how to execute the due diligence and the implementation of these transactions.

嗯，這是一個有趣的問題，因為我們一直在抓住機會，當某樣東西很合適，價格也不錯時，我們就會採取行動。如果是一家較大的公司，我們就有足夠的資金來做到這一點，而且它是可擴展的。團隊當然知道如何執行盡職調查和實施這些交易。

So I certainly got an open mind to a larger deal, and there's a good flow of things. But what I'm finding is when we call today for this list of companies that we've had over 15 years, we're getting a pretty favorable response as far as, yeah, let's figure out what might make sense. So there's change here, but as I pointed out, the difficulty is you've got to price right and you've got to buy right in a quickly changing environment. And I can tell you, none of us have slept very well for the last two weeks.

因此，我當然對更大的交易持開放態度，而且事情進展順利。但我發現，當我們今天打電話詢問這份我們已經合作了 15 年的公司名單時，我們得到了相當積極的回應，是的，讓我們想想什麼是有意義的。所以這裡確實存在變化，但正如我指出的那樣，困難在於你必須正確定價，並且必須在快速變化的環境中正確購買。我可以告訴你們，過去兩週我們都沒睡好過。

Yeah. I can appreciate that. And then my third and final question, sort of to follow up on the whole tariffs thing and what you've been going through the last couple of weeks. There's an idea that the Wall Street Journal talked about which is that the administration is trying, big picture, to isolate China. And they are trying to get other consuming countries to -- or well, anybody out there to work more with the US and less with China as a way of isolating China.

是的。我對此表示讚賞。然後是我的第三個也是最後一個問題，是關於整個關稅問題以及您過去幾週所經歷的事情的後續問題。《華爾街日報》談到的一個觀點是，美國政府正試圖從整體上孤立中國。他們試圖讓其他消費國——或任何消費國——更多地與美國合作，減少與中國的合作，以孤立中國。

But given how you've always talked in the past about how efficient their manufacturing base is, how easy it is to source products, how easy it is to develop products there, it seems to me that's a very long proposition, and I just wonder what your take on that idea is that they could isolate China and sort of win this battle.

但考慮到您過去總是談論他們的製造基礎多麼高效，產品採購多麼容易，產品開發多麼容易，在我看來，這是一個非常長的命題，我只是想知道您對他們可以孤立中國並贏得這場戰鬥的想法有何看法。

Well, I really don't want to get into philosophy on that. What I can tell you is the Chinese are very efficient. They're very hardworking. I happen to enjoy being in China, and I'll be there in June meeting with many of our factories and the things that are going on that we read about in the US press, it's only half the story. And I would just suggest that the administration maybe take a lighter hand and look at the value China brings to the world because it's a lot.

嗯，我真的不想深入探討這個哲學問題。我可以告訴你的是，中國人非常有效率。他們非常勤奮。我碰巧很喜歡在中國，我將於六月去中國參觀我們的許多工廠，並了解我們在美國媒體上讀到的正在發生的事情，但這只是故事的一半。我只是建議政府可以採取更溫和的態度，看看中國為世界帶來的價值，因為價值很大。

Interesting. Thanks, Walter, and thanks, Paul. And congratulations and good luck. And as shareholders, we appreciate the hard work.

有趣的。謝謝，沃爾特，謝謝，保羅。恭喜你並祝你好運。作為股東，我們感謝您的辛勤工作。

Jake Patterson, Talanta Investment Group.

塔蘭塔投資集團的傑克·帕特森。

Really just curious on the cutting revenue being down a decent bit this quarter. I know you guys mentioned you had a big benefit from last year, but even if I look at last year's number and adjust out the divestments, that business is only up like 2.5%. So just trying to kind of compare that to your comments from the last two calls about being pretty excited for Westcott in '25, a new distribution, a big year ahead, and I kind of curious to see if that is still the case.

真的很好奇本季的削減收入為何下降了不少。我知道你們提到去年獲得了巨大的收益，但即使我看一下去年的數字並調整了資產剝離，這項業務也只增長了 2.5%。因此，我只是試圖將其與您在過去兩次電話會議中的評論進行比較，關於對 25 年 Westcott 的新發行、未來重要的一年感到非常興奮，我有點好奇想看看情況是否仍然如此。

Jake, it's hard to call going into where we are right now. The consumer will be impacted by increased prices. Now scissors are, as an example, and that's our biggest line in Westcott, are not particularly expensive. And what might be an increase in our cost when it gets to retail is a couple of dollars. So it's not huge, but the consumer will be impacted overall because some things will go up a lot, and I would suggest things like cars, refrigerators, capital goods, [are the least] stressed. So there's also uncertainty because there will be some layoffs and there have been some layoffs with the strategy the administration is doing.

傑克，現在我們很難說我們處於什麼位置。消費者將受到價格上漲的影響。以剪刀為例，這是我們在韋斯科特最大的產品線，價格並不是特別昂貴。當零售時我們的成本可能會增加幾美元。所以影響不是很大，但整體來說消費者會受到影響，因為有些東西的價格會大幅上漲，我認為汽車、冰箱、資本貨物等受到的影響最小。因此也存在不確定性，因為會有一些裁員，而且根據政府正在實施的策略，已經有一些裁員。

When you back out and you say, well, Westcott grew 2.5% last year, well, that's about right. It grows at 2% to 4% and then the First Aid grows at 8% to 12%. This quarter was 14%. We did have a large promotion last year with a mass market retailer. It was very successful. The products are still in the planograms, they're adding to them. The craft area continues to be a growth segment for us. We had a bankruptcy at the end of the year with JOANN fabric, and so those customers are shopping elsewhere and we're trying to address them.

當你退一步說，韋斯科特去年增長了 2.5%，嗯，這差不多是對的。它以 2% 到 4% 的速度成長，然後急救以 8% 到 12% 的速度成長。本季為14%。去年我們確實與一家大眾市場零售商進行了大型促銷。這是非常成功的。產品仍在規劃圖中，他們正在向其中添加產品。工藝領域仍然是我們的一個成長領域。我們年底的 JOANN 布料破產了，所以那些顧客都在其他地方購物，我們正在努力解決這些問題。

But the mix going forward, I would expect Westcott to get hit harder than first aid and our medical side just because the consumer is going to be more stressed with the tariffs, especially if it's 145%. If that holds for China, again, it's the biggest manufacturer in the world. You just don't jump to Vietnam, which doesn't have that many people anyway. I mean, it is impossible. I hope that helps a little bit.

但展望未來，我預計韋斯科特將比急救和醫療方面受到更嚴重的打擊，因為消費者將因關稅而承受更大的壓力，尤其是當關稅達到 145% 時。如果這種情況適用於中國，那麼它又是世界上最大的製造商。你不要跳到越南，那裡本來就沒有那麼多人。我的意思是，這是不可能的。我希望這能有所幫助。

Yeah, it definitely does. I guess one more quick one, I guess, so pivoting to the First Aid business. I know you guys said you had a lot of trials for the new automatic refill kit, and wasn't in your '25 forecast. I'm assuming that might be impacted a little bit too, but just wondering if there's anything you can share on the progress there and what your customers are saying.

是的，確實如此。我想再快速說一下，轉向急救業務。我知道你們說過對新的自動補充套件進行過多次試驗，但這並沒有出現在你們的 25 年預測中。我猜想這也可能會受到一點影響，但我只是想知道您是否可以分享那裡的進展以及您的客戶的評價。

Well, our customers -- we were at a trade show this month that was very successful and it was one of the items that we had a great deal of interest in with some pretty big customers. But it takes time to get these to actually occur, and it's not in any forecasts. We think -- for those listening, what Jake is talking about is our smart compliance latest version of first aid. It's an industrial first aid kit with a scanner that can tell when the components are either obsolete, missing, or about to need to be reordered. So it's automatic replenishment.

嗯，我們的客戶——我們本月參加了一個非常成功的貿易展覽會，這是我們與一些相當大的客戶非常感興趣的項目之一。但這些實際上需要時間才能實現，而且沒有任何預測。我們認為——對於那些聽眾來說，傑克所談論的是我們智能合規最新版本的急救。這是一個帶有掃描器的工業急救箱，可以判斷組件何時過時、遺失或需要重新訂購。所以它是自動補充的。

And the latest generation can be hardwired into a customer's system and automatically tell the safety manager it's time to reorder. They can go to the distributor or us, whoever the customer wants, to actually get the replenishment orders. And it saves about a third to a half what they would normally spend for refills in a year, and that's a lot. So it's a very exciting product and we think it's going to have a lot of legs, but it's not in any forecast.

最新一代產品可以硬連線到客戶的系統中，並自動通知安全經理需要重新訂購。他們可以從分銷商或我們（無論客戶想要哪一個）取得補貨訂單。這樣，他們一年內就可以節省大約三分之一到一半的補充費用，這是一筆很大的開銷。所以這是一款非常令人興奮的產品，我們認為它會有很大的發展空間，但這還不在任何預測之中。

So we'll see. As we get things to actually happen, Jake, then I'd love to talk about it. But right now, just be aware, we've introduced it.

我們拭目以待。當我們真正讓事情發生時，傑克，我很樂意談論它。但是現在，請注意，我們已經引入了它。

Richard Dearnley, Longport Partners.

理查德·迪恩利（Richard Dearnley），Longport Partners。

Good morning. Just to play off Jeff's question about China policy, it looks like the administration wants to --the art of the deal, make a deal, be in the press, thump your chest, et cetera. And there was just an announcement that they're close to a deal with the EU on the news very recently.

早安.只是為了回應傑夫關於中國政策的問題，看起來政府想要──交易的藝術，達成協議，出現在媒體上，拍胸脯，等等。最近有消息稱，他們即將與歐盟達成協議。

It would seem logical to set China up as the bad guy, and then make a deal. Yeah, I realized that's just a random observation, but you have any thoughts about that? And as you say, they supply the world and bring a lot of value to the world and are probably not going to go away.

將中國視為壞人，然後達成協議，這似乎是合乎邏輯的。是的，我意識到這只是一個隨機觀察，但您對此有什麼想法嗎？正如你所說，它們為世界提供產品並帶來很多價值，而且可能不會消失。

China is really integral to the world, and I think we're looking at this very lopsided. One of the things that I know being in the business we're in, when COVID happened and the world needed gloves and masks and personal protection equipment, China met it all. And they supplied them flawlessly again and again and again, and they expanded in a way that it was inconceivable, and they do a lot of good things. And I really am not in a position to figure out the strategy of the administration. If I did, I'd probably figure out how to price the product. And we don't know that either. But I don't know their strategy.

中國確實是世界不可或缺的一部分，但我認為我們對此的看法非常片面。據我所知，在我們這個行業，當新冠疫情爆發，全世界需要手套、口罩和個人防護裝備時，中國完全滿足了這些需求。他們一次又一次地完美地為他們提供服務，並以難以想像的方式進行擴張，他們做了很多好事。我確實無法理解政府的策略。如果我這樣做了，我可能會想出如何為產品定價。我們也不知道這一點。但我不知道他們的策略。

Yeah, right. I understand. Then the uptick in First Aid, how much of that increase is -- do you think is longer term organic versus -- First Aid was pretty flattish through '24. And so has an easy compares now. And 14% looks good, but it's against easy numbers. Any feeling on that?

是的，對。我明白。那麼急救業務的成長，您認為這種成長有多少是長期有機成長，而急救業務在 24 年一直比較穩定。現在可以輕鬆進行比較。14% 看起來不錯，但這是一個容易實現的數字。有啥感覺嗎？

I never found numbers to be easy, to be honest. And where we are right now -- honestly, Dick, where we are right now to be talking about is it up 14%, 13%, 12%, it could be up 25% and part of it is where we price. So much right now, in the remainder of the year is what we price off the tariffs. And then you have organic growth underneath that. And we've been saying for many years, First Aid grows 8% to 12%, and that's probably what I would stick to.

說實話，我從來不覺得數字是件容易的事。我們現在的處境——說實話，迪克，我們現在談論的是價格上漲 14%、13%、12%，甚至可能上漲 25%，其中一部分取決於我們的定價。目前，我們在今年剩餘時間內將主要考慮關稅。然後你就會在它下面實現有機成長。多年來我們一直在說，急救的成長率為 8% 到 12%，這可能是我會堅持的目標。

But there's going to be -- this year, there will be -- if these tariffs hold, there will be price increases. And there will be growth because of that in addition to the underlying organic, and that'll be with Westcott as well. But again, you've got a trade-off on some demand slide and we've modeled that internally. But there's a lot of assumptions.

但如果這些關稅維持不變，今年價格就會上漲。除了潛在的有機成長之外，還會有成長，這對 Westcott 來說也是如此。但同樣，您需要在某些需求下滑上做出權衡，並且我們已經在內部對此進行了建模。但其中有很多假設。

Peter Mork, Mork Capital Management.

彼得‧莫克（Peter Mork），莫克資本管理公司。

Hey, Walter. Jake already got my question. I was going to follow up just on the smart compliance, and it sounds like things are going well. It'll be interesting to get just kind of that install base. Any color you guys could give as the year progresses, I think that'd be good.

嘿，沃特。傑克已經明白我的問題了。我本來打算跟進智慧合規性，聽起來事情進展順利。獲得這樣的安裝基礎將會很有趣。隨著時間的推移，你們可以提供任何顏色，我認為那會很好。

But maybe as a second question, just the DMT pull through sharpeners. First off, we've got both models, we like them at our house where those things really do work. Are you looking to expand more into the kitchen with DMT? Or what's kind of your thoughts around that product?

但也許第二個問題是，只是 DMT 拉動磨刀器。首先，我們擁有這兩種型號，我們喜歡在家中使用它們，它們確實能發揮作用。您是否希望將 DMT 進一步擴展到廚房？或者您對該產品有何看法？

So for those that don't know, what we did in the past year was take the DMT sharpening stones made in Marlborough, Massachusetts. They're arguably the best in the world with the dispersion of diamonds and the flatness of the stones. And we put them in a patented sharpener. When you run the knife through it, the stones automatically adjust to the angle of the cutting edge of the blade. And so, it's accurate and it really works.

對於那些不知道的人來說，我們在過去一年裡所做的就是使用馬薩諸塞州馬爾伯勒製造的 DMT 磨刀石。就鑽石的分散性和寶石的平整度而言，它們可以說是世界上最好的。我們將它們放入專利磨刀器中。當你用刀子磨擦時，石頭會自動調整到刀片切割刃的角度。所以，它是準確的並且確實有效。

The product is now being sold in Europe. It's being sold at a number of major mass market retailers in the kitchen area in the US, and we're expanding off of that. And relative to going further into the kitchen area, I don't see us going into forks and spoons and plates, but we could easily be putting higher end and more stylish products on the market to some of the higher-end retailers and also industrial grade.

該產品目前已在歐洲銷售。它在美國廚房領域的許多主要大眾市場零售商處有售，我們正在以此為基礎進行擴張。相對於進一步進入廚房領域，我認為我們不會涉足叉子、湯匙和盤子領域，但我們可以輕鬆地將更高端、更時尚的產品投放到市場上，提供給一些高端零售商和工業級產品。

So I think within that arena, it's a very fertile area and we're growing nicely and gaining market share. Still small, but it's an exciting piece for us. And it's really -- as you point out, Peter, it really does work.

因此我認為，在這個領域，這是一個非常肥沃的領域，我們正在順利發展並獲得市場份額。雖然仍然很小，但對我們來說這是一件令人興奮的作品。而且它確實 — — 正如你所指出的，彼得，它確實有效。

Yeah, definitely does. So well, thank you both and great quarter.

是的，確實如此。好的，謝謝你們兩位，這是一個美好的季度。

Steve Chick, Sebis Garden Capital.

Sebis Garden Capital 的 Steve Chick。

Walter, if anybody can navigate through this environment, I think it's you guys, so. I had a question on front loading and with some of the inventory that you bought in advance, I think it says $3 million. I'm wondering if you're seeing any activity from your customers thinking along the same lines maybe as we're coming into -- or as we're in April here. Are you seeing customers trying to buy kind of advance of maybe the cost increases now?

沃爾特，如果有人能在這個環境中導航，我想那就是你們。我有一個關於前期投入的問題，考慮到您提前購買的一些庫存，我認為價格應該是 300 萬美元。我想知道，當我們進入四月時，或者當我們進入四月時，您是否看到您的客戶有相同的想法。您是否看到客戶試圖提前購買，因為現在成本可能會增加？

Well, as you can imagine, the customers that have placed orders with us, we're going to fill first, and so there's a schedule for that. These are placed well in advance, and we're prepared to supply them. There have been examples where some customers have wanted to buy, for example, all of our items in one area, and we just can't do that because if we do it, then we're not supplying the customers who worked with us long term and giving us advanced orders.

嗯，正如您所想像的，我們會先滿足那些向我們下訂單的客戶的需求，因此有一個時間表。這些都是提前準備好的，我們已準備好提供它們。有一些例子表明，有些客戶想要購買我們在某個地區的所有產品，而我們無法做到這一點，因為如果我們這樣做，那麼我們就無法向與我們長期合作並提前下訂單的客戶供貨。

So it's a very careful balance. We want to solve everybody's problem, but we also have customers with standing orders that have got to have priority. So throttling back sales may sound like an unusual situation. But until we reprice the book, we have to.

所以這是一個非常謹慎的平衡。我們希望解決每個人的問題，但我們也有一些有長期訂單的客戶需要優先處理。因此，限制銷售聽起來可能是一種不尋常的情況。但在我們重新定價這本書之前，我們必須這樣做。

Does that make sense to you, Steve?

史蒂夫，你明白這個道理嗎？

Yeah, I think so. Can you just remind us of your inventory, what roughly is -- what percentage is sourced from China?

是的，我認為是這樣。您能否提醒我們一下您的庫存，大概有多少百分比來自中國？

We import about 40% from China.

我們從中國進口約40%。

Okay. All right. Okay, thank you. Good luck. Thanks.

好的。好的。好的，謝謝。祝你好運。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) There are no further questions, and we've reached the end of the question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the call back over to Walter Johnsen for closing comments.

（操作員指示）沒有其他問題，問答環節已經結束。現在我想將電話轉回給 Walter Johnsen 來做最後發言。

I'd like to thank all of you for joining us. This really is a complicated time, and we are going to do well with it. I'm confident of that, but it's rocky, and I want to thank you for attending this call, and we look forward to updating you in the coming quarters as it moves forward. Have a good day. Goodbye.

我要感謝大家的參與。這確實是一個複雜的時期，我們會很好地度過它。我對此充滿信心，但情況並不樂觀，我想感謝你們參加這次電話會議，我們期待在未來幾季向你們通報最新進展。祝你有美好的一天。再見。

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路，感謝您的參與。