Alcon AG (ALC) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Alcon Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎來到愛爾康第四季度和 2022 年全年收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）提醒一下，正在錄製此會議。

I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Mr. Dan Cravens, Vice President and Global Head, Investor Relations for Alcon. Thank you. You may begin.

我現在想把會議轉交給你的主持人，Alcon 副總裁兼投資者關係全球主管 Dan Cravens 先生。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Welcome to Alcon's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Earnings Conference Call. Yesterday, we issued a press release, interim financial report and annual report as well as posted a supplemental slide presentation on our website to enhance today's call. You can find all of these documents in the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.alcon.com.

歡迎參加愛爾康 2022 年第四季度和全年收益電話會議。昨天，我們發布了新聞稿、中期財務報告和年度報告，並在我們的網站上發布了補充幻燈片演示，以增強今天的呼籲。您可以在我們網站 investor.alcon.com 的投資者關係部分找到所有這些文件。

Joining me on today's call from Geneva are David Endicott, our Chief Executive Officer; and Tim Stonesifer, our Chief Financial Officer.

我們的首席執行官戴維·恩迪科特 (David Endicott) 和我一起參加今天在日內瓦的電話會議；和我們的首席財務官 Tim Stonesifer。

Our press release, presentation and discussion will include forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future developments, except as required by law. Our actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ from those in our forward-looking statements are included in Alcon's Form 20-F and our earnings press release and interim financial report on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the SEC's website at sec.gov.

我們的新聞稿、演示文稿和討論將包括前瞻性陳述。除非法律要求，否則我們明確表示不承擔因新信息或未來發展而更新前瞻性陳述的任何義務。我們的實際結果可能與我們的前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的結果存在重大差異。因此，您不應過分依賴任何前瞻性陳述。可能導致我們的實際結果與我們的前瞻性陳述中的結果不同的重要因素包含在愛爾康的 20-F 表格以及我們的收益新聞稿和中期財務報告中，這些報告已提交給美國證券交易委員會，並可在美國證券交易委員會的網站上查閱： sec.gov.

Non-IFRS financial measures used by the company may be calculated differently from, and therefore may not be comparable to, similarly titled measures used in other companies. These non-IFRS measures should be considered along with, but not as alternatives to, the operating performance measures as prescribed per IFRS. Please see a reconciliation between our non-IFRS measures with directly comparable measures presented in accordance with IFRS in our public filings. For discussion purposes only, our comments on growth are expressed in constant currency.

公司使用的非 IFRS 財務指標的計算方式可能與其他公司使用的類似名稱的指標不同，因此可能無法比較。這些非 IFRS 措施應與 IFRS 規定的經營績效措施一起考慮，但不能作為替代措施。請在我們的公開文件中查看我們的非 IFRS 措施與根據 IFRS 提出的直接可比措施之間的對賬。僅出於討論目的，我們對增長的評論以固定貨幣表示。

In a moment, David will begin by recapping highlights from 2022 and recent months, including market dynamics, innovation, highlights, key product launches and acquisitions. After his remarks, Tim will discuss our performance and outlook for 2023. Then David will wrap up with closing remarks, and we will open the call for Q&A.

稍後，David 將首先回顧 2022 年和最近幾個月的亮點，包括市場動態、創新、亮點、關鍵產品發布和收購。在他的講話之後，蒂姆將討論我們的表現和 2023 年的展望。然後大衛將以結束語結束，我們將開始問答。

With that, I will now turn the call over to our CEO, David Endicott.

有了這個，我現在將把電話轉給我們的首席執行官大衛恩迪科特。

Thanks, Dan. Welcome to Alcon's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Earnings Call. 2022 was a great year for Alcon. We ended the year with sales of $8.7 billion and double-digit sales growth of 11%. These results were driven by new product launches, solid demand from resilient markets and strong commercial execution.

謝謝，丹。歡迎來到愛爾康 2020 年第四季度和全年收益電話會議。 2022 年對愛爾康來說是偉大的一年。年底，我們的銷售額為 87 億美元，銷售額實現了 11% 的兩位數增長。這些結果是由新產品發布、彈性市場的強勁需求和強大的商業執行力推動的。

Core operating margin for the year was 18.2% and core diluted earnings per share were $2.24, which was up 23% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Additionally, we achieved a core operating margin of 20% when adjusted for foreign exchange. Based on these results, it's clear that the Alcon team is delivering and our fundamentals are strong.

全年核心營業利潤率為 18.2%，核心攤薄後每股收益為 2.24 美元，按固定匯率計算同比增長 23%。此外，經匯率調整後，我們實現了 20% 的核心營業利潤率。根據這些結果，很明顯愛爾康團隊正在交付並且我們的基本面很強大。

As I reflect on 2022, I'm extremely proud of what we've accomplished, especially given the challenging geopolitical, macroeconomic and supply chain headwinds we faced.

當我回顧 2022 年時，我為我們所取得的成就感到非常自豪，尤其是考慮到我們面臨的具有挑戰性的地緣政治、宏觀經濟和供應鏈逆風。

In Surgical, we grew the business double digits, driven by industry-leading technology, solid execution and continuing international recovery. Our portfolio of PC-IOLs, PanOptix and Vivity, had another quarter of strong share growth, and we exited the year with a global PC-IOL share position in the mid-50s.

在外科領域，我們的業務增長了兩位數，這得益於行業領先的技術、穩健的執行力和持續的國際復甦。我們的 PC-IOL 產品組合 PanOptix 和 Vivity 的份額又實現了強勁的季度增長，我們以 50 年代中期的全球 PC-IOL 份額結束了這一年。

During the year, we launched our portfolio of IOLs on the Clareon platform in the United States. This highly differentiated material delivers among the lowest levels of glistening and surface haze and has a proprietary edge curvature designed to help reduce glare. Our new Clareon material has been well received by doctors around the world and is helping us to gain share.

年內，我們在美國的 Clareon 平台上推出了我們的 IOL 產品組合。這種高度差異化的材料具有最低水平的反光和表面霧度，並具有旨在幫助減少眩光的專有邊緣曲率。我們的新 Clareon 材料已受到世界各地醫生的好評，並正在幫助我們獲得市場份額。

We're also expanding our footprint with double-digit sales growth in the equipment category for the year. This growth was particularly strong in international markets, where we continue to see solid uptake for our phaco machines, including our industry-leading CENTURION device, as well as LEGION, which is designed and priced for developing markets. We expect the demand for the equipment will return to more normalized growth rates this year.

我們還在擴大我們的足跡，今年設備類別的銷售額實現了兩位數的增長。這種增長在國際市場上尤為強勁，我們繼續看到我們的超聲乳化機（包括我們行業領先的 CENTURION 設備）以及專為發展中市場設計和定價的 LEGION 設備的穩步增長。我們預計今年對設備的需求將恢復到更正常的增長率。

While we continue to grow our footprint in ophthalmic operating rooms worldwide, we've also significantly expanded our presence in the clinic with the ARGOS biometer. Doctors are responding favorably to ARGOS, thanks in part to higher capture rates, easier prediction of accurate lens power and data integration into the operating room, all of which helps drive clinic efficiencies and improve patient outcomes.

在我們繼續擴大我們在全球眼科手術室的足蹟的同時，我們還通過 ARGOS 生物測量儀顯著擴大了我們在診所的影響力。醫生們對 ARGOS 反應良好，部分原因在於更高的捕獲率、更容易預測準確的鏡片度數以及將數據集成到手術室中，所有這些都有助於提高診所效率並改善患者結果。

Tying this all together is our digital offering, SMARTCataract, which we beta tested in 2022. SMARTCataract's received terrific feedback from surgeons, and we'll continue to develop this platform in 2023. SMARTCataract is the first application in Alcon's comprehensive cloud-based platform that is uniquely designed for surgical ophthalmic practices. SMARTCataract links data systems and diagnostic devices in the clinic with equipment in the OR. Data shows that SMARTCataract delivers significant time savings during the cataract evaluation, planning, operating room and postoperative workflows. Put it simply, SMARTCataract is helping surgeons deliver better outcomes more efficiently.

將這一切結合在一起的是我們的數字產品 SMARTCataract，我們在 2022 年對其進行了 Beta 測試。SMARTCataract 收到了外科醫生的極好反饋，我們將在 2023 年繼續開發這個平台。SMARTCataract 是愛爾康基於雲的綜合平台中的第一個應用程序專為手術眼科實踐而設計。 SMARTCataract 將診所中的數據系統和診斷設備與手術室中的設備連接起來。數據顯示，SMARTCataract 在白內障評估、規劃、手術室和術後工作流程中節省了大量時間。簡而言之，SMARTCataract 正在幫助外科醫生更有效地提供更好的結果。

Also in 2022, we expanded our presence in surgical glaucoma with the acquisition of Ivantis, which brought the Hydrus Microstent into our portfolio of implantables. Hydrus has long-standing clinical and efficacy data. Its 5-year horizon data demonstrated meaningful and statistically significant clinical benefits over the full 5 years, including sustained reduction in medication use and decreased need for secondary glaucoma surgery.

同樣在 2022 年，我們通過收購 Ivantis 擴大了我們在手術青光眼領域的業務，這將 Hydrus 微型支架納入了我們的植入產品組合。 Hydrus 擁有長期的臨床和療效數據。其 5 年期數據顯示，在整個 5 年中具有有意義且具有統計學意義的臨床益處，包括持續減少藥物使用和減少二次青光眼手術的需要。

Now turning to Vision Care. Our team delivered high single-digit growth across both our contact lens and ocular health franchises. In contact lenses, our full year growth of 9% was driven by our portfolio of innovative lenses which continue to receive favorable market feedback as well as select price increases.

現在轉向視力保健。我們的團隊在我們的隱形眼鏡和眼部健康特許經營中實現了高個位數的增長。在隱形眼鏡方面，我們 9% 的全年增長得益於我們的創新鏡片產品組合，這些產品繼續獲得良好的市場反饋以及部分價格上漲。

We continue to fill out our portfolio and launch new contact lenses in high-growth segments of the market or areas where we have opportunities to gain share. In 2022, we launched TOTAL30 into the reusable market. This is the first major innovation in the $4.2 billion reusable lens category in many years. TOTAL30 is the only water gradient lens available for reusable wearers. And since launching TOTAL30, we are seeing share growth in this category. TOTAL30 is available in the U.S. and Europe, and we will continue to roll it out to more international markets in 2023.

我們繼續充實我們的產品組合，並在市場的高增長部分或我們有機會獲得份額的領域推出新的隱形眼鏡。 2022 年，我們將 TOTAL30 推向可重複使用市場。這是多年來價值 42 億美元的可重複使用鏡片類別中的第一項重大創新。 TOTAL30 是唯一一款可重複使用的水梯度鏡片。自推出 TOTAL30 以來，我們看到了這一類別的份額增長。 TOTAL30 在美國和歐洲可用，我們將在 2023 年繼續將其推廣到更多國際市場。

Just recently, we announced the launch of TOTAL30 for stigmatism, which competes in the $1.3 billion reusable toric category. This is the first reusable water gradient lens for astigmatic wearers. Since more patients with astigmatism wear reusable contact lenses, the availability of a toric T30 provides us an opportunity to gain share and bring exceptional comfort to these patients. This lens will be broadly available in the U.S. and Europe earlier this year, and we'll roll out the lens internationally throughout 2023.

就在最近，我們宣布推出 TOTAL30 for stigmatism，它在價值 13 億美元的可重複使用複曲麵類別中競爭。這是第一款適用於散光佩戴者的可重複使用的水梯度鏡片。由於越來越多的散光患者佩戴可重複使用的隱形眼鏡，复曲面 T30 的面世為我們提供了獲得份額並為這些患者帶來卓越舒適度的機會。這款鏡頭將於今年早些時候在美國和歐洲廣泛銷售，我們將在 2023 年在全球範圍內推出這款鏡頭。

We also launched DAILIES TOTAL1 for astigmatism in early 2022 and customer reception has been very favorable. DAILIES TOTAL1 toric joins the sphere and multifocal modalities for the premium dailies lens market. DAILIES TOTAL1 toric is also the first and only daily toric lens to feature our proprietary water gradient technology that delivers exceptional comfort.

我們還在 2022 年初推出了針對散光的 DAILIES TOTAL1，客戶反響非常好。 DAILIES TOTAL1 复曲面加入了球面和多焦點模式，適用於高端日常鏡片市場。 DAILIES TOTAL1 复曲面也是第一款也是唯一一款採用我們專有的水梯度技術的日常复曲面鏡片，可提供卓越的舒適度。

Now all of our toric lens is feature our proprietary balanced design which creates clear and stable vision. Our toric portfolio represents a significant opportunity as our estimates show that Toric is among of the fastest-growing segments of the contact lens market.

現在，我們所有的複曲面鏡片都採用我們專有的平衡設計，可創造清晰穩定的視野。我們的複曲面產品組合代表了一個重要的機會，因為我們的估計表明復曲面是隱形眼鏡市場增長最快的部分之一。

Now turning to ocular health, where we also saw high single-digit growth in 2022 despite the supply chain challenges we faced. Starting with dry eye, our Systane family, including Systane Hydration, Ultra and Complete, continues to perform well with double-digit sales growth in 2022. There are over 30 million people in the U.S. alone that suffer from dry eye, and Systane is the best-selling brand of artificial tears and is clinically proven to sue dry and irritated eyes quickly. Now with multi-dose preservative-free formulations, we have a full suite of convenient and affordable options for patients.

現在轉向眼部健康，儘管我們面臨供應鏈挑戰，但我們在 2022 年也看到了高個位數的增長。從乾眼症開始，我們的 Systane 家族（包括 Systane Hydration、Ultra 和 Complete）繼續表現良好，2022 年銷售額實現兩位數增長。僅在美國就有超過 3000 萬人患有乾眼症，Systane 是最暢銷的人工淚液品牌，經臨床證明可快速緩解眼睛乾澀和發炎。現在有了多劑量不含防腐劑的配方，我們為患者提供了一整套方便且負擔得起的選擇。

Late in the year, we acquired Aerie Pharmaceuticals. With this acquisition, we expanded our glaucoma portfolio with 2 additional products, Rhopressa and Rocklatan, which were complementary to Simbrinza. Rocklatan and Simbrinza offer 4 different mechanisms of action, allowing for maximum medical therapy in just 2 bottles. Additionally, the Aerie acquisition expands our R&D pipeline and builds upon our pharma development expertise.

今年年底，我們收購了 Aerie Pharmaceuticals。通過此次收購，我們擴大了我們的青光眼產品組合，增加了 2 種產品，即 Rhopressa 和 Rocklatan，它們是對 Simbrinza 的補充。 Rocklatan 和 Simbrinza 提供 4 種不同的作用機制，只需 2 瓶即可實現最大程度的藥物治療。此外，對 Aerie 的收購擴大了我們的研發渠道，並建立在我們的製藥開發專業知識之上。

Our strong 2022 ocular health performance was offset by significant supply chain challenges, particularly in contact lens care. Our team continues to address these challenges which are likely to persist through at least the first half of 2023.

我們強勁的 2022 年眼部健康表現被重大的供應鏈挑戰所抵消，尤其是在隱形眼鏡護理方面。我們的團隊將繼續應對這些可能至少持續到 2023 年上半年的挑戰。

Now let me provide an update on our end markets. In Surgical, global cataract procedures were up mid-single digits in the fourth quarter versus prior year. This growth varies by region. In the United States, where surgical centers continue to experience staffing challenges, procedural volume was up low single digits. Outside the U.S., procedures were up mid- to high single digits as markets continue to improve. Encouragingly, we saw sequential improvements in AT-IOL penetration in the U.S. in the fourth quarter. We continue to focus on driving penetration by educating doctors, clinical staff and patients about the benefits of advanced technology lenses.

現在讓我提供有關我們終端市場的最新信息。在外科領域，全球白內障手術在第四季度與去年同期相比增長了中等個位數。這種增長因地區而異。在美國，外科中心繼續面臨人員配備挑戰，手術量呈低個位數增長。在美國以外，隨著市場的持續改善，手術數量上升到中高個位數。令人鼓舞的是，我們看到第四季度 AT-IOL 在美國的滲透率有所提高。我們繼續專注於通過教育醫生、臨床工作人員和患者了解先進技術鏡片的好處來推動普及。

In contact lenses, the retail market growth in the quarter was mid-single digits with low single-digit growth in the U.S. and high single-digit growth internationally. While mid-single-digit growth is in line with historical rates, it's important to note that this growth predominantly reflects price increases and wearer trade-ups. Additionally, the market growth varies by modality, with the daily SiHy category continuing to grow significantly due to higher pricing and patient trade-up. Torics also continued to grow nicely, primarily driven by the daily toric category. Finally, the reusable category was flat.

在隱形眼鏡方面，本季度的零售市場增長率為中等個位數，美國的個位數增長率較低，國際增長率較高。雖然中個位數增長與歷史增長率一致，但值得注意的是，這種增長主要反映了價格上漲和佩戴者換購。此外，市場增長因方式而異，日常 SiHy 類別由於更高的價格和耐心的換購而繼續顯著增長。 Torics 也繼續保持良好增長，主要由日常复曲麵類別推動。最後，可重用類別是扁平的。

Now with that, let me pass it to Tim, who'll take you through our financial results and comment on our outlook for 2023.

現在，讓我將它傳遞給蒂姆，他將帶您了解我們的財務業績並評論我們對 2023 年的展望。

Thanks, David. We're pleased to report fourth quarter sales of $2.2 billion, up 7% versus prior year. This growth was driven by continued recovery in most international markets and demand for our innovative products, including those from acquisitions.

謝謝，大衛。我們很高興地報告第四季度銷售額為 22 億美元，比去年同期增長 7%。這一增長是由大多數國際市場的持續復甦和對我們創新產品的需求推動的，包括來自收購的產品。

Our overall fourth quarter sales growth reflects approximately 180 basis points of contribution from sales of acquired products. Our fourth quarter U.S. dollar sales growth included approximately 600 basis points of pressure from foreign currency. For the full year 2022, total company sales of $8.7 billion grew 11%.

我們第四季度的整體銷售增長反映了收購產品銷售貢獻的大約 180 個基點。我們第四季度的美元銷售額增長包括來自外彙的大約 600 個基點的壓力。 2022 年全年，公司總銷售額為 87 億美元，增長 11%。

I'm extremely proud of how well the Alcon team has managed the challenges of 2022. We performed well while navigating a year of historic uncertainty, including a strong U.S. dollar, continued supply chain tightness and inflation.

我為愛爾康團隊應對 2022 年挑戰的出色表現感到非常自豪。我們在度過歷史性不確定性的一年時表現良好，包括美元走強、供應鏈持續緊張和通貨膨脹。

Moving to our fourth quarter sales results. Our Surgical franchise revenue was up 8% year-over-year to $1.3 billion. Surgical revenue for the full year was up 13%. Implantable sales were $434 million in the quarter, up 11% year-over-year, primarily due to market recovery in most international geographies; increased demand for our PC-IOL portfolio, led by Vivity; and sales of Hydrus. This was partially offset by declines in South Korea following a reimbursement change during the first quarter. Please recall that there was a significant spike in demand in Korea ahead of this reimbursement change, and therefore, we expect difficult comps in implantables in the first quarter of 2023. Implantable sales for the year were up 20%.

轉到我們第四季度的銷售結果。我們的外科特許經營收入同比增長 8% 至 13 億美元。全年手術收入增長了 13%。本季度植入式銷售額為 4.34 億美元，同比增長 11%，這主要是由於大多數國際地區的市場復甦；以 Vivity 為首的對我們 PC-IOL 產品組合的需求增加；和 Hydrus 的銷售。這部分被第一季度報銷變化後韓國的下降所抵消。請記住，在此次報銷變更之前，韓國的需求出現了大幅飆升，因此，我們預計 2023 年第一季度植入式設備的銷量將出現困難。全年植入式設備銷售額增長了 20%。

In consumables, our fourth quarter sales were up 6% to $636 million, primarily driven by improving market conditions. For the full year, consumable sales were up 10%. Our strong consumables growth also reflects the expansion of our global equipment footprint.

在消耗品方面，我們第四季度的銷售額增長了 6%，達到 6.36 億美元，這主要是受到市場狀況改善的推動。全年，消耗品銷售額增長了 10%。我們強勁的消耗品增長也反映了我們全球設備足蹟的擴大。

In equipment, sales were $204 million in the quarter, up 7% year-over-year, primarily due to continued strong demand for our cataract equipment and service, particularly in international markets as we upgrade older generations of equipment to CENTURION and LEGION. Growth in the quarter was partially offset by declines in the refractive equipment. For the year, equipment sales were up 10%. We continue to be very pleased with our strong equipment performance as well as the resilience of demand for these products.

在設備方面，本季度銷售額為 2.04 億美元，同比增長 7%，這主要是由於對我們的白內障設備和服務的持續強勁需求，特別是在我們將老一代設備升級到 CENTURION 和 LEGION 的國際市場上。本季度的增長部分被屈光設備的下滑所抵消。今年，設備銷售額增長了 10%。我們對我們強大的設備性能以及對這些產品的需求彈性感到非常滿意。

Turning now to Vision Care. Fourth quarter sales were up 7% year-over-year to $881 million. For the full year, Vision Care sales were $3.6 billion, up 8%. Contact lens sales were $530 million in the quarter, up 6% versus last year. Sales were led by our portfolio of SiHy lenses, partially offset by declines in legacy products. Additionally, we saw strong sales in the U.S. and slower international growth. Contact lens sales for the full year were up 9%.

現在轉向視力保健。第四季度銷售額同比增長 7% 至 8.81 億美元。全年，視力保健銷售額為 36 億美元，增長 8%。本季度隱形眼鏡銷售額為 5.3 億美元，比去年增長 6%。銷售額由我們的 SiHy 鏡頭產品組合引領，部分被遺留產品的下降所抵消。此外，我們看到美國銷售強勁，國際增長放緩。全年隱形眼鏡銷售額增長了 9%。

In ocular health, our fourth quarter sales were $351 million, up 8% year-over-year. This was led by our portfolio of eye drops, including our Systane family of artificial tears and ophthalmic pharmaceutical products. Similar to last quarter, this growth was significantly offset by supply chain challenges, primarily in contact lens care, which negatively impacted ocular health growth by approximately 400 basis points. As David mentioned, we expect these challenges to persist at least through the first half of 2023. Ocular health sales were up 7% for the full year.

在眼部健康方面，我們第四季度的銷售額為 3.51 億美元，同比增長 8%。這是由我們的滴眼液產品組合引領的，包括我們的 Systane 系列人工淚液和眼科藥品。與上一季度類似，這一增長被供應鏈挑戰顯著抵消，主要是在隱形眼鏡護理方面，這對眼睛健康增長產生了約 400 個基點的負面影響。正如 David 提到的，我們預計這些挑戰至少會持續到 2023 年上半年。全年眼科保健銷售額增長了 7%。

Now moving down the income statement. Fourth quarter core gross margin was 61.3%, which was flat on a constant currency basis. Core operating margin was 16.4% in the quarter, essentially flat versus last year on a U.S. dollar basis, but up 240 basis points on a constant currency basis. The improvement was mainly driven by underlying operating leverage from higher sales and favorability from incentive compensation, partially offset by increased inflationary pressures and increased investments in R&D, primarily associated with the acquisition of Aerie. Core operating margin for the full year was 18.2%. However, on a constant currency basis, we achieved a full year core operating margin of 20%.

現在向下移動損益表。第四季度核心毛利率為 61.3%，按固定匯率計算持平。本季度核心營業利潤率為 16.4%，按美元計算與去年基本持平，但按固定匯率計算則上升 240 個基點。改善的主要原因是更高銷售額帶來的潛在經營槓桿和激勵性薪酬帶來的青睞，部分被通貨膨脹壓力增加和研發投資增加所抵消，這主要與收購 Aerie 有關。全年核心營業利潤率為 18.2%。然而，在固定匯率的基礎上，我們實現了 20% 的全年核心運營利潤率。

Fourth quarter interest expense was $40 million compared to $28 million last year, driven by higher debt following the funding of the Aerie acquisition and less favorable interest rates.

第四季度利息支出為 4000 萬美元，而去年為 2800 萬美元，這是由於 Aerie 收購融資後的債務增加以及利率較低所致。

The fourth quarter core effective tax rate was 30.6% compared to 10.4% last year. This increase was primarily due to the recognition of tax expense related to the advanced pricing agreement between the Swiss and U.S. tax authorities that we discussed on our last earnings call. There was also an impact from a decrease in inventory build in certain markets and the geographical mix of pretax income.

第四季度核心有效稅率為 30.6%，而去年同期為 10.4%。這一增長主要是由於確認了與我們在上次財報電話會議上討論的瑞士和美國稅務機關之間的高級定價協議相關的稅收費用。某些市場庫存減少和稅前收入的地域組合也產生了影響。

Core diluted earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 2022 were $0.42 versus $0.56 last year. The decrease is mainly due to higher interest expense and taxes following the advanced pricing agreement I just mentioned. For the full year, core diluted earnings per share of $2.24 grew 23% on a constant currency basis.

2022 年第四季度核心攤薄後每股收益為 0.42 美元，而去年為 0.56 美元。減少的主要原因是我剛才提到的高級定價協議後利息費用和稅收增加。全年，核心攤薄後每股收益為 2.24 美元，按固定匯率計算增長 23%。

Before I discuss our outlook for 2023, I'll touch on a couple of cash flow and other related items. Free cash flow for the full year was $581 million compared to $645 million last year. This variance was primarily driven by lower cash from operations in 2022, driven by the negative impact of foreign currency on our operating results and the payout of the 2021 bonus, partially offset by lower capital expenditures.

在我討論我們對 2023 年的展望之前，我將談談幾個現金流和其他相關項目。全年自由現金流為 5.81 億美元，而去年為 6.45 億美元。這一差異主要是由於 2022 年的運營現金減少，這是由於外幣對我們的經營業績和 2021 年獎金支付的負面影響，部分被較低的資本支出所抵消。

For 2023, we expect free cash flow to be significantly better than 2022 despite several onetime payments in the year, including transformation and a legal settlement. Similar to last year, we expect the first quarter to be the low point in the year, driven by the timing of the annual bonus payment and payments related to our expanded transformation program.

對於 2023 年，我們預計自由現金流將明顯好於 2022 年，儘管這一年有幾次一次性付款，包括轉型和法律和解。與去年類似，我們預計第一季度將是今年的低點，這是受年度獎金支付時間和與我們擴大的轉型計劃相關的支付的推動。

Capital expenditures were $636 million for the full year, which were primarily related to investments in our contact lens manufacturing production lines. Transformation costs were $78 million in the quarter and $288 million, life to date. As we announced on our last call, we identified additional transformation opportunities which we launched during the fourth quarter and which accounted for most of the transformation expense in the quarter. We continue to expect the entire transformation program to wrap up by the end of 2023.

全年資本支出為 6.36 億美元，主要與隱形眼鏡製造生產線的投資有關。本季度的轉型成本為 7800 萬美元，迄今為止的轉型成本為 2.88 億美元。正如我們在上次電話會議上宣布的那樣，我們確定了我們在第四季度推出的額外轉型機會，這些機會佔了本季度轉型費用的大部分。我們繼續預計整個轉型計劃將在 2023 年底前完成。

Now moving to 2023 guidance. Our current outlook assumes that year-over-year market growth will be slightly below historical averages, exchange rates as of the end of January prevail through year-end and inflation and supply chain headwinds moderate in the second half of the year. Accordingly, we expect 2023 net sales of $9.2 billion to $9.4 billion, which corresponds to 6% to 8% constant currency sales growth versus the prior year.

現在轉向 2023 年指南。我們目前的展望假設同比市場增長將略低於歷史平均水平，截至 1 月底的匯率在年底一直保持不變，下半年通貨膨脹和供應鏈逆風溫和。因此，我們預計 2023 年的淨銷售額將達到 92 億美元至 94 億美元，這相當於 6% 至 8% 的固定貨幣銷售額與上一年相比增長。

Now turning to expenses. We're going to continue to invest behind innovation and expect core R&D expense to come in toward the high end of our prior range of 7% to 9% of sales.

現在轉向費用。我們將繼續投資於創新，並預計核心研發費用將接近我們先前 7% 至 9% 銷售額範圍的高端。

Moving to core operating margin. We expect efficiency initiatives and operating leverage to drive a core operating margin of between 19.5% and 20.5%. While we continue to see inflationary pressures, we've taken actions, including price and productivity initiatives, to help mitigate the impact.

轉向核心營業利潤率。我們預計效率舉措和運營槓桿將推動核心運營利潤率達到 19.5% 至 20.5%。雖然我們繼續看到通脹壓力，但我們已採取行動，包括價格和生產力舉措，以幫助減輕影響。

Moving down the income statement. We expect interest and other financial expense to be between $260 million and $280 million. This reflects the financing activities completed in May and December at higher interest rates, including the incremental debt used to fund the acquisition of Aerie. Additionally, we project our core effective tax rate to be in the range of 17% to 19%.

向下移動損益表。我們預計利息和其他財務費用在 2.6 億美元至 2.8 億美元之間。這反映了 5 月和 12 月以更高利率完成的融資活動，包括用於為收購 Aerie 提供資金的增量債務。此外，我們預計我們的核心有效稅率在 17% 至 19% 之間。

Based on all of these factors, we project core diluted earnings in the range of $2.55 to $2.65 per share, which corresponds to 16% to 20% constant currency growth over 2022. While we do not speculate on currency movements, based on exchange rates at the end of January, we expect a broadly neutral impact from FX to both sales and core net income growth for the full year. In terms of phasing, we expect FX to be a headwind in the first half of the year and a tailwind in the second half.

基於所有這些因素，我們預計核心攤薄後每股收益在 2.55 美元至 2.65 美元之間，相當於 2022 年 16% 至 20% 的恆定貨幣增長率。雖然我們不推測貨幣走勢，但根據匯率到 1 月底，我們預計外匯對全年銷售額和核心淨收入增長的影響大致為中性。就階段性而言，我們預計外彙在今年上半年將成為逆風，而在下半年將成為順風。

Before turning back to David, I'm pleased to report that our Board of Directors is proposing a dividend of CHF 0.21 per share, which is in line with our payout policy of 10% of the previous year's core net income, pending shareholder approval. Shareholders will vote on this proposal at our upcoming Annual General Meeting in May.

在回到大衛之前，我很高興地報告，我們的董事會提議派發每股 0.21 瑞士法郎的股息，這符合我們上一年核心淨收入 10% 的派息政策，尚待股東批准。股東將在我們即將於 5 月舉行的年度股東大會上對該提案進行投票。

In summary, despite the challenges we faced in 2022, I'm extremely pleased with our performance, and I want to thank the entire Alcon team for their hard work and determination.

總而言之，儘管我們在 2022 年面臨挑戰，但我對我們的表現非常滿意，我要感謝整個愛爾康團隊的辛勤工作和決心。

With that, I'll pass it back to David for closing remarks.

有了這個，我會把它傳回給大衛作結束語。

Thanks, Tim. To wrap it up, I'm extremely proud of all that the Alcon team achieved in 2022. Despite challenging macroeconomic headwinds, we produced strong operating results, improved efficiencies, we delivered innovation and outpaced market growth in several categories. These results reflect our strong business fundamentals, robust long-term strategy and the talent and expertise of our more than 25,000 associates.

謝謝，蒂姆。總而言之，我為愛爾康團隊在 2022 年取得的所有成就感到非常自豪。儘管宏觀經濟逆風挑戰，我們仍取得了強勁的經營業績，提高了效率，我們在多個類別中實現了創新並超越了市場增長。這些結果反映了我們強大的業務基礎、穩健的長期戰略以及我們 25,000 多名員工的才能和專業知識。

As impressive as those results are, what I'm most proud of is Alcon's purpose of helping people see brilliantly. I recently learned about a patient who suffered severe eye trauma in his 30s, which was later complicated by the development of a cataract. This man experienced significant difficulties when it came to light, sun, snow and glare. And he underwent a cataract procedure. And when the surgeon removed the patch from his eyes, his vision was so improved that he was moved to tears. And this is the kind of procedure that genuinely changes lives.

儘管這些結果令人印象深刻，但我最引以為豪的是愛爾康幫助人們重見光明的目標。我最近了解到一位患者在 30 多歲時遭受了嚴重的眼外傷，後來並發了白內障。這個人在面對光、太陽、雪和眩光時遇到了很大的困難。他接受了白內障手術。當外科醫生從他的眼睛上取下眼罩時，他的視力得到了極大的改善，以至於他感動得流下了眼淚。這是真正改變生活的程序。

It's moments like these when our purpose of helping people see brilliantly really does come to life, and it's what drives the hard work and the dedication of all of our associates. I want to thank the entire Alcon team for their commitment to our purpose, and I'm excited of what's to come in 2023.

正是在這樣的時刻，我們幫助人們看得更清楚的目標真正實現了，這也是我們所有員工努力工作和奉獻精神的動力。我要感謝整個愛爾康團隊對我們目標的承諾，我對 2023 年的發展感到興奮。

With that, let's open it up for Q&A.

有了這個，讓我們打開它進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Graham Doyle with UBS.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自瑞銀集團的格雷厄姆道爾。

Just 2 for me. So just firstly, on the premium IOL penetration, where you've obviously seen a sort of sequential improvement back towards sort of the trend the last 2 years. And I know you were talking about staffing issues being a little bit of a headwind. Is there anything you've been doing from a marketing standpoint, for example, that's really been driving that improvement that we can kind of book into 2023?

對我來說只有2個。因此，首先，在優質 IOL 滲透率方面，您顯然已經看到了過去 2 年某種趨勢的連續改進。我知道你在談論人員配備問題有點不利。例如，從營銷的角度來看，您是否一直在做任何事情，這確實推動了我們可以在 2023 年預訂的改進？

And then just a question on pricing. Would you be able to give us a sort of shape in terms of pricing as to what's happening in '23, say, versus '22?

然後只是一個關於定價的問題。您能否就 23 年與 22 年發生的事情在定價方面給我們一個大致的了解？

Yes, Graham, let me start with the penetration. We did see sequential movement from the third quarter to the fourth quarter that was positive for us. I think it was -- we had kind of expected it to come back. It has kind of moved around flat most of the year. And it is -- again, I should be careful. It's flat year over prior year quarter. So remember, sequentially, we were down a little bit in the third quarter, which had bothered us a bit.

是的，格雷厄姆，讓我從滲透開始。我們確實看到了從第三季度到第四季度的連續變動，這對我們來說是積極的。我認為是——我們有點期待它會回來。它在一年中的大部分時間裡都保持平穩。它是——再一次，我應該小心。與去年同期相比持平。所以請記住，我們在第三季度有所下降，這讓我們有些困擾。

I think what we're seeing is some programming effect. But I do think that this year is where you really begin to find out whether all that we're investing in that programming is working or not. So our hope is, of course, that the more we can educate the staff on how to talk to patients about their choices and how to position those choices well so that they understand the economics and understand the benefits of them and come into the offices prepared to make that decision. That speeds the office up. It makes it easier on the staff and obviously a lot easier on the surgeon.

我認為我們看到的是一些編程效果。但我確實認為，今年是您真正開始發現我們在該計劃中投資的所有內容是否有效的地方。所以我們的希望當然是，我們越能教育員工如何與患者談論他們的選擇以及如何正確定位這些選擇，以便他們了解經濟學並了解它們的好處並準備好進入辦公室做出那個決定。這加快了辦公室的速度。它使工作人員更容易，外科醫生顯然也更容易。

So we're hopeful around the program, but I wouldn't -- I would say it's too early to tell what's really going on there. We are obviously encouraged though by the overall penetration. And remember, too, that the penetration has got a little bit of a lapping effect to do. Korea had a very large penetration rate, I think it was up in the high 40s for a stretch. So for a lot of the prior year, we're lapping that around. So once that gets out of the way at the end of this quarter -- second quarter forward of this year, I think we'll get a lot cleaner view of where we really are. So a little bit of noise in there, but directionally encouraging news in the fourth quarter.

所以我們對這個項目充滿希望，但我不會——我會說現在判斷那裡到底發生了什麼還為時過早。我們顯然對整體滲透率感到鼓舞。還要記住，穿透力有一點研磨效果。韓國的普及率非常高，我認為它曾一度上升到 40 多歲。因此，在前一年的大部分時間裡，我們都在重複這一點。因此，一旦這種情況在本季度末——今年第二季度之前——得到解決，我認為我們會對我們的實際情況有更清晰的認識。所以那裡有一點噪音，但在第四季度有方向性的鼓舞人心的消息。

And on pricing, I think the way to think about it, at least, is most of our pricing is in contact lenses, a little bit in ocular health. But really, it's -- our Surgical business, we take it where we can, but it's largely contracted, and those contracts are multiyear. We probably have a little bit in that area. But I would say that directionally, we've taken price twice last year that we'll see the effect of once in February and then once again in December. Again, I think those are yet to be seen as to how well they read through.

在定價方面，我認為至少我們的大部分定價是針對隱形眼鏡的，還有一點是針對眼部健康的。但實際上，它是——我們的外科業務，我們盡可能地開展業務，但它主要是簽約的，而且這些合同是多年期的。我們可能在那個領域有一點。但我要說的是方向性的，去年我們已經兩次採用價格，我們將在 2 月看到一次的效果，然後在 12 月再次看到效果。再說一次，我認為關於他們閱讀的情況還有待觀察。

And we're watching very carefully what the impacts are on those because we are concerned about pricing out the consumer and/or making sure that the margins that we're generating for the optometrists are competitive. I think we feel good about that, by the way. But directionally, the pricing has done well for us. And I think we should believe that, that takes well and it kind of moves along correctly.

我們正在非常仔細地觀察對這些的影響，因為我們擔心定價會影響消費者和/或確保我們為驗光師創造的利潤具有競爭力。順便說一句，我認為我們對此感覺很好。但在方向上，定價對我們來說做得很好。我認為我們應該相信，這很順利，而且進展順利。

But I think directionally, we also believe that we should watch it carefully.

但我認為方向性的，我們也認為應該謹慎觀看。

So not a lot to say about '23 other than 22, we'll read through full year effect, and we'll have to report out at some later date on what the numbers actually were.

因此，除了 22 年之外，關於 23 年沒有太多要說的，我們將通讀全年影響，我們將不得不在稍後的某個日期報告實際數字。

Next question comes from the line of Anthony Petrone with Mizuho Group.

下一個問題來自瑞穗集團的 Anthony Petrone。

Congrats on a strong end to the year here. I have 1 on Aerie and then 1 for Tim on margins.

祝賀你在這裡結束了這一年。我在 Aerie 上有 1 個，然後在邊距上有 1 個給 Tim。

Maybe, Dave, just to level set on Aerie Pharmaceuticals. Just maybe where Rho kinase inhibitor share sits today in the United States, I think Aerie had a statistic where that was about 2% of the IOP market. And where do you think share can go over time for Rho-kinase versus prostaglandin? Just trying to sort of level-set the multiyear run here.

也許，戴夫，只是為了在 Aerie Pharmaceuticals 上設定水平。也許就在今天 Rho 激酶抑製劑在美國的份額，我認為 Aerie 有一個統計數據，大約佔 IOP 市場的 2%。您認為隨著時間的推移，Rho 激酶與前列腺素的份額會走向何方？只是想對這裡的多年運行進行某種程度的設置。

And I'll just put in a margin one quickly. Tim, on margins, you gave the constant currency margin outlook for 2023. I'm just wondering, when we level-set that back to 2022, it looks like we're still looking for 150 basis points at the midpoint, even if we take constant FX effects out of it. I just want to make sure that math is correct.

我會很快投入保證金。蒂姆，關於利潤率，你給出了 2023 年不變的貨幣利潤率前景。我只是想知道，當我們將其水平設置回 2022 年時，看起來我們仍在尋找 150 個基點的中點，即使我們從中去除恆定的 FX 效果。我只是想確保數學是正確的。

Yes. Let me stop the Rho kinase discussion. I think we're excited about the progress that's being made from the acquisition forward. We've seen it kind of steady growth in the combination of both Rocklatan and Rhopressa. Directionally, we are pleased with the progress.

是的。讓我停止對 Rho 激酶的討論。我認為我們對收購向前取得的進展感到興奮。我們已經看到 Rocklatan 和 Rhopressa 的組合穩步增長。在方向上，我們對進展感到滿意。

I don't know that I want to speculate at this point in time how far we can go. I think we are working a lot on how to reposition both of those products. We also are working a lot on the managed market access element of it. And I do think those are largely the developments that we can add. And I think we, along with a little bit more promotional effort, we hope to take it off of its current trend. But to do that, obviously, we need to be successful with both the repositioning of these products and also the access element.

我不知道我想在這個時間點推測我們能走多遠。我認為我們正在努力研究如何重新定位這兩種產品。我們也在它的管理市場准入元素上做了大量工作。我確實認為這些主要是我們可以添加的發展。而且我認為我們希望通過更多的促銷活動來擺脫目前的趨勢。但顯然，要做到這一點，我們需要成功地重新定位這些產品和訪問元素。

Obviously, it's about -- it is about -- you got it about right. It's about 2% combined right now, a little bit more than that. And directionally, it's a very small part of the glaucoma market, albeit a lot of the glaucoma market is generic. So if you look at the -- probably the achievable markets, we're very realistic about what we expect. But I'm of the mind that we can bend the trend up from where we sit.

顯然，它是關於 - 它是關於 - 你是對的。現在加起來大約是 2%，比這多一點。從方向上講，它只佔青光眼市場的一小部分，儘管很多青光眼市場都是通用的。因此，如果你看看 - 可能是可實現的市場，我們對我們的期望非常現實。但我認為我們可以將趨勢從我們所處的位置扭轉過來。

Yes. And then on the margin, you're in the ball -- the right ballpark, Anthony. I mean, if you think about moving from the 18.2% up to the 19.5% to 20.5%, we would expect gross margins to improve. We've got a lot of productivity initiatives in place. We also have inflation subsiding a little bit in the second half. So that should be helpful.

是的。然後在邊緣，你在球中——正確的球場，安東尼。我的意思是，如果你考慮從 18.2% 上升到 19.5% 到 20.5%，我們預計毛利率會提高。我們已經實施了許多提高生產力的舉措。下半年我們的通貨膨脹也有所消退。所以這應該是有幫助的。

There will probably be some pressure on the R&D line. Our R&D expense in 2022 was roughly 8% of revenue. That's going to be a little bit higher as we integrate Aerie because we're doing some work there. So I'd expect a little bit of pressure there.

研發線可能會有一些壓力。我們在 2022 年的研發費用大約佔收入的 8%。隨著我們整合 Aerie，這會更高一些，因為我們正在那裡做一些工作。所以我預計那裡會有一點壓力。

On the last call, we talked about the additional transformation, so that $100 million of savings. That's obviously going to drop through to the margin rate. That alone is probably 100, 110 basis points.

在上次通話中，我們談到了額外的轉型，從而節省了 1 億美元。這顯然會下降到保證金率。僅此一項就可能是 100、110 個基點。

And then we expect to continue to get leverage. We're not -- on the SG&A front. So it probably won't be as high as the last year, given the revenue growth and when you take out the transformation, but we continue to expect that. So those would be the levers to get you to that 19.5% to 20.5%.

然後我們希望繼續獲得影響力。我們不是——在 SG&A 方面。因此，考慮到收入增長和轉型時間，它可能不會像去年那樣高，但我們仍然期待這一點。所以這些將是讓你達到 19.5% 到 20.5% 的槓桿。

Our next question comes from the line of Larry Biegelsen with Wells Fargo.

我們的下一個問題來自 Larry Biegelsen 與 Wells Fargo 的對話。

Two for me. I wanted to start on the U.S. and the market growth embedded in the guidance here. And then I wanted to ask a second one on just kind of revenue cadence for the year.

兩個給我。我想從美國和這裡的指導中嵌入的市場增長開始。然後我想問第二個關於今年收入節奏的問題。

Just starting on the market growth. Dave or Tim, can you talk about what you're seeing in the U.S.? Your organic growth in the U.S. has been in the low single digits the past 3 quarters. And is that why you expect market growth to be below historical averages in 2023? And what are you modeling for market growth in '23? Obviously, it looks like it's probably sub-5%. And I had one follow-up.

剛剛開始市場增長。 Dave 或 Tim，你能談談你在美國看到的情況嗎？過去 3 個季度，您在美國的有機增長一直處於較低的個位數。這就是為什麼您預計 2023 年市場增長將低於歷史平均水平的原因嗎？您為 23 年的市場增長建模的是什麼？顯然，看起來可能低於 5%。我有一個後續行動。

Yes, Larry, you're not wrong. The North American market this last year was relatively subdued. But everybody is -- kind of they wrapped around the COVID, is one of the ways you got to keep looking at it is what's the natural growth rate? And then what is it on '19? Because I think usually a 2-year number on '21, skip over '21, has been a pretty good idea.

是的，拉里，你沒有看錯。去年北美市場相對低迷。但是每個人都——他們有點圍繞著 COVID，你必須繼續關注它的一種方式是什麼是自然增長率？然後'19是什麼？因為我認為通常 21 年的 2 年數字，跳過 21 年，是個不錯的主意。

What we've seen on this year was the Surgical business on a full year basis, the market was roughly around 4%. The Vision Care business, the contact lens care market, was roughly around kind of 3%, 4%. Those are very historical numbers. A little softer on Vision Care than we would have expected probably for the full year -- sorry, that was the fourth quarter. But the full year was also, on the U.S., was 4%. So directionally, I think we feel like -- in the fourth quarter, we saw a little bit of softness with unit growth, where most of the 4% was in Vision Care was made up of price and mix.

我們今年看到的是全年的外科業務，市場份額大約在 4% 左右。視力保健業務，即隱形眼鏡護理市場，大約佔 3%、4% 左右。這些都是非常有歷史意義的數字。視力保健比我們預期的全年可能要軟一些——抱歉，那是第四季度。但在美國，全年也是 4%。所以在方向上，我認為我們感覺 - 在第四季度，我們看到單位增長有點疲軟，其中 4% 的大部分是在 Vision Care 中，由價格和組合組成。

So yes, we're being a little careful, but I think the fact of the matter is we're lucky we're in resilient markets directionally. And I think we're talking about are relativisms here. So we think cataracts don't go away. We think eye surgery and eye disorders don't go away, and that directionally, we're going to see historical growth rates in the kind of we've always said kind of 4% to 5% range is the market, depending on which one we're talking about.

所以是的，我們有點謹慎，但我認為事實是我們很幸運，我們處於有彈性的市場中。我認為我們在這裡談論的是相對主義。所以我們認為白內障不會消失。我們認為眼科手術和眼部疾病不會消失，從方向上講，我們將看到歷史增長率，我們一直說市場在 4% 到 5% 的範圍內，具體取決於哪個我們正在談論的一個。

So a little bit soft to that is what we're calling it principally because the Vision Care market, I think, has the potential, as we look at '09 and what happened there, to come off a little bit. So it came off of a high of, I think, 8% in '08. Went down to maybe 3%-ish in -- still growing, but in the '09 frame. And a lot of that was really exactly the same. It was a slowdown in units, slowdown in new starts. We don't see that internationally yet, but we're wrapping around soft numbers because of COVID.

所以我們稱之為有點軟，主要是因為視力保健市場，我認為，有潛力，當我們看 09 年和那裡發生的事情時，會有所下降。所以它脫離了我認為 08 年 8% 的高點。下降到大約 3%——仍在增長，但在 09 年的框架內。很多都是完全一樣的。這是單位增長放緩，新開工放緩。我們在國際上還沒有看到這一點，但由於 COVID，我們正在圍繞軟數字進行總結。

So I think given the, I would say, the uncertainty of the market, we felt it was best to plan for at least a softness in the market. If we're wrong, obviously, we'll lean into it. But like I said, we're over-indexed in the high-growth areas. So I feel like we got a pretty good plan, and we're prepared to do well.

所以我認為，鑑於市場的不確定性，我們認為最好至少為市場疲軟做好計劃。如果我們錯了，顯然，我們會傾向於它。但正如我所說，我們在高增長領域的指數過高。所以我覺得我們有一個很好的計劃，我們準備好做好。

Yes. And then as far as the cadence, Larry. Revenue, I think it's going to be broadly in line with historical trends. So I go back to '21, '22, you can probably go back to '19. I wouldn't look at '20. And as we've seen historically, Q2 and Q4 are typically higher than Q1 and Q3 from a revenue perspective.

是的。然後就節奏而言，拉里。收入，我認為它將大致符合歷史趨勢。所以我回到 21 年、22 年，你可能可以回到 19 年。我不會看'20。正如我們從歷史上看到的那樣，從收入的角度來看，第二季度和第四季度通常高於第一季度和第三季度。

If you think about allergy season, that's predominantly in Q2, so it drives revenues up. And then when you get to Q4, hospitals are managing their capital budgets, consumers are managing their co-pays by the end of the year, so we typically see a little bit of a renew lift in Q4 as well.

如果你考慮過敏季節，那主要是在第二季度，所以它會推高收入。然後當你進入第四季度時，醫院正在管理他們的資本預算，消費者在年底前管理他們的共付額，所以我們通常也會在第四季度看到一點點更新。

And then while we're on cadence, just from a P&L perspective, if you look at R&D, that will be a gradual progression throughout the year, as we've seen in the past. SG&A, I'd just remind folks that Q2 is a heavy spend for us as we get advertising and promotions, back-to-school programs, things like that. So I take a look at those historical trends because there's a big jump from Q1 to Q2. And then interest expense, I would just level-load the interest expense.

然後，當我們處於節奏時，從 P&L 的角度來看，如果你看一下 R&D，那將是全年的漸進進展，正如我們過去所看到的那樣。 SG&A，我只是提醒大家，第二季度對我們來說是一筆沉重的支出，因為我們要進行廣告和促銷、返校計劃等。所以我看一下那些歷史趨勢，因為從第一季度到第二季度有很大的跳躍。然後是利息支出，我會平攤利息支出。

The inorganic contribution, Tim, say about 2% in '23?

蒂姆，無機貢獻在 23 年大約佔 2%？

Yes, that's about right.

是的，差不多是這樣。

Our next question comes from the line of Daniel Buchta with ZKB.

我們的下一個問題來自 Daniel Buchta 與 ZKB 的對話。

My first question maybe on product launches. I mean, obviously, you were pretty active in the last few years, I would say, especially on the contact lenses side where you launched a lot of things. But looking back at what you announced on the last CM Day in terms of products to come, I would say, at the moment, there is not so much left anymore. Can you give indications, at least, what would come in '23 and also '24 here?

我的第一個問題可能是關於產品發布。我的意思是，很明顯，你在過去幾年非常活躍，我會說，特別是在隱形眼鏡方面，你推出了很多東西。但是回顧你在上一個 CM 日宣布的關於即將推出的產品的內容，我想說的是，目前已經沒有那麼多了。你能給出一些指示嗎，至少，23 年和 24 年會出現什麼？

And then on the M&A side, obviously, we're pretty active on the ophthalmic Rx side. Is there something left that you could be interested in acquiring? Because in my view, there is just the large indications, like wet AMD, left where Alcon is not yet present. Could you help me in that?

然後在併購方面，顯然，我們在眼科 Rx 方面非常活躍。有沒有你可能有興趣獲得的東西？因為在我看來，只有大的跡象，比如濕 AMD，留在愛爾康還不存在的地方。你能幫我嗎？

Sure. Look, we're -- we've got a lot of room left, both geographically and just as you think about where we are in the launch cycles for new product flow. So I would really point you at what we launched to a large degree over the last 24 months, most of those products are in their very early phases.

當然。看，我們 - 我們還有很多空間，無論是在地理上還是在您考慮我們在新產品流的發布週期中所處的位置。所以我真的會向你指出我們在過去 24 個月裡在很大程度上推出的產品，其中大部分產品都處於早期階段。

So I think what strikes me is our torics in particular. Remember, we just launched DAILIES TOTAL1 toric. We just launched the P1 toric a little bit before that. Late in the year, we launched T30 toric. We didn't even get that out into Europe until this year. So there's a lot of runway left for torics. And we started the DAILIES toric SiHy with almost a 0 share. So we're doing quite well there. We expect to continue to do that.

所以我認為讓我印象深刻的是我們的複曲面。請記住，我們剛剛推出了 DAILIES TOTAL1 toric。在此之前，我們剛剛推出了 P1 复曲面。今年年底，我們推出了 T30 toric。直到今年我們才把它帶到歐洲。所以復曲面還有很多跑道。我們以幾乎 0 的份額開始了 DAILIES toric SiHy。所以我們在那裡做得很好。我們希望繼續這樣做。

I think that if you look forward in the international markets, again, we have a lot of geographies yet to fill out with products. So we'll talk a little bit more about the product flow in both the near term and the long term at our Capital Markets Day. But I do think that the way to read where we are right now in Vision Care is quite positive.

我認為，如果你再次展望國際市場，我們還有很多地區需要填充產品。因此，我們將在資本市場日更多地討論近期和長期的產品流。但我確實認為，閱讀我們目前在視力保健方面所處位置的方式是非常積極的。

And in Surgical, again, we just launched Clareon last year, and we haven't even got that outside of Europe yet. So we've got Europe, U.S., but not any of the other markets. So remember, Clareon is really first year last year. So we still got a lot of movement to go there. We're rolling Vivity out in Japan this year, I think.

在 Surgical 方面，我們去年剛剛推出了 Clareon，我們甚至還沒有在歐洲以外的地方推出它。所以我們有歐洲、美國，但沒有任何其他市場。所以請記住，Clareon 去年真的是第一年。所以我們仍然有很多運動可以去那裡。我認為今年我們將在日本推出 Vivity。

And so we've got a number of things going on that I think keep the momentum moving in the business from new products. But also, I would just say really important that we maximize all the things we've got as we continue to develop products for later this year, early next. And we'll talk more about those in Capital Markets Day.

因此，我們有很多事情正在進行，我認為這些事情可以保持新產品在業務中的發展勢頭。而且，我只想說非常重要的是，在我們繼續為今年晚些時候和明年初開發產品時，我們要最大限度地利用我們現有的所有東西。我們將在資本市場日更多地討論這些。

Just -- we are always interested in the major categories. So think about glaucoma, dry eye, retina. For sure, all of them are of interest to us. I think probably the way to think about where the world is right now is it seems like, with the exception of the multibillion-dollar kind of retina products or kind of orphan products, big pharma is not real interested in our space. And I think that's, for a lot of us who grew up in the space, that's not unusual. It's kind of how Alcon grew up to begin with. Well, we did a lot with $100 million to $300 million products that -- of which we had many.

只是 - 我們總是對主要類別感興趣。所以想想青光眼、乾眼症、視網膜。當然，我們對所有這些都感興趣。我認為思考世界現在所處位置的方式可能是，除了價值數十億美元的視網膜產品或孤兒產品外，大型製藥公司對我們的領域並不真正感興趣。我認為，對於我們很多在太空中長大的人來說，這並不罕見。愛爾康就是這樣成長起來的。好吧，我們用價值 1 億到 3 億美元的產品做了很多——我們有很多。

And so while the big categories and some of the big products, you may not naturally know, I think what you'll find is that there are a lot of nice, what I'll call, kind of singles and doubles, I guess, in American baseball terms, where we're moving the runners and doing a nice job of bringing in products that add value, matter a lot to patients and matter a lot to the doctors who use them. So I'll leave it at that.

因此，雖然大類別和一些大產品，你可能不會自然而然地知道，但我想你會發現有很多不錯的，我稱之為，單打和雙打，我想，用美國棒球的術語來說，我們正在推動跑步者並在引進增值產品方面做得很好，這對患者和使用它們的醫生來說都很重要。所以我會保留它。

But there's quite a lot going on in the M&A space for us that we look at. Obviously, we're very careful about how we make decisions there, and we tend to be a little bit conservative and disciplined around capital deployment.

但我們看到的併購領域發生了很多事情。顯然，我們對在那裡的決策方式非常謹慎，而且我們在資本配置方面往往有點保守和自律。

Our next question comes from the line of Matthew Mishan with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Matthew Mishan。

I first wanted to start on ocular health. I mean, I guess with some of the headwinds you're seeing in solutions, I was just hoping you can call out trends in, let's call it, Pataday, OTC and kind of dry eye. Are we kind of underestimating, or are some of the success you're having in that area, especially with driving growth, from the new sales force?

我首先想從眼部健康開始。我的意思是，我想你在解決方案中看到了一些不利因素，我只是希望你能指出趨勢，我們稱之為 Pataday、OTC 和乾眼症。我們是不是有點低估了，或者您在該領域取得的一些成功，尤其是在推動增長方面，來自新的銷售團隊？

Well, good question, Matt. Thanks for it. If you look at the full year impact in the ocular health business for us, we're reporting a 7% number for the year. If you look at that, you take it apart, underlying sustained Pataday and kind of all the rest of our eye drops business probably grew at 8%. And we had about a 6% offset with the CLC business. So think of that growth kind of organically being naturally drawn down to 2%. And then of course the pharma stuff adds some inorganic to it to get to 7%.

嗯，問得好，馬特。謝謝。如果您查看全年對我們眼部健康業務的影響，我們報告的年度數字為 7%。如果你看一下，你把它拆開來看，在持續的 Pataday 和我們所有其他眼藥水業務的基礎上可能增長了 8%。我們對 CLC 業務有大約 6% 的抵消。因此，想想那種自然而然地下降到 2% 的增長。然後當然，製藥材料會添加一些無機物以達到 7%。

So the markets are growing, we think, kind of in that, again, mid-single digits number, and we're outperforming as we are in contact lens and also in the Surgical business. So I don't think it gets as much attention, which is interesting because it's actually a nice bit of business for us.

因此，我們認為市場正在增長，有點像中個位數，而且我們在隱形眼鏡和外科手術業務方面表現出色。所以我認為它沒有得到那麼多的關注，這很有趣，因為這對我們來說實際上是一筆不錯的生意。

But I would say that the big news for the quarter, and I think until we get out of this, is that we're losing some ground on contact lens care, and that's a supply chain problem that we've had for almost a year now with one of our -- with a basket in our -- in the peroxide solution product.

但我要說的是，本季度的大新聞，我認為，在我們擺脫這個局面之前，我們在隱形眼鏡護理方面正在失去一些優勢，這是一個供應鏈問題，我們已經有將近一年的時間了現在用我們的一個 - 在我們的籃子裡 - 在過氧化物溶液產品中。

So we are doing all we can to get that sorted out. We're selling everything we can make, but we aren't making as much as we used to. We're going to hopefully solve that in the middle part of the year, but it is going to be hand-to-mouth until then. Directionally though, very good underlying growth.

所以我們正在盡我們所能來解決這個問題。我們正在出售我們能生產的所有產品，但我們生產的產品不如以前多了。我們有望在今年年中解決這個問題，但在那之前只能勉強解決。不過，從方向上講，潛在增長非常好。

And then a follow-up on some of the contact lens commentary you had. I guess where you said it's a little softer for the fourth quarter. I guess just where -- why -- do you have a sense of why you're seeing kind of some of that softness? Is it staffing? Is it supply constraints? Or is it -- are you kind of seeing the consumer start to moderate its purchases?

然後跟進您對隱形眼鏡的一些評論。我猜你說的是第四季度有點疲軟。我猜你是在哪裡——為什麼——你知道為什麼你會看到那種柔軟？是人員編制嗎？是供應限制嗎？或者是——您是否看到消費者開始減少購買？

Yes. I mean, we've looked at it quite a little bit. And the fourth quarter in the U.S. was different than what it was in international. Obviously, we had a very good quarter internationally. But I would say wrapping around on a relatively soft number.

是的。我的意思是，我們已經研究了很多。美國第四季度與國際比賽不同。顯然，我們在國際上有一個非常好的季度。但我會說圍繞一個相對軟的數字。

So I think what we're watching very carefully is that contact lenses are part -- good news is -- on contact lenses, is people don't stop wearing contact lenses. They don't just quit. What they do, it's part of their basic expense in a month. And so they -- but what they do, do is they shop for private label, they do shop for deals in different channels, and they do stretch their lenses. And so we're aware of that. We saw it as a phenomenon in the '09 frame.

所以我認為我們正在非常仔細地觀察的是隱形眼鏡是隱形眼鏡的一部分 - 好消息是 - 人們不會停止佩戴隱形眼鏡。他們不只是放棄。他們所做的，是他們一個月基本開支的一部分。所以他們 - 但他們所做的是他們購買自有品牌，他們確實在不同渠道購買交易，並且他們確實擴展了他們的鏡頭。所以我們知道這一點。我們將其視為 09 年框架中的一種現象。

And I think when we looked at the fourth quarter, what we saw mostly was price and mix driving the U.S. growth. So in real terms, the units were basically flat to slightly down. And again, we're being very careful with that to try to figure out what that really means. I think directionally, it's probably short-lived, and it will bounce back to relatively normal growth, but we'll have to see where that plays out.

我認為，當我們回顧第四季度時，我們看到的主要是推動美國經濟增長的價格和組合。因此，按實際價值計算，單位基本持平或略有下降。再一次，我們對此非常小心，試圖弄清楚這到底意味著什麼。我認為方向性的，它可能是短暫的，它會反彈到相對正常的增長，但我們必須看看它會在哪裡發揮作用。

Our next question comes from the line of Veronika Dubajova with Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Veronika Dubajova。

I'll keep it to 2. One, Tim, just maybe thoughts on the levers that you have on gross margin and help us think through the bridge for 2023 between the inflationary headwinds, the tailwinds from productivity, including on contact lenses and anything else that we should be bearing in mind. If you could just walk through those pluses and minuses, that would be great.

我會保持在 2。第一，蒂姆，也許只是想一想你對毛利率的影響，並幫助我們思考 2023 年通貨膨脹逆風、生產力順風之間的橋樑，包括隱形眼鏡和其他任何東西我們應該牢記這一點。如果您可以了解這些優點和缺點，那就太好了。

And then if I can follow up on your comment on the significant inflection in the free cash flow. Similar question. Maybe quantify and tell us what is the biggest delta there that gets you to a meaningfully higher free cash flow number in 2023.

然後，如果我可以跟進你對自由現金流顯著變化的評論。類似的問題。也許量化並告訴我們最大的增量是什麼，可以讓您在 2023 年獲得更高的自由現金流量。

Yes. Again, on the -- good question, Veronika. On the margin front, gross margin, I'd expect gross margin to improve year-over-year. Again, we have a lot of productivity initiatives in place. We've assumed that some inflation has subsided, particularly in the second half of the year. And then we obviously have some pricing that we have implemented this year that carries forward to next year.

是的。再次，關於 - 好問題，Veronika。在利潤率方面，毛利率，我預計毛利率將同比提高。同樣，我們有很多提高生產力的舉措。我們假設一些通貨膨脹已經消退，尤其是在今年下半年。然後我們顯然有一些我們今年實施的定價將延續到明年。

So it's going to be more of the same. We're going to get a little bit of gross margin improvement and then we're going to continue to get operating leverage. And that's going to be the transformation that we announced last year, that's 110 basis points right there -- or last call, I should say. And then continue to delever. So that's kind of the leverage story.

所以它會更加相似。我們將獲得一點毛利率改善，然後我們將繼續獲得經營槓桿。這將是我們去年宣布的轉型，即 110 個基點——或者我應該說是最後一次通話。然後繼續去槓桿。這就是槓桿作用的故事。

On the free cash flow, the way I think about it is we ended the year at $581 million. So tailwinds going into 2023, we continue -- we expect to continue to grow operating income and that will flow down to free cash flow. We'll probably pick up a little bit of net working capital improvement, particularly on the inventory front as we built some inventory in '22 for some of the supply challenges that we had. Maybe a little bit less CapEx.

關於自由現金流，我認為我們年底的收入為 5.81 億美元。因此，順風進入 2023 年，我們繼續——我們預計營業收入將繼續增長，並將流入自由現金流。我們可能會獲得一些淨營運資本改善，特別是在庫存方面，因為我們在 22 年建立了一些庫存以應對我們遇到的一些供應挑戰。資本支出可能會少一些。

So those would be the key tailwinds.

所以這些將是關鍵的順風。

And then the headwinds that we're going to face will be increased interest expense driven by the financing of Aerie; the transformation costs that I called out; and then the legal settlement, the J&J settlement that we talked about. So $120 million of that $199 million settlement will flow through free cash flow. So those are the big pressure points.

然後，我們將面臨的不利因素將是 Aerie 融資導致的利息支出增加；我所說的轉型成本；然後是法律和解，我們談到的強生和解。因此，在 1.99 億美元的和解中，有 1.2 億美元將通過自由現金流流動。所以這些是最大的壓力點。

But net-net, we'd expect to be higher despite the incremental onetimers, I'll call it, in 2023.

但是 net-net，我們預計會更高，儘管 onetimers 會增加，我會在 2023 年稱之為。

And Tim, you've talked about this $1.8 billion to $2 billion of free cash flow by 2025. Is this a linear improvement from the $580 million? Is it front- or back-end loaded?

蒂姆，你談到到 2025 年將有 18 億美元到 20 億美元的自由現金流。這是 5.8 億美元的線性改善嗎？是前端加載還是後端加載？

Yes. I mean, again, if you take the -- assume that we improve 2023 due to the levers that I just talked about, and then you back out those onetimers, that kind of gets you to a normalized level that's significantly higher than the $581 million. And then it's just going to be volume growth, it's going to be rate improvement and probably a little bit more net working capital improvement. But there's still a clear path to get there.

是的。我的意思是，再一次，如果你採用 - 假設我們由於我剛才談到的槓桿而改善了 2023 年，然後你退出那些一次性的，那會讓你達到一個正常化的水平，這個水平明顯高於 5.81 億美元.然後就是銷量增長，利率提高，淨營運資本可能會有所改善。但是仍然有一條清晰的路徑可以到達那裡。

Our next question comes from the line of Cecilia Furlong with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自 Cecilia Furlong 與摩根士丹利的對話。

I wanted to start with equipment, just off of the strength you've seen in international markets. Can you talk through, as you think about '23, both durability, sustainability as well as o-U.S. versus U.S. outlook for growth, especially given the comps from 2022?

我想從設備開始，只是根據您在國際市場上看到的實力。當你想到 23 年時，你能否談談耐用性、可持續性以及 o-U.S.與美國的增長前景相比，尤其是考慮到 2022 年的業績？

Yes. We had a terrific year on equipment. Obviously, equipment for the full year grew 10%, mid-teens in international. And pretty close to what we expected, really. Not great -- not much growth in the U.S. It was really the international business that carried our business.

是的。我們在設備方面度過了非常棒的一年。顯然，全年的設備增長了 10%，在國際上處於中等水平。非常接近我們的預期，真的。不是很好——在美國沒有太大的增長。實際上是國際業務承載了我們的業務。

I think the -- the robustness of the equipment business has been really on the back of our phaco machine. And I would just say that, as much as we keep thinking that we've kind of run out of gas on the equipment business, capital seems to be there out there, and the capital seems to be coming to buy CENTURION and our LEGION product, both of which have done quite well.

我認為 - 設備業務的穩健性確實取決於我們的超聲乳化機。我只想說，儘管我們一直認為我們的設備業務已經耗盡了，但資本似乎在那裡，而且資本似乎正在購買 CENTURION 和我們的 LEGION 產品，兩者都做得很好。

I mean, part of the equipment strength is new product flow. So we do have a full year of ARGOS internationally. We had -- we did really well year-on-year with that product. We did really well year-on-year with Revalia. We've got a lot of really good individual pieces that like ACTIVE SENTRY Handpiece for our older CENTURIONs, which really does upgrade the performance of the unit.

我的意思是，部分設備實力是新產品流。所以我們在國際上有一整年的 ARGOS。我們有 - 我們對該產品的同比表現非常好。我們與 Revalia 的同比表現非常好。我們有很多非常好的單品，比如我們老款 CENTURION 的 ACTIVE SENTRY Handpiece，它確實提升了裝置的性能。

So we've got a lot to talk about and a lot going on. And I do think that all that strength was offset by a decline in the refractive equipment, which, again, I think had it been even flat, we'd have done better than we said.

所以我們有很多話要談，也有很多事情要做。而且我確實認為所有這些力量都被屈光設備的下降所抵消，我認為如果它甚至持平，我們會做得比我們說的更好。

Going forward, I would -- we have a belief that this has to return to normal at some point. And I think probably we'll start again next year with a belief that this should probably run close to what procedural growth is. Generally, equipment runs a little bit in front of the growth rate of procedures because, of course, you need more equipment to do more procedures directionally. And that has been the view that we had.

展望未來，我會 - 我們相信這必須在某個時候恢復正常。我認為明年我們可能會重新開始，相信這應該接近程序增長。一般來說，設備跑的速度會稍微跑在程序的增長速度前面，因為當然你需要更多的設備才能定向的做更多的程序。這就是我們的觀點。

This year, it was kind of, I think, underestimated by probably where competitors ended up. There were some supply chain challenges with some of our competitors. We thought we'd face more competition than we actually did. But I think directionally, we were really pleased with the business. And I think expect to have a good year next year, I just don't think it's going to be a double-digit year next year.

今年，我認為，它可能被競爭對手最終的排名低估了。我們的一些競爭對手在供應鏈上遇到了一些挑戰。我們認為我們將面臨比實際更多的競爭。但我認為方向性的是，我們對這項業務非常滿意。而且我認為明年會有一個好年頭，我只是認為明年不會是兩位數的一年。

Great. And if I could follow up also, just TOTAL30, some of your comments, both around torics, the recent launch, planned o-U.S. expansion in '23. If you could just level-set what you've seen from both a growth as well as share standpoint through '22 and then your outlook for '23 as well.

偉大的。如果我也可以跟進，只有 TOTAL30，你的一些評論，都是圍繞复曲面的，最近的發布，計劃中的 o-U.S.。 23 年的擴張。如果你能從 22 年的增長和分享的角度以及你對 23 年的展望中看到的東西進行水平設置。

Yes. I mean, we're really pleased with the product. It's a very unique product. It's a unique material that allows for water gradient to be on a different kind of material, a material that actually sheds bacteria over time. So it's a durable material, but can still hold water at the surface. That's -- nobody has been able to do that before.

是的。我的意思是，我們對產品非常滿意。這是一個非常獨特的產品。它是一種獨特的材料，可以讓水梯度出現在另一種材料上，這種材料實際上會隨著時間的推移而脫落細菌。所以它是一種耐用的材料，但仍能在表面保持水分。那是——以前沒有人能夠做到這一點。

So what you feel on your eye at the end of 30 days is really cool. I mean, it basically feels like the first day you put it on. So we're really excited about the potential of the lens. The doc response has been terrific and the new prescriptions for the lens are quite good in terms of share.

所以在 30 天結束時你的眼睛感覺真的很酷。我的意思是，基本上就像你第一天穿上它一樣。所以我們對鏡頭的潛力感到非常興奮。醫生的反應非常好，鏡片的新處方在份額方面相當不錯。

What we've -- what I want to be careful about on T30 is that the monthly lens takes a longer time to come up the curve. And I think it's kind of obvious when you say it. But if you have a DAILIES patient and you start them on a trial, you give them a week's worth of product and they come back and they buy a month's supply or 3-month supply in a week. If you give somebody a couple of boxes of TOTAL30, they're off for 2 months before they decide to come back and purchase the lens.

我們所擁有的 - 我想在 T30 上註意的是每月鏡頭需要更長的時間才能達到曲線。我認為當你這麼說時，這很明顯。但是，如果您有 DAILIES 患者並且您讓他們開始試用，您給他們一周的產品價值，然後他們回來並在一周內購買一個月或 3 個月的供應量。如果您給某人幾盒 TOTAL30，他們會停用 2 個月，然後才會決定回來購買鏡片。

So there is a natural delay in both the purchase cycle and the return cycle for reusable patients. And again, reusable patients tend to be folks who've been in their lenses a longer time or they're just starting. So we're real keen on the new patient starts. Again, we've been watching that as a leading indicator, and we're very pleased with the lens. How fast it comes up the hill, we'll have to see as we get into next year, but I think directionally, we're pleased with it.

因此，可重複使用患者的購買週期和退貨週期都有自然延遲。而且，可重複使用的患者往往是戴鏡片時間較長或剛剛開始戴鏡片的人。所以我們真的很熱衷於新病人的開始。同樣，我們一直將其視為領先指標，我們對鏡頭非常滿意。它上山的速度有多快，我們必須在進入明年時看到，但我認為從方向上講，我們對此感到滿意。

I do think putting the TOTAL30 toric out there, particularly because astigmatics are typically in reusable lenses, are a lot more often in reusable lenses. And we have a particularly good one, I think, will help the family a good bit this next year. So those 2 ledges together, I think, represent the premium product in the entire market for reusability.

我確實認為將 TOTAL30 复曲面放在那裡，特別是因為散光通常在可重複使用的鏡片中，在可重複使用的鏡片中更常見。我認為我們有一個特別好的，明年會對這個家庭有很大幫助。因此，我認為這兩個壁架一起代表了整個市場中可重用性的優質產品。

And so we look forward to seeing a really good response, but the response so far has been as expected, maybe a little better than that.

因此，我們期待看到非常好的響應，但到目前為止的響應符合預期，可能比那好一點。

Our next question comes from the line of Ryan Zimmerman with BTIG.

我們的下一個問題來自 BTIG 的 Ryan Zimmerman。

Congrats on your progress this year. So I want to talk a little bit about Hydrus. You guys have had for a few quarters now. I wonder if you could talk to us a little bit about kind of the attachment rate you're seeing with your IOLs and whether you're getting a lift in IOL sales as a result of entering the surgical glaucoma market because you really are the only player in the glaucoma space now that has that benefit of having both in IOL and then a surgical option in the combo cataract market.

祝賀你今年的進步。所以我想談談 Hydrus。你們已經有幾個季度了。我想知道您是否可以和我們談談您看到的人工晶狀體附著率的類型，以及您是否因為進入手術青光眼市場而提升了人工晶狀體的銷售，因為您確實是唯一的現在青光眼領域的玩家有 IOL 和組合白內障市場手術選擇的好處。

Yes, it's a good question. We've never actually looked at -- I don't know that we've ever looked at the actual attachment rates, but I imagine it's quite high because we're in most ORs with surgeons who are doing cataract surgery. And obviously, the market we're going at is a combo procedure.

是的，這是個好問題。我們從來沒有真正看過——我不知道我們是否看過實際的附著率，但我想它相當高，因為我們在大多數 OR 中都有進行白內障手術的外科醫生。顯然，我們要去的市場是一個組合程序。

I think what I can say about Hydrus is we're pleased with what's happened this year. We are pretty much right on our target. I think what we're excited about is the efficacy of this product. I think it continues to play out that patients come off of medications, stay off medications. They are delaying the second surgeries that have been so common with other procedures. And I think as surgeons get more comfortable with the procedure, they see the efficacy. And I think over time, that will be the winning combination.

我想關於 Hydrus 我能說的是我們對今年發生的事情感到滿意。我們的目標幾乎是正確的。我認為我們感到興奮的是該產品的功效。我認為它會繼續發揮作用，患者會停止服用藥物，遠離藥物治療。他們正在推遲與其他手術一樣常見的第二次手術。而且我認為，隨著外科醫生對手術越來越熟悉，他們會看到療效。我認為隨著時間的推移，這將是成功的組合。

I will say that the reimbursement landscape did affect the visco injections around the canal have had a meaningful impact on the penetration. So the market's grown, MIGS market has grown pretty nicely, actually a little bit better than we expected. The use of canaloplasty as a procedure has been also better than we expected. So I would say that the mix has been surprisingly strong to that procedure. I suppose one could speculate the reimbursement there is so positive relative to what is a little bit more complicated procedure in either the stent products that, that could be driving it.

我要說的是，報銷情況確實影響了運河周圍的粘膠注射，對滲透產生了有意義的影響。所以市場在增長，MIGS 市場增長得很好，實際上比我們預期的要好一點。運管成形術作為一種手術的使用也比我們預期的要好。所以我要說的是，該程序的組合非常強大。我想人們可以推測，相對於支架產品中稍微複雜一點的程序，報銷是如此積極，這可能是驅動它的原因。

I think that will even out over time, that people will come back to, hey, the reason we're doing this is to get it better and to do something for the pressure. The best idea there, I think, is going to end up being Hydrus.

我認為隨著時間的推移，人們會回過頭來，嘿，我們這樣做的原因是為了讓它變得更好，並為壓力做點什麼。我認為，最好的想法最終將成為 Hydrus。

So we're encouraged in the long run. We certainly were on plan for last year, and we look forward to kind of finding -- if there is some leverage in there, I'd love to find it. I don't know whether it really is in there or not. I would tend to believe that this particular product is independently chosen.

所以從長遠來看，我們受到鼓舞。我們當然在去年的計劃中，我們期待著某種發現——如果那裡有一些影響力，我很樂意找到它。我不知道它是否真的在那裡。我傾向於相信這個特定的產品是獨立選擇的。

Okay. That's very helpful. And then as I think about guidance for '23, if cataract growth is kind of below market, then I would assume consumables would be similar in that vein. And if equipment is moderating as well, then do we expect to see a more meaningful lift in implantables?

好的。這很有幫助。然後當我考慮 23 年的指導時，如果白內障增長有點低於市場，那麼我會假設消耗品在這方面是相似的。如果設備也在緩和，那麼我們是否期望看到植入物的更有意義的提升？

And if I look at ocular health and the combination of Aerie, I just want to understand kind of the segment dynamics as it relates to your 6% to 8% growth, kind of what's below, what's above, assumed in your guidance?

如果我看一下眼部健康和 Aerie 的組合，我只想了解與您 6% 到 8% 的增長相關的細分市場動態，在您的指導中假設的下面是什麼，上面是什麼？

Well, look, I think the best way to think about it is almost every one of the markets we've got with, again, plus or minus a little bit, is in that mid-single-digit growth rate, right? So if you think let's call it, 4% to 6% as the market, you back out organic -- inorganic growth from the 6% to 8% on Aerie, you'll pull off 2 points, let's just say, you're kind of right on kind of the market, so to speak.

嗯，看，我認為最好的思考方式是我們所擁有的幾乎每一個市場，再一次，加減一點，是中個位數的增長率，對吧？因此，如果您認為我們稱其為 4% 至 6% 作為市場，您將放棄有機 - Aerie 從 6% 至 8% 的無機增長，您將獲得 2 分，我們只是說，您是可以說，某種市場上的某種權利。

Now if you say, and we are, that the market is going to soften a little bit, then we're growing faster than the market consistently across all categories.

現在，如果你說，我們確實是，市場會稍微疲軟，那麼我們在所有類別中的增長速度都比市場一致。

So I would say kind of if you think about where the market dynamics sit, and individually, we obviously plan to do a little bit better in IOLs. We plan to do -- we'll probably do better than market in equipment. Consumables, we are such a big part of that market, we are likely to run real close to market, to your point.

所以我會說，如果你考慮市場動態所在的位置，並且單獨地，我們顯然計劃在人工晶狀體方面做得更好。我們計劃做 - 我們可能會比設備市場做得更好。消耗品，我們是該市場的重要組成部分，我們很可能會真正接近市場，如您所說。

And I think directionally on Vision Care, I think we're lucky in that we are indexing into the fast-growth areas. So think SiHy DAILIES, think torics. And I think for those reasons, we should do a little bit better than market in contact lenses. We certainly expect to.

我認為在視力保健方面有方向性，我認為我們很幸運，因為我們正在索引快速增長的領域。所以想想 SiHy DAILIES，想想复曲面。我認為出於這些原因，我們應該在隱形眼鏡方面做得比市場好一點。我們當然期望。

And then you're really adding on the ocular health piece, which again gives you kind of the balance of growth. I think I would expect us to be kind of roughly at market or slightly ahead in the core of that business. But then you got a little bit of positive news, I think, around the inorganic stuff that we add in.

然後你真的在增加眼部健康部分，這再次給你一種增長的平衡。我想我希望我們在該業務的核心領域大致處於市場水平或略微領先。但是我想，關於我們添加的無機物質，你得到了一些積極的消息。

So I mean, that was kind of the math if you were trying to do it on really segment kind of high level, what's growing faster, what's growing at market. It's probably how we've been thinking about it.

所以我的意思是，如果你試圖在真正的高水平細分市場上做到這一點，那就是一種數學，增長更快，市場增長。這可能是我們一直在思考的方式。

Our next question comes from the line of Ed Ridley-Day with Redburn.

我們的下一個問題來自 Ed Ridley-Day 與 Redburn 的對話。

Just a quick follow-up on Hydrus. Can you give us a color on the size of the business or the growth dynamic at all beyond what you've already said?

只是對 Hydrus 的快速跟進。除了您已經說過的內容之外，您能否給我們介紹一下業務規模或增長動力？

And secondly, as you've highlighted, you're making nice progress upgrading on CENTURION and LEGION, upgrading the old installed base. Where would you say you are now on that upgrade cycle in the U.S. and Europe as you upgrade to the latest machines?

其次，正如您強調的那樣，您在 CENTURION 和 LEGION 的升級方面取得了不錯的進展，升級了舊的安裝基礎。當您升級到最新機器時，您會說您現在處於美國和歐洲的升級週期中的什麼位置？

Yes. A couple of thoughts. First on Hydrus, I guess the way to think about it is the market itself, the MIGS market, we think, is growing mid-teens. That's kind of where we thought it would be, and that is where it is. I would say the mix inside of that is a little bit more heavy to the canaloplasty and visco dilating agents. So that grouping is growing a good bit faster than market. And so obviously, the stents are growing a little bit slower than that. That's directionally where we are.

是的。幾個想法。首先在 Hydrus 上，我想思考它的方式是市場本身，我們認為 MIGS 市場正在增長十幾歲。那就是我們認為會出現的地方，也就是它所在的地方。我會說裡面的混合物對 canaloplasty 和粘性擴張劑來說有點重。因此，該分組的增長速度比市場快得多。很明顯，支架的生長速度比這慢一點。這就是我們的方向。

We haven't really commented on the size and we try not to go after individual products. But I think we're pleased with where we were. And if you go back to when we acquired the product, what we projected on it, I think we are right on that path.

我們還沒有真正評論尺寸，我們盡量不追求個別產品。但我認為我們對我們所處的位置感到滿意。如果你回到我們獲得產品的時間，我們對它的預測，我認為我們走在這條路上是對的。

Directionally, on the other piece of this on the upgrade cycle, we're pretty much done with Infiniti this year. I think we end-of-life the cassette this year at the end of the year. We've mostly gotten them all out. There's still a few rolling around in various markets. I don't know that there's much in the United States. I think there -- it's always harder when you're dealing with another hundred-or-so countries around the world. So I'm sure that we'll see some continued upgrades there.

在方向上，在升級週期的另一部分，我們今年對英菲尼迪的處理已經差不多完成了。我認為我們將在今年年底結束磁帶的生命週期。我們基本上把它們都弄出來了。仍然有一些在各個市場上滾動。我不知道美國有多少。我認為那裡 - 當你與世界上另外一百多個國家打交道時，它總是更難。所以我相信我們會在那裡看到一些持續的升級。

But really, what we're doing now is outfitting new ORs or replacing old CENTURIONS. So remember, we're well past the 10-year mark on CENTURION, and that will, in and of itself, everybody wants a new one in a lot of ways because the new ACTIVE SENTRY Handpiece is a whole world different than what you're running if you're running a 10-year-old CENTURION.

但實際上，我們現在正在做的是裝備新的 OR 或更換舊的 CENTURIONS。所以請記住，CENTURION 已經過了 10 年大關，就其本身而言，每個人都會在很多方面想要一個新的，因為新的 ACTIVE SENTRY Handpiece 與您所擁有的完全不同。如果您正在運行 10 歲的 CENTURION，請重新運行。

So there's a whole bunch of features that we put in over time. Think of it as a steady bunch of upgrades we've done over a long period of time. So it isn't just the Infinities that we're upgrading. Of course, it's the older CENTURIONs. And then we've actually had a pretty good run at some competition. I think our footprint share grew substantially this year, particularly in the international market. So we're feeling pretty good about where that business sits.

因此，隨著時間的推移，我們添加了一大堆功能。將其視為我們在很長一段時間內完成的一系列穩定升級。因此，我們要升級的不僅僅是 Infinities。當然，這是較舊的百夫長。然後我們實際上在一些比賽中取得了不錯的成績。我認為今年我們的足跡份額大幅增長，尤其是在國際市場上。因此，我們對該業務的位置感覺非常好。

Our next question comes from the line of Chris Gretler with Credit Suisse.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的 Chris Gretler。

I have now 2 questions. First, I wanted to come back to the contact lens business and elasticity there. Could you actually speak about the price action you've taken internationally versus the U.S. and the relative price differentials in these markets? Do you see different response? And also what is the spillover effect of the price effect into '23, and whether you intend to take a further price action?

我現在有兩個問題。首先，我想回到那裡的隱形眼鏡業務和彈性。你能談談你在國際上對美國採取的價格行動以及這些市場的相對價格差異嗎？你看到不同的反應了嗎？還有價格效應對 23 年的溢出效應是什麼，您是否打算採取進一步的價格行動？

And the second question would just be one simple on CapEx, if this year should be trending in the midterm guide of mid-single digit or not?

第二個問題只是關於資本支出的一個簡單問題，今年是否應該在中個位數的中期指南中趨勢？

Yes. We really haven't articulated the detail around the flow-through on price. It's directionally low single digits. So I think what we believe is that both internationally and in the U.S. when we've taken price, we've done them in different moments in time. So I think the U.S. took some price originally at the very beginning of last year. International took, I think, something a little bit closer to midyear. And then again, the U.S. announced an additional price increase for this year late last year.

是的。我們真的沒有闡明價格流通的細節。它是定向低個位數。所以我認為我們相信，無論是在國際上還是在美國，當我們採取價格時，我們都是在不同的時間完成的。所以我認為美國在去年初就已經付出了一些代價。我認為，國際隊在接近年中的時候採取了一些措施。然後，美國在去年底又宣布了今年的額外價格上漲。

So all of that said, it's a little bit tricky to compare it side to side. What I would say is that, directionally, we thought that we would get kind of low single-digit flow-through from those activities. They are different, market to market. We're very specific in how we think about products, markets and competitors and consumers, trying to make sure we get that mix right. And so a little tricky to answer that question any more specifically than that.

所以綜上所述，將它並排比較有點棘手。我要說的是，從方向上講，我們認為我們會從這些活動中獲得低個位數的流量。它們因市場而異。我們對產品、市場、競爭對手和消費者的看法非常具體，試圖確保我們的組合是正確的。因此，要更具體地回答這個問題有點棘手。

CapEx.

資本支出。

Yes. Then on the CapEx, we'd expect this year, we'll probably be at that 5% or 6% of revenue for CapEx on 2023.

是的。然後在資本支出上，我們預計今年，我們可能會在 2023 年達到資本支出收入的 5% 或 6%。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our Q&A session and thus concludes our call today. We thank you for your interest and participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝。女士們，先生們，我們的問答環節到此結束，我們今天的電話會議也到此結束。感謝您的關注和參與。您現在可以斷開線路。