Alcon AG (ALC) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

As Greetings and welcome to the Alcon fourth quarter and 2024 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Dan Cravens, VP of Investor Relations. You may begin.

歡迎參加愛爾康第四季和 2024 年收益電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒一下，本次會議正在錄音。現在我很高興介紹您的主持人，投資者關係副總裁 Dan Cravens。你可以開始了。

Welcome to Alcon's fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings conference call. Yesterday, we issued a press release interim financial report, annual report, and the supplemental slide presentation on our website to enhance today's call. You can find all the documents in the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.alcon.com.

歡迎參加愛爾康 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。昨天，我們在網站上發布了新聞稿、中期財務報告、年度報告和補充幻燈片演示，以加強今天的電話會議。您可以在我們網站 investor.alcon.com 的投資者關係部分找到所有文件。

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

參加今天電話會議的還有我們的執行長 David Endicott 和財務長 Tim Stonesifer。

Please note that 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.

請注意，我們的新聞稿介紹和討論將包括前瞻性陳述。我們明確表示不承擔因新資訊或未來發展而更新前瞻性聲明的任何義務，除非法律要求。

Our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements and ask that you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. There are important factors that could cause our actual results to differ from those in our forward-looking statements are included in our Form 20-F earnings press release and interim financial reports, which are all on file with the Securities Exchange Commission and available on their website at sec.gov.

我們的實際結果可能與我們的前瞻性陳述中表達或暗示的結果有重大差異，並要求您不要過度依賴任何前瞻性陳述。有一些重要因素可能導致我們的實際結果與前瞻性陳述中的結果不同，這些因素包含在我們的 20-F 表收益新聞稿和中期財務報告中，這些報告均已提交給美國證券交易委員會，並可在其網站 sec.gov 上查閱。

Non-IFRS financial measures used by the company may be calculated differently from and may not be comparable to similar measures used at other companies. These non IFRS financial 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 most directly comparable measures presented in accordance with IFRS and are found in our public filings for discussion purposes, our comments on growth or expressed in constant currency.

該公司使用的非國際財務報告準則財務指標可能與其他公司使用的類似指標的計算方式不同，且可能無法進行比較。這些非國際財務報告準則財務指標應與國際財務報告準則規定的經營績效指標一起考慮，但不能作為其替代指標。請參閱我們根據國際財務報告準則 (IFRS) 提出的非國際財務報告準則衡量指標與最直接可比較指標之間的對賬，這些指標可在我們為討論目的而提交的公開文件中查閱，以及我們對增長的評論或以固定貨幣表示。

In a moment, David will begin by recapping highlights from the fourth quarter. After his remarks, Tim will discuss our performance and outlook for 2025, then David will wrap up, and we will open the call for Q&A.

稍後，大衛將開始回顧第四季的精彩內容。發言結束後，提姆將討論我們的表現和 2025 年的展望，然後大衛將進行總結，然後我們將開始問答環節。

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

現在，我將把電話轉給我們的執行長 David Endicott。

Thanks, Dan, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today. 2024 was another solid year for Alcon. We ended the year with sales of $9.8 billion and above market sales growth of 6%. We grew core diluted EPS by 16% to $3.5 and generated a record $1.6 billion of free cash flow in 2024. We also continue to live out our purpose of helping people see brilliantly.

謝謝丹，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。 2024 年對愛爾康來說又是豐收的一年。我們今年的銷售額達到 98 億美元，高於市場銷售額 6% 的成長率。我們的核心稀釋每股收益成長了 16%，達到 3.5 美元，並在 2024 年創造了創紀錄的 16 億美元自由現金流。我們也將繼續實踐幫助人們看得更清楚的宗旨。

Concretely, we helped improve the vision of more than 1 million patients in low and middle-income countries. Additionally screened over 31,000 children who are refractory there and provided spectacles where required. None of these accomplishes would have been possible without the focus of our more than 25,000 associates who worked tirelessly to make a difference for our customers, their patients and the communities we serve.

具體來說，我們幫助中低收入國家100多萬患者改善了視力。此外還對超過 31,000 名患有難治性視網膜炎的兒童進行了篩檢，並在需要時提供眼鏡。如果沒有我們 25,000 多名員工的專注和不懈努力，我們不可能取得這些成就，他們為我們的客戶、他們的患者以及我們服務的社區做出了貢獻。

Equally important, we laid the groundwork in preparation to launch one of the richest product pipelines and outcomes history. Additionally, we realigned our leadership team and organizational structure to increase our focus on innovation, operational excellence and speed to market. We'll talk about all of this in more at our upcoming Capital Markets Day.

同樣重要的是，我們為推出史上最豐富的產品線和成果之一奠定了基礎。此外，我們重新調整了領導團隊和組織結構，以更加重視創新、卓越營運和上市速度。我們將在即將舉行的資本市場日上進一步討論所有這些問題。

However, I'd like to share a bit of a preview with you now. In surgical, we will show you our upcoming equipment launches as well as our connected equipment ecosystem. We'll also provide an update on our IOL portfolio, including some insight on our accommodating programs. In vision care, we'll talk about our focus areas including our innovation and specialty contact lenses. In ocular health, we'll discuss our strategy around accelerating growth with our over-the-counter assets such as sustain as well as our pharmaceutical pipeline. Finally, we'll provide more color on our long-term innovation as we attempt to tackle some of the most challenging problems in eye care.

不過，現在我想跟大家分享一些預覽。在外科手術方面，我們將向您展示我們即將推出的設備以及我們的連網設備生態系統。我們還將提供有關 IOL 產品組合的最新信息，包括有關我們的適應性計劃的一些見解。在視力保健方面，我們將討論我們的重點領域，包括我們的創新和專業隱形眼鏡。在眼部健康領域，我們將討論利用非處方資產（如維持）以及藥品管道加速成長的策略。最後，我們將為我們的長期創新提供更多細節，因為我們試圖解決眼部保健領域的一些最具挑戰性的問題。

With all this coming in a month's time, today, I'll highlight just a few of these innovations in my prepared remarks. Let's start with surgical. We're particularly excited about Unity VCS, our upcoming [faco] device. Unity was designed with safety and efficiency in mind, and this is the most efficient piece of faco equipment Alcon has ever created. In cataract, this efficiency is enabled by faco that is twice as fast as its predecessor, while using 40% less energy.

所有這些都將在一個月內發生，今天，我將在準備好的演講中重點介紹其中的一些創新。讓我們從手術開始。我們對即將推出的 [faco] 設備 Unity VCS 感到特別興奮。Unity 的設計充分考慮了安全性和效率，這是 Alcon 迄今為止製造的最高效的 faco 設備。在白內障手術中，這種效率是由 faco 實現的，它的速度是其前代產品的兩倍，同時能耗降低了 40%。

Additionally, [in Vitre], Unity VCS brings new innovation with vitreous cutting that is 1.5 times faster than constellation. In both cataract and vitres, Unity also enables efficiency through streamlined setup and tear down, which directly supports rapid OR turn as well as intraoperative workflows.

此外，[在 Vitre 中]，Unity VCS 帶來了新的創新，玻璃切割速度比星座切割快 1.5 倍。在白內障和玻璃體手術中，Unity 還透過簡化的設置和拆卸來實現效率，這直接支援快速手術室週轉以及術中工作流程。

Importantly, this next generation console comes with next generation consumables. These include premium cassettes and less invasive instrumentation, which are designed to increase OR efficiency and improve the surgeon and patient experience.

重要的是，這款下一代遊戲機配備了下一代消耗品。這些包括優質盒式磁帶和微創儀器，旨在提高手術室效率並改善外科醫生和患者的體驗。

We received FDA clearance for Unity VCS and the stand-alone Cataract device CS in 2024. Additionally, we anticipate receiving CE mark in the coming weeks. We're in the final stages of our user experience testing ahead of a full commercial launch expected in May. Next, I'll discuss PanOptix Pro, our latest PCIOL innovation.

我們於 2024 年獲得了 FDA 對 Unity VCS 和獨立白內障設備 CS 的批准。此外，我們預計將在未來幾週內收到 CE 標誌。我們目前正處於使用者體驗測試的最後階段，預計 5 月全面投入商業營運。接下來，我將討論我們最新的 PCIOL 創新 PanOptix Pro。

I'm pleased to announce that we're moving forward with a lens design that significantly reduces light scatter. Surgeons remain foremost interested in improving patient outcomes, which includes reducing the incidence of visual disturbances. PanOptix Pro is designed with that outcome in mind and ingeniously uses more light with less scatter. I look forward to sharing more information on this product with you at CMD in March ahead of our commercial launch again in May.

我很高興地宣布，我們正在推進一種可以顯著減少光散射的鏡頭設計。外科醫生最感興趣的仍然是改善患者的治療效果，其中包括減少視覺障礙的發生率。PanOptix Pro 在設計時就考慮到了這一結果，巧妙地使用了更多的光和更少的散射。我期待在 5 月再次進行商業發布之前，於 3 月在 CMD 上與您分享有關該產品的更多資訊。

Now I'll touch on the Voyager direct selective laser trabeculoplastic device which is already available in certain EU markets and the US. Since introducing the Voyager into the US, we've received very positive feedback from doctors and have seen a strong initial demand. We're now focused on ramping up production of the device.

現在我將介紹已在某些歐盟市場和美國上市的 Voyager 直接選擇性雷射小梁成形術設備。自從將 Voyager 引入美國以來，我們收到了醫生們的非常積極的回饋，並且看到了強勁的初始需求。我們現在專注於提高該設備的產量。

Voyager offers a novel way of lowering intraocular pressure by delivering laser energy to stimulate fluid outflow. This device leverages proprietary eye track tracking technology for accurate automated treatment. Its streamlined workflow eliminates the need for a gonial lens or manual aiming, making it a patient and physician-friendly solution, particularly when compared to manual SLT. SLT is already a well-regarded procedure by glaucoma specialists and has well-established reimbursement mechanisms in many markets. We're excited to bring the benefits of this procedure to even more patients.

Voyager 透過發射雷射能量來刺激液體流出，提供了一種降低眼壓的新方法。該設備利用專有的眼動追蹤技術實現精確的自動化治療。其簡化的工作流程無需使用角膜鏡或手動瞄準，使其成為對患者和醫生友好的解決方案，尤其是與手動 SLT 相比。SLT 已經是青光眼專家高度認可的治療方法，並且在許多市場上擁有完善的報銷機制。我們很高興能將這項手術的好處帶給更多的病人。

Now moving on to contact lenses, I'm pleased to announce that our latest innovation, Precision 7 is now widely available throughout the US. Precision 7 targets the reusable lens category, which we estimate is worth approximately $3.8 billion and where Alcon is underindexed.

現在談談隱形眼鏡，我很高興地宣布，我們的最新創新產品 Precision 7 現已在美國廣泛上市。Precision 7 瞄準可重複使用的鏡片類別，我們估計該類別的價值約為 38 億美元，而愛爾康在該類別的指數被低估。

This market segment has been underserved by innovation for years. This lens is groundbreaking one-week replacement modality, offering 16 hours of exceptional comfort and precise vision even on day seven. Precision 7 delivers a breakthrough in comfort by utilizing our proprietary active flow system, which combines a moisturizing agent and a replenishing agent that continually releases moisture to the surface of the lens over a seven-day period.

多年來，這一細分市場一直缺乏創新。該鏡片採用突破性的一周更換方式，即使在第七天也能提供 16 小時的卓越舒適度和精確的視覺。Precision 7 利用我們專有的主動流動系統實現了舒適度的突破，該系統結合了保濕劑和補充劑，可在七天內持續向鏡片表面釋放水分。

Early doctor and wear feedback has been extremely positive. Wearers like the feel of the lens, and eyecare professionals appreciate its ease of fit and intuitive compliance, particularly when compared to a two-week schedule.

早期醫生和佩戴者的回饋非常積極。配戴者喜歡鏡片的感覺，而眼保健專家則欣賞其易於佩戴和直觀的依從性，特別是與兩週的計劃相比。

Now, I'll turn to ocular health, where we have several exciting developments. I'll start with Sustain, the world's leading over the counter artificial tier, which achieved its fourth year of double-digit growth driven by our multi-dose preservative-free formulations. We're continuing to invest behind Sustain. We're bolstering the Sustain brand with the launch of Sustain Pro Preservative Free, our latest and longest lasting triple action formula that hydrates, restores, and protects all types of dry eye.

現在，我將談談眼部健康，我們在這方面取得了一些令人興奮的進展。我首先要介紹的是 Sustain，它是世界領先的非處方人工合成產品，在我們的多劑量無防腐劑配方的推動下，它實現了第四年兩位數的增長。我們將繼續對 Sustain 進行投資。我們推出 Sustain Pro Preservative Free，以增強 Sustain 品牌的實力，這是我們最新、最持久的三重功效配方，可以滋潤、修復和保護所有類型的乾眼症。

Sustain Pro is now available at retailers throughout the US, and we will continue to expand its availability throughout the year. This product incorporates nano-sized lipids and hyaluronate to reduce tear evaporation and provide prolonged hydration.

Sustain Pro 現已在美國各地的零售商處發售，我們將全年繼續擴大其供應範圍。本產品含有奈米級脂質和透明質酸鹽，可減少淚液蒸發並提供長時間保濕。

Turning to prescription eye drops, I continue to be pleased by the performance of Roccotin, one of our glaucoma medications. In the fourth quarter, TRX for this product grew mid-teens. Regarding AR-15512, we continue to expect that we are preparing and are preparing for a US launch in the second half of the year pending FDA approval.

談到處方眼藥水，我仍然對我們的青光眼藥物之一 Roccotin 的效果感到滿意。第四季度，該產品的 TRX 成長率達到十幾歲。關於 AR-15512，我們繼續預計我們正在準備並準備在下半年獲得 FDA 批准後在美國上市。

Looking toward the launch, I'm increasingly encouraged by the strength of the US prescription dry eye market, which we estimate is worth approximately $1.4 billion. In particular, I'm pleased to see strong uptake of new branded RX products, which we think is a positive indicator for the potential of 512. More importantly, 512 has some important differentiators from the currently marketed products, including onset of action.

展望新產品的上市，我越來越受到美國處方乾眼症市場的強勁鼓舞，我們估計該市場的價值約為 14 億美元。尤其是，我很高興看到新品牌 RX 產品的強勁成長，我們認為這對 512 的潛力來說是一個正面的指標。更重要的是，512 與目前市場上的產品有一些重要的區別，包括起效時間。

Finally, I'll briefly discuss market dynamics for the fourth quarter. In Cataract, we estimate that global procedures grew approximately mid-single digits. Additionally, global ATI penetration was up approximately 180 basis points year over year. In both cases, the main driver of growth was international markets.

最後，我將簡要討論一下第四季的市場動態。在白內障方面，我們估計全球手術量增加了約個位數。此外，全球 ATI 滲透率年增約 180 個基點。在這兩種情況下，成長的主要動力都是國際市場。

In the US, we saw another quarter of slower market growth with dynamics similar as Q3. We believe this was driven in part by competitive trialing and sampling, which are not captured in our third-party data. In contact lenses, we estimate that the retail market was up mid single digits. This growth was mainly driven by pricing and lens trade-out.

在美國，我們看到另一個季度的市場成長放緩，其動態與第三季類似。我們認為，這在某種程度上是由競爭性試驗和抽樣所致，而這些並未在我們的第三方數據中體現。在隱形眼鏡方面，我們估計零售市場將成長中個位數。這一增長主要受到定價和鏡頭折價的推動。

And with that, I'll pass it to Tim, who will take you through our financial results and discuss our outlook for the year.

說完這些，我將把它交給蒂姆，他將向你們介紹我們的財務業績並討論我們對今年的展望。

Thanks, David. We're pleased to report fourth quarter sales of $2.5 billion up 6% versus prior year. This growth was primarily driven by strength in our innovative contact lens portfolio and consumables. In our surgical franchise, revenue was up 5% year over year to $1.4 billion.

謝謝，大衛。我們很高興地報告第四季的銷售額達到 25 億美元，比去年同期成長 6%。這項成長主要得益於我們創新的隱形眼鏡產品組合和耗材的強勁成長。在我們的外科手術特許經營中，收入年增 5%，達到 14 億美元。

And implantable sales were $456 million in the quarter, up 2% year over year. International uptake of our advanced technology IOLs continues to drive growth. In the quarter, growth was partially offset by the slower market conditions in the US that David mentioned earlier, as well as competitive pressures.

本季植入物銷售額為 4.56 億美元，年增 2%。國際上對我們先進技術 IOL 的採用持續推動成長。本季度，成長被 David 先前提到的美國市場狀況放緩以及競爭壓力部分抵消。

In consumables, our fourth quarter sales were up 7% to $738 million driven by vitret and cataract consumables, including price increases. In equipment, sales of $229 million were up 2% year over year in line with our expectations.

在耗材方面，受玻璃體切割和白內障耗材的推動（包括價格上漲），我們第四季的銷售額成長了 7%，達到 7.38 億美元。設備方面的銷售額為 2.29 億美元，年增 2%，符合我們的預期。

Turning to vision care, fourth quarter sales of $1.1 billion were up 7%. Contact lens sales were up 11% to $638 million in the quarter. This growth was driven by our innovative lenses, including torque and multifocal modalities, which continue to win in the market. Additionally, we had another quarter with solid contribution from price, which we expect to moderate going forward.

談到視力保健，第四季銷售額為 11 億美元，成長 7%。本季隱形眼鏡銷售額成長 11%，達到 6.38 億美元。這一增長是由我們的創新鏡片推動的，包括扭矩和多焦點鏡片，這些鏡片繼續在市場上獲勝。此外，我們又一個季度的價格貢獻穩健，我們預計未來價格貢獻將有所緩和。

In ocular health, fourth quarter sales of $416 million were up 2% year over year. We saw strong performance in our portfolio of eye drops, including another quarter of solid growth from Sustain. This growth was partially offset by declines in contact lens care. We also saw approximately 1 point of pressure following the strategic transaction with Ocumension in China, which we expect to continue through the third quarter.

在眼部保健領域，第四季銷售額為 4.16 億美元，較去年同期成長 2%。我們的眼藥水產品組合表現強勁，其中 Sustain 又實現了一個季度的穩健成長。這一增長被隱形眼鏡護理業務的下滑部分抵消。在與中國 Ocumension 進行戰略交易後，我們也看到了大約 1 個點的壓力，我們預計這種壓力將持續到第三季。

Now moving down the income statement. Fourth quarter core gross margin was 62.7% up 70 basis points, reflecting favorable product mix and manufacturing efficiencies in vision care, partially offset by surgical gross margin. For operating margin was 20.1%, up 130 basis points year over year, driven by improved gross margin and improved operating leverage in SG&A from higher sales, partially offset by investment in R&D, particularly in surgical.

現在向下移動損益表。第四季核心毛利率為 62.7%，上漲 70 個基點，反映出視力保健領域良好的產品組合和製造效率，但被外科手術毛利率部分抵銷。營業利益率為 20.1%，比去年同期成長 130 個基點，這得益於毛利率的提高以及銷售、一般及行政費用 (SG&A) 中營業槓桿率的提高，但部分被研發投資（尤其是外科手術方面的投資）所抵消。

Fourth quarter interest expense was $48 million broadly in line with last year. Other financial income and expense with a net benefit of $9 million also broadly in line with last year. The fourth quarter average core tax rate was 20.6% compared to 13.8% in the prior year period. For the full year, our average core tax rate was 19%. Diluted earnings were $0.72 per share in the quarter, up 3% from last year.

第四季利息支出為 4,800 萬美元，與去年同期基本持平。其他財務收入和支出的淨收益為 900 萬美元，也與去年基本持平。第四季平均核心稅率為 20.6%，去年同期為 13.8%。全年我們的平均核心稅率為 19%。本季稀釋每股收益為 0.72 美元，較去年同期成長 3%。

Turning to cash on a year-to-date basis, free cash flow was a record $1.6 billion compared to $730 million in 2023. This improvement was mainly driven by higher cash from operations and a decrease in capital expenditures.

從年初至今的現金來看，自由現金流達到創紀錄的 16 億美元，而 2023 年為 7.3 億美元。這項改善主要得益於經營現金流增加和資本支出減少。

Now moving to the 2025 guidance. Our current outlook assumes that the aggregate global eye care market grows 4% to 5% and exchange rates as of the end of January hold through year end. Starting with sales, we expect our full-year revenue to be between $10.2 billion and $10.4 billion which includes two points of foreign exchange headwind.

現在轉向 2025 年指導。我們目前的預測是，全球眼保健市場總量將成長 4% 至 5%，截至 1 月底的匯率將維持到年底。從銷售額開始，我們預計全年營收將在 102 億美元至 104 億美元之間，其中包括兩個百分點的外匯逆風。

On a constant currency basis, we expect our sales growth rate to be between 6% and 8%. In terms of phasing, given the timing of the new product launches, we continue to expect sales growth to accelerate in the second half of the year. Moving to operating expenses, as we continue to invest behind innovation, we've increased our targeted R&D investment range by 1 point and expect R&D expense to be at the midpoint of the range of 8% to 10% of sales.

以固定匯率計算，我們預期銷售成長率將在 6% 至 8% 之間。從分階段來看，考慮到新產品推出的時間，我們仍然預計下半年銷售成長將會加速。談到營運費用，隨著我們繼續投資於創新，我們將目標研發投資範圍提高了 1 個百分點，並預計研發費用將處於銷售額 8% 至 10% 範圍的中間點。

Turning to profitability, we expect our core operating margin to be between 21% and 22%. As I've mentioned before, this reflects our planned investments behind new product launches throughout the year. These investments will be mainly front end loaded, and as such, we expect to see operating leverage accelerate in the second half of the year.

談到獲利能力，我們預計核心營業利潤率將在 21% 至 22% 之間。正如我之前提到的，這反映了我們全年新產品發布背後的計劃投資。這些投資將主要集中在前端，因此，我們預計下半年營運槓桿將會加速上升。

Moving down the income statement, we expect non-operating income and expense to be between $200 million and $220 million. This measure is new to our guidance and includes interest expense, other financial income and expense, as well as the impact of certain equity investments. Turning to tax, we expect our full-year core average tax rate to be approximately 20%.

在損益表中，我們預期非營業收入和支出將在 2 億至 2.2 億美元之間。此指標是我們指南中的新指標，包括利息支出、其他財務收入和支出以及某些股權投資的影響。談到稅收，我們預計全年核心平均稅率約為 20%。

Based on all these factors, we expect our core diluted earnings guidance range to be between $3.15 to $3.25 per share, which corresponds to 8% to 11% constant currency growth over 2024. This guidance reflects approximately $0.15 of foreign exchange pressure, most of which we expect in the first half of the year.

基於所有這些因素，我們預期核心稀釋收益預期範圍為每股 3.15 美元至 3.25 美元，相當於 2024 年 8% 至 11% 的固定貨幣成長率。該指引反映了約 0.15 美元的外匯壓力，我們預計其中大部分將出現在上半年。

Before I wrap up, I'm pleased to announce that our Board of Directors has proposed an increase in our dividend to [$0.28] per share. This is in line with our payout policy of 10% of the previous year's core net income. Shareholders will vote on this proposal at our upcoming annual general meeting in May.

在結束之前，我很高興地宣布，我們的董事會已提議將股息增加至每股 [0.28 美元]。這符合我們將上一年度核心淨收入的 10% 支付給股東的政策。股東將在五月即將召開的年度股東大會上對該提案進行投票。

Additionally, I'm pleased to report that our board has also authorized a share repurchase program of up to $750 million to be completed over the next three years. This program is designed to offset future dilution from associate equity-based incentive plans. Our priority for capital allocation will continue to be investing for top line growth both internally and externally.

此外，我很高興地報告，我們的董事會還批准了一項高達 7.5 億美元的股票回購計劃，該計劃將在未來三年內完成。該計劃旨在抵消未來員工股權激勵計劃的稀釋。我們的資本配置重點將繼續是投資於內部和外部的收入成長。

And finally, I'd like to thank the entire Alcon team for another great year. Their passion and dedication to our purpose is what differentiates Alcon from other companies.

最後，我要感謝整個愛爾康團隊，感謝他們又度過了美好的一年。他們對我們目標的熱情和奉獻精神是愛爾康與其他公司的不同之處。

And with that, I'll turn it back over to David.

說完這些，我會把發言權交還給大衛。

So to wrap up, I'm proud of the significant progress we made in 2024. Our strong financial performance bolstered by our strategic investments in operational efficiency, underscores the bold action, thoughtful planning, and solid execution by our talented teams across the globe.

總而言之，我為我們在 2024 年取得的重大進展感到自豪。我們在營運效率方面的策略投資推動了我們強勁的財務業績，凸顯了我們全球優秀團隊的大膽行動、周到規劃和穩健執行。

Looking forward, 2025 will be a pivotal year for Alcon. We are launching a wave of new products across each franchise that will position us for durable long-term growth. We will continue to invest behind customer-driven innovation, drive operational excellence, and create value for our shareholders. Once again, thank you for your support. We look forward to giving another update at our Capital Markets Day in March.

展望未來，2025年將是愛爾康的關鍵一年。我們正在每個特許經營店推出一系列新產品，這將使我們實現長期的持久成長。我們將繼續投資於客戶驅動的創新，推動卓越運營，為股東創造價值。再次感謝您的支持。我們期待在三月的資本市場日上再次提供最新消息。

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

好了，讓我們開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

David Saxon, Needham and Company.

大衛‧薩克森 (David Saxon)，尼德漢姆公司。

Great, good morning, David and Tim. Thanks for taking my questions and congrats on the quarter. I wanted to start on the US ATIOL business and getting some questions there on just some recent competitive launches. So can you talk about specifically how that business did in the quarter? Did it grow year on year and then, what do you see in terms of impact from competitive trialing and kind of what are your expectations for how that extends into 2025 as you launch PanOptix pro?

太好了，早安，大衛和提姆。感謝您回答我的問題並祝賀本季取得佳績。我想開始了解美國 ATIOL 業務並了解一些有關最近推出的一些競爭產品的問題。那麼，您能具體談談該業務在本季的表現嗎？它是否逐年增長？然後，您認為競爭性試驗的影響如何？當您推出 PanOptix pro 時，您對它在 2025 年的延續有何預期？

Well, look, the US IOL market, I think, was -- had some small growth in it, yes. I think directionally though, there's a lot of noise in the data. And so I think what people are finding is that there was a lot of competitive trialing, some of that was sampled, and so that affects some of the year-on-year change. If you look at our consumables business in the US, which is a pretty good indicator of procedural growth. We think it was a relatively normal quarters, maybe a little bit light, probably in the 2% to 3% range. So that said, I think directionally, we've been very comfortable with the progress we've been making against comp competition. I think our total share in foldables grew and our ATIOL business grew. It's just that (technical difficulty)

嗯，我認為美國 IOL 市場確實取得了小幅成長。但我認為從方向上看，數據中存在著許多噪音。所以我認為人們發現存在大量競爭性試驗，其中一些是抽樣的，因此這會影響一些同比變化。如果你看看我們在美國的消耗品業務，你會發現這是一個相當好的程式成長指標。我們認為這是一個相對正常的季度，可能稍微輕鬆一些，大概在 2% 到 3% 的範圍內。所以，我認為從方向上看，我們對在競爭中取得的進展感到非常滿意。我認為我們在可折疊產品領域的總份額有所成長，我們的 ATIOL 業務也有所成長。只是（技術難度）

And then maybe for Tim, just on the margins. So I heard the comments around operating margins should accelerate in the back half. If I look at the first half, I mean, do you expect to see expansion? I know the first quarter, it's kind of a a tougher comp. But I mean, can you see expansion starting in the second quarter or should we think about that really just a second half dynamic? Thanks so much.

而對蒂姆來說，可能只是處於邊緣。因此，我聽到有關下半年營業利潤率應該會加速的評論。如果我看上半年，我的意思是，您是否預計會看到擴張？我知道第一季的比賽比較艱難。但我的意思是，您是否認為擴張將從第二季度開始，或者我們應該認為這只是下半年的動態？非常感謝。

I think we probably start to see a little bit of expansion in the in the back half of the first half, if that makes sense. To your point, Q1, we had a very strong Q1 in 2024. I wouldn't anticipate that, expanding given the investments that we're making, but we should see expansion throughout the course of the year.

我認為，如果說得通的話，我們可能會在上半年後半段開始看到一點擴張。正如您所說，2024 年第一季我們的業績非常強勁。考慮到我們正在進行的投資，我預計不會出現擴張，但我們應該會看到全年的擴張。

Jeff Johnson, Baird.

傑夫·約翰遜，貝爾德。

Thank you, David. Maybe I can push you just a little bit on your US ATIOL comments there. I think in the past you've given, market shares on the PCIOL side. Is there anything you could update there? I mean, I think we've all assumed you're going to lose a little bit of share or maybe even a little more than, a little bit of share here over the next few quarters until Pro launches. But any updates there and where you think that share, potentially could trend down to over the next couple quarters until Pro launches?

謝謝你，大衛。也許我可以對你在美國 ATIOL 的評論提出一點建議。我認為過去您已經在 PCIOL 方面佔有市場份額。那裡有可以更新的東西嗎？我的意思是，我認為我們都認為在接下來的幾個季度直到 Pro 推出之前，你們將會失去一點份額，甚至可能損失更多一點的份額。但是有任何更新嗎？您認為在接下來的幾個季度直到 Pro 推出之前，這一份額可能會呈下降趨勢嗎？

Well, I think what you're seeing right now is a relatively stable share globally. With the Chinese market, for example, doing quite well, we had a very significant share growth there, and an offset in the US obviously. So, we continue to see competition, pricing in a way that makes it very attractive for people to try. So I think, as that settles down, I think we'll see a return to stability in the market globally.

嗯，我認為您現在看到的是全球範圍內相對穩定的份額。例如，中國市場表現良好，我們的市佔率顯著成長，而美國市場顯然出現了抵銷。因此，我們繼續看到競爭，定價方式對人們來說非常有吸引力。因此我認為，隨著這種情況的平息，我們將看到全球市場恢復穩定。

And I do think that the challenge in the financial piece is, of course, that the price in the US, is higher than the price in China. So even though we're growing units globally, we're not getting as much price out of that. So that's really what I think most people are observing in the 2%. So good quarter for us generally in this area, and I think as we launch pro, people are going to be excited about what we can do with that.

我確實認為，財務上的挑戰當然是美國的價格高於中國的價格。因此，儘管我們在全球範圍內不斷增加銷量，但我們獲得的價格卻沒有那麼高。所以我認為這確實是大多數人在 2% 中觀察到的情況。因此，對於我們來說，這個季度總體來說表現不錯，而且我認為，隨著我們推出專業版，人們會對我們可以用它做的事情感到興奮。

All right, and then maybe just on top of that or a similar follow up. Just that 2% implantables number, I guess maybe for you, Tim. Should we expect that, as maybe competitive trialing goes up in the US over the next quarter or two, does that 2% potentially soften a little bit from there before we see it, reaccelerate in the back half, or do you think 2% is kind of the trough of growth in that segment? I know you don't guide by segment, but just generally speaking how you think that that segment could play out here over the next few quarters. Thanks.

好的，然後也許只是在此基礎上或類似的後續行動。就那 2% 的植入物數字，我想也許對你來說是這樣，Tim。我們是否應該預期，隨著未來一兩個季度美國競爭性試驗的增加，這 2% 的成長率是否有可能在我們看到之前略有減弱，然後在下半年重新加速，或者您認為 2% 是該領域的成長低谷？我知道您不會根據細分市場來提供指導，但只是總體來說，您認為該細分市場在未來幾季會如何發展。謝謝。

Yeah, we're not really going to get into guiding by quarter or by segment. So to David's point, we're very excited about PanOptixs Pro. And I think as we launched that, you're going to see those results on the revenue growth line or revenue growth.

是的，我們實際上不會按季度或按細分市場進行指導。所以正如 David 所說，我們對 PanOptixs Pro 感到非常興奮。我認為，當我們推出這項產品時，您將在收入成長線或收入成長上看到這些結果。

Ryan Zimmerman, BTIG.

Ryan Zimmerman，BTIG。

Good morning. Thanks for taking the questions, David, Tim. I appreciate it. I'm going to avoid the ATIOL questions, and talk a bit about price, if we could in the quarter. And just a broader question for the industry, because I think, price has been a meaningful driver on the top line. But when you adjust for price dynamics, can you comment more from a volume perspective? How would you characterize the growth, particularly in the contact lens segment of the business where price has been a meaningful driver?

早安.感謝大衛、提姆回答這些問題。我很感激。如果本季可以的話，我將避免討論 ATIOL 的問題，並談論一些價格問題。這只是針對該行業提出的一個更廣泛的問題，因為我認為價格一直是推動收入成長的重要因素。但是當您調整價格動態時，您能否從數量角度發表更多評論？您如何描述這種成長，特別是在價格一直是重要推動因素的隱形眼鏡業務領域？

Yeah, thanks, Ryan. And I think, the quarter for us, I think directionally is pretty close to where the year was with about a third of our (technical difficulty) lens business has benefited a lot in the last year or so from price, but it always has. I mean, historically, you see about a third of the value coming from trade up or mix and a third of the value coming from price, and then a third coming from the unit growth.

是的，謝謝，瑞安。我認為，對我們來說，本季的方向與去年同期非常接近，大約三分之一的（技術難度）鏡頭業務在過去一年左右因價格而受益匪淺，但情況一直如此。我的意思是，從歷史上看，你會看到大約三分之一的價值來自以舊換新或組合，三分之一的價值來自價格，然後三分之一來自單位增長。

And so typically, that's made a market of mid single digits. And so we would just think that that continues going forward. I don't know that it will be nearly as substantial as it was last year or the year before. And I think if that's where you're going, I think, we are not optimistic necessarily about, big price increases. Given where we are right now, we think it's pretty well priced and priced appropriately for the consumer.

通常情況下，這會導致市場規模達到中等個位數。因此我們認為這種情況將會持續下去。我不知道它是否會像去年或前年一樣重要。我認為，如果這就是你要去的地方，那麼我們對價格大幅上漲並不一定持樂觀態度。考慮到我們目前的狀況，我們認為它的價格非常合理，對消費者來說也很合適。

Okay. Very helpful. And then Tim, in the presentation, I think called out some higher inventory bills is just a headwind the gross margins in the fourth quarter. Given the product cycle that you have this year, would that continue? I mean, can you elaborate to some kind of whether that may or may not prohibit gross margin expansion specifically in 2025 relative to maybe the core operating margin expectations that you're calling out in guidance?

好的。非常有幫助。然後，蒂姆，在演講中，我認為指出一些更高的庫存費用只是第四季度毛利率的阻力。考慮到今年的產品週期，這種情況會持續下去嗎？我的意思是，您能否詳細說明一下，相對於您在指導中提出的核心營業利潤率預期，這是否可能會或可能不會禁止 2025 年的毛利率擴張？

Yeah, I think gross margin for '25 versus '24, we might see a slight improvement. You still have a little bit of the higher cost inventory flowing through into 2025. The other thing to think about is as we launch Unity and sell more equipment, that's going to be a little bit -- put a little bit of pressure on the on the gross margins. But I would plan it as gross margins flattish, a little bit of an improvement.

是的，我認為 25 年的毛利率與 24 年相比可能會略有改善。到 2025 年，仍有少量高成本庫存流入。另一件需要考慮的事情是，隨著我們推出 Unity 並銷售更多設備，這將對毛利率造成一點壓力。但我計劃讓毛利率保持平穩，略有改善。

Lawrence Biegelsen, Wells Fargo.

勞倫斯‧比格森，富國銀行。

Good morning. Thanks for taking the question, Tim. I wanted to ask about the key assumptions in the 6% to 8% constant currency guidance. You talked about the phasing, the acceleration through the year. Could -- similar to margins, do you expect to first have to be within that range or towards the low end or below it? The second half of the year was about 6%, so the midpoint of the guidance implies, an acceleration. What segment is it basically driven by an acceleration in equipment? And I had one follow up.

早安.謝謝你回答這個問題，提姆。我想問一下 6% 至 8% 恆定匯率指導中的關鍵假設。您談到了分階段、全年加速的進程。可以—與利潤率類似，您是否希望首先處於該範圍內，還是接近低端或低於該範圍？下半年的成長率約為 6%，因此指引的中點意味著加速。哪個部分主要由設備加速推動？我有一個後續行動。

Yeah, I would say from a phasing if I think about the P&L, Larry, I think about it first half, second half. So if you look at revenue, a couple things to think about. In surgical as an example, in plantables, the market softness in the US, the competitive pressures that we've been talking about the last couple quarters, we started to see those in kind of the May-June time frame of '24. So that's going to be a tougher comp if you look at contact lenses, as an example, on the revenue front, in '24 in the first half, we had the benefit of a couple price increases just due to the timing of when we went out with those increases. So those won't repeat.

是的，如果我從階段的角度考慮損益表，拉里，我會考慮上半年和下半年。因此，如果你看一下收入，有幾件事需要考慮。以外科手術和可植入設備為例，美國市場的疲軟以及我們在過去幾季中一直在談論的競爭壓力，在 2024 年 5 月至 6 月期間，我們開始看到這些變化。因此，如果你看一下隱形眼鏡，這將是一個更艱難的競爭，例如，在收入方面，在 24 年上半年，我們受益於幾次價格上漲，只是因為我們實施這些上漲的時機。所以這些不會重複。

You've got a bit of a structural change with Ocumension, right? We announced that in the second half of '24, so you had revenue last year that you don't have this year. But on the upside, if you think about China VBP that came out in Q2 of '24, so we'll get a little bit of a benefit there, as you think about the first half. So given all those dynamics, I would expect revenue to be around the low end of that guide in the first half. And then I would expect it to be at the high end of the guide as you think about all the launches that David talked about in his prepared remarks as we see the -- as we go through the rest of the year.

您對 Ocumension 進行了一點結構性變革，對嗎？我們在 2024 年下半年宣布了這項消息，所以你們去年有收入，但今年沒有。但從好的方面來看，如果你考慮到 24 年第二季推出的中國 VBP，那麼當你考慮上半年時，我們會從中獲得一點好處。因此，考慮到所有這些動態，我預計上半年的收入將處於該指南的低端。然後，當你想到大衛在準備好的發言中談到的所有發布會時，我預計它會處於指南的高端，正如我們所看到的 - 隨著我們度過今年剩餘的時間。

That's very helpful. I wanted to ask one on Unity. David talked about the feedback so far and how we should think about, the growth cadence in the equipment business through the year. Should we -- we've seen years where equipment sales, even when you didn't have a major launch like this at over 10%, even just two years ago, it was over 10%. So how should we think about equipment being, outsized growth in that business? Thank you.

這非常有幫助。我想問一個關於 Unity 的問題。大衛談到了迄今為止的反饋以及我們應該如何看待全年設備業務的成長節奏。我們應該——我們已經看到，即使沒有像這樣的重大發布，設備銷售額也超過 10%，甚至就在兩年前，也超過 10%。那麼，我們該如何看待設備產業超額成長呢？謝謝。

Well, look, it's certainly going to be an increase year on year, Larry. I think the thing that's been exciting about the equipment business is we've done very well with biometry, we've done very well with microscopes. When you add Voyager into it, we think that adds, some benefit to it. And then, of course, we've got what is a generational change in Faco and vItre. And so we feel like the equipment business will be very strong for us this year.

嗯，你看，拉里，這肯定會逐年增加。我認為設備業務令人興奮的地方在於我們在生物辨識和顯微鏡方面做得非常好。當您將 Voyager 添加到其中時，我們認為這會增加一些好處。當然，我們也看到了 Faco 和 vItre 的世代變化。因此，我們覺得今年我們的設備業務將會非常強勁。

I think, we're launching Unity VCS, really in May, let's say. So think about that really as a back half idea, because by the time we get it out there and get it trained into the ORs, you'll see a steady movement. But we're going to be patient with it. We don't see a huge need to be aggressive necessarily with that launch. What we want to do is make sure that the surgeons are trained efficiently to use and maximize the value of this. And If they do that -- if we do that right, we're going to see a lot of value that it moves into doing more cataracts in a day, doing more ret procedures in a day, which creates value for the ASC, creates value for the surgeon, and actually helps a lot of patients get to therapy faster. So we're excited about the back half in particular.

我想，我們將在五月推出 Unity VCS。因此，請將其真正視為後半部分的想法，因為當我們將其帶到那裡並在手術室進行訓練時，您將看到穩定的運動。但我們會保持耐心。我們認為沒有必要在此次發表會上採取激進的措施。我們要做的是確保外科醫生得到有效的培訓，以利用並最大限度地發揮其價值。如果他們這樣做 — — 如果我們做得對，我們將看到它的巨大價值，即每天可以做更多的白內障手術，每天可以做更多的視網膜手術，這為 ASC 創造了價值，為外科醫生創造了價值，並且實際上幫助許多患者更快地得到治療。因此我們對後半部分尤其感到興奮。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Anthony Petrone, Mizuho Group.

瑞穗集團的安東尼‧佩特羅內 (Anthony Petrone)。

Anthony Petron, your line is open. Okay, we'll move on to the next question.

安東尼佩特隆，您的路線已開通。好的，我們繼續下一個問題。

Julien Ouaddour, Bank of America.

美國銀行的 Julien Ouaddour。

Thanks. Good morning, everyone. So my first question is about China. Could you give us a bit more details about the IOL market momentum you see in China? What kind of magnitude of of share gains you have at the moment and what do you expect for 2025? So any qualitative comment about China GDP for 2025? It's super helpful, thanks.

謝謝。大家早安。我的第一個問題是關於中國的。您能否向我們詳細介紹一下您所看到的中國 IOL 市場的發展動能？目前您的市佔率成長到了何種程度？您對 2025 年有何預期？那麼，您對 2025 年中國 GDP 有何定性評價？這非常有幫助，謝謝。

Yeah, obviously, we expect China to do quite well this year. We had about a half a year of impact last year as it took off in the middle part of the year. We had not participated in the program in the past, so there was some inventory that was built in the second quarter, but I think in the first quarter wraparound, for example, and then even in the second quarter, you're going to see some benefit from China on the volume.

是的，顯然我們預計中國今年的表現會相當不錯。去年，我們的影響持續了大約半年，因為它在年中開始起飛。我們過去沒有參加過該計劃，因此第二季度建立了一些庫存，但我認為，例如在第一季度的總結中，甚至在第二季度，你都會看到中國在數量上帶來一些好處。

I do think that, the share has been very significant, relative to, where we were. You remember that I've said in the past we were in the low, the high single digits, I think, originally, we're significantly higher than that at this point, and that was really with only about six months of effort. So I hesitate to give a shared number because it's probably got a lot of noise in it. That data is not super great. But we're doing quite well.

我確實認為，相對於我們之前的水平而言，這一份額已經非常可觀了。您記得我過去曾說過，我們的成長率處於低位或高位個位數，我認為，最初，我們現在的成長率明顯高於這個數字，而這實際上只經過了大約六個月的努力。所以我猶豫是否要給一個共享號碼，因為其中可能包含很多噪音。這些數據並不是特別好。但我們做得很好。

And I would just say that PanOptixs in particular has just kind of gotten its feet under it and [Vividity], which is really the one that's taken off in China for us, has been a very positive, momentum gainer for us. I would just remind people though that the China pricing is European pricing. And so even though we're gaining units globally and our share is relatively stable globally, I think the value that you're seeing that comes through is a little bit less because the eyewears in the US are very different price than they are in Europe and the rest of the world. So expect that we're going to do well in China, but also expect that that's largely a front half and then a stabilizing piece in this in the back half.

我想說的是，PanOptixs 已經站穩了腳跟，而 Vividity 是我們在中國真正取得成功的公司，它為我們帶來了非常積極的發展動力。我只是想提醒大家，中國的定價就是歐洲的定價。因此，儘管我們在全球範圍內的銷量正在增長，而且我們的全球份額相對穩定，但我認為您看到的價值還是略低一些，因為美國的眼鏡價格與歐洲和世界其他地區的價格差異很大。因此，我們預計在中國市場會取得良好業績，但同時也預期這主要是前半部分，後半部分將是穩定的部分。

Perfect, thanks. And I just have a follow up we like to squeeze in. Could you maybe comment about the like the margin for surgical this year, given you're growing nicely in China and you have also like some product and equipment. I mean, do we expect margin expansion in like in surgical as well?

非常好，謝謝。我只是想擠出一點時間來跟進一下。鑑於貴公司在中國的業務發展良好，並且擁有一些產品和設備，您能否評論一下今年手術的利潤率？我的意思是，我們是否也期望外科手術的利潤率會擴大？

Yeah, we'll see a little bit of expansion. I think one of the things that you have to take, and I think Larry hit on this, is there will be a little pressure given the fact that the equipment sales will be increasing. So we're excited about that launch that will drive a lot of revenue growth on the back half. But that does put a little pressure on the margins. But we'll continue to get some operating leverage as well, so we feel very good about the surgical margins.

是的，我們會看到一點擴張。我認為你必須要考慮的事情之一，而且我認為拉里也提到了這一點，那就是考慮到設備銷售額的成長，你會面臨一些壓力。因此，我們對此次發布的新產品感到非常興奮，它將推動下半年營收的大幅成長。但這確實給利潤帶來了一點壓力。但我們也會繼續獲得一些經營槓桿，因此我們對手術利潤率感到非常滿意。

Patrick Wood, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的派崔克‧伍德。

Beautiful, thanks. I'll keep it to one and a slightly esoteric one. But I'm curious, is there any interest on your end within the Iowa market to go for the kind of drug delivery side using the haptics? Obviously, we've seen some on the private side going this pathway, and glaucoma management in a bunch of areas. Feels like it could add a lot of value to the franchise over time going that way. I'm just curious if that's something you guys have discussed internally or thought about partnerships there. Thanks.

很漂亮，謝謝。我會將其保留為一個稍微深奧的。但我很好奇，你們在愛荷華市場對使用觸覺技術的藥物傳遞有興趣嗎？顯然，我們已經看到一些私人機構走上了這條道路，並在許多領域進行青光眼管理。感覺隨著時間的推移，它可以為特許經營增加很多價值。我只是好奇你們是否在內部討論過這個問題或考慮過合作。謝謝。

Yeah, Patrick, we've looked at those technologies, we're aware of them and, I've explored them. But I would just say that we're probably a fast follower in that space. We'd like to see that market develop. And in particularly, we'd like to see reimbursement stabilize in both of the, I would say, the intraocular drug delivery, even in glaucoma. I think it'll be interesting to see over time how that stabilizes. I would put that in the same category as the IOL delivery. So we'll likely watch this one for a while. And we certainly can get into it very quickly if we needed to. So interesting idea for sure, but probably yet to be played out.

是的，派崔克，我們研究過這些技術，我們了解它們，我已經探索過它們。但我只想說，我們可能是該領域的快速跟隨者。我們希望看到該市場發展。尤其是，我們希望看到眼內給藥甚至青光眼的報銷額度趨於穩定。我認為隨著時間的推移觀察它如何穩定下來將會很有趣。我會把它和 IOL 輸送歸為同一類別。所以我們可能會觀察一段時間。如果需要的話，我們當然可以很快進入狀態。這確實是一個有趣的想法，但可能尚未實現。

Powerful. Thanks guys.

強大的。謝謝大家。

David Adlington, JP Morgan.

摩根大通的戴維‧阿德林頓。

Hey guys, thanks for the question, more as a high level one, so. Revenue guide this year at [6% to 8%] is the same as it was this time last year, but you've got a number of new products launching and Chinese VDP. I just wondered how we should be thinking about the offsets and the downside. Is that entirely down to the soft in the IOL market or are there other things we should be thinking about?

嘿夥計們，謝謝你的提問，這是一個更高層次的問題。今年的營收預期為 [6% 至 8%]，與去年同期相同，但推出了許多新產品和中國 VDP。我只是想知道我們應該如何考慮抵消和不利影響。這是否完全歸因於 IOL 市場的疲軟，還是有其他我們應該考慮的因素？

Well, I think the offsets to growth are really the legacy brands and to a certain degree, what happens in the market will always be the, one of the main points of the range. I think in truth, if you look at the global markets, they were relatively stable last year. I mean, the difference was the US didn't have a great implantables year, but international really did. And so when you look at the number globally, the unit volumes were solid for us. And really what it was is a difference in pricing that you see between the international markets in the US, that's really what made the difference in value.

嗯，我認為成長的抵消因素實際上是傳統品牌，而且在某種程度上，市場上發生的事情永遠是該系列的重點之一。我認為事實上，如果你看看全球市場，你會發現去年它們相對穩定。我的意思是，不同之處在於美國今年的植入物市場表現不佳，但國際市場表現非常好。因此，當你從全球角度看這個數字時，我們的單位產量是穩定的。而實際上，這就是美國與國際市場之間的定價差異，這才是造成價值差異的真正原因。

So I think directionally, we would expect that to be continuing. I mean, I think the US is going to continue to be a little bit softer as it has been because there's a lot of new competitive activity expected this next year. And I think international will continue to be strong. But the only other offsets I can tell you would sit in this market are really the, how does the contact lens market develop and what happens in the equipment market or the capital purchasing markets, which again, I don't think you have -- typically, we're not really been affected by those, but I would point you towards general market conditions more than anything else.

因此我認為從方向上看，我們預計這種情況將會持續下去。我的意思是，我認為美國經濟將繼續像以前一樣略顯疲軟，因為預計明年會出現許多新的競爭活動。我認為國際市場將繼續保持強勁。但我可以告訴你的這個市場中唯一其他的抵消因素實際上是隱形眼鏡市場如何發展以及設備市場或資本購買市場會發生什麼，同樣，我認為你沒有 - 通常，我們並沒有真正受到這些因素的影響，但我會向你指出一般的市場狀況比其他任何事情都重要。

So and then maybe what we follow, as we get to this time next year when the exit rate in the second half, and as all those products start to ramp, you're expecting a faster growth rate in 2026 and 2025.

那麼，也許我們接下來會看到，隨著明年這個時候下半年的退出率以及所有這些產品開始增加，我們預計 2026 年和 2025 年的成長率會更快。

Well, when we get through '25, we'll talk about '26. But it's -- what's the reason the range is a little bit wide, 6 to 8 is because we're obviously very interested in how these new products take off. We're very optimistic about them. There's not a one of them that I'm not excited about actually. So we're hoping that, of course, your implied idea here is going to come true. But we don't know that. So we'll see how these ramp and how the market picks them up, and we'll see what the market's doing, and we'll obviously comment on that as we get into late next year.

好吧，當我們度過 25 年時，我們再談 26 年。但範圍之所以有點廣，6 到 8，是因為我們顯然對這些新產品如何流行非常感興趣。我們對他們非常樂觀。事實上，我對其中任何一個都很興奮。因此，我們當然希望您在這裡暗示的想法能夠實現。但我們不知道。因此，我們將觀察這些成長如何以及市場如何回暖，我們將觀察市場的表現，並且到明年年底我們顯然會對此發表評論。

Thanks very much.

非常感謝。

Brett Fishbin, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

布雷特‧菲什賓 (Brett Fishbin)，KeyBanc 資本市場。

Hey, guys, thank you very much for taking the questions. Maybe a little bit of a follow up to the last one, just a little bit more specific in the contact lens side. You talked a little bit about the recent launch of Precision 7, Sphere and Touric over the past two calls. I'm curious if you can just expand a little bit on some of the optometrist reception to the launch? And like how you're thinking -- I know you gave kind of a TAM opportunity, but maybe just like a little bit more on how you're thinking about like the ramp of that product and and what it can contribute over the next couple of years? Thank you.

嘿，夥計們，非常感謝你們回答這些問題。也許與上一個有一點點相似，只是在隱形眼鏡方面更具體一點。在過去的兩次電話會議中，您談到了最近推出的 Precision 7、Sphere 和 Touric。我很好奇，您是否可以稍微詳細地介紹一下驗光師對此次發布的反應？就像您的想法一樣——我知道您給了某種 TAM 機會，但也許您可以再多談談您對該產品的成長的看法，以及它在未來幾年能做出什麼貢獻？謝謝。

Yeah, it's an interesting one. And Brett, it was a product that we have had for a while, and we've held partly because we had a lot of other stuff to sell and launch and we were testing it. We actually tested that product for almost a year before we put it in the market. And I'll tell you the reception has been really terrific. I just spoke with our US folks yesterday, and one of the things I heard, which was exciting was, that the -- we're getting more than half of our of this coming from the two-week and other reusable markets.

是的，這很有趣。布雷特，這是我們擁有該產品有一段時間了，我們之所以一直持有它，部分原因是我們還有很多其他產品要銷售和推出，而且我們正在測試它。事實上，在將該產品推出市場之前，我們對它進行了近一年的測試。我要告訴你們，反應真的非常棒。我昨天剛與我們的美國員工進行了交談，我聽到的令人興奮的事情之一是，我們的一半以上的產品來自兩週和其他可重複使用的市場。

So I think that's what we had hoped for and I think that's exactly what we're looking, which is the notion of a two-week replacement is not intuitive, right? The patients forget, docs worry about that. And what happens in truth, I think is when their lenses get real gritty they decide to replace them instead of doing something that's a little bit healthier for them. When you get into a much more intuitive replacement schedule every Monday, every Sunday, whatever it is, you, it becomes a much more reliable idea. And that is what they're reacting to, because optometrists are principally concerned with the safety of these patients and how they handle the health of their eye.

所以我認為這就是我們所希望的，我認為這正是我們所尋找的，兩週更換一次的概念並不直觀，對吧？病人會忘記，醫生對此感到擔心。我認為，事實上，當他們的鏡片變得非常粗糙時，他們決定更換鏡片，而不是做一些對他們更健康的事情。當你每週一、每週日，無論是什麼，養成一個更直觀的替換計畫時，它就會變成一個更可靠的想法。這就是他們的反應，因為驗光師主要關心這些患者的安全以及他們如何處理眼睛的健康。

And so if you can get them on a schedule that's a shorter, but be still affordable. And see then rememberable, if you will, that is a very appealing idea to most optometrists. And I think that's what they're feeding back to us. So with that said, I did comment on the size of the market. It's meaningful, and we'll see how this takes shape. I mean, I am positively predisposed to believe this is a good product to launch and will give us a nice incremental contribution, to the reusable space.

因此，如果您能按照較短但仍然負擔得起的時間表來獲得它們。如果你願意的話，那麼它就很容易記住，這對大多數驗光師來說是一個非常有吸引力的想法。我想這就是他們向我們回饋的訊息。因此，我確實對市場規模做出了評論。這是很有意義的，我們將拭目以待它如何實現。我的意思是，我積極地傾向於相信這是一款值得推出的好產品，並且會為可重複使用空間帶來不錯的增量貢獻。

All right, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

好的，非常感謝。我很感激。

Harry Shrives, Citi.

花旗銀行的 Harry Shrives。

Hi guys, thanks for taking my question. Just back on the US dynamics and the AT IOL market, on the competitive sampling, so how long do you see this lasting, and is there anything you can do about the competitive sampling, or do we just have to wait for the launch of the new panel product?

大家好，感謝你們回答我的問題。回到美國動態和 AT IOL 市場，關於競爭性樣品，您認為這種情況會持續多久，您對競爭性樣品能做些什麼，還是我們只需要等待新面板產品的推出？

Well, Harry, this has been going on for a while, right? I mean we've known for some time that, we weren't going to be the only ones in the AT IOL space in the US with meaningful products. So we saw this coming from Europe and other markets. And so as we said, I think probably for the last 18 months or so, we expected to lose some share in the US to good products that people would try. And so I think that's exactly what we expect to see again through the, through this year. There are a number of products that we anticipate launching later this year.

好吧，哈利，這已經持續一段時間了，對吧？我的意思是，我們早就知道，我們不會成為美國 AT IOL 領域唯一擁有有意義產品的公司。我們看到這種現象來自歐洲和其他市場。正如我們所說，我認為在過去 18 個月左右的時間裡，我們預計美國的一些市場份額將會被人們願意嘗試的好產品所取代。所以我認為這正是我們期望在今年再次看到的。我們預計今年稍後將推出多款產品。

And I think the way that we believe this thing plays out is that when people are given the opportunity to try things, particularly if they're free or very inexpensive, they're going to try them to see how they work. It's responsible to do that. So once they decide what they're going to do and decide to purchase it that becomes a slightly different answer. So I think things will stabilize, but it is going to be a full year of next of this year that we deal with a couple of new competitors and more coming.

我認為，我們認為事情會這樣發展：當人們有機會嘗試新事物時，特別是免費或非常便宜的事物，他們就會嘗試看看效果如何。這樣做是負責任的。因此，一旦他們決定要做什麼並決定購買，答案就會略有不同。所以我認為情況會穩定下來，但今年全年我們都要應付一些新的競爭對手，而且還會有更多的競爭對手出現。

So I feel good about our ability to put that off then, with PanOptixs Pro. I think nobody really has the profile we have with pan optics, and especially now that we squeeze out in front of it with this ability to really use 100%, or not 100%, but a high percentage of, in the 90s of the light. And limit the light scatter. That's a very different experience, I think, for patients than, what you're going to see with, some of the other products that are out there.

因此，我很高興我們能夠利用 PanOptixs Pro 來推遲這一目標。我認為沒有人真正擁有像我們這樣的泛光光學技術，特別是現在我們憑藉這種真正利用 100%（或不是 100%，但 90 年代的高百分比）光的能力脫穎而出。並限制光散射。我認為，對於患者來說，這是一種與其他一些市面上的產品截然不同的體驗。

So we're feeling pretty good about that. And that product launch is only a couple of months away. So we're building the product now. We've made the choice. We've kind of walked everybody through what how we did that. We studied it with a lot of surgeons, got very good feedback on this particular design. And our teams have been trained on it. So we're ready to go. We just need to make it and get it out there now.

所以我們對此感覺很好。而該產品的發布僅剩幾個月的時間。所以我們現在正在打造產品。我們已經做出了選擇。我們已經向大家介紹了我們是如何做到這一點的。我們與許多外科醫生一起研究了它，並就這一特殊設計獲得了非常好的反饋。我們的團隊也接受過這方面的訓練。所以我們準備出發了。我們現在只需要製作它並把它推出去。

Great, thank you. And on your margin guidance of sort of 21% to 22% next year, could you just break that down for us into sort of effects from gross margin and OpEx, please?

太好了，謝謝。關於您明年利潤率預期為 21% 至 22% 的問題，您能否將其分解為毛利率和營運支出的影響？

Yeah, we don't really break it down that way, but again, I think, if you look at the margin expansion, the point I'd make is it will be more back half loaded just given the investments that we're making on these new product launches. But we expect to continue to see nice margin improvement.

是的，我們並沒有真正這樣細分，但我認為，如果你看一下利潤率擴張，我想說的是，考慮到我們在這些新產品發布上所做的投資，利潤率將會進一步下降。但我們預期利潤率將持續大幅提升。

Right, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

Tom Steffen, Stifel.

湯姆·斯特芬，Stifel。

Great, hey guys, thanks for the questions. I'll start with [Hydros]. David, can you remind us of the size of that business maybe in 2024 and your outlook, here in the US just given the LCD noise that has surfaced, of late and then where do we stand with OUS expansion of Hydros as well? And then the follow up.

太好了，嘿夥計們，謝謝你們的提問。我先從[海德羅斯]。大衛，您能否提醒我們該業務在 2024 年的規模以及您的展望，鑑於最近在美國出現的 LCD 噪音，那麼我們對 Hydros 在 OUS 的擴張情況又如何呢？然後進行後續跟進。

Yeah, we generally don't comment on the size of products. I just say it's a little under 100. But the product's done pretty well, and obviously, the LCD -- the combined use of products has been a preference to of surgeons. We look to help them, reverse that. We'll see if that happens, but we hope that that is something that can take shape in the next couple of years. I don't know that it will. But even if it doesn't, I think what we're excited about with Hydros is it has proven out, I think, for everybody who's used it to be the most effective way of treating. if you're going to use a mig, this is the one that really does work particularly well.

是的，我們通常不會評論產品的尺寸。我只是說略低於 100。但該產品做得很好，顯然，LCD 產品的聯合使用一直是外科醫生的偏好。我們希望幫助他們，扭轉這種狀況。我們將拭目以待，看看這是否會發生，但我們希望這將在未來幾年內成形。我不知道它是否會這樣。但即使沒有，我認為我們對 Hydros 感到興奮的是，它已經證明，我認為，對於每個使用過它的人來說，它是最有效的治療方法。如果你要使用 mig，那麼 Hydros 確實效果特別好。

And I think that's pretty well established with both the data, the long-term visual field data, and also what the experience with docs has been. So we feel like that if you're going to make a choice, that's the right choice to make. And so that's certainly where we're headed. Outside the US, we've got interesting opportunities in Japan, France, Spain, China. We'll see how that takes shape with reimbursement. So again, reimbursement is the main thing in these markets and that will be a still-to-be determined in a number of markets, but we look forward to trying to build that brand outside the US as well.

我認為這已經得到了充分證實，無論是數據、長期視野數據還是醫生的經驗。所以我們覺得如果你要做選擇，那就是正確的選擇。這當然就是我們要去的地方。除美國以外，我們在日本、法國、西班牙和中國也擁有有趣的機會。我們將觀察報銷情況如何。所以，在這些市場中，報銷是主要問題，而且這在許多市場中仍有待確定，但我們期待在美國以外地區打造該品牌。

Got it. That's great. And then just on contact lenses to pivot a bit. For 2025 kind of end market growth, David, I think you talked about maybe price potentially moderating a bit, but can you just discuss your view on the trade up aspect of market growth sort of? What do you think that looks like in '25 versus '24, maybe just kind of that dailies versus reusables growth dynamic effects?

知道了。那太棒了。然後只需戴上隱形眼鏡稍微轉動一下即可。對於 2025 年的終端市場成長，大衛，我認為您談到價格可能會有所緩和，但您能否談談您對市場成長的升級方面的看法？您認為 25 年與 24 年相比會是什麼樣子，也許只是日報與可重複使用的成長動態效應？

Yeah, it's really steady. I mean, and if you look back over the years, it stays steady. And so I don't really believe it's going to change. I think people prefer a daily, and I think the dailies have gotten a little bit less expensive. And there are different price points now for people who want to get into dailies. So we've got a value product in Precision One, which we get really excited about. It's probably the best value out there for a Day's brand.

是的，它確實很穩定。我的意思是，如果你回顧過去的這些年，它保持穩定。所以我真的不相信它會改變。我認為人們更喜歡日報，而且我認為日報的價格已經便宜了一些。現在，對於想要購買日報的人來說，有不同的價格點。因此，我們在 Precision One 中推出了一款有價值的產品，我們對此感到非常興奮。這可能是 Day 品牌中最有價值的產品。

Daily's total one, if you really are -- you want the best comfort out there, that's a little bit more expensive, but a great product. And both of those draw the reusable patients in because they're more convenient to wear once a day and toss them, and they're a lot more comfortable, particularly at the end of the reusable wear cycle. So you're just getting a better product if you can afford it. Now we recognize not everybody can afford that, and And we make reusables as a consequence.

如果您真的想要最舒適的體驗，那麼 Daily Total 是您的最佳選擇，雖然價格稍貴一些，但卻是一款很棒的產品。這兩種產品都吸引了可重複使用的患者，因為它們更方便每天佩戴一次並拋棄，而且它們更舒適，特別是在可重複使用佩戴週期結束時。因此，只要您能負擔得起，您就會得到更好的產品。現在我們認識到並不是每個人都能負擔得起，因此我們生產可重複使用的產品。

And we've obviously slipped P7 in between the T30 and our our daily lenses, but we aren't -- we don't anticipate that that the amount of energy we're putting on reusables, for example, is going to have any real effect on the dailies trade up. We, in fact, we expect it to continue on while we take share in the reusable. So. I would say continued steady trade up to dailies and, we'll still see some price in '25, but I think, it just won't be what it was in '24 or '23.

我們顯然將 P7 放在了 T30 和我們的日常鏡頭之間，但我們不會——例如，我們預計在可重複使用產品上投入的精力不會對日常鏡頭的升級產生任何實際影響。事實上，我們希望這種趨勢能夠持續下去，同時我們也能佔據可重複使用的市場份額。所以。我想說，交易將繼續穩定地持續到日報，我們仍然會在 25 年看到一些價格，但我認為，它不會像 24 年或 23 年那樣。

Great call. Thanks.

非常好的電話。謝謝。

Issie Kirby, Redburn Atlantic.

伊西柯比，《雷德伯恩大西洋》。

Hi, guys, thanks for taking my question. I just wanted to touch upon dry eye and some of the investments that you're making there. I was wondering if you could talk about the prescriber base here for dry eye and the extent to which you're already calling on that existing prescriber base with your broader product portfolio and how you can potentially leverage your broader over-the-counter offering to win here?

大家好，感謝你們回答我的問題。我只是想談談乾眼症以及您在那裡進行的一些投資。我想知道您是否可以談談這裡的乾眼症處方基礎，以及您在多大程度上利用現有的處方基礎來提供更廣泛的產品組合，以及如何利用更廣泛的非處方產品來贏得勝利？

Yeah, it's a really interesting question. We spent a lot of time, as of late thinking about the deployment for, [AR 512] And I think there is a significant optometric audience here that we are intending to cover and again, we will do that. But it is different than some of our other eyedrops. So for example, ROCKLATAN, much more of a traditional ophthalmology audience, some optometry, but not a lot. And what you see with the high prescribers is there are some concentrated high prescribers and optometry that we will want to cover. And we are expanding our salesforce to do that.

是的，這是一個非常有趣的問題。最近我們花了很多時間考慮[AR 512]的部署，我認為這裡有一個重要的驗光觀眾群體，我們打算覆蓋他們，我們會再次這樣做。但它與我們的其他一些眼藥水不同。例如，ROCKLATAN 的觀眾群體主要是傳統的眼科觀眾，也有一些驗光觀眾，但不是很多。而您看到的高處方量醫生是一些集中的高處方量醫生和驗光醫生，我們希望覆蓋他們。為了實現這一目標，我們正在擴大銷售團隊。

So as I've said in the past, we were going to look at what's the optimum way to maximize the value here of our launch on 512. And we are adding a salesforce to get coverage of not just ophthalmologists who are high prescribers, but also optometrists who will fit in that category as well. And that will give us room to continue to promote our glaucoma drops and some of our other eye drops that we have. And the leverage obviously comes from an ability to self-sustain preservative-free, pad a day, and a number of other OTC products.

因此，正如我過去所說的那樣，我們將研究如何以最佳方式最大限度地提高我們在 512 上推出的價值。我們正在增加銷售隊伍，不僅涵蓋開處方量大的眼科醫生，也涵蓋同樣屬於這一類別的驗光師。這將給我們空間來繼續推廣我們的青光眼滴劑和一些其他眼藥水。而其優點顯然來自於能夠自我維持不含防腐劑的產品、每日一片衛生棉以及許多其他非處方產品。

So your point on OTC is well made. We do have a lot of opportunity to kind of leverage that and help build the demand coming from the surgeon side or the doc side of this, in addition to obviously continuing to build our consumer effort. So, good question, and we're headed that way.

所以你關於 OTC 的觀點是正確的。我們確實有很多機會利用這一點，並幫助建立來自外科醫生或醫生方面的需求，此外顯然還要繼續加強我們的消費者努力。所以，這個問題問得好，我們正朝著這個方向前進。

Great, thanks for the color. And then just as a follow up on contact lenses, and as it relates to CapEx. Just wondering how you're feeling from a capacity standpoint at the moment and how we should think about contact lens margins over the next few years? Thanks.

太好了，謝謝你的顏色。然後作為對隱形眼鏡的後續關注，以及它與資本支出的關係。只是想知道您目前從產能角度來看感覺如何，以及我們應該如何看待未來幾年隱形眼鏡的利潤率？謝謝。

Yeah, CapEx for us continues to be kind of a mid-single digit idea. We're going to try and stay in that range. I think that's the right level of recap and the right level of expansion. And I think that it is relatively steady and consistent with what we've said in the past. In terms of capacity on contact lenses, I would tell you that we've done a really great job. Our manufacturing guys said we were just actually out in in our German facility. And they have done a tremendous job of improving our outputs on these lines. And so we're well past the original design speeds which has contributed to a reduction in our need to add new lines.

是的，對我們來說，資本支出仍然處於中等個位數水準。我們將盡力保持在該範圍內。我認為這是正確的回顧水平和正確的擴展水平。我認為它相對穩定，與我們過去所說的一致。就隱形眼鏡產能而言，我想說我們做得非常出色。我們的製造人員說我們實際上剛剛在德國工廠。他們為提高我們的產出做出了巨大的貢獻。因此，我們已經遠遠超過了最初的設計速度，這減少了我們增加新線路的需求。

We're getting tremendous productivity. And our flexibility in those lines has given us a lot of room so we can make things like T7. We don't have to create a new line to do that. T30, Precision 7, Precision 1, they all come off the same line. And as we're working forward, we're looking to create more products that come off those same lines because between the manufacturing and R&D teams, we've figured out how to keep the capital really useful, and repurpose lines if we need to. But generally, they're flexible enough to make different modalities, different, finishes, different surfaces. So that's been particularly effective for efficiency of capital.

我們的生產力正在大幅提高。我們在這些產品線上的靈活性給了我們很大的空間，因此我們可以製造像 T7 這樣的東西。我們不需要創建新的線路來做到這一點。T30、Precision 7、Precision 1，它們都來自同一條線。隨著我們不斷前進，我們希望創造出更多來自相同生產線的產品，因為在製造和研發團隊之間，我們已經找到瞭如何讓資本真正發揮作用，並在需要時重新利用生產線的方法。但一般來說，它們足夠靈活，可以製作不同的形式、不同的飾面和不同的表面。這對於提高資本效率來說特別有效。

Great, thanks so much.

太好了，非常感謝。

Kavya Deshpande, UBS.

瑞銀的 Kavya Deshpande。

Hi, this is Kavya from UBS. Thank you for taking my question. I was just wondering about the Belkin Vision product and how significant you think this technology can be and how we should think about the ramp up here? Thank you.

大家好，我是瑞銀的 Kavya。感謝您回答我的問題。我只是對 Belkin Vision 產品感到好奇，您認為這項技術有多重要，以及我們應該如何看待它的發展？謝謝。

Yeah, it's a really great question. The ramp is the tricky part, I think. I think -- we think this is probably in the kind of 75 to 150 range. I mean, I put it a wide range like that because there is an emerging consensus that SLT is the right place to start with almost every glaucoma patient. The challenge has been it's a difficult procedure to take on if you don't have something like Voyager. And so the gap that we're filling is the need to use a gonial lens, the need to physically aim this thing. And if you do traditional SLT, those are not easy and they take time and it's difficult for the patient and the doc to get that done.

是的，這是一個非常好的問題。我認為坡道是最棘手的部分。我認為——我們認為這可能在 75 到 150 的範圍內。我的意思是，我將其範圍設定得如此廣泛，因為人們逐漸達成共識，認為 SLT 是幾乎每位青光眼患者開始接受治療的正確方法。挑戰在於，如果沒有像 Voyager 這樣的東西，這個過程將很難完成。因此，我們要填補的空白是需要使用角膜透鏡，需要物理性地瞄準這個東西。如果你進行傳統的 SLT，這些並不容易，而且需要時間，病人和醫生都很難完成。

However, if you ask most ophthalmologists and most glaucoma specialists in particular, they will tell you that SLT is their preferred idea. They just typically don't do a lot of it. Now the beauty of Voyager is we're making that a lot more friendly to the patient, a lot more friendly to the surgeon and the glaucomatologist who wants to do this, but I think has been reluctant. And this makes it easier. And I think we'll see how fast that moves up. So I think the desire is there, the market is there. It's obviously a big TAM for us. But I would just say, the ramp on this will be the question and we'll have to see.

然而，如果你詢問大多數眼科醫生，特別是大多數青光眼專家，他們會告訴你 SLT 是他們首選的想法。他們通常不會做很多這樣的事。現在，Voyager 的優點在於我們讓它對患者更加友好，對那些想要這樣做但我認為一直不太情願的外科醫生和青光眼病專家也更加友好。這使得事情變得更容易。我認為我們將會看到其上升速度有多快。所以我認為需求是存在的，市場是存在的。對我們來說這顯然是一個很大的TAM。但我只想說，這個問題的進展如何，我們拭目以待。

But we are fully going at this right now. We've got a glaucoma team that does hydros and is also now working on this. So we are moving down a path of a what is we think the most current view of how you should be treating glaucoma patients, which is start with SLT, move into drops, think about migs, and work your way through the life of that glaucoma patient. Let's keep them seeing as long as we can.

但我們現在正在全力進行這項工作。我們有一個專門進行水光注射的青光眼團隊，現在也正在研究這個。因此，我們正在朝著我們認為治療青光眼患者的最新觀點前進，即從 SLT 開始，轉為滴眼液，考慮 migs，並按照青光眼患者的一生來治療。讓我們盡可能讓他們保持視力。

Jack Reynolds Clark, RBC Capital Markets.

傑克‧雷諾茲‧克拉克 (Jack Reynolds Clark)，加拿大皇家銀行資本市場 (RBC Capital Markets)。

Hi there, thank you for taking the questions. I actually had another on the Voyager. I was just wondering kind of if you appreciate your ramping in the US first, how near term do you see the opportunity to ramp elsewhere, for example, in Europe? And then how should we think about the kind of the medium to longer term value prop here in terms of the capital versus click fee?

您好，感謝您回答問題。事實上，我在航海家號上還有另一個。我只是想知道，如果您首先重視在美國擴張，那麼您認為近期在其他地方擴張的機會有多大，例如在歐洲？那麼，我們該如何從資本與點擊費用的角度來看中長期價值主張呢？

Well, yeah, I mean, I think the idea of course would be long term. The click fee is the reusable element of this that we would see as the majority of the revenue. Once you buy one of these units, you should be able to use it quite some time. So we expect to place as many as is appropriate. But I think the click fee will be the value over the long haul and frankly, great margin for us relative to the capital. So over the long haul, we think this becomes a profitable, very nice business for us.

嗯，是的，我的意思是，我認為這個想法當然是長期的。點擊費是其中可重複利用的部分，我們認為它是收入的主要部分。一旦您購買了其中一個設備，您應該能夠使用它相當長一段時間。因此，我們希望放置盡可能多的合適數量。但我認為從長遠來看點擊費是有價值的，坦白說，相對於資本而言，點擊費對我們來說是巨大的利潤。因此從長遠來看，我們認為這對我們來說是一項有利可圖、非常好的業務。

On the European ramp, I would just say that this will largely be a function of how fast we can build product. We -- this was a company that, we had been partnering with for some time out of Israel. We've been in the process of working with them to manage the difficult situation that exists over there and also move that manufacturing into one of our facilities and augment their efforts.

關於歐洲市場，我只想說，這很大程度取決於我們生產產品的速度。我們——這是一家我們已經合作了一段時間的以色列以外的公司。我們一直在與他們合作，解決那裡存在的困難局面，並將生產轉移到我們的一個工廠，以增強他們的努力。

So as we get through that, we will bring more to Europe, but our primary objective right now is to launch in the US. And we'll send product as fast as we can into Europe. Europe's been approved for some time, has product available now, it just isn't going to be as aggressive a launch, I think there as we'll see, in the US where we'll go first.

因此，當我們完成這一目標後，我們將把更多產品推向歐洲，但我們目前的主要目標是在美國推出產品。我們會盡快將產品發送到歐洲。歐洲已經批准了一段時間，現在也有產品上市，只是不會像美國那樣積極推出，我想我們會先在美國推出。

No, that's clear. Thanks very much. And then, a very quick follow up. So my line dropped, so apologies if the this question has already been asked. But just on international ATIOLs. Could you give a bit of color on kind of what, which geographies were the major drivers and which mentalities there was that kind of basically a function of China or were there other things going on as well?

不，這很清楚。非常感謝。然後，進行非常快速的跟進。所以我的線路斷了，如果這個問題已經被問過了，請原諒。但僅限於國際 ATIOL。您能否稍微解釋一下哪些地區是主要的驅動因素，以及哪些心態基本上是中國的作用，或者還有其他因素在起作用？

Well, we had a couple of very good markets, Southeast Asia, LATAM did really well, both of them. I think, China was a standout by far, both by ATIOL penetration, it drove most of the global penetration gain. And also, for us, it really held our unit share up, in a very meaningful way. So I would say, we like what's going on in China for us right now. It's pretty much as expected. I would say the US is also as expected. And we're getting a little bit of a nice lift out of some -- I would just call other markets, Latin America, did pretty well, Japan has done pretty well recently, and we feel pretty good about all that.

嗯，我們有幾個非常好的市場，東南亞和拉丁美洲都表現得非常好。我認為，中國是迄今為止表現突出的國家，無論是從 ATIOL 的滲透率來看，還是從全球滲透率的成長來看，它都發揮了重要作用。而且，對我們來說，它確實以一種非常有意義的方式保持了我們的單位份額。所以我想說，我們喜歡現在在中國發生的一切。和預想的差不多。我想說美國也正如預期的那樣。而且我們從一些市場獲得了一些不錯的提振——我想說的是其他市場，比如拉丁美洲，表現相當不錯，日本最近表現也相當不錯，我們對這一切都感覺很好。

That's great, thanks very much.

太好了，非常感謝。

Chris Pasquale, Nephron Research LLC.

Chris Pasquale，Nephron Research LLC。

Thanks. David, I wanted to follow up on the comments about the contact lens market. If volume and trade-offs are steady and price moderates, that implies slower market growth. Our sense is that the incremental price tailwinds over the past few years has probably added about two points of market growth relative to pre-pandemic. So is your expectation that the market decelerates by that magnitude in '25 versus '24?

謝謝。大衛，我想跟進有關隱形眼鏡市場的評論。如果交易量和權衡保持穩定，且價格趨於溫和，則表示市場成長放緩。我們的感覺是，過去幾年增量價格的順風可能已經使市場成長了約兩個點（相對於疫情前而言）。那麼，您是否預期 2025 年市場成長率將比 2024 年大幅放緩？

Not really, no. I mean, our expectation is a mid single digit kind of, growth, which is pretty much the normal growth we'd expect. So I know there are other estimates out there that people talk about. We've been pretty consistent in the way we talk about the contact lens market. And I would -- I think it's kind of a 4 to 6 grower, which we call, mid-single digits. And so, we'll see, but I think that's pretty much what it grew this year and pretty much what we expect to grow next year.

不完全是，不是。我的意思是，我們預期的是中等個位數的成長，這幾乎是我們預期的正常成長。所以我知道人們還在談論其他估計。我們談論隱形眼鏡市場的方式一直非常一致。我認為這是一個 4 到 6 的增長，我們稱之為中等個位數。所以，我們拭目以待，但我認為這基本上就是今年的成長情況，基本上就是我們預期明年的成長情況。

Okay. And I'm curious why now in terms of the price tail and monitoring, it's been strong over the last several years. It looks like this was another good quarter for both the market and your own business in 4Q. So are you picking up signs of pushback from patients or softness in the consumer environment more broadly? Just what drives the thinking that '25 is different on that particular dynamic?

好的。我很好奇為什麼從價格尾部和監控來看，過去幾年它一直表現強勁。看起來，第四季度對於市場和您自己的業務來說又是一個好季度。那麼，您是否察覺到了患者的抵觸情緒或更廣泛的消費環境疲軟的跡象？究竟是什麼促使人們認為 25 在這種特定動態下有所不同？

Well, I think what you're going to see right now is there's a great deal of competition, particularly in the US market. And when you look at what's happening with competitors, they are beginning to respond to the success that our new products have had. And they're responding with price and they're responding with discounts. And so when those discounts aren't available and there was a significant amount of discounting that went on in the fourth quarter from some of our competitors, it makes it a little bit trickier to handle.

嗯，我認為你現在會看到競爭非常激烈，特別是在美國市場。當你觀察競爭對手的情況時，你會發現他們開始對我們新產品所取得的成功做出反應。他們以價格和折扣來回應。因此，當這些折扣不可用並且我們的一些競爭對手在第四季度推出了大量折扣時，處理起來就會變得有點棘手。

So I think, we're not looking to raise price necessarily, we're looking to manage the consumer very carefully. And we feel like that's the appropriate thing to do. I would also say that, as we were coming off at '23 and '24, we were trying to catch up and a lot of people were to the inflation that had happened in our core cost of goods. And I think that was kind of a one-off, if you will, that most of us got through. The consumers largely accepted. And I think you should -- we should be sensitive to the notion that we want continued trade up and that's what we're getting. We think we've got it priced right.

所以我認為，我們不一定要提高價格，我們只是希望非常謹慎地管理消費者。我們覺得這是適當的做法。我還想說，當我們在 23 年和 24 年即將到來時，我們正試圖追趕，很多人都在關注我們核心商品成本中發生的通貨膨脹。如果你願意的話，我認為那隻是一次性的經歷，我們大多數人都經歷過。消費者基本接受。我認為你應該——我們應該對我們希望繼續進行貿易的想法保持敏感，而這正是我們所得到的。我們認為我們的定價是正確的。

Anthony Petronne, Mizuho Group. .

瑞穗集團的安東尼‧佩特羅內 (Anthony Petronne)。。

Thanks. Sorry, just hopping between earnings calls apologies for that. So one on, when we look ahead to the Unity launch, just wondering, Dave, when we think about, the path to acquisition for these systems, whether it's an upgrade or outright purchase, will the company pursue like bundle deals? In other words, if they purchased the capital, can you actually gain share in consumables and IOLs into those cycles? And then really quickly on the follow up, just a little bit on the US dry eye TAM, the latest numbers that you have there, and if you can, how 512 will be differentiated versus what's out there on the market? Thanks.

謝謝。抱歉，我只是在收益電話會議之間來回奔波，對此表示歉意。因此，當我們展望 Unity 的發佈時，我只是想知道，戴夫，當我們考慮這些系統的收購途徑時，無論是升級還是直接購買，公司是否會追求捆綁交易？換句話說，如果他們購買了資本，你實際上可以在這些週期中獲得消耗品和 IOL 的份額嗎？然後很快進行後續跟進，稍微介紹一下美國乾眼症 TAM，您掌握的最新數據，如果可以的話，512 與市場上現有的產品有何區別？謝謝。

Yeah, I mean, look, the idea that we have with Unity in particular is that this adds tremendous efficiency into the OR. And I think it'll be interesting to see, what the upgrade and what the new machines, do, because there is some real value, I think, in having a combined machine if you only have, let's say you have a cons -- old constellation, which is really, there's -- that's an aging fleet right now. Do you buy the joint unit? I think a lot of people will.

是的，我的意思是，你看，我們對 Unity 的想法是，這為 OR 增加了巨大的效率。我認為看看升級後的新機器會有什麼作用會很有趣，因為我認為，如果你只有一台組合機器，那麼擁有一台組合機器確實有一定的價值，比如說你有一個舊的星座，這實際上是一個老化的機隊。你買的是聯體嗎？我想很多人都會這麼做。

And I do think that, when we look at that, the consumables add a lot of value to that process. I think that's a standalone idea generally. And I think directionally people will make choices at the ASC that really reflect, how they see the value playing out. And that's what we're going to try and point to, which is you can do more surgery in a week, with our unit and our consumables, you can turn ORs faster with our unit and our consumables. And you got less footprint to worry about because you've got one unit instead of two. So I think there's a lot of value in just selling those things straight in, and I think the customers are going to want it that way.

我確實認為，當我們考慮這一點時，消耗品為這個過程增加了很多價值。我認為這通常是一個獨立的想法。我認為人們在 ASC 上所做的選擇會真正反映出他們如何看待價值的發揮。這就是我們要嘗試指出的，利用我們的設備和耗材，您可以在一周內進行更多的手術，利用我們的設備和耗材，您可以更快地完成手術室。而且由於您只有一個單元而不是兩個，因此您無需擔心佔用空間。所以我認為直接銷售這些東西很有價值，而且我認為顧客也會喜歡這種方式。

On the dry eye TAM, I think the -- it is a good market for us and we're excited to see some of the other products that have been launched recently do well with reimbursement. We think that's a positive sign that a product that works faster, makes a material difference to the corneal surface, and shows really significant improvement in patient, signs. I think is a really exciting idea. There aren't many products who've been able to demonstrate what we've been able to demonstrate. And so we're encouraged about what the potential is for the product.

關於乾眼症 TAM，我認為這對我們來說是一個很好的市場，我們很高興看到最近推出的一些其他產品在報銷方面表現良好。我們認為這是一個積極的信號，表明該產品起效更快，對角膜表面產生實質性的變化，並顯示出患者體徵的顯著改善。我認為這確實是一個非常令人興奮的想法。沒有多少產品能夠展示我們所展示的內容。因此，我們對該產品的潛力感到非常鼓舞。

And again, it will take us a little time, so I was -- I'm always cautious about, we're talking we're in a mid-year launch cycle, which will largely manifest in '26 revenue. So I'd be careful not to put too much in it on '25. But I would just say that, we've got the right energy and we're getting really good feedback from payers, and we're getting really good feedback from, the clinical trial sites that have fed back to us what's happened with these patients. So we like this product, and we're excited about it.

再說一次，這需要一點時間，所以我 - 我總是很謹慎，我們正在談論年中發布週期，這將主要體現在 26 年的收入中。所以我會小心，不要在 25 上投入太多。但我只想說，我們擁有正確的能量，我們從付款人那裡得到了非常好的回饋，我們從臨床試驗站點得到了非常好的回饋，他們向我們回饋了這些患者的情況。所以我們喜歡這個產品，我們對它感到很興奮。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Michael Sarcone, Jefferies.

薩科內（Michael Sarcone），傑富瑞集團（Jefferies）。

Hey, thanks for squeezing me in. Just one for me. Can you maybe talk about how you're thinking about potential tariff risk and whether there's anything you call out on the risk side around supply chain?

嘿，謝謝你讓我加入。對我來說只有一個。您能否談談您對潛在關稅風險的看法，以及您是否指出了供應鏈方面存在的風險？

Yeah, Michael, it's certainly a very pertinent question these days and and the dynamic is hard to read. So I would just say that, we're fortunate in many ways that we manufacture inside of the regions we deliver to mostly. That doesn't limit our supplier tariff risk. So we do buy from markets all over the world, supply for our products we manufacture most of them in the markets -- we manufacture most of US in the US. We me most of Europe in Europe. We manufacture a lot of Asia product for for us in Singapore. But I would just say that, we'll have to play that one out and just see what happens.

是的，邁克爾，這無疑是當今非常中肯的問題，而且其動態很難解讀。所以我只想說，我們在很多方面都很幸運，因為我們主要在目標地區進行生產。這並不限制我們的供應商關稅風險。因此，我們確實從世界各地的市場購買產品，我們在美國製造大部分產品，而我們的大部分產品都是在市場上生產的。我們在歐洲的大部分地區。我們在新加坡為我們生產了很多亞洲產品。但我只想說，我們必須進行一番嘗試，看看會發生什麼事。

I do think we have identified those risks and created plans around. If we needed to move things, we could, we probably will wait and see how long these things last. And obviously, everybody's exposed to the same kind of deal. But maybe we're in a little bit better position than most because of the nature of, the location of our facilities.

我確實認為我們已經識別了這些風險並制定了相關計劃。如果我們需要移動東西，我們可以，我們可能會等著看這些東西能持續多久。顯然，每個人都面臨同樣的交易。但也許由於我們設施的性質和位置，我們的情況比大多數人要好一些。

I would also just say though that the beauty of one of our businesses is the diversity of markets and the diversity of products that we make. And so when you kind of cut through the broad strokes of our business. We've got countries all over the world that we can benefit from. So if one country increases tariffs, we may be able to make it up somewhere else. The same thing with our product lines, we've got a little bit of implantable, pressure in the US but we're doing really well in China. So it is a matter of geographic diversity, and category diversity that really drives our steady growth going forward.

我還想說，我們業務的魅力之一在於市場的多樣性以及我們生產的產品的多樣性。因此，當您大致了解我們的業務時。我們可以從世界各國受益。因此，如果一個國家提高關稅，我們也許可以在其他地方彌補。我們的產品線也是一樣，我們在美國有一些植入式的壓力，但我們在中國做得很好。因此，地理多樣性和類別多樣性才是真正推動我們未來穩定成長的關鍵。

All right, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the floor back over to Dan Cravens for closing comments.

目前沒有其他問題。我想把發言權交還給丹·克雷文斯，請他發表最後評論。

Thanks everybody, again for joining us this morning. For any follow up questions, certainly reach out to either Alan Trang or myself and investor relations. For media questions, feel free to reach out to our corporate communications team. Thanks again and have a great rest of your day. Thanks everyone.

再次感謝大家今天早上加入我們。如有任何後續問題，請聯絡 Alan Trang 或我本人及投資者關係部。如有媒體問題，請隨時聯絡我們的企業傳播團隊。再次感謝，祝您今天剩餘時間過得愉快。謝謝大家。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。