AstroNova Inc (ALOT) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the AstroNova's First Fiscal Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. Today's conference call is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 AstroNova 2024 年第一財季財務業績電話會議。今天的電話會議正在錄音。

I would now like to hand the conference over to Scott Solomon of the company's Investor Relations firm, Sharon Merrill Associates. Please go ahead, sir.

我現在想將會議交給公司投資者關係公司 Sharon Merrill Associates 的斯科特·所羅門 (Scott Solomon)。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, Ellen. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. Hosting this morning's call are Greg Woods, AstroNova's President and Chief Executive Officer; and David Smith, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Greg will discuss the company's operating highlights. David will take you through the financials at a high level. Greg will make some concluding comments, and then management will be happy to take your questions.

謝謝你，艾倫。大家早上好，感謝您加入我們。今天上午的電話會議由 AstroNova 總裁兼首席執行官 Greg Woods 主持。副總裁兼首席財務官大衛·史密斯。格雷格將討論公司的運營亮點。大衛將帶您深入了解財務狀況。格雷格將提出一些結論性意見，然後管理層將很樂意回答您的問題。

By now, you should have received a copy of the earnings release that was issued this morning. If you don't have a copy, please go to the Investors page of the AstroNova website, www.astronovainc.com.

到目前為止，您應該已經收到了今天早上發布的收益報告的副本。如果您沒有副本，請訪問 AstroNova 網站 www.astronovainc.com 的投資者頁面。

Please note that statements made on today's call that are not statements of historical fact are considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions that could involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, actual results could differ materially, except as required by law. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of today, June 8, 2023. AstroNova undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. For further information regarding the forward-looking statements and the factors that may cause differences, please see the risk factors in AstroNova's annual report on Form 10-K and other filings the company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

請注意，今天的電話會議中所做的非歷史事實陳述被視為 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述基於許多可能涉及風險的假設。和不確定性。因此，除非法律要求，實際結果可能存在重大差異。任何前瞻性陳述僅截至今天，即 2023 年 6 月 8 日。AstroNova 不承擔更新這些前瞻性陳述的義務。有關前瞻性陳述和可能導致差異的因素的更多信息，請參閱 AstroNova 表格 10-K 年度報告以及該公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中的風險因素。

On today's call, management will be referring to non-GAAP financial measures. AstroNova believes that the inclusion of these financial measures helps investors gain a meaningful understanding of the changes in the company's core operating results. It also helps investors who wish to make comparisons between AstroNova and other companies on both a GAAP and a non-GAAP basis. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures is available in today's earnings release.

在今天的電話會議上，管理層將提及非公認會計準則財務指標。 AstroNova認為，納入這些財務指標有助於投資者對公司核心經營業績的變化有有意義的了解。它還可以幫助那些希望在 GAAP 和非 GAAP 基礎上對 AstroNova 和其他公司進行比較的投資者。今天的收益報告中提供了非公認會計準則財務指標與其最直接可比的公認會計準則財務指標的調節表。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Greg.

然後，我會將電話轉給格雷格。

Thank you, Scott. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Despite a macroeconomic climate that remains volatile, we delivered a solid first quarter performance. Our results highlighted our progress in 3 key areas: first, integrating the acquisition of Astro Machine; second, maintaining disciplined expense management; and third, capitalizing on the continuing rebound of the commercial aviation market.

謝謝你，斯科特。大家早上好，感謝您加入我們。儘管宏觀經濟環境仍然不穩定，但我們第一季度的業績依然穩健。我們的業績突顯了我們在三個關鍵領域取得的進展：第一，整合收購 Astro Machine；第二，保持嚴格的費用管理；三是抓住商用航空市場持續回暖的契機。

Through the exceptional work of our team members around the globe, we generated double-digit revenue growth in both our Product Identification and Test & Measurement segments. Our aggressive focus on implementing and maintaining cost-disciplined measures helped drive a 91% increase in operating income. This increase translated to a 150 basis point improvement in operating margin. On the bottom line, net income grew to $800,000 or $0.11 per diluted share compared with $400,000 or $0.06 per diluted share in the same period of fiscal 2023.

通過我們全球團隊成員的出色工作，我們在產品識別和測試與測量領域實現了兩位數的收入增長。我們積極關注實施和維護成本控制措施，幫助推動營業收入增長了 91%。這一增長意味著營業利潤率提高了 150 個基點。淨利潤增長至 80 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.11 美元，而 2023 財年同期淨利潤為 40 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.06 美元。

Now let's look at each of the segments, beginning with Product Identification, which reported first quarter revenue of $25.1 million, nearly 16% higher than the year earlier period. The increase was driven by the addition of Astro Machine, which we acquired in August of last year. The integration of Astro Machine is proceeding on plan with a rapid level of cross-pollination in terms of engineering, manufacturing and product development between our operations in West Warwick and Elk Grove Village.

現在讓我們看看每個細分市場，從產品識別開始，該細分市場報告第一季度收入為 2510 萬美元，比去年同期增長近 16%。這一增長是由我們於去年 8 月收購的 Astro Machine 的加入推動的。 Astro Machine 的整合正在按計劃進行，我們在西沃里克和埃爾克格羅夫村的業務之間在工程、製造和產品開發方面進行了快速的異花授粉。

For example, our first jointly developed printer has already been completed and will be released later this month, and at least one more additional jointly developed printer should be released before the end of the year.

例如，我們的第一台聯合開發的打印機已經完成，將於本月晚些時候發布，年底前至少還會發布一台聯合開發的打印機。

First quarter segment operating profit margin improved 350 basis points to 10%, reflecting the higher Product ID revenue from a more favorable mix in the 2024 period. Going forward, we expect revenue mix to also benefit from the retrofitting of printers in the field that were sidelined since last year by a supplier-related ink quality issue as those units are restored and returned to full production. We expect this issue to be fully resolved before the end of the fiscal year.

第一季度部門營業利潤率提高了 350 個基點，達到 10%，反映出 2024 年期間更有利的組合帶來了更高的產品 ID 收入。展望未來，我們預計收入組合也將受益於現場打印機的改造，這些打印機自去年以來因供應商相關的墨水質量問題而被擱置，隨著這些設備的恢復並恢復全面生產。我們預計這一問題將在本財年結束前得到徹底解決。

We kicked off our Product ID trade show season last month with great responses at 2 large European trade shows in Germany. interpack 2023 in Düsseldorf and a couple of weeks later, FESPA Global Print Expo in Munich. The shows featured a number of our latest products and accessories, and we were delighted by the number of high-quality leads we generated and the traction our new products are gaining with customers across an array of applications.

上個月，我們在德國舉行的 2 場大型歐洲貿易展上拉開了產品 ID 貿易展季的序幕，並獲得了熱烈反響。在杜塞爾多夫舉辦的 interpack 2023 展會，以及幾週後在慕尼黑舉辦的 FESPA 全球印刷博覽會。這些展會展示了我們的許多最新產品和配件，我們對我們產生的大量高質量銷售線索以及我們的新產品在一系列應用中對客戶的吸引力感到高興。

Also last month, we had another important milestone with the launch of our e-commerce site, giving customers the ability to research and purchase AstroNova printers and supplies directly over the Internet. It's ideal for new customers searching for a solution as well as existing customers that want to reorder or check their account order status. The site provides a convenient, user-friendly experience. Initial customer response has been very positive, and we will continue to add products and functionality to the site throughout the year.

同樣是在上個月，我們推出了另一個重要的里程碑，推出了電子商務網站，使客戶能夠直接通過互聯網研究和購買 AstroNova 打印機和耗材。它非常適合尋找解決方案的新客戶以及想要重新訂購或檢查帳戶訂單狀態的現有客戶。該網站提供方便、用戶友好的體驗。最初的客戶反應非常積極，我們將全年繼續向該網站添加產品和功能。

Turning to the Test & Measurement segment. Revenue increased 11% year-over-year to $10.3 million driven by continuing improvement of the commercial aerospace market. Segment operating profit was up modestly, but margin was down 50 basis points to 20.1% of revenue.

轉向測試與測量部分。在商業航空航天市場持續改善的推動下，收入同比增長 11% 至 1030 萬美元。部門營業利潤小幅增長，但利潤率下降 50 個基點，佔收入的 20.1%。

With the projected global demand for air travel in the coming decades, the outlook for our aerospace printers, supplies and services is strong. Airbus anticipates 46,930 aircraft in service by 2041, up from 22,800 in 2020. A total of 39,490 of those are expected to be new deliveries with 60% to support growth and 40% to replace aircraft that will be retired from service. Boeing likewise projects a massive jump in airline fleets over the next 18 years.

鑑於未來幾十年全球航空旅行的預計需求，我們的航空打印機、耗材和服務的前景十分看好。空客預計到 2041 年，服役飛機數量將達到 46,930 架，高於 2020 年的 22,800 架。其中預計將新增交付 39,490 架飛機，其中 60% 用於支持增長，40% 用於替換即將退役的飛機。波音公司同樣預計未來 18 年航空公司機隊數量將大幅增加。

Turning to the data acquisition portion of Test & Measurement segment. In addition to our core aerospace and defense programs, we have landed several new power generation monitoring projects due to the exceptional accuracy and performance of our data acquisition products. We look forward to growing this new segment in the coming quarters.

轉向測試與測量部分的數據採集部分。除了我們的核心航空航天和國防項目外，由於我們的數據採集產品具有卓越的準確性和性能，我們還獲得了幾個新的發電監測項目。我們期待在未來幾個季度擴大這一新細分市場。

Finally, we were pleased to see the company-wide bookings in the first quarter were up over 18%, $38.4 million. With further strengthening of our backlog, that totaled $38.7 million at quarter end. Backlog is up more than 32% year-over-year and more than 8% sequentially from the fiscal year-end.

最後，我們很高興地看到第一季度全公司的預訂量增長了 18% 以上，達到 3840 萬美元。隨著我們的積壓工作進一步加強，季度末積壓總額達到 3,870 萬美元。積壓訂單同比增長超過 32%，較財年末環比增長超過 8%。

Now let me turn the call over to David for additional financial review.

現在讓我把電話轉給大衛進行額外的財務審查。

Thanks, Greg, and good morning, everybody. At the top line, we posted revenue 13% increased to $35.4 million and solid contributions from both segments. We always highlight the revenue -- recurring revenue nature of our overall business model.

謝謝，格雷格，大家早上好。在營收方面，我們的收入增長了 13%，達到 3,540 萬美元，這兩個部門都做出了堅實的貢獻。我們始終強調我們整體業務模式的收入——經常性收入的本質。

And looking at revenue by type, hardware revenue grew by more than 25% to $11.7 million. Driven primarily by the addition of Astro Machine in the Product ID segment, segment revenue increased more than 6% to supplies revenue increased by more than 6% to $19.1 million, reflecting demand growth in both segments. The service and other category was up by more than 24% to $4.7 million.

從收入類型來看，硬件收入增長了 25% 以上，達到 1170 萬美元。主要受產品 ID 部門增加 Astro Machine 的推動，部門收入增長了 6% 以上，供應收入增長了 6% 以上，達到 1,910 萬美元，反映了兩個部門的需求增長。服務及其他類別增長超過 24%，達到 470 萬美元。

So in total, hardware revenue accounted for 33% of the total revenue in the first quarter; supplies, 54%; and service and other, the remaining 13%. As a percentage of revenue, both hardware and service were up year-over-year, while supplies revenue was down about 4%.

所以總的來說，硬件收入佔第一季度總收入的33%；供應，54%；以及服務及其他，剩下的13%。從占收入的比例來看，硬件和服務均同比增長，而耗材收入則下降了約 4%。

Greg noted the cost control in the quarter. Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased to 30.8% in the first quarter from 32.1% in the same quarter last year, which along with a 40% -- excuse me, 40 basis point increase in gross margins led to a 160 basis point increase in operating profit margin. I'll notice -- I'll note that the operating expense this quarter was lower than the prior 2 quarters. That remains a very strict focus for us.

格雷格指出了本季度的成本控制。第一季度運營費用佔收入的比例從去年同期的 32.1% 下降至 30.8%，再加上毛利率 40%——對不起，40 個基點的增長導致了 160 個基點的增長在營業利潤率方面。我會注意到 - 我會注意到本季度的運營費用低於前兩個季度。這對我們來說仍然是一個非常嚴格的關注點。

From a geographic perspective, domestic revenue accounted for 64.5% of total revenue, up from 63.4% in the first quarter of the same quarter last year. International revenue accounted for 35.5% of total revenue compared with 36.6% a year earlier. In dollars, we saw double-digit growth in Asia and Central and South America in the quarter and a high percentage -- high single percentage growth in Europe.

從地域來看，國內收入佔總收入的64.5%，高於去年同季度第一季度的63.4%。國際收入佔總收入的35.5%，而去年同期為36.6%。以美元計算，本季度亞洲、中美洲和南美洲出現兩位數增長，歐洲出現高百分比增長。

Adjusted EBITDA, which we define as normal EBITDA plus the share-based compensation, increased to $3.1 million or 8.6% of revenue compared to 6.2% of revenue last year. Cash was $1.5 million higher at the end of the year. Total debt at quarter end was $29.7 million, slightly lower than year-end.

調整後 EBITDA（我們將其定義為正常 EBITDA 加上股權激勵）增加至 310 萬美元，佔收入的 8.6%，而去年為收入的 6.2%。年底現金增加了 150 萬美元。季末總債務為 2,970 萬美元，略低於年末。

Total debt to trailing 12-month EBITDA is calculated in our bank agreement includes a full year of Astro Machine, and that checks in at 2.2x. On the historical GAAP financials, the debt to adjusted EBITDA would be 2.6x. We're comfortable with this level. We do expect leverage, though, to decline through the year absent any acquisitions.

我們的銀行協議中計算了過去 12 個月 EBITDA 的總債務，包括 Astro Machine 全年的債務，該比率為 2.2 倍。根據歷史 GAAP 財務數據，調整後 EBITDA 的債務將為 2.6 倍。我們對這個水平感到滿意。不過，我們確實預計，如果沒有任何收購，槓桿率全年都會下降。

We've got sufficient capacity to support our business, the operating needs primarily. And we will use about $1.7 million of secured financing for some new capital equipment that will upgrade our hardware and supplies manufacturing equipment to improve efficiency and keep up with demand growth.

我們有足夠的能力來支持我們的業務，主要是運營需求。我們將使用約 170 萬美元的擔保融資購買一些新的資本設備，這些設備將升級我們的硬件並供應製造設備，以提高效率並跟上需求增長。

Inventory investment increased in the quarter a little bit primarily to support our T&M segment. We're still experiencing some supply chain struggles in the T&M electronic components area and in a few instance, in the PI segment as well, where we need to purchase extra buffer stocks. However, there are clear signs that those supply chain issues in aggregate are [over], and we're confident that our inventory will shrink as we move through the year. We'll use the free cash to reduce debt.

本季度庫存投資略有增加，主要是為了支持我們的測試與測量部門。我們在 T&M 電子元件領域仍然遇到一些供應鏈困境，在某些情況下，在 PI 領域也是如此，我們需要購買額外的緩衝庫存。然而，有明顯跡象表明這些供應鏈問題總體上已經結束，我們有信心隨著今年的推移，我們的庫存將會減少。我們將使用自由現金來減少債務。

With that, I'll turn the call back to Greg.

這樣，我會將電話轉回給格雷格。

Thanks, David. In closing, we began fiscal 2024 with improved results that mark an important step towards our larger goal of driving sustained top line growth and margin enhancement. Barring any downturn in the global economy, fiscal 2024 should see continued momentum in the commercial aerospace business, which we expect to contribute favorably to the performance of our T&M segment. In Product ID, our focus is on innovation with multiple new products slated for launch this year and other technology initiatives underway across our lines of business.

謝謝，大衛。最後，我們以更好的業績開始了 2024 財年，這標誌著我們朝著推動持續營收增長和利潤率提升的更大目標邁出了重要一步。除非全球經濟出現任何下滑，否則商業航空航天業務在 2024 財年應該會保持持續增長勢頭，我們預計這將為我們的測試與測量部門的業績做出積極貢獻。在產品 ID 方面，我們的重點是創新，計劃於今年推出多種新產品，以及我們業務線正在進行的其他技術舉措。

Now David and I will be happy to take your questions. Operator?

現在大衛和我很樂意回答你的問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Samir Patel.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Samir Patel。

One question on the Product ID side. So I know this is the first Q1 that you have the Astro Machine business in there, and I noticed that there was a sequential step-down in revenue from kind of the Q3, Q4 levels. Is there some seasonality to that business?

關於產品 ID 方面的一個問題。所以我知道這是 Astro Machine 業務的第一個第一季度，我注意到收入從第三季度、第四季度的水平開始連續下降。該業務有季節性嗎？

There -- we don't have a good enough read exactly on that, but there does seem to be a favorability of the second half of the year from the numbers that we've looked at. And a few of the customers that we've talked to kind of bear that out. Although they don't commit exactly to that kind of cycle, but it seems to be that type of a cycle. It tends to do kind of Q3, Q4 supplies build up is what we've seen.

我們對此還沒有足夠好的了解，但從我們看到的數字來看，今年下半年似乎確實有利。我們採訪過的一些客戶也證實了這一點。雖然他們並沒有完全致力於那種循環，但它似乎就是那種類型的循環。正如我們所看到的，第三季度、第四季度的供應量往往會增加。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Peter Sidoti from Sidoti & Company.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Sidoti & Company 的 Peter Sidoti。

Gentleman, 2 quick questions. One, can you give me a capital spending budget for this year?

先生，有兩個簡單的問題。一、你能給我一份今年的資本支出預算嗎？

We can give you approximate. David, do you want to address that?

我們可以給您大概的信息。大衛，你想解決這個問題嗎？

Yes. We've got about $1.8 million sort of legitimately in the pipeline. So I'm going to estimate that we'll end up at about $2 million.

是的。我們已經合法籌得大約 180 萬美元。所以我估計我們最終的收入約為 200 萬美元。

Okay. So the excess cash flow from operations will be used to pay down debt? Is that the assumption, unless an acquisition comes along?

好的。那麼運營產生的多餘現金流將用於償還債務嗎？除非進行收購，否則這是假設嗎？

Yes, that's correct.

對，那是正確的。

That makes sense.

這就說得通了。

And inventories, do you think they'll stay flat given the growth? Or do you think you'll be able to bring them down?

至於庫存，您認為考慮到增長，它們會保持平穩嗎？或者你認為你能打倒他們嗎？

We should be able to bring them down. I'm not going to commit to a number. As I said in my comments, I think the supply chain issues are abating. And we're going to concentrate on getting the inventory levels down over the balance of the year. It's a slow process, but we will get them down.

我們應該能夠打倒他們。我不會承諾一個數字。正如我在評論中所說，我認為供應鏈問題正在減輕。我們將集中精力在今年剩餘時間內降低庫存水平。這是一個緩慢的過程，但我們會把它們搞下來。

Right.

正確的。

Okay. And one simple question, Greg. What's your economic assumptions for 2023 at this point?

好的。還有一個簡單的問題，格雷格。目前您對 2023 年的經濟假設是什麼？

My economic assumptions?

我的經濟假設？

Yes. What do you think is going to happen with the economy over the next 12 months? And how do you think it will affect you? There's all different views of what's going on...

是的。您認為未來 12 個月經濟會發生什麼？您認為這會對您產生什麼影響？對於正在發生的事情，大家都有不同的看法...

Yes. I'll have to admit, I'm not an economist. But right now, as I mentioned in my -- big driver I mentioned in the presentation there is we do see a very strong demand in the aerospace. That's probably the strongest indicator that seems to be solidly up. But as long as the economy works well and -- it doesn't seem to be affected at all so far. So we see that as a big driver.

是的。我必須承認，我不是經濟學家。但現在，正如我在演講中提到的“大推動力”中提到的那樣，我們確實看到航空航天領域的需求非常強勁。這可能是似乎穩步上升的最強勁指標。但只要經濟運行良好，而且——到目前為止似乎根本沒有受到影響。所以我們認為這是一個重要的推動因素。

Okay. So you see no slowing down in any of your sectors at this point?

好的。所以您認為目前您的任何行業都沒有放緩？

Well, I said in the aerospace, in our Product ID, it is a very global business and a lot of different market segments. So it's hard to predict exactly what the macro economy may or may not affect that. Obviously, the better the economy, the better we will do.

嗯，我說過在航空航天領域，在我們的產品 ID 中，這是一個非常全球化的業務，有很多不同的細分市場。因此很難準確預測宏觀經濟可能會或不會影響這一點。顯然，經濟越好，我們就會做得越好。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Tom Spiro from Spiro Capital.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Spiro Capital 的 Tom Spiro。

Tom Spiro, Spiro Capital. On Product ID, as I recall, Astro Machine's revenues -- annual revenues run in the low to mid-20s, something like $5 million, $6 million a quarter. If I'm right about that and if it did something like that in Q1, it would look to me like what I'll call core Product ID was down. Am I right?

湯姆·斯皮羅（Tom Spiro），斯皮羅資本。在 Product ID 上，我記得 Astro Machine 的收入——年收入在 20 多歲左右，大約每季度 500 萬美元、600 萬美元。如果我的觀點是對的，並且如果它在第一季度做了類似的事情，那麼在我看來，我所說的核心產品 ID 就出現了問題。我對嗎？

We don't break it out exactly. But yes, I would say the growth in Q1 was driven by the Astro Machine business, correct.

我們並沒有準確地分解它。但是，是的，我想說第一季度的增長是由 Astro Machine 業務推動的，正確的。

No, it's not simply the growth. It looks like product -- core Product ID was down.

不，這不僅僅是增長。看起來產品——核心產品 ID 已關閉。

We don't break out the different segments, Tom.

湯姆，我們不會分解不同的部分。

Okay. The quality issue -- I think the quality issue first emerged in fiscal '22, as I recall from one of your annual reports. And if I understood you your comments earlier, it's going to be resolved by the end of this fiscal year. That seems to take a very long time. Why?

好的。質量問題——我認為質量問題首先出現在 22 財年，我記得在你們的一份年度報告中。如果我早些時候理解了你的評論，那麼這個問題將在本財年年底得到解決。這似乎需要很長時間。為什麼？

We actually are on our third iteration of fix for that, to be honest with you. So what happened is we worked with the supplier, and their first 2 recommendations which we implemented did not prove effective in the long run. So we reverted to a third that we tested very stringently in the last 4, 5 months. And that does seem to be working very well. So now we're rolling that out across the board. Unfortunately, some of the machines we upgraded, we have to upgrade again to this latest fix. But the good news is it does look very sustainable now.

老實說，我們實際上正在進行第三次修復。因此，我們與供應商合作，我們實施的他們的前兩條建議從長遠來看並沒有被證明有效。因此，我們恢復到了過去 4、5 個月內經過嚴格測試的三分之一。這似乎確實運作良好。所以現在我們正在全面推廣這一點。不幸的是，我們升級的一些機器，我們必須再次升級到這個最新的修復。但好消息是它現在看起來確實非常可持續。

Which product lines are affected by the quality issue?

哪些產品線受到質量問題的影響？

It's most of the Trojan-label products. Some of -- only 1 or 2 of -- actually, it's very little of the QuickLabel. It's mostly in the Trojan-label line.

這是大多數帶有木馬標籤的產品。其中一些——實際上只有一兩個——實際上，它只是 QuickLabel 的一小部分。它主要位於特洛伊木馬標籤行中。

And does -- if someone has one of these....

如果有人擁有其中之一的話……

I was going to say, it works for some applications fine, but in certain applications, it didn't perform as well as it needs to be, and that's why we're redoing those machines.

我想說的是，它對於某些應用程序工作得很好，但在某些應用程序中，它的性能沒有達到需要的水平，這就是我們重做這些機器的原因。

I see, I see. And if I'm one of the folks who has one of the affected machines, does the problem prevent me from using the machine at all? Or simply do I use it at a lower rate? What do I do?

我明白了，我明白了。如果我是擁有一台受影響機器的人之一，那麼該問題是否會完全阻止我使用該機器？或者只是以較低的速率使用它？我該怎麼辦？

You may be able -- it depends on your application. So some applications -- and there's different types of labels and different applications of our labels in a wide variety of markets. So some see no issue at all, some see an intermittent issue, where we can address that kind of just treating the symptoms but not the root cause. And then others, just -- it doesn't work for their applications because they require very specific application requirements. So it's a mix -- several hundred printers, yes.

您也許可以——這取決於您的應用程序。一些應用——我們的標籤有不同類型，在各種各樣的市場中有不同的應用。因此，有些人認為根本沒有問題，有些人則認為是間歇性問題，我們可以解決這種只是治標不治本的問題。然後其他人，只是 - 它不適用於他們的應用程序，因為他們需要非常具體的應用程序要求。所以它是一個混合體——是的，有數百台打印機。

As I recall, we did receive some modest compensation from the vendor a couple of years ago for this problem. Are we expecting further compensation for what we've suffered or no?

我記得，幾年前我們確實因為這個問題從供應商那裡得到了一些適度的補償。我們是否期望對我們所遭受的苦難得到進一步的補償？

We can't disclose that exactly because it has to do with the agreements that we made. But the -- it's a combination of some concessions, and then future concessions and a variety of elements. But it won't -- there's not a clear payment like we had at the outset there.

我們不能具體透露這一點，因為這與我們達成的協議有關。但這是一些讓步、未來的讓步和各種因素的結合。但它不會——沒有像我們一開始那樣的明確付款。

Our next question comes from Samir Patel from Askeladden Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 Askeladden Capital 的 Samir Patel。

David, following up on the inventories issue. I know you don't want to pin down to a specific number. But if I just look at data I pulled here, and I don't know if this is accurate, but it looks like from October of 2002 all the way through, call it, maybe late 2018, your inventory turns were kind of at 5 or above, except for a very brief period early in that decade.

大衛，跟進庫存問題。我知道您不想固定一個具體數字。但如果我只看一下我在這裡提取的數據，我不知道這是否準確，但看起來從 2002 年 10 月一直到，也許到 2018 年末，你的庫存周轉率是 5或以上，除了該十年初期的一段非常短暫的時期。

Today, those inventory turns according to my data source are at 3.3. So is there something structural about your business where as the supply chain headwinds abate -- I mean, do you think getting back to maybe that 4, 4.5, 5x inventory turns is a reasonable target? Or is there something structurally different in the business today?

今天，根據我的數據源，這些庫存周轉率為 3.3。那麼，隨著供應鏈阻力的減弱，您的業務是否存在一些結構性因素——我的意思是，您認為回到 4、4.5、5 倍的庫存周轉率是一個合理的目標嗎？或者當今的行業在結構上有什麼不同嗎？

I love the question. I wish I had been around long enough to have that in my bones. But I'll take your math at good faith. No, there's nothing about the business inherently that should keep us from getting back to those levels. I think the aerospace business will always turn slower than the PI business for a variety of reasons, including the fact that you have to support these printers for a very, very long time. And if you have old technology, you have to do last-time buys to make sure that you have the components to build the printers over that entire period. And I think that's sort of the long-term drag on inventory turns.

我喜歡這個問題。我希望我已經存在了足夠長的時間才能將這一點銘記在心。但我會真誠地對待你的數學。不，業務本質上沒有什麼可以阻止我們回到這些水平。我認為，由於多種原因，航空航天業務總是會比 PI 業務發展得慢，其中包括您必須在非常非常長的時間內支持這些打印機。如果您擁有舊技術，則必須進行最後一次購買，以確保您擁有在整個時期內構建打印機的組件。我認為這是對庫存周轉率的長期拖累。

The PI business turns inventories much more quickly. We did have a slowdown across the board during this most recent struggles with the aerospace business and the pandemic and so forth. But no, I think our turn should improve in the PI business. And I think there are secular reasons why the aerospace business should improve. So no, I think our turn should improve over the next couple of years.

PI 業務的庫存周轉速度要快得多。在最近與航空航天業務和大流行等方面的鬥爭中，我們確實全面放緩。但不，我認為我們的 PI 業務應該有所改善。我認為航空航天業應該改善有長期的原因。所以不，我認為我們的回合應該在未來幾年內有所改善。

That makes sense. I mean another way of looking at it is the last time that your revenues were at comparable levels on a trailing basis. Your inventories were, I think, $35 million according to this data as opposed to $50 million now. So I mean I know you're not wanting to put out a number, but it sounds like it could be quite meaningful over -- and I guess what time frame do you expect that to be realized? I mean, is that kind of 24 months, is that 12 months, somewhere in between?

這就說得通了。我的意思是另一種看待它的方式是您的收入最後一次處於可比水平。根據此數據，我認為你們的庫存為 3500 萬美元，而不是現在的 5000 萬美元。所以我的意思是，我知道你不想給出一個數字，但聽起來它可能非常有意義——我猜你預計什麼時間範圍內可以實現？我的意思是，是 24 個月還是 12 個月，或者介於兩者之間？

Yes. I mean the business is bigger and we bought Astro Machine. So the inventories are going to have a little bit of a step-up. I think it's going to take -- during this year, we expect -- I said in the comments, I think our cash flow generation and as we move through the year, the inventory levels are going to get better. I'm not committing to a specific number. And hopefully, we'll be able to improve that into future years as well. But I -- that's speculative at this point.

是的。我的意思是業務更大了，我們買了 Astro Machine。因此，庫存將會略有增加。我認為這將需要——我們預計今年——我在評論中說過，我認為我們的現金流生成以及隨著這一年的推移，庫存水平將會變得更好。我不承諾具體數字。希望我們也能夠在未來幾年改進這一點。但我——目前這還只是推測。

Samir, so I could add a little bit of color to that, if you like. And I think we've said this in the past as well is that when we had these supply chain issues going back over a year now, where we found issues, especially on our supply part of our PI business, we definitely stocked up above our normal run rates. So that will start to bleed off, actually. It's just orders for those suppliers are typically 6 to 8 months in the future. So some of that is actually going to bleed off this year and it will continue into next year.

薩米爾，如果你願意的話，我可以添加一點顏色。我想我們過去也說過，當我們遇到這些供應鏈問題時，我們已經發現了一年多以來的問題，特別是在我們的 PI 業務的供應部分，我們的庫存絕對高於我們的庫存。正常運行率。實際上，這將開始流血。這些供應商的訂單通常是未來 6 到 8 個月的訂單。因此，其中一些實際上會在今年消失，並將持續到明年。

Okay. Perfect. And then one topic you haven't talked about for a little while is I know you implemented the new ERP system. You were excited about some of the visibility that gave you, I think, when you were integrating Astro Machine. Maybe just talk about some of the benefits there and how you see that helping you run the business going forward.

好的。完美的。您已經有一段時間沒有談論的一個話題是我知道您實施了新的 ERP 系統。我認為，當您集成 Astro Machine 時，您對某些可見性感到興奮。也許只是談談那裡的一些好處以及您如何看待它如何幫助您繼續經營業務。

Yes. And one of the biggest benefits is having it integrated amongst our different operations. So here in West Warwick, we're very far through the process. It's now a matter of kind of optimizing processes. We kicked it off very rapidly at Astro Machine because it's here, domestic, it's a smaller operation. So we expect to have that one done probably by the October kind of time frame. So that's moving very quickly. And then we'll move directly to the branch locations, Canada, U.K., France and Germany.

是的。最大的好處之一是將其集成到我們的不同業務中。因此，在西沃里克，我們已經完成了這個過程。現在是優化流程的問題。我們在 Astro Machine 很快就啟動了這個項目，因為它就在這裡，在國內，規模較小。因此，我們預計可能會在 10 月份的時間範圍內完成這項工作。所以進展非常快。然後我們將直接轉移到加拿大、英國、法國和德國的分支機構。

Have different instances of NetSuite that they've had over time. So we just need to consolidate all of those, which that will be the focus after Astro Machine. So getting everyone on the same system clears up a fair amount of inefficiencies that we have to deal with mainly in the financial reporting side of the business. But the CRM systems, having those integrated, because that's also part of NetSuite, that just helps the whole sales and marketing team know globally what's going on instantaneously.

隨著時間的推移，他們擁有不同的 NetSuite 實例。所以我們只需要整合所有這些，這將是 Astro Machine 之後的重點。因此，讓每個人都使用同一個系統可以解決我們主要在業務財務報告方面必須處理的大量低效率問題。但是 CRM 系統將這些系統集成在一起，因為它也是 NetSuite 的一部分，因此可以幫助整個銷售和營銷團隊即時了解全球範圍內發生的情況。

Got you. And I guess I'm excited to hear about e-commerce next time but probably wait for more data. As far as...

明白你了。我想我很高興下次聽到有關電子商務的消息，但可能會等待更多數據。據，直到...為止...

If you want to check it out, you were -- was just going to say, just go to our AstroNova Product ID site and click on the Shop button, and you can explore it on your own.

如果您想查看，您只是想說，只需訪問我們的 AstroNova 產品 ID 網站並單擊“商店”按鈕，您就可以自行探索。

I will do that. As far as M&A, I mean, I know timing is kind of not within your control, but do you want to talk about the pipeline? Or are you seeing more opportunities on the Test & Measurement side, the Product ID side, both of them?

我去做。至於併購，我的意思是，我知道時機有點不在你的控制範圍內，但你想談談管道嗎？或者您是否在測試和測量方面、產品 ID 方面看到了更多機會？

Yes. So it's pretty good in terms of a number of elements. We typically have a handful -- I'd say, have about 4 to 6 things that we're looking at seriously both in Test & Measurement segment and in the Product ID segment. And there's a few that look interesting. So it's -- you never know that, right? So it looks interesting. You start talking. And if we don't like what we see, we'll walk away. And you can see we're kind of conservative in the type of deals we do.

是的。所以從很多元素來看，它都相當不錯。我們通常會在測試與測量領域和產品 ID 領域認真研究一些——我想說，大約有 4 到 6 件事。還有一些看起來很有趣。所以這是——你永遠不知道這一點，對吧？所以看起來很有趣。你開始說話。如果我們不喜歡所看到的，我們就會走開。你可以看到我們在交易類型上有點保守。

So obviously, if we find -- if we can get one of those closely to the parameters we have for Astro Machine, we'll be jumping on it. And we'll have -- you've heard about what's going on with the balance sheet. So we should be in a good position to do a nice deal later in the year if we can get the right one vetted out from our diligence efforts.

很明顯，如果我們發現——如果我們能夠獲得與 Astro Machine 的參數非常接近的參數之一，我們就會立即採取行動。我們將會——你已經聽說過資產負債表的情況。因此，如果我們能夠從我們的盡職調查中篩選出合適的交易，那麼我們應該能夠在今年晚些時候達成一筆不錯的交易。

Okay. And Greg, I actually did what you said. I am on the e-commerce website. I'm only seeing the ability to buy printers and presses. Am I missing sort of the supplies component of that? Or is that a part of the website?

好的。格雷格，我實際上按照你說的做了。我在電子商務網站上。我只看到購買打印機和印刷機的能力。我是否缺少其中的供應部分？或者這是網站的一部分？

No, you can go in there. You can buy a label -- all different labels. You actually can buy them if you were...

不，你可以進去。你可以購買一個標籤——所有不同的標籤。其實你可以買它們，如果你...

Okay. I see it now.

好的。我現在明白了。

Unfortunately, you bought a competitor printer. You can actually buy the label for that printer too to get better results.

不幸的是，您購買了競爭對手的打印機。實際上，您也可以購買該打印機的標籤以獲得更好的效果。

Our next question comes from George Melas from MKH Management.

我們的下一個問題來自 MKH Management 的 George Melas。

A follow-up on Thomas Spiro's questions about the quality issue. It clearly affected machines that are in the field. So it impacts supply sales. Did it also impact hardware sales? Was it just hard to sell the Trojan machines given the issues that you were having?

托馬斯·斯皮羅 (Thomas Spiro) 關於質量問題的後續提問。它顯然影響了現場的機器。因此它會影響供應銷售。這是否也影響了硬件銷售？考慮到您遇到的問題，出售特洛伊機器是否很困難？

Yes, in certain models, mainly through our channel segment. So we know which indications we can sell the machines into. So on a go-forward basis, we're able to do that incrementally. And now we have, of course, the fix in place so we can go a little more aggressively on it.

是的，在某些型號中，主要是通過我們的渠道部門。這樣我們就知道我們可以將機器出售給哪些適應症。因此，在未來的基礎上，我們能夠逐步做到這一點。當然，現在我們已經解決了這個問題，因此我們可以更積極地解決這個問題。

But the channel -- you can imagine, if you're a channel partner and you had a number of issues, you're reluctant to do it until you see the new solution prove out and regain those sales. So we're -- a lot of what we're doing is working with the channel partners to get them back online, explain exactly what we did to make sure that we have a solid solution here. And yes, that's working, but now they need to go back out and generate their customer sales. So there was a hardware impact for those reasons.

但是渠道——你可以想像，如果你是渠道合作夥伴並且遇到了很多問題，那麼在看到新解決方案得到證實並重新獲得銷售之前，你將不願意這樣做。因此，我們正在做的很多事情是與渠道合作夥伴合作，讓他們重新上線，並準確解釋我們所做的事情，以確保我們在這裡擁有可靠的解決方案。是的，這確實有效，但現在他們需要回去創造客戶銷售。因此，由於這些原因，硬件受到了影響。

Okay. And maybe help us understand, like Trojan, what percentage of revenue is direct or how much is through the channel? How important is the channel for Trojan sales?

好的。也許可以幫助我們理解，就像特洛伊木馬一樣，收入的百分比是直接的，還是通過渠道獲得的？木馬銷售渠道有多重要？

It's an important piece of it. There's a good amount of direct sales as well. But a lot of the OEMs, some of the larger accounts, happen to be either OEM accounts or channel accounts for Trojan equipment, less so with the QuickLabel.

這是其中很重要的一部分。還有大量的直接銷售。但許多 OEM（一些較大的帳戶）恰好是特洛伊木馬設備的 OEM 帳戶或渠道帳戶，而 QuickLabel 的情況則較少。

Okay. Okay. Great. Maybe a question on the bookings. They seem to be really strong. Was there any particular area of strength? Or was it sort of across the board? Was it like a few large deals? Maybe give us just a little bit of color on the bookings.

好的。好的。偉大的。也許是關於預訂的問題。他們看起來真的很強。有什麼特別強的地方嗎？或者是全面的？是不是像一些大交易？也許給我們的預訂增添一點色彩。

Yes. There wasn't an outsized deal that was involved there. It's pretty much spread across different products in both the Test & Measurement segment and in the Product ID segment.

是的。那裡並沒有涉及什麼特大的交易。它幾乎分佈在測試和測量領域以及產品 ID 領域的不同產品中。

Yes. The trend is -- the trend in the aerospace products is generally favorable.

是的。趨勢是——航空航天產品的趨勢總體是有利的。

Okay. How do the aerospace guys order? I mean, is it very lumpy? Or is it sort of just a continuous kind of order patterns?

好的。航天人如何訂購？我的意思是，它很凹凸嗎？或者它只是一種連續的訂單模式？

We wish it was the latter, but it's more the former, right? So it depends on -- in the Test & Measurement segment, I'll put this into one because that's how we report it. So with the kind of data acquisition -- those tend to be a lot of aerospace and defense government contracts, so that's very lumpy. And then the aerospace product lines, it depends on which -- you get a new airline who buys, whether it's -- say, it's 50 Airbus 320s or 50 Boeing 737 airplanes.

我們希望是後者，但更多的是前者，對嗎？所以這取決於——在測試和測量部分，我會將其放入其中，因為這就是我們報告的方式。因此，就數據採集而言，這些往往是大量航空航天和國防政府合同，因此非常不穩定。然後是航空航天產品線，這取決於哪家新航空公司購買了 50 架空客 320 飛機或 50 架波音 737 飛機。

That then -- they then come to us or go to Boeing or Airbus and -- it depends on which product category you're talking about. And they put their orders in. So that could be a big order, it might be spread over 12 months or even longer. And sometimes it's a forecast. We can't even book it as an order. But that's where that lumpiness comes in there.

然後——然後他們來找我們或者去波音或空客——這取決於你所談論的產品類別。他們下了訂單。這可能是一筆大訂單，可能會持續 12 個月甚至更長。有時它是一個預測。我們甚至無法將其作為訂單預訂。但這就是那種塊狀的地方。

Sometimes we get some surge orders. But the short term, hey, we need something in 3 months that wasn't forecast, that's pretty rare. We don't see a lot of that in the aerospace. It's pretty predictable. There's typically -- we're shipping product 6 months or more in advance of when it goes into the final assembly of the airplane. But there's spare parts part of it. There's other parts of the business that can jump around as well.

有時我們會收到一些激增訂單。但從短期來看，嘿，我們需要 3 個月內出現一些未預測到的東西，這種情況非常罕見。我們在航空航天領域並沒有看到很多這樣的情況。這是相當可預測的。通常，我們會在產品進入飛機最終組裝之前提前 6 個月或更長時間發貨。但其中有備件。業務的其他部分也可以跳躍。

Okay. Okay. Great. That's helpful. And then just a final quick question for David. David, the G&A line, do you expect some leverage on that G&A line in the future as the business grows? I mean, as -- basically as a percentage of revenues, you see G&A as a percentage of revenue coming down?

好的。好的。偉大的。這很有幫助。最後問大衛一個簡單的問題。 David，G&A 線，隨著業務的增長，您預計未來 G&A 線會發揮一些作用嗎？我的意思是，基本上作為收入的百分比，您認為一般行政費用佔收入的百分比會下降嗎？

Yes. That's the goal. It makes sense that, that will happen. We haven't talked about specific percentages from a guidance standpoint. But certainly, it would make sense that, that would happen, and that's our goal. I think we're -- I think that's what will happen.

是的。這就是目標。這是有道理的，這將會發生。我們還沒有從指導的角度討論具體的百分比。但當然，這會發生是有道理的，這就是我們的目標。我認為我們——我認為這將會發生。

Okay. And is there a particular number you can give about the ERP implementation costs in the quarter?

好的。您能否提供有關本季度 ERP 實施成本的具體數字？

Most of the implementation costs are in the rearview mirror. We are spending some capital on implementation at Astro Machine. We'll spend some more work on capital in the European convergence with the global system. But those numbers are in my overall guidance for capital spending this year. So it's -- they're not huge.

大部分實施成本都在後視鏡中。我們在 Astro Machine 的實施上花費了一些資金。我們將在歐洲與全球體系融合的資本方面投入更多的工作。但這些數字屬於我今年資本支出的總體指導。所以它們並不大。

There are no more questions on the line. So I'll now hand back to Mr. Woods for any closing remarks.

線路上沒有更多問題了。現在我將請伍茲先生做總結髮言。

Great. Thanks a lot. So thanks, everyone, for joining us here this morning. We look forward to keeping you updated on our progress in the future. Have a good day.

偉大的。多謝。謝謝大家今天早上加入我們。我們期待著向您通報我們未來的最新進展。祝你有美好的一天。

That concludes today's conference call. Thank you, everyone, for joining. You may now disconnect your lines. Have a lovely rest of your day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。謝謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開線路。祝您度過愉快的一天。