American Vanguard Corp (AVD) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the American Vanguard 2022 Year-End Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this conference call is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎來到 American Vanguard 2022 年終財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，此電話會議正在錄製中。

I will now turn the conference over to our host, Tim Donnelly, Chief Administrative Officer. Thank you. You may begin.

我現在將會議轉交給我們的主持人，首席行政官蒂姆·唐納利 (Tim Donnelly)。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, Diego, and welcome, everyone. Our speakers today will be Eric Wintemute, the Chairman and CEO of American Vanguard; David Johnson, the company's Chief Financial Officer; Scott Hendrix, AMVAC's Senior Vice President of Crop Sales for U.S. and Canada as well as for Application Technology; Jim Thompson, AMVAC's Director of Portfolio Strategy and Business Development. Also to assist in answering your questions, we have Bob Trogele, our Chief Operating Officer on hand. American Vanguard will be filing our Form 10-K with the SEC in the next day or 2, that should provide additional detail with respect to the results that we are discussing on this call.

謝謝你，迭戈，歡迎大家。我們今天的發言人是美國先鋒公司的董事長兼首席執行官 Eric Wintemute； David Johnson，公司首席財務官； AMVAC 負責美國和加拿大作物銷售以及應用技術的高級副總裁 Scott Hendrix； Jim Thompson，AMVAC 的投資組合戰略和業務發展總監。此外，為了協助回答您的問題，我們的首席運營官 Bob Trogele 也在場。 American Vanguard 將在第二天或第二天向 SEC 提交我們的 10-K 表格，其中應提供有關我們在本次電話會議上討論的結果的更多詳細信息。

Before beginning, let's take a moment for our safe harbor reminder. In today's call, the company may discuss forward-looking information. Such information and statements are based on estimates and assumptions by the company's management and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from management's current expectations. Such factors can include weather conditions, changes in regulatory policy, competitive pressures and various other risks as detailed in the company's SEC reports and filings. All forward-looking statements represent the company's best judgment as of the date of this call, and such information will not necessarily be updated by the company.

在開始之前，讓我們花點時間提醒一下安全港。在今天的電話會議上，公司可能會討論前瞻性信息。此類信息和陳述基於公司管理層的估計和假設，並受到各種風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與管理層當前的預期不同。這些因素可能包括天氣狀況、監管政策的變化、競爭壓力以及公司在美國證券交易委員會的報告和文件中詳述的各種其他風險。所有前瞻性陳述均代表公司截至本次電話會議之日的最佳判斷，公司不一定會更新此類信息。

With that, I turn the call over to Eric Wintemute. Eric?

有了這個，我把電話轉給了 Eric Wintemute。埃里克？

Thank you, Tim. And welcome, everyone. I'm pleased to report that as I had noted on our February call, our full year 2022 performance exceeded that of '21 in nearly all material respects. I'm extremely proud of the work our global team delivered net sales of growth of 9% and growing our net income by 47%. We achieved this result despite a flat fourth quarter, during which we were unable to sell our leading soil insecticide, Aztec, due to a supply chain and disruption, which has improved during the first quarter of this year.

謝謝你，蒂姆。歡迎大家。我很高興地報告，正如我在 2 月份的電話會議上指出的那樣，我們 2022 年全年的表現幾乎在所有物質方面都超過了 21 年。我為我們的全球團隊實現了 9% 的淨銷售額增長和 47% 的淨收入增長而感到非常自豪。儘管第四季度表現平平，但我們仍取得了這一成果，在此期間，由於供應鍊和中斷，我們無法銷售我們領先的土壤殺蟲劑 Aztec，今年第一季度情況有所改善。

Here on Slide 4, I highlight a few important points about our 2022 performance and '23 outlook. First, our core business is strong, on track to meet or exceed our '25 targets. Similarly, our Green Solutions business is growing at a fast clip and is also on target. With respect to SIMPAS, we are moving a bit slower than expected due largely to delays from supply chain disruption and regulatory approvals. The work we are doing to grow precision application agriculture is complex, but we feel strongly that the long-term benefits of SIMPAS play a critical role in maximizing the global farm economy. In short, regulatory design and formulation changes have slowed us down, and we are working on a number of initiatives to accelerate our progress. For example, we are applying additional resources to expand our portfolio and ensure broader adoption by growers.

在幻燈片 4 中，我強調了關於我們 2022 年業績和 23 年展望的幾個要點。首先，我們的核心業務很強大，有望實現或超過我們的 25 年目標。同樣，我們的綠色解決方案業務也在快速增長，並且也達到了目標。關於 SIMPAS，我們的行動比預期的要慢一些，這主要是由於供應鏈中斷和監管審批造成的延遲。我們為發展精準應用農業所做的工作很複雜，但我們強烈認為 SIMPAS 的長期利益在最大化全球農業經濟方面發揮著關鍵作用。簡而言之，監管設計和配方的變化放慢了我們的步伐，我們正在製定一些計劃來加快我們的進步。例如，我們正在申請額外的資源來擴大我們的產品組合併確保種植者更廣泛地採用。

I would like to conclude the 2022 strategic review by noting that we have also strengthened our balance sheet while returning significant value to our investors through increased dividends and share repurchases. This sets up a path to target greater growth and profitability for '23.

在結束 2022 年戰略審查時，我想指出，我們還加強了資產負債表，同時通過增加股息和股票回購為投資者帶來了可觀的價值回報。這為 23 年實現更大的增長和盈利能力開闢了道路。

Just a few quick notes on market conditions highlighted on Slide 5. As we outlined in our 10-K, '22 was the second full year of an upcycle in the ag sector, featuring high commodity prices and a strong farm economy. Our corn, cotton, soybeans and fruit and vegetable products all recorded stronger sales during the year.

關於幻燈片 5 中突出顯示的市場狀況的一些簡短說明。正如我們在 10-K 中概述的那樣，'22 年是農業部門上行週期的第二個完整年，其特點是商品價格高，農業經濟強勁。我們的玉米、棉花、大豆和果蔬產品在年內均錄得強勁銷售。

Our non-crop business was about even with the prior year despite a 30% drop in the domestic consumer product market. We did see a rebound in the commercial non-crop segment as the professional pest control market began to regain its footing.

儘管國內消費品市場下降了 30%，但我們的非農作物業務與上一年基本持平。隨著專業害蟲防治市場開始重新站穩腳跟，我們確實看到了商業非作物領域的反彈。

Our international business recorded its highest sales increase, up 13% year-over-year as we enjoyed significant increases in sales of our Green Solutions product, higher demand for our soil fumigants in Mexico and Australia and the benefits of a new soybean registration for Counter in Brazil. Also, I'm proud to report that our LatAm business hit a record $100 million milestone in sales. We look forward to building on this platform in the future.

我們的國際業務錄得最高銷售額增幅，同比增長 13%，因為我們的綠色解決方案產品銷售額顯著增加，墨西哥和澳大利亞對我們的土壤熏蒸劑的需求增加，以及 Counter 新大豆登記的好處在巴西。此外，我很自豪地宣布，我們的 LatAm 業務的銷售額達到了創紀錄的 1 億美元里程碑。我們期待將來在這個平台上進行建設。

At this point, I thought it would be helpful to review our actual '22 performances versus our '22 financial targets. As you can see on Slide 6, we were within the target range for net sales. Gross profit margin of 40% was at the high end of the target, as were operating expenses as a percent of net income or net sales at 33%. Our interest expense was only slightly above our target, which is noteworthy given how many times the Fed increased interest rates during the year. The tax rate came in at 24%, which is consistent with the target mid-20s. Debt to EBITDA came in at significantly better at 1x of target than -- better than 1x of target. Net income ended up 47%, and adjusted EBITDA was up 15% as compared to '21. While these were short of our targeted increases, they represent significant year-on-year improvements.

在這一點上，我認為回顧我們 22 年的實際業績與 22 年的財務目標是有幫助的。正如您在幻燈片 6 中看到的那樣，我們處於淨銷售額的目標範圍內。 40% 的毛利率處於目標的高端，運營費用占淨收入或淨銷售額的百分比為 33%。我們的利息支出僅略高於我們的目標，考慮到美聯儲在這一年中加息了多少次，這一點值得注意。稅率為 24%，與 20 歲中期的目標一致。債務對 EBITDA 的影響明顯好於目標的 1 倍——好於目標的 1 倍。與 21 年相比，淨收入最終增長了 47%，調整後的 EBITDA 增長了 15%。雖然這些低於我們的目標增長，但它們代表了顯著的同比改善。

Before continuing, I want to take a moment to credit our global team for those results. We continue to show strong sales growth and increased profitability while expanding our global footprint, offering climate-friendly solutions and commercializing leading-edge precision application technology.

在繼續之前，我想花點時間感謝我們的全球團隊取得了這些成果。我們繼續表現出強勁的銷售增長和更高的盈利能力，同時擴大我們的全球足跡，提供氣候友好型解決方案並將領先的精密應用技術商業化。

Business success requires not only hard work but also high-caliber people. On today's call, we wanted to feature 2 of our key executives who are leading important growth initiatives at the company. To support me in revisiting our 2025 performance targets, Jim Thompson, our Director of Portfolio Strategy and Business Development, will report how we are successfully growing our Green Solutions businesses, including expanding into huge markets, such as China and India.

企業的成功不僅需要努力工作，還需要高素質的人才。在今天的電話會議上，我們希望邀請兩位領導公司重要增長計劃的主要高管。為了支持我重新審視我們的 2025 年績效目標，我們的投資組合戰略和業務發展總監 Jim Thompson 將報告我們如何成功發展我們的綠色解決方案業務，包括擴展到中國和印度等巨大市場。

Also, Scott Hendrix, our Senior VP of Sales in the U.S. and Canada and Crop Sales and Application Technology, will describe the focused measures that we are taking to ensure SIMPAS remains the vanguard of prescriptive application technology. At the end of the call, I will cover our 2023 outlook and then leave time to answer any questions you might have.

此外，我們的美國和加拿大銷售及作物銷售和應用技術高級副總裁 Scott Hendrix 將描述我們為確保 SIMPAS 保持規範應用技術先鋒地位而採取的重點措施。在電話會議結束時，我將介紹我們的 2023 年展望，然後留出時間回答您可能提出的任何問題。

But first, let me turn the call over to David Johnson, our CFO, for his financial analysis. David?

但首先，讓我把電話轉給我們的首席財務官大衛約翰遜，讓他進行財務分析。大衛？

Thank you, Eric. As you can see on Slide 7, the 2022 year has seen a strong sales performance for the company, with overall revenues up about $52 million or 9.3% as compared to 2021. Within that improvement, our U.S. crop business increased by 9% to $289 million in 2022. Our non-crop business was slightly down, and our international business grew by 13% to $244 million.

謝謝你，埃里克。正如您在幻燈片 7 中看到的那樣，2022 年公司的銷售業績強勁，與 2021 年相比，總收入增長了約 5200 萬美元或 9.3%。在這一改善中，我們的美國作物業務增長了 9% 至 289 美元萬在 2022 年。我們的非作物業務略有下降，我們的國際業務增長了 13%，達到 2.44 億美元。

Turning to Slide 8. For the full year 2022, despite some movements by category, gross margin performance improved by 2% to 40% as compared to 38% in 2021. This underpins the fundamental strength and stability of the business as we have managed to implement successful pricing actions in the face of significant inflation cost pressure, particularly as regards to the supply chain.

轉到幻燈片 8。對於 2022 年全年，儘管按類別分類有所變動，但毛利率表現從 2021 年的 38% 提高了 2% 至 40%。這鞏固了業務的基本實力和穩定性，因為我們已經設法面對巨大的通脹成本壓力，尤其是在供應鏈方面，實施成功的定價行動。

On Slide 9, you will see that our operating expenses have increased by 9.5% to $201 million on sales of 9.3%. Operating expenses as compared to sales remained at 33% of sales in 2022, in line with the prior year. Included in operating costs, outbound freight amounted to 8% of sales in both 2022 and 2021. Selling, G&A and R&D accounted for 25% of sales.

在幻燈片 9 中，您會看到我們的營業費用增加了 9.5%，達到 2.01 億美元，銷售額增加了 9.3%。 2022 年營業費用佔銷售額的比例保持在 33%，與上年持平。包括在運營成本中，出境運費在 2022 年和 2021 年均佔銷售額的 8%。銷售、G&A 和研發佔銷售額的 25%。

Turning to Slide 10. With the increases in sales and gross profit and operating costs remaining flat at 33% of net sales, operating income increased by 31%. Our cash management performance has been strong throughout the year. Average debt is down even though we acquired $34 million of the company's stock during the year. Interest expense is up 7%, as expected, driven by federal policy resulting in increased interest rates aimed at inflation control and reduction. Finally, our effective tax rate was 24%, including the release of certain -- uncertain tax positions. This compared to an effective rate of 30% in 2021. The 2021 rate was higher primarily because of the onetime noncash charge to establish a valuation allowance against the deferred tax asset in Brazil that I discussed this time last year. Our net income at $27.4 million was up 47%, and EPS was at $0.92 per share as compared to $0.61 per share last year.

轉到幻燈片 10。隨著銷售額和毛利潤的增長以及運營成本保持在淨銷售額的 33%，營業收入增長了 31%。全年我們的現金管理業績一直很強勁。儘管我們在這一年中收購了 3400 萬美元的公司股票，但平均債務有所下降。正如預期的那樣，在聯邦政策的推動下，利息支出上升了 7%，導致旨在控制和降低通脹的利率上升。最後，我們的有效稅率為 24%，包括釋放某些不確定的稅收狀況。相比之下，2021 年的有效稅率為 30%。2021 年的稅率更高，主要是因為我去年這個時候討論過的巴西遞延稅資產估值備抵的一次性非現金費用。我們的淨收入為 2740 萬美元，增長 47%，每股收益為 0.92 美元，而去年為每股 0.61 美元。

On Slide 11, our adjusted EBITDA improved by 15% compared to 2021, and our EBITDA margin improved to 12% of net sales as compared to 11% in 2021. 2022 adjusted EBITDA amounted to $73 million as compared to $63 million last year. Over the last 8 years, adjusted EBITDA has improved at a compound annual rate -- growth rate of 10% a year.

在幻燈片 11 中，我們調整後的 EBITDA 比 2021 年提高了 15%，我們的 EBITDA 利潤率從 2021 年的 11% 提高到淨銷售額的 12%。2022 年調整後的 EBITDA 為 7300 萬美元，而去年為 6300 萬美元。在過去的 8 年裡，調整後的 EBITDA 以復合年增長率 10% 的速度增長。

Looking at Slide 12. I want to digress a moment and talk to you about the change we are planning to make. We have spent some time considering the statement of operations of our peers and have determined that our business performance would be most -- more closely comparable and therefore more easily understood if we made a comparatively simple change in the company's statement of operations in its public filings. We plan to move outbound freight costs from operating expenses to cost of goods. This will have the impact of reducing operating expenses and, at the same time, increasing cost of goods sold by the same amount. These costs on average amount to 8% of sales. This change will impact ratios such as gross profit and operating costs when compared to sales but will not impact either operating income or net income. Changes such as this require a public filer such as AVD, American Vanguard, to get a preferability letter from its registered public accountants in order to be able to proceed with the change. We will give investors notice once we have received the necessary documents.

請看第 12 張幻燈片。我想離題一下，談談我們計劃做出的改變。我們花了一些時間考慮同行的經營報表，並確定如果我們在公開文件中對公司的經營報表進行相對簡單的更改，我們的業務績效將最接近，因此更容易理解.我們計劃將出境運費從運營費用轉移到貨物成本。這將減少運營費用，同時增加相同數量的商品銷售成本。這些成本平均佔銷售額的 8%。與銷售額相比，這一變化將影響毛利潤和運營成本等比率，但不會影響運營收入或淨收入。諸如此類的更改需要 AVD、American Vanguard 等公共申報人從其註冊公共會計師那裡獲得優先信，以便能夠繼續進行更改。一旦我們收到必要的文件，我們將通知投資者。

As you can see on Slide 13, we've had another very strong cash performance. For 2022 and 2021 combined, we have generated a total of $144 million of cash from operations.

正如您在幻燈片 13 中看到的那樣，我們的現金表現又非常強勁。 2022 年和 2021 年合計，我們從運營中產生了總計 1.44 億美元的現金。

Now I want to turn my attention to the balance sheet and the company's focus on capital allocation. Slide 14 lays out the company's capital allocation model that drives many of our actions. We focus on managing debt under our credit facility arrangement with a group of 6 banks that have been our partners for many years. We have a credit facility because our business has a strong cycle with working capital that expands during the first 6 to 9 months and reduces at the year-end. As you can see on this slide, our leverage was extremely low at year-end, which is a typical position for the business each year. In addition, we have historically grown by acquisition and depend on availability under the line to fund such acquisition activity. This has worked extremely well for the company over the history of our partnership with our bankers. At the end of 2022, we could borrow up to $200 million on our credit line.

現在我想把注意力轉向資產負債表和公司對資本配置的關注。幻燈片 14 列出了公司的資本配置模型，該模型推動了我們的許多行動。我們專注於根據與我們合作多年的 6 家銀行的信貸安排安排來管理債務。我們有信貸額度，因為我們的業務有一個強大的周期，營運資金在前 6 到 9 個月內增加，並在年底減少。正如您在這張幻燈片上看到的那樣，我們的槓桿率在年底時極低，這是該企業每年的典型狀況。此外，我們歷來通過收購實現增長，並依賴線下的可用性來為此類收購活動提供資金。在我們與銀行家合作的歷史上，這對公司來說非常有效。到 2022 年底，我們的信用額度最多可以藉到 2 億美元。

We focus on paying a sustainable dividend and have historically paid approximately 10% of net income. During 2022, we've increased our dividend per share by 31%, reflecting our strong financial performance and have paid out about $3 million to investors as a result. We have a strategy to manage our shares outstanding and have invested $34 million in 2022 to repurchase a total of 1.7 million shares and ended the year with a fully diluted share count of 29.4 million shares, which was significantly below the 30.9 million this time last year.

我們專注於支付可持續的股息，歷來支付的股息約為淨收入的 10%。 2022 年，我們將每股股息提高了 31%，反映了我們強勁的財務業績，並因此向投資者支付了約 300 萬美元。我們制定了管理已發行股票的戰略，並在 2022 年投資了 3400 萬美元回購了總計 170 萬股股票，並在年底以完全稀釋後的 2940 萬股股票數量結束，這大大低於去年這個時候的 3090 萬股.

Our activities to invest to grow our business is a constant focus for the company. We focus on the development and full commercialization of our SIMPAS/Ultimus technologies. For example, with the introduction of our proprietary product Counter on soybeans in Brazil. In 2022, we have self-funded $6.8 million in these exciting technologies comprised of R&D expenses and capital spending. We are growing our green solutions portfolio with, for example, our GreenLeaf (sic) [NewLeaf] partnership and with the new BioWake acquisition we announced at the start of the new year. During 2022, we invested $1.2 million supporting these activities.

我們投資以發展業務的活動是公司始終關注的焦點。我們專注於 SIMPAS/Ultimus 技術的開發和全面商業化。例如，在巴西推出我們專有的大豆產品 Counter。 2022 年，我們為這些激動人心的技術自籌了 680 萬美元，其中包括研發費用和資本支出。我們正在擴大我們的綠色解決方案組合，例如，我們的 GreenLeaf (sic) [NewLeaf] 合作夥伴關係以及我們在新年伊始宣布的對 BioWake 的新收購。 2022 年，我們投資了 120 萬美元來支持這些活動。

The company has become adept at carefully assessing acquisitions of bolt-on products and increasingly international distribution businesses. During the last 8 years, we have acquired more than 20 such assets, which has helped us grow our sales at a compound annual growth rate of 9.4%. And finally, we continue to strive to ensure our factories are safe, efficient and capable of supporting our growing business, and we have spent $13 million in that regard. In addition to all these actions, we were able to reduce debt, net of cash at the year-end by 14% to end at $31 million.

該公司已變得善於仔細評估補強產品和日益國際化的分銷業務的收購。在過去 8 年中，我們收購了 20 多項此類資產，幫助我們以 9.4% 的複合年增長率增長了銷售額。最後，我們繼續努力確保我們的工廠安全、高效並能夠支持我們不斷增長的業務，我們在這方面已經花費了 1300 萬美元。除了所有這些行動之外，我們還能夠在年底減少 14% 的債務（扣除現金），達到 3100 萬美元。

With regard to making acquisitions, which, as I mentioned, is a key part of our capital allocation strategy, we considered a significant number of opportunities during 2022 but passed on all as they did not meet our key criteria. We are finding that some buyers are paying excess multiples of EBITDA or sales in the acquisition market. In the first few weeks of the new financial year, however, we have closed on a small biological asset acquisition and are currently involved in diligence on a small international acquisition. Our criteria for improving acquisitions remains disciplined as we make critical capital allocation decisions. One final comment on this slide. During the March Board meeting, the Board authorized the company to continue the program to repurchase stock up to $15 million during 2023.

關於收購，正如我提到的，這是我們資本配置戰略的一個關鍵部分，我們在 2022 年考慮了大量機會，但由於它們不符合我們的關鍵標準而放棄了所有機會。我們發現，一些買家在收購市場中支付了超過 EBITDA 或銷售額數倍的費用。然而，在新財政年度的前幾週，我們完成了一項小型生物資產收購，目前正在對一項小型國際收購進行盡職調查。在我們做出關鍵的資本分配決策時，我們改進收購的標準仍然受到約束。對這張幻燈片的最後評論。在 3 月的董事會會議上，董事會授權公司在 2023 年繼續執行高達 1500 萬美元的股票回購計劃。

With regard to debt, as per Slide 15, we saw a decrease at the end of 2022 in comparison to 2021. This is even more significant for debt, net of cash, which improved by 14%, ending at $31 million as compared to $36 million last year. With regard to liquidity, as you can see from this chart, we have been constantly -- consistently working down debt from a high in the first quarter of 2022, which is the normal rhythm for the company to a low at the end of the year. As noted above, we recorded improved EBITDA in 2022 versus prior year and, at the same time, reduced debt. As a result, availability under the company's credit line has improved by $200 million as compared to $178 million at the end of 2021. The strong liquidity position ensures that we can continue to invest in the company's future.

關於債務，根據幻燈片 15，我們看到 2022 年底與 2021 年相比有所減少。這對於債務（扣除現金）而言更為重要，與 2021 年相比增加了 14%，最終為 3100 萬美元，而 2021 年為 36 美元去年萬元。關於流動性，正如您從這張圖表中看到的那樣，我們一直在不斷地 - 一直在努力將債務從 2022 年第一季度的高點（這是公司的正常節奏）降至年底的低點.如上所述，我們記錄了 2022 年的 EBITDA 與上一年相比有所改善，同時減少了債務。因此，與 2021 年底的 1.78 億美元相比，公司信貸額度下的可用性增加了 2 億美元。強大的流動性狀況確保我們可以繼續投資於公司的未來。

With that, I hand back to Eric.

有了這個，我交還給埃里克。

Thank you, David. Now I would like to turn to Slide 16, our 2025 performance targets. We've been covering these targets regularly over the past 8 quarters. This is a chance for our investors to get a sense of how our 3 growth platforms of the core business, Green Solutions and precision application are expected to trend through 2025. This curve is from our earnings call for Q3 2022.

謝謝你，大衛。現在我想轉到幻燈片 16，我們的 2025 年績效目標。在過去的 8 個季度中，我們一直在定期討論這些目標。這是我們的投資者了解我們的核心業務、綠色解決方案和精確應用的 3 個增長平台預計到 2025 年將如何發展的機會。這條曲線來自我們 2022 年第三季度的收益電話會議。

Let's focus first on our core business, which includes multiple conventional products within crop, non-crop, both domestic and international. Our current outlook is that we are on track to achieve our 2025 target of $694 million in revenues. The upward trajectory is driven by a continued strong demand for our legacy products; the expansion of product lines through innovation, mixtures and formulations. For example, Impact CORE, SINATE and ImpactZ; and new market access, for example, the new registration for Counter in Brazil. The third component of our core business is acquisitions. And although we expect these to continue to occur, we believe that we are on track to achieve our targets for core revenue without additional acquisitions.

讓我們首先關注我們的核心業務，其中包括國內外作物、非作物的多種常規產品。我們目前的展望是，我們有望實現 2025 年 6.94 億美元收入的目標。對我們遺留產品的持續強勁需求推動了上升趨勢；通過創新、混合物和配方擴展產品線。例如，Impact CORE、SINATE 和 ImpactZ；以及新的市場准入，例如巴西櫃檯的新註冊。我們核心業務的第三個組成部分是收購。儘管我們預計這些情況會繼續發生，但我們相信我們有望在不進行額外收購的情況下實現我們的核心收入目標。

Next up is our Green Solutions segment. For that discussion, I'll turn the call over to Jim Thompson. Jim?

接下來是我們的綠色解決方案部分。對於那個討論，我會把電話轉給吉姆湯普森。吉姆？

Thank you, Eric. As we've described in Slide 17, the Green Solutions business within AMVAC has experienced a very strong growth year, with growth in both top line revenue and gross margin. Revenues, net of licensing, grew from $37 million in 2021 to $49 million in 2020, a year over growth of 32%. Additionally, gross margins on our product revenues, excluding the licensing, grew from 40% to 41%.

謝謝你，埃里克。正如我們在幻燈片 17 中所描述的那樣，AMVAC 的綠色解決方案業務經歷了非常強勁的增長，收入和毛利率都有增長。扣除許可後的收入從 2021 年的 3700 萬美元增長到 2020 年的 4900 萬美元，同比增長 32%。此外，我們產品收入的毛利率（不包括許可）從 40% 增長到 41%。

Geographically, we saw strong growth in our Asian business as our Indian and Chinese markets grew above expectations. Our Latin American biological business is the largest contributor to revenue, which grew over 60% in 2022. We will continue to expand the business by securing product registrations in several new countries and by expanding the portfolio with products from new partners.

從地域上看，隨著我們的印度和中國市場增長超出預期，我們看到了亞洲業務的強勁增長。我們的拉丁美洲生物業務是收入的最大貢獻者，該業務在 2022 年增長了 60% 以上。我們將通過在幾個新國家/地區獲得產品註冊並通過使用新合作夥伴的產品擴展產品組合來繼續擴展業務。

These results reflect a dedicated focus on Green Solutions as a critical pillar to AMVAC's growth strategy. In 2022, we established dedicated commercial teams in the U.S. and Latin America and also established a global team focused on growing our specialty nutrition business. Two of the key acquisitions made by AMVAC, Greenplants and Agrinos have formed strong product portfolios within AMVAC. Both acquisitions brought unique product portfolios, strong intellectual property and personnel with expertise to grow the biological portfolios.

這些結果反映了對綠色解決方案的專注，將其作為 AMVAC 增長戰略的關鍵支柱。 2022 年，我們在美國和拉丁美洲建立了專門的商業團隊，還建立了一個專注於發展我們的專業營養業務的全球團隊。 AMVAC、Greenplants 和 Agrinos 進行的兩項重要收購已經在 AMVAC 內部形成了強大的產品組合。兩次收購都帶來了獨特的產品組合、強大的知識產權和具有發展生物產品組合專業知識的人員。

In 2022, we also signed on new partnerships with NewLeaf Symbiotics and with long and launched our BioWake products for corn and soybean at plant treatment in the U.S. In early 2023, we completed our transaction with American Bio-Systems in our non-crop business.

2022 年，我們還與 NewLeaf Symbiotics 簽署了新的合作夥伴關係，並長期在美國推出了用於玉米和大豆植物處理的 BioWake 產品。2023 年初，我們完成了與 American Bio-Systems 的非作物業務交易。

Turning to Slide 18. As part of our Green Solutions business growth, we are further analyzing the various product categories in the biologicals marketplace. As you can see, we have 3 primary categories driving the business: biostimulants, biopesticides also known as biocontrols and specialty nutrition products. The biostimulants class is driven by sales of the Agrinos products but also include several other third-party biostimulant products. The biopesticides market has a large component from our [Ambular] non-crop business as well as several partnerships. And lastly, the specialty nutrition business is led by the sale of our Greenplants products.

轉到幻燈片 18。作為我們綠色解決方案業務增長的一部分，我們正在進一步分析生物製品市場中的各種產品類別。如您所見，我們有 3 個主要類別推動業務發展：生物刺激素、生物農藥（也稱為生物防治劑）和特種營養產品。生物刺激素類別由 Agrinos 產品的銷售推動，但也包括其他幾種第三方生物刺激素產品。生物農藥市場有很大一部分來自我們的 [Ambular] 非作物業務以及一些合作夥伴關係。最後，特種營養業務以我們的 Greenplants 產品的銷售為主導。

And lastly, on Slide 19, we are expecting 2023 Green Solutions revenues to grow to nearly $70 million, a 43% increase in revenue over 2022. And we're expecting product revenue margins to grow to 44%, which is a 3% increase over 2022. Over the past 2 years, we've strengthened our internal expertise in the Green Solutions business in all areas of the company. This, in turn, has led to a very robust business development pipeline of new opportunities that will fuel growth in 2023 and beyond.

最後，在幻燈片 19 中，我們預計 2023 年綠色解決方案收入將增長至近 7000 萬美元，比 2022 年增長 43%。我們預計產品收入利潤率將增長至 44%，即增長 3% 2022 年以上。在過去的 2 年裡，我們在公司所有領域的綠色解決方案業務方面加強了內部專業知識。這反過來又帶來了非常強大的業務發展渠道，帶來了新的機遇，將推動 2023 年及以後的增長。

Lastly, the capital markets are more challenging than ever for early and mid-stage companies, which increases the number of potential M&A targets for larger players in the market such as AMVAC. We will continue to seek third-party relationships and selective M&A opportunities to achieve our $140 million revenue target in 2025.

最後，對於處於早期和中期階段的公司而言，資本市場比以往任何時候都更具挑戰性，這增加了 AMVAC 等市場上較大公司的潛在併購目標的數量。我們將繼續尋求第三方關係和有選擇的併購機會，以實現 2025 年 1.4 億美元的收入目標。

Thank you, Jim. At this point, I'd like to ask Scott Hendrix to take over. Scott?

謝謝你，吉姆。在這一點上，我想請 Scott Hendrix 接手。斯科特？

Thanks, Eric. I'd like to build upon Jim's comments by elevating our U.S. focus on green solutions and in particular, soil health. As we continue to conduct research with our green solution portfolio of assets, we are seeing very promising results from our microorganism library that is commercially available. Our brand iNvigorate is comprised of multiple microorganisms that is demonstrating very positive results in broad acre crops such as corn by making soil nutrients more readily available, optimizing the plant's performance through the growing season.

謝謝，埃里克。我想通過提升我們美國對綠色解決方案，特別是土壤健康的關注，以吉姆的評論為基礎。隨著我們繼續使用我們的綠色解決方案資產組合進行研究，我們從我們的商業微生物庫中看到了非常有希望的結果。我們的品牌 iNvigorate 由多種微生物組成，通過使土壤養分更容易獲得，優化植物在整個生長季節的性能，在玉米等大面積作物中顯示出非常積極的結果。

As seen in the performance graph on Slide 20, we are demonstrating significant root and tissue growth versus the check in corn production. Our objective to bring sustainable green solutions has been on an accelerated path for multiple segments in the last 24 to 36 months. Soil health solutions that enable nutrient efficiencies and optimization by the crop will be a key to achieving the maximum potential for that crop through our platform, SIMPAS.

正如幻燈片 20 上的性能圖所示，我們展示了顯著的根系和組織生長與玉米產量的對比。在過去的 24 到 36 個月裡，我們的目標是為多個細分市場帶來可持續的綠色解決方案。能夠提高作物營養效率和優化的土壤健康解決方案將是通過我們的平台 SIMPAS 實現該作物最大潛力的關鍵。

Turning to Slide 21. The year 2022 was another exciting and challenging period for our SIMPAS technologies platform. We had over 110 SIMPAS technology systems that treated approximately 160,000 acres that cover geographies from North Dakota to Georgia in the United States, which resulted in a number of key learnings.

轉到幻燈片 21。對於我們的 SIMPAS 技術平台來說，2022 年是又一個激動人心且充滿挑戰的時期。我們擁有超過 110 個 SIMPAS 技術系統，處理了大約 160,000 英畝的土地，覆蓋了從美國北達科他州到佐治亞州的地理區域，這導致了一些重要的學習。

As precision ag retailers, innovative growers and our technology partners continue to evaluate new and exciting avenues to create value through this digital space, our commitment to this segment is unresolved. Our application technology team annually reviews our SIMPAS platform to ensure that we are meeting our customers' needs today and, most importantly, tomorrow.

隨著精準農業零售商、創新種植者和我們的技術合作夥伴繼續評估通過這個數字空間創造價值的新途徑和令人興奮的途徑，我們對該領域的承諾尚未得到落實。我們的應用技術團隊每年都會審查我們的 SIMPAS 平台，以確保我們滿足客戶今天以及最重要的明天的需求。

2022 was no different as we debrief with our technology partners to ensure we deliver the SIMPAS experience to our customers moving forward in '23 and beyond. This resulted in upgrades to hardware and software for the '23 SIMPAS system. Such improvements were made to our valve assembly, cartridge brackets, and software to ensure the durability across all production practices for the future.

2022 年也不例外，因為我們與技術合作夥伴進行了匯報，以確保我們向 23 世紀及以後的客戶提供 SIMPAS 體驗。這導致了 '23 SIMPAS 系統的硬件和軟件升級。我們對閥門組件、閥芯支架和軟件進行了此類改進，以確保未來所有生產實踐的耐用性。

As we look at Slide 22, we will highlight how digital agriculture is transforming our industry in the United States. One of the questions we frequently get is where does the data come from that drives the SIMPAS platform. According to a recent economic research information bulletin released by the USDA, U.S. Agriculture, digital technology adoption has generally increased since 1996.

當我們查看幻燈片 22 時，我們將重點介紹數字農業如何改變我們在美國的行業。我們經常遇到的問題之一是驅動 SIMPAS 平台的數據來自哪裡。根據美國農業部最近發布的經濟研究信息公告，美國農業數字技術的採用自 1996 年以來普遍增加。

Key components of this adoption curve range from yield monitoring, sold mapping, yield maps, bearable rate technologies, guidance systems, et cetera. This repository of data that has been collected contains the power of digital agriculture in U.S. farming, variable rate technologies and SIMPAS.

該採用曲線的關鍵組成部分包括收益率監控、銷售映射、收益率地圖、可承受率技術、指導系統等。這個已收集的數據存儲庫包含數字農業在美國農業、可變速率技術和 SIMPAS 中的力量。

Variable rate technology continues across the United States, broad acre crop production. As you can see in the recent USDA economic research information bulletin, significant expansion has occurred in the United States across these crops. Data mining from data generation will be the enabler for precision ag retailers and innovative growers to break their yield barriers.

變速技術繼續在美國廣泛應用，種植農作物。正如您在最近的美國農業部經濟研究信息公告中看到的那樣，這些作物在美國出現了顯著擴張。來自數據生成的數據挖掘將成為精準農業零售商和創新種植者打破產量障礙的推動力。

Power of SIMPAS is reflected in Slide 23. Put simply, the continued adoption of variable rate technology has and is the driver behind our SIMPAS technology. As a result of the data generation through data mining, our SIMPAS ecosystem can deliver powerful results.

SIMPAS 的強大功能反映在幻燈片 23 中。簡而言之，可變速率技術的持續採用已經並且是我們 SIMPAS 技術背後的驅動力。由於通過數據挖掘生成數據，我們的 SIMPAS 生態系統可以提供強大的結果。

Nematodes are one of the most damaging pests in ag production across the U.S. They are also one of the most difficult to treat as historical predictability methods have demonstrated until now. As seen in the example of the performance data shown, SIMPAS enabled this grower to increase their yield by 21 bushels. Precision ag retailers' ability to write prescriptions from their data repositories for our SIMPAS-applied solution, Counter, enables their growers to target treatment zones in their fields that minimizes the yield robbing effect of nematodes. The capability of our SIMPAS platform that combines precision ag technology with SIMPAS-applied solutions is a powerful combination that will enable customers to drive profits for their operation, the prescriptive ability to apply the right product at the right place at the right time with SIMPAS.

線蟲是美國農業生產中最具破壞性的害蟲之一。它們也是最難治療的害蟲之一，因為迄今為止的歷史可預測性方法已經證明了這一點。正如所示的性能數據示例所示，SIMPAS 使該種植者的產量增加了 21 蒲式耳。 Precision ag 零售商能夠從他們的數據存儲庫中為我們的 SIMPAS 應用解決方案 Counter 編寫處方，使他們的種植者能夠在他們的田地中定位處理區域，從而最大限度地減少線蟲的產量搶奪效應。我們的 SIMPAS 平台將精密農業技術與 SIMPAS 應用解決方案相結合，這一強大的組合將使客戶能夠為其運營帶來利潤，並通過 SIMPAS 在正確的時間在正確的地點應用正確的產品。

As per Slide 24, our revenue projections for SIMPAS technologies have been revised to align with our team's current outlook. We are projecting the '23 revenue to grow to $12 million, a 33% increase in revenue. And we're expecting 49% growth in margin year-over-year. This is down from the previous forecast of $28 million in total revenue for 2023.

根據幻燈片 24，我們對 SIMPAS 技術的收入預測進行了修改，以符合我們團隊當前的展望。我們預計 23 年的收入將增長到 1200 萬美元，收入增長 33%。我們預計利潤率同比增長 49%。這低於此前預測的 2023 年總收入 2800 萬美元。

We are strengthening our focus on SIMPAS technology platforms by restructuring and transitioning our application technology team to a business unit that will be solely focused on creating demand and SIMPAS research and development. This will enable a dedicated unit that will have a centralized focus on precision agriculture and the future of SIMPAS technology, enabling us to achieve our target of $125 million in revenue by 2026.

我們正在通過重組我們的應用技術團隊並將其轉變為一個專注於創造需求和 SIMPAS 研發的業務部門，從而加強我們對 SIMPAS 技術平台的關注。這將使一個專門的部門能夠集中關注精準農業和 SIMPAS 技術的未來，使我們能夠實現到 2026 年收入 1.25 億美元的目標。

Thank you, Scott. Okay. Let's pull it all together. As you can see from our graph on Slide 25, we're revising our consolidated net sales target for 2025 downward to $907 million from $947 million. This reflects maintaining the original trajectory for both our core and Green Solutions while reducing our SIMPAS target to $75 million in 2025 and adding a '26 SIMPAS target of $125 million. We will continue to report an update where appropriate, our progress for each of our key growth initiatives.

謝謝你，斯科特。好的。讓我們一起努力吧。從幻燈片 25 的圖表中可以看出，我們正在將 2025 年的綜合淨銷售額目標從 9.47 億美元下調至 9.07 億美元。這反映出維持我們的核心和綠色解決方案的原始軌跡，同時將我們的 SIMPAS 目標降低到 2025 年的 7500 萬美元，並增加了 1.25 億美元的 '26 SIMPAS 目標。我們將繼續在適當的時候報告更新，我們每項關鍵增長計劃的進展情況。

So now let's turn our attention to 2023 on Slide 26. We are seeing positive conditions for the company's continued strong financial performance. With high demand for our corn and soybean products and improved supply chain for raws and intermediates, comparatively low freight costs and a low level of AMVAC products within the distribution channel, we're targeting net sales to grow between 8% and 12%, a gross profit margin of 38% to 41% and operating expenses as a percent of sales at 32% to 33%. Our interest target is between $6.5 million and $7.5 million. Our tax rate is targeted at $27 million to $29 million -- I'm sorry, 27% to 28%. Our debt to EBITDA remains the same as last year's target, and we are aiming to achieve a net income increase of between 25% to 35% and adjusted EBITDA growth of between 20% and 25%.

因此，現在讓我們將注意力轉移到幻燈片 26 上的 2023 年。我們看到公司持續強勁的財務業績的積極條件。由於對我們的玉米和大豆產品的高需求以及原材料和中間體供應鏈的改善、運費成本相對較低以及分銷渠道內 AMVAC 產品的水平較低，我們的目標是淨銷售額增長 8% 至 12%，a毛利率為 38% 至 41%，營業費用佔銷售額的百分比為 32% 至 33%。我們的利息目標在 650 萬美元到 750 萬美元之間。我們的稅率目標是 2700 萬到 2900 萬美元——對不起，27% 到 28%。我們對 EBITDA 的債務與去年的目標相同，我們的目標是實現 25% 至 35% 的淨收入增長和 20% 至 25% 的調整後 EBITDA 增長。

In summary, we recorded an excellent performance in '22, strengthened our balance sheet, delivered substantial value to our investors and expect to achieve significant growth and further profitability improvement to 2023. We thank you for your continued support of American Vanguard.

總而言之，我們在 22 年取得了出色的業績，加強了我們的資產負債表，為我們的投資者帶來了可觀的價值，並預計到 2023 年將實現顯著增長並進一步提高盈利能力。我們感謝您對美國先鋒的持續支持。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to the operator to take any questions you may have. Diego?

有了這個，我會把電話轉給接線員來回答你可能有的任何問題。迭戈？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Chris Kapsch with Loop Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Loop Capital Markets 的 Chris Kapsch。

Yes. So curious about the -- just the market conditions currently, a couple of things. One, obviously, we've gone through this supply chain disruption, inflationary costs. That's now abating a bit. I've heard some larger crop protection peers have talked about that. And -- but I'm curious in the context of AVD, to the extent that you've had pricing actions helped offset inflationary costs, how do you see that playing through this year? Will you more than make up for any cost inflation pressures via pricing? And how is that against the backdrop of some sequential diminishing of inflationary costs in various areas?

是的。對目前的市場狀況非常好奇，有幾件事。第一，很明顯，我們經歷了供應鏈中斷、通貨膨脹成本。現在有點減弱了。我聽說一些較大的作物保護同行談到了這一點。而且 - 但我對 AVD 的背景感到好奇，就你的定價行動幫助抵消通貨膨脹成本的程度而言，你如何看待今年的表現？您是否會通過定價來彌補任何成本通脹壓力？在各個領域的通貨膨脹成本連續下降的背景下，情況如何？

Well, I think we've done a very good job at implementing price increases. We've gone through -- the last couple of years, we've had multiple price increases during the course of the year. If we look at some of the commodity products that we sell that are not a major focus for us, we have seen some softening in prices coming out of China, and competitors may bring pricing down in order to compete in that market. However, for our core products and for the vast majority of what we do, we don't have a lot of generic pressure. And as such, I think we're in pretty good shape to keep any improvements that we have in raw materials and freight. So I don't know, Bob, if you have anything to add to that or...

好吧，我認為我們在實施價格上漲方面做得很好。我們經歷了——過去幾年，我們在這一年中多次提價。如果我們看看我們銷售的一些不是我們主要關注的商品，我們會發現中國的價格有所走軟，競爭對手可能會降低價格以在該市場競爭。然而，對於我們的核心產品和我們所做的絕大多數工作，我們沒有太大的通用壓力。因此，我認為我們的狀態非常好，可以保持我們在原材料和運費方面的任何改進。所以我不知道，鮑勃，如果你有什麼要補充的，或者......

I think it's a mixed bag, Chris. So on the biological range, I don't see any issues there. I think the market is growing. It's accepting the value proposition. We don't have any major cost issues that we see there in the supply chain.

我認為這是一個混合包，克里斯。所以在生物範圍上，我看不到任何問題。我認為市場正在增長。它正在接受價值主張。我們在供應鏈中沒有看到任何重大成本問題。

On the chemical front, it's very mixed. I mean we're just not in certain markets like glyphosate, right, which -- where the price is coming down. And some distributors are upside down; or fertilizers, where distributors are also having challenges. So we're playing in niche segments and doing quite well. I think the team is executing extremely at a high level, like Eric said, and will continue to do so because that's what's good for our shareholders.

在化學方面，情況非常複雜。我的意思是我們只是不在某些市場，比如草甘膦，對，價格正在下降的市場。還有一些分銷商是顛倒的；或肥料，分銷商也面臨挑戰。所以我們在利基市場上玩，而且做得很好。我認為團隊的執行水平非常高，就像埃里克所說的那樣，並將繼續這樣做，因為這對我們的股東有利。

That's helpful, and a follow-up if I could. Just on the supply issues that impacted your availability and therefore your sales in the fourth quarter, are those fully resolved? And just how do you -- there was discussion about either recouping those by offering an alternative product or just deferring some of those sales or wasn't really clear. Do you have more clarity on how that plays out here in this year's growing season?

這很有幫助，如果可以的話，還有後續行動。就影響您的可用性並因此影響您在第四季度的銷售的供應問題，這些問題是否已完全解決？你是怎麼做到的——討論了要么通過提供替代產品來收回這些費用，要么只是推遲其中的一些銷售，或者不是很清楚。您是否更清楚地了解今年生長季節的情況？

Sure. So again, Aztec was the product that we had challenges of we weren't able to produce in Q4. We have been producing here in Q1. As we mentioned before, we have 3 other corn soil insecticide, Force, Counter and SmartChoice, that we are substituting where we can.

當然。因此，Aztec 再次成為我們面臨挑戰的產品，我們無法在第四季度生產。我們在第一季度一直在這裡生產。正如我們之前提到的，我們還有其他 3 種玉米土壤殺蟲劑，Force、Counter 和 SmartChoice，我們正在盡可能地替換它們。

I think we're probably not, from a sales standpoint, going to hit 100% of what we were looking to accomplish. However, from Scott's standpoint he's kind of happy with the thought that we'll be looking at extremely low inventories in the channel as we come to the Q3, Q4 period.

我認為，從銷售的角度來看，我們可能不會 100% 達到我們希望完成的目標。然而，從 Scott 的角度來看，當我們進入第三季度和第四季度時，他對我們將看到渠道中的庫存極低的想法感到很高興。

We will start production of -- we'll continue to run Aztec through the end of April and into mid-March. I think part of how -- mid-May. Part of this will depend on planting season as to when people will have to -- we can no longer be purchasing the corn sale insecticides.

我們將開始生產——我們將繼續運行 Aztec 直到 4 月底和 3 月中旬。我認為部分原因是——5 月中旬。這部分取決於播種季節，人們何時需要——我們不能再購買玉米銷售的殺蟲劑。

But Scott, as far as timing of any outlook as to -- I mean I think the south is pretty well there. But as you get to mid-south and I mean the upper and midwest area, what are people saying as far as planning activity?

但是斯科特，就任何前景的時間而言——我的意思是我認為南方在那裡非常好。但是當你到達中南部時，我指的是上游和中西部地區，人們對規劃活動有何看法？

Yes. So today, we've been very fortunate. We've received a number of rain events and really, I'd say, precipitation events that's moved across the geography. It was much needed in a number of area regions. So therefore, it's put us in a position where spring planting and production activities have been delayed. We're certainly looking at the potential for an elongated planting window, but certainly environmental conditions are subject to change. But at this point, the outlook is pretty positive.

是的。所以今天，我們非常幸運。我們已經收到了一些降雨事件，而且實際上，我想說的是，降水事件在整個地理區域移動。許多地區都非常需要它。因此，這使我們處於春季種植和生產活動被推遲的境地。我們當然在尋找延長種植窗口的可能性，但環境條件肯定會發生變化。但在這一點上，前景非常樂觀。

And I think also what we're experiencing here in California coming out of a 3-year drought situation where last year, people were foregoing a lot of their annual crops in order to protect the tree crops. That issue is not going to be a factor this year. And I think we're already starting to see some of our fumigant and other key products being pushed into that position.

而且我認為我們在加利福尼亞這裡也經歷了 3 年的干旱情況，去年，人們為了保護樹木作物而放棄了大量的一年生作物。這個問題今年不會成為一個因素。而且我認為我們已經開始看到我們的一些熏蒸劑和其他關鍵產品被推到那個位置。

Yes. Absolutely, California specifically. Going into 2022, we had most of the state was in a severe drought. As we enter to that same period of 2023, we have actually moved away from that signaling to maybe some areas or slight drought areas. But for the most part, moisture has been significantly higher than the previous really last 3 seasons. And in some cases, we do need these conditions to subside so we can get in the field and actually plant crops for the '23 season.

是的。當然，特別是加利福尼亞。進入 2022 年，我們州的大部分地區都處於嚴重干旱之中。當我們進入 2023 年的同一時期時，我們實際上已經從該信號轉移到某些地區或輕微乾旱地區。但在大多數情況下，濕度明顯高於過去 3 個季節。在某些情況下，我們確實需要這些條件消退，這樣我們才能到田間實際種植 23 季的作物。

Appreciate that color. And then if I could just one follow-up on, well, it's a big subject, but your growth platforms and in your update in terms of visibility through 2025. If I understood what you said, so you're basically sticking with your target on Green Solutions. The SIMPAS target was maybe protracted out by a year if I understood correctly. Help me clarify if that's a mischaracterization.

欣賞那種顏色。然後，如果我可以跟進一下，嗯，這是一個很大的主題，但是你的增長平台和你在 2025 年之前的可見性方面的更新。如果我理解你說的話，那麼你基本上堅持你的目標關於綠色解決方案。如果我理解正確的話，SIMPAS 目標可能會推遲一年。幫助我澄清這是否是一個錯誤的描述。

But on the Green Solutions, there were still looked like what you referred to, I don't have the slide deck in front of me, but growth initiatives to -- in order to reaffirm that trajectory to achieve the Green Solutions' sales expectation by 2025. So can you just remind us what comprises that growth initiatives and the visibility around that?

但是在 Green Solutions 上，看起來仍然像你提到的那樣，我面前沒有幻燈片，但增長計劃是為了重申實現 Green Solutions 銷售預期的軌跡2025. 那麼，您能否提醒我們增長計劃及其相關可見性的組成部分？

I'll comment. And then turn it over to you, Jim. So yes, within that, I mean, I think you're projecting out a 20% increase across the normal business. We have quite a few -- as Jim had alluded, we have quite a few companies that are talking to us about different products that they would like to put through our distribution system as well as we continue to have kind of what seems to be driving our M&A activity is more in the Green Solutions space. So I think those 2 components, I think we're feeling pretty comfortable that those targets are going to be there. And also, you mentioned the BioWake. And maybe, Jim, you can just kind of elaborate on that. Or Scott, if you'd rather. But go ahead, Jim.

我來評論然後交給你，吉姆。所以是的，在這之中，我的意思是，我認為你預計整個正常業務將增長 20%。我們有很多 - 正如吉姆所暗示的那樣，我們有很多公司正在與我們討論他們希望通過我們的分銷系統投放的不同產品，而且我們繼續擁有似乎正在推動的東西我們的併購活動更多是在綠色解決方案領域。所以我認為這兩個組成部分，我認為我們對這些目標將會存在感到非常自在。而且，你提到了 BioWake。吉姆，也許你可以詳細說明一下。或者斯科特，如果你願意的話。但是繼續吧，吉姆。

Sure. Yes. First, so there's a number of factors that we think will drive that growth to the $140 million target in 2025. Mergers and acquisitions is a bucket to get there, and that's one of the faster ways to get there. But as we mentioned, lot of the multiples we're seeing are really high, and we have a very disciplined strategy around that.

當然。是的。首先，我們認為有許多因素將推動這一增長在 2025 年達到 1.4 億美元的目標。併購是實現目標的一個途徑，這是實現目標的更快方法之一。但正如我們所提到的，我們看到的很多倍數都非常高，我們對此有非常嚴格的策略。

Second, we do see a really robust pipeline of third-party companies that want to work with AMVAC and take advantage primarily of our expertise in the space as well as the market access that we have around the world. Strong in the U.S., but also very, very strong in Latin America and Asia. So we plan to continue to work with growing our portfolio through licensing or distribution or M&A, and all of those look very active in the coming years.

其次，我們確實看到了一個非常強大的第三方公司管道，他們希望與 AMVAC 合作，並主要利用我們在該領域的專業知識以及我們在全球的市場准入。在美國很強大，但在拉丁美洲和亞洲也非常非常強大。因此，我們計劃繼續通過許可、分銷或併購來擴大我們的產品組合，所有這些在未來幾年看起來都非常活躍。

And Scott, maybe I know you're kind of excited about BioWake, and it's a totally new market for us to enter. But maybe some of the initial vision that you're seeing and what's waking our distribution partners.

斯科特，也許我知道你對 BioWake 有點興奮，這是我們要進入的全新市場。但也許你看到的一些最初的願景以及是什麼喚醒了我們的分銷合作夥伴。

As we look at the opportunity, this technology brings to our organization and really our customers downstream. This is a new space for our retail partners, for growers as they look at how they're going to innovate and continue to drive profits to their farming operations. And it also aligns with our focus as a U.S. crop team on ag plant solutions and how we deliver it.

當我們尋找機會時，這項技術為我們的組織和下游客戶帶來了真正的好處。對於我們的零售合作夥伴和種植者來說，這是一個新的空間，因為他們正在研究如何創新並繼續為他們的農業經營帶來利潤。這也符合我們作為美國作物團隊對農業植物解決方案及其交付方式的關注。

And this particular technology combines 2 elements. One, it's a great story as the Fluency Agent is actually a result of soybean research checkoff funds. And that's something that's needed and required for a number of crops, the planters that they use to plant those crops. And then the technology itself is something that allows the plants to optimize nutrients that would be readily or not readily available in the first days of germination and emergence. And so we're really excited about the consistent win rate that this particular combination delivers. It's over 80%, and it's 4.5 bushels on corn and around 2.5 on soybeans. So very exciting.

這種特殊的技術結合了兩個元素。第一，這是一個很棒的故事，因為 Fluency Agent 實際上是大豆研究支票基金的結果。這是許多作物所需要和需要的東西，他們用來種植這些作物的種植園主。然後技術本身可以讓植物優化在發芽和出現的第一天容易或不容易獲得的養分。因此，我們對這種特殊組合帶來的穩定勝率感到非常興奮。超過 80%，玉米為 4.5 蒲式耳，大豆為 2.5 蒲式耳左右。非常令人興奮。

Yes. So what this is, Chris, is basically a seed lubricant, right? So virtually, the whole corn seed and a number of other crops have either a graphite or a talc added to them in order to help it as it goes through the seed delivery system in the soil. So this is a natural occurring, kind of extract from soybean and worked extremely well to the idea of being able to do something other than putting in a lighter talc into the soil is attractive to the space. In addition, by adding a biological to it, that's what Scott was alluding to that not only with this lubricant can they get a strong lubricant, but also get some bio activity at the same time.

是的。那麼，克里斯，這基本上是一種種子潤滑劑，對吧？所以實際上，整個玉米種子和許多其他作物都添加了石墨或滑石粉，以幫助它通過土壤中的種子輸送系統。所以這是一種天然存在的大豆提取物，非常適合能夠做一些事情的想法，而不是將較輕的滑石粉放入土壤中，這對空間很有吸引力。另外，在裡面加一個生物，就是斯科特暗示的，有了這個潤滑劑，他們不僅可以得到強效的潤滑劑，同時還能得到一些生物活性。

So yes, we're really excited about it. Our -- again, our distribution, it's a segment where they have not been profiting. In fact, the lubricants kind of, I think, are being sold by the equipment companies, right, today. So this is a whole new space for the whole ag sector.

所以是的，我們對此感到非常興奮。我們 - 再一次，我們的分銷，這是他們沒有獲利的部分。事實上，我認為，今天設備公司正在銷售潤滑劑。所以這對整個農業部門來說是一個全新的空間。

Our next question comes from Wayne Pinsent with Gabelli Funds.

我們的下一個問題來自 Gabelli Funds 的 Wayne Pinsent。

You guys mentioned the extremely low channel inventories for Aztec, obviously, due to the supply disruptions you had. Could you just speak to more broadly channel inventories across the portfolio by region and how much visibility you have there?

你們提到了 Aztec 的渠道庫存極低，顯然是由於你們的供應中斷。您能否談談按地區劃分的產品組合中更廣泛的渠道庫存以及您在那裡的知名度？

Sure. Scott, you want to talk as far as the North America piece is concerned?

當然。斯科特，你想談談關於北美的部分嗎？

I'd be happy to. So certainly coming out of -- I'd give you some context. Coming out of '21 going into '22, we were at all-time low channel inventory rates. And then we saw a shift, really a change in the cadence of purchasing behavior based on what was needed and required to drive the opportunities in 2022. A lot of that supply, depending on the segment, did come in either in season or late. So as we started into the second half of 2022 for some of the larger molecules, such as glyphosate, glufosinate and others, came in after the use season or in the middle of the new season. So some of those inventories carried over now for the 2023 season. So our customers are managing through that today, and there's 2 elements to that. One is the inventory itself. The other one is the valuation associated with that inventory.

我很樂意。所以肯定會出現 - 我會給你一些背景信息。從 21 年到 22 年，我們處於歷史最低的渠道庫存率。然後我們看到了一種轉變，實際上是根據推動 2022 年機會所需要和需要的購買行為節奏的變化。根據細分市場的不同，很多供應確實是在旺季或晚些時候出現的。因此，當我們進入 2022 年下半年時，一些較大的分子，如草甘膦、草銨膦等，在使用季節之後或新季節中期進入市場。因此，其中一些庫存現在結轉至 2023 年。所以我們的客戶今天正在管理它，這有兩個要素。一個是庫存本身。另一個是與該庫存相關的估值。

As it pertains to our products, we actually came into the 2023 season at relatively low inventory levels, comparatively speaking. Aztec being one of those that was at one of our all-time lows even with the 4 SKUs we sell today. And so you combine that with the current supply position we're in now in the second half, so as we look at preparing for the '24 season, should put us in a very strong position to sell into that segment.

就我們的產品而言，相對而言，我們實際上以相對較低的庫存水平進入了 2023 年。即使我們今天售出 4 個 SKU，Aztec 也是我們歷史最低點之一。因此，您將其與我們目前在下半年所處的供應狀況結合起來，因此當我們著眼於為 24 賽季做準備時，我們應該處於非常有利的地位來銷售該細分市場。

Yes. And I think globally, I can't think of an example, Bob, where we have a supply chain issue. I know with some of our -- I mean our factories were running 24/7, trying to keep up with demand. And so there are a number of less profitable markets globally that we elected not to supply in order to keep up with those segments which were more profitable. So unlike in the examples you gave, glyphosate, glufosinate, the nutritional fertilizer products where there is some -- I think, I mean we've been struggling to keep up with demand. So I don't see that as -- that's one of the reasons why we're so optimistic for this season coming up because, of course, it includes the restocking that will happen in Q4 of this year.

是的。我認為在全球範圍內，我想不出一個例子，鮑勃，我們有一個供應鏈問題。我知道我們的一些 - 我的意思是我們的工廠全天候運行，試圖跟上需求。因此，全球有許多利潤較低的市場，我們選擇不供應這些市場，以跟上那些利潤更高的細分市場。與你給出的例子不同，草甘膦、草銨膦、營養肥料產品——我想，我的意思是我們一直在努力滿足需求。所以我不認為這是 - 這就是我們對即將到來的這個季節如此樂觀的原因之一，因為當然，它包括將在今年第四季度進行的補貨。

That's correct, Eric. We also -- if you look at the statistics that David showed you as far as inventory levels as a percent of sales, we keep in a pretty good line as far as where we're currently at. So I don't know if David showed it this time. But normally, it shows about 28% to 30% inventory levels, right, to net sales. And we've been pretty consistent with that. So as we grow, our inventories are in line with our growth rates. But as Eric states, demand is really outpacing our factory utilization right now, so it feels good.

沒錯，埃里克。我們也——如果你看看大衛向你展示的關於庫存水平佔銷售額百分比的統計數據，我們就目前所處的位置保持在相當不錯的水平。所以我不知道大衛這次有沒有表現出來。但通常情況下，它顯示的庫存水平約為淨銷售額的 28% 至 30%。我們一直非常一致。因此，隨著我們的發展，我們的庫存與我們的增長率保持一致。但正如埃里克所說，目前需求確實超過了我們工廠的利用率，所以感覺很好。

All right. That's very helpful. And then just on Green Solutions, you guys are talking a lot about that. Obviously, fast growing area. But you mentioned that you'd be disciplined with M&A there. Can you just talk to some of the metrics as you look at some of these more nascent, early technologies?

好的。這很有幫助。然後就綠色解決方案而言，你們談論了很多。顯然，快速增長的領域。但是你提到你會在那裡進行併購。當您查看其中一些較新生的早期技術時，您能談談一些指標嗎？

So you mean the metrics we use to decide what we're going to pay for...

所以你的意思是我們用來決定我們要支付什麼的指標......

Evaluate.

評價。

Evaluate, yes. So we use the same model as for all of our acquisitions and, frankly, investments, which essentially does a 10-year P&L. We forecast where sales are, we -- cost of goods all the way down to earnings per share. And then we have a hurdle rate of something between 10% and 15% depending on each individual situation for a 5-year payout.

評價一下，是的。因此，我們使用與所有收購和投資相同的模型，坦率地說，投資基本上是 10 年的損益表。我們預測銷售額在哪裡，我們——商品成本一直下降到每股收益。然後我們有一個 10% 到 15% 的門檻率，具體取決於 5 年支付的每種情況。

And one of the things that we, again, strive for is to have the deal be accretive from day 1. So there are exceptions to that. But generally, that's what we look for. So I don't know if that answered your question.

我們再次努力爭取的一件事是讓交易從第一天起就增值。所以也有例外。但總的來說，這就是我們要尋找的。所以我不知道這是否回答了你的問題。

Our next question comes from Gerry Sweeney with ROTH MKM.

我們的下一個問題來自 Gerry Sweeney 和 ROTH MKM。

This is Brandon Rogers on for Gerry Sweeney. Just had a question on margins. They improved this past quarter. Do you see the gross margin improvement being maintained through price actions that's offsetting inflation costs?

這是布蘭登羅傑斯替格里斯威尼。只是有一個關於邊距的問題。他們在上個季度有所改善。您是否看到通過抵消通貨膨脹成本的價格行動來維持毛利率的提高？

Yes, I feel very strong about it. We talked about it earlier that the price increases were put in place. We haven't had pushback, particularly here in the U.S. And so again, our products are more in the niche space, and so I think we feel very positive about our -- maintaining our margins.

是的，我對此感到非常強烈。我們早些時候談到價格上漲已經到位。我們沒有遇到任何阻力，尤其是在美國。因此，我們的產品更多地處於利基市場，所以我認為我們對維持我們的利潤率感到非常樂觀。

And then just a follow-up, switching over to the SIMPAS side. Do you feel that AVD has sufficient resources to drive the adoption of SIMPAS both in the U.S. and in Brazil as well?

然後只是一個後續行動，切換到 SIMPAS 方面。您是否認為 AVD 有足夠的資源來推動 SIMPAS 在美國和巴西的採用？

Yes. So I think, as Scott mentioned, we've decided to break out as a separate business unit. We do have people that -- in that system that have been dedicated. But what we haven't had is dedicated salespeople. So Scott is in the process of getting people that have kind of precision ag backgrounds that will just focus 100% on SIMPAS. And I think that's going to be a key difference because, again, asking our existing team who has a full plate to start with trying to service the U.S. market was a difficult task, and I think we probably overestimated what our retail partners and our equipment partners were going to be able to accomplish as far as pull through. So we're going to call on the customers that have the strongest footprint in precision ag, and we really didn't really focus hard on that. I think we spent -- I mean 2 of the 10 biggest players in that field were people that worked with mass nutrient and Helena. So we're going to focus more on that.

是的。所以我認為，正如 Scott 提到的那樣，我們已經決定作為一個單獨的業務部門進行拆分。我們確實有人——在那個系統中一直致力於。但我們還沒有敬業的銷售人員。因此，斯科特正在尋找具有精準農業背景的人，他們將 100% 專注於 SIMPAS。而且我認為這將是一個關鍵的區別，因為再次要求我們現有的擁有完整板塊的團隊開始嘗試服務美國市場是一項艱鉅的任務，而且我認為我們可能高估了我們的零售合作夥伴和我們的設備合作夥伴將能夠完成盡可能多的工作。因此，我們將拜訪在 precision ag 領域擁有最強大足蹟的客戶，而我們並沒有真正專注於此。我想我們花了——我的意思是該領域 10 個最大的參與者中有 2 個是與大量營養素和海倫娜一起工作的人。所以我們將更加關注這一點。

Internationally, we're pretty excited. We've got SIMPAS systems. I think we've got 19 that are going down there for this plant season in September, and it's led by Counter for soybeans but also in corn and cotton. We're bringing a team of Brazilian growers up to the United States to which is planting here in the United States and share that technology, and then we'll be taking our SIMPAS team down to Brazil to help with installation and any questions they have in getting this off and going with these first 19 systems.

在國際上，我們非常興奮。我們有 SIMPAS 系統。我認為在 9 月的這個種植季節，我們有 19 個要在那裡進行，它由 Counter 領導，用於大豆，還有玉米和棉花。我們將一支巴西種植者團隊帶到美國，他們正在美國這裡種植並分享該技術，然後我們將把我們的 SIMPAS 團隊帶到巴西，幫助安裝並解決他們遇到的任何問題在開始使用這些前 19 個系統時。

(Operator Instructions) Thank you. There appears to be no additional questions at this time. I'll turn the floor back to our management for closing remarks. Thank you.

（操作員說明）謝謝。目前似乎沒有其他問題。我將把發言權交還給我們的管理層，讓他們發表閉幕詞。謝謝。

Thank you, Diego, and thank you all for joining us. We had a large crowd today, which we're pleased to have. We'll be giving you updates and have clear pictures on the '23-year when we report our first quarter results, which will be sometime in the first or the second week of May. So we're not all that far away. So anyway, look forward to updating you as we move through the course of the year, and thank you very much for joining us today. Goodbye.

謝謝你，迭戈，感謝大家加入我們。今天我們有很多人，我們很高興。我們將在 5 月的第一周或第二週的某個時候報告第一季度業績時，為您提供最新情況並提供關於 23 年的清晰圖片。所以我們並沒有那麼遙遠。因此，無論如何，期待在我們度過這一年的過程中為您提供最新信息，非常感謝您今天加入我們。再見。

Thank you. And with that, we conclude today's conference. All parties may disconnect. Have a great day.

謝謝。至此，我們結束今天的會議。各方可能會斷開連接。祝你有美好的一天。