Aviat Networks Inc (AVNW) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Aviat Networks Fourth Quarter fiscal 2023 earnings call. (Operator Instructions). A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. Please note, the conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Mr. Andrew Fredrickson, Director of Investor Relations. You may begin.

下午好，歡迎參加 Aviat Networks 2023 財年第四季度財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）。正式演講之後將舉行問答環節。請注意，會議正在錄製中。現在我將會議交給東道主投資者關係總監安德魯·弗雷德里克森 (Andrew Fredrickson) 先生。你可以開始了。

Thank you, and welcome to Aviat Networks Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2023 Results Conference Call and webcast. You can find our press release and updated investor presentation in the IR section of our website at www.aviatnetworks.com along with a replay of today's call in approximately 2 hours. With me today are Pete Smith, Aviat's President and CEO who will begin with opening remarks on the company's fiscal fourth quarter, followed by David Gray, our CFO, who will review the financial results for the quarter and fiscal 2023. Pete will then provide closing remarks on Aviat's strategy and outlook, followed by Q&A.

謝謝，歡迎參加 Aviat Networks 2023 財年第四季度業績電話會議和網絡廣播。您可以在我們網站 www.aviatnetworks.com 的投資者關係部分找到我們的新聞稿和更新的投資者演示文稿，以及大約 2 小時內今天電話會議的重播。今天與我在一起的有Aviat 總裁兼首席執行官皮特·史密斯(Pete Smith)，他將首先介紹公司第四財季的開場白，然後是我們的首席財務官戴維·格雷(David Gray)，他將回顧本季度和2023 財年的財務業績。皮特隨後將提供結束語關於阿維亞特航空的戰略和前景的評論，然後是問答。

As a reminder, during today's call and webcast, management may make forward-looking statements regarding Aviat's business, including, but not limited to, statements relating to financial projections, business drivers, new products and expansion and economic activity in different regions. These and other forward-looking statements reflect the company's opinions only as of the date of this call and webcast and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those statements. Additional information on factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made on this call can be found in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or make public any revisions of these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.

提醒一下，在今天的電話會議和網絡廣播中，管理層可能會就阿維亞特的業務做出前瞻性陳述，包括但不限於與財務預測、業務驅動因素、新產品以及不同地區的擴張和經濟活動有關的陳述。這些和其他前瞻性陳述僅反映公司截至本次電話會議和網絡廣播之日的意見，並涉及可能導致實際結果與這些陳述存在重大差異的假設、風險和不確定性。有關可能導致實際結果與本次電話會議中的聲明存在重大差異的因素的更多信息，請參閱我們向 SEC 提交的最新 10-K 表格年度報告。公司不承擔根據新信息或未來事件修改或公開這些前瞻性陳述的任何修改的義務。

Additionally, during today's call and webcast, management will reference both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our press release, which is available on the IR section of our website at www.aviatnetworks.com and financial tables therein, which include a GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation and other supplemental financial information.

此外，在今天的電話會議和網絡廣播中，管理層將參考公認會計原則和非公認會計原則財務指標。請參閱我們的新聞稿（可在我們網站 www.aviatnetworks.com 的 IR 部分獲取）以及其中的財務表格，其中包括 GAAP 與非 GAAP 調節表以及其他補充財務信息。

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Aviat's President and CEO, Pete Smith. Pete?

現在，我想將電話轉給 Aviat 總裁兼首席執行官皮特·史密斯 (Pete Smith)。皮特？

Thanks, Andrew, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us to review Aviat Networks results for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2023 and full year fiscal 2023. The company continued to focus and execute on our key long-term goals of top line growth, margin expansion and bottom line improvement. Highlights from the fourth quarter include revenue of $91.2 million, which represents growth of 17.8% versus Q4 of last year. Adjusted EBITDA of $12.6 million, a 38% increase versus the same period prior year. Non-GAAP EPS increase of 30%. Strong debt-free balance sheet with $22.2 million of cash and marketable securities. For the full year fiscal 2023 Aviat achieved revenue growth of 14.4% to $346.6 million.

謝謝安德魯，大家下午好。感謝您與我們一起回顧 Aviat Networks 2023 財年第四季度和 2023 財年全年的業績。該公司繼續關注並執行我們的主要長期目標，即營收增長、利潤率擴張和利潤改善。第四季度的亮點包括收入 9120 萬美元，比去年第四季度增長 17.8%。調整後 EBITDA 為 1,260 萬美元，較上年同期增長 38%。非 GAAP 每股收益增長 30%。強大的無債務資產負債表，擁有 2,220 萬美元現金和有價證券。 2023 財年，Aviat 全年收入增長 14.4%，達到 3.466 億美元。

This represents our third consecutive fiscal year of double-digit top line growth. adjusted EBITDA of $47.0 million, a 23% increase over last year, non-GAAP EPS growth of 20%. Year-end backlog of $289 million, up 18% year-over-year, 336 new customers in fiscal year 2023. These financial and operational results reflect the continued demand we see for our products and services in the market as well as the dedicated effort from Aviat team members around the globe.

這是我們連續第三個財年實現兩位數的營收增長。調整後 EBITDA 為 4700 萬美元，比去年增長 23%，非 GAAP 每股收益增長 20%。年終積壓金額為 2.89 億美元，同比增長 18%，2023 財年新增客戶 336 名。這些財務和運營業績反映了市場對我們產品和服務的持續需求以及我們的不懈努力來自全球各地的Aviat 團隊成員。

Let's discuss key highlights of the fourth quarter and fiscal year. Starting with the global 5G opportunity, our business continues to see healthy demand from service providers, thanks to our differentiated offerings. In the U.S., we see rising demand for our microwave backhaul products despite flat to down 5G CapEx spend from Tier 1 telecoms. Operators build their 5G networks by initial investment in fiber. And as the coverage progresses, microwave receives a larger portion of the funding to expand backhaul and suburban and rural environments. This makes Aviat's demand curve somewhat different from the overall 5G CapEx cycle. We believe there will be growth from continued domestic investment in 5G as network build-outs continue into less densely populated regions.

讓我們討論第四季度和財年的主要亮點。從全球 5G 機遇開始，由於我們提供差異化​​的產品，我們的業務繼續看到服務提供商的健康需求。在美國，儘管一級電信公司的 5G 資本支出持平或下降，但我們的微波回程產品需求不斷增長。運營商通過光纖初始投資來建設 5G 網絡。隨著覆蓋範圍的擴大，微波獲得了更大一部分資金來擴大回程以及郊區和農村環境。這使得 Aviat 的需求曲線與整體 5G 資本支出週期有些不同。我們相信，隨著網絡建設繼續向人口密度較低的地區延伸，國內對 5G 的持續投資將會帶來增長。

Internationally, we are still in the early stages of the 5G rollout and see strong interest for Aviat's products. At the beginning of the fiscal year, we announced our RDL [tier 1], which marked a new Tier 1 customer and geographic market for Aviat. Additionally, we see building momentum in Africa, Latin America and Asia Pac. As a reminder, 5G currently makes up less than 15% of global mobile data traffic. We have many years ahead of operators investing in their 5G infrastructure. We see more opportunities to win the selective Tier 1 and Tier 2 business. We will continue to target new accounts and win business away from our competitors when we see a distinct economic advantage that Aviat can offer to the customer. This will bring additional global scale and capabilities to our business to drive long-term shareholder value.

在國際上，我們仍處於 5G 部署的早期階段，並且看到人們對 Aviat 產品的濃厚興趣。在本財年年初，我們宣布了 RDL [一級]，這標誌著 Aviat 有了新的一級客戶和地理市場。此外，我們看到非洲、拉丁美洲和亞太地區的勢頭正在增強。需要提醒的是，5G 目前佔全球移動數據流量的比例不到 15%。我們比運營商投資 5G 基礎設施領先很多年。我們看到了更多贏得選擇性一級和二級業務的機會。當我們看到阿維亞特可以為客戶提供明顯的經濟優勢時，我們將繼續瞄準新客戶並從競爭對手那裡贏得業務。這將為我們的業務帶來額外的全球規模和能力，以推動長期股東價值。

Our funnel of opportunities against our largest global competitor continues to strengthen, and we are focused on executing to gain market share and customers. Our current identified opportunity funnel for Aviat to replace this competitor is over $80 million. Our fiscal 2023 revenue taken from this competitor was $24 million, and our backlog is $34 million. We believe that the pressure on this competitor will remain for the foreseeable future and operators will continue to seek replacements in their networks. Shifting to our rural broadband business the demand environment for this market remains strong.

我們對抗全球最大競爭對手的機會渠道不斷加強，我們專注於執行以獲得市場份額和客戶。我們目前確定的 Aviat 取代該競爭對手的機會超過 8000 萬美元。我們從該競爭對手那裡獲得的 2023 財年收入為 2400 萬美元，我們的積壓訂單為 3400 萬美元。我們相信，在可預見的未來，該競爭對手面臨的壓力仍將持續，運營商將繼續在其網絡中尋求替代品。轉向我們的農村寬帶業務，該市場的需求環境仍然強勁。

Government funding programs such as the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, RDOF and the Broadband Equity Access Deployment, BEAD, continue to develop. We remain well positioned with the Aviat store. RDOF related orders continued in the quarter, albeit relatively small, we anticipate increasing revenue from RDOF projects in calendar year 2024. Although the dollar impact of RDOF to Aviat continues to be difficult to quantify at this early stage we have booked blanket purchase orders from WISP for the coming year in excess of $10 million. We view this as an encouraging sign of demand in this space.

農村數字機會基金 (RDOF) 和寬帶公平接入部署 (BEAD) 等政府資助計劃繼續發展。我們在 Aviat 商店中保持著良好的地位。本季度RDOF 相關訂單仍在繼續，儘管相對較小，但我們預計2024 年RDOF 項目的收入將增加。儘管在早期階段，RDOF 對Aviat 的美元影響仍然難以量化，但我們已從WISP 預訂了一攬子採購訂單來年將超過1000萬美元。我們認為這是該領域需求的一個令人鼓舞的跡象。

The recent announcement of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment or BEAD program allocations to state government represents a positive step to unlocking the $42.5 billion program. As a reminder, this program was part of the bipartisan infrastructure law passed in 2021. The program is aimed at increasing the availability and affordability of high-speed Internet service across the United States, especially in rural and underserved areas. The announced allocations permit the states to begin planning their grant programs. From a timing perspective, we anticipate that approximately 20% of the announced allocations will begin flowing in late calendar year 2024. If other government broadband programs are an indication, the peak will be in 3 to 5 years following the initial release of funds with a long tail of spending. While the initial BEAD notice of funding strongly encouraged fiber deployment, we believe that the most economical and effective deployments will include wireless networks in the appropriate areas.

最近宣布向州政府分配寬帶公平接入和部署或 BEAD 計劃，這是解鎖該 425 億美元計劃的積極一步。提醒一下，該計劃是 2021 年通過的兩黨基礎設施​​法的一部分。該計劃旨在提高美國各地高速互聯網服務的可用性和可負擔性，特別是在農村和服務欠缺地區。宣布的撥款允許各州開始規劃其撥款計劃。從時間角度來看，我們預計約 20% 的已宣布撥款將在 2024 年末開始流動。如果其他政府寬帶計劃是一個跡象，則峰值將在首次發放資金後的 3 至 5 年內達到。支出的長尾。雖然 BEAD 最初的資金通知大力鼓勵光纖部署，但我們相信最經濟、最有效的部署將包括適當區域的無線網絡。

Further, in recent meetings of the subcommittee of Energy and Commerce and the NTIA, no less than 7 congressional representatives advocated for technology neutrality and cost-effective deployments. We believe this testimony strongly favors microwave. There are still many details with BEAD, but we believe that Aviat has the right set of products and state-level relationships to benefit. We will continue to update the investor community as appropriate.

此外，在能源和商業小組委員會以及 NTIA 最近的會議上，不少於 7 位國會代表主張技術中立和具有成本效益的部署。我們相信這個證詞強烈支持微波。 BEAD 的細節還有很多，但我們相信 Aviat 擁有合適的產品和州級關係，可以從中受益。我們將繼續酌情向投資者社區更新最新信息。

Moving on to private networks. In the fourth quarter, our North America revenue of $55 million was driven by strong private network demand and a record private network backlog. We believe we have the strongest portfolio for private networks, including highly reliable, high-power microwave radios for lowest overall total cost of ownership, high availability IP/MPLS routers, LTE base stations and evolved packet core solutions, point-to-point and point-to-multipoint access products, end-to-end management software with expert systems and automation innovations for lowest OpEx and a full portfolio of turnkey services.

轉向專用網絡。第四季度，我們的北美收入達到 5500 萬美元，這得益於強勁的專用網絡需求和創紀錄的專用網絡積壓。我們相信，我們擁有最強大的專用網絡產品組合，包括可實現最低總體擁有成本的高度可靠、高功率微波無線電、高可用性 IP/MPLS 路由器、LTE 基站和演進分組核心解決方案、點對點和點對多點接入產品、帶有專家系統的端到端管理軟件以及可實現最低運營成本的自動化創新和全套交鑰匙服務。

We remain the leading microwave vendor in private networks in North America and growing share of demand around the world. We believe that the private network opportunity in North America will remain strong as networks upgrade to LTE to support video and other data-driven applications. The funding environment remains strong for state and local governments positively impacted by ARPA funds.

我們仍然是北美專用網絡中領先的微波供應商，並且在全球範圍內的需求份額不斷增長。我們相信，隨著網絡升級到 LTE 以支持視頻和其他數據驅動的應用程序，北美的專用網絡機會仍將保持強勁。對於受到 ARPA 資金積極影響的州和地方政府來說，融資環境依然強勁。

The private networks business will also continue to grow through new international opportunities. Our private network business drove the significant increase in year-over-year backlog, which we will get to shortly. In the fourth quarter, Aviat announced our new ultra-high power indoor radio, the IRU 600 UHP. UHP is a new 11 gigahertz radio with the highest transmit power ever supported in the industry in this band, which will allow greater reliability, more capacity and longer lengths. Most importantly, UHP's ultra-high RF performance enables the replacement of 80% of the 90,000 6 gigahertz links in the U.S.A. creating a significant upgrade opportunity with customers concerned about interference in the 6 gigahertz band. This is another example of Aviat innovating to meet customer needs and deliver value-add solutions. We have already secured our first order and expect shipments to begin in the first half of fiscal year 2024.

專用網絡業務也將通過新的國際機遇繼續增長。我們的專網業務推動了積壓量逐年大幅增加，我們很快就會談到這一點。在第四季度，Aviat 發布了我們的新型超高功率室內無線電 IRU 600 UHP。 UHP 是一款新型 11 GHz 無線電，具有業界在此頻段支持的最高發射功率，這將實現更高的可靠性、更大的容量和更長的長度。最重要的是，UHP 的超高射頻性能可以替換美國 90,000 個 6 GHz 鏈路中的 80%，為擔心 6 GHz 頻段干擾的客戶創造了重要的升級機會。這是阿維亞特通過創新來滿足客戶需求並提供增值解決方案的另一個例子。我們已經獲得了第一筆訂單，預計將於 2024 財年上半年開始發貨。

In addition to the UHP radio, Aviat released a number of innovative products and offerings in fiscal year 2023, including IP/MPLS support for our WTM all-outdoor microwave platform to lower total cost of ownership and simplify customer networks. Vendor-agnostic multiband solutions, which make it easier and cheaper for operators to upgrade their networks by adding Aviat EBAND or multi-band alongside legacy microwave systems. This also lowers the barrier for entry for Aviat into a new network. This helps secure our win with Bharti Airtel. Frequency Assurance Software, FAS on third-party radios, which allows network operators to leverage our powerful software platforms to help them better manage their networks.

除了 UHP 無線電之外，Aviat 在 2023 財年還發布了許多創新產品和服務，包括對我們的 WTM 全室外微波平台的 IP/MPLS 支持，以降低總擁有成本並簡化客戶網絡。與供應商無關的多頻段解決方案，通過在傳統微波系統中添加 Aviat EBAND 或多頻段，運營商可以更輕鬆、更經濟地升級網絡。這也降低了阿維亞特航空進入新網絡的門檻。這有助於確保我們贏得 Bharti Airtel。第三方無線電上的頻率保證軟件 FAS，使網絡運營商能夠利用我們強大的軟件平台來幫助他們更好地管理網絡。

Support for RDL-3000, Aviat's access products acquired via the Redline Communications acquisition to Provisions Plus which allows network operators to improve the simplicity and reliability of managing their networks end to end. We are proud of these innovations we have brought to the market and are excited to continue offering new solutions and products to our customers in the year ahead.

支持 RDL-3000，這是 Aviat 通過 Redline Communications 收購 Provisions Plus 獲得的接入產品，使網絡運營商能夠提高端到端網絡管理的簡單性和可靠性。我們為推向市場的這些創新感到自豪，並很高興能在未來一年繼續為客戶提供新的解決方案和產品。

Since artificial intelligence is prominently featured in the news, we will share our perspective. Aviat believes that AI applications will use bandwidth and create more demand for capacity, in line with the telecom peer group, the amount of additional demand and timing is difficult to estimate at this point. More specifically, the generative AI branch of artificial intelligence requires low latency and consumes a lot of data, which bodes well for telecom equipment and backhaul needs. On the product and services front, Aviat has invested in fast frequency assurance software and has health assurance software products.

由於人工智能在新聞中佔據突出地位，我們將分享我們的觀點。 Aviat認為，人工智能應用將使用帶寬並創造更多的容量需求，與電信同行一致，額外需求的數量和時間目前很難估計。更具體地說，人工智能的生成式人工智能分支需要低延遲並消耗大量數據，這對電信設備和回程需求來說是個好兆頭。在產品和服務方面，Aviat 投資了快速頻率保障軟件並擁有健康保障軟件產品。

These are both examples of expert systems that replicate a specialized knowledge set to provide powerful solutions to help customers manage their networks and monitor for interference and help network health. This branch of artificial intelligence offers customers an impactful solution today. Going forward, Aviat intends to invest in additional software that eases the customer's burden of network operations.

這些都是專家系統的示例，它們複製專業知識集以提供強大的解決方案，幫助客戶管理其網絡、監控干擾並幫助網絡健康。如今，人工智能的這一分支為客戶提供了有效的解決方案。展望未來，Aviat 打算投資更多軟件，以減輕客戶的網絡運營負擔。

Moving on to the supply chain environment. We continue to see improvements. Nearly all of our supplies returned to precrisis performance. We have 13 components that remain in allocation. This is an improvement from 27 component allocations last quarter and over 100 a year ago. Additionally, component lead times continue to improve and are now normalized. We remain diligent in derisking the supply chain and building redundancies where possible. Our results for our customers and shareholders would not be possible without the dedication of all of the Aviat employees. This was a great quarter and an excellent fiscal year. We remain focused and we'll continue to execute to grow and take share of demand. This has and will continue to be reflected in our financial and operational results.

轉向供應鏈環境。我們繼續看到改進。我們幾乎所有的供應都恢復到了危機前的水平。我們還有 13 個組件仍在分配中。這比上季度的 27 個組件分配和一年前的 100 多個組件分配有所改善。此外，組件交貨時間持續縮短，現已標準化。我們仍然努力降低供應鏈風險並儘可能進行裁員。如果沒有所有 Aviat 員工的奉獻，我們就不可能為客戶和股東帶來成果。這是一個出色的季度和出色的財政年度。我們仍然專注，並將繼續執行以增長並佔領需求份額。這已經並將繼續反映在我們的財務和運營業績中。

Aviat's core values include customer focus. As part of our focus on the customer, we advanced our voice of the customer process. The effort by our sales and marketing teams resulted in fiscal year backlog of $289 million. This represents an increase of 18% versus prior year. Note that we report on this metric annually to avoid the quarterly fluctuations with a project-based business, Additionally, I'll highlight again that we added 336 new customers. This was driven by state and local governments, service providers, redline customers and the expansion of the store platform internationally. Given the high cost to switch, we believe that these new customers, along with our backlog sets us up well for growth in fiscal year 2024 and beyond.

Aviat 的核心價值觀包括以客戶為中心。作為我們以客戶為中心的一部分，我們改進了客戶心聲流程。我們的銷售和營銷團隊的努力導致本財年積壓金額達 2.89 億美元。這比去年增加了 18%。請注意，我們每年都會報告此指標，以避免基於項目的業務出現季度波動。此外，我將再次強調我們添加了 336 個新客戶。這是由州和地方政府、服務提供商、紅線客戶以及商店平台的國際擴張推動的。鑑於轉換成本高昂，我們相信這些新客戶以及我們的積壓訂單將為我們在 2024 財年及以後的增長奠定良好的基礎。

With that, let me turn the call over to David to review our financials before coming back for some final comments. David?

就這樣，讓我把電話轉給大衛，讓他審查我們的財務狀況，然後再回來徵求一些最終意見。大衛？

Thank you, Pete, and good afternoon, everyone. During my remarks today, I'll review some of the key fiscal 2023 fourth quarter and full year financial highlights. Noting our detailed financials can be found in our press release filed this afternoon. As a reminder, all comparisons discussed today are between fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, unless noted otherwise. For the fourth quarter, we reported total revenues of $91.2 million as compared to $77.4 million for the same period last year, an increase of $13.8 million or 17.8% driven by strong growth in all regions. North America, which comprised 60% of our total revenue for the quarter was $55.1 million, an increase of $6.4 million or 13% from the same period last year, driven by our private networks and Tier 1 business.

謝謝你，皮特，大家下午好。在今天的講話中，我將回顧 2023 財年第四季度和全年的一些關鍵財務亮點。我們的詳細財務數據可以在今天下午提交的新聞稿中找到。提醒一下，除非另有說明，今天討論的所有比較都是在 2023 財年第四季度與 2022 財年第四季度之間進行的。第四季度，我們報告的總收入為 9120 萬美元，而去年同期為 7740 萬美元，在所有地區的強勁增長推動下，增加了 1380 萬美元，即 17.8%。北美地區收入為 5510 萬美元，占我們本季度總收入的 60%，比去年同期增長 640 萬美元，即 13%，這主要得益於我們的專用網絡和一級業務。

International revenue was $36.0 million for the quarter, an increase of $7.4 million or 25.8% from the same period last year, with particular strength in the Middle East and Latin America. As Pete mentioned, our backlog grew 18% to $289 million continuing our trend of trailing 4-quarter book-to-bill ratio above 1, started back in fiscal 2018. Gross margins for the quarter were 35.8% and 36.2% on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis as compared to 35.5% and 35.7% in the prior year. The improvement in gross margin was driven by better price cost dynamics, partially offset by regional mix.

本季度國際收入為 3600 萬美元，比去年同期增長 740 萬美元，即 25.8%，其中中東和拉丁美洲尤其強勁。正如Pete 提到的，我們的積壓訂單增長了18%，達到2.89 億美元，延續了自2018 財年以來連續4 個季度訂單出貨比高於1 的趨勢。按GAAP 計算，本季度毛利率分別為35.8% 和36.2%。與上一年的 35.5% 和 35.7% 相比。毛利率的改善是由更好的價格成本動態推動的，但部分被區域組合所抵消。

Fourth quarter GAAP operating expenses were $26.3 million, an increase of $4.1 million from the prior year. Fourth quarter non-GAAP operating expense, which excludes the impact of restructuring charges, share-based compensation and deal costs were $22.0 million an increase of $2.5 million. The increases in both GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses were primarily due to the addition of Red Line, while GAAP was further impacted by M&A expenses related to our acquisition of NEC's microwave transport business. Fourth quarter GAAP and non-GAAP operating income were $6.3 million and $11.0 million compared to prior year GAAP of $5.2 million and non-GAAP of $8.1 million or increases of 20.6% and 34.9%, respectively. Fourth quarter tax provision was $2.4 million compared to $2.8 million last year. As a reminder, the company has $500 million of NOLs that will continue to generate shareholder value via minimal cash tax payments for the foreseeable future.

第四季度 GAAP 運營費用為 2630 萬美元，比上年增加 410 萬美元。第四季度非 GAAP 運營費用（不包括重組費用、股權激勵和交易成本的影響）為 2200 萬美元，增加了 250 萬美元。 GAAP 和非 GAAP 運營費用的增加主要是由於紅線的增加，而 GAAP 進一步受到與我們收購 NEC 微波傳輸業務相關的併購費用的影響。第四季度 GAAP 和非 GAAP 營業收入分別為 630 萬美元和 1100 萬美元，而上年 GAAP 營業收入為 520 萬美元，非 GAAP 營業收入為 810 萬美元，分別增長 20.6% 和 34.9%。第四季度稅收撥備為 240 萬美元，去年同期為 280 萬美元。需要提醒的是，該公司擁有 5 億美元的 NOL，在可預見的未來將繼續通過最低的現金稅支付創造股東價值。

Fourth quarter GAAP net income was $3.3 million as compared to $4.5 million last year, which included a onetime gain of $2.6 million on marketable securities that did not repeat. Fourth quarter non-GAAP net income, which excludes restructuring charges, share-based compensation, M&A-related costs and noncash tax provision was $10.3 million compared to $7.8 million for the same period last year, an increase of $2.5 million or 32.1% driven by growth and margin expansion. Fourth quarter non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.87 per share on a fully diluted basis compared to $0.67 per share for the same period last year, an increase of 29.9%. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $12.6 million, an increase of $3.4 million or 37.5% from the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margins were 13.8% for the quarter.

第四季度 GAAP 淨利潤為 330 萬美元，而去年為 450 萬美元，其中包括未重複的有價證券一次性收益 260 萬美元。第四季度非公認會計準則淨利潤（不包括重組費用、股權激勵、併購相關成本和非現金稅項準備金）為1,030 萬美元，而去年同期為780 萬美元，增加了250 萬美元，即32.1 %，原因是增長和利潤率擴張。第四季度非公認會計準則每股收益（完全稀釋後）為 0.87 美元，與去年同期的每股 0.67 美元相比，增長了 29.9%。本季度調整後 EBITDA 為 1,260 萬美元，比上年增加 340 萬美元，即 37.5%。本季度調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 13.8%。

Moving on to the balance sheet. Our cash and marketable securities at the end of the fourth quarter totaled $22.2 million with no debt, up from a net cash position of $16.2 million in the prior quarter. Fourth quarter cash flows from operations were $7.4 million, driven by a significant improvement in our inventory levels from $40.9 million in Q3 to $33.1 million in Q4 as we consume some of our buffer stock that helped us navigate the supply chain issues of the past 2 years. We made good progress in terms of DSO. Our net DSO declined by 5 days versus Q3. Note that net DSO includes trade AR and unbilled balances net of advanced payments and unearned revenue and is a key indicator of our working capital efficiency. Our balance sheet remains very solid, leaving us well positioned to execute our long-term plans.

繼續看資產負債表。截至第四季度末，我們的現金和有價證券總額為 2220 萬美元，無債務，高於上一季度淨現金頭寸 1620 萬美元。第四季度運營現金流為740 萬美元，這是由於庫存水平顯著改善，從第三季度的4090 萬美元增至第四季度的3310 萬美元，因為我們消耗了一些緩衝庫存，幫助我們解決了過去兩年的供應鏈問題。我們在 DSO 方面取得了良好進展。與第三季度相比，我們的淨 DSO 下降了 5 天。請注意，淨 DSO 包括貿易 AR 和扣除預付款和未實現收入的未開票餘額，是我們營運資金效率的關鍵指標。我們的資產負債表仍然非常穩健，使我們能夠很好地執行我們的長期計劃。

With that, I'll turn it back to Pete for some final comments. Pete?

至此，我將把它轉回給皮特，徵求一些最後的意見。皮特？

Thanks, David. Before opening up for Q&A, I'd like to put some context around the demand environment, summarize our fiscal year and provide a few updates. Over the past several months, we have received many calls focused on the channel dynamics of microwave compared to fiber. We see vast differences in the channels, and we'll detail 3 distinguishing characteristics. First, throughout the supply chain crisis. The largest constrained impact in the quarter was less than $2 million in Aviat revenue. With this ability to meet demand, we never experienced the order pattern witnessed in the fiber space. The fiber space experienced many instances of double order. Our lead times prior to the supply chain crisis and today are similar Note that prior to the supply chain crisis during the crisis, and today, we can book and ship certain orders within a given quarter. As a result, our customers did not place duplicative orders in an attempt to see which order was filled first.

謝謝，大衛。在開始問答之前，我想先介紹一下需求環境的背景情況，總結我們的財年並提供一些最新情況。在過去的幾個月裡，我們收到了許多關注微波與光纖信道動態對比的電話。我們看到渠道之間存在巨大差異，我們將詳細介紹 3 個顯著特徵。首先，整個供應鏈危機。本季度最大的受限影響是 Aviat 收入不足 200 萬美元。憑藉這種滿足需求的能力，我們從未經歷過光纖領域的訂單模式。光纖空間經歷了許多雙階實例。我們在供應鏈危機之前和今天的交貨時間相似 請注意，在供應鏈危機之前和今天，我們可以在給定季度內預訂和運送某些訂單。因此，我們的客戶不會為了查看哪個訂單先被執行而重複下訂單。

Second, Aviat's business is approximately 60% private networks. The majority of these customers are government entities and utilities. Due to the critical nature of these customer networks, the customers expect to be prioritized. At the outset of COVID before the supply chain crisis, we ramped our inventory purchases to support mission-critical networks. As a result, we did not disappoint our customers and double ordering did not ensue. Third, many of Aviat's customers operate small- and medium-sized networks. These networks are often sourced to a single supplier. As a result, the probability of substitution is low. This strongly discourages double ordering that prevailed in the fiber space. Further, we have excellent insight into our largest mobile network operator since we performed the installations.

其次，Aviat的業務大約60%是專用網絡。這些客戶大多數是政府實體和公用事業公司。由於這些客戶網絡的重要性，客戶希望得到優先考慮。在供應鏈危機爆發之前，我們加大了庫存採購力度，以支持關鍵任務網絡。結果，我們沒有讓客戶失望，也沒有發生重複訂購。第三，Aviat 的許多客戶都運營中小型網絡。這些網絡通常由單一供應商採購。因此，替代的可能性很低。這強烈阻止了光纖空間中盛行的雙重排序。此外，自從我們進行安裝以來，我們對我們最大的移動網絡運營商有了深入的了解。

Lastly, the Aviat store holds inventory for ISPs. As a result, our customers do not have an incentive for double ordering, and we have reasonable knowledge of the inventory held at our customers. We will close this discussion with a comment related to the fiber versus microwave comparison as it relates to CapEx spending. As noted previously in the call, we observed the headlines that U.S. Tier 1 CapEx spending is declining year-over-year. Aviat is undeterred since network builds typically proceed with fiber first, followed by microwave.

最後，Aviat 商店為 ISP 保留庫存。因此，我們的客戶沒有重複訂購的動機，而且我們對客戶持有的庫存有合理的了解。我們將通過與光纖與微波比較相關的評論來結束本次討論，因為它與資本支出相關。正如之前在電話會議中所指出的，我們觀察到美國一級資本支出同比下降的頭條新聞。 Aviat 並沒有被嚇倒，因為網絡建設通常首先採用光纖，然後是微波。

Therefore, this mixture of CapEx spend is shifting to favor Aviat's microwave. Fiscal year 2023 represented a significant year for Aviat Networks. The company continues to grow. We successfully integrated our first acquisition in greater than 10 years with Redline Communications and achieve results ahead of our financial model for this acquisition. We announced the NEC microwave transport acquisition, which builds on the 2019 North America channel partnership.

因此，這種資本支出組合正在轉向有利於阿維亞特的微波爐。 2023 財年對於 Aviat Networks 來說是重要的一年。公司不斷發展壯大。我們成功地將 10 多年來的首次收購與 Redline Communications 整合，並在本次收購的財務模型之前取得了成果。我們宣布收購 NEC 微波傳輸，該收購建立在 2019 年北美渠道合作夥伴關係的基礎上。

Our strategy has expanded. Historically, we have focused on growth in private networks, Tier 2 and ISPs. As we have developed a portfolio and our value proposition, we have the [will] to pursue and win select Tier 1s. We now include select Tier 1s in our overall strategy. As an update on the NEC transaction, we currently expect the transaction to close in the October to December quarter, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Aviat remains focused on our growth drivers of 5G, rural broadband and private networks. The 5G upgrade cycle is still early. In rural broadband, there is significant government funding in the U.S. and other select countries that aim to expand the availability of high-speed Internet access. Aviat is well positioned to address this market and we see these government efforts as a positive catalyst for our business.

我們的戰略已經擴大。從歷史上看，我們一直專注於專用網絡、二級網絡和 ISP 的增長。由於我們已經開發了產品組合和價值主張，因此我們有[意願]追求並贏得精選的一級產品。我們現在將選定的一級納入我們的總體戰略。作為 NEC 交易的最新情況，我們目前預計該交易將在 10 月至 12 月的季度完成，但須獲得監管部門的批准並滿足慣例成交條件。 Aviat 仍然專注於 5G、農村寬帶和專用網絡的增長驅動力。 5G升級週期還處於初期。在農村寬帶方面，美國和其他特定國家/地區政府提供了大量資金，旨在擴大高速互聯網接入的可用性。 Aviat 已做好充分準備來應對這一市場，我們認為政府的這些努力是我們業務的積極催化劑。

Lastly, we see increasing demand for private network builds for critical communications and data needs. Based on the company's outlook, we are established our fiscal year 2024 guidance exclusive of the NEC business. We will update our guidance upon closure of the NEC transaction. Revenue for fiscal year 2024 to be in the range of $367 million to $374 million and adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $51 million to $56 million. Based on the current weather pattern, order pattern and record backlog, we expect revenue to build through the fiscal year.

最後，我們看到對滿足關鍵通信和數據需求的專用網絡構建的需求不斷增加。根據公司的前景，我們制定了不包括 NEC 業務的 2024 財年指引。我們將在 NEC 交易結束後更新我們的指導意見。 2024財年的收入將在3.67億美元至3.74億美元之間，調整後的EBITDA將在5100萬美元至5600萬美元之間。根據當前的天氣模式、訂單模式和創紀錄的積壓，我們預計整個財年的收入將會增加。

Our business comps on an annual project basis rather than a sequential quarterly basis. We expect our first quarter to show modest growth compared to fiscal year 2023. Second quarter was strong growth. Third quarter, again, modest and the fourth quarter will be our strongest. We will revisit guidance as the year develops, and we work with our customers on the timing of our backlog.

我們的業務比較是按年度項目進行的，而不是按季度進行的。我們預計第一季度與 2023 財年相比將出現溫和增長。第二季度增長強勁。第三季度再次表現溫和，第四季度將是我們最強勁的季度。隨著時間的推移，我們將重新審視指導方針，並與客戶一起確定積壓訂單的時間安排。

With that, operator, let's open it up for questions.

那麼，操作員，讓我們開始提問吧。

(Operator Instructions). Our first question will come from the line of Scott Searle from ROTH.

（操作員說明）。我們的第一個問題來自羅斯的斯科特·塞爾。

Pete, maybe to start on the gross margin front, it looks like product had a good quarter. services, a little bit of a softer quarter. I know that really tends to depend on mix. I was wondering if you could elaborate a little bit more on that if there's anything to read into the quarterly changes? And how should we be thinking about gross margins looking out at the September quarter?

皮特，也許要從毛利率開始，看起來產品的季度表現不錯。服務業，季度略有疲軟。我知道這實際上取決於組合。我想知道您是否可以詳細說明一下季度變化是否有什麼可解讀的？我們應該如何看待九月季度的毛利率？

Scott, it's David. I'll take this one. So yes, I think I wouldn't read too much into the mix between service and product, right? We disclosed it separately because those are the rules. But in reality, as a project-based business, we tend to evaluate it. at the project level, irrespective of whether services margins for one project or higher loan or vice versa for equipment. From a kind of an overall outlook standpoint and sequential outlook, we did have some severely large projects that were somewhat dilutive to our overall margins. But we think the inflation cost and price dynamics are kind of moving in our favor now.

斯科特，這是大衛。我要這個。所以是的，我想我不會過多地了解服務和產品之間的組合，對吧？我們單獨披露了它，因為這是規則。但實際上，作為一個基於項目的業務，我們傾向於對其進行評估。在項目層面，無論是一個項目的服務利潤還是更高的貸款，或者設備的貸款是否更高。從總體前景和連續前景的角度來看，我們確實有一些非常大的項目，這些項目在一定程度上稀釋了我們的整體利潤。但我們認為通脹成本和價格動態目前正在朝著對我們有利的方向發展。

We did experience a bit of margin improvement quarter-over-quarter sequentially, and we would expect that trend to continue. As we look out into FY '24, I think we'd be looking at kind of a somewhat similar trend of growth overall that we saw from Q3 to Q4, I think, is a reasonable guideline. We expect -- I hope it's stronger, but I think that's good.

我們確實經歷了季度環比的利潤率改善，並且我們預計這種趨勢將持續下去。當我們展望 24 財年時，我認為我們會看到與第三季度到第四季度類似的整體增長趨勢，我認為這是一個合理的指導方針。我們預計——我希望它會更強大，但我認為這很好。

Great. Helpful. And Pete, maybe if I could, you spent some time talking about RDOF and BEAD, but ARPA funding has really been starting to filter into the results. I think there have been a number of wins, whether it's coming from various public safety, utility or, in some cases, tribal lands. I'm wondering how that pipeline is looking and how important that is as we look out to the fiscal '24 time line?

偉大的。有幫助。 Pete，也許如果可以的話，您花了一些時間談論 RDOF 和 BEAD，但 ARPA 資金確實已經開始滲透到結果中。我認為已經取得了很多勝利，無論是來自各種公共安全、公用事業，還是在某些情況下來自部落土地。我想知道這條管道的情況如何，以及在我們展望 24 財年時間表時它有多重要？

Yes. So I think we had a -- thanks to everyone for listening to our prepared remarks, went a little long. We cut the tribal lands part of the script. So we see strength there. With respect to the ARPA funds they need to be used by December 31, some other researches out there that has said that only less than 10% of that is -- has been spent. So we think that, that is going to bode well for our growth going forward. And we -- when we win projects, we -- our backlog is up significantly. Sometimes we know that it's ARPA funds and sometimes we don't. But our private network backlog is at a record demand, and we would think that part of that is -- could be tied to our balance sheet.

是的。所以我認為我們的發言有點長，感謝大家聆聽我們準備好的發言。我們刪除了劇本中部落土地的部分。所以我們看到了那裡的力量。至於需要在 12 月 31 日之前使用的 ARPA 資金，其他一些研究表明，僅使用了不到 10%。所以我們認為，這對我們未來的增長來說是個好兆頭。當我們贏得項目時，我們的積壓工作就會大幅增加。有時我們知道這是 ARPA 基金，有時我們不知道。但我們的專用網絡積壓需求達到了創紀錄的水平，我們認為其中一部分可能與我們的資產負債表有關。

Great. Helpful. And lastly, if I could, just to follow up on the transaction, it sounds like that's still tracking our expectations for the October, December time frame. I wonder if you could just elaborate and reiterate what the expectations were. You had some goals in terms of cost cutting, some gross margin, et cetera. I'm wondering if you could just give us a quick update in terms of your latest thoughts on that front and how you're feeling about customer retention?

偉大的。有幫助。最後，如果可以的話，只是為了跟進交易，聽起來這仍在跟踪我們對 10 月、12 月時間框架的預期。我想知道您是否可以詳細說明並重申您的期望是什麼。您在削減成本、毛利率等方面有一些目標。我想知道您是否可以向我們快速介紹一下您在這方面的最新想法以及您對客戶保留的看法？

Yes. So we -- when we put the -- when we announced the transaction, we thought about customer retention, and we said that we were going to do in the first 12 months after close, $150 million in revenue. We said that we wanted to get to by the fifth quarter to make it accretive and exiting the second year, we wanted to get it into the 11% to 13% EBITDA range. So I would say that we feel good about all of those commitments. And what we will definitely do is as we close the transaction, we will update our overall model. And what I have to say is NEC has been extraordinarily cooperative in the interim period. And that collaboration bodes well for certainly exceeding our profitability targets.

是的。因此，當我們宣布交易時，我們考慮了保留客戶的問題，並且我們表示，我們將在交易完成後的前 12 個月內實現 1.5 億美元的收入。我們說過，我們希望在第五季度之前實現增值，並在第二年退出時，我們希望將其 EBITDA 控制在 11% 至 13% 的範圍內。所以我想說，我們對所有這些承諾感到滿意。我們肯定會做的是，當我們完成交易時，我們將更新我們的整體模型。我不得不說的是，NEC 在過渡期間表現得非常配合。這種合作預示著我們肯定會超出我們的盈利目標。

And our next question comes from the line of Erik Suppiger from JMP Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 JMP 證券公司的 Erik Suppiger。

First off, that backlog number, is that going to continue to grow from these levels? Or is that a seasonally (inaudible) then it comes back to get into the Q1? And then I have a follow-up question.

首先，積壓數量是否會繼續從目前的水平增長？或者這是季節性的（聽不清）然後又回到第一季度？然後我有一個後續問題。

So on the backlog, right, we have a project-based business. So we only disclose the backlog once every 12 months. So I think we see our [portal] just 12 months from now, the backlog should be greater than $2.89 million, but we basically provide that insight (inaudible) in case that's what we do. David, do you have something to add?

因此，在積壓訂單方面，我們有基於項目的業務。因此我們每 12 個月才披露一次積壓情況。因此，我認為我們在12 個月後就會看到我們的[門戶]，積壓的訂單應該超過289 萬美元，但我們基本上會提供這種見解（聽不清），以防萬一我們這樣做。大衛，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yes. No, I think just to add to that, our goal is to maintain a book-to-revenue ratio above one on a trailing 12-month basis, which says that our -- essentially our orders are growing faster than our revenue overall.

是的。不，我想補充一點，我們的目標是在過去 12 個月的基礎上將賬面收入比維持在 1 以上，這表明我們的——本質上我們的訂單增長速度快於我們整體收入的增長速度。

Okay. And then secondly, just on the funding environment. Do you have a sense -- and I'm speaking more on the rural broadband side. How much of your how much of the projects that you're working on at this point do you think are getting funding from RDOF (inaudible) some of the available funding out there. How much of the market is that [floating] at this point?

好的。其次，就融資環境而言。你有感覺嗎——我更多地是在談論農村寬帶方面。您認為您目前正在開展的項目中有多少是從 RDOF（聽不清）現有的一些可用資金中獲得資金的。目前市場有多少[浮動]？

That's hard to say. What I can point to is last quarter, we said that we had orders from four of the largest RDOF recipients, they were small in nature, and those projects are continuing. I would also say in the script, we mentioned $10 million or so of blanket purchase orders. We see the rural broadband demand environment improving and what I would say, we don't know is how long some of those RDOF recipients, how long it's going to take to convert what we see as design activity into the volume purchases.

這很難說。我可以指出的是，上個季度，我們說我們收到了來自四個最大的 RDOF 接收者的訂單，它們的規模很小，而且這些項目仍在繼續。我還要說的是，在劇本中，我們提到了 1000 萬美元左右的一攬子採購訂單。我們看到農村寬帶需求環境正在改善，我想說的是，我們不知道一些 RDOF 接收者需要多長時間才能將我們所看到的設計活動轉化為批量購買。

And our next question will come from line of Jaeson Schmidt from Lake Street.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Lake Street 的 Jaeson Schmidt。

Just curious if you could provide an update on the redline business. It sounds like you continue to see a really good traction there. It outperformed your expectations. But what's the funnel look like for fiscal '24?

只是好奇您能否提供有關紅線業務的最新信息。聽起來你在那裡繼續看到了非常好的吸引力。它的表現超出了您的預期。但 24 財年的漏斗是什麼樣的呢？

Here's what I could say. We don't have the funnel broken down right in front of us. But what I can say is the first year, what we did was we stabilized the business. We took out the Canadian public listing cost, so -- and that went better than expected. And year 2 of their ownership we're starting to recognize cross-selling opportunities, right? So selling Aviat product to Redline customers and vice versa. And then thirdly, in the last 90 days, we announced -- or approximately 90 days, we announced putting our network management software on the red line products, which we think over the next 6 months, we'll start to land some of those and we'll drive some additional margin expansion.

這就是我能說的。我們面前的漏斗並沒有破裂。但我可以說的是，第一年，我們所做的是穩定了業務。我們扣除了加拿大公開上市成本，因此，情況比預期要好。在他們擁有所有權的第二年，我們開始認識到交叉銷售機會，對嗎？因此，向 Redline 客戶銷售 Aviat 產品，反之亦然。第三，在過去 90 天裡，我們宣布——或者大約 90 天，我們宣布將我們的網絡管理軟件放在紅線產品上，我們認為在接下來的 6 個月內，我們將開始推出其中一些產品我們將推動一些額外的利潤擴張。

Okay. That's helpful. And then just as a follow-up, how big of a contributor was the Aviat store in fiscal '23 or just Q4?

好的。這很有幫助。接下來，Aviat 商店在 23 財年或第四季度的貢獻有多大？

In the fiscal year, it was about 8% to 9%, pretty similar to contributor as last year.

本財年，這一比例約為 8% 至 9%，與去年的貢獻者非常相似。

Our next question will come from the line of Theodore O'Neill from Litchfield Hills Research.

我們的下一個問題將來自利奇菲爾德山研究中心的西奧多·奧尼爾。

First question on guidance. If I take the midpoint of the range of guidance for sales and EBITDA, it implies EBITDA grows twice as fast as revenue. What's the driver for that?

第一個問題關於指導。如果我取銷售和 EBITDA 指導範圍的中點，則意味著 EBITDA 的增長速度是收入的兩倍。那是什麼驅動力？

Yes. So look, we've had an emphasis on profitable growth since I arrived here, and that's what we're continuing to do. We think a favorable mix driven by North America private networks adding more software into the mix and we get leverage out of our increase in volume. And that -- all of that doubling on the midpoint of profitability versus top line growth, is also while we plan to invest in R&D. So I think that our plan is to execute that, and I really think that's an insightful question. Theo thanks.

是的。所以看，自從我來到這里以來，我們一直強調盈利增長，這就是我們將繼續做的事情。我們認為北美專用網絡在組合中添加了更多軟件推動了有利的組合，並且我們從數量的增加中獲得了槓桿作用。而且，所有這些——盈利能力中點與營收增長的翻倍，也是在我們計劃投資研發的同時實現的。所以我認為我們的計劃就是執行這一點，我真的認為這是一個富有洞察力的問題。西奧謝謝。

Okay. On the BEAD state allocations, I've read that New Mexico and Minnesota are saying that if they do an all allocation to fiber, they're not going to reach the goals of getting everyone on to broadband. Does that create an opportunity for microwave? And also if it does, is there some selling effort that needs to go on to make that happen?

好的。關於 BEAD 州的分配，我讀到新墨西哥州和明尼蘇達州表示，如果他們將全部分配給光纖，他們將無法實現讓每個人都使用寬帶的目標。這是否為微波爐創造了機會？如果確實如此，是否需要繼續進行一些銷售努力才能實現這一目標？

Okay. So let me talk about the selling effort first. The reason Aviat's excited, but it's early days for -- it's a little bit premature for BEAD is that Aviat's best relationships out of all of our customers are with state governments. And that's due to our 911 1st responder private network business. So that -- so we are really excited about what Minnesota and New Mexico and the 7 congressional representatives that we cited said. So we think that this is a -- BEAD is a great opportunity for us, albeit a little bit out in time.

好的。首先讓我談談銷售工作。 Aviat 感到興奮的原因是，Aviat 在我們所有客戶中最好的關係是與州政府的關係，但對於 BEAD 來說還為時過早。這要歸功於我們的 911 第一響應者專用網絡業務。因此，我們對明尼蘇達州和新墨西哥州以及我們引用的 7 位國會代表的言論感到非常興奮。所以我們認為這對我們來說是一個很好的機會，儘管有點晚了。

And then the comments on fiber being too expensive, it is. There was a there was a congressional rep from Kentucky basically said, are we going to really run fiber to 7 homes. So -- and what Minnesota and New Mexico said is that fiber is too expensive. And certainly, to connect low-density end points, it doesn't make sense. So we see that this as an opportunity. We see states starting to say they'll get more mileage for their money using wireless, and we're starting to see it in Congress. So we think that this is a fantastic development, and we just need to continue to use our sales channel that carries the 911 private network business. It's the same state, the same procurement organization. We think we're well positioned.

然後有人評論說光纖太貴了，確實如此。肯塔基州的一位國會代表基本上說，我們真的要為 7 個家庭鋪設光纖嗎？因此，明尼蘇達州和新墨西哥州表示，光纖太貴了。當然，連接低密度端點是沒有意義的。所以我們認為這是一個機會。我們看到各州開始表示使用無線技術可以讓他們花更多的錢獲得更多的里程，而且我們也開始在國會看到這一點。所以我們認為這是一個了不起的發展，我們只需要繼續使用我們承載911專網業務的銷售渠道即可。這是同一個州，同一個採購組織。我們認為我們處於有利位置。

Okay. My last question is that last week, the FCC granted special authority to AT&T to use microwave backhaul in Maui because the cable network infrastructure was destroyed. Are you seeing any increase in of like weather disaster awareness among your clients as a possible sales benefit for use in microwave? Or is this just something that always happens whenever there's a disaster?

好的。我的最後一個問題是，上週，FCC 授予 AT&T 在毛伊島使用微波回程的特殊授權，因為有線網絡基礎設施遭到破壞。您是否認為客戶對天氣災難等意識的增強可能會帶來微波爐使用帶來的銷售收益？或者這只是災難發生時總會發生的事情？

So this happens typically in disaster, right? So we -- so we have network in -- on Maui. What we did for the customer when this happened was -- so it's not the AT&T deployment, but it's the utilities we help monitor their network. We recommend what the damage that they had, how they should respond from a networking perspective. We do this when hurricanes hit, we did this with the Nashville bombing issue. So here's one of the thing that I'd like to emphasize. The reason microwave has traction in situations like this is because it's faster deployed and it's actually more reliable than fiber.

所以這種情況通常發生在災難中，對嗎？所以我們——所以我們在毛伊島有網絡。當這種情況發生時，我們為客戶所做的是——所以這不是 AT&T 的部署，而是我們幫助監控他們網絡的公用事業。我們從網絡角度建議他們遭受了哪些損害，以及他們應該如何應對。我們在颶風來襲時這樣做，我們在納什維爾爆炸事件中也這樣做。這是我想強調的一件事。微波在這種情況下之所以受歡迎，是因為它的部署速度更快，而且實際上比光纖更可靠。

And our next question will come from the line of Tim Savageaux from Northland Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Northland Capital Markets 的 Tim Savageaux。

Congratulations on your third year of double-digit revenue growth. And on the order growth in particular, which looks to be when you start with the 2, given the strength in backlog that you reported. And so I'll kind of ask my annual fiscal year-end question about -- well, a couple of things really about that order growth and backlog growth relative to what you're guiding to from a revenue growth perspective, I'm trying to relate those 2 items.

祝賀您連續第三年實現兩位數的收入增長。特別是訂單增長，考慮到您報告的積壓量，這看起來是從 2 開始的。因此，我會問我的年度財政年終問題——嗯，有幾件事確實與訂單增長和積壓增長有關，相對於你從收入增長的角度指導的內容，我正在嘗試將這兩個項目聯繫起來。

And then as you look at the fiscal '23, you're kind of flattish in the U.S. and big international growth. based on the order book or any other visibility you might have, how do you expect that to change into '24, I guess, given what you're seeing from a backlog perspective? Follow up on that.

然後，當你看看 23 財年時，你會發現美國的增長有些平淡，但國際增長卻很大。根據訂單簿或您可能擁有的任何其他可見性，考慮到您從積壓的角度看到的情況，我想您預計如何更改為“24”？跟進此事。

So with the backlog -- the group that growth in backlog was the principal driver of that was growth in North American private networks, right? So '23 was flattish in North America, and we see North America, the demand environment picking up. So we'll get a bigger contribution from North America than we did in '23. We also think that, that favors margin growth. And then in terms of how to think about the backlog and trying to roll out a couple of sentences around the guidance. We did -- in the recently completed quarter, we did see some big projects come in, and the statement about wanting to look at how the customers' projects develop is really related to how fast we get to the design fees and how fast we get that to revenue. And if that -- if the customers want to move quickly, then we will, as the year progresses, update our guidance. And if they kind of go at a slower pace, then we'll leave the guidance as is. But we're hopeful, Tim.

因此，對於積壓 - 積壓增長是北美專用網絡增長的主要推動力，對嗎？因此，23 年北美市場表現平平，我們看到北美的需求環境正在好轉。因此，我們將從北美獲得比 23 年更大的貢獻。我們還認為，這有利於利潤增長。然後是如何考慮積壓工作，並嘗試圍繞指南推出幾句話。我們做到了——在最近完成的季度中，我們確實看到了一些大型項目的到來，而關於想要了解客戶項目開發情況的聲明確實與我們獲得設計費用的速度以及我們獲得設計費用的速度有關。收入。如果客戶想要快速行動，那麼我們將隨著時間的推移更新我們的指導。如果他們的進展速度較慢，那麼我們將保持指導不變。但我們充滿希望，蒂姆。

Great. Can you -- is it -- at this point, can you say that you expect on a percentage basis faster growth in North America than in international?

偉大的。在這一點上，您能說您預計北美的增長速度將快於國際增速嗎？

I wouldn't go that far because you've got kind of a rule of big numbers working against North America a little bit. But I think it should be closer.

我不會走那麼遠，因為大數字的規則對北美有點不利。但我認為應該更接近。

Got it. And Pete, you mentioned that as you look forward with a greater North America contribution, you would expect that to be accretive especially in private networks, you expect that to be accretive in gross margins. That's sort of what we saw Q3 to Q4, both a pretty big volume increase and positive mix shift to North America. And yet we didn't see much in the way of gross margins. You may have touched on it already, but if we can just kind of dig down on that is why we didn't see more gross margin expansion given those 2 positive kind of mix one volume, one mix, I guess, 2 positive drivers.

知道了。皮特，您提到，當您期待北美地區做出更大的貢獻時，您會期望這會增加，特別是在專用網絡中，您預計毛利率會增加。這就是我們在第三季度到第四季度看到的情況，銷量增長相當大，而且產品組合也積極向北美轉移。然而，我們並沒有看到太多毛利率的變化。你可能已經接觸過它，但如果我們能深入研究一下，這就是為什麼我們沒有看到更多的毛利率擴張，因為這兩種積極的混合方式，一種是銷量，一種是混合，我想是兩種積極的驅動因素。

Yes. Well, the mix actually went against us in Q4 a little bit, right? I mean there was a regional mix component certainly with North America returning to growth that did help us, but there was kind of a broader headwind within our overall product mix. And it could be for this business, it could be a little volatile, right, because we do have a large software component. If that fluctuates quarter-to-quarter, that can swing at 20, 30 basis points. So I think there wasn't anything. The dynamics behind Q4 were positive. We expect that kind of level of improvement to continue. And yes, we'll take it from there.

是的。好吧，第四季度的組合實際上對我們有點不利，對吧？我的意思是，隨著北美地區恢復增長，區域組合成分確實對我們有所幫助，但我們的整體產品組合中存在更廣泛的阻力。對於這項業務來說，它可能會有點不穩定，對吧，因為我們確實有一個大型的軟件組件。如果按季度波動，可能會波動 20、30 個基點。所以我認為沒有什麼。第四季度背後的動力是積極的。我們預計這種改進水平將繼續下去。是的，我們將從那裡開始。

Okay. So just lower software revenue, I guess, is that my takeaway there?

好的。所以我想，降低軟件收入就是我的收穫嗎？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. Sounds good. And maybe last question for me. I don't know if your terminology has changed, Pete. I think last quarter, you -- with regard to the Huawei replacement pipeline, you talked about bookings, revenues and backlog and eventually, we got that all the foot. Here now you're talking about funnel of $80 million, I think, versus our commentary on bookings of $50 million last quarter. I don't know if those are 2 different things. your backlog would suggest bookings of $58 million or whether the funnel has expanded and you're just giving us a broader sense of the opportunity?

好的。聽起來不錯。也許是我的最後一個問題。我不知道你的術語是否改變了，皮特。我認為上個季度，關於華為的替換管道，您談到了預訂、收入和積壓，最終我們完全明白了。我認為，現在您談論的是 8000 萬美元的漏斗，而我們對上季度預訂量 5000 萬美元的評論則不同。我不知道這是不是兩個不同的事情。您的積壓訂單表明預訂金額為 5800 萬美元，或者漏斗是否已擴大，您只是讓我們對機會有更廣泛的認識？

The funnel has expanded. So we're giving you a broader sense of the opportunity. Yes. So to be specific in last quarter, what we wanted to communicate was at the end of Q3 year-to-date revenue of 14.5, though we have bookings of 36.1 and a funnel of 50.5. And now we would say that bookings are about the same revenue went to 24 and the overall funnel is 82. So we see the opportunity building there.

漏斗已經擴大了。因此，我們為您提供了更廣泛的機會。是的。具體來說，在上個季度，我們想要傳達的是，儘管我們的預訂量為 36.1，漏斗量為 50.5，但今年第三季度末迄今為止的收入為 14.5。現在我們可以說，預訂收入大致相同，為 24，而整體漏斗為 82。因此，我們看到了那裡正在建立的機會。

That's good for me -- well, I guess one other factor I might have expected to -- from a mix standpoint, where you'd see higher North America and yet not much impact on gross margins. I might have assumed that was maybe a lot of Verizon coming in at year-end at lower margins. But it sounds like that's not the case.

這對我來說是件好事——嗯，我想這是我可能預料到的另一個因素——從混合的角度來看，你會看到北美的銷量更高，但對毛利率的影響不大。我可能會認為，年底時很多 Verizon 的利潤率都會降低。但聽起來好像並非如此。

That's actually a fair statement, Tim.

這實際上是一個公平的說法，蒂姆。

It was a contributing factor, yes.

是的，這是一個促成因素。

Yes. And so I would say that your suspicion is true. And I'd also like to say that with the Wall Street research Tier 1 CapEx. Our biggest domestic Tier 1 customer was strong and continues to be strong.

是的。所以我想說你的懷疑是真的。我還想通過華爾街研究一級資本支出來說明這一點。我們最大的國內一級客戶表現強勁，並將繼續保持強勁。

Got it. And I guess real last question for me. strong enough to make it on the 10% list for the year? Or did you have anyone else getting to 10%?

知道了。我想這對我來說是真正的最後一個問題。是否足夠強大，能夠躋身年度 10% 榜單？或者還有其他人達到 10% 嗎？

No. We have not -- no 10% and for the quarter or for the year.

不。我們沒有——沒有 10%，無論是季度還是年度。

And our next question will come from the line of Dave Kang from B. Riley.

我們的下一個問題將來自 B. Riley 的 Dave Kang。

First question is on the NEC acquisition. Just wondering if their trailing 12-month revenue changed materially since they have a greater exposure to service providers compared to you?

第一個問題是關於NEC收購的。只是想知道他們過去 12 個月的收入是否發生重大變化，因為與您相比，他們與服務提供商的接觸更多？

So no. So they're not -- they're -- their TTM data has not materially changed from the time that we put together our investment thesis.

所以不行。因此，自我們整理投資論文以來，他們的 TTM 數據並沒有發生重大變化。

And also going forward, you don't expect any material changes?

展望未來，您預計不會發生任何重大變化嗎？

No, we don't. And recently, I visited their largest customer. Yes, I visited their largest customer, and they're within 1% to 2% of what we modeled. So Here, I'll go further. The second biggest region, our leader was there today, and they're within percentage points of the way we modeled it. So I would say the data we used in our investment thesis remains intact.

不，我們不。最近，我拜訪了他們最大的客戶。是的，我拜訪了他們最大的客戶，他們的情況與我們建模的情況相差不到 1% 到 2%。所以在這裡，我會更進一步。第二大地區，我們的領導者今天也在那裡，他們與我們建模的方式相差不到幾個百分點。所以我想說，我們在投資論文中使用的數據仍然完好無損。

Got it. And then on [Bharti], I guess, just try to find out what inning are we in? Some are saying just getting started. Some are actually saying things have plateaued out. So what do you see from your side?

知道了。然後在[Bharti]上，我想，試著找出我們在哪一局？有人說才剛剛開始。有些人實際上說事情已經趨於穩定。那麼從你的角度來看，你看到了什麼？

We expect significant growth from [Bharti] in fiscal year '24, both top line contribution and when we took that business, we said that it was low margin, and we've been able to execute on our value engineering projects. So we expect that we'll get some margin lift as that demand materializes. So we feel good about Bharti .

我們預計 [Bharti] 在 24 財年將實現顯著增長，無論是營收貢獻還是當我們接手該業務時，我們都說利潤率很低，而且我們已經能夠執行我們的價值工程項目。因此，我們預計，隨著需求的實現，我們的利潤率將會有所提高。所以我們對巴蒂感覺很好。

Got it. And then my last question is for David. What was CapEx for the quarter? And what do you think -- what's your projection for the year?

知道了。我的最後一個問題是問大衛的。該季度的資本支出是多少？你怎麼看——你對今年的預測是什麼？

Okay. So for the quarter, it was, I think, about $400,000. Just got to verify that, got a full year cash flow. But -- and then for FY '24, it's going to be a little bit higher this year. We finished FY '23 with CapEx of $5.3 million. We've got in our plan around 6% to 6.5% for this year as we do have some refreshment investments coming up, but nothing out of the ordinary.

好的。因此，我認為該季度的收入約為 40 萬美元。剛剛核實一下，得到了全年的現金流。但是，對於 24 財年，今年的數字會更高一些。 23 財年結束時，我們的資本支出為 530 萬美元。今年我們的計劃是 6% 到 6.5% 左右，因為我們確實有一些更新投資，但沒有什麼異常。

And our next question will actually be a follow-up from Scott Searle from ROTH Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題實際上是來自羅斯資本市場的斯科特·塞爾（Scott Searle）的後續提問。

Pete, just to quickly follow up on a couple of geographic questions. You talked about the cadence of network builds being led by fiber and then the evolution to wireless transmission of backhaul. Looking at DISH, they've gotten to the 70% POP coverage mark now it gets a little bit more difficult in terms of covering those incremental PoPs. I assume that's basically a commentary around that and the expansion going forward will have more microwave links in it. So I'm wondering if you're seeing more on that front, kind of what your broad-based expectations are for the upcoming fiscal year?

皮特，我只是想快速跟進幾個地理問題。您談到了以光纖為主導的網絡建設節奏，以及回程無線傳輸的演進。看看 DISH，他們已經達到 70% POP 覆蓋率大關，現在覆蓋這些增量 PoP 變得有點困難。我認為這基本上是圍繞這一點的評論，並且未來的擴展將有更多的微波鏈路。所以我想知道您是否在這方面看到了更多信息，您對即將到來的財政年度的廣泛期望是什麼？

And then two, looking at Europe, it continues used to be a very small portion of the mix. They're behind from a 5G build standpoint and wireless transmission has always been a big component of those network builds. It always seems like you guys are kind of on the cusp of some business expanding there. I'm just wondering what your high-level thoughts are in terms of growing that as an opportunity? Or should we not be planning on some future growth and contribution coming from European arena?

第二，看看歐洲，它仍然只佔其中的一小部分。從 5G 建設的角度來看，他們落後了，而無線傳輸一直是這些網絡建設的重要組成部分。你們似乎總是處於一些業務擴張的風口浪尖。我只是想知道您將其作為一個機會的高層想法是什麼？或者我們不應該計劃來自歐洲舞台的未來增長和貢獻嗎？

Yes. Okay. So first DISH, right, to restate DISH, we met the federal deadline to cover 70% of the U.S. population by June 30. DISH looks to be taking a breather on CapEx for the first 6 months of our fiscal year, and we expect the microwave rollout to really start in the January to March quarter, and we feel like we're well positioned. So that's what I would say about DISH. I would say, in the Europe region, we have a couple of big projects. We see some weakness from the -- one of the specialists that's headquartered in Europe. And we think that, that will help drive double-digit growth in Europe in fiscal year '24. So there's a little color.

是的。好的。因此，首先DISH，右，重申一下DISH，我們在6 月30 日之前滿足了聯邦最後期限，覆蓋70% 的美國人口。DISH 看起來在本財年的前6 個月在資本支出上稍作喘息，我們預計微波爐的推出將於一月至三月的季度真正開始，我們覺得我們已經做好了準備。這就是我對 DISH 的看法。我想說，在歐洲地區，我們有幾個大項目。我們看到總部位於歐洲的一家專家的一些弱點。我們認為，這將有助於推動歐洲在 24 財年實現兩位數增長。所以有一點點顏色。

And that will conclude Q&A for today. I will now turn the call back over to Pete Smith for any closing remarks.

今天的問答就到此結束。我現在將把電話轉回給皮特·史密斯，讓他發表結束語。

Yes. Well, thanks to our shareholders and the investment analysts for joining the call, listening to our extended remarks on our fiscal year '23. We think it was a great year. We look forward to providing an update on the next quarter in the next 90 days and hopefully getting to close in a short amount of time and giving an update on the NEC wireless transport transaction. Thanks. Thanks, everyone. Talk to you soon.

是的。好吧，感謝我們的股東和投資分析師參加電話會議，聆聽我們對 23 財年的詳細評論。我們認為這是美好的一年。我們期待在未來 90 天內提供下一季度的最新情況，並希望在短時間內完成交易並提供 NEC 無線傳輸交易的最新情況。謝謝。感謝大家。以後再聊。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。大家，祝你有美好的一天。