Mission Produce Inc (AVO) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Mission Produce Fiscal Third Quarter 2023 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please also note today's event is being recorded.

下午好，歡迎參加 Mission Produce 2023 年第三季財政電話會議。 （操作員說明）也請注意今天的活動正在錄製中。

At this time, I'd like to turn the conference call over to Jeff Sonnek, Investor Relations at ICR. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將電話會議轉給 ICR 投資者關係部門的 Jeff Sonnek。請繼續。

Thank you, and good afternoon.

謝謝你，下午好。

Today's presentation will be hosted by Steve Barnard, Chief Executive Officer; and Bryan Giles, Chief Financial Officer.

今天的演講將由首席執行官 Steve Barnard 主持；和財務長 Bryan Giles。

The comments during today's call and the accompanying presentation contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts are considered forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Some of these risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in the company's filings with the SEC.

今天電話會議中的評論和隨附的演示文稿包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》安全港條款含義內的前瞻性陳述。除歷史事實陳述外的所有陳述均被視為前瞻性陳述。這些陳述是基於管理層目前的預期和信念以及有關未來事件的一些假設。此類前瞻性陳述受到已知和未知的風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中討論的結果有重大差異。其中一些風險和不確定性在該公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中進行了識別和討論。

We'll also refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures today. Please refer to the tables included in the earnings release, which can be found on our Investor Relations website, investors.missionproduce.com, for reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures.

今天我們也將提及某些非公認會計準則財務指標。請參閱收益報告中包含的表格，這些表格可以在我們的投資者關係網站 Investors.mission Produce.com 上找到，以了解非 GAAP 財務指標與其最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標的對帳情況。

With that, I'd now like to turn the call over to Steve Barnard, CEO. Steve?

現在，我想將電話轉給執行長史蒂夫·巴納德 (Steve Barnard)。史蒂夫？

Thank you for joining us for our fiscal 2023, third quarter earnings call.

感謝您參加我們的 2023 財年第三季財報電話會議。

Our topline performance of $261.4 million was generally consistent with expectations and reflects a continuation of the conditions that returned to the industry earlier this fiscal year, where higher industry volumes were offset by lower average selling prices following last year's elevated market conditions. However, adjusted EBITDA of $21.2 million came in below expectations. While we drove a significant increase in sales volumes during the quarter and achieved continued sequential improvement per unit margins relative to the fiscal second quarter, despite the lower pricing environment, our sights were set higher based on initial estimates that suggested a strong and substantial Peruvian harvest.

我們 2.614 億美元的營收業績總體上符合預期，反映了本財年早些時候該行業恢復的狀況的延續，即去年市場狀況上漲後，平均售價下降，抵消了行業銷量的增加。然而，調整後 EBITDA 為 2,120 萬美元，低於預期。儘管定價環境較低，但我們在本季度推動銷量大幅增長，並實現了單位利潤率相對於第二財季的持續連續改善，但根據初步估計，我們的目標設定得更高，表明秘魯收成強勁可觀。

Furthermore, with the rapid completion of the Mexican harvest, prices began to accelerate. At the time, we still believe that we would be experiencing a strong Peruvian harvest, so we took advantage to lock in pricing with our customers ahead of the seasonal increase in volume and also made a decision to distribute some early volume to secondary markets to optimize our position in key export markets. However, the industry experienced an abrupt change in growing conditions midway through the quarter with the onset of excessive heat that negatively impacted anticipated volumes and fruit size across the Peruvian growing region. The lower volumes from our own production combined with a suboptimal mix of fruit sizes to service key export markets and the fixed-cost nature of our farming operations pressured segment margins and were the primary source of our lower-than-expected adjusted EBITDA performance during the fiscal third quarter.

此外，隨著墨西哥收穫的迅速完成，價格開始加速上漲。當時，我們仍然相信秘魯的收成將會強勁，因此我們利用在季節性產量增加之前與客戶鎖定價格的優勢，並決定將一些早期產量分配給二級市場以優化我們在主要出口市場的地位。然而，該行業在本季度中期經歷了生長條件的突然變化，氣溫過高，對整個秘魯種植區的預期產量和水果尺寸產生了負面影響。我們自己生產的產量較低，加上服務主要出口市場的水果尺寸組合不理想，以及我們農業業務的固定成本性質，給分部利潤帶來壓力，也是我們調整後EBITDA 業績低於預期的主要原因。第三財季。

Industry pricing has since responded to these events and moved higher which we expect to help lessen the impact of our fiscal fourth quarter margins. As a large global player in the agricultural business, we are all too familiar with the impacts that weather can have, both good and bad, and mitigating this risk through sound strategy is a core fundamental philosophy of Mission. This is visible in our global diversified sourcing capabilities and our efficient distribution network that can manage significant volume in an efficient and thoughtful fashion that maximizes our per-unit margins under any set of circumstances.

此後，行業定價對這些事件做出了反應並走高，我們預計這將有助於減輕我們第四財季利潤率的影響。作為全球農業產業的大型參與者，我們非常熟悉天氣可能產生的影響，無論是好是壞，透過合理的策略減輕這種風險是 Mission 的核心基本理念。這在我們的全球多元化採購能力和高效的分銷網絡中可見一斑，該網絡可以以高效且周到的方式管理大量數量，從而在任何情況下最大限度地提高我們的單位利潤。

For instance, we were able to generate 23% growth in volume during the quarter, which reflects our ability to support our Marketing & Distribution segment for an extended period following the completion of the Mexican harvest. Moreover, we were able to deliver volume growth across each of our key export markets. Other industry players with more limited supply options faced greater challenges during the third quarter due to rapid completion of the Mexican harvest season this July. This demonstrates the value of our vertically integrated and diversified global sourcing and distribution network, which allows Mission to remain in position to service new and existing customers regardless of the circumstances.

例如，本季我們的銷售量成長了 23%，這反映出我們有能力在墨西哥收穫完成後的較長時期內支持我們的行銷和分銷部門。此外，我們能夠在每個主要出口市場實現銷售成長。由於今年 7 月墨西哥收穫季節迅速結束，其他供應選擇更為有限的產業參與者在第三季面臨更大的挑戰。這證明了我們垂直整合和多元化的全球採購和分銷網絡的價值，這使得 Mission 在任何情況下都能夠繼續為新客戶和現有客戶提供服務。

We bring to bear our 14 forward distribution centers in North America, the U.K., the EU and China and in managing our year-round sourcing from 8 primary growing regions for the benefit of our customers who are seeking ripening and other value-added services. While the current market environment doesn't afford us the same opportunity to drive the level of per-unit margins that we had hoped for during the fiscal second half of the year, we were encouraged by the rational pricing environment through the first half of the fiscal third quarter, which is a key element that allows us to open new growth markets to help drive demand and support long-term consumption growth. Our new forward distribution center in the U.K. opened in April and continues to perform well. We are already seeing the benefits of the strategic location with its direct access to major international ports and transportation networks.

我們利用位於北美、英國、歐盟和中國的 14 個遠期配送中心，管理來自 8 個主要種植地區的全年採購，以造福於尋求催熟和其他增值服務的客戶。雖然當前的市場環境並沒有為我們提供同樣的機會來提高我們在今年下半年所希望的單位利潤率水平，但我們對上半年的合理定價環境感到鼓舞。第三財季，這是一個關鍵因素，使我們能夠打開新的成長市場，幫助推動需求並支持長期消費成長。我們在英國的新遠期配送中心於四月開業，並繼續表現良好。我們已經看到了戰略位置的優勢，可以直接通往主要國際港口和運輸網絡。

In summary, we remain focused on maximizing the opportunities we have despite the curveball we encountered with the Peruvian crop development. Although volumes and size are lower than we initially expected, we remain in a great position to utilize this route to service our global customer base during the Mexican counter season.

總而言之，儘管秘魯作物發展遇到了困難，但我們仍然專注於最大限度地利用我們所擁有的機會。儘管數量和規模低於我們最初的預期，但我們仍然處於有利地位，可以在墨西哥反季期間利用這條航線為我們的全球客戶群提供服務。

With that, I'll pass the call over to our CFO, Bryan Giles, for his financial commentary.

接下來，我會將電話轉給我們的財務長 Bryan Giles，聽取他的財務評論。

Thank you, Steve, and good afternoon to everyone on the call.

謝謝你，史蒂夫，祝所有參加電話會議的人下午好。

I'll start with a brief review of our fiscal third quarter performance and touch on some of the drivers within our 3 reportable segments. Then I'll provide a snapshot of our financial position and conclude with some thoughts on the current industry conditions that we are seeing.

我將首先簡要回顧我們第三季的業績，並討論我們 3 個可報告部門中的一些驅動因素。然後，我將簡要介紹我們的財務狀況，並最後對我們所看到的當前行業狀況提出一些想法。

Total revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 was $261.4 million, a 17% decrease compared to the same period last year, driven by a 33% decrease in average per unit avocado sales prices, partially offset by a 23% increase in avocado volumes sold. Both the lower pricing and higher volume were driven by higher industry supply out of Mexico during the quarter, which contrasts with the same period last year when there was limited supply that drove pricing to near record levels. Gross profit decreased by $14.2 million to $28.4 million in the third quarter. The decrease was concentrated in our International Farming segment driven by lower pricing on avocados sold from our own production.

2023 財年第三季的總營收為 2.614 億美元，較去年同期下降 17%，原因是每單位酪梨平均銷售價格下降 33%，但酪梨銷量成長 23% 部分抵銷了這一影響。較低的價格和較高的銷售量都是由本季度墨西哥行業供應量增加所推動的，這與去年同期形成鮮明對比，當時供應有限，導致價格接近歷史最高水平。第三季毛利減少 1,420 萬美元，至 2,840 萬美元。下降主要集中在我們的國際農業部門，這是由於我們自己生產的酪梨價格較低所致。

Within the Marketing & Distribution segment, while per unit margins were below the elevated levels from the prior year, we are pleased to see meaningful sequential improvement versus fiscal second quarter. The improvement in per-unit margins was driven by higher mix of California-sourced fruit relative to last year and the impact of higher avocado volumes sold.

在行銷和分銷部門，雖然每單位利潤率低於上一年的較高水平，但我們很高興看到與第二財季相比出現有意義的連續改善。與去年相比，加州產水果的種類增加以及酪梨銷量增加的影響推動了單位利潤的提高。

We are pleased to deliver volume growth across all our end markets, driven by the strength of our Peruvian programs in our international export markets and further supported by a larger Mexican harvest, which helped contribute to a 15% increase in North American volume. The latter growth helped us leverage our facility in Laredo, Texas, and achieve improvement in fixed cost absorption.

我們很高興在我們所有終端市場實現銷量成長，這得益於我們在國際出口市場上的秘魯項目實力的推動，以及墨西哥產量增加的進一步支持，這有助於北美銷量增長 15%。後者的成長幫助我們利用了德州拉雷多的工廠，並實現了固定成本吸收的改進。

SG&A expense decreased $3.2 million or 16% compared to the same period last year, primarily due to lower employee-related incentive compensation accruals, lower ERP process reengineering costs and lower professional fees due to the maturation of our public company processes. Adjusted net income was $10.3 million or $0.15 per diluted share compared to $18.9 million or $0.27 per diluted share for the same period last year.

與去年同期相比，SG&A 費用減少了320 萬美元，即16%，這主要是由於與員工相關的應計激勵薪酬減少、ERP 流程再造成本降低以及由於我們的上市公司流程成熟而導致的專業費用降低。調整後淨利為 1,030 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.15 美元，而去年同期為 1,890 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.27 美元。

Adjusted EBITDA was $21.2 million compared to $31.6 million for the same period last year. The decrease in both of these figures was due to lower per unit margins within the International Farming segment as a result of lower market pricing.

調整後 EBITDA 為 2,120 萬美元，去年同期為 3,160 萬美元。這兩個數字的下降是由於市場定價較低導致國際農業部門的單位利潤率下降。

Turning to our segments. Our Marketing & Distribution segment net sales decreased 17% to $256.6 million for the quarter, due to the avocado pricing and volume dynamics previously described. Segment adjusted EBITDA increased $0.6 million or 4% to $16.1 million, primarily due to lower SG&A. The impact of lower per unit gross margin was largely offset by higher avocado volumes sold.

轉向我們的細分市場。由於前面描述的酪梨定價和銷售動態，我們的行銷和分銷部門本季淨銷售額下降 17% 至 2.566 億美元。部門調整後 EBITDA 增加 60 萬美元或 4% 至 1,610 萬美元，主要是 SG&A 下降。每單位毛利率較低的影響在很大程度上被酪梨銷售的增加所抵消。

Our International Farming segment operates orchards from which substantially all fruit produced is sold to our Marketing & Distribution segment. Production from this segment is currently derived from Peru though operations are under development in other areas of Latin America. Segment revenues and EBITDA are concentrated in the second half of our fiscal year in alignment with the Peruvian avocado harvest season, which typically runs from April through August of each year.

我們的國際農業部門經營果園，幾乎所有生產的水果都出售給我們的行銷和分銷部門。該部門的生產目前來自秘魯，但拉丁美洲其他地區的業務正在開發中。部門收入和 EBITDA 集中在我們財年的下半年，與秘魯酪梨收穫季節（通常為每年 4 月至 8 月）一致。

With this in mind, total segment sales in the International Farming segment were $38.2 million and decreased by 41% compared to the same period last year, due primarily to lower pricing on avocados sold from company-owned farms as compared to the elevated levels in the year ago period, which were brought about by constrained industry supply. Segment adjusted EBITDA decreased $11.4 million to $4.9 million, driven primarily by lower gross margin resulting from the lower pricing environment as compared to last year's elevated pricing, which resulted from limited Mexican supply.

考慮到這一點，國際農業部門的總銷售額為 3,820 萬美元，與去年同期相比下降了 41%，這主要是由於公司自有農場銷售的酪梨價格低於公司自有農場銷售的酪梨價格。去年同期，這是由產業供給受限所帶來的。部門調整後 EBITDA 減少 1,140 萬美元，至 490 萬美元，主要是由於與去年墨西哥供應有限導致定價較高的定價環境相比，較低的定價環境導致毛利率下降。

Activity in our Blueberries segment is concentrated in the first and fourth quarters of our fiscal year in alignment with the Peruvian blueberry harvest season, which typically runs from July through January. As a result, our Blueberries segment results were negligible, yet higher in the third quarter due to an earlier start of the blueberry harvest relative to last year. Net sales were $1.4 million, and segment adjusted EBITDA was $0.2 million, which compared to $0.3 million and negative $0.2 million in the same period last year, respectively.

我們的藍莓部門的活動集中在本財年的第一和第四季度，與秘魯藍莓收穫季節（通常從七月到一月）一致。因此，我們的藍莓部門業績可以忽略不計，但由於藍莓收穫相對去年較早開始，第三季業績有所增長。淨銷售額為 140 萬美元，部門調整後 EBITDA 為 20 萬美元，而去年同期分別為 30 萬美元和負 20 萬美元。

Shifting to our financial position. Cash and cash equivalents were $23 million as of July 31, 2023, compared to $52.8 million as of October 31, 2022. As a reminder, our operating cash flows are seasonal in nature and can be temporarily influenced by working capital shifts resulting from varying payment terms to growers in different source regions. In addition, the company is building its growing crops inventory in its International Farming segment during the first half of the year for ultimate harvest and sales that will occur during the second half of the fiscal year. Thus, when looking at operating cash flow on a 3-month period for fiscal third quarter, we generated approximately $19 million in cash. However, on a year-to-date basis, given the seasonal nature of our working capital, net cash used in operating activities was $7.3 million compared to $3 million for the same period last year. The $4.3 million change was driven by a combination of lower net income, due to a decrease in our International Farming segment performance relative to prior year and slightly unfavorable movement in working capital.

轉向我們的財務狀況。截至2023 年7 月31 日，現金和現金等價物為2,300 萬美元，而截至2022 年10 月31 日，現金和現金等價物為5,280 萬美元。請注意，我們的營運現金流本質上是季節性的，可能會暫時受到因支付方式不同而導致的營運資金變化的影響不同來源地區的種植者的條款。此外，該公司正在今年上半年在其國際農業部門建立其種植作物庫存，以便在本財年下半年實現最終收穫和銷售。因此，在查看第三財季 3 個月期間的營運現金流時，我們產生了約 1,900 萬美元的現金。然而，從年初至今來看，考慮到我們營運資金的季節性，經營活動使用的現金淨額為 730 萬美元，去年同期為 300 萬美元。 430 萬美元的變化是由於我們的國際農業部門業績較上年下降以及營運資本略有不利的變動所致，導致淨利潤下降。

Overall working capital movements were comparable to the prior year with offsetting changes in inventory and grower payable balances being driven by the lower pricing environment in the current year. Capital expenditures were $47 million for the 9 months ended July 31, 2023, compared to $42 million last year. Current year expenditures were concentrated in preproduction avocado Orchard maintenance in Guatemala and Peru and construction costs on our new distribution facility in the U.K.

整體營運資金變動與去年相當，抵銷了今年由較低定價環境所推動的庫存和種植者應付餘額的變動。截至 2023 年 7 月 31 日的 9 個月，資本支出為 4,700 萬美元，而去年為 4,200 萬美元。本年度的支出主要集中在危地馬拉和秘魯的預生產酪梨果園維護以及英國新分銷設施的建設成本。

Capital expenditures also included $11.1 million related to the development of our Blueberries operation compared to $3.7 million in the prior year. Excluding the influence of our Blueberries operation, core CapEx associated with our avocado business decreased 6% or $2.4 million versus the prior year-to-date period. We expect this trend to hold for the balance of fiscal 2023.

資本支出還包括與藍莓業務發展相關的 1,110 萬美元，而上一年為 370 萬美元。排除藍莓業務的影響，與去年同期相比，與酪梨業務相關的核心資本支出下降了 6%，即 240 萬美元。我們預計這一趨勢將持續到 2023 財年。

With respect to our capital allocation framework, I'd point out that our board approved a stock repurchase program last week, which is our first as a public company. The primary intent is to mitigate the dilutive impact of our stock incentive plans and, as appropriate, provide a tool for the company to support the stock in the open market. This authorization permits the company to repurchase up to $20 million of our common stock over the next 36 months. There have been no shares repurchased since the approval and the entire authorization remains outstanding as of today.

關於我們的資本配置框架，我想指出的是，我們的董事會上週批准了股票回購計劃，這是我們作為上市公司的第一個計劃。主要目的是減輕我們的股票激勵計劃的稀釋影響，並酌情為公司提供支持公開市場股票的工具。該授權允許公司在未來 36 個月內回購最多 2,000 萬美元的普通股。自批准以來，沒有回購任何股份，截至今日，全部授權仍未完成。

In terms of our near-term outlook, we are providing some context around our expectations for industry conditions to help inform your modeling assumptions. Pricing is expected to be flat to slightly higher on a sequential basis and higher on a year-over-year basis by approximately 10% compared to the $1.28 per pound average experienced in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. The industry expects volumes to be flat to slightly lower in the fiscal 2023 fourth quarter versus the prior year period due to reduced supply from Peru brought about by the impact of weather on growing conditions.

就我們的近期前景而言，我們將提供一些有關我們對行業狀況的預期的背景信息，以幫助您了解建模假設。與 2022 財年第四季每磅 1.28 美元的平均價格相比，預計價格將環比持平或略高，同比上漲約 10%。業內預計銷量將持平由於天氣對生長條件的影響導致秘魯的供應減少， 2023 財年第四季的產量較上年同期略有下降。

In terms of our own farm production in Peru, we now anticipate exportable volumes to be in the range of 105 million to 115 million pounds for the 2023 harvest season, which is a decrease from our initial expectations reflecting the decline in growing conditions throughout the region.

就我們秘魯自己的農場產量而言，我們現在預計 2023 年收穫季節的可出口量將在 1.05 億至 1.15 億磅之間，這比我們最初的預期有所下降，反映出整個地區生長條件的下降。

That concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, now over to you. Please open the call to Q&A.

我們準備好的演講到此結束。接線員，現在交給你了。請打開問答電話。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Our first question is from Ben Bienvenu with Stephens.

我們的第一個問題是 Ben Bienvenu 和 Stephens 提出的。

So I want to ask recognizing that the International Farming operations harbored the concentration of the margin pressure in the quarter. Can you talk about what you're seeing outside of that segment? Obviously, a nice sequential improvement in margins. You're managing SG&A fairly nicely. Can you talk about what trends you expect to persist into the fourth quarter?

因此，我想問的是，國際農業業務在本季面臨集中的利潤壓力。您能談談您在該細分市場之外看到的情況嗎？顯然，利潤率連續改善。您對 SG&A 的管理相當出色。您能談談您預計第四季將持續哪些趨勢嗎？

And then to the degree that -- and you alluded to this, that you could see some improvement in the International Farming segment in the fourth quarter, what are the things that could amplify that improvement or diminish it?

然後，您提到了這一點，您可以看到第四季度國際農業領域的一些改善，哪些因素可以放大或減弱這種改善？

Ben, when I look at -- kind of look at our Marketing & Distribution segment, I think the things that we're happy with during the third quarter, certainly, the volume growth that we saw year-over-year close to 7.4 million lug equivalents sold through. So very much on the high end. We saw a lot of growth. Because of the lower price points, I think the way we looked at it, with more Mexican fruit available, that Mexican fruit came into the U.S. market, and that's really what helped drive our volume growth in North America, about 15% and with that happening, a lot of the Peruvian fruit that we brought to the U.S. last year, we were able to support our export markets, Asia and Europe primarily, which grew at much faster rates than that. So I think we were pleased to the extent that our vertical integration strategy worked. We had the fruit available that we needed for the marketing segment.

Ben，當我看一下我們的行銷和分銷部門時，我認為我們對第三季度感到滿意的事情，當然，我們看到的同比增長接近 740 萬輛吊耳等值已售完。所以非常高端。我們看到了很大的成長。由於價格較低，我認為我們看待它的方式是，隨著更多墨西哥水果的供應，墨西哥水果進入美國市場，這確實有助於推動我們在北美的銷量增長約 15%去年我們把很多秘魯水果帶到美國，我們能夠支持我們的出口市場，主要是亞洲和歐洲，這些市場的成長速度比這快得多。所以我認為我們很高興我們的垂直整​​合策略發揮了作用。我們擁有行銷部門所需的水果。

I think as we look through the third quarter, certainly, we were -- we had a nice balance between sourcing from Mexico, California and Peru. As we transition to the fourth quarter, we're probably looking at -- California crop is coming to an end. You're looking at the new crop out of Mexico coming online during the second half of the quarter. And you're looking at the Peruvian season kind of coming to a close as we move through the quarter.

我認為，當我們回顧第三季時，當然，我們在墨西哥、加州和秘魯的採購之間取得了很好的平衡。當我們進入第四季度時，我們可能會看到——加州的作物即將結束。您正在查看本季下半年上線的墨西哥新作物。當我們進入本季時，您會看到秘魯的產季即將結束。

So all in all, I mean, we think that volume will be a little bit lower than what it was last year from what we're hearing at this point. Mexico industry supply for the coming season, maybe a little bit lighter than what it was last year. So we're preparing for that. And we think that that could help drive pricing up a little bit during the fourth quarter. But again, with California coming to an end and that generally, it tends to be the piece of our business that has the highest contribution margin. I think we've referred to that in the past. It probably -- it creates a different set of challenges with our per box margins. It's not as favorable per se in the fourth quarter as what we would typically see in the third quarter. But higher pricing will help to some extent.

總而言之，我的意思是，從我們目前聽到的情況來看，我們認為成交量會比去年略低。墨西哥下一季的工業供應可能比去年少一些。所以我們正在為此做準備。我們認為這可能有助於推動第四季度的定價略有上漲。但同樣，隨著加州即將結束，總的來說，它往往是我們業務中貢獻率最高的部分。我想我們過去已經提到過這一點。它可能會為我們的每箱利潤帶來一系列不同的挑戰。第四季的情況本身並不像我們通常在第三季度看到的那樣有利。但更高的定價會在某種程度上有所幫助。

I think when we look at the Farming segment, yes, typically, I think when we talked in the past about 1/3 of the volume that we market comes in the third quarter and 35%, 40% somewhere in that neighborhood and then we have a larger proportion in the fourth quarter. I think it won't be as extreme of a variance this year, but I think we do expect to have more volume in the fourth quarter than we had in the third quarter. So that should be beneficial. And a market environment where pricing is sitting a little bit higher will be helpful as well. And again, as Steve alluded to, a good portion of our U.S. volume is in programs, but that isn't so much the case with Europe and Asia. So...

我認為，當我們審視農業領域時，是的，通常情況下，我認為當我們過去談到我們銷售的銷量的1/3 是在第三季度，35%、40% 是在該地區的某個地方，然後我們第四季佔比較大。我認為今年的差異不會那麼大，但我認為我們確實預計第四季的銷量將比第三季更多。所以這應該是有益的。定價稍高的市場環境也會有所幫助。再次，正如史蒂夫所提到的，我們在美國的業務量的很大一部分是在項目中，但歐洲和亞洲的情況並非如此。所以...

And China.

還有中國。

And China, yes. So there could be some benefit there.

還有中國，是的。所以那裡可能有一些好處。

I mean you look at the -- some of the positives that came out of this, the shipments to China tripled in 1 year. They've obviously got a lot of people over there, and we now have -- well, we're building 2 more ripe centers. So we're pretty well positioned to help that growth market over there. The kids are drinking avocado smoothies like crazy. So it's kind of a runaway train in a positive way. And then the EU and the U.K., again, we're in a position there, and we're built for the future, and we're just waiting on Mother Nature to leave us alone.

我的意思是，你看一下由此產生的一些積極因素，對中國的發貨量在一年內增加了兩倍。顯然他們在那裡有很多人，而我們現在——嗯，我們正在建造兩個更成熟的中心。因此，我們完全有能力幫助那裡的成長市場。孩子們瘋狂地喝酪梨冰沙。所以從正面的角度來看，這是一列失控的火車。然後歐盟和英國，我們再次處於那裡，我們是為未來而建造的，我們只是等待大自然讓我們獨自一人。

Yes. Okay. Fair enough. Understood. On SG&A expense, down quite a bit sequentially and versus the run rate we've seen in the first half of the year. Down quite a bit year-over-year. Is this a reasonable baseline expectation in terms of absolute dollars for SG&A? And maybe if you could talk about some of the things that you all are doing there to manage SG&A a bit more tightly than what we've seen over the last couple of years?

是的。好的。很公平。明白了。在銷售管理費用方面，與我們今年上半年看到的運行率相比，連續下降了很多。年比下降了不少。就 SG&A 的絕對金額而言，這是合理的基準預期嗎？也許你可以談談您正在做的一些事情，以便比我們過去幾年所看到的更嚴格地管理 SG&A？

Ben, probably the -- I wouldn't say that this is necessarily a sustainable level. Part of the reason for the decreases this year related to incentive-based compensation. Certainly, we haven't delivered on the performance we expected to internally through the first 9 months of this year. So there's been adjustments made kind of as a management team to our accruals, which we would hope as we go forward isn't the case. But also in some of our foreign operations, both in Peru and in Mexico, there's government-mandated profit sharing that's geared around profitability of those specific operations. And with the big drop-off in earnings down in the Farming segment, it resulted in significantly lower profit sharing accruals in our Peru or in our Farming segment as well.

本，可能 - 我不會說這一定是一個可持續的水平。今年下降的部分原因與基於激勵的薪酬有關。當然，今年前 9 個月我們還沒有達到內部預期的業績。因此，管理團隊對我們的應計費用進行了一些調整，我們希望隨著我們的發展，情況不會出現這種情況。但在我們在秘魯和墨西哥的一些海外業務中，也有政府規定的利潤分享，這是圍繞這些特定業務的盈利能力進行的。隨著農業部門收入的大幅下降，導致我們秘魯或農業部門的應計利潤分享大幅下降。

So that component of SG&A, I think, is more isolated to the performance of the current year. I think some of the other things, ERP coming off after last year where we had big challenges after go-live, that's sustainable. We don't see that repeating itself. And then some of the other consulting-related professional fees, there might be more opportunity for those to come down in all honesty, as we move forward.

因此，我認為 SG&A 的組成部分與本年度的表現更加隔離。我認為其他一些事情，ERP 在去年上線後我們遇到了巨大的挑戰，這是可持續的。我們沒有看到這種情況重演。然後，隨著我們的前進，其他一些與諮詢相關的專業費用，可能會有更多機會誠實地降低。

Our next question is from Tom Palmer with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的湯姆·帕爾默。

Wanted to maybe just start off on the Peru side and get an idea of what we're looking at just from a volume split. I think quarter ago, the discussion was a relatively even balance in terms of sell-through between 3Q and 4Q. Is that still the case? Or is it a bit more skewed towards the fourth quarter perhaps?

我想也許只是從秘魯方面開始，然後從卷的分割中了解我們正在關注的內容。我認為季度前，討論的是第三季和第四季的銷售相對平衡。現在還是這樣嗎？或者可能更傾向於第四季？

Typically, as I mentioned, we're about 35% in the first half and about 65% in the second in terms of the profit impact, the sell-through of that fruit to customers, not so much harvest but sell-through. This year, it will probably be not quite as backloaded as what we typically see. I would say we might be -- based on our full year projections of where volume is going to land compared to what we ran during the third quarter, it would probably put us at a split of around 45% in Q3 and 55% in the third (sic) [fourth] quarter, with the potential for some amount to slip over to Q1 of fiscal '24 as well. But that would be a relatively small amount, if it did.

通常，正如我所提到的，就利潤影響而言，我們上半年約為 35%，下半年約為 65%，即水果向客戶的銷售量，不是收成而是銷售量。今年，它可能不會像我們通常看到的那麼嚴重。我想說的是，根據我們對全年銷量與第三季相比的預測，第三季的銷量可能會下降 45%，第二季的銷量可能會下降 55%。第三（原文如此）[第四]季度，部分金額也有可能滑至24 財年第一季。但如果確實如此，那將是一個相對較小的金額。

Great. Okay. And then just on -- you gave some indication of what you expect industry volumes to be from a distribution standpoint. And then you've also got Peru coming in lighter than you expected. It sounds like California, which was solid is winding down. So would you expect to grow in line with the industry as we look at the fourth quarter? I know longer term, it's at least in line, but just for the fourth quarter, is the expectation in line? Or is that going to be a little tougher given Peru?

偉大的。好的。然後，您從分銷的角度給出了一些您對行業銷售的預期。然後秘魯的表現也比你預期的輕。聽起來堅固的加州正在走向衰退。那麼，當我們展望第四季度時，您是否期望與行業保持一致的成長？我知道從長遠來看，至少是符合預期的，但僅就第四季而言，預期是否符合預期？或者考慮到秘魯，這會變得更加困難嗎？

I mean I think if we look at our fourth quarter, and if we -- after the fact when we look at what the actual growth is, both in North America and abroad, I would think with Peru still being -- even with the smaller crop, Peru will still make up a pretty significant portion of the overall consumption in Q4. And with our position in Peru, I would think that it's advantageous for us from a share perspective.

我的意思是，我認為，如果我們看看第四季度，如果我們——事後我們看看北美和國外的實際增長情況，我認為秘魯仍然是——即使規模較小作物，秘魯仍將佔第第四季總消費的相當大一部分。考慮到我們在秘魯的地位，我認為從份額的角度來看這對我們有利。

Certainly, with Mexico transitioning from their off-bloom to the new crop, and we'll see more of that in the later part of the quarter. I don't -- when we're in Mexico, I don't necessarily think that that has a dramatic influence on our share one way or the other. But I think it could be -- again, Peru is lower than what we saw last year in the fourth quarter, and it's lower than what we had initially expected, but it's still a meaningful amount of fruit, and it definitely gives us an advantage over our peers by having it.

當然，隨著墨西哥從花期到新作物的過渡，我們將在本季後期看到更多這樣的情況。我不認為——當我們在墨西哥時，我並不一定認為這會對我們的份額產生巨大影響。但我認為這可能是——秘魯的產量低於我們去年第四季的水平，也低於我們最初的預期，但它仍然是一個有意義的水果數量，它絕對為我們帶來了優勢擁有它，超越我們的同儕。

Our next question is from Gerry Sweeney with ROTH Capital Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自羅斯資本合夥公司的格里·斯威​​尼（Gerry Sweeney）。

I apologize, I'm on my mobile. But just wanted to dig in a little bit more on Peru. I understand volumes were down, but you also discussed that I think you made some movements or decision making -- you had some decisions during the quarter where you allocated fruit. And I'm just curious -- and obviously, you can't play Monday morning quarterback. But I'm just curious if you were to change anything in the quarter, but more importantly, would does -- what happened with this harvest maybe change some of your process or decision-making processes in the future with Peru? And would that be potentially beneficial?

抱歉，我正在用手機。但只是想更深入地了解秘魯。我知道產量下降了，但您也討論過，我認為您做出了一些行動或決策——您在分配水果的季度做出了一些決定。我只是很好奇——顯然，你不能在周一早上打四分衛。但我只是好奇你是否要在本季度改變任何事情，但更重要的是，這次收穫所發生的事情可能會改變你未來與秘魯的一些流程或決策流程嗎？這會有潛在的好處嗎？

Well, we had 2 extremes. We had cold weather early and very hot weather. We had cold weather in the summer and hot weather in the winter, and it really -- and plus a lot of rain due to that El Niño situation that went from California all the way down to Peru and further. But early on, it affected the set to start with the fruit flowering because it was cold. And then when they did set, which was a little late due to the cold weather and rain, it looked good at the beginning, but it got extremely hot. I can't give you the exact temperatures. But for Peru in the mid of winter, it was probably close to 90 degrees, or even higher. And what it does, it stunts the tree, it stunts the growth of the fruit on the tree because it's kind of in survival mode at that point with the hot summer -- or hot temperature and is trying to suck up the water as fast as possible to stay hydrated, et cetera. So we had 2 extremes that just affected the overall production for the season as did everybody else.

好吧，我們有兩個極端。我們很早就遇到了寒冷的天氣和非常熱的天氣。我們夏天天氣寒冷，冬天天氣炎熱，確實如此，而且由於厄爾尼諾現象，從加州一路南下到秘魯甚至更遠的地方，還下了很多雨。但早期，由於天氣寒冷，影響了果樹開花的進程。然後，當他們真正凝固時，由於天氣寒冷和下雨，有點晚了，一開始看起來不錯，但後來變得非常熱。我無法給你確切的溫度。但對隆冬的秘魯來說，氣溫可能接近90度，甚至更高。它的作用是，它阻礙了樹的生長，阻礙了樹上果實的生長，因為在炎熱的夏季或炎熱的氣溫下，它處於生存模式，並試圖以盡可能快的速度吸收水分。可以保持水分等等。因此，我們遇到了兩個極端情況，就像其他人一樣，影響了本賽季的整體產量。

Yes. I mean I'd like to -- Gerry, that if we knew we were going to have a higher pricing environment, say, later in the year, we would have liked to have extended our harvest. But on the flip side, because of the weather conditions where we had issues with fruit drop off the trees, I'm not sure if that's the decision we would have made. I think there's data here, there's data points that we're going to track going forward. But I'm not sure if we have a clear cut that we would definitely do something differently in the future, but we have a lot of data at hand that we're going to need to utilize as we move forward.

是的。我的意思是，我想——格里，如果我們知道我們將有一個更高的定價環境，比如說，在今年晚些時候，我們會希望擴大我們的收成。但另一方面，由於天氣條件，我們遇到了水果從樹上掉落的問題，我不確定這是否是我們會做出的決定。我認為這裡有數據，有我們將繼續追蹤的數據點。但我不確定我們是否有一個明確的界限，我們將來肯定會做一些不同的事情，但我們手頭上有很多數據，我們在前進時需要利用這些數據。

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. I just wasn't sure if there was exactly what the situation was, and that's helpful in terms of understanding. I appreciate.

知道了。好的。這很有幫助。我只是不確定具體情況是否如此，這對理解很有幫助。我很欣賞。

We were trying to hold the fruit later because there's usually a pretty good market -- wait everybody out. But the fruit started dropping at a pretty rapid pace. So we didn't want to wake up and not have anything on the tree.

我們試圖稍後保留水果，因為通常有一個很好的市場 - 等待每個人都出去。但水果開始以相當快的速度下降。所以我們不想醒來時樹上沒有任何東西。

But because -- and it was dropping because of the heat and the tree was stressed overall, correct?

但是因為——由於天氣炎熱，樹正在下降，而且樹總體上受到了壓力，對嗎？

Exactly. It sheds everything. It's like getting your kids out of the house, get out of here.

確切地。它拋棄了一切。這就像讓你的孩子離開家，離開這裡。

I got you. All right. I can relate to that. Got it. Okay. No, that's super helpful. I wasn't sure if you made -- listening to the commentary, I caught some of it, I wasn't sure if you made like a strategic decision to maybe harvest a little earlier and move some stuff around. But I understand now it was either pick or drop. So -- got it.

我接到你了。好的。我可以理解這一點。知道了。好的。不，這非常有幫助。我不確定你是否做出了——聽了評論，我聽到了一些，我不確定你是否做出了一個戰略決定，也許可以早一點收穫並移動一些東西。但我現在明白了，要嘛選擇，要嘛放棄。所以——明白了。

Yes.

是的。

Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, I'm showing no further questions. I'd like to end the question-and-answer session and turn the call back over to management for any closing remarks.

女士們先生們，此時此刻，我不再提出任何問題。我想結束問答環節，並將電話轉回給管理階層，讓他們發表結束語。

Thank you for your -- thanks for your interest in Mission Produce, and we look forward to speaking to you again soon.

感謝您對 Mission Produce 的興趣，我們期待很快再次與您交談。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. We do thank you for attending. You may now disconnect your lines.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。我們非常感謝您的出席。現在您可以斷開線路。