Mission Produce Inc (AVO) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Mission Produce fourth-quarter 2024 conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please also note, today's event is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the conference over to Jeff Sonnek, Investor Relations at ICR. Thank you. You may begin.

下午好，歡迎參加 Mission Produce 2024 年第四季電話會議。（操作員說明）也請注意，今天的活動正在錄製中。這次，我想將會議轉交給 ICR 投資者關係部門的 Jeff Sonnek。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, and good afternoon. Today's presentation will be hosted by Steve Barnard, Chief Executive Officer; and Bryan Giles, Chief Financial Officer. The company's President and Chief Operating Officer, John Pawlowski, is also on today's call for participation during the Q&A session.

謝謝你，下午好。今天的演講將由首席執行官 Steve Barnard 主持；和財務長 Bryan Giles。該公司總裁兼營運長 John Pawlowski 也呼籲參加今天的問答環節。

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.

今天電話會議中的評論和隨附的簡報包含 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。

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.

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。

Some of these risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in the company's filings with the SEC. 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.

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。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（可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。

And 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 today. Our strong execution in the fourth quarter rounded out an exceptional fiscal 2024, where we delivered $1.2 billion in revenue and generated $107.8 million in adjusted EBITDA, demonstrating the strength of our business model and industry-leading position. Throughout the year, we effectively leveraged Mission's differentiated global sourcing network to capitalize on favorable market conditions, which culminated in another quarter of solid financial performance.

感謝您今天加入我們。我們在第四季度的強勁執行力為2024 財年帶來了出色的業績，我們實現了12 億美元的收入，並產生了1.078 億美元的調整後EBITDA，展示了我們業務模式的實力和行業領先地位。在這一年裡，我們有效地利用了 Mission 差異化的全球採購網絡，利用有利的市場條件，最終實現了另一個季度穩健的財務表現。

The strength of our integrated business was particularly evident this quarter through the collective efforts of our sales, sourcing and operations teams. When others might have seen challenges, given the smaller production out of Peru this year, which resulted in supply constraints for the industry, we capitalized opportunities to leverage our unique capabilities and global sourcing network.

透過我們的銷售、採購和營運團隊的集體努力，我們綜合業務的實力在本季尤為明顯。當其他人可能看到挑戰時，考慮到今年秘魯的產量減少，導致該行業的供應限制，我們抓住機會，利用我們獨特的能力和全球採購網絡。

Strong consumer demand and retail support of the category, coupled with the supply constrained environment helped support elevated pricing dynamics that extended into the fourth quarter. Our ability to seamlessly shift between growing regions and maintain consistent supply for our customers translated into robust per unit margins that exceeded our targeted range.

強勁的消費者需求和該類別的零售支持，加上供應緊張的環境，幫助支持了延續到第四季度的高定價動態。我們能夠在生長區域之間無縫轉移並為客戶保持穩定的供應，這轉化為超出我們目標範圍的強勁單位利潤。

This performance underscores the breadth of our sourcing network, which we believe is the most comprehensive in the industry, enabling us to provide reliable supply to our customers even during periods of disruption to key industry supply sources, while at the same time, maximizing our margin performance. We are particularly pleased with our cash flow generation for the full year fiscal 2024, in which we delivered a $64.2 million increase in operating cash flow versus 2023.

這項業績突顯了我們採購網絡的廣度，我們認為該網絡是業內最全面的，使我們即使在關鍵行業供應來源中斷期間也能向客戶提供可靠的供應，同時最大限度地提高我們的利潤表現。我們對 2024 財年全年的現金流量產生感到特別滿意，與 2023 年相比，我們的營運現金流增加了 6,420 萬美元。

Our strong operational performance throughout the year, combined with the planned tapering of our heavy CapEx cycle over the past several years, has resulted in strong free cash flow that has strengthened our capital structure through reduced leverage, further enhancing our flexibility.

我們全年強勁的營運業績，加上過去幾年計畫縮減龐大的資本支出週期，帶來了強勁的自由現金流，透過降低槓桿率增強了我們的資本結構，進一步增強了我們的靈活性。

While some capital projects, including our packing house construction in Guatemala and certain blueberry investments will shift into early fiscal 2025 due to timing of vendor payments and blueberry plant development, our overall trajectory of moderating capital spending remains intact as we complete these remaining projects and focus on optimizing returns from our existing asset base.

雖然由於供應商付款和藍莓工廠開發的時間安排，一些資本項目（包括我們在危地馬拉的包裝廠建設和某些藍莓投資）將轉移到2025 財年年初，但隨著我們完成這些剩餘項目和重點，我們控制資本支出的整體軌跡保持不變。

While our marketing & distribution segment performance was the highlight of the quarter, our international farming segment faced a more challenging set of circumstances related to the El Nino weather cycle and its associated impact on our owned volume. We've taken proactive steps to ensure the long-term health and productivity of our workers and are encouraged by early signs of improvement we are seeing.

雖然我們的行銷和分銷部門的業績是本季度的亮點，但我們的國際農業部門面臨著與厄爾尼諾天氣週期及其對我們自有產量的相關影響相關的更具挑戰性的環境。我們已採取積極主動的措施來確保員工的長期健康和生產力，並對我們所看到的早期改善跡象感到鼓舞。

Combined with the cost optimization efforts we implemented, we expect to translate these into improved operational efficiencies as growing conditions normalize in fiscal 2025. Turning now to our blueberries segment.

結合我們實施的成本優化工作，隨著 2025 財年經濟成長狀況正常化，我們預計將這些努力轉化為營運效率的提升。現在轉向我們的藍莓部分。

The harvest season ramped up during the fourth quarter, and we benefited from pricing that proved to be more resilient than we expected at the higher levels of volume. While pricing has since moderated. We remain committed to growing this segment of our business as we see significant opportunities ahead. The blueberry business continues to complement our existing offerings and aligns perfectly with the strategy of delivering high quality, differentiated products across multiple growing reasons.

第四季收穫季節加快，我們受益於定價，事實證明，在產量較高的情況下，定價比我們預期的更有彈性。此後價格有所放緩。由於我們看到了未來的巨大機遇，我們仍然致力於發展這一業務領域。藍莓業務繼續補充我們現有的產品，並與跨多種成長原因提供高品質、差異化產品的策略完美契合。

We look forward to advancing our planned projects in this category as we move through fiscal 2025 and beyond with the support of our strategic joint venture partner. While still in its infancy, I am also pleased to report that our strategic investment in Guatemala continues to progress. In November, the USDA approved Guatemalan avocado imports into the United States, a significant milestone that validates our expansion strategy in the region.

我們期待在 2025 財年及以後在策略合資夥伴的支持下推進我們在這一類別中的計劃項目。雖然仍處於起步階段，但我也很高興地報告，我們在瓜地馬拉的策略投資持續取得進展。11 月，美國農業部批准危地馬拉酪梨進口到美國，這是一個重要的里程碑，驗證了我們在該地區的擴張策略。

Similar to our approach with other sourced regions, the goal of Guatemala is to fill voids in the calendar to reliably supply customers year round. We look forward to the additional flexibility that the USDA approval affords us, which we expect to further strengthen our competitive position in the years to come. Further on the topic of our facility work, we took actions in the fourth quarter to optimize our distribution footprint and enhance our efficiency.

與我們對其他採購地區的做法類似，危地馬拉的目標是填補日曆中的空白，以全年可靠地為客戶提供服務。我們期待美國農業部的批准為我們提供額外的靈活性，我們預計這將在未來幾年進一步加強我們的競爭地位。關於我們的設施工作，我們在第四季度採取了行動來優化我們的分銷足跡並提高我們的效率。

As part of this effort, we will be winding down our Toronto and Calgary facilities through the first quarter of fiscal 2025. We will be able to maintain the same high level of customer service while eliminating redundant costs in our system. This decision reflects the flexibility and efficiency that we build into our North American distribution network over the years.

作為這項努力的一部分，我們將在 2025 財年第一季之前逐步關閉多倫多和卡加利的設施。我們將能夠維持同樣高水準的客戶服務，同時消除系統中的冗餘成本。這項決定反映了我們多年來在北美分銷網絡中建立的靈活性和效率。

In closing, I want to thank our team for their outstanding execution throughout fiscal 2024. Their hard work and dedication enabled us to successfully navigate dynamic market conditions while driving meaningful growth and operational improvements. As we look ahead to fiscal 2025, we're confident in our competitive positioning.

最後，我要感謝我們的團隊在 2024 財年的優秀執行力。他們的辛勤工作和奉獻精神使我們能夠成功駕馭動態的市場條件，同時推動有意義的成長和營運改善。展望 2025 財年，我們對自己的競爭地位充滿信心。

Our global sourcing network continues to be a key differentiator, providing us with the flexibility to meet customer demand regardless of regional supply dynamics. Combined with our strong balance sheet and disciplined approach to capital allocation, we believe we're well positioned to continue creating value for our shareholders.

我們的全球採購網絡仍然是關鍵的差異化因素，使我們能夠靈活地滿足客戶需求，無論區域供應動態如何。結合我們強大的資產負債表和嚴格的資本配置方法，我們相信我們有能力繼續為股東創造價值。

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. I'll start with a review of our fiscal fourth quarter financial performance, touching on some of the key drivers within our three reportable segments. Then I'll provide an update on our financial position and conclude with some thoughts on the current market conditions that we are seeing.

謝謝你，史蒂夫，祝所有參加電話會議的人下午好。我將首先回顧我們第四財季的財務業績，觸及我們三個可報告部門的一些關鍵驅動因素。然後我將提供有關我們財務狀況的最新信息，並最後對我們所看到的當前市場狀況提出一些想法。

Total revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 increased 37% to $354.4 million, driven primarily by a 36% increase in avocado sales prices. Higher prices resulted from constrained avocado supply during the quarter driven by weather impacts on fruit development and production in Peru, combined with stronger consumer demand.

2024 財年第四季的總營收成長 37%，達到 3.544 億美元，這主要是由於酪梨銷售價格上漲 36%。價格上漲的原因是本季酪梨供應受到天氣對秘魯水果開發和生產的影響以及消費需求的強勁影響而受到限制。

Despite lower Peruvian volumes, we were able to leverage our diverse sourcing network across California, Colombia and Mexico to drive a 9% increase in North American avocado sales volumes compared to the prior year.

儘管秘魯的酪梨銷量較低，但我們能夠利用我們在加州、哥倫比亞和墨西哥的多元化採購網絡，推動北美酪梨銷量比上年增長 9%。

Amidst the supply challenges we faced, we made a strategic decision to prioritize the North American market, where strong consumer demand, supported by retail promotional activity translated to higher per unit price points.

在我們面臨的供應挑戰中，我們做出了優先考慮北美市場的策略決策，在零售促銷活動的支持下，北美市場強勁的消費者需求轉化為更高的單價。

Gross profit increased by $28 million to $55.8 million in the fourth quarter, and gross profit margin increased 490 basis points to 15.7% of revenue. These increases were primarily driven by stronger per unit margins on avocados sold during the period. We can further attribute these increases to the combination of favorable mix of source fruit and internal initiatives that Steve spoke to earlier.

第四季毛利增加2,800萬美元，達5,580萬美元，毛利率增加490個基點，佔營收的15.7%。這些增長主要是由於在此期間銷售的酪梨單位利潤增加所致。我們可以進一步將這些增長歸因於史蒂夫之前談到的源水果有利組合和內部舉措的結合。

Our Blueberries segment also contributed to the increase with higher volumes, while per unit margins remained generally consistent with the prior year. SG&A expense increased $6.6 million or 32% compared to the same period last year, primarily due to higher employee-related costs including performance based incentive compensation and stock-based compensation expense as a result of our improved operating performance relative to the prior year period.

我們的藍莓業務也貢獻了銷售量的成長，而單位利潤率與上一年基本保持一致。SG&A 費用與去年同期相比增加了660 萬美元，即32%，主要是由於我們的經營業績較上年同期有所改善，導致員工相關成本增加，包括基於績效的激勵薪酬和基於股票的薪酬費用。

Adjusted net income for the quarter was $19.6 million or $0.28 per diluted share compared to an adjusted net income of $7.5 million or $0.11 per diluted share last year. Adjusted EBITDA increased $19.6 million or 113% to $36.9 million as compared to $17.3 million last year. This improvement was driven primarily by the stronger gross profit performance from our marketing & distribution and blueberries segments.

本季調整後淨利為 1,960 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.28 美元，去年調整後淨利為 750 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.11 美元。調整後 EBITDA 增加 1,960 萬美元，或 113%，達到 3,690 萬美元，而去年為 1,730 萬美元。這項改善主要是由於我們的行銷和分銷以及藍莓部門的毛利表現強勁所致。

Turning now to our segments. Our marketing & Distribution segment net sales increased 35% and of $319.6 million for the quarter, primarily driven by the avocado pricing increases I described previously. Segment adjusted EBITDA increased $14.8 million to $25.6 million as a result of the higher per unit gross margins we discussed.

現在轉向我們的部分。我們的行銷和分銷部門本季的淨銷售額成長了 35%，達到 3.196 億美元，這主要是由我之前描述的酪梨價格上漲所推動的。由於我們討論的單位毛利率提高，部門調整後 EBITDA 增加了 1,480 萬美元，達到 2,560 萬美元。

Total segment sales and adjusted EBITDA in our international farming segment were $30.3 million and $2.7 million, respectively, compared to $40.3 million and $1.1 million in the same period last year. While we experienced a decrease in segment sales due to the previously disclosed reduction in volume from our own farms as a result of the unfavorable El Nino weather conditions during the harvest set in Peru, we were pleased to generate positive adjusted EBITDA that was higher than the prior year period.

國際農業部門的總銷售額和調整後 EBITDA 分別為 3,030 萬美元和 270 萬美元，而去年同期為 4,030 萬美元和 110 萬美元。雖然我們的部門銷售額有所下降，因為先前披露的秘魯收穫期間不利的厄爾尼諾天氣條件導致我們自己農場的產量減少，但我們很高興產生了高於預期的正調整 EBITDA。

The improved profitability correlated to the strong pricing environment within which we work diligently to maximize sales returns with our US market focus and the cost containment efforts we implemented near the end of the prior harvest season.

獲利能力的提高與強勁的定價環境相關，在該環境中，我們以美國市場為重點，努力實現銷售回報最大化，並在上一收穫季節結束時實施了成本控制措施。

In our Blueberries segment, activity is typically concentrated in the first and fourth quarters of our fiscal year, in alignment with the Peruvian blueberry harvest season. Net sales in the Blueberries segment totaled $31.6 million compared to $19.5 million in the prior year period, and adjusted EBITDA increased to $8.6 million from $5.4 million in the prior year period.

在我們的藍莓部門，活動通常集中在我們財年的第一和第四季度，與秘魯藍莓收穫季節一致。藍莓部門的淨銷售額總計 3,160 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,950 萬美元，調整後的 EBITDA 從去年同期的 540 萬美元增至 860 萬美元。

The increases in both sales and adjusted EBITDA were driven by higher blueberry volumes sold during the quarter that resulted from both new plantings coming into production as well as yield improvements on existing plantings following the challenging weather conditions experienced in the prior year.

銷售額和調整後 EBITDA 的成長是由於本季藍莓銷售量的增加，這是由於新種植的藍莓開始生產，以及在去年經歷了嚴峻的天氣條件後現有種植的產量提高。

Shifting to our financial position. Cash and cash equivalents were $58 million as of October 31, 2024, compared to $42.9 million at October 31, 2023. We are very pleased with our operating cash flow performance in fiscal 2024, which increased $64.2 million versus the prior year to $93.4 million for the fiscal year ended October 31. The growth in operating cash flow was primarily driven by improved operating performance during fiscal 2024. Further supporting the improvement in operating cash flow was favorable working capital management.

轉向我們的財務狀況。截至2024年10月31日，現金及現金等價物為5,800萬美元，而2023年10月31日為4,290萬美元。我們對 2024 財年的營運現金流表現非常滿意，截至 10 月 31 日的財年，營運現金流較上年增加 6,420 萬美元，達到 9,340 萬美元。經營現金流的成長主要是由 2024 財年經營績效的改善所推動的。有利的營運資金管理進一步支持了經營現金流的改善。

While higher avocado pricing drove increases in inventory and accounts receivable, these increases were more than offset by higher grower payable balances driven primarily by those same high prices and higher accounts payable and accrued expenses, the latter of which was significantly impacted by incentive compensation and statutory profit sharing accruals in the current year.

雖然酪梨定價上漲推動了庫存和應收帳款的增加，但這些增長被種植者應付餘額的增加所抵消，這主要是由於同樣的高價格以及更高的應付帳款和應計費用，後者受到激勵補償和法定費用的顯著影響。

In addition, higher accounts payable and accrued expenses were attributed to the impact of higher volume and increased acreage within our blueberries segment. Capital expenditures were $32.2 million for the 12 months ended October 31, 2024, compared to $49.8 million last year and were attributed to avocado and blueberry farming-related investments in Latin America as well as construction costs associated with expanding capacity at our UK distribution facility.

此外，應付帳款和應計費用增加是由於藍莓業務銷售增加和種植面積增加的影響。截至2024 年10 月31 日的12 個月，資本支出為3,220 萬美元，而去年為4,980 萬美元，主要歸因於拉丁美洲與酪梨和藍莓種植相關的投資，以及與英國分銷設施擴大產能相關的建設成本。

During the fiscal year, the international farming segment also began construction of a pack house in Guatemala. Of note, our CapEx spending in fiscal 2024 was approximately $10 million less than we've contemplated in our outlook due to timing of vendor payments and blueberry plant development that will push this spending into fiscal 2025.

在本財年，國際農業部門也開始在瓜地馬拉建造一個包裝廠。值得注意的是，我們 2024 財年的資本支出比我們在展望中預期的少了約 1000 萬美元，因為供應商付款的時間安排和藍莓工廠的開發將把這筆支出推到 2025 財年。

As a result of this timing shift, our projected CapEx budget for fiscal 2025 is expected in the range of $50 million to $55 million allocated largely to international farming and blueberries segments. However, our overall trajectory of moderating capital spending remains intact as we complete these remaining projects through fiscal 2026 and focus on optimizing returns from our existing asset base.

由於這一時間轉變，我們預計 2025 財年的資本支出預算預計將在 5,000 萬至 5,500 萬美元之間，主要分配給國際農業和藍莓領域。然而，隨著我們在 2026 財年完成這些剩餘項目並專注於優化現有資產基礎的回報，我們適度資本支出的整體軌跡保持不變。

To that end, we remain committed to driving free cash flow as a means towards maintaining a healthy capital structure. We are proud to have generated approximately $60 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2024. Looking ahead, we believe the business is well positioned to continue generating meaningful free cash flow in the years ahead.

為此，我們仍致力於推動自由現金流，以此作為維持健康資本結構的手段。我們很自豪在 2024 財年產生了約 6,000 萬美元的自由現金流。展望未來，我們相信該業務處於有利地位，可以在未來幾年繼續產生有意義的自由現金流。

Debt paydown remains our near term priority, and we expect to continue to strengthen our balance sheet next year. In regards to our near term outlook on the fundamental drivers of our operations, we are providing some context around our expectations for industry conditions to help inform your modeling assumptions.

償還債務仍然是我們近期的首要任務，我們預計明年將繼續加強我們的資產負債表。關於我們對營運基本驅動因素的近期展望，我們將圍繞我們對行業狀況的預期提供一些背景信息，以幫助您了解建模假設。

Beginning with avocados, with the conclusion of the California and Peru harvest seasons, we have transitioned to a Mexico centric source model. We expect industry volumes in our fiscal 2025 first quarter to be consistent with the prior year period. While supply from Mexico has been constrained during the early part of the quarter due to fruit maturity and sizing, we expect industry volumes to ramp up when we move to the latter portion of the quarter as we expect a larger Mexican harvest season.

從酪梨開始，隨著加州和秘魯收穫季節的結束，我們已經過渡到以墨西哥為中心的來源模式。我們預計 2025 財年第一季的產業銷售將與去年同期保持一致。雖然由於水果成熟度和尺寸的原因，墨西哥的供應在本季度初期受到限制，但我們預計，當我們進入本季度後期時，行業產量將會增加，因為我們預計墨西哥的收穫季節會更大。

Pricing is expected to be higher on a year-over-year basis by approximately 20% compared to the $1.40 per pound average experienced in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, indicative of continued strength in demand. Pricing assumptions are closely tied to the volume estimates previously mentioned. As the industry transitions to Mexico being the primary country of origin for supply and supply becomes more readily available, we are expecting that per unit margins on purchased avocados will revert to our historical targeted ranges from the elevated levels that we experienced during our fiscal 2024, third and fourth quarters.

與 2024 財年第一季每磅 1.40 美元的平均價格相比，預計價格將同比上漲約 20%，這表明需求持續強勁。定價假設與前面提到的數量估計密切相關。隨著該行業過渡到墨西哥作為主要供應原產國，並且供應變得更加容易，我們預計採購酪梨的單位利潤將從我們在 2024 財年經歷的較高水平恢復到我們的歷史目標範圍，第三和第四季。

Our blueberry harvest season in Peru will peak during the first quarter. We expect to see meaningful volume increases from owned farms resulting from yield improvements and new acreage in production, but the impact on revenue is expected to be offset by lower average sales prices due to higher overall industry volumes from Peru.

秘魯的藍莓收穫季節將在第一季達到頂峰。我們預計，由於產量提高和新的生產面積，自有農場的產量將顯著增長，但由於秘魯整體行業產量增加，平均銷售價格下降預計將抵消對收入的影響。

Pricing is expected to be approximately 30% lower on a year-over-year basis. which will negatively impact segment adjusted EBITDA during the quarter as compared to the previous year when weather-related supply constraints led to abnormally high sales prices.

預計定價將年減約 30%。與前一年相比，這將對本季的部門調整後 EBITDA 產生負面影響，因為天氣相關的供應限制導致銷售價格異常高。

In closing, we're incredibly proud of the progress we've made this year. We've demonstrated our industry leadership in a turbulent environment while delivering some of the strongest financial performances in our history as a public company, further underscored by robust free cash flow generation. These achievements have laid a very strong foundation for Mission's future, and we're excited to continue executing on our growth strategy. That concludes our prepared remarks.

最後，我們對今年的進展感到無比自豪。我們在動蕩的環境中展示了我們的行業領導地位，同時實現了我們作為上市公司歷史上最強勁的財務業績，強勁的自由現金流生成進一步證明了這一點。這些成就為 Mission 的未來奠定了堅實的基礎，我們很高興能繼續執行我們的成長策略。我們準備好的演講到此結束。

Operator, now over to you. Please open the call to Q&A.

接線員，現在交給您了。請打開問答電話。

Great, thank you. At this time, we'll be conducting a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions)

太好了，謝謝。此時，我們將進行問答環節。（操作員說明）

Ben Klieve, Lake Street Capital Markets.

Ben Klieve，湖街資本市場。

All right. Thanks for taking my questions and congratulations. Great end to a great year here. My first question is the result in the quarter relative to the prerelease information. Both revenue and EBITDA comfortably exceeded what you had laid out in prerelease five or six weeks ago. I'm just wondering kind of what the delta was in the actual results versus what you saw in the prerelease?

好的。感謝您提出我的問題並表示祝賀。在這裡為美好的一年畫下圓滿的句點。我的第一個問題是與預發布資訊相關的季度結果。收入和 EBITDA 都輕鬆超過了您在五到六週前預發布中列出的內容。我只是想知道實際結果與您在預發布中看到的差異是多少？

Yeah. Sure thing, Ben. We certainly wanted to get out in front of it. We knew that some of the data that was out on the street was well below where we expected the quarter to track to. We certainly didn't have all of our information closed out at the point in time when we put this release together.

是的。當然可以，本。我們當然想在它前面出去。我們知道，一些公開的數據遠低於我們預期的季度追蹤數據。當我們發布此版本時，我們當然還沒有關閉所有資訊。

I would say we were bullish on our marketing & distribution segment and where pricing and per unit margins were even though we did not yet have everything finalized and that is certainly where why we kind of set a floor and we knew that there was some room to be a little bit better than those figures.

我想說，我們看好我們的行銷和分銷部門，以及定價和單位利潤率，儘管我們還沒有敲定所有事情，這當然就是為什麼我們設定了一個底線，我們知道還有一些空間比那些數字好一點。

I think the biggest delta that we saw though was really in our farming and blueberry segments. We really had not pulled the closing information together from either of those areas yet. It does take us a little bit longer to extract that data from our systems. So I'd say the biggest delta the volumes sold through on blueberry is not harvested but actually sold through. We're a little higher than we expected.

我認為我們看到的最大的三角洲實際上是在我們的農業和藍莓領域。我們確實還沒有從這兩個領域收集最終資訊。我們確實需要更長的時間才能從系統中提取這些數據。所以我想說，藍莓銷售量的最大增量不是收穫的，而是實際銷售的。我們比我們預期的要高一點。

And the average selling prices that we realized held better than we'd originally thought they would. We knew as we were transitioning towards Q1 that blueberry prices were beginning to decline. So we factored in some conservatism into what we thought pricing was going to look like. But in reality, through the end of October, that pricing held up better than we'd expected.

我們意識到的平均售價比我們最初想像的要好。我們知道，隨著第一季的過渡，藍莓價格開始下降。因此，我們在定價時考慮了一些保守因素。但實際上，到十月底，定價比我們預期的要好。

Got it. Got it. Okay. That's very helpful. A couple of others for me. So first of all, Steve, you noted winding down a couple of facilities here in this current fiscal quarter. I'm wondering if you can comment at all on any costs associated with this, both cash or noncash costs?

知道了。知道了。好的。這非常有幫助。還有幾個給我。首先，史蒂夫，您注意到在本財政季度關閉了一些設施。我想知道您是否可以對與此相關的任何成本（現金或非現金成本）發表評論？

Well, those two facilities I mentioned were not running at a profit, and there's ways to provide the same service level that we were providing with a lot less cost by just going direct from other facilities either at the border or somewhere up the United States into Canada.

嗯，我提到的這兩個設施並沒有盈利，而且有一些方法可以提供與我們相同的服務水平，而成本要低得多，只需從邊境或美國北部某個地方的其他設施直接進入加拿大。

So it -- we put those in there several years ago for a specific customer, and they started buying more and more direct, a lot of it from us. I mean we didn't lose the customer, but they were wanting to go direct from the border not have it ripe and they would ripen it themselves. So it just it kind of outgrew its purpose.

所以，幾年前我們把這些東西放在那裡給一個特定的客戶，他們開始越來越直接從我們這裡購買。我的意思是，我們並沒有失去客戶，但他們想直接從邊境進口，而不是讓它成熟，他們會自己成熟。所以它有點超出了它的目的。

Yeah, in terms of the cost spend, I would just say that certainly, we have some assets there in those facilities that aren't fully amortized or depreciated yet. But most of our leases -- these leases were due to expire in the next one to two years. So they were close to their end date. So there is a tail on some fixed assets.

是的，就成本支出而言，我只想說，當然，我們在這些設施中擁有一些尚未完全攤銷或折舊的資產。但我們的大部分租約將在未來一到兩年內到期。所以他們已經接近結束日期了。所以有些固定資產是有尾巴的。

There's a tail on some lease payments that we have left to go. Then there's also potentially some asset retirement related obligations, a minimal amount of severance when all said and done, the facilities weren't staffed. We had maybe 12 people within those facilities. So they weren't -- we're not expecting this to have a significant impact when all said and done. But we do think that longer term, it will generate some meaningful cost savings for us.

我們還剩下一些尚未支付的租賃付款。此外，也可能存在一些與資產報廢相關的義務，總而言之，設施沒有配備人員，因此需要支付最低限度的遣散費。這些設施內約有 12 個人。因此，我們並不認為這會產生重大影響。但我們確實認為，從長遠來看，它將為我們節省一些有意義的成本。

To Steve's point, the facilities there was not enough volume moving through those facilities to enable them to operate efficiently. The Canadian market simply has changed over the last decade. It's not what it was when we first opened our facilities in Toronto back in the 2007, 2008 time frame and certainly, we've had to- it's taken us time to adapt to the changing market conditions up there. We think long term, this is the right choice for us.

就史蒂夫而言，那裡的設施沒有足夠的流量來使它們能夠有效運作。加拿大市場在過去十年中發生了巨大的變化。這與 2007 年、2008 年我們首次在多倫多開設工廠時的情況不同，當然，我們不得不這樣做——我們花了時間來適應那裡不斷變化的市場條件。我們認為從長遠來看，這對我們來說是正確的選擇。

Okay. All right. Yeah, that definitely makes sense. Both your comments on the international farming segment both your comments on the international farming segment seems pretty encouraging. I'm wondering if you can just kind of big picture, talk about the especially the EBITDA expectations coming out of that segment here if you anticipate kind of the directional improvement that you saw in '24 to continue in '25, given kind of stabilizing weather conditions and the operational efficiencies that you guys have made on there?

好的。好的。是的，這絕對有道理。您對國際農業領域的評論似乎都非常令人鼓舞。我想知道您是否可以從大局出發，特別是討論該細分市場的 EBITDA 預期，如果您預計 24 年看到的方向性改善將在 25 年繼續，考慮到穩定的情況天氣狀況和您在那裡取得的營運效率？

I'll refer to Bryan on the numbers.

我會提到布萊恩的數字。

Yeah, I think at a high level, Ben, things are moving in the right direction. I think we did some things in 2024 related to the cost structures within the farms that will continue to pay dividends going forward. I think we expect the market conditions to be different next year than they were in 2024. With the weather changes down in Peru, the El Nino effect kind of dissipated in May of this year so with weather conditions changing, we're expecting a larger crop as we move into next year, which likely translates -- and not only from Peru, but in general, we're expecting larger crops across many of the source regions that we work in.

是的，我認為從高水準來看，本，事情正在朝著正確的方向發展。我認為我們在 2024 年做了一些與農場內部成本結構相關的事情，這些事情將繼續帶來未來的紅利。我認為我們預計明年的市場狀況將與 2024 年有所不同。隨著秘但總的來說，我們預計我們工作的許多來源地區的產量會增加。

So expecting a year of higher volumes and a year where pricing is likely going to come down off the high as we saw this year, particularly as we reengage to a greater extent with some of the international markets that we work in.

因此，預計今年銷售量將會增加，而價格可能會從今年的高點回落，特別是當我們更大程度地重新參與我們所在的一些國際市場時。

I'd say in general, we're bullish about the direction of farming. If we look back, we've come off a couple of difficult years, I mean, 2023, 2024 EBITDA has not been where we would have expected it to be. We go back to 2022, our EBITDA was in the $23 million range. In 2021, it was north of $30 million. We absolutely believe that the farming segment can move back to those types of levels in the near future as volume picks up and we continue to kind of reopen markets for that through.

我想說，總的來說，我們看好農業的方向。如果我們回顧過去，我們已經度過了艱難的幾年，我的意思是，2023 年、2024 年 EBITDA 並未達到我們預期的水平。我們回到 2022 年，我們的 EBITDA 在 2300 萬美元範圍內。2021 年，這數字超過 3,000 萬美元。我們絕對相信，隨著產量的增加，農業領域可以在不久的將來回到這些類型的水平，並且我們將繼續為此重新開放市場。

We've gone through an El Nino series a one year or two ago, which kind of damaged those trees for a year or so. And the crop suffered size-wise, quality-wise, it got hot, it got wet. We've outgrown that and I think we're on that happens about every 10 years so hopefully, we won't see it for another 10.

我們在一兩年前經歷了一系列厄爾尼諾現象，對這些樹木造成了一年左右的損害。農作物的尺寸和品質都受到影響，天氣變熱、變濕。我們已經超越了這種情況，我認為這種情況大約每 10 年就會發生一次，所以希望在接下來的 10 年裡我們不會再看到這種情況。

Very good. All right. Well, fingers crossed up here. So one more for me, and I will get back in queue. Just kind of a big picture macro question, given how much you are involved in the import export world, how you're thinking about kind of the future of agricultural exports into the US, particularly within Mexico in the context of potential tariffs?

非常好。好的。好吧，手指交叉在這裡。所以再給我一份，我會重新排隊。這是一個宏觀宏觀問題，考慮到您在進出口領域的參與程度，您如何考慮農產品出口到美國的未來，特別是在潛在關稅的背景下，在墨西哥？

Is there is this a dynamic that's changing at all how you think about operating your supply chain or are you really just kind of sitting back and waiting to see kind of how it all shakes out?

是否有一種動態正在徹底改變您對營運供應鏈的看法，或者您真的只是袖手旁觀，看看這一切將如何發展？

Well, I think on Trump's behalf, I think that's a ploy to get them to the table to negotiate a help with the immigrant problem. Whether he pulls the trigger on the tariff or not, I don't know. I hope not. But obviously, it will raise costs, probably slow consumption down a little bit, who knows? I mean consumption keeps growing. And if you look at the overall category, volume goes up and pricing has gone up. So even if it leveled up, we'd be in pretty good shape. So I'm not too worried about it really.

好吧，我認為代表川普，我認為這是讓他們坐到談判桌前就解決移民問題進行談判​​的策略。我不知道他是否會扣下關稅的板機。我希望不會。但顯然，這會提高成本，可能會稍微減緩消費，誰知道呢？我的意思是消費持續成長。如果你看一下整個類別，你會發現數量增加，價格上漲。所以即使升級了，我們的狀態也會很好。所以我真的不太擔心。

This is John Pawlowski. I would add to Steve's comments that when you look at the historical capabilities of the team here at Mission, disruptions, price changes, price inflation, challenges getting product from one country to another has always been part of the game. And this team has proven and really proven over the last 12 months how well they can execute when things get choppy.

這是約翰·帕夫洛夫斯基。我想補充史蒂夫的評論，當你看看 Mission 團隊的歷史能力時，你會發現中斷、價格變化、價格通膨、將產品從一個國家運往另一個國家的挑戰一直是遊戲的一部分。在過去 12 個月裡，這個團隊已經證明並且確實證明了當事情變得不穩定時他們的執行能力如何。

So if there's things that come down the path that creates some choppiness, this team as absolutely ready for that. And then the second piece of it is also what Steve just mentioned, and that's the consumer resilience. We have really seen the consumer be resilient through both an inflationary period as well as price not just the price side but also from a supply challenge perspective.

因此，如果出現一些事情會造成一些波動，這個團隊已經做好了充分的準備。第二個也是史蒂夫剛才提到的，那就是消費者的韌性。我們確實看到消費者在通貨膨脹時期和價格方面都具有彈性，不僅是價格方面，而且從供應挑戰的角度來看。

And the consumer is really taking away more and at a higher price than they ever have. So both of those two things combined, I see Mission positioned in a great spot kind of regardless of what happens on the tariff side of things.

消費者確實以比以往更高的價格帶走了更多。因此，將這兩件事結合起來，我認為無論關稅方面發生什麼，Mission 都處於一個很好的位置。

I think that's directly focused at Mexico, too, not I don't think he's going to put a tariff on Peru or Colombia or Guatemala, I hope.

我認為這也直接針對墨西哥，我希望他不會對秘魯、哥倫比亞或瓜地馬拉徵收關稅。

Got it. Very good. All right. Well, I appreciate that context from you both. Congratulations again on a really great quarter, really great year.

知道了。非常好。好的。嗯，我很欣賞你們兩個的背景。再次恭喜您度過了一個非常出色的季度，非常出色的一年。

Thanks. I appreciate it.

謝謝。我很感激。

Gerry Sweeney, Roth Capital Partners.

格里·斯威​​尼，羅斯資本合夥人。

Hey, good afternoon guys. Thanks for taking my call.

嘿，大家下午好。感謝您接聽我的電話。

Sure thing, Gerry.

當然可以，格里。

Just to follow up on Ben's question and then the answer, but it seems like consumers have, maybe for lack of a better phrase, busted through the price barrier and seem more consistent at higher prices than maybe a couple of years ago. Is that fair to say, especially with this past year's results?

只是為了跟進本的問題和答案，但似乎消費者已經突破了價格障礙，也許是因為缺乏更好的措辭，並且比幾年前在更高的價格下似乎更加一致。這麼說公平嗎，尤其是考慮到去年的結果？

Yeah. Yeah, we're seeing two macro trends that are driving that, Gerry. This is John. The first one, I think you'll hear consistently across anyone in the grocery sector, and that is exactly what you just said. There's been inflationary pressure over the last 18 months, and you're starting to reach points where the consumer has adapted to that.

是的。是的，我們看到了兩個推動這一趨勢的宏觀趨勢，格里。這是約翰。第一個，我想您在雜貨行業的任何人中都會聽到一致的聲音，這正是您剛才所說的。過去 18 個月一直存在通膨壓力，消費者已經開始適應這種壓力。

The second piece, more specific to our kind of slice of the pie in regards to the produce section is we're seeing a lot of younger consumers enter the marketplace. You've got people that are 18 to 30 that are picking up more avocado consumption and those consumers as they enter the marketplace, they're making up a much bigger portion of our shopper base, they are much more resilient than the traditional baby boomers have proven to be in the past.

第二部分，更具體地說，我們在農產品領域的份額是，我們看到許多年輕消費者進入市場。18 至 30 歲的人群開始更多地消費酪梨，而這些消費者在進入市場時，在我們的購物者群體中所佔的比例要大得多，他們比傳統的嬰兒潮一代更有彈性已被證明是過去的事了。

Got it. Does this mean moving forward that retail can keep prices elevated, make more money and maybe help and does that sort of trickle through to Mission's role?

知道了。這是否意味著零售業可以維持價格上漲、賺更多錢，或許還能有所幫助，這是否會滲透到 Mission 的角色中？

Well, I guess the prices they make more money piece is always the tricky question, right? Because the price versus our cost always plays a role in that. I think you'll see more consistency compared from a margin perspective, from a retail side of things where they were in '24.

好吧，我想他們賺更多錢的價格始終是一個棘手的問題，對吧？因為價格與我們的成本始終在其中發揮作用。我認為，從利潤角度來看，從零售方面來看，與 24 年的情況相比，你會看到更多的一致性。

Yeah, I mean, Gerry, I think it's all in relative terms where pricing is going to sit. There's going to be a supply of volume available and prices need to -- it will need to ultimately be set at a level that enables the market to consume that supply. Do I think -- at comparable levels, I think the price points will settle in higher than where they were in the past two, three, four years ago.

是的，我的意思是，格里，我認為這都是相對而言的定價。將會有足夠的供應量，並且價格需要 - 最終需要將其設定在一個使市場能夠消耗該供應量的水平。我是否認為——在可比較的水平上，我認為價格點將比過去兩年、三年、四年前更高。

But I think as we look to this coming year, if volumes were to increase 10%, 15% across all countries of origin, I would think that, that is going to bring pricing down somewhat with that much of a volume increase. But again, it will be a more resilient price than it would have been two, three, four years ago.

但我認為，當我們展望來年時，如果所有原產國的銷量增加 10%、15%，我認為，隨著銷量的大幅增長，價格將會下降。但同樣，這將是一個比兩、三年、四年前更具彈性的價格。

Still be good. They're pretty high to start with.

還是要乖啊他們一開始就很高。

Yeah. Yeah, I got it. I just curious, it feels like prices, the elasticity is coming back or something like that.

是的。是的，我明白了。我只是好奇，感覺價格、彈性正在恢復或類似的東西。

So I would say there were definitely times I mean where that $0.99 per piece barrier was kind of an indicator of when demand would start to taper, and that doesn't seem to be the threshold or the limit any longer. Price points, $1.25, $1.49, we're not seeing that having a negative impact on pull through any longer. So yes, I think inflation, it's taken a few years, I think, for maybe the consumer to adapt to paying higher prices but it feels like it's finally kind of come through our category in this last year.

因此，我想說的是，有時我的意思是，每件 0.99 美元的障礙是需求何時開始減少的一個指標，而這似乎不再是門檻或限制。價格點，1.25 美元，1.49 美元，我們認為這不會再對業績產生負面影響。所以，是的，我認為通貨膨脹，我認為，消費者可能需要幾年的時間來適應支付更高的價格，但感覺它終於在去年進入了我們的類別。

Got it. Switching gears to blueberries. I mean, blueberries are great. But you also noted, I think, you increased planting. How many more acres this year than last year and two years ago? And then what is the plan for the blueberries for the next couple of years going forward?

知道了。切換到藍莓。我的意思是，藍莓很棒。但我認為您也注意到，您增加了種植面積。今年比去年和兩年前多了多少英畝？那麼未來幾年藍莓的計畫是什麼呢？

So, in production you're talking about or planning?

那麼，您正在談論或計劃製作嗎？

Planning. Yeah.

規劃。是的。

Yeah, blueberries have a pretty quick turn like usually within a year, they're in a productive state, unlike an avocado tree where it can take four or five years. But blueberries, I think we rolled out another 100 hectares this year. I think we'll be layering in at least another 100. We're doing some double density planting, Gerry, in the first year. So I'm like in my head, I'm 100 hectares this year, but maybe a little more than 100 hectares worth of plants.

是的，藍莓的生長速度相當快，通常在一年內，它們就處於多產狀態，不像酪梨樹，它可能需要四到五年的時間。但藍莓，我想今年我們又種了 100 公頃。我想我們至少還會再分層 100 個。格里，我們在第一年進行了一些雙密度種植。所以我心裡想，今年我種植了 100 公頃，但可能種植的植物價值略高於 100 公頃。

And then we're probably looking at another -- close to 200 hectares coming into production for the next harvest season, which would roll through Q4 of '25 and into Q1 of 2026. And that would be on top of -- I think prior to this, we had about somewhere close to 500 hectares in production.

然後我們可能會考慮另一個 - 接近 200 公頃的土地將在下一個收穫季節投入生產，該收穫季節將持續到 25 年第四季並持續到 2026 年第一季。除此之外，我認為在此之前，我們大約有近 500 公頃的土地處於生產狀態。

And another 200 developed, in process.

另外 200 個正在開發中。

So when all is said and done with our planting is up in the Northern almost region, we should roughly double the size of the blueberry plantings that we had in place before we started that project. So overall acreage, certainly a lot of these plantings are of the new, more desirable varieties as well, which we believe over the long haul are going to help drive higher average selling prices over some of the generic varieties that are being grown in country.

因此，當我們在北部幾乎地區的種植面積都完成後，我們應該將我們開始這個計畫之前的藍莓種植面積大約增加一倍。因此，從總種植面積來看，其中許多種植面積肯定都是新的、更理想的品種，我們相信從長遠來看，這將有助於推動該國種植的一些通用品種的平均售價更高。

So I think we're excited about the opportunity that lies ahead, certainly focused on trying to stretch hard this season, things of that nature, so we're not overloading markets at certain times of the year. And again, getting fruit of those premium varieties with the right sizing and the right quality to generate those above average returns.

因此，我認為我們對未來的機會感到興奮，當然專注於努力在本賽季努力擴展這種性質的事情，因此我們不會在一年中的某些時候使市場超載。再次，獲得尺寸合適、品質合適的優質品種的水果，以產生高於平均水平的回報。

Got it. And then obviously, balance sheet's in good shape. You kind of touched on cash flow, but next couple of years, good cash flow, I mean, that would be high in a very excellent spot. I mean any thoughts on what's after that? Do we go back into maybe increasing some planting to a degree? Just curious from that perspective.

知道了。顯然，資產負債表狀況良好。你有點談到了現金流，但接下來的幾年，良好的現金流，我的意思是，在一個非常好的地方，現金流會很高。我的意思是對之後的事情有什麼想法嗎？我們是否會在一定程度上重新增加一些種植面積？只是從這個角度好奇。

I mean, I think our plan, Gerry, I mean -- and we've been communicating for years and for a couple of years, I don't think we changed too much on it that our expectation was that we've gone through a couple -- had gone through a couple of years where our operating cash was depressed. I think the year we saw in 2024 was more in line with what we believe the long term capabilities of this business are.

我的意思是，我認為我們的計劃，格里，我的意思是——我們已經溝通了好幾年了，幾年來，我認為我們沒有改變太多，我們的期望是我們已經經歷了一對夫婦——經歷了幾年我們的營運現金低迷的時期。我認為 2024 年我們看到的這一年更符合我們認為這項業務的長期能力。

Capital has continued to step down, probably step down, it looks like it stepped down a little more this year than it really did because of some timing things. But nonetheless, it's well off of the numbers that we've seen over the last three or four years, and we expect that will continue. So yes, we're going to generate significant cash flow.

資本繼續退縮，可能會退縮，看起來今年的退縮比實際上要多一些，因為一些時機問題。但儘管如此，這仍遠低於我們過去三、四年看到的數字，我們預計這種情況將持續下去。所以，是的，我們將產生大量現金流。

I would think next year as we look to fiscal '25, our priority would still be on paying debt down. Beyond that, you're right, we will be in a position where we'll have our balance sheet in really good shape. And that will enable us to evaluate other opportunities with that cash, and one of which could be returning cash to shareholders in some way, shape or form.

我認為明年當我們展望 25 財年時，我們的首要任務仍然是償還債務。除此之外，你是對的，我們的資產負債表將處於非常良好的狀態。這將使我們能夠利用這些現金評估其他機會，其中之一可能是以某種方式、形式或形式將現金回饋給股東。

Yeah. Got it. Well, congratulations on a great year. I appreciate it.

是的。知道了。好吧，恭喜你度過了美好的一年。我很感激。

Hey, thank you, Gerry.

嘿，謝謝你，格里。

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back to management for any closing comments.

問答環節到此結束。我想請管理階層發表最後評論。

Thank you for your interest in Mission Produce, and we look forward to talking to you again.

感謝您對 Mission Produce 的興趣，我們期待再次與您交談。

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

今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。再次感謝您的參與。