Acuity Inc (AYI) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and welcome to the Acuity Brands' fiscal 2025 first-quarter earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Charlotte McLaughlin, Vice President of Investor Relations. Charlotte, please go ahead.

早安，歡迎參加 Acuity Brands 2025 財年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁夏洛特麥克勞克林 (Charlotte McLaughlin)。夏洛特，請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning and welcome to the Acuity Brands' fiscal 2025 first-quarter earnings call. On the call with me this morning are Neil Ashe, our Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer; and Karen Holcom, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝您，接線生。早安，歡迎參加 Acuity Brands 2025 財年第一季財報電話會議。今天早上與我一起通話的有我們的董事長、總裁兼首席執行官尼爾·阿什 (Neil Ashe)；以及我們的高級副總裁兼首席財務官 Karen Holcom。

Today's call will include updates on our strategic progress and on our fiscal 2025 first-quarter performance. There will be an opportunity for Q&A at the end of this call.

今天的電話會議將包括我們的策略進展和 2025 財年第一季業績的最新情況。本次通話結束時將有問答機會。

As a reminder, some of our comments today may be forward-looking statements. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as detailed on slide 2 of the accompanying presentation.

提醒一下，我們今天的一些評論可能是前瞻性陳述。我們希望這些前瞻性聲明能夠受到 1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法案的安全港條款的約束，如隨附簡報的第 2 頁所述。

Reconciliations of certain non-GAAP financial metrics with their corresponding GAAP measures are available in our 2025 first-quarter earnings release and supplemental presentation, both of which are available on our Investor Relations website at www.investors.acuitybrands.com. Thank you for your interest in Acuity Brands. I will now turn the call over to Neil Ashe.

某些非 GAAP 財務指標與其對應的 GAAP 指標的對帳表可在我們的 2025 年第一季財報和補充報告中查閱，兩者均可在我們的投資人關係網站 www.investors.acuitybrands.com 上查閱。感謝您對 Acuity Brands 的關注。現在我將電話轉給尼爾·阿什。

Thank you, Charlotte, and thank you all for joining us this morning. Our fiscal 2025 first-quarter performance was solid. We delivered sales growth, expanded our adjusted operating profit, and adjusted operating profit margin, and increased our adjusted diluted earnings per share. We're also pleased to welcome QSC to Acuity having successfully closed the acquisition last week.

謝謝你，夏洛特，也謝謝大家今天早上加入我們。我們的 2025 財年第一季業績穩健。我們實現了銷售額成長、調整後營業利潤和調整後營業利潤率有所擴大，並且調整後每股稀釋收益有所提高。我們也很高興歡迎 QSC 加入 Acuity，並在上週成功完成收購。

Now turning to Acuity Brands Lighting, we continue to perform well delivering sales growth in the first quarter. Our performance is more predictable, repeatable, and scalable as a result of the continued actioning of our strategy to increase product vitality, elevate service levels, use technology to improve and differentiate both our products and how we operate the business and to drive productivity.

現在談到 Acuity Brands Lighting，我們繼續表現良好，在第一季實現了銷售成長。由於我們持續實施提高產品活力、提升服務水準、利用技術改進和區分我們的產品和業務運作方式並提高生產力的策略，我們的業績更加可預測、可重複和可擴展。

Our strategy has informed the development of our differentiated product portfolios, Contractor Select, Design Select, and made to order, enabling us to drive growth and productivity for ourselves and for our partners. With Contractor Select, we are driving growth and productivity for our electrical distributors by lowering their cost of doing business and empowering them to carry less inventory.

我們的策略為我們的差異化產品組合、承包商精選、設計精選和客製化提供了指導，使我們能夠為自己和合作夥伴推動成長和生產力。利用 Contractor Select，我們可以幫助電力分銷商降低經營成本並減少庫存，從而推動其成長和提高生產力。

With Design Select, we're focused on delivering productivity to architects, lighting specifiers, design build contractors, and electrical contractors by enabling them to choose the right configurable products for their projects.

透過 Design Select，我們專注於為建築師、照明指定者、設計建造承包商和電氣承包商提供生產力，使他們能夠為他們的專案選擇正確的可配置產品。

Our portfolios are constructed with high levels of product vitality. In Contractor Select this quarter, we launched two new products: TruWrap and the REBL Round High Bay. Both products feature switchable technology and offer multiple functionality, with the end result being that distributors can carry fewer SKUs while providing more options for customers.

我們的產品組合具有極高的產品活力。本季在 Contractor Select 中，我們推出了兩款新產品：TruWrap 和 REBL Round High Bay。這兩款產品都採用了可切換技術並提供多種功能，最終結果是經銷商可以攜帶更少的 SKU，同時為客戶提供更多選擇。

TruWrap from Lithonia Lighting enhances the traditional wrap, offering even lighting for spaces with limited natural lighting options like locker rooms, storage utility areas, garages, and offices. It features three adjustable lumen settings and three switchable color temperature settings.

Lithonia Lighting 的 TruWrap 增強了傳統包覆燈的照明效果，為更衣室、倉儲設施區、車庫和辦公室等自然照明選擇有限的空間提供均勻的照明。它具有三種可調節的流明設定和三種可切換的色溫設定。

The REBL Round High Bay delivers uniform illumination for large open spaces like industrial facilities and indoor sports arenas. In addition to offering an expanded lumen range with switchable color temperature options, it is manufactured to withstand harsh conditions and could be easily integrated with our sensor switch controls for improved energy savings.

REBL 圓形高棚燈可為工業設施和室內運動場等大型開放空間提供均勻的照明。除了提供具有可切換色溫選項的擴展流明範圍之外，它還可以承受惡劣的條件，並且可以輕鬆地與我們的感測器開關控制器集成，以提高節能效果。

These innovations are important to our customers and our team has once again been recognized for the value they deliver. In the first quarter, many of our lighting solutions were selected for the GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN Awards, an international competition that celebrates the excellence and talent of creative professionals and firms.

這些創新對我們的客戶來說非常重要，我們的團隊再次因其所提供的價值而受到認可。第一季度，我們的許多照明解決方案均入選 GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN 大獎，這是一項旨在表彰創意專業人士和公司的卓越和才華的國際競賽。

Our winners included Mochi by Cyclone, Hydrel – Flame, and several Eureka products including the Tangram family and the Frank, Joli, Elke, and Marro Luminaires. Our Luminis Syrios Pro was recognized by The Architect's Newspaper's Best of Products Awards, which elevates well-designed products serving the architecture and design community.

我們的獲獎者包括 Cyclone 的 Mochi、Hydrel – Flame 以及幾款 Eureka 產品，包括 Tangram 系列和 Frank、Joli、Elke 和 Marro Luminaires。我們的 Luminis Syrios Pro 獲得了《建築師報紙》的最佳產品獎，該獎項旨在表彰為建築和設計界服務的精心設計的產品。

The Syrios Pro family includes interior and exterior luminaires for a seamless aesthetic transition. The luminaires are compatible with our in-light controls, allowing seamless control of indoor and outdoor spaces, while reducing energy costs, aiding in building compliance, and improving occupant comfort.

Syrios Pro 系列包括室內和室外燈具，可實現無縫的美學過渡。這些燈具與我們的燈光控制相容，可無縫控制室內和室外空間，同時降低能源成本，有助於建築合規，並提高居住者的舒適度。

Now, moving on to Intelligent Spaces, which delivered another strong quarter of sales growth and margin performance. Our mission in Intelligent Spaces is to make spaces smarter, safer, and greener through a strategy of connecting the edge with the cloud using disruptive technologies that leverage data interoperability.

現在，我們來談談智慧空間，該部門又一個季度實現了強勁的銷售成長和利潤表現。我們在智慧空間的使命是透過使用利用資料互通性的顛覆性技術將邊緣與雲端連接起來的策略，使空間變得更智慧、更安全、更環保。

In Distech, we are focused on where we compete and what we can control to expand our addressable market. As part of our geographic expansion, this quarter we continued to add systems integrator capacity in the UK, Asia, and Australia.

在 Distech，我們專注於我們的競爭領域以及我們能夠控制的領域，以擴大我們的潛在市場。作為我們地域擴張的一部分，本季我們繼續在英國、亞洲和澳洲增加系統整合商的能力。

Distech partners with the best SIs in specific geographies to sell our full suite of controls, sensors, and applications. In October, we brought together our North American SI partners in Nashville for our CONNECT Conference. This is a highly engaged community of the best systems integrators in the world that come together to learn more about Distech and Atrius products.

Distech 與特定地區的最佳 SI 合作，銷售我們的全套控制器、感測器和應用程式。十月份，我們在納許維爾召集了北美 SI 合作夥伴參加 CONNECT 會議。這是一個由世界上最優秀的系統整合商組成的高度參與的社區，他們聚集在一起了解有關 Distech 和 Atrius 產品的更多資訊。

During the conference, we launched new products and applications and delivered updates on the latest technology trends, while also offering technical training. This year was the highest attendance since the event began and highlighted the continued strength and importance of our relationships across the building management systems industry.

會議期間，我們發布了新產品和新應用，介紹了最新的技術趨勢，同時也提供了技術培訓。今年是該活動自舉辦以來出席人數最多的一年，凸顯了我們與樓宇管理系統產業的關係持續強勁和重要性。

We are thinking about spaces differently. We're using data to maximize occupant experience and transform spaces. Last week, we closed our acquisition of QSC. Through Distech, Atrius, and QSC, we can now control both how a space is managed and what happens in that space with our disruptive technologies that promote end user satisfaction through data interoperability.

我們對空間的看法不同。我們正在利用數據來最大限度地提升居住者體驗並改變空間。上週，我們完成了對 QSC 的收購。透過 Distech、Atrius 和 QSC，我們現在可以利用顛覆性技術來控制空間的管理方式和該空間內發生的事情，並透過資料互通性來提升最終用戶的滿意度。

Imagine a future where you walk into a room and the space intelligently adjusts, where data is used to predict how many people will be using that room, cooling or heating the room in advance for optimum occupant comfort, aligning the in-person and virtual experience by seamlessly transitioning between microphones and cameras based on who is speaking and where they are located, using data points to optimize lighting levels lowering shades if there is an increased glare. And if a meeting is canceled, reverting a room back to its unoccupied settings to save energy and lower costs. We're excited about the addition of QSC to Intelligence Spaces as we continue to execute on our mission.

想像未來你走進一個房間，這個空間會聰明地調整，數據可用於預測有多少人將使用該房間，提前冷卻或加熱房間以獲得最佳的居住舒適度，根據發言者和他們所在的位置在麥克風和攝像頭之間無縫轉換，從而協調面對面和虛擬的體驗，使用數據點來優化照明水平，如果眩光增加，則降低窗簾。如果會議取消，房間將恢復為空閒狀態，以節省能源並降低成本。我們很高興 QSC 加入 Intelligence Spaces，我們將繼續執行我們的使命。

Now looking forward, we are an industrial technology company with the best lighting company in North America and a larger-scale Intelligent Spaces business. Our path to growth and profitability is clear in both segments. In Acuity Brands Lighting, our growth algorithm is grow with the market, take share, and enter verticals where we have either not historically competed or where we are under penetrated.

現在展望未來，我們是一家工業科技公司，擁有北美最好的照明公司和更大規模的智慧空間業務。我們在兩個領域的成長和獲利道路都是明確的。在 Acuity Brands Lighting，我們的成長演算法是與市場一起成長、佔據份額並進入我們以前未曾競爭過或滲透不足的垂直領域。

We will continue on our path to improve margins. In Intelligent Spaces through Distech, Atrius, and QSC, we can now control both how a space is managed and what happens in that space with our disruptive technologies that promote end-user satisfaction through data interoperability. Our focus will be on growth, and we have the opportunity to expand margins.

我們將繼續努力提高利潤率。透過 Distech、Atrius 和 QSC，在智慧空間中，我們現在可以利用顛覆性技術來控制空間的管理方式和該空間內發生的事情，這些技術可以透過資料互通性來提升最終用戶的滿意度。我們的重點將放在成長上，我們有機會擴大利潤率。

We are creating value by growing net sales, turning profits into cash, and not growing the balance sheet as fast. And we are demonstrating that we are effective capital allocators. Now I'll turn the call over to Karen who will update you on our first-quarter performance and provide more details of the expected financial impact of the QSC acquisition.

我們透過增加淨銷售額、將利潤轉化為現金以及不那麼快速地增加資產負債表來創造價值。我們正在證明我們是有效的資本配置者。現在我將電話轉給凱倫，她將向您通報我們第一季的業績，並提供有關 QSC 收購預期財務影響的更多細節。

Thank you, Neil, and good morning to everyone on the call. We delivered solid performance in our first quarter of fiscal 2025. We grew sales, improved our adjusted operating profit and margin, and increased our adjusted diluted earnings per share.

謝謝你，尼爾，祝電話裡的每個人早安。我們在 2025 財年第一季取得了穩健的業績。我們的銷售額有所成長，調整後的營業利潤和利潤率有所提高，調整後的每股稀釋收益也有所增加。

For total AYI, we generated net sales in the first quarter of $952 million which was $17 million or 2% above the prior year as both Lighting and Intelligent Spaces grew. During the quarter, our adjusted operating profit was $159 million, which was up $5 million or 3% from last year and we expanded our adjusted operating profit margin to 16.7%, an increase of 20 basis points from the prior year.

就總 AYI 而言，我們第一季的淨銷售額為 9.52 億美元，比上年同期增加 1,700 萬美元或 2%，這得益於照明和智慧空間業務的成長。本季度，我們的調整後營業利潤為 1.59 億美元，較去年同期增加 500 萬美元，增幅 3%，調整後營業利潤率擴大至 16.7%，較上年同期增加 20 個基點。

This increase was largely a result of the significant year-over-year improvement in our gross profit margin driven by product vitality, the management of price and cost, and productivity improvements. We generated net interest income as a result of the cash position our balance sheet.

這一成長主要得益於產品活力、價格和成本管理以及生產力提高，帶動我們的毛利率較去年同期大幅提升。由於資產負債表中的現金狀況，我們產生了淨利息收入。

This quarter, our effective tax rate of 20.8% was lower than last year and lower than the expected full-year rate of around 23.5% due to discrete items in the quarter. Finally, our adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.97 increased $0.25 or 7% over the prior year.

本季度，我們的有效稅率為 20.8%，低於去年同期，且由於本季單獨項目的原因，低於預期的全年稅率 23.5% 左右。最後，我們的調整後每股攤薄收益為 3.97 美元，較前一年增加 0.25 美元，即 7%。

In Acuity Brands Lighting, net sales were $886 million, which was $10 million or 1% above the prior year, primarily the result of sales growth in our independent sales network and in our direct sales channel. Adjusted operating profit was $154 million and we delivered adjusted operating profit margin of 17.3%, which was down slightly compared to the prior year.

Acuity Brands Lighting 的淨銷售額為 8.86 億美元，比前一年增加 1,000 萬美元或 1%，這主要得益於我們獨立銷售網路和直銷通路的銷售成長。調整後營業利潤為 1.54 億美元，調整後營業利益率為 17.3%，與前一年相比略有下降。

Sales in Intelligent Spaces for the first quarter were $74 million, an increase of 15% year over year as Distech continued to deliver impressive growth. Adjusted operating profit in Intelligent Spaces was $15 million, with an adjusted operating profit margin of 21%, an improvement of 5 percentage points year over year.

第一季智慧空間的銷售額為 7,400 萬美元，年增 15%，Distech 持續實現令人矚目的成長。智慧空間調整後的營業利潤為1,500萬美元，調整後的營業利益率為21%，較去年同期增加5個百分點。

Now turning to our cash flow performance. In the first quarter of 2025, we generated $132 million of cash flow from operations. We earned attractive returns on the cash that we have on our balance sheet, and we ended the quarter with $936 million of cash. We closed the acquisition of QSC last week. We financed this acquisition with $600 million of additional debt and the remainder with cash on hand.

現在來談談我們的現金流表現。2025 年第一季度，我們產生了 1.32 億美元的營運現金流。我們資產負債表上的現金獲得了可觀的回報，本季末我們的現金餘額為 9.36 億美元。我們上週完成了對 QSC 的收購。我們透過 6 億美元的額外債務和庫存現金為此次收購提供資金。

During the quarter, we resumed our share repurchase program and allocated approximately $5 million to repurchase approximately 17,000 shares. I now want to spend a few minutes updating our outlook for 2025 for the inclusion of QSC.

本季度，我們恢復了股票回購計劃，並撥款約 500 萬美元回購約 17,000 股。現在，我想花幾分鐘更新我們對 2025 年納入 QSC 的展望。

QSC will be reported in our results beginning in January. Our updated expectation for full year fiscal 2025 is that net sales will be within the range of $4.3 billion and $4.5 billion for total AYI. And we expect adjusted diluted earnings per share within the range of $16.50 to $18.

我們將於一月開始在業績報告中報告 QSC。我們對 2025 財年全年的最新預期是，淨銷售額將在 43 億至 45 億美元之間。我們預計調整後的每股攤薄收益在 16.50 美元至 18 美元之間。

Additionally, we now expect to have full-year interest expense of between $20 million and $25 million for the full year fiscal 2025. We will incur integration expenses as well as the impact of purchase accounting adjustments throughout the year.

此外，我們目前預計 2025 財年全年利息支出將在 2,000 萬美元至 2,500 萬美元之間。我們將在全年產生整合費用以及採購會計調整的影響。

We're pleased with our performance in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. Our Lighting business continued to perform well, and our Intelligent Spaces business delivered impressive results. Thank you for joining us today. I will now pass you over to the operator to take your questions.

我們對 2025 財年第一季的表現感到滿意。我們的照明業務持續表現良好，我們的智慧空間業務取得了令人矚目的成績。感謝您今天加入我們。我現在將把電話轉給接線員來回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Ryan Merkel, William Blair.

（操作員指示）瑞安·默克爾、威廉·布萊爾。

First off, just wanted to ask on QSC and the accretion, and thanks for updating the guide. But could you give us the full 12-month accretion that you're expecting from QSC?

首先，我只是想問 QSC 和累積情況，感謝您更新指南。但是您能否告訴我們您期望 QSC 實現的整整 12 個月的成長情況？

Ryan, it's Neil. Thanks, everyone, for being with us this morning. So actually, it's not really relevant, the full year. So -- but on -- if you were to roll this forward on a calendar basis, I think you would directionally have the ability to do that. Just we have, what, 8 months of this year, so 8, 12 looking forward.

瑞安，我是尼爾。感謝大家今早與我們同在。所以實際上，這與全年並不太相關。所以 — — 但是 — — 如果您要按日曆向前滾動，我認為您將有方向性地有能力做到這一點。今年我們只有 8 個月了，所以我們還有 8、12 個月的時間。

But more importantly, we're really pleased with the acquisition. This is -- I believe, for our Intelligent Spaces group, we have a different theory of the case. We have the opportunity to control both what -- the building itself and what happens in the space. And that is a unique combination of data collection and the ability to control that data and do things with it.

但更重要的是，我們對這項收購感到非常高興。這是——我相信，對於我們的智慧空間小組來說，我們對這個案例有不同的理論。我們有機會控制建築物本身以及空間中發生的事情。這是資料收集和控制資料以及利用資料執行操作的能力的獨特組合。

So we're really pleased with that. We're off to a really good start with the team at QSC, and we're excited that they're part of Acuity.

我們對此非常滿意。我們與 QSC 團隊的合作非常順利，我們很高興他們成為 Acuity 的一部分。

Okay. Helpful. And then, Neil, can you just comment on order trends and if visibility has improved on the backlog and the pipeline with those projects potentially getting released?

好的。很有幫助。然後，尼爾，您能否評論訂單趨勢，以及積壓訂單和管道的可見性是否有所改善，這些項目是否有可能得到發布？

Yeah. So Ryan, I think you're referring more to the Lighting business there. So on the Lighting side, as we said in the prepared remarks, we're pleased with the performance. Our team there is executing consistently, and we're clear on the growth algorithm. As we look forward, obviously, we believe that calendar '25 is going to, from a market perspective, be better than calendar '24.

是的。所以 Ryan，我認為你更多指的是照明業務。因此在照明方面，正如我們在準備好的評論中所說的那樣，我們對性能感到滿意。我們那裡的團隊正在持續執行，我們清楚成長演算法。展望未來，我們顯然相信，從市場角度來看，25 年將會比 24 年更好。

We base that assumption on our view of data, external data going forward, number one; and second, then our interaction with the field, number two. The kind of the word from the field is that our growth algorithm is working.

我們根據對數據、外部數據的看法建立這個假設，這是第一；第二，我們與現場的互動，第二。來自現場的消息表明我們的增長演算法正在發揮作用。

We are the leading player, obviously, in the industry and lead not just by size but by performance and by performance, I mean quality of performance. So that is strong. If you dig into our Q1 numbers, you'll see that our C&I channel performed pretty well. Our retail channel did not perform great, but that's really just a point in time. So when you roll that forward, it gives us confidence for the rest of this year and beyond.

顯然，我們是行業領導者，領先不僅體現在規模上，還體現在業績上，我指的是業績品質。所以這很強大。如果您深入研究我們的第一季數據，您會發現我們的 C&I 管道表現相當良好。我們的零售通路表現不佳，但這其實只是一個時間點。因此，當你將其向前推進時，它會讓我們對今年剩餘時間及以後充滿信心。

And if I could just follow up on that last point. I noticed that the corporate accounts in retail were down, but the most important segment, the independent channel was up. So is the read here that you're starting to see sort of demand recovery, demand inflection? Or is it a bit too early?

我可以繼續談最後一點。我注意到零售業的企業帳戶有所下降，但最重要的部分——獨立通路卻有所上升。那麼，從這裡讀到的是否是您開始看到需求復甦、需求轉折點？或者說有點太早了？

Let's call that when it happens. So I'd say kind of on the C&I and direct channel, this is really a demonstration of I believe our product segmentation strategy coming to life and really working effectively. As you know, on our corporate accounts, it's an inconsistent business but a high-quality business. So we'll have some big quarters and some smaller quarters based on individual customer decisions. And then on the retail side, we have great relationships there.

當它發生時我們就稱之為它。所以我想說，在 C&I 和直接管道上，這確實證明了我們的產品細分策略正在發揮作用，而且確實有效。如你所知，在我們的公司帳戶上，這是一項不一致的業務，但卻是一項高品質的業務。因此，根據每個客戶的決策，我們將有一些較大的季度和一些較小的季度。在零售方面，我們建立了良好的關係。

So they haven't had great results over the course of the last year or so. So this is a little bit of a catch-up, but that's just a point in time. So I think it's early to call the inflection, but obviously, we're confident in where we're going in calendar '25.

所以他們在過去一年左右的時間裡沒有取得很好的成績。因此，這有點像是追趕，但這只是一個時間點。因此我認為現在說這是轉捩點還為時過早，但顯然，我們對 2025 年的發展方向充滿信心。

Tim Wojs, RW Baird.

蒂姆沃伊斯、RW 貝爾德。

I guess just a first question. Just on the guide, I just want to confirm, is the guide raise solely for QSC and the core is unchanged? Or did you guys make any changes to kind of the core guidance?

我想這只是第一個問題。只是在指南上，我只想確認，指南的提高是否僅針對 QSC，而核心保持不變？或者你們對核心指導做了什麼改變？

Yes, the guidance is the -- just the adjustment for QSC, so we expect the base business to perform as we laid out in the fourth quarter. And so the increase in the sales that you see, an increase in EPS is really due to the impact of QSC and then also the additional interest expense.

是的，該指引只是針對 QSC 的調整，因此我們預計基礎業務將按照我們在第四季度製定的計劃執行。因此，您看到的銷售額成長、每股盈餘成長實際上是由於 QSC 的影響，還有額外的利息支出。

Okay. Great. And then just maybe on QSC, just what's been the initial feedback from your system kind of integrated customers? And could you give us maybe a historical example or two of just how these kind of businesses kind of piece together and why it makes sense to have them under one roof?

好的。偉大的。那麼也許就 QSC 而言，您系統整合客戶的初步回饋是什麼？您能否為我們舉一兩個歷史上的例子，說明這些類型的企業是如何組合在一起的，以及為什麼將它們集中在一個屋簷下是合理的？

Yeah, sure. Well, so let's take a step back, Tim. As I said earlier, we do have a different theory of the case I believe, in the rest of the industry. And that's that data is the fundamental driver of value in this generation and that there's an opportunity to bring together the data that exists in a build space, what happens in a build space and who's in a build space. So the ability to build a data and control business then is the differentiated opportunity that we believe we've identified.

是的，當然。好吧，讓我們退一步來看看，提姆。正如我之前所說，我相信，我們在這個行業的其他領域對此確實有不同的理論。這就是數據是這個時代價值的基本驅動力，並且有機會將建構空間中存在的數據、建構空間中發生的事情以及建構空間中的人員整合在一起。因此，建立數據和控制業務的能力就是我們認為已經發現的差異化機會。

So these have not historically overlapped. So having said that, the initial response from the systems integrator community at Distech and the systems integrator community at QSC was, hey, can we sell the other one now? And which is exactly what we expected. We're not doing that yet, however. So our strategy for bringing this online is that we believe that, number one, this is a super high-quality asset and there -- and we want and expect them to continue to perform as they have been performing.

因此從歷史上看，它們並不重疊。話雖如此，Distech 的系統整合商社群和 QSC 的系統整合商社群的最初反應是，嘿，我們現在可以出售另一個嗎？這正是我們所期望的。但我們還沒有這麼做。因此，我們將其上線的策略是，我們相信，首先，這是一項超高品質的資產，而且我們希望並期待它們能夠繼續像現在這樣表現。

So that's kind of step one. Step two is we have the opportunity to create end-user opportunities through the combination of data and data interoperability. And that will happen over the next 12 to 24 months. And then finally, we're confident that they will benefit from being part of our organization and how we do things to drive their value. So a specific example of already how these come together, though, is that we initially met the companies through the interaction at an engineering and product level between Distech and QSC.

這是第一步。第二步是我們有機會透過數據和數據互通性的結合來創造最終用戶機會。這將在未來 12 到 24 個月內實現。最後，我們相信，成為我們組織的一部分並了解我們如何推動他們的價值，他們將受益匪淺。因此，關於這些是如何結合在一起的一個具體例子是，我們最初是透過 Distech 和 QSC 在工程和產品層面的互動來認識這些公司的。

So both of those now before the acquisition created data interoperability, so that the Q-SYS control system could control what was happening in the building through their interface, and Distech to control the AV through our interface. So it's a very natural combination, but it's one that hasn't existed between anyone else before.

因此，在收購之前，這兩者就已經創建了資料互通性，這樣 Q-SYS 控制系統就可以透過他們的介面控制建築物內發生的事情，而 Distech 則可以透過我們的介面控制 AV。所以這是一個非常自然的組合，但這種組合以前在任何人之間都是從未存在過的。

Okay. That's helpful. And then just to sneak one last one in. Just how is Acuity and maybe just kind of the channel in general just kind of preparing for potential tariffs? Has there been any sort of kind of pull forward in shipments? Or I guess, how would you kind of think about the tariff implications for Acuity and how people are managing in the channel?

好的。這很有幫助。然後偷偷地再放進去最後一個。Acuity 以及整個管道是如何為潛在的關稅做準備的？出貨量是否出現了某種提前成長？或者我想，您如何看待關稅對 Acuity 的影響以及人們如何在通路中進行管理？

I guess I'd summarize it, Tim, by saying there's been a lot of talk and not a whole lot of action. So we have not -- on our -- for ourselves, for example, we've made very small kind of targeted changes in our purchasing, which are kind of no regrets decisions about what might potentially happen in the future.

提姆，我想我可以這樣總結：談了很多，但採取的行動並不多。因此，我們並沒有為自己做出一些小小的針對性改變，例如，我們在採購方面所做的改變，這些改變是對未來可能發生的事情做出的不後悔的決定。

From a customer perspective, we've had a lot of customers asking us if we're going to increase prices and win because of tariffs. And then that conversation sort of died down. I'd say the expectation from our customers is that we will react accordingly when that happens. And we've set the expectation with them that nothing has happened, so there's nothing to talk about. And if something does happen, we will be prepared, and we will act accordingly.

從客戶角度來看，許多客戶詢問我們是否會提高價格並因關稅而獲勝。然後那場談話就漸漸平息了。我想說，我們的客戶期望是，當這種情況發生時，我們會做出相應的反應。我們已經向他們表明了預期，什麼都沒有發生，所以沒什麼好談的。如果確實發生了，我們將做好準備並採取相應行動。

Joe O'Dea, Wells Fargo.

富國銀行的喬‧奧迪亞 (Joe O’Dea)。

Can you just talk about the QSC margin opportunity over time. It looks like what's embedded in the guide for '25, now including QSC, would put their revenue may be up low double digits year over year. So a pretty attractive growth rate and not too dissimilar from ISG. It looks like on the margin profile, we may be looking at QSC margins kind of mid-teens versus the 20%-ish for ISG. So when you think about that margin gap, any structural differences there? And how do you think about the timeline to narrowing that?

您能否談談 QSC 長期以來的利潤機會？看起來，包括 QSC 在內的 25 年指南中的內容表明他們的收入可能比去年同期增長兩位數。因此，這是一個相當有吸引力的成長率，與 ISG 的成長率相差不大。從利潤率情況來看，QSC 的利潤率可能在 15% 左右，而 ISG 的利潤率則為 20% 左右。那麼當您考慮利潤差距時，存在任何結構性差異嗎？您認為縮短這一時間的時間表應該怎樣？

Yeah. So I'll take you back to what we said when we announced the acquisition, Joe, which is that this is an attractive opportunity, first of all, to bring together. I've talked about that already. Second, the underlying business is a strong business, which we think has similar financial profile to our existing assets in our Intelligent Spaces business.

是的。所以喬，我讓你回顧我們在宣布收購時所說的話，首先，這是一個有吸引力的機會。我已經談過這個了。其次，基礎業務是一項強大的業務，我們認為其財務狀況與我們智慧空間業務中的現有資產相似。

So I think you're right. It's kind of mid-teens. We're counting on mid-teens -- low to mid-teens growth rate for them, which is consistent with where we currently are. Our priority is growth. So we did not make this acquisition with the expectation that we would be taking costs out. We don't need to.

所以我認為你是對的。大概是十幾歲的樣子。我們預計他們的成長率將達到十五六分之一到十五分之一之間，這與我們目前的狀況一致。我們的首要任務是成長。因此，我們進行這次收購時並沒有期望能夠降低成本。我們不需要。

There's a natural opportunity to increase the margins over time as we grow similarly to what we've done with Distech and the ISG business. So you can see that over the course of the last three years where we've gone with that business.

隨著我們以與 Distech 和 ISG 業務類似的方式發展，隨著時間的推移，自然有機會提高利潤率。所以你可以看到，在過去三年裡，我們一直在開展這項業務。

So to answer kind of your last point, there is no structural difference that would impede our ability to do that over time. But I want to emphasize that our priority is, number one, to continue the growth and performance of the existing business; and then number two, to start to deliver things to the market that other people can't.

所以，回答你的最後一點，沒有任何結構性差異會阻礙我們隨著時間的推移做到這一點的能力。但我想強調的是，我們的首要任務是繼續保持現有業務的成長和績效；第二，開始向市場推出別人​​無法提供的產品。

And then just on the go-to-market and you talked about sort of encouraging feedback from systems integrators. But how much overlap is there in that system integrator go-to market today in terms of the percentage of sort QSC and ISG revenue that will be going through the same systems integrators through separate and kind of that opportunity set to then leverage those separate paths by selling both through them?

然後，就在進入市場的問題上，您談到了來自系統整合商的令人鼓舞的回饋。但是，就 QSC 和 ISG 收入的百分比而言，目前系統整合商進入市場時有多少重疊，這些收入將透過相同的系統整合商透過單獨的方式進行，然後透過這種機會集來利用這些單獨的路徑，透過它們銷售兩者？

So I'll take this opportunity, Joe, to highlight what I think is more important than that, which is that there's a fair amount of overlap among the smartest end-user customers between those who have used Distech and those who have used QSC and Q-SYS, the platform -- their platform brand, there is very interesting overlap there.

因此，喬，我將藉此機會強調我認為更重要的一點，那就是在最聰明的終端用戶中，使用 Distech 的客戶與使用 QSC 和 Q-SYS 平台（他們的平台品牌）的客戶之間存在相當大的重疊，那裡存在非常有趣的重疊。

So one of my observations, when I got here, about Distech was that it seems like the smartest customers by Distech, the smartest end users. Same thing is true with Q-SYS and QSC. So as a result of that, the systems integration community -- systems integrator community, both for Distech and for QSC is very attractive because they have the opportunity to use the best technology and to sell into the most sophisticated customers. So in that way, we're very similar. So we don't have any initial plans for those systems integrator communities to overlap over time.

所以，當我來到這裡時，我對 Distech 的一個觀察是，Distech 似乎擁有最聰明的客戶，最聰明的終端用戶。Q-SYS 和 QSC 也是如此。因此，系統整合社區——系統整合商社區，對於 Distech 和 QSC 來說都非常有吸引力，因為他們有機會使用最好的技術並向最成熟的客戶銷售產品。從這個方面來看，我們非常相似。因此，我們初步沒有製定讓這些系統整合商社群隨時間重疊的計畫。

But I do believe that we're going to have a natural pull from the most sophisticated end users for the solutions that we will be able to deliver.

但我相信，我們能夠提供的解決方案將自然吸引最成熟的最終用戶。

Chris Snyder, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的克里斯·斯奈德。

Maybe just following up on all the questions around the strategic rationale of QSC. It does seem like there is revenue synergy potential and maybe some moderate cost surgery potential. Is any of that factored into the kind of the $0.50 accretion that you guys are calling for this year? Or is that really just kind of a continuation of the steady-state business we've seen at QSC, which is growing and kind of generating these mid-teen margins to begin with?

也許只是跟進有關 QSC 策略原理的所有問題。它確實看起來有收入綜效的潛力，或許還有一些中等成本的手術潛力。這些因素是否都影響了你們今年所期望的 0.50 美元的成長？或者這實際上只是 QSC 所見的穩定業務的延續，QSC 正在不斷增長並且一開始就產生了中等水平的利潤率？

Yeah. Welcome back, Chris. So our expectation for the first 12 months or so of the business is that they continue to operate as they have operated and we'll go through the integration process. So I think revenue synergies are in the future, not the present as a result of this. And as I said, we don't feel the need to take costs out of their business. We want to prioritize growth.

是的。歡迎回來，克里斯。因此，我們對業務前 12 個月左右的預期是，它們將繼續以原有方式運營，並且我們將完成整合過程。因此，我認為收入綜效是未來的，而不是現在的。正如我所說的，我們認為沒有必要從他們的業務中剔除成本。我們希望優先考慮成長。

I appreciate that. And then, obviously, gross margin just continues to be kind of a phenomenal story for the company. And I think on the last conference call, Neil, you kind of talked about ABL continuing to grow margins in, I believe, the 50 to 100 basis point range over the, I guess, medium to long term.

我很感激。顯然，毛利率對於公司來說繼續是一個驚人的數字。尼爾，我記得在上次電話會議中您談到了 ABL 的利潤率將在中長期內繼續增長 50 到 100 個基點。

It seems like that implies that you guys think gross margin can continue to push higher from these levels to drive that level of operating margin expansion. I guess is that the right takeaway and how do you see gross margin going from here? I mean it wasn't that long ago where we were wondering if you could get to 42%.

這似乎意味著你們認為毛利率可以從這些水準繼續走高，從而推動營業利潤率的擴大。我想這是正確的結論嗎？您認為今後毛利率會如何變動？我的意思是，不久前我們還在想你能否達到 42%。

Karen, do you want to take this one?

凱倫，你想拿這個嗎？

Yeah. Chris, good to hear from you again. You're right. We're really pleased with our gross profit margin expansion over the course of time. We were at 47.2% this quarter, which was up 140 basis points year over year.

是的。克里斯，很高興再次收到你的來信。你說得對。我們對我們的毛利率隨著時間的推移而擴大感到非常高興。本季我們的比率為 47.2%，比去年同期上升了 140 個基點。

Particularly at ABL, it's a reflection of the work we've done over the past few years on the strategy with product vitality, service, technology and productivity, but also the growth of Intelligent Space is having an impact on that gross profit margin.

特別是在 ABL，它反映了我們過去幾年在產品活力、服務、技術和生產力策略方面所做的工作，而且智慧空間的成長也對毛利率產生了影響。

When you think about product vitality, you've seen it on the presentation. We're not going to stop, and we're going to have products like what we highlighted last quarter with the HOLOBAY, so where we're delivering higher value products with less material content.

當您考慮產品活力時，您已經在演示中看到它。我們不會止步於此，我們將推出像上個季度重點推出的 HOLOBAY 這樣的產品，即用更少的材料含量提供更高價值的產品。

So to answer your question, yeah, we think there's still some room there. And our comment last quarter was on the 50 to 100 basis points of margin improvement at ABL from an operating profit perspective.

所以回答你的問題，是的，我們認為那裡還有一些空間。我們上個季度的評論是從營業利潤的角度看 ABL 的利潤率提高了 50 到 100 個基點。

We do think that over the course of time, that business will continue to improve margins. We're going to make some investments; we talked about technology investments that we need to make to power our gross profit margins. So you may see a little bit more investment in SG&A to get benefits elsewhere. But overall, we feel really good about that business continuing to perform and improved margins over time.

我們確實認為，隨著時間的推移，該業務的利潤率將繼續提高。我們將進行一些投資；我們討論了為提高毛利率所需進行的技術投資。因此，您可能會看到在銷售、一般及行政開支方面增加一些投資，以獲得其他方面的收益。但總體而言，我們對該業務的持續表現和利潤率的提高感到非常滿意。

Christopher Glynn, Oppenheimer.

克里斯托弗·格林，奧本海默。

A lot of good detail on QSC, so I'll pivot to ABL a little more. You've talked about the last few quarters kind of agency activity being fairly positive input and some project delays and release times a factor there. So I'm wondering if the agency activity is still suggesting a bit of a momentum build opportunity as the year goes on, and if financing and inflation are the main pacing items for the release to coalesce.

QSC 上有很多很好的細節，所以我將更多地轉向 ABL。您談到了過去幾個季度的代理活動相當積極，一些專案的延遲和發佈時間也是其中一個因素。因此，我想知道，隨著時間的推移，機構活動是否仍暗示著一些勢頭增強的機會，以及融資和通膨是否是釋放融合的主要節奏項目。

Yeah, Chris, I think those are good questions. So big picture, and I'll react to kind of the agency network in general. Our HC network continues to perform. So the independent sales network is an important part of what we do at ABL. I highlighted their performance or the performance of that channel earlier in the call.

是的，克里斯，我認為這些都是很好的問題。所以從總體上來說，我會對代理網絡做出整體反應。我們的 HC 網路持續發揮效用。因此，獨立銷售網絡是我們 ABL 業務的重要組成部分。我在之前的通話中強調了他們的表現或該管道的表現。

As we look at data to predict the future for us, we do look at inflation, we do look at interest rates. We do look at ABI, we look at kind of a few other factors. And all of those collectively point towards a trend, which improved in '25. It's unclear exactly what -- or let me rephrase that. It's unclear to me personally exactly what opens those.

當我們透過數據來預測未來時，我們會考慮通貨膨脹，我們會考慮利率。我們確實會考慮 ABI，也會考慮其他一些因素。所有這些都表明，趨勢在 25 年有所改善。目前還不清楚具體是什麼——或者讓我重新表達。我個人並不清楚究竟是什麼打開了這些。

And I'm not sure it's consistent based on the data that we've seen. Having said that, net-net, the sentiment remains strong in our agency community. A, we talked to them; B, we survey them on a regular basis.

但根據我們看到的數據，我不確定它是否一致。話雖如此，但總體而言，我們代理機構社群的情緒仍然強烈。A，我們和他們交談了； B，我們定期對他們進行調查。

And everyone expects this to be a kind of normal and accelerating performance over time -- well, look, not everybody, the majority expected to be improving over time. So net-net, this feels sort of normal, not like there's going to be a floodgate that opens or anything like that, but it feels like a steady build from here.

每個人都期望這是一種隨著時間推移而不斷正常和加速的表現——好吧，不是每個人，而是大多數人都期望隨著時間的推移而不斷進步。所以總的來說，這感覺很正常，並不是像會打開一扇閘門或類似的東西，而是感覺從現在開始穩定發展。

Okay. Great. So it sounds like normal seasonal patterns is a very good baseline for us to focus on, you would say, for ABL?

好的。偉大的。所以聽起來正常的季節性模式是我們關注的一個很好的基準，您認為對於 ABL 來說呢？

Yeah, I think that's the starting point, and we'll see if we can outgrow that.

是的，我認為這是起點，我們將看看是否能夠超越它。

Jeffrey Sprague, Vertical Research.

傑弗瑞‧斯普拉格 (Jeffrey Sprague)，垂直研究。

Maybe just a couple of loose ends for me, a lot of ground cover. First, just want to touch base on ABL operating margins, which did tick down a little bit. So maybe the larger question is in terms of what's going on with SG&A and investment and the fact that the gross margin and operating margin went in different directions in the quarter?

對我來說可能只是一些散亂的東西，很多地面覆蓋物。首先，我只想談談 ABL 的營業利潤率，它確實略有下降。因此，也許更大的問題在於銷售、一般及行政費用和投資的情況，以及本季毛利率和營業利潤率為何出現不同的變化？

Karen?

卡倫？

Yeah. So Jeff, as I talked about before, we are continuing to make some investments in ABL. And if you look at it sequentially kind of on a dollar basis, you'll see that our expenses are more consistent with where we trended in the back half of last year. So the opportunity really is to continue to manage those expenses. And as sales come back, as we've described, a little bit more in the second half, then you'll see the percent of sales start to improve.

是的。所以傑夫，正如我之前所說的，我們正在繼續對 ABL 進行一些投資。如果你以美元連續查看，你會發現我們的支出與去年下半年的趨勢更一致。因此，真正的機會是繼續管理這些費用。正如我們所描述的，隨著下半年銷售額的回升，您會看到銷售額的百分比開始提高。

But we feel good about our management of those investments. We will invest in technology, which could identify some benefits elsewhere in the P&L. But overall, we think there's opportunity to leverage some of those fixed expenses or the operating expenses as we come back and grow sales a little bit higher in the back half of the year.

但我們對這些投資的管理感到滿意。我們將對科技進行投資，這可以在損益表的其他方面帶來一些好處。但總體而言，我們認為，隨著我們在今年下半年恢復並實現更高的銷售額，我們有機會利用其中一些固定支出或營運支出。

And then, Neil, this idea of sort of the smartest, most sophisticated customers using Distech, QSC, is there a common theme as it relates to that customer type in terms of, I don't know, use or lack thereof the company or business or the vertical market or some characteristics that you'd say applies across that set of customers that you're referencing?

然後，Neil，這種關於使用 Distech、QSC 的最聰明、最老練的客戶的想法，是否存在與該客戶類型相關的共同主題，就公司或業務或垂直市場的使用或缺乏而言，或者您認為適用於您所參考的那組客戶的一些特徵？

Yeah, Jeff, I'd say that the things that we -- I have identified about the consistency of those customers is generally that they're technology forward, they manage their operations centrally, and they want to get consistency across their fleet of buildings or locations.

是的，傑夫，我想說的是，我們已經發現這些客戶的一致性，一般是他們技術先進，集中管理其運營，並且希望在其所有建築或地點保持一致性。

So they're looking for, one, productivity of the uses of their space, number one; and number two, they're looking for productivity and how they are able to manage those spaces. And I'll give you two specific examples. So we had the Distech Conference that we mentioned, so the CONNECT Conference in Nashville. That's 700 systems integrators who showed up; they paid to attend.

因此，他們尋求的是，第一，提高空間利用的生產力；第二，他們尋求的是生產力以及如何管理這些空間。我給你舉兩個具體的例子。因此，我們舉辦了先前提到的 Distech 會議，也就是納許維爾的 CONNECT 會議。共有 700 名系統整合商出席；他們付費參加。

It's a combination of family reunion kind of tech-forward business opportunity. So we were there and one of the panels was a -- obviously, it was a -- was one of our -- some of our best customers from our what we call our Building Advisory Council.

這是家庭團聚與科技前沿商業機會的結合。所以我們在那裡，其中一個小組是——顯然，是我們建築諮詢委員會的一些最好的客戶之一。

So the guy runs facilities for Stanford University was talking about the benefits of using Distech and the leveragability that he gets, they get over their campus by the consistency and the technology that Distech provides them.

史丹佛大學設施管理人員正在談論使用 Distech 的好處以及他所獲得的槓桿作用，他們透過 Distech 為他們提供的一致性和技術克服了校園困難。

Similarly, if you go to QSC's website, they have a ton of case studies on Q-SYS, which are really interesting to read. I'd highlight one that I found really interesting, which is Indiana University basically normalized each of their classroom interfaces.

同樣，如果你訪問 QSC 的網站，他們有大量關於 Q-SYS 的案例研究，讀起來真的很有趣。我想強調一點我認為非常有趣的，那就是印第安納大學基本上規範了每個教室的介面。

So large spaces, small spaces, so that there's a consistency to the end user when they walk into that space of how it operates, which gives them a significant amount of additional productivity and they can manage that centrally.

如此大的空間，小的空間，以便當最終用戶走進那個空間時，它能夠一致地了解它的運作方式，這為他們提供了大量額外的生產力，並且他們可以集中管理。

So the trends become the same, which is technology, which is creating data getting closer to the CIO and the head of facilities that are driving end-user outcomes in the space and are driving productivity to the organization and how they manage the space.

因此，趨勢變得相同，即技術，它正在創建更接近首席資訊長和設施負責人的數據，從而推動該領域的最終用戶成果，並推動組織的生產力以及他們如何管理空間。

Great. And maybe just one quick one for Karen. I'm sorry, Karen, you mentioned purchase accounting and inventory and the like. All that's adjusted out of your construct, though, correct?

偉大的。也許對 Karen 來說，我只想說一句話。對不起，凱倫，您提到了採購會計和庫存之類的事情。不過，所有這些都是根據你的構造進行調整的，對嗎？

Yes, it is. All of that would not be included in our adjusted diluted earnings per share expectations, correct.

是的。所有這些都不會包含在我們的調整後每股攤薄收益預期中，正確。

Right. Thank you, everyone.

正確的。謝謝大家。

Brett Castelli, Morningstar.

晨星的布雷特·卡斯特利。

Just wanted to ask on ABL and specifically on the Design Select product portfolio and just the traction you're seeing there with customers?

只是想問 ABL，特別是關於 Design Select 產品組合以及您在客戶中看到的吸引力？

Yeah, Brad, welcome. As we've highlighted, the portfolio segmentation strategy is really about how we drive growth and productivity for ourselves and our partners. So the Design Select portfolio is really created to drive growth and productivity with the design community, not surprisingly, given the name, and how they can execute their projects. So traction is good there. We're -- our growth is -- we expect this to be a multiyear, I think, three- to five-year kind of progression for us.

是的，布拉德，歡迎。正如我們所強調的，投資組合細分策略實際上是關乎我們如何推動我們自己和合作夥伴的成長和生產力。因此，Design Select 產品組合的真正創建是為了推動設計社群的成長和生產力，這並不奇怪，因為它有這個名字，而且他們也可以執行他們的專案。那裡的牽引力很好。我們 — — 我們的成長是 — — 我們預期這將是一個多年的進步，我想，對我們來說是三到五年的進步。

The percentage of our sales, which are attributable to Design Select is ahead of where we expected it to be at this point, but we're still really early in the process. So we're in the second inning of -- second, third inning of what we think we can do with Design Select.

在我們的銷售額中，來自 Design Select 的份額已經超出了我們的預期，但我們仍處於這個過程的早期階段。因此，我們認為我們可以使用 Design Select 做的第二局、第三局已經進入了尾聲。

But the reaction from the external community has been very strong. They understand the premise, they understand how it creates value for them, and they're starting to select it. The gating item for us is we're going to roll it out in over time, meaning the products that are available to that when we get those products right. So we're not muscling through this. We're doing this the right way to create long-term value.

但外界的反應非常強烈。他們理解前提，理解它如何為他們創造價值，並開始選擇它。對我們來說，關鍵項目是我們要隨著時間的推移逐步推出它，這意味著當我們獲得正確的產品時，就可以使用該產品。所以我們不會強行解決這個問題。我們正在以正確的方式創造長期價值。

That's great. And then maybe for Karen, just on capital allocation for the remainder of the year. And just curious what you're thinking in terms of potential debt paydown if any as part of that?

那太棒了。對 Karen 來說，也許只是關於今年剩餘時間的資本配置。我很好奇，如果有的話，您對潛在的債務償還有何看法？

Sure. Yeah. So first, on capital allocation, let me just reiterate our priorities. So our priorities for capital allocation are to invest in our current businesses for growth, invest in M&A as you clearly see what we're doing there, increase our dividend, and then also to make share repurchases. So to address your question specifically, we do generate a lot of cash.

當然。是的。首先，關於資本配置，讓我重申我們的優先事項。因此，我們資本配置的重點是投資於當前業務以實現成長，投資於併購（正如您清楚地看到我們在那裡所做的那樣），增加我們的股息，然後進行股票回購。具體回答你的問題，我們確實產生了很多現金。

And as we said, when we announced the acquisition is we do have the ability to pay down this debt pretty quickly to give us options to do more things in the future. So with our cash generation, we can address all of our capital allocation priorities, including paying down the debt over the next 12 to 18 months.

正如我們所說的，當我們宣布收購時，我們確實有能力很快償還這筆債務，以便讓我們在未來有更多選擇去做更多的事情。因此，透過創造現金，我們可以解決所有資本配置優先事項，包括在未來 12 到 18 個月內償還債務。

I would also highlight we did resume our share repurchase program this quarter. We were out of the market a little bit because of the announcement of QSC. So we've entered late in the quarter, probably just had the last month of the quarter. So it looks a little bit light, but we continue to be pleased with our repurchase program and the outcome of that program, and so we expect that to continue as well.

我還要強調的是，我們本季確實恢復了股票回購計畫。由於 QSC 的發布，我們稍微退出了市場。因此，我們已經進入本季末，可能剛度過本季的最後一個月。因此，它看起來有點輕鬆，但我們仍然對我們的回購計劃及其結果感到滿意，因此我們預計它也會繼續下去。

And I'm showing no further questions in the queue at this time. I'd like to turn the call back over to Neil Ashe for any closing remarks.

目前隊列中沒有其他問題。我想將電話轉回給尼爾‧阿什 (Neil Ashe)，請他做最後發言。

Great. Thank you, operator. Thank you all for joining us this morning. Obviously, we're pleased with our performance in the first quarter. As we said in the prepared remarks, we have the best lighting company in North America. It's performing.

偉大的。謝謝您，接線生。感謝大家今天早上參加我們的活動。顯然，我們對第一季的表現感到滿意。正如我們在準備好的演講中所說，我們擁有北美最好的照明公司。它正在表演。

We have a clear algorithm for growth and the opportunity to continue to increase margins. We also now have a larger-scale Intelligent Spaces business, which brings together data and control in a way that is unique to us, and we believe can provide differentiated opportunities and growth in the marketplace.

我們有明確的成長演算法和繼續提高利潤的機會。我們現在還擁有更大規模的智慧空間業務，它以我們獨特的方式將數據和控制結合在一起，我們相信它可以在市場上提供差異化的機會和成長。

We're clear on how we create value. We grow net sales, we turn profits into cash, and we don't grow the balance sheet as fast. So thank you for joining us this morning, and we look forward to talking to you again next quarter.

我們清楚我們如何創造價值。我們的淨銷售額成長，我們將利潤轉化為現金，但資產負債表的成長速度卻沒有那麼快。感謝您今天上午加入我們，我們期待下個季度再次與您交談。

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。