Azenta Inc (AZTA) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Azenta fourth quarter 2024 financial results. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded on Tuesday, November 12, 2024.

您好，歡迎閱讀 Azenta 2024 年第四季財務業績。（操作員說明）謹此提醒，本次會議將於 2024 年 11 月 12 日星期二錄製。

I will now turn the conference over to Yvonne Perron, Vice President, FP&A and Investor Relations.

我現在將會議交給 FP&A 和投資者關係副總裁 Yvonne Perron。

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon to everyone on the line today. We would like to welcome you to our earnings conference call for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. Our fourth quarter earnings press release was issued after the close of the market today and is available on our Investor Relations website located at investors.azenta.com in addition to the supplementary PowerPoint slides that will be used during the prepared remarks today.

謝謝接線員，今天在線上的各位大家下午好。我們歡迎您參加我們 2024 財年第四季的財報電話會議。我們的第四季財報新聞稿是在今天收盤後發布的，除了今天準備好的演講中將使用的補充 PowerPoint 幻燈片之外，還可在我們的投資者關係網站 Investors.azenta.com 上取得。

I would like to remind everyone that during the course of the call, we will be making a number of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Litigation Securities Act of 1995. There are many factors that may cause actual financial results or other events to differ from those identified in such forward looking statements.

我想提醒大家，在電話會議期間，我們將做出一些符合 1995 年《私人訴訟證券法》含義的前瞻性聲明。有許多因素可能導致實際財務結果或其他事件與此類前瞻性陳述中確定的結果不同。

I would refer you to the section of our earnings release titled Safe Harbor statement, the Safe Harbor slide on the aforementioned PowerPoint presentation on our website, and on our various filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We make no obligation to update these statements should future financial data or events occur and differ from the forward-looking statements presented today.

我建議您參閱我們收益報告中標題為安全港聲明的部分、我們網站上上述PowerPoint 簡報中的安全港幻燈片，以及我們向SEC 提交的各種文件，包括我們的10-K 表格年度報告和我們的季度報告。如果未來的財務資料或事件發生並且與今天提出的前瞻性陳述不同，我們沒有義務更新這些陳述。

We may refer to a number of non-GAAP financial measures, which are used in addition to and in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP. We believe the non-GAAP measures provide an additional way of viewing aspects of our operations and performance. But when considered with GAAP financial results and the reconciliation of GAAP measures, they provide an even more complete understanding of the Azenta business. Non-GAAP measures should not be relied upon the exclusion of the GAAP measure themselves.

我們可能會參考一些非 GAAP 財務指標，這些指標與根據 GAAP 呈現的結果一起使用。我們相信，非公認會計準則衡量標準提供了另一種查看我們營運和績效方面的方式。但是，當考慮 GAAP 財務表現和 GAAP 衡量標準的調整時，它們可以提供對 Azenta 業務的更完整的了解。非 GAAP 衡量標準不應依賴排除 GAAP 衡量標準本身。

On the call with me today is our President and Chief Executive Officer, John Marotta; and our Chief Financial Officer, Herman Cueto. We will open the call with remarks from John, then Herman will provide a detailed look into our financial results and our outlook for fiscal year 2025. We will then take your questions at the end of the prepared remarks.

今天與我通話的是我們的總裁兼執行長約翰·馬洛塔 (John Marotta)；以及我們的財務長 Herman Cueto。我們將以約翰的演講開始電話會議，然後赫爾曼將詳細介紹我們的財務表現和 2025 財年的前景。然後，我們將在準備好的發言結束時回答您的問題。

And with that, I would like to turn the call over to our CEO, John Marotta.

說到這裡，我想將電話轉給我們的執行長約翰·馬洛塔。

Thank you, Yvonne. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today as we share our fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2024 results. I'm honored to have the opportunity to lead Azenta in its next phase of delivering value for our customers, employees and shareholders. On behalf of Azenta employees and shareholder (inaudible) to the company's success. Thank you, Steve.

謝謝你，伊馮。大家下午好，感謝您今天加入我們，分享我們的 2024 財年第四季和全年業績。我很榮幸有機會領導 Azenta 進入下一階段，為我們的客戶、員工和股東創造價值。代表 Azenta 員工和股東（聽不清楚）祝公司成功。謝謝你，史蒂夫。

I also want to thank our almost 3,300 associates at Azenta for the very warm welcome. My first 60 days have been focused on meeting our customers, our teams, traveling to our many global locations, having in-depth working sessions and reviewing our portfolio. We are already busy identifying and tackling a long list of opportunities with a sense of urgency.

我還要感謝 Azenta 近 3,300 名員工的熱情歡迎。我的前 60 天一直專注於與我們的客戶、我們的團隊會面，前往我們全球的許多地點，進行深入的工作會議並審查我們的產品組合。我們已經帶著緊迫感忙於識別和處理一長串的機會。

I want to briefly discuss two recent announcements. Last week, we announced the appointment to our Board of new Independent Directors, William or Bill Cornog, Quentin Koffey and Alan Malus. I'm excited about these additions who bring a diverse set of skills that complement our Board's existing strengths. We also established a new value creation committee that will assist and advise the Board in driving long-term value creation including through growth, cost and capital allocation initiatives.

我想簡單討論一下最近發布的兩項公告。上週，我們宣布任命 William 或 Bill Cornog、Quentin Koffey 和 Alan Malus 加入董事會。我對這些新成員感到很興奮，他們帶來了一系列多樣化的技能，補充了我們董事會現有的優勢。我們還成立了一個新的價值創造委員會，該委員會將協助董事會推動長期價值創造並提供建議，包括透過成長、成本和資本分配措施。

Today, we announced the appointment of Lawrence Lin as our new CFO. Lawrence is a tremendous executive who I've known for nearly a decade and work closely with at Danaher and PHC, a KKR company. Most recently, Lawrence was the CFO of private equity-owned GEO Stabilization International, also a KKR company, where he was part of the management team that returned five times the equity invested by KKR.

今天，我們宣布任命勞倫斯林 (Lawrence Lin) 為我們的新財務長。勞倫斯 (Lawrence) 是一位出色的高管，我認識他已近十年，並在丹納赫 (Danaher) 和 KKR 公司 PHC 密切合作。最近，Lawrence 擔任私募股權公司 GEO Stabilization International（也是 KKR 旗下公司）的財務官，他所在的管理團隊的回報率是 KKR 投資股權的五倍。

In addition to his exceptional performance as a CFO, Lawrence is extremely well versed in the business systems operating model and lean principles we are implementing. He possesses the precise skill set we need as we move into the next phase of Azenta. I'm thrilled that he has agreed to join the team and excited for all to get to know him better.

除了作為財務長的出色表現外，勞倫斯還非常精通我們正在實施的業務系統營運模式和精實原則。他擁有我們進入 Azenta 下一階段所需的精確技能。我很高興他同意加入這個團隊，也很高興大家能更了解他。

I also want to acknowledge Herman Cueto for the progress he helped us achieve at Azenta. Herman will leave us with a great foundation on which to build and has made many tangible contributions during his time at the company, including most notably, his work on developing the (inaudible) 2026 program, which is already yielding significant margin benefits. I'll take this opportunity to thank him, although he'll be continuing on as an adviser with us for some time to ensure a smooth transition.

我還要感謝 Herman Cueto 幫助我們在 Azenta 的進步。赫爾曼將為我們留下一個堅實的基礎，並在他在公司任職期間做出了許多切實的貢獻，其中最引人注目的是他在製定（聽不清）2026 年計劃方面所做的工作，該計劃已經產生了顯著的利潤效益。我將藉此機會感謝他，儘管他將繼續擔任我們的顧問一段時間，以確保順利過渡。

Moving on to the business. I'm pleased to share Azenta delivered strong results in the quarter and in the year despite depressed and uncertain life sciences market. Our full year 2024 results were in line with our guidance as we reported revenue of $656 million, down 2% year over year on an organic basis. Excluding B Medical, the combined Sample Management Solutions and Multiomics grew core revenue by 4% for the year.

繼續開展業務。我很高興地與大家分享，儘管生命科學市場低迷且充滿不確定性，但 Azenta 在本季和今年仍取得了強勁的業績。我們的 2024 年全年業績符合我們的指引，我們報告的收入為 6.56 億美元，有機年減 2%。不包括 B Medical，樣本管理解決方案和 Multiomics 合併後的核心收入今年成長了 4%。

As this is my first opportunity to speak to the investment community, I'm going to briefly touch on B Medical, and then I'll spend a few minutes discussing my perspectives on our core businesses and the key areas of focus in 2025 and beyond. Herman will then go into more detail about our financial performance.

由於這是我第一次有機會與投資界對話，因此我將簡要介紹 B Medical，然後我將花幾分鐘討論我對我們的核心業務以及 2025 年及以後重點關注領域的看法。然後赫爾曼將更詳細地介紹我們的財務表現。

Today, we announced our decision to sell B Medical. This action will allow us to refocus our high-quality core businesses where we have a tremendous opportunity to accelerate core growth and expand margins. We will provide updates on the sale process as relevant.

今天，我們宣布決定出售 B Medical。這項行動將使我們能夠重新專注於高品質的核心業務，我們有巨大的機會加速核心成長並擴大利潤。我們將提供相關銷售流程的最新資訊。

We'll now turn to my perspective on our core businesses. I was excited to join Azenta because of its attractive and competitively advantaged portfolio of businesses. And after 60 days on the job, I'm even more enthusiastic about our company today. Our Sample Management Solutions business enjoys a significant competitive advantage, long-term outsourcing tailwinds and highly profitable recurring revenue streams from its subscription and services offerings.

現在我們將談談我對我們核心業務的看法。我很高興加入 Azenta，因為它具有有吸引力且具有競爭優勢的業務組合。經過 60 天的工作，今天我對我們的公司更加充滿熱情。我們的樣品管理解決方案業務享有顯著的競爭優勢、長期外包優勢以及來自訂閱和服務產品的高利潤經常性收入流。

For customers who want to store on site, we sell differentiated cold storage and cryogenic products that are customized to the customer's unique requirements. For customers who want to outsource, we offer storage at one of our bio repositories.

對於想要現場存放的客戶，我們銷售根據客戶的獨特要求量身定制的差異化冷藏和低溫產品。對於想要外包的客戶，我們在我們的生物儲存庫之一提供儲存。

For both, automation is at the core of our highly efficient and scalable storage management solutions. That automation technology manages the growing number of samples generated and functions as both a library and a warehouse workflow management tool. It enables digital formatting, registration and retrieval.

對於這兩者來說，自動化是我們高效且可擴展的儲存管理解決方案的核心。這個自動化技術管理產生的越來越多的樣本，並充當庫和倉庫工作流程管理工具。它支援數位格式化、註冊和檢查。

When coupled with our sample intelligent software solutions, it pinpoints and provides timely access to samples the customer needs to retrieve. We'll invest more in building out our unique automation technology and developing new products like our BioArc-Ultra, a revolutionary product enabling large-scale and eco-friendly ultra-cold sample storage.

當與我們的範例智慧軟體解決方案結合使用時，它可以精確定位並提供對客戶需要檢索的範例的及時存取。我們將投入更多資金來建立我們獨特的自動化技術並開發新產品，例如我們的 BioArc-Ultra，這是一款革命性產品，可實現大規模且環保的超冷樣品儲存。

Moving now to our Multiomics business, which is renowned for its research expertise and consultative approach to performing genomics analysis and data collection that enables impactful scientific discovery. This business embraces the newest technology and develops product offerings to meet the needs of customers in a rapidly evolving scientific research environment.

現在轉向我們的多組學業務，該業務以其研究專業知識和執行基因組學分析和數據收集的諮詢方法而聞名，從而實現有影響力的科學發現。該業務採用最新技術並開發產品，以滿足快速發展的科學研究環境中的客戶需求。

By way of example, our next-generation sequencing business was among the first to implement the NovaSeq X Plus platform. While this technology transition brought with it pricing pressure, it has enabled growing customer adoption of our services, which combined with our commercial execution has outpaced the pricing headwind.

舉例來說，我們的次世代定序業務是最早實施 NovaSeq X Plus 平台的業務之一。雖然這種技術轉型帶來了定價壓力，但它使越來越多的客戶採用我們的服務，這與我們的商業執行相結合已經克服了定價阻力。

Funding for capital investments continue to be constrained, driving increased R&D outsourcing for trusted partners like Genewiz, we expect pricing will continue to stabilize throughout the first half of 2025. And will benefit from capabilities of our new location in Oxford UK that opened earlier this year.

資本投資資金持續受到限制，推動 Genewiz 等值得信賴的合作夥伴增加研發外包，我們預計定價將在 2025 年上半年繼續穩定。並將受益於我們今年稍早在英國牛津開設的新工廠的能力。

In our Gene Synthesis business, we are investing in broadening our product portfolio to include more downstream workflows and we intend to expand our synthesis capacity in the US to satisfy growing demand. In our Sanger business, we have met the ongoing technology shift in traditional sanger sequencing market with our adoption of the offering since its launch in 2023, and we'll continue to close the gap created by Sanger market headwinds.

在我們的基因合成業務中，我們正在投資擴大我們的產品組合，以包括更多下游工作流程，並且我們打算擴大我們在美國的合成能力，以滿足不斷增長的需求。在我們的桑格業務中，自 2023 年推出以來，我們採用了該產品，滿足了傳統桑格定序市場持續的技術轉變，我們將繼續縮小桑格市場逆風造成的差距。

Importantly, the growth investments I mentioned are relatively small in absolute dollars, offer very attractive returns and can be made even as we expand margins and increase cash flow, thanks to the tremendous efficiency opportunities we have available to us.

重要的是，我提到的成長投資以絕對美元計算相對較小，但提供非常有吸引力的回報，即使我們擴大利潤並增加現金流，也可以進行，這要歸功於我們擁有的巨大的效率機會。

Next, I'll spend a few minutes talking about key areas in which we are focused for 2025 and beyond. These include portfolio optimization, operational excellence and value-enhancing capital allocation. We've talked about portfolio optimization with the ongoing sale of B Medical. In terms of operational excellence, we have identified key priorities to build on our strong foundation and reduce complexity.

接下來，我將花幾分鐘討論 2025 年及以後我們重點關注的關鍵領域。其中包括投資組合優化、卓越營運和增值資本配置。我們討論了透過持續出售 B Medical 來優化投資組合。在卓越營運方面，我們確定了關鍵優先事項，以建立我們堅實的基礎並降低複雜性。

In my time at other high-performance organizations, I've experienced firsthand the positive impact that business system operating models and the use of lean principles had in driving exceptional performance.

在其他高績效組織工作期間，我親身體驗了業務系統營運模式和精實原則的使用在推動卓越績效方面所產生的正面影響。

I expect implementing these tools at Azenta will have an outsized impact to helping us achieve our ambitious performance goals. Continuous improvement and simplification will become the way we work with the help of the business system model to drive our performance and unify our culture.

我預計在 Azenta 實施這些工具將對幫助我們實現雄心勃勃的績效目標產生巨大影響。持續改進和簡化將成為我們藉助業務系統模型來驅動我們的績效並統一我們的文化的工作方式。

Operational excellence begins with identifying key performance indicators that will align our daily operating decisions with our strategy. These KPIs are broadly focused on revenue growth and profitability. We will enable revenue growth by sales force optimization, geographic expansion and continued innovation. We'll achieve profitability improvement by gross margin expansion and corporate cost structure optimization.

卓越營運始於確定關鍵績效指標，使我們的日常營運決策與我們的策略保持一致。這些 KPI 主要關注收入成長和獲利能力。我們將透過銷售團隊優化、地理擴張和持續創新來實現收入成長。我們將透過毛利率的擴張和企業成本結構的最佳化來實現獲利能力的提升。

Other KPIs include working capital and cash management metrics, customer-facing metrics like quality and on-time delivery and employee metrics like turnover and internal advancement. The first step in our simplification process is addressing our incentive compensation programs.

其他關鍵績效指標包括營運資金和現金管理指標、以客戶為導向的指標（如品質和按時交付）以及員工指標（如營業額和內部晉升）。我們簡化流程的第一步是解決我們的激勵薪酬計畫。

We have consolidated from eight plans down to one. This new compensation structure aligns directly with our KPIs. Each of our businesses will be compensated on core revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA or operating profit and free cash flow or working capital.

我們已將八個計劃合併為一個。這種新的薪酬結構與我們的 KPI 直接一致。我們的每項業務都將根據核心收入成長、調整後的 EBITDA 或營業利潤以及自由現金流或營運資本獲得補償。

This structure will help us align our organization with our strategic objectives, drive improved performance and make it clear to our team members how we win for our customers and our shareholders.

這種結構將幫助我們使我們的組織與我們的策略目標保持一致，推動績效提高，並向我們的團隊成員明確我們如何為客戶和股東贏得勝利。

There is much more to come on simplification because Azenta today is very complex. It was built through 15 legacy acquisitions and as a result, had 13 IT systems, 45 physical sites and nearly 40 legal entities. In 2024, we benefited from substantial progress under Ascend 2026.

由於今天的 Azenta 非常複雜，因此在簡化方面還有很多工作要做。它是透過 15 次收購而建立的，因此擁有 13 個 IT 系統、45 個實體站點和近 40 個法人實體。2024年，我們受惠於Ascend 2026的實質進展。

In the next phase of our transformation, we will turn our attention to investing in growth for our future and further expanding margins. This means rightsizing our cost structure and reallocating resources to high-impact growth investments in sales, marketing and R&D.

在下一階段的轉型中，我們將把注意力轉向投資未來的成長和進一步擴大利潤。這意味著調整我們的成本結構，並將資源重新分配給銷售、行銷和研發方面的高影響力成長投資。

Simplification around corporate and operating company functions will provide clarity and accountability while empowering our employees who are closest to the customer to make the right commercial decisions.

圍繞公司和營運公司職能的簡化將提供清晰度和問責制，同時使最接近客戶的員工能夠做出正確的商業決策。

Indirect expenses will be deployed judiciously. Improved procurement process will drive direct material savings, optimize inventory and streamline our supply chain. Enhanced information systems will provide better and more timely insights across the organization, supporting continuous improvement and prioritization of our key focus areas.

間接費用將被明智地分配。改進的採購流程將直接節省材料、優化庫存並簡化我們的供應鏈。增強的資訊系統將為整個組織提供更好、更及時的見解，支持我們關鍵重點領域的持續改進和優先排序。

Finally, I'd like to make it clear on how we think about capital allocation. We will make our capital allocation decisions through a consistent, robust and returns-based process. We will be accountable for outcomes.

最後，我想澄清一下我們對資本配置的看法。我們將透過一致、穩健且基於回報的流程做出資本配置決策。我們將對結果負責。

We expect to evaluate potential investments that will improve productivity, expand gross margin, support profitable growth by increasing capacity or developing new organic offerings and drive inorganic growth through logical tuck-in M&A. We will always compare the returns for these investments with repurchasing our stock.

我們預計將評估潛在的投資，這些投資將提高生產力，擴大毛利率，透過增加產能或開發新的有機產品來支持獲利成長，並透過合理的併購來推動無機成長。我們將始終將這些投資的回報與回購股票進行比較。

In summary, we will be competing for resources internally. I'm actively working with our senior management and the Board Value Creation Committee to further refine our view of Azenta's full potential and how we can achieve it. We'll plan to host an Analyst Day in mid-2025 to share our findings in more detail with the investment community.

總而言之，我們內部會爭奪資源。我正在與我們的高階管理層和董事會價值創造委員會積極合作，進一步完善我們對 Azenta 的全部潛力以及我們如何實現這一潛力的看法。我們計劃在 2025 年中期舉辦分析師日活動，與投資界更詳細地分享我們的發現。

Finally, I'd like to offer a few thoughts on the near term. While Azenta has tremendous opportunities and momentum entering in 2025, we are just getting started.

最後，我想提出一些關於近期的想法。雖然 Azenta 在進入 2025 年時擁有巨大的機會和動力，但我們才剛剛開始。

Our guidance is based on the continuation of positive indicators from our last several quarters, with the opportunity for upside as the market recovers and as we execute on the initiatives we've laid out today. We have confidence in the full year profile given our attractive reoccurring revenues, C&I and NGS recovering in the second half of 2024 and the store's backlog secured to date.

我們的指導是基於過去幾季積極指標的延續，隨著市場復甦以及我們執行今天制定的舉措，有上行的機會。鑑於我們具有吸引力的經常性收入、C&I 和 NGS 在 2024 年下半年恢復以及商店迄今為止的積壓訂單，我們對全年業績充滿信心。

After covering a lot of ground today, I want to leave you with a message that I'm excited about Azenta's potential, and I'm confident in our ability to deliver long-term sustainable value to our customers, our employees and our shareholders. I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress. With that, I'm pleased to turn the call over to Herman. Thank you.

今天介紹了很多內容之後，我想向大家傳達一個訊息：我對 Azenta 的潛力感到興奮，並且對我們為客戶、員工和股東提供長期可持續價值的能力充滿信心。我期待著向您通報我們的最新進展。至此，我很高興將電話轉給赫爾曼。謝謝。

Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for the kind words, John. And I'd like to start by thanking the company and especially the finance and IT teams who have worked with incredible dedication and commitment to help guide Azenta for its evolution. It's been a pleasure to work alongside you and I will be cheering Azenta from the sidelines.

大家下午好。謝謝你的客氣話，約翰。首先，我要感謝公司，特別是財務和 IT 團隊，他們以令人難以置信的奉獻精神和承諾幫助指導 Azenta 的發展。很高興與你一起工作，我會在場邊為 Azenta 加油。

As I've got to know, John, it's clear that his global experience is successfully leading high-growth life sciences companies in addition to his proven track record of building strong teams will serve our customers, our employees and our shareholders extremely well.

約翰，據我所知，很明顯，他的全球經驗成功地領導了高成長的生命科學公司，此外，他在建立強大團隊方面擁有良好的記錄，將為我們的客戶、員工和股東提供極好的服務。

In just 60 days, I've seen John come in, hit the ground running and his operational death has already made an impact on how we run the company. I admire his ability to digest and simplify complex information to get us the root of what the company needs to do. Azenta is in great hands, and we are all excited to welcome John.

在短短 60 天的時間裡，我看到 John 上任、立即投入運營，他的營運死亡已經對我們公司的運作方式產生了影響。我欽佩他消化和簡化複雜資訊的能力，讓我們了解公司需要做什麼。Azenta 得到了很好的照顧，我們都很高興地歡迎約翰。

As you saw from the results we issued today, we executed well in Q4. Before I get into the financial details, I want to start by recapping some notable progress and accomplishments in fiscal year '24. At Investor Day in March, we launched our transformation program called Ascend 2026.

正如您從我們今天發布的結果中看到的，我們在第四季度表現良好。在討論財務細節之前，我想先回顧一下 24 財年的一些顯著進展和成就。在 3 月的投資人日，我們啟動了名為 Ascend 2026 的轉型計畫。

Under Ascend 2026, we identified four key pillars to simplify our company and enable it for scale and growth. In the area of site rationalization, we impacted an additional three sites in the fourth quarter, bringing our total this year to 16, which represents nearly 40% of our sites being either closed altogether or rightsizing them.

在《Ascend 2026》中，我們確定了四個關鍵支柱來簡化我們的公司並使其實現規模和成長。在場地合理化方面，我們在第四季度影響了另外 3 個場地，使今年的總數達到 16 個，這意味著我們近 40% 的場地要么完全關閉，要么調整規模。

Under organization simplification, we have made substantial progress towards our goals and have several functional transformations in flight that are designed to improve our operating capabilities and reduce cost.

在組織簡化的情況下，我們在實現目標方面取得了實質進展，並進行了多項職能轉型，旨在提高我們的營運能力並降低成本。

This journey is partially enabled by our IT system optimization initiative, where I am happy to announce we have successfully reduced our core system count from 13 to 8 this month. These remarkable achievements give us great confidence in the margin progression we described at Analyst Day.

這趟旅程部分得益於我們的 IT 系統優化計劃，我很高興地宣布本月我們已成功將核心系統數量從 13 個減少到 8 個。這些非凡的成就讓我們對分析師日所描述的利潤率成長充滿信心。

Lastly, under the umbrella of portfolio optimization, in the second quarter, we exited two non-core product lines. And today, we announced our intention to sell B Medical Systems. The reshaping of our portfolio assets to focus on our core capabilities and Sample Management Solutions and Multiomics is pivotal to our strategy.

最後，在投資組合優化的框架下，第二季我們退出了兩條非核心產品線。今天，我們宣布打算出售 B Medical Systems。重塑我們的投資組合資產，專注於我們的核心能力、樣品管理解決方案和多組學，這對我們的策略至關重要。

On to the financial results. Market conditions played out as expected and through great execution we delivered against our commitments. Fiscal year '24 revenue was $656 million, down 1% year over year on a reported basis and down 2% on an organic basis.

關於財務業績。市場狀況符合預期，透過出色的執行，我們兌現了我們的承諾。2024 財年營收為 6.56 億美元，按報告數據年減 1%，以有機比例下降 2%。

Throughout the year, we effectively navigated what continued to be a challenging macro environment. Focused execution enabled us to deliver above-market top line growth in our SMS and Multiomic segments and expand our adjusted EBITDA margin by approximately 300 basis points.

全年，我們有效應對了仍充滿挑戰的宏觀環境。專注的執行使我們能夠在 SMS 和 Multiomic 領域實現高於市場水平的營收成長，並將調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率擴大約 300 個基點。

In the second half of the year, we returned to profitability and finished with a meaningful improvement in operating margin. We have made considerable progress in optimizing our cost structure and improving operational efficiency, and we expect those efforts to continue to deliver sustainable margin expansion into fiscal year '25 and beyond.

下半年，我們恢復了盈利，並實現了營業利潤率的顯著改善。我們在優化成本結構和提高營運效率方面取得了相當大的進展，我們預計這些努力將在 25 財年及以後繼續實現可持續的利潤率擴張。

With that, I would like to turn to our results in the quarter and for the full year. To supplement my remarks today, I will refer to the slide deck available on our website. Turning to slide 4 for some highlights. Fourth quarter revenue was $170 million, down 1% year over year on a reported basis and down 2% on an organic basis.

說到這裡，我想談談我們本季和全年的業績。為了補充我今天的發言，我將參考我們網站上提供的幻燈片。請參閱投影片 4，以了解一些亮點。第四季營收為 1.7 億美元，按報告營收年減 1%，以有機收入計算下降 2%。

SMS and Multiomics combined grew 5% organic year over year and outstanding performance relative to the market. Most notable contributors to growth include next-generation sequencing, cryogenic stores, consumables and instruments as well as storage.

SMS 和 Multiomics 合計有機年增 5%，相對於市場表現優異。成長最顯著的貢獻包括下一代定序、低溫儲存、耗材和儀器以及儲存。

B Medical came in slightly ahead of expectations, delivering $19 million in revenue, representing a 35% decline year over year. Fiscal year 2024 revenue was $656 million, which was down 1% on a reported basis and down 2% organic. On a combined basis, SMS and Multiomics delivered 4% organic growth. B Medical contributed [$83] million for revenue and was down 27% on an organic basis.

B Medical 的收入略高於預期，收入為 1,900 萬美元，年減 35%。2024 財年營收為 6.56 億美元，按報告計算下降 1%，有機下降 2%。綜合來看，SMS 和 Multiomics 實現了 4% 的有機成長。B Medical 貢獻了 [83] 百萬美元的收入，有機收入下降了 27%。

Non-GAAP EPS for the quarter was $0.18 and was $0.41 for the full year. I'm excited to report our adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.2% in the fourth quarter and 7.5% for the full year.

本季非 GAAP 每股收益為 0.18 美元，全年每股收益為 0.41 美元。我很高興地報告我們第四季度調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 10.2%，全年調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 7.5%。

This represents margin expansion of more than 550 basis points for the quarter and approximately 300 basis points for the year. I also want to highlight two consecutive quarters with an adjusted EBITDA margin above 10%, demonstrating the impact of the transformation initiatives I discussed earlier.

這意味著本季利潤率擴張超過 550 個基點，全年利潤率擴張約 300 個基點。我還想強調連續兩個季度調整後 EBITDA 利潤率超過 10%，這證明了我之前討論的轉型舉措的影響。

In the quarter, we returned $249 million to our shareholders through our share repurchase program. This completes our $1.5 billion share repurchase program in which we bought back approximately 30 million shares over the last two years.

本季度，我們透過股票回購計畫向股東返還 2.49 億美元。這完成了我們 15 億美元的股票回購計劃，在過去兩年中我們回購了約 3,000 萬股股票。

Now let's turn to slide 5 to take a deeper look at our results in the quarter. Total revenue was $170 million, representing a decline of 1% reported and a decline of 2% organic. In the fourth quarter, non-GAAP gross margin was 45%, up 220 basis points year over year. T

現在讓我們轉向投影片 5，深入了解本季的業績。總收入為 1.7 億美元，報告下降 1%，有機下降 2%。第四季度，非美國通用會計準則毛利率為45%，較去年同期成長220個基點。時間

he improvement is largely a result of favorable product mix and operational efficiencies. Adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter was 10.2%, up 560 basis points year over year. Again, non-GAAP EPS was $0.18 per share.

改進主要歸功於良好的產品組合和營運效率。該季度調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 10.2%，較去年同期成長 560 個基點。同樣，非 GAAP 每股收益為 0.18 美元。

With that, let's turn to slide 6 for a review of our segment results, starting with SMS. SMS revenue was $85 million for the quarter, up 4% year over year reported and up 3% organic. This is in spite of a tough compare in custom stores, which declined 27% in the quarter.

接下來，讓我們轉到投影片 6 來回顧我們的細分結果，從 SMS 開始。該季度 SMS 營收為 8,500 萬美元，年增 4%，有機成長 3%。儘管定製商店的情況比較嚴峻，本季下降了 27%，但情況仍然如此。

On a positive note, we continue to see great momentum in cryogenic stores, which grew 67% in Q4 and consumables and instruments, which grew 14% in Q4. SMS fourth quarter non-GAAP gross margin was 48%, up slightly year over year. The impact of favorable onetime items recorded in the prior year offset the benefits of operational efficiencies and sales mix.

從積極的方面來看，我們繼續看到低溫商店的強勁勢頭，第四季度增長了 67%，消耗品和儀器也增長了 14%。SMS第四季非GAAP毛利率為48%，較去年同期小幅成長。上一年記錄的有利一次性項目的影響抵消了營運效率和銷售組合的好處。

Turning next to the Multiomics segment. Multiomics delivered revenue of $66 million, the largest revenue quarter since Q2 fiscal year '22, which translated to 8% growth on both a reported and organic basis. Next-generation sequencing grew 25% year over year, benefiting from a combination of larger strategic deals like FinnGen and price stabilization.

接下來轉向多元組學部分。Multiomics 實現了 6,600 萬美元的收入，這是自 22 財年第二季度以來最大的收入季度，報告和有​​機增長均達到 8%。得益於 FinnGen 等大型策略交易和價格穩定，次世代定序年增 25%。

Gene Synthesis saw modest growth compared to last year. And while we continue to see good acceptance of our new value offerings, we are still seeing constrained spending in critical markets such as pharma. Sanger sequencing revenue was down 12% year over year as we continue to cycle through an evolving Sanger market.

與去年相比，基因合成略有成長。儘管我們繼續看到我們的新價值產品受到良好接受，但我們仍然看到製藥等關鍵市場的支出受到限制。隨著我們繼續在不斷發展的桑格市場中循環，桑格測序收入比去年同期下降了 12%。

Our Multiomics business in China delivered organic revenue growth of 6%, once again outperforming a market with macro challenges. Multiomics fourth quarter non-GAAP gross margin was 47.1%, up 130 basis points year over year, driven largely by the growth in NGS volume as well as productivity gains that helped to offset pricing headwinds.

我們在中國的多組學業務實現了 6% 的有機收入成長，再次跑贏了面臨宏觀挑戰的市場。Multiomics 第四季非 GAAP 毛利率為 47.1%，較去年同期成長 130 個基點，這主要得益於 NGS 數量的成長以及有助於抵消定價不利因素的生產力提高。

And finally, B Medical. Revenue was $19 million in the quarter, down 35% on both a reported and organic basis due to the timing of orders. Non-GAAP gross margin of 24.1% was up 180 basis points versus last year.

最後是 B 醫療。該季度收入為 1,900 萬美元，由於訂單時間安排，報告收入和有機收入均下降 35%。非 GAAP 毛利率為 24.1%，比去年增加 180 個基點。

Next, let's turn to slide 7 for a review of the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with $522 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. We had no outstanding debt. Regarding our consolidated statements of cash flows.

接下來，讓我們翻到投影片 7 回顧一下資產負債表。本季結束時，我們擁有 5.22 億美元的現金、現金等價物和有價證券。我們沒有未償債務。關於我們的合併現金流量表。

As part of the year-end closing process, we are currently reviewing the classification of amounts principally between the effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents and cash provided by operating activities line items in our consolidated statements of cash flows that could potentially impact those line items in our previously issued statements of cash flows for the fiscal year end September 30, 2023 and 2024 quarterly periods.

作為年末結帳流程的一部分，我們目前正在審查金額的分類，主要是匯率變動對現金和現金等價物的影響以及合併現金流量表中經營活動項目提供的現金可能潛在影響的金額分類。 2023 年9 月30 日的財年和2024 年季度現金流量表中的這些項目。

Therefore, we have not included a statement f cash flows in our earnings press release issued before this call. Our consolidated balance sheet and income statement are not impacted by the cash flow reclassification item for any period.

因此，我們在本次電話會議之前發布的收益新聞稿中沒有包含現金流量表。我們的合併資產負債表和損益表在任何期間都不受現金流量重新分類項目的影響。

The company expects to reflect any changes to the previously issued statements of cash flows in its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. Capital expenditures for the quarter were about $13 million and approximately $38 million for the full year as we invested for growth and scale in our Sample Management Solutions and Multiomics businesses.

該公司預計將在截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日的財年的 10-K 表格年度報告中反映先前發布的現金流量表的任何變更。本季的資本支出約為 1,300 萬美元，全年資本支出約為 3,800 萬美元，因為我們投資於樣本管理解決方案和多組學業務的成長和規模。

Turning to guidance on slide 8. As you saw in our press release, the company announced its intention to sell the B Medical Systems business. Therefore, we are guiding 2025 excluding B Medical as it will be reported within discontinued operations going forward.

轉向幻燈片 8 上的指示。正如您在我們的新聞稿中看到的，該公司宣布打算出售 B 醫療系統業務。因此，我們預計 2025 年不包括 B Medical，因為它將在未來的停產業務中進行報告。

The plan is to issue recasted historical actuals, reflecting the discontinued operations of B Medical before the filing of our 10-Q ended December 31, 2024. As we continue to watch an evolving macro environment, focus on our transformation efforts and complete the strategic exit of B Medical, we are guiding 2025 organic revenue to grow in a range of 3% to 5% year over year.

該計劃將發布重新調整的歷史實際數據，反映 B Medical 在提交截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的 10-Q 財報之前已終止的業務。隨著我們繼續關注不斷變化的宏觀環境、專注於轉型工作並完成 B Medical 的策略退出，我們預計 2025 年有機收入將年增在 3% 至 5% 的範圍內。

We are forecasting Multiomics to grow low single digits and Sample Management Solutions to grow mid-single digits. Growth will be driven by a combination of commercial excellence, contribution from new growth vectors and strategic investments in automation and technology. We are committing to approximately 300 basis points of adjusted EBITDA margin expansion year over year.

我們預測 Multiomics 將成長低個位數，而樣本管理解決方案將成長中個位數。成長將由商業卓越、新成長向量的貢獻以及自動化和技術策略投資的結合所推動。我們承諾調整後 EBITDA 利潤率年增約 300 個基點。

In closing, we are very pleased with our performance in fiscal year 2024. We are optimistic about the noteworthy progress we have made in the business. As we turn our attention to executing in 2025, we are committed to delivering on our commitments, serving our customers and enabling life sciences breakthroughs faster. This concludes our prepared remarks, and I will now turn the call over to the operator for questions.

最後，我們對 2024 財年的業績感到非常滿意。我們對業務取得的顯著進展感到樂觀。當我們將注意力轉向 2025 年的執行時，我們致力於兌現我們的承諾，為我們的客戶提供服務，並更快地實現生命科學的突破。我們準備好的演講到此結束，我現在將把電話轉給接線員詢問問題。

(Operator Instructions) David Saxon, Needham.

（操作員說明）David Saxon，Needham。

So I have two, one on guidance and then one on the margins. So for, I guess, the first question, guiding to 3% to 5% organic growth, that's ex B Medical. If I look at the fiscal '26 target, I think SMS was expected to grow high singles, Multiomics, so this might be a multi-part question.

所以我有兩點建議，一份是指導性的，另一份是邊緣性的。因此，我想，第一個問題是引導 3% 到 5% 的有機成長，這是前 B Medical 的。如果我看一下 26 財年的目標，我認為 SMS 預計將實現高單項、Multiomics 的成長，因此這可能是一個由多部分組成的問題。

But first, I understand you're hosting an Analyst Day next year, but would love John, to hear your thoughts on the fiscal '26 targets, whether you think they're achievable excluding B Medical obviously? Or will the next long-term model be started from a new page.

但首先，我知道您明年將舉辦分析師日活動，但約翰希望聽聽您對 26 財年目標的想法，您是否認為不包括 B Medical 顯然可以實現這些目標？或者下一個長期模型是否會從新的一頁開始。

And then number 2 is the lower fiscal '25 guidance relative to the assumptions baked into the '26 targets. Is that a function of the macro and market or -- are you still is in execution at this point?

第二個是相對於 26 世紀目標中的假設而言，25 世紀財政指引較低。這是宏觀和市場的函數嗎？

David, it's Herman. Why don't I start and then we could let John jump in and add a little bit of color. Why don't I start first with the LRP. So David, if you step back, we've seen considerable progress against the LRP that we announced at the 2024 Investor Day including achieving above-market growth and margin expansion inside of fiscal year '24.

大衛，這是赫爾曼。為什麼我不開始，然後我們可以讓約翰介入並添加一點顏色。為什麼我不先從 LRP 開始呢？所以，大衛，如果你退後一步，我們已經看到我們在 2024 年投資者日宣布的 LRP 方面取得了相當大的進展，包括在 24 財年內實現了高於市場的增長和利潤率擴張。

We also continue to feel good about the revenue targets that are above market as illustrated by the fiscal year '25 that we just gave. And I think the third point on the LRP is we also believe that an EBITDA margin of 15% to 17% by fiscal year '26 is achievable.

正如我們剛剛給出的 25 財年所示，我們仍然對高於市場的收入目標感到滿意。我認為 LRP 的第三點是我們也相信到 26 財年 EBITDA 利潤率可以達到 15% 到 17%。

When you look at the guide of 3% to 5%, it certainly does assume the current market environment and this recovery now being pushed out as we're starting to hear from some of the bellwether peers. If it comes back in the second half of 2025, maybe we do see a little bit of upside. But for right now, we think this growth of 3% to 5% with 4% at the midpoint is consistent with what we saw inside of fiscal year '24. And maybe John (inaudible).

當你看到 3% 到 5% 的指導時，它確實假設了當前的市場環境，隨著我們開始聽到一些領頭羊同行的消息，這種復甦現在被推遲了。如果它在 2025 年下半年回歸，也許我們確實會看到一點上行空間。但就目前而言，我們認為 3% 至 5%（中間為 4%）的成長與我們在 24 財年內看到的情況一致。也許約翰（聽不清楚）。

Just a few thoughts. Thanks for the question, and it's good to be with you. I mean I think in general, as we enter into 25, there's some uncertainty in the market. We're working through that.

只是一些想法。謝謝你的提問，很高興和你在一起。我的意思是，我認為總的來說，隨著我們進入 25 週年，市場存在一些不確定性。我們正在解決這個問題。

We feel pretty confident on the bottom line right now.But -- but as we look at our guidance, it's really about demonstrating capability. We've struggled on the top line, and I think demonstrating capability there is going to be pretty important.

我們現在對底線非常有信心。我們在營收方面一直舉步維艱，我認為展現這方面的能力非常重要。

Okay. Great. That's super helpful. And then my second question, probably for Herman. So the EBITDA margin, obviously, really good performance this quarter and last.

好的。偉大的。這非常有幫助。然後是我的第二個問題，可能是問赫爾曼的。因此，顯然，本季和上一季的 EBITDA 利潤率確實表現良好。

So the guidance for fiscal '25 is implying flattish relative to the second half of fiscal '24. So I just want to understand the dynamics there. Is that just B Medical coming out of the model? Or are there any other dynamics that play -- any color on the quarterly cadence for EBITDA margin?

因此，25 財年的指導意味著與 24 財年下半年相比持平。所以我只想了解那裡的動態。這只是 B Medical 的模型嗎？或者是否還有其他動態在起作用——EBITDA 利潤率的季度節奏有什麼變化嗎？

Thanks, David. Look, we're -- we said even at Investor Day, count on 300 basis points of EBITDA margin expansion each year. And we do expect to get to that 15% to 17% that I just mentioned. David, look, if we start to do better and we start to see it come through, of course, we're going to pass along, but we do want to guide in a range that we're highly confident in hitting right now.

謝謝，大衛。看，我們甚至在投資者日就說過，每年 EBITDA 利潤率將成長 300 個基點。我們確實期望達到我剛才提到的 15% 到 17%。大衛，看，如果我們開始做得更好，並且開始看到它的實現，當然，我們會繼續前進，但我們確實希望在一個我們現在非常有信心達到的範圍內進行指導。

When you look at the last 2 quarters where we were above 10%, I think what I would want to point to is as we come into fiscal year '25, we do have some items that we have to jump over. There are some investments that we need to make.

當你看看過去兩個季度我們超過 10% 的情況時，我想我想指出的是，當我們進入 25 財年時，我們確實有一些必須跳過的項目。我們需要進行一些投資。

So we want to make sure that we're guiding to an EBITDA margin where we have a ton of confidence. Maybe a minute on the quarterly cadence. I would look at the cadence, both from a sales and an EBITDA point of view, consistent with the way you saw the revenue EBITDA come in fiscal year '24. So look at that cadence as being similar to what you've seen this past year.

因此，我們希望確保我們對 EBITDA 利潤率的指導充滿信心。也許按季度節奏花一分鐘。我會從銷售和 EBITDA 的角度來看待節奏，這與您在 24 財年看到的收入 EBITDA 的方式一致。因此，看看這種節奏與你去年看到的相似。

Jacob Johnson, Stephens. Vijay Kumar, Evercore.

雅各約翰遜、史蒂芬斯。維傑·庫馬爾，Evercore。

John, welcome to Azenta. I guess, Azenta's earnings call and (inaudible). I had a few questions if you don't mind now (inaudible) that's a pretty strong number. And I think I heard you say you've completed the transition on the (inaudible) expected strong double-digit growth? And would it (inaudible) do in the quarter?

約翰，歡迎來到 Azenta。我猜，Azenta 的財報電話會議和（聽不清楚）。如果您現在不介意的話，我有幾個問題（聽不清楚），這是一個相當強勁的數字。我想我聽到你說你已經完成了（聽不清楚）預期的強勁兩位數成長的過渡？它（聽不清楚）會在本季發揮作用嗎？

So we -- NGS was really strong in the quarter. Vijay, this is Herman. Yes, you're right, it grew 25%. We saw the volume continue to go up, and we did see price abate. We don't want to count on that trend right now as continuing, but it is certainly a positive indicator -- of positive momentum as we head into fiscal year '25.

所以我們——NGS 在本季確實表現強勁。維傑，這是赫爾曼。是的，你沒看錯，成長了 25%。我們看到成交量持續上升，但價格確實有所下降。我們現在不想指望這種趨勢會持續下去，但這無疑是一個積極的指標——在我們進入第 25 財年時呈現出積極的勢頭。

Yes, the NovaSeq X Plus transition, almost everything is running on those tools at this point in time. And remind me what your last question was?

是的，NovaSeq X Plus 過渡，此時幾乎所有內容都在這些工具上運作。提醒我你的最後一個問題是什麼？

Sorry, Gene Synthesis in the quarter.

抱歉，本季的基因合成。

So Gene Synthesis in the quarter was low single digits, but for the full year, it was, I would say, mid- to high single digits.

因此，本季的基因合成是低個位數，但我想說，全年的基因合成是中高個位數。

Understood. John, one for you on China. What did China do in Fiscal '24? And what is the guide (inaudible) five. I guess a lot of questions here on potentia China tariff impacts.

明白了。約翰，給你一篇關於中國的文章。中國24財年做了什麼？指南（聽不清楚）五是什麼。我想這裡有很多關於中國關稅影響潛力的問題。

And maybe if you could just comment on ways Azenta importing from China in any hypothetical scenario analysis on where the tariff (inaudible) would look like? .

也許您可以在關稅（聽不清楚）的假設情境分析中評論一下 Azenta 從中國進口的方式？。

Sure, Vijay. So a couple of comments. Let me just give some color on our high single-digit growth in Gene Synthesis. We're well positioned there both in China and the US, serving those independent markets. I mean -- we are -- we have the capabilities to invest in Gene Synthesis in the US.

當然，維傑。所以有幾點評論。讓我簡單介紹一下我們在基因合成方面的高個位數成長。我們在中國和美國都處於有利地位，為這些獨立市場提供服務。我的意思是──我們──我們有能力在美國投資基因合成。

It's more around capacity. From a capability perspective, it's mirrored directly to China. In the US, it's a capacity issue. So we are investing there. High single came in, and we think that's going to continue.

更多的是關於容量。從能力的角度來看，這直接反映了中國。在美國，這是能力問題。所以我們在那裡投資。高單曲出現了，我們認為這種情況會繼續下去。

These are shorter run, higher margin runs that we have in that business in Indianapolis.

這些是我們在印第安納波利斯的業務中進行的短期、利潤較高的運行。

Regarding China tariffs, as we sit here today, I don't think, based on my comments in terms of our regional -- regionality in terms of how we manufacturer for US, for US and China for China. I don't think we're going to see an impact. We're not modeling that today. I'll let Herman discuss that briefly.

關於中國關稅，當我們今天坐在這裡時，根據我對我們的區域性的評論，我認為，我們如何為美國、為美國和中國為中國製造的區域性。我認為我們不會看到影響。我們今天不是在建模。我會讓赫爾曼簡短地討論一下這個問題。

Yes. So Vijay, in fiscal year '24, China for us in the fourth quarter grew about 10% and then the full year, it grew about 12%. And in terms of modeling the full year, we don't give regional guidance on how we model. But you can expect that all the macro factors and all those things were considered when we gave these 3% to 5% on the total company.

是的。Vijay，在 24 財年，中國第四季成長了約 10%，全年成長了約 12%。就全年建模而言，我們不會就建模方式提供區域指導。但你可以預料到，當我們給予整個公司 3% 到 5% 的份額時，所有宏觀因素和所有這些因素都被考慮在內。

Understood. And maybe one last one for you, John, and (inaudible) I know it's still early days, but high level, learning for you and your strategic vision for the business would be helpful?

明白了。約翰，也許最後一個是給你的，（聽不清楚）我知道現在還處於早期階段，但是高水準的學習對你和你的商業策略願景會有幫助嗎？

Sure. You bet, happy to share a few thoughts. I mean we're really focused around three areas: portfolio optimization, operational excellence and, of course, capital allocation. Let me touch on portfolio. I mean, if you think about -- I mean, B Medical is an easy decision for us pretty quickly.

當然。你敢打賭，很高興分享一些想法。我的意思是，我們真正專注於三個領域：投資組合優化、卓越運營，當然還有資本配置。讓我談談投資組合。我的意思是，如果你考慮一下——我的意思是，B Medical 對我們來說是一個很快就能做出的簡單決定。

We're focused around our high-margin businesses, outsourced products and services for our customers. We want to be in really good end markets. We've got the right to win. We've got strong capabilities. There's good secular growth trends and attractive reoccurring revenue.

我們專注於高利潤業務、為客戶外包產品和服務。我們希望進入真正良好的終端市場。我們有權利獲勝。我們有很強的能力。有良好的長期成長趨勢和有吸引力的經常性收入。

So that's around portfolio and the lens that we're taking there. I think right now, as we sit here today, our SMS business and our Multiomics business, we really feel confident in those businesses going forward, especially moving -- B Medical out of the portfolio and allowing us to focus on those areas.

這就是我們要採取的投資組合和鏡頭。我認為，當我們今天坐在這裡時，我們對 SMS 業務和 Multiomics 業務的發展充滿信心，尤其是將 B Medical 移出投資組合，讓我們專注於這些領域。

As it pertains to value creation and capital allocation, there is a significant other paths. The lens we're taking on this and what's important in the organization and some observations around this is some rigor around return on investment, meaning there's specific criteria for that.

由於它涉及價值創造和資本配置，還有其他重要的路徑。我們對此的看法以及組織中重要的事情以及圍繞此的一些觀察是對投資回報的嚴格要求，這意味著對此有特定的標準。

The four levers we pull in capital allocation are these following around; gross margin and productivity improvements, growth initiatives around R&D, capacity increases, other business lines, the third M&A around strategic tuck-ins. I want to be very clear here. We need to earn our way back and demonstrate capabilities in this area.

我們在資本配置中使用的四個槓桿如下：毛利率和生產力的提高、圍繞研發的成長計畫、產能增加、其他業務線、圍繞策略投入的第三次併購。我想在這裡說得很清楚。我們需要贏得勝利並展示在這一領域的能力。

And then lastly, around share buybacks. We always compare against this in terms of the other options I just discussed, but that's the lens on capital allocation. And lastly, I want to talk about operational excellence, and I'll be brief here, but there's a lot of learnings coming from Danaher and KKR. And I think the biggest learning is around doing the basics really, really well. I think there's a real opportunity here.

最後，圍繞股票回購。我們總是與我剛才討論的其他選項進行比較，但這就是資本配置的觀點。最後，我想談談卓越運營，這裡我將進行簡短介紹，但丹納赫和 KKR 提供了許多經驗教訓。我認為最大的學習就是把基礎知識做得非常非常好。我認為這裡有一個真正的機會。

It starts with alignment and prioritization, and that's how we're going to drive value. This is a bit of a departure from the past. I want to give an example of around alignment and prioritization.

它從協調和優先順序開始，這就是我們推動價值的方式。這與過去有些背離。我想舉一個關於對齊和優先順序的例子。

First, we talked about these compensation plans going from eight to one. The simplification and moving off of the complexity we have in the organization is going to be really important the teams need to understand how we win and how we win is around implementing our core value drivers. Those core value drivers in the business will cascade down in the organization, and will give the businesses the ability to go with.

首先，我們討論了這些薪酬計劃從 8 個變為 1 個。簡化和消除組織中的複雜性非常重要，團隊需要了解我們如何獲勝以及我們如何獲勝是圍繞實施我們的核心價值驅動因素。業務中的那些核心價值驅動因素將在組織中向下級聯，並使業務有能力與之配合。

What that means is specifically in really eight areas of core value drivers, but three main share stakeholders here. First one is around customers and that is quality and on-time delivery. We're going to drive centricity around the customer here. We do that through these metrics. The second is around our employees and that's turnover and internal promotion that we look at.

這具體意味著核心價值驅動因素的八個領域，但這裡有三個主要的利害關係人。第一個是圍繞客戶，即品質和準時交貨。我們將在這裡推動以客戶為中心。我們透過這些指標來做到這一點。第二個是我們的員工，我們關注的是人員流動和內部晉升。

And the third being shareholders. and how we win in our businesses. That's top line growth, operating margin expansion, working capital and return on invested capital. So in general, there's opportunity around G&A and gross margin in COGS, but we'll leave that for a later call. But really, Vijay, that's our view of the business right now.

第三個是股東。以及我們如何在業務中獲勝。這就是營收成長、營業利益率擴張、營運資本和投資資本報酬率。因此，總的來說，G＆A 和 COGS 毛利率方面存在機會，但我們將其留待稍後討論。但實際上，Vijay，這就是我們現在對業務的看法。

Jacob Johnson, Stephens.

雅各約翰遜、史蒂芬斯。

John, welcome. I'm off to a great start with you. Herman has been great working with you and educate us to all of the progress you made. Maybe (inaudible) just maybe first on freezers maybe for both of you. I think stores were down in the quarter.

約翰，歡迎。我和你有一個美好的開始。赫爾曼與您的合作非常愉快，並讓我們了解您所取得的所有進步。也許（聽不清楚）也許先放在冰箱上，也許對你們兩個來說都是如此。我認為本季商店數量有所下降。

I'm just curious what you saw there was the timing? Or are you seeing some headwinds from the capital equipment environment?

我只是好奇你在時間上看到了什麼？或者您看到資本設備環境帶來的一些不利因素？

And then, John, just given your background in the freezers market is a four-letter word for investors right now. Can you just talk about your thoughts on differentiation of the (inaudible) portfolio. And then obviously, it's been difficult broadly for the freezer market for the last couple of years, your view for the outlook for that market longer term?

然後，約翰，鑑於您在冰櫃市場的背景，現在對投資者來說是一個四個字母的詞。您能否談談您對（聽不清楚）投資組合差異化的想法？顯然，過去幾年冰櫃市場總體上很困難，您對該市場的長期前景有何看法？

Sure. Jacob, why don't I jump in, go first? You're right, stores were down in the quarter. I would remind everybody that we had -- we had a very tough compare in the fourth quarter, where the fourth quarter of fiscal year '23, it had a very, very , it was a record growth rate. I want to remind everybody that we have high visibility into the backlog in that business.

當然。雅各布，我為什麼不跳進去，先走呢？你是對的，本季商店數量有所下降。我想提醒大家，我們在第四季進行了非常艱難的比較，23 財年第四季的成長率非常非常高，這是創紀錄的成長率。我想提醒大家，我們對該業務的積壓情況有很高的了解。

We have a lot of confidence in it. And right now is where we sit today, we have close to 75% visibility into that backlog. So we feel good about our guide for stores in fiscal year '25.

我們對此充滿信心。現在就是我們今天所處的位置，我們對積壓工作有近 75% 的了解。因此，我們對 25 財年的商店指南感到滿意。

Jacob, a few thoughts here in observations. Around the freezer business, this is a market penetration in a market conversion business for us. I mean we feel very, very good about our capabilities here today. I think in general, if you think about the freezer farms and the viability of those long term, I think you're going to see a natural shift over to a stores business, where it's highly automated. You look at samples per square foot.

雅各布，我在觀察中提出了一些想法。圍繞著冰櫃業務，這對我們來說是一個市場轉換業務的市場滲透。我的意思是，我們今天對自己的能力感到非常非常滿意。我認為總的來說，如果您考慮冷凍農場及其長期生存能力，我認為您會自然而然地轉向高度自動化的商店業務。您查看每平方英尺的樣本。

I mean, these efficiencies are real. The capabilities are real in the organization. And I think we feel pretty strongly about our conversion opportunities, but more importantly, how we penetrate meeting win loss in these competitive situations.

我的意思是，這些效率是真實的。這些能力在組織中是真實存在的。我認為我們對我們的轉換機會感覺非常強烈，但更重要的是，我們如何在這些競爭情況下滲透贏輸。

So in general, we're pretty bullish on this. And I understand his point of view having come from (inaudible) in the freezer market, I think we've got really good advantaged capabilities here at Azenta around that space specifically.

所以總的來說，我們對此非常看好。我理解他的觀點來自（聽不清楚）冰櫃市場，我認為我們 Azenta 在這個領域擁有非常好的優勢能力。

Got it. That's helpful. And then just maybe one on NGS. Just can you talk about what you're seeing there in terms of pricing versus volume? I think I heard you talk about maybe some continued price stabilization in the first half of the year.

知道了。這很有幫助。然後可能只是 NGS 上的一個。您能談談您在定價與銷售方面所看到的情況嗎？我想我聽到你談到今年上半年價格可能會持續穩定。

Can you just talk about the trends on that piece of business?

能簡單談談該業務的趨勢嗎？

Yes. So Jacob, it's Herman. Yes, we did see price stabilization from Q3 to Q4, which really helped to drive the growth rate that you saw. We do continue to see nice volume in the space, so volume did increase, and we benefited from that. We also, as we said in the prepared remarks, we benefited from some larger deals like FinnGen, which helped drive the growth rate in the quarter.

是的。雅各布，這是赫爾曼。是的，我們確實看到第三季到第四季的價格穩定，這確實有助於推動您看到的成長率。我們確實繼續看到該領域的成交量不錯，因此成交量確實增加了，我們從中受益。正如我們在準備好的發言中所說，我們也受益於 FinnGen 等一些較大的交易，這有助於推動本季的成長率。

Got it. Thank you, Herman (inaudible)

知道了。謝謝你，赫爾曼（聽不清楚）

Yes, Jacob, we're all getting to know each other. So I was remiss on a comment here I wanted to make in terms of the market outlook. There's a unique advantage that we have around our (inaudible) system in this business. I mean this is pretty unique in terms of the conversion. That's why this market is growing double digit.

是的，雅各布，我們都在互相了解。因此，我想就市場前景發表評論，這是我的疏忽。在這項業務中，我們的（聽不清楚）系統具有獨特的優勢。我的意思是，就轉換而言，這是非常獨特的。這就是為什麼這個市場正在以兩位數的速度成長。

-- high single to double digit right now. We think that's going to continue. And when we're competitively advantaged based on the LIMS system, I think we're going to continue to enjoy market penetration in this area.

——現在高個位數到兩位數。我們認為這種情況將會持續下去。當我們基於 LIMS 系統獲得競爭優勢時，我認為我們將繼續享受該領域的市場滲透。

Andrew Cooper, Raymond James.

安德魯庫珀，雷蒙德詹姆斯。

John, great to connect the first time publicly here. Maybe just a quick one to guide though. I just want to maybe ask it a little bit of a different way. I know you mentioned macro, we talked a little bit about some of the pricing in Multiomics. But you do have some periods in this fiscal year, you just closed where comps should be not overly difficult when we think about the ['25] growth.

約翰，很高興第一次在這裡公開交流。也許只是一個快速的指導。我只是想以稍微不同的方式問一下。我知道您提到了宏觀，我們討論了 Multiomics 中的一些定價。但是，在本財年中確實有一些時期，當我們考慮['25]增長時，您剛結束時，補償應該不會太困難。

So maybe just can you lay out some of the items that we should keep in mind to keep us from being a little more bullish than that 3% to 5% in terms of what you might be able to deliver, given what you've seen in the fourth quarter with the core business was right in line with that already?

因此，鑑於您所看到的情況，也許您可以列出一些我們應該牢記的事項，以防止我們對您可能能夠交付的產品抱有比 3% 到 5% 更樂觀的態度第四季度的核心業務是否已經符合？

There's a couple of things to think about here, Andrew, that being in this for 60 days, we've got some open territories. We had a bit of turnover. There is potential for distraction around the transformation. I think we're being somewhat prudent around how we're guiding the organization at this point in time. And that's really part of this in the guide that really well, it may not have come out directly in our comments, but hopefully, I've helped to clarify that a little bit.

安德魯，這裡有幾件事需要考慮，在這 60 天裡，我們已經有了一些開放的領域。我們有一點營業額。轉型可能會分散注意力。我認為我們目前對如何指導組織持謹慎態度。這確實是指南中的一部分，很好，它可能不會直接在我們的評論中出現，但希望我已經幫助澄清了一點。

No, that's helpful. And then just one more again sticking with guidance. I wonder sure the margin uplift, the 300 basis points, is that off a base of what you just reported? Or do we need to think about the EBITDA margins from continuing ops being a little bit different just given B Medical was probably somewhere, I don't know, near breakeven and probably dilutive to the overall base when we think about EBITDA margins in terms of the reported number for fiscal '24?

不，這很有幫助。然後再一次堅持指導。我想知道利潤率的提升，即 300 個基點，是否超出了您剛剛報告的基礎？或者我們是否需要考慮持續營運的 EBITDA 利潤率略有不同，因為我不知道 B Medical 可能接近盈虧平衡，並且當我們考慮 EBITDA 利潤率時，可能會稀釋整體基數'24 財年的報告數字？

Yes. So Andrew, we will get the recasted financials out before we issue the first quarter Q, we'll do that for you, and you'll have all that information. But the 300 basis points is on the [RemainCo].

是的。因此，安德魯，我們將在發布第一季 Q 之前公佈重新調整的財務數據，我們將為您做這件事，您將獲得所有這些資訊。但300個基點是[留歐]。

On an apples-to-apples basis or?

是在同類基礎上還是？

Yes, it would be apples-to-apples, yes. So you'll get a restated number (inaudible)

是的，這將是同類的，是的。所以你會得到一個重述的號碼（聽不清楚）

So you can't give us a sense for what the actual number you're pointing towards is fiscal '25, given we don't have that fiscal '24 (inaudible) yet?

因此，鑑於我們還沒有 24 財年（聽不清楚），您無法讓我們了解您所指的 25 財年實際數字是多少？

Yes, it would be in the neighborhood. I want to say the 300 basis points will be above 11%.

是的，就在附近。我想說300個基點會高於11%。

Matt Stanton, Jefferies.

馬特·斯坦頓，杰弗里斯。

(inaudible) I wonder what your comments were helpful on vision for the business where you're focused. If you go to M&A, you talked about strategic tuck-ins and the need to earn your way back there. Can you maybe just talk a little into how the funnel you inherited looks today? Does that need to be rebuilt or changed at all? And should there be any evolution in terms of key criteria as you think about those strategic tuck-ins, maybe leaning on some of the financial metrics and lend to do deals from your experience prior such as (inaudible)?

（聽不清楚）我想知道您的評論對您所關注的業務的願景有何幫助。如果你去併購，你會談到策略性的投入以及重新回到那裡的必要性。您能否簡單談談您繼承的漏斗今天的樣子？是否需要重建或改變？當您考慮這些策略性投入時，如果關鍵標準發生任何變化，也許可以依靠一些財務指標並根據您先前的經驗進行貸款，例如（聽不清楚）？

Yes. It's early days here, Matt. I mean we're going to continue to build out this funnel, the call in driving more rigor around cultivation in general, in M&A taking both a short-term, long-term point of view. When it comes to how we're thinking about it in general, I mean, our SMS business, if you think about our capabilities in SMS with automation, and our ability to invest more in automation specifically around sample registration, I have to be candid here. I mean, I was a little surprised at how manual process is with our capabilities.

是的。現在還早，馬特。我的意思是，我們將繼續建立這個管道，呼籲在整體上更加嚴格地培育、併購，從短期和長期的角度來看。當談到我們總體上如何考慮時，我的意思是，我們的短信業務，如果您考慮我們在短信自動化方面的能力，以及我們在自動化方面進行更多投資的能力，特別是在樣本註冊方面，我必須坦率地說這裡。我的意思是，我對手動流程與我們的能力的配合程度感到有點驚訝。

Today, we have the ability to invest there. And when we invest there, we will see that gross margin improve dramatically.

今天，我們有能力在那裡投資。當我們在那裡投資時，我們會看到毛利率大幅提高。

What that means for M&A in the future is in our biorepository business, we think there's an opportunity there in bringing more biorepositories in and potentially putting them on our platform, that's a lower gross margin, a higher gross margin, more automated type of business where those make a lot of sense. These contracts are 7 to 25 years, pretty attractive. It's an area that we're really keen on and we're starting to take a look at. But again, it's early days there.

這對未來的併購意味著我們的生物樣本庫業務，我們認為有機會引入更多的生物樣本庫並可能將它們放在我們的平台上，這是一個毛利率更低、毛利率更高、自動化程度較高的業務類型，其中這些很有意義。這些合約期限為7至25年，相當有吸引力。這是我們非常熱衷的領域，我們正在開始研究。但同樣，現在還為時過早。

Regarding the criteria, I would expect that rigor around any ROIC metric of double digits. I mean there's got to be a clearing criteria around that, and we're going to be very stringent around what that criteria is.

關於標準，我希望任何兩位數的投入資本報酬率指標都能嚴格遵守。我的意思是必須有一個清算標準，我們將非常嚴格地遵守該標準。

That's helpful. And then maybe one for you, Herman. Just talk about the pricing baked into the 3% to 5% guide next year. It sounds like NGS headwinds there (inaudible) market growth mix dynamics, what's baked in from a pricing standpoint for 2025?

這很有幫助。也許還有一個適合你，赫爾曼。只談談明年納入 3% 至 5% 指導方針的定價。聽起來 NGS 面臨著（聽不清楚）市場成長組合動態的逆風，從 2025 年的定價角度來看，會發生什麼事？

Yes. So Matt, we won't give a very detailed explanation on the price. We don't give that type of information typically. But what I would say is we do anticipate continued pricing headwinds in NGS as we cycle through the comp. And again, could it continue to stabilize as it could, but we don't want to look at one quarter as being a trend.

是的。所以馬特，我們不會對價格給出非常詳細的解釋。我們通常不會提供此類資訊。但我想說的是，我們確實預計，隨著我們的比較，NGS 的定價將繼續面臨阻力。再說一遍，它是否可以繼續穩定，但我們不想將一個季度視為一種趨勢。

We want to see how it starts to play out.

我們想看看它如何開始發揮作用。

Paul Knight, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Paul Knight，KeyBanc 資本市場。

This is Lucas signing in for Paul Knight at KeyBanc. One quick question on the B Medical transaction. Is there any color you can provide on the time line for closing that transaction and whether it's more likely to be the first half or second half type of event?

這是盧卡斯 (Lucas) 在 KeyBanc 上為保羅奈特 (Paul Knight) 簽約。關於 B Medical 交易的一個簡單問題。您可以在完成該交易的時間線上提供任何顏色嗎？

It's a good question, Lucas go ahead.

這是個好問題，盧卡斯繼續說。

Yes. Lucas, I think we're looking at this as a first half type of event, certainly inside of one year for sure. It's still early days, but I would expect that this is something we could do within the first half of the year.

是的。盧卡斯，我認為我們將其視為上半年的事件，當然在一年之內。現在還為時過早，但我預計這是我們可以在今年上半年完成的事情。

Great. And then switching over to CapEx, I believe you said the CapEx number for the quarter was $13 million. Would you expect that to trend lower after the B Medical divestiture closing?

偉大的。然後轉向資本支出，我相信您說過該季度的資本支出數字是 1300 萬美元。您預計 B Medical 資產剝離結束後該數字會呈現下降趨勢嗎？

No. I mean it certainly will come down. But relative to sales, I think if you stick to this 4% to 6%, you're probably in the right range. (inaudible)

不。我的意思是它肯定會下降。但相對於銷售額，我認為如果你堅持這個 4% 到 6%，你可能就在正確的範圍內。（聽不清楚）

Lucas, so a couple of thoughts there. I mean we are looking at our CapEx right now in the business. It's, again, early days. But again, I think that what we talked about in terms of capital allocation and return on investment being double digit, I mean we are looking in general at how we deploy capital in the business. And specifically, there's a lot of opportunities around productivity improvements in gross margin.

盧卡斯，有一些想法。我的意思是，我們現在正在關注業務中的資本支出。再說一遍，現在還為時過早。但我再次認為，我們所討論的資本配置和投資回報率是兩位數，我的意思是我們總體上正在考慮如何在業務中部署資本。具體來說，在提高毛利率方面存在著許多機會。

And I think we're going to take another look at and sharpen our pencil around growth initiatives. We think there's capacity building initiatives. We'll look into that. We'll come back to you and let you know what that looks like.

我認為我們將重新審視並圍繞增長計劃加強我們的鉛筆。我們認為存在能力建構措施。我們會調查一下。我們會回覆您並讓您知道情況如何。

But in general, I think we want to make sure that our capital allocation and CapEx matches our strategic initiatives going forward. Thank you for the question.

但總的來說，我認為我們希望確保我們的資本配置和資本支出與我們未來的策略舉措相符。謝謝你的提問。

Thank you all. It's good to be with you. So go ahead, operator. Thank you.

謝謝大家。和你在一起真好。所以，繼續吧，操作員。謝謝。

There are no further questions at this time. So I'd like to turn the call over back to Herman Cueto for closing remarks. Please go ahead, sir.

目前沒有其他問題。因此，我想將電話轉回給赫爾曼·庫埃托 (Herman Cueto) 作結束語。請繼續，先生。

Thank you. On behalf of the Azenta leadership team, I'd like to thank our 3,300 employees around the world for their continued dedication and support. Thank you, everybody.

謝謝。我謹代表 Azenta 領導團隊感謝全球 3,300 名員工的持續奉獻和支持。謝謝大家。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you, everyone, for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。謝謝大家的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。