Balchem Corp (BCPC) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Balchem's Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. And it is now my pleasure to introduce to you Martin Bengtsson, CFO. Thank you, Martin. You may begin.

問候，歡迎參加 Balchem 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒一下，本次會議正在錄音。現在我很高興向大家介紹財務長 Martin Bengtsson。謝謝你，馬丁。你可以開始了。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our conference call this morning to discuss the results of Balchem Corporation for the quarter ending September 30, 2024. My name is Martin Bengtsson, Chief Financial Officer; and hosting this call with me is Ted Harris, our Chairman, President, and CEO.

謝謝大家，早安。感謝您參加今天早上的電話會議，討論 Balchem Corporation 截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日的季度業績。我叫 Martin Bengtsson，財務長；與我一起主持本次電話會議的是我們的董事長、總裁兼執行長泰德·哈里斯。

Following the advice of our counsel, auditors, and the SEC, at this time, I would like to read our forward-looking statements. Statements made in today's call that are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements.

根據我們的法律顧問、審計師和美國證券交易委員會的建議，此時，我想閱讀我們的前瞻性聲明。今天電話會議中所作的非歷史事實的陳述被視為前瞻性陳述。

We can give no assurance that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements will prove correct, and various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, including risks and factors identified in Balchem's most recent Form 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K reports. The company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

我們無法保證前瞻性聲明中反映的預期將被證明是正確的，各種因素可能導致實際結果與我們的預期有重大差異，包括Balchem 最新的10-K、10-Q 表中確定的風險和因素，和 8-K 報告。該公司不承擔更新這些前瞻性陳述的義務。

Today's call and commentary also include non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the reconciliations in our earnings release for further details.

今天的電話會議和評論還包括非公認會計準則財務指標。請參閱我們的收益報告內的對帳表以了解更多詳情。

I will now turn the call over to Ted Harris, our Chairman, President, and CEO.

現在我將把電話轉給我們的董事長、總裁兼執行長泰德哈里斯。

Thanks, Martin. Good morning, and welcome to our conference call. This morning, we reported strong third quarter financial results with healthy growth in sales, record earnings from operations and record adjusted EBITDA. Excellent results in our Human Nutrition and Health and Specialty Products segments more than offset the softness we continue to experience within our Animal Nutrition and Health segment. Our consolidated revenues of $240 million were higher by 4.3% versus the prior year.

謝謝，馬丁。早上好，歡迎參加我們的電話會議。今天上午，我們報告了強勁的第三季財務業績，銷售健康成長，營業利潤創歷史新高，調整後息稅折舊攤提前利潤創歷史新高。我們人類營養與健康與特種產品部門的優異表現足以抵銷我們在動物營養與健康部門持續經歷的疲軟。我們的綜合收入為 2.4 億美元，比上年增長 4.3%。

Our gross margin dollars grew 11.5%, and we expanded our gross margin percentage by 230 basis points to 35.6%. Earnings from operations of $48 million were higher by 10% versus the prior year. And we delivered record quarterly adjusted EBITDA of $64 million, an increase of 7.6%, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 26.8% of sales, up 80 basis points from the prior year.

我們的毛利率成長了 11.5%，毛利率百分比提高了 230 個基點，達到 35.6%。營業利潤為4800萬美元，較上年成長10%。我們實現的季度調整後 EBITDA 達到創紀錄的 6,400 萬美元，成長 7.6%，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為銷售額的 26.8%，比上年增長了 80 個基點。

Our third quarter net income of $34 million, an increase of 16.4%, resulted in earnings per share of $1.03 on a GAAP basis. On an adjusted basis, our third quarter non-GAAP net earnings were a record of $37 million, an increase of 9.3%, which resulted in earnings per share of $1.13 on a non-GAAP basis. Cash flows from operations were $51 million for the third quarter of 2024, with quarterly free cash flow of $42 million.

我們第三季的淨收入為 3,400 萬美元，成長 16.4%，以 GAAP 計算，每股收益為 1.03 美元。經過調整後，我們第三季的非公認會計準則淨利創紀錄地達到 3,700 萬美元，成長 9.3%，非公認會計準則每股收益為 1.13 美元。2024 年第三季的經營現金流為 5,100 萬美元，季度自由現金流為 4,200 萬美元。

Overall, a strong quarter for Balchem with performance that highlights the strength and resilience of our business model. Before passing the call back to Martin to go over the financial results in more detail, I would like to make a few comments about the overall market environment and some of the new innovative products we have recently launched. In 2024, we have seen a stabilization of demand and customers returning to more normalized order patterns, following the volatility we experienced in 2022 and 2023.

整體而言，Balchem 本季表現強勁，凸顯了我們商業模式的實力和彈性。在將電話轉回給馬丁更詳細地討論財務結果之前，我想對整體市場環境和我們最近推出的一些創新產品發表一些評論。繼 2022 年和 2023 年經歷波動之後，2024 年，我們看到需求趨於穩定，客戶恢復到更正常化的訂單模式。

When we look across our portfolio of businesses, we are seeing excellent performance in our Human Nutrition and Health segment. And similar to what we shared on the last call, we continue to see healthy demand for our unique portfolio of minerals, nutrients and vitamins in our minerals and nutrients business. And we continue to see a normalization and more steady end consumer demand in our food systems businesses.

當我們回顧我們的業務組合時，我們看到人類營養與健康領域表現出色。與上次電話會議中我們分享的內容類似，我們繼續看到對我們的礦物質和營養素業務中獨特的礦物質、營養素和維生素組合的健康需求。我們繼續看到食品系統業務的正常化和更穩定的最終消費者需求。

In the Animal Nutrition and Health segment, we saw sequential improvement in the third quarter compared to the second quarter, and we believe we bottomed out in the first half of 2024. While we are not yet back to healthy demand levels, we do expect sequential improvement in the second half of 2024 compared to the first half on improving dairy economics, stabilization of the monogastric business in Europe and the early contribution from our recent product launch of AminoShure-XL.

在動物營養與健康領域，與第二季度相比，第三季度有所改善，我們相信我們將在 2024 年上半年觸底。雖然我們的需求尚未恢復到健康水平，但我們預計2024 年下半年的需求將較上半年有所改善，這得益於乳製品經濟狀況的改善、歐洲單胃動物業務的穩定以及我們最近推出的AminoShure 產品的早期貢獻—XL。

For our Specialty Products segment, our primary business, Performance Gases, continues to perform well in a stable market, and we expect this to continue. While Q4 is our seasonally weakest quarter, we believe the ongoing strength in Human Nutrition and Health and Specialty Products and the continuation of sequential improvement in Animal Nutrition and Health will allow for continued year-over-year growth as we look to close out what will have been another very strong year for Balchem.

對於我們的特種產品部門，我們的主要業務高性能氣體在穩定的市場中繼續表現良好，我們預計這種情況將持續下去。雖然第四季度是我們季節性最弱的一個季度，但我們相信，人類營養與健康和特種產品業務的持續強勁增長，以及動物營養與健康的持續改善，將使我們的業績繼續同比增長，我們期待結束今年的對 Balchem 來說這又是業績豐收的一年。

Additionally, I'm excited to share that we continue to innovate and launch new and enhanced products to support our growth. Animal Nutrition and Health just recently launched a newly developed product, AminoShure-XL, which is a next-generation rumen-protected precision release lysine designed to consistently, reliably, and economically meet the lysine amino acid requirements of lactating dairy cattle. AminoShure-XL offers leading performance when considering feed stability, lysine content and bioavailability, and is a great addition to the Animal Nutrition and Health segment's portfolio of high-performing encapsulated products focused on optimizing dairy cow productivity and sustainability.

此外，我很高興地告訴大家，我們將繼續創新並推出新的和增強的產品來支持我們的成長。動物營養與健康公司最近推出了一種新開發的產品 AminoShure-XL，這是下一代瘤胃保護精準釋放賴氨酸，旨在持續、可靠且經濟地滿足泌乳牛對賴氨酸氨基酸的需求。AminoShure-XL 在飼料穩定性、賴氨酸含量和生物利用度方面提供了領先的性能，並且是動物營養和健康部門專注於優化奶牛生產力和可持續性的高性能封裝產品組合的一個很好的補充。

Our Human Nutrition and Health segment also recently brought two innovative new products to market. The first is K2VITAL DELTA Fermented, which is a vitamin K2 from fermentation in a patented microencapsulated form. The second, VitaCholine Pro-Flo, which is an enhanced formulation of our existing VitaCholine specifically designed for inclusion in multivitamins.

我們的人類營養與健康部門最近也向市場推出了兩種創新新產品。第一種是 K2VITAL DELTA Fermented，它是一種透過發酵獲得的專利微膠囊形式維生素 K2。第二種是 VitaCholine Pro-Flo，這是我們現有的 VitaCholine 的增強配方，專為加入複合維生素而設計。

I'm excited about these recent product launches in both our Animal and Human Nutrition and Health segments, which add to the previously announced launch of Optifolin+ earlier this year, as we continue to focus on bringing innovative solutions for the health and nutritional needs of the world.

我很高興看到我們在動物和人類營養與健康領域最近推出的這些產品，這些產品補充了今年早些時候宣布推出的 Optifolin+，我們將繼續致力於為人類健康和營養需求提供創新解決方案。 。

And with that, I'm now going to turn the call back over to Martin to go through the third quarter consolidated financial results for the company and the results for each of our business segments. Martin?

說完這些，我現在將電話轉回給馬丁，讓他來報告公司第三季的綜合財務業績以及我們各個業務部門的業績。馬丁？

Thank you, Ted. As Ted mentioned, overall, the third quarter was a great quarter for Balchem with solid sales growth, record earnings from operations and record adjusted EBITDA. Our third quarter net sales of $240 million were 4.3% higher than prior year, driven by strong performance in both our Human Nutrition and Health and Specialty Products segments. Our third quarter gross margin dollars were $85 million, up 11.5% compared to the prior year.

謝謝你，泰德。正如 Ted 所提到的，總體而言，第三季度對於 Balchem 來說是一個出色的季度，銷售額穩步增長，營業利潤和調整後 EBITDA 均創下歷史新高。我們第三季的淨銷售額為 2.4 億美元，比去年同期成長 4.3%，這得益於我們人類營養和健康及特種產品部門的強勁表現。我們第三季的毛利為 8,500 萬美元，比上年增長 11.5%。

Our gross margin percent was 35.6% of sales, up 230 basis points compared to the prior year. The increase in gross margin percent was primarily due to a favourable portfolio mix, where higher-margin Human Nutrition and Health and Specialty Products businesses grew, while the lower margin Animal Nutrition and Health business declined.

我們的毛利率為銷售額的35.6％，比前一年上升了230個基點。毛利率百分比的成長主要歸因於有利的投資組合，其中利潤率較高的人類營養與健康和特種產品業務有所增長，而利潤率較低的動物營養與健康業務則有所下降。

Consolidated operating expenses for the third quarter were $37 million, as compared to $33 million in the prior year. The increase was primarily due to higher compensation-related costs and transaction charges, partially offset by lower amortization. GAAP earnings from operations for the third quarter were a record of $48 million, an increase of 10% compared to the prior year. On an adjusted basis, as detailed in our earnings release this morning, non-GAAP earnings from operations of $53 million were up 7.9% compared to the prior year.

第三季綜合營業費用為 3,700 萬美元，去年同期為 3,300 萬美元。成長的主要原因是薪酬相關成本和交易費用增加，但攤還費用減少部分抵消了這一增長。第三季的 GAAP 營業利潤創歷史新高，達到 4,800 萬美元，比上年增長 10%。經過調整後，正如我們今天早上發布的收益報告中所述，非 GAAP 營業利潤為 5,300 萬美元，較上年增長 7.9%。

Adjusted EBITDA was a record of $64 million, an increase of 7.6% compared to the prior year, with an adjusted EBITDA margin rate of 26.8%. Net interest expense for the third quarter was $4 million, a decrease of $3 million compared to the prior year, driven primarily by lower outstanding borrowings. We continue to use our strong cash flows to pay down debt, and we reduced our debt by $40 million in the third quarter and ended the quarter with net debt of $153 million with an overall leverage ratio on a net debt basis of 0.6.

調整後 EBITDA 創紀錄地達到 6,400 萬美元，較上年增長 7.6%，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 26.8%。第三季淨利息支出為 400 萬美元，較上年減少 300 萬美元，主要由於未償還借款減少。我們繼續利用強勁的現金流償還債務，第三季我們減少了 4,000 萬美元的債務，本季末的淨債務為 1.53 億美元，淨債務基礎上的整體槓桿率為 0.6。

The effective tax rates for the third quarters of 2024 and 2023 were 22.9% and 20.3%, respectively. The increase in the effective tax rate from the prior year was primarily due to lower tax benefits from stock-based compensation and certain higher state taxes.

2024 年和 2023 年第三季的有效稅率分別為 22.9% 和 20.3%。有效稅率較上年同期增加，主要由於股票薪資稅收優惠減少以及某些州稅增加所致。

Consolidated net income closed the quarter at $34 million, up 16.4% from the prior year. This quarterly net income translated into diluted net earnings per share of $1.03, an increase of $0.13 compared to the prior year. On an adjusted basis, our third quarter adjusted net earnings were a record of $37 million, an increase of 9.3% from the prior year, which translated to $1.13 per diluted share.

本季綜合淨收入為 3,400 萬美元，較上年增長 16.4%。本季淨收入轉化為每股攤薄淨收益 1.03 美元，較上年增加 0.13 美元。經過調整後，我們第三季的調整後淨利達到創紀錄的 3,700 萬美元，較上年同期成長 9.3%，相當於每股攤薄收益 1.13 美元。

Cash flows from operations were $51 million, with free cash flow of $42 million, and we closed out the quarter with $74 million of cash on the balance sheet. As we look at the third quarter from a segment perspective, our Human Nutrition and Health segment generated sales of $152 million, an increase of 5.4% from the prior year, primarily driven by higher sales within both the minerals and nutrients business and the food and beverage markets.

經營活動現金流為 5,100 萬美元，自由現金流為 4,200 萬美元，本季末我們的資產負債表上有 7,400 萬美元的現金。從細分市場角度來看，第三季人類營養與健康部門的銷售額為 1.52 億美元，比上年增長 5.4%，主要得益於礦物質和營養素業務以及食品和飲料市場。

Our Human Nutrition and Health segment delivered record quarterly earnings from operations of $36 million, an increase of 13.8% compared to the prior year. This was driven by the aforementioned higher sales and a favourable mix, partially offset by higher operating expenses.

我們的人類營養與健康部門的季度營業利潤創下 3,600 萬美元的紀錄，比上年增長 13.8%。這是由前文提到的更高的銷售額和有利的產品組合推動的，但被更高的營運費用部分抵消了。

Third quarter adjusted earnings from operations for this segment were $39 million, an increase of 9.7%. We are very pleased with the overall performance of our Human Nutrition and Health segment, delivering solid sales growth and record earnings from operations. We continue to see healthy demand in our minerals and nutrients business and a more normalized demand picture in our food and beverage businesses.

該部門第三季調整後營業利潤為 3,900 萬美元，成長 9.7%。我們對人類營養與健康部門的整體表現非常滿意，實現了穩健的銷售成長和創紀錄的營業利潤。我們繼續看到礦物質和營養素業務的健康需求以及食品和飲料業務更正常化的需求狀況。

Our Animal Nutrition and Health segment generated quarterly sales of $53 million, a decrease of 1.9% compared to the prior year. The decrease was driven by lower sales in the monogastric species, partially offset by higher sales in the ruminant species markets.

我們的動物營養與健康部門季度銷售額為 5,300 萬美元，較上年下降 1.9%。下降的原因是由於單胃動物銷量下降，但反芻動物市場銷量增加部分抵消了這一影響。

Animal Nutrition and Health helped delivered earnings from operations of $4 million, a decrease of 30.4% from the prior year. The decrease was primarily due to the aforementioned lower sales and higher operating expenses. Third quarter adjusted earnings from operations for this segment were $4 million, a decrease of 21.2%.

動物營養與健康業務實現營業收入 400 萬美元，較前一年下降 30.4%。下降主要由於前文提到的銷售額下降和營業費用增加。該部門第三季調整後營業利潤為 400 萬美元，下降 21.2%。

As we've discussed in earlier calls, our Animal Nutrition and Health segment, along with a broader animal feed additives market, has been going through challenging market dynamics for a while now. In the European animal feed market, this continues to be the case. And we see relatively soft market demand and continued competition from low-cost imports flooding the market.

正如我們在先前的電話會議中討論的那樣，我們的動物營養和健康部門以及更廣泛的動物飼料添加劑市場一段時間以來一直經歷著充滿挑戰的市場動態。在歐洲動物飼料市場，這種情況仍然持續。我們看到市場需求相對疲軟，低成本進口產品持續湧入市場，競爭激烈。

In the North American market, we are starting to see an improving trend, particularly as it relates to the dairy market. Improved US milk and milk protein prices, combined with lower feed costs at the dairy farm level, are creating a healthier market for our rumen-protected encapsulated nutrients.

在北美市場，我們開始看到一種改善趨勢，特別是與乳製品相關的趨勢。美國牛奶和牛奶蛋白價格上漲，加上乳牛場飼料成本下降，為我們的瘤胃保護封裝營養素創造了更健康的市場。

As a result, we were pleased to see our ruminant business delivered growth versus prior year in the third quarter. For total Animal Nutrition and Health, we were also pleased to see the sequential improvement in the third quarter compared to the second quarter, and we expect the second half of 2024 to be better than the first half.

因此，我們很高興地看到我們的反芻動物業務在第三季度較去年同期實現了成長。就整體動物營養與健康而言，我們也很高興看到第三季與第二季相比有所改善，我們預計 2024 年下半年的表現將好於上半年。

Our Specialty Products segment delivered quarterly sales of $33 million, an increase of 10.6% compared to the prior year, driven by higher sales in both the performance gases and plant nutrition businesses. Specialty Products delivered quarterly earnings from operations of $11 million, an increase of 20.3% versus the prior year, primarily driven by the aforementioned higher sales and a favourable mix, partially offset by higher operating expenses. Third quarter adjusted earnings from operations for this segment were $12 million, an increase of 18.9%.

我們的特種產品部門本季銷售額為 3,300 萬美元，比上年增長 10.6%，這得益於高性能氣體和植物營養業務的銷售額增長。特種產品部門季度營業利潤為 1,100 萬美元，較上年增長 20.3%，這主要得益於前述更高的銷售額和有利的產品組合，但被更高的營業費用部分抵消。該部門第三季調整後營業利潤為 1,200 萬美元，成長 18.9%。

We are very pleased with the performance of Specialty Products in the third quarter, both from a sales growth and margin perspective. And we expect demand to remain healthy in our performance gases business. And our plant nutrition business will follow the usual seasonality of lower second half demand. So overall, the third quarter was another solid quarter for Balchem.

無論從銷售成長或利潤率的角度來看，我們對第三季特種產品的表現都非常滿意。我們預計高性能氣體業務的需求將保持健康。我們的植物營養業務將遵循下半年需求較低的通常季節性。總體而言，第三季對 Balchem 來說又是一個穩健的季度。

I'm now going to turn the call back over to Ted for some closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給泰德，請他做一些結束語。

Thanks, Martin. Once again, we are very pleased with the third quarter financial results reported earlier this morning, as well as our year-to-date performance. As a company, we continue to show an ability to deliver results in a variety of market conditions, given our strong market positions and our value-added portfolio of products. And we remain confident in the long-term growth outlook for Balchem as a company.

謝謝，馬丁。我們再次對今天早上報告的第三季財務業績以及今年迄今的表現感到非常滿意。作為一家公司，憑藉我們強大的市場地位和增值的產品組合，我們繼續展現出在各種市場條件下取得成果的能力。我們仍然對 Balchem 公司的長期成長前景充滿信心。

I will now hand the call back over to Martin, who will open up the call for questions.

現在我將電話交還給馬丁，他將開始回答問題。

Thank you, Ted. This now concludes the formal portion of the conference. At this point, we will open up the conference call for questions.

謝謝你，泰德。會議的正式部分到此結束。現在，我們將開始電話會議以接受提問。

(Operator Instructions) Robert Labick, CJS Securities.

(操作員指示) Robert Labick，CJS Securities。

Congrats on another great quarter. Hi, this is Will on for Bob. Congrats on another great quarter.

恭喜您又度過了一個出色的季度。大家好，我是威爾，代表鮑伯。恭喜您又度過了一個出色的季度。

Thanks, Will.

謝謝，威爾。

So you guys just announced two new products in HNH. And on the last call, you guys talked about Optifolin+ and the new ANH rumen-protected amino acid. So my question here is, can you tell us more about your product development process? Where do you get your ideas from? Is it you or your customers? How long is the time to develop and launch? And what is the pipeline for new stuff right now?

你們剛剛宣布了 HNH 的兩款新產品。在最後一次通話中，你們討論了 Optifolin+ 和新型 ANH 瘤胃保護胺基酸。我的問題是，您能否向我們詳細介紹您的產品開發流程？你的想法從何而來？是你還是你的客戶？開發和推出需要多長時間？目前新產品的研發進度如何？

Yes. Thanks, Will. We really are pleased with the recent product launches, not only in Human Nutrition and Health, but as I mentioned, in Animal Nutrition and Health. And I think that this really stems from a lot of work that we've been doing over the last -- even three to five years and developing our pipeline process, our new product development process.

是的。謝謝，威爾。我們對最近推出的產品感到非常高興，不僅在人類營養與健康領域，而且正如我所提到的，在動物營養與健康領域。我認為這實際上源於我們過去三到五年來所做的大量工作，包括開發我們的流程和新產品開發流程。

We have kind of an in-house development pipeline process that we're very proud of that kind of blends process but also speeds to market. And we really get our ideas from anywhere we can. So yes, customers, but also our significant marketing efforts that we've also been talking about, investing in over the last few years.

我們擁有一種內部開發流程，我們對這種混合流程感到非常自豪，並且可以加快產品上市速度。我們確實從任何可能的地方獲取想法。是的，不僅包括客戶，還包括我們在過去幾年中一直在談論和投資的重大行銷努力。

So we feel like we have a very healthy ideation hopper as well as kind of healthy products represented at each stage of our process. It normally takes, I think, I would say, for the non-food part of our portfolio because food is a little bit faster, given the need for meeting taste and texture requirements of limited time offers. It's much faster pipeline.

因此，我們覺得我們有一個非常健康的創意漏斗，以及在我們流程的每個階段所代表的健康產品。我認為，這通常適用於我們產品組合中的非食品部分，因為食品的速度要快一些，需要滿足限時優惠對口味和質地的要求。它的管道速度更快。

But when you put that aside, it typically takes about a year, I would say, to bring an idea to fruition and sometimes a couple of years. And we have, I think, recently done a really good job of using external help in developing some of our new products, and that kind of speed things along.

但是當你把這一點放在一邊時，我想說，通常需要大約一年的時間才能將一個想法變為現實，有時甚至需要幾年的時間。我認為，最近我們在利用外部幫助開發一些新產品方面做得非常好，這加快了進程。

It also adds to the innovation process. But we feel really good about the investments that we've been making over the last few years, both in marketing and in R&D, to ultimately result in more products brought to market. And really pleased with these three that we've talked about.

它也增加了創新過程。但我們對過去幾年在行銷和研發方面所做的投資感到非常滿意，最終將更多的產品推向市場。我對我們所談論的這三個人感到非常高興。

Great. And then the minerals and nutrition subsegment in HNH has been particularly strong. I think the growth in flavours and powders have been fine, but maybe lagged a little. What is the outlook for each over the next 12 months?

偉大的。HNH 中的礦物質和營養子部分錶現尤為強勁。我認為口味和粉末的增長很好，但可能略有滯後。未來 12 個月的前景如何？

Yes. We could not be happier with the performance of our Human Nutrition and Health business. The growth that we've really delivered over the last, I would say, few years has been really healthy. And certainly, over the last year or so has been particularly strong, led by the minerals and nutrients business, as we have said.

是的。我們對人類營養與健康業務的表現感到非常滿意。我想說，過去幾年我們實現的成長非常健康。當然，正如我們所說，在過去一年左右的時間裡，我們的業務表現特別強勁，以礦物質和營養素業務為主導。

And we do believe that, that growth will continue for minerals and nutrients, although at a bit of a muted level just because the year-over-year comps are becoming a bit more difficult. But we see that business continuing to grow year-over-year, partly driven by healthy market growth overall. \And then our specific portfolio of products increasing their penetration in the marketplace. So growing at faster rates than the market as a whole. So we continue to see that for minerals and nutrients.

我們確實相信，礦物質和營養素的增長將會持續，儘管增長水平會有所放緩，因為同比計算變得有點困難。但我們看到業務持續逐年成長，部分原因是整體市場健康成長。\然後我們的特定產品組合在市場上的滲透率不斷提高。因此其成長速度比整個市場要快。因此我們繼續關注礦物質和營養素。

And I think the good news is that we feel, as you pointed out, the food business has been performing well, but at lower growth rates, and we see growth starting to accelerate a bit more in the broader food formulation business with the market recovering somewhat. And again, our portfolio of products and our kind of the subsegments that we're focused on like nutritional beverages and so forth, growing at faster rates.

我認為好消息是，正如你所指出的，我們感覺食品業務表現良好，但增長率較低，隨著市場復甦，我們看到更廣泛的食品配方業務的增長開始加速。而且，我們的產品組合和我們專注的細分市場（例如營養飲料等）正在以更快的速度成長。

So we do feel as though the food business will, as we go forward, be growing at a bit of a faster pace than it has been for the last few quarters, while the minerals and nutrients business will continue to grow, but perhaps at a bit of a slower pace than it has given the year-over-year comps. But we really do feel good about the products that we have, the positions that we have and then the overall market dynamics within Human Nutrition and Health.

因此，我們確實感覺到，隨著我們向前發展，食品業務的成長速度將比過去幾季更快一些，而礦物質和營養素業務將繼續成長，但速度可能略有下降。比，成長速度略慢。但我們對我們的產品、我們的地位以及人類營養和健康領域的整體市場動態確實感到滿意。

Very helpful. And then just one more on the ANH side. Milk prices are continuing to rebound. How have dairy farmers reacted in terms of demand for your product?

非常有幫助。然後關於 ANH 方面還有一件事。牛奶價格持續反彈。就您產品的需求而言，酪農有何反應？

Yes. Maybe I'll let Martin take that one.

是的。也許我會讓馬丁拿那個。

Yes. Well, it's certainly been a positive development over the last number of months in terms of the milk prices and also in terms of the combination for the dairy farmer, right? That one end for them is the milk prices and what they sell out, but also their biggest expense is the feed input costs, right?

是的。那麼，從牛奶價格以及酪農的收入來看，過去幾個月確實出現了正面的發展，對嗎？對他們來說，最終的結果就是牛奶價格和銷售量，但他們最大的開銷也是飼料投入成本，對嗎？

And they have really come down so that the net margin for the dairy farmer is positive, where they're making money again, where they're starting to invest again and they're thinking more about their productivity and efficiency.

而這些成本確實下降了，酪農的淨利潤是正的，他們又開始賺錢了，他們又開始投資了，他們更多地考慮生產力和效率。

And this has translated into increased demand for the feed additives and the rumen-protected encapsulates that we deliver. So we have seen that. We can see it in our order books. We can see an improvement, which is very positive. There is a bit of a time lag that we've talked about before that -- it's not the first month where the dairy farmers see a change that they immediately turn around and place orders.

這導致我們提供的飼料添加劑和瘤胃保護膠囊的需求增加。我們已經看到了這一點。我們可以在訂單簿中看到它。我們看到了改善，這是非常積極的。我們之前談到過存在一點時間滯後——這不是酪農第一次在看到變化後立即轉身下訂單。

There's usually a delay because they want to be convinced it's sustainable and that it will last, and it's not a short-term blip. But from what we can see in the market, it appears to be sustainable, and that will be a much healthier market for the foreseeable future. And that is now starting to be reflected in the order books. So it's a very positive outlook from that perspective.

通常會出現延遲，因為他們想確信這種做法是可持續的、會持續下去，而不是短期的曇花一現。但從我們在市場上看到的情況來看，它似乎是可持續的，而且在可預見的未來這將是一個更健康的市場。這現在開始反映在訂單中。從這個角度來看，這是一個非常積極的前景。

Ram Selvaraju, H.C. Wainwright.

拉姆·塞爾瓦拉朱，H.C.溫賴特。

Hi. Thanks very much for taking my questions. Congrats on the performance in the quarter. I wanted to ask about how Optifolin+ has been doing so far? And in particular, also, if you could give us some additional qualitative color around how you expect the introduction of the new HNH products to impact gross margins going forward?

你好。非常感謝您回答我的問題。恭喜本季的業績。我想問一下 Optifolin+ 目前的效果如何？另外，您能否特別向我們提供一些額外的定性信息，說明您預計新 HNH 產品的推出將如何影響未來的毛利率？

Also, if you had any commentary to provide regarding VitaCholine Pro-Flo and how this might change the evolution of the overall VitaCholine franchise going forward in terms of broadening its reach and how that might be achieved, that would be very helpful.

此外，如果您對 VitaCholine Pro-Flo 有任何評論，以及這將如何改變 VitaCholine 特許經營的整體發展，擴大其影響力以及如何實現這一目標，那將會非常有幫助。

Okay. Great. We got three parts to that question. And maybe I'll take the latter part. So VitaCholine Pro-Flo is really a -- an exciting product for us. It's actually a patent-pending product that is encapsulated. And one of the complexities of choline is as we've probably talked historically, is it's hydroscopic in nature. So it attracts water. And sometimes that makes it difficult to deal with. And this very unique encapsulated product will allow VitaCholine more easily and efficiently to be included in multivitamins.

好的。偉大的。我們對這個問題分為三個部分。也許我會選擇後者。所以 VitaCholine Pro-Flo 對我們來說確實是一款令人興奮的產品。它實際上是一種正在申請專利的封裝產品。正如我們在歷史上討論過的，膽鹼的複雜性之一在於它具有吸濕性。所以它能吸引水。有時這會使事情變得難以處理。這種獨特的封裝產品將使 VitaCholine 更輕鬆、更有效地融入複合維他命中。

And that really has always been one of the areas that's been a bit more difficult for us. So we tend to see VitaCholine and choline products in a singular form by themselves. And we're pleased with, excited about the growth that we've been able to deliver kind of despite this technical hurdle that you oftentimes have to get over.

這確實一直是我們面臨的比較困難的領域之一。因此，我們傾向於以單一形式看待 VitaCholine 和膽鹼產品。儘管經常需要克服技術障礙，但我們還是對能夠實現的成長感到高興和興奮。

And what VitaCholine Pro-Flo does is it addresses that issue, particularly when trying to formulate a multivitamin that includes choline in it. So we've largely been excluded from the multivitamin kind of market, and we're excited that we now have a solution that can address that, and it really opens up a fairly significant market for us.

VitaCholine Pro-Flo 所做的就是解決這個問題，特別是在嘗試配製含有膽鹼的複合維生素時。因此，我們基本上被排除在複合維生素市場之外，我們很高興現在有了解決方案可以解決這個問題，它確實為我們開闢了一個相當重要的市場。

And so we're optimistic that we will be able to penetrate that market like we have not been able to do in the past. So that's really what it does for us. And again, what we've been really doing for years is building awareness around the health benefits and importance of choline and penetrating the market, prenatal, infant formula, nutritional beverage. And the multivitamin market is part of that has really not been available to us.

因此，我們樂觀地認為，我們將能夠以過去從未有過的方式打入該市場。這確實就是它為我們所做的。再說一遍，多年來我們一直在做的事情是提高人們對膽鹼的健康益處和重要性的認識，並打入產前、嬰兒配方奶粉和營養飲料市場。其中複合維生素市場是我們目前尚未進入的市場。

So it opens up that side of the market somewhat, and that's a fairly significant market. As far as gross margin goes, these products, out of the gate, are higher gross margin than our typical products. So they certainly would not be a drain on gross margin percent, if you will, and would be accretive to gross margin. So I think that's very positive.

因此它在某種程度上開放了市場的這一面，而這是一個相當重要的市場。就毛利率而言，這些產品的毛利率一開始就高於我們的典型產品。因此，如果你願意的話，它們肯定不會降低毛利率，而且會增加毛利率。所以我認為這是非常積極的。

And Optifolin+, it hasn't really been on the market that long, but we're very pleased that we can say that we are selling the product. We have orders on the book. And I would say in total, it adds up to about an annualized sales rate of about $2 million, which I think is good and a bit ahead of our expectations in the very early days. We have a huge industry conference next week, SupplySide West in Las Vegas.

Optifolin+ 實際上上市時間還不是很久，但我們很高興可以說我們正在銷售該產品。我們已經收到訂單。我想說，總的來說，它的年銷售額大約為 200 萬美元，我認為這很好，並且略高於我們早期的預期。下週我們將在拉斯維加斯舉辦一個大型產業會議，SupplySide West。

It's very important to us. We will be showcasing these new products that we talked about on the call today as well as Optifolin+. So we're hopeful that, that will further accelerate the excitement around these new innovations. But so far, so good with Optifolin+.

這對我們來說非常重要。我們將展示今天電話會議中談到的這些新產品以及 Optifolin+。因此，我們希望，這將進一步加速人們對這些新創新的熱潮。但到目前為止，Optifolin+ 一切順利。

Okay. Great. And then with respect to how you anticipate allocating capital in terms of commercial support, in particular, for the HNH assets. I was wondering if you could comment on two things. One is how you're looking at allocating additional capital to sales and marketing expenses going forward, particularly in support of the new product lines?

好的。偉大的。然後關於您預計如何在商業支援方面分配資本，特別是針對 HNH 資產。我想知道您是否可以對兩件事發表評論。一個問題是，您如何考慮在未來為銷售和行銷費用分配額外資金，特別是為了支持新的產品線？

And to what extent you expect that to potentially yield accretive results, more sales and marketing investments, so to speak? And if there are any new sales and marketing channels that you are contemplating and employing going forward?

您預期這在多大程度上可能會帶來增值成果，例如更多的銷售和行銷投資？您是否正在考慮並採用任何新的銷售和行銷管道？

And then secondly, if you could comment on, broadly speaking, the long-term strategy in HNH, in particular, as it pertains to what we see as burgeoning interest in the two areas of anti-aging and weight loss? And if you see any opportunities potentially for Balchem to become more meaningfully involved in that on the healthcare consumer product side within the HNH segment?

其次，您能否從廣義上評論一下 HNH 的長期策略，特別是關於我們所看到的對抗衰老和減肥兩個領域日益增長的興趣？您是否認為 Balchem 有機會在 HNH 領域的醫療保健消費品領域更有意義地參與其中？

Great. Thanks, Ram. Thanks again for the questions. Relative to HNH, we feel like we are getting a good return on our increased marketing dollars as well as our increased R&D dollars. So we're going to continue to allocate capital in an increasing way to marketing and R&D, particularly for HNH. I don't want to overstate that.

偉大的。謝謝，拉姆。再次感謝您的提問。相對於 HNH，我們覺得我們在增加行銷費用和研發費用方面獲得了良好的回報。因此，我們將繼續增加對行銷和研發的投入，特別是針對 HNH。我不想誇大這一點。

I think it's kind of material from our perspective, but it's not going to be a sea change, if you will, in the spend there. But we will be growing our R&D spending faster than our overall spend. We'll be growing our marketing spend faster than our overall spend. And so far, we feel like we're getting a return on investment.

我認為從我們的角度來看這是一種材料，但如果你願意的話，這不會對那裡的支出產生翻天覆地的變化。但我們的研發支出成長速度將快於整體支出。我們的行銷支出的成長速度將快於整體支出的成長速度。到目前為止，我們感覺我們已經獲得了投資回報。

And where that spend will go will be continuing some of the marketing efforts that we've been talking about in the past relative to building awareness. We talked about the recent sponsoring of the Jets. We're going to continue to do things like that. Europe is a real opportunity for us to find ways to do something similar, and we're going to be doing things like that.

這些支出的用途將用於繼續我們過去談到的一些與提高知名度有關的行銷工作。我們談論了最近對噴射機隊的贊助。我們將繼續做這樣的事情。歐洲為我們提供了一個真正的機會來尋找做類似事情的方法，我們將會做類似的事情。

And you kind of mentioned other channels. We do believe and now feel as though we have a good plan around increasing our investment relative to social media marketing. And that will also be receiving increased allocation of capital for us because we really see an opportunity there.

您也提到了其他管道。我們確實相信，並且現在感覺我們有一個很好的計劃來增加對社交媒體行銷的投資。這也將為我們帶來更多的資本配置，因為我們確實看到了其中的機會。

We've been, I think, dipping our toes in that over the last 6 to 12 months. And I think we're seeing some good results from those kind of pilot situations and will be allocating more capital there. So specifically, marketing and R&D will receive increased capital.

我想，過去 6 到 12 個月我們一直在嘗試這個領域。我認為，我們從這些試點情況中看到了一些良好的成果，我們將在那裡投入更多資金。具體來說，行銷和研發將獲得增加的資金。

Relative to anti-aging and weight loss, I think that overall, sort of the kind of sports nutrition, adult nutrition has been a focus for us. We've talked in the past about being kind of overly weighted towards kind of infant nutrition, infant cognition and prenatal and so forth.

相對於抗衰老和減肥，我認為整體而言，運動營養、成人營養一直是我們關注的重點。我們過去曾討論過過度重視嬰兒營養、嬰兒認知和產前等方面的問題。

So some of these marketing efforts and R&D efforts are moving us squarely into other categories. Anti-aging is a broad category that I think does work very well with many of our products, from K2 to MSM to choline and so forth. So anti-aging, I think, in square kind of in the middle of our focus area.

因此，這些行銷努力和研發努力正使我們向其他類別邁進。抗衰老是一個廣泛的類別，我認為它與我們的許多產品配合得很好，從 K2 到 MSM 到膽鹼等等。所以我認為，抗衰老是我們重點關注的領域。

Not so much, weight loss. That has not been a major focus area, nor one that our products necessarily have played significant roles in. But there is this ancillary role that comes into play when -- if somebody is on a weight loss drug, for example, of some sort, I do think overall, a vitamin, mineral nutrient supplementation sometimes becomes even more important in that weight loss program.

不算多，體重減輕了。這不是一個主要關注的領域，也不是我們的產品必然扮演重要角色的領域。但是，當某人正在服用減肥藥時，這種輔助作用就會發揮作用，例如，我認為總的來說，維生素、礦物質營養補充劑有時在減肥計劃中變得更加重要。

And I think there's a clear role for us to play there. So anti-aging, for sure, and sort of an ancillary role to play, I think, in the overall weight loss category as well, both of which are obviously very important today.

我認為我們在這方面可以發揮明確的作用。因此，我認為，抗衰老肯定是最重要的，而且在整體減肥方面也起著輔助作用，這兩者在今天顯然都非常重要。

Great. And then just very quickly, two quick questions for Martin. One is with respect to the continued evolution of interest rates and the possibility of you all having access to lower cost of capital on the debt side, do you think that is likely to change in any way, the manner in which Balchem prioritizes debt repayment?

偉大的。然後很快地，我問馬丁兩個問題。一個是關於利率的持續變化，以及你們所有人在債務方面獲得較低資本成本的可能性，您認為 Balchem 優先償還債務的方式是否會改變？

And then secondly, just the standard question on where you think the long-term effective tax rate is going to go and if you believe that 23% is still a reasonable assumption for modelling the effective tax rate over the course of 2025.

其次，標準問題是，您認為長期有效稅率將會如何變化，以及您是否認為 23% 仍然是模擬 2025 年有效稅率的合理假設。

Yes. Thank you, Ram. I think for the second part of the question on the tax rate, I do feel that 22% to 23% is sort of the right number to use. If you just sort of do the basic math, you'll end closer to 23%, but we tend to always sort of find and work on creative things to lower that a little bit. We've proven over time that we've been good at lowering that rate a little bit. But I think it will be in that 22% to 23% range for sure.

是的。謝謝你，拉姆。我認為對於稅率問題的第二部分，我確實認為 22% 到 23% 是一個合適的數字。如果你只是做一些基本的計算，你最終會接近 23%，但我們總是傾向於尋找和研究創意的方法來稍微降低這個數字。隨著時間的推移，我們已經證明我們能夠稍微降低這個比率。但我認為肯定會在 22% 到 23% 的範圍內。

Year-to-date, we're at 22.2%, I believe, and I think we'll end the year in that 22% to 23% range. So I wouldn't expect a big change their based on what I'm seeing and based on the geographies we operate and the regulation in the different jurisdictions, et cetera.

我認為，今年迄今我們的成長率為 22.2%，我認為今年年底成長率將達到 22% 至 23% 的範圍。因此，根據我所看到的情況以及我們經營的地理位置和不同司法管轄區的監管情況等，我認為不會發生很大的變化。

In terms of the access to debt and the debt markets and some of the changing environment there and so forth, we keep assessing it. We meet with the various players on an ongoing basis. So we get updated on what's happening and what's changing and what's available to us and what's not, and we constantly assess that.

關於債務管道、債務市場以及其中的一些變化環境等，我們一直在進行評估。我們持續與各位參與者會面。因此，我們會了解正在發生的事情、正在發生的變化、我們可以獲得什麼以及不能獲得什麼，並不斷對其進行評估。

None of it have triggered a change yet in our behaviours, but that's not to say that it won't at some point if we think that something is more favourable to us. For now, we're happy with the revolving credit facility that we have in place that we believe we have at a fairly attractive rate as well compared to the alternatives.

這些都還沒有引發我們行為的改變，但這並不是說，如果我們認為某件事對我們更有利，在某個時候它就不會改變。目前，我們對現有的循環信貸安排感到滿意，我們認為，與其他選擇相比，我們的循環信貸安排的利率也相當有吸引力。

But it also depends what our overall debt structure and burden looks like, and that varies a lot as it goes hand-in-hand with our M&A strategy. So M&A is -- can be unpredictable in terms of timing and in terms of size.

但這也取決於我們的整體債務結構和負擔，而且由於它與我們的併購策略密切相關，因此差異很大。因此，從時間和規模來看，併購都是不可預測的。

And should we enter into some transaction at some point that puts more debt on our balance sheet, then we will certainly also assess sort of what the right debt structure and source of that is to optimize for Balchem. So I think all the options are on the table, and it's just a constant evaluation. But we have good relationships and good insights and good discussions around it. So we'll decide as we go along.

而且，如果我們在某個時候進行一些交易，從而在我們的資產負債表上增加更多債務，那麼我們肯定也會評估什麼是正確的債務結構及其來源，以便為 Balchem 進行優化。所以我認為所有的選擇都在考慮範圍內，只是需要不斷評估。但我們對此有著良好的關係、良好的見解和良好的討論。因此我們會邊進行邊做決定。

Kyle May, Sidoti.

凱爾梅、西多蒂。

Maybe for Martin, to follow up on the last question. Just wondering if you could get us -- give us a sense of what you're seeing in the M&A market, kind of deal flow and maybe areas of interest? And then secondly, I appreciate that you try and keep the balance sheet in a good place for those opportunities. But if nothing were to arise and given where the balance sheet is now, are there any additional uses of cash that you could kind of deploy to return that to shareholders?

也許對馬丁來說，可以繼續回答最後一個問題。只是想知道您是否可以讓我們了解您在併購市場中看到的情況、交易流程以及可能感興趣的領域？其次，我很欣賞你們為抓住這些機會而努力保持資產負債表處於良好狀態。但是，如果沒有發生任何情況，並且考慮到現在的資產負債表情況，您是否有其他現金用途可以用來返還給股東？

Yes. So first, on the M&A deal flow, I would say it's improving in terms of the activity in the market. The last two years have been very quiet just in terms of any quality assets out there to discuss. There is an improving trend for sure in terms of activity and sort of the deal flow that we see come across our desks and sort of the willingness for owners and sellers to initiate discussions.

是的。首先，關於併購交易流程，我想說，從市場活動來看，它正在改善。過去兩年，就值得討論的優質資產而言，一直非常平靜。就我們看到的活動和交易流程而言，以及業主和賣家發起談判的意願而言，肯定存在改善趨勢。

I would still not call it a hot market or a booming market or anything like that, but it is starting to pick up a little bit. So if this trend continues, you would think that, as you go into 2025, that it would be a fairly active market, or that would be my expectation.

我仍然不會稱其為熱門市場或蓬勃發展的市場或諸如此類的市場，但它已開始有所回升。因此，如果這種趨勢繼續下去，你會認為，到 2025 年，它將是一個相當活躍的市場，或者這是我的預期。

So the other part of your question in terms of returning value or cash to shareholders, we have in the past done stock buybacks for antidilution and to keep our share count flat when we've had periods where there's been no M&A and strong cash flow generation. So we always assess that as an alternative to returning value to our shareholders.

所以你問題的另一部分是關於向股東返還價值或現金，我們過去曾進行過股票回購，以防止稀釋，並在沒有併購和現金流強勁的時期保持我們的股份數量平穩。因此，我們始終將其視為向股東返還價值的替代方案。

But I think at the end of the day, if you take a step back, I think what you've seen in the past of how we operate and our capital allocation philosophy of first really investing in our organic growth and augmenting that with M&A and serving our debt and continuing to sort of pay and grow the dividend, which we've done consistently now for over a decade and then sort of the stock buyback being sort of the last lever in this equation, that will continue.

但我認為，歸根結底，如果你退一步思考，我認為你過去看到的我們的運營方式和資本配置理念是首先真正投資於我們的有機增長，並通過併購來增強這一增長。支付和增加股息，這是我們十多年來一直堅持的做法，而股票回購是這個等式中的最後一個槓桿，我們會繼續這樣做。

We're not doing any fundamental strategic change in how we deploy our capital or our philosophy. So I think you should probably expect more of the same.

我們不會對資本部署或理念進行任何根本性的策略改變。因此我想你應該會期待更多類似的事情。

Okay. Got it. That's helpful. And then maybe just kind of housekeeping. Operating margins continue to remain strong, even better than last quarter. Just can you provide any guidance or thoughts about what we could see in 4Q?

好的。知道了。這很有幫助。然後可能只是做一些家事。營業利潤率持續保持強勁，甚至比上一季更好。您能否就第四季度的情況提供任何指導或想法？

The -- well, obviously, we're very pleased with the margin rates we're seeing at the moment. As I mentioned briefly in the prepared remarks, we're benefiting a little bit from a favourable portfolio mix where HNH and Specialty Products are growing.

嗯，顯然，我們對目前的利潤率非常滿意。正如我在準備好的演講中簡要提到的那樣，我們從有利的投資組合中受益匪淺，其中 HNH 和特種產品正在增長。

And ANH, being lower margin, relatively speaking to the other two segments, declining. So that's having a positive impact to the overall margins. And even within that, right, if you look at HNH, minerals and nutrients, being relatively speaking, higher margin than the food ingredients and minerals and nutrients growing faster has favourable mix impact as well.

而ANH的利潤率較低，相對其他兩個部門而言，呈現下降趨勢。這對整體利潤率有正面影響。即使在這種情況下，如果你看看 HNH，礦物質和營養素，相對而言，利潤率比食品成分高，而且礦物質和營養素增長更快，也有有利的組合影響。

So we're benefiting from that. So as we look forward, we think some of that will moderate, right, and the margin rate will contract a little bit as a result of ANH returning to growth as we enter into 2025. The food ingredients versus the minerals will grow not necessarily faster than minerals and nutrients, but it will grow. So I think there'll be a little bit of a moderation there from a rate perspective.

因此我們從中受益。因此，展望未來，我們認為其中一些因素將會緩和，進入 2025 年，隨著 ANH 恢復成長，利潤率將會略有收縮。食物成分與礦物質之比的增長不一定會比礦物質和營養素之比增長得更快，但會增長。因此我認為從利率角度來看會稍微有所緩和。

The other thing also is that from an input cost and raw materials, we've sort of gone through this deflationary period for a time where raw materials were decreasing from a year-over-year and sequential perspective, and that has sort of stopped and plateaued.

另一件事是，從投入成本和原材料來看，我們已經經歷了一段時間的通貨緊縮時期，原材料的價格從同比和環比的角度看都在下降，而這種情況已經停止了，趨於穩定。

So we don't have that benefit anymore of sort of input costs and raw materials coming down. So I think that favourable timing lag that you have in that scenario will also go away, which will put a little bit of a pressure on the margin rate. So I think it will contract a little bit, but still remain strong and healthy if you look at it from a historic perspective.

因此，我們不再享受投入成本和原料下降的好處。所以我認為，在這種情況下有利的時間延遲也會消失，這會對保證金率造成一點壓力。因此我認為它會有所收縮，但如果從歷史角度來看，它仍然保持強大和健康。

Great. That's really helpful. And then maybe one last one for me, and apologies if I missed this, but the European food market or feed market for ANH, I believe you pointed to or mentioned that, that's stabilizing. Any additional perspective on how we should think about that going into 2025?

偉大的。這真的很有幫助。然後也許對我來說最後一個問題，如果我錯過了這個，請原諒，但我相信您指出或提到歐洲食品市場或 ANH 飼料市場正在趨於穩定。對於我們應該如何看待 2025 年這個問題，您還有其他看法嗎？

Yes. I think you will -- that the feed market in Europe, and that's where we saw a big decline in this year, primarily driven by sort of low-cost international products being flooded into that market. So prices came down, right?

是的。我認為你會發現——歐洲的飼料市場今年出現了大幅下滑，主要原因是大量低成本的國際產品湧入該市場。那麼價格下降了，對嗎？

So volumes have remained somewhat stable as we've defended our share, but prices came down significantly as a result of this flooding of the market. We saw that in the early part of the year, sort of late last year and early part of this year is really when we saw the big change. And then for the last, call it, quarter or two, it's more stabilized and sort of found a balance and it's humming along at that level.

因此，由於我們捍衛了自己的份額，銷量保持相對穩定，但由於市場氾濫，價格大幅下降。我們看到，在今年年初，也就是去年年底和今年年初，我們確實看到了巨大的變化。然後在最後一個季度或兩個季度裡，它更加穩定並且找到了一種平衡，並且在那個水平上順利運行。

So I think as you think -- as you look into the future of 2025, I expect it to remain relatively unchanged. I don't see a big change in the market or end market demand or anything that's driving a big rebound, nor do I see, barring any structural change, the flooding of the market to stop unless there's some intervention from sort of an EU perspective of wanting to look after that situation.

所以我認為，當你展望 2025 年的未來時，我預計它將保持相對不變。我不認為市場或終端市場需求會發生重大變化，也不認為任何推動大幅反彈的因素會推動市場發生重大變化，除非出現結構性變化，否則除非歐盟採取某種幹預措施，否則市場氾濫的現像不會停止想要照顧好這種情況。

So barring any structural change, I think it will remain kind of the same. Not getting worse, but not getting better either, just sort of plateaued.

因此，除非發生任何結構性變化，否則我認為它將保持不變。沒有變得更糟，但也沒有變得更好，只是處於停滯狀態。

There are no more questions at this time. And I would like to turn the floor back over to Ted Harris for any closing comments.

目前沒有其他問題。最後我想把發言權交還給泰德·哈里斯，請他發表最後評論。

Thanks, John. Once again, thank you very much for joining our call today. We really appreciate your support as well as your time today, and we look forward to reporting out. It's hard to believe it's going to be 2025, but our Q4 2024 results in February of next year.

謝謝，約翰。再次感謝您今天參加我們的電話會議。我們非常感謝您今天的支持和時間，我們期待著報告。很難相信它會是 2025 年，但我們的 2024 年第四季業績將於明年 2 月公佈。

In the meantime, we will be participating in Baird's 2024 Industrial Conference in Chicago on November 12 and 13, and we certainly hope to see some of you there. So thanks again for joining today.

同時，我們將於 11 月 12 日至 13 日參加在芝加哥舉行的 Baird 2024 年工業會議，我們非常希望在那裡見到你們。再次感謝您今天的加入。

And ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Have a great rest of the day.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開您的線路。祝您今天剩餘時間愉快。