Benchmark Electronics Inc (BHE) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Benchmark Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call and Webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, you will have the opportunity to ask questions during the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions)

大家好，歡迎參加今天的 Benchmark 2024 年第三季收益電話會議和網路廣播。此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。隨後，您將有機會在問答環節中提問。（操作員說明）

It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Mr. Paul Mansky, Benchmark Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我很高興將會議交給 Benchmark 投資者關係部的 Paul Mansky 先生主持。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, Jess and thanks everyone for joining us today for benchmark's third quarter fiscal year 2024 earnings call.

謝謝 Jess，也謝謝大家今天加入我們參加 Benchmark 2024 財年第三季財報電話會議。

Joining me this afternoon are Jeff Banks, CEO and President Brian shoemaker, our CFO and Arvind Kamal VP of finance. After the market closed today, we issued an earnings release pertaining to our financial performance for the third quarter of 2024. And we prepared a presentation that we will reference on this call. Both are available online under the investor relations section of our website at bench dotcom. This call is being webcast live and a replay will be available online following the call.

今天下午與我一起出席的有執行長兼總裁、財務長傑夫班克斯 (Jeff Banks) 和財務副總裁阿爾文德卡馬爾 (Arvind Kamal)。今天收盤後，我們發布了有關 2024 年第三季財務業績的收益報告。我們準備了一份演示文稿，我們將在這次電話會議上參考。兩者均可在 bench dotcom 網站的投資者關係部分線上取得。這次電話會議正在進行網路直播，電話會議結束後將在網路上提供重播。

The company has provided a reconciliation of our GAAP to Non-GAAP measures in the earnings release as well as in the appendix to the presentation.

該公司在收益報告以及簡報的附錄中提供了我們的公認會計原則與非公認會計原則衡量標準的調節表。

Please take a moment to review the forward-looking statements disclosure on slide 2 in the presentation. During our call, we will discuss forward-looking information as a reminder, any of today's remarks which are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties as described in our press releases and sec filings. Actual results may differ materially from these statements. Benchmark undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for today's call. Jeff will start with an overview of the quarter followed by an introduction to Brian. Our new Co Arvin will then detail our third quarter results and Brian will provide fourth quarter guidance. As usual, we will conclude with Jeff sharing more insight into demand trends by sector new business wins and some final remarks. If you'll please turn to slide 3, I'll turn the call over to our CEO Jeff. Thank you.

請花一點時間查看簡報中投影片 2 上揭露的前瞻性聲明。在我們的電話會議中，我們將討論前瞻性信息，以提醒大家，今天的任何非歷史事實陳述的言論都是前瞻性陳述，涉及我們的新聞稿和證券交易委員會文件中所述的風險和不確定性。實際結果可能與這些陳述有重大差異。Benchmark 不承擔更新今天電話會議的任何前瞻性陳述的義務。傑夫將首先概述本季度，然後介紹布萊恩。然後，我們的新聯合阿文將詳細介紹我們第三季的業績，布萊恩將提供第四季度的指導。像往常一樣，我們將由傑夫分享更多關於行業新業務勝利的需求趨勢的見解以及一些最後的評論。如果您願意，請翻到幻燈片 3，我會將電話轉給我們的執行長 Jeff。謝謝。

Thank you, Paul. Good afternoon. And thanks to everyone for joining today's call. The third quarter was another successful milestone for the company where we exceeded the midpoint of our guidance for revenue margin. And nongaap PS let me step through a few highlights, total revenue of $658 million was above the midpoint of our guidance range provided in July.

謝謝你，保羅。午安.感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。第三季是公司的另一個成功里程碑，我們超過了營收利潤率指引的中點。nongaap PS 讓我了解了一些亮點，總收入 6.58 億美元高於我們 7 月份提供的指導範圍的中點。

We were pleased with the year over year growth in aerospace and defense and semicap. The latter being well into the double digits as anticipated. This was offset by declines in industrial medical and advanced computing and communications.

我們對航空航太、國防和半導體領域的逐年成長感到滿意。正如預期的那樣，後者遠遠達到兩位數。這被工業醫療和先進計算和通訊的下降所抵消。

While demand over the last few quarters has certainly stabilized. We continue to see end market softness in several sectors weighing on our opportunity to grow revenue year over year third quarter, Nongaap gross margin of 10.2% marked the fourth quarter in a row of 10% or better margin performance.

雖然過去幾季的需求肯定已經穩定下來。我們繼續看到多個行業的終端市場疲軟，對我們第三季度收入同比增長的機會造成壓力，Nongaap 毛利率為 10.2%，標誌著第四季度連續 10% 或更好的利潤率表現。

I'm particularly thrilled to share Nongaap operating margin of 5.3% represents the 16th consecutive quarter of year over year operating margin expansion.

我特別高興告訴大家，Nongaap 營業利潤率達到 5.3%，這代表營業利潤率連續第 16 季同比增長。

This performance coupled with our revenue achievement enabled us to deliver 57¢ in Nongaap earnings per share in the quarter, which was at the higher end of our guidance, we continue to execute on our working capital initiative led by inventory management which enabled us to deliver $29 million in free cash flow in the quarter, bringing our trailing 12 month total to $245 million.

這一業績加上我們的收入成就，使我們能夠在本季度實現57 美分的Nongaap 每股收益，這是我們指導的較高端，我們繼續執行以庫存管理為主導的營運資金計劃，這使我們能夠實現本季自由現金流為 2,900 萬美元，使我們過去 12 個月的自由現金流總額達到 2.45 億美元。

I would now like to pass the call over to Brian who has only been on the job a few weeks. But I'm already confident he will make a significant impact as we continue to drive our strategy forward with that, Brian over to you.

我現在想把電話轉給剛上任幾週的布萊恩。但我已經相信，隨著我們繼續推動我們的策略向前發展，他將產生重大影響，布萊恩（Brian），交給你了。

Thank you Jeff and thank you to everyone for joining the call. Today marks my third week at benchmark. During this brief time, I have already come to further appreciate the customer first culture, the depth and quality of the team and the incredible opportunity in front of us driving significant shareholder value as I consider joining benchmark, it was clear the company has done a great job of focusing on high value sectors while maintaining operational discipline over the last several years.

謝謝傑夫，也謝謝大家加入這次電話會議。今天是我參加基準測試的第三週。在這短暫的時間裡，我已經進一步體會到客戶至上的文化、團隊的深度和素質，以及我們面前推動顯著股東價值的難以置信的機會，當我考慮加入基準時，很明顯，該公司已經做了過去幾年，我們在專注於高價值產業、同時保持營運紀律方面做得非常出色。

Looking forward, it is equally clear, the EMF industry is entering a structural multiyear growth cycle regardless of any near term macro headwinds. I think benchmark is uniquely positioned to capitalize and I'm thrilled to be a part of this, of it as we seek to maximize our opportunity both operationally and as a trusted partner to our customers.

展望未來，同樣明顯的是，無論短期宏觀阻力如何，EMF 產業都正在進入結構性多年成長週期。我認為基準在資本化方面具有獨特的優勢，我很高興能成為其中的一部分，因為我們尋求在營運和作為客戶值得信賴的合作夥伴方面最大化我們的機會。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Arvin for a review of our September financial results.

說到這裡，我想將電話轉給 Arvin，讓他審查我們 9 月的財務表現。

Thank you, Brian and good afternoon, please turn to slide 4 for our revenue by market sector. As Jeff mentioned, our total revenue in Q3 was $658 million semi cap revenue increased 13% year over year, supported by improving demand and new customer wins.

謝謝你，Brian，下午好，請翻到投影片 4，了解我們按市場部門劃分的收入。正如傑夫所提到的，在需求改善和新客戶贏得的支持下，我們第三季的總收入為 6.58 億美元，半上限收入年增 13%。

Industrial revenue decreased 2%.

工業收入下降2%。

The decline was driven by reduced demand from existing customers partially offset by new program ramps.

下降的原因是現有客戶的需求減少，部分被新計劃的增加所抵消。

Medical revenue was down 28% versus the prior year. We continue to see inventory rebalancing and end demand weakness, primarily impacting medical devices.

醫療收入比上年下降 28%。我們繼續看到庫存重新平衡和最終需求疲軟，主要影響醫療設備。

A&D revenue was up 2%.

A&D 營收成長 2%。

Commercial aerospace demand remains strong both within aviation and space applications. Meanwhile, we continue to see robust demand within defense where we are benefiting from existing program ramps and the launch of new programs.

航空和航太應用領域的商業航空需求仍然強勁。同時，我們繼續看到國防領域的強勁需求，我們受益於現有計畫的升級和新計畫的啟動。

AC and C decreased 27% year over year.

AC 和 C 年減 27%。

This decline was driven by several large HPC programs being completed earlier in the year. Coupled with continued weakness in our communications business, please turn to slide 5.

這一下降是由今年稍早完成的幾個大型 HPC 項目推動的。再加上我們的通訊業務持續疲軟，請參閱投影片 5。

Our GAAP earnings per share for the quarter was 42¢.

我們本季的 GAAP 每股收益為 42 美分。

Our nongaap PS was 57¢ which was at the high end of our guidance range of 52 to 58¢.

我們的非公認會計準則 PS 為 57 美分，處於我們指導範圍 52 至 58 美分的高端。

As a reminder, our Nongaap results exclude stock based compensation, amortization of intangible assets and restructuring expenses for Q3. Our nongaap gross margin was 10.2%.

提醒一下，我們的 Nongaap 業績不包括第三季的股票薪酬、無形資產攤提和重組費用。我們的非公認會計準則毛利率為 10.2%。

This represents a 50 basis point increase year over year, Nongaap SG and a expense was $32.3 million down 4% sequentially and flat year over year.

Nongaap SG 年增 50 個基點，費用為 3,230 萬美元，季減 4%，與去年同期持平。

Nongaap operating margin was 5.3%. Up 20 basis points sequentially and up 10 basis points year over year driven by gross margin expansion.

Nongaap 營運利潤率為 5.3%。由於毛利率擴張，季增 20 個基點，較去年同期成長 10 個基點。

Our third quarter, Nongaap effective tax rate was 23.7% Nongaap in the third quarter was 9.9%.

我們第三季的 Nongaap 有效稅率為 23.7%，第三季的 Nongaap 有效稅率為 9.9%。

Please turn to slide 6 for trended financials on a Nongaap basis.

請參閱投影片 6，以了解以 Nongaap 為基礎的趨勢財務資料。

As you will see, despite demand challenges among some of our end markets, we continue to focus on protecting operating margin which again expanded year over year.

正如您將看到的，儘管我們的一些終端市場面臨需求挑戰，但我們繼續專注於保護營業利潤率，營業利潤率再次逐年擴大。

Please refer to slides 7 through nine for a discussion of our cash conversion cycle, liquidity and capital allocation performance.

請參閱投影片 7 至 9，以了解我們的現金轉換週期、流動性和資本配置績效的討論。

Our cash conversion cycle days in the quarter or 90 days, consistent with our performance in Q2 in Q3, we continued to execute on our working capital efficiency plan which combined with our net income performance enabled us to generate $39 million in operating cash flow and $29 million of free cash flow in the period.

我們本季的現金轉換週期天數為90 天，與我們在第二季和第三季的表現一致，我們繼續執行我們的營運資金效率計劃，該計劃與我們的淨利潤表現相結合，使我們能夠產生3,900 萬美元的營運現金流和29 美元的營運現金流。

On a trailing 12 month basis, we have generated $245 million in free cash flow.

在過去 12 個月的基礎上，我們產生了 2.45 億美元的自由現金流。

Our cash balance on September 30th was $324 million. A sequential increase of $15 million during the quarter. We reduced debt by another $11 million leaving $125 million outstanding on our term loan and $155 million against our revolver from which we have $391 million available to borrow in the quarter. We invested approximately $8 million in CapEx in support of continued growth and enhanced capabilities in our Mexico, Penang and Romania facilities in support of returning capital to our shareholders. We have paid cash dividends of $6 million in the quarter.

截至 9 月 30 日，我們的現金餘額為 3.24 億美元。本季環比增加 1500 萬美元。我們又減少了 1,100 萬美元的債務，留下 1.25 億美元的定期貸款未償還額和 1.55 億美元的左輪手槍餘額，本季我們可以從中藉入 3.91 億美元。我們投資了約 800 萬美元的資本支出，以支持墨西哥、檳城和羅馬尼亞工廠的持續成長和增強能力，從而支持向股東返還資本。本季我們支付了 600 萬美元的現金股利。

Finally, in Q3, we repurchased approximately 127,000 shares at an average price of $40.27 per share totaling $5.1 million. As of the end of the quarter, we had approximately $150 million remaining in our existing share repurchase authorization.

最後，在第三季度，我們以每股 40.27 美元的平均價格回購了約 127,000 股股票，總計 510 萬美元。截至本季末，我們現有的股票回購授權中剩餘約 1.5 億美元。

I would now like to turn the call back over to Bryan to discuss guidance for the December quarter.

我現在想將電話轉回給 Bryan，討論 12 月季度的指導。

Thanks Arvan. Please advance to slide 10 for our fiscal Q4 ending December. We expect revenue to be within a range of $640 million to $680 million. We expect Non-GAAP gross margin to be 10.2% which is consistent with our performance over the last several quarters, Non-GAAP SG&A expense is expected to be within a range of $34 million to $36 million. With those inputs. We would expect non-GAAP operating margin to be between 4.9% and 5.1%.

謝謝阿爾萬。請前進至幻燈片 10，了解截至 12 月的第四財季。我們預計營收將在 6.4 億至 6.8 億美元之間。我們預計非 GAAP 毛利率為 10.2%，這與我們過去幾季的業績一致，非 GAAP SG&A 費用預計在 3,400 萬美元至 3,600 萬美元之間。有了這些輸入。我們預計非 GAAP 營業利潤率將介於 4.9% 至 5.1% 之間。

For Q4. We expect approximately $3.5 million of stock based compensation, $1.2 million in amortization of intangible assets and $1 million of estimated restructuring and other expenses. Our Nongaap diluted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $0.53 to $0.59. Other expenses net are expected to be approximately $6.4 million. Although interest expense is expected to decline sequentially, this will be partially offset by an anticipated increase in foreign exchange costs. We expect our Q4 nongaap effective tax rate will be between 22% to 24%.

對於第四季。我們預計約 350 萬美元的股票薪酬、120 萬美元的無形資產攤銷以及 100 萬美元的估計重組和其他費用。我們的 Nongaap 稀釋後每股收益預計在 0.53 美元至 0.59 美元之間。其他費用淨額預計約 640 萬美元。儘管利息支出預計將連續下降，但這將被預期的外匯成本增加部分抵消。我們預計第四季非公認會計原則有效稅率將在 22% 至 24% 之間。

Our weighted average share count is expected to be 36.6 million. Finally, we expect to continue to deliver positive free cash flow in the quarter inclusive, inclusive of $12 million to $14 million in capital spending for the year. We expect free cash flow to be greater than $130 million.

我們的加權平均股票數量預計為 3,660 萬股。最後，我們預計本季將繼續實現正自由現金流，其中包括全年 1,200 萬至 1,400 萬美元的資本支出。我們預計自由現金流將超過 1.3 億美元。

And with that, I would like to turn the call back over to you, Jeff.

說到這裡，我想把電話轉回給你，傑夫。

Thanks Bryan. Please turn to slide 12 for a discussion of our performance by sector.

謝謝布萊恩。請參閱投影片 12，以了解我們按部門劃分的績效討論。

Our semicap revenue grew 13% year over year driven by new wins and further share gains.

在新的勝利和進一步的份額增長的推動下，我們的半資本收入同比增長 13%。

We continue to see signs of recovery in the sector. Although it's clear to say this cycle has not followed historical patterns. We are long in the space and investing for the future. But the pace of the next up cycle has been a bit challenging to predict. While we expect 2025 to be a growth year, it seems the first half will continue to have pockets of weakness.

我們繼續看到該行業復甦的跡象。儘管可以明確地說，這個週期並不遵循歷史模式。我們看好這個領域，並為未來投資。但下一個上升週期的步伐很難預測。雖然我們預計 2025 年將是增長年，但上半年似乎仍將疲軟。

Select OEMs are still bringing inventory levels down as others work to support incremental demand netted against each other. We believe we are still in the early stages of the market recovery.

部分原始設備製造商仍在降低庫存水平，而其他製造商則努力支援相互抵消的增量需求。我們相信我們仍處於市場復甦的早期階段。

Despite this near term choppiness, I'm pleased with our continued win momentum coupled with our capacity expansion including our new facility in Penang which opened in September. We are well positioned to capture incremental share during the inevitable upturn in its critical sector to the world's economy.

儘管近期出現波動，但我對我們持續的獲勝勢頭以及產能擴張（包括 9 月在檳城開業的新工廠）感到滿意。我們處於有利地位，可以在其關鍵產業對世界經濟不可避免的改善期間獲得增量份額。

Supporting my confidence, we continue to score some meaningful new wins in this vertical.

我們繼續在這個垂直領域取得一些有意義的新勝利，這增強了我的信心。

This past quarter, I was particularly encouraged by the large number of new engineering wins we achieved on next gen platforms. We also had a competitive takeaway with a large customer that includes both machining and assembly that will be manufactured here in the Phoenix area.

上個季度，我們在下一代平台上取得的大量新工程成果讓我特別受到鼓舞。我們還與一家大客戶獲得了具有競爭力的外賣，其中包括將在菲尼克斯地區製造的機械加工和組裝。

Our strong position and incremental wins are enabling us to grow our semi cap revenue greater than 10% in 2024 which is more than three times the expected industry growth rate this year in medical, similar to the last few quarters and demand, softness has weighed on sector performance. This isn't concentrated within a specific program or customer. It's clear there is broad market weakness most notably within medical devices which we expect to continue for the next few quarters. We continue to pick up new wins in life sciences and class three medical devices which speaks to the long term growth opportunity in the sector.

我們的強勢地位和增量勝利使我們能夠在 2024 年將半上限收入增長超過 10%，這是今年醫療行業預期增長率的三倍多，與過去幾個季度類似，需求疲軟已經承壓部門表現。這並不集中於特定的計劃或客戶。很明顯，市場普遍疲軟，尤其是醫療設備領域，我們預計這種情況在未來幾季將持續下去。我們繼續在生命科學和三級醫療設備領域取得新的勝利，這說明了該行業的長期成長機會。

By way of example, this past quarter, we had a number of key wins including a competitive takeaway with one of our largest customers. We also won the manufacturing for a new ultrasound device and had a key engineering win in the cardiology space with a new customer.

舉例來說，上個季度，我們取得了許多關鍵勝利，包括與我們最大的客戶之一的競爭性外賣。我們也贏得了新型超音波設備的製造，並與新客戶在心臟病學領域取得了關鍵的工程勝利。

As you know, engineering winds tend to drive future manufacturing wins. So I'm pleased, pleased to see us keep up the momentum both in our traditional medical sector and in our growing biotech business.

如您所知，工程風往往會推動未來的製造勝利。因此，我很高興看到我們在傳統醫療領域和不斷增長的生物技術業務中保持勢頭。

Turning to complex industrials, we continue to win new business in key growth subsectors. This past quarter, we want an RF based monitoring module with applications across a number of industrial and commercial markets.

轉向複雜工業，我們繼續在關鍵成長子行業贏得新業務。上個季度，我們想要一個基於射頻的監控模組，其應用遍及多個工業和商業市場。

Importantly, this key piece of business was awarded because of our engineering capabilities.

重要的是，這項關鍵業務的取得是因為我們的工程能力。

In addition, we want an impressive number of new engineering engagements across multiple customers over the last 90 days.

此外，我們希望在過去 90 天內與多個客戶進行大量的新工程合作。

This ties directly to our continued investment in the complex industrial sector. Given the growth opportunities we see.

這與我們對複雜工業領域的持續投資直接相關。鑑於我們看到的成長機會。

Although this sector may be down sequentially in Q4, we expect to return to modest year over year growth in the period which we look to build on in the quarters to come, turning to A&D. This sector continues to perform very well for us. Although year over year growth moderated in Q3, we expect the pace to pick up and return to double digit growth in Q4 on both the sequential and year over year basis.

儘管該行業在第四季度可能會連續下滑，但我們預計在未來幾季的基礎上將恢復溫和的同比增長，轉向航空與航太領域。該部門繼續為我們表現良好。儘管第三季同比成長放緩，但我們預計第四季環比和年增速將加快並恢復兩位數成長。

Our defense business continues to see demand strength from both existing programs and ramping new wins.

我們的國防業務繼續看到現有計劃和新勝利帶來的需求強勁。

At the same time, our supply chain efforts are enabling us to meet the growing demand this past quarter. We were pleased to have a couple of new platform wins representing a significant expansion of our manufacturing partnership with an existing customer.

同時，我們的供應鏈努力使我們能夠滿足上個季度不斷增長的需求。我們很高興贏得了幾個新平台，這代表著我們與現有客戶的製造合作夥伴關係的顯著擴展。

One was in communication controls and the other in aircraft modernization within aerospace demand has stayed strong for several quarters. I'm particularly pleased with the continued momentum in bookings from new space applications where just this quarter, we secured several new wins across both engineering and manufacturing.

一是通訊控制，二是航空航天需求中的飛機現代化，幾個季度以來一直保持強勁。我對新空間應用預訂的持續成長勢頭感到特別滿意，就在本季度，我們在工程和製造方面取得了幾項新的勝利。

Lastly, ac and C revenue declined 27% year over year in the September quarter.

最後，9 月所在季度的 ac 和 C 營收年減 27%。

As we've been saying, for some time now, we expect sector pressure to persist throughout the rest of 2024 and the first half of 2025 driven by the completion of several large H BC programs and some delays in the timing of the follow on platforms within communications. A customer disengagement we previously discussed continues to impact our year over year growth as expected.

正如我們所說，一段時間以來，我們預計，由於幾個大型 H BC 專案的完成以及平台後續專案時間的一些延遲，行業壓力將在 2024 年剩餘時間和 2025 年上半年持續存在通訊範圍內。我們之前討論過的客戶流失持續影響我們的年成長，正如預期的那樣。

Looking forward, we are working on new product introductions across multiple programs for a large wireless transport customer. These efforts resulted in a sizable follow on booking in the quarter that's expected to begin contributing in the second half of 2025.

展望未來，我們正致力於為大型無線傳輸客戶跨多個專案推出新產品。這些努力在本季度帶來了相當大的預訂量，預計將於 2025 年下半年開始貢獻。

Elsewhere within communications. This past quarter, we saw a key win in the geospatial imaging market which carries the potential to be significant over time.

通信中的其他地方。上個季度，我們看到地理空間成像市場取得了重大勝利，隨著時間的推移，該市場具有巨大的潛力。

In summary, please turn to slide 13, the September quarter was once again demonstrated benchmarks ability to control what we can control while we remain committed to investing in our customer success in support of our mutual growth.

總而言之，請參閱投影片 13，9 月的季度再次證明了我們能夠控制我們能夠控制的事情的基準能力，同時我們仍然致力於投資於客戶的成功，以支持我們的共同成長。

We believe consistency is important and the breadth of our portfolio across sectors and customers has enabled us to weather the dynamic market environment while continuing to improve our operational execution and margins.

我們相信一致性很重要，我們跨行業和客戶的投資組合的廣度使我們能夠應對動態的市場環境，同時繼續提高我們的營運執行力和利潤率。

Benchmark has now delivered 16 consecutive quarters of year on year. Nongaap operating margin expansion.

Benchmark 目前已連續 16 個季度實現同比增長。Nongaap 營業利潤率擴大。

This has been irrespective of the demand environment which has historically not been the case in our space.

這與需求環境無關，而我們的領域在歷史上並非如此。

I believe this speaks to our maniacal focus on building the right portfolio and controlling our costs particularly during periods in which revenue growth is challenged.

我相信這說明了我們對建立正確的投資組合和控製成本的瘋狂關注，特別是在收入成長面臨挑戰的時期。

We've also approved our working capital management led by our inventory reduction efforts.

我們也批准了由庫存削減工作主導的營運資金管理。

This past quarter, inventory was down more than $140 million year over year making this the fifth consecutive quarter of annual inventory reductions.

上個季度，庫存年減超過 1.4 億美元，這已是年度庫存連續第五個季度減少。

This has supported our free cash flow generation which has totaled almost one quarter of a billion dollars. Over the last 12 months, we have leveraged our strong cash flow to further improve our balance sheet while returning capital to shareholders. We've significantly reduced our revolving debt balance and have now been net cash positive for the last two quarters.

這支持了我們自由現金流的產生，總計近十億美元的四分之一。在過去 12 個月中，我們利用強勁的現金流進一步改善了我們的資產負債表，同時向股東返還資本。我們已經大幅減少了循環債務餘額，並且在過去兩個季度中淨現金為正。

At the same time, we've consistently paid our quarterly dividend which was increased to 17¢ per share last quarter.

同時，我們持續支付季度股息，上季股息增加至每股 17 美分。

Finally, this past quarter, we resumed our share repurchase activity, buying approximately 5 million in stock. Let me wrap by saying, regardless of the market environment, our mission remains the same. We're going to support our customers with anything they require to improve product realization and speed their time to market. We're also going to drive further operational improvements within the company including efficient use of working capital.

最後，在上個季度，我們恢復了股票回購活動，購買了約 500 萬股股票。最後我想說的是，無論市場環境如何，我們的使命始終如一。我們將為客戶提供他們所需的一切支持，以提高產品實現速度並加快上市時間。我們也將推動公司內部的進一步營運改進，包括有效利用營運資金。

Lastly, we will return capital to our investors through the dividend and share repurchases. We're encouraged by the pipeline of significant new opportunities in front of us, the winds we've already secured and those that are ramping and the potential for an improved macro environment, all of which increases our confidence that we will see a return to growth in 2025.

最後，我們將透過股利和股票回購將資本返還給投資者。我們對擺在我們面前的一系列重大新機會、我們已經獲得的機會和正在增強的機會以及改善宏觀環境的潛力感到鼓舞，所有這些都增強了我們對經濟復甦的信心。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to the operator to conduct our Q&A session.

這樣，我現在將把電話轉給接線員來進行問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Jaeson Schmidt, Lake Street.

傑森‧施密特，湖街。

Guys. Thanks for taking my questions. I know the outlook for the year for each sector is unchanged, but just curious if there are any sectors you're a bit more optimistic about now than you were last call.

夥計們。感謝您回答我的問題。我知道今年每個行業的前景沒有變化，但只是好奇您現在是否對某些行業比上次電話會議時更加樂觀。

Jeff. I'll take it. Thanks for your question. We certainly are encouraged by some of the semi cap recovery that we started to see. We did talk about there being, you know, some inconsistency across O Ems. But we feel that we have started to see the recovery even though, you know, once we get into 25 we'll, we'll have a better feel and then A&D, you know, just continues to be strong. And, you know, Q3 was a little bit of a pause in, in year, on year growth. But we see that picking up again in the fourth quarter, that's, that's probably where I would center my, my thoughts.

傑夫.我要買它。謝謝你的提問。我們當然對我們開始看到的一些半上限復甦感到鼓舞。我們確實討論過 O Ems 之間存在一些不一致之處。但我們覺得我們已經開始看到復甦，儘管，你知道，一旦我們進入 25，我們會有更好的感覺，然後 A&D，你知道，將繼續保持強勁。而且，你知道，第三季的年成長略有停頓。但我們看到第四季再次回升，這可能是我集中精力的地方。

Okay. That's helpful. And just curious if sort of the pricing environment when you guys are going out to bed for programs has remained pretty irrational.

好的。這很有幫助。我只是好奇，當你們出去參加節目時，定價環境是否仍然相當不合理。

Yeah, it's been, it's been, it's been very rational. There's always competition and, you know, we focus on what we're good at. We differentiate ourselves with the highly regulated complex solutions. Engineering content is always a plus. You saw we had one win where engineering helped us lead the engagement and really was the reason why we, why we won, you know, it is competitive, but the pricing environment is pretty rational and I think customers are in a tough economic environment looking for cost savings. And so there's, there's certainly focus on how we can drive operational improvements to meet those needs. But all in all, I'd say it's pretty, it's a pretty rational environment.

是的，一直以來，一直以來，這都是非常理性的。競爭總是存在的，你知道，我們專注於我們擅長的事情。我們透過嚴格監管的複雜解決方案使自己脫穎而出。工程內容始終是優勢。你看到我們取得了一場勝利，工程幫助我們領導了參與，這確實​​是我們獲勝的原因，你知道，它具有競爭力，但定價環境相當合理，我認為客戶處於嚴峻的經濟環境中以節省成本。因此，我們肯定會關注如何推動營運改進以滿足這些需求。但總而言之，我想說它很漂亮，這是一個非常理性的環境。

Gotcha. And then just the last one for me and I'll jump back into queue, you highlighted the continued operating margin growth going forward even against this kind of more challenging demand backdrop. When the demand profile slips back, how much further upside do you think you can drive that operating margin line.

明白了。然後，對我來說，我會跳回隊列中的最後一個，您強調了即使在這種更具挑戰性的需求背景下，營運利潤率仍將持續增長。當需求狀況回落時，您認為可以進一步推動營業利潤線上升多少。

Yeah, Jason, this is Arvind. You know, I know you're seeing consistently we're delivering, you know, 10% gross margins, you know, Nongaap operating margins in the, in the kind of 5% neighborhood, you know, I would say one of the key things that we're looking and you're seeing small pockets of this is the semi cap recovery. But once we get that more to be more uniform, we anticipate, you know, anywhere from 25 to 50 basis points of additional, you know, you know, o I if you will O I percentage, if you will based on that recovery. So, and then as Jeff pointed out in his script, that's more back end of 25 2025.

是的，傑森，這是阿文德。你知道，我知道你一直看到我們提供 10% 的毛利率，你知道，Nongaap 的營業利潤率在 5% 左右，你知道，我想說的是關鍵之一我們正在尋找的東西，你會看到其中的一小部分是半上限復甦。但是，一旦我們讓這個數字變得更加統一，我們預計，你知道，額外的 25 到 50 個基點，你知道，你知道，如果你願意的話，我的百分比，如果你願意的話，基於復甦。因此，正如 Jeff 在他的劇本中指出的那樣，那是 2025 年 25 日的較晚時間。

Maybe, maybe, maybe before Brian, you can certainly weigh in too. But this is Jeff again, I also think that, you know, we've done a good job of really, you know, watching costs and getting operational efficient revenue growth helps a lot just bring leverage. And so, you know, as we see return to growth, particularly in some of the softness in industrial and medical, that will certainly help. But, you know, if you think about SG and A as a present of revenue and, and what, you know, what we might drop to the bottom line, so those things can contribute. But we're not saying we're done on operational improvements, you know, we are maniacally focused on it and still look for areas. A lot of times that is their demand in particular sites where we may have under utilization. You know, we've invested a lot in Mexico and Romania and now we've got capacity and as we fill that, you know, that will help us there as well.

也許，也許，也許在布萊恩之前，你當然也可以參與其中。但這又是傑夫，我還認為，你知道，我們確實做得很好，你知道，觀察成本和實現營運有效的收入成長有助於帶來槓桿作用。因此，你知道，當我們看到成長恢復時，特別是在工業和醫療領域的一些疲軟方面，這肯定會有所幫助。但是，你知道，如果你將 SG 和 A 視為收入的禮物，並且你知道，我們可能會降低底線，所以這些東西可以做出貢獻。但我們並不是說我們已經完成了營運改進，你知道，我們瘋狂地關注它，並且仍在尋找領域。很多時候，這是他們對我們可能利用率不足的特定站點的需求。你知道，我們在墨西哥和羅馬尼亞投入了大量資金，現在我們已經有了產能，當我們填補這些產能時，你知道，這也將幫助我們在那裡。

Okay. Thanks a lot guys.

好的。非常感謝大家。

Thanks Jason.

謝謝傑森。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Steven Fox, Fox Advisors.

史蒂文‧福克斯，福克斯顧問公司。

Hi, good afternoon, everyone. Take a little bit of the corollary to the questions that we just asked. The markets that aren't performing well, industrial equipment, medical. Some of these markets have been sort of dragging on for longer than is typical on a downturn. And not that you guys are the only ones seeing that everyone in the, in the supply chain is. But I guess how do we, how do we get any kind of like even green shoots of improvements that may be coming? Do you see any of that at all or is this something that's just could last even longer than, you know, even next year type of thing?

嗨，大家下午好。從我們剛才提出的問題中得出一些推論。表現不佳的市場有工業設備、醫療照護。其中一些市場的持續時間比典型的低迷時期還要長。並不是說你們是唯一看到供應鏈中每個人都是這樣的人。但我想我們如何，如何獲得可能即將到來的改進的任何形式，甚至是萌芽？您是否看到了其中的任何一個，或者這種情況可能會比明年的情況持續更長時間？

Yeah, thanks, Steve. Good question. We, we are seeing some, I would say green shoots like in industrial, I would say for sure. We've seen a stabilization, you know, you'll see some year on year growth in fourth quarter.

是的，謝謝，史蒂夫。好問題。我們，我們看到了一些，我想說的是工業領域的萌芽，我肯定地說。我們已經看到了穩定，你知道，你會在第四季度看到一些同比增長。

I think we're more constructive partly also because we've been winning new business, which is going to help us there. Medical does seem to be dragging on a bit longer given the focus on, you know, inventories and where people are there and coming out of COVID, where people right size, it does feel like it's a bit more prolonged. But I would say in industrial, we think that that's, you know, starting to turn the corner and, and see good opportunity there.

我認為我們更具建設性，部分原因是我們一直在贏得新業務，這將對我們有所幫助。考慮到人們對庫存的關注以及人們在哪裡以及從新冠病毒中恢復過來，在人員規模合適的情況下，醫療確實似乎拖延了更長的時間，但確實感覺時間更長了一些。但我想說的是，在工業領域，我們認為，你知道，這已經開始出現轉機，並且在那裡看到了很好的機會。

And then in telecom, there's just some unique things going on there. We've got some good new wins in AC and C that we're pretty encouraged about. But I would say just based on the ramp that will be more back end of 25 that we'll see stronger recovery there. But, you know, we feel like we see line of sight just because we know we're in NP I or new product introduction phase on that. So several new logos that will help us there.

然後在電信領域，正在發生一些獨特的事情。我們在 AC 和 C 方面取得了一些不錯的新勝利，對此我們感到非常鼓舞。但我想說，僅根據 25 年後的斜坡，我們將看到那裡更強勁的復甦。但是，你知道，我們感覺我們看到了視線，只是因為我們知道我們正處於 NP I 或新產品推出階段。一些新的標誌可以幫助我們實現這一點。

That's helpful. And then just on the engineering services piece of the business, I mean, it sounded like you mentioned it more in the script than you have in prior quarters. Not that you didn't mention it pre previously. I'm just wondering if anything's changed there or if not, where you're being more effective because you mentioned of course, a bunch of different markets.

這很有幫助。然後，就業務的工程服務部分而言，我的意思是，聽起來您在劇本中提到的次數比前幾個季度更多。並不是說您之前沒有提到過。我只是想知道那裡是否發生了變化，如果沒有，你在哪裡變得更有效，因為你當然提到了一堆不同的市場。

Yes, we did have a lot of wins in engineering. Not all of them were huge, but we did. We probably had a more pronounced number. We still think we can certainly do more. We are seeing good engagement in the semiconductor sector, which is an area that's been growing for us. And that's great because we want to help with engineering across all the sectors we, we highlighted because, you know, I've hired a lot of folks in the industry and when they come to bench, they're like, wow, we really design a lot of products.

是的，我們在工程方面確實取得了許多勝利。並非所有的都很大，但我們確實很大。我們可能有一個更明顯的數字。我們仍然認為我們當然可以做得更多。我們看到半導體產業的良好參與，這是我們一直在成長的領域。這很棒，因為我們希望幫助所有領域的工程，我們強調，因為，你知道，我僱用了很多業內人士，當他們來到替補席時，他們就像，哇，我們真的設計很多產品。

It's not just about, you know, having engineers that can do industrial engineering and plant layout. We do a lot of product development and that's such a great lead in them being the best person to build the product. So it kind of quarter our value prop and what differentiates us, there is a lot of focus in engineering within our team because we do think that it's higher value add and like I said, it can and it can lead to the manufacturing piece.

你知道，這不僅僅是擁有能夠進行工業工程和工廠佈局的工程師。我們進行了大量的產品開發，這對他們成為建造產品的最佳人選有很大的幫助。因此，它是我們價值支柱的四分之一，也是我們與眾不同的地方，我們團隊內部非常關注工程，因為我們確實認為它具有更高的附加價值，就像我說的，它可以而且可以導致製造件。

And, you know, sometimes in environments, you know, there could be pressure on it, we see it holding up pretty well in the, in the macro that's happening here. And and it's, it's just important to us and that's why we try to give a little more color on it. Great.

而且，你知道，有時在環境中，你知道，它可能會受到壓力，我們看到它在宏觀上表現得很好。這對我們來說很重要，這就是為什麼我們試圖給它更多的色彩。偉大的。

Great. That's helpful. Thank you.

偉大的。這很有幫助。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

It appears we have no further questions at this time. I'd now like to turn the conference back to Mr Mansky for any additional or closing comments.

目前看來我們沒有其他問題了。現在我想將會議轉回給曼斯基先生徵求任何補充意見或結束意見。

Thank you, Jess and thank you everyone for participating in Benchmark's third quarter, 2024 earnings call. As a reminder, we'll be attending the Raymond James TMT and Consumer Conference in New York on December 10. Also in New York, we'll be attending the 27th annual Needham Growth Conference on January 14th for updates to upcoming events and other conferences. Please check the events section of our IR website at Ir.bench.com.

謝謝 Jess，也謝謝大家參加 Benchmark 2024 年第三季的財報電話會議。提醒一下，我們將參加 12 月 10 日在紐約舉行的 Raymond James TMT 和消費者會議。同樣在紐約，我們將參加 1 月 14 日舉行的第 27 屆 Needham 增長會議，以了解即將舉行的活動和其他會議的最新情況。請查看我們 IR 網站 Ir.bench.com 的活動部分。

With that, we thank you again for your support and look forward to speaking to you soon. Good evening.

在此，我們再次感謝您的支持，並期待很快與您交談。晚安.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's program. We thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at this time.

謝謝。女士們先生們，今天的節目到此結束。我們感謝您的參與。此時您可以斷開連線。