Benchmark Electronics Inc (BHE) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. and welcome to the Benchmark fourth-quarter and fiscal year 2024 earnings call and webcast. (Operator Instructions) This call is being recorded on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.

女士們、先生們，午安。歡迎參加 Benchmark 第四季和 2024 財年收益電話會議和網路廣播。（操作員指示）此通話於 2025 年 1 月 29 日星期三錄製。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Paul Mansky, Investor Relations and Corporate Development. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係和企業發展部的保羅·曼斯基 (Paul Mansky)。請繼續。

Thank you, John, and thanks everyone for joining us today for Benchmark's fourth-quarter and fiscal year end 2024 earnings call. Joining us today are Jeff Benck, our CEO and President; Bryan Schumaker, our CFO.

謝謝你，約翰，也謝謝大家今天參加 Benchmark 2024 年第四季和財年年終收益電話會議。今天與我們一起參加的是我們的執行長兼總裁 Jeff Benck；我們的財務長 Bryan Schumaker 說：

After the market closed, we issued an earnings release pertaining to our financial performance for the fourth-quarter and fiscal year end 2024, and have prepared a presentation which we'll reference on this call. Both the press release and presentation are available under the investor relations section of our website at bench.com.

市場收盤後，我們發布了一份有關 2024 年第四季和財年末財務業績的收益報告，並準備了一份我們將在本次電話會議上參考的簡報。新聞稿和簡報均可在我們網站 bench.com 的投資者關係部分找到。

This call is being webcast live and a replay will be available online. After we conclude, the company is providing a reconciliation of our GAAP to non-GAAP measures in the earnings release as well as the appendix to the presentation. Please take a moment to review the forward-looking statements disclosure on slide 3 in the presentation materials.

本次電話會議將進行網路直播，重播將在網路上提供。在我們得出結論之後，公司將在收益報告中以及簡報的附錄中提供我們的 GAAP 與非 GAAP 指標的對帳表。請花一點時間查看簡報資料中幻燈片 3 上的前瞻性陳述揭露。

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 fillings. Actual results may differ materially from these statements. Benchmark undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for today's call.

在電話會議中，我們將討論前瞻性信息，作為提醒，今天任何非歷史事實陳述的言論均為前瞻性陳述，涉及我們的新聞稿和美國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中任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

Jeff will start with an overview followed by Brian's deeper dive into the results in our first quarter guidance. We will conclude with Jeff sharing more insight into demand trends by sector new business wins and some final remarks.

Jeff 首先會進行概述，然後 Brian 將深入探討我們第一季指引中的結果。最後，傑夫將分享他對各行業新業務勝利需求趨勢的更多見解，並給出一些最後的評論。

If you will, please turn to slide 4, and I'll turn the call over to our CEO, Jeff.

如果可以的話，請翻到幻燈片 4，我會將電話轉給我們的執行長傑夫。

Thank you, Paul. Good afternoon and thanks to everyone for joining today's call. The fourth-quarter and fiscal year 2024 continued to demonstrate our operational execution and reinforce the business model leverage we have as a company. This was exhibited by an outstanding year in margin expansion and free cash flow generation.

謝謝你，保羅。下午好，感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。第四季和2024財年繼續展現我們的營運執行力並強化了我們作為一家公司所擁有的商業模式槓桿。這一年，利潤率的提高和自由現金流的產生都表現出色。

Let me step through a few highlights. Fourth-quarter revenue of $657 million was in line with guidance as Semi-Cap, A&D, and Complex Industrials delivered strong results which were offset by anticipated weakness in Medical and AC&C non-GAAP gross margin the quarter of 10.4% continued our multiple quarter trend of year-on-year expansion. Non-GAAP operating margin was again over 5% but down slightly sequentially due to variable compensation true-ups.

讓我逐步介紹幾個亮點。第四季營收為 6.57 億美元，符合預期，因為半導體、A&D 和複雜工業取得了強勁的業績，但被醫療和 AC&C 非 GAAP 毛利率的預期疲軟所抵消，本季度 10.4% 的毛利率延續了我們連續多個季度同比增長的趨勢。非公認會計準則營業利潤率再次超過 5%，但由於可變薪資調整，較上季略有下降。

Given our strong annual performance turning to slide 5 on a full-year basis, we grew non-GAAP gross and operating margins by 60 and 20 basis points respectively, which was quite an achievement in the face of mid single-digit revenue declines in 2024.

鑑於我們強勁的年度業績，全年業績躍升至第 5 名，我們的非 GAAP 毛利率和營業利潤率分別增長了 60 個基點和 20 個基點，在 2024 年收入出現中個位數下滑的情況下，這是一項相當大的成就。

This bodes well for our earnings leverage as we return to revenue growth in 2025. We also reduced inventory in the year by over $130 million or 20%. This helped enable us to generate over $156 million in free cash flow in the year even with our ongoing investment of capital to support future growth. I'd like to recognize the team for their efforts on inventory reductions which helped enable these great results.

這對我們的獲利槓桿來說是個好兆頭，因為我們將在 2025 年重返營收成長。我們今年還將庫存減少了 1.3 億美元以上，即 20%。即使我們持續投入資本來支持未來成長，這也幫助我們在當年創造了超過 1.56 億美元的自由現金流。我要感謝團隊在減少庫存方面所做的努力，而正是他們的努力才取得了這些出色的成績。

Looking forward, we expect to see revenue growth across the majority of our sectors in 2025. We will continue to maintain our focus on controlling expenses, improving operational excellence in our factories and direct working capital to support our customers' growth plans.

展望未來，我們預計 2025 年大多數產業的收入將實現成長。我們將繼續專注於控制費用、提高工廠的卓越營運和直接營運資本，以支援客戶的成長計畫。

In fact, as I mentioned in our release this quarter, we intend to break ground on a fourth building in Penang Malaysia, primarily in support of our semi capital equipment customers needs as we continue to gain share and win new programs.

事實上，正如我在本季度的新聞稿中提到的那樣，我們打算在馬來西亞檳城破土動工建造第四棟大樓，主要是為了支持我們的半資本設備客戶的需求，因為我們將繼續獲得份額並贏得新的項目。

As we look forward to 2025, I'm encouraged about the growth opportunities in front of us driven by the previous wins. We've secured the anticipated demand recovery in our Industrial and Medical sectors and a return on the investments we have made in our capacity and capabilities. Collectively, these dynamics position us well to deliver increased shareholder value in 2025 and beyond.

展望 2025 年，我對先前取得的勝利所推動的我們面臨的成長機會感到鼓舞。我們確保了工業和醫療領域預期的需求復甦，以及我們在產能和能力方面的投資獲得回報。總的來說，這些動態使我們能夠在 2025 年及以後提高股東價值。

I'd now like to pass the call over to Bryan for a deeper dive into our results and outlook. Bryan, over to you.

現在，我想將電話轉給布萊恩，以便更深入地了解我們的結果和前景。布萊恩，交給你了。

Thank you, Jeff, and good afternoon, everyone. Please turn to slide 6 for our fourth-quarter 2024 revenue by market sector. Semi-Cap revenue increased 18% year over year and Industrial grew 5%, both supported by improving demand and new customer wins. Medical revenue was down 7% versus the prior year, albeit up 9%. Sequentially, we continue to see inventory rebalancing, impacting year on year performance led by weakness in medical devices.

謝謝傑夫，大家下午好。請翻到投影片 6 查看我們按市場部門劃分的 2024 年第四季營收。半導體營收年增 18%，工業收入成長 5%，這均得益於需求成長和新客戶的成長。醫療收入較上年同期下降了 7％，但增加了 9％。隨後，我們繼續看到庫存重新平衡，由於醫療設備疲軟，對年比業績產生了影響。

A&D revenue was up 15% year over year. Commercial aerospace demand remains strong both within aviation and space applications. Meanwhile, we continue to see robust domain within defense including existing programs, momentum and a number of new program wins. AC&C decreased 48% year over year. As expected, this decline was driven by a couple of large HBC programs being completed earlier in the year combined with continued weakness in our communications business

A&D 營收年增 15%。無論是在航空或太空應用領域，商業航空航太需求依然強勁。同時，我們繼續看到國防領域的強勁發展，包括現有計劃、發展勢頭和一些新計劃的勝利。AC&C 年減 48%。正如預期的那樣，這一下降是由於今年早些時候完成的幾個大型 HBC 項目以及我們通訊業務的持續疲軟

Please turn to slide 7, revenue in the quarter of $657 million was flat sequentially and down 5% year over year. Our GAAP earnings per share for the quarter was $0.50. Our non-GAAP EPS was $0.61 which was above the high end of our guidance range of 53% to $0.59.

請翻到第 7 張投影片，本季的營收為 6.57 億美元，與上一季持平，與去年同期相比下降 5%。我們本季的 GAAP 每股收益為 0.50 美元。我們的非公認會計準則每股收益為 0.61 美元，高出我們預期範圍高端 53% 至 0.59 美元。

As a reminder, our non-GAAP results exclude stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets, and restructuring expenses for Q4. Our non-GAAP gross margin was 10.4%. This represents a 10 basis point increase year over year. Non-GAAP SG&A expense was $35.1 million, up 9% sequentially and up 6% year over year, due to higher variable compensation.

提醒一下，我們的非公認會計準則結果不包括第四季度的股票薪酬、無形資產攤銷和重組費用。我們的非公認會計準則毛利率為 10.4%。這比去年同期增加了 10 個基點。非公認會計準則銷售、一般及行政支出為 3,510 萬美元，較上季成長 9%，較去年同期成長 6%，原因是可變薪資增加。

Non-GAAP operating margin was 5.1%, down 20 basis points sequentially and down 40 basis points year over year, driven by higher variable compensation expense. Our fourth quarter, non-GAAP effective tax rate was 22.4%. Non-GAAP ROIC in the fourth quarter was 9.9%.

非公認會計準則營業利潤率為 5.1%，比上一季下降 20 個基點，比去年同期下降 40 個基點，原因是可變薪資費用增加。我們第四季的非公認會計準則有效稅率為 22.4%。第四季非公認會計準則投資報酬率為 9.9%。

Please turn to slide 8 for a revenue comparison by market sector for the full year. 2024 Semi-Cap revenue increased 12% year over year supported by improving demand and new customer wins. Industrial revenue decreased 4%. The decline was driven by reduced demand from existing customers, partially offset by new program ramps Medical revenue was down 19% versus the prior year due to the previously mentioned inventory rebalancing and in demand weakness within medical devices.

請翻到幻燈片 8 查看全年各市場部門的收入比較。由於需求增加和新客戶的加入，2024 年半導體收入年增 12%。工業收入下降4%。下降是由於現有客戶需求減少，但新專案成長部分抵消了這一影響。

A&D revenue was up 20%. Commercial aero demand remains steady, while space demand continues to grow within defense. We see fraud-based strength from existing programs as well as the launch of new program wins. AC&C decreased 30% year over year, driven by previously discussed weakness in both HPC and communications which we expect to persist at least through the first half of 2025.

A&D收入成長了20%。商用航空需求維持穩定，而國防領域的太空需求持續成長。我們從現有計劃以及新計劃的推出中看到了基於詐欺的優勢。AC&C 年減 30%，這主要是由於先前討論過的 HPC 和通訊領域的疲軟，我們預計這種狀況至少會持續到 2025 年上半年。

Please turn the slide now for the fiscal year revenue of $2.7 billion was down over the prior year, 6%. Our GAAP earnings per share for fiscal year 2024 was $1.72. Our GAAP results included restructuring and other one-time costs totaling $6.3 million related to resource rebalancing at certain manufacturing sites on a non-GAAP basis. Fiscal year 2024 EPS was $2.29.

請翻閱幻燈片，本財政年度的收入為 27 億美元，較前一年下降了 6%。我們 2024 財年的 GAAP 每股收益為 1.72 美元。我們的 GAAP 結果包括重組和其他一次性成本，總計 630 萬美元，與非 GAAP 基礎上某些製造基地的資源重新平衡有關。2024 財年每股收益為 2.29 美元。

GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin of 10.2% each increased 70 and 60 basis points respectively, due to the improved operational efficiencies, proactive cost reductions taken by our manufacturing sites and favorable revenue mix. Our non-GAAP SG&A was $136 million, up 2% year over year, due to higher variable compensation and wage increase. Non-GAAP operating margin was 5.1%, an increase of 20 basis points driven by gross margin expansion. Our non-GAAP effective tax rate was 23.5% for the year.

由於營運效率提高、製造基地主動降低成本以及有利的收入結構，GAAP 和非 GAAP 毛利率為 10.2%，分別增加了 70 個和 60 個基點。我們的非公認會計準則銷售、一般及行政支出為 1.36 億美元，年增 2%，原因是浮動薪資和薪資增加。非公認會計準則營業利潤率為 5.1%，受毛利率擴大的推動，成長了 20 個基點。我們本年度的非公認會計準則有效稅率為 23.5%。

Please turn to slide 10 for trended non-GAAP financials. As you will see, despite demand challenges amongst some of our end markets, we continue to focus on protecting gross margin which again expanded year over year. Although operating margin declined sequentially and year over year, we were pleased to report another quarter of 5% or greater performance.

請翻到第 10 張投影片查看非 GAAP 財務趨勢。正如您所看到的，儘管我們的部分終端市場面臨需求挑戰，但我們仍繼續致力於保護毛利率，毛利率較上年同期擴大。儘管營業利潤率環比和同比都有所下降，但我們仍高興地報告本季的業績仍實現了 5% 或更高的成長。

Please refer to slides 11 through 13. For discussion of our cash conversion cycle, liquidity and capital allocations, cash conversion cycle in the quarter was 89 days. An improvement of one day sequentially and nine days versus the prior year.

請參閱投影片 11 至 13。討論我們的現金轉換週期、流動性和資本配置，本季的現金轉換週期為 89 天。比上一季增加了一天，比去年增加了九天。

In Q4, we continue to emphasize working capital efficiencies which combined with our net income enable us to generate $46 million in operating cash flow and $37 million of free cash flow in the period. In fiscal year 2024, we generated $156 million in free cash flow.

在第四季度，我們繼續強調營運資本效率，加上我們的淨收入，使我們在此期間產生了 4,600 萬美元的營運現金流和 3,700 萬美元的自由現金流。2024財年，我們產生了1.56億美元的自由現金流。

Our cash and restricted cash balances on December 31 was$ 328 million. A sequential increase of $4 million during the quarter, we reduced debt by another $22 million leaving $123 million outstanding on our term loan and $135 million outstanding against our revolver from which we have $411 million available to borrow our Q4 2024 liquidity ratio. As calculated by our debt covenant was 0.6 down from 1.1 in the prior year period.

截至 12 月 31 日，我們的現金和受限現金餘額為 3.28 億美元。本季債務環比增加 400 萬美元，我們又減少了 2,200 萬美元，剩餘定期貸款未償還金額為 1.23 億美元，循環信貸未償還金額為 1.35 億美元，從中我們可以藉入 4.11 億美元來滿足我們 2024 年第四季的流動資金比率。經計算，我們的債務契約比去年同期的 1.1 下降了 0.6。

We invested approximately $33 million in capital equipment in 2024, including $9 million in Q4 in support of continued growth and enhanced capabilities in our Mexico, Malaysia, and Romanian facilities in support of returning capital to our shareholders. We paid cash dividends of $6.1 million in the quarter and $23.9 million during 2024.

我們在 2024 年投資了約 3,300 萬美元用於資本設備，其中第四季度投資了 900 萬美元，用於支持我們在墨西哥、馬來西亞和羅馬尼亞工廠的持續成長和增強能力，以支持向股東返還資本。我們在本季支付了 610 萬美元的現金股息，2024 年支付了 2,390 萬美元。

Finally, in 2024, we repurchased $5.1 million of our outstanding shares. At the end of the year, we had approximately $150 million remaining in our existing share repurchase authorization.

最後，在 2024 年，我們回購了價值 510 萬美元的流通股。截至年底，我們現有的股票回購授權剩餘約 1.5 億美元。

Please advance to slide 14. Let me now turn to our guidance for fiscal Q1 ending in March. We expect revenue to be within a range of $620 million to $660 million. We expect non-GAAP gross margin to be between 10% and 10.2% which is consistent with our performance over the last several quarters, Non-GAAP SG&A expenses are expected to be within a range of $34 million to $36 million.

請前進至第 14 張幻燈片。現在讓我來談談我們對截至三月的第一財季的預期。我們預計營收在 6.2 億美元至 6.6 億美元之間。我們預期非 GAAP 毛利率在 10% 至 10.2% 之間，這與我們過去幾季的表現一致，非 GAAP 銷售、一般及行政費用預計在 3,400 萬美元至 3,600 萬美元之間。

With those assumptions, we would expect non-GAAP operating margin to be between 4.5% and 4.7% on a GAAP basis. We expect expenses to include $4 million to $5 million of stock based compensation and $2.6 million to $2.8 million of non-operating expenses including amortization, restructuring and other charges.

根據這些假設，我們預計非 GAAP 營業利潤率將在 GAAP 基礎上達到 4.5% 至 4.7% 之間。我們預計費用包括 400 萬至 500 萬美元的股票薪酬和 260 萬至 280 萬美元的非營業費用（包括攤提、重組和其他費用）。

Our non-GAAP diluted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $0.48 to $0.54. Interest and other expenses are expected to be between $4 million to $5 million. We expect our Q1 effective tax rate will be between 23% and 24%. Our weighted average share count is expected to be approximately $37.3 million.

我們的非公認會計準則稀釋每股收益預計在 0.48 美元至 0.54 美元之間。預計利息和其他費用在 400 萬至 500 萬美元之間。我們預計第一季有效稅率將在 23% 至 24% 之間。我們的加權平均股數預計約為 3730 萬美元。

We are planning to spend between $15 million and $20 million CapEx in Q1, and $65 million to $75 million for the full year. The majority of our Q1 spinning is in support of our Penang 4 building which breaks ground in the current quarter with an expected completion in 2026.

我們計劃在第一季花費 1,500 萬至 2,000 萬美元的資本支出，全年花費 6,500 萬至 7,500 萬美元。我們第一季的大部分紡紗用於支援檳城 4 號大樓，該大樓於本季度破土動工，預計於 2026 年竣工。

Finally, we are anticipating free cash flow in Q1 for the full year. We expect this to amount to $50 million to $80 million, inclusive of the elevated CapEx spend associated with the investment in the new building in Malaysia. And with that, I would like to turn the call back over to you, Jeff.

最後，我們預計第一季的自由現金流將達到全年水準。我們預計這筆金額將達到 5,000 萬至 8,000 萬美元，其中包括與馬來西亞新建築投資相關的增加的資本支出。說完這些，我想把電話轉回給你，傑夫。

Thanks Bryan. Please turn to slide 15 for a discussion of our performance and outlook by sector.

謝謝布萊恩。請翻到第 15 頁了解我們各部門的表現與前景。

Our Semi-Cap revenue grew an impressive 18% year over year in Q4 and 12% on the full year. This was driven by new wins, share gains and some recovery in specific sub segments of the Semi-Cap industry. Despite the mixed recovery across the broader sector. We see signs of continued growth and remain supportive of analysts' long term forecasts. Pointing to the semiconductor industry reaching $1 trillion in size by the end of the decade.

我們的半導體收入在第四季度同比增長了 18%，全年增長了 12%。這是由新的勝利、份額的增加和半導體行業特定子領域的復甦所推動的。儘管整個行業的復甦情況好壞參半。我們看到了持續成長的跡象，並且仍然支持分析師的長期預測。預計到本世紀末半導體產業規模將達到 1 兆美元。

It's obvious the current Semi-Cap cycle has not followed historical patterns. However, we are continuing to invest in the long term based on our available capacity and share gains. We remain well-positioned to grow faster than the broader market. In fact, we are anticipating double-digit growth in both the first quarter and for the full year.

顯然，目前的半資本週期並未遵循歷史模式。然而，我們將根據現有產能和份額收益繼續進行長期投資。我們仍處於有利地位，能夠比大盤成長更快。事實上，我們預計第一季和全年都將實現兩位數的成長。

The breath of new winds this past quarter that encompassed both precision technology and engineering, provide us greater confidence in our continued momentum in this sector in Medical. Similar to the last few quarters, inventory-related demand, softness has weighed on sector performance with quarterly and full-year revenue declining versus the prior period. We expect this to improve over the next few quarters. This is leading us to a forecast of flat revenue environment for Medical in 2025.

上個季度精密技術和工程領域湧現的新風，讓我們對醫療領域持續發展的勢頭更有信心。與前幾季類似，庫存相關需求疲軟拖累了產業表現，季度和全年營收較上期下降。我們預計未來幾季情況會有所改善。這使我們預測 2025 年醫療產業的收入環境將持平。

However, we continue to pick up new wins in both Life Sciences and class three medical devices, which is a solid indicator of our long term growth opportunity in the sector. These take time to ramp given the highly regulated nature of the markets. But we believe this is a good leading indicator of our future growth in this traditionally strong sector for benchmark.

然而，我們在生命科學和三類醫療器材領域不斷取得新的勝利，這是我們在該領域長期成長機會的有力指標。由於市場受到嚴格監管，因此這些都需要時間來推動。但我們相信，這是我們在這個傳統強勢產業中未來成長的一個很好的領先指標。

Turning to Complex Industrial, we saw a return to year on year growth in Q4 although the full year was still slight, still down slightly. Looking at 2025, we expect low to mid single-digit growth in the sector for the year with modest year on year growth in the first quarter. Macroeconomic challenges persist. But we see plenty of greenfield opportunities both as a function of our unique capabilities and the sector's continued shift towards outsourced manufacturing.

談到綜合工業，我們看到第四季度恢復了同比增長，儘管全年增長仍然微弱，略有下降。展望 2025 年，我們預計該行業全年將實現低至中等個位數成長，第一季同比增長幅度將適中。宏觀經濟挑戰依然存在。但我們看到了大量的綠地機遇，這既得益於我們獨特的能力，也得益於該行業持續向外包製造的轉變。

Reflecting this, the fourth quarter was particularly strong in terms of bookings which consisted of competitive takeaways, business expansion, and new wins. This included a competitive win commercial gaming and another in audio control systems, both from new customers.

反映這一點，第四季在預訂方面表現尤為強勁，包括競爭性外賣、業務擴張和新勝利。其中包括在商業遊戲領域取得的競爭性勝利以及在音訊控制系統領域的勝利，這兩款產品均來自新客戶。

A&D is performing very well for us as defense continues to experience strong demand while commercial air has recovered and provided stability. Both the fourth quarter and full year 2024 saw strong double-digit year-on-year growth as we benefit from the expansion of existing programs and prior new business wins.

由於國防需求持續強勁，而商用航空也已復甦並保持穩定，A&D 的表現對我們來說非常出色。由於我們受益於現有專案的擴展和先前新業務的成功，第四季度和 2024 年全年均實現了強勁的兩位數同比增長。

This past quarter A&D was the second biggest booking sector within the company, which is balanced across defense and space and encompassed both manufacturing and engineering programs. In the quarter, we closed an opportunity that expands upon an existing program for us at the Department of Homeland Security where we've been providing surveillance systems that enable better border protection. Looking forward, we expect continued double-digit year on year growth from this sector.

上個季度，航空航太和國防業務是該公司第二大預訂部門，該部門在國防和航太領域保持平衡，涵蓋製造和工程項目。在本季度，我們獲得了一個拓展國土安全部現有專案的機會，我們一直在為國土安全部提供監控系統，以實現更好的邊境保護。展望未來，我們預計該行業將繼續保持兩位數的同比增長。

Lastly, AC&C revenue declined 23% year over year in the December quarter and 30% in the full year. As we've been saying, for several quarters, now, sector pressures are expected to persist at least into the first half of 2025. This is being driven by two key factors. One is the delay in timing of the next gen HPC platforms due to a planned technology transition. And the other being the time required to ramp an existing communication, customers, new product line that we want.

最後，AC&C 12 月季度營收年減 23%，全年營收下降 30%。正如我們幾個季度以來所說的那樣，預計行業壓力至少會持續到 2025 年上半年。這是由兩個關鍵因素推動的。一是計劃中的技術轉型導致下一代 HPC 平台的發佈時間推遲。另一個是我們需要時間來提升現有的溝通、客戶和新產品線。

Looking forward, we see new product introductions across both subsectors that should enable a return to growth late in the year. At the same time, we're proud to have been a key supplier in support of building three of the top five fastest supercomputers in the 64th edition of the TOP500 list published in November. We look to expand our participation in this market as the next gen platforms are introduced.

展望未來，我們看到兩個子行業都將推出新產品，這將使其在今年年底恢復成長。同時，我們很榮幸能夠成為 11 月發布的第 64 屆 TOP500 榜單中排名前五的最快超級電腦中三台的關鍵供應商。隨著下一代平台的推出，我們希望擴大在這個市場的參與。

In summary, please turn to slide 16. Our fourth-quarter and full year 2024 results once again demonstrated benchmarks ability to manage through volatility while delivering on our commitments both to stakeholders and our valued customers to that end. Even though revenue contracted modestly during the year, benchmark continued to drive non-GAAP gross and operating margin expansion.

總結一下，請翻到第 16 張投影片。我們的 2024 年第四季和全年業績再次證明了基準管理波動的能力，同時履行了我們對利害關係人和尊貴客戶的承諾。儘管年內收入略有萎縮，但基準繼續推動非公認會計準則毛利率和營業利潤率的擴大。

At the same time, we've generated positive free cash flow over the last seven quarters and expect this quarter to be our aid. This speaks directly to our top to bottom focus as a company to execute our financial objectives even in times of macro uncertainties like we've seen over the past year, we're anticipating an improved demand environment as we progress through 2025 that should support our return to revenue growth for the year with earnings growth outperforming revenue.

同時，我們在過去七個季度中產生了正的自由現金流，並預計本季將對我們有所幫助。這直接說明了我們作為一家公司從上到下的專注力，即使在過去一年看到的宏觀不確定時期，我們也在執行我們的財務目標，我們預計，隨著 2025 年的到來，需求環境將會改善，這將支持我們今年的收入恢復增長，盈利增長將超過收入增長。

Finally, our execution has allowed us to continue to return capital shareholders in recent years. This has primarily been through our quarterly dividend which we increased last year. However, we anticipate complementing this with increased share purchases over the coming year.

最後，我們的執行力使得我們在最近幾年能夠持續為股東帶來資本回報。這主要得益於我們去年增加的季度股息。然而，我們預計明年將增加股票購買量。

Let me wrap up by saying, regardless of the market environment, we are committed to our strategy, we're going to support our customers in any way they need and at the same time, drive further operational improvements within the company. We're winning new business in our focus markets and have a clear vision of what we need to do to drive future growth.

最後，我想說的是，無論市場環境如何，我們都致力於我們的策略，我們將以任何需要的方式為客戶提供支持，同時推動公司內部進一步的營運改善。我們正在專注於市場贏得新業務，並且對如何推動未來成長有著清晰的願景。

I look forward to updating you on our success in the quarters to come. And with that, I'll turn the call over to the operator to conduct our Q&A session.

我期待在未來幾季向您報告我們的成功。說完這些，我將把電話轉給接線生，進行我們的問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Jim Ricchiuti, Needham &Company.

吉姆·里奇尤蒂（Jim Ricchiuti），尼德漢姆公司（Needham &Company）。

Hi, thanks. Good afternoon. So it looks like you're still anticipating pretty healthy growth in the semi market in '25. Jeff, how much of that is the continued benefit that you're seeing from share gains? Or are you actually hearing more positive, a more positive tone from some of your OEM customs?

嗨，謝謝。午安.所以看起來你仍然預計25年半導體市場將實現相當健康的成長。傑夫，您從股價上漲中看到的持續利益有多少？或者您實際上是否從一些 OEM 定制中聽到了更積極、更積極的語氣？

You know, I would say it's a bit of both. We definitely had a strong share game year last year and it was driven -- last year's growth was driven more on the share game side of things. But as we, as we look to '25, we're seeing some improved demand. It's not across the whole sector, some tools and some divisions of our OEMs are doing a bit better, but we also have won a lot of new bookings, over the last several years and some of those are really ramping starting ramp in '25. So it's a combination.

你知道，我想說兩者都有。去年我們的份額確實非常強勁，而去年的成長更多的是受到份額成長方面的推動。但當我們展望25年時，我們看到需求有所改善。並不是整個行業都是如此，我們的一些工具和一些 OEM 部門的表現要好一些，但在過去幾年中，我們也贏得了許多新訂單，其中一些訂單在 2025 年開始真正加速成長。所以這是一個組合。

Can you elaborate on some of the areas within the customers that are showing a little better tone to the business or, conversely, ones that areas that are still somewhat pleasant?

您能否詳細說明客戶對業務表現出更好態度的哪些方面，或者相反，哪些方面仍然有些令人愉快？

Yeah, it's a little bit sensitive, obviously, it's pretty competitive out there. So I don't want to give too much detail there. I would say we all kind of saw memory, start to return a little bit faster and you know, in terms of where the demand has been, and the tools that support that now as we kind of look, it's, a lot more on the front end, I would say. And then that's where we have better exposure in the way for fab space than on the test in the back end of that platform.

是的，這有點敏感，顯然，競爭非常激烈。所以我不想在這裡透露太多細節。我想說的是，我們都看到內存開始恢復得更快一些，你知道，就需求而言，以及現在支持這一點的工具，正如我們所看到的，我想說，它更多地是在前端。這樣，我們在晶圓廠空間的曝光度就比在這個平台後端進行測試更高。

But, some of the OEMs work through inventory in the downcycle and others were really, bringing on inventory. So there's a little bit of movement back and forth as we look across customer sets. But but we think the market is, is healthy and you know, we're, we're looking for the market to overall, be out there, but we think we'll grow faster.

但是，一些 OEM 在經濟下行時期透過庫存進行工作，而其他一些 OEM 則實際上正在增​​加庫存。因此，當我們查看客戶群時，會出現一些來回的移動。但是我們認為市場是健康的，你知道，我們期待市場整體上能夠存在，但我們認為我們會成長得更快。

Got it. And maybe a question for you, Bryan. Just the Q1 guide, does that reflect the normal seasonal increase in variable costs? Is there, is that pretty much what's also playing in? I know you talked, I think you called it out for Q4 as well. And then just a quick, quick one on cash flow. Congrats on that. Is there much more to do on working capital, particularly with respect to inventory.

知道了。也許我想問你一個問題，布萊恩。僅 Q1 指南，是否反映了變動成本的正常季節性成長？有嗎，這就是正在上演的事情嗎？我知道您已經說過了，我認為您也提到了 Q4。然後我們快速討論一下現金流。恭喜。在營運資本方面還有很多工作要做，特別是在庫存方面。

Yeah. On the first question, as you think of the variable comp component, there is a piece of that flowing into Q1. You also have higher taxes and everything resetting the year that kind of causes some of that increase in that period. So you have both of those that are driving that kind of. So it is normalized for the Q1 time period.

是的。關於第一個問題，當您想到變數 comp 元件時，其中有一部分流入 Q1。你還需要支付更高的稅收，並且所有年份都會重新設置，這會導致該時期的稅收增加。所以，這兩種情況都是可以導致這種結果的。因此，它對於 Q1 時間段來說是標準化的。

As far as the working capital. Again, we are going to continue to drive that. If you look at the inventory, historically, we've been at turns a while ago -- 5, 5.5 turns, and we're going to continue to drive that from the four that we're at today on the inventory side of that. And we'll continue to work on the other components of the working capital. So there's still more work to do there and we'll continue to drive that.

就營運資金而言。再次強調，我們將繼續推動這項進程。如果你看一下庫存，從歷史上看，我們之前已經處於輪換狀態 - 5、5.5 輪換，而我們將繼續從今天的 4 輪庫存狀態推動這一進程。我們將繼續致力於營運資金的其他部分。因此，還有更多工作要做，我們會繼續努力。

All right. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Yeah. Thanks soon.

是的。很快謝謝。

Steven Fox, Fox Advisors.

史蒂文·福克斯（Steven Fox），福克斯顧問公司。

Hi, good afternoon. A couple of questions for me. First off, Jeff, this is about as good as you sounded about your markets in a couple of years and I know you were adding, that was a compliment. I'm not sure if you can.

嗨，下午好。我有幾個問題。首先，傑夫，這聽起來就像你對幾年後的市場的評價一樣好，我知道你還在補充，這是一種讚美。我不確定你是否可以。

And like if I go back to, a couple of years ago when you were sort of adding capacity, you know, for some of the new programs that got delayed or had to work through inventories, et cetera. You know, it seems like you would have some extra operating leverage as things start to improve here. Can you just sort of give us a sense for how much, as things recover, you can leverage the margins and maybe what the offset is with the new Penang building? Thanks. And then I had a follow up.

就像如果我回顧一下幾年前，當時您正在增加產能，因為一些新的項目被推遲了，或者必須透過庫存來處理，等等。你知道，隨著情況開始好轉，你似乎會有一些額外的營運槓桿。您能否告訴我們，隨著情勢的復甦，您可以利用多少利潤空間，以及新檳城大樓的補償金額是多少？謝謝。然後我進行了跟進。

Yeah. No, good question. You know, we've got capacity, there's no question, right? We invested in expansion in Guadalajara as well as in Romania and in Penang, right? And and even some in Arizona around the Semi-Cap space. So we did stand up over the last two years in new facilities and expansion like Romania, we doubled the size of the current.

是的。不，這是好問題。你知道，我們有能力，這是毫無疑問的，對吧？我們在瓜達拉哈拉、羅馬尼亞和檳城都進行了擴張投資，對嗎？甚至還有一些位於亞利桑那州的 Semi-Cap 空間。因此，我們確實在過去兩年中在羅馬尼亞等地建立了新設施並進行了擴張，我們的規模比現在擴大了一倍。

We didn't, pick a new site or anything like that. So there's no question that we've got opportunity here to drive more leverage as we get utilization up, it is going to depend a little bit where the new business is and where that growth recovery happens because you know, if it hits the right sites that are underloaded, that that will be more beneficial. Part of the reason we did the expansion where we did some of the low cost regions allow our customers to regionalize or semi, we see a lot of demand, a lot of winds there and so we put capacity where we see that growth.

我們沒有選擇新站點或諸如此類的事情。因此毫無疑問，隨著利用率的提高，我們有機會在這裡提高槓桿率，這將在一定程度上取決於新業務在哪里以及增長復甦發生在哪裡，因為你知道，如果它擊中了負載不足的正確站點，那將更有利。我們進行擴張的部分原因是，我們在一些低成本地區允許我們的客戶進行區域化或半區域化，我們看到那裡有很多需求，有很多風，所以我們把產能放在我們看到成長的地方。

So, some of that is aligned with it, but I think we would say we would, we would expect there to be more leverage. We're still, we're still transitioning the first half. You know, we're down sequentially, we're down a little bit year over year. But we do see, you know, our, our thoughts and the forecast is, for growth on the full year as we've kind of indicated. So, I think your instincts on that are right in terms of the opportunity there for us.

因此，其中一些與之一致，但我認為我們會說我們會，我們期望有更多的槓桿。我們仍在過渡上半場。你知道，我們的業績連續下降，比去年有一點下降。但我們確實看到，我們的想法和預測是，正如我們已經指出的那樣，全年將實現成長。因此，我認為，就我們面臨的機會而言，您的直覺是正確的。

And in terms of the Penang drag, as you invest in new capacity, any help on what the offset would be from some of that.

就檳城的拖累而言，當您投資新產能時，是否有任何幫助可以抵消其中的一些影響。

You know we've, kind of, we did well with the Penang 3 building where we absorbed it into our numbers and it really didn't show the drag. Obviously, we're just at the front end of this brand new building of laying the cash out. And we do recognize it, as it comes through, it will hit the depreciation line, but given the outlook and prospects over the next several years, I don't think you'll see much of an impact from us standing up that new facility in Malaysia.

您知道，我們在檳城 3 號大樓的建設上做得很好，我們將其吸收到了我們的數字中，並且它確實沒有顯示出阻力。顯然，我們只是在這座嶄新的大樓的最前端，正在支付現金。我們確實認識到，隨著它的實現，它將達到折舊線，但考慮到未來幾年的前景和前景，我認為我們在馬來西亞建立新工廠不會產生太大的影響。

Great. And then just as a follow up, you mentioned precision machining and engineering a couple of times in the prepared remarks and I know that also can drive margin. And can you talk about maybe what's new and different there in terms of the wins or what, what you've accomplished, maybe as to why I highlighted it. Thanks.

偉大的。然後作為後續問題，您在準備好的演講中幾次提到了精密加工和工程，我知道這也可以提高利潤。您能否談談在勝利方面有什麼新的和不同之處，或者您取得了什麼成就，以及我為什麼強調它。謝謝。

Yeah, it kind of, it kind of plays into a bit of the Penang growth and the investment there. One of the things we've been working to do is how do we do more vertical integration. And so, it's not just like we have the ability now to be the largest frame builder in that region, right? And that can support not only in Malaysia but also Singapore, and where our OEM might have facilities.

是的，這在某種程度上對檳城的發展和投資產生了一定影響。我們一直在努力做的事情之一就是如何實現更多的垂直整合。所以，我們現在並不具備成為該地區最大的車架製造商的能力，對嗎？這不僅可以為馬來西亞提供支持，還可以為新加坡提供支持，我們的 OEM 可能在新加坡設有工廠。

But we can build these really large frames, we can, grind powder coat complete that we can then build the sub assembly machine, whether it's a showerhead or a platin that the wafer rides on and you know, ebeam welll cooling coils into that build electronic cabinets around it, then integrate that all in the frame. I'll tell you there's not many folks in our space that can do that and we've continued to invest here to really have that kind of capability and I think the OEMs are taking notice of that and we're in the right region and correspondingly we we're winning there.

但是我們可以建造這些非常大的框架，我們可以研磨粉末塗層，然後我們可以建造子裝配機，無論是淋浴噴頭還是晶圓所處的平台，你知道，電子束將冷卻線圈放入其中，在它周圍建造電子櫃，然後將它們全部整合到框架中。我可以告訴你，在我們這個領域沒有多少人能做到這一點，我們一直在繼續投資以真正擁有這種能力，我認為原始設備製造商已經註意到了這一點，我們處於正確的地區，相應地，我們在那裡取得了勝利。

Great. That's all very helpful. Thank you.

偉大的。這一切都非常有幫助。謝謝。

Jaeson Schmidt, Lake Street.

傑森施密特 (Jaeson Schmidt)，湖街。

Again. Thanks for taking my questions. Just looking at the Medical segment. I know you noted strong bookings. Just curious what end markets within this vertical? You're seeing strength.

再次。感謝您回答我的問題。只看一下醫療部分。我知道您注意到預訂量很大。只是好奇這個垂直領域的終端市場有哪些？您看到的是力量。

Yeah, from new bookings. We've done better most recently, Jaeson, and in Life Sciences, whether it's searching for the next cure to some horrible disease. But you know, DNA sequencing, those kind of sophisticated systems and solutions in that sector that are growing in the market and the people investment there.

是的，來自新預訂。傑森，我們最近在生命科學領域取得了更好的成績，無論是尋找某種可怕疾病的治療方法。但你知道，DNA定序，這種領域的複雜系統和解決方案在市場和人們的投資中正在成長。

We also traditionally been pretty strong in medical devices and fluid management. And so we've seen some wins there as well. Another area that we see more interest is just in monitoring solutions, right? Whether that's at your home or in the hospital, being able to track, more and more people want real time feedback, your doctor wants it. And some of those control systems are continuing to grow and we see ourselves participating there just to give you a little sense of where we've seen that.

我們在醫療設備和液體管理領域也一直擁有強大的實力。因此我們也看到了一些勝利。我們看到更感興趣的另一個領域就是監控解決方案，對嗎？無論是在家裡還是在醫院，能夠跟踪，越來越多的人希望獲得即時回饋，您的醫生也希望如此。其中一些控制系統正在不斷發展，我們也參與其中，只是為了讓您稍微了解一下我們所看到的情況。

Of course, some of that does have the longer time to market just given the when you're talking like particularly class three products that you have to go through FDA and all of that. But we're feeling pretty good about some of the new logos that we're bringing on to the company.

當然，有些產品的上市時間確實會更長，因為特別是第三類產品必須經過 FDA 批准等。但我們對於公司新推出的一些新標誌感到非常滿意。

Okay. No, that's really helpful. And I know it's dependent on sort of what programs you're focused on. But do you think you're losing share in medical or is it simply sort of this inventory digestion period?

好的。不，這確實很有幫助。我知道這取決於你關注的項目。但您是否認為您在醫療領域的份額正在下降，或者這只是庫存消化期？

Really? The latter? We, as you can imagine, I'm always challenging our team on looking and understanding that we're also talking a lot to our customers. And we know that there was, post COVID exuberance where people did believe that some of the demand that we saw come snapping back was going to stay at that level and subsequently their channels, absorb some of that.

真的嗎？後者？你可以想像，我一直在挑戰我們的團隊，讓我們看到並理解我們也在與客戶進行大量交流。我們知道，在新冠疫情之後，人們確實相信，我們看到的部分需求將迅速回升，並將保持在這一水平，隨後他們的管道將吸收其中的一部分。

And so I don't actually think the end market demand is better than what we're seeing because they've got product they can support that with. So you might see one of our customers grow, but yet we're, we're still, seeing the business be a bit off. I feel very confident that we haven't lost share and it's not like one customer either, which is another kind of indicative where, we might have four or five customers that are all sort of dealing with that.

因此我實際上並不認為終端市場需求比我們看到的更好，因為他們有可以支援終端市場需求的產品。因此，您可能會看到我們的某個客戶在成長，但是，我們仍然看到業務有些不景氣。我非常有信心，我們沒有失去市場份額，而且這也不只是一個客戶的問題，這也是一種指示，我們可能有四、五個客戶都在處理這個問題。

And some of its exposure to the particular vertical or sub segment you're in. And so I won't say that every competitor of mine looks the same, but that's at least what we're experiencing right now that it is much more of an inventory deal that we thought, I will say, we probably thought that was going to work out by the end of last year. We now see it sort of trailing into the beginning of this year. It's certainly stabilized and that's encouraging, but we'll probably look to the second half to really see growth come back.

並且它對您所在的特定垂直或子細分市場有一定的影響。因此，我不會說我的每個競爭對手看起來都一樣，但至少我們現在所經歷的就是如此，這更像是一項庫存交易，我想說，我們可能認為這會在去年年底前奏效。我們現在看到它在今年年初有所放緩。它確實已經穩定下來，這是令人鼓舞的，但我們可能要等到下半年才能真正看到成長回升。

Gotcha. And then just the last question for me and I'll jump back into queue. I mean, I believe kind of Q4 gross margin was a record for the company or at least the highest in the recent past, not trying to back you into the corner on sort of a margin target 325 but just given all the dynamics of your business and the mix and bringing on new facilities. How much further expansion do you think is possible here?

明白了。然後只剩下我最後一個問題了，然後我就回到隊列。我的意思是，我相信第四季的毛利率是公司的一個紀錄，或者至少是近期最高的，並不是想把你們逼到 325 的利潤率目標上，而只是考慮到你們業務的所有動態和組合，以及引入新設施。您認為這裡還能擴充多少？

Thanks for the question, Jaeson. A lot of it has to do with the mix on that too and the operational execution that we continue to do so on two things as you continue to hear us talk about the Semi-Cap expansion A&D and AC&C fall off, but some of that is going to drive that margin expansion that and we'll see how that kind of levels out throughout the year and the operation efficiencies.

謝謝你的提問，Jaeson。這在很大程度上也與組合以及我們繼續在兩件事上進行的營運執行有關，正如您繼續聽到我們談論半導體擴張 A＆D 和 AC＆C 下降一樣，但其中一些將推動利潤率擴張，我們將看到這種情況在全年如何保持平穩以及營運效率。

I mean, we are very good at executing on that and we'll continue to try to be going forward on that whole, it is ramping up and down as the factories and kind of what we see the demand to be. So, again, there's a lot of execution around that and we'll continue to keep our eyes on it and continue to drive that. I mean, it's been a primary focus of ours and we'll continue to be going forward as you've seen over the last several quarters in the expansion we've had there, as you mentioned.

我的意思是，我們非常擅長執行這一點，而且我們將繼續努力在整個過程中向前邁進，它會隨著工廠的運作和我們看到的需求而上下波動。因此，我們再次強調，這方面還有很多執行工作要做，我們會繼續關注並繼續推動。我的意思是，這一直是我們的首要關注點，我們將繼續向前邁進，正如您所提到的，過去幾個季度我們已經實現了擴張。

I might just add a little color there too while we're at the top end of the range against our competition gross margin, and we've done a great job of that and the mix will help. And as Bryan said, operational efficiency helps too, we have more focus on the operating margin line and what we can do there, right? And that's focused on expense, but also growth that, we know we would get better. We lever up quite well.

當我們的毛利率與競爭對手的毛利率相比處於最高水平時，我可能也會在那裡添加一點色彩，我們在這方面做得很好，這種組合會有所幫助。正如布萊恩所說，營運效率也有幫助，我們更關注營業利潤線以及我們能在那裡做什麼，對嗎？這不僅側重於支出，也側重於成長，我們知道我們會做得更好。我們的槓桿率相當高。

We worked hard to get, north of five for the year last year. And, obviously we don't want to give up ground there. So as we, look at a full year now kind of across with more of our sectors showing opportunity for growth. You know, we're, we're looking at low to middle, single digit growth on the year overall, which you know, is what can help us drive a better bottom margin line.

我們努力工作，去年取得了五年以上的成績。顯然，我們不想放棄那裡的土地。因此，放眼全年，我們發現更多行業都顯示出成長機會。你知道，我們預計今年的整體成長將處於中低個位數之間，這可以幫助我們實現更好的底線利潤。

Got you. No I appreciate the call. You guys. Thanks a lot.

明白了。不，我很感謝你的來電。你們。多謝。

[Melissa Ferben], Raymond James.

[梅麗莎·費本]，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

Hey guys, thanks so much for for taking my question. And I appreciate all the detail that you gave on the Medical segment that was going to be my leading question, but I feel like I'm obligated. Someone is obligated to ask about AI on every earnings call it seems.

嘿夥計們，非常感謝您回答我的問題。我非常感謝您就醫療部分提供的所有細節，這也是我的主要問題，但我感到我有義務這麼做。似乎每次財報電話會議都有義務詢問有關人工智慧的問題。

I know when we last spoke, a lot of your focus on the advanced computing side obviously is just on, the supercomputing. When we last spoke, you had kind of suggested that there might be opportunities for you to benefit in some of the broader AI market spend just wondering if you could give us an update on that.

我知道我們上次談話時，你們對先進計算的關注顯然集中在超級計算上。上次我們談話時，您曾暗示說您可能有機會從更廣泛的人工智慧市場支出中獲益，我只是想問您是否可以向我們介紹一下這方面的最新消息。

Yeah, we continued to to talk about that and certainly put energy into it. We, as you can imagine building helping to develop these large supercomputers and manufacture, subsystems for that and stuff, we deal with water cooled infrastructure and we did mention in the remarks that, hey, we see that having applicability to some of the AI systems, we're real sensitive about commodity server infrastructure that doesn't have the profile, that makes sense to us.

是的，我們繼續討論這個問題，並且確實投入了精力。你可以想像我們會幫忙開發這些大型超級電腦並製造其子系統等等，我們處理水冷基礎設施，我們在評論中確實提到過，嘿，我們看到它適用於某些人工智慧系統，我們對沒有配置的商品伺服器基礎設施非常敏感，這對我們來說是有意義的。

But as the complexities there, as there's more interest in doing things domestically, we certainly have infrastructure. So it's an area that we look that that's an opportunity for us to participate more broadly. The other thing I would say about AI and there's been obviously a lot in the press this week.

但由於那裡的複雜性，隨著人們對在國內做事的興趣越來越大，我們當然擁有基礎設施。因此，我們認為這是一個讓我們更廣泛參與的機會。我想說的關於人工智慧的另一件事顯然本週在媒體上有很多報導。

Look, I think there's going to be pressure on bringing down the cost of AI. And you know, you think about Moore's Law and reducing the cost of computing that has never gone badly in terms of driving volume and demand. And, we do a lot to help wait for fab equipment, guys build systems to build chips.

看，我認為降低人工智慧成本將會面臨壓力。你知道，想想摩爾定律和降低計算成本，這對推動數量和需求從未產生過不良影響。而且，我們做了很多工作來幫助等待晶圓廠設備，人們建造系統來製造晶片。

And so as AI as a driver in that, in fact, we saw a large semi customers today announce some uplift from AI, we think that's a great way for us to participate as well and that's the precision technology and, and our whole semi cap space that, can help there. But I think that's as far as we're willing to go today, on our thoughts there. But we certainly see more opportunity to engage across our, our, sites and platforms.

因此，作為人工智慧的一個驅動因素，事實上，我們今天看到一個大型半導體客戶宣佈人工智慧將帶來一些提升，我們認為這也是我們參與的好方法，而精準技術和我們整個半導體資本空間都可以提供幫助。但我想，我們今天就只能就此談談我們的想法了。但我們確實看到了在我們的網站和平台上參與的更多機會。

Okay, great. Thanks so much. That's all for me.

好的，太好了。非常感謝。對我來說這就是全部了。

Thanks, Melissa.

謝謝，梅麗莎。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Anja Soderstrom, Sidoti & Company.

安雅‧索德斯特羅姆 (Anja Soderstrom)，Sidoti & Company。

Hi. Thank you for taking my questions. I'm curious what you're seeing in the communications business. It sounded like you expect that to be weak throughout the first half of the year. And I'm just curious what you're seeing there.

你好。感謝您回答我的問題。我很好奇您在通訊行業看到了什麼。聽起來你預計今年上半年經濟狀況會比較疲軟。我只是好奇你在那裡看到了什麼。

Yeah, it is the one sector that is a bit of a drag on our overall growth. Not surprising though, because there are really two things that we've kind of pointed to that. We've seen this HPC space where we've been more selective in compute to the more complex systems. It does have a programmatic nature to it. We're in a cycle now where, a really large system we completed last year. And now we're in that transition to the next gen platform.

是的，這個產業對我們的整體成長有一定的拖累作用。但這並不奇怪，因為實際上我們已經指出了兩件事。我們已經看到了這個 HPC 領域，其中我們在計算方面對更複雜的系統更具選擇性。它確實具有程序性的本質。我們現在處於一個週期，去年我們完成了一個非常大的系統。現在我們正處於向下一代平台的過渡階段。

So we're seeing a bit of a lull there from some of our customers while that development is underway. We know that we know we feel confident they'll come back and, and there's certainly ways that we can, participate in smaller systems, but maybe not have quite as much on the big side. But then the other is that we have a communications customer that we're super excited about a new product line that they're bringing on and that we won and we're in the process of ramping that as well, more back half loaded.

因此，在這項開發進行的同時，我們發現有些客戶的情況有些低迷。我們知道，我們相信他們會回來，而且我們當然有辦法參與較小的系統，但可能在大型系統中沒有那麼多。但另一方面，我們有一位通訊客戶，我們對他們推出的一條新產品線感到非常興奮，而且我們贏得了這條產品線，而且我們也正在加大對這條產品的投入，目前已經完成了一半以上的準備。

And so that will take time. But we're feeling pretty good about the potential that that can have for us. And so those are 22 transitions that we're looking at that's causing us to say we'll probably be down in AC&C this year. But you certainly look to start seeing year-over-year growth in the, in the late quarters of the year.

所以需要時間。但我們對於它能為我們帶來的潛力感到非常樂觀。所以，我們正在考慮這 22 個轉變，這導致我們今年的 AC&C 可能會下降。但你肯定會在今年後幾季開始看到年成長。

Okay. Thank you. And then can you remind us what your exposure to Europe is in terms of revenue? And then also what you're seeing there.

好的。謝謝。然後，您能否提醒我們一下您在歐洲的收入狀況？還有你在那裡看到的。

Europe is Europe, just over 10% of our revenue. It's not a huge contribution but it's important to us. And you know it's, I would say, industrial in Europe has probably been a little softer. We also do semi work there as well. And so given, you know that given that market's softness, it's been okay, but certainly hasn't been a growth driver for us. But as I said, it's approximately 10% of our overall revenue.

歐洲就是歐洲，占我們收入的 10% 多一點。雖然這貢獻並不大，但對我們來說卻很重要。我想說的是，歐洲的工業可能稍微疲軟了一些。我們也在那裡做半成品工作。所以考慮到市場的疲軟，這還不算什麼，但肯定不是我們的成長動力。但正如我所說，這約占我們總收入的 10%。

Okay. Thank you. And just one last time. And how do you see the outsourcing trends in general?

好的。謝謝。最後一次。整體來說，您如何看待外包趨勢？

I'm sorry, I missed the end of it. The outlook, outsourcing trends.

抱歉，我錯過了結尾。展望、外包趨勢。

Outsourcing trend in general.

整體來看外包趨勢良好。

Yeah, the macro environment, I think every OEM is kind of looking at should we be doing this in house or should we leverage a partner like an EMS program like benchmark? And so I would say there's nice in our pipeline, there's a good healthy dose of customers that are are looking to you know, either outsource the first time or don't want to bring on incremental capacity or maybe they just, want to leverage our investment to the team to grow.

是的，在宏觀環境下，我認為每個 OEM 都在考慮我們是否應該在內部進行這項工作，或者是否應該利用像 EMS 計劃這樣的基準的合作夥伴？因此我想說，我們的管道很好，有大量客戶正在考慮，要么第一次外包，要么不想增加產能，或者他們只是希望利用我們對團隊的投資來實現成長。

And so I think the outsourcing trend is definitely a tailwind for us. We, we've seen even in a softer macro environment, you know, there, there's still continued emphasis on that. So, and so that's, that, that was one thing I'd say, the only other thing is we're also paying close attention to the tariff activity, right? And a lot of discussion right now about what happens with Mexico and potential China stepping up a little bit. Obviously, the tariffs are already there on China.

因此我認為外包趨勢對我們來說無疑是個順風。我們看到，即使在較為疲軟的宏觀環境下，人們仍然繼續強調這一點。所以，這就是我要說的一件事，唯一的另一件事是我們也在密切關注關稅活動，對嗎？目前有很多關於墨西哥將採取什麼行動以及中國可能採取哪些行動的討論。顯然，對中國徵收的關稅已經存在。

We have a pretty significant, really, the largest is the percent of our total us footprint. We know we've got capacity there. And so, we're we're standing ready to help customers that might, decide they want to be really onshore, not nearshore if that move happens. But you know, we like to see things work out so that it's not super disruptive. But that being said, I think our domestic footprint is, is a positive.

我們的碳足跡占美國總碳足跡的比重確實很大，而且是最大的。我們知道我們在那裡有足夠的能力。所以，如果發生這種情況，我們隨時準備好幫助那些可能決定真正在岸而不是近岸的客戶。但你知道，我們希望看到事情順利進行，這樣就不會造成太大的破壞。但話雖如此，我認為我們的國內足跡是正面的。

Okay, thank you. Great. That works out for me.

好的，謝謝。偉大的。這對我來說很有效。

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Paul Mansky. Please continue.

目前沒有其他問題。現在我將把電話轉回給保羅·曼斯基。請繼續。

Yeah, thank you, John, and thank you everyone for participating in Benchmark's fourth-quarter and fiscal year 2024 earnings call. For updates, please check the events section of our IR website at ir.bench.com. With that, we thank you again for your support and look forward to speaking with you soon. Have a good evening.

是的，謝謝你，約翰，也謝謝大家參加 Benchmark 2024 財年第四季和財報電話會議。如需了解最新信息，請查看我們的 IR 網站 ir.bench.com 上的活動部分。最後，我們再次感謝您的支持，並期待盡快與您交談。祝你晚上愉快。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。