BioLife Solutions Inc (BLFS) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the BioLife Solutions Q3 2024 Shareholder and Analyst Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

女士們、先生們，下午好，謝謝大家的支持。歡迎參加 BioLife Solutions 2024 年第三季股東和分析師電話會議。（操作員指令）

I will now turn the call over to Troy Wichterman, Chief Financial Officer of BioLife Solutions. Please go ahead.

現在我將電話轉給 BioLife Solutions 財務長 Troy Wichterman。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining the BioLife Solutions 2024 third quarter earnings conference call. On the call with me today is Rod de Greef, CEO and Chairman of the Board.

謝謝您，接線生。大家下午好，感謝您參加 BioLife Solutions 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天與我一起參加電話會議的是執行長兼董事會主席 Rod de Greef。

We will cover business highlights and financial performance for the quarter, and provide an update on our full year 2024 revenue guidance. Earlier today, we issued a press release announcing our financial results and operational highlights for the third quarter of 2024, which is available at biolifesolutions.com.

我們將介紹本季的業務亮點和財務業績，並提供 2024 年全年收入指引的最新資訊。今天早些時候，我們發布了一份新聞稿，宣布了 2024 年第三季的財務業績和營運亮點，可在 biolifesolutions.com 上查閱。

As a reminder, during this call, we will make forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that can be found in our SEC filings. These statements speak only as of the date given, and we undertake no obligation to update them. We will also speak to non-GAAP or adjusted results. Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP or adjusted financial metrics are included in the press release we issued this afternoon.

提醒一下，在本次電話會議中，我們將做出前瞻性陳述。這些聲明受到我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中所述的風險和不確定性的影響。這些聲明僅代表截至當日的觀點，我們不承擔更新這些聲明的義務。我們也將討論非公認會計準則或調整後的結果。我們今天下午發布的新聞稿中包含了 GAAP 與非 GAAP 或調整後的財務指標的對帳。

Now I’d like to turn the call over to Rod de Greef, Chairman and CEO of BioLife.

現在我想將電話轉給 BioLife 董事長兼執行長 Rod de Greef。

Thanks, Troy. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us for BioLife’s third quarter 2024 earnings call. I'm pleased to report another strong quarter, marking our fourth consecutive period of sequential revenue growth and a strong rebound year-over-year. This further demonstrates our belief that the macro environment as it relates to the bioproduction subsector in which we operate is continuing to improve.

謝謝，特洛伊。下午好，感謝您參加 BioLife 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。我很高興地報告本季又一個強勁的業績，這是我們連續第四個季度實現收入增長，並且同比強勁反彈。這進一步證明了我們的信念，即與我們經營所在的生物生產子產業相關的宏觀環境正在持續改善。

Our Cell Processing platform revenue totaled $19 million, representing a sequential increase of 6% and up 43% compared to the third quarter of 2023. This is a high margin business and we see that profitability directly reflected in our financial performance this quarter with continued margin expansion.

我們的細胞處理平台收入總計 1,900 萬美元，季增 6%，與 2023 年第三季相比成長 43%。這是一項高利潤的業務，我們看到獲利能力直接反映在本季的財務表現中，利潤率持續擴大。

Adjusted gross margin for Q3 came in at 54%, up from 44% in the same period last year, and we delivered an adjusted EBITDA margin of 20% compared to 6% last year. These results underscore the attractiveness of our market-leading cell processing portfolio as we continue to drive both top line growth and margin expansion through our proprietary high margin recurring revenue streams.

第三季調整後毛利率為 54%，高於去年同期的 44%，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 20%，而去年為 6%。這些結果凸顯了我們市場領先的細胞處理產品組合的吸引力，因為我們繼續透過我們專有的高利潤經常性收入流推動營收成長和利潤率擴大。

Earlier today, we announced the strategic divestiture of our SciSafe bio storage business, which serves as yet another pivotal step in our evolution. I will discuss this in further detail momentarily, but I'm confident that with our streamlined structure and fortified balance sheet, BioLife is better positioned than ever to deliver long-term value for our shareholders.

今天早些時候，我們宣布策略性地剝離我們的 SciSafe 生物儲存業務，這是我們發展過程中的另一個關鍵步驟。我稍後將進一步詳細討論這一點，但我相信，憑藉我們精簡的結構和強大的資產負債表，BioLife 比以往任何時候都更有能力為我們的股東創造長期價值。

Looking ahead, based on the strength of our Q3 results combined with what we're seeing as the last quarter of the year unfolds, we have modestly increased our cell processing revenue guidance, which Troy will speak to later in the call. We believe that the momentum we've realized throughout this year, both in terms of revenue growth and margin expansion, provides us with a solid jumping-off point from which to enter 2025.

展望未來，基於我們第三季度的強勁業績以及我們對今年最後一個季度的展望，我們適度提高了細胞處理收入預期，特洛伊將在稍後的電話會議上談論這一點。我們相信，我們今年在營收成長和利潤率擴大方面所取得的進展為我們邁入 2025 年提供了堅實的起點。

Staying focused on our cell processing revenue, our biopreservation media products, which account for the vast majority of the platform's revenue, had a strong quarter-over-quarter increase. This was somewhat offset by an expected timing-related sequential decline in other products. Historical biopreservation media revenue trends remain consistent this quarter, with our top 20 customers accounting for approximately 80% of media revenue.

我們專注於細胞處理收入，佔平台收入絕大部分的生物保存培養基產品較上季成長強勁。這在一定程度上被其他產品預期因時間因素而出現的連續下滑所抵消。本季歷史生物保存介質收入趨勢保持一致，其中我們前 20 名客戶佔介質收入的約 80%。

An estimated 60% of the biopreservation media revenue came from direct customers in the quarter, and of that amount, customers with approved therapies totaled approximately 40%.

本季生物保存介質收入約有 60% 來自直接客戶，其中擁有核准療法的客戶約佔 40%。

We believe our biopreservation media products are embedded in more than 70% of relevant, commercially sponsored CGT clinical trials, which provides an encouraging indicator for sustainable future growth. In Q3, the CGT regulatory environment continued the forward momentum that started last year, with our biopreservation media embedded in two newly approved therapies during the quarter.

我們相信，我們的生物保存培養基產品已應用於 70% 以上的相關商業贊助的 CGT 臨床試驗，這為未來的永續成長提供了令人鼓舞的指標。在第三季度，CGT 監管環境延續了去年開始的向前發展勢頭，我們的生物保存介質嵌入在本季度兩種新批准的療法中。

This brings us to a total of 17 unique therapies that incorporate our market-leading biopreservation media. Further, we see six additional product approvals, geographic expansions, or new indications occurring in the next 12 months.

這樣，我們總共擁有 17 種採用市場領先的生物保存介質的獨特療法。此外，我們預計未來 12 個月內將有另外 6 種產品獲批，地理擴展或出現新適應症。

Looking strategically at the road ahead, we will continue to refocus our efforts and allocate our capital toward our proprietary, high-growth, high-margin cell processing portfolio of products. This morning's announcement of the sale of our SciSafe biostorage business and a $73 million all-cash transaction is a pivotal step in the evolution of BioLife into a pure-play CGT tools provider, driven by our recurring reagents business.

從策略角度看未來的道路，我們將繼續重新集中我們的努力並將我們的資金分配給我們的專有、高成長、高利潤的細胞處理產品組合。今天早上我們宣佈出售 SciSafe 生物存儲業務和 7300 萬美元的全現金交易，這是 BioLife 向純粹的 CGT 工具提供商轉型的關鍵一步，這將由我們經常性的試劑業務推動。

Not only does the divestiture fortify our balance sheet, it also frees up significant operational bandwidth, which will be redeployed to support the growth of our core cell processing products. During our recent strategic review, we determined that our biostorage business, which accounted for $16 million in Q3 year-to-date revenue, was furthest away from our core competencies and expertise.

此次剝離不僅增強了我們的資產負債表，還釋放了大量營運頻寬，這些頻寬將重新部署以支持我們核心細胞處理產品的成長。在我們最近的策略審查中，我們發現生物儲存業務與我們的核心競爭力和專業知識相差最遠，該業務在第三季度的年初至今的收入為 1600 萬美元。

In addition, we believe the level of capital required for consolidation and future growth would be better allocated to supporting and expanding our cell processing product portfolio, specifically our biopreservation media products.

此外，我們相信整合和未來成長所需的資本水準將更好地分配給支持和擴大我們的細胞處理產品組合，特別是我們的生物保存培養基產品。

As a result of a more streamlined product portfolio, we have consolidated all our sales and marketing efforts under Todd Berard, who has moved into the newly created role of Chief Commercial Officer. Todd, who has served as our Chief Marketing Officer, has been with BioLife for more than 10 years and has a deep understanding of the CGT market, our product line, as well as established relationships with our larger key customers.

由於產品組合更加精簡，我們將所有銷售和行銷工作集中在 Todd Berard 的領導下，他已擔任新設立的首席商務官一職。托德 (Todd) 曾擔任我們的首席行銷官，已在 BioLife 工作 10 多年，對 CGT 市場、我們的產品線以及與我們較大的關鍵客戶建立的關係有著深入的了解。

Garrie Richardson, who has been our Chief Revenue Officer for the last year and the original founder of SciSafe, who become the CEO of the now independent SciSafe. I would like to personally thank Gary and the entire SciSafe team for their contributions to BioLife over the last 4 years and wish them a bright and successful future.

加里·理查森 (Garrie Richardson)，去年擔任我們的首席營收官，也是 SciSafe 的創始人，現在成為獨立公司 SciSafe 的執行長。我要親自感謝 Gary 和整個 SciSafe 團隊在過去四年裡對 BioLife 的貢獻，並祝福他們未來光明、成功。

With that said, we realize the job is not done and we're committed to exiting the remaining freezer business. Although CBS generated positive adjusted EBITDA for the quarter and represents less than 13% of sales, it is dragged on long-term margins. We are making steady progress and will provide updates as events warrant.

話雖如此，我們意識到工作尚未完成，我們致力於退出剩餘的冷凍機業務。儘管 CBS 本季的調整後 EBITDA 為正，且佔銷售額的不到 13%，但卻拖累了長期利潤率。我們正在穩步前進，並將根據情況提供最新消息。

Our vision is to evolve BioLife into a pure play CGT tools and reagents provider, so we can fully leverage our core competencies and the distinct market leadership of our biopreservation media. We believe this approach represents the strongest path to delivering sustained shareholder value as we drive both revenue growth and profitability into 2025 and beyond.

我們的願景是將 BioLife 發展成為純粹的 CGT 工具和試劑提供者，這樣我們就可以充分利用我們的核心競爭力和生物保存介質的獨特市場領導地位。我們相信，這種方法是實現持續股東價值的最有效途徑，因為我們將在 2025 年及以後推動營收成長和獲利。

Now I'll turn the call over to Troy, who will provide a review of our Q3 financial results.

現在我將電話轉給特洛伊，他將對我們的第三季財務表現進行回顧。

Thank you, Rod. Today, we will be reviewing current and prior period financials from continuing operations for Q3 2024, which excludes Sterling. We reported Q3 revenue from continuing operations of $30.6 million, representing an increase of 30% year-over-year. The year-over-year increase was primarily related to a 43% increase in our cell processing platform.

謝謝你，羅德。今天，我們將回顧 2024 年第三季持續經營的當前和前期財務狀況，其中不包括 Sterling。我們報告第三季持續經營收入為 3,060 萬美元，年增 30%。年比增長主要與我們的細胞處理平台 43% 的增長有關。

Total revenue was up sequentially from Q2 2024 by $2.2 million, or 8%, primarily driven by a double-digit sequential increase in biopreservation media revenue. GAAP gross margin for Q3 2024 was 51%, compared with 48% in Q3 2023. Adjusted gross margin for the third quarter was 54%, compared with 44% in the prior year. The increase was primarily due to more favorable product mix and better utilization at our SciSafe biorepository facilities.

總收入較 2024 年第二季季增 220 萬美元，增幅 8%，主要得益於生物保存介質收入的兩位數環比增長。2024 年第三季的 GAAP 毛利率為 51%，而 2023 年第三季為 48%。第三季調整後毛利率為54%，去年同期為44%。成長主要歸因於更有利的產品組合和我們 SciSafe 生物庫設施的更好利用。

GAAP operating expenses for Q3 2024 were $32.1 million versus $39 million in Q3 2023. The decrease compared to the prior year was largely due to a reduction in headcount that took place at the end of Q3 2023, in addition to an asset impairment of $8.3 million related to our freezer business that the company took in Q3 2023.

2024 年第三季的 GAAP 營業費用為 3,210 萬美元，而 2023 年第三季為 3,900 萬美元。與前一年相比的下降主要是由於 2023 年第三季末員工人數減少，以及公司在 2023 年第三季對冷凍機業務提列了 830 萬美元的資產減損。

Adjusted operating expenses for Q3 2024 totaled $17.2 million compared with $18.7 million in the prior year. The decrease is primarily due to lower personnel costs from the Q3 2023 reduction in force and continued focus on expenses. GAAP operating loss for Q3 2024 was $1.6 million versus $15.5 million in the prior year.

2024 年第三季的調整後營運費用總計 1,720 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,870 萬美元。下降的主要原因是 2023 年第三季裁員導致的人員成本降低以及持續關注費用。2024 年第三季的 GAAP 營業虧損為 160 萬美元，去年同期為 1,550 萬美元。

Our adjusted operating loss for the third quarter of 2024 was $600,000 compared with $8.3 million in Q3 2023. The decrease in operating loss was primarily due to an $8.3 million impairment the company took in Q3 2023 related to our freezer business.

我們 2024 年第三季的調整後營業虧損為 60 萬美元，而 2023 年第三季為 830 萬美元。營業虧損的減少主要是由於該公司在 2023 年第三季與冷凍機業務相關的 830 萬美元減損。

Our GAAP net loss was $1.7 million or $0.04 per share in Q3 2024 compared to $15.8 million or $0.36 per share in the prior year. The decrease in net loss was primarily due to an $8.3 million impairment the company took during Q3 2023 related to our freezer business and a $4.5 million improvement in gross margin.

2024 年第三季度，我們的 GAAP 淨虧損為 170 萬美元或每股 0.04 美元，去年同期為 1,580 萬美元或每股 0.36 美元。淨虧損減少主要是由於該公司在 2023 年第三季與冷凍機業務相關的 830 萬美元減值以及毛利率提高 450 萬美元。

Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2024 was $6.1 million, or 20% of revenue, compared with $1.4 million, or 6% of revenue, in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA increased from the prior year due to a $4.5 million improvement in gross margin, driven by increased sales of biopreservation media and lower personnel costs. Our adjusted EBITDA increased $2.3 million sequentially from Q2, 2024, primarily due to increased sales of biopreservation media.

2024 年第三季的調整後 EBITDA 為 610 萬美元，佔營收的 20%，而去年同期為 140 萬美元，佔營收的 6%。調整後的 EBITDA 較上年增加，原因是生物保存介質銷售額增加和人員成本下降導致毛利率提高 450 萬美元。我們的調整後 EBITDA 較 2024 年第二季較上季增加 230 萬美元，主要原因是生物保存介質銷售量增加。

As Rod mentioned, earlier today we announced the sale of our SciSafe biostorage business, and we issued an 8-K earlier today, which included pro forma's without SciSafe in our financial results, and includes GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations. For the 6-month period ending June 30, 2024, our revenue without SciSafe would have been $44.7 million versus our reported results of $55.1 million.

正如羅德所提到的，今天早些時候我們宣佈出售我們的 SciSafe 生物存儲業務，並且我們今天早些時候發布了一份 8-K 報表，其中包括我們的財務結果中沒有 SciSafe 的預測數據，以及 GAAP 與非 GAAP 的對帳。截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日的 6 個月期間，如果不考慮 SciSafe，我們的收入將為 4,470 萬美元，而我們報告的結果為 5,510 萬美元。

Our adjusted gross margin without SciSafe would have been 60% versus 53% reported, and our adjusted EBITDA would have been 13% versus 15% reported.

如果沒有 SciSafe，我們的調整後毛利率將為 60%，而報告的數字為 53%；如果沒有 SciSafe，我們的調整後毛利率將為 13%，而報告的數字為 15%。

Although there was a slight decrease in our adjusted EBITDA profile for the first half of 2024 without SciSafe, we believe we will have a stronger EBITDA profile going forward without SciSafe as media revenue increases, which has a significant flow-through to our bottom line. In addition, there will be cost savings going forward by consolidating our sales and marketing department under Todd Berard.

儘管在沒有 SciSafe 的情況下，我們的 2024 年上半年調整後 EBITDA 狀況略有下降，但我們相信，隨著媒體收入的增加，在沒有 SciSafe 的情況下，我們的 EBITDA 狀況將更加強勁，這將對我們的底線產生重大影響。此外，將我們的銷售和行銷部門整合到 Todd Berard 的領導下，還可以節省成本。

Turning to our balance sheet. Our cash and marketable securities balance reported as of September 30, 2024, was $39.3 million, compared with $36.9 million as of June 30, 2024. This does not include any proceeds from the sale of SciSafe.

轉向我們的資產負債表。截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，我們的現金及有價證券餘額為 3,930 萬美元，截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日為 3,690 萬美元。這不包括 SciSafe 銷售的任何收益。

The total sequential cash increase of $2.4 million was primarily driven by cash provided by operation activities of $6.8 million, partially offset by a $2.5 million principal payment on our term loan and $1.4 million in capital expenditures. Our SVB long-term debt balance was $17.5 million. We expect to continue making quarterly repayments of $2.5 million going forward.

總現金連續增加 240 萬美元，主要由於經營活動提供的現金 680 萬美元，但部分被我們定期貸款的 250 萬美元本金支付和 140 萬美元資本支出所抵消。我們的 SVB 長期債務餘額為 1750 萬美元。我們預計今後將繼續每季償還 250 萬美元。

Turning to 2024 revenue guidance. We are updating our previous guidance, which is based on expectations for our cell processing platform, EVO, ThawSTAR, and 10 months of revenue from SciSafe, and does not include any revenue from CBS.

轉向2024年收入指引。我們正在更新先前的指引，該指引基於我們對細胞處理平台、EVO、ThawSTAR 和 SciSafe 的 10 個月收入的預期，不包括來自 CBS 的任何收入。

As has been the case throughout this year, the BioStorage Service Platform guidance includes the ThawSTAR automated filing devices product line.

與今年全年的情況一樣，生物儲存服務平台指南包括 ThawSTAR 自動歸檔設備產品線。

Our total revenue is expected to be $98 million to $100 million, a reduction from our original guidance of $99 million to $101 million, reflecting an increase in guidance for our cell processing platform of $2 million, which is offset by $3 million related to the decrease in expected storage revenue given the sale of SciSafe.

我們的總收入預計為 9,800 萬美元至 1 億美元，低於我們最初預期的 9,900 萬美元至 1.01 億美元，這反映了我們細胞處理平台預期收入的增加 200 萬美元，但由於出售 SciSafe，預期儲存收入減少 300 萬美元，從而抵消了這一增長。

Our cell processing platform is expected to contribute $72 million to $73 million, or 9% to 11% growth over 2023. This is an increase of $2 million on both the low and high-end of our previous guidance. Our biostorage services platform is expected to contribute $26 million to $27 million, which includes 10 months of SciSafe revenue. Finally, in terms of our share count, as of November 5, we had 46 million shares issued and outstanding, and 48.5 million shares on a fully diluted basis.

我們的細胞處理平台預計將貢獻 7,200 萬至 7,300 萬美元，即 2023 年的 9% 至 11%。這比我們之前預期的低端和高端均增加了 200 萬美元。我們的生物儲存服務平台預計將貢獻 2,600 萬至 2,700 萬美元，其中包括 10 個月的 SciSafe 收入。最後，就我們的股票數量而言，截至 11 月 5 日，我們已發行在外的股票數量為 4,600 萬股，完全攤薄後數量為 4,850 萬股。

Now I'll turn the call back to the operator to open up for questions.

現在我將把電話轉回給接線員，以便回答問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Jacob Johnson from Stephens, Inc.

來自 Stephens, Inc. 的 Jacob Johnson

Hi. This is Hannah on for Jacob. Thanks for taking the questions. To start with the SciSafe sale, can you just frame up what pro forma gross margins look like, and then how should we think about any OpEx savings and depreciation going forward?

你好。這是漢娜 (Hannah) 為雅各 (Jacob) 表演的。感謝您回答這些問題。首先從 SciSafe 的銷售開始，您能否簡單概括一下預計毛利率是什麼樣的，然後我們應該如何考慮未來的營運支出節省和折舊？

Yeah, we issued an 8-K earlier today that lays out all the details for different prior periods, 2021 up to the 6 months ended in 2024. So you'll see in the 6 months of 2024, adjusted gross margin without SciSafe of 60% and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 13%. However, going forward, we expect that to have a very minimal impact on our adjusted EBITDA profile.

是的，我們今天早些時候發布了一份 8-K 文件，其中列出了從 2021 年到 2024 年結束的 6 個月的不同前期的所有細節。因此，您會看到，在 2024 年的 6 個月內，不包括 SciSafe 的調整後毛利率為 60%，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 13%。然而，展望未來，我們預計這對我們的調整後 EBITDA 狀況的影響將非常小。

All right, thanks. And then I know you're not guiding into 2025, but with destocking, we've seen some swings in revenue and growth over the last year. And I'm just curious if you could frame up how we should think about long-term growth from here? And if there are any puts and takes we should be aware of as we're starting to think about 2025.

好的，謝謝。我知道您沒有預測到2025年，但隨著去庫存，我們看到去年收入和成長出現了一些波動。我只是好奇您是否能闡述我們該如何考慮長期成長？當我們開始考慮 2025 年時，我們應該注意是否有任何利弊。

Yeah, I think the best thing to do would be to wait for us to put out our formal guidance, which we'll do in early January, in advance of the JPM conference. But I think if you -- your point is well taken with respect to Q2 to Q3 last year. But then when you look at Q3 forward, as we said in our formal remarks, that we've had four quarters of sequential growth. And while it may not be sequential each and every quarter going forward, we certainly do expect growth in '25. And we believe that the destocking in particular is well behind us at this point in time.

是的，我認為最好的方法是等待我們發布正式的指導意見，我們將在 1 月初 JPM 會議召開之前發布。但我認為如果你——你對去年第二季至第三季的觀點是正確的。但是當你展望第三季度時，正如我們在正式發言中所說，我們已經實現了連續四個季度的成長。儘管未來每季可能不會出現連續成長，但我們確實預計 25 年將實現成長。我們認為，目前去庫存的進程已經相當成熟。

Awesome. Thanks. I'll leave it there.

驚人的。謝謝。我就把它留在那裡。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Matt Stanton from Jefferies.

傑富瑞 (Jefferies) 的馬特史丹頓 (Matt Stanton)。

Hey, thanks. Rod, you talked about post SciSafe sale, kind of being able to streamline the structure, balance sheet in a better position to deliver value. Just talk about some of the areas of focus post the sale, whether it would be looking to do additional deals, capacity adds around the media business, just like where the focus will be strategically post the SciSafe sale there. Thank you.

嘿，謝謝。羅德，您談到了 SciSafe 出售後，能夠簡化結構，資產負債表，以便更好地實現價值。只談論出售後的一些重點領域，是否尋求進行其他交易，圍繞媒體業務增加產能，就像 SciSafe 出售後的策略重點在哪裡一樣。謝謝。

You bet. The focus is in general around our cell processing product line, which would be the biopreservation media and the Sexton tools that we acquired several years back, which would include HPL, the CryoSeal product line, which includes the newly introduced CryoCase, as well as the CT5 automated fill machine. So those products are going to get the lion share of our attention.

當然。我們的重點一般集中在我們的細胞處理產品線，即我們幾年前收購的生物保存介質和 Sexton 工具，其中包括 HPL、CryoSeal 產品線（其中包括新推出的 CryoCase）以及 CT5 自動填充機。因此這些產品將會受到我們最大的關注。

With respect to capacity, in particular, we definitely have some capacity needs coming into the next couple of years with respect to biopreservation. That sale of SciSafe provides us with the capital to do so. To the extent that we would look at anything inorganic or any kind of transactions from an M&A perspective, I think that there's a place for that.

特別是在產能方面，未來幾年我們在生物保存方面肯定會有一些產能需求。SciSafe 的出售為我們提供了這樣做的資金。如果我們從併購的角度來看無機交易或任何類型的交易，我認為都有其存在的意義。

But I think that our criteria going forward around this issue is very stringent. And I think at this point, the only thing that we would look to do needs to have a direct impact on maintaining or expanding our market leadership position in those cell processing tools. So that would be biopreservation media. It would be HPL, et cetera.

但我認為，我們在這個問題上的標準非常嚴格。我認為在這一點上，我們唯一要做的事情就是直接影響維持或擴大我們在這些細胞處理工具領域的市場領導地位。這就是生物保存介質。它可能為 HPL，等等。

The other, I think, key criteria is that whatever we do does not negatively impact the margin expansion trajectory that we're on right now, because that's a critical objective for us to increase that margin both on the growth side and on the adjusted EBITDA side.

我認為，另一個關鍵標準是，無論我們做什麼都不會對我們目前的利潤率擴張軌跡產生負面影響，因為這對我們來說是一個關鍵目標，即提高成長方面和調整後 EBITDA 方面的利潤率。

Awesome. Thanks for that. And then, I guess, going back over to Sexton, the launch of the new CryoCase, just any update there? I think it's commercially available this quarter, for those that have trials that had it in their hands, kind of feedback, whether that be biopharma customers, CROs, CDMOs, folks like that. And if we look out a year from now, what are you going to quantify as a successful launch of that product here? Thank you.

驚人的。謝謝。然後，我想，回到 Sexton，新款 CryoCase 的推出，有什麼更新嗎？我認為它將於本季度投入商業化，對於那些已經進行過試驗的人來說，他們會得到一些反饋，無論是生物製藥客戶、CRO、CDMO還是類似的人。如果我們展望一年後，您將如何量化產品在這裡的成功推出？謝謝。

Yes, I think the initial impression from a handful of really key customers is positive. There's a pretty significant validation process that these customers need to go through to consider this.

是的，我認為少數真正關鍵的客戶所給予的初步印像是正面的。這些客戶需要經過一個相當重要的驗證過程才能考慮這一點。

It's not insurmountable in any way, shape or form, but the initial feedback is good and I would expect to start to see revenue generated at any kind of material level toward the end of next year, the back half of next year. But we may end up talking about some sort of revenue contribution in our guidance, but at this point in time, Matt, it's a little early.

從任何方面來說，這都不是不可克服的，但初步回饋很好，我預計到明年年底，也就是明年下半年，我們能夠開始看到任何實質層面的收入。但是我們最終可能會在指導中談論某種形式的收入貢獻，但目前為止，馬特，還為時過早。

Super. Thank you. I'll leave it there. Appreciate it.

極好的。謝謝。我就把它留在那裡。非常感謝。

You bet.

當然。

Brendan Smith from TD Cowen.

TD Cowen 的 Brendan Smith。

Hi, guys. Thanks for taking the question. Congrats on the solid quarter. Maybe just a quick one from us, kind of building on the previous questions here, but can you expand a bit on what some of the specific levers are within the cell processing platform that you can pull heading into next year just to help shore up some of that top line growth in 2025?

嗨，大家好。感謝您回答這個問題。恭喜本季業績穩健。也許我們只是快速問一個問題，基於前面的問題，但是您能否稍微擴展一下細胞處理平台中的一些具體槓桿，您可以在明年利用這些槓桿來幫助支撐 2025 年的一些營收成長？

And I guess what I'm really getting at is that I'm wondering what kinds of macro trends you're seeing specifically and how some of those could be leveraged as you kind of continue to restructure the business internally? Thanks.

我想我真正想說的是，我想知道您具體看到了哪些宏觀趨勢，以及在您繼續內部重組業務時可以如何利用其中的一些趨勢？謝謝。

Yeah. So, I think that as we've talked about a couple of key factors. One would be the fact that 80% of our media revenue comes from 20 customers. That's a really key fact. And so, to some degree, our success is based on their success, right? So that's an important thing. I think that the opportunity that we have to drive revenue past the sort of natural pull that would happen from these large customers is to deepen our relationship with our distributors, which we're working on doing. There are some pricing opportunities that we have also that we have so far had some good initial success on in terms of reducing historical legacy discounts.

是的。所以，我認為我們已經討論了幾個關鍵因素。其中一個事實是，我們 80% 的媒體收入來自 20 位客戶。這是一個非常關鍵的事實。所以，在某種程度上，我們的成功是建立在他們的成功之上的，對嗎？所以這是一件重要的事情。我認為，我們要透過深化與經銷商的關係來增加收入，超越這些大客戶的自然拉動，這正是我們正在努力實現的。我們還擁有一些定價機會，到目前為止，我們在減少歷史遺留折扣方面已經取得了一些良好的初步成功。

And I think the other area where we can actually have potentially material impact on driving revenue and cell processing is that cross-selling feature of the Sexton tool products into our existing customer base. And there are a number of different evaluations going on for different products with different customers and we would expect to see some revenue come out of that toward the end of next year in particular, CryoCase being one of those as I mentioned earlier.

我認為我們實際上可以對推動收入和細胞處理產生重大影響的另一個領域是將 Sexton 工具產品交叉銷售給我們現有的客戶群。不同的客戶對不同的產品進行了大量的評估，我們預計特別是在明年年底將產生一些收入，正如我之前提到的，CryoCase 就是其中之一。

Got it. Very helpful there. Thank you.

知道了。非常有幫助。謝謝。

You bet.

當然。

Anna Snopkowski from KeyBanc.

KeyBanc 的 Anna Snopkowski。

Hi. Thanks for taking my question. This is Anna Snopkowski on for Paul. My first question is regarding the announced divestiture of SciSafe. You talked about this a little during your prepared remarks, but I was wondering if this changes your strategy at all going forward specifically on the potential divestiture of CBS.

你好。感謝您回答我的問題。安娜·斯諾普科夫斯基 (Anna Snopkowski) 代表保羅 (Paul) 報道。我的第一個問題是關於宣布剝離 SciSafe 業務。您在準備好的演講中談到了這一點，但我想知道這是否會改變您未來的策略，特別是在可能剝離 CBS 業務方面。

Sorry, I think in terms of CBS, I'll just speak to that specifically. We are definitely in the throes of a transaction there. We're pretty close and we are committed as we have been for some time to exiting that business through a transaction. So stay tuned for that. In terms of the strategic impact of the sale of SciSafe, I think we've tried to be clear about the fact that the focus of the company going forward is going to be on the proprietary higher growth, higher margin recurring revenue products that primarily are in the cell processing platform as it's defined today.

抱歉，我想就 CBS 而言，我只想具體談談這一點。我們確實正處於交易的陣痛之中。我們已經非常接近了，並且我們已經致力於透過交易退出該業務一段時間了。請繼續關注。就出售 SciSafe 的策略影響而言，我認為我們已經試圖明確這樣一個事實，即公司未來的重點將放在專有的高成長、高利潤的經常性收入產品上，這些產品主要位於今天定義的細胞處理平台。

Makes sense. And then just looking at cell processing, is there anything you would call out in terms of customer destocking or pushing out orders? Or would you say that is largely normalized within the segment?

有道理。然後僅看一下電池處理，在客戶減少庫存或推遲訂單方面，您是否有什麼要指出的？或者您會說這在該領域內基本上是正常化的？

Yes, we believe that Q3 was a normalized quarter for us with respect to that. And destocking, as we've talked about in the past, really got behind us sort of Q1. We had one customer in Q2, but that customer started to take product in Q3. So, we do believe it's behind us, barring some sort of industry-wide issue that pops up here again.

是的，我們相信第三季對我們來說是一個正常化的季度。正如我們過去談到的，去庫存化在第一季確實取得了進展。我們在第二季有一個客戶，但該客戶在第三季開始接收產品。因此，我們確實相信這個問題已經過去了，除非再次出現某種行業範圍內的問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Matt Hewitt from Craig-Hallum Capital Group.

Matt Hewitt 的 Craig-Hallum Capital Group。

Good afternoon and congratulations on a strong quarter. Maybe first up, and thank you for pointing out the 8-K, I think you mentioned 60% roughly gross margins, absent SciSafe contribution in the first half of the year. How should we be thinking about your margin trajectory as we look out into 2025 and beyond? Where could your margins go, particularly on the gross margin side?

下午好，祝賀您本季業績強勁。首先，感謝您指出 8-K，我認為您提到了大約 60% 的毛利率，其中沒有上半年 SciSafe 的貢獻。展望 2025 年及以後，我們該如何看待您的利潤走勢？你的利潤率會提高到什麼程度，特別是毛利率方面？

Yes, I'll take that one. So you're right, 60% for the first half, right? And what we've been talking about how key the growth of the media revenue is to our financial profile, not only on the growth side, but on the adjusted EBITDA side.

是的，我要那個。所以你是對的，上半年是 60%，對嗎？我們一直在談論媒體收入的成長對於我們的財務狀況有多重要，不僅在成長方面，而且在調整後的 EBITDA 方面。

As you recall, historically, before we did any acquisitions, the media gross margin was roughly 70%. And then some of the initiatives we're working on internally to help expand that margin even further to drive our overall consolidated gross margin into, call it the upper 60s in the not so distant future.

您還記得，從歷史上看，在我們進行任何收購之前，媒體毛利率約為 70%。然後，我們正在內部採取一些舉措，以幫助進一步擴大利潤率，從而將我們的整體綜合毛利率推高至不久的將來的 60% 以上。

Excellent. And then just regarding the third quarter here, obviously a nice pop, both sequentially and year-on-year for the media business. Was that just a function of the two approvals in the quarter, getting some extra stocking there or was there something else that kind of drove that increase? Thank you.

出色的。就第三季而言，媒體業務無論是環比還是同比來看，顯然都出現了良好的成長。這僅僅是由於本季度的兩項批准而產生的，獲得了一些額外的庫存，還是有其他因素推動了這種增長？謝謝。

Yes, it was not related to the two approvals that we saw. There's usually a fairly decent amount of time that goes by between those approvals and seeing that additional demand flow through. It really had to do with just strong demand across that top 20 customer base and came in very nicely for us. So that's -- that and what we see happening in Q4 is what led us to increase the cell processing guidance by $2 million.

是的，這與我們看到的兩項批准無關。從這些批准到看到額外需求的流出通常需要相當長的時間。這確實與前 20 名客戶群的強勁需求有關，並且對我們來說非常有利。所以這就是——我們看到的第四季度的情況促使我們將細胞處理指導金額提高了 200 萬美元。

That's great. Thank you.

那太棒了。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Thomas Flaten from Lake Street.

（操作員指示）來自湖街的托馬斯·弗拉頓。

Hey, Rod, just to follow-up on that last comment. Can you comment qualitatively on some of the smaller customers, the earlier stage biotechs, academia, et cetera, how are they coming along from a macro perspective?

嘿，羅德，只是想跟進最後一條評論。您能否對一些較小的客戶、早期的生技公司、學術界等進行定性評論，從宏觀角度看他們的進展如何？

Yes, I think they're coming along fine. And we look at those basically through -- we look at our distributors, our large distributors, the top three, for instance, as proxies for those smaller customers. And we've seen good sequential growth from those distributors, bar one, but that had more to do with the renegotiation of the distributor agreement around pricing than it did around demand.

是的，我認為他們進展順利。我們基本上是透過以下的方式來看待這些問題——我們將我們的經銷商、大型經銷商（例如前三大經銷商）視為那些較小客戶的代理商。我們看到這些分銷商（除一家外）都實現了良好的連續成長，但這更多地與分銷商圍繞定價的協議重新談判有關，而不是需求。

So we feel pretty good that the demand is across the board, not only just for the direct customers, but for distributors as well, representing those smaller academic and earlier stage companies. It's been moving in the right direction for us, for sure.

因此，我們很高興地看到，需求是全面的，不只是直接客戶，還有分銷商，代表那些規模較小的學術公司和早期公司。對我們來說，一切無疑都朝著正確的方向發展。

Excellent. And then with respect to longer term growth within cell processing, how relevant is Asia, for example, in terms of geographic expansion to help keep those long-term growth rates up?

出色的。那麼就細胞處理的長期成長而言，亞洲在地理擴張方面與維持長期成長率有多大關係？

Less than 5% we believe of our revenue comes out of China. Right now, specifically China, even less for the rest of Asia. So while it's an important piece of business for us, it's not material in the sense of the things that are going on, whether it's the Biosecure Act or other things like that, we do not see any impact of that on us going forward, at least at this point in time.

我們認為，我們的收入中不到5%來自中國。目前，特別是中國，對於亞洲其他地區來說就更少了。因此，雖然這對我們來說是一項重要的業務，但從正在發生的事情的意義上來說，它並不重要，無論是《生物安全法》還是其他類似法案，我們都沒有看到它會對我們未來產生任何影響，至少目前是這樣。

Got it. Thanks so much.

知道了。非常感謝。

You bet.

當然。

Yi Chen from H.C. Wainwright.

來自H.C.的Yi Chen溫賴特。

Sorry. So sorry it was. Sorry, it's Jade on for Yi Chen. So thank you for taking my question. Sorry for being on mute. So can you just quickly more on those biggest three distributors you were talking about. Do you have any idea of the approximate number of individual customers that represents or …?

對不起。真的很抱歉。抱歉，Jade 代替 Yi Chen 上場。感謝您回答我的問題。抱歉，我靜音了。那麼，您能否簡單介紹一下您談到的三大經銷商。您是否知道代表或代表的個人客戶的大致數量……？

Yes, collectively, we think it's in the neighborhood of 4,000 to 5,000 worldwide.

是的，我們認為全世界總共有 4,000 到 5,000 人。

Okay, great. And so I think I heard you say earlier it was 17 approved CGTs currently using the services?

好的，太好了。所以我想我之前聽您說過，目前有 17 個獲得批准的 CGT 正在使用這些服務？

That's correct. It's a bio-preservation media, particularly.

沒錯。它尤其是一種生物保存介質。

Do you expect that number to change in the next 6 months or so, or are most things further back in the queue, do you think?

您預計這個數字會在未來 6 個月左右發生變化嗎，或者您認為大多數事情的進展會更糟嗎？

No, as we stated earlier, we do expect six additional, whether they're unique therapies or geographic expansions, indications, new indications for the same therapy, or movement up the line of treatment. We expect six of those occurrences in the next 12 months or so, 9 to 12 months.

不，正如我們之前所說的，我們確實預計會有另外六種，無論它們是獨特的療法還是地理擴展、適應症、同一療法的新適應症或治療方法的進步。我們預計未來 12 個月左右（9 到 12 個月）內將發生六次這樣的情況。

Okay. All right. Thank you so much.

好的。好的。太感謝了。

You bet.

當然。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Rod de Greef for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議交還給 Rod de Greef 並請他作最後發言。

Thank you, operator. It's been a little over a year since I came back into an operating role with the company and as I look back I'm very pleased with the progress the BioLife team has made. In the last 12 months we focused the bulk of our efforts on our proprietary higher growth, higher margin core cell processing platform.

謝謝您，接線生。我回到公司擔任營運職務已經一年多了，回顧過去，我對 BioLife 團隊的進步感到非常滿意。在過去的 12 個月裡，我們將大部分精力集中在我們專有的高成長、高利潤的核心細胞處理平台上。

This has allowed us to reestablish sequential revenue growth and streamline our operations, both of which have driven solid margin expansion, especially at the adjusted EBITDA level.

這使我們能夠重新實現連續的收入成長並簡化我們的運營，這兩者都推動了利潤率的穩定成長，尤其是在調整後的 EBITDA 水平上。

With the strengthened balance sheet and an even more focused product portfolio, we're well-positioned to leverage our market-leading position in biopreservation to drive the adoption of the other high margin recurring revenue cell processing tools in our portfolio, which we believe will drive continued revenue growth and increased profitability.

透過加強的資產負債表和更專注的產品組合，我們完全有能力利用我們在生物保存領域的市場領先地位，推動我們產品組合中其他高利潤的經常性收入細胞處理工具的採用，我們相信這將推動收入持續增長和盈利能力提高。

We appreciate your time today and look forward to updating you on our continued progress on future calls and meeting with some of you at upcoming investor conferences during the coming months. Thank you.

我們感謝您今天抽出時間，並期待在未來的電話會議上向您通報我們的持續進展，並在未來幾個月即將召開的投資者會議上與你們中的一些人會面。謝謝。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。