Bluelinx Holdings Inc (BXC) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the BlueLinx Holdings fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode, and today's call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

女士們、先生們，感謝大家的支持，歡迎參加 BlueLinx Holdings 第四季和 2023 年全年收益電話會議。此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式，並且正在對今天的通話進行錄音。（操作員說明）

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to your host, Investor Relations Officer, Tom Morabito. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給主持人投資者關係官湯姆·莫拉比托 (Tom Morabito)。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and welcome to the BlueLinx fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 earnings call. Joining me on today's call is Shyam Reddy, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Andy Wamser, our Chief Financial Officer. At the end of today's prepared remarks, we'll take questions.

謝謝營運商，歡迎參加 BlueLinx 第四季和 2023 年全年財報電話會議。與我一起參加今天電話會議的是我們的總裁兼執行長 Shyam Reddy；以及我們的財務長安迪·瓦姆瑟 (Andy Wamser)。在今天準備好的發言結束後，我們將回答問題。

Our fourth quarter and full year news release and Form 10-K were issued yesterday after the close of the market along with our webcast presentation. And these items are available in the Investors section of our website, bluelinxco.com. We encourage you to follow along with the detailed information on those slides during our webcast.

我們的第四季度和全年新聞稿和 10-K 表格在昨天市場收盤後連同我們的網路廣播演示一起發布。這些項目可在我們網站 bluelinxco.com 的投資者部分找到。我們鼓勵您在我們的網路廣播中關注這些幻燈片的詳細資訊。

Today's discussion contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ significantly from those forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties, including the risks described in our most recent SEC filings. Today's presentation includes certain non-GAAP and adjusted financial measures that we believe provide helpful context for investors evaluating our business. Reconciliations to the closest GAAP financial measure can be found in the appendix of our presentation.

今天的討論包含前瞻性陳述。由於各種風險和不確定性，包括我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中所述的風險，實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述有顯著差異。今天的演示包括某些非公認會計原則和調整後的財務指標，我們認為這些指標為投資者評估我們的業務提供了有用的背景。您可以在我們簡報的附錄中找到最接近的 GAAP 財務指標的調整表。

Now, I'll turn it over to Shyam.

現在，我將把它交給 Shyam。

Thanks, Tom, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝，湯姆，大家早安。

We are pleased with both our fourth quarter and full year of 2023 results, especially in a year when rising interest rates and macroeconomic uncertainty impacted demand in the housing and building product sector. Our margins remain strong in specialty products, which accounted for about 70% of our net sales for both the quarter and the full year, and we continue to generate solid margins in our structural products business.

我們對 2023 年第四季和全年業績感到滿意，尤其是在利率上升和宏觀經濟不確定性影響了住房和建築產品行業需求的一年。我們的特種產品利潤率依然強勁，占我們本季和全年淨銷售額的 70% 左右，而且我們的結構產品業務持續創造穩健的利潤率。

During the quarter, we also demonstrated our commitment to returning capital to shareholders by repurchasing shares under our new $100 million share repurchase authorization. For the year, we returned $42 million to shareholders, which includes repurchases under our previous $100 million share repurchase authorization.

在本季度，我們也根據新的 1 億美元股票回購授權回購股票，展現了向股東返還資本的承諾。今年，我們向股東返還了 4,200 萬美元，其中包括根據先前 1 億美元的股票回購授權進行的回購。

Before I jump into the 2023 results, I want to share our vision, and that's to become the most technologically advanced two-step distributor of building products in the US in the coming years. This will enable us to become the first option for suppliers to bring their products to market and the first option for home retail stores, one-step distributors, pro dealers, and independent lumber yards to deliver the right products where and when they need them.

在我進入 2023 年業績之前，我想分享我們的願景，那就是在未來幾年成為美國技術最先進的建築產品兩步驟經銷商。這將使我們成為供應商將其產品推向市場的首選，也是家居零售店、一站式分銷商、專業經銷商和獨立木材場的首選，以便在他們需要的時間和地點提供正確的產品。

And in so doing, we'll be able to optimize our brand mix in all markets, reduce our cost to serve, manage our business more cost effectively, reduce the number of touch points to meet our customers and suppliers demands, and to accelerate our ordering times. And that's just to name a few.

透過這樣做，我們將能夠優化我們在所有市場的品牌組合，降低我們的服務成本，更有效地管理我們的業務，減少接觸點的數量以滿足我們的客戶和供應商的需求，並加速我們的訂購時間。這僅舉幾例。

In the meantime, we remain committed to our corporate growth strategy to get us there in 2024 and beyond. First, by focusing on our core business, specialty sales growth in five key categories. Second, by pursuing opportunistic M&A. And third, by developing opportunistic greenfields. All of which will be supported by three strategic enablers, business, operational, and digital excellence.

同時，我們仍然致力於我們的企業成長策略，以便在 2024 年及以後實現這一目標。一是聚焦核心業務，五個重點品類專業銷售成長。其次，實行機會主義併購。第三，透過開發機會主義綠地。所有這些都將得到三個策略推動因素的支持：業務、營運和數位卓越。

As it relates to the first prong, we are allocating a substantial share of time, resources, and capital to growing engineered wood, siding, millwork, industrial and outdoor living products, our five key high margin specialty product categories in the core business. These product categories and the strategic vendor partners we've aligned with enable us to be a necessary extension of our customers' business.

由於涉及第一個方面，我們正在分配大量時間、資源和資本來種植工程木材、壁板、木製品、工業和戶外生活產品，這是我們核心業務中的五個關鍵高利潤特種產品類別。這些產品類別和我們與之結盟的策略供應商合作夥伴使我們能夠成為客戶業務的必要延伸。

There are also two-step distribution-friendly product categories sold at various points of the construction cycle rather than at just the front or back end of a single or multifamily housing project or remodeling job for that matter. They also drive higher net sales and gross profit, which generates sustainable and durable operating cash flow that can be reinvested back into the business and used to fund opportunistic M&A and greenfield projects.

還有兩步驟分配友善的產品類別在施工週期的各個階段出售，而不僅僅是在單戶或多戶住房專案或改造工作的前端或後端。它們還推動了更高的淨銷售額和毛利，從而產生可持續和持久的營運現金流，可以將其再投資回業務並用於為機會性併購和綠地項目提供資金。

Given our scale, geographic reach, selling capabilities and product depth, we are committed to providing our customers with a total two-step distribution-friendly product solution that also includes structural products, which our customers want and that we believe complements our specialty product and value-added services offering.

鑑於我們的規模、地理覆蓋範圍、銷售能力和產品深度，我們致力於為客戶提供一個完整的兩步驟分銷友好型產品解決方案，其中還包括結構產品，這是我們的客戶想要的，並且我們相信這些產品可以補充我們的專業產品和提供加值服務。

From a channel perspective, we see additional opportunity by growing national accounts and multifamily sales while investing in builder pull-through capabilities to drive sales growth with our national account and traditional customer base. I continue to be excited about our strategic enablers, the fuel that supports our organic sales growth strategy: business, operational, and digital excellence. These efforts have continued to support our customer experience, maintain solid margin levels in both specialty and structural products, and provide a flexible cost structure that can fluctuate based on seasonal levels of demand.

從通路角度來看，我們透過增加國民帳戶和多戶型銷售，同時投資於建築商拉動能力，以推動國民帳戶和傳統客戶群的銷售成長，看到了額外的機會。我仍然對我們的策略推動因素感到興奮，這些策略推動因素是支持我們有機銷售成長策略的燃料：業務、營運和數位卓越。這些努力持續支持我們的客戶體驗，維持特種產品和結構產品的穩健利潤水平，並提供可根據季節性需求水準波動的靈活成本結構。

We are also effectively managing our costs, resulting in a solid 2023 adjusted EBITDA margin of nearly 6% despite wage benefits and other inflation on top of challenging market conditions.

我們也有效地管理成本，儘管在充滿挑戰的市場條件下存在工資福利和其他通貨膨脹，但 2023 年調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率仍保持在近 6% 的穩定水平。

Now back to the vision, becoming the most technologically advanced two-step distributor building products in the United States, which I believe will transform BlueLinx and make us the provider of choice for both suppliers and customers. These technology improvements are designed to enable us to rapidly grow our business at scale with both customers and suppliers by providing an exceptional customer experience in a more efficient and effective manner than today.

現在回到願景，成為美國技術最先進的兩步驟分銷商建立產品，我相信這將改變 BlueLinx 並使我們成為供應商和客戶的首選提供者。這些技術改進旨在使我們能夠以比現在更有效率、更有效的方式提供卓越的客戶體驗，從而快速擴大與客戶和供應商的業務規模。

I would like to offer a few more details. Over the past couple of years, we have taken some preliminary and foundational steps designed to improve our data warehouse and analytical capabilities, upgrade some of our back-office tools, expand our EDI capabilities, and enhance our general technology, hardware, and infrastructure.

我想提供更多細節。在過去的幾年裡，我們採取了一些初步和基礎性的措施，旨在提高我們的資料倉儲和分析能力，升級我們的一些後台工具，擴展我們的EDI 能力，並增強我們的通用技術、硬件和基礎設施。

Beginning in 2024, we are embarking on a multiyear digital transformation journey that starts with architecting our data so that it better supports and advances our strategy, enhancing our transportation management capabilities, and launching e-commerce functionality. As a result, we will be optimizing our management of freight costs, shipment routing, truckload build and logistics, which is expected to reduce our cost to serve, implementing more scalable supplier and customer EDI capabilities, enhancing our governance and management of product, customer and supplier master data, and piloting an e-commerce platform.

從 2024 年開始，我們將踏上多年的數位轉型之旅，首先是建立我們的數據，以便更好地支援和推進我們的策略，增強我們的運輸管理能力，並推出電子商務功能。因此，我們將優化貨運成本、運送路線、整車建造和物流的管理，預計這將降低我們的服務成本，實施更具可擴展性的供應商和客戶EDI 功能，加強我們對產品、客戶的治理和管理。和供應商主數據，並試點電子商務平台。

We also believe that these digital improvements will further enhance our existing sales, operational, pricing and procurement excellence initiatives.

我們也相信，這些數位化改善將進一步增強我們現有的銷售、營運、定價和採購卓越計畫。

On our digital transformation journey will result in an initial increase in both OpEx and CapEx, which Andy will expand on in a moment. We believe these investments are critical to reducing our operating costs, realizing our vision, and enabling us to become the provider of choice for both customers and suppliers, thereby allowing us to execute successfully on our long-term profitable sales growth strategy.

在我們的數位轉型之旅中，營運支出和資本支出將首先增加，安迪稍後將對此進行擴展。我們相信這些投資對於降低我們的營運成本、實現我們的願景並使我們成為客戶和供應商的首選供應商至關重要，從而使我們能夠成功執行長期盈利的銷售成長策略。

The second and third prongs of our growth strategy reflect our commitment to opportunistic M&A in greenfields. We are strategically targeting acquisition opportunities that are designed to expand our geographic reach and support our specialty product sales growth strategy. We remain committed to buying only companies at valuations that make sense for us that support our strategy and that are in the best interest of our stockholders, hence the opportunistic and measured nature of our approach.

我們成長策略的第二個和第三個面向反映了我們對綠地機會主義併購的承諾。我們策略性地瞄準收購機會，旨在擴大我們的地理覆蓋範圍並支持我們的特色產品銷售成長策略。我們仍然致力於只購買估值對我們有意義、支持我們的策略並且符合我們股東最佳利益的公司，因此我們的方法具有機會主義和謹慎的性質。

On the greenfield front, we have identified several markets that are potentially great opportunities for new market development.

在綠地方面，我們已經確定了幾個可能為新市場開發帶來巨大機會的市場。

Our financial position remains strong with liquidity of $868 million at the end of the year, including a record $522 million of cash on hand. This strength gives us the flexibility to reinvest in business initiatives that allow us to grow sales, improve productivity, expand our geographic reach, and provide better customer and vendor service, an example of which would be our digital transformation. And of course, having the ability to return capital to shareholders remains very important as demonstrated by our share repurchase program.

我們的財務狀況依然強勁，截至年底流動性為 8.68 億美元，其中手頭現金達到創紀錄的 5.22 億美元。這種優勢使我們能夠靈活地對業務計劃進行再投資，從而使我們能夠增加銷售額、提高生產力、擴大我們的地理覆蓋範圍並提供更好的客戶和供應商服務，其中一個例子就是我們的數位化轉型。當然，正如我們的股票回購計畫所證明的那樣，有能力向股東返還資本仍然非常重要。

Next, I'd like to offer a few highlights from 2023. First, we delivered solid full-year 2023 results, particularly in light of the challenging macro environment. As you know, during the year, higher interest rates and lingering recession risk slowed the rate of housing starts and repair and remodel activity, making the business environment very difficult. However, our teams and supplier partners, combined with the confidence our customers have in BlueLinx, helped us to compete effectively in our markets, resulting in our strong financial performance.

接下來，我想介紹一下 2023 年的一些亮點。首先，我們交付了穩健的 2023 年全年業績，特別是考慮到充滿挑戰的宏觀環境。如您所知，這一年中，較高的利率和揮之不去的經濟衰退風險減緩了房屋開工率以及維修和改造活動的速度，使商業環境變得非常困難。然而，我們的團隊和供應商合作夥伴，加上客戶對 BlueLinx 的信心，幫助我們在市場中有效競爭，從而實現了強勁的財務表現。

Second, our fourth-quarter 2023 results were also solid. As expected, our revenues declined year over year largely given the impact of market price deflation. However, our specialty and structural gross margins came in at 19.4% and 10.6%, respectively, which highlights our team's ability to successfully manage margins despite the macro picture.

其次，我們 2023 年第四季的業績也很穩健。如預期，我們的營收年減主要是由於市場價格通貨緊縮的影響。然而，我們的專業毛利率和結構毛利率分別為 19.4% 和 10.6%，這凸顯了我們的團隊在宏觀情勢下成功管理利潤率的能力。

Third, we continue to focus on expanding our specialty products business, which accounted for approximately 70% of net sales and 80% of gross profit for both the fourth quarter and full year 2023. For example, during the fourth quarter, we announced expanded distribution partnerships with Louisiana-Pacific and Huber Engineered Woods. Both partnerships will broaden the geographic reach of our specialty product offerings, demonstrating our focus on specialty products growth.

第三，我們繼續專注於擴大我們的特色產品業務，該業務約佔2023年第四季和全年淨銷售額的70%和毛利潤的80%。例如，在第四季度，我們宣布擴大與 Louisiana-Pacific 和 Huber Engineered Woods 的分銷合作夥伴關係。這兩種合作關係將擴大我們特色產品產品的地理範圍，並展示我們對特色產品成長的關注。

Fourth, we continue to execute on our disciplined capital allocation strategy, which includes returning capital to shareholders. Overall, we repurchased nearly 6% of our outstanding shares for $42 million in 2023. Last quarter, we announced a new $100 million authorization after the prior $100 million share repurchase authorization was completed. Of the $42 million of share repurchases in 2023, we bought back nearly $9 million worth of shares under the new program in Q4.

第四，我們繼續執行嚴格的資本配置策略，其中包括向股東返還資本。總體而言，我們在 2023 年以 4,200 萬美元回購了近 6% 的已發行股票。上季度，在完成之前的 1 億美元股票回購授權後，我們宣布了新的 1 億美元授權。在 2023 年 4,200 萬美元的股票回購中，我們在第四季度根據新計劃回購了價值近 900 萬美元的股票。

Given our recent strong share price performance, the amount of repurchases in Q4 were admittedly less than originally anticipated. However, we will continue to be opportunistic in the market.

鑑於我們最近強勁的股價表現，第四季的回購數量無疑低於最初的預期。然而，我們將繼續在市場上尋找機會。

Fifth, our financial position continues to be strong as we prudently manage the business. With significant liquidity and very little net leverage, we are well positioned to invest in the business to realize our vision and to execute successfully on our corporate growth strategy, all while providing us with the flexibility to return capital to shareholders.

第五，我們審慎管理業務，財務狀況持續強勁。憑藉大量的流動性和極低的淨槓桿，我們有能力投資業務以實現我們的願景並成功執行我們的企業成長策略，同時為我們提供向股東返還資本的靈活性。

Now for a few more details on our full-year results. We generated 2023 net sales of $3.1 billion and $183 million in adjusted EBITDA for a 5.8% adjusted EBITDA margin. Adjusted net income was $103 million or $11.41 per share. For the year, we delivered solid gross margin performance with specialty products coming in at 19.3% and structural products at 11.2%. Our focus on business and operational excellence led to effective pricing, strong service levels, procurement opportunities, and cost management, contributing to the strong results.

現在就了解有關我們全年業績的更多詳細資訊。2023 年，我們的淨銷售額為 31 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 1.83 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 5.8%。調整後淨利為 1.03 億美元，即每股 11.41 美元。今年，我們實現了穩健的毛利率表現，特種產品為 19.3%，結構性產品為 11.2%。我們對業務和卓越營運的關注帶來了有效的定價、強大的服務水準、採購機會和成本管理，促成了強勁的業績。

In addition, our continued focus on working capital has generated significant improvements in operating cash flow. In 2023, we reduced our inventory by over $140 million with nearly all of the reduction coming from the specialty products category. We also generated free cash flow of $279 million during the year.

此外，我們對營運資本的持續關注使營運現金流顯著改善。2023 年，我們的庫存減少了超過 1.4 億美元，其中幾乎所有減少的庫存都來自特種產品類別。年內我們也產生了 2.79 億美元的自由現金流。

Now turning to our perspective on the broader housing and building products market. While industry sources are suggesting a revised sense of optimism for the overall market, headwinds do remain. Builder sentiment has improved in recent months and the industry saw meaningful improvements in housing starts during November and December.

現在轉向我們對更廣泛的住房和建築產品市場的看法。儘管行業消息人士暗示對整體市場的樂觀情緒有所改變，但阻力仍然存在。近幾個月來，建築商信心有所改善，11 月和 12 月期間，該行業的新屋開工量顯著改善。

In addition, the financial markets are anticipating potential rate cuts in 2024. That said, mortgage rates are now around 7%. And while those are down from the 8% peak last year, they are still elevated. 90% of mortgages are still under 6% and 80% of mortgages are under 5%. Overall, housing affordability remains an issue for many consumers, especially for first-time buyers as prices remain high.

此外，金融市場預計 2024 年可能會降息。也就是說，抵押貸款利率目前約為 7%。儘管這一數字較去年 8% 的峰值有所下降，但仍處於較高水平。 90%的抵押貸款利率仍低於6%，80%的抵押貸款利率低於5%。總體而言，住房負擔能力對於許多消費者來說仍然是一個問題，尤其是對於首次購房者來說，因為價格仍然很高。

Repair and remodel spending continues to be lower than the elevated levels of the past two years and is expected to decline further in 2024 due to low existing home sales that would otherwise drive repair and remodel activity on the way out of the home and on the way into a home. However, home equity levels do remain high, allowing owners to refund repair and remodel projects, albeit smaller ones.

維修和改造支出繼續低於過去兩年的較高水平，由於現有房屋銷售量較低，預計 2024 年將進一步下降，否則將推動房屋出庫和途中的維修和改造活動進入一個家。然而，房屋淨值水平仍然很高，允許業主退還維修和改造項目的費用，儘管是較小的項目。

Through the first seven weeks of Q1 2024, we have maintained solid margins for specialty and structural products, generally in line with Q4 2023. However, daily volumes have been impacted by the extreme weather patterns experienced in January and are down compared to our expectations into what we saw during the recent quarter.

在 2024 年第一季的前七週，我們的特種和結構產品保持了穩固的利潤率，與 2023 年第四季基本一致。然而，每日交易量受到一月份極端天氣模式的影響，與我們對最近一個季度的預期相比有所下降。

In fact, we had nearly half of our locations closed for between one and five days in January due to an unusually cold weather and winter storms. The ramp-up to normal business also took time as the ground needed to find many markets for building activity to commence and sales that flow through our customers and in turn, us. During the most recent three weeks, specialty and structural volumes have improved.

事實上，由於異常寒冷的天氣和冬季風暴，我們近一半的門市在一月份關閉了一到五天。正常業務的恢復也需要時間，因為需要找到許多市場來進行建設活動，並透過我們的客戶和我們進行銷售。最近三週，特種產品和結構性產品的銷售量有所改善。

In addition, it is important to note that industry-driven specialty products price deflation continues to have an impact on both our top line and cost of goods during 2024. Even though margins are stable, gross profit dollars are lower. This adverse impact creates a near-term headwind and we hope to see this improve as the year progresses.

此外，值得注意的是，由產業驅動的特種產品價格通貨緊縮將繼續對 2024 年我們的營收和商品成本產生影響。儘管利潤率穩定，但毛利較低。這種不利影響造成了近期的阻力，我們希望隨著時間的推移，這種情況會有所改善。

Although the near-term outlook remains unpredictable, the industry is improving in many respects and we clearly believe in the long-term prospects of the housing and building products sector, which underlines our strategic and investment focus. The shortage of homes, supportive demographic shifts, aging housing stock, necessary repair and remodel activity, and high levels of home equity should continue to benefit the building products industry and BlueLinx.

儘管近期前景仍然難以預測，但該行業在許多方面正在改善，我們顯然相信住房和建築產品行業的長期前景，這突顯了我們的策略和投資重點。住房短缺、支持性人口結構變化、住房存量老化、必要的維修和改造活動以及高水準的房屋淨值應繼續使建築產品行業和 BlueLinx 受益。

In summary, we delivered solid results for both the fourth quarter and full year 2023 despite the challenging environment for housing and tough year-over-year comps. We're also delivering on our strategic priorities as seen by our specialty product expansion efforts, margin performance driven by our pricing and cost discipline, strong cash generation, and capital allocation initiatives.

總而言之，儘管住房環境充滿挑戰且同比比較困難，但我們在第四季度和 2023 年全年均取得了穩健的業績。我們也實現了我們的策略重點，從我們的專業產品擴張努力、我們的定價和成本紀律驅動的利潤率表現、強勁的現金產生和資本配置計劃來看。

I'd like to end by thanking my fellow BlueLinx associates for their continued perseverance and can-do attitude during last year's difficult housing market and for their selfless dedication to our customers and our suppliers. Our teams are committed to generating more profitable structural and specialty product sales, while producing solid returns on working capital to ensure that we can position ourselves for long-term success in whatever market conditions we face.

最後，我要感謝 BlueLinx 同事們在去年困難的房地產市場中堅持不懈的毅力和進取的態度，以及對我們的客戶和供應商的無私奉獻。我們的團隊致力於產生更有利可圖的結構和特種產品銷售，同時產生穩定的營運資本回報，以確保我們能夠在我們面臨的任何市場條件下取得長期成功。

That grit gives me tremendous confidence in our ability to realize our vision of becoming the most technologically advanced two-step distributor of building products in the US and executing on our three-pronged corporate growth strategy, specialty product sales growth, M&A, and greenfields.

這種勇氣讓我對我們實現願景的能力充滿信心，即成為美國技術最先進的建築產品兩步分銷商，並執行我們的三管齊下的企業成長策略、特種產品銷售成長、併購和綠地開發。

We have the purpose to inspire us, the culture to succeed and the values to guide us, along with the intestinal fortitude to make the investments in technology people, infrastructure, working capital, and equipment to accelerate our prospects, and position us for breakneck growth as our corporate strategy delivers and our digital transformation takes effect each step of the way.

我們有激勵我們的目標，有成功的文化和指導我們的價值觀，還有對技術人員、基礎設施、營運資金和設備進行投資的堅忍不拔的毅力，以加速我們的前景，並使我們實現飛速成長隨著我們的企業策略的實現以及我們的數位轉型的每一步的實施。

Now, I'll turn it over to Andy, who will provide more details on our financial results and our capital structure.

現在，我將把它交給安迪，他將提供有關我們的財務表現和資本結構的更多詳細資訊。

Thanks, Shyam, and good morning, everyone. Let's first go through the consolidated highlights for the quarter. Overall, we delivered solid fourth-quarter results, highlighted by strong margins in both our specialty and structural product categories.

謝謝，夏姆，大家早安。讓我們先回顧一下本季的綜合亮點。整體而言，我們第四季業績強勁，特別是我們的特種產品和結構產品類別的強勁利潤。

Net sales were $713 million, down 16% year over year. Specialty products sales were down 18% from the prior year due to a combination of deflation and lower volumes. Structural product sales were down 12% also due to significant year-over-year declines in wood-based commodity prices and lower volumes.

淨銷售額為 7.13 億美元，年減 16%。由於通貨緊縮和銷售量下降，特種產品銷售額比上年下降 18%。由於木質商品價格較去年同期大幅下降和銷售下降，結構產品銷售額下降了 12%。

Total gross profit was $118 million and gross margin was 16.6%, down 120 basis points from the prior period. SG&A was $85 million, down 8% from the prior year period due to a decrease in variable compensation and delivery expenses. Net loss was $18 million and diluted loss per share was $2.08.

總毛利為1.18億美元，毛利率為16.6%，較上期下降120個基點。由於可變薪酬和交付費用減少，SG&A 為 8,500 萬美元，比去年同期下降 8%。淨虧損為 1,800 萬美元，攤薄後每股虧損為 2.08 美元。

In previous filings, we've mentioned that we plan to terminate a legacy defined benefit pension plan. During December, we transferred all remaining financial responsibility for the plan to a highly rated insurance company under an annuity contract. We incurred a onetime charge of $31.4 million and made a final cash payment of $6.9 million. We are pleased to have this obligation behind us as it was a legacy pension plan, which provided no benefit for most of our active employees and was complex to manage.

在先前的文件中，我們曾提到我們計劃終止遺留的固定福利退休金計劃。12 月期間，我們根據年金合約將該計劃的所有剩餘財務責任轉移給一家評級較高的保險公司。我們產生了 3,140 萬美元的一次性費用，並最終支付了 690 萬美元的現金。我們很高興承擔了這項義務，因為這是一項遺留退休金計劃，它沒有為我們大多數在職員工提供任何福利，而且管理起來很複雜。

Adjusted net income was $26 million and adjusted diluted EPS was $2.94 per share. Tax expense for the fourth quarter was $10.1 million. Due to our net loss in the quarter as a result of our pension settlement, the effective tax rate was not a meaningful calculation. For the first quarter of 2024, we anticipate our tax rate to be in the 24% to 28% range.

調整後淨利為 2,600 萬美元，調整後攤薄每股收益為 2.94 美元。第四季的稅費為 1,010 萬美元。由於我們的退休金結算導致本季出現淨虧損，因此有效稅率的計算沒有意義。2024 年第一季度，我們預計稅率將在 24% 至 28% 範圍內。

Adjusted EBITDA was $36 million or 5.1% of net sales, following our normal seasonal patterns. As a reminder, we tend to have higher adjusted EBITDA margins in the second and third quarters, but relatively lower margins in the first and fourth quarters of the year.

按照我們正常的季節性模式，調整後的 EBITDA 為 3,600 萬美元，佔淨銷售額的 5.1%。提醒一下，我們在第二和第三季的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率往往較高，但在今年第一和第四季的利潤率相對較低。

Turning now to fourth quarter results for specialty products. Net sales were $487 million, down 18% year over year. This decline was largely driven by price deflation across several specialty product categories. Gross profit from specialty products sales was $94 million, down 24% year over year. Specialty gross margin was 19.4%, a strong margin but down 170 basis points from last year.

現在轉向特種產品第四季的業績。淨銷售額為 4.87 億美元，年減 18%。這種下降主要是由幾個特種產品類別的價格通貨緊縮造成的。特色產品銷售毛利潤為9,400萬美元，較去年同期下降24%。特種毛利率為 19.4%，利潤率很高，但比去年下降了 170 個基點。

Through the first seven weeks of 2024, specialty product gross margin was in the range of 18% to 19% with daily sales volumes down 6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 given the impact of the January weather. Over the past 3 weeks, however, specialty volumes were about flat on a year-over-year basis. We are, however, seeing average specialty pricing down about 10% versus this time last year and we expect this to be less of a headwind as we progress throughout the year.

2024 年前七週，由於 1 月份天氣的影響，特色產品毛利率在 18% 至 19% 之間，每日銷量較 2023 年第四季下降 6%。然而，在過去三週內，特種產品銷售量與去年同期基本持平。然而，我們看到平均專業價格比去年同期下降了約 10%，隨著我們全年的進展，我們預計這將不再是一個阻力。

Now moving on to structural products. Net sales were $226 million, down 12% compared to the prior year period. This decrease was primarily due to price deflation within framing lumber, partially offset by slightly higher volumes. Gross profit from structural products was $24 million, a decrease of 10% year over year. And structural gross margin was 10.6%, up 20 basis points from the same period last year.

現在轉向結構產品。淨銷售額為 2.26 億美元，比去年同期下降 12%。這一下降主要是由於框架木材內的價格下降，但部分被銷售略有增加所抵消。結構性產品毛利為2,400萬美元，較去年同期下降10%。結構性毛利率為10.6%，較去年同期上升20個基點。

In the fourth quarter of 2023, average lumber prices were about $383 per 1,000 board feet and panel prices were about $585 per 1,000 square feet, a 15% decrease and 11% increase respectively compared to the averages in the fourth quarter of 2022. Sequentially, comparing the third and fourth quarters of 2023, these prices were down 12% and 8%, respectively.

2023年第四季，木材平均價格約為每1,000板英尺383美元，板材價格約為每1,000平方英尺585美元，與2022年第四季的平均價格相比分別下降15%和11%。與 2023 年第三季和第四季相比，這些價格分別下降了 12% 和 8%。

During the fourth quarter, lumber prices declined early but rebounded in December, while panel prices increased during the quarter and they finished the last week of December at $395 and $599, respectively. These prices have declined further in the first seven weeks of Q1 2024 and are now $387 per 1,000 board feet and $589 per 1,000 square feet, respectively. Our strong structural margin continues to reflect the excellent job our team does to manage commodity cost volatility risk through leveraging consignment and utilizing centralized purchasing and pricing to keep structural inventory levels low.

第四季度，木材價格較早下跌，但在 12 月反彈，而面板價格在本季上漲，12 月最後一周分別達到 395 美元和 599 美元。這些價格在 2024 年第一季的前七週進一步下降，目前分別為每 1,000 板英尺 387 美元和每 1,000 平方英尺 589 美元。我們強勁的結構性利潤率繼續反映出我們的團隊透過利用寄售以及利用集中採購和定價來保持結構性庫存水準較低，在管理商品成本波動風險方面所做的出色工作。

Through the first seven weeks of Q1 2024, structural product gross margin was in the range of 10% to 11%, with daily sales volume down mainly in lumber compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 given the impact of January weather.

截至 2024 年第一季的前七週，結構性產品毛利率在 10% 至 11% 之間，考慮到 1 月天氣的影響，與 2023 年第四季相比，日銷量主要是木材的下降。

Similar to specialty, there has been some improvement in volumes over the past three weeks. For the year, net sales were $3.1 billion, down 30% from 2022. 2023 results had very difficult comparisons when in contrast to the inflationary environment experienced in 2022.

與專業產品類似，過去三週銷售量有所改善。今年淨銷售額為 31 億美元，比 2022 年下降 30%。與 2022 年經歷的通膨環境相比，2023 年的業績很難進行比較。

Specialty and structural product sales were down 24% and 40%, respectively from the prior year due to a combination of deflation and lower volumes. Total gross profit was $527 million and gross margin was 16.8%, down 190 basis points from the prior year period.

由於通貨緊縮和銷售量下降，特種產品和結構產品銷售額分別較上年下降 24% 和 40%。總毛利為 5.27 億美元，毛利率為 16.8%，較上年同期下降 190 個基點。

SG&A was $356 million, down 3% versus the prior year period. For 2024, we expect our SG&A levels to increase slightly as a percentage of sales due to the investments in technology that Shyam mentioned as well as our growth initiatives.

SG&A 為 3.56 億美元，比去年同期下降 3%。到 2024 年，由於 Shyam 提到的技術投資以及我們的成長計劃，我們預計 SG&A 水準佔銷售額的百分比將略有增加。

Net income was $49 million and diluted EPS was $5.39 per share. Adjusted net income was $103 million and adjusted diluted EPS was $11.41 per share. The full year tax rate was 40.7%, once again impacted by the pension plan termination. For full year 2024, we anticipate our tax rate to be in the 24% to 28% range. Adjusted EBITDA was $183 million or 5.8% of net sales.

淨利潤為 4900 萬美元，攤薄後每股收益為 5.39 美元。調整後淨利為 1.03 億美元，調整後稀釋每股收益為 11.41 美元。全年稅率為40.7%，再次受到退休金計畫終止的影響。2024 年全年，我們預計稅率將在 24% 至 28% 範圍內。調整後 EBITDA 為 1.83 億美元，佔淨銷售額的 5.8%。

Looking now at our balance sheet. Our liquidity remains excellent due to the strong execution of our strategic initiatives and effective management of working capital. At the end of the year, cash on hand reached a record level of $522 million, an increase of $52 million from Q3. When considering our cash on hand and undrawn revolver capacity of $346 million, available liquidity was $868 million at the end of the year, also a record.

現在來看看我們的資產負債表。由於我們策略性措施的強有力執行和營運資金的有效管理，我們的流動性保持良好。截至年底，手頭現金達到創紀錄的 5.22 億美元，比第三季增加 5,200 萬美元。考慮到我們的手頭現金和未提取的循環資金容量為 3.46 億美元，年底可用流動資金為 8.68 億美元，同樣創紀錄。

Total debt, including our financing leases was $585 million and net debt was $64 million. Our net leverage is now 0.3 times, and we have no material outstanding debt maturities until 2029. For the terms of our credit agreement, which does not include real property financing leases, our net leverage ratio was a negative 1.0 times.

包括融資租賃在內的總債務為 5.85 億美元，淨債務為 6,400 萬美元。我們的淨槓桿率現在為 0.3 倍，並且在 2029 年之前我們沒有重大未償債務到期。對於我們的信貸協議條款（不含房地產融資租賃），我們的淨槓桿率為負1.0倍。

Our balance sheet is in great shape. And when combined with our solid EBITDA and strong cash generation, we are well positioned to support our strategic initiatives. These include investments in our highest return opportunities such as organic and inorganic growth initiatives and share repurchases.

我們的資產負債表狀況良好。結合我們穩健的 EBITDA 和強勁的現金產生能力，我們完全有能力支持我們的策略舉措。其中包括對我們最高回報機會的投資，例如有機和無機成長計劃以及股票回購。

Now moving on to working capital and free cash flow. During the fourth quarter, we generated operating cash flow of $76 million and free cash flow of $67 million. For the full year 2023, we generated operating cash flow of $306 million and free cash flow of $279 million. Our full year cash generation was supported by earnings and a net benefit from working capital primarily related to the reduction of more than $140 million of inventory from the beginning of 2023.

現在轉向營運資金和自由現金流。第四季度，我們產生了 7,600 萬美元的營運現金流和 6,700 萬美元的自由現金流。2023 年全年，我們的營運現金流為 3.06 億美元，自由現金流為 2.79 億美元。我們全年的現金產生受到收益和營運資本淨收益的支持，這主要與自 2023 年初以來減少超過 1.4 億美元的庫存有關。

Turning now to capital allocation. During the quarter, we spent approximately $9 million in CapEx, primarily to improve our distribution facilities and upgrade our fleet. For the year, CapEx was about $28 million. For 2024, we expect capital investments to increase to around $40 million, focusing on facility improvements, further upgrades to our fleet, and the technology improvements previously discussed.

現在轉向資本配置。本季度，我們花費了約 900 萬美元的資本支出，主要用於改善我們的配送設施和升級我們的機隊。今年的資本支出約為 2800 萬美元。到 2024 年，我們預計資本投資將增加至 4,000 萬美元左右，重點關注設施改進、機隊進一步升級以及先前討論的技術改進。

Our digital transformation will also have at least a $5 million impact on operating expenses in 2024 related to software license implementation as well as increased headcount associated with this initiative.

我們的數位轉型也將對 2024 年與軟體授權實施以及與該計畫相關的員工人數增加相關的營運支出產生至少 500 萬美元的影響。

During the fourth quarter, we purchased approximately $12 million of our company's common stock through open market transactions under our repurchase programs, and we plan to continue to be opportunistic in the market.

第四季度，我們根據回購計劃透過公開市場交易購買了大約 1,200 萬美元的公司普通股，我們計劃繼續在市場上投機。

Our guiding principles for capital allocation remain consistent. We intend to maintain a strong balance sheet, which enables us to invest in our business through economic cycles, pursue a disciplined M&A strategy and geographic expansion, as well as return capital to shareholders. We also plan to maintain a long-term target net leverage of 2 times or less.

我們的資本配置指導原則保持一致。我們打算保持強勁的資產負債表，這使我們能夠在經濟週期中投資我們的業務，追求嚴格的併購策略和地理擴張，以及向股東返還資本。我們也計劃將長期目標淨槓桿率維持在2倍或以下。

Overall, we are pleased with our fourth-quarter and full-year results, highlighted by our strong margins and free cash flows, especially when considering the difficult housing market. Our strong balance sheet positions us well to execute on our strategy and provide returns for our shareholders.

總體而言，我們對第四季度和全年業績感到滿意，尤其是在考慮到困難的房地產市場時，我們強勁的利潤率和自由現金流凸顯了這一點。我們強大的資產負債表使我們能夠很好地執行我們的策略並為股東提供回報。

Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

接線員，我們現在準備好回答問題。

(Operator Instructions) Greg Palm, Craig Hallum Capital Group.

（操作員說明）Greg Palm，Craig Hallum Capital Group。

Morning, everybody. I wanted to maybe start with a little bit more color on kind of price volume. I'm not sure you gave a lot of sort of metrics and I was wondering if you can maybe quantify what the price headwind specifically was for full year '23. And I think it's still persisting in terms of that headwind in Q1. Is there a point at a time this year where you feel like that sort of normalizes or is it still sort of hard to know at this point?

大家早安。我想也許從價格量的種類上多一點色彩開始。我不確定您是否提供了很多指標，我想知道您是否可以量化 23 年全年的價格逆風具體是什麼。我認為第一季的逆風仍然持續存在。今年的某個時候，你是否覺得這種情況已經正常化了，或者現在仍然很難知道？

Hey, Greg. It's Andy. I'll take the first stab at that. When we look at the pricing headwinds typically in specialty, I'd say it was in the -- for the year, it was in the order of magnitude of the mid-teens. It's higher in Q2, Q3 and then I'd say as high -- maybe a little bit higher than 10%, 12%, maybe in Q4.

嘿，格雷格。是安迪。我將首先嘗試這一點。當我們看到專業領域通常的定價逆風時，我想說，今年的價格逆風是在十幾歲左右的數量級。第二季、第三季更高，然後我想說同樣高——可能比 10%、12% 高一點，也許在第四季。

What we see in Q1 is that it's getting -- it's improving a little bit. And as I mentioned in my comments for the specialty pricing, in particular, it was about -- we're seeing about 10%, still decrease. As we move throughout the year, we would expect that to improve. And so we're not going to give exact guidance in terms of what the exact cadence is we go from Q1 to the end of the year. But by the end of the year, we think we should be lapping a lot of the specialty pricing.

我們在第一季看到的是，它正在改善。正如我在對專業定價的評論中提到的，特別是，我們看到大約 10%，仍然在下降。隨著我們全年的發展，我們預計情況會有所改善。因此，我們不會就從第一季到年底的確切節奏給出確切的指導。但到今年年底，我們認為我們應該對專業定價進行大量調整。

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. And if I could shift gears a little bit and talk about this digital initiative and some of the investments behind that. Is the point of it or the hope that it improves internal operations, efficiencies, is there any way that you think that this maybe helps out the end customer as well and enables you to sort of maybe gain share?

知道了。好的。這很有幫助。如果我能稍微改變話題，談談這個數位計畫及其背後的一些投資。這樣做的目的是為了改善內部營運、提高效率嗎？您認為這可能對最終客戶也有幫助，並使您能夠獲得份額嗎？

And then specifically on the investments, I think you said $5 million increase but you also talked about an SG&A increase as well. And I was curious if you were referring on a year-over-year basis or based on the levels that you saw specifically in Q4?

然後，特別是在投資方面，我認為您提到了 500 萬美元的增加，但您也談到了 SG&A 的增加。我很好奇您是指同比還是基於您在第四季度具體看到的水平？

Hey, Greg. Great to hear from you. Let me take the first part of that question, and I'll turn it over to Andy to dive into the SG&A aspect.

嘿，格雷格。很高興聽到你的消息。讓我回答這個問題的第一部分，我將把它交給 Andy，讓他深入探討 SG&A 方面。

So first of all, the answer to your question is, yes, in the context of both reducing our operating costs while also improving the customer experience. Ultimately, the primary goal is to provide the most -- provide the best customer and supplier experience in the two-step distribution space for building products.

首先，你的問題的答案是肯定的，既要降低我們的營運成本，又要改善客戶體驗。最終，主要目標是在建構產品的兩步驟分銷空間中提供最佳的客戶和供應商體驗。

And the first phase of this, which we're embarking on in 2024, includes transportation, which will absolutely reduce our logistics costs as it relates to delivering to the end -- to the customer where and when they need the product. So it could be to the actual lumber yard, home center, or it could actually be a multifamily or job site delivery. But in any event, which we do today, but in a more efficient and cost-effective manner.

我們將於 2024 年開始的第一階段包括運輸，這絕對會降低我們的物流成本，因為它涉及最終交付——在客戶需要產品的時間和地點交付給他們。因此，它可能是實際的木材場、家庭中心，也可能實際上是多戶家庭或工作現場的交付。但無論如何，我們今天正在這樣做，但以更有效率、更具成本效益的方式進行。

And secondly, we're moving forward on the customer -- the direct customer enhancement piece as well with the e-commerce platform. Our plan is to start a dedicated launch in the coming months with a pilot program with a few customers and a few branches. And once we've built that out and feel good about it, the idea would be to scale it across the entire enterprise.

其次，我們正在客戶方面取得進展——直接客戶增強部分以及電子商務平台。我們的計劃是在未來幾個月內啟動專門的啟動項目，並與一些客戶和一些分支機構進行試點計劃。一旦我們建立了它並且感覺良好，我們的想法就是將其擴展到整個企業。

And as I said earlier, reduce the number of touch points between our customer and us, give them better visibility ultimately into inventory, have the ability to order for multiple locations from multiple branches and so on and so forth. So ultimately, the idea is to provide an outstanding or exceptional customer experience.

正如我之前所說，減少客戶和我們之間的接觸點數量，讓他們最終更好地了解庫存，能夠從多個分支機構的多個地點訂購等等。因此，最終的想法是提供出色或卓越的客戶體驗。

This is Andy. As it relates to SG&A, let me give you some color on that. So as we've thought about Q4, Q4 did have some onetime benefits in terms of actual true ups related to like workers comp. We had some true ups related to our healthcare burden rate.

這是安迪。由於它與 SG&A 相關，讓我給您一些解釋。因此，正如我們對第四季度的考慮，第四季度確實在與類似工人薪酬相關的實際真實增長方面確實有一些一次性的好處。我們有一些與我們的醫療負擔率相關的真實情況。

And so when I think about the SG&A run rate, it's more in line with what we saw in Q1 through Q3. But in addition to that, we will have about this $5 million in OpEx that I mentioned in my comments related to the technology investments.

因此，當我考慮 SG&A 運行率時，它更符合我們在第一季到第三季看到的情況。但除此之外，我們還將獲得約 500 萬美元的營運支出，正如我在與科技投資相關的評論中所提到的。

That being said, we are always very focused on SG&A and to the degree that we see the market deteriorate, we will act on the SG&A leverage. But as we think about the plan that we have for this year, I think those are the right assumptions in terms of -- for 2024 in terms of taking the Q1 through Q3 sort of run rate and then adding in the technology investments.

話雖如此，我們始終非常關注 SG&A ，根據我們看到市場惡化的程度，我們將根據 SG&A 槓桿採取行動。但當我們思考今年的計畫時，我認為對於 2024 年，從第一季到第三季的運行率，然後增加技術投資，這些都是正確的假設。

Jeffrey Stevenson, Loop Capital.

傑弗裡·史蒂文森，Loop Capital。

Hey. Thanks for taking my questions and congrats on a nice quarter. So I wanted to ask about daily sales volumes being down 10% over the first seven weeks of the year due to the adverse weather in January. How large of a first quarter sales concentration as March from a historical perspective? And do you believe you can make up for the slow start of the year if weather cooperates here over the coming months or so?

嘿。感謝您回答我的問題，並祝賀您度過了一個愉快的季度。所以我想問一下，由於 1 月的惡劣天氣，今年前 7 週的日銷量下降了 10%。從歷史角度來看，第一季的銷售集中度與3月相比有多大？您是否相信，如果未來幾個月左右天氣狀況良好，您可以彌補今年開局緩慢的情況嗎？

Thanks, Jeff. Great to hear from you. So look, as the quarter progresses and we've seen it over the last few weeks that there is improvement that's flowing through the P&L. As we move into March and the season, we expect the seasonality -- the positive seasonality aspects to kick in and provide us with opportunities to improve on the challenging headwinds we faced in January. I can't give you specifics, obviously, from a number standpoint. But the trend has started and we expect things to continue to normalize as we head into the season.

謝謝，傑夫。很高興聽到你的消息。因此，隨著本季的進展，我們在過去幾週看到損益表有所改善。當我們進入三月和季節時，我們預計季節性——積極的季節性因素將會出現，並為我們提供機會來改善我們在一月份面臨的挑戰性逆風。顯然，從數字的角度來看，我無法向您提供具體細節。但這種趨勢已經開始，我們預期隨著季節的到來，情況將繼續正常化。

Yeah, maybe just a little additional color. What I would say is it will be difficult for us to make up some of that volume that was just due to the weather in January. As we mentioned that there was an improvement in structural still down a little bit year over year. The specialty, though, is in the last three weeks that has been, I'd say, more in line with the previous year. So I think difficult to make up and then structural still has a little bit to go in terms of making up some of that volume.

是的，也許只是一點額外的顏色。我想說的是，我們很難彌補一月份天氣造成的部分銷售量。正如我們所提到的，結構性改善仍比去年同期略有下降。不過，我想說的是，過去三週的特殊性與前一年更加一致。所以我認為很難彌補，然後在彌補部分體積方面，結構性仍然有一些工作要做。

Got it. That makes sense. And just wondered if you could talk more about R&R demand trends right now and what you've been hearing from your suppliers and channel partners? Because large ticket R&R has been challenged due to the high cost of credit and lack of housing turnover. And I wonder if you're hearing any positive signs of potential inflection in demand as we move into 2024 here.

知道了。這就說得通了。只是想知道您是否可以更多地談談目前的 R&R 需求趨勢以及您從供應商和通路合作夥伴那裡聽到的情況？由於信貸成本高和住房週轉率低，大額住宿和住宿受到了挑戰。我想知道，隨著我們進入 2024 年，您是否聽到了需求潛在變化的任何積極跡象。

No. I would say that what we're hearing directly from our customers and our suppliers for that matter is consistent with what we're all hearing publicly on the R&R front.

不。我想說的是，我們直接從客戶和供應商那裡聽到的消息與我們在 R&R 方面公開聽到的消息是一致的。

Yes. I think if you look at just sort of consensus numbers in terms of R&R, it's generally going to be down mid-single digits when you sort of look at LIRA, et cetera. So I think that's the general theme right now. Hopefully, things improve as we go move throughout the year, but that's the general view right now.

是的。我認為，如果你只看 R&R 方面的共識數字，那麼當你看 LIRA 等時，它通常會下降到個位數左右。所以我認為這是現在的總主題。希望隨著我們全年的發展，情況會有所改善，但這是目前的普遍看法。

Okay, got it. And one last one. You've had several partnership expansion announcements with leading suppliers in the last several months. And Shyam, I just wondered if we could discuss the opportunity for additional supplier partnership expansion over the mid-term and its potential impact on organic growth moving forward.

好，知道了。還有最後一張。在過去的幾個月裡，您與領先的供應商多次宣布擴大合作夥伴關係。Shyam，我只是想知道我們是否可以討論中期擴大供應商合作夥伴關係的機會及其對未來有機成長的潛在影響。

Sure. Yes. So basically, we've got a great group of strategic suppliers we're working with to expand our geographic reach, a number of conversations that yet have to be made public, where we're looking to expand their product offerings in new markets. Some of which would be opportunities for them where they're not otherwise located or alternatively result in the displacement of someone else who might already be there, hence, why I can't get into too much detail.

當然。是的。所以基本上，我們有一群很棒的策略供應商正在與我們合作，以擴大我們的地理覆蓋範圍，還有一些尚未公開的對話，我們希望在新市場上擴大他們的產品供應。其中一些對他們來說是機會，因為他們不在其他地方，或者導致其他可能已經在那裡的人流離失所，因此，為什麼我不能透露太多細節。

But the fact is I feel like we've got really, really good partnerships that are collaborative with our key suppliers that are allowing us to expand our geographic reach with them, which, again, gives us the ability to provide a scalable solution for all of our customers, including the national accounts that are located in multiple regions, whether they be the one-step distributors or the home centers.

但事實是，我覺得我們與我們的主要供應商建立了非常非常好的合作夥伴關係，這使我們能夠擴大與他們的地理覆蓋範圍，這再次使我們有能力為所有人提供可擴展的解決方案我們的客戶，包括分佈在多個地區的全國客戶，無論他們是一站式經銷商還是家居中心。

Reuben Garner, The Benchmark Company.

魯本·加納，基準公司。

Good morning, everybody. I know you guys have a little bit more exposure to the smaller builders. I was curious what you're hearing in recent weeks with a little bit of the rate repeat that we've gotten? What their outlook might be for this year versus maybe what we're hearing from the bigger builders this kind of earnings season?

大家早安。我知道你們對小型建築商有更多的接觸。我很好奇你最近幾週聽到了什麼，我們得到了一些重複率？他們今年的前景如何，與我們在這個財報季從大型建築商那裡聽到的情況相比？

Yes. I would say that their views are generally consistent with what we're hearing in the marketplace. I mean builder sentiment did tick up, then again, the weather hit really dramatically and fiercely in January, which caused housing starts to be a lot lower than expected. So it's a little hit or miss.

是的。我想說，他們的觀點總體上與我們在市場上聽到的一致。我的意思是，建築商的情緒確實有所上升，但一月份的天氣確實非常嚴重，導致新屋開工率大大低於預期。所以這有點碰運氣。

I think, quite frankly, we'll get a much better read next week when we're at the International Builder Show, where we'll actually have an opportunity to truly see how people are feeling post inclement weather in January.

坦白說，我認為，下週我們在國際建築商展上會得到更好的了解，在那裡我們實際上將有機會真正了解人們在一月份惡劣天氣後的感受。

But generally speaking, everyone, the smaller regional builders who are building more custom homes where folks may not be as rate sensitive, feel good, not as good as they have in the past. But at the same time, their sentiment is very much tempered in the near-term. But it is consistently viewed across the board, no matter who we talk to, that the second half will be better.

但一般來說，每個人，即正在建造更多定制住宅的小型區域建築商，人們可能對價格不那麼敏感，都感覺良好，而不是像過去那樣好。但同時，他們的情緒在短期內受到很大影響。但無論我們與誰交談，大家一致認為下半年會更好。

Okay. And then a clarification on the specialty pricing pressure that you're seeing. Is the vast majority or all of that in sort of the engineered wood products piece of it? Or are you seeing pricing pressure in some of the other products like diving, decking anywhere else did you participate?

好的。然後澄清您所看到的專業定價壓力。其中絕大多數或全部都是工程木製品的一部分嗎？或者您看到其他一些產品（如潛水、甲板）在您參與的其他產品中面臨定價壓力？

Sure. Yeah. Great question. I would say when we think with the specialty pricing deflation, it's really in -- predominantly in EWP and millwork, but we are seeing some pressure in industrial siding and outdoor materials as well. But predominantly, it's EWP and millwork.

當然。是的。很好的問題。我想說，當我們考慮專業價格通貨緊縮時，它確實主要在 EWP 和木製品領域，但我們也看到工業壁板和戶外材料面臨一些壓力。但主要是 EWP 和木製品。

Okay. And then last one for me. The technology or digital transformation effort, how will you guys sort of track success here? And longer term, I know you mentioned a reference has been $5 million investment now. Over the coming few years, what is that number look like? And what kind of return metrics are you using to kind of gauge the benefits of the program?

好的。然後是我的最後一張。科技或數位轉型工作，你們將如何追蹤這裡的成功？從長遠來看，我知道您提到現在的參考投資是 500 萬美元。未來幾年，這個數字會是什麼樣子？您使用什麼樣的回報指標來衡量該計劃的好處？

Yeah. So with respect to the logistics rated -- logistics-oriented improvements such as, for example, the TMS-related work we're doing now. It's very straightforward in terms of getting better pricing on our freight, making sure that we're able to identify those opportunities where you have route optimization as well. And so there are very specific metrics we have that will allow us to generate the savings over the next few years and reduce our cost to serve. So that's pretty straightforward.

是的。因此，就物流評級而言，以物流為導向的改進，例如我們現在正在做的與 TMS 相關的工作。就獲得更好的貨運定價而言，這非常簡單，確保我們能夠識別您也進行路線優化的機會。因此，我們有非常具體的指標，可以讓我們在未來幾年內節省成本並降低服務成本。這非常簡單。

As it relates to e-commerce, obviously, that will be measured in the context of how much incremental volume we can pick up and greater share of wallet that we can grab from any given customer by making it easier to do business with us as opposed to anyone else.

顯然，由於它與電子商務相關，這將根據我們可以增加多少增量以及我們可以通過使與我們做生意更容易而從任何特定客戶那裡獲得更大的錢包份額來衡量。給其他任何人。

Ultimately, the idea is to get to the point where the value is all about the customer experience. And so the customer experience is top notch, then it makes it a lot easier for folks to do business with us and ultimately run more transactional volume through us. And that is the goal. And so we will have a number of measures around TLE growth, margin enhancement, mix shift, and that's how we'll track it over time.

最終，我們的想法是讓價值完全取決於客戶體驗。因此，客戶體驗是一流的，這使得人們更容易與我們開展業務，並最終透過我們實現更多的交易量。這就是目標。因此，我們將圍繞 TLE 成長、利潤率提高、組合轉變採取一系列措施，這就是我們隨著時間的推移追蹤它的方式。

And then Reuben, just one point of clarification. When we talk about the technology investments at least for '24, there's $5 million in OpEx and then at least $5 million in CapEx. So the spend will be a little bit more than $10 million. And as we think about what the benefits related to the TMS or the transportation management system, we expect that to have a really strong IRR that would start to pay off, I would say, in the beginning of the '25 timeframe -- '25, '26.

然後魯本，只需澄清一點。當我們談論至少 24 年的技術投資時，營運支出有 500 萬美元，資本支出至少有 500 萬美元。因此，支出將略高於 1000 萬美元。當我們思考與 TMS 或運輸管理系統相關的好處時，我們預計會有一個真正強大的 IRR，我想說，在 25 年時間框架開始時 - 25 ，'26。

Great. That's very helpful. One quick clarification. Any of your business transacted via e-commerce today? And are there targets on where that could be over a certain period of time?

偉大的。這非常有幫助。快速澄清一下。您今天有透過電子商務進行的業務嗎？是否有關於在一段時間內可能實現的目標？

No. We're not doing any e-commerce today. Everything is done. It's done via directly with our sales teams.

不。我們今天不做任何電子商務。一切都完成了。這是直接透過我們的銷售團隊完成的。

Kurt Yinger, D.A. Davidson.

庫爾特·英格，D.A.戴維森。

Great, thanks and good morning, everyone. Just wanted to follow up on the last e-commerce question, is that primarily kind of business to business, dealers, home center customers that you would envision ordering through that or is there actually a direct-to-consumer angle within that?

太好了，謝謝大家，早安。只是想跟進最後一個電子商務問題，您希望透過這種方式訂購的主要是企業對企業、經銷商、家居中心客戶，還是實際上有直接面向消費者的角度？

Yeah. And by the way, just in response to the last question that Jeff asked, let me give a point of clarification. We actually do via the e-commerce platforms of our home centers or national accounts through their special order and other programs, there are orders done on their end that get processed through their portals, that get fulfilled by us. So there is some iteration of e-commerce that we participate in.

是的。順便說一句，在回答傑夫提出的最後一個問題時，讓我澄清一點。我們實際上是透過我們的家庭中心或國民帳戶的電子商務平台透過他們的特殊訂單和其他程序來完成的，他們的訂單是透過他們的入口網站處理的，由我們履行。所以我們參與了一些電子商務的迭代。

But as it relates to BlueLinx itself, this would be our foray into developing e-commerce platform for any customer to order through us. So in that context, the idea would be, it's business to business. We haven't thought about -- I mean, in our current plans, there aren't any plans for an end user to be able to order through us.

但由於它與 BlueLinx 本身相關，這將是我們開發電子商務平台的嘗試，讓任何客戶都可以透過我們訂購。因此，在這種情況下，我們的想法是，這是企業對企業的。我們沒有考慮過——我的意思是，在我們目前的計劃中，沒有任何計劃讓最終用戶能夠透過我們訂購。

And to the extent that does become part of the solution, those orders would still flow through our primary customers because we don't -- I mean, we care about our primary business customers. So to the extent, one of their customers has an opportunity to order it would be for the benefit of our primary customer.

在某種程度上，這確實成為解決方案的一部分，這些訂單仍然會流經我們的主要客戶，因為我們不關心我們的主要業務客戶。因此，在某種程度上，他們的客戶之一有機會訂購它，這將是為了我們的主要客戶的利益。

But right now, the e-commerce pilot we're exploring would be for our customers to order very efficiently through the platform and then the order gets fulfilled by the branch in that market.

但目前，我們正在探索的電子商務試點是讓我們的客戶透過該平台非常有效率地訂購，然後由該市場的分支機構履行訂單。

Right. Okay. That makes a lot of sense. Now I continue with your customers. And then you talked more about greenfields than we've heard in the past. And I guess I'm curious, what do you think are the most important factors to get right in assessing a greenfield location for that to be successful? And how should we think about, I guess, at least in 2024, the appetite to break ground on some of these facilities or maybe purchase the sites to kind of ramp that up?

正確的。好的。這很有意義。現在我繼續與您的客戶交談。然後你談到的綠地比我們過去聽到的還要多。我想我很好奇，您認為正確評估綠地位置以取得成功的最重要因素是什麼？我想，至少在 2024 年，我們應該如何考慮破土動工這些設施或購買這些設施以提高設施建設的意願？

Yeah. So the appetite is there. It's an important part of our strategy. That said, we're going to be very thoughtful and measured in our approach to make sure we're doing it the right way in the right market. As we think about the markets, there's a lot of gray space for us out West, right? So if you look at west of Denver, whether it's the southwest, the west, there are a number of MSAs that we don't have a presence in.

是的。所以胃口就在那裡。這是我們策略的重要組成部分。也就是說，我們將在我們的方法上進行非常深思熟慮和衡量，以確保我們在正確的市場上以正確的方式做事。當我們思考市場時，西方有很多灰色空間，對嗎？因此，如果你看看丹佛西部，無論是西南部還是西部，都有許多我們沒有業務的MSA。

That said, we do service all 50 states either through long drives from certain facilities where the sale makes sense or alternatively through direct sales or reloads. So we do service all 50 states, but there are obviously more cost effective and efficient ways to do that in some of these MSAs.

也就是說，我們為所有 50 個州提供服務，要么通過從某些有意義的銷售設施出發的長途駕駛，要么通過直接銷售或重新加載。因此，我們確實為所有 50 個州提供服務，但在其中一些 MSA 中顯然有更具成本效益和效率的方法來做到這一點。

And as we think about the opportunity and why we might greenfield in one location over another, you just -- we're very focused on housing starts, single-family housing starts as well as what the repair and remodel activity looks like. And then we take a look at whether or not the market is two-step distribution friendly and in particular with respect to the products we carry. And then we make decisions based on that opportunity.

當我們思考這個機會以及為什麼我們可能會在一個地方而不是另一個地方進行綠地開發時，我們非常關注新屋開工、單戶住宅開工以及維修和改造活動的情況。然後我們看看市場是否適合兩步驟分銷，特別是對於我們所銷售的產品。然後我們根據這個機會做出決定。

And then at the same time, we have a very strong set of private label products, both EWP and millwork, for example, as well as which are complemented by an incredibly strong structural products business. So between the two, we feel like we have the ability to ramp up a greenfield probably more so than others maybe. And at the same time, again, just being very thoughtful about where we start and how we progress over time.

同時，我們擁有一套非常強大的自有品牌產品，例如 EWP 和木製品，並輔以極其強大的結構產品業務。因此，在兩者之間，我們覺得我們有能力比其他人更有能力擴大綠地。同時，再次認真思考我們從哪裡開始以及隨著時間的推移我們如何取得進展。

And is that a situation where I guess, when you go to a new geography, even if you're servicing it maybe from a further location already, where you would need to displace a competitor with an existing vendor for the most part? Or given that you're already servicing it, is there not a whole lot of discussion that's required with your vendor partners in evaluating that type of expansion?

我猜想，當您去到一個新的地理位置時，即使您可能已經從更遠的位置為其提供服務，您是否需要在很大程度上用現有供應商取代競爭對手？或者考慮到您已經在為其提供服務，在評估此類擴展時是否不需要與您的供應商合作夥伴進行大量討論？

No, there would absolutely be a discussion because the way that it typically works, our vendor partner relationships are tied to specific markets. And so most -- the markets we're looking at, if they're going to be two-step distribution friendly and have strong housing starts, for instance, then most likely, in fact, in every market, there will be competitors there.

不，絕對會進行討論，因為按照通常的運作方式，我們的供應商合作夥伴關係與特定市場相關。因此，我們正在關注的大多數市場，例如，如果它們將進行兩步驟分配並擁有強勁的住房開工，那麼事實上，在每個市場中，很可能都會有競爭對手。

The good thing is, unlike others, we actually have our own private label brands and a strong structural business that we can start with. And then with our existing suppliers have very strong partnerships, where we believe they would be supportive, if not out of the gate than over time.

好處是，與其他公司不同，我們實際上擁有自己的自有品牌和強大的結構性業務，我們可以以此為起點。然後我們與現有的供應商建立了非常牢固的合作夥伴關係，我們相信他們會提供支持，即使不是一開始，也隨著時間的推移。

I've actually already had a few conversations with a couple who said they would be very excited about supporting greenfield opportunities. So as the opportunities further ripen, those conversations will become more serious. But even if they take time, I'm very excited about the fact that we can start those projects with our private label brands as well as our structural business.

事實上，我已經與一對夫婦進行了幾次交談，他們表示他們對支持綠地機會感到非常興奮。因此，隨著機會進一步成熟，這些對話將變得更加嚴肅。但即使它們需要時間，我也對我們可以利用我們的自有品牌以及我們的結構業務啟動這些項目感到非常興奮。

Got it. Okay. That's good to hear. And then lastly, I mean M&A is also an important part of the strategy. Can you just talk a little bit about what you're seeing from a valuation perspective and how that stacks up against your appetite to perhaps be more aggressive buying back your stock at these levels? Yeah, I'll leave it there.

知道了。好的。聽起來還不錯。最後，我的意思是併購也是該策略的重要組成部分。您能否從估值角度談談您所看到的情況，以及這與您在這些水平上更積極地回購股票的胃口有何抵觸？是的，我會把它留在那裡。

Sure. So let me take the M&A part, and then I'll let Andy comment on the capital allocation. But as it relates to capital allocation at a high level, we clearly take it seriously and are disciplined in our approach with returning capital to shareholders being one of the core elements of that strategy.

當然。那麼讓我來談談併購部分，然後我會讓安迪評論一下資本配置。但由於它涉及高層次的資本配置，我們顯然會認真對待它，並嚴格遵守我們的方法，將資本返還給股東是該策略的核心要素之一。

As it relates to M&A, we still believe the outlook is good, which is why it's part of our growth strategy and it's in a very efficient way of developing new markets. That said, we are pursuing a roll-up strategy that rinse repeat given the dynamics of the two-step distribution space. So our M&A March has historically been slow and will continue to be slow and steady and disciplined on the types of businesses we're targeting and ultimately acquiring and keeping an eye on the specialty product mix and geography as two of the primary drivers.

就併購而言，我們仍然相信前景良好，這就是為什麼它是我們成長策略的一部分，並且是開發新市場的非常有效的方式。也就是說，我們正在追求一種匯總策略，考慮到兩步驟分配空間的動態，沖洗重複。因此，我們的併購過程歷來緩慢，並將繼續緩慢、穩定，並嚴格遵守我們目標和最終收購的業務類型，並密切關注專業產品組合和地理位置作為兩個主要驅動力。

Now with the 2023 numbers in, as you might expect, the bid-ask spreads are continuing to compress. So from a valuation standpoint, the multiple should be based on 2023 EBITDA which will I think bring a sense of conformity logic and rationale back to valuations.

現在，正如您所預料的那樣，隨著 2023 年的數據公佈，買賣價差將繼續縮小。因此，從估值的角度來看，倍數應該是基於 2023 年 EBITDA，我認為這會為估值帶來一致性邏輯和基本原理的感覺。

So again, it remains an important part of our strategy. We're starting to see opportunities be more realistic over time without -- again, without compromising our desire to be opportunistic and buy companies at a level that makes sense for our business.

因此，它仍然是我們策略的重要組成部分。隨著時間的推移，我們開始看到機會變得更加現實，而不會影響我們投機取巧並以對我們的業務有意義的水平收購公司的願望。

And then, Kurt, as it relates to share repurchase. I don't think it's an either-or situation. I think, given where the balance sheet is, I think we have the opportunity to do both. We said that we'd be opportunistic on the new current plan that was the new $100 million plan -- or the additional $100 million that we did in Q4. In total, we did about a little more than $12 million in total share repurchases in the fourth quarter, we have $91 million left on the current authorization and we're going to be opportunistic. But I don't think it's an either-or in terms of share repurchase or M&A.

然後，庫爾特，這與股票回購有關。我不認為這是一個非此即彼的情況。我認為，考慮到資產負債表的狀況，我認為我們有機會同時做到這兩點。我們說過，我們會對目前的新計劃（即新的 1 億美元計劃）或我們在第四季度追加的 1 億美元計劃持機會主義態度。總的來說，我們第四季的股票回購總額略高於 1,200 萬美元，目前授權還剩 9,100 萬美元，我們將抓住機會。但我認為，就股票回購或併購而言，這不是一個非此即彼的問題。

With that, I'll hand the call back to Tom Morabito for any closing remarks.

至此，我會將電話轉回湯姆‧莫拉比托 (Tom Morabito)，讓其結束語。

Thanks, Regina. Thank you again for joining us today, and we look forward to speaking with you in May as we share our first-quarter 2024 results.

謝謝，雷吉娜。再次感謝您今天加入我們，我們期待在 5 月與您交談，分享我們的 2024 年第一季業績。

And that concludes our call for today. Thank you all for joining and you may now disconnect.

我們今天的呼籲到此結束。感謝大家的加入，現在可以斷開連線了。