Camtek Ltd (CAMT) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to Camtek's Third Quarter 2022 Results Conference Call. All participants are at present in listen-only mode. Following management's formal presentation, instructions will be given for the question-and-answer session. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. You should have all received by now the company's press release. If you have not received it, please contact Camtek's Investor Relations team at EK Global Investor Relations at 1212378-8040 or view it in the news section of the company's website at www.camtek.com.

女士們，先生們，謝謝你們的支持。歡迎來到 Camtek 2022 年第三季度業績電話會議。所有參與者目前都處於只聽模式。在管理層正式介紹之後，將對問答環節進行說明。提醒一下，這次會議正在錄製中。你們現在應該都收到了公司的新聞稿。如果您還沒有收到，請致電 1212378-8040 聯繫 EK Global Investor Relations 的 Camtek 投資者關係團隊，或在公司網站 www.camtek.com 的新聞部分查看。

I would now like to hand over the call to Mr. Ehud Helft of EK Global Investor Relations. Mr. Half, would you like to begin, please?

我現在想將電話轉交給 EK 全球投資者關係部的 Ehud Helft 先生。一半先生，你要開始嗎？

Thank you, operator. I would like to welcome all of you to Camtek's Third Quarter 2020 Results Conference Call. Let me remind you that everyone that this conference call is being recorded, and the recording will be available on company’s website within the (inaudible) of the call.

謝謝你，運營商。歡迎大家參加 Camtek 2020 年第三季度業績電話會議。讓我提醒大家，這個電話會議正在錄音中，錄音將在電話會議（聽不清）內在公司網站上提供。

With me, today on the call, we have Mr. Rafi Amit, the Camtek's CEO; Mr. Moshe Eisenberg ,Camtek's CFO; and Mr. Ramy Langer, Camtek's COO. Rafi will open by deriving and overview of Camtek results and discuss recent market trends. Moshe, will then summarize the financial results of the quarter. For that, Rafi, Moshe and Ramy will be available to take your questions.

今天和我一起參加電話會議的有 Camtek 的首席執行官 Rafi Amit 先生； Camtek首席財務官Moshe Eisenberg先生；和 Camtek 的首席運營官 Ramy Langer 先生。 Rafi 將通過推導和概述 Camtek 結果開場，並討論最近的市場趨勢。 Moshe，然後將總結本季度的財務結果。為此，Rafi、Moshe 和 Ramy 將可以回答您的問題。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that certain information provided on this call are internal company estimates, unless otherwise specified. This call may also contain forward-looking statements, and I will refer you to our safe harbor statement that you can read in our press release.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒大家，除非另有說明，否則本次電話會議提供的某些信息是公司內部估計。此電話會議還可能包含前瞻性陳述，我將向您推薦我們的安全港聲明，您可以在我們的新聞稿中閱讀該聲明。

Furthermore, during this call, certain Non-GAAP financial measures will be discussed. These are used by management to make strategic decisions, focus future results and the value of the company's current performance. We believe that the presentation of non-GAAP financial measures is (inaudible) investor understanding and assessment of the company's ongoing cooperation and prospect for the future. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP financial measures is included in today's earnings release.

此外，在本次電話會議期間，還將討論某些非 GAAP 財務措施。管理層使用這些來製定戰略決策、關注未來結果和公司當前績效的價值。我們認為，非 GAAP 財務措施的介紹是（聽不清）投資者對公司正在進行的合作和未來前景的理解和評估。非 GAAP 與 GAAP 財務指標的對賬包含在今天的收益發布中。

And now I would like to hand over the call to Rafi Amit, Camtek's CEO. Rafi, go ahead, please.

現在我想把電話轉給 Camtek 的首席執行官 Rafi Amit。拉菲，請繼續。

Thanks, Ehud. Good morning or good afternoon, everyone. Camtek ended another quarter of continued revenue growth. Third quarter revenues were a record of $82 million, a 16% increase year-over-year. Gross margin came in at 49% and operating margin at 28.3%. (inaudible) of 60% of our revenues came from advanced interconnect packaging implications. Heterogeneous integration and HBM account for over 30% of this segment. We continue to expand our customer base.

謝謝，埃胡德。大家早上好或下午好。 Camtek 結束了又一個季度的持續收入增長。第三季度收入達到創紀錄的 8200 萬美元，同比增長 16%。毛利率為 49%，營業利潤率為 28.3%。 （聽不清）我們 60% 的收入來自先進的互連封裝影響。異構集成和 HBM 佔該部分的 30% 以上。我們繼續擴大我們的客戶群。

We sold a system to 42 new customers in the first 9 months of this year. Specifically, we are cementing our position in the front end and compound semi segments. These 2 segments accounted for approximately 1/4 of our revenues.

今年前 9 個月，我們向 42 個新客戶銷售了一個系統。具體來說，我們正在鞏固我們在前端和復合半部分的地位。這兩個分部約占我們收入的 1/4。

As widely reported consumer demand for PC and mobile is down. As a result, the contribution of CMOS sensor related system to this year's revenue will be slightly below 10%. This quarter, we continued to strengthen our position in the U.S. and Europe due to major industry investment made there. U.S. and Europe accounted for 27% of our sales versus 21% last quarter and 12% in Q3 of last year.

正如廣泛報導的那樣，消費者對 PC 和移動設備的需求正在下降。因此，CMOS傳感器相關係統對今年營收的貢獻將略低於10%。本季度，由於在美國和歐洲進行的重大行業投資，我們繼續加強我們在美國和歐洲的地位。美國和歐洲占我們銷售額的 27%，而上一季度為 21%，去年第三季度為 12%。

Q4 revenues are expected to be similar to those of Q3, translating into record annual revenue of around $320 million for 2022. The company diversified exposure to multiple customers, secular trends and territories contributed to our success.

預計第四季度的收入將與第三季度相似，轉化為 2022 年創紀錄的約 3.2 億美元的年收入。公司多元化地接觸多個客戶、長期趨勢和地區為我們的成功做出了貢獻。

Last month, the U.S. Commerce Department announced new regulations restricting the sales and support of semiconductor equipment for advanced nodes in China in both memory and logic.

上個月，美國商務部宣布了新的規定，限制在中國內存和邏輯領域的先進節點半導體設備的銷售和支持。

Our customers in China are mainly OSATs in the Advanced Packaging segment or manufacturers of trading edge silicon wafers. We continue to evaluate the impact of such restrictions on Camtek. But based on our initial assessment, we believe that the direct revenue impact would be marginal, if any.

我們在中國的客戶主要是先進封裝領域的 OSAT 或貿易邊緣矽晶圓製造商。我們將繼續評估此類限制對 Camtek 的影響。但根據我們的初步評估，我們認為直接收入影響即使有的話也是微不足道的。

The global economy is projected to decline in 2023 and expected to affect both wafer and fab equipment in general and even more so in the memory segment. 2023 is expected to be a challenging year for the industry with customers being more cautious. We believe that although Camtek’s business model is not immune, it is (inaudible) more resilient.

全球經濟預計將在 2023 年下滑，預計將對晶圓和晶圓廠設備產生總體影響，在內存領域更是如此。預計 2023 年對行業來說將是充滿挑戰的一年，客戶將更加謹慎。我們認為，儘管 Camtek 的商業模式不能倖免，但它（聽不清）更具彈性。

I will point a few reasons. One, -- we support a technology change in the industry of transition to advanced packaging and produce integration. 60% of our business is related to these segments. This trend is expected to continue (technical difficulty).

我會指出幾個原因。一，——我們支持行業向先進封裝和生產集成過渡的技術變革。我們 60% 的業務與這些細分市場相關。預計這一趨勢將持續（技術難度）。

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Mr. Ramy Langer, would you like to continue, please.

女士們，先生們，謝謝你們的支持。 Ramy Langer 先生，請繼續。

Thank you. And I apologize we have a technical issue, and I will continue on Raff's behalf. And I will pick up where he stopped. And as we said, we believe that Camtek's business model is not immune, it is however more resilient, and let me give you the reasons for it.

謝謝你。很抱歉我們遇到了技術問題，我將代表 Raff 繼續。我會從他停下來的地方繼續。正如我們所說，我們相信 Camtek 的商業模式不能倖免，但它更具彈性，讓我給你解釋一下。

First is we support the technology change in the industry of transition to advance packaging and heterogeneous integration, 60% of our business is related to these segments. This trend is expected to continue in the next few years. Furthermore, the sales to the memory segment are limited to DRAM only, which historically accounted for less than 5% of our total business.

首先是我們支持行業向高級封裝和異構集成過渡的技術變革，我們 60% 的業務與這些領域相關。預計這種趨勢將在未來幾年繼續下去。此外，內存部分的銷售額僅限於 DRAM，這在歷史上占我們總業務的不到 5%。

This segment will mainly support the transition of the high-bandwidth memory, which is growing. Based on the orders we have on hand and in the pipeline, we expect increased sales in this space next year.

該部分將主要支持正在增長的高帶寬內存的過渡。根據我們手頭和準備中的訂單，我們預計明年該領域的銷售額會增加。

Also, the increasing complexity of wafers being manufactured today means that manufacturers require ever more advanced inspection systems in their facilities. We believe that the full of inspection and the segments in which we operate will be less affected in the event of a slowdown.

此外，當今製造的晶圓越來越複雜，這意味著製造商需要在其設施中安裝更先進的檢測系統。我們相信，在經濟放緩的情況下，全面檢查和我們經營的細分市場受到的影響較小。

Moreover, Camtek has a wide and diversified customer base. This quarter alone, we sold systems to more than 40 different customers and added 8 new customers. Altogether, we had over 250 active customers.

此外，Camtek 擁有廣泛而多元化的客戶群。僅本季度，我們就向 40 多個不同的客戶銷售了系統，並增加了 8 個新客戶。我們總共有 250 多個活躍客戶。

Despite the positive factors that I've outlined, we are progressing cautiously into the new year. We are carefully monitoring our balance sheet items such as inventory levels and accounts receivable as well as our headcount. However, we continue to invest in R&D and plan to introduce new products and capabilities next year, securing our long-term growth path.

儘管我已經概述了積極因素，但我們正在謹慎地進入新的一年。我們正在仔細監控我們的資產負債表項目，例如庫存水平和應收賬款以及我們的員工人數。然而，我們將繼續投資於研發，併計劃在明年推出新產品和新功能，以確保我們的長期增長道路。

I would like to conclude by stating that semiconductor is a strategic industry and all leading countries are heavily invested in it. We expect that in 2023, the semiconductor industry will likely decline. Camtek is also not immune, but we believe our leading position, wide customer base and longer-term strategic relationship with customers will enable our business to be more resilient than the overall semiconductor intent.

最後，我想說半導體是一個戰略性產業，所有主要國家都在大力投資。我們預計到2023年，半導體行業很可能會下滑。 Camtek 也不能倖免，但我們相信我們的領先地位、廣泛的客戶群以及與客戶的長期戰略關係將使我們的業務比整體半導體意圖更具彈性。

I would like to hand over to Moshe for a more detailed discussion of the financial results. Moshe?

我想將財務結果交給 Moshe 進行更詳細的討論。摩西？

Thank you, Ramy. In my financial summary ahead, I will provide the results on a non-GAAP basis. The reconciliation between the GAAP results and the non-GAAP results appear in the tables at the end of the press release issued earlier today. First quarter revenues came at a record $82 million, an increase of 16% compared with the third quarter of 2021 -- the geographic revenue split for the quarter was as follows: Asia accounted for 73% and U.S. and Europe for 27%.

謝謝你，拉米。在我接下來的財務摘要中，我將提供非 GAAP 基礎上的結果。 GAAP 結果與非 GAAP 結果之間的對賬顯示在今天早些時候發布的新聞稿末尾的表格中。第一季度收入達到創紀錄的 8200 萬美元，與 2021 年第三季度相比增長 16%——本季度的地域收入分配如下：亞洲佔 73%，美國和歐洲佔 27%。

Gross profit for the quarter was $40.2 million. The gross margin for the quarter was 49% versus 50.9% in the third quarter of last year. Indeed, this is below the typical range of our gross margin model. And this quarter, it was mainly driven by a less favorable product mix, resulting from a few large orders, and it does not represent a meaningful trend. We expect some improvement in our gross margin in the fourth quarter.

本季度的毛利潤為 4020 萬美元。本季度的毛利率為 49%，而去年第三季度為 50.9%。事實上，這低於我們毛利率模型的典型範圍。而本季度，主要是受少量大訂單導致的產品結構不佳所驅動，並不代表有意義的趨勢。我們預計第四季度的毛利率會有所改善。

Operating expenses in the quarter were $70 million, an increase of $2.7 million compared to the third quarter of last year and $300,000 compared to the previous quarter. The increase from last year is mostly due to the increase in R&D expenses and sales-related activities to support the increased revenue.

該季度的運營費用為 7000 萬美元，與去年第三季度相比增加了 270 萬美元，與上一季度相比增加了 30 萬美元。與去年相比的增加主要是由於研發費用和銷售相關活動的增加以支持增加的收入。

Operating profit in the quarter was $23.2 million compared to the $21.7 million reported in the third quarter of last year and $23.2 million in the previous quarter. Operating margin was 28.3% compared to 30.6% last year and 29.9% in the previous quarter.

本季度營業利潤為 2320 萬美元，去年第三季度為 2170 萬美元，上一季度為 2320 萬美元。營業利潤率為 28.3%，去年為 30.6%，上一季度為 29.9%。

Net income for the third quarter of 2022 was $23.3 million or $0.48 per diluted share. This is compared to a net income of $20 million or $0.45 per share in the third quarter of last year. (inaudible) diluted number of shares as of the end of the third quarter was $48.3 million.

2022 年第三季度的淨收入為 2330 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.48 美元。相比之下，去年第三季度的淨收入為 2000 萬美元或每股 0.45 美元。 （聽不清）截至第三季度末，稀釋後的股票數量為 4830 萬美元。

Turning to some high-level balance sheet and cash flow metrics. Cash and cash equivalents, including short and long-term deposits as of September 30, 2022, were $460.3 million, this compared with $438 million at the end of the second quarter.

轉向一些高級資產負債表和現金流量指標。截至 2022 年 9 月 30 日，包括短期和長期存款在內的現金和現金等價物為 4.603 億美元，而第二季度末為 4.38 億美元。

We generated $25.3 million in cash from operations in the quarter. Inventory levels remained flat compared to the end of the previous quarter. In the last few quarters, we increased the inventory to overcome potential supply chain issues. With the stabilization trends of the supply chain, we plan to reduce the inventory level.

我們在本季度的運營中產生了 2530 萬美元的現金。庫存水平與上一季度末相比持平。在過去幾個季度，我們增加了庫存以克服潛在的供應鏈問題。隨著供應鏈的穩定趨勢，我們計劃降低庫存水平。

Accounts receivables went down by $9.7 million as we had good and strong collection in the quarter. This represents approximately 71 days outstanding.

應收賬款減少了 970 萬美元，因為我們在本季度的收款情況良好且強勁。這代表大約 71 天未付清。

I would like to note that the company management is closely monitoring the different scenarios of market demand and customer investment plans for 2023 and is ready to respond accordingly.

我想指出，公司管理層正在密切關注 2023 年市場需求和客戶投資計劃的不同情景，並準備做出相應的回應。

Regarding guidance, as Rafi mentioned before, we expect fourth quarter revenues to be around the same level as of the third quarter.

關於指導，正如拉菲之前提到的，我們預計第四季度的收入將與第三季度持平。

And with that, Rafi, Ramy and I will be open to take your questions. Ehud? (inaudible)

有了這個，Rafi、Ramy 和我將願意回答你的問題。埃胡德？ （聽不清）

Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we will begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) the first question is from Brian Chin of Stifel.

女士們，先生們，現在，我們將開始問答環節。 （操作員說明）第一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Brian Chin。

Maybe, kind of Rafi, first, following the recent U.S. export restrictions into China, I'm just curious, what is your sense on the new investments or how the new investments in fab and advanced packaging capacity might be directed and prioritized moving forward? And also, how big of a benefit do you see this for Camtek next year based on increased activity in China in areas like advanced packaging or specialty power, et cetera?

也許，拉菲，首先，在最近美國對中國實施出口限制之後，我很好奇，您對新投資有何看法，或者如何指導和優先推進對晶圓廠和先進封裝產能的新投資？此外，基於在先進封裝或特種電源等領域的中國活動增加，您認為明年 Camtek 的收益有多大？

No. The situation in China, I think, remember, just 4 weeks ago, the Commerce Department made all this restriction and the announcement. And I think it's too early to evaluate the effect on the semiconductor industry in China. But at this point, when we discuss with customers in China, it looks like business as usual and utilization is okay and the PO, everything looks like normal. So I believe it's still too early to understand in this restriction, it will affect the whole industry or specific area. We don't know yet. But as I said, for -- at this point, it looks like business as usual.

不，中國的情況，我想，記得，就在 4 週前，商務部做出了所有這些限制和公告。而且我認為現在評估對中國半導體行業的影響還為時過早。但在這一點上，當我們與中國客戶討論時，看起來一切照常，利用率還可以，採購訂單，一切看起來都很正常。所以我認為現在理解這個限制還為時過早，它會影響整個行業或特定領域。我們還不知道。但正如我所說，因為 - 在這一點上，它看起來像往常一樣。

Okay, and kind of moving beyond the geopolitical, but is it fair to characterize the environment you're seeing and sort of your order book and backlog and those patterns, as I try to characterize the advanced packing customers and maybe even more broadly as being in a digestion mode? And based on your order book, can you provide any sense on the revenue trajectory into Q1 or first half next year?

好的，有點超越地緣政治，但是描述你所看到的環境以及你的訂單和積壓以及那些模式是否公平，因為我試圖描述高級包裝客戶，甚至可能更廣泛地描述為在消化模式？根據您的訂單，您能否提供有關明年第一季度或明年上半年的收入軌蹟的任何信息？

Look, first of all, as we mentioned, most of our customers are not in the high notes, and we are mainly support the OSAT. So they're not in this -- under this restriction. Second, about the backlog and pipeline, I would say that if we just look a year ago, definitely all the supply chain interruption caused too many customers to place order ahead of time to secure delivery. Now when delivery back to normal and people feel more comfortable and even some think about even probability slowdown -- definitely, customers are not so hurry to place order -- so we can see that the amount of pipeline is much bigger than backlog.

看，首先，正如我們提到的，我們的大多數客戶都不在高調，我們主要支持 OSAT。所以他們不在這個——在這個限制之下。其次，關於積壓和管道，我想說如果我們只看一年前，肯定所有的供應鏈中斷導致太多客戶提前下訂單以確保交貨。現在當交付恢復正常並且人們感覺更舒服甚至有人認為甚至可能放緩 - 當然，客戶不會那麼急於下訂單 - 所以我們可以看到管道量比積壓量大得多。

So we discuss this customer. We see leads, but we can't see today forecast as we saw a year ago because the customer looking the place order when they really need it, and they don't feel they need to secure delivery a few quarters ahead. So as I said, if we talk together, the backlog and the pipeline, it's look, I would say, pretty normal. But I would say, to see when the pipeline will be converted to backlog -- this can take time and probably as before, we will know more before we start the new quarter, we get a better picture.

所以我們討論這個客戶。我們看到了潛在客戶，但我們無法像一年前那樣看到今天的預測，因為客戶在他們真正需要的時候才下訂單，他們覺得他們不需要提前幾個季度確保交貨。所以正如我所說，如果我們一起討論積壓和管道，我會說，這看起來很正常。但我要說的是，看看何時將管道轉換為積壓——這可能需要時間，而且可能和以前一樣，在我們開始新季度之前我們會知道更多，我們會得到更好的畫面。

Yes, this might not be based on the huge sample size, but I've noticed or observed sometimes Q1 kind of maybe it's seasonal tends to be sequentially up in terms of revenue. But maybe looking to what you're saying, Rafi, maybe you could take a step down a little bit given sort of you don't have as much backlog -- defined backlog moving into next year.

是的，這可能不是基於巨大的樣本量，但我注意到或觀察到有時 Q1 可能是季節性的，在收入方面往往會依次上升。但也許看看你在說什麼，Rafi，也許你可以稍微降低一點，因為你沒有那麼多的積壓 - 定義的積壓進入明年。

Rami, (inaudible)

拉米，（聽不清）

Let me try and be a little bit definitely our visibility at this stage looking into '23 is limited. Now the backlog is healthy, and we have a very strong pipeline. And I think as Rafi said, it is too early to assess how quickly this pipeline will turn into orders. And this is a little bit different than where we were, let's say, a year ago, but definitely at this stage, it's too early. We need to wait for another few weeks until we'll be able to really give a better assessment on the first half of '23.

讓我試著明確一點，我們在現階段調查 23 年的知名度是有限的。現在積壓是健康的，我們有一個非常強大的管道。我認為正如 Rafi 所說，現在評估這條管道轉化為訂單的速度還為時過早。這與我們一年前的情況有點不同，但在這個階段肯定還為時過早。我們需要再等幾週，才能真正對 23 年上半年做出更好的評估。

The next question is from Tom O'Malley of Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的湯姆奧馬利。

I just had a question on the December quarter. So clearly, visibility isn't as strong as it was before, but you guys are guiding to a flat business. Could you just talk about how much of the December quarter is actually booked today already? And how much is influx as the quarter goes along?

我剛剛有一個關於 12 月季度的問題。很明顯，知名度不如以前那麼強，但你們正在引導一個扁平的業務。您能談談今天實際上已經預訂了 12 月季度的多少嗎？隨著季度的推移，湧入了多少？

No, the current or the current quarter is fully booked, and it really now is a question of executing the shipment and that's it. We don't expect any surprise sort of.

不，當前或當前季度已經訂滿了，現在真的是執行發貨的問題，僅此而已。我們不希望有任何驚喜。

Okay. And then if I look at the mix set business, clearly, CMOS and the sensing is a little weaker. I think you said in the prepared remarks that that's coming in below 10%. It's already kind of tracking well below that. So that makes sense. But in the quarter for September, you saw a pretty big decline in what you've called the other or general business. What contributed to that decline sequentially? And will that go down again in December?

好的。然後，如果我看一下混合設置業務，很明顯，CMOS 和感測功能要弱一些。我想你在準備好的評論中說過，這一比例低於 10%。它已經遠低於此。所以這是有道理的。但是在 9 月份的那個季度，您看到所謂的其他業務或一般業務出現了相當大的下滑。是什麼導致了連續下降？那會在 12 月再次下降嗎？

Tom, I'm not sure about which decline. I mean we are seeing, and I think we said it in the -- in the prepared remarks, our business for the advanced packaging is around 60%. It has been in the last few quarters, and it's a very similar rate. The fund and the compound sale is about 25%. So overall, I would say that 85% of the business is very, very stable.

湯姆，我不確定是哪種下降。我的意思是我們正在看到，我想我們在準備好的評論中說過，我們的先進封裝業務約佔 60%。過去幾個季度一直如此，而且速度非常相似。該基金和復利出售約佔 25%。所以總的來說，我會說 85% 的業務非常非常穩定。

Now the rest, CMOS image sensor historically was above 10% this year, it will be a little bit less. And this will be compensated by what we call general 2D inspection applications things like MEMS and other applications, which are smaller in the volume. But from the business point of view, there aren't any differences or declines. The only thing I would say, is the CMOS image sensors, and this is strongly related to mobile phone sales.

現在剩下的，CMOS 圖像傳感器歷史上是在 10% 以上，今年會少一點。這將通過我們所謂的一般 2D 檢查應用程序（如 MEMS 和其他應用程序）進行補償，這些應用程序的體積更小。但從商業角度來看，沒有任何差異或下降。我唯一要說的是CMOS圖像傳感器，這與手機銷售密切相關。

Got it. And then just one more on the coverage. So totally understandable that you're seeing limited visibility. I think broadly, markets are just getting weaker in general. And you're kind of talking about a semiconductor market that's down next year. Have you thought about what your business can grow in a scenario where wafer fab equipment is down 20% plus. I'm just trying to understand, you guys have clearly outgrown the market for the past several years in a market that's down, say, 10% or 20%, how much growth do you think you see off of a market that's a little weaker next year?

知道了。然後只是關於報導的一個。完全可以理解，以至於您看到的能見度有限。我認為，從廣義上講，市場總體上只是在變弱。你說的是明年的半導體市場。您是否考慮過在晶圓廠設備下降 20% 以上的情況下您的業務可以增長什麼？我只是想了解，在過去的幾年裡，在一個下跌的市場中，你們顯然已經超越了市場，比如說，10% 或 20%，你們認為在一個稍微疲軟的市場中能看到多少增長明年？

Yes. So Tom, I think it is much too early to say today what will be with our current visibility to really say -- to be the good indication of the ‘23 business, what we believe that will do better than the industry. And at this stage, how much better than the industry, it is really too early to say. And I believe that within a quarter or so, we'll be in a much better position to give more accurate statements.

是的。所以湯姆，我認為今天說我們目前的知名度會是什麼還為時過早 - 成為'23業務的良好指示，我們相信這將比行業做得更好。而現階段比行業好多少，現在說真的為時過早。我相信在四分之一左右的時間裡，我們將能夠更好地提供更準確的陳述。

The next question is from Charles Shi of Needham & Company.

下一個問題來自 Needham & Company 的 Charles Shi。

I have first a little bit longer-term question not specific to 2023. I think a lot underappreciated part of your business you have a very broad customer base, 250 active. I mean assuming each one of them just buy 1 or 2 systems, that's enough to support you to $300 million annual run rate. And I believe it was a big part of your story over the past few years that you keep adding customers either in the greenfield customers or competitive displacement. However, I do want to ask you this question from this point and forward -- how much of the incremental additions of new customers do you think it's going to be -- could there be a slowdown of the number of customers you can add going forward from here?

我首先有一個不特定於 2023 年的長期問題。我認為您的業務中有很多被低估的部分，您擁有非常廣泛的客戶群，有 250 個活躍。我的意思是假設他們每個人只購買 1 或 2 個系統，這足以支持你達到 3 億美元的年運行率。而且我相信，在過去幾年中，您不斷增加新客戶或競爭性替代客戶是您故事的重要組成部分。但是，我確實想從現在開始和以後問你這個問題——你認為新客戶的增量增加了多少——未來你可以增加的客戶數量是否會放緩從這裡？

And specifically, I want to ask you about wafer manufacturers. I don't recall you talked about that particular set of customers. And is that some competitive displacement there?

具體來說，我想問你關於晶圓製造商的問題。我不記得你談到過那群特定的客戶。那是不是有一些競爭性的取代？

I didn't think about it before. First of all, I believe it will continue to add new customers. And the broad addition of customers is in general. It's not related to one specific territory. I think as we grow the business, we are getting into new segments. And therefore, yes, we'll continue to add the customers. Whether it will be in the range of this year that we've already added 42 customers, I'm not sure whether it will be or it will be in a different magnitude, but definitely, if you look also historically into previous years, we've been adding a significant number of customers every year.

我以前沒有考慮過。首先，我相信它會繼續增加新客戶。客戶的廣泛增加是普遍的。它與某一特定領域無關。我認為隨著業務的發展，我們正在進入新的領域。因此，是的，我們將繼續增加客戶。我們已經增加了 42 個客戶，是否會在今年的範圍內，我不確定是否會，或者會是不同的幅度，但可以肯定的是，如果你也回顧往年的歷史，我們每年都在增加大量客戶。

Now specifically, wafer manufacturers. Yes, we are adding new wafer manufacturers to our portfolio, and we continue to add. And when I look at the target market for 2023, I believe that we'll have new customers in this segment as well. Did I answer your question?

現在具體來說，晶圓製造商。是的，我們正在將新的晶圓製造商添加到我們的產品組合中，並且我們會繼續添加。當我著眼於 2023 年的目標市場時，我相信我們也會在這一領域擁有新客戶。我回答你的問題了嗎？

Yes. So the other question I have is, well, first of all, we appreciate you, from time to time, provide new press releases about the latest orders you received from your customers. But your last update was in early September. So between September to now over the last 2 months, how do you see the ordering rate going? And I may have another follow-up after this.

是的。所以我的另一個問題是，首先，我們感謝您不時提供有關您從客戶那裡收到的最新訂單的新新聞稿。但你的最後一次更新是在九月初。那麼從 9 月到過去 2 個月的現在，您如何看待訂購率？在此之後我可能會有另一個跟進。

So I think Rafi, mentioned it in the previous remark that you talked about, yes, we've been adding orders. I think currently, we see customers are waiting to make sure that they're getting the business before they turn the pipeline into PO’s. But when we look today at our backlog and as the pipeline, the business is healthy, really the big question, and this is why we are -- we have a limited visibility is the rate of the customer turning potential deals from the pipeline into PO’s. They are taking more time and they will -- the lead times are shorter. And so I think we'll have a better assessment and we'll be able to give better numbers and more accurate numbers within a couple of months.

所以我認為 Rafi，在你之前提到的評論中提到過，是的，我們一直在增加訂單。我認為目前，我們看到客戶正在等待以確保他們在將管道轉變為 PO 之前獲得業務。但是，當我們今天查看我們的積壓訂單和管道時，業務是否健康，這確實是一個大問題，這就是為什麼我們 - 我們對客戶將潛在交易從管道轉變為 PO 的速度的了解有限的。他們需要更多的時間，而且他們會——交貨時間更短。所以我認為我們會有更好的評估，我們將能夠在幾個月內提供更好的數字和更準確的數字。

Yes. But I would like to add a formal comment. Usually, when we make announcement of order, it should be of what we call multiple system orders. We don't make announcement for 1 or 2 system per customers. That's a big difference. And if we look on our portfolio, it's definitely contained a lot of partial 1 and 2 this unit per customer. So definitely, we don't make any announcement of each order of debt.

是的。但我想添加一個正式的評論。通常我們發布訂單的時候，應該是我們所說的多系統訂單。我們不會為每個客戶發布 1 或 2 個系統的公告。這是一個很大的不同。而且，如果我們查看我們的產品組合，它肯定包含每個客戶的很多部分 1 和 2 這個單元。因此，我們絕對不會對每筆債務訂單做出任何公告。

So maybe my last follow-up is backlog. What's the -- based on your backlog, what's your visibility into first half 2030? Can you see something shipment scheduled what’s the latest? Is it the second quarter '23? Or is it still first quarter ‘23.

所以也許我最後的跟進是積壓。什麼是 - 根據您的積壓，您對 2030 年上半年的可見性如何？你能看到最新的發貨安排嗎？是 23 年第二季度嗎？或者它仍然是第一季度 €〜23。

Well, looking into the backlog, we have backlog today that is already including machine shipments in the first and the second quarter. However, we still need in order to complete shipments for both quarters, we will need to convert some of the pipeline into -- that's exactly what we're doing today.

好吧，看看積壓，我們今天的積壓已經包括第一季度和第二季度的機器出貨量。然而，為了完成兩個季度的出貨量，我們仍然需要將一些管道轉換成——這正是我們今天正在做的。

The next question is from Craig Ellis of B. Riley Securities.

下一個問題來自 B. Riley Securities 的 Craig Ellis。

Congratulations on the execution in the third quarter. A lot of discussion around backlog and orders and visibility into calendar '23. So I wanted to pivot to gross margin. Moshe, you talked about some large customer dynamics that impacted gross margin in the quarter. Can you just identify if there were any other factors that impacted gross margin? And what should be expected with gross margin beyond the calendar fourth quarter? Would they get back to that 51% level? Or are there input costs or other large customer items that would have been maybe sub-50 or right around 50%?

恭喜第三季執行完畢。圍繞積壓和訂單以及日曆 '23 的可見性進行了大量討論。所以我想把重點放在毛利率上。 Moshe，你談到了一些影響本季度毛利率的大客戶動態。您能否確定是否還有其他因素影響了毛利率？第四季度之後的毛利率應該如何預期？他們會回到 51% 的水平嗎？或者是否有可能低於 50 或大約 50% 的投入成本或其他大客戶項目？

So the main impact of the relatively lower gross margin for the third quarter was indeed a few large orders that we have delivered in the quarter, and we will continue -- we will complete the delivery of them over the course of the fourth quarter. So you will see some improvement in the fourth quarter, but not to the full extent. We should go above the 50% mark next year. I'm not sure to the full 52% the upper limit, but we should be able to go back to above the 50% level.

因此，第三季度相對較低的毛利率的主要影響確實是我們在本季度交付的一些大訂單，我們將繼續——我們將在第四季度完成這些訂單的交付。所以你會在第四季度看到一些改善，但不會達到全部程度。明年我們應該超過 50%。我不確定是否達到上限的 52%，但我們應該能夠回到 50% 以上的水平。

And then the second question just relates to operating expense. And I acknowledge we're dealing with an unusually uncertain environment. But the question is this, if order trends and other dynamics meant that we weren't seeing the backlog conversion to firm orders. As you look at operating expense, do you feel like you have any flexibility to reduce operating expense tactically? Or given the significant increase in customer engagements, do you really have pressure on R&D to scale that up so that you can do the work that you need to do to serve all these new customers?

然後第二個問題只涉及運營費用。我承認我們正在應對一個異常不確定的環境。但問題是，如果訂單趨勢和其他動態意味著我們沒有看到積壓訂單轉化為確定訂單。當您查看運營費用時，您是否覺得您可以靈活地在戰術上降低運營費用？或者鑑於客戶參與度的顯著增加，您是否真的對研發部門施加壓力以擴大規模，以便您可以完成為所有這些新客戶服務所需的工作？

So the 2 key elements in our operating expense structure is the R&D and sales marketing G&A stays pretty much flat. We believe that our business model is pretty agile, so we can change some of the all the expense mix between direct and indirect.

因此，我們運營費用結構中的兩個關鍵要素是研發和銷售營銷 G&A 保持基本持平。我們相信我們的商業模式非常靈活，因此我們可以改變直接和間接之間的所有費用組合。

On the R&D front, I think Rafi, mentioned in his prepared remarks that we want to continue to invest. We have plans to introduce new products and new capabilities. So this is definitely an area that we don't want to affect. But within the sales and marketing, there are certain activities that can be changed based on activity level.

在研發方面，我認為 Rafi 在他準備好的發言中提到我們希望繼續投資。我們計劃推出新產品和新功能。所以這絕對是我們不想影響的領域。但在銷售和營銷中，某些活動可以根據活動級別進行更改。

And then for my final question, a real strong cash performance in the quarter. Here we are with $460 million in cash and equivalent. Rafi, can you just give us an update on how you're thinking about M&A? I know you've talked about it in the past, and one of the things that precluded significant progress was that we had a COVID environment that really made it hard to get out and meet potential targets in person. But what should investor expectations be as we exit '22 and look into '23 on potential there?

然後是我的最後一個問題，本季度的現金表現非常強勁。在這裡，我們有 4.6 億美元的現金和等價物。拉菲，你能告訴我們你對併購的最新看法嗎？我知道你過去曾談過這個問題，阻礙取得重大進展的其中一件事是我們有一個 COVID 環境，這真的讓我們很難走出去並親自滿足潛在目標。但是，當我們退出 22 年並研究 23 年的潛力時，投資者的期望應該是什麼？

Yes. Regarding M&A, definitely, we now invest a lot of efforts. And the same time, not participate the meeting in Israel because it also -- I'm investing on this issue. So we really believe that we can do something in the next few months, definitely. But it's a long process. Even if you find something you want to make today, especially good, good to check everything, to be sure that this is the right [merge] and not to do -- to make any mistake. So we do it cautiously. But definitely, we invest a lot of efforts to execute, I would say, in the next 6 months, something.

是的。關於併購，當然，我們現在投入了很多精力。同時，不參加在以色列舉行的會議，因為它也——我正在投資解決這個問題。所以我們真的相信我們可以在接下來的幾個月裡做點什麼，絕對的。但這是一個漫長的過程。即使你發現你今天想做的東西，特別好，最好檢查一切，以確保這是正確的 [合併] 而不是做 - 犯任何錯誤。所以我們小心翼翼地做。但可以肯定的是，我們投入了大量精力來執行，我想說，在接下來的 6 個月裡，一些事情。

And can you talk a little bit about what your priorities are, whether it's increased geographic and market exposure, a particular technology capability?

您能否談談您的優先事項是什麼，是增加地理和市場曝光度，還是特定的技術能力？

You talk about M&A priority-- M&A?

你說的是併購優先級——併購？

Yes.

是的。

Look, I would say that since we've taken major market share, we are not looking for a company similar to Camtek or doing something like Camtek -- this is not so -- I don't think it bring any advantage for us. We focus more on some -- in one hand, should be in the same market segment, but on the other hand, in different technology or different product lines. And then we can still use our infrastructure of sales and marketing and support and enjoy this infrastructure to promote another product line. And this is roughly the way -- this is the priority that we are giving.

聽著，我想說的是，既然我們已經佔據了主要的市場份額，我們就不會尋找類似於 Camtek 的公司或做類似 Camtek 的事情——事實並非如此——我認為這不會給我們帶來任何優勢。我們更多地關註一些——一方面，應該在同一個細分市場，但另一方面，在不同的技術或不同的產品線。然後我們仍然可以使用我們的銷售和營銷基礎設施和支持，並享受這個基礎設施來推廣另一個產品線。這就是大致的方式——這是我們給予的優先級。

And there are some areas there are metrology, there are some process. The other thing that's still targeting the same segment as we focus, and we really believe that we can bring some results very soon.

還有一些領域有計量學，有一些過程。另一件事仍然是我們關注的同一細分市場，我們真的相信我們可以很快帶來一些結果。

That make sense, not so much scale, but really technology extension, product line extension.

這是有道理的，與其說是規模，不如說是技術延伸，產品線延伸。

The next question is from Gus Richard of Northland.

下一個問題來自 Northland 的 Gus Richard。

Yes. Just on the firm end side, you mentioned you've got pretty good demand from excuse me, compound semis, and I was just wondering is that silicon carbide, gallium arsenide, (inaudible) carbide, gallium nitride, which compound semiconductor is driving in that part of your business?.

是的。就公司而言，你提到你對化合物半導體有很好的需求，我只是想知道碳化矽、砷化鎵、（聽不清）碳化物、氮化鎵，化合物半導體正在推動你業務的那一部分？

I think today, what's dominant in the business in the last, I would say, couple of quarters, it's definitely the silicon carbide portion.

我認為今天，過去幾個季度在業務中占主導地位的，絕對是碳化矽部分。

And how much of your front-end business is compound?

您的前端業務中有多少是複合的？

Now I would say, it differs from quarter-to-quarter. It is roughly, I would say, close to 10%. But it's 1 quarter or more 1 quarter less, roughly 10% of the business.

現在我要說的是，每個季度都不同。我想說，這大約接近 10%。但它是 1 個季度或更多 1 個季度，大約佔業務的 10%。

And then just one last attempt on visibility. 90 days ago, you were spotting out, I think, into Q1. Today, if somebody came in and wanted a tool as soon as possible, when could you accommodate that customer?

然後最後一次嘗試可見性。 90 天前，我認為你發現了第一季度。今天，如果有人進來並希望盡快獲得工具，您什麼時候可以滿足該客戶的需求？

This is a difficult question, Gus, because it really depends on the kind of tool that he wants. So certain tools will be able to give him in less than 2 quarters. how much less it depends. But I would say it is the soonest we can give is roughly 4 months to 6 months. This is the soonest we can give somebody a tool.

這是一個很難回答的問題，Gus，因為這實際上取決於他想要的工具類型。所以某些工具將能夠在不到 2 個季度內給他。這取決於多少。但我會說，我們可以提供的最快時間大約是 4 個月到 6 個月。這是我們可以給某人一個工具的最快時間。

Got it. And what is that in normal times, if we ever get back to that, what would that lead time be?

知道了。在正常情況下那是什麼，如果我們回到那個時代，那麼交貨時間是多少？

That's the lead time. I mean you're talking about 16 to 20 months -- 20 weeks. And if you go back, let's say, 6 months or a year ago, I think those lead times extended up to 2 quarters. So definitely lead times are shorter today by roughly, I would say, they have shortened by roughly number anywhere a bit around 1.5 months to 2 months. And that's exactly the difficulty that we have been describing now because having said that, people understand that we can provide machines at around 4 months. And therefore, the less quick to secure the stocks, they understand that there are slots in our manufacturing. And therefore, this limits our visibility to the first half of next year.

那是交貨時間。我的意思是你說的是 16 到 20 個月——20 週。如果你回去，比方說，6 個月或一年前，我認為這些交貨時間延長到 2 個季度。所以今天的交貨時間肯定更短了，我想說，它們已經縮短了大約 1.5 個月到 2 個月左右。這正是我們現在一直在描述的困難，因為話雖如此，人們明白我們可以在大約 4 個月內提供機器。因此，確保庫存的速度越慢，他們就知道我們的製造業有空缺。因此，這限制了我們對明年上半年的能見度。

And do you have any supply constraints at this point? Or has the supply chain issues been alleviated?

您目前是否有任何供應限制？還是供應鏈問題得到緩解？

I believe they have been alleviated. We -- there are some issues here and there. There is a missing component here and there. But we are able to get the material that we need. I don't see that supply chain issues today are -- will create any shorter date or lack of the ability to ship and machine. So I think this is not the main issue today that we have. Overall, we can get the parts, I say, the supply chain in general is getting to, I would say, more reasonable (inaudible)

我相信他們已經得到緩解。我們 - 到處都有一些問題。這裡那裡缺少一個組件。但是我們能夠獲得我們需要的材料。我認為今天的供應鏈問題不會導致任何更短的日期或缺乏運輸和加工能力。所以我認為這不是我們今天面臨的主要問題。總的來說，我們可以獲得零件，我說，供應鏈總體上變得更加合理（聽不清）

Okay. And then the last one for me. Today, roughly, what is your quarterly revenue capacity?

好的。然後是我的最後一個。今天，大致上，你的季度收入能力是多少？

I think that we are not -- I think we discussed this in previous calls, we have made a significant investment in (inaudible) capacity. And today, the capacity is -- it's not a limitation anymore. We've increased our capacity by about 50%. We are today able from our facility to ship about $0.5 billion of revenues or in machines. So this is not a limitation anymore.

我認為我們不是——我認為我們在之前的電話會議中討論過這個問題，我們已經對（聽不清）容量進行了大量投資。而今天，容量是——它不再是一個限制。我們的容量增加了大約 50%。我們今天能夠從我們的工廠運送大約 5 億美元的收入或機器。所以這不再是限制。

(Operator Instructions) There are no further questions at this time. Before I ask Mr. Amit to go ahead with his closing statement, I would like to remind participants that a replay of this call will be available on Camtek's website, www.camtek.cl.io beginning tomorrow. Mr. Amit, would you like to make your concluding statement?

（操作員說明）目前沒有其他問題。在我請 Amit 先生繼續他的閉幕詞之前，我想提醒與會者，從明天開始，Camtek 的網站 www.camtek.cl.io 將提供本次電話會議的重播。 Amit 先生，您要作總結髮言嗎？

Yes. I would like to thank you all for your continued interest in our business. Again, I would like to thank all of our employees and my management team for their tremendous performance and we look forward to continuing. To our investors, I thank your long-term support. I look forward to talking with you again next quarter. Thank you, and goodbye.

是的。我要感謝大家對我們業務的持續關注。再次，我要感謝我們所有的員工和我的管理團隊的出色表現，我們期待繼續下去。對於我們的投資者，我感謝你們的長期支持。我期待著下個季度再次與您交談。謝謝，拜拜。

Thank you. This concludes the Camtek Third Quarter 2022 Results Conference Call. Thank you for your participation. You may go ahead and disconnect.

謝謝你。 Camtek 2022 年第三季度業績電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以繼續並斷開連接。