高露潔 (CL) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning.

早安.

Welcome to today's

歡迎收看今天的

Colgate-Palmolive 2024 fourth-quarter and year-end earnings conference call.

高露潔棕欖2024年第四季及年終財報電話會議。

This call is being recorded and is being simulcast live at www.colgatepalmolive.com.

本次通話正在錄音，並在 www.colgatepalmolive.com 上進行現場直播。

Now, for opening remarks, I'd like to turn this call over to Chief Investor Relations Officer and Executive Vice President, M&A, John Faucher.

現在，作為開場發言，我想將本次電話會議轉給首席投資者關係官兼併購執行副總裁約翰·福徹 (John Faucher)。

Thanks, Betsy.

謝謝，貝琪。

Good morning, and welcome to our fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings release conference call.

早上好，歡迎參加我們的 2024 年第四季和全年收益發布電話會議。

This is John Faucher.

我是約翰·福徹。

Today's conference call will include forward-looking statements.

今天的電話會議將包括前瞻性陳述。

Actual results could differ materially from these statements.

實際結果可能與這些陳述有重大差異。

Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties and are made on the basis of our views and assumptions at this time.

前瞻性陳述本身涉及風險和不確定性，並且是基於我們目前的觀點和假設做出的。

Please refer to our fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings press release and related prepared materials, and our most recent filings with the SEC, including our 2023 annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings, all available on Colgate's website, for a discussion of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements.

請參閱我們2024 年第四季和全年收益新聞稿和相關準備資料，以及我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，包括我們2023 年10-K 表年度報告和隨後的美國證券交易委員會文件，所有這些文件均可在高露潔網站上找到。

This conference call will also include a discussion of non-GAAP financial measures, including those identified in Tables 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the earnings press release.

本次電話會議也將討論非公認會計準則財務指標，包括收益新聞稿中表 4、6、7、8 和 9 所列的指標。

A full reconciliation to the corresponding GAAP financial measures is included in the fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings press release and is available on Colgate's website.

2024 年第四季和全年收益新聞稿中包含與相應 GAAP 財務指標的完整對賬，可在高露潔網站上查閱。

Joining me on the call this morning are Noel Wallace, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Stan Sutula, Chief Financial Officer.

今天早上與我一起參加電話會議的還有董事長、總裁兼執行長諾埃爾華萊士 (Noel Wallace)；以及財務長史丹蘇圖拉（Stan Sutula）。

Noel will provide you with his thoughts on our results and our 2025 outlook, and then we'll open it up for Q&A.

諾埃爾將向您提供他對我們的業績和 2025 年展望的看法，然後我們將開始問答環節。

Noel?

諾埃爾？

Great.

偉大的。

Thanks, John, and good morning, everyone, and thank you all for joining us today as we discuss our 2024 results as well as our outlook for 2025.

謝謝，約翰，大家早安，謝謝大家今天加入我們，討論我們的 2024 年業績以及 2025 年展望。

Let me make a few points on 2024 before I tell you why we continue to be very confident in our ability to deliver against our goals for this year.

在告訴大家為什麼我們仍然對實現今年目標的能力充滿信心之前，讓我先就 2024 年談幾點看法。

I couldn't be prouder of the results of the Colgate team -- that they delivered in 2024, which drove strong growth and exceeded our initial financial guidance.

我對高露潔團隊的成績感到無比自豪——他們在 2024 年取得了優異成績，推動了強勁增長並超越了我們最初的財務預期。

Net sales of $20 billion in 2024, which is one year ahead of our strategic plan ambition.

2024 年淨銷售額達到 200 億美元，比我們的策略計畫目標提早一年。

This was driven by our sixth consecutive year of organic sales growth either in line or ahead of our long-term target of 3% to 5%.

這是由於我們連續第六年實現有機銷售額成長，達到或超過了我們 3% 至 5% 的長期目標。

We delivered high single-digit organic growth in 2024, on top of high single-digit growth in 2023.

我們在 2023 年實現高個位數成長的基礎上，在 2024 年又實現了高個位數有機成長。

We delivered pricing and volume growth in all four quarters.

我們在四個季度都實現了價格和銷量的成長。

For the year, we grew volume in every division and in every category.

這一年，我們每個部門和每個類別的銷售量都有所成長。

We're focused on driving household penetration, which we believe is the best way to deliver long-term sustainable growth.

我們專注於推動家庭普及，我們相信這是實現長期永續成長的最佳方式。

We had another year of increased advertising spending, up 15% and up 130 basis points as a percentage of sales.

我們的廣告支出又增加了一年，成長了 15%，佔銷售額的比例上升了 130 個基點。

This increase, which is on top of 19% increase in 2023, is driving significantly improved brand health.

這一增長是在 2023 年 19% 增幅的基礎上實現的，將顯著改善品牌健康。

Our third consecutive year of global toothpaste category value share growth highlights that our strategy of driving category growth in order to drive market share growth.

我們連續第三年實現全球牙膏品類價值份額成長，凸顯了我們推動品類成長以推動市場佔有率成長的策略。

Our strategy to build and scale our innovation capabilities is paying off as well as the incremental sales contribution from innovation has risen by 45% from 2021 to 2024.

我們建立和擴大創新能力的策略正在取得成效，2021 年至 2024 年創新帶來的增量銷售貢獻成長了 45%。

We delivered gross and operating margin expansion despite significant foreign exchange headwinds and the increased spending on advertising, compensation and capabilities through another year of strong productivity, particularly for our Funding the Growth initiatives.

儘管面臨巨大的外匯阻力，且廣告、薪酬和能力建設支出增加，但我們憑藉又一年強勁的生產力，特別是我們的「資助增長」計劃，實現了毛利率和營業利潤率的增長。

Double-digit base earnings per share growth ahead of our initial guidance despite incremental foreign exchange headwinds on both the net sales line and in gross margin.

儘管淨銷售額和毛利率都面臨外匯阻力，但每股基本收益仍實現了兩位數成長，高於我們的初步預期。

Record operating cash and free cash flow.

記錄經營現金及自由現金流。

Record cash returned to shareholders, along with continued improvement in our top-tier return on invested capital.

創紀錄的股東現金回報，以及我們頂級投資資本回報率的持續提高。

So another very strong year, but let me now move on to 2025.

這將是另一個非常強勁的一年，但現在讓我將目光轉向 2025 年。

In 2025, we'll see many of the same challenges and opportunities.

2025年，我們將看到許多相同的挑戰和機會。

All through 2024, I have been speaking to you about how our strategy was designed so that we could deliver in 2025 and beyond by investing in future growth, building more flexibility into our P&L and strengthening our balance sheet.

在整個2024 年，我一直在向你們講述我們的策略是如何設計的，以便我們能夠透過投資未來成長、為我們的損益表增添更多靈活性以及加強我們的資產負債表，在2025 年及以後實現目標。

The strong investment levels behind advertising and innovation and the continued improvement in returns on that spending give us confidence in our ability to continue to drive volume through household penetration.

廣告和創新背後的強勁投資水平以及這些支出回報率的持續提高，使我們對繼續透過家庭滲透來推動銷售的能力充滿信心。

The increased investment is also improving brand health.

增加的投資也改善了品牌的健康狀況。

As I will discuss at CAGNY next month, higher brand health is the key to our revenue growth management strategy, which will be key to sustaining pricing growth in a less inflationary environment.

正如我下個月將在CAGNY上討論的那樣，更高的品牌健康度是我們收入成長管理策略的關鍵，這也是在通膨較低的環境下維持價格成長的關鍵。

We will deliver another year of strong innovation led by the relaunch of Colgate Total, with superior new offerings in toothpaste, manual toothbrushes and mouthwash.

我們將在新的一年繼續大力創新，以高露潔全效牙膏的重新推出為引領，推出更優質的牙膏、手動牙刷和漱口水等新產品。

Our investments in data, analytics and AI will also be key to driving pricing growth in 2025.

我們在數據、分析和人工智慧方面的投資也將成為推動 2025 年價格成長的關鍵。

We utilized our strong gross profit growth in 2023 and 2024 to invest ahead of the curve in capabilities, which also give us additional flexibility to control SG&A spending going forward.

我們利用 2023 年和 2024 年強勁的毛利成長來提前投資於能力，這也為我們控制未來的銷售、一般及行政費用 (SG&A) 支出提供了額外的靈活性。

Our strong cash flow gives us additional levers for EPS growth through debt paydown to lower interest expense or share repurchases, even as we continue to invest in our business for growth and productivity.

即使我們繼續投資於業務以實現成長和生產力，強勁的現金流也為我們提供了額外的每股盈餘成長槓桿，透過償還債務來降低利息支出或回購股票。

So we entered 2025 confident in our strategy and in our ability to deliver consistent, compounded growth, to deliver on our guidance and drive strong total shareholder return.

因此，我們對我們的策略以及實現持續複合成長、履行我們的指導方針和推動強勁的股東總回報的能力充滿信心，邁入 2025 年。

So with that, I'll hand it over to you for questions.

因此，我將把問題交給你們。

(Operator Instructions) Dara Mohsenian, Morgan Stanley.

(操作員指示) 摩根士丹利的 Dara Mohsenian。

So just wanted a bit more clarity around the 2025 guidance relative to Q4, EPS guidance for all-in low-single-digit to mid-single-digit growth is pretty robust considering the onerous FX impact.

因此，只是想更清楚地了解相對於第四季度的 2025 年指引，考慮到繁重的外匯影響，整體低個位數至中個位數增長的每股收益指引是相當強勁的。

So just what gives you confidence in such a strong implied local FX earnings growth, number one?

那麼，首先，是什麼讓您對如此強勁的本地外匯獲利成長充滿信心呢？

And then two, maybe we can drill down specifically into the OSG line.

其次，也許我們可以具體深入研究 OSG 系列。

Obviously, that's a key driver of earnings growth.

顯然，這是獲利成長的關鍵驅動力。

Q4 is weaker than we have seen in recent quarters.

第四季的表現比最近幾季都要弱。

If you adjust for Argentina, the pet private label drag, probably somewhere in that close to 4% OSG range slower than the prior pace.

如果針對阿根廷進行調整，寵物自有品牌的拖累，可能在接近 4% OSG 範圍內，比之前的速度慢。

So just as we think about the 3% to 5% guidance for 2025, maybe highlight your level of confidence relative to that Q4 result, and maybe what the key points of uncertainty are either positive or negative.

因此，當我們考慮 2025 年 3% 至 5% 的預期時，也許會強調您相對於第四季度結果的信心水平，以及不確定性的關鍵點是積極的還是消極的。

Dara, thank you.

達拉，謝謝你。

So let me start off with the guidance.

那麼就讓我先來介紹一下。

As I think I alluded to in my upfront comments, we continue to believe we are very well positioned to continue delivering consistent compounded dollar earnings growth.

我想我在前面的評論中已經提到過，我們仍然相信我們完全有能力繼續實現持續的複合美元收益成長。

You've heard me talk about -- a lot about that over the last couple of years.

過去幾年裡，你們已經聽我談了很多這方面的事。

That's reflected in our guidance, and the strength, quite frankly, of the fundamentals that we -- as you go through our P&L as well as the balance sheet.

坦白說，這反映在我們的指導和基本面的實力中——當您查看我們的損益表和資產負債表時。

I've spoken many times to all of you about building flexibility into our plans, and that was very much inherent as we looked at our 2025 strategy back in 2020, how do we get more flex into the P&L as we pivot to a much more growth mindset oriented organization?

我曾多次與大家討論過如何在我們的計劃中建立靈活性，這在我們 2020 年審視 2025 年戰略時非常重要，我們如何在轉向更靈活的方式時為損益表增加靈活性？導向的組織？

And that's exactly what we've done.

這也正是我們所做的。

So our top line focus will continue with balanced growth in both volume and price.

因此，我們將繼續關注銷量和價格的平衡成長。

And you've seen that consistently throughout the year in 2024, and we believe we'll continue to deliver balanced growth in 2025.

您可以在 2024 年全年看到這種情況，我們相信我們將在 2025 年繼續實現均衡成長。

We saw volume and pricing growth across all of our categories this year, which is, I think, a terrific proxy for how we're building the health of those businesses moving forward.

今年，我們所有類別的銷售和價格都有所增長，我認為這是我們如何在未來建立這些業務的健康發展的絕佳指標。

So in the context of 3% to 5%, we feel really good about that.

因此，在 3% 到 5% 的背景下，我們對此感覺非常良好。

We think it will continue to be at the top end of our peer group, and it's reflected in the comfort we have in the health of the business overall.

我們認為它將繼續處於同行的領先地位，這也反映出我們對整體業務健康狀況的信心。

You look at market shares consistently up over the last couple of years.

您可以看到過去幾年市場份額持續上升。

You look at the performance across multiple divisions being consistently up quarter to quarter.

您可以看到多個部門的業績逐季度持續上升。

So the health of the business is there.

因此，業務的健康狀況是存在的。

If I move down the P&L, we continue to invest, as I mentioned, ahead of our capabilities.

如果我降低損益表，我們會繼續進行超出我們能力的投資，正如我所提到的。

So we put a lot of money in the last couple of years and building capabilities that we think will allow us to sustain more consistent top line growth.

因此，我們在過去幾年投入了大量資金，並進行了相關建設，我們認為這些建設將使我們能夠維持更穩定的營收成長。

We've reoriented the organization to really focus on dollar earnings growth and making sure that we're looking for ways to offset foreign exchange.

我們已經調整了組織結構，真正專注於美元收益成長，並確保尋找抵消外匯的方法。

No question that will continue to be a headwind, but we believe we've got more opportunities to offset that with other areas within the P&L.

毫無疑問，這將繼續成為不利因素，但我們相信我們有更多的機會透過損益表內的其他領域來抵消這一不利因素。

The strong cash generation is another area to look to.

強勁的現金創造能力是另一個值得關注的領域。

We have been consistent about building more cash, lowering our working capital to ensure that we have more flex across other areas below the operating margin line in the P&L.

我們一直在堅持累積更多現金，降低營運資本，以確保我們在損益表中營業利潤線以下的其他領域擁有更大的靈活性。

So overall, I think the underlying health of the business is in a really good place.

所以總的來說，我認為公司業務的基本健康狀況非常好。

Now if I come back to your organic growth question, 4.3%, you look -- almost 5% in the first -- in the fourth quarter if you exclude private label which we think is a more honest way to look at our business given the underlying base business being quite strong.

現在，如果我回到你的有機成長問題，4.3%，你看——第一季幾乎是 5%——如果你排除自有品牌，我們認為這是更誠實地看待我們業務的方式，因為基礎業務相當強勁。

And we think 5% in the current market environment is actually a really good number.

我們認為，在當前的市場環境下，5% 實際上是一個非常好的數字。

Now we have plans to continue to develop the opportunities that we see ahead of us, but 5% in the fourth quarter, we feel pretty good about.

現在我們計劃繼續開發我們看到的未來​​的機遇，但我們對第四季度 5% 的成長率感到相當滿意。

Particularly on the volume side, almost 3% excluding private label.

特別是在數量方面，不包括自有品牌，幾乎佔3%。

A little bit softer in some parts of Europe that we saw as we exited the quarter, particularly some of the softness we saw -- continued softness in China behind our skin health business.

當我們退出本季時，我們發現歐洲部分地區的業務略顯疲軟，特別是我們看到的一些疲軟現象——在我們皮膚健康業務的背後，中國市場持續疲軟。

But overall, good volume growth.

但總體而言，銷量成長良好。

And we've been talking to you more about a normalization, moving away from pricing growth in the P&L to more volume growth, and that's consistently what we've seen over the last couple of quarters.

我們一直在和你討論正常化問題，從損益表中的價格成長轉向銷售成長，這正是我們在過去幾季中所看到的。

We did have less pricing from Argentina in the quarter, which we've talked about in our prepared comments.

本季度來自阿根廷的定價確實較低，我們已在準備好的評論中談到了這一點。

It was about 100 basis points less than we had in the first three quarters of the year.

這比今年前三個季度低了約 100 個基點。

But we are still getting positive pricing, and we've announced more pricing to offset some of the foreign exchange headwinds that we're seeing in Latin America already here in the first quarter.

但我們仍然獲得積極的定價，並且我們已經宣布了更多的定價，以抵消我們在第一季在拉丁美洲已經看到的一些外匯逆風。

So if I come back to the underlying confidence that we have, strong P&L flexibility, good balance sheet, the health of the brand is in a much better place than it's been, market shares continue to inflect positively for the business, and overall, we're seeing a stabilization of the categories and, hopefully, we'll see the growth come back as we move through 2025.

因此，如果我回到我們的基本信心，強大的損益靈活性，良好的資產負債表，品牌的健康狀況比以前好得多，市場份額繼續對業務產生積極影響，總體而言，我們我們看到各個類別都趨於穩定，希望到2025 年，我們能看到成長的回歸。

Peter Grom, UBS.

瑞銀的 Peter Grom。

So I was just hoping to get some color on the gross margin performance in the quarter and kind of the cadence from here.

所以我只是希望了解一下本季的毛利率表現以及未來的節奏。

Obviously, we weren't going to have sequential progress continuously, but it was the first time in a couple of years that that hasn't happened.

顯然，我們不會連續取得進展，但這是幾年來第一次沒有發生這種情況。

So I just would be curious how gross margin fared versus kind of your expectations.

所以我只是好奇毛利率與您的預期相比如何。

And then just looking ahead, I understand you expect another year of expansion, but just would be curious if you could -- it would be helpful if you could frame the path from here considering the

然後展望未來，我知道您預計今年還會有擴張，但我很好奇，如果您能考慮到以下因素，規劃未來的發展路徑，那將會很有幫助。

[exit rate].

[退出率]。

And then just within that, any color you can share on funding the growth just given what was a very strong year in '24?

那麼，鑑於 2024 年的業績非常強勁，您能分享一下資金成長的具體情況嗎？

So let me just level set us here.

因此，讓我在這裡對我們進行水平設置。

We're up 70 basis points versus a year ago with significant foreign exchange headwinds.

與一年前相比，在面臨巨大外匯阻力的情況下，我們的利潤上漲了 70 個基點。

So again, another quarter north of 60%.

因此，這又是一個超過 60% 的季度。

And I think, overall, we feel pretty good about that.

我認為，總體而言，我們對此感到非常滿意。

Slightly below where we were hoping given the transactional impact that moved through the P&L as we exited the quarter, but overall, the underlying margin driven by pricing, strong productivity through funding the growth continues to be very good.

考慮到本季結束時交易對損益表的影響，這一數字略低於我們的預期，但總體而言，由定價推動的潛在利潤率、透過資助成長而實現的強勁生產力仍然表現良好。

So we feel pretty good about where we ended up.

因此，我們對最終的結果感到非常滿意。

And as I mentioned earlier, that we have taken some pricing in Latin America to begin to offset some of the foreign exchange headwinds we've seen.

正如我之前提到的，我們已經在拉丁美洲採取了一些定價措施，以開始抵消我們所看到的一些外匯逆風。

But let me turn it over to Stan, who will give you a little bit more color on how we were thinking about the trajectory of gross margin and our confidence to be able to grow gross margin in 2025.

但是，讓我把話題交給史丹，他將向您更詳細地介紹我們如何看待毛利率的走勢，以及我們對 2025 年提高毛利率的信心。

Thanks, Noel.

謝謝，諾埃爾。

So Peter, we mentioned we did all four quarters above 60%, and we're up 70 basis points in the fourth quarter.

彼得，我們提到，我們四個季度的成長率都超過了 60%，而且第四季的成長率達到了 70 個基點。

So we're happy with the margin expansion.

因此我們對利潤率的擴大感到滿意。

And as we look ahead, there are several items I think, will help us as we go to drive that margin expansion.

展望未來，我認為有幾項措施將有助於我們擴大利潤率。

One is simply going to be mixed.

一個只是簡單地混合。

As we grow Hills and we grow Oral Care, we get a positive mix as those are two of our more profitable businesses.

隨著希爾斯 (Hills) 和口腔護理 (Oral Care) 業務的成長，我們獲得了積極的組合，因為這是我們利潤較高的兩個業務。

So you combine that with less private label, which has a very low margin, you get a mix benefit going forward.

因此，如果你將其與利潤率很低的較少自有品牌結合，你就能獲得未來的綜合效益。

You mentioned our Funding the Growth program.

您提到了我們的資助增長計劃。

Our productivity program, long-established, extraordinarily well run by the teams.

我們的生產力計劃由來已久，並由團隊出色地運作。

We've been planning on this for many months now heading into '25.

我們已經為此計劃了好幾個月，準備迎接 25 年。

So I think we're off to a good start on Funding the Growth.

所以我認為我們在資助成長方面已經有了一個好的開始。

One of the capabilities Noel mentioned, as we've made investments in is in some of our new capabilities, and we have revenue growth management, what we call 2.0, as we go to drive better performance on our revenue growth management.

諾埃爾提到的其中一項能力，是我們在一些新功能上進行了投資，我們有收入成長管理，我們稱之為 2.0，目的是提高我們的收入成長管理績效。

We have good innovation pipelines across the business coming in.

我們在整個業務範圍內擁有良好的創新管道。

And I think the combination of those will help us with expanding margin in 2025.

我認為這些因素的結合將有助於我們在 2025 年擴大利潤。

Now as private label slowly mixes off, you'll see that go through the year, but we are confident in the ability to expand margin in 2025.

現在，隨著自有品牌的慢慢融合，您將會看到這一趨勢將持續一年，但我們有信心在 2025 年擴大利潤率。

And then one other add, Peter, would be that we've seen a more moderating raw material environment.

彼得，另外要補充的是，我們已經看到了更溫和的原料環境。

We'll watch that carefully.

我們會密切關注此事。

But relative to how we entered 2024, we seem to have better visibility to where raw materials are going at this stage.

但相對於我們進入 2024 年的情況，我們似乎對現階段原料的走向有了更好的了解。

Bonnie Herzog, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的邦妮·赫爾佐格 (Bonnie Herzog)。

I actually had a question on your North America business.

我實際上對您的北美業務有一個疑問。

Pricing was negative last year.

去年定價為負。

And then segment volumes didn't necessarily benefit, I guess, in the back half of the year.

我想，下半年的細分市場銷售不一定會有所成長。

So as we think about this year, how should we think about the contribution from price versus volume mix in North America?

那麼當我們思考今年時，我們該如何看待北美價格與銷售組合的貢獻？

And then is it reasonable to assume that price contribution remains negative?

那麼，假設價格貢獻維持負值是否合理？

And in that context, could you touch on the promotional environment and I guess how it compares relative to your expectations across your different categories in the market?

在這種情況下，您能否談談促銷環境以及它與您對市場上不同類別的期望相比如何？

Thanks, Bonnie.

謝謝，邦妮。

Again, as we talked about back in the second quarter and some of the price adjustments we made to the business, which we think have helped improve the underlying health and certainly some of the strong volume performance we've had in the US, continue to filter through the third and the fourth quarter.

再次，正如我們在第二季度討論的那樣，我們對業務進行的一些價格調整，我們認為這些調整有助於改善公司的基本健康狀況，當然也有助於我們在美國取得的強勁銷量表現，這些調整將繼續過濾第三和第四季。

We'll see that kind of taper away as we move through the back half of 2025, but those price adjustments are there.

到 2025 年下半年，我們會看到這種逐漸減少的趨勢，但價格調整仍然存在。

I would say that both volume and price sequentially improved in the fourth quarter as we exited the year in North America.

我想說的是，隨著今年北美業務的結束，第四季的銷售和價格都連續改善。

I would also remind everyone that the segmentation that we have now includes the Skin Health business in North America as of the third quarter, that we added that in there.

我還要提醒大家，我們現在的細分市場包括第三季的北美皮膚健康業務，我們將其添加到了其中。

And we did see a lot of softness in volume and price coming out of our skin business in China, which has been pretty -- a consistent theme throughout the year.

我們確實看到中國皮膚業務的銷售和價格出現很大疲軟，這是一個全年一致的主題。

But overall, North America, if you take the underlying business, Oral, Personal and Home Care performed quite well.

但整體而言，如果從北美的基礎業務來看，口腔、個人和家庭護理業務的表現相當不錯。

We saw, as I mentioned, sequential improvement.

正如我所提到的，我們看到了連續的改善。

We saw some benefits from some of the shipment timing that we had this year versus last year, and the volume performance ex skin was very strong across the North America business.

與去年相比，我們看到今年的部分出貨時間有一些好處，而且整個北美業務的皮貨銷售表現非常強勁。

But that being said, we do have more work to do.

但話雖如此，我們確實還有更多工作要做。

We're still continuing to look at our go-to-market strategies and our investment posture in the US.

我們仍在繼續關注我們的市場進入策略和在美國的投資態勢。

We continue to believe it's a strategic growth opportunity for the company, and we will continue to invest in that business.

我們仍然相信這是公司的策略性成長機會，我們將繼續對該業務進行投資。

We have new leadership in place, which we're excited about some of the strategic thinking that's coming behind that.

我們已經有了新的領導階層，我們對其背後的一些策略思想感到非常興奮。

The exiting of the year saw some green shoots, particularly in some of the categories, including toothpaste, liquid hand, soap and dish, particularly in some of the latter categories, which had been a headwind to us in the first part of the year.

今年的業績出現了一些復甦跡象，特別是在一些品類，包括牙膏、洗手液、肥皂和洗潔精，尤其是後者的一些品類，這些品類在上半年對我們來說是一大阻力。

So we feel good about where we are from a strategic standpoint and from a growth standpoint.

因此，從策略角度和成長角度來看，我們對目前的狀況感到滿意。

So overall, pricing will improve, particularly as we move through the back half of 2025.

因此整體而言，定價將會改善，特別是到 2025 年下半年。

Andrea Teixeira, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的安德里亞特謝拉 (Andrea Teixeira)。

I just wanted to kind of like elaborate a little bit more if you can on the pricing front, what you're expecting, Noel, on the FX-driven pricing.

如果您可以的話，我只是想在定價方面更詳細地說明一下，諾埃爾，您對 FX 驅動的定價有什麼期望。

You mentioned Latin America, you took pricing.

您提到了拉丁美洲，並考慮了定價。

And if you are seeing anything in regards to some of the places where you have FX as well, in Europe, in terms of like how it fits into your guidance.

如果您看到有關歐洲某些地方也有外匯的情況，請考慮它如何符合您的指導。

And then related to that also on the volume, sorry, just to clarify, if it's mostly driven, the volume components that you're seeing into 2025, where is going to be the most -- I mean the areas that you see the volume kind of like being positive on the on the algorithm from the 3% to 5%?

然後與此相關的還有成交量，抱歉，只是為了澄清一下，如果它主要是由你看到的2025 年成交量組成部分驅動的，那麼哪裡將是最重要的——我的意思是你看到成交量的領域有點像對 3% 到 5% 的演算法持正面態度？

What's going to be the green shoots you're seeing?

您看到的綠芽是什麼？

I'm assuming Hills and some of the strength that you're seeing in Colgate Total as well.

我認為 Hills 和高露潔全效牙膏也具有相同的優勢。

Sure.

當然。

Great.

偉大的。

So let me take the pricing question first.

所以讓我先回答一下定價問題。

Obviously, I talked about offsetting foreign exchange, and we'll continue to see some opportunities across the world, particularly in Latin America.

顯然，我談到了抵消外匯，我們將繼續在世界各地看到一些機會，特別是在拉丁美洲。

But there are other markets across Africa that we will be taking pricing to offset some of the foreign exchange headwinds that we see moving into the year.

但對於非洲的其他市場，我們將採取定價措施來抵銷今年出現的一些外匯逆風。

Europe, on the other hand, will continue its value-oriented pricing strategy, which is very much driven by a significant improvement in our innovation and the quality of our innovation to drive more pricing and value back into the categories.

另一方面，歐洲將繼續其以價值為導向的定價策略，這在很大程度上受到我們創新和創新品質的顯著提升的推動，從而推動更多的定價和價值回歸到各個類別。

That was successfully deployed back in 2023 and throughout 2024.

該系統於 2023 年和 2024 年全年成功部署。

So we'll continue to make sure that we're bringing pricing into the category through some of the value-oriented initiatives that we have.

因此，我們將繼續確保透過一些以價值為導向的措施將定價納入該類別。

And as Stan mentioned, that will continue to be a key theme for all of our divisions as we increased our innovation.

正如史丹所提到的，隨著我們加強創新，這將繼續成為我們所有部門的關鍵主題。

You heard me talk about the incrementality we're getting from our innovation.

您聽到我談到了我們從創新中獲得的增量。

So we feel we're in a much more solid footing relative to how we think about innovation and its ability to be accretive through our P&L, both from a growth standpoint as well as a margin standpoint.

因此，我們認為，相對於我們如何看待創新及其透過我們的損益表實現增值的能力，無論是從成長的角度還是從利潤的角度，我們都處於更穩固的基礎之上。

In terms of volume, we'll continue to have balanced volume across the year.

就銷量而言，我們全年將繼續保持銷量平衡。

Now we've said that we expected a shift from a pricing-driven algorithm in organic to a more volume-driven organic -- excuse me, more volume-driven algorithm on organic, and that's exactly what's happening.

現在我們已經說過，我們預計將從有機定價驅動演算法轉變為更多數量驅動的有機演算法——對不起，更多數量驅動的有機演算法，而這正是正在發生的事情。

We're seeing that consistently across all of our divisions.

我們在所有部門都看到了這個現象。

A little softness on the Hill's category, but we've seen consumption start to improve as we enter 2025 on the categories.

希爾類別略顯疲軟，但隨著我們進入 2025 年，我們看到該類別的消費量開始改善。

So that bodes well.

這是個好兆頭。

But that's been a little softer, but we'll get into Hill's later, but an outstanding performance in a flat category.

但是那有點軟，但我們稍後會討論希爾，但在平坦的類別中表現出色。

And ultimately, we'll see that category hopefully inflect positive as we move through 2025.

最終，我們希望看到這一類別在 2025 年出現積極變化。

But volume will come across the board.

但成交量將會全面上漲。

Asia will continue to be a good volume contributor.

亞洲將繼續成為銷售的良好貢獻者。

Africa has been a great volume contributor, and no question in Latin America as well as North America.

非洲是產量的主要貢獻者，拉丁美洲和北美的產量貢獻也毫無疑問。

So it's going to be pretty broad-based across the board.

所以它的影響範圍將會非常廣泛。

If you look -- if you take a step back for a moment and look at our volume shares and, again, a testament to our focus on brand penetration, our volume shares continue to inflect very positively across most of the regions.

如果你看一下——如果你退一步來看看我們的銷售份額，這再次證明了我們對品牌滲透的關注，我們的銷售份額在大多數地區繼續呈現非常積極的變化。

So we feel very good about our ability to continue to drive penetration through some of the initiatives that we have.

因此，我們對能夠透過現有的一些措施繼續推動滲透感到非常滿意。

And largely that's driven by the underlying health of the brand, which are in a much better place than they were five years ago given the support that we're putting behind the business.

這很大程度上是由品牌的基本健康狀況所推動的，由於我們對業務的支持，品牌的狀況比五年前好得多。

Kaumil Gajrawala, Jefferies.

傑富瑞 (Jefferies) 的 Kaumil Gajrawala。

Noel, you mentioned you would talk about Hill's later.

諾埃爾，你提到你稍後會談論希爾。

Maybe we talk about it a bit now.

也許我們現在可以談論它。

If you could just talk a bit about the -- what's going on with volumes, particularly in Europe.

如果你可以稍微談論一下——特別是歐洲的銷售情況。

Is this something cyclical?

這是周期性的嗎？

Is there anything else changing?

還有什麼變化嗎？

Any more details would be useful.

任何更多的細節都會有幫助。

And then on RGM 2.0, perhaps just a little bit more on what that means, what you're able to do now versus what you were doing with RGM before.

然後關於 RGM 2.0，也許我會更詳細地講一下它的含義，以及您現在能夠做什麼以及您之前使用 RGM 所做的事情。

I think those would be helpful.

我認為這些會有幫助。

Yes.

是的。

Great.

偉大的。

So again, Hill's continues to really execute against the strategy that we outlined three or four years ago.

所以，希爾斯繼續真正執行我們三、四年前所製定的策略。

So obviously, the volume was impacted by the impact to private label, so about a 200 basis points impact from the drag on private label.

因此顯然，銷售量受到了自有品牌衝擊，自有品牌的拖累產生了約 200 個基點的影響。

So overall, a 3% volume growth on that business in a roughly flat category right now, we think, is very, very strong.

因此總體而言，我們認為，在目前大致持平的類別中，該業務的銷量成長 3% 是非常強勁的。

I'll start off with market shares on Hill's.

我首先會介紹希爾的市場佔有率。

Consistently one of the fastest-growing brands in pet specialty, we continue to see strong share growth across other channels.

作為寵物專賣領域成長最快的品牌之一，我們在其他管道的份額持續強勁成長。

Great e-commerce growth, back to growth on prescription diet, which had been a drag on the business historically, and that bodes well for mix and margin.

電子商務的強勁成長，處方飲食重新恢復成長，這在歷史上一直是業務的拖累，這對於產品組合和利潤率來說是一個好兆頭。

So overall, the business is in a very, very good place.

所以整體來說，業務狀況非常非常好。

And the fundamentals in terms of how we're executing against some of our strategies, we talked about the segment opportunities that we see in small pet, we talked about the segment growth opportunities we've seen in cat as well as wet, we feel we're right on pace with where we expected to be and see more opportunities to continue to execute those volume opportunities as we move forward.

關於我們如何執行某些策略的基本面，我們討論了在小寵物領域看到的細分市場機會，討論了在貓和濕寵物領域看到的細分市場增長機會，我們覺得我們的步伐與預期完全一致，並且在未來的發展中，我們看到了更多繼續執行這些批量機會的機會。

And those are more higher ASP opportunities, which will translate through the P&L as well.

這些都是更高 ASP 的機會，這也將透過損益表體現出來。

The supply chain is in a much better shape as well.

供應鏈的狀況也變得更好了。

We've talked about making sure that we really optimize our network, and we're doing exactly that, the Tonganoxie ramp-up, which will be our most automated facility in the world, continues to go as expected.

我們已經討論過如何確保真正優化我們的網絡，而且我們正在這樣做，Tonganoxie 的擴建工程（它將成為我們在世界上自動化程度最高的設施）繼續按預期進行。

So overall, we feel like we're in a good place.

整體而言，我們感覺目前的情況不錯。

The category was a little soft in Europe.

在歐洲，該類別稍微有點疲軟。

We don't think it's anything unusual to be too worried about, but obviously, we're very focused on making sure that we go after those under index growth segments where we're not getting our fair share where we now have strategies in place and innovation in place to actually capture that growth.

我們認為這沒有什麼不尋常的，不需要太擔心，但顯然，我們非常專注於確保我們追逐那些指數增長下的細分市場，在這些細分市場中，我們沒有得到公平的份額，而我們現在已經制定了策略並實施創新來真正實現這一成長。

And that will help us offset.

這將幫助我們抵消。

So within the context of the overall category, we are outperforming most of our competitors, and we feel very good about where the business is going and the trajectory of that as we move into 2025.

因此，在整體類別的背景下，我們的表現優於大多數競爭對手，並且我們對業務的發展方向以及邁向 2025 年的軌跡感到非常滿意。

So let me pick up on the second part of the question around RGM 2.0. And you've heard us talk over the last few years about investing in capabilities.

那麼讓我來談談有關 RGM 2.0 的問題的第二部分。過去幾年裡，你們也聽過我們談論關於能力投資的問題。

That's really what comes home to 2.0. And things like analytics and digital and data, we leverage those skills and those new capabilities to come in to design our pricing strategy in market by product, our promotion strategy and timing.

這才是 2.0 的真正意義。我們利用分析、數字和數據等技能和新功能來設計我們根據產品的市場定價策略、促銷策略和時機。

And we've seen some really great returns and customer feedback around those.

並且我們已經看到了一些非常好的回報和客戶回饋。

So it's really taking an already talented workforce here, enabling them with new capabilities and new skills that allows us to be more effective.

因此，這實際上是在吸收一群本來就才華橫溢的勞動力，為他們提供新的能力和新技能，從而提高我們的效率。

When you combine that with innovation that we bring to market, it's pretty powerful in market.

當你將其與我們推向市場的創新結合時，它在市場上會非常強大。

So we're comfortable that RGM is going to continue to contribute both the margin and to top line.

因此，我們很高興看到 RGM 將繼續為利潤和營收做出貢獻。

Kevin Grundy, BNP.

英國國家銀行的凱文‧格蘭迪 (Kevin Grundy)。

Noel, I was hoping you could comment on advertising levels broadly.

諾埃爾，我希望你能對廣告水平進行廣泛的評論。

So you guys have done an outstanding job here over the past couple of years of increasing A&M levels.

所以，在過去幾年裡，你們在提高 A&M 水平方面做得非常出色。

Of course, that's been funded by gross margin increases.

當然，這是由毛利率的提高所資助的。

But now with things slowing down a bit, the expectation is that advertising and marketing levels are going to be relatively flattish year over year, right?

但現在情況有所放緩，預計廣告和行銷水平將比去年同期相對持平，對嗎？

So said differently, maintained as a percent of sales.

換句話說，維持銷售額的百分比。

So how were you potentially weighing as you're putting the plan together further increasing A&M levels as a percent of sales to the extent you could accelerate top line growth, further gain market share, relative to margin and earnings growth expectations, just because the returns you've been getting in recent years have been so strong and further increasing?

那麼，在製定計劃時，您如何權衡進一步提高 A&M 水平佔銷售額的百分比，以便加速營收成長，進一步獲得市場份額，相對於利潤率和盈利增長預期，僅僅因為回報近年來你的表現如此強勁並不斷提升嗎？

So broad context, I think, on that front would be helpful.

因此，我認為，從這個方面來看，廣泛的背景將會有所幫助。

Yes.

是的。

Great, Kevin.

太好了，凱文。

I think the top line comment here is that we are very focused with a lot of our tech platforms and the work that we're doing around programmatic media and personalization through data to really optimize and continue to find ways to be more precise with our spending that we've obviously gotten in a much better place than we were years back.

我認為最重要的一點是，我們非常專注於我們的許多技術平台，以及我們圍繞程序化媒體和透過數據進行個性化所做的工作，以真正優化並繼續尋找更精準的支出方式顯然，與幾年前相比，我們現在的狀況已經好多了。

As you mentioned, up 9% this quarter on top of 80% a year ago.

正如您所提到的，本季成長了 9%，去年同期為 80%。

So we're in a much, much healthier place.

因此，我們現在的健康狀況要好得多。

And if you take all of the metrics that we use to assess brand health, which ultimately is the most important proxy on whether your advertising is working or not, and we continue to see very strong inflections on the strength of our brands around the world.

如果你採用我們用來評估品牌健康狀況的所有指標，這最終是衡量你的廣告是否有效的最重要指標，我們會繼續看到我們在全球範圍內的品牌實力出現非常強烈的變化。

We do have unique opportunities in certain parts of the world to continue to improve that, but in general, a much better place than we've been.

在世界的某些地區，我們確實擁有獨特的機會來繼續改善這種狀況，但總體而言，我們現在的狀況比以前好得多。

We're being far more deliberate with our advertising spend.

我們在廣告支出方面更加謹慎。

And what I mean by that is more choiceful on the opportunities that we see in terms of driving category growth and growth for the Colgate franchise.

我的意思是，我們在推動高露潔品牌品類成長和特許經營成長方面，可以更有選擇性地抓住機會。

And so we've been, I think, quite successful in earmarking money to certain parts of the world and in certain categories where we're seeing a much better ROI.

因此，我認為，我們在將資金分配給世界某些地區和某些類別方面相當成功，我們看到了更好的投資報酬率。

I can't get into a lot of specifics, but you heard us back and talk over the last couple of years on how we're using data analytics and our digital transformation has really unlocked a lot more efficiency in our spend and our ROIs have continued to improve sequentially.

我無法講得那麼詳細，但在過去幾年裡，你們聽到我們談論過我們如何使用數據分析，我們的數位轉型確實大大提高了我們的支出效率，我們的投資回報率也提高了持續改善。

So as we move into 2025, it's really about continuing to make sure we're optimizing the growth and the spending that we've had and be more precise and tactical with how we think about using that money, or more strategic on how we use that money across the board.

因此，當我們進入 2025 年時，我們真正要做的是繼續確保我們能夠優化成長和支出，更加精準、更有策略地考慮如何使用這些資金，或者更加戰略性地使用這筆錢全都用來

So it will be efficiency, technology and making sure we find ways to optimize that spend in the areas where we're going to get the best return on investment.

因此，我們要注重效率、技術，並確保找到方法來優化我們在能夠獲得最佳投資回報的領域的支出。

Bryan Spillane, Bank of America.

美國銀行的布萊恩‧斯皮蘭 (Bryan Spillane)。

So just, I guess, I would like to get your perspective on two quick things.

所以，我想簡單了解一下您對兩件事的看法。

One, Noel, in just trying to put the 3% to 5% organic sales growth forecast for '25 into context, just where does that stand relative to kind of where category growth is as we're exiting 4Q?

首先，諾埃爾，我們只是想把2025 年3% 到5% 的有機銷售成長預測放到合適的背景下，相對於我們即將結束的第四季度而言，這相對於類別增長而言處於什麼位置？

So one, just kind of your growth rate expectations relative to the category geographies.

首先，您只是針對類別地理位置的成長率預期。

And then the second, just since because it's topical, it's in the headline, tariffs.

第二，因為它是熱門話題，所以是頭條新聞，那就是關稅。

I think in the prepared remarks, you talked a bit about evaluating once you know.

我認為在準備好的發言中，您談到了一旦知道就進行評估。

But as we're thinking about tariffs, just because we're all going to try to put some probabilities on it and run some things through our model, just some basics that we should be paying attention to as we're thinking about this topic, just relative to how size it could be.

但是當我們考慮關稅時，因為我們都會嘗試對它進行一些機率計算，並通過我們的模型運行一些事情，這是我們在思考這個主題時應該注意的一些基本知識，僅相對於它的大小而言。

I don't know, anything you could give us as an input would be helpful.

我不知道，您提供的任何意見都會對我們有幫助。

Brian.

布萊恩。

Great, I'll take the first part of the question, and I'll let Stan talk about a lot of the great strategic work that we've been doing over the last couple of years to truly optimize our supply chain for more resilience and potential disruption.

好的，我來回答問題的第一部分，史丹將談談我們在過去幾年中所做的許多偉大的策略工作，這些工作旨在真正優化我們的供應鏈，提高彈性和潛在的破壞。

So if I take the category growth rates right now, we've seen -- I think the good news is we've seen more of a stabilization.

因此，如果我現在看一下類別成長率，我們已經看到——我認為好消息是我們看到了更多的穩定性。

We saw some falloff in the categories as we moved through I think the additive impacts of inflationary pricing over the last 1.5 years, but we've seen a more stabilization of the categories and -- which is good news.

我認為，在過去的 1.5 年裡，通貨膨脹定價產生了累積影響，我們看到各個類別的銷售量有所下降，但我們現在看到各個類別的銷量更加穩定了，這是好消息。

So categories in general, the categories in which we compete, are growing 2% to 4%.

所以總體而言，我們競爭的類別成長了 2% 到 4%。

So relative to our organic algorithm of 3% to 5%, we will be outpacing the categories and ultimately continue to drive brand penetration and share growth.

因此，相對於我們 3% 到 5% 的有機演算法，我們將超越各個類別，並最終繼續推動品牌滲透和份額成長。

So I think the overarching comment is we've seen some stabilization in the categories based on some of the fall-offs that we had seen in the third quarter and into the early part of the fourth quarter.

因此，我認為總體的評論是，基於我們在第三季和第四季初看到的一些下滑，我們看到各個類別有所穩定。

And we have, we believe, the right innovation, the right pricing and mechanisms in place to continue to outpace the categories.

我們相信，我們擁有正確的創新、正確的定價和適當的機制，能夠繼續領先其他類別。

On tariffs, as we said in the commentary, we've not included any potential incremental tariffs in our '25 guidance.

關於關稅，正如我們在評論中所說，我們沒有在我們的‘25年指導中包含任何潛在的增量關稅。

But let me try to put the tariffs in context of our long-term supply chain strategy.

但讓我嘗試將關稅放在我們的長期供應鏈策略的背景下。

So primarily, we aim to have local manufacturing as the cost of shipping some of our products across long distances can be material.

因此，我們主要致力於本地製造，因為長距離運輸某些產品的成本可能很高。

We spent the last few years building much more flexibility into our global supply chain.

過去幾年來，我們不斷增強全球供應鏈的靈活性。

It's not necessarily about building more capacity but rather making better use of the existing capacity and alternative sourcing, as well as standardizing formulas across the markets.

這不一定要建造更多的產能，而是更好地利用現有產能和替代採購，以及在各個市場中標準化配方。

So importantly, we've invested meaningfully in our US supply chain, almost $2 billion over the last five years between investment in our Oral, Personal, Home care business, along with the purchase of pet food capacity, the opening of our Tonganoxie wet pet food facility, we've increased the number of our US-based manufacturing facilities by more than 40% over that time.

重要的是，我們在美國供應鏈上進行了大量的投資，過去五年來，我們在美國口腔、個人和家庭護理業務上的投資接近20 億美元，此外還購買了寵物食品產能，開設了Tonganoxie 濕寵物店。

So material investment into US capabilities.

因此對美國能力進行實質投資。

And let me give an example of some of our improved flexibility.

讓我舉一個例子來說明我們的一些改進的靈活性。

When we had available machine -- manual toothbrush capacity outside of China in '21, we were limited in which SKUs we could actually produce in which plants.

'21年，當我們在中國以外擁有機器手動牙刷產能時，我們實際上可以在哪些工廠生產哪些SKU受到限制。

We can now produce more SKUs at more plants, so we have the same amount of capacity, but we can meet more customer and consumer needs from more geographic locations.

我們現在可以在更多工廠生產更多 SKU，因此我們擁有相同的產能，但我們可以從更多地理位置滿足更多客戶和消費者的需求。

And this philosophy gives us better flexibility as we enter a period with potentially higher tariffs.

當我們進入可能出現關稅上調的時期時，這種理念為我們提供了更好的靈活性。

And we also have additional co-man capacity to provide flexibility.

而且我們還擁有額外的合作能力來提供靈活性。

Now we do produce some of our products for the US in Mexico, primarily toothpaste, and we're working on potential mitigation plans, which can impact both raw materials and finished products.

現在我們確實在墨西哥為美國生產一些產品，主要是牙膏，我們正在製定潛在的緩解計劃，這可能會影響原料和成品。

On raw materials, we import a limited amount of raw materials, predominantly specialty-type ingredients like vitamins and amino acids.

在原料方面，我們進口有限數量的原料，主要是維生素和胺基酸等特殊類型的成分。

And as you would expect, we're planning for multiple scenarios, because it's not just the tariff that may be on Mexico or Canada or China, it's the impact of retaliatory tariffs that would also come into play on those supply chain.

正如您所料，我們正在為多種情況做規劃，因為不僅僅是針對墨西哥、加拿大或中國的關稅，報復性關稅也會對這些供應鏈產生影響。

So we're looking at very tactical short term, midterm and long term if necessary actions.

因此，我們正在考慮非常有策略性的短期、中期和長期行動（如有必要）。

But until we get more clarity, we have not included anything in our guidance.

但在我們獲得更清晰的訊息之前，我們不會在我們的指導中包含任何內容。

Olivia Tong, Raymond James.

奧莉維亞通 (Olivia Tong)、雷蒙詹姆斯 (Raymond James)。

Great.

偉大的。

I wanted to talk through what you expect to be the volume implications of the pricing you're planning to take given the decel in volume in Q4.

我想談談考慮到第四季度銷售下降，您預期的定價對銷售有何影響。

If you could talk to order of magnitude on the LatAm pricing, whether you've already implemented this.

如果您可以談談拉美定價的數量級，那麼您是否已經實施了這一點。

And if you're planning to price in other regions or whether the competitive or macro dynamics make that more difficult to push through.

如果您打算在其他地區定價，或者競爭或宏觀動態是否會使定價變得更加困難。

And then just you talked about advertising and being up -- being flat to up.

然後您剛才談到了廣告和上漲——從持平到上漲。

What about promotion and your ability, if necessary, to pivot between advertising and promotion?

那麼促銷呢？

So let me take the latter part of the question first.

因此，讓我先回答問題的後半部。

The promotional spending has been, I think, quite constructive.

我認為促銷支出非常有建設性。

We have seen some pockets of increased competitive activity.

我們發現一些領域的競爭活動增加。

India was one where we saw heightened competition in spending in the fourth quarter.

印度是第四季支出競爭加劇的國家之一。

You probably saw that in the press release on the India results.

您可能在有關印度結果的新聞稿中看到了這一點。

We've seen some heightened competitive activity in South Africa as well.

我們也看到南非的競爭活動日益激烈。

But more or less pretty constant across the quarter.

但本季的情況基本上相當穩定。

US continues to be quite constructive; no significant changes there.

美國繼續保持相當的建設性；那裡沒有重大變化。

So on balance, I would say the promotional environment continues to be as we would have expected, with some isolated pockets of increased activity, which we addressed in our statements earlier.

因此，總的來說，我認為促銷環境繼續如我們預期的那樣，有一些孤立的活動有所增加，我們在先前的聲明中已經提到了這一點。

So overall, we feel we're in a pretty good place.

總體而言，我們覺得我們處於相當不錯的狀態。

But my expectation is you continue to move from a pricing to a volume environment, you may see more promotion.

但我的預期是，你繼續從定價環境轉向數量環境，你可能會看到更多的促銷。

But we planned for that in our guidance and plan for that in our plans for 2025.

但我們在指導方針中已經為此做好了計劃，並在 2025 年的計劃中也為此做好了規劃。

Relative to Latin American pricing, as I mentioned, we've announced some pricing already in Latin America relative to some of the foreign exchange headwinds, and we'll continue to watch that very carefully.

相對於拉丁美洲的定價，正如我所提到的，我們已經宣布了拉丁美洲相對於一些外匯不利因素的一些定價，我們將繼續密切關注這一點。

We did not anticipate another significant devaluation in Argentina this year in our guidance or in our numbers.

無論是從我們的指導意見還是數據來看，我們都沒有預料到今年阿根廷的貨幣會再次大幅貶值。

That may or may not happen.

這有可能發生，也有可能不會發生。

We will adjust that accordingly.

我們將進行相應調整。

I think it's worth saying that despite the significant foreign exchange headwinds we saw in Argentina, we did grow dollar earnings in Argentina, which I think is a great proxy to our ability to offset some of the transactional impact that we see as we move through foreign exchange.

我認為值得一提的是，儘管我們在阿根廷看到了巨大的外匯逆風，但我們在阿根廷的美元收入確實增加了，我認為這很好地表明了我們有能力抵消外匯交易帶來的一些影響。交換。

As I mentioned earlier, Europe is a little bit more challenging to do that.

正如我之前提到的，歐洲要做到這一點更具挑戰性。

So we pivoted from price increases to really driving meaningful innovation that can drive value in the categories and ultimately drive some accretion on the margin line and the pricing line.

因此，我們不再提高價格，而是真正推動有意義的創新，從而推動品類價值的提升，並最終推動利潤線和價格線的成長。

And we'll continue to adopt that strategy overall.

我們將繼續全面推行這項策略。

Sergio Matsumoto, TD Cowen.

塞爾吉奧·松本 (Sergio Matsumoto)，TD Cowen。

It's Sergio Matsumoto with, I'm Rob Moskow's team.

我是 Sergio Matsumoto，也是 Rob Moskow 的團隊成員。

Noel and Stan, in Latin America, how does the current macroeconomic headwinds like inflation is impacting the demand of the category?

諾埃爾和斯坦，在拉丁美洲，當前的宏觀經濟逆風（如通貨膨脹）對該類別的需求有何影響？

And with the new administration in the US, does -- how does that change your operations in the local countries in terms of any pricing changes that you might make or innovation?

那麼，美國新政府上台後，你們在定價或創新方面的措施會為當地國家的營運帶來什麼改變呢？

Sergio, thanks for the question.

塞爾吉奧，謝謝你的提問。

So as you well know, we've been in Latin America for 75-plus years.

眾所周知，我們已經在拉丁美洲生活了 75 多年。

In fact, I'll be going down to Mexico in June to celebrate our 100-year anniversary in Mexico, which is a great milestone for us and for the Mexican company, which has been one of our most successful businesses in the world given our long-standing presence in those markets.

事實上，我將於 6 月前往墨西哥慶祝我們在墨西哥成立 100 週年，這對我們和墨西哥公司來說都是一個偉大的里程碑，墨西哥公司是我們在世界上最成功的企業之一，因為我們在這些市場長期存在。

Overall, we have dealt with a significant amount of volatility in Latin America over the last couple of decades.

總體而言，過去幾十年來，我們應對了拉丁美洲的大量動盪。

And so we're accustomed to obviously both political and economic disruptions and our ability to offset that with meaningful innovation and execution against the fundamentals that will ultimately drive category growth and our business.

因此，我們顯然已經習慣了政治和經濟動盪，並且我們有能力透過有意義的創新和執行來抵消這些影響，從而推動最終推動品類成長和業務發展的基本面。

We've seen that consistently throughout this year as well.

我們今年也一直看到這種情況。

Latin America performance continues to be very, very strong.

拉丁美洲的表現持續非常強勁。

It slowed a little bit in the fourth quarter, but that was more due to some of the pricing that I mentioned earlier that was in the year-ago number in Argentina were through the first three quarters that we didn't necessarily have in the fourth quarter this year.

第四季有所放緩，但這更多的是由於我之前提到的阿根廷去年同期價格的一些變化，這些變化發生在前三個季度，而第四季度並不一定如此。

But if I take our two biggest markets and characterize those perhaps in terms of categories and how we're doing, Mexico and Brazil, we had good quarters for both those businesses.

但如果我以我們最大的兩個市場——墨西哥和巴西為例，並從類別和我們的表現方面來描述它們，那麼這兩個市場的這兩個​​季度的業務表現都很好。

I'll start with market shares.

我先從市佔率開始說。

Market shares are absolutely terrific in both those markets.

這兩個市場的市佔率都非常可觀。

Volume and value shares are up.

成交量和價值份額均上漲。

Overall, in Latin America, we had eight of 10 countries up or flat in market share.

總體而言，在拉丁美洲，我們在十個國家中有八個國家的市佔率上升或持平。

Nine or 10 of those markets were up or flat in volume.

其中九個或十個市場的成交量上漲或持平。

So overall, the underlying health of the business continues to be very strong, and we're outpacing the categories in terms of our consumption.

因此，總體而言，業務的基本健康狀況持續保持強勁，而且我們的消費水平也超過了其他類別。

So from the perspective of categories, we saw a little slowdown, as we talked about in the third quarter around Mexico.

因此，從類別的角度來看，我們看到了一點放緩，正如我們在第三季度討論的墨西哥的情況一樣。

But that business seems to have stabilized and we've seen better consumption as we've entered 2025.

但該業務似乎已經穩定下來，進入 2025 年，我們看到了更好的消費。

So overall, we think we're in a good place, but we're not immune to, obviously, the continued volatility around foreign exchange and the movements in terms of statements that are made with various countries.

因此，總體而言，我們認為我們處於良好狀態，但顯然我們無法免受外匯持續波動以及各國聲明變動的影響。

So we'll continue to execute against what we can control, and that's the fundamentals of the business and making sure that we have flexibility through the P&L.

因此，我們將繼續執行我們能夠控制的事項，這是業務的基礎，並確保我們透過損益表具有靈活性。

Chris Carey, Wells Fargo.

富國銀行的克里斯凱裡 (Chris Carey)。

You had mentioned some competitive activity in different markets globally, China joint venture, India, Africa, Eurasia.

您提到了全球不同市場的一些競爭活動，中國合資企業、印度、非洲、歐亞大陸。

You didn't mention North America, but there's been some pricing investments.

您沒有提到北美，但已經有一些定價投資。

Can you expand a bit more on some of the end-market competitive activity you're seeing with some specific on specific markets that you called out?

您能否進一步闡述您所看到的一些終端市場競爭活動，以及您所提到的一些具體市場的情況？

Sure.

當然。

Chris, it's not unusual in terms of the heightened competitive activity as some of the manufacturers, particularly local players, are chasing more volume in their categories.

克里斯，競爭加劇的情況並不罕見，因為一些製造商，特別是本地製造商，都在追求其產品類別的產量。

We've been very selective on where we're going to address that, and we'll be sure to make sure we protect the health of the brands as we do that.

我們對解決這個問題的方案非常謹慎，我們一定會確保在解決這個問題的同時保護品牌的健康。

But it was very isolated to a few markets around the world.

但它在全球的少數市場上都十分孤立。

India was probably the most notable with a significant increase in competitive activity in the urban space. particularly in the modern trade where we saw a multitude of competitors discounting more to drive volume.

印度可能是最引人注目的國家，其城市空間競爭活動顯著增加。特別是在現代貿易中，我們看到許多競爭對手透過加大折扣來提高銷售量。

We addressed some of that, which was reflected in the quarter.

我們解決了其中的一些問題，這在本季度有所體現。

But we anticipate India will stabilize and get more rational as we move through the balance of the year.

但我們預計，隨著時間的推移，印度將會穩定下來並變得更加理性。

We've got good innovation plans and good focus on really driving some retail strategies that we think will allow us to offset some of that competitive activity and continue to drive share market and drive category growth.

我們有很好的創新計劃，並專注於真正推動一些零售策略，我們認為這些策略將使我們能夠抵消一些競爭活動，並繼續推動股票市場和品類成長。

Turkey and South Africa were more isolated to some competitive activity there.

土耳其和南非在那裡的一些競爭活動比較孤立。

We don't necessarily see that sustaining itself through the year, but we're well prepared as we mentioned in the guidance to address that if we need to.

我們不認為這種情況會持續一整年，但正如我們在指南中提到的那樣，如果需要，我們已經做好了應對這一問題的準備。

So overall, there's nothing terribly unusual.

所以總的來說，沒有什麼非常不尋常的事情。

As I mentioned earlier, where we see a more constructive promotional environment, Europe would be an area where you might see heightened competitive activity, but we're seeing that be pretty consistent, and we're growing significant market share in Europe as well.

正如我之前提到的，我們看到了更具建設性的促銷環境，歐洲是一個可能會看到競爭加劇的地區，但我們看到這種趨勢相當一致，而且我們在歐洲的市場份額也在不斷增長。

So we feel we're in a good place.

因此我們覺得我們處於一個很好的位置。

Again, if you see more competitive promotion activity, the most important aspect for us is the underlying health of the business in a place we can continue to launch innovation to drive value and drive market share growth both in volume and in dollars, and we're consistently seeing that, particularly in our Oral Care business around the world.

再說一遍，如果你看到更有競爭力的促銷活動，對我們來說最重要的方面是業務的基本健康狀況，我們可以繼續推出創新來推動價值和推動市場份額的成長，無論是數量還是美元，我們我們不斷看到這一點，特別是在我們遍布全球的口腔護理業務中。

Steve Powers, Deutsche Bank.

德意志銀行的史蒂夫·鮑爾斯。

I guess I wanted to ask about just the base case shape of the P&L in 2025.

我想我只是想問一下 2025 年損益表的基本情況。

It's great to see the call for another year of gross margin improvement and at least stable A&P investment.

很高興看到人們呼籲再過一年的毛利率改善和至少穩定的廣告和宣傳投資。

But I guess I'm curious as to how much of the expected underlying operating income improvement is going to be driven by that gross margin versus SG&A reductions and SG&A efficiencies.

但我很好奇，預期的基本營業收入成長有多少是由毛利率而不是銷售、一般及行政費用削減和銷售、一般及行政費用效率推動的。

And then within that, sort of what I'm assuming is increased focus on SG&A, do you think you're going to have enough flex to keep up other elements of investment?

然後在此範圍內，我假設人們更加關注銷售、一般和行政費用，您是否認為您將擁有足夠的靈活性來維持其他投資要素？

You talked about innovation investment, but digital, data analytics, talked about AI.

您談到了創新投資，但數字、數據分析談到了人工智慧。

Those have all been, I think, fruitful pockets of investment the last couple of years.

我認為，這些都是過去幾年富有成果的投資領域。

Can you keep that up in 2025?

到 2025 年你還能維持這種狀態嗎？

Steve, thanks.

史蒂夫，謝謝。

So again, I think the top line comment here is yes.

因此，我再次認為，這裡最重要的評論是肯定的。

While we've front-loaded a lot of that investment in '23 and '24, so we feel we're in a really good place, not necessarily having to play catch-up, there's going to continue -- we're going to continue to raise the bar and ensure we find ways to invest for the long-term health of the business, particularly around capabilities.

雖然我們在 2023 年和 2024 年已經投入了大量資金，所以我們覺得我們處於一個非常好的位置，不一定需要追趕，我們將繼續前進——繼續提高標準並確保我們找到投資方式來促進業務的長期健康發展，特別是在能力方面。

And we have some exciting things underway in the data space, in the technology space as well that will continue to, we believe, drive more productivity through the P&L.

我們在數據領域和技術領域也正在進行一些令人興奮的事情，我們相信這些事情將繼續透過損益表推動生產力的提升。

But Steve, I come back to what we've been talking about and what was anchored in our 2025 strategy when we launched it six years ago.

但是史蒂夫，我回到我們一直在談論的話題以及我們六年前推出 2025 策略時的核心內容。

And that was ultimately getting all line items in the P&L in a place to give us more flexibility.

最終將損益表中的所有項目放在一個地方，從而為我們提供更多靈活性。

And we're going to continue to really focus on doing that.

我們將繼續致力於做到這一點。

There will be ebbs and flows in certain areas of the business that we have to address, but we need to have flexibility to go after the growth and fund that through various line items in the P&L.

我們必須解決某些業務領域出現的起伏，但我們需要靈活地追求成長，並透過損益表中的各個項目來為此提供資金。

So from a capital structure in terms of where we put money, from a capability standpoint.

因此，從資本結構來看，我們把錢放在哪裡，從能力的角度來看。

It's really meant to go up and down the P&L as well as the balance sheet to ensure we have ways to continue to drive top-tier shareholder value.

它實際上意味著損益表和資產負債表的上下浮動，以確保我們有辦法繼續推動頂級股東價值。

And we're going to do that with the consistency of performance and the health of the brands is an underpinning to that.

我們將以業績的一致性和品牌的健康性為基礎來實現這一目標。

So overall, we feel pretty good about where we are across the P&L.

因此總體而言，我們對我們的損益狀況感到非常滿意。

There will be some ebbs and flows as we move through the year.

隨著時間的流逝，我們會經歷一些起伏。

It's -- the year is an artificial construct as we say, we will continue to go after the opportunities as we see them.

正如我們所說，這一年是人為構想的，我們將繼續追逐所看到的機會。

But in the absence of not having flexibility, that becomes very, very difficult to do.

但如果缺乏彈性，這一點就會變得非常非常困難。

And we've shown, I think, over the last couple of years that having ways to flex certain aspects of the P&L and the balance sheet is the best way to drive long-term sustained growth.

我認為，過去幾年我們已經證明，調整損益表和資產負債表某些方面的方法是推動長期持續成長的最佳方式。

The only thing I'd add there is, as we look at the entire P&L and the balance sheet, while we drive productivity, it's not just a cut for cut's sake.

我唯一想補充的是，當我們查看整個損益表和資產負債表時，我們會發現雖然我們提高了生產力，但並不是為了削減而削減。

We actually spent a lot of time in our budgeting process on resource allocation, both dollars and people, and where do we want to reallocate to drive performance in the business.

實際上，我們在預算過程中花費了大量時間在資源分配上，包括資金和人力，以及我們希望在哪裡重新分配以推動業務績效。

And that hits every line of the P&L.

這會影響損益表的每一行。

And then our balance sheet as we drive better payment terms, better net working capital efficiency, it gives us the ability to reduce debt, invest back in the business, which when you look at that holistically, is the flex that we've talked about in managing this day-to-day.

然後我們的資產負債表，隨著我們推動更好的付款條件，更好的淨營運資本效率，它使我們能夠減少債務，重新投資於業務，從整體上看，這就是我們談論的靈活性負責日常管理。

But we're confident in our ability to deliver on our guidance for '25.

但我們對自己實現25年目標的能力充滿信心。

And I think the best proxy for that, at least that I shout a lot from here in New York, is our return on invested capital.

我認為最好的衡量標準，至少我在紐約常這麼說，就是我們的投資資本報酬率。

And that's really ensuring that we're using shareholder money in ways to drive the best return and to have the ROIC back in the 35%, 36%, I think, is a good example of us being very selective, as Stan says, to drive spending where we're going to get the best return on that investment.

這確實確保了我們以最佳方式使用股東資金，以實現最佳回報，並使ROIC 回到35% 或36% 左右，我認為這就是我們非常有選擇性的一個很好的例子，正如斯坦所說，推動支出，以獲得最佳的投資回報。

Lauren Lieberman, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的勞倫·利伯曼。

Noel, since you referenced 2025 strategy, we're starting 2025.

諾埃爾，既然您提到了 2025 策略，那麼我們就從 2025 年開始。

So I was curious if you could talk a little bit about, I guess, thoughts on the next leg?

所以我很好奇，您是否可以談談下一站的想法？

Will you be announcing a kind of 2030 strategy?

您會宣布某種 2030 策略嗎？

And maybe what are some of the areas that you think you would add to that list?

也許您認為還有哪些領域值得添加到該清單中？

What are areas where you still have opportunities to keep pushing on the things that have really been working?

在哪些方面您仍有機會繼續推動那些真正有效的事情？

Great, Lauren.

太好了，勞倫。

I'm smiling here because we're on the eve of announcing our 2030 strategy that we'll be going through the organization with here in the next couple of months.

我之所以微笑，是因為我們即將宣布我們的 2030 策略，我們將在接下來的幾個月內在整個組織內討論這項策略。

We've been working tirelessly over the last year to really fine-tune that.

過去的一年，我們一直不懈努力，力求完美。

We've taken the Board through that.

我們已經向董事會報告了此事。

And so we're quite excited.

因此我們非常興奮。

I mean, I think overall, the discipline around strategic planning in the company, and I give the team tremendous credit for the work around that, has been excellent, and making sure that we continue to remind ourselves on the opportunity spaces that we have and the potential for continued growth to be sure that we're investing ahead of the curve in order to get there.

我的意思是，我認為總體而言，公司在策略規劃方面的紀律非常出色，我對團隊在這方面所做的工作給予了高度評價，並確保我們繼續提醒自己我們擁有的機會空間，持續增長的潛力，確保我們提前投資，以實現這一目標。

And so that's exactly what we'll do as we unveil the 2030 strategy.

這正是我們在公佈 2030 年策略時要做的事。

Now there's always a temptation to throw out what you've had and put something new.

現在，你總是忍不住想丟掉原來的東西，換上新的東西。

I think the line that I would leave you with is consistency is really important to us.

我想我要說的是，一致性對我們來說確實非常重要。

Execution and focus is really important to us.

執行和專注對我們來說確實很重要。

And the things that we've outlined as we launched our 2025 strategy about the growth mindset, about better innovation, about productivity up and down the P&L, about continued gross margin expansion, about investing in the health of our brands and optimizing our spending efficiency, all of that will be consistent as we move into the 2030 plan.

我們在推出 2025 年策略時概述了關於成長思維、更好的創新、提高利潤表的生產力、持續擴大毛利率、投資於品牌健康和優化支出效率的內容，當我們進入2030 計劃時，所有這些都將保持一致。

There are areas that we think we can continue to dial up and sharpen.

我們認為有些領域我們可以繼續加強和改進。

Innovation will be one of those.

創新就是其中之一。

Making sure that we continue to deliver the great incrementality that we're getting through the innovation.

確保我們繼續透過創新實現巨大的增量。

You heard me talk about the 45% more incremental sales coming from new products than we had historically.

您聽到我說過，新產品帶來的增量銷售額比歷史上高出 45%。

That's a big, big driver.

這是一個巨大的推動力。

You've heard me talk about in previous meetings that we've reoriented our incentive systems to get more after incremental innovation.

大家在先前的會議上已經聽我說過，我們已經重新調整了激勵制度，以便在漸進式創新之後獲得更多的回報。

So it's not just launching innovation for the sake of launching innovation, it's making sure it's driving incrementality to the category and to Colgate.

因此，這不僅是為了推出創新而推出創新，還要確保它能夠推動該類別和高露潔的增量。

So innovation will continue to be a big focus.

因此，創新將繼續成為關注的重點。

Data and AI, we're excited about all the investments that we've made, both in training our organization, but really on the business use cases where we see the most -- best ways to optimize growth and efficiency through the P&L.

數據和人工智慧，我們對所做的所有投資感到非常興奮，不僅在培訓我們的組織方面，而且在我們看到最多的業務用例方面——透過損益表優化成長和效率的最佳方式。

That will be an interesting focus for us as well.

這對我們來說也是一個有趣的焦點。

And ultimately, as you look at the health orientation of our products, we will continue to rely heavily on our professional orientation and our ability to drive premiumization and loyalty behind strong endorsements and advocacy of our brands.

最終，當您看到我們產品的健康導向時，我們將繼續嚴重依賴我們的專業導向以及在強有力的品牌代言和宣傳背後推動高端化和忠誠度的能力。

Robert Ottenstein, Evercore ISI.

羅伯特‧奧滕斯坦 (Robert Ottenstein)，Evercore ISI。

First, just a quick follow-up.

首先，我只是快速跟進一下。

You called out in your prepared remarks increased price competition in China.

您在準備好的發言中指出中國的價格競爭加劇。

So I was wondering if you could elaborate on that.

所以我想知道您是否可以詳細說明這一點。

And then my main question is on the total relaunch.

我的主要問題是關於全面重新啟動。

I'm wondering if, first, you can kind of size that compared to other relaunches, just so we have a sense of magnitude in importance.

我想知道，首先，您是否可以將其與其他重新啟動進行比較，以便我們了解其重要性。

How are you defining success on the relaunch?

您如何定義重新發布的成功？

Maybe some early reads in Latin America?

也許有一些關於拉丁美洲的早期讀物？

And also perhaps what you may be doing differently on the marketing side to make it successful?

或許您在行銷方面可以做哪些不同的事情來獲得成功？

Let me just clarify.

讓我澄清一下。

We didn't -- I don't believe we mentioned anything about increased competitive pricing in China specifically.

我們沒有——我不認為我們具體提到有關在中國提高競爭性定價的事情。

We talked about obviously some softness perhaps on our Darlie business, which I'll address in just a moment.

我們顯然談到了 Darlie 業務可能存在的一些疲軟現象，我稍後會談到這一點。

But the increase in heightened pricing is really in Asia was specifically related to India.

但價格上漲實際上發生在亞洲，具體與印度有關。

And that's where we've seen most of the aggressive pricing.

我們也在那裡看到了大多數激進的定價。

Overall, China, I would say, on balance, that the pricing environment is pretty stable.

整體而言，我認為中國的定價環境總體上是相當穩定的。

And our performance there is, quite frankly, quite good.

坦白說，我們在那裡的表現相當不錯。

We delivered positive organic growth in the quarter, and that is with the Colgate business because it continues to operate extremely well.

我們在本季實現了正的有機成長，這是由於高露潔業務繼續保持良好的營運狀況。

The Colgate business alone was up high single-digit organic in China in the fourth quarter.

僅高露潔業務第四季在中國就實現了高個位數的有機成長。

And as you see that in comparison to a lot of our peer group, we feel we're executing extremely well with the new strategy that we've put in place three years ago.

正如您所看到的，與我們的許多同行相比，我們認為我們三年前製定的新策略的執行情況非常好。

Now the Darlie business continues to be a challenge, although it's -- we feel we're getting better.

現在，Darlie 業務仍然是一個挑戰，儘管我們感覺情況正在好轉。

We still have opportunities for some go-to-market changes in 2025.

2025年我們仍有機會進行一些市場變革。

And we'll address that accordingly.

我們將相應地解決這個問題。

But overall, we feel China will continue to be a slow growth, although we seem to be outpacing the category and our competition in many respects.

但總體而言，我們認為中國將繼續保持緩慢成長，儘管我們似乎在許多方面已經超越了同類產品和競爭對手。

But China continues to be difficult in the short to medium term.

但從短期到中期來看，中國仍面臨困難。

But long term, again, we value China and India as strategic growth opportunities for the company.

但從長遠來看，我們再次重視中國和印度作為公司的策略成長機會。

China will put more or less $300 million of incremental middle-class consumers into the market by 2030.

到2030年，中國將向市場注入約3億美元的增量中產階級消費者。

India will more than double that, probably $600 million to $700 million.

印度的金額將增加一倍以上，大概為 6 億至 7 億美元。

So again, real long-term growth opportunities, so important to keep the health of the business and the investment profile in a place that we can obviously leverage that as we move forward.

所以，再說一次，真正的長期成長機會對於維持業務健康和投資組合狀況非常重要，這樣我們在未來的發展中顯然可以利用它。

Total launch, specifically on Total, Rob.

全面啟動，特別是關於全面啟動，Rob。

We launched it in the fourth quarter in Latin America and we're in the midst of rolling that around the world.

我們於第四季度在拉丁美洲推出了這項服務，目前正在全球推廣。

Latin America would be our best proxy.

拉丁美洲將是我們最好的代理商。

It is driving terrific share growth for Latin America.

它正推動拉丁美洲的市場佔有率大幅成長。

We've seen great performance across our core markets from the Latin America launch.

自拉丁美洲推出以來，我們看到核心市場表現出色。

We're rolling that out across Asia and North America and Europe as we speak.

我們正在亞洲、北美和歐洲推廣這項措施。

It is a meaningful upgrade in our formula, again, intended to really speak to prevention and the importance of prevention, which is obviously a key trend in the marketplace amongst consumers and looking for superior prevention in what they're asking for in a toothpaste.

這是我們配方的一次有意義的升級，再次強調，目的在於真正體現預防及其重要性，這顯然是消費者市場的一個主要趨勢，他們希望牙膏具有更出色的預防功能。

And we really elevated the focus on the science aspects of Colgate Total and getting a better formula into the market than we've had before across not only the toothpaste, but the toothbrush and the mouthwash, and creating real opportunities for category growth and regimen claims.

我們確實提高了對高露潔全效牙膏科學方面的關注，並向市場推出了比以前更好的配方，不僅包括牙膏，還包括牙刷和漱口水，並為品類增長和養生主張創造了真正的機會。

So overall, we're very excited about the early signs that we're seeing in Latin America and intend to -- we translate that across the world.

總的來說，我們對在拉丁美洲看到的早期跡象感到非常興奮，並打算將其推廣到世界各地。

Korinne Wolfmeyer, Piper Sandler.

科琳·沃爾夫邁耶，派珀·桑德勒。

I'd like to just get a little bit more color on the pet nutrition business for 2025, and kind of like the cadence over the next four quarters that we should expect both from the portfolio rationalization, innovation, pricing, et cetera?

我想對 2025 年的寵物營養業務有更多的了解，以及我們應該從投資組合合理化、創新、定價等方面預期未來四個季度的節奏？

Any color on that would be helpful.

任何顏色都會有幫助。

Yes.

是的。

Again, the Hill's, as I mentioned earlier, the fundamentals of the business are really, really strong.

再說一遍，正如我之前提到的，希爾的業務基本面非常非常強勁。

Now we've seen -- obviously, we've talked about a little bit of slowdown in the category, but that's stabilized, certainly not getting any worse.

現在我們已經看到——顯然，我們已經談到了該類別的增長略有放緩，但情況已經穩定下來，肯定不會變得更糟。

And we continue to execute extremely well in that category environment with market shares continuing to grow volume ex private label up nicely, and we'll continue to see that, we believe, trajectory as we move through the balance of 2025.

我們在該類別環境中繼續表現優異，市場份額繼續穩步增長，相信在 2025 年左右，我們將繼續看到這一軌跡。

I'll let Stan talk a little bit about the private label impact as we think about 2025.

我將讓史丹稍微談談我們對 2025 年自有品牌的影響。

But if I take just the underlying business, again, very focused on segment growth opportunities for the business, I mentioned.

但如果我只考慮基礎業務，我再次強調，我會非常關注業務的細分成長機會。

We obviously have a very strong dog and cat business that we need to excel in small pause or the small dog segment, which is the fastest-growing part of the market.

顯然，我們的貓狗業務非常強大，我們需要在小型犬領域表現出色，這是市場上成長最快的部分。

We need to excel in the wet segments.

我們需要在濕滑路面上表現出色。

We have a real focus on that.

我們非常關注這一點。

And we obviously need to get back to more sustained growth in Europe.

我們顯然需要讓歐洲恢復更持續的成長。

But overall, the business continues to perform well.

但總體而言，業務持續表現良好。

We operate a portfolio in a diverse mix of countries around the world.

我們的投資組合遍及全球多個國家。

We have the ability to pull on those markets.

我們有能力吸引這些市場。

I think our largest market, North America, continues to execute extremely well, had a good quarter in the fourth quarter.

我認為我們最大的市場北美持續表現非常出色，第四季表現良好。

And we expect nothing unusual from the Hill's business as we move into 2025.

我們預計，2025 年希爾的業務不會有任何異常。

I think the Hill's business is really well positioned, and it's based on really good execution by the team.

我認為 Hill 的業務定位非常良好，而且基於團隊的出色執行。

They have done really well in a flattish category that we think will slowly improve through time.

他們在一個較為平坦的類別中表現非常出色，我們認為隨著時間的推移，這一表現會慢慢改善。

But the new innovation that they have coming to market, the wind-down of private label and the improved expansion, we think both will drive top line, but also, importantly, will drive margin expansion for that business.

但他們認為，他們推向市場的新創新、自有品牌的逐漸減少以及業務擴張的改善，都將會推動營收成長，更重要的是，還將推動該業務的利潤率擴大。

And I think they're in a nice position where they have enormous opportunities in numerous areas to go after to continue to expand.

我認為他們處於一個很好的地位，在眾多領域擁有巨大的發展機會，可以繼續擴張。

And I was just down at the VMX conference, which is the veterinary conference, with the North America team, and extraordinarily well received down there with nearly 30,000 vet and vet techs attending that conference.

我剛剛和北美團隊一起參加了 VMX 會議，也就是獸醫會議，在那裡受到了近 30,000 名獸醫和獸醫技術人員的熱烈歡迎。

And the Hill's booth was very well attended with great innovation and explaining the value that we bring.

希爾的展位人氣很旺，展示了許多創新產品並闡釋了我們帶來的價值。

We've also invested over the last several years into our pet nutrition center and the science behind our diets, which I think will continue to bring that innovation to market.

過去幾年，我們也對寵物營養中心和飲食背後的科學進行了投資，我認為這將繼續將這些創新推向市場。

So I think Hill's is really well positioned heading into '25.

因此我認為希爾在進入25年時確實處於非常有利的位置。

We've got market expansion opportunities both in the US and abroad, and a science-based profession driven product set.

我們在美國國內和國外都擁有市場擴張機會，並且擁有以科學為基礎的專業驅動的產品系列。

Yes.

是的。

And if I can just add one more point is that we're seeing the margin inflection there.

我可以補充一點，那就是我們看到了利潤率的轉折點。

So you had talked to us a lot over the past couple of years about margin performance at Hill's.

在過去幾年裡，您曾多次與我們討論希爾的利潤表現。

And what we've seen now is that margin has truly begun to inflect positively.

我們現在看到的是利潤率確實開始出現正面變化。

And that's not just the private label mix.

這不僅僅是自有品牌的組合。

That's really on the underlying business.

這確實與基礎業務有關。

It's some of the mix improvements that Noel had talked about in terms of prescription diet, wet, et cetera.

這是諾埃爾談到的關於處方飲食、濕食等方面的一些混合改進。

So as Stan mentioned, from a bottom line standpoint, the inflection is there and it really gives us the confidence that we can continue to invest back in this business.

正如史丹所提到的，從底線的角度來看，轉折點已經出現，這確實讓我們有信心繼續投資這項業務。

Mark Astrachan, Stifel.

馬克‧阿斯特拉坎 (Mark Astrachan)，Stifel。

I wanted to stay on the Hill's business for a minute.

我想繼續談一談希爾的事。

Broadly, it seems like there's been a bit more volatility in the pet food category than I think maybe people would have anticipated.

整體而言，寵物食品類別的波動性似乎比人們預期的要大一些。

Years ago, you talked a little bit about volatility.

幾年前，您曾談到波動性。

In this quarter, we saw a little bit of that kind of coming out as we lapped COVID comparisons, but whether it's pet adoption or the decreased usage of pet food periodically, which doesn't seem to make a ton of sense.

在本季度，我們在進行 COVID 比較時看到了一些此類情況，但無論是寵物收養還是寵物食品使用量的定期減少，這似乎都沒有多大意義。

I guess could you just opine a bit on what you think is adding to the category volatility?

我想您能否就什麼因素增加了類別波動性發表一點意見？

Is it all pricing that's been taken?

所有定價都已被採納嗎？

And just more of a broader comment I guess specific to the US, maybe you could also just elaborate on how you think about the performance of the Hill's business by geography, if you don't want to give specifics, just broader strokes between US and international.

我想，針對美國，你也許可以詳細說明一下你如何看待希爾的業務在地理分佈上的表現，如果你不想給出具體細節，只是大致介紹一下美國和國際的。

And then just talk a bit about the competitive environment.

然後稍微談論一下競爭環境。

There's clearly been some at least smaller kind of niche categories becoming more mainstream.

顯然，至少有一些較小類型的利基類別已變得更加主流。

And how do you think about the adoption of that and the impact on your business over time?

您如何看待這項舉措的實施以及它將對您的業務產生怎樣的長期影響？

So I think the importance here is staying in our swim lanes on this one.

因此，我認為這裡最重要的是留在我們的泳道上。

We see the fastest-growing part of the category continued to be science-based premium pet nutrition, and we're outpacing the category in that regard and helping to drive significantly more value into our retail partners.

我們看到，該類別中成長最快的部分仍然是基於科學的優質寵物營養，我們在這方面的表現超過了該類別，並幫助為我們的零售合作夥伴帶來了更多價值。

So the innovation that Stan talked about will continue to be focused on scientific, therapeutic variance and innovation that continue to drive a differentiation and real value orientation back to the pet owner moving forward.

因此，史丹談到的創新將繼續專注於科學、治療的差異化和創新，繼續推動差異化和真正的價值導向回歸寵物主人。

Yes, there's been some stabilization in the category.

是的，該類別已經有所穩定。

The category is flat.

該類別持平。

We mentioned that we're growing.

我們提到我們正在成長。

We still see -- as we look at it, yes, we'd like to see that start to inflect positive, which we expect will probably come towards the back half of 2025.

我們仍然看到 — — 當我們看待它時，是的，我們希望看到它開始產生積極的影響，我們預計這可能會在 2025 年下半年出現。

But the segments that where we want to grow continue to afford significant upside potential for our business and our ability to continue to drive volume and price and profitability through the P&L.

但是，我們想要成長的領域繼續為我們的業務提供巨大的上升潛力，並且讓我們能夠繼續透過損益表推動銷售、價格和獲利能力。

And I've talked about those segments.

我已討論過這些部分。

So we're very focused on that aspect.

因此我們非常關注這一方面。

A lot of noise in the category, a lot of different things happening in the category.

該類別中存在許多噪音，該類別中發生了很多不同的事情。

But strategically, the growth spaces and the swim lane, so to speak, where we want to compete, we continue to see nice growth opportunities for the business and sustain profitability as we've improved, as Stan and John mentioned, the underlying fundamentals in the P&L are in a much better shape than they were years back.

但從策略上講，成長空間和泳道，也就是我們想要競爭的地方，我們繼續看到業務的良好成長機會，並保持獲利能力，因為我們已經改善了，正如史丹和約翰所提到的，基本面損益狀況比幾年前好多了。

Filippo Falorni, Citi.

花旗銀行的 Filippo Falorni。

Noel, you talked about building flexibility not only on the P&L but also on the balance sheet.

諾埃爾，您談到不僅在損益表上建立靈活性，而且在資產負債表上也建立靈活性。

So just curious on capital allocation and increased appetite potentially for share buybacks considering the share level.

因此，考慮到股票水平，我只是對資本配置和可能增加的股票回購興趣感到好奇。

And then on M&A, big picture, can you remind us kind of your strategic areas of focus and parameters for M&A?

然後關於併購，從總體上看，您能否提醒我們您在併購方面的策略重點領域和參數？

Yes.

是的。

Thanks, Filippo.

謝謝，菲利波。

So again, our prioritization around capital allocation is investing back behind the business to drive efficiency and growth.

因此，我們在資本配置方面的優先事項是投資於業務，以推動效率和成長。

And again, I'll come back to the return on invested capital, we're seeing a great return as we invest back in the business and our ability to drive more top line growth and more savings through the P&L.

我再一次回顧一下投資資本的回報率，隨著我們重新投資於業務，以及我們透過損益表推動更多營收成長和更多節約的能力，我們看到了巨大的回報。

Second, the share repurchases and dividends.

第二，股票回購與分紅。

You've seen the strong numbers.

你已經看到了強勁的數據。

I'll let Stan maybe talk to that in just a moment.

我會讓史丹稍後談論這個問題。

But what you've seen, obviously, our focus on driving top-tier TSR, not only through the growth of the earnings, but our ability to continue to find ways to reward our shareholders through our dividend policy, et cetera.

但顯然，您已經看到，我們專注於推動頂級 TSR，不僅透過收益成長，而且我們有能力繼續透過股息政策等方式尋找回報股東的方法。

So overall, we'll continue to focus on strong working capital cash generation to allow us to buy shares where appropriate and to continue to invest in our dividend based on Board approval.

因此總體而言，我們將繼續專注於強勁的營運資本現金創造，以便我們在適當的時候購買股票，並根據董事會的批准繼續投資於我們的股息。

But overall, we feel like we're in a much better place to make sure we're providing different levers to drive shareholder return on a consistent basis.

但總體而言，我們覺得我們處於一個更有利的位置，可以確保我們提供不同的槓桿來持續推動股東回報。

When we go through our annual budgets and our execution, we have a theme that underlies all that, and that's growth, margin and cash.

當我們審查和執行年度預算時，我們有一個貫穿始終的主題，那就是成長、利潤和現金。

So cash is a fundamental part of how we run each of the businesses.

因此，現金是我們經營每項業務的基本組成部分。

And you've seen that drive in cash flow achieving $4.1 billion in operating cash flow, a record for us.

你已經看到了現金流的推動，我們的營運現金流達到了 41 億美元，這創下了我們的紀錄。

But that gives us the ability to allocate those resources.

但這使我們有能力分配這些資源。

And as we look at that, that stayed the same, as Noel said, which is invest back in the business.

正如諾埃爾所說，當我們回顧這一點時，一切都保持不變，即重新投資於業務。

That can come in multiple forms.

其可以有多種形式。

Return to shareholders, and then M&A, where we see the right opportunity that's aligned to our strategic direction because that helps give us a north star for where we want to invest and maybe what parts of the portfolio that might be better off somewhere else to drive long-term value for us.

回到股東，然後是併購，在那裡我們看到了與我們的策略方向一致的正確機會，因為這有助於給我們指明方向，讓我們知道我們想在哪裡投資，也許投資組合中的哪些部分可能更好地在其他地方推動對我們來說具有長期價值。

And you saw this year that we actually did increase our share buybacks.

您會發現，今年我們確實增加了股票回購。

We did $1.1 billion net and return to shareholders was up over 20% year to year.

我們的淨利潤為 11 億美元，股東回報率年增超過 20%。

And we have a long-standing dividend that we believe is competitive.

我們的紅利長期以來都是有競爭力的。

And when we think about capital allocation, it starts with delivering the cash to enable that.

當我們考慮資本配置時，首先要提供現金來實現這一點。

And we're pretty comfortable with where we are.

我們對目前的狀況非常滿意。

Proud of the team for a great ROIC and the ability to drive that into '25.

為團隊出色的投資回報率和將其帶入25年的能力感到自豪。

Edward Lewis, Redburn Atlantic.

愛德華‧劉易斯 (Edward Lewis)，雷德伯恩大西洋公司 (Redburn Atlantic)。

Yes.

是的。

Just looking at the European performance with the balance of 2024.

只看 2024 年歐洲的表現和平衡。

I thought it was notable to see you delivering both positive volume and positive price.

我認為看到您同時提供正交易量和正價格是非常值得注意的。

I appreciate the move of skin into North America probably helps a bit there.

我很欣賞將皮膚轉移到北美的做法，這可能對此有所幫助。

But still, I thought that's quite a change from what we were accustomed to seeing.

但我仍然認為這與我們過去所見的景像有很大不同。

I know you don't necessarily split out where the marketing spend is going, but how much of the incremental marketing support has gone into Europe?

我知道您不一定會分清行銷支出的去向，但有多少增量行銷支援投入到了歐洲？

And how much then does that give you the confidence to be able to sustain these accelerated growth trends as we go forward?

那麼，這給了你多大信心能夠在未來的發展中維持這些加速的成長趨勢？

Yes.

是的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Listen, I'm glad we're finishing up with Europe, because what a terrific performance they had in 2024, and another strong fourth quarter coming off of a strong year to date before that.

聽著，我很高興我們即將結束與歐洲的合作，因為他們在 2024 年的表現非常出色，而且在此之前的一年中，他們又在第四季度表現強勁。

Organic growth across all hubs for the quarter.

本季所有中心均實現有機成長。

Yes, we've seen some of the inflationary pricing we see, but we are getting pricing, as you mentioned, balanced pricing and volume growth in the quarter.

是的，我們已經看到了一些通貨膨脹的價格，但正如您所提到的，我們正在獲得平衡的價格和本季的銷售成長。

I think a testament again to the real focus on our RGM analytics and how we're maximizing our promotional spend in those markets.

我認為這再次證明了我們對 RGM 分析的真正關注以及我們如何最大限度地利用這些市場的促銷支出。

Likewise, a really strong innovation, pipeline of products in 2024, and you'll see that again in 2025 and our ability to drive more value oriented back into the categories, more price orientation.

同樣，2024 年的產品線將非常強大，您會在 2025 年再次看到這一點，我們有能力將更多的價值導向重新引入到產品類別中，更多的價格導向。

So that drives our price in the category at the same time.

因此這同時推動了我們該類別的價格。

Good operating profit and margin performance is critical to sustain the advertising.

良好的營業利潤和利潤率表現對於維持廣告業務至關重要。

Our advertising to sales was up about 220 basis points.

我們的廣告銷售額上升了約220個基點。

So again, driving a lot of the brand health measures that we have.

因此，我們再次推動了許多品牌健康措施。

And I think what's most pleasing is the record market share performance we saw in Europe, particularly behind our Oral Care business, both on Colgate and elmex.

我認為最令人高興的是我們在歐洲的市佔率創下了紀錄，尤其是我們的口腔護理業務，包括高露潔和 elmex。

We're now up 300 basis points in market share versus where we were in 2016.

與 2016 年相比，我們的市佔率現在上升了 300 個基點。

And the shares as we exited the fourth quarter were at a record high particularly in some of our key geographies.

當我們在第四季度結束時，股價創下了歷史新高，特別是在我們的一些主要地區。

So we feel very good about our ability to continue to drive organic growth in that market and drive operating profit growth given the health of the business.

因此，考慮到業務的健康狀況，我們對繼續推動該市場有機成長和推動營業利潤成長的能力感到非常滿意。

And that will be driven by innovation and a sustained level of advertising across multiple categories in Europe.

這將由歐洲多個類別的創新和持續的廣告水平推動。

So with that, thank you very much for your questions again.

因此，再次感謝您的提問。

Let me end where I started, which is a profound thank you to the Colgate team.

最後，我想再次向高露潔團隊致以深深的謝意。

Surpassing $20 billion in sales for the first time in our 217-year history is an important milestone for the company.

在公司 217 年的發展歷史上首次銷售額突破 200 億美元，這是該公司的一個重要里程碑。

The continued health of the business and the continued improvements we've seen up and down the P&L and in our balance sheet is a real testament to the incredible organization of people that we have working day in and day out in an extremely volatile world out there.

業務持續健康發展，損益表和資產負債表持續改善，真正證明了我們在這個極度動蕩的世界中日復一日工作的出色組織能力。

So I thank them.

所以我感謝他們。

And I look forward to seeing everyone down in Florida, CAGNY.

我期待在佛羅裡達和CAGNY見到大家。

The conference has now concluded.

會議現已結束。

Thank you for attending today's call.

感謝您參加今天的電話會議。

You may now disconnect.

您現在可以斷開連線。