Clearfield Inc (CLFD) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, greetings, and welcome to the Clearfield Fiscal Second Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

女士們、先生們，大家好，歡迎參加克利爾菲爾德 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Greg McNiff, Investor Relations for Clearfield. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我很高興向您介紹主持人，Clearfield 投資者關係部門的 Greg McNiff。請繼續，先生。

Thank you. Joining me on the call today are Cheri Beranek, Clearfield's President and CEO; and Dan Herzog, Clearfield's CFO. As a reminder, the slides in this presentation are controlled by you, the listener. Please advance forward through the presentation as the speaker presents their remarks.

謝謝。今天和我一起參加電話會議的是 Clearfield 總裁兼執行長 Cheri Beranek；以及 Clearfield 財務長 Dan Herzog。提醒一下，本簡報中的投影片由您（聽眾）控制。請在演講者發表演說時繼續進行示範。

Please note that during this call, management will be making remarks regarding future events and the future financial performance of the company. These remarks constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.

請注意，在這次電話會議中，管理層將就未來事件和公司未來的財務表現發表評論。這些言論構成《私人證券訴訟改革法案》安全港條款中的前瞻性聲明。這些前瞻性陳述存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中表達的結果有重大差異。

It is important to also note that the company undertakes no obligation to update such statements except as required by law. The company cautions you to consider risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained in today's press release, earnings presentation, and on this conference call. The Risk Factors section in Clearfield's most recent Form 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and its subsequent filings on Form 10-Q provide a description of these risks. They are also summarized on Slide 2 of the earnings presentation.

還需要注意的是，除法律要求外，公司不承擔更新此類聲明的義務。該公司提醒您考慮可能導致實際結果與今天的新聞稿、收益演示和本次電話會議中包含的前瞻性聲明存在重大差異的風險因素。Clearfield 最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表中的風險因素部分及其隨後提交的 10-Q 表中提供了這些風險的描述。在收益報告的投影片 2 中也對這些內容進行了總結。

With that, I would like to turn the call over to Clearfield's President and CEO, Cheri Beranek. Cheri?

說到這裡，我想將電話轉給 Clearfield 的總裁兼執行長 Cheri Beranek。切裡？

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss Clearfield's results for the fiscal second quarter 2024. We also intend to provide an update on our business and current market trends.

大家下午好。感謝您今天加入我們討論 Clearfield 2024 財年第二季的表現。我們還打算提供有關我們業務和當前市場趨勢的最新資訊。

Please turn to Slide 4. While we view 2024 as a transition year, we believe that the quarter ending in March represents the beginning of a gradual recovery as broadband service providers continue to deploy equipment and long-term demand remains robust.

請翻到幻燈片 4。雖然我們將 2024 年視為過渡年，但我們認為，隨著寬頻服務供應商繼續部署設備且長期需求依然強勁，截至 3 月的季度代表著逐步復甦的開始。

In the following slides, I will discuss the latest market data, which supports this view. Total net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 were $36.9 million, above the high end of our guidance range, driven by higher-than-expected sales from our Community Broadband customers as this customer segment was the least impacted by the inventory overhang.

在接下來的幻燈片中，我將討論支持這一觀點的最新市場數據。2024 財年第二季的淨銷售額總額為 3,690 萬美元，高於我們指導範圍的上限，這是由於我們的社區寬頻客戶的銷售額高於預期，因為該客戶群受庫存過剩影響最小。

Dan will discuss our financial results for the quarter in more detail shortly. I would note that while we continue to expect ordering patterns for the remainder of the year to be impacted by the inventory overhang predominantly in our Large Regional and MSO accounts, we have seen a pickup in quoting activity in our second quarter across all markets that is more consistent with the traditional build season.

丹將很快更詳細地討論我們本季的財務表現。我要指出的是，雖然我們仍然預計今年剩餘時間的訂購模式將受到主要在我們的大型區域和 MSO 帳戶中的庫存過剩的影響，但我們發現第二季度所有市場的報價活動有所回升與傳統的建造季節更加一致。

While we believe the recovery will be a gradual process. We remain focused on positioning Clearfield to take share when ordering patterns return to a more normalized cadence. We also continue to expand and enhance our product portfolio. As we announced in February, our newest active cabinet delivers a rightsized raw footprint option for raw expansion. The small form factor of the FiberFlex 600 is designed to configure the numerous applications, including remote passive optical network distribution, wireless base stations with fiber backhaul aggregation and active network equipment with backup power needs, utilizing a flexible layout.

雖然我們相信復甦將是一個漸進的過程。當訂購模式恢復到更正常化的節奏時，我們仍然專注於讓克利爾菲爾德佔據市場份額。我們也繼續擴大和增強我們的產品組合。正如我們在二月宣布的那樣，我們最新的有源機櫃為原始擴展提供了調整原始佔地面積的選項。FiberFlex 600 外型小巧，旨在利用靈活的佈局配置多種應用，包括遠端無源光網路分佈、具有光纖回程聚合的無線基地台以及具有備用電源需求的有源網路設備。

This is Clearfield's latest and smallest sized option in the FiberFlex series. With its small form factor, the FiberFlex 600 will give our customers more flexibility in how it is deployed in the outside plant, helping to overcome permitting and right-of-way challenges as they look to deploy fiber broadband in less populated areas.

這是 Clearfield FiberFlex 系列中最新且尺寸最小的選項。FiberFlex 600 外型小巧，將為我們的客戶在外部工廠部署方式提供更大的靈活性，幫助他們在人口較少的地區部署光纖寬頻時克服許可和通行權方面的挑戰。

As with our CraftSmart and FieldSmart products, we are working to ensure these products and all other Clearfield offerings will be compliant with the Build America Buy American Act, known as BABA, as required by the broadband equity and access deployment program legislation known as BEAD.

與我們的CraftSmart 和FieldSmart 產品一樣，我們正在努力確保這些產品和所有其他Clearfield 產品將符合「建構美國購買美國法案」（稱為BABA），以及寬頻公平和接取部署計畫立法（稱為BEAD）的要求。

I want to provide a brief update on the BEAD process. As many of you know, the states have started announcing RFPs. While this is a great progress, we do not expect to recognize any significant revenue from customer participation in the BEAD program until calendar year 2025.

我想簡單介紹一下 BEAD 流程的最新情況。眾所周知，各州已經開始公佈 RFP。雖然這是一個巨大的進步，但我們預計在 2025 年之前不會從客戶參與 BEAD 計劃中確認任何重大收入。

Turning to the overall industry outlook, as illustrated on Slide 5, industry forecast from RVA indicate that the next 5-year period will see up to 59 million additional homes passed with fiber, which equates to a 12.5% compound annual growth rate. Of these 59 million homes, roughly 1/3 are forecasted to have access to more than one fiber provider. We believe the introduction of a 2-fiber competition among providers is a very healthy development and expands our total addressable market.

談到整體產業前景，如幻燈片 5 所示，RVA 的產業預測表明，未來 5 年將有多達 5,900 萬戶家庭使用光纖，這相當於 12.5% 的複合年增長率。在這 5,900 萬個家庭中，預計大約有 1/3 的家庭可以使用多家光纖供應商。我們相信，在供應商之間引入 2 芯光纖競爭是一種非常健康的發展，並且擴大了我們的整體目標市場。

Coming back to Clearfield's performance, I'd now like to pass the call over to our CFO, Dan Herzog, who will walk us through our financial results for the fiscal second quarter 2024.

回到 Clearfield 的業績，我現在想將電話轉給我們的財務長 Dan Herzog，他將向我們介紹 2024 年第二財季的財務表現。

Thank you, Cheri, and good afternoon, everyone. Please turn to Slide 7 to look at our fiscal second quarter 2024 results in more detail. Consolidated net sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2024 were $36.9 million, a 49% decrease from $71.8 million in the same year ago period, but above our guidance range of $29 million to $33 million. The year-over-year decrease in total net sales was due to lingering inventory headwinds we have talked about in the past.

謝謝你，Cheri，大家下午好。請參閱投影片 7，更詳細了解我們 2024 年第二季的業績。2024 財年第二季的合併淨銷售額為 3,690 萬美元，比去年同期的 7,180 萬美元下降 49%，但高於我們 2,900 萬美元至 3,300 萬美元的指導範圍。總淨銷售額年減是由於我們過去討論過的庫存逆風揮之不去。

As we transition into the build season, we anticipate a gradual uptick in orders, more closely aligning with traditional ordering patterns. Throughout this transition phase, we remain focused on reducing costs and enhancing margins across the company.

隨著我們進入建造季節，我們預計訂單將逐漸增加，與傳統的訂購模式更加一致。在整個過渡階段，我們仍然專注於降低成本並提高整個公司的利潤率。

In Europe, this effort involves strategically investing in more efficient manufacturing equipment and introducing higher-margin plug-and-play connectivity products. Additionally, we continue to be focused on labor utilization for enhanced productivity in order to improve gross margins at all our manufacturing locations, alongside efforts to reduce our inventory levels to enhance cash flow from operations.

在歐洲，這項努力包括策略性投資於更有效率的製造設備，並推出利潤率更高的即插即用連接產品。此外，我們繼續關注勞動力利用率以提高生產力，以提高所有製造地點的毛利率，同時努力降低庫存水準以增強營運現金流。

Order backlog increased 9% to $47.2 million on March 31, 2024, from $43.5 million on December 31, 2023. This quarter stands out as the first time in several quarters where our backlog has shown a sequential increase. We interpret this as an encouraging indicator of normalizing ordering patterns during a build season, while customers continue to work through their inventory.

截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日，積壓訂單從 2023 年 12 月 31 日的 4,350 萬美元增加了 9%，達到 4,720 萬美元。本季是幾季以來我們的積壓訂單首次持續成長。我們將此解釋為一個令人鼓舞的指標，表明在建造季節期間訂購模式正常化，而客戶則繼續處理庫存。

We are continuing to collaborate with our customers to align their open orders with their current deployment schedules. As a reminder, we expect backlog to become less of an indicator for future sales as most orders will be fulfilled within the quarter they are received. Our lead times averaged 4 weeks across most product lines.

我們將繼續與客戶合作，使他們的未結訂單與目前的部署計劃保持一致。提醒一下，我們預計積壓訂單將不再是未來銷售的指標，因為大多數訂單將在收到的季度內完成。大多數產品線的交貨時間平均為 4 週。

Turning to Slide 8, I will now review net sales by our key markets. Sales to our primary market, Community Broadband, comprised 43% of our net sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2024. In Q2, we generated net sales of approximately $16.1 million in Community Broadband, down 52% from the same period last year. As Cheri mentioned, our Community Broadband market experienced a sequential uptick of 32%, driven by a gradual increase in orders, including some new customers in the space as providers are preparing for the upcoming build season.

轉向幻燈片 8，我現在將回顧我們主要市場的淨銷售額。我們的主要市場社區寬頻的銷售額佔 2024 財年第二季淨銷售額的 43%。第二季度，我們的社區寬頻淨銷售額約為 1,610 萬美元，比去年同期下降 52%。正如 Cheri 所提到的，我們的社區寬頻市場在訂單逐漸增加的推動下連續成長了 32%，其中包括該領域的一些新客戶，因為提供者正在為即將到來的建設季節做準備。

Net sales in our MSO business were $5 million, which comprised 13% of our net sales in the second quarter and decreased by approximately 50% in the second quarter of this fiscal year versus the prior year second quarter. Net sales for the second quarter in our Large Regional service provider market were $3.2 million, comprising 9% of our total net sales and declined by approximately 75% in the second quarter of this fiscal year versus the prior year second quarter.

我們的 MSO 業務淨銷售額為 500 萬美元，佔第二季淨銷售額的 13%，與去年第二季相比下降了約 50%。我們的大型區域服務供應商市場第二季的淨銷售額為 320 萬美元，占我們總淨銷售額的 9%，與去年第二季相比下降了約 75%。

These customers continue to have a concentration of inventory from which they are deploying. Future quarters could be lumpy in this segment due to product mix concentrations and potential changes in their deployment strategies.

這些客戶繼續集中他們正在部署的庫存。由於產品組合集中度和部署策略的潛在變化，未來幾季該細分市場可能會出現波動。

Net sales in our National Carrier market for the second quarter were $2.1 million, accounting for 6% of total net sales and were relatively unchanged in the second quarter of this fiscal year versus the prior year second quarter. Finally, net sales in our International market were $9.9 million and comprised 27% of total net sales in the second quarter. Net sales in this market decreased by approximately 24% in the second quarter of fiscal 2024 versus the prior year second quarter.

第二季全國營運商市場的淨銷售額為 210 萬美元，佔總淨銷售額的 6%，與上年第二季相比基本沒有變化。最後，我們國際市場的淨銷售額為 990 萬美元，佔第二季總淨銷售額的 27%。2024 財年第二季該市場的淨銷售額與去年第二季相比下降了約 24%。

Revenues in Northern Europe were affected by a late spring and some economic issues in Finland. We anticipate a sequential increase in this market due to seasonality.

北歐的收入受到春末和芬蘭一些經濟問題的影響。由於季節性因素，我們預計該市場將持續成長。

As illustrated on Slide 9, gross profit margin in the second quarter declined to 7.7% of net sales from 32.8% of net sales in the same year-ago quarter. Our gross margin continues to be impacted by unabsorbed overhead in our manufacturing facilities and an increase in reserves for excess inventory due to the current low levels of demand.

如投影片 9 所示，第二季毛利率從去年同期淨銷售額的 32.8% 下降至淨銷售額的 7.7%。我們的毛利率繼續受到製造設施的未吸收管理費用以及由於當前需求水準較低而增加的過剩庫存儲備的影響。

As mentioned on the prior quarter earnings call, noncash excess inventory charges in the second quarter did increase sequentially by $1.5 million to about $5.2 million in the quarter. While we continue to expect revenue and gross margin in the second half of fiscal 2024 to be impacted by elevated inventory levels at our customers, we believe the second fiscal quarter represents the bottom of our customers' inventory digestion phase.

正如上一季財報電話會議中所提到的，第二季的非現金過剩庫存費用確實比上一季增加了 150 萬美元，達到約 520 萬美元。雖然我們仍然預計 2024 財年下半年的收入和毛利率將受到客戶庫存水準上升的影響，但我們認為第二財季代表了客戶庫存消化階段的底部。

As we transition into the build season, we expect order volumes and patterns to gradually improve. This anticipated increase in capacity utilization should subsequently result in improvements in gross margin levels.

隨著我們進入建造季節，我們預計訂單量和模式將逐漸改善。產能利用率的預期增加將導致毛利率水準的改善。

Now please turn to Slide 10. Operating expenses for the second quarter were $12.6 million, up from $11.5 million in the same year-ago quarter. The company continues to strategically invest in the organization, yet with a prudent and disciplined approach to its cost controls. As a percentage of net sales, operating expenses for the second quarter were 34.1%, up from 16% in the same year ago period due to lower sales volumes.

現在請翻到投影片 10。第二季營運費用為 1,260 萬美元，高於去年同期的 1,150 萬美元。該公司繼續對組織進行策略性投資，同時採取審慎和嚴格的方法來控製成本。由於銷售量下降，第二季營運費用佔淨銷售額的百分比為 34.1%，高於去年同期的 16%。

Turning to Slide 11, net loss in the second quarter was $5.9 million compared to net income of $10.4 million in the same year-ago period and net loss of $5.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. Our net loss was heavily affected by our reduced volume levels, which in turn resulted in lower gross profit percentage and was also affected by the noncash inventory reserves I mentioned earlier.

轉向投影片 11，第二季淨虧損為 590 萬美元，而去年同期淨利為 1,040 萬美元，2024 財年第一季淨虧損為 530 萬美元。我們的淨虧損受到銷售水準下降的嚴重影響，進而導致毛利率下降，也受到我之前提到的非現金庫存儲備的影響。

As illustrated on Slide 12, our balance sheet remains healthy with $149 million of cash, short-term and long-term investments, and just $2 million of debt. We had $2 million in capital expenditures in the quarter, mainly to support our manufacturing operations and $4.4 million year-to-date.

如投影片 12 所示，我們的資產負債表保持健康，擁有 1.49 億美元的現金、短期和長期投資，以及僅 200 萬美元的債務。本季我們的資本支出為 200 萬美元，主要用於支持我們的製造業務，今年迄今資本支出為 440 萬美元。

Our inventory balance decreased from $95 million at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2024 to $84 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2024. Our cash, short-term and long-term investments reflect a reduction of $20 million from December 31 of which $15.5 million was associated with the repurchase of shares in the second quarter.

我們的庫存餘額從 2024 財年第一季末的 9,500 萬美元減少到 2024 財年第二季的 8,400 萬美元。我們的現金、短期和長期投資比 12 月 31 日減少了 2,000 萬美元，其中 1,550 萬美元與第二季的股票回購有關。

While we recorded a use of $3.2 million in our cash flow from operations in the second quarter, year-to-date we have generated $4.6 million from operations. Our healthy balance sheet continues to ensure our readiness to competitively pursue larger customer prospects and strategic opportunities to enhance our market product portfolio. Likewise, our strong cash balance positions us to manage the business for the long term and through our share repurchase program, reinvest for the long term.

雖然我們第二季的營運現金流使用了 320 萬美元，但今年迄今為止，我們的營運現金流已達到 460 萬美元。我們健康的資產負債表繼續確保我們準備好競爭性地追求更大的客戶前景和策略機會，以增強我們的市場產品組合。同樣，我們強大的現金餘額使我們能夠長期管理業務，並透過我們的股票回購計劃進行長期再投資。

Please turn to Slide 13. We anticipate third quarter fiscal 2024 net sales to be in the range of $40 million to $44 million. We expect to generate a net loss per share in the range of $0.31 to $0.38. This loss per share range is based on the number of shares outstanding at the end of the second quarter and does not reflect share repurchases in the third quarter.

請翻到投影片 13。我們預計 2024 財年第三季淨銷售額將在 4,000 萬美元至 4,400 萬美元之間。我們預計每股淨虧損在 0.31 美元至 0.38 美元之間。這一每股虧損範圍是根據第二季末已發行股票數量計算的，並不反映第三季的股票回購情況。

While our visibility remains limited beyond this quarter, we are encouraged by signs indicating ordering patterns are beginning to normalize with the onset of the build season and could follow the historical trend that our revenue in fiscal third and fourth quarters have been consistent with each other.

雖然我們的能見度在本季度之後仍然有限，但有跡象表明，隨著建造季節的開始，訂購模式開始正常化，並可能遵循我們第三財季和第四財季收入相互一致的歷史趨勢，這令我們感到鼓舞。

As I indicated earlier, we repurchased an additional $15.5 million in stock in the second quarter as part of our share buyback program, which represented 543,439 shares at an average price of $28.48. Our belief in the value of our company and the market opportunity remains unchanged, as demonstrated by the size and scale of our buyback program.

正如我之前指出的，作為股票回購計劃的一部分，我們在第二季度額外回購了 1,550 萬美元的股票，相當於 543,439 股，平均價格為 28.48 美元。我們對公司價值和市場機會的信念保持不變，我們回購計畫的規模和規模就證明了這一點。

As such, our Board of Directors has increased our share buyback authorization from $40 million to $65 million, giving us $30.4 million authorized for additional repurchases when added to the $5.4 million repurchase amount available as of March 31, 2024. This increase in our buyback authorization is a clear and proactive commitment on our part, driven by our strong conviction that our current share price is not reflective of our long-term opportunity.

因此，我們的董事會將股票回購授權從 4,000 萬美元增加到 6,500 萬美元，加上截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日可用的 540 萬美元回購金額，授權額外回購 3,040 萬美元。我們增加回購授權是我們明確且積極的承諾，因為我們堅信目前的股價並不能反映我們的長期機會。

That concludes my prepared remarks for our fiscal second quarter 2024. We appreciate the support of our investors as we continue to work to drive shareholder value. I will now turn the call back over to Cheri.

我為 2024 年第二財季準備的演講到此結束。在我們持續努力提高股東價值的過程中，我們感謝投資人的支持。我現在將把電話轉回給 Cheri。

Thanks for the financial update, Dan. Turning to Slide 15, I would now like to provide a brief update on our multiyear strategic plan, which we had labeled LEAP. As a reminder, LEAP is our roadmap for how we intend to capitalize on the significant opportunities ahead when industry demand returns to a more normalized cadence.

感謝您提供最新的財務信息，丹。轉向投影片 15，我現在想簡要介紹我們的多年策略計劃（我們將其標記為 LEAP）。提醒一下，LEAP 是我們的路線圖，說明當產業需求恢復到更正常化的節奏時，我們打算如何利用未來的重大機會。

Clearfield continues to build our product offerings to be craft friendly with the inherent goal of reducing the cost of deployments by improving installation time. To aid in this process, we have long provided in-field as well as classroom and online training through Clearfield College.

Clearfield 繼續打造工藝友善產品，其內在目標是透過縮短安裝時間來降低部署成本。為了幫助這個過程，我們長期以來一直透過克利爾菲爾德學院提供現場以及課堂和線上培訓。

In March, Clearfield announced the availability of an app-based 3D interactive training tool that provides an easy way to streamline the installation process. This solution is delivered on the build platform and is available at no extra charge. The animated guides were developed to response to the Clearfield customer base and will help reduce installation errors, time and field issues by ensuring field technicians have access to the information they need right at their fingertips.

3 月，Clearfield 宣布推出基於應用程式的 3D 互動式培訓工具，該工具提供了簡化安裝過程的簡單方法。該解決方案在建構平台上提供，無需額外付費。動畫指南是為了回應 Clearfield 客戶群而開發的，並將透過確保現場技術人員能夠輕鬆存取他們所需的資訊來幫助減少安裝錯誤、時間和現場問題。

This training tool is exactly what fiber technicians are in need of offering interactive guidance for a step-by-step instruction without relying on manuals. We believe this is how today's workforce and particularly new hires can learn how to install Clearfield products correctly so that our customers can move quickly from deployment to service availability. Today's workforce is more tech-savvy and digitally oriented, making it ideal to develop an installation tool that aligns with their preferred methods of learning and consuming information.

此培訓工具正是光纖技術人員所需要的，它可以為逐步指導提供互動式指導，而無需依賴手冊。我們相信，今天的員工，尤其是新員工可以透過這種方式學習如何正確安裝 Clearfield 產品，以便我們的客戶能夠快速從部署轉向服務可用性。當今的員工更精通技術並以數位為導向，因此開發符合他們學習和消費資訊首選方法的安裝工具是理想的選擇。

The availability of Clearfield instructions in the built app is part of the company's commitment to improve workforce development practices and tools. As the industry works to increase the fiber technician workforce, this 3D interactive based tool makes it easier to onboard and attract the newer generation of technician.

內建應用程式中提供 Clearfield 說明是該公司改善勞動力發展實踐和工具的承諾的一部分。隨著業界努力增加光纖技術人員隊伍，這種基於 3D 互動的工具可以更輕鬆地加入和吸引新一代技術人員。

Both voice and text guidance for Clearfield products are immediately available in English, Spanish and German. Anyone can download the free build app worldwide from the App Store or Google Play.

Clearfield 產品的語音和文字指導可立即提供英語、西班牙語和德語版本。全球任何人都可以從 App Store 或 Google Play 下載免費的建置應用程式。

As we expressed last quarter, we remain confident that the long-term demand for fiber is as strong as ever. And Clearfield is well positioned to help service providers meet that demand.

正如我們上季度所表示的那樣，我們仍然相信對纖維的長期需求一如既往地強勁。Clearfield 能夠很好地幫助服務提供者滿足這一需求。

And with that, we will open the call to your questions.

接下來，我們將開始電話詢問您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from the line of Ryan Koontz with Needham and Company.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Needham and Company 的 Ryan Koontz。

Cheri and Dan, nice to hear commentary on filling the bottom here. Dan, first one for you on this reserve write-down. At a high level, is this related to obsolescence or costs that are -- were out of line with what you can buy from today? And secondly, what would gross -- what was the impact of that write-down or what margin they have been without the write-down in the quarter?

Cheri 和 Dan，很高興聽到關於填充底部的評論。丹，第一個關於儲備金減記的問題。從較高的層面來看，這是否與過時或與您今天可以購買的產品不符的成本有關？其次，毛利率是多少——該減記的影響是什麼，或者該季度沒有減記的情況下的利潤率是多少？

Right. Sure. No, this is related to like in excess only because of the value of -- the amount of inventory we have compared to our sales. It's not about obsolescence and it's not about a lower of cost or market. So I think we would have had -- I think our overall gross margin here would have been closer to a 20% -- sorry, 19% number, if you would have taken that to more of a normalized number.

正確的。當然。不，這與超量相關只是因為我們的庫存量與銷售額相比的價值。這與過時無關，也與成本或市場降低無關。所以我認為我們會——我認為我們的整體毛利率會接近 20%——抱歉，如果你把這個數字看成一個更標準化的數字的話，是 19%。

And Cheri, on the Community Broadband trend, nice to see that rebounding there. Can you maybe give us a little color there on some of the trends you're seeing in that Tier 3 market in terms of new builds versus edge-outs versus fill-in, connected home? Any color you can share there in that Tier 3 space, please?

Cheri 在社區寬頻趨勢方面很高興看到這一趨勢的反彈。您能否向我們介紹您在三級市場中看到的一些趨勢，即新建、邊緣式住宅和填充式聯網住宅的趨勢？請問您可以分享 3 級空間中的任何顏色嗎？

Yes, we're excited a couple of things. One is we're definitely seeing there's somewhat of a decrease in excitement of our homes passed, not because people aren't ready to do it, but because they want to be able to focus on homes connected. And that's really the growth initiative is making sure that they turn that home passing into a subscriber that generates revenue, which gives us some new revenue opportunities since the inventory that is out there is predominantly cabinets associated with passing homes.

是的，有幾件事讓我們感到興奮。一是我們肯定看到人們對我們的家庭的興奮程度有所下降，不是因為人們還沒有準備好這樣做，而是因為他們希望能夠專注於連網的家庭。這實際上是成長計劃，確保他們將家庭通行轉變為產生收入的訂戶，這為我們提供了一些新的收入機會，因為現有的庫存主要是與通行家庭相關的櫥櫃。

The other thing we're seeing is new customers, new Tier 3 providers who were not necessarily telco providers, but community-based deployments and other providers who are new to us who are coming onboard through distribution.

我們看到的另一件事是新客戶、新的第 3 級供應商，他們不一定是電信供應商，而是基於社區的部署和其他透過分銷加入的新供應商。

And then on the kind of government funding side, I don't think many surprised by your commentary on BEAD in '25. Any commentary you'd share on the non-BEAD programs as it relates to ARPA or capital projects fund? It feels like every month, we're seeing hundreds of millions of new awards in that space. And are you heard about those projects coming to bat now? Is that already starting to impact some of your bookings for the year? And how would you characterize your thinking about those shorter term projects over the next couple of years?

然後在政府資助方面，我認為很多人不會對您在 25 年對 BEAD 的評論感到驚訝。您對與 ARPA 或資本項目基金相關的非 BEAD 計劃有何評論？感覺每個月我們都會看到該領域有數億個新獎項。您聽說過這些項目現在正在實施嗎？這是否已經開始影響您今年的一些預訂？您如何描述您對未來幾年這些短期項目的看法？

We saw some of those projects as part -- before BEAD come into play, that's been part of the recovery in '22 and '23. So it's early-stage programs that didn't have all of the administrative challenges, that the BEAD program does or were Legacy programs that were extended so that people knew more about them.

我們將其中一些項目視為 BEAD 發揮作用之前的一部分，這是 22 年和 23 年復甦的一部分。因此，早期專案不存在所有的管理挑戰，而 BEAD 專案則存在這些挑戰，或經過擴展的遺留項目，以便人們對它們有更多了解。

I would say some of them have hit the Tier 3 market. Others probably more associated in the MSO space, where we're seeing some of the -- somewhat the larger provider, but certainly the middle market MSO get involved in being able to take advantage of it. I think we'll see some of that in this build season in '24. And it will be a good bridge until we get to the larger BEAD program in '25 and beyond.

我想說其中一些已經進入了第三級市場。其他人可能更多地與 MSO 領域相關，我們看到一些規模較大的供應商，但肯定是中間市場 MSO 參與其中並能夠利用它。我想我們會在 24 年的建造季節看到其中的一些。這將是一個很好的橋樑，直到我們在 25 年及以後進入更大的 BEAD 計劃。

Our next question comes from the line of Scott Searle with ROTH Capital Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自 ROTH Capital Partners 的 Scott Searle。

Also nice to see you guys putting in the trough and a sequential outlook improving into the June quarter. Maybe just to follow up on some of the other customer segments, Cheri, Large Regionals, MSOs, it sounds like that's still a little bit lumpy. But are you expecting to see sequential improvement as we look out into the June-September quarter? And maybe folding into that question, I thought Dan had a comment about seasonality returning in the fiscal fourth quarter. Are you kind of implying that we look flattish into September?

我也很高興看到你們進入了低谷，並且六月季度的連續前景有所改善。也許只是為了跟進其他一些客戶群，Cheri、大型區域客戶、MSO，聽起來仍然有點不穩定。但是，當我們展望 6 月至 9 月這個季度時，您是否期望看到連續改善？也許折疊到這個問題，我認為丹對第四財季的季節性回歸發表了評論。您是不是在暗示 9 月的情況會很平淡？

So I'll start at the back end. So yes, what we are anticipating is that we're starting the beginning of a normalized build season. While we can't see a lot of the product mix beyond this quarter, we are seeing some ordering patterns and some quoting patterns that would indicate that we are in kind of this normalized program were through in the fourth quarter are pretty consistent with each other.

所以我將從後端開始。所以，是的，我們預計我們將開始正常化的建設季節。雖然我們看不到本季之後的大量產品組合，但我們看到一些訂購模式和一些報價模式表明我們在第四季度完成的這種標準化計劃彼此非常一致。

From an orientation of what do we see in regard to the large cable providers or the Large Regional providers kind of coming back up to speed, I would say that's the biggest question mark that we have. Those are the providers that unfortunately have either the largest inventory position or have the biggest question mark in regard to how their -- how fast they're going to be deploying in order to align their capital equipment expenditures alongside their subscriber take rates.

從我們對大型有線電視供應商或大型區域供應商恢復速度的看法來看，我想說這是我們面臨的最大問號。不幸的是，這些提供者要么擁有最大的庫存狀況，要么在如何、以多快的速度進行部署以使其資本設備支出與訂戶使用率保持一致方面存在最大的問號。

So those -- I would say the Large Regional-MSO providers are the swing that could take us below or above our numbers, and that's why we have to be a little careful.

因此，我想說的是，大型區域 MSO 提供者的波動可能會使我們的數字低於或高於我們的數字，這就是為什麼我們必須小心一點。

And Cheri, maybe just to follow up on that. So what are you factoring in from those 2 categories over the next couple of quarters? And maybe through the T-Mobile joint venture into there now with lumen had been -- historically been a customer. How do you see that playing out for you guys?

Cheri，也許只是為了跟進此事。那麼，在接下來的幾個季度中，您會從這兩個類別中考慮哪些因素？也許透過 T-Mobile 合資企業，現在 Lumen 已經是——歷史上的客戶。你們覺得這對你們來說怎麼樣？

T-Mobile and Lumos is a really interesting combination. And I think it really shows the development of a one fiber network where the wireless and wireline provider becomes one. As 5G deployment start to move forward, T-Mobile has had the opportunity to deploy 5G with a different level of spectrum, which has allowed it to be faster for deployment, but not isn't as scalable. And so they need -- in order for it to continue to be able to add more bandwidth and more users especially for their fixed wireless providers, they need to get more fiber in the ground.

T-Mobile 和 Lumos 是一個非常有趣的組合。我認為這確實展示了單一光纖網路的發展，無線和有線供應商合而為一。隨著 5G 部署開始向前推進，T-Mobile 有機會部署具有不同等級頻譜的 5G，這使其部署速度更快，但可擴展性卻較差。因此，他們需要 - 為了繼續能夠增加更多頻寬和更多用戶，特別是對於他們的固定無線供應商，他們需要在地面上鋪設更多光纖。

And so a joint venture, our partnership with Lumos or our acquisition in this case, is an exciting way by which for them to control it. We have been excited to be part of the Lumos field in the past. We have been part of the lumen build in the past as well. We don't typically throw around customer names, because it's -- there's so much competitive foundation there that one has to be very diligent and prudent about continuing to earn the business. But I would say what's most exciting is the fact that it's happening. And people are back to a standpoint of they're not waiting to see, they're actually making plans to make it happen.

因此，合資企業、我們與 Lumos 的合作夥伴關係或我們在本例中的收購，對他們來說是一種令人興奮的控制方式。過去我們很高興能夠成為 Lumos 領域的一部分。我們過去也曾參與 Lumen 建設。我們通常不會隨意透露客戶的名字，因為那裡有太多的競爭基礎，因此必須非常勤奮和謹慎地繼續贏得業務。但我想說最令人興奮的是它正在發生。人們又回到了他們不再等待的立場，他們實際上正在製定計劃來實現這一目標。

And one last one, if I could, Dan, just to clarify on the gross margins. You've got the excess inventory reserves. Looking at your guidance, it seems like that continues into the June quarter. Just want to clarify, how long does that continue? It seems like this is an accounting adjustment again, not for obsolete inventory. So at some point, you should see the benefit of that. But when do we see that kind of work its way through the system, if you will, from an accounting perspective?

丹，如果可以的話，最後一件事是為了澄清毛利率。你有多餘的庫存儲備。從您的指導來看，這種情況似乎持續到六月季度。只是想澄清一下，這種情況會持續多久？看起來這又是一次會計調整，而不是針對過時的庫存。因此，在某些時候，您應該會看到這樣做的好處。但是，如果你願意的話，從會計的角度來看，我們什麼時候才能在系統中看到這種工作呢？

Yes. Sure. Yes. So yes, it still stays there. I see it being a little bit lower, like more like $3 million or so, at least plus or minus, but that's what we're looking at Q3 right now. And as revenue goes up, those things are going to go down and sequentially will go down as the revenues go up. So we're going to -- it's still going to be around, obviously, if our revenues in Q4 are similar to our projections in Q3, but probably more at that level that I just spoke to.

是的。當然。是的。所以是的，它仍然留在那裡。我認為它有點低，大概是 300 萬美元左右，至少是正負，但這就是我們現在正在考慮的第三季。隨著收入的增加，這些事情將會減少，並且隨著收入的增加而依次減少。因此，如果我們第四季度的收入與第三季的預測相似，那麼顯然，它仍然會存在，但可能會更多地達到我剛才談到的水平。

And then as the U keeps growing sequentially, those become smaller and recoveries become big, will start to get into our numbers.

然後，隨著美國繼續成長，這些數字會變小，而復甦會變大，這將開始進入我們的數字。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question is from the line of Jaeson Schmidt with Lake Street Capital.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Jaeson Schmidt 和 Lake Street Capital 的路線。

Most have been covered, but just curious if you could update us on how the cross-selling opportunities with the Nestor product portfolio has progressed since you brought that online.

大多數內容都已涵蓋，但只是好奇您能否向我們介紹自您將其上線以來 Nestor 產品組合的交叉銷售機會如何取得進展。

It's continuing, but I'd say it's still in the discovery phase. We have had the benefit of being able to be in front of some customers in -- or current customers buying cable and then prospective customers that would be associated more predominantly with connectivity in several European trade shows over the last few weeks. And we'll be continuing that moving forward with ANGA COM in Germany in just a couple of weeks.

它仍在繼續，但我想說它仍處於發現階段。我們的優勢在於，能夠在過去幾週的幾個歐洲貿易展上，在一些客戶面前，或者是購買電纜的當前客戶，然後是與連接更主要相關的潛在客戶面前。幾週後，我們將在德國與 ANGA COM 一起繼續進行這項工作。

I think what's important here is it's not about revenue right now. It's really more about being able to establish those partnerships. And what we're really looking for is we know the product sense that we feel is best. But what we really need to align ourselves with is to expand our channel offerings. We have had, in the U.S., a very strong direct sales program, but more importantly an extremely strong and well-developed distribution network. And so we're looking at that distribution network in target countries and seeing what we can do to facilitate the product offerings that we have in play.

我認為這裡重要的是現在與收入無關。實際上更重要的是能夠建立這些夥伴關係。我們真正在尋找的是我們知道我們認為最好的產品感覺。但我們真正需要調整的是擴大我們的通路產品。我們在美國擁有非常強大的直銷計劃，但更重要的是擁有極其強大且發達的分銷網絡。因此，我們正在研究目標國家/地區的分銷網絡，看看我們可以採取哪些措施來促進我們現有的產品供應。

Okay. That's helpful. And then just as a follow-up, Dan, you noted kind of managing OpEx here. It was down sequentially in March. How should we think about it ramping through the second half of this year?

好的。這很有幫助。Dan，作為後續行動，您在這裡提到了管理營運支出的方式。3月季減。我們該如何看待今年下半年的成長？

Yes. We'll have some additional variable costs that will go along with a little bit of increase in revenues here. So expect it to remain not too different percentage-wise from where we would be in Q2 right now, plus or minus a little bit. But you could probably aim at the same relative percentage.

是的。隨著收入的一點點增加，我們將產生一些額外的變動成本。因此，預計其百分比與我們現在第二季的情況不會有太大差異，略有增加或減少。但您可能可以瞄準相同的相對百分比。

(Operator Instructions) As there are no further questions, I now hand the conference over to Cheri Beranek for closing comments. Cheri?

（操作員指示）由於沒有其他問題，我現在將會議交給 Cheri Beranek 進行總結評論。切裡？

Thank you. Once again, it's been a pleasure to talk and speak with you. I think really, in summary, we want to make sure that everyone understands that we're excited about where we're at right now. But we want to reassure everyone that we're at the beginning of a gradual U-shaped recovery like we've been talking about for the last couple of quarters.

謝謝。再次，很高興與您交談。我認為，總而言之，我們希望確保每個人都明白我們對目前所處的位置感到興奮。但我們想讓大家放心，我們正處於逐步 U 型復甦的開始，就像我們過去幾季一直在談論的那樣。

We see deployments continuing somewhat moving forward. The deployments are happening, although they're somewhat thwarted by economic conditions. But we also see the gap between revenue and customer deployments. While it's still present, we believe the build season will work to minimize it.

我們看到部署仍在繼續向前推進。儘管經濟狀況在一定程度上阻礙了部署，但部署仍在進行中。但我們也看到收入和客戶部署之間的差距。雖然它仍然存在，但我們相信建造季節將努力將其最小化。

Furthermore, and I think most importantly, I would close with that we believe Clearfield is uniquely positioned to serve the 59 million homes that are anticipated to be passed with fiber over the course of the next 5 years. The next 5 years is really what Clearfield is looking for. And we hope you're part of our journey.

此外，我認為最重要的是，我最後要說的是，我們相信 Clearfield 具有獨特的優勢，可以為預計在未來 5 年內透過光纖傳輸的 5,900 萬個家庭提供服務。未來五年正是克利爾菲爾德所尋求的。我們希望您成為我們旅程的一部分。

Thank you. The conference of Clearfield has now concluded. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝。克利爾菲爾德會議現已結束。感謝您的參與。現在您可以斷開線路。