Columbus McKinnon Corp (CMCO) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to Columbus McKinnon Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Deborah Pawlowski, Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

您好，歡迎閱讀哥倫布麥金農 2024 財年第二季財務業績。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。現在我很高興向大家介紹投資者關係部門的 Deborah Pawlowski。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, Doug, and good morning, everyone. We certainly appreciate your time today and your interest in Columbus McKinnon. Joining me here for our financial results conference call are David Wilson, our President and CEO; and Greg Rustowicz, our Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，道格，大家早安。我們非常感謝您今天抽出時間以及您對哥倫布·麥金農的興趣。與我一起參加我們的財務業績電話會議的是我們的總裁兼執行長 David Wilson；以及我們的財務長 Greg Rustowicz。

You should have a copy of our second quarter fiscal year 2024 financial results, which we released earlier this morning. There are also slides that will accompany our conversation today. Both the slides and the release are available on our website at investors.cmco.com. David and Greg are going to provide their formal remarks, after which, we will open the line for questions.

您應該擁有我們今天早上發布的 2024 財年第二季財務業績副本。我們今天的談話還將附帶幻燈片。投影片和新聞稿均可在我們的網站 Investors.cmco.com 上取得。大衛和格雷格將發表正式講話，之後我們將開放提問熱線。

But right now, if you'll just turn to Slide 2 in the deck, I will review the safe harbor statement. You should be aware that we may make some forward-looking statements during the formal discussion as well as during the Q&A session. These statements apply to future events that are subject to risks and uncertainties as well as other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is stated here today. These risks and uncertainties and other factors are provided in the earnings release as well as with other documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can find these documents on our website or at sec.gov.

但現在，如果您翻到投影片 2，我將回顧安全港聲明。您應該知道，我們可能會在正式討論以及問答環節中做出一些前瞻性陳述。這些陳述適用於受風險和不確定性以及其他可能導致實際結果與今天所述結果有重大差異的因素影響的未來事件。這些風險和不確定性以及其他因素在收益報告以及公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中提供。您可以在我們的網站或 sec.gov 上找到這些文件。

During today's call, we will also discuss some non-GAAP financial measures. We believe these will be useful in evaluating our performance. However, you should not consider the presentation of this additional information in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. We have provided reconciliation of non-GAAP measures with comparable GAAP measures in the tables that accompany today's release and slides.

在今天的電話會議中，我們還將討論一些非公認會計準則財務指標。我們相信這些將有助於評估我們的績效。但是，您不應考慮單獨提供此附加信息，也不應將其視為根據 GAAP 準備的結果的替代品。我們在今天發布的新聞稿和投影片所附的表格中提供了非公認會計準則衡量指標與可比較公認會計準則衡量指標的調節表。

So with that, please advance to Slide 3, and I will turn the call over to David to begin. David?

那麼，請前進到幻燈片 3，我將把電話轉給 David 開始。大衛？

Thank you, Deb, and good morning, everyone. Our second quarter results are a testament to the progress our team is making as an organization as we transform Columbus McKinnon into a higher growth, less cyclical enterprise with stronger earnings power. Together, we took a meaningful step forward in terms of performance in the quarter, establishing several new records.

謝謝你，黛布，大家早安。我們第二季的業績證明了我們的團隊作為一個組織所取得的進展，我們將哥倫布·麥金農轉變為一家增長速度更快、週期性更弱、盈利能力更強的企業。我們共同在本季度的業績方面邁出了有意義的一步，創造了多項新記錄。

While we are pleased with the results we are delivering, we are more encouraged with the progress we're making and by the potential of our business as we advance the strategic transformation of Columbus McKinnon. The team remains highly focused on executing our strategic plan and achieving the objectives we have established for the business.

雖然我們對所取得的成果感到滿意，但隨著我們推動哥倫布麥金農的策略轉型，我們對所取得的進展和業務潛力感到更加鼓舞。團隊仍然高度專注於執行我們的策略計劃並實現我們為業務制定的目標。

Sales in Q2 were $258 million and at the high end of our guidance. This included $9.5 million for montratec. We are very pleased with the early performance of our montratec acquisition and the broader momentum that we are building within our precision conveyance platform. We also achieved record gross margin in the quarter. Our 38.7% represents a 120 basis point improvement over our previous record, which was established in the first quarter of last year.

第二季銷售額為 2.58 億美元，處於我們指引值的上限。其中包括 montratec 的 950 萬美元。我們對 montratec 收購的早期表現以及我們在精密輸送平台內建立的更廣泛的勢頭感到非常滿意。我們在本季也實現了創紀錄的毛利率。 38.7% 比去年第一季創下的先前記錄提高了 120 個基點。

Our revenue and gross margin performance in the quarter translated to record operating income and adjusted EBITDA. Our adjusted EBITDA of 17.7% represents a 90 basis point improvement over our previous record, which was established in the same period last year.

我們本季的營收和毛利率表現轉化為創紀錄的營業收入和調整後的 EBITDA。我們的調整後 EBITDA 為 17.7%，比去年同期創下的紀錄提高了 90 個基點。

We also remain focused on reducing our interest rate exposure and are accelerating debt repayment. Greg will speak to this further, but we have upped our plans to reduce debt by an additional $10 million within the year, bringing our total debt reduction to $50 million in fiscal 2024. Year-to-date, we paid down $25 million, and our net debt leverage ratio now sits at 2.7x, and we see it dropping to approximately 2.3x by the fiscal year-end.

我們也繼續致力於減少利率風險並加速債務償還。格雷格將進一步談到這一點，但我們已經提高了今年內額外減少債務1000 萬美元的計劃，使我們在2024 財年的債務減少總額達到5000 萬美元。年初至今，我們已償還了2500 萬美元，而我們的淨債務槓桿率目前為 2.7 倍，預計到本財年末將降至約 2.3 倍。

If you'll turn to Slide 4, you'll see the progress we're making toward our gross margin expectations and the effectiveness of the work we're doing within the company to enable stronger earnings power. We believe the performance we achieved in the quarter is underpinned by sustainable improvements and reflects the effectiveness of our strategy as we advance the operating and strategic initiatives referenced on this page.

如果您翻到投影片 4，您將看到我們在實現毛利率預期方面所取得的進展，以及我們在公司內部為增強獲利能力而開展的工作的有效性。我們相信，我們在本季度取得的業績是以永續改善為基礎的，並反映了我們在推進本頁引用的營運和策略舉措時策略的有效性。

We remain highly focused on improving our customers' experience, and our progress has been validated by recent improvements in our Net Promoter Score. Being customer-led is a foundational component of the Columbus McKinnon Business System, or CMBS, which is driving continuous improvement, discipline, communication and accountability within our business. 80/20 analysis, decision-making and actions are unlocking further value within our CMBS framework, and we are currently focused on product line simplification.

我們仍然高度重視改善客戶體驗，最近淨推薦值的改善也驗證了我們的進步。以客戶為導向是哥倫布麥金農業務系統 (CMBS) 的基本組成部分，它推動著我們業務的持續改進、紀律、溝通和問責。 80/20 分析、決策和行動正在我們的 CMBS 框架內釋放更多價值，我們目前專注於產品線簡化。

Beyond optimizing financial performance, this will result in improved product offerings, stronger market positioning and the further simplification of our factory footprint. In the period, we saw improvements in capacity planning, material costs, direct labor productivity, factory overhead rates and pricing. The acquisition of montratec served as a strategic lever for gross margin performance as well and added 70 basis points in the quarter.

除了優化財務表現之外，這還將改善產品供應、增強市場定位並進一步簡化我們的工廠佈局。在此期間，我們看到了產能規劃、材料成本、直接勞動生產力、工廠管理費用和定價方面的改善。收購 montratec 也成為毛利率表現的策略槓桿，並在本季增加了 70 個基點。

We are energized by the momentum we're building within the organization and are highly encouraged with the pipeline of opportunities we are seeing in a variety of end markets. Given our progress, we now expect gross margin to expand approximately 150 basis points year-over-year. This is up from our previous expectation of 50 to 100 basis points of improvement in fiscal '24.

我們對組織內正在建立的勢頭感到充滿活力，並對我們在各種終端市場中看到的一系列機會感到非常鼓舞。鑑於我們取得的進展，我們現在預計毛利率將年增約 150 個基點。這高於我們先前對 24 財年改善 50 至 100 個基點的預期。

I'll now turn the presentation over to Greg to review our results in greater detail.

我現在將把簡報交給 Greg，以更詳細地審查我們的結果。

Thank you, David. Good morning, everyone. Turning to Slide 5. We delivered record sales in the second quarter, up $258.4 million, up 9.1% from the prior year period on a constant currency basis. This was at the high end of the guidance we provided last quarter. In addition, we grew sales sequentially by 10%. On a year-over-year basis, we realized pricing gains of $10.6 million or 4.6%, which was in line with what we were anticipating.

謝謝你，大衛。大家，早安。轉向幻燈片 5。我們在第二季度實現了創紀錄的銷售額，增加了 2.584 億美元，按固定匯率計算比去年同期增長 9.1%。這是我們上季度提供的指導的最高值。此外，我們的銷售額較上季成長了 10%。與去年同期相比，我們實現了 1,060 萬美元的定價收益，即 4.6%，符合我們的預期。

We are quite pleased with the montratec acquisition, which added $9.5 million of sales. Volume increased by $1 million or 0.4%. Foreign currency translation was a benefit this quarter of $5.6 million or 2.4%. Let me provide a little color on sales by region.

我們對 montratec 的收購感到非常滿意，這增加了 950 萬美元的銷售額。成交量增加了 100 萬美元，成長 0.4%。本季外幣換算帶來的收益為 560 萬美元，即 2.4%。讓我提供一些按地區劃分的銷售情況。

For the second quarter, sales grew in the U.S. by 3.9% compared with the prior year. The increase reflected 3.5% of price improvement. montratec added 30 basis points of revenue in the U.S. and sales volume was slightly up 10 basis points. Volume was up in our automation business as it benefited from strong megatrends, but was down in our precision conveyance business due to the timing of projects, which reflects the market slowdown we saw in the second half of last year.

第二季美國銷售額較上年成長 3.9%。這一增長反映了 3.5% 的價格上漲。 montratec 在美國的營收增加了 30 個基點，銷量小幅成長了 10 個基點。我們的自動化業務的銷售量有所上升，因為它受益於強勁的大趨勢，但我們的精密輸送業務的銷售量卻由於專案的時間安排而下降，這反映了我們去年下半年看到的市場放緩。

Outside of the U.S., sales increased by 23%. The montratec acquisition added 9.9% of growth. Pricing improved by 6.1% and sales volume increased by 0.9%. In EMEA, our largest region outside of the U.S., we saw volume decline by approximately 2% or $1.1 million. This was largely project related. The pipeline of opportunities remain solid, but we are experiencing delays with quote to orders.

美國以外地區的銷售額成長了 23%。收購 montratec 推動了 9.9% 的成長。定價提高了 6.1%，銷量成長了 0.9%。在歐洲、中東和非洲（我們在美國以外最大的地區），我們的銷售額下降了約 2%，即 110 萬美元。這很大程度上與項目相關。機會管道仍然穩固，但我們在報價到訂單方面遇到了延遲。

Sales volume increased in APAC by a strong 46%. Keep in mind, however, APAC represents just 6% of total sales. Within APAC, we benefited from strong sales in Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, especially in the energy, utility and transportation verticals. Volume declined by approximately 1% in Latin America, and in Canada, which is about 4% of total revenue, we saw volume decline by 24%.

亞太地區銷售強勁成長 46%。但請記住，亞太地區僅佔總銷售額的 6%。在亞太地區，我們受惠於馬來西亞、新加坡和台灣的強勁銷售，特別是在能源、公用事業和運輸垂直領域。拉丁美洲的銷量下降了約 1%，而在佔總收入約 4% 的加拿大，銷量下降了 24%。

On Slide 6, we recorded record gross margin of 38.7% in the second quarter, which is a 190 basis point increase sequentially. As David pointed out, we are quite pleased with the progression we have made with gross margin expansion and believe we have a path to achieve 40%-plus gross margins by fiscal year '27.

在幻燈片 6 中，我們第二季的毛利率創下了 38.7% 的紀錄，比上一季增加了 190 個基點。正如 David 指出的那樣，我們對毛利率擴張所取得的進展感到非常滿意，並相信我們有能力在 27 財年實現 40% 以上的毛利率。

Gross profit increased $13.7 million or 16% versus the prior year. This was driven by several factors, which you can see in the table. The largest items driving gross profit expansion were pricing, net of material manufacturing cost changes, including material inflation, which added $5.7 million; and the montratec acquisition, which contributed $5.5 million to gross profit. montratec was accretive to gross margins by 70 basis points this quarter, with an overall gross margin of 57%.

毛利比上年增加 1,370 萬美元，或 16%。這是由幾個因素驅動的，您可以在表中看到。推動毛利成長的最大因素是定價，扣除材料製造成本變化，包括材料通膨，增加了 570 萬美元； montratec 收購為毛利貢獻了 550 萬美元。 montratec 本季毛利率成長了 70 個基點，整體毛利率為 57%。

Let me remind you that our fiscal third quarter is a seasonally softer quarter. With less shipping days, given the holiday season, we would expect approximately 100 basis point reduction in gross margin sequentially from this quarter's gross margin.

讓我提醒您，我們的第三財季是一個季節性疲軟的季度。由於假期期間出貨天數減少，我們預計本季毛利率將比本季毛利率下降約 100 個基點。

Moving to Slide 7. Our SG&A expense was $59.1 million in the quarter or 22.9% of sales. This included $800,000 of pro forma adjustments primarily related to the montratec acquisition, with the remainder related to our headquarters relocation, business realignment costs and a warehouse consolidation. Excluding these pro forma adjustments, our SG&A as a percent of sales was 22.6%.

前往投影片 7。本季我們的 SG&A 費用為 5,910 萬美元，佔銷售額的 22.9%。其中包括主要與 montratec 收購相關的 800,000 美元預計調整，其餘與我們的總部搬遷、業務調整成本和倉庫整合相關。在排除這些預計調整後，我們的銷售、管理及行政費用 (SG&A) 佔銷售額的百分比為 22.6%。

Sequentially, our SG&A costs were higher by $800,000 as we had a full quarter of montratec costs, which added $2.6 million. We also recorded higher stock compensation costs of $1.3 million. Both items were partially offset by lower montratec acquisition deal and integration costs and headquarters relocation costs compared with the first quarter of fiscal '24.

隨後，我們的 SG&A 成本增加了 80 萬美元，因為我們有整整一個季​​度的 montratec 成本，增加了 260 萬美元。我們也記錄了 130 萬美元的較高股票補償成本。與 2024 財年第一季相比，這兩項費用均被 montratec 收購交易和整合成本以及總部搬遷成本降低所部分抵銷。

Compared with the prior year, our SG&A costs were higher by $6.6 million. montratec accounted for $3.3 million of the increase. The remainder of the increase was in G&A, which was elevated by higher incentive compensation and stock compensation expense. We also increased our investment in R&D by $1 million. Helping to offset these expenses were lower business realignment costs of $1.1 million. For the third quarter, we expect our SG&A expense of approximately $58 million.

與前一年相比，我們的 SG&A 成本增加了 660 萬美元。其中 montratec 佔增量的 330 萬美元。其餘的成長是由於激勵薪酬和股票補償費用的增加而導致的一般管理費用。我們也增加了 100 萬美元的研發投資。 110 萬美元的業務調整成本降低，有助於抵銷這些費用。對於第三季度，我們預計 SG&A 費用約為 5800 萬美元。

Turning to Slide 8. We generated record operating income of $33.4 million in the quarter or 12.9% of sales. This represented an increase of $6 million or 22% over last year's second quarter. Adjusted operating income was also a record at $34.1 million or 13.2% of sales. On an adjusted basis, operating income grew $5.5 million or 19%. This record performance demonstrates the success of our strategy and is another proof point in our transformation journey.

轉向投影片 8。本季我們創造了創紀錄的 3,340 萬美元營業收入，佔銷售額的 12.9%。這比去年第二季增加了 600 萬美元，即 22%。調整後營業收入也創歷史新高，達到 3,410 萬美元，佔銷售額的 13.2%。調整後的營業收入成長了 550 萬美元，即 19%。這項創紀錄的業績證明了我們策略的成功，也是我們轉型之旅的另一個證明。

As you can see on Slide 9, we recorded GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter of $0.55, up $0.06 versus the prior year. Our tax rate on a GAAP basis was 24%. For the year, we expect our tax rate to be approximately 25%.

正如您在幻燈片 9 中看到的，我們記錄的本季 GAAP 攤薄每股收益為 0.55 美元，比前一年增加 0.06 美元。我們的 GAAP 稅率為 24%。今年，我們預計稅率約為 25%。

Adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.76 was up $0.03 from the prior year as higher adjusted operating income more than offset the negative impact of higher interest expense and the increased tax rate year-over-year. For modeling purposes, interest expense is expected to be about $10 million in the third quarter, down slightly from the $10.2 million we recorded this quarter as interest rates stabilize and we accelerate our debt reduction plans.

調整後每股攤薄收益為 0.76 美元，較上年增加 0.03 美元，原因是調整後營業收入的增加足以抵消利息支出增加和稅率同比增加的負面影響。出於建模目的，隨著利率穩定以及我們加快債務削減計劃，第三季的利息支出預計約為 1,000 萬美元，略低於本季記錄的 1,020 萬美元。

On Slide 10, we achieved record adjusted EBITDA margin this quarter of 17.7%, demonstrating the earnings power of the company. The step-change improvement gets us closer to our stated goal of 21% EBITDA margin in fiscal year '27. With this quarter's record performance, our trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA is now $156.1 million, which represents an adjusted EBITDA margin of 16%.

在投影片 10 中，本季我們實現了創紀錄的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率 17.7%，展現了公司的獲利能力。這一階段性的改進使我們更接近我們既定的 27 財年 EBITDA 利潤率 21% 的目標。憑藉本季創紀錄的業績，我們過去 12 個月的調整後 EBITDA 現已達到 1.561 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 16%。

We believe that while variable from quarter-to-quarter, our EBITDA margin in Q2 is sustainable given the underlying improvements in the business. Our return on invested capital improved 20 basis points to 6.8% from Q1. Our goal remains to get to a double-digit ROIC over our planning horizon.

我們相信，雖然每個季度都有變化，但考慮到業務的根本改善，我們第二季的 EBITDA 利潤率是可持續的。我們的投資資本報酬率比第一季提高了 20 個基點，達到 6.8%。我們的目標仍然是在規劃範圍內實現兩位數的投資報酬率。

Moving to Slide 11. Quarterly free cash flow was $11.7 million in the second quarter. This includes cash provided by operating activities of $16.7 million and CapEx of $5 million. Working capital was a use of cash in the quarter of $12.2 million. We would expect this to improve over the remainder of the year as our working capital levels continue to normalize.

轉到投影片 11。第二季的季度自由現金流為 1170 萬美元。其中包括 1,670 萬美元經營活動提供的現金和 500 萬美元資本支出。本季營運資金使用現金 1,220 萬美元。隨著我們的營運資本水準繼續正常化，我們預計這一情況將在今年剩餘時間內得到改善。

We anticipate that CapEx will range between $30 million to $40 million in fiscal year '24 as we are continuing to make investments in a lower-cost center of excellence to simplify our factory footprint as well as increased capacity, productivity and throughput. For fiscal 2024, we expect free cash flow conversion will range between 90% and 100%.

我們預計 24 財年的資本支出將在 3,000 萬至 4,000 萬美元之間，因為我們將繼續投資於低成本的卓越中心，以簡化我們的工廠佔地面積並提高產能、生產率和吞吐量。 2024 財年，我們預期自由現金流轉換率將介於 90% 至 100% 之間。

Turning to Slide 12. Our capital structure is improving as our net debt leverage ratio is now 2.7x on a financial covenant basis, which is down from 2.9x that we reported last quarter. As we have previously discussed, we have a covenant-light credit agreement. With no revolver borrowings outstanding at quarter end, our financial covenant is not tested.

轉向投影片 12。我們的資本結構正在改善，根據財務契約計算，我們的淨債務槓桿率目前為 2.7 倍，低於我們上季報告的 2.9 倍。正如我們之前討論的，我們有一份契約輕信貸協議。由於季度末沒有未償還的循環借款，我們的財務契約沒有經過測試。

We are also accelerating our debt reduction plans as we paid down $15 million of debt this quarter. We are now planning to pay down $50 million of debt this fiscal year, up from $40 million. We expect our net leverage ratio to improve to approximately 2.3x by the end of this fiscal year. This once again demonstrates our ability to delever quickly after an acquisition.

我們還在加快我們的債務削減計劃，本季我們償還了 1500 萬美元的債務。我們現在計劃本財年償還 5,000 萬美元的債務，高於 4,000 萬美元。我們預計到本財年末我們的淨槓桿率將改善至約 2.3 倍。這再次證明了我們收購後快速去槓桿化的能力。

Please advance to Slide 13, and I will turn it back over to David.

請前進到幻燈片 13，我會將其轉回給 David。

Thanks, Greg. Orders were up 2% year-over-year in the quarter, driven by strength in the Americas. In EMEA, while we began to see signs of moderating demand in Germany, demand in the Middle East remained robust, and the region held up reasonably well despite the broader economic and geopolitical headwinds.

謝謝，格雷格。在美洲業務強勁的推動下，本季訂單年增 2%。在歐洲、中東和非洲地區，雖然我們開始看到德國需求放緩的跡象，但中東的需求仍然強勁，儘管有更廣泛的經濟和地緣政治阻力，但該地區的表現仍相當不錯。

Precision conveyance orders were up 11% in the quarter, and our lifting business was up 7% year-over-year. Overall, short-cycle orders increased a robust 11% compared with last year. Project orders slowed, however, in the quarter, but visibility to project order opportunities improved throughout the quarter.

本季精密輸送訂單成長 11%，起重業務年增 7%。整體而言，短週期訂單較去年強勁成長 11%。然而，本季專案訂單放緩，但整個季度專案訂單機會的可見性有所改善。

We remain encouraged by the overall quotation and order pipeline for our business. While we would caution that the first month of a quarter does not necessarily define a trend, we have realized double-digit order growth in the first month of this quarter versus the same period last quarter.

我們業務的整體報價和訂單管道仍然令我們感到鼓舞。雖然我們需要提醒注意的是，季度的第一個月並不一定定義趨勢，但我們已經實現了本季第一個月與上季同期相比的兩位數訂單成長。

Our backlog remains quite healthy at $318 million. During the quarter, we reduced our past due backlog by 28%, and we're beginning to see backlog normalize as lead times and deliveries improve. Our orders and backlog levels continue to support our revenue expectations for the year.

我們的積壓訂單仍然相當健康，為 3.18 億美元。在本季度，我們將過期積壓訂單減少了 28%，隨著交貨時間和交貨時間的改善，我們開始看到積壓情況趨於正常化。我們的訂單和積壓水平繼續支持我們今年的收入預期。

Please turn to Slide 14, where I will summarize our outlook for the business. Notwithstanding a global backdrop of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, our outlook for the business remains encouraging as we are benefiting from participation in more secular growth markets and several megatrends, including significant fiscal investments in infrastructure and defense, the near-shoring of manufacturing capacity, automation and the scarcity of labor resources, energy conservation and electrification.

請參閱投影片 14，我將在其中總結我們對業務的展望。儘管全球宏觀經濟和地緣政治存在不確定性，但我們的業務前景仍然令人鼓舞，因為我們受益於參與更長期的成長市場和幾個大趨勢，包括基礎設施和國防方面的大量財政投資、製造能力的近岸化、自動化以及勞動力資源稀缺、節能和電氣化。

We expect to deliver sales between $245 million and $255 million in Q3 and to surpass $1 billion of revenue for the year. We are also raising our full year gross margin improvement guidance and now expect approximately 150 basis points of improvement in fiscal '24.

我們預計第三季的銷售額將在 2.45 億美元至 2.55 億美元之間，全年營收將超過 10 億美元。我們也提高了全年毛利率改善指引，目前預計 24 財年毛利率將改善約 150 個基點。

As I mentioned earlier, we're gaining traction with our customer experience initiatives, especially in the key areas of on-time delivery, reduced lead times, overall responsiveness and communication. Our montratec acquisition is performing well, and we're encouraged by the robust level of quotation activity in the order pipeline across our precision conveyance platform.

正如我之前提到的，我們的客戶體驗計畫正在獲得吸引力，特別是在按時交付、縮短交貨時間、整體回應能力和溝通等關鍵領域。我們對 montratec 的收購表現良好，我們的精密輸送平台訂單管道中強勁的報價活動水準讓我們深受鼓舞。

We also continue to deliver organic growth through investments in commercial initiatives, innovation and new product development. On a year-to-date basis, our Vitality Index, or NPD [-3] rate, was 3.3% through Q2. We are executing all elements of our strategy, and our second quarter results demonstrate the progress we're making as we advance the transformation of Columbus McKinnon.

我們也繼續透過對商業計劃、創新和新產品開發的投資來實現有機成長。年初至今，我們的活力指數（NPD [-3]）在第二季為 3.3%。我們正在執行策略的所有要素，第二季的業績證明了我們在推動哥倫布麥金農轉型過程中所取得的進展。

With that, Doug, we can open up the line for questions.

道格，這樣我們就可以開通提問熱線了。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Matt Summerville with D.A. Davidson.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Matt Summerville 和 D.A.戴維森。

Maybe -- you touched on a couple of end markets, David. Can you maybe talk a little more broadly about some of your other larger end-market verticals like auto, construction, oil and gas, general industrial? And maybe in the context of your project-related comments, where you've seen that order to -- or conversion-to-order momentum start to elongate a bit?

也許 - 你觸及了幾個終端市場，大衛。您能否更廣泛地談談其他一些較大的垂直市場，例如汽車、建築、石油和天然氣、一般工業？也許在您與項目相關的評論中，您在哪裡看到訂單或轉換為訂單的勢頭開始有點延長？

Thanks, Matt. Yes, so we have been encouraged by the activity across end markets in general. And I would say that, notably, aerospace and defense, electric vehicles, food and beverage have been markets that have been pretty robust for us. When you ask about the general industrial markets, they've maintained the momentum, and the Americas has been pretty strong for us overall.

謝謝，馬特。是的，所以我們對整個終端市場的活動感到鼓舞。我想說的是，尤其是航空航太和國防、電動車、食品和飲料等市場對我們來說相當強勁。當你問及一般工業市場時，他們一直保持著這種勢頭，而且美洲對我們整體來說相當強勁。

The timing of projects is something that has been a bit lumpy, as you'd expect. And we're really encouraged with the activity we've seen in the pipeline and the quoting and the discussions that we've had. And those opportunities range across attractive end markets like food and beverage, electric vehicle manufacturing, the industrial markets in general.

正如您所料，專案的時間安排有點不穩定。我們對在管道中看到的活動以及我們進行的引用和討論感到非常鼓舞。這些機會遍及食品和飲料、電動車製造以及一般工業市場等有吸引力的終端市場。

And I feel like we're pretty well positioned as we're, in this quarter, advancing through October to see a nice uplift in year-over-year order activity based on the performance we saw quarter-over-quarter. Oil and gas is another one that I didn't mention that I think is worth noting. We've had pretty significant investments in both the Middle East as well as in Asia Pacific as it relates to that market specifically.

我覺得我們處於非常有利的位置，因為我們在本季度中，根據我們看到的季度環比表現，到 10 月份，訂單活動將比去年同期大幅增長。石油和天然氣是另一個我沒有提到但我認為值得注意的領域。我們在中東和亞太地區都有相當大的投資，因為它與該市場特別相關。

Got it. And then just a quick follow-up. As you, Greg, take leverage down to 2.3x, do you view Columbus McKinnon as sort of being -- not that you're necessarily ever out of it, but maybe more back in the -- in M&A mode as you get into fiscal '25? And then with respect to fiscal '25, what would your thoughts be on incremental price realization?

知道了。然後進行快速跟進。當你，格雷格，將槓桿率降低到2.3 倍時，你是否認為哥倫布·麥金農(Columbus McKinnon) 處於某種狀態——並不是說你一定會擺脫困境，但也許會在進入財務階段時回到併購模式？ '25？那麼對於 25 財年，您對增量價格實現有何看法？

Yes. So thanks, Matt. So as you mentioned, our focus is really on paying down debt this year. And we continue to work an active pipeline because you always have to look at opportunities. But we think with where we sit today, we're on a pretty clear path to delevering to the 2.3x by the end of the fiscal year. And I think once we get into that level, I think we've got more capacity to look for the next potential acquisition that could be accretive and bring synergies to the company.

是的。所以謝謝，馬特。正如您所提到的，我們今年的重點實際上是償還債務。我們將繼續進行積極的工作，因為您始終必須尋找機會。但我們認為，從目前的情況來看，我們正走在一條非常明確的道路上，到本財年結束時將去槓桿化至 2.3 倍。我認為一旦我們達到這個水平，我認為我們就有更多的能力去尋找下一個潛在的收購，這些收購可能會帶來增值並為公司帶來協同效應。

So our strategy includes M&A as part of our growth to get to the $1.5 billion. And I think we'll be in good shape next year. And -- but once again, a deal has to make sense. And it has to make sense financially, both because, obviously, the incremental costs today for interests are substantially higher than they've been in the past.

因此，我們的策略包括併購，作為我們實現 15 億美元成長的一部分。我認為明年我們會保持良好狀態。而且——但再次強調，協議必須有意義。而且它必須在財務上有意義，因為顯然，今天的利息增量成本大大高於過去。

And then your second part of the question, with pricing, we would expect pricing next year to moderate somewhat. I think this year, we're just under 5% on a year-to-date basis. And we have seen inflation come down on materials. And as we think about pricing strategies for next year, I think it will be more modest than it has been the last couple of years.

然後是問題的第二部分，關於定價，我們預計明年的定價會放緩。我認為今年我們的成長率略低於 5%。我們已經看到材料方面的通貨膨脹有所下降。當我們考慮明年的定價策略時，我認為它將比過去幾年更加溫和。

Our next question comes from the line of John Tanwanteng with CJS Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 CJS 證券的 John Tanwanteng。

Very nice quarter. I was wondering, just the incremental gross margin was 60% in the quarter over the last quarter, which is really great. Is that kind of incremental sustainable once you get back to seasonally stronger quarters? Or should we think of like deflation or some of the components you may not be repeating? Any thoughts on how that plays out as we go through the rest of the year?

非常好的季度。我想知道，光是這個季度的增量毛利率就比上個季度增長了 60%，這真是太棒了。一旦回到季節性強勁的季度，這種增量是否可持續？或者我們應該考慮通貨緊縮或您可能不會重複的一些組成部分？對於今年剩下的時間我們會如何發揮作用有什麼想法嗎？

Yes, John, we feel really good about the sustainable improvements that we've put in place within the business. And we feel like what we're -- the way that we're performing now, but for the seasonal adjustment that Greg spoke of as we head into our Q3, we see the levels that we're performing at now as being sustainable. And clearly, you know what our longer-term goals are, and we intend to keep executing in a way that we expand those margins -- that results in us expanding those margins over time.

是的，約翰，我們對我們在企業內部實施的可持續改進感到非常滿意。我們感覺我們現在的表現是這樣的，但是對於格雷格在進入第三季度時談到的季節性調整，我們認為我們現在的表現水平是可持續的。顯然，你知道我們的長期目標是什麼，我們打算繼續以擴大這些利潤的方式執行——這會導致我們隨著時間的推移擴大這些利潤。

But from an operating perspective, we've driven a lot of improvements in the underlying business. We have other levers that we've been speaking to that we continue to exercise and that have more room to advance the business. And as we indicated in our prepared remarks, we are now targeting approximately 150 basis points of expansion in this fiscal year.

但從營運角度來看，我們推動了基礎業務的許多改進。我們還有其他槓桿，我們一直在談論這些槓桿，我們將繼續運用它們，並且有更大的空間來推進業務。正如我們在準備好的發言中指出的那樣，我們現在的目標是在本財年實現約 150 個基點的擴張。

Okay. Great. And then second question, just -- you mentioned that the projects in the pipeline were pretty strong, but we've seen some news, obviously, and the media saying that the EV demand hasn't been quite as strong. There's been pushouts of battery manufacturing facilities.

好的。偉大的。然後是第二個問題，您提到正在醞釀中的項目非常強勁，但我們顯然看到了一些消息，媒體稱電動車需求並不那麼強勁。電池製造設施已經淘汰。

I know some of your future prospects are tied to that and some of your current businesses. And I'm wondering what you're seeing in the project pipeline, specifically regarding EVs and batteries, and the timing of those projects as you go forward?

我知道您未來的一些前景與此以及您目前的一些業務息息相關。我想知道您在專案管道中看到了什麼，特別是有關電動車和電池的內容，以及您推進這些專案的時間表？

Right. Yes, actually, we are pretty encouraged with the volume of activity that we're seeing in that space, both domestically and abroad, as major customers of ours are investing and are engaged with us in pretty active discussions around opportunities that we're expecting will come to fruition here in the near future.

正確的。是的，實際上，我們對在國內和國外該領域看到的大量活動感到非常鼓舞，因為我們的主要客戶正在投資，並與我們就我們預期的機會進行了非常積極的討論不久的將來，將在這裡實現。

And just to add on, John. So it's really dependent on the specific customers. And I think we're linked with 2 of the more substantial larger players in the EV market, both in the U.S. as well as in Germany.

補充一下，約翰。所以這實際上取決於特定的客戶。我認為我們與電動車市場上兩個規模較大的參與者有聯繫，無論是在美國還是德國。

Our next question comes from the line of Steve Ferazani with Sidoti & Company.

我們的下一個問題來自 Sidoti & Company 的 Steve Ferazani。

Just wanted to get a sense of how much the montratec acquisition is potentially outperforming and how much that led to the more positive view on gross margin improvement this year. Can you guys give us a little bit of sense on the integration of montratec and just what you think for cross-selling opportunities now that you've had a full quarter under the belt?

只是想了解 montratec 收購可能會跑贏多少，以及這在多大程度上導致了對今年毛利率改善的更積極看法。你們能否為我們介紹 montratec 的整合以及您對交叉銷售機會的看法，因為你們已經度過了整整一個季​​度的時間？

Yes.

是的。

Sure. Yes, we feel really good about the opportunities for the montratec business. We've -- the business is performing well, and it's performing to expectations in the quarter. The team has been doing a great job of participating in cross-selling and integration-related activities, both in Europe and in the United States. And our teams in the United States have built up a pipeline of opportunities that they're actively pursuing as we seek to help scale that business over here in the U.S. beyond the penetration that they've had in the past.

當然。是的，我們對 montratec 業務的機會感到非常滿意。我們的業務表現良好，本季的表現符合預期。該團隊在歐洲和美國的交叉銷售和整合相關活動中表現出色。我們在美國的團隊已經建立了一系列機會，他們正在積極尋求這些機會，因為我們尋求幫助擴大在美國的業務規模，超越他們過去的滲透率。

And in the quarter, they were a good contributor to the performance. They contributed 70 basis points of margin in the quarter. That was the accretive impact of their gross margin contribution. And in general, we're really pleased with the way that the team is performing and the prospects for the business. So we remain very bullish on that piece of the business.

在本季度，他們為業績做出了很好的貢獻。他們在本季貢獻了 70 個基點的利潤。這就是他們的毛利率貢獻的增值影響。總的來說，我們對團隊的表現和業務前景非常滿意。因此，我們仍然非常看好該業務。

But I want to emphasize our bullish view on the overall precision conveyance business that we're engaged in more broadly. Obviously, we've seen some sequential declines in sales activity tied to some softness in the market that we saw over the past year and with the challenges we've seen in the e-commerce space with 1 large customer. But we do see a lot of opportunities on the horizon, and our team is very actively engaged in good discussions around the development of that business.

但我想強調我們對我們更廣泛從事的整體精密運輸業務的樂觀看法。顯然，我們看到銷售活動連續下降，這與我們在過去一年中看到的市場疲軟以及我們在擁有大客戶的電子商務領域中看到的挑戰有關。但我們確實看到了很多機會，我們的團隊非常積極地圍繞著該業務的發展進行了良好的討論。

When I think about precision conveyance becoming a larger part of overall sales, but it sounds like you're still sort of guiding towards traditional fourth -- December quarter seasonality. Any reason to think -- and obviously, we look at the revenue changed last September to December, which was very minimal. Any reason to think that we have -- you're just entering years now where you're just not going to see the same traditional seasonality?

當我想到精密運輸將成為整體銷售的更大一部分時，但聽起來您仍然在引導傳統的第四季（12 月季度）季節性。任何思考的理由 - 顯然，我們看到去年 9 月到 12 月的收入變化，這是非常小的。有什麼理由認為我們——你現在才剛進入幾年，你不會看到同樣的傳統季節性？

Yes. So I think our core lifting business is still 60% of the mix approximately. So I think we will continue to see a seasonal impact on gross margins. I would point out, though, Steve, that last year, we saw a 160 basis point sequential decline. This year, we don't think it's going to be near that level. And that's, I would say, due to the positive impact that our precision conveyance business and the montratec acquisition, in general, will have on our overall gross margins.

是的。所以我認為我們的核心起重業務仍然佔整個組合的 60% 左右。因此，我認為我們將繼續看到季節性對毛利率的影響。不過，史蒂夫，我要指出的是，去年我們看到了 160 個基點的環比下降。今年，我們認為它不會接近這個水平。我想說，這是由於我們的精密運輸業務和 montratec 收購總體上將對我們的整體毛利率產生積極影響。

Yes. Steve, I would just add that I think your instincts are right as it relates to the mix of business shift and the opportunities we have as we continue to push the business more into that mix of business. We're leaning on a traditional view that the markets and the business has produced a seasonally adjusted result that's been lower in this upcoming quarter. And we anticipate that, that will continue this year. But our goal, over time, is to see that moderate.

是的。史蒂夫，我想補充一點，我認為你的直覺是正確的，因為它與業務轉變的組合以及我們在繼續將業務更多地推向業務組合時所擁有的機會有關。我們傾向於傳統觀點，即市場和業務產生的季節性調整後的結果在即將到來的季度較低。我們預計今年這種情況將持續下去。但隨著時間的推移，我們的目標是看到這種適度。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from the line of Walt Liptak with Seaport Global.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Seaport Global 的 Walt Liptak。

Great quarter. I wanted to ask just sort of a refining question about -- you made some comments about October. And I wonder if you could just go over those again? And how was October for short cycle versus projects?

很棒的季度。我想問一個關於您對十月發表的一些評論的提煉問題。我想知道你是否可以再回顧一下這些內容？十月份的短週期專案與專案相比如何？

Yes. Walt, I don't have the short cycle versus project broken out top of mind or in front of me right now. But I know that through the first 4 weeks of October, orders are up double digits over the prior quarter's same period. So we're encouraged.

是的。沃爾特，我現在並沒有想到或擺在我面前的就是短週期與專案的對比。但我知道，到 10 月的前 4 週，訂單量比上一季同期成長了兩位數。所以我們受到鼓舞。

And we wanted to highlight that, obviously, with the project orders being down in the second quarter. And we are emphasizing that the pipeline is very attractive, and we're working on some exciting opportunities. And in this quarter, we're seeing orders accelerate coming out of last quarter. And so that's the bottom line.

顯然，我們想強調這一點，因為第二季的項目訂單有所下降。我們強調該管道非常有吸引力，並且我們正在尋找一些令人興奮的機會。在本季度，我們看到訂單比上個季度加速成長。這就是底線。

Okay. All right. That sounds great. And then just you mentioned the project orders being a little bit slow. And we can -- I guess, I'll kind of think about what that might be from, but what is it that you think -- why do you think the project orders were down?

好的。好的。聽起來不錯。然後你剛才提到項目訂單有點慢。我們可以——我想，我會考慮一下這可能來自什麼，但你認為是什麼——你認為項目訂單下降的原因是什麼？

Yes. I think, Walt, part of it is due to rising interest rates, and companies are looking at their CapEx spend and looking at what it's going to cost to finance some of these projects. And while they're good projects, I think they're being more discerning. And I think also as we approach the end of the calendar year, there's a lot of companies that have budgets that are being used up or maybe they've reduced what their original budgets were for CapEx.

是的。我認為，沃爾特，部分原因是利率上升，公司正在考慮其資本支出，並考慮為其中一些項目提供融資的成本。雖然它們都是好項目，但我認為它們更具洞察力。我認為，隨著日曆年末的臨近，許多公司的預算都已用完，或者可能已經減少了資本支出的原始預算。

And we'd see that typically with a little bit weaker December. And so I would expect that will -- some of these projects will get let loose, if not in our fiscal third quarter, certainly, in our fiscal fourth quarter.

我們通常會在 12 月稍微疲軟的情況下看到這一點。因此，我預計其中一些項目將得到釋放，即使不是在我們的第三財季，當然也會在我們的第四財季。

Yes. and I also think that it's the nature of -- the lumpy nature of project activity. We did see the orders down 9% year-over-year in project-based business. Short-cycle business was steady and up 11%, and the pipeline of opportunities is even more encouraging than it has been.

是的。我也認為這是專案活動的本質。我們確實看到基於專案的業務訂單年減了 9%。短週期業務保持穩定，成長了 11%，而且不斷湧現的機會比以往更加令人鼓舞。

And so it's a matter of where those projects phase and our customers' schedules and our ability to adapt and do what we can to best service them. But we're not concerned about the order rates that came through in the second quarter from a project standpoint. We're encouraged about the activity we're pursuing and the prospects for the business more broadly.

因此，問題在於這些專案的階段、我們客戶的時間表以及我們適應和盡我們所能為他們提供最佳服務的能力。但從專案的角度來看，我們並不擔心第二季的訂單率。我們對我們正在進行的活動以及更廣泛的業務前景感到鼓舞。

Okay. All right. Great. And then maybe a last one for me. It was nice hearing the 80/20 is going well, and you guys are working on PLS. And I guess, in one of the prior questions, you touched on this, too. But are there any other 80/20 efforts that you guys are going after?

好的。好的。偉大的。對我來說也許是最後一次。很高興聽到 80/20 進展順利，而且你們正在致力於 PLS。我想，在之前的一個問題中，您也談到了這一點。但你們還追求其他 80/20 的努力嗎？

Yes. For sure, Walt. Our product line and P&L segmentation work and the opportunities we have from a cost perspective as it relates to certain lines of business and a rationalization perspective as well as the factory footprint simplification opportunities coming from the CapEx investments we're making to increase capacity in key areas and develop this center of excellence that Greg has been speaking of.

是的。當然，沃爾特。我們的產品線和損益細分工作以及從成本角度來看我們擁有的機會，因為它與某些業務線和合理化角度相關，以及來自我們為提高關鍵產能而進行的資本支出投資的工廠佔地面積簡化機會領域並發展格雷格一直談到的卓越中心。

And so I feel like we're in a good position to really advance the business from a performance perspective, leveraging 80/20 through those tools. And we're excited about the work that we're doing and the work that's yet to be done that will lead us to a higher-performing enterprise.

因此，我覺得我們處於有利位置，可以透過這些工具利用 80/20，從績效角度真正推動業務發展。我們對我們正在做的工作和尚未完成的工作感到興奮，這些工作將引導我們成為一家績效更高的企業。

We have a follow-up question from the line of John Tanwanteng with CJS Securities.

我們有來自 CJS 證券的 John Tanwanteng 的後續問題。

I think you touched on this, but I just want to -- I wondered if there's a little more clarity or color on the e-commerce business and that large customer you had there, just the split between the pipeline for those 2.

我想你談到了這一點，但我只是想——我想知道電子商務業務和你在那裡擁有的大客戶是否有更多的清晰度或色彩，只是這兩個管道之間的劃分。

Yes, sure. So what I would say, John, is that we have taken the opportunity with the slowdown in business in that area to do a lot of business development work with a broader base of customers. And we've been able to gain access to a number of new and attractive customers where we are growing.

是的，當然。約翰，我想說的是，我們抓住了該領域業務放緩的機會，與更廣泛的客戶群進行了大量業務開發工作。我們已經能夠在我們不斷發展的地方獲得許多新的、有吸引力的客戶。

We've also maintained very close connectivity with that specific customer we've mentioned in the past, and we're in great discussions regarding the development of new opportunities with them with their R&D teams. And we're encouraged by some promising prospects and potentially near-term opportunity associated with that pipeline.

我們也與我們過去提到的特定客戶保持著非常密切的聯繫，並且我們正在與他們及其研發團隊就開發新機會進行深入討論。我們對與該管道相關的一些有希望的前景和潛在的近期機會感到鼓舞。

Okay. Great. And then finally, just to be clear, at a high level and from what you're seeing in October order rates and what you're seeing in your project pipeline, it doesn't seem like demand has weakened outside of your normal seasonality. Is that fair to say?

好的。偉大的。最後，需要明確的是，從高水準來看，從您在 10 月看到的訂單率以及您在專案管道中看到的情況來看，需求似乎並沒有在正常季節性之外減弱。這麼說公平嗎？

I think that's generally fair to say. As we alluded to in the prepared remarks, there's been some softness in Germany. But that is not something that has been dramatic, and it's something that we've been working to offset with opportunities we're pursuing more broadly. And so the short answer to the question is no, we're not overly concerned about that.

我認為這通常是公平的。正如我們在準備好的發言中提到的那樣，德國出現了一些疲軟情緒。但這並不是什麼戲劇性的事情，我們一直在努力透過我們更廣泛地追求的機會來抵消這一點。所以這個問題的簡短答案是否定的，我們並不過分擔心這一點。

There are no further questions in the queue. I'd like to hand the call back to Mr. Wilson for closing remarks.

隊列中沒有其他問題。我想將電話轉回給威爾遜先生，請他致閉幕詞。

Great. Thank you, Doug, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. We took a meaningful step forward this quarter and established several new performance records. This is a testament to the great work being done by our global associates across Columbus McKinnon, and I thank you all.

偉大的。謝謝道格，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。本季我們向前邁出了有意義的一步，並創造了多項新的業績記錄。這證明了我們在哥倫布麥金農的全球同事所做的偉大工作，我感謝你們所有人。

We are pleased with our results to date and are more encouraged with the progress we're making as a team and the potential we have as a business. We're growing in attractive markets, building a higher-margin profile, generating cash and accelerating debt repayment. We now expect to exit the fiscal year with a net debt leverage ratio of approximately 2.3x. Our team remains highly focused on executing our strategy and achieving our strategic plan objectives.

我們對迄今為止的成果感到滿意，並對我們作為一個團隊所取得的進步和我們作為一個企業所擁有的潛力感到更加鼓舞。我們在有吸引力的市場中發展，建立更高的利潤率，產生現金並加速債務償還。我們現在預計本財年結束時的淨債務槓桿比率約為 2.3 倍。我們的團隊仍然高度專注於執行我們的策略並實現我們的策略計劃目標。

Thank you for your attention, and have a great day.

感謝您的關注，祝您有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and have a wonderful day.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。此時您可以斷開線路，度過美好的一天。