Core & Main Inc (CNM) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome to the Core & Main Q4 2024 earnings call. My name is Alex. I'll be coordinating the call today. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加 Core & Main 2024 年第四季財報電話會議。我叫亞歷克斯。我今天將負責協調這次電話會議。（操作員指令）

I'll now hand it over to Robyn Bradbury, Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我將它交給財務和投資者關係高級副總裁 Robyn Bradbury。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. This is Robyn Bradbury, Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations for Core & Main. We're excited to have you join us this morning for our fiscal 2024 fourth quarter and full year earnings call. I'm joined today by Steve LeClair, our Chair and Chief Executive Officer; and Mark Witkowski, our Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝。大家早安。我是 Core & Main 財務與投資者關係資深副總裁 Robyn Bradbury。我們很高興您今天上午參加我們的 2024 財年第四季和全年財報電話會議。今天與我一起出席的還有我們的董事長兼執行長 Steve LeClair；以及我們的財務長 Mark Witkowski。

Steve will begin today's call by discussing the executive changes we announced this morning. Steve will then provide an overview of our business and strategy, followed by an update on our fiscal 2024 accomplishments. Mark will then discuss our financial results and fiscal 2025 outlook followed by a Q&A session.

史蒂夫將在今天的電話會議上首先討論我們今天上午宣布的高層變更。隨後，史蒂夫將概述我們的業務和策略，並介紹我們 2024 財年的成就。然後，馬克將討論我們的財務表現和 2025 財年展望，隨後進行問答環節。

Our press release, presentation and the statements made during this call may include forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections. Such risks and uncertainties include the factors set forth in our earnings press release and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

我們的新聞稿、簡報和本次電話會議中的聲明可能包含前瞻性陳述。這些聲明受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期和預測有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括我們的收益新聞稿和我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中列出的因素。

We will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures which we believe are useful in assessing the operating results of our business. A reconciliation of these measures can be found in our earnings press release and in the appendix of our investor presentation.

我們也將討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標，我們認為這些指標對評估我們業務的營運績效很有用。這些措施的對帳可以在我們的收益新聞稿和投資者介紹的附錄中找到。

Thank you for your interest in Core & Main. I will now turn the call over to Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Steve LeClair.

感謝您對 Core & Main 的關注。現在我將電話轉給董事長兼執行長史蒂夫·勒克萊爾 (Steve LeClair)。

Thanks, Robyn. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our fiscal 2024 fourth quarter and full year earnings call.

謝謝，羅賓。大家早安。感謝您今天參加我們的 2024 財年第四季和全年財報電話會議。

I'll begin by discussing the executive leadership changes we announced this morning. After much thoughtful consideration and planning, I've decided that now is the right time for a smooth transition of leadership at Core & Main. At the end of the month, I will transition to the role of Executive Chair, where I will continue to lead the Board and serve as an Advisor to the business to ensure a smooth transition.

我將首先討論我們今天上午宣布的行政領導層變動。經過深思熟慮和規劃，我認為現在是 Core & Main 領導層順利過渡的最佳時機。本月底，我將轉任執行主席，繼續領導董事會並擔任業務顧問，確保順利過渡。

I'm pleased to share that Mark Witkowski, our CFO, will succeed me as CEO; and Robyn Bradbury, our Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations, will become CFO. Mark will also be joining our Board of Directors.

我很高興地宣布，我們的財務長 Mark Witkowski 將接替我擔任執行長；我們的財務和投資者關係高級副總裁 Robyn Bradbury 將擔任財務長。馬克也將加入我們的董事會。

Mark and Robyn know our business well and have been instrumental in the development and execution of our successful strategy. I have worked with both of them for over a decade, and I have full confidence that they are the right people to lead Core & Main going forward.

馬克和羅賓非常了解我們的業務，在我們成功策略的發展和執行中發揮了重要作用。我與他們兩人合作了十多年，我完全相信他們是領導 Core & Main 未來發展的合適人選。

It has been the privilege of a lifetime to lead this great organization, and I am so proud of what we have accomplished together, including exceptional business performance, outstanding service for our customers and meaningful value creation for our shareholders. With this strong foundation in place, now is the right time to transition the leadership of the company to Mark, Robyn and the rest of our talented executive team. I am confident in their ability to execute against our strategic priorities and take our organization to the next level.

能夠領導這個偉大的組織是我一生的榮幸，我為我們共同取得的成就感到自豪，包括卓越的業務表現、為我們的客戶提供的卓越服務以及為我們的股東創造的有意義的價值。有了這個堅實的基礎，現在是將公司領導權轉交給馬克、羅賓和我們其他才華橫溢的執行團隊的最佳時機。我相信他們有能力執行我們的策略重點，並將我們的組織提升到新的水平。

Now, turning to our results, we were pleased to finish the year with strong momentum as we achieved 18% sales growth and solid gross margins in the fourth quarter. Our results have truly been a team effort, and I want to thank our associates for their dedication and commitment to our customers.

現在，回顧我們的業績，我們很高興以強勁的勢頭結束這一年，因為我們在第四季度實現了 18% 的銷售成長和穩定的毛利率。我們的成果確實是團隊共同努力的結果，我要感謝我們的同事對客戶的奉獻和承諾。

I'll begin on page five of the presentation with an overview of Core & Main and our market position. Core & Main is a leader in advancing reliable infrastructure with local service nationwide. As a specialty distributor with a dedicated focus on water, wastewater, storm drainage and fire protection products, we provide solutions to municipalities, private water companies and professional contractors across municipal, non-residential and residential end markets.

我將從簡報的第五頁開始概述核心和主要部分以及我們的市場地位。Core & Main 是全國推廣可靠基礎設施和本地服務的領導者。作為專注於水、廢水、雨水排放和消防產品的專業經銷商，我們為市政當局、私人自來水公司和專業承包商提供市政、非住宅和住宅終端市場的解決方案。

We have a deep portfolio of more than 225,000 products, many of which are made specific for our sector and must meet water industry regulations and local municipal specifications. Our footprint consists of more than 370 branches across 49 states, which serves as a critical link between over 5,000 suppliers and a diverse base of more than 60,000 customers with no single customer accounting for more than 1% of our annual sales.

我們擁有超過 225,000 種產品，其中許多產品都是專門為我們行業製造的，必須符合水產業法規和當地市政規範。我們的業務範圍包括遍布 49 個州的 370 多個分支機構，是 5,000 多個供應商和 60,000 多個客戶之間的重要紐帶，其中沒有任何一個客戶的年銷售額占我們年銷售額的 1% 以上。

We are an industry leader, yet we estimate we have only 19% share of a highly fragmented $39 billion addressable market. Our long-term opportunity to grow and gain market share is significant, as is our opportunity to grow our addressable market over time.

我們是行業領導者，但我們估計，在高度分散的 390 億美元潛在市場中，我們僅佔有 19% 的份額。我們的長期成長和獲得市場份額的機會是巨大的，同樣，我們隨著時間的推移擴大目標市場的機會也是巨大的。

We maintain balanced exposure across new construction and repair and replacement projects. Central to this balance is our stable, non-discretionary municipal demand which accounts for over 40% of our sales. Municipal spending on water infrastructure has demonstrated long-term resilience and is expected to continue growing, driven by the need to address aging water systems, environmental challenges and water scarcity. Our significant exposure to municipal, repair and replacement activity provides the business with a strong foundation, ensuring stability even if our other end markets experience a period of volatility.

我們對新建項目和修復及更換項目保持均衡的投資。這種平衡的核心是我們穩定的、非自由支配的市政需求，這占我們銷售額的 40% 以上。市政當局在水利基礎設施方面的支出表現出了長期的彈性，並且預計將繼續增長，這得益於解決水系統老化、環境挑戰和水資源短缺的需要。我們在市政、維修和更換業務方面的重要投入為業務提供了堅實的基礎，即使我們的其他終端市場經歷一段波動時期，也能確保穩定。

Customers partner with Core & Main for a breadth of products and services, extensive industry knowledge, familiarity with local municipal specifications, convenient branch locations and project management capabilities, all of which make it easy to do business with us. We serve both smaller local customers and large regional or national contractors with relevant expertise. Our sales associates take a consultative approach in providing tailored solutions for projects of all sizes. And we are deeply involved in our customers' planning processes all the way from project design through completion.

客戶與 Core & Main 合作是因為其擁有廣泛的產品和服務、豐富的行業知識、熟悉的當地市政規範、便利的分支機構位置和專案管理能力，所有這些都使與我們開展業務變得容易。我們為規模較小的本地客戶以及擁有相關專業知識的大型區域或國家承包商提供服務。我們的銷售人員採取諮詢的方式，為各種規模的專案提供客製化的解決方案。我們深入參與客戶的整個規劃過程，從專案設計到完成。

Our strategy is rooted in our people first culture where we prioritize the well-being, growth and development of our associates. From there, we thrive by fostering an entrepreneurial mindset at the local level, being action oriented, driving operational excellence and then rewarding our associates with performance-based compensation.

我們的策略植根於以人為本的文化，我們優先考慮員工的福祉、成長和發展。從那時起，我們透過在當地培養創業精神、以行動為導向、推動卓越營運以及根據績效獎勵我們的員工而蓬勃發展。

One underappreciated element in our operating model is the linkage between local expertise and national capabilities. We supplement our local presence with the power of scale, enabling us to value engineer complex projects by utilizing our extensive supply chain and national resources. Data centers and other mega projects are great examples of where these capabilities come to life.

我們的營運模式中一個被低估的因素是本地專業知識與國家能力之間的連結。我們利用規模力量補充我們的本地影響力，使我們能夠利用廣泛的供應鏈和國家資源對複雜專案進行價值工程。資料中心和其他大型專案就是這些功能實現的很好例子。

These projects require a sophisticated approach that blend local presence with national support. They involve intricate technical requirements, ever-changing timelines and a need for precise coordination. With boots on the ground at the local level, we become intimately familiar with the specific needs and challenges of each project, offering hands-on support and quick response times.

這些項目需要採取將當地影響力與國家支持相結合的複雜方法。它們涉及複雜的技術要求、不斷變化的時間表以及精確的協調需求。透過在當地實地開展工作，我們非常熟悉每個專案的具體需求和挑戰，並提供實際支援和快速回應。

Our national scale allows us to utilize our robust supply chain to secure access to the right products while leveraging our distribution network and project management capabilities to ensure an efficient project delivery that meets timelines and stays within budget. And we do all this while maintaining the customer service and reliability that our customers have come to expect from Core & Main.

我們的全國規模使我們能夠利用強大的供應鏈來確保獲得正確的產品，同時利用我們的分銷網絡和專案管理能力來確保高效的專案交付，滿足時間表並在預算之內。我們在做到這一切的同時，也保持了客戶對 Core & Main 所期望的客戶服務和可靠性。

The impacts of these capabilities are reflected in the work we do every day to help communities advance reliable infrastructure. We highlight a great example of this on page seven of the presentation. As you know, in August 2023, a devastating wildfire struck Lahaina, Hawaii. Nearly two years later, Lahaina's long cleanup process continues. And efforts to return to a sense of normalcy have progressed with the completion of an elementary school. Rebuilding required extensive water infrastructure, and the contractors selected to complete the project relied on Core & Main to be its one-stop-shop provider.

這些能力的影響體現在我們每天為幫助社區推進可靠基礎設施所做的工作。我們在簡報的第七頁重點介紹了一個很好的例子。眾所周知，2023 年 8 月，一場毀滅性的山火襲擊了夏威夷拉海納。近兩年後，拉海納漫長的清理過程仍在繼續。隨著一所小學的建成，恢復正常生活的努力取得了進展。重建需要大量的水利基礎設施，而選定的完成該專案的承包商依賴 Core & Main 作為其一站式供應商。

The project involved design build plans, so the material list, quantities and product lines changed constantly. Our nearest branch was a short distance away, enabling our local team to be on the job site daily, sometimes multiple times a day to ensure our customer had the right products at the right time. And if our local team didn't have the products on hand because of redesigns or change orders, they called on other Core & Main branches and product specialists along the west coast for support.

該項目涉及設計建造計劃，因此材料清單、數量和產品線不斷變化。我們最近的分行距離不遠，這使得我們的當地團隊能夠每天到達工作現場，有時甚至一天多次，以確保我們的客戶在正確的時間獲得正確的產品。如果我們當地的團隊因為重新設計或變更訂單而沒有現成的產品，他們會要求西海岸的其他核心和主要分支機構和產品專家提供支援。

The project was completed in an impressive 95 days, marking a significant milestone in Lahaina's recovery. The school serves as the vital steppingstone, helping to reestablish a sense of community while Lahaina's permanent infrastructure is rebuilt over the next three to five years.

該項目僅用了令人印象深刻的 95 天就完成了，標誌著拉海納恢復進程中的一個重要里程碑。這所學校是重要的墊腳石，有助於重建社區意識，同時拉海納的永久基礎設施將在未來三到五年內重建。

Turning to our recent accomplishments. Fiscal 2024 was a notable year for Core & Main, and it marked our 15th consecutive year of positive sales growth. Our teams navigated a dynamic environment to deliver strong financial performance, including record net sales of over $7.4 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $930 million and operating cash flow of more than $620 million.

談談我們最近的成就。2024 財年對 Core & Main 來說是值得紀念的一年，這是我們連續第 15 年實現銷售成長。我們的團隊在動態的環境中取得了強勁的財務業績，包括創紀錄的超過 74 億美元的淨銷售額、9.3 億美元的調整後 EBITDA 和超過 6.2 億美元的營運現金流。

The consistency of our results is driven by our balanced business mix, the dedication and expertise of our associates and our ability to generate significant cash flow to reinvest back into the business, including investments to support and execute our growth strategies. Our product, customer and geographic expansion initiatives produced strong results throughout the year as we continue to accelerate the adoption of new products in the industry, improve our differentiated value proposition.

我們績效的一致性是由我們均衡的業務組合、員工的奉獻精神和專業知識以及我們產生大量現金流以重新投資於業務的能力（包括支持和執行我們的成長策略的投資）所驅動的。隨著我們持續加速產業對新產品的採用，完善我們的差異化價值主張，我們的產品、客戶和地理擴展計畫全年取得了強勁成果。

This included strong double-digit average daily sales growth and metering and storm drainage products, high-single-digit average daily sales growth and treatment plant projects, and additional market share gains as our Greenfields continue to grow and mature.

其中包括強勁的兩位數日均銷售額增長和計量及雨水排水產品，高個位數日均銷售額增長和處理廠項目，以及隨著我們的 Greenfields 不斷發展和成熟而獲得的額外市場份額增長。

We opened two new locations in attractive markets during the year to expand our reach, building on our commitment to make our products and expertise more accessible nationwide. We also welcomed 10 complimentary businesses to the Core & Main family, adding over $600 million of annual sales while expanding our presence in key geographies, gaining access to new product lines and adding key talent.

今年，我們在具有吸引力的市場開設了兩個新店，以擴大我們的業務範圍，並進一步履行我們的承諾，即讓我們的產品和專業知識在全國範圍內更容易獲得。我們也歡迎 10 家補充企業加入 Core & Main 大家庭，增加了超過 6 億美元的年銷售額，同時擴大了我們在主要地區的業務，獲得了新的產品線並增加了關鍵人才。

In terms of organic sales growth, we believe we outgrew the market by a couple of hundred basis points in 2024. And looking ahead, we have ample opportunities to drive additional growth, expand gross margins and improve our operating leverage. We continue to develop a scalable assortment of private label brands and products used in water, wastewater, geosynthetics and fire protection applications.

就有機銷售成長而言，我們相信到 2024 年我們的成長將超過市場幾百個基點。展望未來，我們有充足的機會推動進一步成長、擴大毛利率並提高經營槓桿。我們繼續開發用於水、廢水、土工合成材料和防火應用的可擴展的自有品牌和產品。

We added over 30,000 square feet of distribution space and more than 1,000 private label skews to our offerings since the end of last year. We ended fiscal 2024 with private label products representing approximately 4% of our sales, with an opportunity for it to grow to 10% of our sales or more over time.

自去年年底以來，我們增加了超過30,000平方英尺的分銷空間和超過1,000個自有品牌產品。截至 2024 財年，自有品牌產品約占我們銷售額的 4%，並且有機會隨著時間的推移增長到我們銷售額的 10% 甚至更多。

Our cash flow generation and flexible balance sheet allowed us to invest in the growth of the business while returning capital to shareholders. We deployed $176 million in fiscal 2024 to repurchase 4 million shares under our repurchase program. We expect to generate similar levels of operating cash flow going forward, resulting in significant available capital being reinvested in the business and return to shareholders.

我們的現金流量產生和靈活的資產負債表使我們能夠投資於業務成長，同時向股東返還資本。我們在 2024 財年部署了 1.76 億美元，根據回購計畫回購了 400 萬股。我們預計未來將產生類似水準的經營現金流，從而將大量可用資本再投資於業務並回報股東。

Moving to our acquisition strategy in recent success. We are one of only two national distributors competing in our space, and the remainder of the market is served by hundreds of other local and regional distributors. Since 2017, we have completed over 40 acquisitions, most of the deals were proprietarily sourced based on our relationships and reputation in the industry. We are honored that so many owners and operators in our space have chosen Core & Main as a home for their businesses. And many of them continue to thrive in leadership positions throughout our company.

我們最近成功地轉向了收購策略。我們是在這個領域競爭的僅有的兩家全國性分銷商之一，其餘市場由數百家其他地方和地區分銷商提供服務。自 2017 年以來，我們已完成 40 多次收購，大多數交易都是憑藉我們在行業中的關係和聲譽自行獲得的。我們很榮幸，我們所在領域的眾多業主和營運商選擇 Core & Main 作為其業務所在地。他們中的許多人繼續在我們公司的領導職位上蓬勃發展。

We are well connected with some of the best companies in our industry, and we have a healthy pipeline of potential deals to pursue. We expect to continue adding and integrating businesses in 2025 and beyond to support our long-term growth and value creation efforts.

我們與行業內一些最優秀的公司保持著良好的聯繫，並且擁有大量的潛在交易機會。我們預計在 2025 年及以後繼續增加和整合業務，以支持我們的長期成長和價值創造努力。

Before I hand it over to Mark, I want to address a few other recent topics of interest, starting with tariffs. We do not anticipate a significant impact on our business as most of our products are produced in the United States. Where we do have exposure, we anticipate that it may lead to rising product costs, and we are working closely with our customers to ensure real-time transparent pricing.

在交給馬克之前，我想先談幾個最近大家感興趣的話題，首先是關稅。由於我們的大多數產品都是在美國生產的，因此我們預計這不會對我們的業務產生重大影響。我們預計，在我們確實存在風險的地方，這可能會導致產品成本上升，我們正在與客戶密切合作，以確保即時透明的定價。

As I mentioned last quarter, we generally view tariffs as neutral to slightly positive to our pricing and gross margins. The tariff environment continues to evolve, creating a level of uncertainty that could limit and market growth in the near term. That being said, our spring bidding activity is encouraging and sentiment from our customers continues to be positive.

正如我上個季度提到的，我們總體上認為關稅對我們的定價和毛利率來說是中性到略微正面的影響。關稅環境持續變化，產生的不確定性可能會在短期內限制市場成長。話雖如此，我們的春季競標活動令人鼓舞，客戶情緒持續保持正面。

In regards to the status of federal funding, there have not been cuts to any of the water funding set aside by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Investments in water infrastructure continue to receive bipartisan support in part due to the extreme circumstances highlighted across the country when water, sewer or stormwater management systems fail. Well, federal grants and low interest loans are available to municipalities to help fund their projects, the vast majority of the municipal funding is produced by local revenue streams, including local taxes and utility usage fees.

就聯邦資金狀況而言，基礎設施投資和就業法案撥出的水務資金並沒有被削減。對水利基礎設施的投資持續得到兩黨的支持，部分原因是全國各地在供水、排污或雨水管理系統失效時出現的極端情況。嗯，聯邦政府可以向市政當局提供補助金和低利率貸款來幫助資助他們的項目，絕大多數市政資金來自地方收入來源，包括地方稅和公用事業使用費。

To wrap up my prepared remarks, our teams have had to navigate several challenges and distractions throughout the year. And we consistently rose to the occasion, demonstrating focus, agility and resilience. Our team's ability to adapt, collaborate and deliver best-in-class service to our customers speaks volumes about the strength of our culture and dedication of our people.

總結我準備好的發言，我們的團隊在這一年中必須克服許多挑戰和乾擾。我們始終不負眾望，展現出專注、敏捷和韌性。我們團隊的適應能力、協作能力以及向客戶提供一流服務的能力充分說明了我們的文化實力和員工的奉獻精神。

Thank you, all, for your ongoing support. I look forward to what Core & Main will accomplish in the years ahead. Go ahead, Mark.

謝謝大家一直以來的支持。我期待 Core & Main 在未來幾年所取得的成就。繼續吧，馬克。

Thank you, Steve, and thank you to, everyone, for being with us today. Steve, we have been so fortunate to have benefited from your tremendous leadership for over a decade at Core & Main. I know that I speak for the entire Core & Main family in thanking you for your dedication and commitment to excellence. You've been the architect behind much of our success to date, and I'm honored to have been able to work side by side with you and now be selected to lead Core & Main in the next chapter alongside Robyn and the rest of our executive team.

謝謝史蒂夫，也謝謝大家今天與我們同在。史蒂夫，我們非常幸運，十多年來在 Core & Main 一直受益於你的卓越領導。我知道，我代表整個 Core & Main 大家庭感謝您的奉獻和對卓越的承諾。到目前為止，您是我們大部分成功背後的奠基者，我很榮幸能夠與您並肩工作，現在我被選中與 Robyn 和我們其他執行團隊一起領導 Core & Main 開啟新的篇章。

Having worked closely with Robyn for over a decade now, I know she is ideally suited to serve as our Chief Financial Officer. Robyn and I played an integral role in shaping Core & Main's current strategy, which will remain unchanged during this transition. Our focus remains on driving profitable growth, both organically and through acquisitions while generating strong cash flow and delivering value to shareholders.

我與 Robyn 密切合作了十多年，我知道她非常適合擔任我們的財務長。Robyn 和我在製定 Core & Main 的當前戰略方面發揮了不可或缺的作用，該戰略在過渡期間將保持不變。我們的重點仍然是推動獲利成長，包括有機成長和透過收購，同時產生強勁的現金流並為股東帶來價值。

We will continue to provide the high level of service our customers expect from Core & Main while building on the strength of our supplier relationships that are essential in achieving our growth objectives. This is an incredible business with the best talent in the industry, and I look forward to collaborating with our associates to build on the strong culture we have established.

我們將繼續為客戶提供期望 Core & Main 提供的高水準服務，同時加強與供應商的關係，這對於實現我們的成長目標至關重要。這是一家令人難以置信的企業，擁有業內最優秀的人才，我期待與我們的同事合作，共同鞏固我們已經建立的強大文化。

With that, I'll now turn to our financial performance. Fiscal 2024 was another record sales year for Core & Main. Since our separation seven years ago, we have grown net sales at an average annual rate of approximately 15%, while significantly improving profitability. These results have been driven by our team's focus on operational excellence and delivering exceptional value to our customers.

說完這些，我現在來談談我們的財務表現。2024 財年是 Core & Main 又一個創下銷售紀錄的一年。自七年前分離以來，我們的淨銷售額以年均約 15% 的速度成長，同時獲利能力也顯著提高。這些成果源自於我們團隊專注於卓越營運以及為客戶提供卓越價值。

Starting with our fourth quarter results, we grew net sales by 18% to nearly $1.7 billion. Acquisitions contributed about 9% of our sales growth and organic average daily volumes were up low single digits. As anticipated, pricing was stable on a sequential basis, but it was down slightly year-over-year. Approximately 7% of our sales growth in the quarter was driven by an extra selling week compared to the fourth quarter of last year, resulting in average daily sales growth of roughly 11%.

從第四季業績開始，我們的淨銷售額成長了 18%，達到近 17 億美元。收購貢獻了我們銷售額成長的約 9%，有機日均銷售量成長了個位數。正如預期的那樣，價格環比保持穩定，但同比略有下降。與去年第四季相比，本季銷售額約 7% 的成長得益於額外一週的銷售，導致每日平均銷售額成長約 11%。

Gross margin in the fourth quarter finished at 26.6%, which was consistent with last quarter. During our third quarter call in December, we communicated our expectation of maintaining gross margins at these levels. Our teams delivered on that by driving consistent performance across our private label, sourcing and pricing initiatives.

第四季毛利率為26.6%，與上季持平。在 12 月的第三季電話會議上，我們表達了維持毛利率在這個水準的預期。我們的團隊透過在自有品牌、採購和定價計劃中保持穩定的表現實現了這一目標。

Selling general and administrative expenses increased 21% in the fourth quarter to $279 million. The year-over-year increase in SG&A primarily reflects the impact of acquisitions, inflation, investments to support our growth initiatives and additional costs from the 53rd week. Excluding acquisitions and the impact of the 53rd week, SG&A in the fourth quarter was up approximately 2%.

第四季銷售一般及行政開支增加21%至2.79億美元。銷售、一般及行政費用的同比增長主要反映了收購、通貨膨脹、支持增長計劃的投資以及第 53 週以來的額外成本的影響。不包括收購和第 53 週的影響，第四季的銷售、一般及行政開支上漲約 2%。

Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter increased approximately 12% to $179 million and adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 60 basis points to 10.5%. As a reminder, our operating margins are typically lower in our first and fourth quarters due to a reduction in volumes associated with normal seasonality.

第四季調整後 EBITDA 成長約 12% 至 1.79 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率下降 60 個基點至 10.5%。提醒一下，由於正常季節性導致的銷售減少，我們的第一季和第四季的營業利潤率通常較低。

Turning to our full year performance, fiscal 2024 net sales grew approximately 11% to a record of just over $7.4 billion. The increase was driven by approximately 9 points of growth from acquisitions, organic market share gains and approximately 2 points of contribution from the 53rd selling week, partially offset by a minor impact from pricing.

回顧我們的全年業績，2024 財年淨銷售額成長約 11%，達到創紀錄的 74 億美元。成長主要得益於收購帶來的約 9 個百分點的成長、有機市場份額的成長以及第 53 個銷售週帶來的約 2 個百分點的貢獻，但定價帶來的輕微影響部分抵消了這一增長。

We estimate that end market volumes were roughly flat for the year, consisting of mid-single-digit growth in residential lot development and low-single-digit growth in municipal repair and replacement activity. partially offset by low-single-digit decline in non-residential construction starts.

我們估計，今年終端市場交易量大致持平，其中住宅地塊開發業務實現中等個位數成長，市政維修和更換業務實現低個位數成長。但非住宅建築開工量低個位數下降在一定程度上抵消了這一影響。

We achieved a couple of hundred basis points of above market sales growth from the execution of our product, customer and geographic expansion initiatives as our teams have done an incredible job of delivering best-in-class service to our customers and proving our value proposition to the industry. We also drove additional market share gains from strategic acquisitions, strengthening our presence in key geographies and product lines.

由於我們的團隊出色地完成了向客戶提供一流服務和向行業證明我們的價值主張的工作，我們透過實施產品、客戶和地域擴展計劃，實現了高於市場銷售額幾百個基點的增長。我們也透過策略性收購增加了市場份額，增強了我們在主要地區和產品線的影響力。

Gross margins for the year came in at 26.6% compared with 27.1% for fiscal 2023, a difference of about 50 basis points and in line with our expectations. The year-over-year decline in gross margin was driven by a higher average cost of inventory this year compared to fiscal 2023. Going forward, we expect to continue driving sustainable gross margin enhancement through the execution of our initiatives.

全年毛利率為 26.6%，而 2023 財年為 27.1%，相差約 50 個基點，符合我們的預期。毛利率年減的原因是今年的平均庫存成本與 2023 財年相比有所上升。展望未來，我們希望透過實施我們的措施繼續推動毛利率的可持續提升。

Selling, general and administrative expenses for fiscal 2024 increased approximately 16% to nearly $1.1 billion. The increase in SG&A primarily reflects the impact of acquisitions, inflation, investments to support our growth initiatives and additional costs from the 53rd week. Excluding acquisitions and the impact of the 53rd week, SG&A expenses were up about 1% for the year.

2024 財年的銷售、一般及行政費用增加約 16%，達到近 11 億美元。銷售、一般及行政費用的增加主要反映了收購、通貨膨脹、支持我們的成長計劃的投資以及從第 53 週開始的額外成本的影響。除去收購和第 53 週的影響，今年的銷售、一般及行政開支上漲了約 1%。

Interest expense for fiscal 2024 was $142 million compared with $81 million in the prior year. The increase was due to higher average borrowings partially offset by a decrease in rates on a variable rate debt. The provision for income taxes for fiscal 2024 was $143 million compared with $128 million in the prior year. And our effective tax rates were 24.8% and 19.4%, respectively.

2024 財年的利息支出為 1.42 億美元，而前一年為 8,100 萬美元。成長的原因是平均借款額增加，但浮動利率債務利率下降部分抵消了這種影響。2024 財年的所得稅準備金為 1.43 億美元，而前一年為 1.28 億美元。我們的有效稅率分別為24.8%和19.4%。

Our effective tax rate for fiscal 2024 reflects a more normalized ongoing rate, and the increase over the prior year was due to exchanges of partnership interest in fiscal 2023, resulting in a reallocation of taxes to Core & Main Inc. Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2024 increased 2% to $930 million and adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 110 basis points to 12.5%.

我們 2024 財年的有效稅率反映了更正常化的持續稅率，而較上一年的增長是由於 2023 財年合作夥伴權益的交換，導致稅收重新分配給 Core & Main Inc. 2024 財年的調整後 EBITDA 增長 2% 至 9.3 億美元，調整後的 15% 利潤率基點。

Moving to our balance sheet and cash flow. We ended the year with net debt of roughly $2.3 billion and net debt leverage of 2.4 times. Total liquidity was over $1.1 billion consisting primarily of availability under ABL credit facility. We generated $621 million of operating cash flow during the year and allocated it to priorities that resulted in growth and value creation for shareholders. We spent $741 million on 10 acquisitions and returned $176 million of capital to shareholders, buying back approximately 4 million shares at an average price of approximately $44 a share. We have now returned over $1.5 billion of capital to shareholders through share repurchases in the past two years. And as of today, we still have $324 million remaining under our current repurchase authorization.

轉向我們的資產負債表和現金流。截至年底，我們的淨債務約為 23 億美元，淨債務槓桿率為 2.4 倍。總流動資金超過 11 億美元，主要包括 ABL 信貸安排下的可用資金。我們在本年度創造了 6.21 億美元的經營現金流，並將其分配給能夠為股東帶來成長和價值創造的優先事項。我們花費 7.41 億美元進行了 10 項收購，並向股東返還了 1.76 億美元的資本，以平均每股約 44 美元的價格回購了約 400 萬股。過去兩年來，我們透過股票回購向股東返還了超過 15 億美元的資本。截至今天，我們目前的回購授權仍剩餘 3.24 億美元。

Turning to our outlook. For fiscal 2025, we expect another year of growth in both sales and profitability. While there are uncertainties surrounding interest rates, federal funding, tariffs and their potential impact on construction activity, we are confident in our ability to navigate these challenges and deliver strong results, especially given our exposure to non-discretionary municipal water infrastructure projects and the long runway of opportunities we have to drive above market growth and marginal expansion.

轉向我們的展望。對於 2025 財年，我們預計銷售額和獲利能力將再次成長。儘管利率、聯邦資金、關稅及其對建築活動的潛在影響存在不確定性，但我們有信心能夠應對這些挑戰並取得強勁的業績，特別是考慮到我們在非自由支配的市政水利基礎設施項目方面的投資以及我們推動超越市場增長和邊際擴張的長期機遇。

We remain bullish on the long-term fundamentals for residential lot development. With mortgage rates trending lower in recent weeks, we have yet to see that materialize into a release of pent-up demand that could accelerate growth. We anticipate an inflection point in residential demand as mortgage rates fall and sustain at lower levels, but given the uncertainty around timing, we are not factoring that into our outlook.

我們仍然看好住宅地塊開發的長期基本面。儘管最近幾週抵押貸款利率呈下降趨勢，但我們尚未看到其轉化為可能加速成長的被壓抑需求的釋放。隨著抵押貸款利率下降並維持在較低水平，我們預計住宅需求將出現轉折點，但考慮到時間的不確定性，我們不會將這一點納入我們的預測中。

We believe non-residential construction starts will be relatively flat in 2025. The broader macroeconomic environment may continue restraining investment and construction in the non-residential sector, but some businesses remaining cautious about starting new capital projects.

我們認為，2025年非住宅建築開工量將相對持平。更廣泛的宏觀經濟環境可能會繼續抑制非住宅領域的投資和建設，但一些企業對啟動新的資本項目仍持謹慎態度。

Our broad exposure within this market spanning traditional, commercial through heavy industrial and even highway and street projects generally provides stability as demand for these projects can happen on different cycles.

我們在該市場的廣泛覆蓋範圍涵蓋傳統、商業、重工業甚至高速公路和街道項目，這通常能提供穩定性，因為這些項目的需求可能出現在不同的周期中。

Municipal spending on water infrastructure is expected to remain resilient, with end market growth projected in the low single digit range for 2025. The stability is driven by necessary investments in water and wastewater systems as municipalities continue to address aging infrastructure and comply with environmental regulations. To help fund these initiatives, municipalities have raised water and wastewater utility rates at a mid-single-digit average annual increase over the last decade. We are optimistic about the growth of this end market in 2025 and beyond.

市政在水利基礎設施的支出預計將保持彈性，預計 2025 年終端市場成長率將達到個位數的低點。隨著市政當局繼續解決老化的基礎設施問題並遵守環境法規，對水和廢水系統進行必要的投資推動了穩定性。為了資助這些舉措，各市政府在過去十年中將水和廢水處理設施的費率以年均個位數中等幅度提高。我們對 2025 年及以後該終端市場的成長持樂觀態度。

We anticipate that prices will remain sequentially stable through 2025, resulting in a roughly neutral sales impact for the year. We offer a strong value proposition to the industry and expect to achieve another 2 points to 4 points of above market volume growth by expanding our presence and under penetrated geographies, driving the adoption of new products in the industry, and acquiring and developing new sales talent.

我們預計到 2025 年價格將保持穩定，對當年的銷售影響大致為中性。我們為該行業提供了強有力的價值主張，並期望透過擴大我們的影響力和滲透率較低的地區、推動行業採用新產品以及獲得和培養新的銷售人才，實現高於市場銷量的另外 2 到 4 個百分點的增長。

We expect 2 points of sales growth from the acquisitions that have already closed. We have a good pipeline of high-quality targets, and we expect to have more companies to the Core & Main family throughout the year. We benefited from a 53rd selling week in fiscal 2024, contributing approximately 2% of our total sales growth. We expect a sales impact of roughly the same amount in fiscal 2025 due to fewer selling days in the fourth quarter. We expect to drive gross margin expansion in 2025, supported by our private label, sourcing optimization and pricing initiatives.

我們預計已完成的收購將帶來 2 個百分點的銷售成長。我們擁有一批優質目標，預計全年將有更多的公司加入 Core & Main 家族。我們受惠於 2024 財年第 53 個銷售週，為我們的總銷售額成長貢獻了約 2%。由於第四季的銷售天數較少，我們預期 2025 財年的銷售影響大致相同。我們預計，在自有品牌、採購優化和定價措施的支持下，2025 年毛利率將有所提高。

With these factors in mind, we expect fiscal 2025 net sales to range from 7.6% to $7.8 billion reflecting year-over-year growth of 2% to 5% or 4% to 7% on an average daily sales basis. We expect adjusted EBITDA to range from $950 million to $1 billion reflecting year-over-year growth of 2% to 8% or 4% to 10% on an average daily sales basis, with adjusted EBITDA margins ranging from 12.5% to 12.8%.

考慮到這些因素，我們預計 2025 財年的淨銷售額將在 7.6% 至 78 億美元之間，年增 2% 至 5% 或按平均日銷售額計算增長 4% 至 7%。我們預計調整後的 EBITDA 將在 9.5 億美元至 10 億美元之間，反映出同比增長 2% 至 8% 或按平均日銷售額計算增長 4% 至 10%，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率將在 12.5% 至 12.8% 之間。

We expect to generate strong operating cash flow, and our capital allocation priority is to invest in the growth of the business, both organically and through the execution of our M&A strategy. We expect to have excess capital after delivering on these objectives which will allow us to return capital to shareholders likely through share repurchases. In the near term, we will continue evaluating our pipeline of priority targets while maintaining liquidity and leverage levels within our stated objectives.

我們預計將產生強勁的營運現金流，我們的資本配置重點是透過有機成長和執行併購策略來投資業務成長。我們預計在實現這些目標後將擁有剩餘資本，這將使我們能夠透過股票回購向股東返還資本。短期內，我們將繼續評估我們的優先目標，同時將流動性和槓桿水平維持在我們既定目標範圍內。

As I wrap up, I want to reiterate that we are confident in the fundamentals of our industry and in Core & Main's leadership position. Our sector has strong fundamentals, and we have a unique and proven business model to continue strengthening our position. The long-term underlying trends of our end markets are favorable, and our products and services play a critical role in advancing reliable infrastructure.

最後，我想重申，我們對產業基本面和 Core＆Main 的領導地位充滿信心。我們的行業基礎強勁，而且我們擁有獨特且行之有效的商業模式來繼續鞏固我們的地位。我們的終端市場的長期潛在趨勢是有利的，我們的產品和服務在推動可靠基礎設施方面發揮關鍵作用。

We expect to outperform the market even as the broader economic environment evolves. Our business is well positioned to capitalize on opportunities for growth, both organically and inorganically, and we remain committed to building on our track record of delivering value to shareholders.

即使整體經濟環境發生變化，我們也有望跑贏大盤。我們的業務已做好準備，可以利用有機和無機成長的機會實現成長，並且我們將繼續致力於鞏固我們為股東創造價值的良好記錄。

With that, let's open it up for questions.

現在，讓我們開始提問吧。

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) David Manthey, Baird.

謝謝。（操作員指示）David Manthey，Baird。

Yes, thank you. Good morning and congrats to everyone on the role changes within the company. First question this morning, probably not unsurprising on pricing, could you tell us what percentage of COGS is PVC today and what expectations are baked into the guidance you provided? And then, if maybe you can comment on price expectations in any other category, whether it's commodity products or engineered products like valves, meters, fire protection, etc.

是的，謝謝。早安，祝賀大家在公司內部的角色變化。今天早上的第一個問題，在定價方面可能並不令人意外，您能告訴我們今天的 COGS 百分比是多少是 PVC，以及您提供的指導中包含了哪些預期？然後，也許您可以對其他類別的價格預期進行評論，無論是商品還是工程產品，例如閥門、儀表、消防設備等。

Yes, thanks, Dave. It's Mark. I appreciate the question. On pricing, I would tell you that municipal PVC pipe, that's less than 15% of our COGS. We've seen, over the course of this past year, some of that come off of its high levels that we saw in '22 and in '23. So that's played into some of the slight headwind that we saw in 2024.

是的，謝謝，戴夫。是馬克。我很感謝你提出這個問題。關於定價，我會告訴你，市政 PVC 管道的售價不到我們 COGS 的 15%。我們看到，在過去的一年裡，其中一些已經從2022年和2023年的高水準回落。所以，這與我們在 2024 年看到的一些輕微逆風有關。

I would tell you as we go forward, as we're thinking about the price environment, right now, we believe it's going to be an overall neutral environment. We're not going to necessarily guide to specific product categories, but you can assume baked into that we expect to see some of the price increases that we've seen recently from suppliers stick in the market. And we could have some other categories like we've seen pressure and steel piping throughout 2024 continue to be a headwind for us at the beginning of the year. But overall, we've been pleased with the resilience of municipal PVC pipe, which is another reason why we think, overall, the price environment's going to be neutral into 2025.

我想告訴你，隨著我們繼續前進，當我們考慮價格環境時，現在，我們相信這將是一個整體中立的環境。我們不一定會針對特定的產品類別進行指導，但你可以假設，我們預計最近供應商的部分價格上漲將在市場上持續下去。我們可能還會有其他一些類別，例如我們已經看到整個 2024 年的壓力和鋼管道在年初繼續對我們造成不利影響。但總體而言，我們對市政 PVC 管道的彈性感到滿意，這也是我們認為總體而言到 2025 年價格環境將保持中性的原因之一。

Thank you for that. Second, is there any way you could provide some insight into first quarter trends so far? I mean, there's been a little bit of weather early in the year and any other factors that are influencing the current environment. It doesn't sound like you're expecting conditions to improve too much through 2025 in your outlook. I just wanted to reconfirm that. And then, relative to that also, unannounced acquisitions, there's nothing in guidance for deals you haven't done yet, correct?

謝謝你。其次，您能否對第一季迄今的趨勢提供一些見解？我的意思是，今年年初有一些天氣和其他因素影響當前的環境。從您的預測來看，到 2025 年情況似乎不會有太大改善。我只是想再次確認這一點。然後，與此相關，對於未宣布的收購，指導中沒有任何內容表明您尚未完成交易，對嗎？

Yes, that's correct, Dave. Nothing in the guidance for deals that aren't announced, but we do have about 2 points of carryover from the acquisitions that we did complete in 2024.

是的，正確，戴夫。對於尚未公佈的交易，指引中沒有任何內容，但我們確實從 2024 年完成的收購中獲得了大約 2 個點的結轉。

As it relates to the start of 2025, I'd say we're very pleased with how things have gotten off here early in the year. I'd say we're kind of right in line with expectations. There was a little bit of weather in January. It's kind of we finished up the fourth quarter that we experienced there, but it wasn't necessarily unexpected given the time of year.

鑑於它與 2025 年初相關，我想說我們對今年年初的進展感到非常滿意。我想說我們完全符合預期。一月天氣有點好。我們在那裡經歷了第四季度的結束，但考慮到今年的這個時候，這並不一定是意外的。

So good to see some of the momentum. Our bidding activity is strong. Backlogs looking good and really pleased with how things are starting off in the first part of this this year.

很高興看到這樣的勢頭。我們的競標活動很活躍。積壓訂單看起來不錯，並且對今年上半年的開局感到非常滿意。

Perfect. Thank you very much.

完美的。非常感謝。

Matthew Bouley, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的馬修‧布萊 (Matthew Bouley)。

Good morning. You have Anika Dholakia on for Matt today. Thank you for taking my questions and congrats to you guys on the new roles. So first off, I wanted to talk about the end market outlook. It assumes resi flat, non-res flat, mean low-single-digits. I'm wondering between res and non-res, where you guys see more upside taking into account some of the top year market trends today. Thanks.

早安.今天，Anika Dholakia 代替 Matt 登場。感謝你們回答我的問題，並祝賀你們擔任新的職位。所以首先，我想談談最終的市場前景。它假設 resi 平坦，非 res 平坦，平均值低個位數。我想知道，考慮到當今一些頂級年度市場趨勢，在房地產和非房地產之間，你們認為哪個領域更有上行空間。謝謝。

Yes, sure. Thanks for the question. You're right on end markets. The way we're thinking about them right now, just given a lot of the uncertainty that we've been seeing and hearing about in the market, some of the commentary from the home builders has been a little mixed. So we're going into 2025 kind of assuming we see continued steady construction on the private side, both resi and non-residential.

是的，當然。謝謝你的提問。您對終端市場的看法是正確的。我們現在對此的看法是，鑑於我們在市場上看到和聽到的許多不確定性，一些房屋建築商的評論有些混亂。因此，我們假設在 2025 年，私人住宅和非住宅方面的建設將繼續保持穩定。

We have seen though, I would say, mortgage rates start to creep down a little bit. If we start to see a little bit more relief there, I think on the mortgage side, you'll see good release of a lot of the pent-up demand that we experienced on the lot development side. We exited '25 with a little momentum there, but we're definitely going to be cautious on that as we get out into the early part of '25 until we see some of those rates start to tick down.

不過，我想說，我們已經看到抵押貸款利率開始略有下降。如果我們開始看到更多的緩解，我認為在抵押貸款方面，你會看到我們在土地開發方面經歷的大量被壓抑的需求得到很好的釋放。我們在 25 年結束時還有一點勢頭，但在 25 年初期，我們肯定會對此保持謹慎，直到我們看到其中一些利率開始下降。

Non-residential, I would say we've got a lot of still good stability in that end market for us with a lot of the road, bridge work continues to be solid. There's a lot of good mega projects that we're involved with that are going strong. And expect that momentum to continue and help kind of buffer any softness on more of the commercial side, which tends to follow the residential release after 12 or 18 months or so. So there's upside, I'd say, on both if we see some of the residential release. You'll start to see the commercial side of that non-residential pick up as well.

非住宅方面，我想說，我們在這個終端市場仍然保持良好的穩定性，許多道路、橋樑工程繼續保持穩固。我們參與的許多大型專案都進展順利。預計這種勢頭將繼續下去，並有助於緩解商業方面的任何疲軟，商業方面的疲軟往往發生在住宅市場釋放約 12 或 18 個月後。因此，我想說，如果我們看到一些住宅市場的釋放，那麼兩者都有上漲的空間。您還將開始看到非住宅用途的商業成長。

And then, from a municipal standpoint, it's been really strong. Exited the year in '24 with really good activity. We continue to make really strong investments in that part of the business and expect that to be very steady and resilient all throughout 2025.

然後，從市政角度來看，它確實很強大。1924 年結束時，業績十分亮眼。我們將繼續對該部分業務進行大力投資，並預計到 2025 年該部分業務將保持穩定和有彈性。

Great. Thank you for that. And then, on your expectation for gross margin expansion through fiscal '25. I'm wondering on the key levers driving this growth, you have private labels, sourcing, pricing. You guys can just bucket that in terms of what's driving it the most. And then, should we assume the cadence is similar to historic or if there's any differences to consider on that margin expansion through the year? Thanks.

偉大的。謝謝你。然後，您對 25 財年毛利率擴大的預期是什麼？我想知道推動這一成長的關鍵槓桿是什麼，有自有品牌、採購、定價。你們可以根據最主要的驅動因素來分類。然後，我們是否應該假設節奏與歷史相似，或者在全年利潤率擴張方面是否存在任何差異需要考慮？謝謝。

Yes, sure. From a gross margin expansion standpoint, I would say private label continues to be one of our best levers for expansion there. We made a lot of really good progress on that in 2024. We increased our penetration of private label from 2% to 4% of revenue, and really pleased with the continued investments we've made there and the margin that that's producing.

是的，當然。從毛利率擴張的角度來看，我認為自有品牌仍然是我們在那裡擴張的最佳槓桿之一。2024 年我們在這方面取得了很大進展。我們將自有品牌的滲透率從收入的 2% 提高到了 4%，並且對我們在該領域的持續投資以及產生的利潤感到非常滿意。

Sourcing optimization, I'd probably categorize as second really good progress in 2024 as we build scale, especially with some of the acquisitions that we did. And then, still pretty early innings on price optimization, but we got some really good results in 2024 that really helped offset some of the gross margin normalization that we expected and we're able to outperform that.

隨著我們規模的擴大，尤其是透過我們進行的一些收購，我可能會將採購優化歸類為 2024 年的第二個真正良好的進展。然後，價格優化仍處於相當早期的階段，但我們在 2024 年取得了一些非常好的結果，這確實有助於抵消我們預期的部分毛利率正常化，而且我們能夠超越這一點。

Thanks, I'll pass it on.

謝謝，我會傳達的。

Alright, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

Joe Ritchie, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的喬·里奇。

Hey, good morning, everyone, and echo everybody's congratulations. Well deserved, Mark and Robyn, and thanks so much for all the help throughout the year, Steve. My first question I guess would be just on margins and thinking through this guidance of 0 to up [30 basis points]. Relative to the long-term expectations and what you had previously stated in Investor Day. I think you guys had historically been planning for 30 basis points to 50 basis points. Just wondering like whether anything has kind of changed on the margin, regarding your ability to expand margins in this environment.

嘿，大家早安，並附和大家的祝賀。馬克和羅賓當之無愧，史蒂夫，也非常感謝你這一年來的幫助。我的第一個問題可能是關於利潤率，並思考這個從 0 到 0 的指導方針[30 個基點]。相對於長期預期以及您之前在投資者日所說的內容。我認為你們歷史上一直在計劃 30 個基點到 50 個基點。只是想知道在這種環境下您擴大利潤的能力是否改變了。

Yes, Joe, thanks for the comments and I appreciate the question there. So I would tell you nothing's really changed in terms of our expectations and the ability to expand margins through these cycles.

是的，喬，謝謝你的評論，我很感謝你提出的問題。因此，我想告訴你們，就我們的預期以及在這些週期中擴大利潤的能力而言，什麼都沒有改變。

I would say, obviously, the ability to get some additional productivity out of SG&A in a relatively soft end market is probably the bigger component that's going into our 2025 guide as we get closer to the kind of the mid-single-digit expectations on revenue. It allows us to be much more productive from an SG&A standpoint. And we continue to make investments to grow revenue and be more productive, but we'll start seeing those pay off so as we get into a little bit better market environment.

我想說，顯然，在相對疲軟的終端市場中，從銷售、一般和行政費用中獲取一些額外生產力的能力可能是我們 2025 年指南中更重要的組成部分，因為我們越來越接近中等個位數的收入預期。從銷售、一般及行政開支 (SG&A) 的角度來看，它使我們的生產力更高。我們將繼續進行投資以增加收入和提高生產力，但隨著我們進入更好的市場環境，我們將開始看到這些回報。

Okay. That's helpful, Mark. And I guess, maybe just sticking with the SG&A piece. Thanks for laying out how much SG&A was actually up. I think what you said 1% year-over-year when you excluded the impact from the 53rd week in acquisitions. I guess just in terms of the acquisitions and your ability to get after some of that SG&A, can you just maybe just give us some -- contextualize like what the opportunity is here in 2025 from the recently announced M&A?

好的。這很有幫助，馬克。我想，也許只需堅持銷售、一般及行政費用部分。感謝您詳細說明銷售、一般及行政費用 (SG&A) 實際上上漲了多少。我認為，當你排除第 53 週收購的影響時，你所說的同比增長是 1%。我想，就收購以及您獲得部分銷售、一般及行政開支的能力而言，您能否給我們提供一些背景信息，比如最近宣布的併購在 2025 年會帶來什麼機會？

Joe, as I mentioned, when you exclude the 53rd week in the acquisitions, SG&A was up only about 1% for the full year, and that really reflects a lot of continued investments that we've made in the business. In addition, there's been a lot of inflation flowing through a lot of the cost categories and then, we're able to offset a lot of those costs with some other cost out actions.

喬，正如我所提到的那樣，當你排除第 53 週的收購時，全年銷售、一般及行政開支僅上漲約 1%，這確實反映了我們對業務的持續大量投資。此外，許多成本類別都出現了通貨膨脹，我們可以透過一些其他成本削減措施來抵銷大部分成本。

I would say on the M&A side, we're typically going to work to scale those businesses as we integrate them. The integration of those businesses, from a cost standpoint, can take a little bit longer and generally, 12 to 18 months to really start driving more of the revenue synergy to scale those. And if it turns out that we need to take some cost out actions to right size some of that, we'll certainly do that as part of the integration process, but I do expect that to be some potential upside as we go into 2025 to get some additional productivity.

我想說，在併購方面，我們通常會在整合業務的同時努力擴大其規模。從成本角度來看，這些業務的整合可能需要更長的時間，通常需要 12 到 18 個月才能真正開始推動更多的收入協同效應並擴大規模。如果事實證明我們需要採取一些成本削減措施來正確調整其中的部分規模，我們肯定會將其作為整合過程的一部分來做，但我確實預計，隨著我們進入 2025 年並獲得一些額外的生產力，這將帶來一些潛在的上升空間。

Okay. Thanks. I'll get back in queue.

好的。謝謝。我會重新排隊。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Nigel Coe, Wolfe Research.

奈傑爾·科（Nigel Coe），沃爾夫研究公司。

Oh, good morning. Thanks. Steve, congrats on a great career. And Mark, Robyn, good luck with the next step. Steve, maybe starting with you, I think you've been very involved in the M&A process for Core & Main. Just wondering, how that cultivation process changes as you sort of move on to the next steps.

哦，早安。謝謝。史蒂夫，祝賀你取得了偉大的事業。祝馬克、羅賓下一步一切順利。史蒂夫，也許從你開始吧，我認為你非常參與 Core & Main 的併購過程。只是想知道，當你進入下一步時，這個培養過程會發生什麼樣的變化。

Thanks, Nigel. Obviously, we've had a really successful M&A year this last year in '24. It was kind of lumpy, honestly. We had a lot of deals that just came to fruition. Some of that is just typical of the way deals flow and when sellers are ready to go. So we continue to see a really strong pipeline of deals that are out there.

謝謝，奈傑爾。顯然，2024年是我們的併購年，也是非常成功。說實話，它有點凹凸不平。我們有很多交易剛剛取得成果。其中一些只是交易流程的典型方式以及賣家準備出售的時間。因此，我們繼續看到大量真正強勁的交易正在醞釀中。

As I transition into this role, one of the things I've offered to help with Mark is any type of relationships that we have from an M&A standpoint. I'll continue to be here as an Executive Chair and continue to support that, continue to work with them along those lines as he wants the engagement from me on those, and I'll continue to help in that facility.

當我轉入這個角色時，我為馬克提供的幫助之一就是從併購的角度建立任何類型的關係。我將繼續擔任執行主席，繼續支持這一點，並繼續沿著這些思路與他們合作，因為他希望我參與其中，我也將繼續為該機構提供幫助。

Okay, great. Thanks, Steve. And then, just want to dig into the large project pipeline. I think, your large competitor talks about the acceleration, especially in some of the larger projects. So just wondering what you're seeing in both non-res but also in municipal in terms of larger projects, especially with some of this IIJA funding come through. And I'm wondering, on the larger projects, does the margin profile change at all versus MRO?

好的，太好了。謝謝，史蒂夫。然後，只想深入研究大型專案管道。我認為，你們的大競爭對手談論的是加速，特別是在一些較大的專案中。所以我很想知道，就大型專案而言，您在非房地產和市政領域看到了什麼，尤其是在一些 IIJA 資金到位的情況下。我想知道，在較大的專案中，利潤率狀況與 MRO 相比是否會改變？

What we've seen, I'll talk a little bit about some of the larger municipal projects out there. We're starting to see a lot of -- some of the flow down coming through from the IIJA funds. About half of them have been allocated into the states, and we're seeing about 10% of those now being allocated into specific projects. Those tend to be bigger long-term projects. They tend to be water and wastewater treatment projects. Those fit right into our strike zone and the ability to leverage not only our local presence but our national scale on that.

根據我們所見，我將稍微談談一些較大的市政項目。我們開始看到大量來自 IIJA 基金的資金流入。其中約有一半已被分配到各州，我們看到現在約有 10% 被分配到具體項目。這些往往是更大的長期項目。它們往往是水和廢水處理項目。這些正好符合我們的打擊範圍，並且能夠充分利用我們不僅本地的存在，而且全國的規模。

The bidding activity when we get involved with these, particularly when we get involved right up front in the design build applications, we tend to have a lot of opportunity there to help set some of the specifications, help coordinate some of the activity. And margins can be real positive for us in those and can have a long tail of additional work that leads on the tails of those projects as well, too, when we get into some of the line work with those municipalities as well.

當我們參與投標活動時，特別是在設計建造應用程式的前期參與時，我們往往有很多機會幫助設定一些規範，以幫助協調一些活動。這些項目對我們來說利潤是真正積極的，而且當我們與這些市政當局進行一些線路工作時，這些項目還可以帶來大量的額外工作。

So we're really encouraged by that. We're seeing some good traction in some of the large mega projects, a lot of the data center projects out there, particularly with the land development that's happening. That involves a lot of storm drainage material, a lot of water, wastewater material as well too, and so really well positioned for those as well.

因此我們確實受到鼓舞。我們看到一些大型專案、許多資料中心專案取得了良好的進展，尤其是正在進行的土地開發。這涉及到大量的雨水排水材料、大量的水、還有廢水材料，因此對這些來說，定位也非常合適。

That's great. Thank you.

那太棒了。謝謝。

Patrick Bowman, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的 Patrick Bowman。

Well, thanks. Hey, can you hear me?

好吧，謝謝。嘿，你聽得到我說話嗎？

Yes, we can.

是的，我們可以。

Great. Okay, well, congrats Mark and Robyn on the new roles. I guess I just wanted to drill down a little bit with Steve, maybe if you give any additional color on what made the timing right for this change. Obviously, I don't want to intrude too much, but curious if you can give any other color.

偉大的。好的，恭喜馬克和羅賓獲得新職位。我想我只是想和史蒂夫深入探討一下，也許你能夠進一步解釋一下是什麼讓這一改變的時機變得恰當。顯然，我不想打擾太多，但好奇你是否可以提供其他顏色。

Yes, thanks, Patrick. So I've been with the business 20 years and leading it for the last decade, and obviously I have a real passion for the business and the industry. And as I've gone through all the changes that we've gone through here, I'm just really proud of what the business has accomplished during that timeframe.

是的，謝謝，派崔克。所以我在這個行業工作了 20 年，並在過去的十年裡一直領導著它，顯然我對這個行業和這個企業充滿熱情。當我經歷了我們在這裡經歷的所有變化時，我對公司在這段時間內所取得的成就感到非常自豪。

And I look at all of the accomplishments we've had, the thing I'm really most proud of is really the talent that we've developed here. We've got a special culture. I want to see that culture nurtured. I want to see it continue to evolve. And when I look at where we're positioned right now with the runway ahead of us, and I look at Mark and Robyn and our entire leadership team that we've had, just a real passion for the business and it's the right time to make a transition for me and it's the right time for this business.

回顧我們所取得的所有成就，我真正最自豪的是我們在這裡培養的人才。我們擁有一種特殊的文化。我希望看到這種文化得到培養。我希望看到它繼續發展。當我回顧我們目前的處境和麵臨的挑戰，並看到馬克、羅賓和我們整個領導團隊都對公司充滿熱情時，我發現對我來說，這是轉型的最佳時機，對公司來說，這也是轉型的最佳時機。

And I wanted somebody that was really going to have the same level of passion for the industry, the passion for the associates and really the drive to take it to that next level. And I see that clearly with Mark, with Robyn and our executive team. You've seen some of the changes that we made even last year going into position our business for long term success with some of the additions that we made into our executive leadership team. And this is all part of a real planned successful succession plan and real proud to be able to do that at this time.

我希望找到一個對這個行業、對同事有同樣熱情、有動力將事業推向更高水準的人。我從馬克、羅賓和我們的執行團隊中清楚地看到了這一點。您已經看到了我們去年進行的一些變革，這些變革為我們的業務的長期成功奠定了基礎，我們也對執行領導團隊進行了一些補充。這一切都是經過真正規劃的成功繼任計畫的一部分，我真的很自豪能夠做到這一點。

Helpful color. Thanks and congrats. A couple other quick ones. One on commodity product pricing outside of PVC. Are you seeing any suppliers reacting to recent moves and underlying commodities for those products and maybe any color on that? And then, separately, on the SG&A side, any color -- I mean, I guess I could try to do the math, but the SG&A growth for '25, how are you thinking about that relative to the 2% to 5% sales growth you're getting?

有用的顏色。感謝並祝賀。還有一些其他的。一個是關於PVC以外的商品產品定價的。您是否看到任何供應商對這些產品的近期走勢和基礎商品做出反應，以及對此有何評論？然後，單獨來看銷售、一般和行政費用方面，任何顏色 - 我的意思是，我想我可以嘗試做一下計算，但是 25 年的銷售、一般和行政費用增長，相對於您獲得的 2% 到 5% 的銷售增長，您是如何考慮的？

Yes, sure, Pat. First, on the commodity product side, I would say, for us, it's primarily the steel pipe used and the fire protection product line portion of the business. And then, copper pipe that we distribute into some of the -- this goes into some of the service lines that we sell to.

是的，當然，帕特。首先，在商品產品方面，我想說，對我們來說，主要是使用的鋼管和消防產品線部分業務。然後，我們分銷的銅管會進入我們銷售的一些服務線路。

I would say, in both of those categories, we're seeing more positive announcements. We've seen some good positive movement more recently in those categories. So viewing those as some potential upside for us. And like you said on the non-commodity side, we continue to see some price increases come through as well here early into 2025. So I would say on really all those fronts, it's been mostly positive in terms of the recent movements.

我想說，在這兩個類別中，我們都看到了更多正面的公告。我們最近在這些類別中看到了一些積極的進展。因此，我們將其視為一些潛在的優勢。正如您在非商品方面所說的那樣，到 2025 年初，我們將繼續看到價格上漲。因此我想說，從所有這些方面來看，最近的動向大多是正面的。

What about (multiple speakers)

那麼（多位發言者）

From an SG&A standpoint -- (multiple speakers) ductile iron pipe, so that's municipal that we sell similar to municipal PVC pipe. I would say on ductile iron pipe, we've seen good increases throughout 2024, and we expect that to be a very resilient product category moving forward.

從銷售、一般及行政費用 (SG&A) 的角度來看 ——（多位發言者）球墨鑄鐵管，所以我們銷售的市政管類似於市政 PVC 管。我想說，就球墨鑄鐵管而言，我們在 2024 年看到了良好的成長，我們預計這將是未來非常有彈性的產品類別。

You asked too on the SG&A -- I'll answer Pat's question on SG&A for 2025. As we think about the 15 basis points of EBITDA margin expansion, kind of, at the midpoint, I'd say most of that we expect to come from the gross margin investments and initiatives that we have and guiding to a relatively, I'd say, flat SG&A for 2025.

您也問到了銷售、一般和行政費用 (SG&A) 問題——我將回答 Pat 關於 2025 年銷售、一般和行政費用 (SG&A) 的問題。當我們考慮 EBITDA 利潤率擴大 15 個基點時，大概在中間值，我想說，我們預計其中大部分將來自我們的毛利率投資和計劃，並引導 2025 年的銷售、一般和行政費用 (SG&A) 相對持平。

Mike Dahl, RBC.

加拿大皇家銀行 (RBC) 的 Mike Dahl。

Hi, this is Chris on for Mike. Just going back to the pricing outlook for this year, what's specifically being assumed for non-commodity price inflation? And when you're thinking about tariffs, the conversations you're having with suppliers, is there any sense, is there any quantification you can provide on potential magnitude of tariff price increases we could see this year and timing of that implementation?

大家好，我是克里斯，代表麥克。回顧今年的價格前景，非商品價格通膨的具體假設是什麼？當您考慮關稅時，您與供應商的對話是否有任何意義，您能否提供任何量化數據，說明今年可能出現的關稅價格上漲幅度以及實施時間？

Yes, I would tell you for non-commodity and the commodity buckets that we sell, overall, we're expecting neutral. I mean, that's what we're going to provide in terms of the outlook. Overall, you can assume there's going to be puts and takes into some of those categories as we go forward. I'd say from a tariff standpoint, we've been closely monitoring that. We're in regular discussions with all of our suppliers about how they are being impacted.

是的，我想告訴你，對於我們銷售的非商品和商品類別，總體而言，我們預期是中性的。我的意思是，這就是我們在展望方面要提供的。總體而言，你可以假設，隨著我們前進，其中一些類別將會有所變動。我想說，從關稅的角度來看，我們一直在密切關注這一點。我們定期與所有供應商討論他們所受到的影響。

But overall, I would say the import product in the sector is still relatively small. I'd say it's less than kind of 15% of the product category. So while there can be some impact related to tariffs where there are some import alternatives, we generally expect the overall impact there to be neutral to maybe slightly positive as we work through a lot of those dynamics. But as you know, that's evolving daily. And all we're focused on right now is close collaboration with our suppliers and then early communication with our customers to make sure they're as clear as can be and that we're being as transparent as we can on the potential impacts as we see them come in.

但總體而言，我認為該行業的進口產品仍然相對較少。我認為它佔該產品類別的比例不到 15％。因此，儘管在存在一些進口替代品的情況下關稅可能會產生一些影響，但我們總體上預計，在研究許多動態因素後，其總體影響將是中性的，甚至可能略有積極影響。但正如你所知，情況每天都在變化。我們現在關注的是與供應商密切合作，並儘早與客戶溝通，以確保他們盡可能清楚，並確保我們對可能產生的影響盡可能透明。

Appreciate that. And just is there any change in the competitive dynamics you're seeing in your markets? How would you characterize any changes you've seen year-to-date with the broader macro uncertainty?

非常感謝。您所看到的市場競爭態勢有什麼變化嗎？您如何描述今年迄今所看到的變化以及更廣泛的宏觀不確定性？

Yes. Really no changes that we've seen going into '25. I mean, everything that we've seen, we continue to gain share through this. There's still a ton of opportunity out there for us in so many different markets. So really nothing that's disrupted or changed the competitive environment.

是的。進入25年，我們確實沒有看到任何變化。我的意思是，我們所看到的一切，我們都將透過這種方式繼續獲得份額。在眾多不同的市場中，我們仍然擁有大量的機會。因此實際上沒有任何事物能夠擾亂或改變競爭環境。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Brian Biros, Thompson Research Group.

布萊恩·比羅斯（Brian Biros），湯普森研究小組。

Hey, good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. I guess further on the end market, kind of your market outperformance and share gain expectations for this year, does that differ by end market at all? Maybe it's easier to take share in a slower market for resi or easier in a good market like municipal. I guess just wondering if there's any divergence there or difference, the historical trends, given the outlook where we are today.

嘿，早安。感謝您回答我的問題。我想進一步了解終端市場，您對今年的市場表現和份額成長預期，與終端市場有何不同？也許在較慢的房地產市場中佔據份額會更容易，或者在市政等良好的市場中佔據份額會更容易。我只是想知道，考慮到我們今天的前景，歷史趨勢是否存在分歧或差異。

Yes. Thanks for the question. I would tell you in terms of the outperformance, we do expect -- we outperformed the market by a couple of hundred basis points in 2024. I'd say it's generally similar across those end markets that we participate in. If I was going to weight it a little bit, I'd say we probably took a little bit more share on the municipal side just given the strength of our smart meter performance and some of the success that we've had there.

是的。謝謝你的提問。我想告訴你，就優異表現而言，我們確實預期──到 2024 年，我們的表現將比市場高出幾百個基點。我想說，我們所參與的那些終端市場的情況總體上是相似的。如果我要稍微權衡一下，我想，鑑於我們的智慧電錶性能強勁以及我們在那裡取得的一些成功，我們可能會在市政方面佔據更多的份額。

And then, additionally, we saw some really good strength and growth by servicing treatment plans much better in 2024. So it probably weighed a little bit more on the municipal side. But overall, really good, above-market performance across each of those end markets.

此外，我們還看到，透過 2024 年更好地提供治療計劃，我們獲得了非常好的實力和成長。因此，市政方面可能承受更大的壓力。但整體而言，每個終端市場的表現都非常好，高於市場水準。

Got it. And then maybe on the municipal side or, I guess, really across the entire business. Are you seeing any differences from the new administration on the ease of getting permitting or maybe just new projects going? I know rates aren't really helping on the financial part of the equation. But we have heard some things are getting easier or quicker out there when it comes to regulation type things, I guess. So just curious if you've seen any of that across your business. Thank you.

知道了。然後也許是在市政方面，或者我想實際上是在整個業務方面。您是否認為新政府在獲取許可的便利性或新項目啟動方面有任何不同？我知道利率對於財務部分其實沒有什麼幫助。但我們聽說，當涉及到監管類的事情時，有些事情會變得更容易或更快，我想是的。我只是好奇您是否在您的業務中看到過這種情況。謝謝。

Yes, Brian, we're hearing the potential for that, particularly easing of some of the regulatory requirements for permitting. But I can't tell you I've got some real specific examples where that's happening just yet. So it's probably a little early to tell. But it does seem encouraging that we could see some acceleration of that in terms of the regulatory ease of getting some of the -- particularly the non-residential construction up and running.

是的，布萊恩，我們聽說了這種可能性，特別是放寬一些許可的監管要求。但我現在還不能告訴你是否有一些真實發生這種情況的具體例子。所以現在說可能還太早。但令人鼓舞的是，我們看到監管放鬆的進展加快，特別是非住宅建築的啟動和運作。

Yeah. Thank you.

是的。謝謝。

Thank you. I'll now hand it back to Mark Witkowski for any further remarks.

謝謝。現在我將把發言權交還給馬克·維特科夫斯基，以便他可以發表進一步的評論。

Thank you again for joining us today. We are pleased to achieve another record sales year for Core & Main, marking our 15th consecutive year of growth. The long-term underlying trends of our end markets are strong, and our products and services play a critical role in advancing reliable infrastructure. We expect to continue outperforming our end markets even as the broader economic environment evolves. Our business is well positioned to capitalize on opportunities for growth. And we remain committed to building on our track record of delivering exceptional value to our shareholders.

再次感謝您今天的參與。我們很高興 Core & Main 的銷售業績再創紀錄，這是我們連續第 15 年成長。我們的終端市場的長期潛在趨勢強勁，我們的產品和服務在推動可靠基礎設施方面發揮關鍵作用。即使更廣泛的經濟環境發生變化，我們預計仍將繼續超越我們的終端市場。我們的業務已做好準備，可以利用成長機會。我們將繼續致力於鞏固我們的業績，為股東創造卓越的價值。

Thank you for your interest in Core & Main. Operator, that concludes our call.

感謝您對 Core & Main 的關注。接線員，我們的通話到此結束。

Thank you all for joining today's call. You may now disconnect your lines.

感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。現在您可以斷開線路了。