Compass Diversified Holdings (CODI) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon and welcome to Compass Diversified's fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 conference call. Today's call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

下午好，歡迎參加 Compass Diversified 的 2023 年第四季和全年電話會議。今天的通話正在錄音。（操作員說明）

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Cody Slach, Gateway Group for introductions and the reading of the Safe Harbor statement. Please go ahead, sir.

此時，我想將會議交給 Gateway Group 的 Cody Slach 介紹並宣讀安全港聲明。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, and welcome to Compass Diversified's fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 conference call. Representing the company today are Elias Sabo, CODI's CEO; Ryan Faulkingham, CODI's CFO, and Pat Maciariello, COO of Compass Group Management.

謝謝，歡迎參加 Compass Diversified 第四季和 2023 年全年電話會議。今天代表公司的是 CODI 執行長 Elias Sabo； CODI 財務長 Ryan Faulkingham 和 Compass Group Management 營運長 Pat Maciariello。

Before we begin, I'd like to point out that the Q4 2023 press release, including the financial tables and non-GAAP financial measure, reconciliations for subsidiary adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted earnings and pro forma net sales are available at the Investor Relations section of the company's website at compassdiversified.com. The company also filed its Form 10-K with the SEC today after the market close, which includes reconciliations of certain non-GAAP financial measures discussed on this call and is also available at the Investor Relations section of the company's website.

在我們開始之前，我想指出，2023 年第四季度新聞稿，包括財務表格和非GAAP 財務指標、子公司調整後EBITDA、調整後EBITDA、調整後收益和預計淨銷售額的調節表，可在投資者網站上取得該公司網站的關係部分：compassdiversified.com。該公司還在今天收市後向 SEC 提交了 10-K 表格，其中包括本次電話會議中討論的某些非 GAAP 財務指標的調節表，也可在該公司網站的投資者關係部分獲取。

Please note that references to EBITDA in the following discussions refer to adjusted EBITDA as reconciled to net income or loss from continuing operations in the company's financial filings. The company does not provide a reconciliation of its full year expected 2024 adjusted earnings, adjusted EBITDA, or subsidiary adjusted EBITDA. Because certain significant reconciling information is not available without unreasonable efforts. Throughout this call, we will refer to Compass Diversified as CODI or the company.

請注意，以下討論中提及的 EBITDA 指的是與公司財務文件中持續經營的淨收入或虧損進行調節後的調整後 EBITDA。該公司未提供 2024 年全年預期調整後收益、調整後 EBITDA 或子公司調整後 EBITDA 的調節表。因為如果不付出不合理的努力，就無法獲得某些重要的核對資訊。在整個電話會議中，我們將 Compass Diversified 稱為 CODI 或公司。

Now allow me to read the following Safe Harbor statement. During this call, we may make certain forward-looking statements including statements with regard to the expectations related to the future performance of CODI and its subsidiaries, the impact and expected timing of acquisitions and divestitures, and future operational plans such as ESG initiatives. Words such as believes, expects, anticipates, plans, projects, should, and future or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions.

現在請允許我閱讀以下安全港聲明。在本次電話會議中，我們可能會做出某些前瞻性聲明，包括與 CODI 及其子公司未來績效相關的預期、收購和剝離的影響和預期時間，以及 ESG 措施等未來營運計畫的聲明。相信、期望、預期、計劃、項目、應該和未來或類似表達等詞語旨在識別前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述受到預測未來結果和條件的固有不確定性的影響。

Certain factors could cause actual results to differ on a material basis from those projected in these forward-looking statements and some of these factors are enumerated in the risk factor discussion in the Form 10-K as filed with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2023, as well as in other SEC filings. In particular, the domestic and global economic environment supply chain, labor disruptions, inflation, and rising interest rates all may have a significant impact on CODI and our subsidiary companies. Except as required by law, CODI undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

某些因素可能導致實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述中的預測存在重大差異，其中一些因素已在向 SEC 提交的截至 12 月 31 日的年度的 10-K 表格中的風險因素討論中列舉。 ，2023年，以及其他SEC 文件中。特別是國內和全球經濟環境供應鏈、勞動力中斷、通貨膨脹和利率上升都可能對CODI和我們的子公司產生重大影響。除法律要求外，CODI 不承擔公開更新或修改任何前瞻性聲明的義務，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件或其他原因。

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Elias Sabo.

此時，我想將電話轉給 Elias Sabo。

Good afternoon, everyone and thanks for joining us today. I'm pleased to report a strong fourth quarter, capping off another exceptional year for CODI. Our results continue to demonstrate that owning premium businesses with defensible competitive moats can drive financial outperformance, even during periods of economic uncertainty.

大家下午好，感謝您今天加入我們。我很高興地報告第四季度的強勁表現，為 CODI 又一個非凡的一年畫上了圓滿的句號。我們的結果繼續表明，即使在經濟不確定時期，擁有具有防禦性競爭護城河的優質企業也可以推動財務表現出色。

These results are highly intentional. In 2018, we embarked on a strategy to own and manage high-growth, innovative, and disruptive businesses. This transformation is driving a significant tailwind for our business as evidenced by our fourth quarter.

這些結果是高度有意為之的。2018 年，我們啟動了一項策略，以擁有和管理高成長、創新和顛覆性業務。這項轉變為我們的業務帶來了巨大的推動力，第四季就證明了這一點。

Despite experiencing unique challenges in our business, 2023 marked our fifth straight year of subsidiary adjusted EBITDA growth. Our branded consumer businesses produced essentially flat pro forma subsidiary adjusted EBITDA results compared to prior year. On the other hand, our industrial businesses produced 18% annual growth in subsidiary adjusted EBITDA. Our diversification yet again led to a reduction of financial volatility, which we believe will be further reduced as we add more subsidiaries and enter into the healthcare vertical.

儘管我們的業務遇到了獨特的挑戰，2023 年仍是我們子公司調整後 EBITDA 連續第五年成長。與前一年相比，我們的品牌消費品業務預計子公司調整後 EBITDA 業績基本持平。另一方面，我們的工業業務子公司調整後 EBITDA 的年增長率為 18%。我們的多元化再次降低了金融波動性，我們相信，隨著我們增加更多子公司並進入醫療保健垂直領域，金融波動性將進一步降低。

In our branded consumer vertical, inventory destocking issues masked the underlying strength of most of the brands we own throughout 2023. Lugano once again delivered remarkable growth, producing 53% annual revenue growth and 65% adjusted EBITDA growth.

在我們的品牌消費垂直領域，庫存去庫存問題掩蓋了我們擁有的大多數品牌在 2023 年的潛在實力。盧加諾再次實現顯著成長，年營收成長 53%，調整後 EBITDA 成長 65%。

As we have repeatedly mentioned, Lugano has created a very innovative and disruptive business model within the high jewelry industry. We continue to fund capital investment to expand the company's footprint and inventory position, realizing exceptionally strong returns on invested capital that is fueling the company's rapid growth.

正如我們多次提到的，盧加諾在高級珠寶行業創造了一種非常創新和顛覆性的商業模式。我們繼續為資本投資提供資金，以擴大公司的足跡和庫存狀況，實現異常強勁的投資資本回報，推動公司的快速成長。

In the fourth quarter, our branded consumer businesses experienced strong subsidiary adjusted EBITDA growth of 26% over prior year as inventory destocking headwinds started to subside. You will remember the prior year's fourth quarter started a major inventory destocking trend that lasted throughout 2023. We believe channel inventory will continue to rightsize and turn into a tailwind in 2024, which we expect will enable a much higher level of growth for many of our consumer businesses, making up for the growth we didn't experience in 2023.

第四季度，隨著庫存去庫存的不利因素開始消退，我們的品牌消費品業務經歷了子公司調整後 EBITDA 較上年同期強勁增長 26%。您會記得去年第四季開始了持續整個 2023 年的主要庫存去庫存趨勢。我們相信通路庫存將繼續調整規模，並在 2024 年成為一股順風車，我們預計這將為我們的許多消費業務帶來更高水準的成長，彌補我們在 2023 年沒有經歷的成長。

Our industrial businesses generated double-digit subsidiary adjusted EBITDA growth in the fourth quarter and full year. The easing of inflationary pressures boosted margins and resulted in adjusted EBITDA growth above long-term trends. We expect this tailwind to normalize as we progress through 2024 and our industrial vertical to revert back towards trend growth. We remain optimistic about our industrial vertical in 2024 since backlogs remain at very healthy levels.

我們的工業業務在第四季度和全年實現了兩位數的子公司調整後 EBITDA 成長。通膨壓力的緩解提高了利潤率，導致調整後的 EBITDA 成長高於長期趨勢。我們預計，隨著 2024 年的進展，這種順風勢將正常化，我們的垂直產業將恢復趨勢成長。我們對 2024 年的工業垂直市場保持樂觀，因為積壓訂單仍保持在非常健康的水平。

Now I'd like to return to our competitive positioning. The strategy we outlined last month's Investor Day detailed our focus on buying and managing more innovative and disruptive businesses. We unveiled this strategy with our management change in 2018.

現在我想回到我們的競爭定位。我們在上個月的投資者日概述的策略詳細說明了我們對購買和管理更具創新性和顛覆性業務的重點。我們在 2018 年進行管理階層變動時公佈了這項策略。

Since then, we have been opportunistically divesting our subsidiaries that grew alongside their industry and focused our efforts towards acquiring more innovative and disruptive businesses with fundamentally faster growth rates. We've seen the efforts of this transition really begin to manifest in the numbers as evidenced by our results in the fourth quarter and full year.

從那時起，我們一直在機會主義地剝離與產業一起成長的子公司，並集中精力收購更具創新性和顛覆性的業務，這些業務的成長率從根本上更快。我們已經看到這種轉變的努力真正開始在數字中體現出來，我們第四季度和全年的業績證明了這一點。

This important shift that boosted the power of our growth engine to produce a more consistent, faster level of growth. So when one or two of our subsidiaries are growing their trend, for example, what we experienced in 2023 with both Boa and PrimaLoft, we have other subsidiaries growing at or above trend like Lugano and our industrial vertical did in 2023.

這一重要轉變增強了我們成長引擎的力量，實現了更一致、更快的成長水準。因此，當我們的一兩家子公司呈現成長趨勢時，例如，我們在2023 年經歷了Boa 和PrimaLoft，我們還有其他子公司的成長達到或高於趨勢，如Lugano 和我們的工業垂直領域在2023 年的表現。

This diversification in growth drivers not only reduces financial volatility, but it also increases the likelihood of us achieving our core growth rate on an annual basis. As we outlined at our Investor Day, another way in which we create value for our shareholders is through opportunistic M&A transactions. Although the M&A markets were weak for most of 2023, we were able to consummate the divestiture of Marucci Sports, realizing a significant gain for our shareholders.

這種成長動力的多元化不僅減少了金融波動，而且還增加了我們實現年度核心成長率的可能性。正如我們在投資者日所概述的，我們為股東創造價值的另一種方式是透過機會主義併購交易。儘管 2023 年大部分時間併購市場疲軟，但我們還是完成了 Marucci Sports 的剝離，為股東實現了重大收益。

In early 2024, we acquired the Honey Pot company, an innovative disruptive company in the feminine hygiene space. We believe opportunistic M&A transactions like Marucci and Honey Pot create value for our shareholders, accelerate our core growth rate, and minimize the likelihood of long-term growth decay on a consolidated basis.

2024 年初，我們收購了 Honey Pot 公司，這是一家女性衛生領域的創新顛覆性公司。我們相信像 Marucci 和 Honey Pot 這樣的機會主義併購交易可以為我們的股東創造價值，加快我們的核心成長率，並在合併的基礎上最大限度地減少長期成長衰退的可能性。

Before passing the call over to Pat, I'd like to discuss two topics. First, a few macro trends we're seeing; and second, that address the shift to the way we guide our business, which we believe will simplify how you think about evaluating CODI. First, a few thoughts on how macroeconomic conditions are affecting our business, including the Honey Pot Company, approximately 70% of our consolidated subsidiary adjusted EBITDA is generated by our branded consumer vertical.

在將電話轉給帕特之前，我想討論兩個主題。首先，我們看到一些宏觀趨勢；其次，這解決了我們指導業務方式的轉變，我們相信這將簡化您評估 CODI 的方式。首先，關於宏觀經濟狀況如何影響我們業務的一些想法，包括蜜罐公司，我們合併子公司調整後 EBITDA 的大約 70% 是由我們的品牌消費者垂直領域產生的。

So far in 2024, the US consumer is looking healthy, notwithstanding tighter monetary conditions that have existed over the past few years. Unemployment continues to be at historically low levels, wages continue to grow above trend, and the easing of inflationary pressures is causing real wages to grow again after declining for much of the past two years.

2024 年到目前為止，儘管過去幾年貨幣環境趨緊，但美國消費者看起來仍健康。失業率持續處於歷史低位，薪資持續高於趨勢水準成長，通膨壓力的緩解導致實質薪資在過去兩年大部分時間下降後再次成長。

Excess savings continue to exist from a pandemic-led government transfer payments, albeit at lower levels as savings buffered high inflation rates over the past couple of years. Taken together, we believe this bodes well for our branded consumer business in 2024.

疫情導致的政府轉移支付繼續存在過剩儲蓄，儘管由於儲蓄緩衝了過去幾年的高通膨率，儲蓄水準較低。總而言之，我們相信這對 2024 年我們的品牌消費業務來說是個好兆頭。

Regarding our industrial vertical, which represented approximately 30% of consolidated subsidiary adjusted EBITDA in 2023, global growth is expected to remain positive but at subdued levels due to the negative impact of tight monetary conditions and global tensions. We believe our industrial subsidiaries are positioned to continue to take market share through innovation as evidenced by Altor Solutions being first to market with a biodegradable solution, and Arnold Technologies leading the market in advanced materials used to generate green energy.

至於我們的垂直產業（約佔 2023 年合併子公司調整後 EBITDA 的 30%），預計全球成長將保持正值，但由於貨幣條件緊縮和全球緊張局勢的負面影響，成長水準較低。我們相信，我們的工業子公司將繼續透過創新佔據市場份額，Altor Solutions 率先推出可生物降解解決方案，而 Arnold Technologies 在用於產生綠色能源的先進材料領域處於領先地位，這就是證明。

We believe our industrial businesses will continue to perform well again in 2024 as a stable macro economy and company-led innovation is expected to lead to another year of growth. Thus far in 2024, our results have exceeded our expectations. While we are reiterating our outlook we provided just a few weeks ago at our Investor Day, we are certainly optimistic about 2024 and believe upside exists based on the trends we are currently experiencing.

我們相信，由於穩定的宏觀經濟和公司主導的創新預計將帶來另一個成長年，我們的工業業務將在 2024 年繼續表現良好。2024 年到目前為止，我們的業績超出了我們的預期。雖然我們重申了幾週前在投資者日提供的前景，但我們對 2024 年當然持樂觀態度，並相信根據我們目前所經歷的趨勢，存在上行空間。

Speaking of our outlook, we are adjusting how we communicate our guidance to help simplify the analysis of our business. Today, we currently own 10 subsidiary businesses across the consumer and industrial verticals. And at some point, we expect to enter the healthcare market.

說到我們的前景，我們正在調整我們傳達指導意見的方式，以幫助簡化我們的業務分析。如今，我們目前在消費和工業領域擁有 10 家子公司。在某個時候，我們預計會進入醫療保健市場。

We expect to own and manage 15 companies one day and perhaps more than that in the future. To help quantify the scale more simply, we will provide subsidiary adjusted EBITDA guidance ranges on a branded consumer and industrial level.

我們預計有一天會擁有並管理 15 家公司，未來可能會更多。為了幫助更簡單地量化規模，我們將在品牌消費者和工業層級提供子公司調整後的 EBITDA 指導範圍。

Despite this change, as part of our governance protocols, we remain focused on transparency and we will continue to disclose the same level of detail as we have done previously. We are shifting the narrative as we believe it will be easier for you to follow CODI as we continue to expand the number of subsidiaries we have.

儘管發生了這一變化，作為我們治理協議的一部分，我們仍然關注透明度，並將繼續披露與先前相同級別的詳細資訊。我們正在改變敘述方式，因為我們相信，隨著我們繼續擴大子公司數量，您會更容易關注 CODI。

With that, I will now turn the call over to Pat.

這樣，我現在將把電話轉給帕特。

Thanks, Elias. As a reminder, throughout this presentation, when we discuss pro forma results, it will be as if we own PrimaLoft as of January 1, 2022. In addition, we have not included the Honey Pot in our 2023 results as it was acquired after year end.

謝謝，埃利亞斯。提醒一下，在整個簡報中，當我們討論預期結果時，就好像我們自 2022 年 1 月 1 日起擁有 PrimaLoft 一樣。此外，我們尚未將 Honey Pot 納入 2023 年業績，因為它是在年底後收購的。

I am pleased to report on a very successful year for CODI in 2023, one in which we exited the year far stronger than we entered, thanks to the quality and positioning of our businesses. On a consolidated basis for the year, revenue was approximately flat and pro forma subsidiary adjusted EBITDA grew by 4.4%.

我很高興地向大家報告，2023 年是 CODI 非常成功的一年，由於我們業務的品質和定位，我們在這一年結束時比進入時要強勁得多。在本年度合併基礎上，營收大致持平，預計子公司調整後 EBITDA 將成長 4.4%。

As Elias mentioned, in the fourth quarter, on a consolidated basis, we saw material acceleration as many of the headwinds facing our businesses over the last year began to abate. As a result, in the fourth quarter, revenue and subsidiary adjusted EBITDA growth exceeded our expectations, growing by 7% and 27.4%, respectively. Both our industrial and branded consumer verticals had strong quarters, growing subsidiary adjusted EBITDA by 30.2% and 26.3% respect, respectively.

正如埃利亞斯所提到的，在第四季度，在綜合基礎上，我們看到了實質的加速，因為去年我們業務面臨的許多阻力開始減弱。因此，第四季營收和子公司調整後 EBITDA 的成長超出了我們的預期，分別成長了 7% 和 27.4%。我們的工業和品牌消費垂直領域都有強勁的季度業績，子公司調整後 EBITDA 分別成長了 30.2% 和 26.3%。

For the full year within our industrial vertical, revenues decreased by 5.1% and subsidiary adjusted EBITDA increased by 18.3% for 2022. In this quarter, we saw broad earning strength in our industrial businesses as positive revenue mix to higher margin products combined with lower input and shipping costs. In many cases, we passed on the benefits from lower cost to our customers, leading to the slight revenue decline.

2022 年，我們產業垂直領域的全年營收下降 5.1%，子公司調整後 EBITDA 成長 18.3%。在本季度，我們看到工業業務廣泛的獲利實力，因為高利潤產品的積極收入組合以及較低的投入和運輸成本。在許多情況下，我們將成本降低的好處轉嫁給了客戶，導致收入略微下降。

However, our industrial management teams continue to operate efficiently and drive solid margin growth. For the year, both Arnold and Altor grew adjusted EBITDA by over 20% and Sterno by over 11%.

然而，我們的工業管理團隊繼續高效運作並推動利潤率穩健成長。今年，Arnold 和 Altor 的調整後 EBITDA 成長超過 20%，Sterno 成長超過 11%。

A continued return to travel and more pre-pandemic activities continues to have a positive impact on several areas of our industrial business, and we believe this trend will be ongoing. In addition, specifically at Arnold, we want to once again point out the investments in research and development made over the last several years. As a result of Arnold's technology center, the team continues to add new product -- projects and though not a significant driver of growth in 2023, the company is growing rapidly in new industries, including medical devices.

旅行的持續回歸和更多大流行前的活動繼續對我們工業業務的多個領域產生積極影響，我們相信這種趨勢將持續下去。此外，特別是在 Arnold，我們想再次指出過去幾年在研發上的投資。由於阿諾德的技術中心，該團隊不斷增加新產品項目，雖然不是 2023 年成長的重要推動力，但該公司在包括醫療設備在內的新行業中正在快速成長。

Turning to our consumer vertical, for 2023, revenues increased by 2.7% and pro forma subsidiary adjusted EBITDA was approximately flat first 2022. Growth accelerated in the back half of the year, however. And for the fourth quarter, revenue and subsidiary adjusted EBITDA grew by 13.4% and 26.3%, respectively, for Q4 2022.

談到我們的消費者垂直領域，2023 年營收成長了 2.7%，預計子公司調整後 EBITDA 與 2022 年基本持平。然而，今年下半年成長加速。2022 年第四季度，營收和子公司調整後 EBITDA 分別成長 13.4% 和 26.3%。

As Elias mentioned, we believe this quarter represents a transitional period where, though inventory-related distortions in the supply chain have not fully dissipated, the headwind they have had on our consumer revenues has weakened significantly. Specifically, to give color on two of our businesses furthest up the supply chain, though challenges at PrimaLoft remain, they appear to be abating somewhat and we are seeing improvements.

正如埃利亞斯所提到的，我們認為本季代表了一個過渡時期，儘管供應鏈中與庫存相關的扭曲尚未完全消散，但它們對我們消費者收入的不利影響已顯著減弱。具體來說，我們在供應鏈最上游的兩個業務中，雖然 PrimaLoft 的挑戰仍然存在，但似乎有所減弱，我們正在看到改進。

Brand partners are delaying the timing of their orders often to the latest possible moment, but many indicate solid order expectations on a full-year basis. Conversely, forward technologies return to growth and adjusted EBITDA in the quarter and we are further encouraged by double-digit growth in bookings thus far in 2024.

品牌合作夥伴經常將訂單時間推遲到盡可能晚的時間，但許多合作夥伴都表示全年訂單預期穩定。相反，前瞻性技術在本季度恢復成長並調整後 EBITDA，我們對 2024 年迄今的預訂量實現兩位數成長進一步感到鼓舞。

Lugano once again led our growth for the quarter and for the year, as both revenue and adjusted EBITDA grew by 53% and close to 65%, respectively. We grew revenue in every salon in 2023 and saw a meaningful increase in average transaction value.

盧加諾再次引領我們本季和全年的成長，營收和調整後 EBITDA 分別成長 53% 和接近 65%。2023 年，我們每個沙龍的收入都實現了成長，平均交易價值也顯著增加。

In addition, in the fourth quarter, we benefited from the relocation and expansion of our flagship Palm Beach salon. We are excited about the opening of our London salon in the second quarter of this year and continue to evaluate additional markets.

此外，第四季度，我們受益於旗艦棕櫚灘沙龍的搬遷和擴建。我們對今年第二季倫敦沙龍的開幕感到非常興奮，並將繼續評估其他市場。

As a whole, we are very pleased with the performance of our subsidiary businesses in 2023 and particularly in the fourth quarter. We are confident in the positioning of our businesses and the outlook for 2024.

整體而言，我們對子公司業務 2023 年尤其是第四季的業績感到非常滿意。我們對我們的業務定位和 2024 年的前景充滿信心。

I will now turn the call over to Ryan for additional comments on our financial results.

我現在將把電話轉給瑞安，徵求對我們財務表現的更多評論。

Thank you, Pat. Moving to our consolidated financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, I will limit my comments largely to the overall results for CODI since the individual subsidiary results are detailed in our Form 10-K that was filed with the SEC earlier today.

謝謝你，帕特。轉向我們截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日的季度的綜合財務業績，我的評論主要限於 CODI 的整體業績，因為各個子公司的業績已在今天早些時候向 SEC 提交的 10-K 表格中詳細說明。

As a reminder, our sale of Marucci occurred in the fourth quarter of 2023 and its results have been reclassified to discontinued operations for all periods. On a consolidated basis, revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, was $567 million, up 7%, compared to $529.7 million for the prior-year period. This increase was primarily a result of strong growth of Lugano and 5.11, partially offset by lower revenue at Sterno, Altor, and Velocity.

提醒一下，我們對 Marucci 的出售發生在 2023 年第四季度，其所有期間的業績已重新分類為已終止經營業務。合併後，截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日的季度營收為 5.67 億美元，較上年同期的 5.297 億美元成長 7%。這一成長主要是由於 Lugano 和 5.11 的強勁成長，但部分被 Sterno、Altor 和 Velocity 收入下降所抵消。

Consolidated net income for the fourth quarter was $139.4 million, compared to a net loss of $11.8 million in the prior year. The fourth-quarter net income was primarily due to the gain on the sale of Marucci, partially offset by impairment expense recorded at PrimaLoft.

第四季合併淨利為 1.394 億美元，而上年同期淨虧損為 1,180 萬美元。第四季淨利主要來自出售 Marucci 的收益，部分被 PrimaLoft 記錄的減損費用所抵銷。

Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter was $94.8 million, up 35%, compared to $70 million in the prior year. The increase was due to strong growth of Lugano and 5.11, as well as an expansion in EBITDA margin at our industrial businesses. Included in adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarters of 2023 and 2022 were management fees and corporate costs of $20.9 million and $20.8 million, respectively.

第四季調整後 EBITDA 為 9,480 萬美元，較上年同期的 7,000 萬美元成長 35%。這一成長是由於盧加諾和 5.11 的強勁成長，以及我們工業業務 EBITDA 利潤率的擴大。2023 年和 2022 年第四季調整後 EBITDA 中的管理費和企業成本分別為 2,090 萬美元和 2,080 萬美元。

Adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter were significantly above our expectations, coming in at $38.1 million. This was up significantly from $16.3 million in the prior-year quarter and up 29% sequentially. Adjusted earnings was above our expectations due to strong performances at Lugano and 5.11 and by our industrial businesses.

第四季調整後收益為 3,810 萬美元，遠高於我們的預期。這比去年同期的 1,630 萬美元大幅成長，比上一季成長 29%。由於盧加諾和 5.11 以及我們的工業業務的強勁表現，調整後的收益超出了我們的預期。

In addition, our adjusted earnings was positively impacted throughout 2023 by much lower taxes than we anticipated at our subsidiaries, primarily Velocity and PrimaLoft, where we had weaker performance and related income tax benefits. We believe that for modeling purposes, the tax provision at our subsidiaries on a consolidated basis will approximate 10% of subsidiary adjusted EBITDA. However, in 2023, our tax provision was only 7% of subsidiary adjusted EBITDA.

此外，我們的子公司（主要是 Velocity 和 PrimaLoft）的稅收遠低於我們的預期，因此 2023 年調整後的收益受到了積極影響，我們在這兩家公司的業績和相關所得稅優惠均較弱。我們認為，出於建模目的，我們子公司的綜合稅項撥備將約為子公司調整後 EBITDA 的 10%。然而，到 2023 年，我們的稅務撥備僅為子公司調整後 EBITDA 的 7%。

Now on to our financial outlook. At our Investor Day in January, we mentioned that we would be enhancing our guidance to the Street to reduce confusion. Providing guidance on our adjusted earnings and subsidiary adjusted EBITDA will continue and remain the same.

現在談談我們的財務前景。在一月份的投資者日上，我們提到我們將加強對華爾街的指導，以減少混亂。對我們調整後收益和子公司調整後 EBITDA 的指導將繼續並保持不變。

However, we are adding a third guidance metric called adjusted EBITDA. This differs from subsidiary adjusted EBITDA in that we deduct corporate-level expenses and corporate level management fees. One additional note, we will refer to subsidiary adjusted EBITDA on a pro forma basis upon acquisitions, but we will not provide adjusted EBITDA nor adjusted earnings on a pro forma basis. We are also enhancing guidance by providing subsidiary adjusted EBITDA separately for our consumer and industrial verticals as Elias previously mentioned.

然而，我們正在增加第三個指導指標，稱為調整後 EBITDA。這與子公司調整後的 EBITDA 不同，我們扣除了公司層級的費用和公司層級的管理費。另請注意，我們將在收購時參考子公司調整後的 EBITDA，但我們不會提供調整後的 EBITDA 或調整後的收益。正如埃利亞斯之前提到的，我們也透過分別為我們的消費者和工業垂直領域提供子公司調整後的 EBITDA 來加強指引。

So now, moving to our 2024 guidance. As a reminder, we acquired the Honey Pot Company on February 1 of this year. We expect full-year 2024 subsidiary adjusted EBITDA consistent with the range we provided at our Investor Day of between $480 million and $520 million.

現在，轉向我們的 2024 年指導。提醒一下，我們在今年 2 月 1 日收購了 Honey Pot 公司。我們預計 2024 年全年子公司調整後 EBITDA 與我們在投資者日提供的 4.8 億美元至 5.2 億美元之間的範圍一致。

The midpoint of this range, $500 million, implies an 11% growth rate over 2023. This is pro forma for the acquisition of the Honey Pot.

該範圍的中點為 5 億美元，意味著 2023 年增長率為 11%。這是收購 Honey Pot 的形式。

The subsidiary adjusted EBITDA range for our industrial businesses will be between $125 million and $135 million. The subsidiary adjusted EBITDA range for our branded consumer businesses will be between $355 million and $385 million.

我們工業業務的子公司調整後 EBITDA 範圍將在 1.25 億美元至 1.35 億美元之間。子公司調整後的品牌消費業務 EBITDA 範圍將在 3.55 億美元至 3.85 億美元之間。

Moving to our new adjusted EBITDA guidance, we expect full-year 2024 adjusted EBITDA to be between $390 million and $430 million. This range factors in an expected $86 million in corporate level overhead and management fees in 2024. This compares to $341 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2023.

根據新的調整後 EBITDA 指引，我們預計 2024 年全年調整後 EBITDA 將在 3.9 億美元至 4.3 億美元之間。這一範圍預計到 2024 年公司層級的管理費用和管理費將達到 8,600 萬美元。相較之下，2023 年調整後 EBITDA 為 3.41 億美元。

Now on to adjusted earnings. We expect full-year 2024 adjusted earnings to be between $145 million and $160 million. At the midpoint of this range, and assuming the same share count as at December 31, 2023, of 75.3 million shares, we expect to earn $2.03 in adjusted earnings per common share.

現在來談談調整後的收益。我們預計 2024 年全年調整後收益將在 1.45 億美元至 1.6 億美元之間。在此範圍的中點，假設截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日的股票數量為 7,530 萬股，我們預期調整後每股普通股收益為 2.03 美元。

Given the discontinued operations in 2023, it's challenging to compare 2024 adjusted earnings to 2023 adjusted earnings. However, as I mentioned earlier, last year's adjusted earnings benefited by approximately $13 million from lower taxes at our subsidiaries than we had anticipated.

鑑於 2023 年已停止運營，將 2024 年調整後收益與 2023 年調整後收益進行比較具有挑戰性。然而，正如我之前提到的，去年調整後的收益因我們子公司的稅收低於我們的預期而受益約 1300 萬美元。

Turning to our balance sheet. As of December 31, 2023, we had approximately $450.5 million in cash, approximately $598 million available on a revolver, and our leverage was 3.11 times. During the fourth quarter, we sold Marucci, providing approximately $480 million in cash at closing. We also sold 3.5 million common trust shares in a private placement, yielding approximately $74 million in cash proceeds.

轉向我們的資產負債表。截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，我們擁有約 4.505 億美元的現金，約 5.98 億美元的左輪手槍可用資金，我們的槓桿率為 3.11 倍。第四季度，我們出售了 Marucci，在交易結束時提供了約 4.8 億美元的現金。我們也透過私募方式出售了 350 萬股普通信託股，產生了約 7,400 萬美元的現金收益。

Subsequent to the end of the fourth quarter, we acquired the Honey Pot Company for an enterprise value of $380 million. We used cash on our balance sheet to fund our $343 million investment, with the remainder of the purchase price provided by minority shareholders. After closing the Honey Pot acquisition, our total leverage increased to approximately 3.7 times.

第四季末後，我們以 3.8 億美元的企業價值收購了 Honey Pot 公司。我們使用資產負債表上的現金為 3.43 億美元的投資提供資金，其餘收購價由少數股東提供。完成 Honey Pot 收購後，我們的總槓桿率增加至約 3.7 倍。

As a reminder, the first and second quarter are traditionally our lower cash flow quarters. In addition, we pre-funded Lugano with significant inventory early in the first quarter of 2024 in preparation for the London salon opening, which is planned in the second quarter. And thus, we anticipate our leverage will increase during the first quarter and second quarter, then decline sequentially in the third quarter and fourth quarter as a result of strong growth we expect in our subsidiaries adjusted EBITDA.

提醒一下，第一季和第二季傳統上是我們現金流量較低的季度。此外，我們在 2024 年第一季初為盧加諾提供了大量庫存，為計劃在第二季度舉行的倫敦沙龍開業做準備。因此，我們預計第一季和第二季的槓桿率將增加，然後由於我們預計子公司調整後 EBITDA 的強勁成長，第三季和第四季將連續下降。

We have substantial liquidity. And as previously communicated, we have the ability to upsize our revolver capacity by an additional $250 million. With our liquidity and capital, we stand ready and able to provide our subsidiaries with the financial support they need, invest in subsidiary growth opportunities, and act on compelling acquisition opportunities as they present themselves.

我們有大量的流動資金。正如之前所傳達的，我們有能力將左輪手槍產能額外增加 2.5 億美元。憑藉我們的流動性和資本，我們隨時準備好並能夠為我們的子公司提供所需的財務支持，投資於子公司的成長機會，並在它們出現時採取行動。

Turning now to cash flow provided by operations, during the fourth quarter of 2023, we received $21.1 million of cash flow from operations, primarily due to strong operating performance. This is up $10 million from the prior year's comparable period.

現在轉向營運提供的現金流，在 2023 年第四季度，我們從營運中獲得了 2,110 萬美元的現金流，這主要是由於強勁的營運表現。這比去年同期增加了 1000 萬美元。

During the fourth quarter, we used $24.4 million in working capital, a decrease from use of $27.7 million in the prior year. For the full-year 2023 period, cash flow provided by operations increased $106 million as compared to the prior year.

第四季度，我們使用了 2,440 萬美元的營運資金，比前一年的 2,770 萬美元減少。2023 年全年，營運提供的現金流較前一年增加 1.06 億美元。

During 2023, Lugano invested $157 million in inventory to fund its growth. This inventory investment has generated an exceptional return on invested capital and enabled the strong growth Lugano has experienced. Outside of Lugano, our remaining subsidiaries monetized significant working capital during 2023.

2023 年，盧加諾投資了 1.57 億美元的庫存，為其成長提供資金。這項庫存投資產生了非凡的投資資本回報，並實現了盧加諾的強勁成長。在盧加諾之外，我們的其餘子公司在 2023 年將大量營運資金貨幣化。

And finally, turning to capital expenditures, during the fourth quarter of 2023, we incurred $17.2 million of capital expenditures at our existing subsidiaries, compared to $23.7 million in the prior-year period. The decrease was primarily a result of the timing of retail buildouts at Lugano to support their continued growth.

最後，談到資本支出，2023 年第四季度，我們現有子公司的資本支出為 1,720 萬美元，而去年同期為 2,370 萬美元。下降的主要原因是盧加諾零售店擴建的時機，以支持其持續成長。

For the full year of 2024, we anticipate total CapEx of between $50 million and $60 million. We continue to see strong returns on invested capital at several of our growth subsidiaries and believe they will have short payback periods. Capital expenditures in 2024 will primarily be at Lugano for new retail salons.

我們預計 2024 年全年的資本支出總額將在 5,000 萬美元至 6,000 萬美元之間。我們繼續看到我們的幾家成長型子公司的投資資本回報強勁，並相信它們的投資回收期很短。2024 年的資本支出將主要用於盧加諾的新零售沙龍。

With that, I'll now turn the call back over to Elias.

這樣，我現在將把電話轉回給埃利亞斯。

Thank you, Ryan. I would like to close by briefly providing an update on the M&A market and our strategic initiatives. In the fourth quarter, we not only saw an increase in deal activity, but also in the quality of businesses coming to market.

謝謝你，瑞安。最後，我想簡要介紹一下併購市場和我們的策略舉措的最新情況。在第四季度，我們不僅看到交易活動增加，而且進入市場的企業品質也有所提升。

Our competitors continue to struggle with leveraged buyout financing as a function of the current environment, specifically in consumer. We are seeing our cost of capital advantage significantly expand in this environment, which leads us to believe that now is a great time for us to be an acquirer.

由於當前環境，特別是消費者環境，我們的競爭對手繼續在槓桿收購融資方面苦苦掙扎。我們看到我們的資本成本優勢在這種環境下顯著擴大，這使我們相信現在是我們成為收購者的好時機。

Our acquisition of the Honey Pot Company in February is a perfect example. Our competitors in the consumer market pulled back dramatically, just as their financing partners have, which is how we were able to get this deal done. For an on-trend company in the personal health and well-being space, we were able to transact at a multiple that was lower than the historic average.

我們二月收購的蜜罐公司就是一個很好的例子。我們在消費市場的競爭對手大幅撤退，就像他們的融資合作夥伴一樣，這就是我們能夠完成這筆交易的方式。對於個人健康和福祉領域的流行公司來說，我們能夠以低於歷史平均的倍數進行交易。

Today's market reminds us of the financing market of 2020, when large uncertainties driven by COVID kept competition sidelined yet our permanent capital structure allowed us to buy quality assets like Marucci and Boa. Today, we have a level of optimism that we haven't had in years. We're able to consummate M&A at more attractive valuations with better shareholder return prospects than in past years.

現今的市場讓我們想起了2020年的融資市場，疫情帶來的巨大不確定性導致競爭被邊緣化，但我們永久的資本結構使我們能夠購買像Marucci和Boa這樣的優質資產。今天，我們的樂觀情緒是多年來從未有過的。我們能夠以比過去幾年更有吸引力的估值完成併購，並為股東帶來更好的回報前景。

On the ESG front, our focus continues to not only be about compliance, but ESG is integral to our mission, reflecting our commitment to transparency and responsible business practices. This focus is essential for our continued success and the creation of long-term value for our investors and stakeholders. We will release our first sustainability report in Q2, which we expect to include details of greenhouse gas emissions, human capital initiatives, and governance practices.

在 ESG 方面，我們的重點不僅是合規性，而且 ESG 是我們使命的組成部分，反映了我們對透明度和負責任的商業實踐的承諾。這種關注對於我們的持續成功以及為投資者和利害關係人創造長期價值至關重要。我們將在第二季發布第一份永續發展報告，預計其中將包括溫室氣體排放、人力資本措施和治理實踐的詳細資訊。

Additionally, we will continue to seek partnerships and acquisitions that align with our sustainability values, ensuring that our growth is both responsible and aligned with our long-term vision. Our most recent acquisition of the Honey Pot exemplifies the type of company that aligns with CODI's strategic vision and objectives.

此外，我們將繼續尋求符合我們永續發展價值觀的合作夥伴和收購，確保我們的成長既負責任又符合我們的長期願景。我們最近對 Honey Pot 的收購反映了符合 CODI 策略願景和目標的公司類型。

To conclude, we continue to make great strides improving upon the quality of our subsidiaries as a whole. In addition, we remain steadfast in our efforts to identify and acquire similar disruptive businesses to further build upon our track record of delivering growth for our shareholders. I'd like to thank the entire CODI team for their tireless efforts in transitioning this business into a different and stronger company than we were six years ago.

總而言之，我們持續在提高子公司整體品質方面取得長足進步。此外，我們仍然堅定不移地努力尋找和收購類似的顛覆性業務，以進一步鞏固我們為股東帶來成長的記錄。我要感謝整個 CODI 團隊的不懈努力，將我們的業務轉變為一家與六年前不同、更強大的公司。

With that, operator, please open the lines for Q&A.

那麼，接線員，請打開問答線。

Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions)

女士們、先生們，我們現在開始問答環節。（操作員說明）

Larry Solow, CJS Securities.

拉里·索洛，CJS 證券。

Great. Thanks. Good evening, guys. I guess the first question, maybe Elias. Just on the acquisition environment, it sounds like, as you expressed last month, too, it's gotten a lot better and it kind of fits right into your sweet spot.

偉大的。謝謝。晚上好，夥計們。我猜第一個問題可能是埃利亞斯。就收購環境而言，正如您上個月所表達的那樣，聽起來已經好多了，並且非常適合您的最佳位置。

I'm just curious, with your leverage, it's going to be, it sounds like, around 4 times during the first half of the year at least, what's your ability to acquire larger size assets? Would you want to go up to 5 times plus? How do you look at that? Maybe you might entertain the idea of selling some of your smaller competitors.

我只是很好奇，以你的槓桿率，聽起來，至少在今年上半年會翻4倍左右，你收購更大規模資產的能力有多大？您想增加 5 次以上嗎？你怎麼看？也許您可能會考慮出售一些規模較小的競爭對手。

Yes, Larry, I would say -- and thank you for the question and good afternoon. I would say the acquisition market is better. I don't know that I'd refer to it as a lot better. It's clearly unlike 2021 when we were seeing deals kind of at a very high level and some good quality companies that were coming.

是的，拉里，我想說——謝謝你的提問，下午好。我想說收購市場比較好。我不知道我會把它稱為更好的。這顯然與 2021 年不同，當時我們看到了非常高水準的交易以及一些優質公司的到來。

But compared to '22 and '23, I mean, all we often say it's hard to fall off the floor. And I think '23 sort of kind of represented the floor. So it's clearly a pickup. And not only are we seeing a pickup in the number of deals, but we are also seeing some quality companies come through as well. So that bodes well.

但與 22 和 23 相比，我的意思是，我們常說很難從地板上掉下來。我認為 '23 有點代表了地板。所以這顯然是一個皮卡。我們不僅看到交易數量增加，而且還看到一些優質公司也取得了成功。所以這是個好兆頭。

Regarding your question, I think right now we're at 3.7 times leverage. It's a little bit outside of our kind of leverage window. As Ryan mentioned in his commentary, it could float up a little bit. It's not going to be a material floating up in the beginning of the first half of the year and then it will come down. It's partly just the funding of inventory growth at Lugano. So, you know, we're a company that's on development on that. And so we expect really strong growth.

關於你的問題，我認為目前我們的槓桿率為 3.7 倍。它有點超出了我們的槓桿窗口。正如瑞安在評論中提到的，它可能會浮起來一點。不會是上半年年初飄起來然後就下來的材料。這在某種程度上只是盧加諾庫存成長的資金來源。所以，你知道，我們是一家正在這方面發展的公司。因此，我們預計會有真正強勁的成長。

So I would say, because of both the cash flow, kind of generation power of the company as well as the growth and the expected deleveraging back down into our financial policy target range, which you know goes to kind of 3.5 times at the high end, we still feel comfortable doing a deal. And yes, we could push leverage up into the 4s kind of temporarily here at the beginning of the year.

所以我想說，由於現金流、公司的發電能力以及成長和預期的去槓桿化，回到了我們的金融政策目標範圍，你知道，上限為 3.5 倍，我們仍然對達成交易感到放心。是的，我們可以在今年年初暫時將槓桿率提高到 4 倍。

But then we expect it to fall kind of back down below that. Obviously, it's dependent on size of deals, dependent on multiple that we pay. And so it's a little hard to be precise until we have something kind of in our site.

但隨後我們預計它會回落到該水平以下。顯然，這取決於交易規模，取決於我們支付的倍數。因此，在我們的網站上有某種東西之前，很難精確地確定。

I would tell you we will not take our leverage to 5 times. And so that's off the table. But could it go over 4 times to consummate a deal the size of the Honey Pot or a little bigger? Absolutely. And given the confidence that we have in our earnings trajectory right now and the cash flow producing power of this business, we are absolutely comfortable with that and the fact that our deleveraging post an acquisition will bring us back in line to where we need to be.

我會告訴你，我們不會將槓桿提高到 5 倍。所以這是不可能的。但它是否可以超過 4 倍才能完成蜜罐規模或更大一點的交易？絕對地。鑑於我們對目前的獲利軌跡以及該業務的現金流量產生能力充滿信心，我們對此絕對感到滿意，而且收購後的去槓桿化將使我們回到我們需要的水平。

I appreciate that color. And then just a second question, maybe two-part questions just on the inventory headwinds of 2023, it feels like maybe those are certainly subsiding significantly, right? And you mentioned maybe even in terms to a tailwind in 2024. Can you just discuss sort of -- specifically, Boa and PrimaLoft, I think were the two bigger brands that were kind of impacted and sort of the underlying trends at both those businesses, maybe a little more color there. And the upside to guidance, perhaps that you mentioned, would that be kind of maybe if the inventory actually did turn into a tailwind?

我很欣賞那種顏色。然後是第二個問題，也許是關於 2023 年庫存逆風的兩部分問題，感覺這些問題肯定會顯著消退，對嗎？您甚至提到了 2024 年的順風車。你能談談——具體來說，Boa 和 PrimaLoft，我認為這兩個較大的品牌受到了一定的影響，以及這兩個業務的潛在趨勢，也許還有更多的色彩。也許您提到過，指導的好處是，如果庫存確實變成了順風車，那可能會是一種順風嗎？

Yes. So I'm going to let Pat speak specifically to some of the trends we're seeing at Boa and PrimaLoft and how that headwind which we think sort of turned neutral in Q4, it was no -- were not a headwind or a tailwind how that will hopefully build into '24. But let me address the last part of that first, which is built into our guidance.

是的。因此，我將讓帕特具體談談我們在 Boa 和 PrimaLoft 看到的一些趨勢，以及我們認為在第四季度變得中性的逆風，它不是逆風或順風如何希望這將持續到 24 年。但讓我先談談我們的指導方針中的最後一部分。

We have not built a tailwind from inventory and sell in matching sell through. We have not embedded that into our guidance. And that's why if there's one thing, you know, I would say to take from this call is it just too early. We gave you three weeks ago a guidance range. It would be too early for us to increase that right now, and I think that would be irresponsible.

我們還沒有從庫存中建立推動力，並以匹配的銷售方式進行銷售。我們尚未將其納入我們的指導中。這就是為什麼如果有一件事，你知道，我會說從這次電話會議中得出結論是不是還為時過早。三週前我們給了你一個指導範圍。我們現在增加這一點還為時過早，我認為這是不負責任的。

However, if we were reissuing guidance today, we'd probably be more optimistic. And, you know, I think there are clear catalysts for kind of us to exceed the range here and it could be material. And one of those catalysts could be inventory changes starting to become a tailwind where sell-in just has to match sell-through.

然而，如果我們今天重新發布指導意見，我們可能會更加樂觀。而且，你知道，我認為有明顯的催化劑可以讓我們超越這裡的範圍，這可能是實質的。其中一個催化劑可能是庫存變化開始成為一種順風，其中銷售量必須與銷售量相符。

Forget the fact that there could be inventory building again at some point, you know, we just want to get back to the point where inventories are no longer depleting, which has been sort of thinking on that theme over '23. So, you know, there's absolutely upside that is available for that.

忘記在某個時候庫存可能會再次增加的事實，你知道，我們只是想回到庫存不再耗盡的狀態，這一直是 23 年以來對這個主題的思考。所以，你知道，這絕對有好處。

I will tell you that we were a little bit shell-shocked by kind of the depth of the inventory changes of '23. And so we've been hesitant to build that in. But we think that's some nice upside that could exist as we go forward.

我會告訴你，我們對 23 年庫存變化的深度感到有點震驚。所以我們一直在猶豫是否要把它納入其中。但我們認為，隨著我們的前進，這可能會存在一些不錯的好處。

And I'll ask Pat to comment on your questions on both PrimaLoft and Boa.

我會請 Pat 對您在 PrimaLoft 和 Boa 上提出的問題發表評論。

So Boa is strengthening. It's tough to kind of tease out, you know, what part of that is model count, what part of that is easing of pressure -- model count growth, what part of that is an easing of these headwinds that we talked about and what part of it is just really strong execution by the management team.

所以Boa正在加強。很難弄清楚，哪一部分是模型數量，哪一部分是壓力的緩解——模型數量的增長，哪一部分是我們談到的這些逆風的緩解，哪一部分是這只是管理團隊強大的執行力。

Clearly, there's aspects of each and I can't point you to kind of percentages. But I can tell you that collectively, those are each having -- each driving kind of bookings to be better than we saw on a year ago base.

顯然，每個方面都有其不同的方面，我無法向您指出具體的百分比。但我可以告訴你，總的來說，這些都在推動預訂量比一年前更好。

So at PrimaLoft, I'd say the language from customers is clearly that these headwinds are easing. The language from customers is clearly that we're going to have a more stable, solid 2024. However, many of the brands are willing to chase the season, if you will, and that sort of order in advance. So there's just a little bit of a lag, but that's how I differentiate kind of those two, if that makes sense. It feels like the easing at Boa is a little bit ahead the easing of PrimaLoft.

因此，在 PrimaLoft，我想說，客戶的語言顯然是這些不利因素正在緩解。客戶的語言顯然是我們將擁有一個更穩定、堅實的 2024 年。然而，如果你願意的話，許多品牌願意追逐季節，並提前訂購。所以只是有一點滯後，但這就是我區分這兩者的方式，如果這有意義的話。感覺 Boa 的寬鬆政策比 PrimaLoft 的寬鬆政策還要早。

I appreciate the color. Thanks, guys.

我很欣賞它的顏色。多謝你們。

Thank you, Larry.

謝謝你，拉里。

Matt Koranda, ROTH MKM.

馬特·科蘭達，羅斯·MKM。

Hey, guys. It's Mike Zabran on for Matt. Maybe just starting with the 2024 guide, I need to cut the industrial segment adjusted EBITDA to get to the midpoint of $140 million. I guess just based on recent underperformance relative to our expectations, I wanted to cut out of Sterno.

大家好。邁克·扎布蘭 (Mike Zabran) 替補馬特 (Matt)。也許從 2024 年指南開始，我需要削減工業部門調整後的 EBITDA，以達到 1.4 億美元的中點。我想只是基於最近的表現低於我們的預期，我想剔除斯特諾。

But at the same time, we are facing two straight years of negative growth there. So I guess just, are we still expecting low- to mid-single-digit growth in the industrial segment for 2024? And maybe just give a bit more color on where we're seeing headwinds in the industrial segment and which, I guess, business we expect to be the heaviest drag in 2024?

但同時，我們面臨連續兩年的負成長。所以我想，我們是否仍預期 2024 年工業領域將出現低至中個位數的成長？也許只是更詳細地說明我們在工業領域看到的逆風，以及我猜，我們預計哪些業務將成為 2024 年最嚴重的阻力？

Yeah. So, I'll let maybe Pat touch on kind of the industrial drivers. But I think you might be off on your numbers. So industrial for full year produced adjusted EBITDA of $128.6 million. So the midpoint of our guidance that we provided implies kind of a 1%, 2% growth as we think about 2024.

是的。因此，我可能會讓帕特談談工業驅動因素。但我認為你的數字可能不對。因此，工業全年調整後 EBITDA 為 1.286 億美元。因此，我們提供的指導中位數意味著 2024 年的成長為 1%、2%。

I think we'd all agree that's a little bit conservative. As you mentioned, there's not a lot to cut here. Altor is performing well. Arnold is performing well. Same with Sterno. So I think we feel like there's upside to that midpoint.

我想我們都同意這有點保守。正如您所提到的，這裡沒有太多需要削減的內容。Altor表現良好。阿諾德表現不錯。斯特諾也一樣。所以我認為我們覺得這個中點有上行空間。

But, Pat, do you want to provide any other kind of color on the industrial trends that you think will benefit 2024?

但是，Pat，您是否想就您認為將有利於 2024 年的工業趨勢提供任何其他類型的顏色？

Yeah. I just don't know about the underperformance of Sterno. I'm not seeing that. I mean, by our count and what we published, we grew sort of 11% to 12% there. And I don't see -- I can't answer your question because I don't agree with the basis of your question, if that makes sense, respectfully.

是的。我只是不知道斯特諾表現不佳。我沒有看到這一點。我的意思是，根據我們的統計和我們發布的內容，我們在那裡增長了 11% 到 12%。我不明白——我無法回答你的問題，因為我不同意你問題的基礎，如果這是有道理的，恕我直言。

Yeah. No. Sorry. I just meant underperformance relative to our numbers that we had in our model, but totally understand where you're coming from.

是的。不。對不起。我只是指相對於我們模型中的數據表現不佳，但完全理解你的來源。

Maybe just anything stimulating growth in 2024 and just where we expect the growth in industrial to come from in 2024.

也許只是任何刺激 2024 年成長的因素，以及我們預期 2024 年工業成長的來源。

Yeah. So let me just give kind of a high level here. So we grew mid-teens on a consolidated basis in 2023 over 2022. That is far in excess of our core growth rate in industrials. And so I think, we're all a little hesitant to get over our skis right now and say that you can back up an extraordinary year where you sort of triple your core growth rate and have not some payback that could happen from that.

是的。所以讓我在這裡給出一個高水準。因此，我們在 2023 年的綜合基礎上比 2022 年增長了十幾歲。這遠遠超過了我們工業的核心成長率。所以我認為，我們現在都有點猶豫是否要克服我們的滑雪板，並說你可以支持一個非凡的一年，你的核心增長率將增加兩倍，並且不會因此而產生任何回報。

A lot of that is due to margin expansion that occurred in 2023 as a result of commodity price deflation. And as we've been saying, we've passed a lot of that commodity deflation to our customers, which is why revenues were down slightly, but EBITDA grew so rapidly. So our industrial businesses performed exceedingly well in 2023 and they entered 2024 with really healthy backlogs.

其中很大一部分原因是 2023 年大宗商品價格通貨緊縮導致利潤率擴張。正如我們一直所說的，我們已經將大量商品通貨緊縮轉嫁給了我們的客戶，這就是為什麼收入略有下降，但 EBITDA 成長如此迅速。因此，我們的工業企業在 2023 年表現非常好，進入 2024 年時，積壓訂單非常健康。

Now, that said, I think, we're a little cautious, which is why we only guided to sort of kind of 1%, 2% growth here. And it's not really based on what we're seeing in numbers manifest right now. It's much more based on the fact that we came off of a really extraordinary year. We don't know if that we'll get paid back some in 2024.

現在，我認為我們有點謹慎，這就是為什麼我們只指導 1%、2% 的成長。這並不是真正基於我們現在所看到的數字。這更多是基於這樣一個事實：我們度過了非常不平凡的一年。我們不知道 2024 年是否能得到一些回報。

But frankly, there's really no reason to expect that the company is not going to grow back at it or the industrial group isn't going to grow at its kind of normal longer term rate of mid-single digit. I would say, as Ryan mentioned, it is being conservative. And we think that's just kind of prudent given the macro outlook right now.

但坦白說，確實沒有理由預期該公司不會恢復成長，或者該工業集團不會以正常的長期中個位數成長率成長。我想說，正如瑞安所說，這是保守的。考慮到目前的宏觀前景，我們認為這只是一種謹慎的做法。

I mean, remember, there are global tensions and wars that are happening kind of in Europe. And so you just have to be cognizant of kind of those threats that are out there and we want to make sure that we are guiding appropriately. But I would say some upside exists to our guidance numbers.

我的意思是，請記住，全球緊張局勢和戰爭正在歐洲發生。因此，您只需要認識到存在的威脅類型，我們希望確保我們提供適當的指導。但我想說，我們的指導數字存在一些上行空間。

Specifically, Arnold is doing really well. Sterno, as Pat said, kind of grew double digits year over year. We have decent expectations for them to grow again. And Altor is performing really well and we have an exceptional management team there.

具體來說，阿諾德表現得非常好。正如帕特所說，斯特諾的業績逐年成長了兩位數。我們對他們的再次成長抱持著良好的期望。Altor 的表現非常出色，我們擁有一支出色的管理團隊。

So there's no real issues that I could point to in any one of the companies other than to say -- again, when you've tripled sort of your core growth rate in a year, you're a little hesitant to go too far out on your skis in the following year. But there's no reason we should underperform our core growth rate of mid-single digits this year.

因此，我沒有可以指出任何一家公司的真正問題，只能說——再說一次，當你的核心增長率在一年內翻了三倍時，你會有點猶豫是否要走得太遠。來年在你的滑雪板上。但我們今年的核心成長率沒有理由低於中個位數。

Got it. Makes sense. Thank you for clarifying, Elias. Switching to the consumer side, at 5.11, given we're pausing store growth strategy this year, maybe just speak to where we're planning to deploy that capital at 5.11 and just help us level set growth expectations for 2024.

知道了。說得通。謝謝你的澄清，埃利亞斯。考慮到我們今年暫停了商店成長策略，在 5.11 轉向消費者方面，也許只是談談我們計劃在 5.11 部署資金的地方，並幫助我們設定 2024 年的成長預期。

Sure. So, first, kind of going backwards, we believe we will have another year of growth probably similar to this year outside of what we alluded to earlier that there might be some charges for the PFAS transition, right? So we think we will have a growth level that's consistent with prior-year's growth in 2024, if that makes sense.

當然。因此，首先，我們相信，除了我們之前提到的 PFAS 過渡可能會產生一些費用之外，我們還將迎來另一年的成長，可能與今年類似，對吧？因此，我們認為，如果合理的話，2024 年的成長水準將與上一年的成長保持一致。

As far as where we're reallocating, I mean, we're trying to be best-in-class sort of in the DTC sector. So we're trying to get better at customer service. Everybody's always trying to get better at customer service, but we're really trying to provide best-in-class experience to our customers online as well and drive that online business, if that makes sense.

就我們重新分配的方向而言，我的意思是，我們正在努力成為 DTC 領域的佼佼者。因此，我們正在努力改善客戶服務。每個人都在努力提高客戶服務質量，但我們確實也在努力為線上客戶提供一流的體驗，並推動線上業務（如果這有意義的話）。

Secondarily, we're seeing -- we mentioned some of the geopolitical tensions. Well, that drives our professional growth as well. And we're seeing strong growth in professional and we believe we'll continue to see strong growth in professional.

其次，我們看到──我們提到了一些地緣政治緊張局勢。嗯，這也推動了我們的職涯發展。我們看到專業人士的強勁成長，我們相信我們將繼續看到專業人士的強勁成長。

Got it. That's all for me, guys.

知道了。這就是我的全部了，夥計們。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Kyle Joseph, Jefferies.

凱爾·約瑟夫，杰弗里斯。

Hey. Good afternoon, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. Ryan, obviously, the portfolio has evolved over the past couple of years, but can you just kind of refresh this? I think you touched on this in your commentary, but on the seasonality in terms of adjusted earnings.

嘿。下午好，夥計們。感謝您回答我的問題。Ryan，顯然，過去幾年來，該投資組合已經發生了變化，但您能更新一下嗎？我認為您在評論中談到了這一點，但談到了調整後收益的季節性。

Yes. So seasonality adjusted earnings on, I think if you look back at prior years, it's pretty representative. I mean, similar to what we said on cash flow is the first quarter is generally -- first and second quarter kind of generally slightly weaker than the third and fourth quarter because a lot of our businesses have momentum to close out the year, whether it be the outdoor season or the holiday season, et cetera,

是的。因此，我認為，如果你回顧一下前幾年，季節性調整後的收益非常具有代表性。我的意思是，與我們在現金流方面所說的類似，第一季度總體而言- 第一和第二季度總體上略弱於第三和第四季度，因為我們的許多業務都有動力結束今年，無論是無論是戶外季節還是假日季節等等，

So no one business in particular. Lugano obviously is a pretty, pretty significant percentage of our business now. That business doesn't have a tremendous amount of seasonality given the fact that there's events or anniversaries or birthdays, et cetera, all year. But they do tend to have a little bit more in the fourth quarter around the holiday season. People generally, I guess, become gift-giving around that.

所以沒有什麼特別的業務。顯然，盧加諾現在在我們的業務中所佔的比例相當大。鑑於全年都有活動、週年紀念日或生日等，該業務沒有很大的季節性。但他們在第四季假期期間的銷量確實會增加一些。我想，人們通常都會圍繞著這個問題來贈送禮物。

So outside of that, I'd say, again, kind of -- if I were modeling, I'd say roughly 60% back half, 40% front half, it's how I would think about it.

所以除此之外，我會再說一遍，如果我是模特，我會說大約 60% 的後半部分，40% 的前半部分，這就是我的想法。

Okay. Helpful. And then in terms of adjusted earnings guidance, I think you talked about on a dollar per share basis being relatively flat year over year. The headwinds there, just a higher share count and the tax rate, I think you mentioned or anything else we should be thinking about. Because you guys did model -- you guys did a really, really strong EBITDA growth.

好的。有幫助。然後就調整後的獲利指引而言，我認為您談到每股美元的基礎上與比相對持平。我想你提到了那裡的不利因素，只是股票數量和稅率更高，或者我們應該考慮的其他事情。因為你們做了模特兒——你們的 EBITDA 成長非常非常強勁。

Yeah. So, Kyle, I mean, last year -- it's always tough to compare adjusted earnings when you have discontinued operations, right? So last year, we pulled out ACI and Marucci, right? So that lowers our adjusted earnings.

是的。所以，凱爾，我的意思是，去年——當你停止營運時，比較調整後的收益總是很困難，對嗎？所以去年我們撤出了 ACI 和 Marucci，對嗎？這會降低我們的調整後收益。

So the way I would think about it is we had guided on the third-quarter earnings call adjusted earnings between $130 million, $140 million, roughly. I think if we had owned Marucci the whole fourth quarter, we certainly would have beat that guidance. But we see this year being up slightly to 2023.

因此，我的想法是，我們在第三季財報電話會議上調整後的收益大致在 1.3 億至 1.4 億美元之間。我認為，如果我們整個第四季都擁有 Marucci，我們肯定會超越這項指導。但我們預計今年會比 2023 年略有上升。

So I think there is growth in adjusted earnings. I think that the challenge that we have with respect to adjusted earnings is Lugano. Because Lugano's growth carries with it less leverage of adjusted earnings. Because you've got -- it's a taxpayer, number one. And number two, it's got a pretty high non-controlling interest shareholder, right?

所以我認為調整後的收益有所成長。我認為我們在調整後收益方面面臨的挑戰來自盧加諾。因為盧加諾的成長伴隨著調整後收益的槓桿減少。因為你——它是納稅人，第一。第二，它有一個相當高的非控制股東，對吧？

The management team owns north of 40% of the business. So that creates a pretty high level of non-controlling interest that lowers adjusted earnings.

管理團隊擁有該公司40%以上的股份。因此，這會產生相當高水準的非控制權益，從而降低調整後的收益。

So we're going to have, as we've indicated, pretty substantial subsidiary adjusted EBITDA growth year over year. But not as high of adjusted earnings growth given that most of our growth would be Lugano.

因此，正如我們所指出的，我們的子公司調整後 EBITDA 將實現相當可觀的年成長。但考慮到我們的大部分成長將來自盧加諾，調整後的獲利成長不會那麼高。

Just to point out, the tax rate differential is a significant drag coming into 2024. We had a roughly 7% of adjusted EBITDA -- subsidiary adjusted EBITDA. And we're modeling in 10% now. So if you take that 300 basis points on $500 million, it's $15 million, it's $0.20 a share.

需要指出的是，稅率差異是 2024 年的重大拖累。我們的調整後 EBITDA 約佔 7%——子公司調整後 EBITDA。我們現在正在以 10% 的比例進行建模。因此，如果您將 5 億美元計算為 300 個基點，則為 1500 萬美元，即每股 0.20 美元。

So if you're at $223 million versus $203 million -- and that's just having a same tax rate, the adjusted earnings growth per share or an adjusted earnings would be commensurate to the adjusted EBITDA growth. And what Ryan has said is also true, when Lugano carries higher growth, it comes with lower adjusted EPS growth because of the minority interest in capital investment.

因此，如果兩者的稅率分別為 2.23 億美元和 2.03 億美元，而且稅率相同，那麼調整後的每股盈餘成長或調整後的收益將與調整後的 EBITDA 成長相稱。瑞安所說的也是事實，當盧加諾實現較高成長時，由於資本投資中的少數股權，調整後每股盈餘成長較低。

But I just want to be like very clear here that if the tax rate is to stay the same, we would expect to get some leverage on adjusted earnings and adjusted EPS from our adjusted subsidiary EBITDA.

但我只想在這裡非常明確地表示，如果稅率保持不變，我們預計將從我們調整後的子公司 EBITDA 中獲得調整後收益和調整後每股收益的一定槓桿。

I got it. No. That's very helpful. It all make sense. Appreciate it, guys. Thanks for taking my questions.

我得到了它。不。這非常有幫助。這一切都是有道理的。非常感謝，夥計們。感謝您回答我的問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Kyle.

謝謝，凱爾。

Mark Feldman, William Blair.

馬克‧費爾德曼，威廉‧布萊爾。

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking the questions here. So, just a question with some of the recent management changes. I know you've had changes at 5.11 and PrimaLoft.

大家好。感謝您在這裡提出問題。所以，我只想問一下最近的一些管理層變動。我知道您在 5.11 和 PrimaLoft 中進行了更改。

Can you just talk to any major changes and strategies at both of those companies or priorities? With PrimaLoft, obviously, there's a lot of interest in expanding into newer verticals and new products. So just any update you can provide.

您能否談談這兩家公司或優先事項的任何重大變化和策略？顯然，對於 PrimaLoft 來說，人們對擴展到更新的垂直領域和新產品很感興趣。因此，您可以提供任何更新。

Sure. I mean, at PrimaLoft, it's a couple of things. It's stayed the course. It's got a great business, a great IP. I think we probably would like to invest in brand at PrimaLoft a little bit more and bring forth a little bit more of what PrimaLoft provides to the end user. And Anne Cavassa's experience there is very strong and so we're excited to have her.

當然。我的意思是，在 PrimaLoft，有幾件事。它保持了路線。它擁有出色的業務和出色的知識產權。我認為我們可能願意對 PrimaLoft 的品牌進行更多的投資，並為最終用戶提供更多的 PrimaLoft 服務。安妮·卡瓦薩 (Anne Cavassa) 在那裡的經驗非常豐富，因此我們很高興能擁有她。

At 5.11, Troy Brown, who of very high positions at Zumiez for many years, along with many other businesses like that and relevant businesses, is really, we believe, a very strong at operational excellence. And he'll be working with Francisco Morales there as Francisco understands brand and product development and will stay on as Executive Chairman.

在 5.11，特洛伊·布朗（Troy Brown）多年來在 Zumiez 以及許多其他類似的企業和相關企業中擔任非常高的職位，我們相信，他在卓越運營方面確實非常強大。他將與弗朗西斯科·莫拉萊斯 (Francisco Morales) 在那裡合作，因為弗朗西斯科了解品牌和產品開發，並將繼續擔任執行董事長。

And Troy, we just believe, is very strong at driving operational efficiencies and at delivering for the end customer in a DTC environment. And we think that combination will really yield tremendous benefits.

我們相信，Troy 在提高營運效率以及在 DTC 環境中為最終客戶提供服務方面非常強大。我們認為這種結合確實會帶來巨大的好處。

Got it. Appreciate that. And then, I guess, one other question as it relates to the consumer brands, you talked about 5.11 and Boa inventory destocking. But I guess, one other subsidiary that would be impacted would be Velocity.

知道了。感謝。然後，我想，另一個與消費品牌相關的問題，您談到了 5.11 和 Boa 庫存去庫存。但我猜想，另一家會受影響的子公司是 Velocity。

So if you could just talk about trends there and anything else that you're foreseeing? And then any changes and strategies with that business going forward?

那麼您是否可以談談那裡的趨勢以及您預見的其他任何事情？那麼該業務未來有何變化和策略？

Yeah. It's tough. I mean, it's two or three businesses. But in the archery side, we've seen some of that same destocking and/or some inventory reduction levels that have hit the business. I'd say we're excited about the new products that we're coming out with this year in archery. And we think it will be really -- they'll be well received later in the year by customers.

是的。它太硬。我的意思是，這是兩三個企業。但在射箭方面，我們也看到了一些相同的去庫存和/或庫存減少水準對業務造成的影響。我想說，我們對今年在射箭領域推出的新產品感到興奮。我們認為，它們將在今年稍後受到客戶的好評。

On the sort of more Crossman side, it just continues to have slightly weaker or weaker POS than we would hope. Really driven by a lot of buying kind of during the pandemic era and so a lack of replenishment really needed. So we're working every day to right the course there. But that's also one of the benefits of having a diversified business of 10 companies, right? And but we continue to be focused and working every day there.

在更偏向 Crossman 的方面，它的 POS 仍然比我們希望的稍微弱或弱。確實是受到大流行期間大量購買的推動，因此確實需要缺乏補給。所以我們每天都在努力糾正那裡的方向。但這也是擁有 10 家公司的多元化業務的好處之一，對嗎？但我們仍繼續專注並每天在那裡工作。

Great. Thanks for taking my questions.

偉大的。感謝您回答我的問題。

Robert Dodd, Raymond James.

羅伯特·多德，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

Hi, guys. Almost back to Larry's question, on the leverage question, I mean, when would it be realistic for you to be entering the healthcare vertical? I mean, you said you'd be willing to take up leverage a little bit, but healthcare businesses do tend to go for pretty high multiples. I mean, next gen, which is probably a different scale than you're looking at and we went for 30 times EBITDA.

嗨，大家好。幾乎回到拉里的問題，關於槓桿問題，我的意思是，您什麼時候進入醫療保健垂直領域才是現實的？我的意思是，您說過您願意稍微提高槓桿率，但醫療保健企業確實傾向於採用相當高的倍數。我的意思是，下一代的規模可能與您看到的不同，我們的 EBITDA 是 30 倍。

So with that dynamic, if the leverage did go up to the mid-4s, would you be then out of the acquisition market for maybe a couple of years to grow EBITDA to get leveraged down into your 3, 3.5 target range? Or what's the thought there on making acquisition now potentially reducing your ability to take incremental opportunities? Unless you make a sale, obviously, but that's a different -- that's a question.

因此，在這種動態下，如果槓桿率確實上升到 4 左右，那麼您是否會在幾年內退出收購市場，以增加 EBITDA，從而將槓桿率降至 3、3.5 的目標範圍？或者現在進行收購會降低您抓住增量機會的能力？顯然，除非你進行銷售，但這是不同的——這是一個問題。

Yeah. Robert, I would say, one, we're not paying 30 times EBITDA for a business. (laughter) So that's off the table. I think that the businesses we're looking at are trading at a premium to where the kind of innovative and disruptive consumers, businesses are trading right now, call it. Those are in the 12 times, 13 times, 14 times range. Good, innovative healthcare businesses that have real good kind of moats around them, are probably a 20% premium to that, just to give kind of a some type of kind of baseline.

是的。羅伯特，我想說，第一，我們不會為一家企業支付 30 倍的 EBITDA。（笑聲）所以這是不可能的。我認為，我們正在關注的企業的交易價格高於那些創新和顛覆性消費者、企業現在的交易價格。這些是在12倍、13倍、14倍範圍內。優秀的、創新的醫療保健企業擁有真正良好的護城河，其價格可能比護城河高出 20%，只是為了提供某種基線。

So if we were to do a deal today in healthcare, it's going to bring us temporarily probably to kind of mid-4s maybe or depending on the size of the deal. Again, we'd have to figure out how big the company is. If it's a $50 million EBITDA company, it's going to bring the leverage up more than if it's a $20 million or $30 million EBITDA company. And so a little bit of that is fluid.

因此，如果我們今天要在醫療保健領域達成協議，那麼我們的股價可能會暫時達到 4 美元左右，或者取決於交易的規模。同樣，我們必須弄清楚這家公司有多大。如果它是一家 5000 萬美元 EBITDA 的公司，那麼它的槓桿率將比一家 2000 萬美元或 3000 萬美元 EBITDA 的公司更高。所以其中有一點是流動的。

I will tell you that, we have been, over the last few years, opportunistically divesting some businesses. That's not going to stop. And so part of our commentary in our script is we are trying to move away from businesses that grow in line with their industry. And, look, we own some great businesses that grew in line with their industry and we still have some in our portfolio.

我會告訴你，在過去的幾年裡，我們一直在機會主義地剝離一些業務。這不會停止。因此，我們腳本中的部分評論是，我們正在努力擺脫與行業同步成長的業務。而且，你看，我們擁有一些與行業同步發展的偉大企業，而且我們的投資組合中仍然有一些。

And a lot of times, they're really niche businesses. They're niche kind of industries that they're in. They're market share leaders, probably great good cash flow. But we've really moved to want to own companies more like Boa and PrimaLoft and Lugano and Marucci, which we had a huge kind of transaction and sale on recently.

很多時候，它們確實是小眾業務。他們所處的行業屬於利基型產業。他們是市場佔有率的領導者，可能有很好的現金流。但我們真的已經開始想要像 Boa 和 PrimaLoft 以及 Lugano 和 Marucci 這樣的公司，我們最近進行了大量的交易和出售。

So those are the companies that we've been consciously moving towards. And at the same time, we've been making a concerted effort to sort of get rid of some of the companies that grow kind of with their industry.

這些是我們一直有意識地轉向的公司。同時，我們一直在齊心協力淘汰一些與產業共同發展的公司。

So we will always be looking at making those portfolio changes. And as we kind of gear up and buy another business, whether it's in healthcare or consumer, there's probably going to be a couple more divestitures over the next 12 months to 24 months that helps to bring leverage down.

因此，我們將始終考慮對投資組合進行調整。當我們準備購買另一項業務時，無論是醫療保健領域還是消費領域，未來 12 個月到 24 個月內可能會有更多資產剝離，這有助於降低槓桿率。

And because the companies that we're growing and are more core in our portfolio are growing at such a higher growth rate, we feel real conviction that our leverage comes down pretty dramatically just through free cash flow generation and through growth in the portfolio. And so I get your concern. And clearly that's something we're managing every day, too, which is how much acquisition dry powder do we have? Where do we want to deploy it? What are the best opportunities?

由於我們正在成長的、在我們投資組合中更核心的公司正在以如此高的成長率成長，我們堅信，我們的槓桿率僅僅透過自由現金流的產生和投資組合的成長就可以大幅下降。所以我明白你的擔憂。顯然，這也是我們每天都在管理的事情，也就是我們有多少採購乾粉？我們想把它部署在哪裡？最好的機會是什麼？

And when we get to a leverage level that sort of gets to -- it's at a point where we're comfortable, but any more leverage would push us out of our comfort zone, then it really kind of dictates that we look at raising capital, selling some of the companies to continue the portfolio repositioning, those things are on the table.

當我們達到某種程度的槓桿水平時——這是我們感到舒適的程度，但任何更多的槓桿都會將我們推出舒適區，那麼這確實要求我們考慮籌集資金，出售一些公司以繼續投資組合重新定位，這些事情都擺在桌面上了。

And look, historically, we've raised capital opportunistically in kind of interesting ways. The ATM has been used historically when the stock price reflects closer to fair value. We don't feel that's the case right now. We've issued preferreds, which are non-dilutive. And so there are other components of capital that we think can become available to us that don't necessarily dilute shareholder equity to the extent we have a great opportunity.

從歷史上看，我們曾以一些有趣的方式機會主義地籌集資金。歷史上，當股價反映接近公允價值時，就會使用 ATM。我們認為現在情況並非如此。我們發行了非稀釋性優先股。因此，我們認為我們可以獲得其他資本組成部分，但它們不一定會稀釋股東權益，以至於我們有很好的機會。

Now, ultimately, we're always balancing. What is the cost of that capital? Versus what is the new opportunity that we're bringing in? And if we can drive a significant enough discount on the upfront purchase price, we're willing to pay a little bit more for our capital.

現在，最終，我們總是在平衡。該資本的成本是多少？與我們帶來的新機會是什麼？如果我們能夠在前期購買價格上獲得足夠大的折扣，我們願意為我們的資本支付更多的費用。

And so it's a balancing act right now. I can tell you that we feel firmly in the market for both healthcare and consumer businesses. We are comfortable taking our leverage up a little bit. But it's hard for me to say, does the next deal then prevent us from being back in the acquisition market? Because I don't know what our leverage profile is going to look like upon that next deal. And you all wouldn't be privy to what we're currently working on divestitures, too, until we get kind of those closed.

所以現在這是一個平衡的行為。我可以告訴你，我們在醫療保健和消費業務市場上都有堅定的信心。我們願意稍微提高槓桿。但我很難說，下一筆交易是否會阻止我們重返收購市場？因為我不知道下一筆交易時我們的槓桿狀況會是什麼樣子。在我們完成這些剝離工作之前，你們也不會知道我們目前正在進行的剝離工作。

But this portfolio transformation that has been kind of a big undertaking of the entire management team since I took over in 2018 is not going to stop until we get sort of the portfolio that we are looking for. Which is, as I said, and you're going to hear these words a lot, we're looking for great, innovative, disruptive businesses. And that's, at some point, what we will own in our portfolio, we were not going to be owning companies that are more growing in line with their industries.

但自從我 2018 年接手以來，這種投資組合轉型一直是整個管理團隊的重大任務，直到我們獲得我們正在尋找的投資組合之前，這種投資組合轉型不會停止。正如我所說，你會經常聽到這些話，我們正在尋找偉大的、創新的、顛覆性的企業。這就是，在某些時候，我們將在我們的投資組合中擁有的東西，我們不會擁有那些與其行業更一致成長的公司。

That was sort of a legacy business model and we will transition this portfolio over from, so what we had in legacy to sort of the new vision and that's going to free up capital to continue to deploy.

這是一種遺留的商業模式，我們將把這個投資組合從遺留的東西轉變為新的願景，這將釋放資本以繼續部署。

The other thing to keep in mind is that these businesses are generating faster levels of growth. And so our full expectation is as we continue to execute on this, our growth rate is going to continue to pick up, our core growth rate. And one should be more comfortable with a slightly higher level of leverage when you have better quality businesses with more defensibility around those companies. They have better growth profiles, longer term, because they're able to take market share, not just grow in line with their industries.

另一件需要記住的事情是這些企業正在產生更快的成長水準。因此，我們的全部期望是，隨著我們繼續執行這一點，我們的成長率將繼續加快，我們的核心成長率將繼續上升。當你擁有更好品質且圍繞這些公司更具防禦力的業務時，人們應該更願意接受略高的槓桿水平。從長遠來看，他們有更好的成長前景，因為他們能夠佔據市場份額，而不僅僅是與他們的行業保持一致的成長。

That's very helpful. Thank you. I appreciate all that color. Now, flipping it the other way, if I can, companies have been almost, to put air quotes around, too successful. I mean, Lugano, I mean, it looks on the back of the envelope for me, it looks like it could be as much as a third of consolidated subsidiaries next year, because it's been so successful.

這非常有幫助。謝謝。我很欣賞所有這些顏色。現在，反過來說，如果可以的話，公司幾乎在空中報價方面已經太成功了。我的意思是，盧加諾，我的意思是，它對我來說看起來很簡單，看起來明年它可能會佔合併子公司的三分之一，因為它非常成功。

At what point does it get too big, right? It's very successful. It's not growing in line with its industry; it's massively outgrowing that. But at what point does it become too much? Or is there just no line at which it's too much of a share of subsidiaries that are -- that it becomes a concern for you that you don't have the counter cyclicality, if it's dominating everything and you enjoy the company.

什麼時候它變得太大了，對吧？這是非常成功的。它的成長與產業不同步；它的增長遠遠超出了這一點。但什麼時候它會變得太多呢？或者是沒有一條線，它在子公司中所佔的份額太多了——如果它主宰一切並且你喜歡這家公司，你會擔心你沒有反週期性。

Yeah. And it's a great question, Robert. I mean, clearly, the D and CODI, and we keep talking about the benefits of diversification, start to slow down. And we don't really have those benefits, to the extent that one of our companies starts representing too large of a component of our overall earnings. It's a valid question.

是的。這是一個很好的問題，羅伯特。我的意思是，很明顯，D 和 CODI，以及我們一直在談論多元化的好處，開始放緩。我們實際上並沒有這些好處，以至於我們的一家公司開始在我們的整體收入中佔據太大的比例。這是一個有效的問題。

And Lugano's growth rate and sort of what Moti and Idit have built there, it is just truly phenomenal. It's honestly one of the businesses that I've just never seen anything like it. I don't think there's many businesses that are as good as this company that are out there.

盧加諾的成長率以及莫蒂和伊迪特在那裡建立的東西，確實是驚人的。老實說，這是我從未見過的企業之一。我認為沒有多少企業像這家公司一樣優秀。

And so on the one hand, you kind of don't want to let go. I think kind of rule number one in portfolio management theory, and we're not stock traders, so this doesn't really apply, but you kind of ride your winners and you get out your losers.

一方面，你有點不想放手。我認為這是投資組合管理理論中的第一條規則，我們不是股票交易者，所以這並不真正適用，但你可以利用你的贏家，然後擺脫你的輸家。

It's -- kind of that rule applies here a little bit. This is a business that -- look, it's got a massive TAM. It's got huge market potential and opportunity. It's got a visionary founder and leadership team. And we have the capital to support its growth needs. So that argues for holding it and continuing to let that growth benefit our shareholders.

這條規則有點適用於此。這是一家擁有龐大 TAM 的企業。有著巨大的市場潛力和機會。它擁有富有遠見的創始人和領導團隊。我們有資本來支持其成長需求。因此，我們有理由持有它，並繼續讓這種成長有利於我們的股東。

On the other hand, there is a point where it becomes too big and it sort of overwhelms the system. And so that's something that we're on the lookout for. I think if it becomes a third of our EBITDA, like you referenced, we're going to have a really good year this year.

另一方面，在某個點上它會變得太大並且會壓垮系統。這就是我們正在尋找的東西。我認為，如果它成為我們 EBITDA 的三分之一，就像你提到的那樣，我們今年將會度過一個非常好的一年。

Because you're talking about a business that's going to generate kind of growth rates similar to 2023. And I promise you that is not built into our guidance at all. I think if we're getting there, it probably is something where if we're looking at the end of 2024 and saying this company represents a third of EBITDA and it's still growing at double the growth rate or triple the growth rate of our overall company, then we're probably considering different options for financing the business.

因為你談論的是一家將產生類似 2023 年成長率的業務。我向你保證，這根本沒有納入我們的指導方針中。我認為，如果我們要實現這一目標，那麼到 2024 年底，我們可能會說這家公司佔 EBITDA 的三分之一，而且它的成長率仍然是我們整體成長率的兩倍或三倍。公司，那麼我們可能會考慮為企業融資的不同選擇。

And I think there are a plethora of opportunities where we could continue to kind of participate in the growth but not have it be all funded by us. So that will be explored sort of depending on how 2024 develops. But this is a really high-class problem for us to have, and your point is a good one. And I would tell you this is not a company that we look at and say we want this to represent 50% of our EBITDA.

我認為有很多機會我們可以繼續參與成長，但不必全部由我們提供資金。因此，這將根據 2024 年的發展進行探索。但這對我們來說是一個非常高級的問題，你的觀點很好。我想告訴你，這不是一家我們認為我們希望它占我們 EBITDA 50% 的公司。

So if it continues to grow at historical growth rates, it's going to be a really great 2024. And we're going to evaluate kind of what that means going forward and how we would want to think about financing in that context, the business as it goes forward.

因此，如果它繼續以歷史成長率成長，那麼 2024 年將是非常偉大的一年。我們將評估這對未來意味著什麼，以及我們如何在這種背景下考慮融資，以及業務的發展。

Got it. Got it. Thank you. Yes, it's just been a fairly tremendous success. So it is a high-class problem. Thanks.

知道了。知道了。謝謝。是的，這是一個相當巨大的成功。所以這是一個高級問題。謝謝。

Thank you. Thank you, operator. As always, I'd like to thank everyone again for joining us on today's call and for your continued interest in CODI. Thank you for your support.

謝謝。謝謝你，接線生。像往常一樣，我要再次感謝大家參加今天的電話會議以及對 CODI 的持續關注。感謝您的支持。

Thank you. This concludes Compass Diversified's conference call. Thank you and have a great day. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。Compass Diversified 的電話會議到此結束。謝謝您，祝您有美好的一天。您現在可以斷開連線。