Crane Co (CR) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. Welcome to the Crane Company Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this conference is being recorded.

問候。歡迎參加克瑞公司 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄製中。

I will now turn the conference over to Jason Feldman, Vice President of Treasury and Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

我現在將會議交給財務和投資者關係副總裁傑森·費爾德曼 (Jason Feldman)。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator, and good day, everyone. Welcome to our fourth quarter 2023 earnings release conference call. I'm Jason Feldman, Vice President of Treasury and Investor Relations.

謝謝您，接線員，大家好。歡迎參加我們的 2023 年第四季財報發布電話會議。我是賈森‧費爾德曼 (Jason Feldman)，財務與投資者關係副總裁。

On our call this morning, we have Max Mitchell, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Rich Maue, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

今天早上的電話會議上，我們的總裁兼執行長馬克斯·米切爾 (Max Mitchell) 出席了會議。以及我們的執行副總裁兼財務長 Rich Maue。

We'll start off our call with a few prepared remarks, after which we will respond to questions.

我們將以一些準備好的發言開始我們的電話會議，然後我們將回答問題。

Just a reminder, the comments we make on this call may include some forward-looking statements. We refer you to the cautionary language at the bottom of our earnings release and also in our annual report, 10-K and subsequent filings pertaining to forward-looking statements.

請注意，我們在本次電話會議中發表的評論可能包括一些前瞻性陳述。我們建議您參閱我們的收益報告底部以及我們的年度報告、10-K 和與前瞻性陳述相關的後續文件中的警告性語言。

Also during the call, we'll be using some non-GAAP numbers, which are reconciled to the comparable GAAP numbers and tables at the end of our press release and accompanying slide presentation, both of which are available on our website at www.craneco.com, in the Investor Relations section.

此外，在電話會議期間，我們將使用一些非GAAP 數字，這些數字與我們新聞稿和隨附幻燈片演示末尾處的可比較GAAP 數字和表格進行了協調，這兩個數據均可在我們的網站www .craneco 上取得.com，投資者關係部分。

Now let me turn the call over to Max.

現在讓我把電話轉給麥克斯。

Thank you, Jason, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining the call today.

謝謝傑森，大家早安。感謝您今天加入通話。

Well, we delivered another impressive quarter, with results again outperforming expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.90 in the fourth quarter, finishing a historic and very successful 2023. And after a truly outstanding year, we started off '24 on a positive note with another acquisition announced January 3, this time in Aerospace & Electronics, founded in 1968 and based in Auburn, California.

好吧，我們又交付了令人印象深刻的季度，結果再次超出預期，第四季度調整後每股收益為0.90 美元，結束了歷史性且非常成功的2023 年。在經歷了真正出色的一年之後，我們以積極的態度開始了另一項收購1 月 3 日宣布，這次是在航空航天與電子公司，該公司成立於 1968 年，總部位於加利福尼亞州奧本。

Vian is a global designer and manufacturer of multistage lubrication pumps and lubrication system components technology for critical aerospace and defense applications, with sole sourced and proprietary content on the highest volume commercial and military aircraft platforms.

Vian 是一家為關鍵航空航太和國防應用提供多級潤滑泵和潤滑系統組件技術的全球設計商和製造商，在最大容量的商用和軍用飛機平台上擁有獨家採購和專有內容。

Through August 2023, we estimate that Vian had trailing 12-month sales of approximately $33 million, and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $8 million with a solid order backlog. The purchase price was $103 million, which is approximately 13x trailing EBITDA. Vian is highly complementary to the fluid solution in our Aerospace & Electronics segment, significantly expanding our portfolio of mission-critical aerospace flow control products.

截至 2023 年 8 月，我們估計 Vian 過去 12 個月的銷售額約為 3,300 萬美元，調整後的 EBITDA 約為 800 萬美元，且訂單積壓穩定。收購價格為 1.03 億美元，約為往績 EBITDA 的 13 倍。 Vian 與我們的航空航太和電子領域的流體解決方案高度互補，顯著擴展了我們的關鍵任務航空航太流量控制產品組合。

Vian has strong positions on the most attractive commercial and military aircraft platforms today with significant content on the F-35 and the 737 and the A320 families of aircraft. Combined with our existing fluid and thermal management capabilities, Vian further strengthens our positioning for future content opportunities on auxiliary power units, gearboxes and engines.

Vian 在當今最具吸引力的商用和軍用飛機平台上擁有強大的地位，其中包括 F-35、737 和 A320 系列飛機的重要內容。結合我們現有的流體和熱管理能力，維安進一步加強了我們對輔助動力裝置、變速箱和引擎未來內容機會的定位。

We expect this acquisition to achieve 10% ROIC with approximately $0.20 of EPS accretion, excluding intangible amortization by year 5. But as with most of our acquisitions, there are also several opportunities we see to deliver in excess of that return. In the case of Vian, that will include broadening their marketing efforts to additional customers where Crane has had long-term relationships for decades.

我們預計此次收購將實現10% 的投資回報率，每股收益增加約0.20 美元，不包括第5 年的無形攤銷。但與我們的大多數收購一樣，我們也認為有幾個機會可以提供超過該回報的機會。就 Vian 而言，這將包括將行銷工作擴大到與 Crane 建立了數十年長期合作關係的其他客戶。

We also see opportunities to leverage Vian's highly sophisticated machining capabilities to in-source components we currently acquire externally across the broader aerospace business. My personal thanks to Chris and Elizabeth Vian, and the rest of the Vian family, in trusting Crane as the stewards of this outstanding second-generation family business to our care and the outstanding Vian team that is now part of Crane.

我們也看到了利用維安高度複雜的加工能力來採購我們目前在更廣泛的航空航天業務中外部採購的組件的機會。我個人感謝 Chris 和 Elizabeth Vian，以及 Vian 家族的其他成員，感謝我們信任 Crane 作為這個傑出的第二代家族企業的管理者，感謝我們的照顧以及現在成為 Crane 一部分的傑出 Vian 團隊。

We continue to progress on our existing M&A funnel, where we expect additional opportunities to become actionable over the next several quarters, primarily smaller and midsized transactions. Continuing to execute just as we committed to in terms of seeing accelerated M&A and our strategy as we move forward.

我們將繼續推動現有的併購管道，預計未來幾季將出現更多可行的機會，主要是中小型交易。繼續執行我們承諾的加速併購和我們前進的策略。

Let me repeat a few highlights from our full year performance in '23. Remember, we started the year with the April separation, which was completed on schedule, executed flawlessly and based on investor interest levels in our stock's performance, clearly a transaction that was well received by our shareholders.

讓我重複一下我們 23 年全年業績的一些亮點。請記住，我們從四月份的分離開始，該分離按計劃完成，執行完美，並且基於投資者對我們股票表現的興趣水平，顯然是一項受到我們股東好評的交易。

Overall, 7% core sales growth drove a 28% increase in adjusted operating profit from continuing operations, reflecting very strong operating leverage and disciplined pricing.

整體而言，7% 的核心銷售成長帶動持續經營業務調整後營業利潤成長 28%，反映出非常強勁的營運槓桿和嚴格的定價。

At Aerospace & Electronics, we delivered 18% core sales growth. And even after that increase in sales, we closed the year with an all-time record backlog, reflecting how well positioned we are to drive continued growth through the rest of this decade and beyond.

在航空航太和電子領域，我們的核心銷售額成長了 18%。即使在銷售額成長之後，我們的積壓訂單仍創歷史新高，這反映出我們在本十年餘下時間及以後推動持續成長的能力有多大。

And at Process Flow Technologies, adjusted segment margins reached a record 19.9%, more than 350 basis points better than our prior year record. Rich, 350 basis points.

Process Flow Technologies 的調整後分部利潤率達到創紀錄的 19.9%，比前一年的記錄高出 350 個基點以上。富有，350個基點。

And a great new base for our margin growth from here as the business continues to structurally shift to higher growth and higher-margin end markets and products. And we have made significant progress with capital deployment, demonstrating we can complete high return and attractive acquisitions in both Aerospace & Electronics as well as Process Flow Technologies, to strengthen our businesses and further accelerate growth.

隨著業務繼續從結構上轉向更高成長和更高利潤的終端市場和產品，我們的利潤成長將從這裡開始建立一個偉大的新基礎。我們在資本部署方面取得了重大進展，這表明我們可以在航空航太和電子以及製程技術領域完成高回報和有吸引力的收購，以加強我們的業務並進一步加速成長。

Building off that strong '23 performance, we are introducing adjusted EPS guidance for '24, in a range of $4.55 to $4.85, reflecting 10% EPS growth at the midpoint. That growth is driven by expectations of another strong year at Aerospace & Electronics, tempered by known, understood and previously communicated end market conditions at Process Flow Technologies, along with a slightly higher tax rate and interest expense.

在 23 年強勁業績的基礎上，我們將推出 24 年調整後每股收益指引，範圍為 4.55 美元至 4.85 美元，反映每股收益中位數成長 10%。這一增長的推動因素是航空航天與電子行業將迎來另一個強勁的一年，同時受到工藝流程技術公司已知、理解和先前傳達的終端市場狀況以及略高的稅率和利息支出的影響。

Remember that M&A accretion is also limited in year one for both transactions based on current interest rates. This is a high confidence guidance that we have direct line of sight to delivery. Our 2024 guidance assumes muted industrial activity with slowing in certain industrial markets and continued gradual improvement in the Aerospace & Electronics supply chain.

請記住，根據當前利率，第一年兩項交易的併購增值也受到限制。這是一個高度可信的指導，我們可以直接交付。我們的 2024 年指引假設工業活動溫和，某些工業市場放緩，航空航太和電子供應鏈持續逐步改善。

While this is our best thinking today, we believe there may be upside as the year progresses if those 2 assumptions prove conservative, and we are structured to meet any unexpected changes in demand. There's also a potential upside to guidance from capital deployment if we are successful with M&A in the quarters ahead as we expect.

雖然這是我們今天最好的想法，但我們相信，如果這兩個假設被證明是保守的，隨著時間的推移，可能會有上行空間，並且我們的結構可以滿足任何意外的需求變化。如果我們在未來幾季成功實現併購，資本部署的指導也有潛在的好處。

As a reminder, we have an extremely strong unconstrained balance sheet, providing us significant acquisition capacity. We have a proven track record of successfully integrating acquisitions and over delivering on synergies. We operate in markets with numerous potential small and midsized targets as well as a smaller number of large potential acquisitions. And in our current structure, we are entirely focused on our 2 global strategic growth platforms, Aerospace & Electronics and Process Flow Technologies.

提醒一下，我們擁有極其強大的不受約束的資產負債表，為我們提供了巨大的收購能力。我們在成功整合收購和過度實現協同效應方面擁有良好的記錄。我們在擁有眾多潛在中小型目標以及數量較少的大型潛在收購的市場中開展業務。在我們目前的結構中，我們完全專注於我們的兩個全球策略成長平台：航空航天與電子以及製程技術。

And reflecting our confidence in both our near-term and long-term outlooks, yesterday we announced that we are raising our dividend by 14% to $0.82 per share annually.

為了反映我們對近期和長期前景的信心，昨天我們宣布將每年股息提高 14% 至每股 0.82 美元。

I'd like to also share a few success stories in the quarter as well on core growth and share gains within our segments. In Aerospace & Electronics, our fluid solution was awarded the fuel cell coolant pump for a hydrogen electric zero-emission powertrain. While the initial application is intended to be for smaller regional turboprop aircraft, our customer is also working on solutions for larger regional jets.

我還想分享本季的一些成功故事以及我們細分市場內的核心成長和份額收益。在航空航太和電子領域，我們的流體解決方案被授予用於氫電零排放動力系統的燃料電池冷卻劑幫浦。雖然最初的應用旨在用於小型支線渦輪螺旋槳飛機，但我們的客戶也在研究大型支線噴射機的解決方案。

This is another example of how our focus on next-generation technologies over the last decade has positioned us as one of the providers of choice for emerging applications.

這是過去十年我們對下一代技術的關注如何使我們成為新興應用程式的首選提供者之一的另一個例子。

2 quarters ago, we discussed our selection to provide high-power, bidirectional power conversion for both demonstrator platforms for the M2 Bradley replacement vehicle. With those demonstrator programs secured, we are now seeing a substantial number of additional hybrid electric ground vehicle demonstrator opportunities. And we are currently pursuing 5 additional programs where we are optimistic about our prospects.

兩個季度前，我們討論了我們的選擇，即為 M2 Bradley 替換車輛的兩個演示平台提供高功率、雙向電源轉換。隨著這些演示計劃的落實，我們現在看到了大量額外的混合動力電動地面車輛展示機會。我們目前正在進行另外 5 個項目，我們對這些項目的前景持樂觀態度。

We've also previously commented that we've been selected to provide content for a number of sixth-generation fighter demonstrators and collaborative combat aircraft programs. That activity is also accelerating. We now have 6 platforms either secured or in various stages of RFPs.

我們之前也評論說，我們已被選中為許多第六代戰鬥機演示機和協作戰鬥機項目提供內容。該活動也在加速。我們現在有 6 個平台，要么已獲得保護，要么處於 RFP 的不同階段。

Our antiskid brake control system was selected by Deutsche Aircraft for their D328eco regional turboprop platform, another promising zero-emission platform. And activity remains robust across our solutions with proposals in process or submitted for additional content on a number of other programs across a wide range of our solutions from power conversion and thermal management to proximity switches and antiskid brake control systems.

我們的防滑煞車控制系統被德意志飛機公司選擇用於其 D328eco 支線渦輪螺旋槳飛機平台，這是另一個有前景的零排放平台。我們的解決方案的活動仍然強勁，我們的解決方案從電源轉換和熱管理到接近開關和防滑制動控制系統，我們的解決方案範圍廣泛，正在處理提案或提交額外內容的提案。

At Process Flow Technologies, we also had a number of notable developments. In our pharmaceutical business, we secured a $5 million order for a new oncology therapy facility, our first win with this particular customer in over a decade. We won this order due to advances with our EX diaphragm technology, that supports a higher temperature range and longer product life that the entrenched incumbent provider was unable to meet. It's a great sign as other pharmaceutical companies are continuing to develop processes with higher and higher temperatures.

在 Process Flow Technologies，我們也取得了許多顯著的進展。在我們的製藥業務中，我們獲得了價值 500 萬美元的新腫瘤治療設施訂單，這是我們十多年來與該特定客戶的第一次勝利。我們之所以贏得這份訂單，是因為我們的 EX 隔膜技術取得了進步，該技術支援更高的溫度範圍和更長的產品壽命，而這是現有供應商無法滿足的。這是一個很好的跡象，因為其他製藥公司正在繼續開發溫度越來越高的製程。

In our new hydrogen CRYOFLO business, where we've discussed for the last few quarters, we've delivered initial shipments of our Bellows Sealed Globe Valves in the quarter to 2 large cryogenic equipment OEMs, further evidence that our strategy in this market is working. This business also began quoting on another newly launched product line in this space, vacuum jacketed piping, and we expect our first orders for this product during the first quarter.

在我們新的氫CRYOFLO 業務中，我們在過去幾季中進行了討論，我們已在本季度向2 家大型低溫設備原始設備製造商交付了波紋管密封截止閥的首批發貨，進一步證明我們在該市場的策略正在發揮作用。該公司也開始引用該領域另一個新推出的產品線——真空夾套管道，我們預計第一季將收到該產品的第一批訂單。

In our Chemical business, we secured nearly $12 million in orders for a new significant project in China as large global chemical manufacturers continue to increase capacity in the region. We won a $4.5 million order for a new LNG facility in the United States. You may recall that we have talked about facility repositioning over the last few years, and this win is a direct result of our actions to position our engineered check valve business to become more competitive in the space with our new production capabilities in India.

在我們的化學品業務中，隨著全球大型化學品製造商繼續增加在該地區的產能，我們在中國的一個新的重要項目獲得了近 1200 萬美元的訂單。我們贏得了美國新液化天然氣設施 450 萬美元的訂單。您可能還記得，我們​​在過去幾年中討論過設施重新定位，這次勝利是我們採取行動的直接結果，我們的工程止回閥業務透過我們在印度的新生產能力在該領域變得更具競爭力。

In our Water and Wastewater business, we had another excellent year driving mid-teens sales growth with strong momentum heading into 2024. During the fourth quarter, we also introduced an extension to our successful razor grinder pump platform focused on severe service explosion-proof applications, further expanding our addressable market. Overall, since we launched the Razor product line in 2020, we have nearly doubled the sales of our grinder pump business.

在我們的水和廢水處理業務中，我們又迎來了出色的一年，推動了10 位數左右的銷售成長，並在進入2024 年之前保持強勁勢頭。在第四季度，我們還推出了成功的刮鬍刀研磨機幫浦平台的擴展，專注於嚴酷工況防爆應用，進一步擴大我們的目標市場。總體而言，自從我們在 2020 年推出 Razor 產品線以來，我們的研磨泵業務銷售額幾乎翻了一番。

My thanks to our global teams for all of their hard work and success both with our recent acquisitions as well as on daily execution and our array of growth initiatives.

我感謝我們的全球團隊在我們最近的收購以及日常執行和一系列成長計劃方面的辛勤工作和成功。

Overall, 2023 was a great year and we remain confident in our ability to execute on the strategy and vision we laid out at our March 2023 Investor Day event. Namely, a 4% to 6% long-term core sales growth rate from resilient and durable businesses that drive about 40% of strategic growth platform sales from the aftermarket, with substantial operating leverage on top of already solid margins today, that should lead to double-digit average annual core profit growth with potential upside from capital deployment. And with virtually no debt, the capital deployment opportunity is significant. And a 5-year vision to double revenues and get to a scale with $2 billion in sales in each of our strategic growth platforms, with adjusted EBITDA margins above 20%, giving us the opportunity for future strategic portfolio decisions.

總體而言，2023 年是偉大的一年，我們對執行 2023 年 3 月投資者日活動中製定的策略和願景的能力仍然充滿信心。也就是說，4% 至6% 的長期核心銷售成長率來自於有彈性和耐用的業務，這些業務推動了售後市場約40% 的策略成長平台銷售，加上目前已經穩固的利潤率之上的巨大營運槓桿，這應該會導致年平均核心利潤成長兩位數，資本配置具有潛在的上升空間。由於幾乎沒有債務，資本配置機會很大。五年願景是使我們每個策略成長平台的收入翻倍並達到 20 億美元的銷售額規模，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率超過 20%，這為我們提供了未來策略投資組合決策的機會。

We certainly finished strong, delivering on that vision in 2023. We're off to a great start, looking forward to an equally exciting 2024. We will provide additional details on our 2024 and longer-term outlook at our next Investor Day event tentatively scheduled for May 14, 2024.

我們確實取得了強勁的成績，在2023 年實現了這個願景。我們有了一個良好的開端，期待同樣令人興奮的2024 年。我們將在暫定的下一次投資者日活動中提供有關2024年和長期前景的更多詳細資訊2024 年 5 月 14 日。

Let me now turn the call over to Rich for more specifics on the quarter and some more details on our guidance. Rich?

現在讓我將電話轉給 Rich，以了解有關本季的更多具體資訊以及有關我們指導的更多詳細資訊。富有的？

Thank you, Max, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，麥克斯，大家早安。

Another strong quarter, with 5% core sales growth driving 14% adjusted operating profit growth. On a full year basis, 7% core sales growth drove a 28% increase in adjusted operating profit from continuing operations, demonstrating accelerating core growth results and consistent operating leverage on higher sales. Continued excellent performance across all businesses and despite some persistent supply chain challenges that continue to impact the broader aerospace and defense industry.

另一個強勁的季度，核心銷售成長 5%，帶動調整後營業利潤成長 14%。全年來看，核心銷售額成長 7%，帶動持續經營業務調整後營業利潤成長 28%，體現了核心成長成果的加速以及銷售額成長帶來的持續營運槓桿。儘管供應鏈面臨一些持續的挑戰，繼續影響更廣泛的航空航太和國防工業，但所有業務仍持續表現出色。

Getting into the details, I will start off with segment comments that will compare the fourth quarter of 2023 to 2022, excluding special items, as outlined in our press release and slide presentation, and then I'll comment on our 2024 outlook for each segment and for our overall P&L.

在詳細介紹時，我將首先對 2023 年第四季度與 2022 年進行比較，不包括我們的新聞稿和幻燈片演示中概述的特殊項目，然後對每個細分市場的 2024 年前景進行評論以及我們的整體損益。

Starting with Aerospace & Electronics. No change in end market conditions, which remain very strong as reflected in both our growth rate in the quarter and for the full year 2023 as well as our backlog position.

從航空航天和電子開始。終端市場狀況沒有變化，我們本季和 2023 年全年的成長率以及我們的積壓訂單都反映出終端市場狀況仍然非常強勁。

On the commercial side of the business, aircraft retirements remained very low due to high demand and limitations on aircraft deliveries. This results in an aging fleet that requires more aftermarket parts and service and demand for new aircraft continues to exceed what the OEMs can deliver. And air traffic activity is also strong, with global air traffic now basically at pre-COVID 2019 levels.

在商業方面，由於需求旺盛和飛機交付的限制，飛機退役數量仍然非常低。這導致機隊老化，需要更多的售後零件和服務，並且對新飛機的需求持續超出原始設備製造商的能力。空中交通活動也很強勁，目前全球空中交通量基本上處於 2019 年新冠疫情之前的水平。

On the defense side, we continue to see solid procurement spending and a continued focus on reinforcing the broader defense industrial base given the heightened global uncertainty today. Across both commercial and defense, we are positioned extremely well, with many of our technologies seeing the most significant interest and highest rates of growth.

在國防方面，鑑於當今全球不確定性加劇，我們繼續看到穩健的採購支出，並繼續專注於加強更廣泛的國防工業基礎。在商業和國防領域，我們處於非常有利的地位，我們的許多技術受到了最大的關注和最高的成長率。

Overall, just a solid demand environment with no signs of slowing anytime soon. That strong demand was reflected in our fourth quarter growth rates, with sales of $213 million, increasing 17% compared to last year. Even with this high level of sales growth, backlog of $701 million increased 14% year-over-year, with a 3% increase sequentially.

整體而言，需求環境穩健，短期內沒有放緩的跡象。這種強勁的需求反映在我們第四季的成長率上，銷售額達到 2.13 億美元，比去年成長 17%。即使銷售額成長如此之高，積壓訂單仍達 7.01 億美元，年增 14%，季增 3%。

In the quarter, total aftermarket sales increased 34% with commercial aftermarket up 44%, and military aftermarket up 11%. OE sales increased 10% in the quarter, with 14% growth in commercial and up 6% in military.

本季度，售後市場總銷售額成長 34%，其中商用售後市場成長 44%，軍用售後市場成長 11%。本季原配設備銷售額成長 10%，其中商用成長 14%，軍用成長 6%。

While the demand environment remains very strong, we continue to remain supply chain constrained, with gradual improvement over the last few months. As we discussed last quarter, this is not just related to on-time deliveries from suppliers but the broader supply infrastructure, spanning from raw materials, components and labor not only in terms of availability, but also supplier employee turnover and employee experience levels.

儘管需求環境仍然非常強勁，但我們的供應鏈仍然受到限制，並且在過去幾個月中逐漸改善。正如我們在上季度討論的那樣，這不僅與供應商的按時交貨有關，還與更廣泛的供應基礎設施有關，包括原材料、零件和勞動力，不僅與可用性有關，還與供應商員工流動率和員工經驗水平有關。

Areas of specific shortages continue to shift and evolve, although overall component availability has modestly improved. Consistent with our commentary last quarter, we have incurred some additional costs related to expediting shipments due to supply chain issues as well as costs associated with qualifying new suppliers and adding second sources where it makes sense.

儘管整體組件可用性略有改善，但特定短缺領域仍在不斷變化和發展。與我們上季度的評論一致，我們因供應鏈問題而產生了一些與加快發貨相關的額外成本，以及與合格新供應商和在有意義的情況下添加第二來源相關的成本。

Adjusted segment margins of 20.2% declined slightly from 20.6% last year, primarily reflecting slightly higher engineering expense and the supply chain-related costs I mentioned, largely offset by benefits from higher volumes and productivity.

調整後的分部利潤率為20.2%，較去年的20.6% 略有下降，主要反映了我提到的工程費用和供應鏈相關成本的略有上升，但大部分被銷售和生產力提高帶來的好處所抵消。

On a full year basis, core sales growth of 18% exceeded our most recent guidance of 16% growth and adjusted operating profit of $159 million was above our most recent guidance of $157 million.

全年核心銷售額成長 18%，超過了我們最新 16% 的成長指引，調整後營業利潤 1.59 億美元高於我們最新的 1.57 億美元指引。

Looking ahead to 2024, we expect sales growth of 14.5% with 10% core sales growth and a 4.5% benefit from the Vian acquisition. That 10% core sales growth is above our long-term expected sales CAGR of 7% to 9%, and it reflects that we have clear visibility to delivering based on the current state of the supply chain, and it assumes our current unmet demand in the $50 million to $60 million range, that it doesn't materially change over the course of the year.

展望 2024 年，我們預期銷售額將成長 14.5%，其中核心銷售額將成長 10%，收購維安將帶來 4.5% 的收益。 10% 的核心銷售成長高於我們 7% 至 9% 的長期預期銷售複合年增長率，這反映出我們對基於供應鏈當前狀態的交付具有清晰的可見性，並且假設我們當前未滿足的需求5000萬至6000 萬美元的範圍，在這一年中不會發生重大變化。

We expect margins to increase 140 basis points to 21.5%, reflecting 35% leverage on core growth. While very solid at 35%, it is toward the lower end of our targeted 35% to 40% range, consistent with our commentary last quarter and today regarding supply chain and inefficiencies and costs that will improve gradually.

我們預期利潤率將增加 140 個基點至 21.5%，反映核心成長槓桿為 35%。雖然 35% 非常穩定，但它正接近我們目標 35% 至 40% 範圍的下限，這與我們上季度和今天關於供應鏈以及低效率和成本將逐步改善的評論一致。

However, we are confident that the actions we are taking now, being appropriately assertive on pricing where we believe we still have significant opportunities as we move forward, continuing to drive productivity, expediting and adjusting staffing in our factories to manage the supply chain issues and continuing to make investments in new technology, all position us very well for strong leverage and further margin expansion in the years ahead.

然而，我們對我們現在正在採取的行動充滿信心，對定價保持適當的自信，我們相信在前進的過程中我們仍然有重大機會，繼續提高生產力，加快和調整工廠的人員配置以管理供應鏈問題和繼續對新技術進行投資，所有這些都為我們在未來幾年的強大槓桿作用和進一步擴大利潤率方面奠定了良好的基礎。

Total leverage is slightly lower than the 35% due to the Vian acquisition, and that's because acquired sales always only leverage mathematically at their operating profit margin level in the first year.

由於收購了 Vian，總槓桿率略低於 35%，這是因為所收購的銷售額始終僅在第一年的營業利潤率水準上進行數學槓桿化。

From a cadence perspective, sales should increase sequentially across the full year, with margins likely strongest in the second and third quarters given expected mix.

從節奏的角度來看，全年銷售額應會持續成長，考慮到預期的組合，第二季和第三季的利潤率可能最強。

At Process Flow Technologies, we are well positioned to continue to outgrow our markets even though we continue to see signs of slowing demand as previously communicated and messaged for the last few quarters. The softness remains largely confined to European chemical, nonresidential construction and general industrial markets, as well as some project pushouts in North America, but we did see some very nice project wins again in the quarter.

在 Process Flow Technologies，我們處於有利地位，可以繼續超越我們的市場，儘管我們繼續看到需求放緩的跡象，正如過去幾個季度之前傳達和傳達的訊息一樣。疲軟仍然主要局限於歐洲化工、非住宅建築和一般工業市場，以及北美的一些項目推出，但我們確實在本季度再次看到了一些非常好的項目獲勝。

Generally, projects have remained significantly stronger than MRO activity as end users continue to focus on cost reduction and inventory levels.

一般來說，由於最終用戶繼續關注成本降低和庫存水平，項目仍然明顯強於 MRO 活動。

As a reminder, if you look at prior cycles, given our specific product exposures, we typically see slowing activity a few quarters before many others playing in the broader process markets. But as displayed in 2021 and previous cycles, we also tend to recover a few quarters earlier.

提醒一下，如果你看看之前的周期，考慮到我們特定的產品風險，我們通常會在許多其他公司進入更廣泛的流程市場之前幾個季度看到活動放緩。但正如 2021 年和之前週期所示，我們也傾向於提前幾季復甦。

We continue to focus on what's within our control, namely, gaining share to outgrow our end markets. While our market outlook is unchanged, orders in the fourth quarter were better than expected again as they were in the third quarter and again, driven by our key project wins and share gains rather than a fundamental change to our market outlook.

我們繼續專注於我們控制範圍內的事情，即獲得份額以超越我們的終端市場。雖然我們的市場前景沒有變化，但第四季度的訂單與第三季度一樣再次好於預期，這是由於我們贏得了關鍵項目和份額增長，而不是我們的市場前景發生根本性變化。

We still expect negative orders for the first few quarters of 2024 before we see a positive inflection likely later this year.

我們仍然預計 2024 年前幾季的訂單會出現負數，然後今年稍後可能會出現積極的變化。

In the quarter itself, we delivered sales of $272 million, up 8% with core growth down slightly but more than offset by a 6% acquisition benefit and a 2% benefit from favorable foreign exchange. Adjusted operating margins of 17% increased 90 basis points from last year, primarily reflecting strong value pricing and productivity gains, partially offset by lower volumes and unfavorable mix.

本季度，我們實現銷售額 2.72 億美元，成長 8%，核心成長略有下降，但被 6% 的收購收益和 2% 的有利外匯收益所抵銷。調整後營業利潤率為 17%，較去年增加 90 個基點，主要反映了強勁的價值定價和生產力提高，但部分被銷售下降和不利的組合所抵消。

Compared to the prior year, foreign exchange neutral backlog decreased 1%, and core FX-neutral orders increased 1%. Sequentially, compared to the third quarter, core FX-neutral backlog increased 2%, with core FX-neutral orders down 2%. Remember that the year-over-year backlog decline reflects in part the natural impact of shortening lead times as the supply chain continues to improve.

與前一年相比，外匯中性積壓訂單減少了1%，核心外匯中性訂單增加了1%。與第三季相比，核心外匯中性積壓訂單增加了 2%，核心外匯中性訂單下降了 2%。請記住，積壓訂單的同比下降在一定程度上反映了隨著供應鏈不斷改善而縮短交貨時間的自然影響。

For 2024, consistent with our commentary last quarter, we expect approximately flat core sales with continued share gains and pricing offsetting a weaker market, and the Baum acquisition should add approximately 4.5% to segment sales. We expect margins to increase slightly to approximately 20% following our record year in 2023, with slight dilution from the Baum acquisition, offset by productivity and pricing.

對於 2024 年，與我們上季度的評論一致，我們預計核心銷售額將大致持平，而持續的份額增長和定價將抵消市場疲軟的影響，而 Baum 收購應使細分市場銷售額增加約 4.5%。我們預計，繼 2023 年創紀錄的一年之後，利潤率將小幅增長至 20% 左右，收購 Baum 後的利潤率將略有稀釋，但被生產力和定價所抵消。

This is an outstanding result considering the more challenging end markets expected in 2024. For context, remember that in 2019, just before COVID, margins were 13.6%. The significant step function change in margins reflects structural shifts in the business to higher growth and higher margin end markets, the contribution from accretive new product introductions and pricing that is both disciplined and appropriately assertive given the inflationary environment and our product differentiation.

考慮到 2024 年終端市場預計將更具挑戰性，這是一個出色的結果。請記住，在 2019 年，就在新冠疫情爆發之前，利潤率為 13.6%。利潤率的顯著階躍函數變化反映了業務向更高成長和更高利潤率的終端市場的結構性轉變，以及不斷增加的新產品推出和定價的貢獻，考慮到通膨環境和我們的產品差異化，定價既嚴格又適當自信。

From a cadence or timing perspective, we expect 2024 to be far more level loaded than 2023. We expect first quarter sales slightly above the fourth quarter exit rate, with margins similar to full year 2024 guidance overall. And overall, the third quarter is likely to be the strongest for the year.

從節奏或時間角度來看，我們預計2024 年的負載水準將遠高於2023 年。我們預計第一季的銷售額將略高於第四季的退出率，利潤率與2024 年全年的總體指導水平相似。總體而言，第三季可能是今年最強勁的季度。

At Engineered Materials, sales of $49 million decreased 7% compared to last year. As expected, adjusted operating profit margins decreased 250 basis points to 9.3% on the lower volumes.

Engineering Materials 的銷售額為 4,900 萬美元，比去年下降 7%。正如預期的那樣，由於銷量下降，調整後營業利潤率下降了 250 個基點至 9.3%。

On a full year basis, core sales declined 13% driven by the RV cycle. However, adjusted margins increased 60 basis points to 14.8%, really impressive performance given the end market challenges last year.

全年來看，受 RV 週期影響，核心銷售量下降了 13%。然而，調整後的利潤率增加了 60 個基點，達到 14.8%，考慮到去年終端市場的挑戰，這一業績確實令人印象深刻。

For 2024, we expect both sales and margins to be flat compared to 2023, as the RV market stabilizes, with a normal quarterly cadence with fourth quarter seasonality -- seasonally, the slowest.

對於 2024 年，我們預計銷售額和利潤率將與 2023 年持平，因為房車市場趨於穩定，季度節奏正常，第四季度是季節性最慢的。

Moving on to total company results. In the fourth quarter, adjusted free cash flow was strong at $152 million, remember that full year free cash flow is difficult to interpret given the accounting related to the separation following the first quarter. However, I would frame up performance as solid with some modest understandable headwinds due to some supply chain inefficiencies that everyone in the industry is dealing with. Those headwinds, of course, are only timing related and will reverse in the future.

接下來是公司整體業績。第四季度，調整後的自由現金流量強勁，達到 1.52 億美元，請記住，考慮到第一季後與分拆相關的會計處理，全年自由現金流量很難解釋。然而，我認為業績表現穩健，但由於行業中每個人都面臨一些供應鏈效率低下的問題，因此存在一些可以理解的適度阻力。當然，這些不利因素只是與時間有關，並且在未來將會逆轉。

Total debt at the end of the fourth quarter was $249 million, with $330 million of cash on hand. At the beginning of January, after the end of the fourth quarter, we drew $100 million on our revolving credit facility to fund the Vian acquisition.

第四季末債務總額為 2.49 億美元，手頭現金為 3.3 億美元。一月初，第四季末後，我們從循環信貸額度中提取了 1 億美元，為收購 Vian 提供資金。

We continue to have substantial financial flexibility, with more than $1 billion in M&A capacity today and reaching as much as $4 billion by 2028. While this is more financial flexibility than we have had historically, our capital allocation strategy is unchanged. We will deploy our capital with the same strict financial and strategic discipline that we always have employed, prioritizing internal investments for growth, followed by M&A and returns to shareholders.

我們繼續擁有巨大的財務靈活性，目前的併購能力超過 10 億美元，到 2028 年將達到 40 億美元。雖然這比我們歷史上的財務靈活性更大，但我們的資本配置策略並沒有改變。我們將按照一貫嚴格的財務和策略紀律來部署我們的資本，優先考慮內部投資以促進成長，其次是併購和股東回報。

Now turning to our 2024 guidance. As Max mentioned, our initial adjusted 2024 EPS guidance is in the range of $4.55 to $4.85, reflecting 10% EPS growth at the midpoint. Guidance assumes total core growth of 3% to 5%, with a 4% benefit from acquisitions, that 3% to 5% growth will drive 11% growth in adjusted segment operating profit.

現在轉向我們的 2024 年指導。正如馬克斯所提到的，我們最初調整後的 2024 年每股收益指引在 4.55 美元至 4.85 美元之間，反映出每股收益中位數成長 10%。指導意見假設核心總成長率為 3% 至 5%，其中 4% 受益於收購，即 3% 至 5% 的成長將推動調整後部門營業利潤成長 11%。

Additional details of our guidance are included in our press release and the slide presentation on our website, but other key assumptions include: corporate expense of $75 million, nonoperating expense, primarily net interest expense of approximately $20 million, tax rate of 23.5% and diluted shares of $58 million. And we expect free cash flow of $240 million to $265 million, reflecting over 90% of free cash conversion.

我們的指導的更多細節包含在我們的新聞稿和網站上的幻燈片演示中，但其他關鍵假設包括：公司費用為7500 萬美元，非營運費用，主要淨利息費用約為2000 萬美元，稅率為23.5%，稀釋後股票價值5800萬美元。我們預計自由現金流為 2.4 億至 2.65 億美元，反映了超過 90% 的自由現金轉換。

Hey, in my 16 years at Crane, it has never felt better a lot of momentum across the board and looking forward to a continued incredible 2024.

嘿，在我在 Crane 的 16 年裡，我感覺前所未有的全面發展動力，並期待 2024 年繼續保持令人難以置信的勢頭。

Operator, we are now ready to take our first question.

接線員，我們現在準備回答第一個問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first questions come from the line of Damian Karas with UBS.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 UBS 的 Damian Karas 線路。

Congrats on the quarter.

恭喜本季。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you, Damian.

謝謝你，達米安。

You bet. Maybe we could start on the A&E margins. You're capturing a little bit less incremental than we'd expect, just given the sales strength. Rich, maybe you can just kind of help us bridge that there? I know you mentioned you're getting some additional costs related to expedited shipping. Are you not presuming that some of those costs abate in 2024, and that some of these supply chain conditions actually get a little bit worse before they get better?

你打賭。也許我們可以從急診室利潤開始。考慮到銷售實力，您獲得的增量比我們預期的要少一些。 Rich，也許你可以幫我們解決這個問題？我知道您提到您會收到一些與加急運輸相關的額外費用。您是否認為其中一些成本會在 2024 年減少，並且其中一些供應鏈狀況在改善之前實際上會變得更糟？

Yes. I think we do expect to see some of those headwinds abate as we move forward. It's a gradual improvement, I would say. In the quarter itself, margins, the leverage was a bit lower, but not too far off what we expected when we issued our revised guidance last quarter. So continuing to see those headwinds from a supply chain perspective.

是的。我認為，隨著我們的前進，我們確實希望看到其中一些阻力會減弱。我想說，這是一個逐步的改進。就本季本身而言，利潤率和槓桿率略低，但與我們上季度發布修訂後的指導意見時的預期相差不遠。因此，繼續從供應鏈的角度看待這些不利因素。

Look, overall, we leveraged at 31% on the full year, which is pretty impressive overall considering the environment we're in and those supply chain constraints. We're back to above 20% OP, and we are guiding to some pretty impressive leverage performance next year at 35%, and we have that confidence, Damian. So we see that path. And again, a little bit of improvement gradual as it relates to the supply chain constraints that we've seen in those costs that have impacted us here in the second half, or really throughout all of 2023.

總體而言，我們全年的槓桿率為 31%，考慮到我們所處的環境和供應鏈的限制，這總體上相當令人印象深刻。我們回到了 20% 以上的 OP，我們預計明年的槓桿率將達到 35%，達到令人印象深刻的水平，我們有信心，達米安。所以我們看到了那條路。再說一次，一點點的改善是漸進的，因為這與我們在下半年或整個 2023 年影響我們的成本中看到的供應鏈限制有關。

Got it. And then maybe switching over to PFT. You've only seen orders down, really, one quarter, but the last few quarters actually are showing stability or modestly up organic order rates.

知道了。然後也許會切換到 PFT。實際上，您只看到訂單減少了一個季度，但過去幾個季度實際上顯示出穩定或自然訂單率略有上升。

So could you just help us to understand like the short cycle versus some of your comments on the long cycle, I'm presuming that the orders are still up on the project base. But maybe if you could just give us a sense for like how much the short-cycle volumes have, in fact, kind of come off the peak? And it sounds like going forward, you're thinking that maybe short cycle is kind of stable, longer cycles down the next couple of quarters, but then starts to improve. Is that how you're kind of thinking about it?

那麼，您能否幫助我們理解短週期與您對長週期的一些評論，我認為訂單仍在專案基礎上。但也許你能讓我們了解短週期交易量實際上已經脫離了高峰多少？聽起來，展望未來，你會認為短週期可能是一種穩定，較長的周期會在接下來的幾個季度出現，但隨後會開始改善。你是這麼想的嗎？

Yes. Look, we see -- we saw -- Max had outlined a number of projects that we won in the quarter again. And yes, they've offset some of the underlying trends that we've been communicating in terms of weaker demand on the short-cycle MRO portion of the business, where most of the chemical companies that we're servicing are focused on cost reduction right now still, and we see that happening as we move through the first 9 months of 2024.

是的。看，我們看到——我們看到——馬克斯概述了我們在本季再次贏得的一些項目。是的，它們抵消了我們一直在傳達的一些潛在趨勢，即業務的短週期 MRO 部分需求疲軟，我們服務的大多數化學公司都專注於降低成本現在仍然如此，在2024 年的前9 個月裡，我們會看到這種情況發生。

So that trend is continuing. So there was declines in MRO, mainly in Europe, but also a bit in the U.S. But the projects have really been what we're seeing and what you're seeing as the uplift, offsetting that underlying demand shortfall. So the new LNG facility, the projects in China and so forth, the pharmaceutical project win. So these are great, great wins and very strategic, but they are offsetting what we're seeing as a fundamental underlying demand shortfall as we move through the first 9 months.

所以這種趨勢仍在持續。因此，MRO 有所下降，主要是在歐洲，但在美國也有一點下降。但這些項目確實是我們所看到的，也是你們所看到的成長，抵消了潛在的需求短缺。因此，新的液化天然氣設施、中國的項目等等，製藥項目獲勝。因此，這些都是偉大的、偉大的勝利，而且非常具有戰略意義，但它們正在抵消我們在前 9 個月中看到的根本性的潛在需求短缺。

Still very consistent, Damian, with the trend that we're seeing. We just -- as we said last quarter, it hasn't declined to quite the rate that we had thought going into '23. We still see the clear trend, the trough, being reached in an inflection point by Q3, Q4 of '24. So all the underlying data still supports our forecast here in our guidance.

達米安，與我們所看到的趨勢仍然非常一致。正如我們上個季度所說，我們只是沒有下降到我們預期的 23 年成長率。我們仍然看到明顯的趨勢，即谷底，在 24 年第三季、第四季達到轉折點。因此，所有基礎資料仍然支持我們在指導中的預測。

Okay. But any ballpark number on kind of how much the short-cycle volumes are down from the peak earlier last year?

好的。但是，有沒有關於短週期交易量較去年早些時候的峰值下降了多少的粗略數字？

I mean the short cycle, do you know the breakout of that off hand. It's probably -- it will be low double digit, probably in total, just on that portion. Something like that, Damian.

我指的是短週期，你知道那副手的突破嗎？就這部分而言，可能總共會是低兩位數。類似的事情，達米安。

Our next questions come from the line of Scott Deuschle with Deutsche Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Scott Deuschle。

Rich, sorry if I missed this, but how does the aftermarket growth at A&E in the fourth quarter decompose between commercial aftermarket and then defense aftermarket?

Rich，抱歉，如果我錯過了這一點，但 A&E 第四季的售後市場成長如何在商業售後市場和國防售後​​市場之間分解？

Yes. Commercial aftermarket was up about 44% and defense was up 11%.

是的。商業售後市場成長了約 44%，國防市場成長了 11%。

Wow. Okay. And then, Rich, for the 10% core growth at A&E in 2024, can you say how that outlook bifurcates between commercial aero and defense, or any kind of split just between the different end markets there for '24 and that 10%?

哇。好的。然後，Rich，對於 2024 年 A&E 的 10% 核心增長，您能否說出這一前景如何在商業航空和國防之間分裂，或者在 24 年和 10% 的不同終端市場之間有何不同？

Sure, Scott. We'll definitely provide a lot more detail at our Investor Day, but just to give you some maybe high-level numbers, Commercial OE is going to be up in the, call it, mid-teens area. Military will be maybe low-single-digit to flattish, something like that, just given the momentum that we saw there all year. And then on the commercial aftermarket side, we're looking at low-double-digit. Military will be in the double digit, I would say, firmly in the double-digit area, if that helps.

當然，斯科特。我們肯定會在投資者日提供更多詳細信息，但只是為了給您一些可能是高水平的數字，商業 OE 將在（稱之為）中十幾歲區域上升。考慮到我們全年看到的勢頭，軍事可能會從低個位數到持平，類似的情況。然後在商業售後市場方面，我們正在考慮低兩位數。我想說，軍事將保持在兩位數，如果有幫助的話，堅定地保持在兩位數區域。

Okay. Yes. And then switching to PFT. I appreciate the conservatism on the margin outlook there, but can you go in a bit more detail as to why the margins would only expand 10 basis points in '24, or maybe to ask it a different way, what scenario are you protecting yourself from with that...?

好的。是的。然後切換到 PFT。我很欣賞那裡對利潤率前景的保守態度，但你能否更詳細地說明為什麼利潤率在 24 年只會擴大 10 個基點，或者換個方式問，你在保護自己免受什麼情況的影響接著就，隨即...？

Yes. I mean remember, it's on flat organic growth. We've got an acquisition that initially is going to be slightly dilutive to margins. Longer term, it won't be. But next year, it will be. And the mix, right, if you think about the commentary in terms of what's been softest for us over the past couple of quarters and what we expect to be softest into '24, it's chemical, right, which is a good margin business for us. So there's going to be likely unfavorable mix.

是的。我的意思是記住，它的有機成長是持平的。我們進行的一項收購最初會稍微稀釋利潤。長遠來看，不會了。但明年，將會是這樣。如果你考慮一下關於過去幾季我們最疲軟的因素以及我們預計 24 年最疲軟的因素的評論，那就是化學製品，對吧，這對我們來說是一項利潤豐厚的業務。因此，可能會出現不利的混合。

Yes, I would just supplement with the pricing associated with next year as well. So we are doing continued -- the teams are doing a fantastic job continuing to drive price that would offset what you'd obviously expect in the way of continued inflation, right? So that all taken together drives that flat margin performance, which given the volumes, in our view, a pretty good print for us.

是的，我也會補充與明年相關的定價。所以我們正在繼續做——團隊做得非常出色，繼續推動價格上漲，這將抵消你顯然預期的持續通膨，對嗎？因此，所有這些因素綜合起來推動了利潤率表現的平穩，在我們看來，這給我們帶來了相當不錯的銷售。

Right. Okay. And then last question, just, Rich, anything on cadence for PFT margins for the year?

正確的。好的。最後一個問題，Rich，有什麼關於今年 PFT 利潤率的節奏嗎？

Yes, it will be fairly level loaded through the year. There might be a little bit of strength in Q3. But right now, as we're looking at it, it's going to be fairly level loaded maybe a little, little bit shy or lower in Q1.

是的，全年的負載將相當穩定。第三季可能會有一點實力。但現在，正如我們所看到的，第一季的負載將相當水平，可能會有點害羞或更低。

Our next questions come from the line of Justin Ages with CJS Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 CJS 證券的 Justin Ages。

First one, just on hydrogen. I know you mentioned some shipments that were going out. Can you just give us an update on when that's going to reach critical mass, when we can expect it to turn, inflect, basically?

第一個，僅使用氫氣。我知道你提到了一些即將發貨的貨物。您能給我們介紹一下什麼時候會達到臨界質量，什麼時候我們可以預期它基本上會轉變、變形嗎？

That's a good question as we think about inflection. I mean, we're building this business up ground up. This was -- we had looked at an acquisition years ago in the hydrogen space, and we're not successful. We clearly set our sights on the market. This is right in our sweet spot. So we have the core capability in balance piping.

當我們思考詞形變化時，這是一個很好的問題。我的意思是，我們正在從頭開始建立這項業務。幾年前，我們曾考慮在氫領域進行收購，但沒有成功。我們明確地瞄準了市場。這正是我們的最佳選擇。所以我們擁有平衡管道的核心能力。

And we said on this journey, we're building this business. We're also looking at some M&A as we move forward. But right now on core, we see this as a -- easily by 2030, we're using some very large numbers internally that we are switching towards. I hadn't thought about the inflection point critical mass. But clearly, by '25, I think we're seeing some (inaudible). We'll certainly provide more color at the Investor Day, too, Justin.

我們說過，在這段旅程中，我們正在建立這項業務。隨著我們的前進，我們還在考慮一些併購。但現在在核心方面，我們認為到 2030 年，我們將在內部使用一些非常大的數字，我們正在轉向這些數字。我沒有考慮過拐點臨界質量。但顯然，到 25 年，我認為我們已經看到了一些（聽不清楚）。賈斯汀，我們當然也會在投資者日提供更多的色彩。

Perfect. No, that's helpful. And then just on acquisitions, Baum has been nice to see, Vian has been nice to see. And I think you mentioned in the prepared remarks about focusing on midsize. Can you give us an update? Are you currently involved in any processes? Are you close? And are those in A&E or PFT?

完美的。不，這很有幫助。然後就收購而言，鮑姆很高興看到，維安也很高興看到。我想你在準備好的評論中提到了專注於中型企業。您能給我們更新一下嗎？您目前是否參與任何流程？你們很熟嗎？那些是在 A&E 或 PFT 中嗎？

I'd say there's a lot of activity in both, which is normal. So our funnel is full. There's a lot of activity. It bodes well for the first couple of quarters here potentially. We'll see. But very solid activity.

我想說兩者都有很多活動，這是正常的。所以我們的漏斗已經滿了。有很多活動。這對前幾季來說可能是個好兆頭。我們拭目以待。但活動非常紮實。

Our next questions come from the line of Mariana Perez Mora with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的瑪麗安娜·佩雷斯·莫拉 (Mariana Perez Mora)。

So my question is on Aerospace & Electronics, and a follow-up to Scott's on the end markets. Could you please describe how much is like wide-body versus narrow-body in driving this like mid-teens growth for commercial OE? And as a follow-up to that, how are you thinking about this like phrase in the 737 MAX production?

我的問題是關於航空航太和電子產品，以及史考特關於終端市場的後續問題。您能否描述一下寬體機與窄體機在推動商業原始設備的青少年成長方面有何不同？作為後續行動，您如何看待 737 MAX 生產中的類似短語？

So overall, the way I would think about our revenue profile, we have an excellent mix of content on most major platforms, whether it's narrow-body, wide-body, et cetera. So narrow-body certainly is the engine that's driving the industry, but we do have significant content on wide-body aircraft as well. So there isn't a unique aspect to our guidance or our business that would suggest the importance of one versus another. We're just going -- we've got content on, again, most, and we're following the build rates.

因此，總的來說，我對我們的收入狀況的看法是，我們在大多數主要平台上都擁有出色的內容組合，無論是窄體機、寬體機等等。因此，窄體飛機無疑是推動該產業發展的引擎，但我們也有關於寬體飛機的重要內容。因此，我們的指導或我們的業務沒有一個獨特的方面可以表明其中一個與另一個的重要性。我們只是繼續前進——我們已經得到了大部分內容，並且我們正在遵循構建率。

On the 737, I would say that, first of all, it's not good news for the industry. I wouldn't add anything that we're not reading all publicly as this continues to be uncovered, difficult times here for Boeing, and we share the concern and look forward to assisting in any way we can as we move forward.

關於737，我想說，首先，這對整個產業來說不是一個好消息。我不會添加任何我們沒有公開閱讀的內容，因為這件事仍在不斷被發現，這對波音來說是困難時期，我們也有同樣的擔憂，並期待在我們前進的過程中以任何方式提供幫助。

As it relates to the freeze rates impact, I would say that our current guide has no risk, as the way we are thinking about this and have planned for the current environment. So from a Crane standpoint, I would just reiterate our guidance and have high confidence.

由於它與凍結率影響有關，我想說我們目前的指南沒有風險，因為我們考慮這個問題並為當前環境制定計劃的方式。因此，從克瑞的角度來看，我只想重申我們的指導意見並對此充滿信心。

And is there any way (inaudible) you could share -- sorry, go ahead.

有什麼方法（聽不清楚）可以分享嗎？抱歉，請繼續。

No, I was going to say the one thing I'd add is just next year, we also do expect, given our specific mix in the market, a pretty big uplook in regional, which is contributing to that growth rate nicely as well.

不，我想說的是，我要補充的一件事是明年，考慮到我們在市場上的具體組合，我們也確實預計，區域性的前景將相當大，這也很好地促進了增長率。

And particularly on the MAX, could you please share like, I don't know, shipset content or any metric for us to be able to measure how much of an impact that could have?

特別是在 MAX 上，您能否分享一下，我不知道，船舶組內容或任何指標，以便我們能夠衡量可能產生的影響有多大？

Yes. We don't provide shipset content. But what I'd say, and obviously, it depends on what's going on in the rest of the business and specific shipment rates for 737. The 737, generally, 2023, next year 2024, and in most years, it's somewhere in the vicinity of 5% to 10% of sales on the OE side only, probably a little bit below the middle of that range.

是的。我們不提供艦船內容。但我想說的是，顯然，這取決於其他業務的情況以及 737 的具體發貨率。737 一般是 2023 年，明年 2024 年，大多數年份，它都在附近的某個地方僅佔原廠銷售額的5% 到10%，可能略低於該範圍的中間值。

And last one from me is on M&A. Where are you seeing in terms of pricing? And how competitive are the deals that you're pursuing?

我的最後一篇是關於併購的。您在定價方面看到了什麼？您正在尋求的交易的競爭力如何？

Yes. It's still a very competitive environment. We haven't seen too much easing in pricing. I would say no real big changes that we've seen over the last 6 months in that regard.

是的。這仍然是一個競爭非常激烈的環境。我們還沒有看到定價有太多放鬆。我想說的是，過去 6 個月我們在這方面沒有看到任何真正的重大變化。

Our next questions come from the line of Matt Summerville with D.A. Davidson.

我們的下一個問題來自 Matt Summerville 和 D.A.戴維森。

Just a couple of follow-ups on A&E. When you look at the business in '23, almost got back to a top line equivalent to where it was pre-COVID yet margins are still comfortably below. Can you help kind of bridge the A&E business circa 2019 to where it is in '23? And do you have a longer-term line of sight to those to that pre-COVID level of profitability? And then I have a follow-up.

只是對 A&E 的一些後續行動。當你看看 23 年的業務時，幾乎回到了與新冠疫情爆發前相當的營收水平，但利潤率仍遠低於該水平。您能否協助將 2019 年左右的 A&E 業務過渡到 23 年的水平？您是否對那些達到新冠疫情前的獲利水準有更長遠的眼光？然後我有一個後續行動。

Yes. We absolutely see that ability to get back to those margin levels without a doubt.

是的。我們絕對看到毫無疑問有能力回到這些利潤水平。

In terms of what -- a comparison from this year to 2019, I would also say that the volumes, while we're seeing a lot of demand aren't yet fully back in terms of volumes. So a lot of what you've seen in our progress this year has been priced to offset inflation, not as accretive as we've seen in the Process Flow Technologies business. So there's a little bit of a volume price mix that impacts the overall margin profile. So when those volumes do come back, we will see that leverage at that higher end of that 35% to 40% range, and that will yield a margin profile that's back to those levels.

就內容而言——與今年和 2019 年相比，我還想說的是，雖然我們看到大量需求尚未完全恢復。因此，您在今年我們所取得的進展中看到的許多進展都是為了抵消通貨膨脹而定價的，而不是像我們在工藝流程技術業務中看到的那樣增值。因此，量價混合會影響整體利潤狀況。因此，當這些交易量確實恢復時，我們將看到槓桿率達到 35% 至 40% 範圍的較高端，這將產生回到這些水準的保證金狀況。

And then as a follow-up, can you talk about sort of the timing looking out? I realize it's probably not '24, all that significant for you guys. But can you talk about when you start to see some of the more material, programmatic-driven ramp on your military side of the business? What part of the current -- of the 2020s, do you really start to see that begin to rev for Crane?

作為後續行動，您能談談預計的時機嗎？我意識到這可能不是 24 世紀，對你們來說這一切都很重要。但您能談談您何時開始在軍事業務方面看到一些更實質的、程序驅動的成長嗎？在當前 2020 年代的哪一部分，您真的開始看到 Crane 開始加速發展？

Yes. '25, without a doubt, yes. And then just ramping into '26, we might see a little bit at the end of '24, but it will be that sort of low rate initial production, but mainly '25, '26. Those are the AESA radars. Those are the F-16 brake control upgrade. I mean there's some pretty sizable wins that should start to ship in '25.

是的。 '25，毫無疑問，是的。然後進入 26 年，我們可能會在 24 年底看到一點，但這將是那種低速率的初始生產，但主要是 25 年、26 年。這些是 AESA 雷達。這些是 F-16 煞車控制升級。我的意思是，一些相當大的勝利應該會在 25 年開始交付。

Our next questions come from the line of Nathan Jones with Stifel.

我們的下一個問題來自 Nathan Jones 和 Stifel。

Maybe just following up on that question. Is there any quantitative measures you can give us on those '25 and '26 defense platforms, the ramp-ups and how big they might be and how much impact they might have to revenue?

也許只是跟進這個問題。您是否可以向我們提供有關「25」和「26」防禦平台的任何定量衡量標準、成長情況以及它們可能有多大以及它們可能對收入產生多大影響？

Well, we've talked in the past to be consistent on defense power. As we've described, we've got this incredible platform of existing wins that we have -- that we're delivering on today, commercial and defense. We're winning new business, defense power, in particular, the AESA radar, LTAMDS, TPY-4, Sentinel, F110, all in the $10 million a year range. Landing the F-16, $30 million over the course of 3 years, with further upside. '25, '26, with foreign military opportunities as well. That's sizing a little bit of those that are...

嗯，我們過去曾討論過要保持防禦力的一致性。正如我們所描述的，我們已經擁有了這個令人難以置信的現有勝利平台——我們今天正在交付商業和國防方面的勝利。我們正在贏得新業務、國防力量，特別是 AESA 雷達、LTAMDS、TPY-4、Sentinel、F110，所有這些都在每年 1000 萬美元的範圍內。 F-16 著陸，三年內花費 3,000 萬美元，還有更多上漲空間。 '25、'26，還有外國軍事機會。這是那些尺寸的一點點......

Maybe $100 million-plus from those kinds of platforms stepping up in 2025?

到 2025 年，這些平台的崛起可能會帶來超過 1 億美元的收入嗎？

Not all on '25, and that's probably that's a little on the high side.

並非全部都是 25 年的，這可能有點偏高。

So we'll work towards that goal.

所以我們將朝著這個目標努力。

I think the exciting thing about those programs is that their duration as well, right? So these are multiyear and that number that you just mentioned is the way to think about the size of each of those programs on average. Some are actually larger than that, starting in that '25, '26 time frame and extending out.

我認為這些計劃的令人興奮之處在於它們的持續時間，對吧？因此，這些都是多年期的，您剛才提到的數字是考慮每個計劃平均規模的方法。有些實際上比這個大，從 25 年、26 年的時間範圍開始一直延伸出去。

And just to reiterate for everybody's knowledge, these are all programs that aren't replacing anything else we have. So they're all incremental. That's the exciting thing about the programs.

重申一下，大家都知道，這些程式都不會取代我們現有的任何其他程式。所以它們都是增量的。這就是這些計劃令人興奮的地方。

In one...

在一個...

And then, of course, when you look on towards 2030, this is why we're so excited also about all the demonstrators that we're on, winning that content. That's the picture we painted in the script as well.

當然，當你展望 2030 年時，這就是為什麼我們對我們參與的所有示威者贏得該內容感到如此興奮。這也是我們在劇本中描繪的畫面。

At the Analyst Day last year, on PFT margins, you guys had targeted 380 basis points of margin expansion over the next few years. And I think, Max, you suddenly mentioned that you got 370 basis points of that in 2023. Can you talk about the major factors that led to you recognizing that margin improvement a lot earlier than planned? And then because I work on Wall Street, and it's what have you done for me lately, what the path is forward to improving those margins from here?

在去年的分析師日，關於 PFT 利潤率，你們的目標是在未來幾年將利潤率擴大 380 個基點。我想，Max，你突然提到你在 2023 年獲得了 370 個基點。你能談談導致你比計劃提前很多認識到利潤率改善的主要因素嗎？然後，因為我在華爾街工作，而這正是你們最近為我所做的事情，那麼從這裡開始提高利潤率的道路是什麼？

Okay.

好的。

Yes. So the major elements are going to be our price cost discipline, without question, is going to be a major factor there. Launching new products that have higher margin than predecessor products, in particular, in areas that are higher growing end markets for us. So a combination of just the pure margin profile of those products plus the associated mix in those areas that carries that margin profile.

是的。因此，主要因素將是我們的價格成本紀律，毫無疑問，這將是一個主要因素。推出比前代產品利潤率更高的新產品，特別是在對我們來說成長較高的終端市場領域。因此，這些產品的純利潤狀況加上那些具有該利潤狀況的領域的相關組合的組合。

We also, you might recall, we executed on a repositioning initiative several years ago or a few years ago, and those benefits also reading through. So -- and then just to reiterate, when you think about things moving forward, we should continue to see that margin expansion associated with the higher-end growth markets that we're pursuing. Again, with that new product development and with continued disciplined pricing. But to answer your question, historically, those would have been the components.

您可能還記得，我們​​幾年前或幾年前執行了重新定位計劃，這些好處也被閱讀。因此，重申一下，當你考慮未來的發展時，我們應該繼續看到與我們追求的高端成長市場相關的利潤率擴張。再次強調，隨著新產品的開發和持續嚴格的定價。但要回答你的問題，從歷史上看，這些都是組成部分。

As we think about moving forward, Nathan, it's as opposed to just flat out margin improvement, it's accelerating growth. And that's where this team is focusing here and leveraging on that growth in that 35% range as we have historically, while we continue to deploy capital and grow inorganically as well.

內森，當我們考慮前進時，這不僅僅是利潤率的全面改善，而是加速成長。這就是該團隊的重點，並利用我們歷史上 35% 範圍內的成長，同時我們繼續部署資本並實現無機成長。

So that's going to be our key strategic focus as we move forward. The team is energized like never before. I mean the teams across Crane are having so much fun right now, not without some of the supply chain challenges and so forth, we've mentioned before. But just the excitement that we have post separation, the new product development, where we're positioned, we're just having a lot of fun, and I'm so proud of our teams globally.

因此，這將是我們前進的關鍵策略重點。整個團隊充滿了前所未有的活力。我的意思是，克瑞的團隊現在玩得很開心，但並非沒有一些供應鏈挑戰等等，我們之前已經提到過。但我們在分離後的興奮、新產品的開發、我們所處的位置，我們都享受到了很多樂趣，我為我們的全球團隊感到非常自豪。

Our next question comes from the line of Jeffrey Sprague with Vertical Research Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jeffrey Sprague 和 Vertical Research Partners 的電話。

Just a quick one for me, and I apologize, I'm bouncing between a couple of calls this morning.

對我來說只是一個簡短的訊息，我很抱歉，今天早上我在幾個電話之間來回切換。

I know you touched on the China demand, which is interesting. We've heard that too. People are thinking, reshoring is a U.S. thing. But for China, it seems to be happening in petrochemicals. We've heard that from others. But I'm just wondering if you could elaborate a little bit more on what you're seeing in China.

我知道你談到了中國的需求，這很有趣。我們也聽過。人們在想，回流是美國的事。但對中國來說，這種情況似乎正在發生石化業。我們從其他人那裡聽說過。但我只是想知道你能否詳細說明一下你在中國看到的情況。

And then maybe just more broadly, and again, I apologize if you did cover it in detail. But if you just think about the other key verticals in PFT, kind of the visibility on CapEx and other trends as we progress through the year, anything that's starting to percolate there that you can shed a little more light on?

然後也許只是更廣泛地討論，如果您確實詳細介紹了它，我再次表示歉意。但如果你只考慮 PFT 中的其他關鍵垂直領域，例如我們在這一年中取得的進展，資本支出和其他趨勢的可見性，有什麼東西開始滲透到那裡，你可以進一步了解一下嗎？

End markets.

終端市場。

Yes. I'll hit maybe, Jeff, the broader market comments and maybe just touch on China a little bit as well. But where most of the slowing that we're seeing clearly is in European chemical. I think that's consistent with what we've said in the past, project delays and pushouts still are recurring in both North America and China, although they've held up better than expected.

是的。傑夫，我也許會談談更廣泛的市場評論，也許也會談談中國。但我們清楚看到，大部分放緩是在歐洲化學品領域。我認為這與我們過去所說的一致，北美和中國的項目延遲和推遲仍然反覆出現，儘管它們的情況比預期要好。

So that while there are pushouts, we are seeing some wins. Strength is largely related to on our side right now, pharmaceuticals, some in Asia and China, in terms of chemical projects related to localization. China remains, as you know, a net importer of chemicals, but trying to accelerate localization and so forth. MRO in process, again, like I mentioned in my prepared remarks, remains pretty weak. It's worsening modestly, and I would say, with Europe being the worst of that.

因此，儘管有一些失敗，但我們還是看到了一些勝利。目前我們這邊的實力很大程度上跟製藥有關，有些在亞洲和中國，在化工專案方面涉及到在地化。如你所知，中國仍然是化學品的淨進口國，但正在努力加速國產化等。正如我在準備好的演講中提到的，正在進行的 MRO 仍然相當薄弱。我想說，情況正在適度惡化，其中歐洲是最糟糕的。

Well specifically on China, I wouldn't call anything out. But for us, it's not a major shift or trend. I would say that China generally is a little stronger. I would say that our localization efforts are playing out as we anticipated. No major shift or trend, just kind of general solid growth for us in China, but nothing to call out for us, from a Crane standpoint.

嗯，特別是關於中國，我不會指出任何事情。但對我們來說，這並不是一個重大轉變或趨勢。我想說的是，中國總體上要強一些。我想說的是，我們的本地化工作正在按照我們的預期進行。沒有重大轉變或趨勢，只是我們在中國的整體穩健成長，但從克瑞的角度來看，我們沒有什麼值得稱讚的。

Thank you. We have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the floor back over to Max Mitchell for any closing remarks.

謝謝。我們的問答環節已經結束。現在我想請馬克斯·米切爾發表結束語。

Super. Thank you. Wow, what a fantastic year in '23, executing on our strategic separation and driving core execution on growth across Crane, while delivering on shareholder value. Another great quarter and an exciting outlook for 2024.

極好的。謝謝。哇，23 年是多麼美好的一年，執行我們的策略分離並推動整個克瑞成長的核心執行力，同時實現股東價值。又一個偉大的季度和令人興奮的 2024 年前景。

As I complete my 20th year with Crane and year 10 as CEO, I am incredibly proud of the portfolio transformation. Our entire team has driven over decades, higher growth, higher returns and more predictable. And now that we are past the separation, we are energized in delivering continued acceleration of organic growth and further margin expansion, complemented by capital deployment on value-creating acquisitions.

在克瑞工作的第 20 年和擔任執行長的第 10 年中，我對投資組合的轉型感到無比自豪。我們整個團隊數十年來一直在推動更高的成長、更高的回報和更可預測的目標。現在我們已經擺脫了分離，我們充滿活力地持續加速有機成長和進一步擴大利潤率，並輔以對創造價值的收購進行資本部署。

As the late, great Charlie Munger said, "Our experience tends to confirm a long-held notion that being prepared, on a few occasions in a lifetime, to act promptly in scale, in doing some simple and logical thing, will often dramatically improve the financial results of that lifetime."

正如已故偉大的查理·芒格所說：「我們的經驗往往證實了一個長期存在的觀念，即一生中幾次做好準備，在規模上迅速採取行動，做一些簡單而合乎邏輯的事情，往往會顯著提高那一生的財務結果。”

We will continue to execute simply and logically as we move forward and as we continue to scale with our consistent focus on driving shareholder returns. Thank you all for your interest in Crane and your time and attention this morning. Have a great day.

隨著我們的前進和繼續擴大規模，我們將繼續以簡單和邏輯的方式執行，我們始終致力於推動股東回報。感謝大家對克瑞的興趣以及今天早上的時間和關注。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and enjoy the rest of your day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與，祝您有個愉快的一天。