America's CAR-MART Inc (CRMT) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for holding, and welcome to America's Car-Mart Second Quarter Fiscal 2023 Conference Call. The topic of this call will be the earnings and operating results for the company's second quarter of fiscal year 2023.

大家，早安。感謝您的參與，歡迎來到美國 Car-Mart 2023 財年第二季度電話會議。本次電話會議的主題是公司 2023 財年第二季度的收益和經營業績。

Before we begin, today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay for the next 12 months. As a reminder, some of management's comments today may include forward-looking statements, which inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from management's present view. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company cannot guarantee the accuracy of any forecast or estimate, nor does it undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，今天的電話會被錄製下來，在接下來的 12 個月內可以重播。提醒一下，今天管理層的一些評論可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述本質上涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與管理層目前的觀點存在重大差異。這些陳述是根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款作出的。公司不能保證任何預測或估計的準確性，也不承擔更新前瞻性陳述的任何義務。

For more information regarding forward-looking statements, please see Part 1 of the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022, and its current and quarterly reports furnished to or filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Forms 8-K and 10-Q.

有關前瞻性陳述的更多信息，請參閱公司截至 2022 年 4 月 30 日止財政年度的 10-K 表格年度報告的第 1 部分，以及向美國證券交易委員會提交或備案的當前和季度報告表格 8-K 和 10-Q。

Participating on the call this morning are Jeff Williams, the company's Chief Executive Officer; Doug Campbell, President; and Vickie Judy, Chief Financial Officer.

參加今天上午電話會議的有公司首席執行官傑夫·威廉姆斯 (Jeff Williams)；道格·坎貝爾，總裁；和首席財務官 Vickie Judy。

And now I'd like to turn the call over to the company's Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Williams.

現在我想把電話轉給公司的首席執行官傑夫威廉姆斯。

Okay. Well, thank you for joining us today, and thank you for your interest in America's Car-Mart. I'd like to welcome Doug Campbell, our new President to the call, and Doug will have some comments in just a few minutes. So welcome, Doug.

好的。好吧，感謝您今天加入我們，感謝您對美國 Car-Mart 的關注。歡迎我們的新總裁 Doug Campbell 加入電話會議，Doug 將在幾分鐘內發表一些評論。非常歡迎，道格。

As stated in the press release, we are pleased with our sales volume productivity improvements and market share gains. The consumer demand for our offering is high and as credit continues to tighten, we expect demand to increase even more. Absent consumer affordability challenges, our volume and profit opportunities would be higher. We will be ready to support the expected increase in customers that we will see in the future.

正如新聞稿中所述，我們對銷量生產率的提高和市場份額的增加感到滿意。消費者對我們產品的需求很高，隨著信貸繼續收緊，我們預計需求會增加更多。如果沒有消費者承受能力的挑戰，我們的銷量和利潤機會將會更高。我們將準備好支持我們將在未來看到的預期客戶增長。

Our long-term outlook for the business and our place in the market is solid and the investments we're making will ensure that we continue to be the clear leader in our segment. We're excited about the addition of key leaders to our experienced and dedicated team who will be vital in our efforts going forward. We have great cultural fits with a mix of specific industry knowledge and experience and we're very excited about the initiatives and process and the opportunities we have to take the company to the next level.

我們對業務的長期前景和我們在市場上的地位是穩固的，我們正在進行的投資將確保我們繼續成為我們所在領域的明確領導者。我們很高興在我們經驗豐富且敬業的團隊中增加了關鍵領導者，他們將在我們未來的努力中發揮至關重要的作用。我們的文化非常契合，融合了特定的行業知識和經驗，我們對這些舉措和流程以及我們必須將公司提升到一個新水平的機會感到非常興奮。

As for gross margin, external factors are clinging to our results. Supply and demand imbalances have continued and resulted in a shortage of vehicles in our price categories. Inflationary pressures with parts, labor, logistics and all indirect cost of sales are contributing to this difficult operating environment. But even in this market, we expect to be performing at a much higher level as we move forward. Due diligence with buying, shipping and repairing vehicles, we did not pass along all of our costs and our selling prices to consumers, overall, having an approximate 200 basis point negative effect on gross margin percentages for the quarter.

至於毛利率，外部因素正在影響我們的業績。供需失衡持續存在，導致我們價格類別的車輛短缺。零部件、勞動力、物流和所有間接銷售成本的通脹壓力導致了這種艱難的經營環境。但即使在這個市場上，我們也希望在前進的過程中表現出更高的水平。對購買、運輸和維修車輛進行盡職調查，我們沒有將所有成本和售價轉嫁給消費者，總體而言，對本季度的毛利率百分比產生了大約 200 個基點的負面影響。

Additionally, significant wholesale drag resulted from quality challenges due to product shortages, our inability to get repairs process timely for cars that were designated for retail, but because of delays and capacity issues ended being wholesale and the decrease in wholesale prices for older model cars, which began in the early summer months. Overall, our wholesale challenges had another negative 200 basis point effect on overall gross margin percentages.

此外，由於產品短缺導致質量挑戰，我們無法及時獲得指定零售汽車的維修流程，但由於延遲和容量問題導致批發和舊型號汽車的批發價格下降，導致批發嚴重拖累，從初夏開始。總體而言，我們的批發挑戰對整體毛利率又產生了 200 個基點的負面影響。

With our retail and service contract price adjustments mentioned in the press release, we expect to recapture this gross margin percentage over time as we move forward and the market conditions normalize. Our corporate procurement efforts are designed to supply our dealerships with most of their product needs at good prices in retail-ready condition, allowing our talented and dedicated dealership staff, led by the general managers, to spend their time working on the business and profitably growing the number of customers we serve.

隨著我們在新聞稿中提到的零售和服務合同價格調整，我們預計隨著我們前進和市場條件正常化，隨著時間的推移重新獲得這個毛利率百分比。我們的企業採購工作旨在為我們的經銷商提供他們的大部分產品需求，價格合理，處於零售就緒狀態，讓我們才華橫溢、敬業的經銷商員工在總經理的領導下，將他們的時間花在業務上並實現盈利增長我們服務的客戶數量。

When a portion of cars show up to dealerships not retail-ready, the direct negative effects are seeing broadly. Valuable management time is lost, reconditioning costs increase, wholesale losses are higher and repossessions increase. Improved procurement and inventory management provides significant indirect opportunities for efficiencies, including increased turns, better utilization of data and leveraging the centralization of key functions such as wholesale management titles and logistics. We did bring inventory down by $15 million in the quarter. And with tax time just around the corner, this will allow us to move our product out efficiently as we go forward. We will be increasing turns as we move forward.

當一部分未準備好零售的汽車出現在經銷商處時，直接的負面影響會很廣泛。寶貴的管理時間被浪費，修復成本增加，批發損失更高，收回增加。改進的採購和庫存管理為提高效率提供了重要的間接機會，包括增加周轉率、更好地利用數據以及利用批發管理所有權和物流等關鍵職能的集中化。我們確實在本季度將庫存減少了 1500 萬美元。隨著納稅時間的臨近，這將使我們能夠在前進的過程中有效地推出我們的產品。隨著我們前進，我們將增加轉彎。

At the end of the day, our most important opportunity as the company is leveraging our size and scale and supplying our customers with affordable mechanically sound vehicles while minimizing a lot level time and effort in car-related friction points. Along with the expectation that used vehicle prices will continue to level off and decrease, we expect to be taking significant costs out of our procurement channels, while at the same time improving quality while leveraging strong partnerships throughout the chain, specifically reconditioning partners.

歸根結底，作為公司，我們最重要的機會是利用我們的規模和規模，為我們的客戶提供負擔得起的機械性能良好的車輛，同時最大限度地減少與汽車相關的摩擦點的時間和精力。隨著二手車價格將繼續趨於穩定和下降的預期，我們預計將從我們的採購渠道中減少大量成本，同時提高質量，同時利用整個鏈條中強大的合作夥伴關係，特別是翻新合作夥伴。

Our centralization efforts have been directed at gaining scale in procurement, HR, IT, collections and eliminating manual processes that can be performed more efficiently and effectively by a dedicated group of less turnover. Examples include certain collection processes, title processing, procurement logistics, customer insurance tracking, online sales, accident protection plan, product claims administration, all this with the goal of freeing up time at the dealership to increase productivity by serving more customers.

我們的集中化努力旨在擴大採購、人力資源、IT、收款的規模，並消除手動流程，這些流程可以由人員流動較少的專門團隊更有效地執行。示例包括某些收集流程、產權處理、採購物流、客戶保險跟踪、在線銷售、事故保護計劃、產品索賠管理，所有這些都是為了騰出經銷商的時間，通過為更多客戶提供服務來提高生產力。

Since 2019, we estimate that we're investing from $5 million to $10 million more annually in corporate SG&A to support our ERP, CRM and LOS efforts and projects and other centralization initiatives. This is really at the heart of the initiatives I mentioned earlier and described in our press release.

自 2019 年以來，我們估計我們每年在企業 SG&A 上的投資從 500 萬美元增加到 1000 萬美元，以支持我們的 ERP、CRM 和 LOS 工作和項目以及其他集中化舉措。這確實是我之前提到並在我們的新聞稿中描述的舉措的核心。

We have the opportunity to serve more customers, add efficiencies throughout the organization, remove tasks from the field and offer better, more affordable vehicles. That is also a focus in the senior talent that we've added to our team, and we're excited, I'm excited for the enhancements that they will make and have already begun to make to our company.

我們有機會服務更多的客戶，提高整個組織的效率，減少現場任務，並提供更好、更實惠的車輛。這也是我們添加到我們團隊的高級人才的重點，我們很興奮，我很高興他們將對我們公司進行改進，並且已經開始對我們公司進行改進。

As to credit losses, as mentioned in the press release, credit losses are higher than anticipated as inflation continues to run at extremely high levels, affecting our customers disproportionately. At present, losses have simply reverted to historical levels after a sustained period of below average losses. We've been the canary in the coal mine with credit losses due to how close we are to the ground. That being said, it does appear likely that industry credit losses by reference to 60-plus past due delinquencies and subprime used auto could be much higher down the road for competition.

至於信貸損失，正如新聞稿中提到的那樣，由於通貨膨脹繼續處於極高水平，對我們的客戶造成不成比例的影響，因此信貸損失高於預期。目前，在持續低於平均水平的損失之後，損失已經簡單地恢復到歷史水平。由於我們離地面有多近，我們一直是煤礦中的金絲雀，信用損失。話雖如此，在競爭的道路上，參考 60 多次逾期拖欠和次級二手車的行業信用損失似乎確實可能更高。

We are seeing competition scaling back and even closing locations, something we've not seen in many years in our industry. And of course, that creates tremendous opportunity for us. We do expect net charge-off levels to level off as the competitive landscape for credit continues to tighten. We are strengthening our deal structures to help more customers succeed.

我們看到競爭正在縮減甚至關閉地點，這是我們行業多年未見的情況。當然，這為我們創造了巨大的機會。隨著信貸競爭格局繼續收緊，我們確實預計淨沖銷水平將趨於平穩。我們正在加強我們的交易結構，以幫助更多客戶取得成功。

With vehicle prices coming down some, our procurement efforts improving quickly and the LOS rolling out, we will be in a great spot to pick up higher credit quality customers as we've seen during prior recessionary periods. While we hope for the best and prepare for the worst, we do expect inflation to come down over time from all-time highs that we've seen recently, alleviating some of the intense pressure on consumers, although this is not a requirement for us to resume earning above-average returns.

隨著汽車價格的下降，我們的採購工作迅速改善，LOS 的推出，我們將處於一個很好的位置來吸引更高信用質量的客戶，正如我們在之前的經濟衰退時期所看到的那樣。雖然我們抱最好的希望並做最壞的打算，但我們確實預計通貨膨脹會隨著時間的推移從我們最近看到的歷史高位回落，從而減輕消費者承受的一些巨大壓力，儘管這不是我們的要求恢復賺取高於平均水平的回報。

We spent $37 million on long-term capital expenditures over the last 18 months. Approximately $10 million of that is IT related, and the remainder is primarily related to store relocations, remodels and rebranding upgrades. We've opened 3 new store locations, completed significant remodels at 6 locations and relocated 6 dealerships with 1 more in process.

在過去的 18 個月裡，我們在長期資本支出上花費了 3700 萬美元。其中大約 1000 萬美元與 IT 相關，其餘主要與商店搬遷、改造和品牌重塑升級有關。我們已經開設了 3 個新店，在 6 個地點完成了重大改造，並搬遷了 6 個經銷店，還有 1 個正在處理中。

The expenditures have been made at locations that have the potential to serve significantly more customers that did not have the physical facilities to allow for it. Our physical facilities are very important in attracting the best associates and the better credit customers, and we've had some catch-up to do recently. We are confident that capital expenditures have appropriate returns and will lead to greater volume and productivity measures, and we've been pleased with our results.

這些支出是在有潛力為更多沒有實體設施的客戶提供服務的地點進行的。我們的實體設施對於吸引最好的合作夥伴和信用較好的客戶非常重要，我們最近有一些追趕工作要做。我們相信資本支出會帶來適當的回報，並將帶來更大的產量和生產力措施，我們對我們的結果感到滿意。

We've had great success with a limited number of acquisitions we made, and we believe we will see more opportunities come our way as conditions in the industry become more difficult. We are excited about this opportunity. We believe there are good operators that would love to join our team. And in his new position, Steve Taylor, is the perfect person to lead this effort and effectively making contacts.

我們通過有限的收購取得了巨大成功，我們相信隨著行業環境變得更加艱難，我們將會看到更多的機會。我們對這個機會感到興奮。我們相信有優秀的運營商願意加入我們的團隊。在他的新職位上，Steve Taylor 是領導這項工作和有效建立聯繫的最佳人選。

We can and will do better as we've done for 40 years. Our industry has gone through one of the most dramatic and rapid changes that we've seen in our lifetimes. We have numerous tools at our disposal, and we're confident that we're in a far better position than the vast majority of our competition to succeed over the long term. That said, we recognize that our job is to earn consistently high returns and we will not hesitate to make changes required that allow us to earn appropriate returns in any environment, and we will continue to adapt.

我們可以而且會做得更好，就像我們 40 年來所做的那樣。我們的行業經歷了我們一生中見過的最劇烈、最迅速的變化之一。我們擁有眾多可供使用的工具，而且我們相信，從長遠來看，我們比絕大多數競爭對手處於更有利的地位。也就是說，我們認識到我們的工作是獲得持續的高回報，我們會毫不猶豫地做出必要的改變，使我們能夠在任何環境中獲得適當的回報，我們將繼續適應。

Thank you. And I will now turn it over to Doug. Doug?

謝謝你。我現在將把它交給道格。道格？

Thanks, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. It's nice to be with you today. I'll start with some color on why I chose America's Car-Mart. There are many reasons, but are limited to the biggest drivers in my decision-making process.

謝謝，傑夫，大家早上好。今天很高興和你在一起。我將從一些顏色開始，說明我為什麼選擇 America's Car-Mart。原因有很多，但僅限於我決策過程中最大的驅動因素。

First is the opportunity regarding the buying and selling of vehicles and associated logistics. It's an area within Car-Mart that has tremendous opportunity and the potential to drive significant cost savings. I have over 25 years of experience in both the automotive retail and wholesale sectors of our industry. My most recent role in leading both the acquisition and disposal of vehicles for one of the largest fleets in the world should align nicely with the work in front of us and proven valuable for our collective futures.

首先是有關車輛買賣和相關物流的機會。這是 Car-Mart 內的一個區域，擁有巨大的機會和推動顯著節省成本的潛力。我在我們行業的汽車零售和批發領域擁有超過 25 年的經驗。我最近在領導世界上最大車隊之一的車輛購置和處置方面的角色應該與我們面前的工作很好地結合起來，並證明對我們的共同未來很有價值。

Second was a belief that it was the right fit for my wife and 2 children. Northwest Arkansas is vibrant and a fantastic place to raise a family. We're looking forward to the transition in the upcoming months and becoming part of the Northwest Arkansas community.

其次是相信它適合我的妻子和兩個孩子。阿肯色州西北部充滿活力，是養家糊口的好地方。我們期待著未來幾個月的過渡，並成為西北阿肯色州社區的一部分。

Lastly, with the culture of the company and what drives them. Over their 40-year history, they have remained disciplined in their purpose to help people, which is capturing their mission, vision and values. There is strong alignment here between the company and me.

最後，公司文化及其驅動因素。在他們 40 年的歷史中，他們一直恪守幫助人們的宗旨，這體現了他們的使命、願景和價值觀。公司和我之間有很強的一致性。

I know it sounds somewhat cliche, but one of the more difficult attributes of an organization is the development and the perpetuation of a strong culture. In my first couple of weeks here, I've had a chance to spend time with both leaders in the field and at headquarters, which is only bolstered in support of my decision to come here. I'm very fortunate to become part of what is already a fantastic team and enhance these cultural elements.

我知道這聽起來有些陳詞濫調，但一個組織更難的屬性之一是強大文化的發展和延續。在這裡的頭幾週，我有機會與現場和總部的兩位領導共度時光，這只會支持我來這裡的決定。我很幸運能成為這個已經很棒的團隊的一員，並增強這些文化元素。

I want to now shift over to some comments Jeff has mentioned over the last couple of quarters about the investment in areas of the business as it relates to the centralization of certain functions, the leveraging of data and inventory. I'll briefly take the opportunity to touch on some of these initiatives in more detail now.

我現在想談談 Jeff 在過去幾個季度中提到的關於業務領域投資的一些評論，因為它與某些功能的集中化、數據和庫存的利用有關。我現在將藉此機會更詳細地談談其中一些舉措。

I'll start with inventory. Over time, we've been transitioning inventory procurement from our stores with local purchasing agents to larger vendors who help both acquire and prep the units for sale. We're now centralizing some of those efforts by launching several pilots to both scale the acquisition and reconditioning of vehicles with strategic partners who have a footprint that closely aligns in the markets we operate. Units out of these production environments will have improved quality, consistency and overall lower cost.

我將從庫存開始。隨著時間的推移，我們一直在將庫存採購從我們的商店與當地採購代理轉移到更大的供應商，他們幫助購買和準備出售的單位。我們現在通過啟動幾個試點來集中其中的一些努力，以與戰略合作夥伴一起擴大車輛的收購和翻新規模，這些戰略合作夥伴的足跡與我們運營的市場密切相關。這些生產環境中的單元將具有更高的質量、一致性和更低的總體成本。

During the quarter, we're seeing initial results that look promising and meaningful in terms of reducing the cost of sale of these assets. We're still looking at how we might leverage associated financial benefits as we could utilize those savings to increase gross profit margins and/or grow market share, all while reducing the incidents of credit losses in the future. Getting these retail-ready inventory units ready for our stores is essential and leveraging these partnerships in a challenging environment should work in our favor.

在本季度，我們看到初步結果在降低這些資產的銷售成本方面看起來很有希望且有意義。我們仍在研究如何利用相關的財務收益，因為我們可以利用這些節省來提高毛利率和/或增加市場份額，同時減少未來的信用損失事件。為我們的商店準備好這些零售庫存單位至關重要，在充滿挑戰的環境中利用這些合作夥伴關係應該對我們有利。

Lastly, it will represent a significant increase in our overall procurement capacity, allowing for future growth while creating additional bandwidth for our operators of our stores. More to come about this in the future. We're still in our preliminary stages of the pilot, but are optimistic regarding their outcomes.

最後，這將代表我們整體採購能力的顯著提高，允許未來增長，同時為我們的商店運營商創造額外的帶寬。未來會有更多關於這方面的內容。我們仍處於試點的初步階段，但對其結果持樂觀態度。

I'll pivot it now over to the LOS, or loan origination system. Customers come to us primarily for credit. Our new LOS is designed to increase our funnel of potential customers by giving them a great online application experience with loan pre-approvals in hand.

我現在將其轉向 LOS，即貸款發起系統。客戶來找我們主要是為了信用。我們新的 LOS 旨在通過為潛在客戶提供出色的在線申請體驗以及手頭的貸款預批，來增加我們的潛在客戶渠道。

Our current platform, ALIS, has served us well for several decades. Although it's gone through several iterations, we know the data collected on both vehicle and customer performance has not been fully optimized with respect to qualifying, scoring or approving our customers.

我們當前的平台 ALIS 已經為我們服務了幾十年。雖然它經歷了幾次迭代，但我們知道收集的有關車輛和客戶性能的數據在資格、評分或批准我們的客戶方面並未得到充分優化。

This was some of the rationale in creating a modernized platform with the obvious benefits of being faster, leveraging our historical information while consolidating some of the systems we use, became evident throughout its development that it also serves as an opportunity to future proof certain parts of our business as it relates to digital retailing. While most of our customers aren't asking for some of the functionality that's being introduced in the marketplace today, we wanted to ensure that we can participate in those areas if needed.

這是創建一個現代化平台的一些基本原理，它具有更快的明顯好處，利用我們的歷史信息，同時整合我們使用的一些系統，在其整個開發過程中變得顯而易見，它也為未來驗證某些部分提供了機會我們與數字零售相關的業務。雖然我們的大多數客戶並不要求當今市場上推出的某些功能，但我們希望確保我們可以在需要時參與這些領域。

Our aim in the short term is to move the application and approval process online and have the customers time spent at the dealership around product selection and test drives. More functionality can and will be introduced over time, but I'd like to focus on what we've launched during the quarter regarding the LOS.

我們的短期目標是將申請和批准流程轉移到網上，讓客戶在經銷商處花時間進行產品選擇和試駕。隨著時間的推移，可以而且將會引入更多功能，但我想重點關注我們在本季度推出的有關 LOS 的功能。

We launched our pilot of our LOS in the month of September with 9 of our stores. In October, we activated an additional 27 stores, enabling nearly 1/4 of our locations to utilize the new LOS and their customers to have an improved online experience. The pilot phase of the LOS is having the following benefits. A large part of our existing business is generating traffic for our stores through our online credit application portal. The stores will then reach out to customers as more qualifying questions and then set appointments. The new LOS is now prequalifying and preapproving customers without the interaction from the stores. Once preapproved, we can centrally schedule these appointments on behalf of the stores. This would allow the stores to leverage our resources in a differentiated way and create capacity to serve more customers and spend that time on collections and other business-critical efforts.

我們在 9 月份與我們的 9 家商店一起推出了我們的 LOS 試點。 10 月，我們又啟用了 27 家商店，使我們近 1/4 的地點能夠利用新的 LOS 及其客戶獲得更好的在線體驗。 LOS 的試點階段具有以下優勢。我們現有業務的很大一部分是通過我們的在線信貸申請門戶為我們的商店帶來流量。然後，商店將向客戶提出更多符合條件的問題，然後安排約會。新的 LOS 現在可以在沒有商店交互的情況下對客戶進行資格預審和預批准。一旦獲得預先批准，我們就可以代表商店集中安排這些約會。這將使商店能夠以差異化的方式利用我們的資源，並創造能力為更多客戶提供服務，並將這些時間花在產品系列和其他關鍵業務工作上。

Two is an important metric is the submission of an OCA, or online credit application. It's a measurement of digital traffic that will mature into floor traffic but has also acted as a lead generator for our stores. A KPI we've tracked over time is a conversion ratio of credit applications to sales, and we utilize this to augment advertising dollars or to drive more traffic when needed.

二是一個重要指標是提交 OCA，或在線信用申請。它是對數字流量的一種衡量，它將成熟為地面流量，但也充當了我們商店的潛在客戶。我們長期跟踪的 KPI 是信貸申請與銷售的轉化率，我們利用它來增加廣告收入或在需要時吸引更多流量。

For the stores that are on the pilot, online application sale ratios have shown meaningful increases. We're also seeing a level of enthusiasm from our customers who are arriving at our lots who are now powered with these pre-approvals and retail locations.

對於正在試點的商店，在線應用銷售比例已顯示出有意義的增長。我們也看到了來到我們地段的客戶的熱情，他們現在已經獲得了這些預先批准和零售地點。

While the concept of preapproving customers is not new, it's unique within this cohort of credit quality and financial demographic of customer. This will be an essential tool for market share growth as new customers entering from the upper end of our credit spectrum might be accustomed to this level of both visibility and service. It also serves as a differentiator from many of our current competitors and allows us to compete with these upper funnel customers who might have more options available to them.

雖然預先批准客戶的概念並不新鮮，但它在這一群信用質量和客戶的財務統計數據中是獨一無二的。這將是市場份額增長的重要工具，因為從我們信用範圍的高端進入的新客戶可能已經習慣了這種可見性和服務水平。它還可以作為我們與許多當前競爭對手的區別，並使我們能夠與這些可能有更多選擇的上層漏斗客戶競爭。

Lastly is around the consolidation of systems. Stores currently are using a couple of separate systems to perform the underwriting function during the sales process. ALIS does require a certain level of proficiency to operate and can be problematic with employee turnover or a high-foot environment. Our new system is now consolidating and simplifying its operation by integrating those external tools needed with APIs in a faster overall operating system.

最後是圍繞系統整合。商店目前在銷售過程中使用幾個獨立的系統來執行承銷功能。 ALIS 確實需要一定程度的熟練程度才能操作，並且可能會因員工流失或高腳環境而出現問題。我們的新系統現在通過將 API 所需的那些外部工具集成到一個更快的整體操作系統中來鞏固和簡化其操作。

All these benefits will make it quicker and easier to get approval and declination decisions while maintaining a higher level of business continuity and provide the ability to perform regression analysis on customers who did not buy from us. We look forward to updating you in the future quarters as we progress.

所有這些好處將使獲得批准和拒絕決定變得更快、更容易，同時保持更高水平的業務連續性，並提供對未從我們這裡購買的客戶進行回歸分析的能力。隨著我們的進步，我們期待在未來幾個季度為您更新。

And I'll now turn it over to Vickie to cover our both sales and financial results. Vickie?

現在我將把它交給 Vickie 來報導我們的銷售和財務結果。薇琪？

Thank you, Doug, and good morning, everyone. A 13% increase in the retail sales price, combined with a 30% increase in interest income, drove a 24% revenue increase over the prior year quarter. Additionally, while many of our competitors are down in volumes, we had a 7% sales volume increase.

謝謝你，道格，大家早上好。零售銷售價格上漲 13%，加上利息收入增加 30%，使收入較上年同期增長 24%。此外，雖然我們的許多競爭對手銷量下降，但我們的銷量增長了 7%。

Our per-store productivity improved to 34.4 or 5% over the prior year quarter. As Jeff and Doug both mentioned, this demonstrates the demand for our product even in a tough environment and the results of some of our investments that we've been making.

我們每家商店的生產力比去年同期提高到 34.4 或 5%。正如 Jeff 和 Doug 都提到的那樣，這表明即使在艱難的環境中也對我們的產品有需求，以及我們一直在進行的一些投資的結果。

The gross profit dollars per unit increased slightly to $6,132 and the gross profit percentage was 32.1%, down from the sequential quarter at 34.4%. This decrease primarily resulted from increased costs for repair parts, transportation fees, fuel costs and other cost of sales expenses and declining wholesale prices and some internal efficiencies in our inventory and procurement also contributed to this margin decline.

每單位毛利略增至 6,132 美元，毛利率為 32.1%，低於上一季度的 34.4%。這一下降主要是由於維修零件成本增加、運輸費、燃料成本和其他銷售費用成本以及批發價格下降以及我們庫存和採購方面的一些內部效率也導致了這一利潤率下降。

For the current quarter, net charge-offs as a percentage of finance receivables, despite the recent increased frequency of losses, were at 5.8%. This was in line with our prior 5-year average and below our 10-year average of 6.3% for second quarter. This compared to 4.4% in the prior year quarter. For a historical comparison, pre-pandemic, net charge-offs were also 5.8% for the quarter ended 10/31/'19.

對於本季度，儘管最近損失頻率增加，但淨註銷佔融資應收賬款的百分比為 5.8%。這與我們之前的 5 年平均水平一致，但低於我們第二季度 6.3% 的 10 年平均水平。相比之下，去年同期為 4.4%。作為歷史比較，截至 2019 年 10 月 31 日止的季度，大流行前的淨沖銷也為 5.8%。

The primary driver of the increased charge-offs was an increased frequency of losses, but we also experienced a smaller increase in the relative severity of losses. The declining wholesale prices had an effect as well. Recovery rates decreased about 50 basis points to just under 30%.

沖銷增加的主要驅動因素是損失頻率增加，但我們也經歷了損失相對嚴重程度的較小增加。批發價格下降也產生了影響。回收率下降了約 50 個基點，略低於 30%。

As the credit environment normalizes and credit above us tightens, now is the time that we need to work with our customers to keep them in their car and on the road. Our dealerships will be focused on this, especially as we approach the holidays over the third quarter and the upcoming income tax refund time.

隨著信貸環境的正常化和高於我們的信貸收緊，現在是我們需要與客戶合作，讓他們留在車里和路上的時候了。我們的經銷商將專注於此，尤其是在我們接近第三季度的假期和即將到來的所得稅退稅時間時。

Our accounts 30-plus past due was at 3.6% compared to 4% in the prior year quarter and in line with historical quarters pre-pandemic and 3.5% at 10/31/'19.

我們逾期 30 天的賬戶為 3.6%，而去年同期為 4%，與大流行前的歷史季度和 10/31/'19 的 3.5% 一致。

Total collections were up over 12% to $151 million, and total collections per active customer per month were up 6% to $514. We added $74 million of finance receivable principal balance during the quarter and $293 million over the last 12 months. This growth results in a larger provision requirement and a resulting higher credit loss reserve on the balance sheet. Our deferred revenue from ancillary products is at $107 million and an increased $31 million during the last 12 months.

總收款額增長了 12% 以上，達到 1.51 億美元，每位活躍客戶每月的總收款額增長了 6%，達到 514 美元。我們在本季度增加了 7400 萬美元的應收融資本金餘額，在過去 12 個月增加了 2.93 億美元。這種增長導致更高的撥備要求和資產負債表上更高的信用損失準備金。我們來自輔助產品的遞延收入為 1.07 億美元，在過去 12 個月中增加了 3100 萬美元。

The average originating contract term for the quarter was 42.6 months compared to 39.7 for the prior year quarter and down slightly from 42.8 months sequentially. The average selling price was up $2,099 with a 2.9% increase in the term compared to the prior year second quarter. We did see a slight decrease in the average selling price sequentially. We continue to remain focused on strong underwriting, and we were able to reduce terms slightly as prices moderate.

本季度的平均原始合同期限為 42.6 個月，而去年同期為 39.7 個月，比上一季度的 42.8 個月略有下降。與去年第二季度相比，平均售價上漲 2,099 美元，同比增長 2.9%。我們確實看到平均售價環比略有下降。我們繼續專注於強大的承保，並且隨著價格適度，我們能夠略微降低條款。

Our weighted average contract term for the entire portfolio, including modifications, was 44.8 months compared to 40 for the prior year. And the weighted average age of the portfolio increased 10% from approximately 8.4 months to 9.3 months. This demonstrates our ability to work with customers and keep them on the road.

我們整個投資組合的加權平均合同期限（包括修改）為 44.8 個月，而上一年為 40 個月。投資組合的加權平均年齡從大約 8.4 個月增加 10% 至 9.3 個月。這證明了我們與客戶合作並讓他們繼續前進的能力。

Our SG&A spend increased $5.8 million over the prior year quarter. SG&A was up due in large part to inflation from the prior year. The current quarter does include the cost for the key leaders who have recently joined our team. And for the prior year quarter, costs were still somewhat muted from the lingering pandemic conditions. However, the last 12 months have seen significant inflation, especially in the labor market.

我們的 SG&A 支出比去年同期增加了 580 萬美元。 SG&A 的增長在很大程度上是由於上一年的通貨膨脹。本季度確實包括最近加入我們團隊的主要領導者的費用。而對於去年同期，成本仍因揮之不去的大流行病而有所減弱。然而，過去 12 個月出現了嚴重的通貨膨脹，尤其是在勞動力市場。

Said another way, in the prior year's quarter, we benefited from a far more affordable used car environment without the corresponding increase in costs. That dynamic has now reversed. Most of the SG&A increase relates to wage inflation as we need to remain competitive in the marketplace. Over 72% of our SG&A is people costs.

換句話說，在上一年的季度，我們受益於更實惠的二手車環境，而成本沒有相應增加。這種動態現在已經逆轉。大部分 SG&A 增加與工資上漲有關，因為我們需要在市場上保持競爭力。我們超過 72% 的 SG&A 是人員成本。

Since 2019, our revenues are up over 200% annualized. The number of customers we serve is up 32% from 75,000. We believe we have the opportunity to serve a much larger customer base at appropriate returns. Many of our people investments have been discretionary investments that are viewed as necessary to grow and scale the business. Our expectation is to leverage these investments by serving more customers.

自 2019 年以來，我們的收入年化增長超過 200%。我們服務的客戶數量從 75,000 人增加了 32%。我們相信我們有機會以適當的回報為更大的客戶群提供服務。我們的許多人員投資都是可自由支配的投資，這些投資被認為是發展和擴大業務所必需的。我們的期望是通過為更多客戶提供服務來利用這些投資。

At quarter end, our revolving debt was approximately $302 million. We had $4.5 million in cash and approximately $50 million in additional availability under our revolving credit facilities based on our current borrowing base of receivables and inventory.

季度末，我們的循環債務約為 3.02 億美元。根據我們當前的應收賬款和存貨借款基礎，我們的循環信貸額度下有 450 萬美元現金和大約 5000 萬美元的額外可用性。

Our securitized nonrecourse notes payable was $250 million with $33 million in restricted cash related to those notes. We are preparing for our second securitization expected to be towards the end of the third quarter. We will continue to be mindful of efficiencies in our funding costs in terms of advance rates, credit costs and other funding costs while ensuring we have access to the capital necessary for a growing business.

我們的證券化無追索權應付票據為 2.5 億美元，其中 3300 萬美元與這些票據相關的受限制現金。我們正在為預計將在第三季度末進行的第二次證券化做準備。我們將繼續關注預付利率、信貸成本和其他融資成本方面的融資成本效率，同時確保我們能夠獲得業務增長所需的資本。

Our total debt, net of cash to finance receivables ratio, is 40.9%. Our solid balance sheet, strong operating history and access to securitization market should provide us with the appropriate access to capital moving forward, although that cost of capital does continue to increase. As we fund the growing receivable base with higher retail sales prices in longer terms, the business requires a higher debt level. Our cash-on-cash returns are still attractive and growing our finance receivable and customer base is the best use of our capital.

我們的總債務（扣除現金與融資應收賬款的比率）為 40.9%。我們穩健的資產負債表、良好的經營歷史和進入證券化市場的渠道應該為我們提供適當的未來資本渠道，儘管資本成本確實在繼續增加。從長遠來看，隨著我們以更高的零售價格為不斷增長的應收賬款基礎提供資金，該業務需要更高的債務水平。我們的現金回報率仍然具有吸引力，擴大我們的應收融資和客戶群是我們資本的最佳利用方式。

During the quarter, we grew finance receivables by $74 million. We decreased inventory by $15 million, and we funded $8 million in capital expenditures.

本季度，我們的融資應收賬款增加了 7400 萬美元。我們減少了 1500 萬美元的庫存，並為資本支出提供了 800 萬美元的資金。

Thank you, and I'll let Jeff close this out.

謝謝，我會讓 Jeff 結束這件事。

Okay. Thank you, Vickie. We are convinced of our unique place in the world and the fact that our business model is the best way to serve our customer base with the capital constraints affecting competition, market share opportunities are real and near. As we've said repeatedly over the years, ultra-low interest rates have supported some marginal competition that will now have to raise prices, shrink or even close.

好的。謝謝你，薇琪。我們深信我們在世界上的獨特地位，以及我們的商業模式是在影響競爭的資本限制下為我們的客戶群提供服務的最佳方式，市場份額機會是真實且近在咫尺的。正如我們多年來反复說過的那樣，超低利率支持了一些邊際競爭，這些競爭現在將不得不提高價格、縮減甚至關閉。

For over 40 years, we've been nimble and adaptable. Our current and future value proposition is solid, and we've leaned into the challenges and opportunities to scale the business to allow for productivity improvements. We're blending data in digital with our bricks-and-mortar footprint which is powerful from a consumer's viewpoint. We are the market leader today, and we're investing to be the market leader 5 and 10 years from now.

40 多年來，我們一直靈活且適應性強。我們當前和未來的價值主張是堅實的，我們已經抓住了挑戰和機遇來擴展業務以提高生產力。我們正在將數字數據與我們的實體足跡相結合，從消費者的角度來看，這是強大的。我們今天是市場領導者，我們正在投資成為 5 年和 10 年後的市場領導者。

The market we serve has been disrupted, which will be a good thing for us over the near and longer-term. Our profits for the quarter were low. We're investing today and expect benefits tomorrow. We're choosing to make these investments in people, technologies and facilities because we see the opportunity as being enormous for us.

我們服務的市場已經被打亂，這對我們近期和長期來說都是一件好事。我們本季度的利潤很低。我們今天投資，期待明天的收益。我們選擇在人員、技術和設施方面進行這些投資，因為我們認為機會對我們來說是巨大的。

We will now open it up for questions. Operator?

我們現在將打開它來提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) And our first question comes from John Rowan from Janney.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Janney 的 John Rowan。

Maybe just a couple for Vickie first. So there was a change in the allowance on a historical basis, right? So there's -- I saw a restatement. It looked like the allowance was adjusted lower. I can't see the prior period the reduction in the allowance, that didn't affect the provision expense this quarter, correct? Like meaning that there would be a reversal of provision expense because of the reduction in the prior period allowance?

可能只是 Vickie 的一對。所以津貼在歷史基礎上發生了變化，對嗎？所以有--我看到了一份重述。津貼好像調低了。我看不到前期津貼的減少，這並沒有影響本季度的撥備費用，對嗎？就像意味著由於前期備抵的減少會導致撥備費用的逆轉？

That's correct.

這是正確的。

So there was no impact, right?

所以沒有影響，對吧？

Right.

正確的。

Okay. Just want to make sure. What percent of your debt right now is floating versus fixed?

好的。只是想確定一下。您現在的浮動債務與固定債務的百分比分別是多少？

The fixed -- the securitization debt is fixed, and our revolver is floating.

固定的——證券化債務是固定的，而我們的左輪手槍是浮動的。

Okay. So almost 50-50?

好的。所以差不多50-50？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. And then, Jeff, just kind of longer term, Car-Mart has always had a strategy, if you will, cheap cars kept people on the road. Obviously, in recent years, it shifted to more expensive cars out of the necessity, what's going on with competition. In this environment, do you think you'd be better off with kind of the old strategy of smaller, less expensive cars? Do you foresee a return to that type of strategy? I'm just trying to figure out how the company's position now relative to what they were 5, 10 years ago, and what's the best fit going forward?

好的。然後，傑夫，從長遠來看，Car-Mart 一直有一個策略，如果你願意的話，廉價汽車讓人們繼續上路。顯然，近年來，出於必要性，它轉向了更昂貴的汽車，競爭是怎麼回事。在這種環境下，您是否認為使用更小、更便宜的汽車的舊策略會更好？您是否預見到會回歸那種類型的策略？我只是想弄清楚公司現在的位置相對於 5 年、10 年前的位置，以及未來最合適的位置是什麼？

Yes. That's a good question, John. We would love to be selling a lot more cars at lower price points, and that is something we're working on with some of these reconditioning partnerships and other activities we have in place. The supply of that car has been extremely short over the last couple of years. And we think our volumes and our productivity numbers would be quite a bit higher and the availability of that product that out there in the marketplace. But we're not -- we're not giving up on that lower-priced product market. We hope it comes back at some point and just is additive to what we're already doing.

是的。這是個好問題，約翰。我們很樂意以更低的價格銷售更多的汽車，這就是我們正在通過一些翻新合作夥伴關係和我們已經開展的其他活動所做的事情。在過去的幾年裡，那輛車的供應量一直非常短缺。我們認為我們的產量和生產力數字會高很多，而且該產品在市場上的可用性會更高。但我們沒有——我們沒有放棄低價產品市場。我們希望它能在某個時候回歸，並且只是對我們已經在做的事情的補充。

A lot of our improvements in cars offered in price points has been keeping Car-Mart customers in the family longer. So prior to the pandemic and the shortage of cars, we were already focused on how do we keep somebody in the family who's been a good long-term Car-Mart customer who's paid off several cars with us, how do we not lose them to competition down the street.

我們對以價位提供的汽車進行的許多改進使 Car-Mart 的客戶在家庭中的停留時間更長。因此，在大流行病和汽車短缺之前，我們已經開始關注如何讓家裡的某個人成為 Car-Mart 的長期好客戶，他們已經用我們還清了幾輛車，我們如何才不會失去他們街上的競爭。

So that part of our model has worked as designed over the last few years. What's been a struggle is finding low cars at the lower -- low-priced cars at the lower end to improve volumes and provide a cheaper car to entry-level consumers. So we're very much interested, focused on the lower price points and think we can dovetail that volume and which -- what we're already doing down the road as maybe supply gets a little more normalized.

所以我們模型的這一部分在過去幾年裡一直按照設計工作。一直在努力尋找低端低價汽車——在低端尋找低價汽車以提高銷量並為入門級消費者提供更便宜的汽車。因此，我們非常感興趣，專注於較低的價格點，並認為我們可以與該數量相吻合——我們已經在做的事情，因為供應可能會變得更加正常化。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question comes from Kyle Joseph from Jefferies.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Kyle Joseph。

Regarding credit, obviously, we track subprime auto finance credit broadly and are seeing the same things with you. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that your credit was relatively stable, both in terms of DQs and charge-offs. Just wondering if you can give us a sense for some of the severity -- frequency and severity trends you're seeing and give us a sense for the health of your underlying consumer obviously, inflation is negatively impacting them, but just how you're able to sustain good credit portion in this environment?

關於信貸，顯然，我們廣泛跟踪次級汽車金融信貸，並且看到與您相同的情況。因此，我驚喜地看到您的信用相對穩定，無論是 DQ 還是沖銷。只是想知道您是否可以讓我們了解一些嚴重程度——您所看到的頻率和嚴重程度趨勢，並讓我們了解您的潛在消費者的健康狀況，顯然，通貨膨脹正在對他們產生負面影響，但您如何能否在這種環境下維持良好的信用部分？

Yes, certainly. So the frequency of losses was the biggest contributor. The severity was a smaller piece of that. As we talked about before, our consumers, we believe are still pretty healthy. The job markets are still good. Wages are still up. Hours are still up in terms of what they're working.

是的，當然了。因此，損失的頻率是最大的貢獻者。嚴重性只是其中的一小部分。正如我們之前談到的，我們相信我們的消費者仍然非常健康。就業市場仍然很好。工資還是漲的。就他們的工作而言，時間仍然很長。

There is some adjustment here to this inflationary environment and a higher car payment than maybe what they've historically been used to. But as you mentioned, overall, things are pretty positive. We feel good about it. We've been working with consumers for 40 years. We're used to working through situations like this with them, and that's what we'll be focused on.

這裡對這種通貨膨脹環境進行了一些調整，汽車付款可能比他們過去習慣的要高。但正如你提到的，總體而言，情況非常積極。我們對此感覺很好。我們與消費者合作已有 40 年。我們習慣於與他們一起解決這樣的情況，這就是我們將關注的重點。

And our customer base has seen some very nice wage increases over the last year and still the shortage of workers in those categories that most of our customers work in. So a good wage base there and increasing wages is offsetting a lot of this inflation, but it's still pretty tight from a consumer standpoint.

我們的客戶群在過去一年中看到了一些非常好的工資增長，但我們大多數客戶工作的那些類別的工人仍然短缺。所以那裡良好的工資基礎和增加的工資抵消了很多這種通貨膨脹，但是從消費者的角度來看，它仍然非常緊張。

Got it. Very helpful. And then it was nice to see a good volume recovery, particularly in terms of units there. Is that a function of -- I know you mentioned that credit is getting a little tighter in the subprime auto finance world. Is that kind of a function of your consumer getting priced out being by higher rates and being able to shop at kind of franchise or larger dealerships? Or is that a function of the consumer just being a little bit more bargain savvy and preferring kind of the inventory you guys have?

知道了。非常有幫助。然後很高興看到良好的銷量恢復，特別是就那裡的單位而言。這是一個功能 - 我知道你提到次級汽車金融領域的信貸變得更加緊縮。您的消費者的這種功能是否會因更高的價格而被定價並能夠在特許經營或更大的經銷商處購物？還是消費者的功能只是對討價還價的了解更多一點並且更喜歡你們擁有的庫存？

I think it's probably a little both. I think the competition is tightening. Some of the smaller competitors are holding trouble with funding their businesses. So -- and then plus our product offering is attractive. So I think it's a combination of all those factors.

我想可能兩者兼而有之。我認為競爭正在加劇。一些較小的競爭對手在為他們的企業提供資金方面遇到了麻煩。所以 - 然後再加上我們的產品很有吸引力。所以我認為這是所有這些因素的結合。

I got it. And then just one last one from me. We track Manheim and obviously, your margins were under pressure in the quarter. I think from your commentary that was more higher procurement costs rather than ongoing increases in used car prices? And just how quickly -- would -- used car prices coming -- starting to come down year-over-year and sequentially as well kind of support that gross profit margin even if we have elevated procurement costs?

我知道了。然後是我的最後一個。我們追踪了 Manheim，顯然，您的利潤率在本季度面臨壓力。我認為從您的評論來看，採購成本更高，而不是二手車價格持續上漲？即使我們提高了採購成本，二手車價格會以多快的速度開始逐年下降並連續地支持毛利率？

Well, we've seen a decrease in the last several months since the beginning of the summer in wholesale prices. Now we are getting closer to tax time now. So that's leveled off in the availability for the specific car, we're trying to supply. It doesn't always follow those same depreciation curve. So we're thinking that we're going to see some leveling off and some decreases in prices over the next several months and maybe see some deflation over a longer period of time. But -- anything to add to that, Doug?

好吧，我們看到自夏季開始以來的最後幾個月批發價格有所下降。現在我們離納稅時間越來越近了。因此，我們正在努力提供特定汽車的可用性。它並不總是遵循相同的折舊曲線。所以我們認為，在接下來的幾個月裡，我們將看到價格趨於平穩和下降，並且可能會在更長的時間內看到一些通貨緊縮。但是——道格，還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yes. Well, listen, I'll sort of -- the Manheim Index is incredibly valuable to track if I sort of looked at the time period and locked in January 1 and sort of restated that index from January 1, 2020, our prices went up, I'd call it, probably close to 40%. On the cohort of vehicles, we really stay focused on sort of reaching a crescendo there in December of last year.

是的。好吧，聽著，我會有點——如果我查看時間段並鎖定在 1 月 1 日，然後從 2020 年 1 月 1 日開始重述該指數，那麼曼海姆指數的追踪價值非常高，我們的價格上漲了，我會稱之為，可能接近 40%。在車輛隊列中，我們真正專注於在去年 12 月達到某種程度的高潮。

They've come down about 17% since that point and we expect that to sort of level off throughout the balance of the user as things sort entered the spring market, and there's a little bit more robustness around there. But we could see a more normalized depreciation going forward, which we'll capitalize on. So I think the very first question around the pricing of the vehicles. If you sort of like think about that continuum I just mentioned, prices have come down nearly 20%, but are still 20% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

自那時以來，它們已經下降了約 17%，我們預計隨著事物進入春季市場，這種情況會在整個用戶平衡中趨於平穩，並且那裡會更加穩健。但我們可以看到未來會出現更加正常化的貶值，我們將利用這一點。所以我認為第一個問題是關於車輛定價的。如果你想一想我剛才提到的那個連續體，價格已經下降了近 20%，但仍比大流行前的水平高出 20%。

I think our pricing and the vehicles that we're selling is a function of what's available in the marketplace and the fact that prices are still very much elevated from pre-pandemic and we'll participate. And I think for those customers in the lower end of the credit spectrum that becomes accretive to our volume.

我認為我們的定價和我們銷售的車輛取決於市場上可用的產品以及價格仍然比大流行前高得多的事實，我們將參與。我認為對於那些處於信用範圍低端的客戶來說，這會增加我們的交易量。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question comes from Vincent Caintic from Stephens.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Stephens 的 Vincent Caintic。

I guess, first, I wanted to delve in on the inventories and your sense of approximately when do you -- what's the, I guess, plan for working through that and maybe some stats like the average days on inventory right now. Because I would think that -- well, maybe some of this inventory came before used car prices we're starting to climb, but maybe we're now in a favorable environment. So perhaps it's a mix issue or a matter of time.

我想，首先，我想深入研究庫存和你對你大概什麼時候做的感覺——我想，計劃如何解決這個問題，也許還有一些統計數據，比如現在的平均庫存天數。因為我認為 - 好吧，也許這些庫存中的一些是在我們開始攀升的二手車價格之前出現的，但也許我們現在處於有利的環境中。所以也許這是一個混合問題或時間問題。

Yes. We're running about 55 or 56 days of sales in inventory. We did take $15 million out of the investment during the quarter and we're right around the corner from tax time. So we have the opportunity to be smart with our pricing in our credit during tax time and minimize any negatives that you might otherwise see from prices floating down a little bit.

是的。我們正在運行大約 55 或 56 天的庫存銷售。我們確實在本季度從投資中拿出了 1500 萬美元，而我們就在納稅時間的拐角處。因此，我們有機會在納稅期間對我們的信貸定價變得聰明，並最大限度地減少您可能會從價格浮動中看到的任何負面影響。

So we're trying to manage the inventory car by car, and our mix is better than it was. We've got fewer dollars out there and think that we can make it through the next 6 or 9 months with moving through our inventory and efficient and effective way and utilized tax time to work through inventory one car at a time without any kind of major disruptions.

因此，我們正在嘗試按汽車管理庫存汽車，我們的組合比以前更好。我們那裡的錢越來越少，我們認為我們可以通過我們的庫存和高效有效的方式來度過接下來的 6 或 9 個月，並利用稅收時間一次完成一輛車的庫存，而無需任何重大中斷。

Okay. And then second question, just around the -- so you highlighted some of the pressures for the gross profit margin. And the second part that you were discussing about the 200 basis points related to quality challenges, the wholesaling of course, if you could go through that in more detail what's driving that? And how much of an impact is that going to be going forward? Or is the business changing...

好的。然後是第二個問題，就在 - 所以你強調了毛利率的一些壓力。第二部分，你討論的是與質量挑戰相關的 200 個基點，當然是批發，如果你能更詳細地討論是什麼推動了它？這將產生多大的影響？還是生意變了...

Yes. That, again, as mentioned in the press release, that related to us having a lot of cars designated for retail. But then due to some capacity issues and some cost issues, we weren't able to get those cars processed in retail condition. So we ended up choosing the wholesale avenue lane for that product. And then we had some other challenges in the wholesale area that we are considering to be a transitional challenges that we'll work through over time. We've probably got another quarter or so of some wholesale challenges. We consider those to be temporary and something that we can work through and we'll work through over time.

是的。同樣，正如新聞稿中提到的那樣，這與我們擁有大量指定用於零售的汽車有關。但後來由於一些容量問題和一些成本問題，我們無法在零售條件下處理這些汽車。所以我們最終選擇了該產品的批發渠道。然後我們在批發領域遇到了一些其他挑戰，我們認為這些挑戰是我們將隨著時間的推移解決的過渡性挑戰。我們可能還有四分之一左右的批發挑戰。我們認為這些是暫時的，是我們可以解決的問題，我們會隨著時間的推移解決。

Okay. Great. And last one for me, just sort of used car prices, the indices has started to decline. Any sense for kind of the sensitivity of your gross profit margins or how quickly that would turn over and start to accrete to your margins?

好的。偉大的。最後一個對我來說，就是二手車價格，指數已經開始下降。對你的毛利率的敏感性或它會以多快的速度轉變並開始增加你的利潤率有什麼感覺？

Yes. We don't have anything specific. We're working through the issues and putting efficiencies into the processes as quickly as possible. We expect to see some quick improvements and some of the improvements are going to take just a little bit longer. So it's hard to be exactly specific, but we do expect to see the bottom line effect of some of our improvements we're making relatively quickly.

是的。我們沒有什麼具體的。我們正在努力解決問題並儘快提高流程效率。我們希望看到一些快速的改進，而一些改進只需要更長的時間。因此很難具體說明，但我們確實希望看到我們正在相對快速地進行的一些改進的底線效果。

And with a longer-term view being that we've got significant opportunities to pick up several hundred basis points on gross margin percentages by improvements in the areas we mentioned.

從長遠來看，我們有很大的機會通過我們提到的領域的改進來提高毛利率百分比的數百個基點。

(Operator Instructions) And I am showing no questions, and I would like to turn the call back to Jeff Williams for closing remarks.

（操作員說明）我沒有提出任何問題，我想將電話轉回傑夫威廉姆斯以作結束語。

Okay. Once again, thank you for joining our call today. We appreciate you and your interest in America's Car-Mart. And I'd like to, as always, say thanks to all of our great associates out there who are dedicated to keeping our customers on the road and getting them peace of mind and keeping them in the Car-Mart family for life. So thank you, and have a good day.

好的。再次感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。我們感謝您和您對美國汽車市場的關注。我想一如既往地感謝我們所有偉大的同事，他們致力於讓我們的客戶繼續在路上，讓他們安心，並讓他們終生留在 Car-Mart 大家庭中。所以謝謝你，祝你有美好的一天。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。