Carriage Services Inc (CSV) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. My name is Argi, and I will be your conference operator today. And welcome to the Carriage Services 3rd quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Steve Metzger, President. Please go ahead Sir.

您好，感謝您的耐心等待。我叫阿爾吉，今天我將擔任你們的會議接線生。歡迎參加 Carriage Services 2025 年第三季財報電話會議。請注意，今天的會議正在錄影。現在我謹將會議交給今天的主講人，史蒂夫‧梅茲格總裁。請便，先生。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss our 3rd quarter results. In addition to myself, on the call this morning from management are Carlos Quesada, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, and John Enright, Chief Financial Officer.

各位早安，感謝各位參加本次第三季業績討論會。除了我之外，今天早上參加電話會議的管理階層成員還有執行長兼董事會副主席卡洛斯·奎薩達，以及財務長約翰·恩賴特。

On the Carriage Services website you can find our earnings press release, which was issued yesterday after the market closed. Our press release is intended to supplement our remarks this morning and includes supplemental financial information, including the reconciliation of differences between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures.

在 Carriage Services 網站上，您可以找到我們昨天收盤後發布的盈利新聞稿。我們的新聞稿旨在補充我們今天早上的講話，並包含補充財務信息，包括 GAAP 和非 GAAP 財務指標之間差異的調節表。

Today's call will begin with formal remarks from Carlos and John and will be followed by a question-and-answer period.

今天的電話會議將首先由卡洛斯和約翰致正式講話，然後是問答環節。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that during this call we'll make some forward-looking statements, including comments about our business projections and plans.

在開始之前，我想提醒大家，在本次電話會議中，我們將發表一些前瞻性聲明，包括對我們的業務預測和計劃的評論。

Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties and only reflect our views as of today.

前瞻性陳述本身就包含風險和不確定性，並且僅反映我們截至今天的觀點。

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to factors identified in our earnings press release as well as in our SEC filings, all of which can be found on our website.

這些風險和不確定性包括但不限於我們在獲利新聞稿以及提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中列明的因素，所有這些文件都可以在我們的網站上找到。

Thank you all for joining us this morning and now I'd like to turn the call over to Carlos.

感謝各位今天早上收看我們的節目，現在我想把電話交給卡洛斯。

Thank you, Steve. Good morning everyone, and thank you for joining our 3rd quarter earnings call. I am excited to share our performance and the progress we are making towards our 2030 vision. This quarter reflects continued momentum and demonstrates the effectiveness of our strategic objectives grounded and disciplined capital location, relentless improvement, and purposeful growth. Which continue to deliver meaningful and sustainable results.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。各位早安，感謝各位參加我們第三季財報電話會議。我很高興與大家分享我們的業績以及我們在實現 2030 年願景方面取得的進展。本季反映了持續的成長勢頭，並證明了我們策略目標的有效性，即紮實而嚴謹的資本配置、不懈的改進和有目標的成長。這些成果持續帶來有意義且可持續的成效。

During this call, I will highlight the key financial and operational drivers. Then John will take a deeper dive into our financial performance, balance sheet, recent divestiture activity, and guidance for the remainder of the year.

在本次電話會議中，我將重點放在關鍵的財務和營運驅動因素。接下來，約翰將深入探討我們的財務表現、資產負債表、近期資產剝離活動以及今年剩餘時間的業績展望。

Before we begin, I want to thank our incredible carriage team.

在開始之前，我要感謝我們出色的馬車團隊。

Your passion, ownership mindset, and unwavering commitment to creating premier experiences for the families and communities we serve are the heart of this company.

您對我們所服務的家庭和社區的熱情、主人翁精神以及為之創造一流體驗的堅定承諾，是這家公司的核心。

You continue to build a best in class culture rooted in trust, partnership, and service excellence.

你們持續打造以信任、合作和服務卓越為核心的一流企業文化。

Through every premier experience, you elevate the reputation of our funeral homes and cemeteries across the country, one family at a time.

每一次尊貴的體驗，都提升了我們遍佈全國的殯儀館和墓地的聲譽，一次服務一個家庭。

Thank you.

謝謝。

I also want to welcome the newest members of the Courage family, Faith Chapel Funeral Homes and Crematory, Osceola Memory Gardens Cemetery, Funeral Homes and Crematory, Porticelli Funeral Home and Crematory, Fisk Funeral Home and Crematory, Funeral de Borinquen, and Cremation Care Providers of Central Florida.

我還要歡迎 Courage 家族的新成員：Faith Chapel 殯儀館和火葬場、Osceola Memory Gardens 公墓、殯儀館和火葬場、Porticelli 殯儀館和火葬場、Fisk 殯儀館和火葬場、Funeral de Borinquen 殯儀館以及佛羅裡達州中部火葬服務機構。

We are honored you chose to partner with carriage.

我們很榮幸您選擇與 Carry 合作。

We will work every day to protect and elevate your legacy. Welcome to the team.

我們將每天努力保護和弘揚您的遺產。歡迎加入團隊。

Now turning to our financial results.

現在來看我們的財務表現。

Total operating revenue for the quarter grew to $101.3 million, an increase of 5.2% over the same period last year.

本季總營業收入成長至 1.013 億美元，比去年同期成長 5.2%。

Primarily driven by an impressive 21.4% year by year increase in prene cemetery sales.

主要得益於墓地銷售額年增 21.4%。

Another strong driver was general agency commission revenue tied to insurance funded prearranged funeral sales, which grew to $2.6 million, up 61% from last year's third quarter.

另一個強勁的成長動力是與保險資助的預先安排的喪葬服務相關的總代理佣金收入，該收入增長至 260 萬美元，比去年第三季度增長了 61%。

As we look at each segment, Funeral operating revenue was down 753,000, or 1.3%, primarily driven by a 2.1% reduction in funeral volume.

從各個細分市場來看，殯葬業務的營業收入下降了 753,000 美元，下降 1.3%，主要原因是殯葬業務量下降了 2.1%。

The summer months July and August produce lower volumes than expected. However, we're glad to see volume return to normal in September and based on what we have seen in October, we expect a normalized volume trend to continue in the 4th quarter.

7月和8月這兩個夏季月份的產量低於預期。不過，我們很高興看到 9 月份銷量恢復正常，根據 10 月份的情況來看，我們預計第四季度銷量將繼續保持正常水平。

As it relates to our cemetery segment, it continues to be a key long-term value engine with operating revenue reaching $35.6 million, an increase of $4 million or 12.6% year to year.

就我們的墓地業務而言，它仍然是重要的長期價值引擎，營業收入達到 3560 萬美元，比上年增長 400 萬美元，增幅達 12.6%。

This performance underscore a strong runway for purposeful growth as we continue our investment in property development, technology enabled sales capabilities, and deepening community relationships which we believe will create enduring value for families and our shareholders.

這項業績凸顯了我們實現穩健成長的良好前景，我們將繼續投資於房地產開發、技術賦能的銷售能力以及深化社區關係，我們相信這將為家庭和股東創造持久價值。

Regarding our insurance funded parents' funeral cell strategy, we're very pleased to report that our progress is exceeding expectations, with September setting an all-time high and surpassing the $7 million mark in printed funeral cells.

關於我們的保險資助的父母喪葬保險單策略，我們非常高興地報告，我們的進展超出了預期，9 月份創下了歷史新高，印刷喪葬保險單的金額超過了 700 萬美元。

This accounted for 50.5% of the year to year growth in financial revenue from general agency commissions.

這佔一般代理佣金收入年增的 50.5%。

We continue to work hand in hand with our sales partners, the National Guardian Life Insurance Company and PRECOA. To identify ways to leverage their technological capabilities and increase printing sales.

我們將繼續與我們的銷售合作夥伴—國民衛士人壽保險公司和 PRECOA 攜手合作。找出利用自身技術能力提高印刷銷售額的方法。

With our continuous focus on execution, we believe we can sustainably grow print phenone cells through 2026.

憑藉我們對執行力的持續關注，我們相信到 2026 年，我們可以持續發展印刷表型細胞。

Total fuel EBITDA for the quarter was $46.3 million, an increase of $1.4 million or 3.1%. This growth was driven in large part by renewed momentum in printing cemetery sales following permit delays earlier in the year, resulting in a strong 21.4% increase over the same period last year.

本季燃料業務總 EBITDA 為 4,630 萬美元，成長 140 萬美元，增幅 3.1%。這一成長主要得益於年初許可證審批延遲後，印刷墓地銷售業務重拾成長勢頭，較去年同期強勁增長 21.4%。

We are very excited about the short-term future of our printing cemetery sales strategy with the launch of Sales Edge 2.0, our upgraded CRM platform, which now integrates a marketing module to generate and convert leads more effectively, and in November we will introduce Titan, our AI-powered sales agent designed to generate leads and schedule appointments for our printed counselors.

我們對印刷墓地銷售策略的短期前景感到非常興奮，因為我們推出了升級版 CRM 平台 Sales Edge 2.0，該平台現在整合了一個行銷模組，可以更有效地產生和轉換潛在客戶。 11 月，我們將推出 Titan，我們由人工智慧驅動的銷售代理，旨在為我們的印刷顧問產生潛在客戶並安排預約。

Self-Edge 2.00 and Titan represents a significant step forward in leveraging technology, innovation, and data analytics to accelerate cells growth. We remain confident in our sales strategy and continue to grow, bringing cemetery cells within our previously stated range of 10% to 20%.

Self-Edge 2.00 和 Titan 代表著在利用技術、創新和數據分析來加速細胞生長方面邁出的重要一步。我們對我們的銷售策略仍然充滿信心，並將繼續發展，使墓地單元格的比例達到我們先前宣布的 10% 到 20% 的範圍。

During the third quarter, adjusted consolidated EBITDA grew to $33 million, up $2.2 million or 7.3% versus last year.

第三季度，經調整後的合併 EBITDA 成長至 3,300 萬美元，比去年同期成長 220 萬美元，增幅為 7.3%。

An adjusted consolidated EBITDA margin was 32.1% compared to 30.5% during the third quarter of last year, an expansion of 160 basis points, reflecting our strong operating leverage and positive momentum heading into the last quarter of this year.

經調整後的合併 EBITDA 利潤率為 32.1%，而去年第三季為 30.5%，成長了 160 個基點，這反映了我們強大的經營槓桿作用和進入今年最後一個季度的積極勢頭。

Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.75, up from $0.64 in the same quarter last year, an increase of 17.2%, reflecting our continued operational momentum and disciplined financial management and reinforcing our commitment to long-term shareholder value creation.

經調整後的稀釋每股收益為 0.75 美元，高於去年同期的 0.64 美元，成長 17.2%，這反映了我們持續的營運動能和嚴謹的財務管理，並強化了我們對長期股東價值創造的承諾。

In closing, we are very pleased with our 3rd quarter results.

最後，我們對第三季的業績非常滿意。

They reflect disciplined execution in our unwavering focus on delivering premier experiences for the families we serve.

這體現了我們始終如一地致力於為我們服務的家庭提供一流體驗的嚴謹執行力。

These results also underscore the strength of our team, the power of our partnerships, and the meaningful progress we're making as we elevate the experience and lead with a true passion for service.

這些成果也凸顯了我們團隊的實力、合作夥伴關係的強大，以及我們在提升客戶體驗和秉持對服務的真正熱情方面所取得的實質進展。

Our focus remains grounded in successfully executing on our 3 strategic objectives.

我們將繼續專注於成功實現我們的三大戰略目標。

Discipline capital location to invest in long-term strategic value creation while maintaining a strong balance sheet, relentless improvement to elevate performance, efficiencies and talent at every level, and purposeful growth fueled by culture, innovation, partnerships, and strategic acquisitions.

規範資本配置，投資長期策略價值創造，同時維持穩健的資產負債表；不斷改進，提升各級績效、效率和人才；以文化、創新、合作和策略收購為驅動力，實現目標明確的成長。

We believe our greatest strength is our culture rooted in trust, empowerment, innovation, and a sincere passion for delivering premier experiences to every family every time.

我們相信，我們最大的優勢在於我們以信任、賦能、創新和真誠熱情為基石的企業文化，我們始終致力於為每個家庭提供一流的體驗。

Our field leaders exemplify compassion, excellence, and ownership, redefining how families are served and advancing our mission every single day. We are continuing to build something enduring. A modern, innovative, values driven carriage position for sustainable long-term value creation for our families, our employees, and our shareholders.

我們的現場領導者展現出同情心、卓越和責任感，他們每天都在重新定義服務家庭的方式，並推動我們的使命。我們正在持續打造一些能夠長久流傳下去的事物。以現代化、創新和價值觀為導向，為我們的家庭、員工和股東創造可持續的長期價值。

As we enter the final quarter of the year, we do so with momentum, confidence, and a clear vision for the future.

隨著我們進入今年的最後一個季度，我們帶著強勁的勢頭、十足的信心和清晰的未來願景邁進。

Thank you, and I now turn the call over to John.

謝謝，現在我把電話交給約翰。

Good morning and thank you, Carlos. The 3rd quarter results are a testament to our team's commitment to excellence and strategic focus. Building on a strong first half, we delivered adjusted EPS growth of 17%, reflecting our commitment to disciplined execution across all business segments.

早上好，謝謝你，卡洛斯。第三季業績證明了我們團隊對卓越和策略重點的承諾。繼上半年強勁的業績之後，我們實現了 17% 的調整後每股收益成長，這反映了我們對所有業務部門嚴格執行的承諾。

Year-to-date, our 21% EPS growth demonstrates how our strategic objectives are driving consistent results. I am proud of our organization's dedication and look forward to sustaining the momentum.

今年迄今為止，我們 21% 的每股盈餘成長表明，我們的策略目標正在推動持續的業績成長。我為我們組織的奉獻精神感到自豪，並期待保持這種勢頭。

My comments today will primarily focus on our performance in the 3rd quarter of 2025 compared to the 3rd quarter of 2024.

我今天的發言將主要集中在我們2025年第三季與2024年第三季的業績對比。

We achieved consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $33 million, 32.1% of revenue, up from $30.7 million, or 30.5% of revenue in last year's third quarter. This improvement came from better results in our cemetery segment and prearranged funeral program, which resulted in an increase in EBITDA of approximately $2.7 million, offset by a small decline in funeral home volume compared to last year.

我們實現了合併調整後的 EBITDA 3,300 萬美元，佔營收的 32.1%，高於去年第三季的 3,070 萬美元，佔營收的 30.5%。這項改善源於我們墓地業務和預先安排的葬禮計劃的良好業績，這使得 EBITDA 增加了約 270 萬美元，但與去年相比，殯儀館業務量略有下降，抵消了這一增長。

Our adjusted EPS performance in the 3rd quarter of 2025 increased to $0.75 from $0.64, which is an increase of $0.11 compared to the prior year's 3rd quarter.

我們 2025 年第三季的調整後每股盈餘從 0.64 美元增至 0.75 美元，比去年同期成長 0.11 美元。

When looking at GAAP results, our EPS in the 3rd quarter was $0.41 compared to $0.63 in the 3rd quarter of 2024.

從 GAAP 結果來看，我們第三季的每股收益為 0.41 美元，而 2024 年第三季的每股收益為 0.63 美元。

As we anticipated, our GAAP performance was negatively impacted by a loss on divestitures and impairment of long-lived assets from businesses held for sale at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2025.

正如我們預期的那樣，由於出售資產的損失以及截至 2025 年第三季末持有待售業務的長期資產減值，我們的 GAAP 業績受到了負面影響。

To provide further insight into our divest strategy, we successfully completed the sale of several non-core assets in the 3rd quarter.

為了進一步闡明我們的資產剝離策略，我們在第三季成功完成了幾項非核心資產的出售。

Over the past 5 years, we have systematically divested businesses that no longer fit our long-term growth strategy. By reallocating the proceeds from these transactions, we have made significant progress towards achieving our target leverage range by paying down debt and investing in acquisitions that offer greater potential in strategic markets.

過去 5 年，我們系統性地剝離了不再符合我們長期成長策略的業務。透過重新分配這些交易所得款項，我們透過償還債務和投資在戰略市場中具有更大潛力的收購項目，在實現我們的目標槓桿範圍方面取得了重大進展。

Throughout this period of portfolio transformation, we have consistently grown both revenue and profitability while steadily reducing our leverage.

在投資組合轉型期間，我們持續成長收入和獲利能力，同時穩定降低槓桿率。

Looking ahead, although occasional divest opportunities may arise, we do not anticipate any substantial activity in this area going forward.

展望未來，雖然偶爾可能會出現資產剝離的機會，但我們預計未來該領域不會有任何實質的活動。

Moving on to cash from operating activities, we saw an increase of $3.8 million over the prior year or an 18.3% increase, primarily a result of year over year improved operating results.

接下來來看經營活動產生的現金流量，與前一年相比增加了 380 萬美元，增幅達 18.3%，主要是由於經營業績年比有所改善。

Based on these results, our adjusted free cash flow in the quarter increased by 7.7% over the prior year.

根據這些結果，本季我們調整後的自由現金流比去年同期成長了7.7%。

The $3.8 million increase in cash from operating activities was almost offset by a year over year increase in our capital expenditures in the quarter.

本季經營活動產生的現金增加 380 萬美元，幾乎被資本支出年增率所抵銷。

During the quarter, significant activity occurred related to acquisitions, divestitures, and capital expenditures.

本季發生了與收購、剝離和資本支出相關的重大活動。

The net cash outflow from these activities for the quarter amounted to $44.7 million. Year-to-date, these activities have led to a total cash usage of $31.9 million.

本季這些活動產生的淨現金流出為 4,470 萬美元。今年迄今為止，這些活動已導致現金總支出達 3,190 萬美元。

In alignment with our disciplined capital allocation strategic objective, our leverage ratio improved to 4.1 times this quarter, down from 4.2 times last quarter. We reduced our debt by approximately $5.1 million compared to last year's third quarter.

為貫徹我們嚴謹的資本配置策略目標，本季我們的槓桿率改善至 4.1 倍，低於上季的 4.2 倍。與去年第三季相比，我們的債務減少了約 510 萬美元。

Due to our focus on managing debt, interest expense fell by $1.1 million and our average interest rate was roughly 180 basis points lower than last year.

由於我們專注於債務管理，利息支出減少了 110 萬美元，平均利率比去年低了約 180 個基點。

Capital expenditures for the quarter totaled $6.7 million compared to $4.6 million in the same period last year.

本季資本支出總額為 670 萬美元，而去年同期為 460 萬美元。

Of the $6.7 million $1.7 million was allocated to maintenance capital and $5 million to growth capital.

在670萬美元中，170萬美元用於維護資本，500萬美元用於成長資本。

Overhead expenditure totaled $13.7 million or 13.4% of revenues compared to $14.2 million or 14.1% of revenues in the same quarter of the previous year.

間接費用總額為 1,370 萬美元，佔營收的 13.4%，而上年同期為 1,420 萬美元，佔營收的 14.1%。

Our teams remain committed to actively managing controllable expenses such as overhead spending.

我們的團隊始終致力於積極管理可控費用，例如管理費用。

Throughout the year and during the quarter, corporate spending has consistently been aligned with the targeted range of 13 to 14%.

全年和本季度，公司支出一直與 13% 至 14% 的目標範圍保持一致。

Now moving on to our updated outlook.

接下來我們來看看最新的展望。

With one quarter remaining in the fiscal year, we have narrowed our guidance ranges and are reaffirming the midpoint previously communicated.

鑑於本財年還剩最後一個季度，我們縮小了業績指引範圍，並重申了先前公佈的中點數值。

Achieving these results would mark record highs for revenue, adjusted consolidated EBITDA, adjusted diluted EPS, in our company's history, which includes results during the peak of the pandemic.

實現這些業績將使我們公司的營收、調整後合併 EBITDA 和調整後攤薄每股收益創歷史新高，其中包括疫情高峰期的業績。

We believe these results will position us strongly for 2026. Our current outlook anticipates revenues in the range of $413 to $417 million. Adjusted consolidated EBITDA between $130 and $132 million.

我們相信這些成果將使我們在2026年佔據有利地位。我們目前的預測是營收將在 4.13 億美元至 4.17 億美元之間。調整後合併 EBITDA 在 1.3 億美元至 1.32 億美元之間。

Adjusted diluted EPS of $3.25 to $3.30.

調整後稀釋每股收益為 3.25 至 3.30 美元。

Overhead expenses ranging from 13% to 13.5% of revenues. Adjusted free cash flow between $44 and $48 million.

管理費用佔收入的 13% 至 13.5%。調整後自由現金流在 4,400 萬至 4,800 萬美元之間。

Leverage ratio ending 2025 between 4 to 4.1 times.

到 2025 年底，槓桿率將在 4 倍至 4.1 倍之間。

This concludes the prepared remarks. I will now turn it over to the operator to open it up for questions.

準備好的發言稿到此結束。現在我將把電話交給接線員，由他來回答問題。

(Operator instruction)

（操作說明）

George Kelly of Roth Capital.

羅斯資本的喬治凱利。

Hey everyone, thanks for taking my questions.

大家好，感謝各位回答我的問題。

A couple for you. I'll start with the contract, weakness that you've, you flagged for, I think it was July and August. Can you quantify what you saw monthly just intra quarter, and then you mentioned, that you expect 4Q to kind of return to normal. What did October look like?

給你一對。我先從合約說起，你指出的弱點，我想應該是在七月和八月。您能否量化一下您在每季內每月觀察到的情況？您也提到，您預計第四季將恢復正常。十月是什麼樣子？

So, good morning, George.

早上好，喬治。

Thank you so much for the question. So, I don't have the specific, volume for each one of the two months. What we saw from a percentage perspective, somewhere around middle digit percentage of negative volume on both months of, July and August, but then came back very strong in the month of September. Therefore, I've been able to make up a lot of the ground we lost in those two months. There, there's no specific reason. What I can tell you about what we found out from our partners and vendors across the industry is that it was pretty. Broad across the board, not just, consolidators but also privately owned funeral homes and, they experience the same thing. As the race to October, we see very positive trends in the month of October. I don't want to disclose the number just yet, but I do feel pretty positive about the 4th quarter and then specifically related to volume, we did better than last year.

非常感謝您的提問。所以，我沒有這兩個月每個月的具體銷售數據。從百分比的角度來看，7 月和 8 月的交易量都出現了中等程度的負成長，但 9 月的交易量又強勁反彈。因此，我已經能夠彌補我們在那兩個月裡失去的大部分進度。那裡沒有具體原因。我可以告訴大家的是，我們從業內合作夥伴和供應商那裡了解到的情況相當不錯。這種情況普遍存在，不僅是殯葬服務整合商，連私人殯儀館也面臨同樣的問題。隨著十月的臨近，我們看到十月的趨勢非常積極。我現在還不想透露具體數字，但我對第四季感覺相當樂觀，尤其是在銷售方面，我們比去年做得更好。

Okay, that's helpful. And then, another question on the same theme, just thinking a high level for 2026, is it fair to just kind of baseline like with a low single-digit, volume growth year be reasonable?

好的，這很有幫助。那麼，關於同一主題的另一個問題，從宏觀角度考慮 2026 年，以個位數低銷量增長年作為基準是否合理？

I believe so, George. What we have typically a model or been talking about modeling for next year is our 1 to 2% growth on the funeral home side related to volume.

我相信是這樣，喬治。我們通常對明年殯儀館業務量的成長預期是 1% 到 2%，或者說我們一直在討論的模型。

Okay, that's great. And then just 11 last question for me. Your pre-need cemetery business was again really strong, in the quarter after a little bit, lower growth in the first half of the year.

好的，太好了。最後，我還有最後一個問題。貴公司的預售墓園業務在上半年成長略有放緩之後，本季再次表現強勁。

Was that related to, one or two kind of specific CapEx projects, or I know you were working through permitting, like anything, you can flag there and what's the expectation going forward in that business?

那是否與一、兩個具體的資本支出項目有關？或者我知道你們正在辦理許可證之類的手續，你們可以在那裡提一下，以及該業務未來發展的預期是什麼？

You bet. So if you remember during the 1st quarter and second quarter, I mentioned that we did experience some delays in some of our largest cemeteries, the ones that are actually, giving a lot of the contribution from a pre cemetery sales perspective into our performance. And that was the delay, yeah, although, I mean, we still had some pretty nice, neat, Middle, single-digit growth, the first quarter and second quarter, but, our range is typically 10% to 20%. For this month, we have some pretty significant numbers at, what was it, 21.4%. And so, our Running Expectation of range remains at 10 to 20%. We do see a strong fourth quarter from that point of view. I don't foresee many more delays as we have some good learnings from the permit process in some of those states that are a a little more restrictive, and we're taking all the precautions and all the time ahead as we continue to develop premiere inventory in those, in those cemeteries.

當然。所以，如果你還記得第一季和第二季的情況，我提到過，我們的一些最大的墓地確實出現了一些延誤，這些墓地實際上從墓地銷售的角度來看，對我們的業績貢獻很大。這就是延遲的原因，是的，雖然，我的意思是，我們第一季和第二季仍然取得了相當不錯的個位數成長，但是，我們的成長範圍通常是 10% 到 20%。本月我們獲得了一些相當重要的數據，具體數字是，21.4%。因此，我們預期的波動範圍仍然在10%到20%之間。從這個角度來看，我們預期第四季會表現強勁。我預計不會再有太多延誤，因為我們從一些限制較多的州的許可流程中吸取了一些有益的經驗，我們正在採取一切預防措施，並預留充足的時間，繼續在這些墓地開發一流的庫存。

George, to Carlos's point, and we've commented to this in the past, at the beginning of the year, we had a large cemetery out that had a sinkhole that we were working through and we saw some of that benefit that really, we were able to recognize some of those sales in the 3rd quarter associated with sales that happened, but the development didn't get completed until the 3rd quarter. So that was partially a result of some of the cemetery performance in the 3rd quarter.

喬治，正如卡洛斯所說，我們過去也曾提到過這一點。今年年初，我們有一個大型墓地，那裡有一個塌陷坑，我們正在進行修復工作。我們看到了一些好處，確實，我們在第三季確認了一些與此相關的銷售額，但開發工作直到第三季才完成。所以這部分是由於第三季墓地的一些表現造成的。

Okay, that's helpful.

好的，這很有幫助。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Liam Burke of B O'Reilly Securities.

B O'Reilly Securities 的 Liam Burke。

Yes, good morning, Carlos. Good morning, John. Good morning, Steve.

是的，早上好，卡洛斯。早安，約翰。早安，史蒂夫。

Morning Li.

李晨.

Carlos, you mentioned that, overall macro, the industry saw a slower activity in the funeral home side. Margins were lower year over year. Is that just a function of volume or are there any other expenses in there that need to be worked through?

卡洛斯，你提到，從宏觀層面來看，殯葬業整體活動放緩。利潤率較去年同期下降。這只是銷售量的問題，還是有其他需要計算的費用？

Oh, when you look at our margins remain, pretty strong. It's just that on the cemetery side we are, promoting a lot of pre cemetery sales.

哦，你看，我們的利潤率依然非常強勁。只是在墓園方面，我們正在大力推廣墓園預售。

This is just on the funeral home side.

這只是殯儀館方面的情況。

On the funeral home side, I'm sorry, I can.

殯儀館方面，很抱歉，我做不到。

I, yeah, fine, on the funeral home sign, it really is just a leverage question right at the end of the day, ultimately sales were down, and it's when calls are down, it's a high fixed cost, segment. So when we see calls down, we see margin call closer to the high 30s, in the first quarter when you saw volume up, you saw it in the low 40s. So it really is a drive. The leverage really is just a driver being a fixed cost.

是的，好吧，關於殯儀館的招牌，歸根結底，這只是一個槓桿問題，最終銷售額下降了，而當電話諮詢量下降時，這是一個高固定成本的細分市場。所以當我們看到看漲期權下跌時，我們看到追加保證金接近 30 多美元；在第一季度，當交易量上升時，我們看到追加保證金在 40 美元左右。所以這確實是一次自駕遊。槓桿作用其實只是固定成本的一種驅動因素​​。

Perfect. That's what I thought. And on the cemetery, now that Carlos brought it up, margins were great there. Obviously they bounced around from quarter to quarter, but, and I don't need a specific number. Are you sensing a floor EBITDA margin level at the cemetery business?

完美的。我也是這麼想的。至於墓地，既然卡洛斯提到了，那裡的利潤空間很大。顯然，他們每季的排名都有波動，但是，我不需要具體的數字。您是否感覺到墓地業務的 EBITDA 利潤率存在一個最低水準？

No, I really don't. You see, the fluctuations come from our ability to recognize what we're selling on the printed, sell site. If for some reason we are selling, let's say it's a large, private mausoleum that is going to take time to develop or it's a recently, developed project that is not fully, complete, completed, it won't be able to be recognized. So that month to get a greater cost from the commissions coming from those printing cemetery sales, but you won't be able to recognize the revenue related to those sales. So that dynamic plays a little bit, as on the cemetery side, as the months, go through and you develop and deliver that inventory, then you are able to recognize the revenue and that's where you see those fluctuations. But overall, as you see for the year to day numbers, they're pretty strong.

不，我真的不這麼認為。你看，價格波動源自於我們能否準確辨識我們在印刷品和銷售網站上銷售的產品。如果出於某種原因我們要出售，比如說，這是一個大型的私人陵墓，需要時間開發，或者是一個最近開發但尚未完全完成的項目，那麼它將無法被認可。因此，當月您將從墓地印刷銷售的佣金中獲得更高的成本，但您將無法確認與這些銷售相關的收入。所以這種動態因素會產生一定影響，就像在墓地方面，隨著時間的推移，你開發並交付了這些庫存，然後你才能確認收入，這就是你看到這些波動的原因。但總體而言，從年比數據來看，它們表現相當強勁。

Yeah, they are.

是的，他們是。

Thank you, Carlos.

謝謝你，卡洛斯。

Parker Sneer of Raymond James.

Raymond James公司的Parker Sneer。

Hey, good morning, and thanks for the question. I just wanted to hit on the insurance funded pre-need progress, making a lot of good progress there. I know you said that you think it can grow sustainably into 2026, but I'm just hoping you could maybe just dive a little deeper there just in terms of like what inning, in the kind of baseball analogy are you, do you think we are and kind of. Getting that fully rolled out, is this fully rolled out to all of your sales people? Is there still some room to go?

嘿，早上好，謝謝你的提問。我只是想提一下保險資助的預先需求方面取得的進展，這方面已經取得了很大的進步。我知道你說過你認為它可以持續增長到 2026 年，但我只是希望你能更深入地探討一下，比如，用棒球比賽來類比，你認為我們現在處於哪個階段，以及…這項措施是否已全面推廣，是否已全面推廣到你們所有的銷售人員？還有發展空間嗎？

What is the kind of total amount of commission dollars that you're generating from that business line and where do you think that can go and just any other comments on kind of where we are in that trajectory and getting that to kind of more of a sustainable kind of base.

您從該業務線中獲得的佣金總額是多少？您認為它未來會如何發展？關於我們目前的發展軌跡以及如何使其達到更永續的水平，您還有什麼其他看法？

Great question

問得好。

As you have seen probably over the last year and a half since we rolled out our partnership with the, NGL and PECOA, we have been able to, fully and completely roll out this, everywhere across our network.

正如您可能在過去一年半的時間裡所看到的，自從我們與 NGL 和 PECOA 建立合作關係以來，我們已經能夠在我們的網絡中全面徹底地推廣這項合作。

However, some businesses were able to grow significantly right off the bat and some were lacking. Over the last probably 4 months, we have been working on updating those that were not performing to the level of expectation we have and the opportunity that is in front of us, and then tweak some of the models that we have to give an example, there are different models that we have allocated based on The specificity of the business, the location and the opportunity that is in front of that particular business. That will, just to give you some examples, one is called proactive model, right? So that, marketing opportunity, the ability to create leads, it's owned by the Percoa team, and they are accountable for that. If we take ownership of that and the local manager don't do a good job, he's not on it, then we won't be able to generate as much leads. So what we did is move some of those selective services, businesses now into the proactive model to be a little bit more aggressive. So we do expect additional growth from our strategy. In addition to that, our partner PRECOA, it is rolling out a new technological tools to drive, we have a new CRM as well. They have new AI tools that are going to accelerate lead generation and the ability to close. On more deals. So I do think, from your question, probably we're somewhere around maybe the 5th, 6th inning. We have big targets for PRN's funeral. I mentioned in my remarks that we achieved for the first time in one single month, the $7 million dollar mark. I do expect that to continue to grow, throughout 2026 to, maybe getting to a very low double-digit.

然而，有些企業一開始就取得了顯著成長，而有些企業則發展落後。在過去的四個月裡，我們一直在努力改善那些表現未達到我們預期水準和我們面前機會的系統，並調整我們的一些模型。例如，我們根據業務的特殊性、地點和特定業務面臨的機會分配了不同的模型。舉幾個例子來說，其中一種叫做主動模式，對吧？因此，行銷機會、創造銷售線索的能力都歸 Percoa 團隊所有，他們也負責。如果我們承擔起這項工作，而當地經理又做得不好，沒有盡職盡責，那麼我們就無法獲得那麼多潛在客戶。因此，我們採取的措施是將一些選擇性服務和業務轉移到積極主動的模式，使其更具進取心。因此，我們預期我們的策略會帶來額外的成長。除此之外，我們的合作夥伴 PRECOA 正在推出新的技術工具來推動業務發展，我們也有一個新的客戶關係管理系統 (CRM)。他們擁有新的AI工具，這將加快潛在客戶開發和成交速度。更多優惠。所以我覺得，從你的問題來看，我們現在可能大概在第五局或第六局左右。我們為PRN的葬禮設定了很高的目標。我在演講中提到，我們首次在一個月內實現了 700 萬美元的收入目標。我預期這一趨勢將持續成長，到 2026 年，或許會達到兩位數的低成長率。

Okay, great and maybe just remind us where we are in the kind of course of the Trinity implementation. Is there, I know we're getting towards the end of that, but is there any ongoing kind of implementation costs that are still flowing to the P&L that we could maybe expect those to kind of wean off over the next couple quarters? And then just what kind of remind us what kind of efficiencies do you think you can kind of garner from that technology throughout your, enterprise?

好的，太好了，也許可以提醒我們一下，在三位一體實現的這類課程中，我們目前進展到什麼階段了。我知道我們即將完成這項工作，但目前是否還有持續的實施成本仍在計入損益表，我們可以預期這些成本會在接下來的幾季逐漸減少？那麼，您認為這項技術能為您的企業帶來哪些效率提升呢？

Yeah, from, so, Mark, this is John. So from, implementation costs, we'll still have some implementation costs as we roll into next year. So we're at the beginning stages of the pilot that rolls out this year, and then we'll have more of a significant rollout as we hit the 1st quarter into next year. And that really is specific to our funeral homes, and then we'll roll into our either combos or our cemeteries, which will be in the later part of next year, which will have some costs. So as you think about it, the cost will be equitable to probably 2026, which was down from 2000, excuse me, equitable in 2026 to. 25, which was down from implementation costs from 2024. We'll see the real benefit or some leverage associated with the rollout really into 207 because that's when the whole network will be rolled out. Yeah.

是的，馬克，我是約翰。因此，從實施成本來看，進入明年，我們仍會面臨一些實施成本。所以，我們目前正處於今年試點計畫的初期階段，然後到了明年第一季度，我們將進行更大規模的推廣。這確實僅限於我們的殯儀館，然後我們將在明年下半年將業務拓展到我們的綜合殯葬服務或墓地，這將產生一些費用。所以仔細想想，到 2026 年，成本可能會比較合理，而 2026 年的成本比 2000 年下降了，抱歉，應該是 2026 年比較合理。25，低於 2024 年的實施成本。我們將在 207 年真正看到此次推廣帶來的真正好處或一些優勢，因為屆時整個網路都將推出。是的。

In addition to that, Parker, I truly believe that you won't see much synergies from this new system in 206, mainly coming from, some parallel systems, making sure that the transition is effective and ensuring the accuracy of every single piece of our software.

除此之外，帕克，我真的相信你不會在 206 年看到這個新系統帶來太多協同效應，主要來自一些並行系統，確保過渡有效，並確保我們軟體中每一部分都準確無誤。

Okay, great, thank.

好的，太好了，謝謝。

You.

你。

Alex Paris of Barrington Research.

巴林頓研究公司的亞歷克斯·帕里斯。

Hi guys, thanks for taking my questions

大家好，感謝你們回答我的問題。

Nice job on the quarter. Appreciate your prepared comments. Just a further question on funeral services revenue and volume and price per contract.

這季度表現不錯。感謝您事先準備好的意見。關於殯葬服務的收入、數量和單價，我還有另一個問題。

I appreciate the comments that July and August were below expectations, returned to normal in September and in October.

我理解大家對7月和8月低於預期，9月和10月恢復正常的看法。

You return to sort of normalized growth, which you're defining as 1 to 2%, if I'm not mistaken. When can we expect this business to get to more normalized growth on a consistent basis, death and taxes, right? The death rate.

你會回歸到某種正常化的成長狀態，如果你沒理解錯的話，你把正常化成長定義為 1% 到 2%。我們什麼時候才能期待這個產業能持續穩定的正常成長呢？畢竟，死亡和稅收是不可避免的，對吧？死亡率。

Influences that obviously for larger consolidators such as yourself.

這顯然會對像您這樣的大型整合商產生影響。

We had a pull forward effect from COVID that I believe we worked our way through largely, and demographics should be helping. I don't know if it's helping yet, but just any more color you can give really on the longer-term outlook for funeral services contract growth.

新冠疫情帶來的加速發展效應，我認為我們基本上已經克服了，人口結構的改變也應該會有所幫助。我不知道這是否有幫助，但您能否就殯葬服務合約成長的長期前景提供更多細節？

Yeah, absolutely. We, it's from a pull forward effect, we don't really see much more of that impact to be, significant over the next few quarters. We truly believe that's pretty much in the past. As you mentioned, we do believe there's a nice stealth wind that's going to help us continue to grow basically because of the demographics. I mentioned in the past that, right now, the oldest baby boomer is right about 80 years old, specifically.

是的，絕對的。我們認為，這是由於前拉效應造成的，在接下來的幾個季度裡，這種影響不會再有太大變化。我們真心認為那已經是過去的事了。正如您所提到的，我們相信，由於人口結構的變化，一股強勁的暗流將幫助我們繼續成長。我之前提到過，目前最年長的嬰兒潮世代大約已經 80 歲了。

The average age of death in the United States today is 79.5, so we could expect, the beginning of, favorable death rates in the near future. We're not putting too much of those numbers into our forecast. We want to be more thoughtful. I am more concerned about, the flu season, for example, coming up into this 4th quarter. If you remember the 4th quarter of last year, typically you'll have the beginning of the flu season which drives, a greater death rate, and for some reason it did shifted from December into January, therefore having a little weaker 4th quarter than expected last year and a stronger 1st quarter of this year. If the, that trend remains, it may shift how we perceive quarters in terms of the, seasonality, but I do believe other than that, we should be able to slowly but surely, go back to our normalized, volumes, and the death rate should stabilize with some significant headwinds over the next, many years.

目前美國的平均死亡年齡為 79.5 歲，因此我們可以預期，在不久的將來，死亡率將開始趨於良好。我們不會在預測中過度考慮這些數字。我們希望考慮得更周全。例如，我更擔心的是即將到來的第四季流感季。如果你還記得去年的第四季度，通常會迎來流感季的開始，這會導致更高的死亡率，但由於某種原因，流感季從 12 月推遲到了 1 月，因此去年的第四季度比預期略弱，而今年的第一季度則更強。如果這種趨勢持續下去，可能會改變我們對季度季節性的看法，但我相信除此之外，我們應該能夠緩慢但穩定地恢復到正常水平，死亡率也應該會在未來很多年內趨於穩定，儘管會面臨一些重大的不利因素。

Yeah, I realize it's, it varies by quarter, even in a normalized environment, but over the course of a year, it usually tracks with the death rate and, demographics favor a rising death rate in the US, as you pointed out, morbid, but unavoidable, right? So, all right, thank you for that response. And then I just wanted to circle back on acquisitions and divestitures. Acquisitions, this is the first acquisition, acquisitions that you've made in 2 1/2 years by my count, the time during which you kind of reduced the debt, improved the balance sheet. But first of all, let's start with the acquisitions before we go to divestitures.

是的，我知道即使在正常情況下，每個季度也會有所不同，但從一年來看，它通常與死亡率同步，而且正如你所指出的，美國的人口結構有利於死亡率上升，這雖然令人沮喪，但卻是不可避免的，對吧？好的，謝謝你的回覆。然後，我又想再談談收購和剝離的問題。收購，據我統計，這是你們兩年半以來的第一次收購，而在此期間，你們減少了債務，改善了資產負債表。但首先，讓我們先從收購部分開始，然後再討論剝離部分。

You announced that on September 9th, it was two businesses collectively known as Osceola.

您於 9 月 9 日宣布，當時是兩家企業合稱為 Osceola。

Together, more than $15 million in revenue, one comvo, 5 funeral homes, 1 crematorium in central care facility, 1 cremation focused business, and then beyond that, let's talk about pipeline and the multiples you're seeing in the M&A.

總計超過 1500 萬美元的收入，一家 Comvo，5 家殯儀館，一家位於中央護理設施的火葬場，一家專注於火葬業務的公司，除此之外，我們來談談項目儲備以及您在併購中看到的倍數。

Yeah, good morning, Alex. Yeah, as far as the pipeline goes, we're pretty excited about what we're seeing right now. We're in active conversations with a number of premier businesses and owners. We won't see anything this year, but, Q1 of next year, we anticipate to be busy. We're also a little more aggressive on our proactive outreach to businesses that we've identified would be good partners for carriage based on our criteria.

早安，Alex。是的，就管道建設而言，我們對目前的情況感到非常興奮。我們正在與多家一流企業和企業主積極洽談。今年我們不會有任何進展，但預計明年第一季會非常忙碌。我們也會更積極主動地聯繫那些根據我們的標準被認為是合適的運輸合作夥伴的企業。

So excited about the pipeline, excited about the opportunity that lies there. And then just circling back, you highlighted Osceola, but also, we want to welcome, Pensacola and the Faith chapel team. That's another, business that joined us that we're really excited about, but integration is off to a good start. So really the team here just excited about being able to get back to growth.

我對這條輸油管感到非常興奮，對其中蘊藏的機會感到非常興奮。然後，我們再回到剛才的話題，您重點提到了奧西奧拉，但我們也想歡迎彭薩科拉和信仰教會團隊。這是另一家加入我們的公司，我們對此感到非常興奮，而且整合工作目前進展順利。所以，我們團隊真的很高興能夠重回成長軌道。

And then the last question in that list of questions was, what is the level of competitive activity in M&A and what are you seeing in terms of trends in multiples being paid, either what you're paying or what they're paying in the industry for the kind of assets that you're targeting targeting high-quality assets and demographically favorable geographies.

問題清單中的最後一個問題是，併購領域的競爭活動水準如何？就您瞄準的高品質資產和人口結構有利的地區而言，您觀察到的支付倍數趨勢是什麼？無論是您支付的倍數，還是業內其他公司支付的倍數，您如何看待這些趨勢？

And the way I would answer that is there's really 22 categories there. One category are those businesses that you know we're sourcing internally. It's not really a competitive process. It's based on reputation. And us really paying a fair price for a good business and that's obviously our preferred path. And then the second are businesses that, are being led by brokers. Those tend to be fairly competitive. We see the same players, show up for those high-quality businesses. We're going to win some and we're not going to win them all. In terms of multiples, yeah, look, for an average business, I think we all kind of circle around 7 to 8 times. And then for a premium business, you're looking at high single-digits on the multiple. The thing I would add to that though, the EB on multiple is one thing we look at, but the reality for us is, I use Osceola as an example. If there's a business that has significant levers for us in terms of upside growth, so for example, they have a great cemetery where maybe there's not a diverse selection of inventory. That's something that we're particularly good at here at Carriage. Then we see that as an opportunity where we might be willing to pay a bit more of a premium because the upside is there or maybe the market has some synergies for us with existing businesses where we can share resources and we can work together on that front. So we'll look at the multiple, but we'll also be flexible based on the opportunities that a particular business offers us.

我的回答是，實際上有 22 個類別。其中一類是我們內部採購的企業。這其實並不是一個競爭性的過程。這是基於聲譽的。我們為一家好的企業支付了合理的價格，這顯然是我們首選的道路。第二類企業是由經紀人主導的企業。這些競爭往往相當激烈。我們看到同樣的幾位選手，都出現在那些優質企業中。我們會贏一些比賽，但不可能全部贏。就倍數而言，是的，你看，對於一家普通企業來說，我認為我們都會繞圈子 7 到 8 次。而對於高階企業來說，其估值倍數通常為個位數。不過，我想補充一點，EB 在多個方面是我們關注的因素之一，但對我們來說，現實情況是，我以奧西奧拉為例。如果某個企業在成長潛力上對我們有重大意義，例如，他們擁有一個很棒的墓園，但墓地的存貨種類可能不夠豐富。這是我們 Carriage 公司特別擅長的領域。然後，我們認為這是一個機會，我們可能願意支付更高的溢價，因為上漲空間很大，或者市場可能與我們現有的業務存在一些協同效應，我們可以共享資源，並在這方面共同努力。所以我們會考慮倍數，但也會根據特定企業提供的機會靈活調整。

And then lastly on that topic, you said Q4, we shouldn't expect to see any, acquisitions announced, but potentially in Q1. Can you remind us what the methodology is for, guidance, when do you factor the acquisition and the guidance? I think it's when it becomes under contract, etc.

最後，關於這個主題，您提到第四季度我們不應該期待看到任何收購消息，但第一季可能會有。您能否提醒我們該方法論的用途、指導意義，以及何時考慮收購和指導因素？我認為是指簽訂合約之類的時候。

Yeah, that's exactly right. So, obviously we're working through the 2026 plan as well as what we'll be presenting for guidance. So if we don't have anything known by the time we present Q4 results, we'll exclude that from our expectations.

沒錯，完全正確。所以，很顯然，我們正在製定 2026 年計劃，以及我們將要提出的指導意見。因此，如果在公佈第四季度業績時我們還沒有掌握任何信息，我們將把這部分內容從預期中排除。

Got you. That's what I thought. And then, just moving on to the vestiture of noncore assets, according to the press release, I believe, 7 funeral homes, 1 cemetery, What were the revenues in EBITDA of those operations, and I presume that they are factored into current fiscal 2025 guidance.

抓到你了。我也是這麼想的。然後，我們繼續討論非核心資產的處置問題。根據新聞稿，我認為包括 7 家殯儀館和 1 個墓地。這些業務的 EBITDA 收入是多少？我估計它們已經計入目前的 2025 財年業績指引中。

Yeah, so, Alex, for the businesses that we divested in Q3, they represented about $2.4 million in EBITDA, about $9 million in revenue, and proceeds there were just over $19 million.

是的，Alex，我們在第三季剝離的業務，其 EBITDA 約為 240 萬美元，營收約 900 萬美元，所得收益略高於 1,900 萬美元。

And in regards to guidance, yes, we took the lost business into consideration when we put the guidance together.

至於指導意見，是的，我們在製定指導意見時已經考慮到了業務損失。

Perfect.

完美的。

That's very helpful. I'll get back to you with you. Thanks for answering my questions.

那很有幫助。我會盡快回覆你。謝謝你回答我的問題。

Thank you. This does conclude today's question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the call back to Carlos for closing remarks. Please go ahead.

謝謝。今天的問答環節到此結束。現在我想把電話轉回給卡洛斯，請他作總結發言。請繼續。

Thank you for joining us today. Carriage remains focused.

感謝您今天蒞臨。運輸工作仍保持專注。

On driving sustainable, profitable growth through disciplined capital location, and operational excellence. The strategy is delivering results, making our balance sheets stronger, and positioning us to create long-term shareholder value.

透過嚴謹的資本配置和卓越的運營，推動可持續的獲利成長。該策略正在取得成效，使我們的資產負債表更加穩健，並使我們能夠創造長期的股東價值。

We're confident in our momentum and in our ability to execute on our strategic objectives. We appreciate your continued support of carriage, and we thank you and we'll see you next year as we deliver results for the 4th quarter.

我們對我們的發展勢頭和實現戰略目標的能力充滿信心。我們感謝您一直以來對運輸業務的支持，我們對此表示衷心的感謝，並期待明年與您分享第四季度的業績。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。

Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

感謝各位的參與。您現在可以斷開連線了。