Calavo Growers Inc (CVGW) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the First Quarter 2023 Calavo Growers Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. (Operator Instructions)

下午好，歡迎來到 2023 年第一季卡拉沃種植者收益電話會議和網路廣播。 （操作員說明）

I will now turn the conference over to your host, Julie Kegley, Investor Relations for Calavo. You may begin.

現在我將把會議交給東道主卡拉沃投資者關係部門的朱莉·凱格利 (Julie Kegley)。你可以開始了。

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today to discuss Calavo Growers' financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2023. This afternoon, we issued our earnings release, and it is available in the Investor Relations section of our website at ir.calavo.com. With me on today's call are Brian Kocher, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Shawn Munsell, Chief Financial Officer. We will begin with prepared remarks and then open up the call for your questions.

下午好，感謝您今天加入我們討論 Calavo Growers 2023 財年第一季度的財務業績。與我一起參加今天電話會議的有總裁兼執行長 Brian Kocher；孟塞爾（Shawn Munsell），財務長。我們將從準備好的演講開始，然後開始詢問您的問題。

Before we begin, I would like to remind you that today's comments will include forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as will, be, intend, believe, expect, anticipate or other comparable words and phrases. Statements that are not historical facts, such as statements about expected improvement in revenue and operating profit are also forward-looking statements.

在開始之前，我想提醒您，今天的評論將包括聯邦證券法規定的前瞻性陳述。前瞻性陳述透過諸如將、是、打算、相信、期望、預期或其他類似的詞語和短語來識別。非歷史事實的陳述，例如有關收入和營業利潤預期改善的陳述也是前瞻性陳述。

Our actual results may vary materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. A discussion of the factors that could cause a material difference in our results compared to these forward-looking statements is contained in our SEC filings, including our reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q.

我們的實際結果可能與此類前瞻性陳述預期的結果有重大差異。與這些前瞻性陳述相比，可能導致我們的結果出現重大差異的因素的討論包含在我們向 SEC 提交的文件中，包括我們的 10-K 表格和 10-Q 表格報告。

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

現在，我將把電話轉給 Brian Kocher。

Thank you, Julie, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate you joining us today.

謝謝朱莉，大家下午好。我們感謝您今天加入我們。

Our fiscal first quarter results reflect challenging conditions in both segments, but we have taken action and expect that our results will improve as we progress through the fiscal year. In the Grown segment, high volumes of Mexican avocados, especially small fruit, combined with still high retail shelf prices, pressured wholesale prices and margins more than anticipated during the quarter. While we expected industry avocado volume to increase during the quarter, we did not anticipate prices and margins to contract as much as they did. The average case price in our first quarter fell to about $28 versus around $34 in the fourth quarter and $43 in the prior year quarter. We also expected prices and margins to improve approaching the Super Bowl. Although conditions did improve later in January, the impact was more muted than anticipated.

我們第一財季的業績反映了這兩個部門面臨的挑戰，但我們已採取行動，並預計隨著本財年的進展，我們的業績將有所改善。在種植領域，墨西哥酪梨（尤其是小水果）的大量供應，加上零售貨架價格仍然較高，對本季批發價格和利潤率的壓力超出了預期。雖然我們預計本季酪梨行業銷量將增加，但我們預計價格和利潤不會像現在這樣收縮。第一季的平均箱價降至 28 美元左右，而第四季的平均箱價約為 34 美元，去年同期的平均箱價為 43 美元。我們也預計，接近超級盃比賽時，價格和利潤率將會有所改善。儘管一月份晚些時候情況確實有所改善，但影響比預期要小。

Prepared segment performance was better than the prior year but was weaker than expected due to a combination of volume softness and winter weather. We expected a decline in Prepared segment earnings versus the fourth quarter due to seasonality in our fresh-cut division, but we experienced softness in volume that exceeded typical seasonality, with total Prepared segment volume down about 13%. Velocity slowed in the quarter, which was partly attributed to a decline in volume sales across retail food categories as consumers reacted to inflation and tough general economic conditions.

準備好的部門業績好於上年，但由於銷量疲軟和冬季天氣的影響，低於預期。由於鮮切部門的季節性因素，我們預計預加工部門的收益將較第四季度下降，但我們的銷量疲軟程度超出了典型的季節性，預加工部門的總銷量下降了約 13%。本季速度放緩，部分原因是消費者對通貨膨脹和嚴峻的總體經濟狀況做出反應，零售食品類別的銷售下降。

Separately, we incurred weather events during the quarter that cost about $1 million of unfavorable incremental cost in the fresh cut division, mainly from the temporary closure of some of our manufacturing facilities.

另外，我們在本季度遭遇了天氣事件，導致鮮切部門產生了約 100 萬美元的不利增量成本，這主要是由於我們的一些製造設施暫時關閉所致。

Understanding our first quarter results in the context of the market around us is important. Avocado import volume from Mexico grew over 8% versus the same quarter in 2022, but retail sales volume only grew about 3%, while total U.S. inventories rose almost 7%. We attribute the relatively lower retail volumes in part to retail prices, which haven't declined to the same extent as wholesale prices. Higher inventories also pressured wholesale prices of avocados and compressed margins as the industry worked through aging inventory.

在我們周圍的市場背景下了解我們第一季的業績非常重要。與 2022 年同季相比，來自墨西哥的酪梨進口量增加了 8% 以上，但零售量僅成長了約 3%，而美國總庫存成長了近 7%。我們將零售量相對較低的部分原因歸因於零售價格，零售價格並未像批發價格那樣下降。由於該行業正在應對庫存老化問題，庫存增加也給酪梨的批發價格帶來了壓力，並壓縮了利潤率。

During the quarter, our Prepared segment faced the pressures from a declining category. In retail, dollar volume sales are up across almost all prepared categories in which we participate. However, according to IRI, unit volumes declined in produce categories as a whole in almost every category in which we participate by anywhere from 2% to 5% in the second half of '22. Consumers either traded down or passed on certain convenience stick categories in the store perimeter. As unit volume declines on a store-by-store basis, our margins suffer and Prepared as we lose benefits from fixed cost absorption.

本季度，我們的準備部門面臨類別下降的壓力。在零售領域，我們參與的幾乎所有已準備類別的銷售額均有所上升。然而，根據 IRI 的數據，22 年下半年，我們參與的幾乎所有類別的農產品整體銷售量都下降了 2% 至 5%。消費者要麼降價購買，要麼放棄商店週邊的某些便利棒類別。隨著每家商店的單位銷售下降，我們的利潤率受到影響，因為我們失去了固定成本吸收的好處。

We believe the worst is behind us for the fiscal year, and we expect to see sequential improvement in our results as we progress throughout the year. But margin volatility in Grown and volume softness in Prepared may persist in the near term. We did see conditions in the Grown segment improved in February. And we've realized volume increases versus the prior year in the 7% to 9% range and avocado margins within our targeted range of $3 to $4 per case for most of the second quarter. However, the start of the avocado seasons in California and Peru may lead to ongoing volatility in Grown margins.

我們相信本財年最糟糕的時期已經過去，隨著全年的進展，我們預計我們的業績將持續改善。但成長的利潤率波動和準備的銷售疲軟可能在短期內持續存在。我們確實看到二月份成長市場的狀況有所改善。我們已經實現了第二季度大部分時間銷量與上年相比增長了 7% 至 9% 的範圍，牛油果利潤在每箱 3 美元至 4 美元的目標範圍內。然而，加州和秘魯酪梨季節的開始可能會導致種植利潤持續波動。

In our Prepared segment, the one perimeter of the store category that saw unit volume growth in the second half of '22 was deli grab-and-go items. As mentioned during our last call, our new customer acquisition strategy has been focused on deli grab-and-go items, and we are on schedule to onboard new Prepared deli and grab-and-go volume with 2 national customers in the second half of the year. We expect volume weakness to persist until then.

在我們的預製食品細分市場中，22 年下半年單位銷售成長的商店類別之一是熟食店的即買即走商品。正如我們在上次電話會議中提到的，我們的新客戶獲取策略一直專注於熟食店的即買即走商品，我們計劃在2019 年下半年向2 個全國客戶提供新的熟食店和即買即走商品。我們預計成交量疲軟將持續到那時。

The operating environment coupled with our first quarter results, has caused us to lower our fiscal year margin expectations for both segments. For 2023, we estimate adjusted EBITDA in the range of $40 million to $45 million. While we are not setting the precedent of giving annual EBITDA guidance, we believe it is important to provide an indication of our expectations for this year given the first quarter results. Investing to grow the business, resulting in long-term shareholder value is undeniably our top capital allocation priority.

經營環境加上我們第一季的業績，導致我們降低了這兩個部門的財年利潤率預期。我們預計 2023 年調整後 EBITDA 將在 4,000 萬至 4,500 萬美元之間。雖然我們沒有開創提供年度 EBITDA 指引的先例，但我們認為，根據第一季的業績，表明我們對今年的預期非常重要。投資發展業務、創造長期股東價值無疑是我們資本配置的首要任務。

We are also committed to paying a dividend with competitive yield and payout metrics relative to benchmarks. However, the metrics associated with our current dividend rate have been elevated since fiscal 2020 and remain elevated under the current operating environment. We plan to reset the dividend to a level that provides more market-aligned metrics. We anticipate the Board of Directors will declare a dividend of $0.10 per share for the second quarter.

我們也致力於以相對於基準而言具有競爭力的收益率和支付指標來支付股息。然而，自 2020 財年以來，與我們目前股息率相關的指標已有所提高，並且在當前的營運環境下仍處於較高水平。我們計劃將股利重置到提供更多符合市場的指標的水平。我們預計董事會將宣布第二季每股股息 0.10 美元。

Although we remain committed to growing the business, we also plan to reduce our fiscal 2023 capital expenditures while we navigate near-term uncertainties. We now expect capital expenditures for fiscal 2023 of approximately $13 million. These adjustments reflect deliberate fiscal discipline that allow us to continue prioritizing investment for growth while maintaining competitive dividend metrics.

儘管我們仍然致力於發展業務，但我們也計劃減少 2023 財年的資本支出，同時應對近期的不確定性。我們現在預計 2023 財年的資本支出約為 1,300 萬美元。這些調整反映了刻意的財政紀律，使我們能夠繼續優先考慮成長投資，同時保持有競爭力的股息指標。

Although the start to the fiscal year has been disappointing, we remain focused on making steady lasting improvement to the business. During the second quarter, we initiated activity on several fronts that will offer immediate benefits to earnings. As an example, we recently went live with the first phase of a new transportation management system that enables RFPs on most of our outsourced freight, which will significantly improve the competitiveness of our freight costs. This system will be fully implemented during the second quarter.

儘管本財年的開局令人失望，但我們仍專注於業務的穩定持久改善。在第二季度，我們在幾個方面啟動了一些活動，這些活動將為盈利帶來立竿見影的好處。舉例來說，我們最近上線了新運輸管理系統的第一階段，該系統支援我們大部分外包貨運的 RFP，這將顯著提高我們貨運成本的競爭力。該制度將於第二季全面實施。

In early March, we implemented a restructuring of our U.S. and Mexico operations that will allow us to upgrade essential organizational capabilities and to streamline and reduce costs related to certain functions. We recently consolidated activities within our Grow distribution network to streamline operations and reduce costs. And we recently entered into an agreement to exit our noncore salsa business as we intend to direct more resources towards guacamole growth.

3月初，我們對美國和墨西哥業務進行了重組，這將使我們能夠升級基本的組織能力，並簡化和降低與某些職能相關的成本。我們最近整合了 Grow 分銷網絡內的活動，以簡化營運並降低成本。我們最近達成了一項協議，退出我們的非核心莎莎醬業務，因為我們打算將更多資源用於酪梨醬的成長。

Pricing is always a focus for us. As you probably know, we priced our Grown product on a daily basis. However, our Prepared business has been comprised of almost exclusively annual or multiyear fixed-price contracts. Over the course of the last 6 months, we have converted more than 50% of our expected annual Prepared revenue stream to contractually committed pricing windows that range between 2 and 4x a year, allowing us to react quickly to changes we see in market dynamics, inflation and industry costs. These actions do not represent an exhaustive list of improvement activities that are underway, but I wanted to highlight some of the most influential and relevant items that will have immediate impact.

定價始終是我們關注的焦點。您可能知道，我們每天都會對 Grown 產品進行定價。然而，我們的準備業務幾乎全部由年度或多年固定價格合約組成。在過去 6 個月中，我們已將預期年度準備收入流的 50% 以上轉換為每年 2 到 4 倍的合約承諾定價窗口，使我們能夠對市場動態中看到的變化快速做出反應，通貨膨脹和工業成本。這些行動並不代表正在進行的改進活動的詳細清單，但我想強調一些最具影響力和相關性的項目，這些項目將產生直接影響。

I'd like to wrap up my prepared comments by saying that despite market and category performance that was less than our expectations, our commitment hasn't wavered. We are still focused on performance improvement, on growth and on generating shareholder value. It's our job to manage through a challenging market condition, and we must be and are nimble in our response to changing market dynamics. The path to growth is in a straight line and there are obstacles, but we will keep driving forward.

我想在結束我準備好的評論時說，儘管市場和品類表現低於我們的預期，但我們的承諾並沒有動搖。我們仍然專注於業績改善、成長和創造股東價值。我們的工作是應對充滿挑戰的市場狀況，我們必須並且正在靈活地應對不斷變化的市場動態。成長的道路是筆直的，也有困難，但我們會繼續前進。

And now I'll turn the call over to Shawn to report on the financials.

現在我將把電話轉給肖恩報告財務狀況。

Thank you, Brian.

謝謝你，布萊恩。

As we stated on our full year 2022 earnings call in December, seasonality plays a significant role in the cadence of our earnings. While the first quarter is typically our seasonally weakest quarter, this year, we experienced some additional market-driven pressures, which adversely impacted our results. But as Brian said, we do expect to deliver sequentially improving results as we progress through the fiscal year.

正如我們在 12 月的 2022 年全年收益電話會議上所說，季節性在我們的收益節奏中發揮著重要作用。雖然第一季通常是我們季節性最弱的季度，但今年我們經歷了一些額外的市場驅動壓力，這對我們的業績產生了不利影響。但正如布萊恩所說，我們確實希望隨著本財年的進展，業績將逐步改善。

On a consolidated basis, first quarter revenue was $226 million, a decrease of $48 million from the first quarter of 2022. Grown segment revenue was $118 million, down $45 million from last year as the average selling price of avocados decreased by 35% as prices continue to adjust from their highs in the summer. Avocado sales volumes were up over 3% due to increased supply from Mexico. Industry imports from Mexico were estimated to be up over 8% versus the prior year quarter while industry avocado retail sales were estimated to be up by about 3%.

綜合來看，第一季營收為2.26 億美元，較2022 年第一季減少4,800 萬美元。而下降了35%。由於墨西哥供應量增加，酪梨銷量成長了 3% 以上。來自墨西哥的行業進口預計比去年同期增長 8% 以上，而行業牛油果零售額預計增長約 3%。

Prepared segment revenue was $108 million, down $4 million from the prior year quarter as higher prices partly offset volume declines of about 13%. Consolidated gross profit was $14 million, up over $1 million from the prior year quarter, primarily driven by a $3 million increase in Prepared segment gross profit partially offset by a $2 million decline in Grown segment gross profit.

準備好的部門收入為 1.08 億美元，比去年同期減少 400 萬美元，因為價格上漲部分抵消了約 13% 的銷售下降。綜合毛利為 1,400 萬美元，比去年同期成長超過 100 萬美元，主要是由於準備部門毛利增加 300 萬美元，部分抵銷了成長部門毛利 200 萬美元的下降。

Grown segment gross profit for the first quarter was $9.5 million compared to $11.7 million for the first quarter last year. Our margin per case for avocados fell to about $2.20 in the quarter versus about $3 per case last year. Generally, tighter spreads between field costs and sales drove margins lower, with avocado prices continuing to decline from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. Additionally, the strengthening of the peso relative to the U.S. dollar increased operating costs in Mexico in dollar terms, although that impact was mostly offset in the quarter by favorable balance sheet revaluation. We have seen an improvement in avocado margins to within our targeted range of $3 to $4 per case for most of the second quarter.

第一季成長的部門毛利為 950 萬美元，而去年第一季為 1,170 萬美元。本季度，我們每箱酪梨的利潤降至 2.20 美元左右，而去年每箱利潤約為 3 美元。一般來說，現場成本和銷售之間的價差收窄導致利潤率下降，酪梨價格從2022 財年第四季開始持續下降。 ，儘管本季的影響大部分被有利的資產負債表重估所抵銷。我們看到第二季大部分時間酪梨利潤率有所改善，達到每箱 3 至 4 美元的目標範圍內。

The Prepared segment generated gross profit of $5 million, up from $1.6 million in the prior year quarter. Gross margin rose to 4.6%, which consisted of a gross margin of just over 1% in the fresh cut division and approximately 26% in the guacamole division. The improvement in fresh cut from a loss last year was driven by pricing and other operating improvements that were partly offset by higher raw material costs as well as weather-related impacts of approximately $1 million, mainly from manufacturing facility closures. Gross margin in the guacamole division almost doubled from the prior year on lower fruit costs and yield improvements.

準備好的部門產生了 500 萬美元的毛利，高於去年同期的 160 萬美元。毛利率上升至 4.6%，其中鮮切部門的毛利率略高於 1%，酪梨醬部門的毛利率約為 26%。定價和其他營運改善推動了新切工去年虧損的改善，但原材料成本上漲以及天氣相關影響（主要來自製造設施關閉）部分抵消了約 100 萬美元。由於水果成本下降和產量提高，酪梨醬部門的毛利率幾乎比去年翻了一番。

SG&A was $16.4 million for the first quarter, up from $15.3 million in the prior year. The increase primarily was due to higher costs associated with employee compensation, including stock-based compensation. Adjusted EBITDA was $3.6 million for the first quarter, down from $4.7 million in the first quarter of 2022.

第一季的 SG&A 為 1,640 萬美元，高於去年同期的 1,530 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於與員工薪酬（包括股票薪酬）相關的成本上升。第一季調整後 EBITDA 為 360 萬美元，低於 2022 年第一季的 470 萬美元。

Now turning to our financial position. During the quarter, we increased our line of credit borrowings to about $16 million to fund working capital needs. Cash and equivalents remained at about $2 million as of January 31. Available liquidity was approximately $26 million at quarter end. And additionally, we invested about $5 million in CapEx in the first quarter, which included investments to support volume additions in the second half in Prepared. Based on current market conditions and our outlook for the remainder of the year, we now expect capital expenditures of approximately $13 million.

現在轉向我們的財務狀況。本季度，我們將信用借款額度增加至約 1,600 萬美元，以滿足營運資金需求。截至 1 月 31 日，現金及等價物仍維持在約 200 萬美元。此外，我們在第一季投資了約 500 萬美元的資本支出，其中包括支持下半年 Prepared 銷售增加的投資。根據當前的市場狀況和我們對今年剩餘時間的展望，我們現在預計資本支出約為 1300 萬美元。

Now I'll briefly share some thoughts on our outlook for the remainder of 2023. In the Grown segment, per case margins are expected to be at or near the low end of our $3 to $4 range as we anticipate ongoing margin volatility as the California and Peru seasons begin. Volume for the balance of the year is expected to increase and be approximately commensurate with changes in supply from our primary sourcing regions.

現在，我將簡要分享我們對2023 年剩餘時間前景的一些想法。率持續波動，秘魯季節開始。今年剩餘時間的銷售量預計將增加，並且與我們主要採購地區的供應變化大致相當。

In the Prepared segment, gross margins in the fresh cut division will be at or near the low end of the 10% to 12% range as we end the fiscal year primarily due to softer volume in the near term, although new customer distribution points and volume are scheduled to launch in the back half of the year. Gross margins in the guacamole division are expected to approximate 20%.

在預製食品領域，隨著本財年結束，鮮切部門的毛利率將處於或接近 10% 至 12% 範圍的低端，這主要是由於近期銷量疲軟，儘管新客戶分銷點和該卷計劃於今年下半年推出。酪梨醬部門的毛利率預計約為 20%。

As Brian mentioned, we recently finalized plans to restructure some of our operations and to exit our salsa business. We expect onetime charges in the second quarter related to these activities to total approximately $3.2 million, including cash and noncash costs associated with severance, asset impairments and implementation expenses. The payback on cash cost is expected to be approximately 1.5 years or less.

正如布萊恩所提到的，我們最近敲定了重組部分業務並退出薩爾薩舞業務的計劃。我們預計第二季與這些活動相關的一次性費用總計約為 320 萬美元，包括與遣散費、資產減損和實施費用相關的現金和非現金成本。現金成本的回收期預計約為 1.5 年或更短。

And finally, I'll wrap up by saying that we have a strong balance sheet and sufficient liquidity to manage through the current market challenges. We remain committed to investing to grow the business to strengthen our future earnings.

最後，我想說的是，我們擁有強大的資產負債表和充足的流動性來應對當前的市場挑戰。我們仍然致力於投資發展業務，以增強我們未來的收益。

That concludes my prepared remarks, and I will turn it back over to Brian.

我準備好的發言就到此結束，我會將其轉回給布萊恩。

Thanks, Shawn.

謝謝，肖恩。

As I said on the call last quarter, we've been undergoing a long-term strategic planning process. We have completed the majority of the work and we'll be presenting to our Board of Directors in May. We look forward to rolling it out to you later this year.

正如我在上個季度的電話會議上所說，我們一直在進行長期策略規劃過程。我們已經完成了大部分工作，並將於五月向董事會報告。我們期待在今年稍後向您推出。

We spent the last year addressing foundational opportunities to stabilize our business, including finding the right market savvy talent to lead our organization. Now our plan is to take Calavo from an improving company to a growing company. And despite the slow start to the year, that's still the plan. We have the right service levels, product portfolio and capabilities to grow. We have the right people in key roles who know how to execute and overcome the challenges of our dynamic business. We have the focus and determination to be successful, and we will.

去年，我們致力於尋找穩定業務的基礎機會，包括尋找合適的懂市場的人才來領導我們的組織。現在我們的計劃是將 Calavo 從一家不斷進步的公司轉變為不斷成長的公司。儘管今年開局緩慢，但這仍然是計劃。我們擁有合適的服務水準、產品組合和發展能力。我們擁有擔任關鍵角色的合適人員，他們知道如何執行和克服我們充滿活力的業務的挑戰。我們有成功的重點和決心，而且我們一定會的。

That concludes our prepared remarks. I'll now turn the call over to the operator to begin the Q&A.

我們準備好的演講到此結束。我現在將把電話轉給接線員以開始問答。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Ben Bienvenu with Stephens.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Ben Bienvenu 和 Stephens。

I want to start on the Prepared business. You talked about volume down double digits as a result of higher pricing year-over-year. Can you talk a little bit about the demand elasticities you're seeing from consumers in the marketplace? And would you expect that as we start to see broader inflation normalize that these volumes pick back up? Or is there something else along the critical path that you see needing to take place for the volume of that business to improve?

我想開始準備業務。您談到由於定價同比上漲而導致銷售下降兩位數。您能談談您從市場消費者看到的需求彈性嗎？您是否認為當我們開始看到更廣泛的通膨正常化時，這些交易量會回升？或者您認為在關鍵路徑上是否還需要採取其他措施來提高業務量？

Yes. We've been spending a lot of time on that, Ben. And I think a couple of things to think about. One, certainly seasonally, we expected volume to at least decrease from the fourth quarter, a very normal part of our Prepared business cyclicality and seasonality. The thing that sort of was greater than we expected was the category performance itself. So if you think about it, during the second half of '22, overall produce was actually down. Value-added produce was down on a volume basis. On a dollar basis, it's up, but the category itself on a unit sales basis was actually down. Total produce was down 3% and nonvalue add or whole commodity was down 4%. So value-added fared better, but was still down.

是的。我們已經在這上面花了很多時間，本。我認為有幾件事需要考慮。第一，當然是季節性的，我們預計銷量至少會比第四季度有所下降，這是我們準備好的業務週期性和季節性的一個非常正常的部分。超出我們預期的是品類表現本身。因此，如果你仔細想想，在 22 年下半年，整體產量實際上有所下降。附加價值產品數量有所下降。以美元計算，它是上升的，但按單位銷售額計算，該類別本身實際上是下降的。農產品總量下降了 3%，非增值或整個商品下降了 4%。因此，附加價值表現較好，但仍下降。

There are some bright spots in that category performance, and they exist in the deli aisle. And what we saw in the deli aisle was snacks, prepared meals, some of the prepared or presliced meat and cheeses have unit volume growth. So even though deli was down, we saw some deli categories in which we participate that on a unit basis were up.

此類別的表現有一些亮點，它們存在於熟食區。而我們在熟食店過道看到的是零食、預製餐，一些預製或預切的肉類和起司有單位體積增長。因此，儘管熟食店下降了，但我們看到我們參與的一些熟食店類別在單位基礎上有所上升。

We do see inflation moderating. And I certainly think that will help. And long term, we still see growth in our Prepared categories, both guacamole and fresh cut. We see growth long term. And we hear it from the retail trade. We hear it from IRI. We see it in some of the planning that our customers are doing. But certainly, inflation in the last half of the year in the first part of this year, it caught up to the consumer, I'd say. And it did so in a matter that was probably more significant than we expected.

我們確實看到通膨放緩。我當然認為這會有幫助。從長遠來看，我們仍然看到預製食品類別的成長，包括酪梨醬和鮮切食品。我們看到長期成長。我們從零售業聽到了這樣的說法。我們從 IRI 那裡聽到了這一消息。我們在客戶正在進行的一些規劃中看到了這一點。但我想說的是，今年上半年的通貨膨脹確實影響了消費者。它所做的事情可能比我們預期的更重要。

Okay. That makes sense. My second question is related to the restructuring plans. You noted a handful of plans that you have, all of which makes sense. Is it your expectation that this is the last of the restructuring decisions that will be made? Or is it possible there might be others?

好的。這是有道理的。我的第二個問題是關於重組計劃的。您注意到了一些您擁有的計劃，所有這些計劃都是有意義的。您是否期望這是最後一項重組決策？或者有可能還有其他人嗎？

And then along those lines, as you noted your position in Calavo for growth again, when we think about kind of what you've done with CapEx for this year, which also makes sense, how should we think about kind of the arc of spending as we move forward down the line?

然後沿著這些思路，正如您再次指出您在 Calavo 的增長定位一樣，當我們考慮您今年在資本支出方面所做的事情（這也是有道理的）時，我們應該如何考慮支出弧線當我們繼續前進時？

Okay. Great question. So a couple of things that I would say. As you remember, 2 years ago, Calavo went through 1.5 years -- went through a significant restructuring, where a lot of assets, facility closures, things of that nature. This is, certainly in order of magnitude is less, but is needed. What I would say is now we're doing some of the finer, more precise changes to the organization. We've consolidated distribution centers in our avocado business. So that's one of the changes that you make. Shawn mentioned that we're exiting and transitioning out of a noncore salsa business, which will provide us some mix benefits that will help us.

好的。很好的問題。我想說幾件事。正如你所記得的，兩年前，卡拉沃經歷了 1.5 年——經歷了一次重大重組，其中包括大量資產、設施關閉等類似性質的事情。這當然是數量級較小的，但是是必要的。我想說的是，現在我們正在對組織進行一些更精細、更精確的改變。我們整合了酪梨業務的配送中心。這就是你所做的改變之一。肖恩提到，我們正在退出並過渡非核心薩爾薩舞業務，這將為我們提供一些對我們有幫助的綜合效益。

I think the other big one is if you're going to grow, you have to have the talent and the amount of skills and capabilities that are growth oriented. So what you see otherwise is us also reducing and streamlining some operations in the U.S. and Mexico and using those funds to put more skills and capabilities in growth areas. And whether that's international or guac or on our prepared fresh cut or even in channel development where we see club and national retailers as big opportunities, you see us reinvesting those funds. So that's what I would call the summary and context between the Project Uno launch and what we're communicating today.

我認為另一個主要問題是，如果你要成長，你必須擁有以成長為導向的才能以及技能和能力。因此，您將看到我們還減少和簡化了在美國和墨西哥的一些業務，並利用這些資金在成長領域投入更多技能和能力。無論是國際還是酪梨醬，還是我們準備好的新鮮切碎，甚至是通路開發，我們都將俱樂部和全國零售商視為巨大的機會，你會看到我們對這些資金進行再投資。這就是我所說的 Project Uno 啟動和我們今天所交流的內容之間的摘要和背景。

Ben, I think it's also appropriate, we will never be finished making changes in trying to make our organization more efficient. I don't see big restructuring charges and things of that nature, but we will never be finished because our customers are always changing, the category is changing and we need to make sure that we're driving our organization to be efficient, effective and place our resources in the areas that have the biggest chance to grow.

Ben，我認為這也是合適的，我們永遠不會完成改變，試圖讓我們的組織更有效率。我沒有看到大規模的重組費用和類似的事情，但我們永遠不會完成，因為我們的客戶總是在變化，類別在變化，我們需要確保我們推動我們的組織變得高效、有效和將我們的資源放在最有機會成長的領域。

Our next question is from Mitch Pinheiro with Sturdivant.

我們的下一個問題來自 Mitch Pinheiro 和 Sturdivant。

I guess my first question is, so I guess with Project Uno and the whole -- the plan was that it would take a couple of years, 3 years plus to get back to like your performance, your EBITDA generation back in fiscal '19 and somewhere you did, I think, roughly $80 million in fiscal '19. And we'll be -- you're looking maybe around $40 million, $45 million this year.

我想我的第一個問題是，所以我想對於 Project Uno 和整個計劃來說，需要幾年、三年多的時間才能恢復到 19 財年的表現、EBITDA 水平，我認為你在19 財年做了大約8000 萬美元。我們預計今年的收入可能約為 4,000 萬美元、4,500 萬美元。

And so, I guess -- and then I see we're lowering the dividend. We're cutting capital spending a little bit, a little disciplined here. But it doesn't -- are you -- is this not getting back to fiscal '19 levels any time soon? I don't see in the cash flow a drastic need to cut the dividend and CapEx. I mean I could see being financially sort of conservative, but it doesn't -- it seems like you're messaging that things are a lot worse at least in the climb out of the bottom and back to the fiscal '19 level. And I'm wondering what has changed.

所以，我想 - 然後我看到我們正在降低股息。我們正在稍微削減資本支出，有點嚴格。但這不會很快恢復到 19 財年的水準嗎？我認為現金流沒有迫切需要削減股利和資本支出。我的意思是，我可以看到在財務上有點保守，但事實並非如此——你似乎在傳達這樣的信息：至少在走出谷底並回到 19 財年水平的過程中，情況要糟糕得多。我想知道發生了什麼變化。

Well, let me try to take a shot at that, and I'll also let Shawn add in. I don't know that we're -- let me rephrase that. I know we're not saying it's worse. But I think in light of the first quarter performance and our outlook for the balance of the year, I think it's fair to say that our progress towards where we believe we can be in terms of EBITDA and cash flow generation has slowed, it slowed. And we've got to adjust to now instead of a market that was growing at least in this quarter and probably in the next quarter is a market that's not growing on a unit volume basis, maybe on price, but in revenue, but not a unit volume basis.

好吧，讓我嘗試一下，我也會讓肖恩補充一下。我知道我們並不是說情況更糟。但我認為，鑑於第一季的業績和我們對今年剩餘時間的展望，我認為可以公平地說，我們在 EBITDA 和現金流產生方面取得的進展已經放緩，已經放緩。我們必須適應現在，而不是一個至少在本季度甚至下個季度都在成長的市場，不是一個以單位數量為基礎增長的市場，也許是在價格上，但在收入上，而不是在單位數量上增長。

So I think it's fair to say that it's slowed our trajectory back to where we want to be. And therefore, we lowered some of our guidance, particularly in our Prepared fresh cut on where we thought we'd be at the end of the year on an exit run rate on gross profit. So I do think that that's one of the things that we're recognizing is that this market will face some challenges.

所以我認為可以公平地說，它放慢了我們回到我們想要的軌道的速度。因此，我們降低了一些指導，特別是我們對年底毛利退出運行率的預期新削減。所以我確實認為我們認識到的一件事是這個市場將面臨一些挑戰。

We faced some challenges with consumer performance. I think we'll be in a period in avocados, we've probably been several weeks now, months where demand has exceeded -- or sorry, supply has exceeded demand, and we've got some volume coming on from California and Peru in a heavy Mexican season, so I think we're trying to be cautious and respectful that there's some volatility in Grown margin as well. So it's really the combination of those 2.

我們在消費者表現上面臨一些挑戰。我認為我們將處於酪梨的一個時期，我們可能已經過了幾週、幾個月，需求已經超過了——或者抱歉，供應已經超過了需求，我們從加利福尼亞州和秘魯獲得了一些產量。季量很大，所以我認為我們正在努力保持謹慎和尊重，利潤成長也存在一些波動。所以它實際上是這兩者的結合。

I would also just be totally clear, Mitch, there's not a CapEx project that we're cutting that we think is a high yield, high return and high growth initiative. In fact, most of the CapEx that we've launched and spent in the first quarter is associated with new customer launches in the second half. And we won't cut short investment if it's a really good return.

我也想完全明確，米奇，我們正在削減的資本支出項目中沒有一個我們認為是高收益、高回報和高成長的計劃。事實上，我們在第一季啟動和支出的大部分資本支出都與下半年新客戶的推出有關。如果回報確實不錯，我們不會縮短投資。

I do think we're tightening things up. And we want to be disciplined. We want to be responsible. We want to make sure that it is a high returning project. And then on the dividend, as I mentioned, we want to make sure we're paying a dividend that has yield and payout metrics that are consistent with the peer group. And frankly, with the cash flow and earnings generation over the last several years, our dividend payout ratios have been twice our peer group. And so now is the time to make all of those adjustments.

我確實認為我們正在收緊事情。我們希望遵守紀律。我們想要負責任。我們希望確保這是一個高回報的項目。然後，在股息方面，正如我所提到的，我們希望確保我們支付的股息的收益率和支付指標與同業一致。坦白說，憑藉過去幾年的現金流和獲利能力，我們的股息支付率是同業的兩倍。因此，現在是進行所有這些調整的時候了。

Very helpful. Are you seeing anything in the Grown business that is structurally different? Do you see anything structure in the industry that might -- that would impede your ability to get back to where you were 4 years ago?

非常有幫助。您在成長型業務中是否發現任何結構上不同的東西？您是否看到行業中的任何結構可能會阻礙您回到 4 年前的水平？

Well, I think there are things that have changed in the Grown business from 4 years ago. And let's just look at a sourcing perspective. Mexico, Peru and Colombia are all bigger in terms of volume available to export to the U.S. than they were 4 years ago. All of the supply is great. Now that being said, the demand has been greater as well. We can't see the demand because it's been constrained for a couple of years with COVID for a year, food service has gone down for a year. Last year, it was constrained because Mexican export volume was historically low or certainly lower than the prior year. But we do believe that demand has been constrained, and we'll see demand that keeps up and keeps pace with supply.

嗯，我認為與 4 年前相比，Grown 業務發生了一些變化。讓我們看看採購的角度。墨西哥、秘魯和哥倫比亞對美國的出口量都比四年前增加。所有的供應都很棒。話雖如此，需求也更大了。我們看不到需求，因為幾年來，受新冠疫情影響，需求受到了限制，餐飲服務也下降了一年。去年，墨西哥的出口量處於歷史低位，或肯定低於前一年，因此受到限制。但我們確實相信需求受到了限制，我們將看到需求與供應保持同步。

I do think supply and demand will -- if you compare to 10 years ago, I think supply and demand is more balanced today than it was 10 years ago. Demand exceeded supply. Again, I think that's also a strength of a marketer model. We've got an opportunity to buy and sell on a daily basis. We have an opportunity to flex our inventory up and down, and we have an opportunity to take some risk when we want to or think it's opportunistic to take advantage of volume growth. We also have the opportunity to dial back some volume if the profit profile isn't right.

我確實認為供需會——如果與 10 年前相比，我認為今天的供需比 10 年前更加平衡。需求超過供應。我再次認為這也是行銷人員模式的優勢。我們每天都有機會進行買賣。我們有機會上下調整庫存，當我們想要或認為利用銷售成長是機會主義時，我們有機會承擔一些風險。如果利潤狀況不合適，我們還有機會減少一些交易量。

So I feel really confident that our model allows us to deliver that $3 to $4 a case of gross margin over time, over time. And so I don't see big structural changes that will prevent that. But when you have a little bit more balanced supply and demand, I think it brings in some volatility that maybe we didn't have 10 years ago, I'm going to say, or 5 years ago. And that's the case of any evolving commodity market.

因此，我非常有信心，隨著時間的推移，我們的模型使我們能夠實現每箱 3 至 4 美元的毛利率。因此，我認為不會發生重大的結構性變化來阻止這種情況的發生。但是，當供需更加平衡時，我認為它會帶來一些波動，我想說，這可能是我們 10 年前或 5 年前所沒有的。任何不斷發展的商品市場都是如此。

Yes. And then the other thing, too, Mitch, I'd say that was unusual in the quarter is that retail prices were more stubborn than wholesale prices, right? And we started to see inventory buildup that put more pressure on wholesale prices, and that, in part, narrowed those margins.

是的。然後另一件事，米奇，我想說的是，本季的不同尋常之處在於零售價格比批發價格更頑固，對嗎？我們開始看到庫存的增加給批發價格帶來了更大的壓力，並在一定程度上縮小了利潤率。

Just -- is this just a function of the grocery trade you having a higher margin? Or is it they're just -- why is it stubbornly high?

只是──這只是雜貨貿易的功能，你的利潤更高嗎？或者他們只是——為什麼它一直居高不下？

Yes, just retailers holding margin.

是的，只有零售商持有保證金。

Yes. And I think to be fair, retailers were also slower to price up last year when the wholesale prices were going up. So I think they moved a little slower on the front end and are moving a little slower on the back end. We see more promotional activity going on and investment in price. We continue looking at it. Consumers are certainly looking at it.

是的。公平地說，去年批發價格上漲時，零售商的漲價速度也較慢。所以我認為他們在前端移動得慢一點，在後端移動慢一點。我們看到更多的促銷活動正在進行和價格投資。我們繼續關注它。消費者肯定正在關注它。

There's been some recent data by IRI that would suggest consumers almost half of consumers are looking for products that are on sale now. So consumers are certainly looking for what they believe is a deal, and we've been working with our retailers and our customers on how to drive promotional activity that makes sense for them and makes sense for the category. And we probably -- because of the shelf lives, we can do that more in Grown, and we can do that more in guac than we can in our Prepared fresh cut business.

IRI 最近的一些數據表明，近一半的消費者正在尋找現在打折的產品。因此，消費者肯定會尋找他們認為划算的產品，我們一直在與零售商和客戶合作，研究如何推動對他們和該類別有意義的促銷活動。我們可能 - 由於保質期的原因，我們可以在成長中做更多的事情，並且我們可以在鱷梨醬中做更多的事情，而不是在我們的預製鮮切業務中做更多的事情。

Great. Just last question is on the Prepared side. So it sounds good, you have a couple of new customers coming on in the second half, that should help your fixed cost leverage a bit. So if -- so in a lot of this, you should -- all things being equal, we should see a gradually improving gross margin in Prepared throughout the year. Is that fair?

偉大的。最後一個問題是關於準備好的方面的。聽起來不錯，下半年您將迎來一些新客戶，這應該會對您的固定成本槓桿有所幫助。因此，如果——在很多方面，你應該——在所有條件相同的情況下，我們應該會看到Prepared全年的毛利率逐漸提高。這樣公平嗎？

Yes, that's completely fair.

是的，這完全公平。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question is from Ben Klieve with Lake Street Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Lake Street Capital Markets 的 Ben Klieve。

Just a couple for me. First, I want to ask about the decision to rid the business of the salsa line, particularly in the context of the new last quarter about the -- securing the relationship with Old El Paso. Can you just talk about kind of the decision to get to this point that you thought this needed to get divested, particularly in light of the big one that came in late in '22?

對我來說只是一對。首先，我想問取消薩爾薩系列業務的決定，特別是在上個季度新的背景下——確保與老埃爾帕索的關係。您能否談談您認為需要剝離這一點的決定，特別是考慮到 22 年末出現的重大決定？

Yes, sure. Yes. So that -- essentially, that -- the salsa business, it's a fine product, it has some good potential, but essentially, it just didn't have the critical mass in the portfolio. And given the economics of that business, it just made sense for us to divert those resources to our guac business, and that's what we're doing. So it's going to be -- it's -- frankly, we're going to be better by about $400,000 a year by making that divestiture.

是的，當然。是的。因此，本質上，薩爾薩舞業務是一個很好的產品，它有一些良好的潛力，但本質上，它在產品組合中沒有達到臨界質量。考慮到該業務的經濟效益，我們將這些資源轉移到酪梨醬業務上是有意義的，這就是我們正在做的事情。因此，坦白說，透過剝離，我們每年將獲得約 40 萬美元的收益。

Ben, I think the other thing that's important to know is that we've arranged a co-packing relationship. So remember, I think last year, we talked about -- or last -- sorry, last quarter, we talked about that relationship with General Mills, think of it as another arrow in our quiver, another tool, not the only tool, and we still have that tool available. So we've arranged capacity and co-packing capabilities so that as we continue to sell Old El Paso brand product, whether it's guac, which obviously we do ourselves, or salsa, which we'll have with now what will be a third party, we retain the capabilities to do that.

本，我認為另一件重要的事情是我們已經安排了聯合包裝關係。所以請記住，我想去年，我們談到了——或者說最後——抱歉，上個季度，我們談到了與通用磨坊的關係，將其視為我們箭袋中的另一個箭頭，另一個工具，而不是唯一的工具，而且我們仍然可以使用該工具。因此，我們已經安排了產能和聯合包裝能力，以便我們繼續銷售舊埃爾帕索品牌產品，無論是鱷梨醬（顯然是我們自己做的）還是莎莎醬（我們現在將與第三方合作） ，我們保留了這樣做的能力。

Got it. Okay. And then another question CapEx expectations that you have $13 million for this year, $5 million in the first quarter. And Brian, you noted that a lot of that was attributable to the new contracts coming online. $8 million over the next 3 quarters, that's not an awful lot of CapEx. Can you talk about how much of that CapEx is related to just kind of the basic maintenance CapEx that you have to do versus any investments in growth that are coming here over the next 3 quarters?

知道了。好的。然後另一個問題是今年的資本支出預期為 1300 萬美元，第一季為 500 萬美元。布萊恩（Brian），您指出，其中很大一部分歸因於新合約的上線。未來 3 個季度的 800 萬美元，這並不是一個很大的資本支出。您能否談談資本支出中有多少與您必須執行的基本維護資本支出以及未來 3 個季度的任何成長投資相關？

Yes, sure. So I'd say that most of the deferral of the CapEx versus that original $18 million, Ben, that was -- like Brian said, that was kind of the lower performing kind of growth and profit improvement projects, that we can reactivate at any time. So just felt like it was prudent given the Q1 performance and given the current outlook, just to -- plan to defer that until we see conditions change. But as far as the kind of composition of maintenance CapEx, it's going to be about $4 million or $5 million this year, about in line with what we guided last year.

是的，當然。因此，我想說的是，與最初的1800 萬美元相比，大部分資本支出的延期，Ben，就像布萊恩所說，這是一種績效較低的增長和利潤改善項目，我們可以隨時重新啟動時間。因此，考慮到第一季的表現和當前的前景，我覺得這是謹慎的做法，只是計劃推遲，直到我們看到情況發生變化。但就維護資本支出的組成而言，今年將約為 400 萬或 500 萬美元，與我們去年的指導大致一致。

Ben, I think the other thing that's really important for you and the other listeners on the call to remember is we're -- we have a really good balance sheet. We added basically seasoned working capital debt that we funded through our credit facility. We've got plenty of liquidity and access to capital. So if we find a compelling growth opportunity, we're certainly not going to let the guidance that we gave, hold back a really smart investment. We're going to be -- we don't want to be penny-wise and pound-foolish here. We're going to invest when it's right, but I think it's also a good signal to our entire organization that we want to be disciplined, and we want to be responsible and we want the returns to be really good for us to make an investment. But we've got capital. And if we find something that's accretive and exciting, we won't be held back.

本，我認為對您和電話會議中的其他聽眾來說真正重要的另一件事是，我們擁有非常好的資產負債表。我們增加了透過信貸安排資助的基本成熟的營運資本債務。我們擁有充足的流動性和獲得資本的機會。因此，如果我們發現一個引人注目的成長機會，我們當然不會讓我們給予的指導阻礙真正明智的投資。我們將會－我們不想在這裡因小失大。我們會在正確的時候進行投資，但我認為這對我們整個組織來說也是一個很好的訊號，即我們希望遵守紀律，我們希望負責，我們希望投資能獲得真正好的回報。但我們有資本。如果我們發現一些可以增值且令人興奮的事情，我們就不會被阻止。

Our next question is from Eric Larson with Seaport Research.

我們的下一個問題來自海港研究中心的艾瑞克·拉爾森。

The first one, in your prepared comments about the quarter, you said that there was a lot of food coming out of Mexico, and it was of a smaller size. Did that impact pricing? Did you have -- was it a bad mix of avocado sizes in the quarter 2 that hurt you? Can you give a little clarity to that?

第一個，在您準備好的關於本季的評論中，您說有很多食物來自墨西哥，而且尺寸較小。這樣對定價有影響嗎？第二季度中酪梨大小的錯誤組合是否對您造成了傷害？你能解釋一下嗎？

Eric, I think it's a really good question and insightful question. So yes, we did have more volume. Think of it this way and forgive me because I'm not an agronomist, okay, forgive me. But when you have more fruit on the tree, each individual piece of fruit gets less nutrients, right? The root systems didn't all of a sudden grow and magically convey more nutrients. So the size curve did work against us a little bit.

艾瑞克，我認為這是一個非常好的問題，也是一個有洞察力的問題。所以，是的，我們確實有更多的數量。這樣想吧，原諒我，因為我不是農藝師，好吧，原諒我。但是，當樹上的水果越多時，每一塊水果獲得的營養就越少，對嗎？根系並沒有突然生長並神奇地輸送更多養分。所以尺寸曲線確實對我們有點不利。

Smaller fruit came out because the mix was a little off, we had more large-sized fruit business than we had available large-sized fruit, and we didn't have enough small-sized fruit business. So we certainly saw it impact the margin on the small fruit where we were really working hard to get rid of some excess small fruit. And overall, that weighed down gross profit per case. Makes sense?

較小的水果出現了，因為混合有點不一樣，我們的大尺寸水果業務比可用的大尺寸水果更多，而我們沒有足夠的小尺寸水果業務。因此，我們當然看到它影響了小水果的利潤，我們確實在努力擺脫一些多餘的小水果。總體而言，這拖累了每箱毛利。有道理嗎？

Yes. No, it does. But I just noticed that you had made a point of it in your comments, and I know that mix can be important. So that's why I asked. So this one's really for the Prepared side, and maybe I'm missing something here, but if you average $28 a carton and your avocado prices in the quarter, I mean it wasn't that long ago, we were talking $70, $80, right?

是的。不，確實如此。但我剛剛注意到你在評論中強調了這一點，我知道混合可能很重要。所以這就是我問的原因。所以這個真的是為準備好的一方準備的，也許我在這裡遺漏了一些東西，但如果你平均每箱28 美元，並且你的酪梨在本季度的價格，我的意思是，就在不久前，我們談論的是70 美元、80 美元，正確的？

And I think you said in the last quarter sequentially, it was $43 a carton. So in your Prepared business, I mean, a novice looking at your business would say, "Wow, the -- your ingredients cost for Prepared should have given you quite a bit of margin headway." So talk to me, what am I missing in this? With the fruit prices coming down, why shouldn't your margins have been better in Prepared?

我想你在上個季度連續說過，每箱價格為 43 美元。因此，在你的Prepared業務中，我的意思是，一個新手看到你的業務時會說，“哇，你的Prepared原料成本應該會給你帶來相當大的利潤增長。”那麼請告訴我，我在這方面缺少什麼？隨著水果價格的下降，為什麼您的Prepared 利潤率不應該更高？

Yes. And your observation is spot on. So the cost of the fruit going into the guacamole business is absolutely improved, certainly versus prior year but also versus the prior -- the fourth quarter. And you can see that in the gross margin that we achieved in the quarter was about 26%. And that 26%, I mean, it's not exclusively the improvement in the fruit, but it's also the improvement in the operations. I mean that plant is running as well as it's ever run, given some of the investments and the changes in operations that we made last year. So 26% gross margin in the first quarter for the guacamole division. But remember, that guacamole division is about 1/5 of our total Prepared, right? So we did see the benefits, but it's on a smaller portion of that total prepared portfolio.

是的。你的觀察是正確的。因此，進入酪梨醬業務的水果成本絕對有所改善，當然與去年相比，而且與之前（第四季）相比也是如此。你可以看到我們本季實現的毛利率約為 26%。我的意思是，這 26% 不僅是水果方面的改進，也是營運方面的改進。我的意思是，考慮到我們去年進行的一些投資和營運變化，該工廠的運作狀況一如既往。因此，酪梨醬部門第一季的毛利率為 26%。但請記住，酪梨醬部分大約占我們準備好的總量的 1/5，對吧？所以我們確實看到了好處，但它只佔準備好的總投資組合的一小部分。

Right. Okay. That makes sense. For some reason, I was thinking that I'm still not quite used to thinking about you as Grown and Prepared yet. I'm still -- I still think in your old format, and so that last comment made a lot of sense. So going forward, you kind of gave us some ideas of what adjusted EBITDA is going to look like and so forth. But you'll still have those relatively easy comps for ingredients yet for your guac and you're -- but you're taking pricing up in other areas that had a lot of elasticity is what I'm reading. Could you go into a little bit more detail on the elasticity part?

正確的。好的。這是有道理的。出於某種原因，我在想我還不太習慣把你視為成熟和準備好的人。我仍然——我仍然以你的舊格式思考，所以最後的評論很有意義。因此，展望未來，您給了我們一些有關調整後 EBITDA 的想法等等。但是你仍然可以獲得相對簡單的酪梨醬成分補償，但你正在提高其他具有巨大彈性的領域的定價，這就是我正在閱讀的內容。能更詳細地介紹一下彈性部分嗎？

So yes, Eric, let me make sure that I understand. Your basic question is you're getting -- you'll have some favorability in unit cost on guac, on input costs on guac. Where is the other improvement coming?

所以，是的，艾瑞克，讓我確保我理解了。你的基本問題是你會得到——你會對酪梨醬的單位成本、酪梨醬的投入成本有一些優惠。其他改進在哪裡？

Right.

正確的。

Okay. So I think we've got a couple of things. One, remember, I really believe that the balance of the year volume is going to be an important part of our story. We've got some deli customers coming on -- 2 national deli customers coming on in the second half. It won't help the second quarter. We'll see Prepared, fresh cut challenges in volume throughout the second quarter. So it won't help the second quarter, but it will help the second half. And with that, we'll see absorption benefits, and we'll see some other things that happened in the second half of the year.

好的。所以我認為我們有幾件事。首先，請記住，我真的相信年度剩餘卷將成為我們故事的重要組成部分。我們有一些熟食店客戶來了——下半年有 2 個全國熟食店客戶來了。這對第二季度沒有幫助。我們將在整個第二季度看到準備好的新鮮切割量的挑戰。所以這對第二季沒有幫助，但會對下半年有幫助。這樣，我們將看到吸收效益，我們將看到下半年發生的其他一些事情。

I think we will get some positive unit cost benefit in our guacamole business, but we also need volume to help us there. The guac category, for the first time in a long time over the course of the last 3 months anyway, was down on a unit volume basis as well, up on a dollar basis, down on a unit volume basis. So one of the other things that I think is hard to see is we made great progress in getting lower input costs and taking advantage of that market, we made really good progress in yield and labor efficiency in our guac plant, but some of that was, let's say, used up by lower fixed cost absorption because of lower volume.

我認為我們的酪梨醬業務將獲得一些積極的單位成本效益，但我們也需要數量來幫助我們實現這一目標。無論如何，酪梨醬類別在過去 3 個月的很長一段時間內首次出現單位銷量下降、美元上漲、單位銷量下降。因此，我認為很難看到的另一件事是，我們在降低投入成本和利用市場方面取得了巨大進展，我們在酪梨醬工廠的產量和勞動效率方面取得了很大進步，但其中一些是比方說，由於產量減少，固定成本吸收減少而耗盡。

So really, really the Prepared story from now on -- I mean, the fact of the matter is we had year-over-year labor productivity improvements from -- but we didn't from the fourth quarter. So first quarter '22 to first quarter of '23, we had labor productivity. But with reduced volume, fourth quarter of '22 to first quarter of 3 we lost a little bit of labor productivity, again, because of the unit volume.

所以，從現在開始，真的是準備好的故事——我的意思是，事實是我們的勞動生產力逐年提高——但我們從第四季開始就沒有提高。因此，22 年第一季到 23 年第一季，我們有勞動生產力。但隨著產量的減少，從 22 年第四季到 3 年第一季度，我們再次因為單位產量而損失了一點勞動生產力。

So I think as you look at Prepared, it is growing the volume with the category, but also with new distribution, continuing to manage our cost profile, labor productivity, all the things that we're talking about so that, that new volume is leveraged disproportionately.

因此，我認為，當你看看Prepared時，它的銷量隨著類別的增加而增加，而且隨著新的發行，繼續管理我們的成本狀況、勞動生產力以及我們正在談論的所有事情，因此，新的銷售量是槓桿率不成比例。

Got it. Okay. So -- and I apologize maybe for the ambiguity towards the end of that -- towards that question. But historically, this is historically what has been sort of attractive for the fresh avocado business, right? Is that even at high prices, consumers would pay absurdly high prices for an avocado, it seemed that demand was more inelastic and what it sounds like today, you said that retail prices were very sticky on the upside, much stickier than wholesale, but in past years, the price wouldn't have been that big of a deal. So if customers aren't buying your avocados and there's not -- and you had down volumes, what are they switching into? What's the -- what's your competitive group for avocados that consumers seem to be going to now that they might be more price sensitive?

知道了。好的。因此，對於這個問題，我可能會為最後的模糊之處表示歉意。但從歷史上看，這對新鮮酪梨業務來說是有吸引力的，對嗎？即使價格很高，消費者也會為酪梨支付高得離譜的價格，似乎需求更加缺乏彈性，就像今天聽起來的那樣，你說零售價格的上漲非常粘性，比批發價格粘性得多，但在過去幾年，價格不會有那麼大的問題。因此，如果客戶不購買您的酪梨，而且您的酪梨數量也減少了，那麼他們會轉而購買什麼呢？消費者現在可能對價格更加敏感，他們對酪梨的競爭群體是什麼？

Well, let me try to clarify a couple of things. First of all, the category for produce was down. Avocados were still up in the first quarter year-over-year. I think it was about -- on a unit volume basis, I think it was 2.7%. I think we're up, Shawn, 3.3% or 3.4% something like that. So we know we held our share and one could say maybe even we grew 1 point. So I think that's one thing to think about.

好吧，讓我嘗試澄清一些事情。首先，農產品品類下降。第一季酪梨年減。我認為，以單位體積計算，約為 2.7%。肖恩，我認為我們上漲了 3.3% 或 3.4% 之類的。所以我們知道我們保住了自己的份額，甚至可以說我們甚至成長了 1 個百分點。所以我認為這是需要考慮的一件事。

The other thing that I would think about is it's not just a question of price elasticity or inelasticity. If you remember, in the third quarter, when prices were extraordinarily high, retail stopped promoting and even started shrinking display sizes. So it wasn't just a pricing story and whether it's inelastic or elastic. But they also reduced display sizes, reduced the amount of available volume.

我要考慮的另一件事是，這不僅僅是價格彈性或無彈性的問題。如果你還記得，在第三季度，當價格異常高的時候，零售業停止了促銷，甚至開始縮小展示尺寸。因此，這不僅僅是一個定價問題以及它是無彈性還是有彈性的問題。但他們也縮小了顯示器尺寸，減少了可用體積。

As we are fighting to get that back, right, the rest of the commodities don't stand still. I'm making this up at this point. But if it's strawberries or potatoes or tomatoes or whatever, they moved in and took that retail shelf space. So now we're trying to gain back retail sales space, gain back promotional activity, and it's just taking a little bit of time.

當我們努力奪回這一點時，其他商品也不會停滯不前。我現在正在彌補這一點。但如果是草莓、馬鈴薯、番茄或其他東西，他們就會搬進來並佔據零售貨架空間。所以現在我們正在努力奪回零售空間，奪回促銷活動，這只是需要一點時間。

So I would suggest the category is not only reacting to price and the change in price, but also promotional activity and display sizes. And we're starting to see that come back. In fact, Shawn, in so far in the second quarter, we might be up...

因此，我建議該類別不僅對價格和價格變化做出反應，還對促銷活動和展示尺寸做出反應。我們開始看到這種情況又回來了。事實上，肖恩，在第二季度到目前為止，我們可能會領先...

9%.

9%。

9%, we're up in the second quarter on a unit volume basis for avocados.

9%，第二季度酪梨的單位銷量有所成長。

Yes. So that's worth emphasizing that once we rolled into February, we did start to see a median improvement in conditions in the Grown segment. Not just an improvement in the gross profit, but the volume as well, so just kind of better flow-through of the volume.

是的。因此值得強調的是，進入二月後，我們確實開始看到成長型細分市場的狀況中位數有所改善。不僅是毛利的提高，而且銷量的提高，因此銷量的流通也更好了。

But you listen to the prepared remarks, the cautionary side of that is we know that there's a lot of fruit coming in from Mexico. We know that the California season is getting underway. The Peruvian season is right around the corner. And so there's a potential for some ongoing volatility with that supply coming.

但你聽聽準備好的發言，其中警告的一面是我們知道有很多水果來自墨西哥。我們知道加州的產季即將開始。秘魯產季即將來臨。因此，隨著供應的到來，可能會出現一些持續的波動。

Okay. Yes. No, that -- I mean, that makes some sense. And it's just a little bit different thinking than what we've always had because retailers have always -- they've been expanding their display of avocados. It's done a very hot item. It's very healthy oriented. And to hear that maybe the retailers even took display away from it is -- it's just kind of the first time I've heard that in the sort of the fresh avocado market. So that's the dynamic I'm unaware of. So I'll get back in the queue and maybe we can discuss a little bit of this a little bit later.

好的。是的。不，我的意思是，這有一定道理。這與我們一直以來的想法有點不同，因為零售商一直在擴大酪梨的展示範圍。做了一個非常火辣的項目。這是非常以健康為導向的。聽說零售商甚至取消了展示——這只是我第一次在新鮮酪梨市場聽說過這種事。這就是我不知道的動態。所以我會回到隊列中，也許我們可以稍後討論一下這個問題。

But Eric, I would also remember, even last year, supply was constrained. And so consumers are fickle. If supply is constrained and maybe they just can't get in avocado out of that day, and it's not the high-usage consumer. The high-usage consumer is going to look, going to go buy, going to buy their avocados every day, every -- twice a week, whatever the rhythm is.

但艾瑞克，我還記得，即使是去年，供應也受到限制。所以消費者是善變的。如果供應受到限制，也許他們當天就無法購買酪梨，而且這不是高使用率的消費者。高使用率的消費者會每天、每週兩次查看、購買、購買酪梨，無論節奏如何。

But some of the low-usage consumers, to the extent that it's not available or potentially not available because it's not seen as promoted or not seen on the shelf side like it was, I think there's a little bit of what I'd call winning them back, let's say. But the category is -- remember, just to be clear, produce for the second half of the year, total produce unit sales was down 3%, avocados was still -- that last quarter was up 3%.

但一些低使用率的消費者，在某種程度上，它不可用或可能不可用，因為它沒有被視為促銷或沒有像以前那樣在貨架上看到，我認為有一點我稱之為獲勝的東西他們回來了，比方說。但要明確的是，今年下半年的農產品，農產品總銷量下降了 3%，酪梨仍然下降，上個季度成長了 3%。

Okay. Okay. That's the important factor.

好的。好的。這是重要的因素。

We have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Brian for closing comments.

我們的問答環節已經結束。我想將會議轉回給布萊恩以供結束評論。

Look, we really appreciate you dialing in, asking the questions, giving Shawn and I a chance to talk to you about the business and where we're headed. The fact of the matter is we didn't deliver the earnings we expected in the first quarter, and the market conditions that our business faced caused us to reevaluate the landscape for the balance of the year. We need earnings growth, and we need unit volume growth across our platforms.

聽著，我們非常感謝您撥打電話，提出問題，讓肖恩和我有機會與您討論業務和我們的發展方向。事實是，我們第一季的獲利沒有達到預期，而且我們業務面臨的市場狀況促使我們重新評估今年剩餘時間的前景。我們需要獲利成長，我們需要整個平台的單位銷售成長。

However, I'll tell you why I have hope. We're investing in sales talent, where the market has the biggest opportunities for growth. Club channel, international, guacamole and deli resources are all being funded by repurposing and/or reducing expenses in other areas. We must gain new customers and gain new distribution with our existing customers.

不過，我會告訴你為什麼我會有希望。我們投資於銷售人才，因為市場上有最大的成長機會。俱樂部頻道、國際頻道、酪梨醬和熟食資源都透過重新利用和/或減少其他領域的開支來籌集資金。我們必須贏得新客戶並獲得現有客戶的新分銷。

Our distributor model for avocados is strong and it's flexible. And over time, we've been able to consistently deliver our targeted gross profit per box. And so that gives me help and comfort.

我們的酪梨分銷商模式強大且靈活。隨著時間的推移，我們能夠始終如一地實現每盒目標毛利。這給了我幫助和安慰。

We mentioned in our fourth quarter earnings release that we expect growth in our deli product lines. We are on track to launch 2 national customers with deli items in our third quarter. We know the value proposition in deli is promising. Our value proposition in deli is promising. And that volume growth will help us in the second half as we look at fixed cost absorption and really maximizing the efficiency that we've been able to drive in production and yields in labor hours. We will continue, and we have to beat that and drive improvement in every cost line of the P&L.

我們在第四季財報中提到，我們預計我們的熟食產品線將會成長。我們預計在第三季向 2 個全國客戶推出熟食產品。我們知道熟食店的價值主張是有前途的。我們在熟食店的價值主張是有前途的。當我們考慮固定成本吸收並真正最大限度地提高我們在生產和工時產量方面所能夠提高的效率時，銷量的增長將在下半年對我們有所幫助。我們將繼續下去，我們必須克服這一點並推動損益表的每條成本線的改進。

And we're making this organization more efficient every day. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't worry about yield, input costs, transportation, labor productivity and SG&A, and we're going to continue beating them on that every day. And ultimately, even though we see some short-term challenges, the categories in which we play, are performing at the better end of the spectrum of all of produce and deli SKUs. Across produce, value-added products perform better than whole commodities. Avocados are one of only the few commodities that delivered year-over-year unit volume growth in Q1. And finally, convenient deli snacks and meal kits led the pack in the deli aisle. So those things give me hope.

我們每天都在提高這個組織的效率。我們無時無刻都在擔心產量、投入成本、運輸、勞動生產力和銷售管理費用（SG&A），而且我們每天都會在這方面繼續擊敗他們。最終，儘管我們看到了一些短期挑戰，但我們參與的類別在所有農產品和熟食 SKU 中表現較好。在所有農產品中，增值產品的表現優於整體商品。酪梨是第一季銷量較去年同期成長的少數商品之一。最後，方便的熟食零食和餐包在熟食區佔據主導地位。所以這些事情給了我希望。

Our business model is right. We're working on the right things. We need to be agile, but we didn't deliver the results that we expected in this quarter. We need to get better each and every day. And while these challenges have slowed the progress that we expected, we're quickly repurposing resources. We're quickly making this organization leaner. We're focused on gaining sales distribution and continue to deliver sequential cash flow and earnings improvement. And that's what I'd like to leave you today.

我們的商業模式是正確的。我們正在做正確的事。我們需要保持敏捷，但本季我們沒有提供預期的結果。我們需要每一天都變得更好。儘管這些挑戰減緩了我們預期的進展，但我們正在迅速重新利用資源。我們正在迅速精簡這個組織。我們專注於獲得銷售分配，並繼續實現連續的現金流和獲利改善。這就是我今天想留給你們的。

I thank you for your time today, and thank you for your continued support of Calavo.

感謝您今天抽出時間，並感謝您對 Calavo 的持續支持。

Thank you. This will conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路，感謝您的參與。