Deluxe Corp (DLX) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Deluxe Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Today's call is being recorded. We will begin by opening remarks and introductions.

女士們，先生們，感謝您的支持，歡迎參加 Deluxe 第四季度和 2022 年全年收益電話會議。 （接線員說明）今天的電話正在錄音中。我們將從開場白和介紹開始。

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to your host, Vice President of Investor Relations, Tom Morabito. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議轉交給您的主持人，投資者關係副總裁湯姆·莫拉比托 (Tom Morabito)。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and welcome to the Deluxe Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Earnings Call. Joining me on today's call is Barry McCarthy, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Chip Zint, our Chief Financial Officer. At the end of today's prepared remarks, we will take questions.

謝謝接線員，歡迎來到 Deluxe 第四季度和 2022 年全年收益電話會議。和我一起參加今天電話會議的是我們的總裁兼首席執行官巴里·麥卡錫 (Barry McCarthy)；和我們的首席財務官 Chip Zint。在今天準備好的發言結束時，我們將接受提問。

Before we begin and as seen on this slide, I'd like to remind everyone that comments made today regarding management's intentions, projections, financial estimates or expectations about the company's future strategy or performance are forward-looking in nature as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Additional information about factors that may cause our actual results to differ from projections is set forth in the press release we furnished today in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, and in other company SEC filings.

在我們開始之前，如這張幻燈片所示，我想提醒大家，今天就管理層的意圖、預測、財務估計或對公司未來戰略或業績的預期發表的評論具有前瞻性，如《私人證券》中所定義1995 年訴訟改革法案。有關可能導致我們的實際結果與預測不同的因素的更多信息，請參閱我們今天在截至 2021 年 12 月 31 日的 10-K 表格中提供的新聞稿，以及其他公司 SEC備案。

On the call today, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, including comparable adjusted revenue, adjusted and comparable adjusted EBITDA, adjusted and comparable adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted EPS and free cash flow. To streamline discussion of our ongoing business operations today and going forward, we will discuss both revenue and EBITDA on a comparable adjusted basis, which will exclude the inconsistency caused by acquisitions or divestitures in the prior periods. For purposes of full year 2022, this will exclude the partial year impact of First American and impact of the divestitures done throughout the year.

在今天的電話會議上，我們將討論非 GAAP 財務指標，包括可比調整後收入、調整後和可比調整後 EBITDA、調整後和可比調整後 EBITDA 利潤率、調整後每股收益和自由現金流。為了簡化對我們今天和未來正在進行的業務運營的討論，我們將在可比調整的基礎上討論收入和 EBITDA，這將排除前期收購或資產剝離造成的不一致。就 2022 年全年而言，這將不包括 First American 的部分年度影響和全年資產剝離的影響。

In our press release, our presentation and our filings with the SEC, you will find additional disclosures regarding the non-GAAP measures, including reconciliations of these measures to the most comparable measures under U.S. GAAP. Also in the presentation, we are providing additional reconciliations of GAAP EPS to adjusted EPS, which should help with your modeling.

在我們的新聞稿、我們的演示文稿和我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中，您會發現有關非 GAAP 措施的額外披露，包括這些措施與美國 GAAP 下最可比措施的調節。同樣在演示文稿中，我們提供了 GAAP EPS 與調整後 EPS 的額外調節，這應該有助於您的建模。

Now I'll turn it over to Barry.

現在我將把它交給巴里。

Thanks, Tom, and good morning, everyone. Deluxe delivered strong results for both the fourth quarter and full year 2022, further proving we've become a payments and data company, as we expect Payments will become our largest segment by revenue during the first half of 2023. This will be a key milestone in the company's history.

謝謝，湯姆，大家早上好。 Deluxe 在第四季度和 2022 年全年都取得了強勁的業績，進一步證明我們已經成為一家支付和數據公司，因為我們預計支付將在 2023 年上半年成為我們收入最大的部分。這將是一個重要的里程碑在公司的歷史上。

Before reviewing the results, let me take a moment to reflect on what was another strong year for Deluxe. Four key highlights from the year include: first, reporting our second consecutive year of sales-driven revenue growth, an achievement not seen over a decade, showing the strength of our One Deluxe model; second, the accelerating success of our payments and data business. In Payments, First American continues to perform well in its second year as part of Deluxe, and we're expanding blended margins across the segment. In the data business, we recorded record revenue.

在回顧結果之前，讓我花點時間回顧一下 Deluxe 又是一個強勁的一年。今年的四大亮點包括：第一，我們連續第二年實現銷售驅動的收入增長，這是十年未見的成就，顯示了我們 One Deluxe 模式的實力；其次，我們的支付和數據業務正在加速取得成功。在支付方面，First American 作為 Deluxe 的一部分在第二年繼續表現良好，我們正在擴大整個細分市場的混合利潤率。在數據業務方面，我們創下了創紀錄的收入。

Third, strong performance in our print businesses, promo and check. Promo strongly rebounded after the impacts of COVID and supply chain disruptions, and Checks delivered its strongest top line performance in over 10 years. This performance shows the durability of demand for these solutions. Fourth, our ERP implementation went live with its last major release earlier this week. This key milestone marks the completion of our major corporate infrastructure modernization.

第三，我們的印刷業務、促銷和支票表現強勁。在 COVID 和供應鏈中斷的影響之後，Promo 強勁反彈，Checks 實現了 10 多年來最強勁的收入表現。這種表現表明了對這些解決方案的需求的持久性。第四，我們的 ERP 實施與本週早些時候的最後一個主要版本一起上線。這個重要的里程碑標誌著我們主要的企業基礎設施現代化的完成。

We also just announced the exit of our North American web hosting business, which was a nonstrategic business line, allowing us to further focus on payments and data. Chip will provide more details on the transaction. We've also changed the name of our Cloud Solutions segment to Data Solutions to better reflect the more focused operations of that business. Let me also take a moment to thank my Deluxers for another strong year for their endless dedication to our customers and for their continued commitment to making Deluxe a payments and data company. The sales team gathered last week for our sales kickoff, and the energy and excitement about 2023 was palpable.

我們還剛剛宣布退出北美網絡託管業務，這是一條非戰略性業務線，使我們能夠進一步專注於支付和數據。 Chip 將提供有關交易的更多詳細信息。我們還將雲解決方案部門的名稱更改為數據解決方案，以更好地反映該業務更集中的運營。讓我也花點時間感謝我的 Deluxers 又一個強勁的一年，感謝他們對我們客戶的不懈奉獻，以及他們對使 Deluxe 成為一家支付和數據公司的持續承諾。銷售團隊上周齊聚一堂，開始銷售，2023 年的活力和興奮之情溢於言表。

Now on to the results. For full year 2022, comparable adjusted revenue was $2.1 billion, up 5.2% year-over-year. Reported revenue increased 10.7%, above our guided range. Once again, this was our second consecutive year of sales-driven revenue growth. This is a key milestone. We continue to demonstrate the success of our One Deluxe model.

現在說說結果。 2022 年全年可比調整後收入為 21 億美元，同比增長 5.2%。報告收入增長 10.7%，高於我們的指導範圍。這又是我們連續第二年實現銷售驅動的收入增長。這是一個關鍵的里程碑。我們繼續展示我們的 One Deluxe 模型的成功。

For 2022, all 4 segments demonstrated comparable adjusted revenue growth, an accomplishment which has not been seen in a very long time, so long ago, it's outside the range of available data. Total adjusted EBITDA dollars increased 2.5% from 2021, and comparable adjusted EBITDA was down 4%. Going forward, we remain focused on driving growth in revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow for the long term. All of our actions drive towards these goals, which in turn, we believe, will drive greater shareholder returns.

到 2022 年，所有 4 個部門都顯示出可比較的調整後收入增長，這是很長一段時間以來從未見過的成就，很久以前，它超出了可用數據的範圍。調整後的 EBITDA 總額比 2021 年增長了 2.5%，而可比較的調整後 EBITDA 下降了 4%。展望未來，我們將繼續專注於推動收入增長、調整後的 EBITDA 和長期自由現金流。我們所有的行動都是為了實現這些目標，我們相信，這反過來又會帶來更大的股東回報。

Moving on to some segment revenue highlights. For the full year, on a comparable adjusted basis, Payments revenue grew 4.7% and adjusted EBITDA dollars grew 8.3%, with margins expanding 70 basis points from 2021. Merchant Services revenue increased 4.4% on a comparable adjusted basis, in line with our longer-term expectations of mid-single-digit growth. The rest of Payments, which includes our receivables and payables business, grew nearly 5%, with growth across our product lines, primarily in digital payments and treasury management. Our pipeline continues to grow, and we continue to gain wallet share from existing customers as we remain on track for Payments to be our largest revenue segment in the first half of the year. As I said earlier, this will be another key milestone for Deluxe as we've now become a payments and data company.

繼續討論一些細分市場的收入亮點。全年，在可比調整的基礎上，支付收入增長 4.7%，調整後的 EBITDA 美元增長 8.3%，利潤率比 2021 年擴大 70 個基點。商戶服務收入在可比調整的基礎上增長 4.4%，符合我們較長期的預期-中期個位數增長的長期預期。其餘的支付業務，包括我們的應收賬款和應付賬款業務，增長了近 5%，我們的產品線都在增長，主要是數字支付和資金管理。我們的管道繼續增長，我們繼續從現有客戶那裡獲得錢包份額，因為我們仍然有望在今年上半年使支付成為我們最大的收入部分。正如我之前所說，這將是 Deluxe 的另一個重要里程碑，因為我們現在已經成為一家支付和數據公司。

Data had a strong year, growing comparable adjusted revenue 8.6% year-over-year as we continue to expand the business into noninterest rate-sensitive verticals. Promo had a solid year on the top line, improving comparable adjusted revenue 6.1%. We were also pleased with the improvement in margins as the year progressed, which Chip will detail later.

數據表現強勁，隨著我們繼續將業務擴展到對利率不敏感的垂直領域，可比調整後收入同比增長 8.6%。 Promo 的年度收入穩健，可比調整後收入提高了 6.1%。隨著時間的推移，我們也對利潤率的提高感到滿意，Chip 將在稍後詳細介紹。

Finally, our check business improved 3.7% year-over-year, an incredible accomplishment. However, we are expecting the segment to return to traditional secular decline rates this year as we now lap the growth from key wins in 2021. As discussed on prior calls, our strategic investments in new print-on-demand technology will help us manage costs to match volumes, allowing us to maintain our strong margin rate in the segment as we return to normal secular declines. We're about halfway through the implementation of this new technology.

最後，我們的支票業務同比增長 3.7%，這是一項了不起的成就。但是，我們預計該細分市場今年將恢復到傳統的長期下降速度，因為我們現在從 2021 年的關鍵勝利中獲得增長。正如之前的電話會議所討論的那樣，我們對新的按需印刷技術的戰略投資將幫助我們管理成本以匹配數量，使我們能夠在恢復正常的長期下降時保持該細分市場的強勁利潤率。這項新技術的實施大約進行了一半。

We're proud of both our fourth quarter and full year results, which highlight our progress. Deluxe is now a fundamentally different company than what we were just a few years ago with Payments, a strong secular growth business, soon to be our largest revenue segment. And we've proven our One Deluxe model delivers top line growth. This was achieved while simultaneously modernizing the company's entire infrastructure, navigating COVID and inflation, executing significant portfolio optimization and more.

我們為我們的第四季度和全年業績感到自豪，這凸顯了我們的進步。 Deluxe 現在是一家與幾年前完全不同的公司，Payments 是一項強勁的長期增長業務，很快將成為我們最大的收入部門。我們已經證明了我們的 One Deluxe 模型帶來了收入增長。這是在實現公司整個基礎設施現代化、應對 COVID 和通貨膨脹、執行重大投資組合優化等的同時實現的。

Now I'll turn it over to Chip, who will provide more details on our financial performance.

現在我將把它交給奇普，他將提供有關我們財務業績的更多細節。

Thank you, Barry, and good morning, everyone. Before we review the results for the quarter, I'd like to elaborate on the pending sale of our North American web hosting business. Last year, we sold our Australian web hosting operations. And upon completion of the latest transaction, we will have completely exited the hosting business. As a reminder, this business has historically been largely a white-label service offered through telecom partners, which did not allow for material cross-selling opportunities and did not fit within our overall portfolio. This pending deal also includes our logo business.

謝謝你，巴里，大家早上好。在我們審查本季度的結果之前，我想詳細說明一下我們北美網絡託管業務的待定出售。去年，我們出售了澳大利亞網絡託管業務。而在最新的交易完成後，我們將徹底退出託管業務。提醒一下，這項業務歷來主要是通過電信合作夥伴提供的白標服務，不允許實質性交叉銷售機會，也不適合我們的整體產品組合。這筆未決交易還包括我們的徽標業務。

For the trailing 12 months, these businesses generated approximately $66 million in revenue with adjusted EBITDA margins in the mid- to high 30% range. The web hosting business was previously fully impaired due to its capital-intensive nature and recurring revenue declines. This was further evidenced in the fourth quarter where revenue declined 8% year-over-year. 2023 revenue will be impacted by approximately $45 million, and adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow each will be impacted by approximately $20 million. These impacts are included in our guidance, which I'll discuss in a moment, and mostly affect our data segment with a very small impact to the promo segment.

在過去的 12 個月裡，這些業務產生了大約 6600 萬美元的收入，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率處於 30% 的中高水平。由於其資本密集型性質和經常性收入下降，網絡託管業務此前已完全受損。第四季度的收入同比下降 8% 進一步證明了這一點。 2023 年的收入將受到約 4500 萬美元的影響，調整後的 EBITDA 和自由現金流將分別受到約 2000 萬美元的影響。這些影響包含在我們的指南中，我將在稍後討論，並且主要影響我們的數據部分，對促銷部分的影響非常小。

I know there have been many changes to the portfolio recently, but they reflect a methodical effort to simplify and focus the business. For more information about the business exits and impact to guidance, please refer to the reconciliations in our press release and presentation. Additional details of the transaction can also be found in our recently filed Form 8-K with the SEC.

我知道最近投資組合發生了很多變化，但它們反映了為簡化和集中業務而進行的有條不紊的努力。有關業務退出和對指導的影響的更多信息，請參閱我們的新聞稿和演示文稿中的對賬。有關交易的更多詳細信息，請參閱我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的 8-K 表格。

Now let's go through the consolidated highlights for the quarter and year before moving on to the segments. For the fourth quarter, total comparable adjusted revenue improved 1.2% to $564 million. On a reported basis, revenue declined 1.2% year-over-year. We reported fourth quarter GAAP net income of $19 million or $0.44 per diluted share, up from $14 million or $0.32 per share in the fourth quarter of 2021.

現在讓我們在繼續細分之前先了解本季度和年度的綜合亮點。第四季度，可比調整後總收入增長 1.2% 至 5.64 億美元。根據報告，收入同比下降 1.2%。我們報告第四季度 GAAP 淨收入為 1900 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.44 美元，高於 2021 年第四季度的 1400 萬美元或每股 0.32 美元。

Adjusted EBITDA came in at $112 million, down $3 million or 2.8% on a comparable adjusted basis from last year. Improvements in Payments, data and promo were offset by checks and employee benefit costs in the corporate segment. Comparable adjusted EBITDA margins were 19.9% and in line with our expectations. Fourth quarter adjusted diluted EPS came in at $1.04, down from $1.26 in last year's fourth quarter. This decrease was primarily driven by interest expense. As a reminder, nearly 60% of our debt is fixed rate, which should help insulate the company from future rate hikes.

調整後的 EBITDA 為 1.12 億美元，與去年同期相比下降 300 萬美元或 2.8%。支付、數據和促銷方面的改善被企業部門的支票和員工福利成本所抵消。可比調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 19.9%，符合我們的預期。第四季度調整後的攤薄每股收益為 1.04 美元，低於去年第四季度的 1.26 美元。這一下降主要是由利息支出推動的。提醒一下，我們近 60% 的債務是固定利率的，這應該有助於使公司免受未來加息的影響。

For the full year, on a reported basis, we posted total revenue of $2.24 billion, up 10.7% year-over-year and above our guided range. As Barry mentioned, comparable adjusted revenue increased 5.2% year-over-year. We reported full year GAAP net income of $65 million or $1.50 per share for the year, up from $63 million or $1.45 per share in 2021.

全年，根據報告，我們公佈的總收入為 22.4 億美元，同比增長 10.7%，高於我們的指導範圍。正如 Barry 所提到的，可比調整後收入同比增長 5.2%。我們報告全年 GAAP 淨收入為 6500 萬美元或每股 1.50 美元，高於 2021 年的 6300 萬美元或每股 1.45 美元。

Full year adjusted EBITDA was $418 million, up $10 million or 2.5% as reported from last year. Adjusted EBITDA margins were 18.7%, down from last year's 20.2%, due to business mix and the impact of pass-through price increases to offset inflation. On a comparable adjusted basis, EBITDA dollars declined 4% for the year, and EBITDA margins were 18.5%, down from 20.3% last year. Full year adjusted EPS came in at $4.08, down from $4.88 in 2021, primarily due to higher interest expense, depreciation and amortization.

全年調整後的 EBITDA 為 4.18 億美元，比去年增加 1000 萬美元或 2.5%。調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 18.7%，低於去年的 20.2%，這是由於業務組合以及為抵消通貨膨脹而通過價格上漲所產生的影響。在可比調整的基礎上，EBITDA 美元全年下降 4%，EBITDA 利潤率為 18.5%，低於去年的 20.3%。全年調整後每股收益為 4.08 美元，低於 2021 年的 4.88 美元，主要原因是利息支出、折舊和攤銷費用增加。

Now turning to our segment details, starting with our growth businesses, Payments and Data. Payments grew fourth quarter revenue 2.5% year-over-year to $171 million, with Merchant Services growing 3.3% year-over-year. As we indicated on the last call, we anticipated slower growth for a few quarters as all of Payments was up against tough year-over-year comparisons. We do, however, expect growth rates to improve as the year progresses. Payments adjusted EBITDA margins were 21.6%, up from last year's 20.6%, largely driven by operating leverage in our treasury management business.

現在轉向我們的細分市場細節，從我們的增長業務、支付和數據開始。第四季度支付收入同比增長 2.5% 至 1.71 億美元，商業服務收入同比增長 3.3%。正如我們在上次電話會議上指出的那樣，我們預計幾個季度的增長將放緩，因為所有支付都與去年同期相比比較艱難。然而，我們確實預計增長率會隨著時間的推移而提高。付款調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 21.6%，高於去年的 20.6%，這主要是由於我們資金管理業務的經營槓桿。

For the year, Payments grew revenue 33% year-over-year to $679 million, driven by the acquisition of First American and sales-driven growth for stand-alone Deluxe. For the year and including First American, adjusted EBITDA increased 36.9% and adjusted EBITDA margins were 21.3%, up 60 basis points. On a comparable adjusted basis for the year, Payments revenue increased 4.7%. EBITDA increased 8.3%, and EBITDA margins were 21.4%, up from 20.7%. For 2023, we expect to see mid-single-digit revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA margins in the low to mid-20% range.

今年，支付收入同比增長 33% 至 6.79 億美元，這得益於收購 First American 和獨立豪華版的銷售驅動增長。全年，包括第一美國航空在內，調整後的 EBITDA 增長了 36.9%，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 21.3%，增長了 60 個基點。在今年可比調整的基礎上，支付收入增長了 4.7%。 EBITDA 增長 8.3%，EBITDA 利潤率為 21.4%，高於 20.7%。到 2023 年，我們預計收入將實現中個位數增長，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率將在 20% 的中低範圍內。

Data had another strong quarter. Comparable adjusted revenue increased 11% year-over-year to $63 million. On a reported basis, data's revenue was up 0.3% from the fourth quarter of 2021. We once again saw strength particularly in our data-driven marketing business, delivering another significant revenue growth quarter. We specifically saw a few customers accelerate campaigns, pulling Q1 planned spend into Q4. As such, we expect the Q1 result to decline low single digits due to the timing shifts of these campaigns.

數據有另一個強勁的季度。可比調整後收入同比增長 11% 至 6300 萬美元。根據報告，數據的收入比 2021 年第四季度增長了 0.3%。我們再次看到了實力，特別是在我們的數據驅動營銷業務方面，實現了另一個顯著的收入增長季度。我們特別看到一些客戶加快了營銷活動，將第一季度的計劃支出拉到了第四季度。因此，由於這些活動的時間變化，我們預計第一季度的業績將下降低個位數。

Data's adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter increased 340 basis points year-over-year to 27.6%, which again relates to timing as well as operating leverage from strong DDM volume. On a comparable adjusted basis, EBITDA margins improved 300 basis points. For the year, the data segment comparable adjusted revenue increased 8.6% year-over-year to $268 million. On a reported basis, data grew 2% for the year.

Data 在本季度調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率同比增長 340 個基點至 27.6%，這再次與時機以及來自強勁 DDM 量的運營槓桿有關。在可比調整的基礎上，EBITDA 利潤率提高了 300 個基點。全年，數據部門可比調整後收入同比增長 8.6% 至 2.68 億美元。根據報告，該年度數據增長了 2%。

For 2022, data's adjusted EBITDA margins declined 130 basis points versus prior year to 25.5%, driven by business mix and the investments in our data platform. On a comparable adjusted basis, EBITDA margins declined 170 basis points.

到 2022 年，數據的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率較上年下降 130 個基點至 25.5%，這是受業務組合和數據平台投資的推動。在可比調整的基礎上，EBITDA 利潤率下降了 170 個基點。

For 2023, we expect to see low single-digit revenue growth on a comparable adjusted basis. We also expect to see comparable adjusted EBITDA margins in the low 20% range.

到 2023 年，我們預計在可比調整的基礎上收入將實現低個位數增長。我們還預計可比較的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率將處於 20% 的較低範圍內。

Turning now to our print businesses, promo and checks. Promo's fourth quarter revenue was $154 million, up 3.1% on a comparable adjusted basis, driven by new sales wins and pricing actions. On a reported basis, revenue declined 1.5% year-over-year. Promo's adjusted EBITDA margins increased 100 basis points year-over-year to 19.3% but improved nearly 600 basis points sequentially as we benefited from continued pricing actions, stable supply conditions and normal seasonal upticks. On a comparable adjusted basis, EBITDA margin improved 50 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2021.

現在轉向我們的印刷業務、促銷和支票。 Promo 第四季度的收入為 1.54 億美元，在可比調整後的基礎上增長 3.1%，這主要得益於新的銷售勝利和定價行動。根據報告，收入同比下降 1.5%。 Promo 的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率同比增長 100 個基點至 19.3%，但由於我們受益於持續的定價行動、穩定的供應狀況和正常的季節性上漲，環比提高了近 600 個基點。在可比調整的基礎上，EBITDA 利潤率比 2021 年第四季度提高了 50 個基點。

For the year, promo's revenue was $563 million, up 6.1% year-over-year on a comparable adjusted basis or 3% on a reported basis. Adjusted EBITDA margins for the year were 14.1%, down 150 basis points and on a comparable adjusted basis were down 190 basis points. For 2023, we expect to see low single-digit comparable adjusted revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA margins in the mid-teens.

全年，promo 的收入為 5.63 億美元，按可比調整後同比增長 6.1%，按報告基礎增長 3%。全年調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 14.1%，下降 150 個基點，在可比調整的基礎上下降 190 個基點。到 2023 年，我們預計調整後的可比收入增長率和調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率將保持在十幾歲左右的低個位數。

Check's fourth quarter revenue decreased 4.6% from last year to $176 million as the business returned to expected secular declines, with Q4 results now lapping all the major new customer wins from 2021. Fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA margins were 42.5%, down 270 basis points year-over-year as we experienced off-cycle supplier price increases for both materials and logistics inputs, some of which are temporary seasonal base surcharges. We have factored these and future expected increases into our 2023 customer price increases. As a result, we believe the margin rate will improve in Q1.

Check 的第四季度收入比去年下降 4.6% 至 1.76 億美元，因為業務恢復了預期的長期下滑，第四季度的業績現在涵蓋了 2021 年以來贏得的所有主要新客戶。第四季度調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 42.5%，同比下降 270 個基點-我們經歷了材料和物流投入的非週期供應商價格上漲，其中一些是臨時的季節性基本附加費。我們已將這些和未來的預期漲幅計入我們 2023 年的客戶價格漲幅。因此，我們認為保證金率將在第一季度有所改善。

Check's full year 2022 revenue was $729 million, up 3.7% year-over-year. And adjusted EBITDA margins were 44%, down 210 basis points but consistent with our long-term expectations of mid-40% margins. For 2023, we are expecting mid-single-digit revenue declines and adjusted EBITDA margins in the mid-40% range. As Barry mentioned, our print-on-demand technology will help maintain margins, and we're about halfway through the implementation.

Check 2022 年全年收入為 7.29 億美元，同比增長 3.7%。調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 44%，下降了 210 個基點，但符合我們對 40% 利潤率中期的長期預期。對於 2023 年，我們預計收入將出現中個位數下降，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率將在 40% 左右。正如 Barry 所提到的，我們的按需印刷技術將有助於維持利潤，而且我們的實施已經進行到一半了。

Turning now to our balance sheet and cash flow. We ended the year with a net debt level of $1.6 billion, down from $1.64 billion last year, demonstrating our continued commitment to pay down debt. Our net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio was 3.8x at the end of the year, improving from 4x a year ago. Our long-term strategic target remains approximately 3x.

現在轉向我們的資產負債表和現金流量。我們年底的淨債務水平為 16 億美元，低於去年的 16.4 億美元，表明我們繼續致力於償還債務。截至年底，我們的淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 比率為 3.8 倍，高於一年前的 4 倍。我們的長期戰略目標仍然是大約 3 倍。

Free cash flow, defined as cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures, was $37 million in the quarter, up from $34 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 due to improved working capital and lower cloud computing arrangement or CCA spend, partially offset by higher interest payments. This was also a sequential improvement from the third quarter. First quarter 2023 free cash flow is expected to be negative as it will be impacted by incremental interest expense, onetime expenses from our ERP implementation and annual employee compensation payments, but should improve as the year progresses. For the year, free cash flow was $87 million, down from $102 million in 2021 due to higher interest payments, cash taxes and working capital.

自由現金流（定義為經營活動提供的現金減去資本支出）在本季度為 3700 萬美元，高於 2021 年第四季度的 3400 萬美元，原因是營運資本改善和雲計算安排或 CCA 支出減少，部分被較高的支出所抵消利息支付。這也是第三季度的環比改善。 2023 年第一季度的自由現金流預計為負，因為它將受到增量利息支出、ERP 實施的一次性支出和年度員工薪酬支付的影響，但隨著時間的推移應該會有所改善。由於利息支付、現金稅和營運資金增加，全年自由現金流為 8700 萬美元，低於 2021 年的 1.02 億美元。

Our Board approved a regular quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share on all outstanding shares. The dividend will be payable on March 6, 2023, to all shareholders of record as of market closing on February 21, 2023. We are focused on taking a balanced approach to capital allocation. And as a reminder, our capital allocation priorities are to responsibly invest in growth, pay our dividend, reduce debt and return value to our shareholders.

我們的董事會批准對所有已發行股票派發每股 0.30 美元的定期季度股息。股息將於 2023 年 3 月 6 日支付給截至 2023 年 2 月 21 日收市時在冊的所有股東。我們專注於採取平衡的資本配置方法。提醒一下，我們的資本分配優先事項是負責任地投資於增長、支付股息、減少債務並為股東回報價值。

Turning now to guidance. Today, we are providing our expectations for 2023, keeping in mind all figures are approximate and reflect the expected impact of the web hosting and logo divestiture: revenue of $2.145 billion to $2.21 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $390 million to $405 million, adjusted EPS of $2.90 to $3.25 and free cash flow of $80 million to $100 million. To be clear, on a comparable adjusted basis, 2023 revenue represents a range of negative 1% to positive 2% growth. The comparable adjusted EBITDA range represents negative 2% to positive 2% growth.

現在轉向指導。今天，我們提供了對 2023 年的預期，請記住所有數字都是近似值，反映了網絡託管和徽標剝離的預期影響：收入為 21.45 億美元至 22.1 億美元，調整後的 EBITDA 為 3.9 億美元至 4.05 億美元，調整後的每股收益為2.90 至 3.25 美元，自由現金流為 8000 萬至 1 億美元。需要明確的是，在可比調整的基礎上，2023 年的收入代表著 1% 的負增長到 2% 的正增長。可比較的調整後 EBITDA 範圍代表負增長 2% 至正增長 2%。

To further clarify, EPS is expected to decline year-over-year due to the full year impact of rising interest rates, incremental depreciation and amortization and an estimated $0.25 impact from the announced divestiture. However, factoring in the impact of the divestiture, the free cash flow guide is an increase year-over-year on a comparable adjusted basis.

為了進一步澄清，由於利率上升、折舊和攤銷的增加以及宣布的資產剝離帶來的估計 0.25 美元的影響，每股收益預計將同比下降。然而，考慮到資產剝離的影響，自由現金流指南在可比調整的基礎上同比增長。

Also, in order to assist with your modeling, our guidance assumes the following: interest expense of $120 million to $125 million; an adjusted tax rate of 26%; depreciation and amortization of $170 million, of which acquisition amortization is approximately $75 million; an average outstanding share count of 43.7 million shares; and capital expenditures of approximately $100 million. This guidance is subject to, among other things, prevailing macroeconomic conditions, including interest rates, labor supply issues, inflation and the impact of other divestitures.

此外，為了幫助您進行建模，我們的指南假設如下： 利息支出為 1.2 億美元至 1.25 億美元；調整後的稅率為 26%；折舊和攤銷 1.7 億美元，其中收購攤銷約為 7500 萬美元；平均流通股數為 4370 萬股；資本支出約為 1 億美元。除其他外，該指南受當前宏觀經濟條件的影響，包括利率、勞動力供應問題、通貨膨脹和其他資產剝離的影響。

To summarize, we are pleased with the fourth quarter and full year 2022 results. Our sales pipeline continues to expand with new customers, and we continue to see increased growth from our existing customer base. We look forward to continuing the momentum in 2023, a year which we expect to be highlighted by continued revenue growth, increased operational efficiencies and increased free cash flow.

總而言之，我們對第四季度和 2022 年全年的業績感到滿意。隨著新客戶的加入，我們的銷售渠道繼續擴大，我們繼續看到現有客戶群的增長。我們期待在 2023 年繼續保持這一勢頭，我們預計這一年將以收入持續增長、運營效率提高和自由現金流增加為重點。

Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

接線員，我們現在準備好接受提問了。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Lance Vitanza from Cowen.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 Cowen 的 Lance Vitanza。

Kind of a lot to unpack here, but let me start with the web hosting and logo divestiture. Did you call out the EBITDA margin on the asset sale?

這裡有很多要解壓縮的內容，但讓我從網絡託管和徽標剝離開始。您是否在資產出售中列出了 EBITDA 利潤率？

We did. We said that it was mid to high 30s. And as you know, Lance, that is a business that was a consumer of capital, and it was in decline. We also mentioned that in the fourth quarter, revenue in that segment declined 8%.

我們做到了。我們說那是 30 多歲。正如你所知，蘭斯，這是一家消耗資本的企業，而且它正在走下坡路。我們還提到，第四季度該部門的收入下降了 8%。

So -- right. So it was $65 million of revenue and then kind of like $25-ish million of EBITDA, something in that range, in that general vicinity. And I guess -- and that was for the trailing 12 months. Where I'm going with this, Barry, is I'm thinking about your adjusted EBITDA guidance of $390 million to $405 million, which right on the face of it, it looks like it's down versus the $418 million that you printed this year -- or for 2022. But if we add the $25 million-ish, right, from the asset sales, then we're sort of -- we're getting to that slight EBITDA positive that you talked about in the 8-K filing. Is that sort of the right way to think about it?

所以——對。所以這是 6500 萬美元的收入，然後有點像 2500 萬美元的 EBITDA，在那個範圍內，在那個一般附近。我猜——那是在過去的 12 個月裡。巴里，我要說的是，我正在考慮你調整後的 EBITDA 指導值 3.9 億至 4.05 億美元，從表面上看，它看起來低於你今年打印的 4.18 億美元 - - 或 2022 年。但是，如果我們從資產出售中增加 2500 萬美元左右，那麼我們有點 - 我們將達到您在 8-K 文件中談到的輕微 EBITDA 積極。這種思考方式是否正確？

This is Chip. So as you have time to digest this, you'll see at the back of our earnings release and slides, we provided some information that will reconcile that for you, especially on the guidance side. But your back-of-the-napkin math is roughly right, around $25 million of EBITDA for a full year. We are, of course, modeling into our guidance only 3 quarters of impact. That's where we get the roughly $45 million revenue impact and approximately $20 million EBITDA impact that I just referred to on the call. But all of those things, plus the impact of last year's exits rolling forward, are reconciled in the back. And that's why we thought it was important to move just comparable adjusted dynamics so that it can be much more transparent on how the business is doing on an apples-to-apples basis.

這是奇普。因此，當你有時間消化這一點時，你會在我們的收益發布和幻燈片的後面看到，我們提供了一些信息可以為你協調，特別是在指導方面。但是您的餐巾紙背面數學大致正確，全年的 EBITDA 約為 2500 萬美元。當然，我們僅將 3 個季度的影響建模到我們的指導中。這就是我在電話會議上提到的大約 4500 萬美元的收入影響和大約 2000 萬美元的 EBITDA 影響。但所有這些事情，加上去年退出的影響，都在背後得到了調和。這就是為什麼我們認為僅移動可比較的調整動態很重要，這樣它就可以更加透明地說明業務在蘋果對蘋果的基礎上是如何運作的。

Okay. Great. Maybe moving on to the data segment that continues. You mentioned during the call continued diversification into noninterest rate-sensitive verticals. And I'm wondering, how much of the data segment -- again, on a go-forward basis, how much of that data segment currently is in noninterest rate-sensitive verticals?

好的。偉大的。也許轉到繼續的數據段。你在電話會議中提到繼續多元化進入對利率不敏感的垂直領域。而且我想知道，有多少數據段——再次，在前進的基礎上，該數據段中有多少目前處於非利率敏感的垂直領域？

Lance, I don't think we've ever provided sort of the sources of revenue at that level. But the reason that business continues to perform well in a period of rising interest rates, I think, is because those noninterest rate sectors or categories are experiencing really attractive growth rates that are more than offsetting things that were highly sensitive like mortgage. And if you look back in our history, you can see previous interest rate cycles like this, that business was pretty significantly impacted, and we're actually showing growth. And so I think that gives you a good sort of direction that it's increasingly about noninterest rate-sensitive categories.

蘭斯，我認為我們從來沒有提供過那種級別的收入來源。但我認為，企業在利率上升時期繼續表現良好的原因是，那些非利率行業或類別正在經歷真正有吸引力的增長率，這不僅僅是抵消了抵押貸款等高度敏感的事物。如果你回顧我們的歷史，你會發現以前的利率週期是這樣的，業務受到了相當大的影響，而我們實際上正在顯示增長。所以我認為這給了你一個很好的方向，它越來越多地涉及非利率敏感類別。

Is it possible to talk a little bit about which of those noninterest rate-sensitive verticals present the most obvious or most compelling opportunities for Deluxe? And are there any examples of recent wins to call out, anything along those lines?

是否可以談談哪些對利率不敏感的垂直行業為 Deluxe 提供了最明顯或最引人注目的機會？是否有任何最近獲勝的例子值得一提？

Yes. So I mean, I'll give you 2 parts to this. The business historically was focused on the financial services industry. And within the financial services industry, dollars are being shifted in those financial services companies away from interest rate-sensitive things like mortgages towards things like certificates of deposit, normal DDA accounts, high-reward credit cards, other solutions that the financial institution is attacking to deliver their own growth. And we've shown an ability to move into those sectors, away from the interest rate-sensitive area.

是的。所以我的意思是，我會給你 2 個部分。該業務歷來專注於金融服務行業。在金融服務行業內，這些金融服務公司的資金正在從抵押貸款等對利率敏感的事物轉向存款證、普通 DDA 賬戶、高回報信用卡以及金融機構正在攻擊的其他解決方案等事物實現自己的成長。我們已經展示了進入這些領域的能力，遠離利率敏感領域。

But beyond that, we've also moved into and are providing now campaign services to a very wide range of solutions. Everything from one of the largest online retailers to insurance companies and others that are interested in growing and finding new customers. And the focus on all of this really are businesses that have high lifetime value for a customer. And the reason the solution is valuable to them is that it's giving -- we are providing to that company a very, very high converting lead list so that company can invest materially in its marketing plans with the confidence that it will turn into new customers. And we're growing the business because we're just really, really good at it.

但除此之外，我們還進入並正在為範圍非常廣泛的解決方案提供活動服務。從最大的在線零售商之一到保險公司和其他有興趣發展和尋找新客戶的公司，應有盡有。所有這一切的重點實際上是對客戶具有高生命週期價值的業務。該解決方案對他們有價值的原因在於它正在提供——我們正在向該公司提供一個非常非常高的轉化率列表，這樣公司就可以對其營銷計劃進行實質性投資，並有信心將其轉化為新客戶。我們正在發展業務，因為我們真的非常擅長。

That's helpful, Barry. A quick question on the checks side. Margin was a bit weaker than we had expected. How has the margin performance compared to your own expectations? And was there anything going on in there that drove -- in the quarter that drove margin performance one way or the other that's worth kind of calling out? And I apologize if I missed that during your prepared remarks.

這很有幫助，巴里。支票方面的一個快速問題。利潤率比我們預期的要弱一些。與您自己的預期相比，利潤表現如何？那裡是否發生了任何事情——在這個季度以一種或另一種方式推動利潤率表現，值得一提？如果我在你準備好的發言中錯過了這一點，我深表歉意。

Yes. It's Chip again. So you're right, the 42.5% for the quarter was a bit below our expectations. We mentioned kind of 2 factors. There were 2 out-of-cycle supplier price increases that we experienced, both on the material side and on the logistics side. Logistics specifically was more of a seasonal-based surcharge that will correct itself now in the start of the year, but the out-of-cycle price increases obviously happened. They're out of cycle, which means as we set our final forecast for the year, we didn't see them yet. And so that was a bit of a surprise. But as I said, we'll be able to bank those increases into this next price increase early in the year. And obviously, it's very great that the overall portfolio was able to offset that issue and deliver the results exactly where we thought they would be.

是的。又是奇普。所以你是對的，本季度的 42.5% 有點低於我們的預期。我們提到了兩種因素。在材料方面和物流方面，我們經歷了 2 次週期外供應商價格上漲。物流具體來說更像是一種基於季節性的附加費，現在會在年初進行自我修正，但明顯出現了周期外的價格上漲。它們不在周期內，這意味著當我們設定今年的最終預測時，我們還沒有看到它們。所以這有點令人驚訝。但正如我所說，我們將能夠在今年年初將這些漲價存入下一次漲價中。顯然，整個產品組合能夠抵消該問題並準確地提供我們認為的結果是非常好的。

Just the last one for me, I promise. Just on corporate expenses, they were up again about 5% year-over-year. Is that just sort of the inflationary environment? Or is there anything in particular going on there? And really more to the point, I guess, it looks like you're running close to 9% of revenues on that corporate line, and it might even be higher on a comparable adjusted revenue basis. But I'm just wondering if that's sort of the right -- is that the right percentage for a company this size? Or is there -- is it -- should we be thinking that maybe there's some improvement there to come? Or no, is this just kind of a good level that you guys are happy with? Anything you could say there would be helpful.

對我來說只是最後一個，我保證。僅就公司支出而言，它們再次同比增長約 5%。這只是一種通貨膨脹環境嗎？或者那裡有什麼特別的事情發生？更重要的是，我猜，看起來你在這條公司線上的收入接近 9%，而且在可比的調整後收入基礎上，它甚至可能更高。但我只是想知道這是否合適——對於這種規模的公司來說，這個比例合適嗎？或者我們是否應該考慮可能會有一些改進？或者不，這只是你們滿意的好水平嗎？你能說的任何話都會有所幫助。

Sure. So turning to the quarter, I think you got to recall, we've mentioned a few times throughout the year that we restored our 401(k) match earlier this year. That's been weighing on the corporate segment. So when you really look at the growth year-over-year, mostly a function of that. There's puts and takes across the other areas, other increases related to inflation, offset by operational efficiencies. But net-net, the real driver year-over-year in the fourth quarter was that 401(k) match.

當然。所以轉向本季度，我想你必須記得，我們在今年早些時候多次提到我們恢復了 401(k) 匹配。這一直在給企業部門帶來壓力。所以當你真正看到同比增長時，主要是它的一個功能。其他領域存在看跌期權，其他與通貨膨脹相關的增長被運營效率所抵消。但淨淨，第四季度同比的真正驅動因素是 401(k) 匹配。

As we look forward to 2023, you are right. I would tell you, as you're thinking about your guidance and your modeling, you have to roughly model somewhere around $200 million or roughly 9% of revenue to get to the ranges we provided, and let me just give you a little bit of context what's going on there. We continue to deal with inflation. It's a factor of the environment. We've got the investments in the technology. We've mentioned it a few times. We also have the function of the divestiture. And once we divest those assets, there will be some stranded costs that are corporate in nature that will come back to the corporate cost center. And so all of those things equally look like we are kind of staying flat, which we know is not where we need to be.

當我們期待 2023 年時，您是對的。我會告訴你，當你在考慮你的指導和你的建模時，你必須粗略地建模大約 2 億美元或大約 9% 的收入才能達到我們提供的範圍，讓我給你一點點上下文發生了什麼。我們繼續應對通貨膨脹。這是環境的一個因素。我們已經在技術上進行了投資。我們已經提到過幾次了。我們還有資產剝離的功能。一旦我們剝離這些資產，就會有一些企業性質的擱淺成本將回到企業成本中心。因此，所有這些事情看起來都像我們一樣保持平穩，我們知道這不是我們需要的地方。

So I'll just reiterate that this remains a major focus area for us. Getting cost out of the corporate segment is one of the most strategic factors for us as we get into the year and look to overdeliver our results and overdrive our internal plan. And so I would just advise you to kind of model it as this 9% roughly or $200 million for now, but know it's a major focus of ours. And we think we can make progress as the year goes on to try to bring this spend down.

所以我只想重申，這仍然是我們的主要關注領域。當我們進入這一年並希望超額交付我們的結果並超額推動我們的內部計劃時，將成本從企業部門中剔除是我們最具戰略意義的因素之一。因此，我建議您暫時將其建模為大約 9% 或 2 億美元，但要知道這是我們的主要關注點。我們認為，隨著時間的推移，我們可以在努力降低這一支出方面取得進展。

Your next question comes from the line of Charlie Strauzer from CJS Securities.

你的下一個問題來自 CJS 證券公司的 Charlie Strauzer。

I'd like to talk a little bit about the divestiture yesterday in the web hosting business. And if you look at the sale earlier in the year of the Australian piece, it seems the sale -- kind of the all-in sale price was below where this business was bought back in May of 2008. And it seems the price tag is a little bit low, but wondering there what transpired in terms of what potential kind of shopping -- kind of a go shop, if you will, in that process.

我想談談昨天在網絡託管業務中的資產剝離。如果你看一下這家澳大利亞公司今年早些時候的銷售情況，似乎總銷售價格低於 2008 年 5 月收購這家公司的價格。價格標籤似乎是有點低，但想知道在那個過程中，在什麼樣的潛在購物方面發生了什麼——如果你願意的話，那就是去商店。

So Charlie, you're right. The company acquired those assets before -- quite a while ago. But you'll recall that in 2019, we had fully impaired -- between 2019, early 2020, we fully impaired the asset entirely because the marketplace for that business had changed so materially. And as we look to the future, really recognize that of those businesses, web hosting really weren't a fit and a match with becoming a payments and data company. And we went to market looking for suitable buyers, a very robust process, very robust process. And we came out with what we think is a fair transaction. And it avoids for us the ongoing need to put significant capital into the business in a business with secular declines and a much better fit for the acquirer because they're in that, that's their core business. And they have leverage and scale from adding our portfolio to their business, something we just -- it was a profile and an opportunity we didn't have.

所以查理，你是對的。該公司之前——很久以前就收購了這些資產。但你會記得，在 2019 年，我們已經完全減值——在 2019 年和 2020 年初之間，我們完全減值了資產，因為該業務的市場發生瞭如此重大的變化。當我們展望未來時，真正認識到這些業務中，網絡託管確實不適合成為支付和數據公司。我們去市場尋找合適的買家，一個非常強大的過程，非常強大的過程。我們得出了我們認為公平的交易。對於我們來說，它避免了持續需要將大量資金投入到長期衰退的業務中，並且更適合收購方，因為他們在其中，這是他們的核心業務。他們通過將我們的投資組合添加到他們的業務中而具有影響力和規模，這是我們所沒有的形象和機會。

And so we took the opportunity to divest that. We think it will be very focusing for the company. You heard us say that we're changing the name of the segment from cloud because it was a distributed set of assets. And now it's very, very focused on our data business, which is what we've been saying is the jewel of that business for some time. And we think that makes it much more clear. And we think it's a good outcome.

因此，我們藉此機會剝離了它。我們認為這將非常關注公司。您聽到我們說我們正在更改來自云的細分市場的名稱，因為它是一組分佈式資產。現在它非常非常專注於我們的數據業務，這就是我們一段時間以來一直在說的業務中的明珠。我們認為這使它變得更加清晰。我們認為這是一個很好的結果。

Got it. And then staying on the topic of divestitures, are you planning to potentially divest more businesses going forward here? Or are we kind of at the tail end of that process?

知道了。然後繼續討論資產剝離的話題，您是否打算在未來剝離更多業務？還是我們有點處於該過程的尾端？

We will continue to look at the portfolio for pruning opportunities. But Charlie, if the question really is, are you going to look to us to lop off 1 of the 4 legs, check, promo, data or Payments, I think we're at the place where we feel confident that's not on the horizon here.

我們將繼續關注投資組合中的修剪機會。但是查理，如果問題真的是，你會指望我們削減 4 條腿中的 1 條，檢查、促銷、數據或付款，我認為我們處於我們有信心不在地平線上的地方這裡。

Makes sense. And then looking at the guidance for the year, pretty wide range of outcomes there at the high end on revenue growth, given that we're going into potentially a recession here with inflation and higher interest rates kind of in the forecasts. What gives you confidence there that the high end of that range and kind of what are some of the assumptions behind the guidance overall?

說得通。然後看看今年的指導，在收入增長的高端結果範圍很廣，因為我們可能會在這裡陷入衰退，預測中會出現通貨膨脹和更高的利率。是什麼讓您相信該範圍的高端以及總體指導背後的一些假設是什麼？

Yes, I appreciate the question, Charlie. It's Chip. I would just say, I think the high end of the range, what gives us confidence is just the execution and success we've seen over the last 2 years, the ability to cross-sell within the portfolio, the way we've invested in the products over the last few years to improve the functionality, the market attractiveness of it, to build a robust pipeline and just continuing the sales momentum.

是的，我很欣賞這個問題，查理。是奇普。我只想說，我認為範圍的高端，給我們信心的只是我們在過去兩年中看到的執行和成功，在投資組合中交叉銷售的能力，我們的投資方式在過去幾年的產品中，我們改進了功能，提高了它的市場吸引力，建立了強大的產品線，並繼續保持銷售勢頭。

So if I think about from a revenue side, I mean, obviously, we did our range responsibly for all the right reasons. You mentioned there still is uncertainty, and you don't know what's going to happen. But we look at that top end and think it's very achievable. As you flow it down, obviously, the ranges get a bit wider as you go down my list of things I guided because of the uncertainty, and room for variance can get larger and larger. But we just feel good about where the company is positioned, the internal plan we've established and just being able to execute on the momentum we've had the last 2 years from a top line perspective.

因此，如果我從收入方面考慮，我的意思是，顯然，我們出於所有正確的原因負責任地完成了我們的範圍。你提到仍然存在不確定性，你不知道會發生什麼。但我們看著那個高端，認為它是非常可以實現的。當你往下看時，很明顯，由於不確定性，當你沿著我指導的事情清單走下去時，範圍會變得更寬，並且變化的空間會變得越來越大。但我們對公司的定位、我們制定的內部計劃以及能夠從頂線角度執行過去兩年的勢頭感到滿意。

And then when you get to the EBITDA, it just can't be said enough how much we're going to focus on cost out, cost efficiencies, operating leverage, the corporate cost center, as I said, and just get very maniacally focused on our cost profile so that we can make sure we deliver that EBITDA result and start to grow EBITDA even more. And that will obviously help our deleveraging.

然後當你談到 EBITDA 時，就不能說我們將在多大程度上關注成本支出、成本效率、運營槓桿、企業成本中心，正如我所說的，只是變得非常專注在我們的成本概況上，這樣我們就可以確保我們提供 EBITDA 結果並開始進一步增長 EBITDA。這顯然將有助於我們去槓桿化。

Got it. Great. Quick housekeeping on the check side. Just in terms of your volumes, how did the declines look there? And then what should we think about in terms of volumes for the full year?

知道了。偉大的。支票方面的快速內務管理。就您的交易量而言，那裡的下降情況如何？那麼我們應該考慮全年的交易量？

On checks, so I mean, checks did return to secular declines again in the quarter. So if you think about kind of volume-price dynamics, it's a little bit more difficult to describe here. Obviously, price continued to be a function of the revenue because we took pricing actions throughout the year that rolled forward. But after we lapped all the customer wins, we did return to kind of normal secular decline. So we still had volume increases despite that. But when you net it all out, net reduction in revenue, which is what we're anticipating will be the same for 2023. So we're forecasting mid-single-digit declines but the ability to keep margin in that mid-40% range.

在支票上，我的意思是，支票確實在本季度再次恢復了長期下降。因此，如果您考慮某種量價動態，那麼在這裡描述起來就有點困難了。顯然，價格仍然是收入的函數，因為我們在整個年度都採取了定價行動。但在我們贏得所有客戶之後，我們確實恢復了正常的長期衰退。因此，儘管如此，我們的銷量仍然有所增加。但是當你把它全部扣除時，收入的淨減少，這是我們預計的，到 2023 年將是相同的。所以我們預測中個位數下降，但有能力將利潤率保持在 40% 左右範圍。

If I take checks aside and look at the other 3 segments, we continue to see a nice blend of volume and price. It was actually nearly 50-50 once again for the quarter. So just excluding the secular decline aspect of the business, we just continue to see a really good healthy mix of volume and price, and that gives us confidence going into 2023 as well.

如果我把支票放在一邊，看看其他 3 個部分，我們會繼續看到數量和價格的完美結合。本季度實際上再次接近 50-50。因此，只要排除業務的長期衰退方面，我們就會繼續看到一個非常健康的數量和價格組合，這也讓我們對進入 2023 年充滿信心。

Great. And then lastly, just can you repeat on the -- what you said about Payments growth for the year and margin expectations there. I missed that.

偉大的。最後，你能否重複一下 - 你所說的關於今年的支付增長和那裡的利潤率預期。我錯過了。

Yes. So Payments we see as a mid-single-digit grower for the full year. We do think it's going to be maybe a little bit lower in the first quarter, and then it will pick up some steam as it gets into Q2 and beyond. And that's a function mostly of just some year-over-year comps that we're coming up against. But we do believe it's going to be mid-single digit on the revenue side.

是的。因此，我們將支付業務視為全年的中等個位數增長。我們確實認為它在第一季度可能會有所降低，然後在進入第二季度及以後時會有所上升。這主要是我們要面對的一些同比比較的一個功能。但我們確實相信收入方面將是中個位數。

On the adjusted EBITDA margin side, this is an area that this business is finally really starting to show the value of why we love it so much as it's starting to get operating leverage. And so low to mid-20% margins. I think if you look at the trend of that business over the last few quarters, you're starting to see this operating leverage that we've been talking about. And so we're feeling pretty good about the ability to, of course, grow to mid-single digits and then also just get EBITDA expansion, which would be nice to help hit that overall EBITDA guidance and offset the declines in checks that we're planning.

在調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率方面，這是一個領域，該業務終於真正開始顯示我們為什麼如此喜歡它的價值，因為它開始獲得運營槓桿。如此低至 20% 的利潤率。我想如果你看看過去幾個季度該業務的趨勢，你就會開始看到我們一直在談論的這種運營槓桿。因此，我們對能夠增長到中等個位數的能力感到非常滿意，然後也只是獲得 EBITDA 擴展，這將有助於實現整體 EBITDA 指導並抵消我們支票的下降重新規劃。

Great. And then just lastly, what should we be thinking about assumption-wise for share-based comp for the year?

偉大的。最後，我們應該如何考慮今年基於股票的補償的假設？

Share-based comp, give me just a second. I would say somewhere around $25 million would be what I would assume.

基於共享的補償，給我一點時間。我會說大約 2500 萬美元是我的假設。

Your next question comes from the line of Marc Riddick from Sidoti.

你的下一個問題來自 Sidoti 的 Marc Riddick。

So I was wondering if you could talk a little bit -- and I appreciate all the details that you've already provided. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about thoughts on potential head count adjustments for the year. You've talked about trying to keep the costs under control, but I was sort of wondering about maybe where you might stand as far as adding head count and sort of maybe talk a little bit about any investment initiatives for the year.

所以我想知道你是否可以談談 - 我很感激你已經提供的所有細節。我想知道你是否可以談談對今年可能進行的人數調整的想法。你已經談到要努力控製成本，但我有點想知道就增加員工人數而言你可能站在什麼位置，並且可能會談談今年的任何投資計劃。

Sure. So on head count, we are very disciplined about managing head count. And we go through periods of pruning, including one earlier in January. But we are not a company that has historically just done across-the-board reductions. But we're very disciplined at managing, particularly professional staff.

當然。因此，在人數方面，我們在管理人數方面非常有紀律。我們經歷了修剪期，包括一月初的修剪期。但我們不是一家歷史上剛剛進行全面裁員的公司。但我們在管理方面非常有紀律，尤其是專業人員。

So I think that the rest of the question really is how do we think about cost management for the rest of the year and going forward. And the thing I would really tell you is we really focused on getting revenue growing in the company, and we've now proven the company is capable of that. Some people didn't think we would actually deliver that, but we've now delivered it for 2 consecutive years. And the next big thing we grow, in fact, is profitability. And particularly, the corporate cost center is a particular target. And we're going to be very disciplined and thoughtful, just like we have on the portfolio and just like we have been on growing revenue and to attack that next to help us expand the profitability of the company from here.

所以我認為剩下的問題實際上是我們如何考慮今年剩餘時間和未來的成本管理。我真正要告訴你的是，我們真的專注於讓公司的收入增長，我們現在已經證明公司有能力做到這一點。有些人認為我們不會真正做到這一點，但我們現在已經連續 2 年做到了。事實上，我們增長的下一件大事是盈利能力。特別是，企業成本中心是一個特定的目標。我們將非常自律和深思熟慮，就像我們在投資組合上所做的那樣，就像我們一直在增加收入一樣，接下來會攻擊它以幫助我們從這裡擴大公司的盈利能力。

Great. And then I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about it, and you touched on some of the customer behavior that you're seeing, given the environment that we're functioning in here. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about if there are any particular industry verticals or pockets that are a little stronger than others. Or is it pretty much the behavior that you're seeing largely across the board with customer verticals?

偉大的。然後我想知道你是否可以談談它，你談到了你所看到的一些客戶行為，考慮到我們在這裡運作的環境。我想知道您是否可以談談是否有任何特定的垂直行業或口袋比其他行業或口袋強一點。或者這幾乎是您在垂直客戶領域廣泛看到的行為？

Well, what I would tell you is that overall, we're seeing very durable demand across our entire portfolio of services. We are seeing some shift between verticals or between different periods where volume is up or down modestly by sector or time period. But in aggregate, we continue to see strong and continuous demand for solutions. And that's -- you can see that in our performance from a revenue perspective.

好吧，我要告訴你的是，總的來說，我們在整個服務組合中看到了非常持久的需求。我們看到垂直行業之間或不同時期之間發生了一些變化，其中交易量按行業或時間段適度上升或下降。但總的來說，我們繼續看到對解決方案的強勁和持續需求。那就是——你可以從收入的角度在我們的表現中看到這一點。

Great. And then I guess the last thing I was sort of thinking about is, I wanted to sort of circle back on the commentary that you had on the divestiture and sort of the opportunity for future pruning. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about maybe on a bigger picture, maybe what you're seeing with the opportunities of -- within the M&A pipeline, sort of thoughts on current valuation and whether that's -- if you've seen any changes there, any greater willingness of folks to engage or if that's changed much over the last few months given the recessionary environment.

偉大的。然後我想我想的最後一件事是，我想回到你對資產剝離的評論以及未來修剪的機會。我想知道你是否可以從更大的角度談一談，也許你在併購管道中看到的機會，對當前估值的一些想法以及是否 - 如果你已經看到那裡有任何變化，人們參與的意願是否更大，或者鑑於經濟衰退的環境，在過去幾個月中這種情況是否發生了很大變化。

The broader M&A market, I think, has been fairly frozen for some period of time. We're seeing maybe a little bit of a slight thaw in that. And I think our perspective for our business is we really like the core assets that we have in Payments and data, and we feel like we've got plenty of runway there. And our first objective is, of course, invest in the company for its success and continue to pay down debt.

我認為，更廣泛的併購市場已經凍結了一段時間。我們看到其中可能有一點點解凍。而且我認為我們對我們業務的看法是我們真的很喜歡我們在支付和數據方面擁有的核心資產，我們覺得我們在那裡有很多跑道。當然，我們的首要目標是為公司的成功投資並繼續償還債務。

So are we going to be active in the M&A market to acquire assets, which is where I think you're going? The hurdle rate for that kind of a transaction would be really, really high right now with the interest rates. And I think that we believe that valuations are still a little bit frothy. So you never say never. But we like the businesses we have. And we like our pathway to continue to pay down debt, and we see that sort of as the first and primary pathway.

那麼我們是否會積極參與併購市場以收購資產，我認為你會去哪裡？就目前的利率而言，這種交易的門檻率真的非常高。而且我認為我們認為估值仍然有點泡沫。所以你永遠不會說永遠。但我們喜歡我們擁有的業務。我們喜歡繼續償還債務的途徑，我們認為這是首要途徑。

Your next question comes from the line of Chuck Nabhan from Stephens.

您的下一個問題來自 Stephens 的 Chuck Nabhan。

This is Alex Neumann on for Chuck here. Sorry if I missed the callout, but did you give expectations for revenue growth for the data segment in '23, given some of that pull forward of revenue from Q1? And then just some of the drivers behind that revenue growth for the year, that would be great.

我是 Alex Neumann 在這裡代替 Chuck。抱歉，如果我錯過了標註，但是考慮到第一季度收入的一些增長，你是否對 23 年數據部門的收入增長做出了預期？然後只是今年收入增長背後的一些驅動因素，那就太好了。

Yes. Alex, it's Chip. Yes, we did. So for the full year, we're expecting low single-digit revenue growth. And it's important to note that we refer to that as on a comparable adjusted basis because that one will obviously have the change in the divestiture occurring over time. So we'll continue to reconcile that and give you guys that. But for the full year, we see low single-digit growth. That's a bit slower than what we saw across the data segment this past year, but that's because this past year was such a large growth year. I mean, that business grew north of 20%. It's -- obviously, we just know that it's a high hurdle to clear.

是的。亞歷克斯，是奇普。是的我們做了。因此，對於全年，我們預計收入將實現低個位數增長。重要的是要注意，我們將其稱為可比調整的基礎，因為隨著時間的推移，資產剝離顯然會發生變化。因此，我們將繼續協調這一點並為大家提供。但就全年而言，我們看到較低的個位數增長。這比我們去年在數據領域看到的要慢一些，但那是因為去年是增長如此之大的一年。我的意思是，該業務增長了 20% 以上。這是 - 顯然，我們只知道這是一個需要清除的高障礙。

The first quarter specifically we're expecting to be a little difficult just because of those handful of campaigns that shifted into the fourth quarter out to the first quarter and kind of depleted the pipeline just a bit. The team continues to work their pipeline, their list of deals. But we do know that the start of the year may be a little slower. But we don't see any reason that, that business can't grow low single digits for the full year.

特別是第一季度，我們預計會有點困難，因為少數幾個活動從第四季度轉移到了第一季度，有點耗盡了管道。該團隊繼續處理他們的管道，他們的交易清單。但我們確實知道今年的開始可能會慢一些。但我們看不出有任何理由表明該業務全年無法實現低個位數增長。

Okay. And then just within the Merchant Services, could you speak to what you're seeing in terms of what's on the ground from your SMBs and what volumes are looking like and just the overall health?

好的。然後就在商家服務中，您能否談談您所看到的中小型企業的實際情況、交易量以及整體健康狀況？

So I think in the merchant business overall, we continue to see robust volume, and there's lots of media attention about and speculation on what's happening in SMBs. But I think overall, we're seeing pretty solid volume there. And our fourth quarter delivered exactly what we expected it to do. I'm sure you've seen the Commerce Department numbers for December, but we didn't experience that. We delivered the quarter in the way we expected to deliver it. So we feel like the variety of business we have there and the market verticals where we compete helped balance each other out in good times and in tough times. We feel like that's a pretty solid business right now.

因此，我認為在整個商業業務中，我們繼續看到強勁的交易量，並且有很多媒體關注和猜測中小企業正在發生的事情。但我認為總的來說，我們在那裡看到了相當可觀的交易量。我們的第四季度完全符合我們的預期。我相信您已經看過商務部 12 月份的數據，但我們沒有經歷過。我們以預期的方式交付了本季度。因此，我們覺得我們在那裡擁有的各種業務以及我們競爭的垂直市場有助於在繁榮時期和艱難時期相互平衡。我們覺得現在這是一項非常穩固的業務。

Your next question comes from the line of David Silver from CL King.

您的下一個問題來自 CL King 的 David Silver。

Yes. I think I have a -- first question would be on your free cash flow forecast, and then I'd have a maybe a more strategic question about SaaS-generated revenue. Regarding your free cash flow, the $80 million to $100 million range you provided, I mean, I've noticed that, that's kind of in the range over the last 2 years. And I think the term is kind of maybe a flywheel. But is it the case that should operating results exceed your budget, you may increase your discretionary spending and kind of keep your free cash flow within that targeted range? Or alternatively, if results fall a little below target, would you cut back on investments, let's say, either capital spending or working capital, again, to kind of keep that free cash flow within a targeted range? I mean, how should we think about that free cash flow target in terms of flexibility there or how inviolate it might be?

是的。我想我有一個 - 第一個問題是關於你的自由現金流量預測，然後我可能有一個關於 SaaS 產生的收入的更具戰略性的問題。關於你的自由現金流，你提供的 8000 萬到 1 億美元的範圍，我的意思是，我注意到，這在過去兩年的範圍內。我認為這個詞有點像飛輪。但是，如果運營結果超出預算，您是否可以增加可自由支配的支出，並將自由現金流量保持在目標範圍內？或者，如果結果略低於目標，您是否會再次削減投資，比如說資本支出或營運資本，以將自由現金流保持在目標範圍內？我的意思是，我們應該如何根據那裡的靈活性或它可能有多不可侵犯來考慮自由現金流量目標？

And then secondly, on your CapEx spend, let's say, of $100 million, can you remind me what the sustaining portion of that is versus what you would consider discretionary spend?

其次，關於您的資本支出，比如說 1 億美元，您能否提醒我其中的維持部分與您認為的可自由支配支出相比是多少？

David, it's Chip. So on your first question, so the guidance of $80 million to $100 million, keep in mind, we're kind of approximating that the divestiture is roughly a $20 million impact to that. So all things equal, that's a guidance range of more $100 million to $120 million based off apples-to-apples, which you'll see is getting us back to kind of our -- towards our historical range that we were 2, 3 years ago despite all the increases in interest costs. So I think that's a good place to land.

大衛，是奇普。所以關於你的第一個問題，所以 8000 萬到 1 億美元的指導，請記住，我們有點接近資產剝離對此大約有 2000 萬美元的影響。因此，在所有條件相同的情況下，這是基於同類產品的 1 億至 1.2 億美元的指導範圍，你會看到這讓我們回到了我們的 - 回到我們 2、3 年的歷史範圍以前儘管利息成本增加了。所以我認為這是一個很好的著陸點。

To hopefully answer your question, though, when we set the investment target for the year, whether it's the $100 million CapEx or anything we may do inside the P&L, we actually look to achieve those, if not underspend those. We don't look to throttle up discretionary investment just because the results are trending better. We view those as kind of starting points, and we're going to do our best to spend our money wisely, come in under and make sure we can overdeliver the free cash flow the best way possible because there's many of others who go (inaudible). Whether it's interest expense or taxes, we know we have to manage this. So I wouldn't be concerned that if operating results trend better that we're going to throttle up investment. That's not what we would do.

不過，為了有希望地回答你的問題，當我們設定今年的投資目標時，無論是 1 億美元的資本支出還是我們在損益表中可能做的任何事情，我們實際上都希望實現這些目標，如果不是少花的話。我們不會僅僅因為結果趨於好轉而限制可自由支配的投資。我們將這些視為起點，我們將盡最大努力明智地花錢，接受並確保我們能夠以最好的方式超額提供自由現金流，因為還有許多其他人去了（聽不清).無論是利息支出還是稅收，我們都知道我們必須對此進行管理。因此，我不會擔心如果經營業績趨於好轉，我們會限制投資。那不是我們會做的。

And to answer your last part of the question, in the guide of $100 million, I would think of it as kind of roughly $40 million to $45 million of that is kind of the sustaining, we call it KBR, keep the business running side, with the rest of it, the kind of $55 million to $60 million, being growth related. So high level, 60-40 growth to maintenance capital. And as you know, we're doing the print-on-demand upgrade in checks. So that's something that we're halfway through. So over time, that work will go down. And we just continue to invest responsibly in our growth products with payments and data and to try to make the company more efficient.

為了回答你問題的最後一部分，在 1 億美元的指導下，我認為它大約是 4000 萬到 4500 萬美元，其中有點是維持性的，我們稱之為 KBR，保持業務運行，其餘部分，即 5500 萬至 6000 萬美元，與增長相關。如此高的水平，60-40 增長到維持資本。如您所知，我們正在對支票進行按需打印升級。所以這是我們進行到一半的事情。所以隨著時間的推移，這項工作將會減少。我們只是繼續負責任地投資於我們的增長產品，包括支付和數據，並努力提高公司的效率。

My next question is maybe a little more strategic or philosophical. But Barry, you've taken a number of steps over the last couple of years to transform your company into, as you pointed out today, a payments and data company. I'm just wondering, underneath that, there's different kinds of revenue generation. And I think in your slide deck, the emphasis on SaaS-driven revenues has been increasing pretty steadily over time.

我的下一個問題可能更具戰略性或哲學性。但是巴里，你在過去幾年裡採取了一些步驟，將你的公司轉變為，正如你今天指出的那樣，一家支付和數據公司。我只是想知道，在此之下，有不同種類的創收方式。我認為在您的幻燈片中，隨著時間的推移，對 SaaS 驅動的收入的重視一直在穩步增長。

And I'm just wondering, beyond the headlines or the column headings of payments and data, whether underneath that, there's also targets or goals for SaaS-driven revenues, which I consider more stickier and more relationship-based versus maybe transactional sales of -- onetime sales of services to companies that might handle the service themselves. So what are your goals maybe for that maybe more differentiated SaaS-driven revenue where maybe there's a service -- differentiated service component in there that could make for more durable revenue streams, stickier customers and that kind of thing?

我只是想知道，除了標題或支付和數據的列標題之外，是否還有 SaaS 驅動收入的目標或目標，我認為這比交易銷售更具粘性和更多基於關係 - - 向可能自行處理服務的公司一次性銷售服務。那麼，您的目標是什麼，也許是更差異化的 SaaS 驅動的收入，其中可能有一種服務——差異化的服務組件可以帶來更持久的收入流、更粘性的客戶等等？

So that is a really insightful question, and it goes right to the very core of our sort of corporate strategy, which is we are trying to build the payments and data businesses because by their nature, they are stickier businesses. So for example, in our receivables and payables business, customers choose and adopt one platform to run their -- and build their business upon. And increasingly, they're choosing our platform. So we have a number of banks that are reselling our receivables platform as a branded version of their bank. So you don't know that it's Deluxe providing the solution. You know that it's the bank providing a solution to their customer.

所以這是一個非常有見地的問題，它直接觸及了我們公司戰略的核心，即我們正在努力建立支付和數據業務，因為從本質上講，它們是更具粘性的業務。因此，例如，在我們的應收賬款和應付賬款業務中，客戶選擇並採用一個平台來運行他們的業務，並以此為基礎開展業務。他們越來越多地選擇我們的平台。因此，我們有許多銀行將我們的應收賬款平台作為其銀行的品牌版本進行轉售。所以你不知道是 Deluxe 提供了解決方案。您知道這是銀行為他們的客戶提供解決方案。

That is extremely sticky because once the customer has a commercial bank relationship with the bank and they are using our platform to manage their receivables and payables, that customer doesn't attrit. And that's driven by delivering a great experience and set of tools, a software-as-a-service type model where that customer is building their business on the platform. And that's obviously where we're making our investments as a company. We are going to launch later this year improved tools for our receivables business that will give us really attractive, really easy-to-use tools for the customer. We've invested in our platform for our data business, which someone was asking earlier about how we're diversifying the business. It's because we've invested in our platform. That's allowed us to grow that business into new business verticals.

這是非常粘的，因為一旦客戶與銀行建立了商業銀行關係，並且他們正在使用我們的平台來管理他們的應收賬款和應付賬款，該客戶就不會流失。這是通過提供出色的體驗和工具集來驅動的，這是一種軟件即服務類型的模型，客戶可以在平台上構建他們的業務。這顯然是我們作為一家公司進行投資的地方。我們將在今年晚些時候為我們的應收賬款業務推出改進的工具，這將為我們提供真正有吸引力、真正易於使用的客戶工具。我們已經為我們的數據業務投資了我們的平台，之前有人問過我們如何使業務多樣化。這是因為我們投資了我們的平台。這使我們能夠將該業務擴展到新的垂直業務領域。

So we're not here to say that we're a software-as-a-service company. We're absolutely clear, though, that we are moving the company towards a much bigger percentage of revenue from recurring revenue where businesses are building their business on our platform. It's completely true in our receivables payables business. It's the foundation in our Merchant Services business, and it's the very foundation and core of what's happening in data. So it's absolutely where the company is going and going forward, we're making our investments for growth.

所以我們在這裡並不是說我們是一家軟件即服務公司。不過，我們非常清楚，我們正在使公司從經常性收入中獲得更大比例的收入，因為企業在我們的平台上開展業務。這在我們的應收應付業務中是完全正確的。它是我們商業服務業務的基礎，也是數據中發生的事情的基礎和核心。因此，這絕對是公司前進和前進的方向，我們正在為增長進行投資。

Yes. Okay. I mean, I've just noticed with a number of my companies the difficulty in procuring sufficient IT resources. And I thought the way you're already interacting with them, it would kind of be a natural opportunity for your company over time.

是的。好的。我的意思是，我剛剛注意到我的許多公司難以獲得足夠的 IT 資源。而且我認為你已經與他們互動的方式，隨著時間的推移，這對你的公司來說是一個自然的機會。

And we have a follow-up question from the line of Lance Vitanza from Cowen.

我們有來自 Cowen 的 Lance Vitanza 的後續問題。

Just 2 quick follow-ups that I forgot about. The first is on the proceeds from the web hosting sale. I know that there's about $10 million or so in the 8-K that's sort of deferred, I think, over a 6- to 12-month period from the time you close it. And I'm just wondering, are there -- is that like an earn-out? Are there any sort of performance-related contingencies there that we should be aware of?

我忘記了 2 個快速跟進。第一個是網絡託管銷售的收益。我知道 8-K 中大約有 1000 萬美元左右，我認為，從你關閉它的時候起，在 6 到 12 個月的時間內被推遲了。我只是想知道，有沒有——這就像掙錢一樣嗎？有沒有我們應該注意的與性能相關的意外事件？

And then my second question is just with respect to the Payments business. I'm wondering if you could kind of step back and walk me through the margin outlook in 2023. And I apologize, I think you mentioned that you had some opportunities there. But if you could recap that for me, that would be great.

然後我的第二個問題是關於支付業務的。我想知道你是否可以退後一步，向我介紹 2023 年的利潤率前景。抱歉，我想你提到過你在那裡有一些機會。但如果你能為我重述一下，那就太好了。

Lance, this is Chip. I'll take both of those. So on the sale of the web hosting business, so we announced a base sales price of $42 million in our 8-K the other day. $32 million of that is kind of a payment to occur at time of closing with the other $10 million 180 days later and 360 days later, I believe. Neither of those $10 million are contingency-based. There is up to another $10 million, which could take the total sale price up to a max of $52 million, those are contingency-based subject to performance obligations. And so look at the sale price as a range of $42 million to $52 million. The $42 million, it will happen, and it has the second and third payment, which is just a timing factor as the business transitions over.

蘭斯，這是奇普。這兩個我都要。因此，在出售網絡託管業務時，我們前幾天宣布了 8-K 的基本銷售價格為 4200 萬美元。我相信，其中 3200 萬美元是在 180 天和 360 天后與其他 1000 萬美元關閉時發生的一種付款。這 1000 萬美元都不是基於應急的。還有多達 1000 萬美元，這可能會使總銷售價格最高達到 5200 萬美元，這些是基於履約義務的或有事項。所以看看售價在 4200 萬到 5200 萬美元之間。 4200 萬美元，它會發生，它有第二和第三次付款，這只是業務過渡的時間因素。

The question about Payments, yes, you're right, we did talk about that a bit. So we are forecasting EBITDA margin rates in the low to mid-20s. But I think what I said is if you look at the last few quarters, you're starting to see that business realize operating leverage. Margins are expanding. That's a function of the volume growth. We like that business because as volume grows, it can come at an incremental margin rate because of the way the platform business work. We were -- we've got operational efficiency in our treasury management business, specifically lockbox, that's improving profitability there. And then, of course, as we continue to take price, to keep up with inflation, that's helping as well. So all things equal, this is a business that we believe will expand margins nicely in 2023.

關於付款的問題，是的，你是對的，我們確實討論過這個問題。因此，我們預測 EBITDA 利潤率在 20 年代中期左右。但我認為我所說的是，如果你看看過去幾個季度，你就會開始看到該企業實現了經營槓桿。利潤率正在擴大。這是數量增長的函數。我們喜歡這項業務，因為隨著數量的增長，由於平台業務的運作方式，它可以以遞增的利潤率出現。我們 - 我們在我們的資金管理業務中獲得了運營效率，特別是密碼箱，這正在提高那裡的盈利能力。然後，當然，當我們繼續採取價格以跟上通貨膨脹時，這也有幫助。因此，在所有條件相同的情況下，我們相信這是一項業務，將在 2023 年很好地擴大利潤率。

And there are no further questions at this time. Mr. Tom Morabito, I turn the call back over to you for some closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。 Tom Morabito 先生，我將電話轉回給您，請您作一些結束語。

Thanks, Rob. Before we conclude, I'd like to mention that management will be participating in the Truist Securities Technology, Internet & Services Conference on March 7, 2023, and the Sidoti Virtual Small-Cap Conference on March 22. Thank you again for joining us today, and we look forward to speaking with you in May as we share our first quarter 2023 results.

謝謝，羅布。在我們結束之前，我想提一下，管理層將參加 2023 年 3 月 7 日的 Truist 證券技術、互聯網和服務會議，以及 3 月 22 日的 Sidoti 虛擬小型股會議。再次感謝您今天加入我們，我們期待在 5 月與您交談，分享我們 2023 年第一季度的業績。

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

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。