Dole PLC (DOLE) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the Dole Plc third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call and webcast. Today's conference is being broadcast live over the Internet and is also being recorded for playback purposes. (Operator Instructions)

歡迎參加 Dole Plc 2024 年第三季財報電話會議和網路廣播。今天的會議正在透過網路進行現場直播，同時也進行了錄製以供回放。（操作員指令）

For opening remarks and introductions, I would like to turn the call over to the Head of Investor Relations with Dole Plc, James O'Regan.

為了致開幕詞和介紹，我想將電話轉給 Dole Plc 投資者關係主管 James O'Regan。

Thank you, Christa. Welcome, everybody, and thank you for taking the time to join our third-quarter 2024 earnings call. Joining me today is our Chief Executive Officer, Rory Byrne; our Chief Operating Officer, Johan Linden; and our Chief Financial Officer, Jacinta Devine.

謝謝你，克里斯塔。歡迎大家，感謝您抽出時間參加我們的 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天與我一起的是我們的執行長 Rory Byrne；我們的營運長 Johan Linden；以及我們的財務長 Jacinta Devine。

During this call, we will be referring to presentation slides to supplement our remarks. And these along with our earnings release and other related materials are available on the Investor Relations section of the Dole Plc website.

在本次通話中，我們將參考簡報投影片來補充我們的發言。這些以及我們的收益報告和其他相關資料均可在 Dole Plc 網站的「投資者關係」部分找到。

Please note, our remarks today will include certain forward-looking statements within the provisions of the federal securities Safe Harbor laws. These reflect circumstances at the time they are made, and the company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

請注意，我們今天的評論將包括聯邦證券安全港法律規定內的某些前瞻性聲明。這些反映的是做出前瞻性陳述時的情況，公司明確表示不承擔更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those that may be expressed or implied due to a wide range of factors, including those set forth in our SEC filings and press releases. Information regarding these non-GAAP financial measures may be found in our press release, which also includes a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measures.

由於多種因素（包括我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件和新聞稿中所述的因素），實際結果或成果可能與明示或暗示的結果或成果有重大差異。您可以在我們的新聞稿中找到有關這些非 GAAP 財務指標的信息，其中還包括與最具可比性的 GAAP 指標的對帳。

With that, I'm pleased to turn today's call over to Rory.

說到這裡，我很高興將今天的電話轉給羅裡。

Thank you, James. Welcome, everybody, and thank you for joining us today as we discuss our results for the third quarter of 2024.

謝謝你，詹姆斯。歡迎大家，感謝您今天加入我們，討論 2024 年第三季的業績。

So turning firstly to slide 4 and the Q3 financial highlights. Well, the third quarter was another positive quarter for our business, continuing the good momentum built up over the course of this year. Group reported revenue increased by 1%. On a like-for-like basis, the increase was 5.8%.

首先看幻燈片 4 和第三季的財務亮點。嗯，第三季度對我們的業務來說又是一個積極的季度，延續了今年以來的良好勢頭。集團報告收入增加了 1%。以同類計算，增幅為5.8%。

Adjusted EBITDA of $82 million was in line with market expectations for the quarter and 2.3% ahead of the prior year on a like-for-like basis. The growth in adjusted EBITDA on a like-for-like basis was driven by a very strong performance in our diversified Americas segment, offsetting modest decreases in fresh fruit and diversified EMEA.

調整後 EBITDA 為 8,200 萬美元，符合本季市場預期，年增 2.3%。調整後 EBITDA 年成長的主要原因是美洲地區多元化業務表現強勁，抵消了新鮮水果和歐洲、中東和非洲地區多元化業務的輕微下滑。

Cash management and capital allocation continue to be a major focus for us. And we are pleased to see our leverage reduce further, driven by a $36 million decrease in our absolute level of debt despite a relatively high level of capital investment made in the quarter, which we will discuss in more detail later on the call.

現金管理和資本配置仍然是我們關注的重點。我們很高興看到我們的槓桿率進一步降低，儘管本季的資本投資水準相對較高，但我們的絕對債務水準減少了 3,600 萬美元，我們將在稍後的電話會議上詳細討論這一點。

Turning now to slide 6 and our operational highlights, and starting with the fresh fruit segment. This segment delivered another good performance in the third quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $42.9 million, a small decrease compared to last year, but a result that was ahead of our own expectations, taking into account the higher shipping costs in the quarter due to the ongoing dry docking process that we flagged in our previous earnings calls.

現在轉到幻燈片 6 和我們的營運亮點，並從新鮮水果部分開始。該部門在第三季再次取得良好業績。調整後的 EBITDA 為 4,290 萬美元，與去年相比略有下降，但考慮到我們在先前的收益電話會議上提到的持續幹船塢進程導致本季度運輸成本上升，這一結果超出了我們自己的預期。

North America has been the market predominantly impacted by dry docking. However, we had a good overall performance with higher volumes of bananas sold and better pricing, partially compensating the anticipated higher shipping costs. In the European market, we continued our positive momentum, driven by higher volumes in bananas as well as by lower shipping costs.

北美是受乾船塢影響最大的市場。然而，我們的整體表現良好，香蕉銷售增加，價格更優惠，部分彌補了預期的更高運輸成本。在歐洲市場，我們繼續保持積極勢頭，這得益於香蕉產量增加以及運輸成本降低。

Looking ahead to the remainder of the year for both the North American and European markets, we believe we are well placed. Both banana and pineapple supply remained tight on an industry-wide basis, leading to higher sourcing costs, but also allowing for some positive pricing momentum in certain markets.

展望今年剩餘時間的北美和歐洲市場，我們相信我們已處於有利地位。整個行業香蕉和鳳梨的供應仍然緊張，導致採購成本上升，但也為某些市場帶來了一些積極的定價動能。

As the year has progressed, the benefits of our experienced team, our diversified supply base have again been clear, allowing us to deliver a consistent, competitive, and quality service to all our customers. Overall, we anticipate the fresh fruit segment having a good end to the year, taking into account a continued expectation of higher shipping costs during the dry docking process.

隨著時間的推移，我們經驗豐富的團隊和多元化供應基礎的優勢再次顯現出來，使我們能夠為所有客戶提供一致、有競爭力和優質的服務。總體而言，考慮到乾船塢期間運輸成本持續上漲的預期，我們預計新鮮水果產業將在今年年底取得良好的業績。

Before turning our attention to the diversified segments, I would also like to highlight our recent agreement to expand our shipping fleet by bringing two vessels currently on charter under our own ownership in early 2025 through an option purchase agreement.

在將注意力轉向多元化領域之前，我還想強調我們最近達成的協議，該協議將於 2025 年初透過選擇權購買協議將兩艘目前租賃的船隻納入我們自己的所有權，從而擴大我們的航運船隊。

Strategically, adding a second service to our US East Coast operation this year with the two chartered vessels provides us the flexibility to dry dock the vessels in our primary East Coast service without any major service disruption, but also gives us a pathway for additional growth in the marketplace.

從戰略上講，今年透過租用兩艘船為我們的美國東海岸業務增加第二條服務航線，不僅讓我們能夠靈活地將主要東海岸服務航線上的船隻停泊在幹船塢，而不會造成重大的服務中斷，而且還為我們在市場上進一步增長提供了途徑。

So moving on to the diversified EMEA segment. And this segment was impacted by some seasonal timing differences as well as one-off IT costs and a lower supply of certain categories in the quarter, but still delivered a good overall result in Q3, broadly in line with our own expectations.

因此，我們繼續轉向多元化的 EMEA 領域。該部門受到一些季節性時間差異以及一次性IT成本和本季某些類別供應量較低的影響，但第三季整體業績仍表現良好，基本上符合我們自己的預期。

Spain with some temporary shortages of supply Canarian bananas, whereas in other parts of the segment, we have the continued impact of shortages for some important seasonal crops typically sourced out of South America, as well as poor weather impacting trade for some of our food service and wholesale businesses.

西班牙的加那利群島香蕉供應出現暫時短缺，而在該領域的其他地區，我們繼續受到一些重要季節性作物短缺的影響，這些作物通常來自南美，惡劣天氣也影響了我們的一些食品服務和批發業務的貿易。

Positively, revenue growth did remain strong in the quarter, indicating that on an underlying basis, our business is in a good position and we expect to be able to deliver a satisfactory result on a full-year basis. Diversified Americas, this segment delivered another very strong quarter on a like-for-like basis, taking out the impact of Progressive Produce following its sale in Q1.

積極的一面是，本季的營收成長確實保持強勁，這表明從根本上講，我們的業務處於良好狀態，我們預計能夠在全年取得令人滿意的業績。多元化美洲業務，該部門在本季度同比基礎上又取得了非常強勁的業績，抵消了第一季度出售 Progressive Produce 帶來的影響。

The strong result was driven by a positive quarter for our North American operations, with good volume and price growth across most commodities and avocados, in particular. Our North American berry business, still having much scope to continue to improve, showed a good turnaround from the prior year, while our South American export business also had a positive quarter with good developments in winter season products.

強勁的業績得益於我們北美業務的良好表現，大多數商品和酪梨的銷售和價格均實現了良好的成長。我們的北美漿果業務仍有很大改善空間，較上年同期表現出色，而我們的南美出口業務也在本季度表現出色，冬季產品取得了良好的發展。

Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, activity will again pick up on the export side as we progress through Q4 with the start of several key export seasons of both Peru and Chile. As always, the specific timing of harvest will play an important role in how profitability gets recorded through the year-end. However, we anticipate a strong seasonal performance on the export side as well as continued good momentum in our North American operations.

展望今年剩餘時間，隨著第四季秘魯和智利幾個關鍵出口季節的開始，出口活動將再次回升。與往常一樣，收穫的具體時間將在如何記錄年底的盈利能力中發揮重要作用。然而，我們預計出口方面將出現強勁的季節性表現，且北美業務將繼續保持良好勢頭。

Turning to the fresh vegetables business. As noted in our most recent calls, since the termination of the sale agreement to Fresh Express, we have been actively exploring strategic alternatives for this business. That process is ongoing, and we remain hopeful that we will ultimately deliver a good outcome for all our stakeholders.

轉向新鮮蔬菜業務。正如我們在最近的電話會議中指出的那樣，自從終止與 Fresh Express 的銷售協議以來，我們一直在積極探索這項業務的策略替代方案。這一進程正在進行中，我們仍然希望最終能為所有利害關係人帶來良好的結果。

Operationally, we are very pleased that this businesses continuing to deliver improved results and is on track to deliver positive operating income each quarter of 2024. The continued good performance in the third quarter was delivered despite the anticipated softening of the favorable fresh packed market conditions experienced earlier this year, demonstrating again the good underlying performance that our committed management team is making in both the fresh packed and value-added business units within this division.

在營運方面，我們非常高興該業務繼續取得更好的業績，並預計在 2024 年每季實現正的營運收入。儘管今年稍早預期的新鮮包裝市場條件將有所減弱，但第三季仍繼續保持良好的業績，再次證明了我們敬業的管理團隊在該部門的新鮮包裝和增值業務部門中都取得了良好的表現。

And with that, I'll hand you over to Jacinta to give the financial review for the third quarter.

接下來，我將把時間交給 Jacinta，讓她對第三季度進行財務回顧。

Thank you, Rory, and good day, everyone. Firstly, turning to the group results on slide 8. Reported revenue increased 1% against the prior year and 5.8% on a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of FX and the sale of Progressive Produce. Strong operational performance across all segments drove this growth.

謝謝你，羅裡，大家好。首先，看一下投影片 8 上的小組結果。報告收入比上年增長了 1%，不包括外匯和 Progressive Produce 銷售的影響，比去年同期增長了 5.8%。所有部門的強勁營運表現推動了這一成長。

Adjusted EBITDA decreased 3.7% or $3.1 million, primarily driven by decreases in fresh fruit and diversified EMEA segments, partially offset by strong performance in the diversified Americas segment. On a like-for-like basis, adjusted EBITDA increased 2.3% or $1.9 million.

調整後 EBITDA 下降 3.7% 或 310 萬美元，主要由於新鮮水果和 EMEA 多元化分部的下滑，但美洲多元化分部的強勁表現部分抵消了這一影響。以同類計算，調整後的 EBITDA 成長 2.3% 或 190 萬美元。

Interest expense for our continuing and discontinued operations decreased $5 million year on year due to lower debt levels and also lower market interest rates. The increase in income tax is due to changes in our jurisdictional profit mix compared with the prior year and the impact of discrete tax items in the period. Net income of $21.5 million in Q3 '24 was $32.5 million lower than Q3 '23, primarily due to the prior year having the benefit of an exceptional $28.8 million gain on the sale of land.

由於債務水準降低以及市場利率下降，我們持續經營和終止營運的利息支出較去年同期減少了 500 萬美元。所得稅的增加是由於我們的管轄利潤結構與前一年相比發生了變化，以及本期間單獨稅項的影響。24 年第三季的淨收入為 2,150 萬美元，比 23 年第三季低 3,250 萬美元，主要原因是去年出售土地獲得了 2,880 萬美元的巨額收益。

There was also a decrease in other income of $9.3 million. This was primarily related to fair value adjustments of financial instruments. Partially offsetting this was a continued improved performance in our fresh vegetable business, with income from discontinued operations of $6.3 million recorded this quarter.

其他收入也減少了 930 萬美元。這主要與金融工具的公允價值調整有關。部分抵銷了這一影響的是我們的新鮮蔬菜業務的持續表現改善，本季來自已停止經營的收入為 630 萬美元。

On an adjusted basis, adjusted net income was $18 million, and adjusted diluted EPS was $0.19 per year -- per share, sorry. Year-on-year decrease was mainly due to lower adjusted EBITDA and higher income tax expense, partially offset by lower interest expense.

在調整後的基礎上，調整後的淨收入為 1800 萬美元，調整後的稀釋每股收益為每年 0.19 美元——對不起，是每股收益。年比下降主要由於調整後 EBITDA 下降及所得稅費用增加，但利息費用下降部分抵消了這一影響。

Turning now to the divisional updates for the third quarter for our continuing operations. Firstly, turning to the fresh fruit on slide 10. The fresh fruit division delivered another good result with revenue increasing 6.6%.

現在來談談我們持續經營的第三季部門更新情況。首先，看一下投影片 10 上的新鮮水果。新鮮水果部門再次取得良好業績，營收成長6.6%。

The increase in revenue was primarily due to higher worldwide volumes of bananas sold as well as higher worldwide pricing of bananas and pineapples, partially offset by lower worldwide volumes of pineapples and lower pricing and volume for plantains. As anticipated, adjusted EBITDA was lower this quarter due to the impact of dry docking-related costs. However, the result of $42.9 million was ahead of our expectations, primarily due to strong revenue growth.

收入增加主要由於全球香蕉銷量增加，以及全球香蕉和菠蘿價格上漲，但全球菠蘿銷量下降以及芭蕉價格及銷量下降部分抵消了這一增長。如預期，由於乾船塢相關成本的影響，本季調整後的 EBITDA 有所下降。然而，4,290萬美元的業績超出了我們的預期，這主要歸功於強勁的營收成長。

Turning to diversified fresh produce EMEA on slide 11. This segment delivered $5.1 million revenue growth in the quarter, driven by a strong performance in Ireland, the UK, and the Netherlands, as well as a $13.6 million favorable FX impact and an incremental positive impact from acquisitions of $1.8 million.

第 11 頁介紹 EMEA 地區的多樣化新鮮農產品。該部門本季實現了 510 萬美元的收入成長，這得益於愛爾蘭、英國和荷蘭的強勁表現，以及 1,360 萬美元的有利外匯影響和 180 萬美元的增量積極收購影響。

On a like-for-like basis, revenue increased 3.3%. Adjusted EBITDA declined 13.1% or 14.5% on a like-for-like basis, primarily due to higher one-off IT charges in the UK and temporary supply issues and seasonal timing difference in Spain and South Africa.

以年比計算，營收成長了 3.3%。調整後 EBITDA 下降 13.1%，年減 14.5%，主要原因是英國一次性 IT 費用增加以及西班牙和南非的臨時供應問題和季節性時間差異。

Finally, turning to diversified fresh produce Americas and rest of world on slide 12. This segment delivered a very strong result in the quarter. Reported revenue was impacted by the sale of Progressive Produce earlier this year. However, on a like-for-like basis, revenue increased 7.2%, primarily due to the volume and price growth across most commodities in North America.

最後，第 12 頁討論美洲和世界其他地區的多樣化新鮮農產品。該部門在本季度取得了非常強勁的業績。報告收入受到今年稍早出售 Progressive Produce 的影響。然而，以同類計算，收入增長了 7.2%，這主要歸因於北美大多數商品的銷售和價格增長。

Adjusted EBITDA increased $3.6 million, primarily driven by improved performance in our North America berries business and positive margin development in avocados, as well as revenue growth across most commodities in North America. These positive impacts were primarily offset by the disposal of the Progressive Produce business. On a like-for-like basis, adjusted EBITDA was $9.2 million ahead of the prior year.

調整後 EBITDA 增加了 360 萬美元，主要得益於我們北美漿果業務業績改善、酪梨利潤率上升以及北美大多數商品收入成長。這些正面影響主要被 Progressive Produce 業務的處置所抵消。以同類計算，調整後的 EBITDA 較前一年增加 920 萬美元。

Turning to slide 13. We remain very focused on capital allocation and managing our leverage, and are pleased that our leverage reduced further in the quarter to 1.86 times. The reduction was driven by a $36 million decrease in our net debt compared to Q2. Net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations was $106.2 million in the year to date.

翻到第 13 張投影片。我們仍然高度重視資本配置和槓桿管理，並很高興看到我們的槓桿率在本季進一步降低至 1.86 倍。與第二季相比，我們的淨債務減少了 3,600 萬美元。今年迄今為止，持續經營活動產生的淨現金為 1.062 億美元。

As anticipated, we saw a significant positive inflow in working capital in the third quarter. And while being conscious of the variability that seasonal timings around year-end can bring to working capital, this is a trend we expect to continue into the year-end.

正如預期的那樣，我們看到第三季營運資金大幅流入。儘管我們意識到年底的季節性變化會為營運資金帶來變化，但我們預計這種趨勢將持續到年底。

Cash capital expenditure from continuing operations was $21.1 million in the third quarter. As Rory mentioned, we recently secured an agreement to expand our fleet with the addition of two vessels currently on charter, bringing them under our ownership in early 2025.

第三季持續經營業務的現金資本支出為 2,110 萬美元。正如 Rory 所提到的，我們最近達成了一項協議，將擴大我們的船隊，增加兩艘目前租賃的船隻，並在 2025 年初將它們歸我們所有。

Due to this commitment, we have recognized a finance lease, adding both the asset and financial obligation to our balance sheet as at September 30. For the full year, after the opportunistic addition of these vessels, we now expect total capital expenditure, including additions by finance lease, to be in the range of $130 million to $140 million.

由於這項承諾，我們確認了一項融資租賃，並將資產和財務義務添加到截至 9 月 30 日的資產負債表中。就全年而言，在增加這些船舶之後，我們預計包括融資租賃增加的資本支出在內的總資本支出將在 1.3 億至 1.4 億美元之間。

As I mentioned earlier, interest expense has continued to decrease compared with the prior year due to lower debt levels as well as lower base rates. For the full year, we now expect our interest expense, including discontinued operations, to be approximately $75 million.

正如我之前提到的，由於債務水平較低以及基準利率較低，利息支出與前一年相比持續下降。我們目前預計全年利息支出（包括已停止經營的業務）約為 7,500 萬美元。

Continuing our commitment to return cash to shareholders, we are pleased to declare a dividend of $0.08 for the third quarter, which will be paid on January 3, 2025, to shareholders on record on December 11, 2024.

我們繼續致力於向股東返還現金，很高興宣布第三季股息為 0.08 美元，將於 2025 年 1 月 3 日支付給 2024 年 12 月 11 日登記在冊的股東。

Now I will hand you back to Rory, who will give an update on our full-year outlook.

現在我將你們交還給羅裡，他將向我們介紹我們的全年展望。

Thank you, Jacinta. So we're very pleased to have delivered another robust performance this quarter, putting us in an excellent position to deliver a strong result for the full year. And as we move towards the end of the year, we are raising our full-year adjusted EBITDA target to at least $380 million for 2024.

謝謝你，賈辛塔。因此，我們非常高興本季再次取得了強勁的業績，這為我們全年取得強勁業績創造了有利條件。隨著年底的臨近，我們將 2024 年全年調整後 EBITDA 目標上調至至少 3.8 億美元。

On the investment side, we are pleased that our disciplined approach to capital allocation has given us the flexibility to opportunistically execute quickly on a positive transaction this quarter to support our operations and bring two additional vessels into our fleet.

在投資方面，我們很高興，我們嚴謹的資本配置方法使我們能夠靈活地抓住機會，在本季度迅速執行積極的交易，以支持我們的運營，並為我們的船隊增加兩艘船。

As we move forward, we will continue with our disciplined approach to all our investment activity while also ensuring that we have the capabilities and capacity to both execute on our planned strategic aims and any opportunistic -- opportunities when different possibilities emerge.

在我們前進的過程中，我們將繼續採取嚴謹的態度對待我們的所有投資活動，同時確保我們有能力和實力執行我們計劃的戰略目標以及任何機會——當出現不同可能性時抓住機會。

In conclusion, we're very pleased to have again added another good operating and financial performance to our track record and are now fully focused on finishing the year strongly and delivering on our enhanced full-year target, while also focusing on our key strategic priorities for the remainder of the year.

總而言之，我們非常高興再次在我們的業績記錄上增添良好的營運和財務業績，現在我們完全專注於強勁結束今年並實現我們的全年目標，同時也專注於我們今年剩餘時間的關鍵戰略重點。

I do want to finish by, once again, thanking our excellent people across the group for their ongoing commitment and dedication to drive Dole Plc forward, as well as our suppliers and customers for all their ongoing support.

最後，我要再次感謝集團內的優秀員工，感謝他們為推動都樂公司的發展所做的持續承諾和奉獻，也感謝我們的供應商和客戶的持續支持。

So with that, I'll hand you back to the operator, and we can open the line for questions. Thank you.

這樣，我就把您交還給接線員，然後我們就可以開通熱線來回答問題了。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Christopher Barnes, Deutsche Bank.

（操作員指令）德意志銀行的克里斯多福·巴恩斯（Christopher Barnes）。

Hi. Good morning. Good afternoon. Thanks for the questions. I guess, just first to start on EBITDA guidance, the full-year target of at least $380 million implies the fourth quarter could be down 18% at the low end.

你好。早安.午安.感謝您的提問。我想，首先從 EBITDA 指引開始，至少 3.8 億美元的全年目標意味著第四季的最低水準可能會下降 18%。

I know you're really just setting a floor. But could you walk through the puts and takes that we should be mindful of across fresh fruit and the diversified businesses in the fourth quarter specifically? I know you called out strength from Peru and Chile export seasons as well as tighter banana supply conditions, but any additional color would be helpful. Thanks.

我知道你其實只是在設定底線。但是，您能否具體介紹一下第四季度我們在新鮮水果和多元化業務方面應該注意的利弊？我知道您提到秘魯和智利的出口季節強勁以及香蕉供應條件趨緊，但任何額外的資訊都會有所幫助。謝謝。

Yeah. I mean, I think as we flagged, Chris, at the end of half one, this may be a year that's more typical of the historical years where there's a heavier weighting towards the first half of the year compared to the second half of the year.

是的。我的意思是，我認為正如我們在第一半年末指出的那樣，今年可能是一個更典型的歷史年份，即上半年的權重比下半年更大。

You got to remember as well that we've sold Progressive, so that also has an impact on Q4 and overall full-year impact on EBITDA of some $25 million. Forecasting, as we know, in today's world is far from an exact science. You just need to look at what happened with the dollar post the election, with a quite strong improvement in the strength of the dollar.

您還必須記住，我們已經出售了 Progressive，因此這也會對第四季度和全年 EBITDA 產生約 2500 萬美元的影響。眾所周知，當今世界的預測遠非一門精確的科學。你只要看看大選後美元的走勢，就會發現美元的實力有了相當大的提升。

We had a strong finish to the year last year in 2023. We do know that our shipping costs in the back half of the year are going to be higher, particularly with the dry docking issues that we've got. But we're comfortable with the base at $380 million. We've stepped it up from $360 million, $370 million and now $380 million. So putting everything into the mix, we think it's the appropriate number to give to the market.

去年，也就是 2023 年，我們圓滿結束了這一年。我們確實知道，今年下半年的運輸成本將會更高，特別是考慮到我們遇到的乾船塢問題。但我們對於 3.8 億美元這個基數感到滿意。我們的資金從 3.6 億美元增加到 3.7 億美元，現在增加到 3.8 億美元。因此，綜合考慮所有因素，我們認為這是適合市場的數字。

Very helpful. And then, secondly, the diversified Americas business profitability has been notably strong year to date, essentially masked the impact from divesting Progressive Produce. So is there any way to frame how much of that improvement is real underlying strength in that business versus some of the like seasonal timing that's shifting profitability around into the first nine months?

非常有幫助。其次，今年迄今為止，多元化美洲業務的獲利能力明顯強勁，基本上掩蓋了剝離 Progressive Produce 帶來的影響。那麼，有沒有辦法可以確定這種改善在多大程度上是該業務的真正潛在實力，而不是像季節性因素那樣將盈利能力轉移到前九個月？

And then separately, Lunar New Year in '25 is two weeks earlier than it was in 2024. Is that going to have any positive impact on the fourth quarter for Chile and cherries, or is that really just a 2025 dynamic? And then I'll pass it on. Thanks.

另外，2025 年的農曆新年比 2024 年早了兩週。這會對智利和櫻桃的第四季產生正面影響嗎？然後我會把它傳遞下去。謝謝。

Yeah. Thanks, Chris. Yeah, I mean, if we look at the diversified Americas business, it's probably the segment that suffered most from -- you go right back to 2020, '21 with the supply chain disruption, the logistics disruption, the very significant shortage of containers, and the dramatic increase in freight rates. So it had a very big impact on that segment. We had periods where we couldn't get product discharged into the North American market.

是的。謝謝，克里斯。是的，我的意思是，如果我們看一下多元化的美洲業務，它可能是遭受損失最嚴重的部分——回顧 2020 年和 2021 年，供應鏈中斷、物流中斷、貨櫃嚴重短缺以及運費急劇上漲。所以它對該部分產生了非常大的影響。我們曾經有一段時間無法將產品推向北美市場。

So that's all settled down. I think we'd have to say as well within that division, particularly from Chile, instead of having lots of negative headwinds, we probably had a few tailwinds that are behind us. The flow of product in terms of the change of seasons from American production into import production has worked well.

一切都已經塵埃落定了。我認為我們也必須說，在該部門內，特別是在智利，我們並沒有面臨太多負面阻力，相反，我們身後可能有一些順風。就季節變化而言，產品從美國生產轉向進口生產的流動運作良好。

The flow of product from cherries into the Chinese market has worked well. We've done a lot of work in terms of improving the management processes and streamlining that organization, and it's worked well. I think there can be a little bit of volatility.

櫻桃產品流入中國市場運作良好。我們在改善管理流程、精簡組織機構方面做了大量工作，並且取得了良好的效果。我認為可能會有一點波動。

We do our own reasonable amount of production in Chile, so that can have -- it can be a little bit more variable than, say, our EMEA division, which tends to be a more stable, consistent profit level. But we're comfortable that we've repositioned that entire business. But they have had an exceptionally strong year this year. So it would be wrong not to recognize that, and we've got to take it when it's there as well.

我們在智利擁有合理數量的生產，因此與我們的 EMEA 分部相比，我們的生產變化可能會更大一些，而 EMEA 分部的利潤水平往往更穩定、更一致。但我們很欣慰我們已經重新定位了整個業務。但今年他們的業績異常強勁。所以，不承認這一點是錯的，當它存在時，我們必須接受它。

Gary Martin, Davy.

蓋瑞馬丁，戴維。

Hello. Congrats again on another strong set of results. I got a few questions on my side. I'll just ask them one by one, if that's all right.

你好。再次恭喜您取得另一組強勁的成績。我有幾個問題。如果可以的話，我將一個一個地詢問他們。

I guess, just starting off and maybe touching on the last question a little bit, I mean, should we expect maybe a more normalized cherry season into Q4? Is that the best way to frame it? And I guess, the extension of about is, should we expect a more normalized kind of diversified Americas and rest-of-world profitability and revenue into Q1 next year as well just off the back of that?

我想，剛開始也許稍微涉及最後一個問題，我的意思是，我們是否應該期待第四季度的櫻桃季節會更加正常化？這是最好的構圖方式嗎？我想，延伸一下，我們是否應該預期明年第一季美洲和世界其他地區的獲利能力和收入將更加正常化、多元化？

Do you want to make any comment on that, Johan, maybe just to add what I already said?

約翰，你想對此發表什麼評論嗎，也許只是補充我已經說過的內容？

Yeah. No, I think what you said is right. And when it comes to normalize -- yes, when you look at Q1, you could probably say it normalized with some of the cherry volume falling into this year considering where the Chinese New Year is coming.

是的。不，我認為你說的是對的。說到正常化——是的，當你看第一季時，你可能會說它已正常化，考慮到中國新年的到來，今年櫻桃的產量有所下降。

Understood. That's helpful. And then just on fresh fruit, I mean, you flagged a number of times that it was above your expectations. I mean, what are the kind of the supply and demand factors that are driving the kind of overall outperformance on volumes across both Europe and North America?

明白了。這很有幫助。然後就新鮮水果而言，我的意思是，你多次標記它超出了你的預期。我的意思是，什麼樣的供需因素推動了歐洲和北美的整體銷售表現優異？

And I guess, if we -- if I put my forecasting hat on and I look into Q4, should we expect to see another fairly consistent quarter on a sequential basis in terms of profitability and revenue? Thanks.

我想，如果我們——如果我帶著預測的眼光看待第四季度，我們是否應該預期在盈利能力和收入方面將看到另一個季度在連續基礎上相當一致的增長？謝謝。

Do you want to address that as well, Johan, maybe?

約翰，也許你也想解決這個問題？

Yeah. So as always, fresh fruit is very dynamic with a lot of puts and calls on it. So what we have right now and what we saw during Q3, we saw a very good and solid demand for bananas, driven by organic bananas, but also the normal bananas.

是的。因此，與往常一樣，新鮮水果非常活躍，有大量的看跌和看漲期權。因此，就目前情況以及我們在第三季度看到的情況來看，我們看到香蕉的需求非常好而且很穩定，這主要是由有機香蕉以及普通香蕉推動的。

Good demand and at the same time, we have a tight supply on the back of weather event. It's been drier up in -- drier in Ecuador, wetter in Central America. And that's on the back of El Nino last year when it was vice versa.

需求旺盛，但同時因天氣原因，供應緊張。厄瓜多較為乾燥，中美洲較為濕潤。而去年的厄爾尼諾現象則恰恰相反。

So the weather has tightened up the supply. So we have had a good supply-demand balance because even if the supply is tight, it does not directly impact the core markets as it's normally the secondary markets that are taking the hit.

因此天氣因素導致供應緊張。因此，我們擁有良好的供需平衡，因為即使供應緊張，也不會直接影響核心市場，因為通常是二級市場受到衝擊。

But we're also selling some in the secondary market. And there, we have seen a tailwind, and that has been beneficial to us. And we do expect to see some of that benefit also in Q4. But we see it more consistent like a normalized year where we don't have the same benefit that we had last year that was very strong.

但我們也在二級市場上銷售一些。在那裡，我們看到了順風，這對我們有利。我們確實預計在第四季也能看到一些好處。但我們認為它更像一個正常化的年份，我們沒有像去年那樣獲得非常強勁的收益。

And the reason for that being then shipping costs being higher, the Dole Ocean cargo business where we sell space on our ships being a little bit lower. And we have also seen some cost of fruit being a little bit higher as volume has been low on pines.

原因在於運輸成本較高，而我們出售的 Dole Ocean 貨運業務的船舶艙位價格略低。而且我們也發現，由於松樹產量較低，水果成本增加。

That's really, really helpful. And then maybe just one final one, just on the two vessels that were previously chartered coming in in early 2025. I mean, you outlined the greater flexibility when it comes to dry docking cycles; that makes perfect sense. But you also touched on further growth potential. Do you want to maybe just go through in a bit more detail the potential growth upside there? Thanks.

這真的非常有幫助。然後也許只剩下最後一個問題了，關於之前租用的兩艘船，它們將於 2025 年初進港。我的意思是，您概述了乾船塢週期的更大靈活性；這很有道理。但您也談到了進一步的成長潛力。您是否想更詳細地介紹一下那裡的潛在成長潛力？謝謝。

Yeah. I mean, we did take the vessels on charter, short-term charter, annual charter really with a view to giving us the capacity flexibility given the dry docking programs. And we found that with our increasing volumes that the extra capacity, we believe, will give us the capacity to grow.

是的。我的意思是，我們確實以租賃、短期租賃和年度租賃的方式租用船隻，以便讓我們在乾船塢計劃下獲得運力靈活性。我們發現，隨著產量的增加，我們相信額外的產能將使我們有能力成長。

And there may be a couple of other areas where we can develop the volumes, just avocados a little bit more out of Colombia. We haven't put a specific number on that yet, Gary. But we do think that having the capacity to make sure that we fully comply with the very important service level requirements of our major North American retailers is very important.

也許還有其他幾個地區我們可以增加產量，例如哥倫比亞的酪梨產量稍微多一點。加里，我們還沒有確定具體的數字。但我們確實認為，有能力確保我們完全遵守北美主要零售商非常重要的服務水準要求非常重要。

We've seen a huge amount of volatility on freight rates over the course of the last six months, particularly with the Red Sea issues and the closure of the Suez Canal. And having certainty about capacity of the rightsized ships, the right capacity, certainty on our trade lanes into the different markets, we think it's a strong advantage and will give us a strong position to grow over the course of the next number of years.

過去六個月中，我們看到運費大幅波動，尤其是紅海問題和蘇伊士運河關閉的影響。並且，對於合適大小的船舶的容量、正確的容量以及進入不同市場的貿易航線的確定性，我們認為這是一個強大的優勢，並將為我們在未來幾年內的成長提供強大的地位。

That's really good color. I'll pass it on. Thanks so much.

這顏色真好看。我會傳達的。非常感謝。

Thanks, Gary.

謝謝，加里。

And we currently have no further questions in our queue. I will now turn the conference back over to Rory Byrne for closing comments.

目前我們沒有其他問題。現在，我將會議交還給羅裡·伯恩 (Rory Byrne)，請他發表最後評論。

Thank you. Well, we're very pleased with the way 2024 has evolved. I think it's another good quarter to add now to a very strong sequence of solid results over a sustained period of time. We've got a good focus on all areas of our business operationally, financially, and strategically. So we believe we're very well positioned for continued growth.

謝謝。嗯，我們對 2024 年的發展方式非常滿意。我認為這是另一個好的季度，可以為持續一段時間以來的強勁業績增添新的亮點。我們高度重視業務的所有營運、財務和策略領域。因此，我們相信，我們已做好充分準備實現持續成長。

So thank you once again to all our committed people, our investors, our customers, suppliers. And thank you for joining us today.

因此，再次感謝我們所有忠誠的員工、投資者、客戶和供應商。感謝您今天加入我們。