Enerpac Tool Group Corp (EPAC) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to Enerpac Tool Group's First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded, December 21, 2022.

女士們，先生們，謝謝你們的支持。歡迎參加 Enerpac Tool Group 第一季度收益電話會議。提醒一下，本次會議將於 2022 年 12 月 21 日進行錄製。

It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Bobbi Belstner, Senior Director of Investor Relations and Strategy. Please go ahead, Ms. Belstner.

現在我很高興將會議轉交給投資者關係和戰略高級總監 Bobbi Belstner。請繼續，Belstner 女士。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and thank you for joining us for Enerpac Tool Group's first quarter fiscal '23 earnings conference call. On the call today to present the company's results are Paul Sternlieb, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Tony Colucci, Chief Financial Officer. Also with us is Barb Bolens, Chief Strategy Officer.

謝謝你，運營商。早上好，感謝您參加 Enerpac 工具集團第一季度 23 財年收益電話會議。總裁兼首席執行官 Paul Sternlieb 今天出席了介紹公司業績的電話會議；和首席財務官 Tony Colucci。與我們一起的還有首席戰略官 Barb Bolens。

Our earnings release and slide presentation for today's call are available on our website at enerpactoolgroup.com in the Investors section. We are also recording this call and will archive it on our website. During today's call, we will reference non-GAAP measures such as adjusted profit margins and adjusted earnings. You can find a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures in the schedules to this morning's release. We would also like to remind you that we will be making statements in today's call and presentation that are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking statements. We are making those statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of federal securities laws. Please see our SEC filings for the risks and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forecasts, anticipated results or other forward-looking statements.

我們今天電話會議的收益發布和幻燈片演示可在我們網站 enerpactoolgroup.com 的投資者部分獲取。我們也正在錄製此電話並將其存檔在我們的網站上。在今天的電話會議中，我們將參考非 GAAP 指標，例如調整後的利潤率和調整後的收益。您可以在今天上午發布的時間表中找到 GAAP 與非 GAAP 措施的對賬。我們還想提醒您，我們將在今天的電話會議和演示文稿中發表非歷史事實的陳述，這些陳述被視為前瞻性陳述。我們是根據聯邦證券法的安全港條款作出這些聲明的。請參閱我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，了解可能導致實際結果與預測、預期結果或其他前瞻性陳述存在重大差異的風險和其他因素。

Now I will turn the call over to Paul.

現在我將把電話轉給保羅。

Thanks, Bobbi, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our Q1 earnings call. I'm pleased to discuss our fiscal 2023 first quarter results with you this morning. But before we jump into the quarterly results and strategy update, I want to spend a few moments recapping our recent Investor Day that we held in November in New York City.

謝謝，Bobbi，大家早上好。感謝您加入我們的第一季度財報電話會議。我很高興今天早上與您討論我們 2023 財年第一季度的業績。但在我們進入季度業績和戰略更新之前，我想花點時間回顧一下我們最近於 11 月在紐約市舉行的投資者日。

The theme of our Investor Day was raising the bar and the event was a great opportunity to showcase our new management team, share our focused growth strategy, provide an update on our ASCEND transformation program, launch our new long-term financial targets and interact with both investors and analysts. We thank all of you that joined us both in person and virtually. If you were not able to attend, we encourage you to watch the replay of the event that is available on our website under the Investors section.

我們投資者日的主題是提高標準，這次活動是一個很好的機會來展示我們的新管理團隊，分享我們的重點增長戰略，提供我們 ASCEND 轉型計劃的最新信息，推出我們新的長期財務目標並與投資者和分析師。我們感謝所有親自和虛擬加入我們的人。如果您未能出席，我們鼓勵您在我們網站的“投資者”部分觀看該活動的重播。

Based on the updated growth strategy that we laid out, which includes a focus on 4 growth verticals, including infrastructure, wind, rail and industrial MRO, our digital transformation program, our updated innovation approach and our Asia Pacific growth strategy, along with the benefits of our ASCEND transformation program, we issued updated 4-year financial targets, including 6% to 7% organic revenue CAGR, 25% adjusted EBITDA margins as we exit fiscal 2024 and greater than 25% adjusted EBITDA margins in fiscal '26, and greater than 100% free cash flow conversion in the latter years of the plan as we continue to invest in ASCEND over the next 2 years. The compounding effect of these targets creates a robust recurring cash generation model that is driven by our strong sales and our solid game plan to achieve margin expansion, and we remain confident in our ability to grow and execute.

基於我們制定的更新後的增長戰略，其中包括專注於 4 個垂直增長領域，包括基礎設施、風能、鐵路和工業 MRO、我們的數字化轉型計劃、我們更新的創新方法和我們的亞太增長戰略，以及優勢在我們的 ASCEND 轉型計劃中，我們發布了更新後的 4 年財務目標，包括 6% 至 7% 的有機收入複合年增長率，在我們退出 2024 財年時調整後 EBITDA 利潤率達到 25% 以及在 26 財年調整後 EBITDA 利潤率超過 25%，以及更高隨著我們在未來 2 年繼續投資 ASCEND，計劃後幾年的自由現金流轉換率將超過 100%。這些目標的複合效應創造了一個強大的經常性現金生成模型，該模型由我們強勁的銷售和我們實現利潤率擴張的可靠遊戲計劃驅動，我們對我們的增長和執行能力充滿信心。

Now moving on to the first quarter. I want to start by thanking our employees across the globe for their hard work in helping us deliver another solid quarter. We experienced strong top line results that were consistent with our expectations with core growth in all 4 regions. The team's execution of driving sales and implementing ASCEND can be seen in our adjusted EBITDA margins and over 60% incremental EBITDA profit in the quarter, well in excess of our historical 35% to 45% incrementals, resulting in nearly 600 basis points improvement year-over-year. Tony will provide additional details on the financial results, but I just want to reiterate how excited I am about the progress that we're making across the organization to unlock the full potential for Enerpac Tool Group to create value for all our stakeholders.

現在轉到第一季度。首先，我要感謝我們全球的員工為幫助我們實現又一個穩定的季度所做的辛勤工作。我們取得了強勁的營收業績，這與我們對所有 4 個地區的核心增長的預期一致。從我們調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率和本季度超過 60% 的 EBITDA 利潤增量中可以看出團隊對推動銷售和實施 ASCEND 的執行，遠遠超過我們歷史上 35% 至 45% 的增量，導致近 600 個基點的改進年度 -超過一年。托尼將提供有關財務結果的更多詳細信息，但我只想重申，我對我們在整個組織中取得的進展感到非常興奮，以釋放 Enerpac 工具集團的全部潛力，為我們所有的利益相關者創造價值。

Moving on to Slide 5. As we announced in March, we launched our ASCEND transformation program focused on driving organic growth, operational excellence improvement and greater efficiency and productivity in SG&A to enhance shareholder value. We have made very solid progress on ASCEND, and we've now reached a mature late-stage funnel of opportunities in excess of our target. We continue to expect $40 million to $50 million of adjusted EBITDA benefit as a result of the program as we exit fiscal 2024, including $12 million to $18 million of benefit in the current fiscal year. An additional overview of the ASCEND transformation program can be found in the appendix of today's presentation.

轉到幻燈片 5。正如我們在 3 月份宣布的那樣，我們啟動了 ASCEND 轉型計劃，重點是推動有機增長、卓越運營改進以及提高 SG&A 的效率和生產力，以提高股東價值。我們在 ASCEND 上取得了非常穩固的進展，我們現在已經達到了一個成熟的後期機會漏斗，超過了我們的目標。我們繼續預計，隨著我們退出 2024 財年，該計劃將帶來 4000 萬至 5000 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA 收益，包括本財年的 1200 萬至 1800 萬美元收益。 ASCEND 轉換程序的其他概述可以在今天的演示文稿的附錄中找到。

Now before we move on, I did want to take a few moments this morning to highlight some of the great progress that our team continues to make on a few of our various ASCEND initiatives. On the commercial side, we've taken actions to simplify our distribution network. And we are refocusing our efforts on and disproportionately investing behind our partners that are focused on helping to grow the Enerpac business and who are best positioned to win in the marketplace. In addition, we've simplified our distributor discount structure to a tiered approach that rewards the growth of Enerpac sales. As it relates to procurement, we are consolidating both our direct material and indirect spend using an 80-20 approach and key supplier negotiations. We've also tightened the controls around discretionary spend to drive greater visibility and additional cost savings.

在我們繼續之前，今天早上我確實想花點時間強調一下我們的團隊在我們的各種 ASCEND 計劃中繼續取得的一些重大進展。在商業方面，我們已採取行動簡化我們的分銷網絡。我們正在重新將精力集中在我們的合作夥伴身上，並且不成比例地投資於我們的合作夥伴，這些合作夥伴專注於幫助發展 Enerpac 業務，並且最有能力在市場上取勝。此外，我們已將分銷商折扣結構簡化為獎勵 Enerpac 銷售額增長的分層方法。由於涉及採購，我們正在使用 80-20 的方法和主要供應商談判來整合我們的直接材料和間接支出。我們還加強了對可自由支配支出的控制，以提高知名度並進一步節省成本。

And on SG&A, we started to take actions to move some back office functions to shared service center models in lower-cost regions. And last but not least, by reducing the number of legal entities across Enerpac Tool Group, we reduced the complexity of our business and the associated costs of maintaining an overly complex legal entity structure and all the additional work associated with this from an accounting, tax and legal perspective. These are just a few examples of the exciting initiatives within ASCEND, which demonstrates the broad reach of the program across our organization.

在 SG&A 方面，我們開始採取行動，將一些後台功能轉移到成本較低地區的共享服務中心模型。最後但同樣重要的是，通過減少整個 Enerpac 工具集團的法人實體數量，我們降低了業務的複雜性和維護過於復雜的法人實體結構的相關成本，以及與此相關的所有額外工作，包括會計、稅務和法律視角。這些只是 ASCEND 中激動人心的舉措的幾個例子，它們展示了該計劃在我們組織中的廣泛影響。

Of the $12 million to $18 million of adjusted EBITDA benefit that we anticipate in fiscal 2023 related to ASCEND, we experienced a benefit of approximately $6 million in the first quarter, which will be partly offset by future additional costs, for example, to backfill some [rolls] for an estimated net recurring benefit of approximately $4 million to $5 million. And we saw roughly 300 basis points of improvement in our SG&A as a percent of revenue, excluding adjusted costs as a result of the ASCEND actions taken to date.

在我們預計 2023 財年與 ASCEND 相關的 1200 萬至 1800 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA 收益中，我們在第一季度獲得了大約 600 萬美元的收益，這將部分被未來的額外成本所抵消，例如，回填一些[滾動]估計淨經常性收益約為 400 萬至 500 萬美元。我們看到我們的 SG&A 佔收入的百分比提高了大約 300 個基點，不包括迄今為止採取的 ASCEND 行動導致的調整成本。

Again, ASCEND is much more than a restructuring program. There is a high degree of focus and discipline associated not only with our cost structure, but also organic growth and operational efficiency and productivity. Also, as we highlighted at Investor Day, innovation is a key aspect of our growth strategy. So I wanted to spend a moment to touch base on our NPD activity in Q1. I'm excited to share that we launched our new battery-powered machine skates for Industrial Movers in the first quarter, and we have already received several orders.

同樣，ASCEND 不僅僅是一個重組計劃。高度關注和紀律不僅與我們的成本結構相關，而且與有機增長、運營效率和生產力相關。此外，正如我們在投資者日強調的那樣，創新是我們增長戰略的一個關鍵方面。所以我想花點時間談談我們在第一季度的 NPD 活動。我很高興與大家分享，我們在第一季度為 Industrial Movers 推出了新的電池驅動的機器溜冰鞋，我們已經收到了幾份訂單。

Moving heavy industrial machinery is always a challenge, especially in confined spaces where conventional methods are either labor-intensive or unsafe. These innovative machine skates are self-propelled, eliminating the need to manually push or pull the load. They also ensure the safety of the operator by allowing them to work at a safe distance away from the load. These battery-powered machine skates keep the load close to the ground, reducing the overhead clearance required to move the load through the facility and more importantly, increase overall safety. This is just one example of how we are driving customer-back innovation to help make complex often hazardous jobs possible safely and efficiently.

移動重型工業機械始終是一項挑戰，尤其是在傳統方法勞動密集型或不安全的密閉空間中。這些創新的機器溜冰鞋是自行推進的，無需手動推拉負載。它們還允許操作員在遠離負載的安全距離內工作，從而確保操作員的安全。這些電池供電的機器溜冰鞋使負載靠近地面，減少了在設施中移動負載所需的頭頂間隙，更重要的是，提高了整體安全性。這只是我們如何推動客戶支持創新以幫助安全高效地完成複雜且通常危險的工作的一個例子。

Turning to Slide 6. As it relates to our markets, we continue to see solid demand across all 4 of our regions with particular strength in Americas and Europe and notable year-over-year total core growth of 14% for our products. While there continues to be macroeconomic uncertainty, in the first quarter, we did not see signs of a recession or pending recession within our business and order rates have remained solid, the first few weeks into the second quarter.

轉到幻燈片 6。由於它與我們的市場相關，我們繼續看到我們所有 4 個地區的強勁需求，其中美洲和歐洲的需求特別強勁，我們的產品同比總核心增長顯著 14%。雖然宏觀經濟仍然存在不確定性，但在第一季度，我們沒有看到我們的業務出現衰退或即將衰退的跡象，訂單率在第二季度的前幾周保持穩定。

We've continued to see slowing in the rate of commodity price inflation, and our past due backlog decreased slightly quarter-over-quarter, though component availability remained a challenge. When Tony walks through the waterfalls, you'll see that the pricing actions we've taken have more than offset the impact of inflation. And I'm pleased that we've begun to see the benefits of our ASCEND initiatives positively impacting our EBITDA margins and our incrementals in the first quarter.

我們繼續看到商品價格通脹率放緩，我們的逾期積壓訂單環比略有下降，但組件可用性仍然是一個挑戰。當托尼走過瀑佈時，您會發現我們採取的定價措施不僅抵消了通貨膨脹的影響。我很高興我們已經開始看到我們的 ASCEND 計劃的好處對我們的 EBITDA 利潤率和第一季度的增量產生積極影響。

Moving on to the regions. The Americas experienced solid core sales growth in the high teens percentages in the first quarter. This was primarily driven by year-over-year product growth. In particular, standard product sales were solid and showed demand across most manufacturing sectors. The Americas experienced some nice activity within rail due to ongoing maintenance of rolling stock and aero had solid shipments as a result of demand for our digital turning tools.

繼續前往地區。美洲在第一季度經歷了十幾歲的高百分比的穩固核心銷售增長。這主要是由同比產品增長推動的。特別是，標準產品銷售穩健，顯示出大多數製造行業的需求。由於對機車車輛的持續維護，美洲在鐵路方面經歷了一些不錯的活動，並且由於對我們的數字車削工具的需求，航空運輸量穩定。

Our heavy lift business or HLT is seeing some interesting opportunities around wind. As towers are getting bigger and bigger and moving offshore, wind turbine OEMs are looking for ways to streamline the transportation and build process for those turbines, creating future opportunities for HLT. The modest year-over-year growth within service was driven by rental demand within oil and gas, but was partially offset by the push-out of some projects in the marine space. While stocking orders were in line with expectations and demand was steady within the channel, distributor sentiment remained cautious, driven by the concern of a potential recession.

我們的重型起重業務或 HLT 在風能方面看到了一些有趣的機會。隨著塔越來越大並向海上移動，風力渦輪機原始設備製造商正在尋找方法來簡化這些渦輪機的運輸和建造過程，從而為 HLT 創造未來機會。服務業的同比溫和增長是由石油和天然氣行業的租賃需求推動的，但部分被海洋領域一些項目的推出所抵消。雖然庫存訂單符合預期且渠道內需求穩定，但受潛在經濟衰退擔憂的推動，經銷商情緒仍然謹慎。

Moving on to Europe. This region delivered year-over-year core growth in the low double-digit percentages, driven by both product and service. From a vertical market perspective, the region benefited from continued government investment in both infrastructure and rail with additional future opportunities. The ongoing government investment to address aging infrastructure is also creating some good opportunities for our HLT business in Europe.

繼續前往歐洲。在產品和服務的推動下，該地區實現了兩位數百分比的同比核心增長。從垂直市場的角度來看，該地區受益於政府對基礎設施和鐵路的持續投資以及更多的未來機會。政府為解決基礎設施老化問題而進行的持續投資也為我們在歐洲的 HLT 業務創造了一些良好的機會。

Oil and gas was favorable due to the pent-up demand created by the Russia-Ukraine crisis and work that was previously being deferred is now taking place. In particular, our Leak Sealing Services are in very high demand. Overall, distributor sentiment is generally neutral with caution in some areas due to the current macroeconomic environment. In Central and Eastern Europe, this is, of course, a direct consequence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, driving energy prices up and investment sentiment down.

由於俄羅斯-烏克蘭危機造成的被壓抑的需求以及之前被推遲的工作現在正在進行，因此石油和天然氣是有利的。特別是，我們的洩漏密封服務需求量非常大。總的來說，由於當前的宏觀經濟環境，經銷商情緒總體上是中性的，但在某些地區仍持謹慎態度。在中歐和東歐，這當然是俄烏衝突的直接後果，導致能源價格上漲，投資情緒低迷。

Now moving on to Asia Pacific. The region had a year-over-year core growth percentage in the low single digits. Unfortunately, COVID continues to be a challenge, specifically in China with COVID restrictions creating some supply chain disruptions in the quarter. As of December 1, some of the local governments are gradually easing the COVID test and travel restrictions, and China is now moving from no COVID to living with COVID. From a vertical market perspective, mining continues to be favorable in the quarter, driven by demand for iron ore, coal and some precious materials in Australia and coal in China. Shipbuilding in Korea and Japan was also positive, primarily driven by the transportation of liquefied natural gas.

現在轉向亞太地區。該地區的同比核心增長率僅為個位數。不幸的是，COVID 仍然是一個挑戰，特別是在中國，COVID 限制在本季度造成了一些供應鏈中斷。截至12月1日，部分地方政府逐步放寬新冠病毒檢測和出行限制，中國正在從無新冠病毒走向有新冠病毒共存。從垂直市場的角度來看，在澳大利亞對鐵礦石、煤炭和一些貴重材料以及中國煤炭的需求推動下，本季度礦業繼續看好。韓國和日本的造船業也表現良好，主要受液化天然氣運輸的推動。

Turning to the MENAC or Middle East region, MENAC experienced year-over-year core growth in the low single-digit [percent]. As we've seen the last few quarters, overall spending on oil and gas activity in the region has continued to ramp up. Energy producers continue to make large investments into downstream activity and maintenance work that was previously being pushed out the past few quarters has begun to be actioned in the first quarter, and we expect will continue into our fiscal Q2.

轉向 MENAC 或中東地區，MENAC 經歷了低個位數 [百分比] 的同比核心增長。正如我們在過去幾個季度看到的那樣，該地區在石油和天然氣活動上的總體支出繼續增加。能源生產商繼續對下游活動進行大量投資，之前在過去幾個季度被推遲的維護工作已在第一季度開始行動，我們預計將持續到我們的第二財季。

From a vertical market perspective, oil and gas continues to be favorable, and the region continues to make investments in new projects related to infrastructure and power generation, including significant investments in renewable energy. And moving on to Cortland, our Cortland business delivered core growth of 26% year-over-year in the first quarter. On the medical side of the business, demand and order rates for commercial products remained stable. And we launched 2 additional orthopedic products that moved from development into production in the first quarter. With over 20 projects in the development phase, we have a very healthy pipeline to fuel future growth.

從垂直市場的角度來看，石油和天然氣繼續受到青睞，該地區繼續投資與基礎設施和發電相關的新項目，包括對可再生能源的重大投資。轉到 Cortland，我們的 Cortland 業務在第一季度實現了 26% 的核心同比增長。在業務的醫療方面，商業產品的需求和訂單率保持穩定。我們在第一季度推出了另外 2 款從開發轉向生產的骨科產品。我們有 20 多個處於開發階段的項目，擁有非常健康的管道來推動未來的增長。

Moving on to the industrial side of the Cortland business. Overall, it was a strong first quarter with solid performance across nearly all Cortland's end markets. In particular, oil and gas and seismic, aerospace and defense and oceanographic were favorable in the quarter, driven by federal funding for government-related aero and defense and oceanographic projects. Overall, improved lead times enabled Cortland to be more responsive to customer requests and capture additional orders in the first quarter.

轉到 Cortland 業務的工業方面。總體而言，這是一個強勁的第一季度，幾乎所有 Cortland 的終端市場都表現出色。尤其是石油和天然氣以及地震、航空航天和國防以及海洋學在本季度受到聯邦對政府相關航空和國防以及海洋學項目的資助的推動。總的來說，交貨時間的縮短使 Cortland 能夠更好地響應客戶請求並在第一季度獲得更多訂單。

I'll now turn it over to Tony to walk us through the Q1 financial results as well as an update on operations. Tony?

現在我將把它交給托尼，讓我們了解第一季度的財務業績以及運營的最新情況。托尼？

Thanks, Paul. Turning to Slide 9 for our adjusted Q1 results. Net sales of $139 million, which is a 13% increase in core sales over Q1 2022. IT&S product core sales were up 14%, service core sales were up 3%, and Cortland core sales were up 26%. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 19% in the quarter, which reflects a currency neutral incremental profitability of 64% and provided a solid bottom line increase to begin our fiscal year. The adjusted tax rate for the quarter was 16% compared to 15% in the prior year first quarter. This resulted in an adjusted EPS of $0.29, up $0.13 from the prior year first quarter, which is greater than an 80% increase year-over-year.

謝謝，保羅。轉到幻燈片 9 查看我們調整後的第一季度結果。淨銷售額為 1.39 億美元，核心銷售額比 2022 年第一季度增長 13%。IT&S 產品核心銷售額增長 14%，服務核心銷售額增長 3%，Cortland 核心銷售額增長 26%。本季度調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 19%，這反映了 64% 的貨幣中性增量盈利能力，並為本財年的開始提供了堅實的底線增長。本季度調整後的稅率為 16%，而去年第一季度為 15%。這導致調整後每股收益為 0.29 美元，比去年第一季度增加 0.13 美元，同比增幅超過 80%。

Turning to Slide 10 for details on our sales performance in the first quarter. Reported year-over-year net sales were up 6%, including the FX headwind of $7.1 million, driven by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar, primarily related to the euro and GBP. Product core sales increased 15%, with over 80% of the increase from our IT&S products and the remainder to Cortland. All regions except MENAC experienced year-over-year double-digit product core sales growth, reflecting continued strong demand for our products. Service core sales grew 3% over Q1 2022, driven by double-digit growth in [SA] and single-digit growth in the Americas and MENAC, with MENAC driven by strong oil and gas opportunities. This was partially offset by declines in APAC. Lastly, pricing actions contributed approximately $8 million to the top line.

轉到幻燈片 10，了解我們第一季度銷售業績的詳細信息。報告的同比淨銷售額增長 6%，其中包括 710 萬美元的外匯逆風，這是受美元走強的推動，主要與歐元和英鎊有關。產品核心銷售額增長了 15%，其中超過 80% 的增長來自我們的 IT&S 產品，其餘增長來自 Cortland。除 MENAC 外，所有地區的產品核心銷售額均實現了兩位數的同比增長，反映出對我們產品的持續強勁需求。服務核心銷售額比 2022 年第一季度增長了 3%，這得益於 [SA] 的兩位數增長以及美洲和 MENAC 的個位數增長，其中 MENAC 受到強勁的石油和天然氣機會的推動。這部分被亞太地區的下滑所抵消。最後，定價行動為收入貢獻了大約 800 萬美元。

Turning to Slide 11, reflecting a consistent trend from prior year, IT&S product net sales significantly exceeded the peak range of the 4 years prior to COVID and fiscal 2022, driven by strong demand, new product launches, pricing and the execution of our ASCEND strategy. Transitioning to first quarter adjusted EBITDA on Slide 12. We delivered $26.6 million of adjusted EBITDA in Q1, which is approximately a $9 million year-over-year improvement.

轉到幻燈片 11，反映出與上一年一致的趨勢，在強勁需求、新產品發布、定價和 ASCEND 戰略執行的推動下，IT&S 產品淨銷售額顯著超過 COVID 之前 4 年和 2022 財年的峰值範圍.過渡到幻燈片 12 上的第一季度調整後 EBITDA。我們在第一季度交付了 2660 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA，同比增長約 900 萬美元。

Similar to sales, the stronger U.S. dollar had an unfavorable impact to profitability, reducing EBITDA by $1 million versus the prior year. Higher product sales volumes contributed roughly $3 million of growth to EBITDA. Pricing actions resulted in net price cost realization in the quarter, increasing margin by $3.5 million, along with the mix of Cortland medical sales and improved industrial profitability, which contributed an additional $2 million of EBITDA improvement in the quarter.

與銷售額類似，美元走強對盈利能力產生了不利影響，EBITDA 比上一年減少了 100 萬美元。更高的產品銷量為 EBITDA 貢獻了大約 300 萬美元的增長。定價行動導致本季度實現了淨價格成本，利潤率增加了 350 萬美元，同時 Cortland 醫療銷售和工業盈利能力的提高相結合，為本季度的 EBITDA 額外增加了 200 萬美元。

Excluding the favorable impact to largely European costs resulting from the stronger U.S. dollar, SG&A was up approximately $1 million when compared to the prior year. The increase was primarily driven from higher accrued incentive compensation, an increase in travel and entertainment and a nonrecurring insurance expense, partially offset by savings tied to restructuring actions taken in the prior year, along with ASCEND initiatives.

排除美元走強對主要歐洲成本的有利影響，與上一年相比，SG&A 增加了約 100 萬美元。增加的主要原因是應計激勵薪酬增加、差旅和娛樂費用增加以及非經常性保險費用，部分被與上一年採取的重組行動以及 ASCEND 計劃相關的節餘所抵消。

As Paul previously mentioned, first quarter adjusted EBITDA was favorably impacted by the execution of our ASCEND strategy, which positively impacted the quarter by approximately $6 million. However, due to timing differences between recurring benefits and recurring costs, there will be future additional expense for an estimated net recurring benefit of approximately $4 million to $5 million. We incurred approximately $1 million in restructuring charges in the quarter associated with our ASCEND transformation program. And the associated savings from those actions will be recognized throughout fiscal 2023 and beyond.

正如保羅之前提到的，第一季度調整後的 EBITDA 受到我們 ASCEND 戰略執行的有利影響，該戰略對本季度產生了約 600 萬美元的積極影響。然而，由於經常性收益和經常性成本之間的時間差異，未來估計淨經常性收益約為 400 萬至 500 萬美元的額外費用。我們在與我們的 ASCEND 轉型計劃相關的季度中產生了大約 100 萬美元的重組費用。這些行動帶來的相關節省將在整個 2023 財年及以後得到體現。

Moving on to operations. As discussed over previous quarters, we continued to see some easing of the post-pandemic supply chain challenges. Most notably, our past due backlog is beginning to show signs of improvement, but component availability, particularly for some plastic parts and electronics remains a challenge. We continue to see easing in commodity price increases during the quarter and freight costs are trending positively as well back to a normalized level.

繼續操作。正如前幾個季度所討論的那樣，我們繼續看到大流行後供應鏈挑戰有所緩解。最值得注意的是，我們過去到期的積壓開始顯示出改善的跡象，但組件可用性，尤其是某些塑料零件和電子產品仍然是一個挑戰。我們繼續看到本季度大宗商品價格上漲放緩，運費呈積極趨勢並回到正常水平。

As we highlighted last quarter, European energy costs also remain in close watch as rate increases are planned for January. Our procurement team is actively negotiating new contracts to help minimize the impact. Despite the positive signs that we are seeing, we do expect that some headwinds will continue into calendar 2023. Lastly, in the first quarter, we continue to evaluate pricing in the face of inflation and benefited from previous pricing actions taken in response to the inflationary environment. In Europe, we announced additional pricing actions effective December 1 on certain products. And the Americas had price increase effective mid-November for standard distribution. Going forward, we will continue to monitor inflationary pressures and react with additional pricing actions as necessary.

正如我們在上個季度強調的那樣，歐洲能源成本也受到密切關注，因為計劃在 1 月份加息。我們的採購團隊正在積極談判新合同，以幫助最大程度地減少影響。儘管我們看到了積極的跡象，但我們確實預計一些逆風將持續到 2023 年日曆。最後，在第一季度，我們繼續評估面對通貨膨脹的定價，並受益於之前為應對通貨膨脹而採取的定價行動環境。在歐洲，我們宣布了對某些產品從 12 月 1 日起生效的額外定價行動。美洲的標準分銷價格在 11 月中旬生效。展望未來，我們將繼續監測通脹壓力，並在必要時採取額外的定價行動。

We'll wrap up the financial summary with liquidity on Slide 14. We generated positive free cash flow of $16 million during the first quarter compared to negative free cash flow of $8 million in Q1 2022. Excluding the impact from foreign currency translation, working capital decreased by approximately $6 million in the first quarter, primarily driven by $10 million of lower receivables due to strong collections and approximately $2 million of incremental payables, partially offset by $6 million of increased inventory.

我們將在幻燈片 14 上總結具有流動性的財務摘要。我們在第一季度產生了 1600 萬美元的正自由現金流，而 2022 年第一季度產生了 800 萬美元的負自由現金流。排除外幣換算、營運資金的影響第一季度減少了約 600 萬美元，主要是由於收款強勁導致應收賬款減少 1000 萬美元，以及約 200 萬美元的增量應付賬款，部分被增加的 600 萬美元庫存所抵消。

Capital expenditures were approximately $3 million in the quarter. Our leverage is at 0.7x, remaining well below our target range of 1.5x to 2.5x and compared to 0.9x as we exited fiscal 2022. Finally, we made a cash payment of $2.3 million for the annual dividend we declared last quarter. With strong Q1 cash flows contributing to our solid overall liquidity, we believe we are well positioned to support our balanced capital allocation priorities, which includes our ASCEND transformation program, along with other internal investments, returns to shareholders and disciplined M&A growth. We remain committed to leveraging our capital position to drive long-term value for our shareholders.

本季度的資本支出約為 300 萬美元。我們的槓桿率為 0.7 倍，遠低於我們 1.5 倍至 2.5 倍的目標範圍，而我們在 2022 財年結束時為 0.9 倍。最後，我們為上季度宣布的年度股息支付了 230 萬美元的現金。憑藉強勁的第一季度現金流為我們穩固的整體流動性做出貢獻，我們相信我們有能力支持我們平衡的資本分配優先事項，其中包括我們的 ASCEND 轉型計劃，以及其他內部投資、股東回報和有紀律的併購增長。我們仍然致力於利用我們的資本狀況為股東創造長期價值。

With that, I will turn the call back to Paul.

有了這個，我會把電話轉回給保羅。

Okay. Thanks, Tony. In the first 3 weeks of the fiscal second quarter, demand remained solid, and we have not seen a change in order trends from the fourth quarter of fiscal '22. There are no changes to our previously announced fiscal 2023 guidance, which continues to be full year net sales of $565 million to $585 million and an adjusted EBITDA range of $113 million to $123 million, including an ASCEND EBITDA benefit of $12 million to $18 million, with improvement in our typical adjusted EBITDA incremental margins as ASCEND progresses. This is based on foreign exchange rates as noted in September and assumes that there is not a broad-based recession.

好的。謝謝，托尼。在第二財季的前 3 週，需求保持穩定，與 22 財年第四季度相比，我們沒有看到訂單趨勢發生變化。我們之前宣布的 2023 財年指引沒有變化，全年淨銷售額仍為 5.65 億美元至 5.85 億美元，調整後的 EBITDA 範圍為 1.13 億美元至 1.23 億美元，包括 1200 萬至 1800 萬美元的 ASCEND EBITDA 收益，隨著 ASCEND 的進展，我們典型的調整後 EBITDA 增量利潤率有所改善。這是基於 9 月份指出的外匯匯率，並假設不存在廣泛的衰退。

Before I wrap up, I would like to reiterate that I am extremely proud of the work that we have accomplished as an organization since I joined Enerpac Tool Group just over a year ago. We are focused on transforming the business, and despite the uncertain global macroeconomic environment, we believe that our strong balance sheet, diversity of end markets and the work that we have done related to our ASCEND transformation program has us well positioned to manage through economic uncertainty, which was evident in our first quarter results.

在我結束之前，我想重申，自從我一年多前加入 Enerpac Tool Group 以來，我為我們作為一個組織所完成的工作感到非常自豪。我們專注於業務轉型，儘管全球宏觀經濟環境不確定，但我們相信我們強大的資產負債表、終端市場的多樣性以及我們所做的與 ASCEND 轉型計劃相關的工作使我們能夠很好地應對經濟不確定性，這在我們第一季度的業績中很明顯。

With that, thank you for joining our Q1 earnings call. We hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season with your loved ones. And we look forward to catching up with you in the New Year. Thank you.

有了這個，感謝您加入我們的第一季度財報電話會議。我們希望每個人都能與您所愛的人度過一個安全愉快的假期。我們期待在新的一年裡與您相會。謝謝。

Thank you. That does conclude today's teleconference and webcast. You may disconnect your line at this time, and have a wonderful day. We thank you for your participation today.

謝謝。今天的電話會議和網絡廣播到此結束。您可以在此時斷開您的線路，並度過美好的一天。感謝您今天的參與。