ESCO Technologies Inc (ESE) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the first quarter 2026 ESCO Technologies Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. On the call today, we have Bryan Sayler, President and CEO; Chris Tucker, Senior Vice President and CFO.

大家好，感謝您的耐心等待。歡迎參加 ESCO Technologies 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄音。今天出席會議的有：總裁兼執行長 Bryan Sayler；資深副總裁兼財務長 Chris Tucker。

And now I'd like to turn the conference over to the first speaker today, Kate Lowrey, Vice President of Investor Relations. Kate, now you have the floor.

現在，我把會議交給今天的第一位發言人，投資者關係副總裁凱特洛瑞。凱特，現在請你發言。

Thank you. Statements made during this call, which are not strictly historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions, and actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties that exist in the company's operations and business environment, including, but not limited to the risk factors referenced in the company's press release issued today, which will be included as an exhibit to the company's Form 8-K to be filed.

謝謝。本次電話會議中除歷史事實外，其餘均為聯邦證券法安全港條款所界定的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述是基於目前的預期和假設，但由於公司營運和商業環境中存在的風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中預測的結果有重大差異，包括但不限於公司今日發布的新聞稿中提及的風險因素。新聞稿將作為附件附於本公司即將提交的8-K表格中。

We undertake no duty to update or revise these forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable laws or regulations. In addition, during this call, the company may discuss some non-GAAP financial measures in describing the company's operating results. A reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable GAAP measures can be found in the press release issued today and found on the company's website at www.escotechnologies.com under the link Investor Relations.

除適用法律法規另有規定外，我們不承擔更新或修訂這些前瞻性聲明的義務。此外，在本次電話會議中，本公司在描述公司經營績效時可能會提及一些非公認會計準則（非GAAP）財務指標。這些指標與最接近的公認會計準則（GAAP）指標的調節表可在今天發布的新聞稿中找到，該新聞稿也可在公司網站www.escotechnologies.com的「投資者關係」欄位下找到。

Now I'll turn the call over to Bryan.

現在我把電話交給布萊恩。

Thanks, Kate, and thanks, everyone, for joining today's call. We are pleased to meet with you this afternoon to discuss ESCO's strong first quarter results, which have our fiscal 2026 off to a great start. We booked over $550 million in orders in the first quarter, which is an increase of 143% over the prior year.

謝謝凱特，也謝謝各位參加今天的電話會議。我們很高興今天下午能與大家見面，討論ESCO強勁的第一季業績，這為我們2026財年開了個好頭。第一季我們獲得了超過5.5億美元的訂單，比去年同期成長了143%。

All three of our segments saw double-digit orders growth, led by strong aerospace demand and large Navy orders at Maritime and Globe. We believe in the long-term growth drivers across our end markets, and it was great to see the positive momentum across our businesses to start the year. Top line sales growth of 35% combined with 380 points of adjusted EBIT margin expansion drove a 73% year-over-year increase in adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations to a Q1 record of $1.64 per share.

我們三大業務板塊的訂單量均實現了兩大增長，主要得益於強勁的航空航天需求以及海軍在海事和環球業務板塊的大訂單。我們對終端市場的長期成長動力充滿信心，很高興看到年初各業務板塊均呈現正面動能。營收成長35%，調整後息稅前利潤率提升380個百分點，推動持續經營業務調整後每股盈餘較去年同期成長73%，創下第一季1.64美元的歷史新高。

Our exceptional financial results for the quarter are a testament to our strategic positioning across our served markets combined with disciplined execution by our global team. Chris will take us through all of the financial details in the quarter, but before we get to that, I want to give you a few comments on each of the segments.

本季我們卓越的財務業績，充分證明了我們在所服務市場中的策略定位，以及我們全球團隊嚴謹的執行力。克里斯將為我們詳細介紹本季的所有財務細節，但在那之前，我想先就各個業務板塊做幾點說明。

Let's start with Aerospace & Defense. As I mentioned, we're seeing tremendous order strength on both US and UK Navy programs from the Maritime business and from our organic baby business. In addition, sales were up 76% in the quarter driven by the addition of Maritime and double-digit organic growth across our Navy and aerospace programs.

我們先來說說航空航太與國防業務。正如我之前提到的，無論是海事業務還是我們自身業務的自然成長，都為我們在美國和英國海軍計畫上的訂單帶來了強勁的成長勢頭。此外，本季銷售額成長了76%，這主要得益於海事業務的拓展以及海軍和航空航太專案兩位數的自然成長。

The growth story here remains intact, driven by increasing build rates for commercial aerospace OEMs and sizable investments from our defense customers as they refresh and expand their capabilities. Overall, we're seeing the benefits of our A&D segment sharper focus on the Aerospace and Navy markets where the long-term outlook remains quite positive.

由於商用航空航太原始設備製造商 (OEM) 不斷提高的產量以及國防客戶為更新和擴展自身能力而進行的大量投資，該領域的成長勢頭依然強勁。總體而言，我們看到，航空航太與國防業務部門更加專注於航空航太和海軍市場，並從中受益匪淺，這兩個市場的長期前景仍然十分樂觀。

Switching over to our Utility Solutions Group. The results here were a little bit more mixed in the quarter. Orders were up double digits with very strong order flow for services, condition monitoring and offline test equipment at Doble. But this was partially offset by lower demand in our renewables business. Sales were up modestly over the prior year as renewables headwinds largely offset the 6% revenue growth at Doble.

接下來我們來看看公用事業解決方案集團。該集團本季的業績表現喜憂參半。訂單量實現了兩位數成長，其中Doble公司的服務、狀態監控和離線測試設備的訂單量非常強勁。但再生能源業務需求的下降部分抵消了這一成長。由於再生能源業務的不利因素在很大程度上抵消了Doble公司6%的營收成長，銷售額較上年同期僅略有成長。

Overall, we remain quite excited about the outlook for our utilities business. The majority of the activity here is driven by utility capital spending focused on grid reliability and capacity increases, and we continue to see those forecasts grow. ESCO's capabilities have a clear role to play in assisting utilities to meet growing electricity demand, and we remain bullish on the long-term prospects for growth here.

總體而言，我們對公用事業業務的前景仍然充滿信心。這項業務的大部分活動都源自於公用事業公司為提升電網可靠性和容量而進行的資本支出，我們預計這些支出預測還會繼續成長。能源服務公司（ESCO）的能力在協助公用事業公司滿足日益增長的電力需求方面發揮著重要作用，我們對該業務的長期成長前景依然保持樂觀。

As we have discussed previously, the renewables market is recalibrating right now as US developers focus on completing current projects in order to satisfy the safe harbor provisions related to tax credits, which expire in July. This has slowed domestic renewables investments in the near term, but we continue to believe that longer term, renewables will play a vital wall as a cost competitive source of generation as utilities work to meet the increasing demand for electric power.

正如我們之前討論過的，目前可再生能源市場正處於調整期，因為美國開發商正集中精力完成現有項目，以滿足將於7月到期的稅收抵免相關的安全港條款。這在短期內減緩了國內再生能源投資，但我們仍然相信，從長遠來看，隨著公用事業公司努力滿足日益增長的電力需求，再生能源將作為一種具有成本競爭力的發電來源發揮至關重要的作用。

Finally, I'll touch on the Test business, which had a robust start to the year with orders up 17% over the prior year and revenue up 27%. This business had a nice year of recovery at 2025 and it's great to see that momentum continue with significant growth during the first quarter. This is a technology-driven business with broad capabilities to serve customers across the RF test and measurement in industrial shielding markets. The team here is executing very well, and we're excited at the outlook for test continues to improve.

最後，我想談談測試業務。該業務年初開局強勁，訂單量較去年同期成長17%，營收成長27%。 2025年，該業務實現了良好的復甦，令人欣喜的是，這一勢頭在第一季得以延續，並取得了顯著增長。這是一個技術驅動型業務，擁有廣泛的能力，能夠為工業屏蔽市場的射頻測試和測量客戶提供服務。團隊執行力非常出色，我們對測試業務前景的持續改善感到振奮。

Overall, our Q1 results got us off to a great start for the year. With record backlog and continuing strength across our businesses, we are raising our full year sales and earnings guidance.

總體而言，我們第一季的業績為今年開了個好頭。憑藉創紀錄的訂單積壓和各項業務的持續強勁增長，我們上調了全年銷售額和盈利預期。

With that, I'll turn it over to Chris, who will run you through the financial details for the quarter.

接下來，我將把發言權交給克里斯，他將為大家詳細介紹本季的財務狀況。

Thanks, Bryan. Everyone can follow along on the chart presentation. We will start on page 3, which shows the financial highlights for the first quarter. The bar charts across the top of this page clearly show that ESCO had a tremendous first quarter. The key theme with ESCO's financial performance right now is that core company performance on an organic basis is quite strong, and the ESCO Maritime acquisition is adding significantly to that base company performance. It's a powerful combination.

謝謝布萊恩。大家都可以跟著圖表一起看。我們從第3頁開始，這一頁展示了第一季的財務亮點。頁面頂部的長條圖清晰地顯示，ESCO第一季的業績非常出色。 ESCO目前財務表現的關鍵在於，其核心業務的有機成長非常強勁，而對ESCO Maritime的收購也顯著提升了公司的整體表現。這是一個強大的組合。

Getting the numbers, we start with orders, which increased 143%, organic order growth was double digit for all three business platforms with Aerospace & Defense being particularly strong. Maritime added $238 million of orders as the business received large contract awards in the UK. On the sales side, the reported growth was 35%, which was comprised of 11% organic growth and $51 million of sales from Maritime. On the profitability side, we saw adjusted EBIT margins improved by 380 basis points to 19.4% and adjusted earnings per share increased by nearly 73% to $1.64 per share.

從數據來看，訂單量成長了143%，三大業務平台均實現了兩位數的有機訂單成長，其中航空航太與國防業務表現尤為強勁。海事業務新增訂單2.38億美元，主要得益於其在英國獲得的大額合約。銷售額方面，報告顯示成長了35%，其中有機成長11%，海事業務貢獻了5,100萬美元的銷售額。在獲利能力方面，調整後息稅前利潤率提升了380個基點，達到19.4%；調整後每股盈餘成長近73%，達到每股1.64美元。

Next, we'll go through the segment highlights, starting with Aerospace & Defense on page 4. A great quarter here, starting with orders, which came in at over $380 million compared to $75 million in the prior year quarter. Order activity was quite strong from the commercial and military aircraft customers. Additionally, Navy order activity was also very strong with organic growth driven by Virginia Class Block VI orders.

接下來，我們將介紹各業務板塊的亮點，首先是第4頁的航空航天與國防板塊。該板塊本季表現出色，訂單金額超過3.8億美元，去年同期僅7,500萬美元。來自商用和軍用飛機客戶的訂單活動十分強勁。此外，海軍訂單活動也十分活躍，主要得益於維吉尼亞級Block VI型艦艇訂單的推動，實現了內生性成長。

Sales in the quarter were $144 million with organic growth of 14%. This robust organic growth was driven by strength from commercial and defense aerospace, as well as the Navy business. So really nice performance from all parts of the core Aerospace & Defense platform.

本季銷售額為1.44億美元，達到14%的內生成長。這一強勁的內生成長主要得益於商用和國防航空航太業務以及海軍業務的強勁表現。因此，核心航空航太與國防平台的所有業務板塊均表現出色。

On the profitability side, we had tremendous increases with adjusted EBIT margins up to 26.5%, which is more than 500 basis points of improvement. Adjusted EBIT and adjusted EBITDA dollars both more than doubled from last year's first quarter. Again, this demonstrates the strength of our base company performance and the additive impact of the ESCO Maritime acquisition. Margin increases were due to positive impacts from leveraging sales growth and increased prices, while Q1 also had favorable mix due to aftermarket sales.

在獲利能力方面，我們取得了顯著成長，調整後息稅前利潤率高達26.5%，提升超過500個基點。調整後息稅前利潤和調整後息稅折舊攤銷前利潤均較去年同期增加一倍以上。這再次證明了我們公司基礎業績的強勁表現以及收購ESCO Maritime帶來的額外效益。利潤率的提升主要得益於銷售成長和價格上漲的正面影響，同時，第一季售後市場銷售帶來的有利產品組合也功不可沒。

Next, we'll go to chart 5 in the Utility Solutions Group. Orders here were up 10% in the first quarter, driven by strong performance at Doble, where orders grew by 15%. Backlog finished at nearly $155 million, up 8% since September 30. Sales in the quarter were up a modest 1%. Doble sales growth of 6% was mostly offset by declines in NRG.

接下來，我們來看公用事業解決方案集團的圖表5。該集團第一季訂單量成長了10%，主要得益於Doble的強勁表現，其訂單量增加了15%。積壓訂單總額接近1.55億美元，較9月30日增加了8%。本季銷售額小幅成長了1%。 Doble 6%的銷售額成長基本上被NRG的下滑所抵銷。

Doble continues to see good end-market activity across a number of product lines serving the regulated utility customer base, while NRG continues to see near-term market weakness as the renewable activity resets. Adjusted EBIT dollars were down just over 4% with price increases and sales volume leverage at Doble, unable to offset margin drops in NRG.

Doble面向受監管公用事業客戶群的多條產品線在終端市場持續表現良好，而NRG則因再生能源活動重置而面臨短期市場疲軟。 Doble調整後的息稅前利潤下降略超過4%，這得益於價格上漲和銷售成長，但不足以抵銷NRG利潤率的下降。

Next, we have the Test business on page 6. This business had a terrific start to fiscal '26 with orders up over 17% and sales up nearly 27%. This business is seeing robust market activity centered around US Test & Measurement, industrial shielding, medical shielding and power filters. Adjusted EBIT margins improved nicely increasing to 13.8%, which represents an increase of 320 basis points from last year's first quarter. The business is leveraging the sales growth nicely and also increasing margins via price increases and cost containment.

接下來是第6頁的測試業務。該業務在2026財年開局強勁，訂單成長超過17%，銷售額成長近27%。該業務的市場活動十分活躍，主要集中在美國測試與測量、工業屏蔽、醫療屏蔽和電源濾波器領域。調整後的息稅前利潤率顯著提升至13.8%，較去年同期成長320個基點。該業務充分利用了銷售成長，並透過提價和成本控制進一步提高了利潤率。

Going to chart 7, we have cash flow highlights for the first quarter. Operating cash flow in the first quarter was very strong, more than doubling the $68.9 million on a continuing operations basis. This was led by an increase in contract liabilities at the Navy businesses. Capital spending increased slightly in the quarter, and there was also a payment of just over $5 million during the quarter for the final working capital settlement related to the ESCO Maritime acquisition last year.

圖表7展示了第一季的現金流亮點。第一季的經營現金流非常強勁，較持續經營業務的6,890萬美元翻了一番以上。這主要得益於海軍業務合約負債的增加。本季資本支出略有成長，此外，本季還支付了略高於500萬美元的款項，用於支付去年收購ESCO Maritime相關的最終營運資本結算。

Our last chart is number 8, where we have the updated 2026 guidance. With the great start to the year, we were able to substantially increase the 2026 outlook. The sales guidance is increasing by $20 million at the midpoint to a range of $1.29 billion to $1.33 billion. The increase is coming primarily from the Test business where we had Q1 outperformance in sales and orders driving up the full year forecast. The original sales guidance for Test was for growth in the range of 3% to 5% and the updated guide is for revenue growth in the range of 9% to 11%. Additionally, we had a slight increase in the A&D sales outlook.

最後一張圖表是第8張，其中展示了更新後的2026年業績指引。由於年初開局良好，我們得以大幅調高2026年業績預期。銷售額指引中位數調高2,000萬美元，達到12.9億美元至13.3億美元。此次成長主要來自測試業務，該業務第一季的銷售額和訂單量均超出預期，從而推高了全年業績預測。測試業務最初的銷售指引為成長3%至5%，而更新後的指引為營收成長9%至11%。此外，航空航太與國防業務的銷售指引也略有上調。

Overall, sales increased -- the sales increase is driving increased adjusted EBIT performance expectations for 2026. Additionally, the first quarter tax rate was favorable, and that impact will flow to the full year forecast. This means that full year tax rate projections are now in the range of 23% to 23.5% compared to 237% to 24.1% in the original guidance. All of this drives the full year adjusted earnings per share to a range of $7.90 to $8.15 per share.

整體而言，銷售額有所成長－銷售額的成長推動了2026年調整後息稅前利潤（EBIT）預期上調。此外，第一季稅率較為有利，此影響將反映在全年預測中。這意味著，全年稅率預測值目前在23%至23.5%之間，而先前的預期為237%至24.1%。所有這些因素共同推動全年調整後每股收益預期達到7.90美元至8.15美元。

Compared to the prior guidance range, this is an increase of $0.38 per share at the midpoint and represents growth of 31% to 35% compared to 2025 adjusted earnings per share. The original outlook represented a strong growth plan for ESCO, and we are pleased to share this increased forecast, representing an even stronger growth trajectory.

與先前的預期範圍相比，此次上調中位數至每股收益0.38美元，較2025年調整後每股收益成長31%至35%。最初的展望體現了ESCO強勁的成長計劃，我們很高興分享此次上調後的預測，這代表著更加強勁的成長勢頭。

That completes the financial summary, and now I'll turn it back over to Bryan.

財務摘要到此結束，現在我將把發言權交還給布萊恩。

Thanks, Chris. So as you've heard from our commentary, Q1 was a great start to the year. Robust orders and strong execution has put us in a position to raise our outlook for the full year.

謝謝，克里斯。正如您從我們的評論中了解到的，第一季開局良好。強勁的訂單和高效的執行力使我們能夠上調全年業績預期。

So with that, we're finished with our prepared remarks and can turn it over to the Q&A.

至此，我們的發言稿已經說完，可以進入問答環節了。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Tommy Moll, Stephens.

湯米·莫爾，史蒂芬斯。

Good afternoon and thanks for taking my questions. Bryan, my first question is on the A&D orders. To the extent you can comment on shipset content on either side of the Atlantic, if there's any update there, we'd appreciate it. And maybe bigger picture on orders. Last quarter's 0.83 book-to-bill was clearly not the right level. This quarter's 2.66 is probably not a sustainable level. But how would you -- just give us something about the -- some kind of enduring takeaway here on the state of affairs there.

下午好，感謝您回答我的問題。布萊恩，我的第一個問題是關於航空航天與國防（A&D）訂單的。如果您能就大西洋兩岸的船配置情況發表一下看法，如果有任何更新，我們將不勝感激。另外，能否談談訂單的整體情況？上季的訂單出貨比為0.83，顯然不合理。本季的2.66可能也難以持續。您能否就此給我們一些關於當前情勢的、具有長遠意義的總結？

Well, I'll take the last piece first. And that is, I think the enduring takeaway is that the long-term demand in all of these markets is really, really good. I think we've signaled a number of times that Navy, in particular, is going to be very lumpy. I think we mentioned in November's conference call that we had a large couple of hundred million dollar order in the UK that came through.

好的，我先說最後一點。我認為最根本的結論是，所有這些市場的長期需求都非常強勁。我們之前多次提到過，海軍的需求波動會非常大。我記得在11月的電話會議上，我們提到英國有一筆數億美元的大訂單已經到位。

Unfortunately, the way that the MOD thinks about those things, we're not really in a position to be able to give you specifics on platforms or our content there. So I would not be able to give you a lot of detail there. I'd say over on the US side, we also received in the quarter about $30 billion in orders for Virginia Class Block VI, and we would expect that to kind of be continuing. But again, that's going to come in big chunks.

遺憾的是，由於國防部對這些事情的考量，我們目前無法就平台或相關內容提供具體資訊。因此，我無法提供太多細節。就美國方面而言，本季我們收到了價值約300億美元的弗吉尼亞級Block VI型潛艇訂單，預計這一趨勢將持續下去。但需要注意的是，這些訂單將分大批量交付。

And so that's going to be kind of lumpy. And it's not always going to be in the same quarter every year. So the year-over-year, quarter-to-quarter comparisons aren't really great. I think the other big story here is that we really did see pretty robust return to orders from our aerospace OEMs. 2025 was kind of a year that was a little soft on the order side as build rates were kind of stable and there seemed to be a lot of management of inventory going on in the supply chain, but we think that they're kind of through that. We're really encouraged to see Boeing and the other OEM is kind of getting their build rates up. And we're starting to see that come through on our order book.

所以，這方面數據會有些波動。而且，每年的季度數據也不盡相同。因此，同比和環比數據都不太理想。我認為另一個重要訊息是，我們確實看到來自航空航太原始設備製造商 (OEM) 的訂單出現了強勁的復甦。 2025 年的訂單量略顯疲軟，因為生產力相對穩定，供應鏈中似乎有很多庫存管理工作，但我們認為他們已經度過了這段時期。我們非常欣慰地看到波音和其他 OEM 的產量正在逐步提升。我們也開始在訂單簿上看到這些變化。

I'd also say there was a pretty good amount of military aircraft activity in the quarter as well. That's something that is more stable, probably we'll be lumpy through more quarter cycle. But generally speaking, we'll be pretty repetitive on a year-to-year basis with a little bit of growth.

我還想說，本季軍用飛機活動也相當活躍。這方面比較穩定，雖然在接下來的季度週期中可能會出現波動，但總體而言，與去年同期相比，我們會保持相對穩定，並且略有成長。

Bryan, if I could stay on A&D for another question. Just looking at the results in the first quarter and the guide for the year, I'm talking revenue now. It looks conservative at first glance. I mean you raised it from a 7% to an 8% at the midpoint, but you started the year in the teens on a pretty tough comp. So maybe walk me back from that assumption if there's something I'm missing here.

布萊恩，我可以繼續問你一個關於A&D的問題嗎？我看了第一季的業績和全年的業績指引，現在說的是營收方面。乍一看，這個指引似乎比較保守。我的意思是，你們把年中成長率從7%上調到了8%，但年初的時候你們的成長率只有十幾，而且去年同期基數很高。所以，如果我有什麼地方理解錯了，請你指正。

Yes. Tommy, this is Chris. I would say that we do expect that the first quarter is going to be the strongest growth. And we would expect to still see solid growth through the year, but maybe kind of taper down a little bit. And then when we get to Q4, we have kind of lower growth overall.

是的，湯米，我是克里斯。我們預計第一季將實現最強勁的成長。我們預計全年仍將保持穩健成長，但成長速度可能會略有放緩。到了第四季度，整體成長速度將會降低。

Again, I think that's a function of the comps a little bit. So we still see a high single-digit outlook there in the core business, but understanding it's a little bit front-end loaded.

我認為這在一定程度上取決於同店銷售額。因此，我們仍然預期核心業務將保持較高的個位數成長，但需要注意的是，這種成長在一定程度上依賴前期業績。

Thank you both. I'll turn it back.

謝謝你們兩位。我會把它退回去。

(Operator Instructions) John Tanwanteng, CJS.

（操作員說明）John Tanwanteng，CJS。

Hi, thank you for taking my questions, and a really great quarter and outlook, guys. If you could start, what's driving the strength in Test? And how did that change so quickly in the span of 90 days?

大家好，感謝你們回答我的問題，你們本季業績和展望都非常出色。如果可以的話，請問是什麼推動了測試業務的強勁成長？為什麼在短短90天內業績變化如此之快？

Listen, the -- a lot of our traditional core markets, particularly electromagnetic compatibility, medical shielding, those really came back very, very strong this year. This quarter, I would say we want a couple of pretty good-sized orders, and that's really -- because it happened earlier in the year, we're going to see a lot of that come through as revenue within the year.

聽著，我們許多傳統核心市場，特別是電磁相容性和醫療屏蔽領域，今年都表現得非常強勁。本季度，我們預計會收到幾筆數額可觀的訂單，而且由於這些訂單都發生在年初，我們將在年內看到它們轉化為實際收入。

I would also say that we're starting -- we've seen kind of a return to regular orders from our -- kind of our EMP filter, product line that supports some of the government data centers and that sort of thing. So listen, just a pretty broad based. I would tell you that the one area that we're still not feeling love on is the wireless business.

我還想說的是，我們的EMP濾波器產品線（主要服務於一些政府資料中心等）的訂單已經開始恢復正常。所以，總的來說，我們的業務範圍相當廣泛。不過，無線業務仍是我們目前尚未感受到足夠重視的領域。

I mean, we did see a little bit of growth there, but it's coming off a very low base. So that's the one area where we're probably still looking for some recovery. But I would say, overall, quite good. A little bit of A&D in there, some microwave stuff. So really good -- and I would say Europe and the US were the two big leaders there.

我的意思是，我們確實看到那裡出現了一些增長，但基數很低。所以這可能是我們仍在尋求復甦的領域。但總的來說，情況相當不錯。其中有一些航空航天和國防方面的業務，還有一些微波技術。所以真的很好——而且我認為歐洲和美國是這方面的兩大領導者。

Got it. And then, are you within sight of the trough of the NRG business? Or do you think that's going to extend a little further out?

明白了。那麼，您認為NRG業務的低谷期已經過去了嗎？還是說低谷期還會持續一段時間？

Yes. Listen, I think that what we believe about that is that the focus for all of the developers in the US is really they're hyper focused on kind of getting as much done on their existing projects by the end of July so that they can qualify as much of that as possible for those tax credits.

是的。聽著，我認為我們對此的看法是，美國所有開發商的關注點實際上都是竭盡全力在7月底前完成現有項目，以便盡可能多地獲得稅收抵免。

And so a lot of our content has already been delivered on some of those projects. And so that's leading them to make lower investments right now on new projects. But we expect that, that's going to kind of revert in the second half of 2026. So it might be in our fourth quarter, it might be in the first quarter of next year. That's when we think that things are going to kind of return to what we would call normal growth, which would be kind of high single digits kind of like our regulated utility business operates.

因此，我們的大部分內容已經交付到一些專案中。這導致他們目前在新項目上的投資減少。但我們預計這種情況將在2026年下半年逆轉。具體來說，可能是在我們第四季度，也可能是明年第一季。屆時，我們認為業務將恢復到我們所說的正常成長水平，也就是接近我們受監管的公用事業業務的正常成長速度，接近兩位數。

So please remember, John, that for -- after the inflation Reduction Act was put in place, that whole market kind of got turbocharged for two or three years. And now they're kind of getting off that sugar high from all those tax incentives, and it's going to take a couple more months to kind of get back into the pocket and really making good decisions. The renewables business will have a big role to play because it is very cost-effective, relatively easy to deploy and the assets are available. And those are all characteristics that utilities are looking for.

所以約翰，請記住，在《通膨抑制法案》實施後，整個市場在兩三年內經歷了快速成長。現在，他們正逐漸從稅收優惠帶來的興奮狀態中恢復過來，還需要幾個月的時間才能真正冷靜下來，做出明智的決策。再生能源產業將發揮重要作用，因為它成本效益高，部署相對容易，而且資產充足。這些都是公用事業公司所需要的特性。

Got it. And then last one, if I could. Just the large orders of the Maritime business. Can you just talk about how they layer in over the next couple of years? And if that's an acceleration of the growth rate or if that's in line with what your expectations were?

明白了。最後一個問題，如果可以的話，我想問海運業務的大訂單。您能談談這些訂單在未來幾年將如何逐步實現嗎？這會加速成長，還是符合您的預期？

Yes. I would say it's in line kind of since we've owned the company, we closed the deal at the end of April. And so these were kind of the expectations were that this order would come in. As far as how that layers in, I would say we would get a little revenue starting in the fourth quarter, and then you'll start to see it kind of kick in more in '27 and '28. So these are long-term contracts and programs that really kind of help solidify the outlook for '27 and beyond, I would say.

是的。我認為這與我們收購這家公司以來的預期基本一致，我們在四月底完成了交易。所以，這筆訂單的到來也在預料中。至於具體到什麼程度，我認為我們會在第四季開始獲得一些收入，然後在2027年和2028年看到更多成長。這些都是長期合約和項目，它們確實有助於鞏固2027年及以後的發展前景。

So that's kind of how we're thinking about them and really not much of a revenue impact this year, although there will be a little bit towards the end of the year.

所以，我們大致就是這樣考慮的，今年的收入不會受到太大影響，儘管到年底可能會有一些影響。

Got it thank you

收到，謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Tommy Moll, Stephens.

（操作說明）湯米·莫爾，史蒂芬斯。

Thanks for a follow-up question here. I had to ask on capital allocation. You'll look not too long from now and potentially have a net cash balance sheet. So I'm just curious what comments you can make on M&A funnel or capital allocation more broadly. Thank you.

感謝您提出的後續問題。我需要了解一下資本配置方面的情況。您很快就能看到淨現金資產負債表了。所以我很好奇您對併購管道或更廣泛的資本配置有什麼看法。謝謝。

Yes, yes. Well, listen, I think with the sale of the VACCO business and the completion of the Maritime business, and that integration is kind of going pretty well. Our cash flow really has been outstanding, and our leverage is pretty low. We aren't actively rebuilding a pipeline of M&A opportunities. The market looks pretty healthy. And we do see a number of different prospects on the horizon, nothing we can announce at this point in time, but we do have a couple of good things that we could get some done this year.

是的，是的。嗯，聽著，我認為隨著VACCO業務的出售和海事業務的完成，整合進展相當順利。我們的現金流非常出色，槓桿率也很低。我們目前沒有積極重建併購機會管道。市場看起來相當健康。我們確實看到了一些不同的前景，目前還沒有什麼可以宣布的，但我們確實有一些不錯的項目，預計今年完成。

So that's really our primary focus for deployment of capital would be to continue to add good fit, strategic acquisitions. I think that we're going to continue to be a little bit picky, focused primarily on our Utility segment, our Aircraft Components segment and our Navy segment, where we think we understand those markets pretty well, and they are all markets that have really good long-term secular growth characteristics. So that's kind of where our focus is right now.

因此，我們資本部署的首要重點仍是繼續進行合適的策略性收購。我認為我們會繼續保持謹慎的態度，主要關注公用事業、飛機零件和海軍業務板塊，因為我們對這些市場非常了解，而且它們都具有良好的長期成長潛力。這就是我們目前的關注重點。

Thank you.

謝謝。

John Tanwanteng, CJS.

John Tanwanteng，CJS。

Thanks for the follow-up. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit more about the military business in the A&D segment that is not maybe you mentioned strength in military aircraft. Just wondering where that's coming from, number one? And if there's anything outside of that, maybe drones or munitions that's driving some strength there.

感謝您的跟進。我想請您再詳細談談航空航太與國防領域的軍工業務，除了您提到的軍用飛機優勢之外，我想了解這部分業務的來源。首先，我想知道這部分業務的優勢來自哪裡？其次，除了軍用飛機之外，是否還有其他業務，例如無人機或彈藥，也推動了這部分業務的成長。

Yes. I'd say it's pretty broad-based. But a couple of highlights there. You would have seen in the 2025 reconciliation bill that they put a lot of money out there. They're buying 21 of the F-15 EX fighters.

是的，我認為涵蓋範圍很廣。不過，其中有幾個重點。你會在2025年的預算協調法案中看到，他們投入了大量資金。他們要買21架F-15EX戰機。

That's a platform that we have a lot of content on. There's a lot going on with regard to the sixth-generation fighter platform, the F-47, and that's been a positive story for us. So yes, there's a lot of good things going on. But I would say, yes, the traditional kind of F-35 missile programs, all those things are all kind of coming through for us.

那是一個我們有很多內容的平台。關於第六代戰鬥機平台F-47，有許多進展，這對我們來說是個好消息。所以，是的，有很多好事正在發生。但我也要說，傳統的F-35飛彈項目，所有這些項目也都進展順利。

Got it. Thank you. And then just for the broader airplane business, the commercial side, how closely does your guidance, I guess, mirrors the targeted production rates at the OEMs? Or are you still giving them a little cushion in your outlook?

明白了，謝謝。那麼就更廣泛的飛機業務，也就是商用飛機方面而言，我想問的是，您的預測與原始設備製造商（OEM）的目標產量有多大程度的吻合？或者您在預測中仍然給他們留有一些緩衝空間？

No, we still have cushion. I think that we follow our OEM partners very, very closely. But I think that we have our own opinion, which is probably modestly skeptical of their ability to get -- to reach their targets. And so when we are communicating to you, I think you should assume there's a little bit of discount on there, which -- listen, if they're successful, then that's going to be all upside for ESCO.

不，我們還有緩衝空間。我認為我們一直非常密切地關注著我們的OEM合作夥伴。但我們也有自己的看法，那就是我們可能對他們能否達成目標持謹慎懷疑的態度。所以，當我們與您溝通時，我認為您應該假設我們在這方面留有一些餘地——要知道，如果他們成功了，那對ESCO來說就全是好處了。

Got it. Thank you, guys

明白了。謝謝各位。

Thank you. And this concludes today's Q&A session. I would like to turn the call back over to Bryan for closing remarks. Please go ahead.

謝謝。今天的問答環節到此結束。現在我想把電話交還給布萊恩，請他做總結發言。請開始吧。

Well, listen, thanks for taking a little bit of time to hear about our first quarter. We're pretty excited about the results and probably more excited about our growth prospects going forward. So we'll look forward to talking to you again next quarter.

好的，謝謝您抽空聽我們介紹第一季的業績。我們對業績相當滿意，對未來的成長前景也充滿信心。期待下個季度再與您交流。

Thank you for joining today's program. You may all disconnect.

感謝各位收看今天的節目。大家可以斷開連線了。