Ethan Allen Interiors Inc (ETD) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon and welcome to the Ethan Allen fiscal 2025 third-quarter analyst conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this conference is being recorded.

下午好，歡迎參加 Ethan Allen 2025 財年第三季分析師電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，本次會議正在錄音。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Matt McNulty, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer. Thank you. You may begin.

現在我很高興介紹您的主持人，高級副總裁、財務長兼財務主管 Matt McNulty。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us today to discuss Ethan Allen's fiscal 2025 third-quarter results. With me today is Farooq Kathwari, our Chairman, President and CEO. Mr. Kathwari will open and close our prepared remarks while I will speak to our financial performance midway through. After our prepared remarks, we will then open the call for your questions.

謝謝您，接線生。下午好，感謝您今天加入我們討論 Ethan Allen 2025 財年第三季業績。今天和我一起的是我們的董事長、總裁兼執行長 Farooq Kathwari。卡特瓦里先生將開始和結束我們的準備好的發言，而我將在中途談論我們的財務表現。在我們準備好發言之後，我們將開始回答大家的提問。

Before I begin, I'd like to remind the audience that this call is being webcast live under the NEWS & EVENTS tab within our Investor Relations website. A replay of today's call will also be made available on our Investor Relations website. There, you will find a copy of our press release which contains reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures referred to on this call and in the press release. We believe the non-GAAP presentation better reflects underlying operating trends and performance of the business.

在我開始之前，我想提醒觀眾，本次電話會議正在我們投資者關係網站的「新聞和活動」標籤下進行網路直播。今天的電話會議重播也將在我們的投資者關係網站上提供。您將在那裡找到我們的新聞稿副本，其中包含本次電話會議和新聞稿中提到的非 GAAP 財務指標的對帳。我們相信非公認會計準則的呈現方式能更能反映業務的基本營運趨勢和績效。

Our comments today may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. The most significant risk factors that could affect our future results are described in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q. Please refer to our SEC filings for a complete review of those risks. The company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking matters discussed during this call.

我們今天的評論可能包括前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果大不相同。我們在 10-Q 表季度報告中描述了可能影響我們未來業績的最重要風險因素。請參閱我們的 SEC 文件以全面了解這些風險。本公司不承擔更新或修改本次電話會議中討論的任何前瞻性事項的義務。

With that, I'm pleased to turn the call over to Mr. Kathwari.

說完這些，我很高興將電話轉給卡特瓦里先生。

Thank you, Matt. Pleased to have this earnings call during very interesting and challenging times.

謝謝你，馬特。很高興在非常有趣和充滿挑戰的時期召開這次財報電話會議。

As mentioned in our press release, we are pleased with our results in the third quarter, which produced strong margins and cash flow in a challenging economic environment. First, I'd like to begin by providing perspective on our current position, including a very brief overview of our history.

正如我們在新聞稿中提到的，我們對第三季的業績感到滿意，在充滿挑戰的經濟環境下，我們實現了強勁的利潤率和現金流。首先，我想先介紹一下我們目前的狀況，包括對我們的歷史的簡要概述。

Ethan Allen was founded 93 years ago in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The company went private in 1989 with significant debt and in 1993, went public on the New York Stock Exchange. During that time, we have paid cash dividends – since going public in [1993] (corrected by company after the call), we have paid cash dividends totaling $711.3 million and repurchased $625.1 million of our common stock.

伊森艾倫 (Ethan Allen) 成立於 93 年前，位於佛蒙特州綠山地區。該公司於 1989 年私有化，背負巨額債務，並於 1993 年在紐約證券交易所上市。在此期間，我們一直在支付現金股利——自 [1993] 年上市以來（電話會議後公司已更正），我們已支付現金股息總額為 7.113 億美元，並回購了價值 6.251 億美元的普通股。

We have improved our cash position up to currently $183 million compared with $26 million in March 2019 that's a COVID era.

我們的現金狀況已改善至目前的 1.83 億美元，而 2019 年 3 月（即 COVID 時代）的現金狀況為 2,600 萬美元。

Our focus on reinvention, including utilization of technology, has helped reduce our headcount by 36% since 2019. Our unique vertical enterprise with constant reinvention has been key. We continue to make about 75% of our furniture in our North American manufacturing and operate 189 design centers globally staffed with over 500 professional interior designers. Technology has played a key role in developing efficient operations in manufacturing, retail, logistics, marketing, merchandizing, and other key areas.

我們專注於重塑，包括利用技術，這幫助我們自 2019 年以來將員工人數減少了 36%。我們獨特的、不斷革新的垂直企業是關鍵。我們繼續在北美製造約 75% 的家具，並在全球經營 189 個設計中心，擁有 500 多名專業室內設計師。科技在製造、零售、物流、行銷、商品銷售和其他關鍵領域的高效營運中發揮了關鍵作用。

After Matt provides a brief financial overview, I will discuss in greater detail our initiatives to meet the many current challenges.

在馬特提供簡短的財務概述之後，我將更詳細地討論我們為應對當前諸多挑戰而採取的舉措。

Thank you, Mr. Kathwari.

謝謝你，卡特瓦里先生。

Our financial results in the just-completed third quarter were highlighted by a strong gross margin, managing expenses, generating positive operating cash flow, and maintaining a robust balance sheet with no outstanding debt. Despite operating in a challenging environment, our operations produced positive financial results, which I will now discuss.

我們剛結束的第三季的財務業績突顯在強勁的毛利率、管理費用、產生正的經營現金流以及保持穩健的資產負債表（沒有未償債務）。儘管在充滿挑戰的環境中運營，我們的營運仍然取得了積極的財務業績，我現在將對此進行討論。

Our consolidated net sales were $142.7 million, reflecting lower delivered unit volume, partially offset by higher average ticket price, improved contract sales, and lower returns. Our wholesale segment sales were elevated due to a higher level of inter-company sales to retail, which also increased wholesale operating income. These sales are eliminated in consolidation as they reflect the transfer of new products to our retail segment.

我們的合併淨銷售額為 1.427 億美元，反映出交付單位數量較低，但平均票價較高、合約銷售額增加和回報率較低部分抵消了這一影響。由於公司間零售銷售增加，我們的批發部門銷售額有所提升，也增加了批發營業收入。這些銷售額在合併中被消除，因為它們反映了新產品向我們的零售部門的轉移。

Current demand levels reflect an industry faced with tariffs, uncertainty in the economy, elevated interest rates, and a challenging housing market. Retail segment written orders were down 13.2% while wholesale orders decreased by 11.2%. The month of January and February were more challenging due to weather, tariff uncertainty, and reduced traffic.

目前的需求水準反映出該行業面臨的關稅、經濟不確定性、利率上升以及充滿挑戰的房地產市場。零售部門書面訂單下降 13.2%，批發訂單下降 11.2%。由於天氣、關稅不確定性以及交通量減少，一月和二月的挑戰更大。

March saw modest demand growth, which helped improve our backlog. Wholesale backlog of $54.6 million at March 31 represents a decline in the last three months as we improved customer lead times, including a reduction in the number of weeks of undelivered backlog.

三月需求溫和成長，這有助於改善我們的積壓訂單。截至 3 月 31 日，批發積壓訂單為 5,460 萬美元，這代表過去三個月的下降，因為我們縮短了客戶交貨時間，包括減少了未交付積壓訂單的周數。

Our strong consolidated gross margin of 61.2% was driven by lower raw material input costs, reduced headcount, a higher average ticket price, and leveraging investments in technology. Our headcount totaled 3,294 at March 31, 2025, a decrease of 4.5% from a year ago as we continued to identify operational efficiencies and streamlined workflows.

我們的綜合毛利率高達 61.2%，這得益於原材料投入成本的降低、員工人數的減少、平均票價的提高以及技術投資的利用。截至 2025 年 3 月 31 日，我們的員工總數為 3,294 人，比去年同期減少了 4.5%，因為我們繼續提高營運效率並簡化工作流程。

Adjusted operating margin was 8% compared with 10% a year ago. Our positive operating margin reflects our ability to tightly manage expenses. Compared to pre-pandemic quarter ended March 2019, our adjusted operating margin has improved 180 basis points. Our effective tax rate of 23.4% during the quarter was down 170 basis points from a year ago due to taxes from recent audit settlements. Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.38 compared with $0.48 a year ago. For historical context, our adjusted diluted EPS in the just-completed third quarter was 23% higher than in 2019.

調整後的營業利益率為 8%，而去年同期為 10%。我們的正營業利潤率反映了我們嚴格管理費用的能力。與截至 2019 年 3 月的疫情前季度相比，我們的調整後營業利潤率提高了 180 個基點。由於近期審計結算產生的稅款，本季我們的有效稅率為 23.4%，比去年同期下降了 170 個基點。調整後稀釋每股收益為 0.38 美元，去年同期為 0.48 美元。從歷史角度來看，我們剛結束的第三季的調整後稀釋每股盈餘比 2019 年高出 23%。

Now turning to liquidity, our prudent capital management underscores our dedication and commitment to delivering value to our shareholders. We generated $10.2 million of cash from operating activities during the just-completed third quarter and ended with total cash and investments of $183 million and no outstanding debt. Higher levels of inventory reflect the introduction of new products and the opening of new design centers.

現在談到流動性，我們審慎的資本管理凸顯了我們為股東創造價值的奉獻和承諾。我們在剛結束的第三季從經營活動中產生了 1,020 萬美元的現金，最終總現金和投資為 1.83 億美元，沒有未償還債務。庫存水準的提高反映了新產品的推出和新設計中心的開設。

Capital expenditures were $2.0 million and included the buildout of new retail design centers and investment in manufacturing equipment and technology. New state-of-the-art design centers in Middleton, Wisconsin and Toronto, Canada were opened in the last three months that combined our interior design services with technology.

資本支出為 200 萬美元，包括新建零售設計中心以及對製造設備和技術的投資。過去三個月，我們在威斯康辛州米德爾頓和加拿大多倫多開設了新的最先進的設計中心，將我們的室內設計服務與技術相結合。

We also continued our practice of paying quarterly cash dividends. In January, our Board declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.39 which was paid in February. Also, as announced earlier today, our Board declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.39 per share, which will be paid in May. Our current yield of 5.4% is one of the highest in the industry.

我們也延續了支付季度現金股利的做法。一月份，我們的董事會宣布派發 0.39 美元的定期季度現金股息，並於二月支付。此外，正如今天早些時候宣布的那樣，我們的董事會宣布定期季度現金股息為每股 0.39 美元，將於 5 月支付。我們目前的收益率為 5.4%，是業界最高的收益率之一。

In summary, we are pleased with our performance during the just-completed third quarter as our associates remain disciplined in managing expenses and executing on our strategies amidst the challenging environment. Our robust balance sheet and financial stability provide a solid foundation, positioning us well.

總而言之，我們對剛結束的第三季的表現感到滿意，因為我們的員工在充滿挑戰的環境中仍然嚴格管理費用並執行我們的策略。我們穩健的資產負債表和財務穩定性為我們提供了堅實的基礎，使我們處於有利地位。

With that, I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Kathwari.

現在，我將把電話轉回給卡特瓦里先生。

Yeah, thanks, Matt.

是的，謝謝，馬特。

As I mentioned, continual reinvention has been key to operating our enterprise for 93 years. The reinvention includes many areas. I will start with a brief overview of the current hot topic of tariffs.

正如我所提到的，持續創新是我們企業 93 年來營運的關鍵。重塑涉及許多領域。我先簡單介紹一下當前大家熱議的關稅問題。

The good news is we are a vertically integrated enterprise that makes about 75% of our furniture in our North American workshops, including approximately 40% in the United States, 25% in Mexico, and 10% in Honduras. Our imports from Mexico currently qualify for tax exemption under the USMCA. Our primary tariff exposures are concentrated on imported accents and select upholstery fabrics from East Asia. Our overall exposure to China is less than 5% of total cost of goods.

好消息是，我們是一家垂直整合的企業，大約 75% 的家具是在北美工廠生產的，其中約 40% 在美國生產，25% 在墨西哥生產，10% 在宏都拉斯生產。我們從墨西哥進口的商品目前符合 USMCA 規定的免稅條件。我們的主要關稅風險集中在從東亞進口的裝飾品和精選的裝飾織物上。我們對中國的整體風險敞口不到總商品成本的 5%。

While we acknowledge that tariffs exist, the good news is that they have a relatively smaller impact on us. However, we have taken steps to help reduce the impact from tariffs, including cost sharing with our suppliers, placing temporary production and shipping holds on products leaving China, identifying new sourcing opportunities, and evaluating raw material options and replacements.

雖然我們承認關稅存在，但好消息是它們對我們的影響相對較小。然而，我們已採取措施幫助減少關稅的影響，包括與供應商分攤成本、暫時停止離開中國的產品的生產和運輸、尋找新的採購機會以及評估原材料選擇和替代品。

To date, many of our supplier partners have been willing to work with us to help absorb some of the incremental tariff costs, and we thank them for their partnership. These steps, as well as our strong North American presence, have helped keep our exposure from tariffs relatively low. To emphasize, our exposure overseas is limited as much of our production is in North America.

到目前為止，我們的許多供應商合作夥伴都願意與我們合作，幫助吸收部分增量關稅成本，我們感謝他們的合作。這些舉措以及我們在北美的強大影響力幫助我們將關稅風險保持在相對較低的水平。需要強調的是，由於我們的大部分生產都在北美，因此我們在海外的業務有限。

And now on to other key areas of focus. First is relevant offerings. Our focus on classic design with modern perspective and modern design with classic perspective have been key in defining and continuing our relevancy. We are planning to introduce new products throughout the next 12 months.

現在來談談其他重點關注領域。首先是相關祭品。我們專注於具有現代視角的經典設計和具有經典視角的現代設計，這是定義和延續我們的相關性的關鍵。我們計劃在未來 12 個月內推出新產品。

Marketing is key. Leveraging technology, we are able to develop strong marketing programs and reach a large base of current and new clients in a very efficient manner. Manufacturing, combining the skills of our teams in various plants within North America has been key to attaining and retaining strong talent.25 years back, we operated in 20 locations in the United States and currently operate in 4 locations in North America with strong manufacturing. Combining talent and technology is key. National and retail logistics provide opportunity of excellence in service, delivering our products at one cost to consumers and managing our costs.

行銷是關鍵。利用技術，我們能夠制定強大的行銷計劃，並以非常有效的方式接觸大量現有和新客戶。製造業，結合我們在北美各個工廠的團隊的技能，是獲得和留住強大人才的關鍵。 25 年前，我們在美國 20 個地點開展業務，目前在北美 4 個地點開展業務，並擁有強大的製造能力。人才與技術的結合是關鍵。全國和零售物流提供了卓越的服務機會，以統一的成本向消費者提供我們的產品並管理我們的成本。

And finally, our retail network of interior design centers staffed with talented interior designers is key. Providing state-of-the-art technology has been key to service and managing costs. While we face many challenges due to domestic and international changes, we are well positioned to maintain our leadership position.

最後，我們的室內設計中心零售網路擁有才華橫溢的室內設計師，這是關鍵。提供最先進的技術是服務和成本管理的關鍵。儘管我們因國內和國際變化而面臨許多挑戰，但我們有能力保持領導地位。

And now, we are ready to take your questions. Operator, please.

現在，我們準備好回答大家的提問。接線員，請說。

(Operator Instructions) Brad Thomas, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

（操作員指示）Brad Thomas，KeyBanc 資本市場。

Good afternoon. I wanted to first ask about tariffs and sort of how it affects Ethan Allen's relative positioning in the industry. Obviously, a lot has changed since you all last reported earnings in January. And what's interesting is it does feel like the rest of the furniture industry has much more exposure to countries likely to see incremental tariffs.

午安.我想先詢問關稅問題以及它如何影響 Ethan Allen 在行業中的相對地位。顯然，自從你們一月上次報告收益以來，很多事情都改變了。有趣的是，家具業的其他企業似乎對可能增加關稅的國家有更大的影響。

And so I'm wondering how you think, Farooq, about Ethan Allen's relative positioning. Are you seeing price increases from competitors? What do you expect in terms of price increases from competitors and how much you react to that?

所以我想知道法魯克，您如何看待伊森艾倫的相對定位。您是否發現競爭對手的價格上漲了？您對競爭對手的價格上漲有何預期？您對此有何反應？

Yes, it's a very important issue. We are, as I mentioned, less impacted due to these tariffs because of the fact that most of our manufacturing, especially in furniture, is made in North America. In the United States, Mexico, Honduras, where of course not -- no tariffs in the United States, but in Mexico and Honduras, very little. So our impacts of tariffs for about 75% of our furniture is relatively small.

是的，這是一個非常重要的問題。正如我所提到的，我們受這些關稅的影響較小，因為我們的大部分製造，特別是家具製造，都是在北美生產的。在美國、墨西哥、宏都拉斯，當然沒有——美國沒有關稅，但墨西哥和宏都拉斯的關稅卻很少。因此，關稅對我們約75%的家具的影響相對較小。

Now, we do have some impact due to some products like accessories and in fact, in some fabrics also that we get from overseas. But exposure, as I mentioned, from China, is relatively small because that's where a lot of the tariffs are. Our products coming from overseas are mostly concentrated in Indonesia, India, Vietnam, where the tariffs are somewhat limited. So I think that overall our exposure is limited and also the good news is that our partners overseas are also working very closely with us to minimize the impact.

現在，我們確實受到了一些影響，因為我們從海外採購了一些產品，例如配件，事實上還有一些布料。但正如我所提到的，來自中國的影響相對較小，因為許多關稅都在中國。我們的海外產品主要集中在印尼、印度、越南等地，這些地方的關稅比較有限。因此我認為總體而言我們的風險敞口是有限的，而且好消息是我們的海外合作夥伴也在與我們密切合作，以盡量減少影響。

And for you all, will you need to raise prices because of what you are seeing right now from a cost standpoint?

對你們所有人來說，從成本角度來看，根據目前的情況，是否需要提高價格？

Yeah, so far we haven't, and I think that we will take a look at it in the regular course of doing business to see if there are need to increase prices and perhaps small adjustments in some of the imported products which, as I said, is relatively small compared with our total product line.

是的，到目前為止我們還沒有，我認為我們會在正常的經營過程中看看是否需要提高價格，或者對一些進口產品進行小幅調整，正如我所說，這些調整與我們整個產品線相比相對較小。

Absolutely. And of course, many of your competitors probably need to raise price more so than you, so that will be interesting to watch.

絕對地。當然，您的許多競爭對手可能比您更需要提高價格，因此這將會很有趣。

That's right, yeah, because a lot of them, of course, have tremendous amount of dependency on products, offshore products, imported products, and we don't.

是的，因為他們中的許多人當然對產品、海外產品、進口產品有著巨大的依賴，而我們卻沒有。

Right. I wanted to just follow up on recent trends because this is something that seems to be changing very quickly. Curious if you could comment a bit more about how April and early May, to the extent you can comment on it, have trended relative to a bit of softness that you saw in your March quarter?

正確的。我只是想關註一下最近的趨勢，因為這似乎正在發生很快的變化。我很好奇，您是否可以進一步評論一下，相對於 3 月季度的疲軟趨勢，4 月和 5 月初的趨勢如何？

Yes, what we saw in April there was we continued to -- most of April, we did continue with the softness. Toward the end of April things turned where they became somewhat less of an impact. In May, so far, we have seen somewhat more of a positive trend. So we'll see, obviously, people were very concerned. They held back.

是的，我們在四月看到的情況是，四月的大部分時間，我們確實繼續保持疲軟態勢。到四月底，情況發生了變化，影響有所減弱。五月到目前為止，我們看到了更積極的趨勢。所以我們會看到，顯然人們非常擔心。他們退縮了。

And our traffic was down because people are not coming in, but the interesting thing is that the people who did come in, they made some good purchases. So I think that at this stage, we are of course, very much cautious. But in May, we're so far seeing somewhat more of a positive trend.

由於人們不再光顧，我們的客流量下降了，但有趣的是，那些光顧的人都買了一些好東西。所以我認為，在現階段，我們當然非常謹慎。但五月份，我們迄今為止看到的趨勢更為積極。

That's very helpful. I appreciate it, Farooq. Thank you.

這非常有幫助。我很感激，法魯克。謝謝。

Cristina Fernández, Telsey Advisory Group.

Cristina Fernández，特爾西諮詢小組。

Hello, Farooq and Matt. Nice to speak to you. I have a follow-up question on the demand trend.

你好，Farooq 和 Matt。很高興和你談話。我有一個關於需求趨勢的後續問題。

I wanted to see -- last quarter you ran a little bit more of a promotion to drive traffic. You didn't do it this past quarter, even the traffic was a little bit softer. Can you talk about how you're thinking about using that as a lever in this environment to drive better order intake?

我想看看——上個季度你做了更多的促銷活動來吸引流量。上個季度你沒有這樣做，甚至交通狀況也稍微好了一些。您能否談談您如何考慮在這種環境下利用它作為槓桿，以推動更好的訂單量？

Yes, I think it's a good question because we felt that with all the concerns that the consumers have with what was taking place, that just increasing discounts are not going to do it. What we felt was things have to become a little bit better in terms of an environment, and then people will come.

是的，我認為這是個好問題，因為我們認為，考慮到消費者對正在發生的事情的擔憂，僅僅增加折扣是無法解決問題的。我們覺得環境必須變得更好一點，然後人們才會來。

Because what we saw was that I mentioned earlier that people who came in were buying and if people did come in, it didn't matter. So for us, to increase more discounts for folks who are going to come and buy anyway, we didn't feel it was necessary. So we're going to maintain our offerings and special, you might say, promotions that we do without doing anything very special.

因為我們看到的情況是我之前提到的，進來的人都在買東西，如果有人進來，那也沒關係。因此，對於我們來說，為那些無論如何都會來購物的人提供更多折扣，我們認為沒有必要。因此，我們將繼續提供我們現有的產品和特別促銷活動，但不會做任何特別的事情。

And then on the State Department contract, which has been, I think, relatively consistent for you over the past couple of years, there's a lot of changes I'm seeing happening there in that department. Do you feel like that could affect your contract or your ability to get orders under that specific part of the business?

然後關於國務院合同，我認為過去幾年來一直相對穩定，我看到該部門發生了很多變化。您是否認為這會影響您的合約或您在該特定業務部分獲得訂單的能力？

Yeah, that's a good question. So far, interestingly until March or so, we didn't see much. People are buying. I mean, the State Department was doing -- they're buying. Recently, we do see that they are being more cautious. I mean, we still have the contract, but I think that with all the changes taking place in the State Department, I think their attention is in a lot of other areas.

是的，這是個好問題。有趣的是，到目前為止，直到三月左右，我們還沒有看到太多消息。人們正在購買。我的意思是，國務院正在做——他們正在購買。最近我們確實看到他們變得更加謹慎了。我的意思是，我們仍然有合同，但我認為，隨著國務院發生的所有變化，他們的注意力已經轉移到許多其他領域。

So in the last few weeks, we have seen some cautious, but they're still buying. We will see how it happens, what the conditions are, and how it works out in the next few weeks and months. But so far, the contract is still there, somewhat lesser amount of business coming in at this stage.

因此在過去幾週，我們看到一些人持謹慎態度，但他們仍在購買。我們將在接下來的幾週和幾個月內觀察它是如何發生的、條件如何以及結果如何。但到目前為止，合約仍然存在，現階段的業務量有所減少。

And then the last question I have was on SG&A. It was up 1%. Last quarter you also talked about investing more in marketing, more brand marketing. So wanted to get your thoughts about the increased SG&A and as far as the marketing plans, to invest more. Would you wait for a better sort of macro environment and better traffic to do that, or how are you thinking about it -- I guess, SG&A broadly?

我的最後一個問題是關於銷售、一般和行政費用 (SG&A)。上漲了1%。上個季度您也談到了加大對行銷、品牌行銷的投入。所以想聽聽您對增加銷售、一般和行政費用以及增加投資的行銷計劃的看法。您會等待更好的宏觀環境和更好的交通狀況來做到這一點，或者您是如何考慮的 - 我猜，大體上是銷售、一般和行政費用 (SG&A)？

Yeah, it's a good question. When you take a look at it, our advertising expenses for the quarter was about 3.4% of sales as compared to 4.4% in the previous year quarter. Now the important thing is this, that we are able to be much more efficient with less money than we were able to do because of the impact of technology.

是的，這是個好問題。如果你看一下，你會發現本季我們的廣告費用約佔銷售額的 3.4%，去年同期為 4.4%。現在重要的是，由於科技的影響，我們能夠用比以前更少的錢實現更高的效率。

For instance, we are now sending out close to 18 million copies of our magazine, digital magazines and some print magazines every month. Come to think of that even five years back, it was impossible. We were able to develop a 36-page digital magazine in less than 2 weeks now. It used to take us four months to do, so the quality, the quantity, and the value and the price of the cost has come down.

例如，我們現在每月發行近 1800 萬份雜誌、數位雜誌和一些印刷雜誌。想想看，即使在五年前，這也是不可能的。我們現在能夠在不到兩週的時間內製作出一本 36 頁的數位雜誌。以前我們需要花四個月的時間才能完成，因此品質、數量、價值和成本價格都下降了。

So our advertising, marketing is reaching more people with less cost. So I think we're going to continue to that and at this stage, I don't think we're going to increase the dollar cost, but I think we'll continue to increase the efficiency of our marketing.

因此，我們的廣告和行銷能夠以更少的成本覆蓋更多的人。所以我認為我們會繼續這樣做，在現階段，我認為我們不會增加美元成本，但我認為我們會繼續提高行銷效率。

Thank you.

謝謝。

All right. Well, thanks very much and any other questions?

好的。好的，非常感謝，還有其他問題嗎？

No, there are no further questions.

不，沒有其他問題了。

All right, well, thanks very much, and I'm sure that if you have any other further questions and all of that, Matt will be there to be able to answer them. And if you need me, I'll be happy to. Take care. Thanks very much.

好的，非常感謝，我相信如果您還有其他問題，馬特都會為您解答。如果你需要我，我會很樂意。小心。非常感謝。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。

All right, thanks very much.

好的，非常感謝。