EZCORP Inc (EZPW) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Yes, good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the EZCORP first fiscal quarter 2024 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Again, as a reminder, this call may be recorded. I'd now like to turn the conference over to Jean Marie Young, Investor Relations with Three Part Advisors. Please go ahead, Jean.

是的，早安，女士們、先生們，歡迎參加 EZCORP 2024 年第一財季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）再次提醒您，此通話可能會被錄音。現在我想把會議交給三部分顧問投資者關係部門的 Jean Marie Young。請繼續，讓。

Thank you and good morning, everyone. And during our prepared remarks, we will be referring to slides which are available for viewing or download from our website at investors dot zixcorp.com. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that this conference call as well as the presentation slides contain certain forward-looking statements regarding the company's expected operating and financial performance for future periods. These statements are based on the company's current expectations. Actual results for future periods may differ materially from those expressed due to a number of risks or other factors that are discussed in our annual accordingly and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. And as noted in our presentation materials and unless otherwise identified, results are presented on an adjusted basis to remove the effect of foreign currency fluctuations and other discrete items.

謝謝大家，早安。在我們準備好的演講中，我們將參考可從我們的投資者 dot zixcorp.com 網站查看或下載的幻燈片。在開始之前，我想提醒大家，本次電話會議以及簡報投影片包含有關公司未來時期的預期營運和財務表現的某些前瞻性陳述。這些陳述是基於公司目前的預期。由於我們的年度報告和向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他報告中討論的許多風險或其他因素，未來時期的實際結果可能與所表達的結果有重大差異。正如我們的演示材料中所指出的，除非另有說明，否則結果是在調整後的基礎上呈現的，以消除外幣波動和其他離散項目的影響。

Joining us on the call today are EZCORP's Chief Executive Officer, Lachlan Given, and Tim Jugmans, Chief Financial Officer.

今天加入我們電話會議的有 EZCORP 執行長 Lachlan Give 和財務長 Tim Jugmans。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Lachlan given. Lachie?

現在我想把電話轉給拉克蘭。拉奇？

Thanks, Jean, and good morning, everyone. We began fiscal 2024 with an outstanding quarter. Total revenue of $293 million was the highest in the Company's history. Our PLO continues to grow and was our highest first quarter PLO ever. Bottom line. Net income also grew very strongly to 28 million, up 30% on Q. one 2023.

謝謝，吉恩，大家早安。我們以出色的季度業績開啟了 2024 財年。總收入達 2.93 億美元，創公司歷史最高紀錄。我們的 PLO 繼續成長，並且是我們有史以來最高的第一季 PLO。底線。淨利潤也強勁成長，達到 2,800 萬美元，比 2023 年第一季成長 30%。

Beginning on slide 3, we are a global leader in Poland, broking and pre-owned and recycled retail. We operate 1,237 stores in the US and Latin America, having added another six stores this quarter. The macroeconomic environment continues to be a challenge for our customer base with inflationary pressure, increasing the demand for pawn as consumers seek cash to satisfy their short-term needs. In addition, consumers seek value by purchasing pre-owned merchandise and jewelry, which also represents a more environmentally responsible way to shop. We strive to provide an industry-leading experience to our customers through continuous innovation.

從幻燈片 3 開始，我們是波蘭經紀、二手和回收零售領域的全球領導者。我們在美國和拉丁美洲經營 1,237 家商店，本季又新增了 6 家商店。宏觀經濟環境仍然對我們的客戶群構成挑戰，通膨壓力較大，消費者尋求現金來滿足短期需求，從而增加了對典當的需求。此外，消費者透過購買二手商品和珠寶來尋求價值，這也代表了一種更環保的購物方式。我們致力於透過持續創新為客戶提供領先業界的體驗。

Moving to slide 4, we opened five de novo stores in Latin America and acquired one store in Texas during the quarter, record-setting Q1 PLO balance of $238.4 million was up 14%, driving a 13% increase in PSC when comparing the first quarter with the fourth quarter earning assets, it typically impacted by strong holiday sales, lowering inventory as well as consumers in Latin America receiving additional compensation in December, applying downward pressure on PLO balances. Our cash balance was up to 219 million, primarily due to strong cash inflows from operating activities, partially offset by increased fee alone, inventory, strategic investments, share repurchases and new store acquisitions. We repurchased 3 million of shares and invested $15 million in founders to fund SMG acquisitions in Central America.

轉向幻燈片4，本季我們在拉丁美洲新開了5 家商店，並在德克薩斯州收購了一家商店，第一季PLO 餘額創紀錄，達到2.384 億美元，增長14%，與第一季度相比，推動PSC 成長13%第四季獲利資產通常受到假日銷售強勁、庫存減少以及拉丁美洲消費者在 12 月獲得額外補償的影響，從而對巴解組織餘額造成下行壓力。我們的現金餘額高達2.19億，主要是由於經營活動產生的強勁現金流入，部分被單獨增加的費用、庫存、策略性投資、股票回購和新店收購所抵銷。我們回購了 300 萬股股票並向創辦人投資 1,500 萬美元，為 SMG 在中美洲的收購提供資金。

Slide 5 shows our excellent excellent financial metrics for the quarter, with total revenues up 11%, merchandise sales up 7%, gross profit up 11% and adjusted EBITDA up 21%. Strong consumer demand and excellent customer service continues to propel PLO and PSC up 14% and 13% respectively.

投影片 5 顯示了我們本季優異的財務指標，總營收成長 11%，商品銷售額成長 7%，毛利成長 11%，調整後 EBITDA 成長 21%。強勁的消費者需求和卓越的客戶服務繼續推動 PLO 和 PSC 分別上漲 14% 和 13%。

Turning to our key business strategies for Q1 on slide 6, we continued to strengthen our core pawn operations during the quarter, investing in people and technology. In addition to launching a rebuild of intelligent pricing systems globally, we continue to upgrade merchandising tagging pricing point of sales system and e-commerce capabilities to drive faster transaction times and deliver better customer service. Hd Plus Rewards members grew to 4.2 million globally with 1.4 million people transacting in Q1, almost evenly split between the U.S. and Latin America across all geographies, transact transacting customers increased 4%. Team members are at the core of our operating theme of people, Paul and passion. We are committed to investing in recruitment, retention and incentivization to ensure that our team remains highly engaged. Workday Human Capital Management system was implemented globally during the quarter and will further improve access to human capital data and enhance our training, career development and recruitment processes. Innovation and Growth are critical to our future. Online payments grew 8.6 million to 20.3 million. In the U.S., we launched online app features to securely, say, payment card details with promotional giveaways, which attracted engagement from over 50% of users, reflecting the successful adoption and positive reception of these enhancements. Online payments launched in Mexico with the buy online pickup in-store initiative expanding to 23 additional stores in Houston. Furthermore, we enhanced Numax pawn luxury e-commerce capabilities on EBIT.

談到投影片 6 上我們第一季的關鍵業務策略，我們在本季繼續加強我們的核心典當業務，投資於人員和技術。除了在全球範圍內啟動智慧定價系統的重建之外，我們還繼續升級銷售系統的商品標籤定價系統和電子商務功能，以加快交易時間並提供更好的客戶服務。 Hd Plus Rewards 全球會員數量增至 420 萬，第一季有 140 萬人進行交易，幾乎均勻分佈在美國和拉丁美洲的所有地區，交易客戶增加了 4%。團隊成員是我們經營主題的核心：人、保羅和熱情。我們致力於在招募、留任和激勵方面進行投資，以確保我們的團隊保持高度參與。 Workday 人力資本管理系統於本季在全球實施，將進一步改善人力資本資料的獲取，並加強我們的培訓、職涯發展和招募流程。創新和成長對我們的未來至關重要。線上支付成長 860 萬筆，達到 2030 萬筆。在美國，我們推出了線上應用程式功能，例如安全地提供支付卡詳細資訊和促銷贈品，吸引了超過 50% 的用戶參與，反映出這些增強功能的成功採用和積極接受。墨西哥推出線上支付，線上購買店內取貨計劃擴展到休士頓的另外 23 家商店。此外，我們也增強了 Numax 典當奢侈品電子商務的息稅前利潤 (EBIT) 能力。

Slide 7. During the quarter, we sold 1.4 million and general merchandise and jewelry items and provided critical financial services to customers in the hundreds of local communities in which we serve. We are excited to share that Newsweek recognized the C corp as one of America's greatest Workplaces for Diversity. This study highlights the top large and midsized companies recognized by their employees' dedication to supporting a diverse workforce at Eagle, we foster an environment that values diversity inclusion and development for all with initiatives, promoting affinity groups in the US and Latin America, enhancing diversity awareness, encouraging inclusive conversations and more, we launched an inaugural round of local giving which included U.S. districts donating to charitable organizations that support financial literacy, eradicating food insecurity, empowering young people are engaging in poverty intervention. In addition, we hosted company-sponsored volunteer events at local food bank. The backbone of the Company is our passionate, productive, tenured and committed team members, and we continue to find ways to enhance their experience. We promote the circular economy with a more affordable, sustainable shopping experience for our customers always working to improve their experience with innovations in our digital platforms, proprietary Pulse system and loyalty program.

投影片 7. 本季度，我們銷售了 140 萬件普通商品和珠寶，並為我們服務的數百個當地社區的客戶提供了重要的金融服務。我們很高興地告訴大家，《新聞週刊》將 C 型企業評為美國最偉大的多元化工作場所之一。這項研究重點介紹了因員工致力於支持Eagle 多元化員工隊伍而受到認可的頂級大中型公司，我們透過舉措營造一個重視多元化包容和所有人發展的環境，在美國和拉丁美洲促進親和力團體，增強多元化為了提高意識、鼓勵包容性對話等，我們發起了首輪地方捐贈，其中包括美國各地區向慈善組織捐款，以支持金融知識普及、消除糧食不安全、賦予年輕人參與貧困幹預的權力。此外，我們也在當地食物銀行舉辦了公司贊助的志工活動。公司的支柱是我們充滿熱情、有成效、長期任職且忠誠的團隊成員，我們不斷尋找方法來增強他們的經驗。我們透過數位平台、專有 Pulse 系統和忠誠度計畫的創新，為客戶提供更實惠、永續的購物體驗，從而促進循環經濟。

I'd now like to turn the call over to Tim Jugman, our CFO, to provide more details on our financial results. Tim?

我現在想將電話轉給我們的財務長 Tim Jugman，以提供有關我們財務表現的更多詳細資訊。提姆？

Thanks, Lachlan. Slide 9 details our consolidated financial results for the first quarter. Plo ended the period at $238.4 million, up 14% on a year over year basis, which is the highest first quarter in Asia copies, PC revenue was up 13% over last year, with growth driven by increased same-store PLO growth and new stores. Inventory turnover was strong at 2.9 times with aged GM inventory at 1.3%. Merchandise sales were up 7% to $174.6 million. Merchandise sales gross profit was up 6% due to increased sales with flat margins as we focused on increased turnover and keeping a GM inventory low. It was another solid quarter with consolidated EBITDA of 46.4 million, up 21%, driven by higher AC, offset by a 7% increase.

謝謝，拉克蘭。投影片 9 詳細介紹了我們第一季的綜合財務表現。 PLO 期末營收為 2.384 億美元，年增 14%，為亞洲地區第一季最高收入；個人電腦收入比去年增長 13%，增長得益於同店 PLO 增長和新業務的推動。商店。庫存週轉率高達 2.9 倍，其中舊通用汽車庫存率為 1.3%。商品銷售額成長 7%，達到 1.746 億美元。由於我們專注於增加營業額並保持通用汽車庫存較低，因此銷售額增加但利潤率持平，因此商品銷售毛利增加了 6%。這是另一個穩健的季度，綜合 EBITDA 為 4,640 萬美元，成長 21%，主要受 AC 較高的推動，但被 7% 的成長所抵消。

And turning to our US pawn segment on Slide 10. Total revenues were up 12% to 217.4 million, which is the highest in our history. Earning assets increased 12%, driven by an increase of 14% in PLO and 8% in inventory. Strong pawn demand and excellent customer service continues to drive PLO, which in turn drives inventory growth. Our US store count has grown to 530 stores with one store acquired in the quarter. Plo jewelry competition is up 100 basis points due to continued operational focus on this category, which also drove the 6% increase in average loan size inventory, general merchandise competition is up 200 basis points, driven by an increase in handbags, shoes and tools. Plo growth of 14% drove the pace increase of 14% year over year on the retail side of the business and merchandise sales were up 6% with merchandise sales gross profit up 4% with a 100 basis point drop in merchandise sales margins US pawn EBITDA for the quarter was $50.2 million, up 19% on the prior year due to a higher pace, partially offset by a 5% increase.

轉向幻燈片 10 上的美國典當部門。總收入成長 12%，達到 2.174 億，這是我們歷史上最高的。受 PLO 成長 14% 和庫存成長 8% 的推動，獲利資產成長 12%。強勁的典當需求和卓越的客戶服務持續推動巴解組織的發展，進而推動庫存成長。我們的美國商店數量已增至 530 家，本季收購了 1 家商店。由於持續專注於該類別的運營，Plo 珠寶競爭上升了 100 個基點，這也推動了平均貸款規模庫存增加 6%，一般商品競爭上升了 200 個基點，原因是手袋、鞋子和工具的增加。 Plo 成長 14%，推動零售業務年增 14%，商品銷售成長 6%，商品銷售毛利成長 4%，商品銷售利潤率下降 100 個基點 美國典當 EBITDA該季度的銷售額為5,020 萬美元，由於步伐加快，比上年同期成長19%，但部分被5% 的成長所抵銷。

Yes, turning to our Latin American pawn segment on Slide 13. Total revenues were up 9% to $75.5 million, which was the highest first quarter in our history earning assets increased 1%, driven by an increase of 11% for PLO, offset by the inventory down 11%. Our store count in Latin America has increased by five in the quarter to 707 stores in four countries. Pogo recomposition is up 500 basis points with an operational focus on growing this category, especially in Mexico. This jewelry composition increase has also driven average loan size up by Perfect. Plo rose 11% due to improved operational performance and continued strong pawn demand. Psc was up 8% year over year, driven by both same-store PLO growth and new stores on the retail side of the business, merchandise sales gross profit was up 14% with merchandise sales up 8% in addition to a 200 basis point improvement in sales margin.

是的，轉向幻燈片13 上我們的拉丁美洲典當部門。總收入增長9%，達到7,550 萬美元，這是我們歷史上最高的第一季收入資產增長1%，主要由PLO 增長11% 推動，但被PLO 成長11% 所抵銷庫存下降11%。本季度，我們在拉丁美洲的門市數量增加了 5 家，達到 707 家，遍佈四個國家。 POGO 重組上升了 500 個基點，營運重點是發展該類別，尤其是在墨西哥。珠寶成分的增加也推動了 Perfect 平均貸款規模的增加。由於營運業績改善和典當需求持續強勁，Plo 上漲 11%。在同店 PLO 成長和零售業務新店的推動下，PSC 較去年同期成長 8%，商品銷售毛利潤成長 14%，商品銷售額除提高 200 個基點外，還成長 8%在銷售利潤中。

EBITDA for the quarter was $11.3 million, up 16% on the prior year due to higher pace partially offset by a 10% increase in expenses. The expense increase was primarily due to the increase in labor driven by minimum wage and head count, higher store count and right looking forward on a consolidated basis, we should see PLO continue to grow on a seasonal basis with PSC following suit. We continue to focus on strong inventory turnover and limiting aged general merchandise. While we remain committed to expense management, we expect to see expenses increase on a sequential basis, primarily due to ongoing inflationary pressures. And you can see in our stores a focus on growing quality, PLO, optimizing inventory management, seamless integration, and enhanced customer service to continue to drive strong financial results in our business.

本季 EBITDA 為 1,130 萬美元，比上年增長 16%，原因是增長速度的加速被 10% 的費用增長部分抵消。費用增加主要是由於最低工資和員工數量推動的勞動力增加、商店數量增加以及綜合基礎上的正確展望，我們應該看到 PLO 繼續季節性增長，PSC 緊隨其後。我們繼續關注強勁的庫存週轉率和限制老化的一般商品。儘管我們仍然致力於費用管理，但我們預計費用將環比增加，這主要是由於持續的通膨壓力。您可以在我們的商店中看到，我們專注於提高品質、PLO、優化庫存管理、無縫整合和增強的客戶服務，以繼續推動我們業務的強勁財務業績。

I will now turn it over to Lucky for a few closing remarks.

現在我將把它交給 Lucky 做一些總結演講。

Thanks, Tim. In closing, I want to thank our EZCORP team for delivering an outstanding quarter of operating and financial results for our stakeholders. We made more total revenue and more merchandise sales than in any quarter in the Company's history. Plo was at the highest level for any quarter first quarter ever, and our balance sheet is highly robust. We continue to invest in our team and technology while also buying back shares. It's been an excellent start to 2024, and we look forward to driving enhanced value for all of our shareholders for the remainder of the year.

謝謝，蒂姆。最後，我要感謝我們的 EZCORP 團隊為我們的利害關係人提供了出色的季度營運和財務表現。我們的總收入和商品銷售額比公司歷史上任何一個季度都多。第一季 Plo 處於有史以來任何季度的最高水平，我們的資產負債表非常穩健。我們繼續投資我們的團隊和技術，同時回購股票。 2024 年是一個良好的開端，我們期待在今年剩餘時間內為所有股東帶來更高的價值。

And with that, we will open the call for questions. Operator?

接下來，我們將開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) [Ibraham Carparlow], Jefferies.

（操作員說明）[Ibraham Carparlow]，Jefferies。

Good morning, guys. Can you guys hear me?

早上好傢伙。你們聽得到我說話嗎？

Yes, got you. Ibraham.

是的，明白了。易卜拉欣。

Thank you. My question is I was wondering if you could talk about the progress made with the costs associated with the work they transition. I do have a follow-up.

謝謝。我的問題是，我想知道您是否可以談談所取得的進展以及與他們過渡的工作相關的成本。我確實有後續行動。

So look, let's let's start with the strategic part. It's we launched a bunch of modules through the quarter, starting with human resources and look it's a company wide redefining platform just gives our people much more access to information. It gives much better all sorts of resources on incentivization on awards on the all things to do with human resources. And so it really is a sort of a company redefining. So certainly internally, a company redefining platform with respect to cost in Europe, we'll work through that.

那麼，讓我們從戰略部分開始。我們在整個季度推出了一系列模組，從人力資源開始，看起來這是一個全公司範圍的重新定義平台，讓我們的員工能夠更多地獲取資訊。它為與人力資源有關的所有事情的激勵和獎勵提供了更好的各種資源。所以這確實是一種公司的重新定義。因此，當然，在內部，一家公司在歐洲的成本方面重新定義了平台，我們將解決這個問題。

Sure. So this process is going to be over two years of our implementations that we do have some double costs some in last year and some will be in this year. We were running both the systems. We've successfully launched the HR part of Workday and continue to work on implementing the finance part, which will be slated to be launched this financial year on the there are some double costs going through this year. There will be slightly higher ongoing cost and FY25, but they'll also be offset from some items on maintenance and things like that, which will make it come down. And we're still going through the process of calculating all those items.

當然。因此，這個過程將持續兩年多的實施時間，我們確實有一些雙重成本，有些是在去年，有些是在今年。我們正在運行這兩​​個系統。我們已經成功推出了 Workday 的人力資源部分，並繼續致力於實施財務部分，該部分將於本財年推出，因為今年將出現一些雙重成本。持續成本和 25 財年將會略高，但它們也將被一些維護項目和類似的事情所抵消，這將使其下降。我們仍在計算所有這些項目的過程。

And we always share that in future periods Thank you for the color. My follow-up is on efficiency improvement. Do you guys believe and this will be maintained throughout the fiscal year? I see that our turnover has increased. So I just wanted some more color on that. Thank you.

我們總是在未來的時期分享這一點，謝謝你的顏色。我的後續工作是效率提升。你們相信這種情況會在整個財年持續嗎？我發現我們的營業額有增加。所以我只是想要更多的色彩。謝謝。

It will take them. I get the definitely our Q1, our Q1 and Q2 are definitely the most efficient quarters with the ability to sell through during the holiday season. And then Valentine's and tax season definitely definitely provides a clearer sales strategies. So we are attempting to keep those turn over numbers higher than we did last year and but not necessarily on a sequential basis.

這需要他們。我確信我們的第一季、第一季和第二季絕對是最有效率的季度，有能力在假期期間銷售。然後情人節和報稅季肯定會提供更清晰的銷售策略。因此，我們試圖將這些營業額保持在高於去年的水平，但不一定是連續的。

Got it. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you.

知道了。完美的。謝謝。謝謝。

Madison Callinan, Canaccord Genuity.

麥迪遜·卡利南，Canaccord Genuity。

Good morning, guys. This is Matt Kelley on for Brian Maguire on for taking our questions. And first for our storage network, in a very difficult to give a little bit of FX on a first store type work. We found that merchandise sales in December and January came in a bit below internal expectations, but your actual results look much better. Can you talk about what's going on there? And is that a function of high internal expectations as you tried to continue this record-breaking performance or if it's something else? Thanks.

早上好傢伙。我是馬特凱利（Matt Kelley），布萊恩馬奎爾（Brian Maguire）回答我們的問題。首先對於我們的儲存網路來說，在第一個儲存類型的工作中提供一點點外匯是非常困難的。我們發現 12 月和 1 月的商品銷售額略低於內部預期，但實際結果看起來要好得多。你能談談那裡發生了什麼事嗎？這是您試圖繼續打破紀錄的表現時內部高期望的結果還是其他原因？謝謝。

That's thanks, Madison VR. Yes, so we do have high expectations internally about continuing to grow the business. And so those expectations are set a little bit higher in our stores and our stores continue to hit those targets in many of the stores and really incentivizing them to hit those targets and share and share the spoils. So it's been great to see some. So those are that's simply some of some of that. When that when you ask somebody internally, they really thinking about the budget number and not what happened last year. It's been a great way of encouraging our teams to continue to hit these record numbers that we present.

謝謝，麥迪遜 VR。是的，所以我們內部確實對繼續發展業務抱有很高的期望。因此，這些期望在我們的商店中設定得稍高一些，我們的許多商店繼續實現這些目標，並真正激勵他們實現這些目標並分享和分享戰利品。所以很高興看到一些。這些只是其中的一些。當你問內部人員時，他們真正考慮的是預算數字，而不是去年發生的事情。這是鼓勵我們的團隊繼續創下我們所呈現的這些紀錄數字的好方法。

To add to that medical, I think it's been a really strong quarter. It depends on what region you're in what store manager you're asking. But on the whole, we had high expectations. We met those expectations, really strong growth year on year. And as we said in the remarks, it's the highest ever merchandise sales quarter. So we're really pleased with how the selling gone in Q1 across all regions often.

加上醫療數據，我認為這是一個非常強勁的季度。這取決於您所在的地區以及您詢問的商店經理。但總的來說，我們抱持著很高的期望。我們滿足了這些期望，年成長非常強勁。正如我們在評論中所說，這是有史以​​來商品銷售最高的季度。因此，我們對第一季所有地區的銷售情況感到非常滿意。

And then if I could ask another one for the EZ Pass rewards enrollments. We really appreciate the additional disclosures on the rewards engagement. Specifically, the 1.4 million or 4.2 members or one-third of that transacted in the quarter, did that Roche proportion improved versus last year? Any additional color you can give us on that? Okay.

然後我是否可以向另一位申請 EZ Pass 獎勵註冊。我們非常感謝有關獎勵參與的額外披露。具體來說，本季有 140 萬或 4.2 名會員或三分之一的會員進行交易，羅氏的比例與去年相比是否有所改善？您能給我們任何其他顏色嗎？好的。

You know the answer that we have a number of the number of transacting customers is the number of transit customers is improving from a percentage basis. We will we'll have to get back to you on that.

您知道答案是，我們的交易客戶數量是中轉客戶數量，其百分比正在增加。我們將不得不就此回覆您。

No problem. And just one more for me and can you give us a little color on what categories are outperforming? Are you seeing new faces in the stores?

沒問題。我想再講一個，您能為我們介紹一下哪些類別表現優異嗎？您在商店裡看到新面孔了嗎？

From a category perspective? You definitely which we've talked about a number of quarters is seeing that luxury segment, though small continue to grow, especially in the U.S. and bags and shoes section. It's been a good way of driving traffic into the stores and obviously, from an overall perspective, jewelry has been growing in PLO composition over the last 12 months across all our geographies. And I shown why our average loan size also increased.

從品類角度看？我們已經討論過好幾個季度了，奢侈品市場雖然規模較小，但仍在持續成長，尤其是在美國的箱包和鞋子市場。這是增加商店客流量的好方法，顯然，從整體角度來看，在過去 12 個月裡，我們所有地區的珠寶首飾的 PLO 成分都在增長。我還展示了為什麼我們的平均貸款規模也增加了。

Madison. It's been a really deliberate strategy on the jewelry side, particularly in Latin America, where we're teaching the store teams, how big an opportunity that categories, particularly in Mexico. So we've seen really strong growth in that category. And well, given it's such a big category in the US, we've got high expectations for Latin America going forward.

麥迪遜。在珠寶方面，這是一個經過深思熟慮的策略，特別是在拉丁美洲，我們正在向商店團隊傳授該類別的機會有多大，特別是在墨西哥。因此，我們看到該類別的成長非常強勁。嗯，考慮到它在美國是一個如此大的類別，我們對拉丁美洲的未來抱有很高的期望。

Great. I have a couple of questions, but I'll hop back in the queue.

偉大的。我有幾個問題，但我會回到隊列中。

No worries. Thanks for those questions.

不用擔心。謝謝你提出這些問題。

Madison Callinan, Canaccord Genuity.

麥迪遜·卡利南，Canaccord Genuity。

Thanks, guys. So it will we don’t think you’ve had like a normal tax season in 2019. How should we think about PLO balances this season, both entering and exiting tax season? Thanks.

多謝你們。因此，我們認為 2019 年不會像正常的納稅季節那樣。我們應該如何考慮本季的巴解組織餘額，無論是進入還是退出納稅季節？謝謝。

Yes, the tax season is going to be interesting this year. If it switches back to a normal tax season, like we had in 2019, which we there's nothing to say that it won't come, but we'll wait and see the definitely going to see the normal paydowns of PLO balances that really depends on how far those balances get paid down and then if they don't get paid down that much on the there's probably also going to be the ability to sell a little bit more as well. So I think our business, the ability to help the customer both on the loan side and on getting discounted goods to body, allows us to go through that core output up to quite well during tax season, but how that revenue is going to be made up.

是的，今年的報稅季將會很有趣。如果它回到正常的納稅季節，就像我們在 2019 年那樣，我們沒有什麼可以說它不會到來，但我們會等著看，肯定會看到 PLO 餘額的正常支付，這實際上取決於這些餘額能得到多少償還，如果他們沒有得到那麼多的償還，那麼也可能有能力多賣一點。因此，我認為我們的業務，在貸款方面和獲得折扣商品方面幫助客戶的能力，使我們能夠在納稅季節期間很好地完成核心產出，但收入將如何產生向上。

And it's really dependent on how much the customer is going to get back in touch return often.

這實際上取決於客戶回覆聯繫的頻率。

And then after a catch-up year in 2023. And you give any additional color on store and G&A expenses for 2024.

然後在 2023 年的追趕年之後。您可以對 2024 年的商店和一般管理費用進行任何額外的說明。

Yes, the store expenses and definitely we were definitely under what we expected this quarter. We do see those increasing on a sequential basis. Some of it in inflationary, some of it in Latin America with the government mandated minimum wage increases and out of other benefit increases causing some of the effects to keep going through off-line.

是的，商店開支肯定低於我們本季的預期。我們確實看到這些數字正在連續增加。其中一些是通貨膨脹，一些是拉丁美洲的政府強制提高最低工資和其他福利的增加，導致一些影響繼續在線下發生。

And then last question for me, on how should we think about your investment in founders, longer term average? Getting questions about share buybacks from investors? Thanks.

最後一個問題是，我們應該如何考慮您對創辦人的投資，長期平均？向投資人詢問有關股票回購的問題？謝謝。

Look, the founders is a high performing business. It's now the third largest pawn broking, Chinese and North American region. So it's very, very quickly become quite a force, which is what we've what we'd hoped. So we're very happy with that investment it's producing even better returns than we expected. They had bought stores this quarter and in Central America, which is exciting. So they're now at 97 stores. And the way we think about it long term is that we are very happy with the structure that we've already obviously already spoken to investors about, but it's the potential of potential acquisitions going forward. And could be a source of really high growth for our shareholders. So we're really happy with the team with their performance. As I said, they're delivering better returns than what we what we'd expected when we invested and I think ultimately could could prove to be a great acquisition for us potentially. But for now, we are there to support them in their growth plans, and we think that's a very exciting investment for us.

看，創辦人是一家表現出色的企業。它現在是中國和北美第三大當鋪地區。所以它很快就會成為一股強大的力量，這正是我們所希望的。因此，我們對這項投資感到非常滿意，它產生的回報比我們預期的還要好。他們本季在中美洲購買了商店，這令人興奮。所以他們現在有 97 家商店。我們長期考慮的方式是，我們對我們顯然已經與投資者討論過的結構非常滿意，但這是未來潛在收購的潛力。並且可能成為我們股東真正高速成長的來源。所以我們對團隊的表現非常滿意。正如我所說，他們提供的回報比我們投資時的預期要好，我認為最終可能會被證明對我們來說是一次偉大的收購。但就目前而言，我們正在支持他們的成長計劃，我們認為這對我們來說是一項非常令人興奮的投資。

On the share buyback side, obviously, we're trying to balance our own growth with share buybacks, and we listen to shareholders, obviously, and we assess this every quarter, but we continue to buy back stock. We've done that very consistently across every quarter, and we see it as a as another good return on investment. We believe that our stock is very, very cheap. And so we are balancing buying that back with the really significant growth opportunities that we think we have just even in the regions in which we operate. So we're trying to strike a balance between growth and scaling up our cash flows and our install base with what we see as a good return on investment and buying back stock. But hopefully we've been very consistent with that message and consistent across across quarters.

在股票回購方面，顯然，我們正在努力平衡我們自己的成長與股票回購，我們顯然會聽取股東的意見，並且我們每個季度都會對此進行評估，但我們會繼續回購股票。我們每個季度都非常一致地這樣做，我們認為這是另一個好的投資回報。我們相信我們的庫存非常非常便宜。因此，我們正在平衡回購與我們認為即使在我們經營的地區也擁有的真正重大成長機會。因此，我們試圖在成長和擴大現金流和安裝基礎之間取得平衡，並獲得良好的投資回報和回購股票。但希望我們能夠非常一致地傳達這一訊息，並在各個季度保持一致。

Well, the great news, the great news is we've had a phenomenal start to the year an outstanding quarter, and we are trying to balance both growth opportunities with share buybacks.

好吧，好消息，好消息是我們今年有一個非凡的開局，一個出色的季度，我們正在努力平衡成長機會與股票回購。

Great. Thanks so much, guys, and congrats on the quarter.

偉大的。非常感謝，夥計們，並祝賀本季度。

Thanks, Mel.

謝謝，梅爾。

That concludes the question-and-answer session. At this time, I would like to turn the call back to Lachie Given for closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。此時，我想將電話轉回拉奇·吉文 (Lachie Give) 致閉幕詞。

Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining today and thank you to our team. I think they have produced an outstanding quarter of financial and operating results for all of our shareholders, and we're really looking forward to the rest of this year to continue to continue on this path.

謝謝運營商，謝謝大家今天的加入，謝謝我們的團隊。我認為他們為我們所有股東帶來了出色的季度財務和營運業績，我們非常期待今年剩餘時間繼續沿著這條道路繼續前進。

So thanks, everyone, for joining today, and we'll speak to you through the course of the day. Thanks.

感謝大家今天的加入，我們將在這一天與大家交談。謝謝。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

感謝您參加今天的會議。這確實結束了該程式。您現在可以斷開連線。