Fluence Energy Inc (FLNC) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Fluence Energy, Inc.'s Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Fluence Energy, Inc. 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to Lexington May, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁 Lexington May。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to Fluence Energy's Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. A copy of our earnings presentation, press release and supplementary metric sheet covering financial results, along with supporting statements and schedules, including reconciliations and disclosures regarding non-GAAP financial measures are posted on the Investor Relations section of our website at fluenceenergy.com.

謝謝。早上好，歡迎參加 Fluence Energy 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。我們的收益報告、新聞稿和涵蓋財務績效的補充指標表的副本，以及支持性報表和時間表，包括有關非公認會計準則財務指標的調節和披露，均發佈在我們網站fluenceenergy.com 的投資者關係部分。

Joining me on this morning's call are Julian Nebreda, our President and Chief Executive Officer; Manu Sial, our Chief Financial Officer; Rebecca Boll, our Chief Products Officer; and Ahmed Pasha, our incoming Chief Financial Officer.

與我一起參加今天早上電話會議的是我們的總裁兼執行長 Julian Nebreda； Manu Sial，我們的財務長； Rebecca Boll，我們的首席產品長；以及我們即將上任的財務長艾哈邁德帕夏。

During the course of this call, Fluence's management may make certain forward-looking statements regarding various matters related to our business and company that are not historical facts. Such statements are based upon the current expectations and certain assumptions and are, therefore, subject to certain risks and uncertainties.

在本次電話會議期間，Fluence 的管理階層可能會就與我們的業務和公司相關的各種事項做出某些非歷史事實的前瞻性陳述。此類陳述基於當前預期和某些假設，因此存在某些風險和不確定性。

Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially. Please refer to our SEC filings for our forward-looking statements and for more information regarding certain risks and uncertainties that could impact our future results. You are cautioned to not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of today. Also, please note that the company undertakes no duty to update or revise forward-looking statements for new information.

許多因素可能導致實際結果有重大差異。請參閱我們向 SEC 提交的文件，以了解我們的前瞻性聲明以及有關可能影響我們未來業績的某些風險和不確定性的更多資訊。請您注意不要過度依賴這些前瞻性陳述，這些陳述僅代表今天的情況。另請注意，該公司不承擔更新或修改新資訊的前瞻性陳述的義務。

This call will also reference non-GAAP measures that we view as important in assessing the performance of our business. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measure is available in our earnings materials on the company's Investor Relations website.

此次電話會議也將參考我們認為對評估我們業務績效非常重要的非公認會計原則衡量標準。這些非公認會計準則衡量標準與最具可比性的公認會計準則衡量標準的調節可在公司投資者關係網站上的收益資料中找到。

Following our prepared comments, we will conduct a question-and-answer session with our team. (Operator Instructions)

根據我們準備好的意見，我們將與我們的團隊進行問答會議。 （操作員說明）

Also note that while Ahmed is participating on today's call, he is not going to be participating in the Q&A session, and thus, please direct your questions to the other members of the team. Thank you very much. I'll now turn the call over to Julian.

另請注意，雖然艾哈邁德正在參加今天的電話會議，但他不會參加問答環節，因此，請將您的問題直接詢問團隊的其他成員。非常感謝。我現在將把電話轉給朱利安。

Thank you, Lex. I would like to start my warm welcome to our investors, analysts and employees who are participating on today's call. This morning, we'll provide a brief update on our business and then review our progress and our strategic objectives. Following my remarks, Manu will discuss our financial performance for the fourth quarter, and then I will discuss our outlook for fiscal '24.

謝謝你，萊克斯。我首先熱烈歡迎參加今天電話會議的投資者、分析師和員工。今天早上，我們將提供有關我們業務的簡短更新，然後回顧我們的進展和策略目標。在我的發言之後，Manu 將討論我們第四季度的財務業績，然後我將討論我們對 24 財年的展望。

Before we begin our discussion on the fourth quarter results, I'd like to spend a few moments addressing the announcement we made a few weeks ago. Manu has decided to step down as CFO of Fluence. He has done a remarkable turnaround job here. And as a result, he got the attention of others. He received an offer he could not refuse and more importantly, one that we could not match. As such, he will be leaving effective December 31 to become CFO of another company in a different industry.

在我們開始討論第四季業績之前，我想花一些時間討論我們幾週前發布的公告。 Manu 決定辭去 Fluence 財務長的職務。他在這裡完成了令人矚目的扭轉局面的工作。結果，他引起了其他人的注意。他收到了一份他無法拒絕的報價，更重要的是，一份我們無法匹配的報價。因此，他將於 12 月 31 日離職，擔任不同行業另一家公司的財務長。

On behalf of the Board, I would like to send my warm -- to send a sincere thank you to Manu for the value he helped create at Fluence in the past 15 months. Additionally, I would like to send a warm welcome to Ahmed Pasha, our incoming CFO. Ahmed will officially assume this role on January 1, thus ensuring a sufficient transition period. Ahmed comes to us from AES where he had a 30-year career most recently serving as the CFO of the Utility Business Unit. I personally have worked with Ahmed for many years, and I am excited to continue that at Fluence.

我謹代表董事會向 Manu 致以誠摯的謝意，感謝他在過去 15 個月中幫助 Fluence 創造了價值。此外，我還要熱烈歡迎我們即將上任的財務長艾哈邁德帕夏 (Ahmed Pasha)。艾哈邁德將於1月1日正式擔任此職，從而確保有足夠的過渡期。 Ahmed 加入我們之前曾在 AES 工作過 30 年，最近擔任公用事業業務部門的財務長。我個人與艾哈邁德共事多年，我很高興能在 Fluence 繼續這樣的工作。

Now I would like to turn the call over to Ahmed to make a few remarks.

現在我想請艾哈邁德發言。

Thank you, Julian, and good morning, everyone. I am excited to be joining Fluence at a time when energy transition is achieving critical momentum which presents so much opportunity for the company and for energy storage in general.

謝謝你，朱利安，大家早安。我很高興能在能源轉型取得關鍵動能之際加入Fluence，這為公司和整個能源儲存帶來了巨大的機會。

As some of you may know, I have had some experience working with Fluence during my tenure at AES, including during the IPO process, and more currently as CFO of the U.S. Utilities Business, where Fluence is playing a critical role in helping to transform our energy mix.

你們中的一些人可能知道，我在 AES 任職期間，包括在 IPO 過程中，以及目前擔任美國公用事業業務部的首席財務官期間，與 Fluence 合作過，Fluence 在幫助我們轉型方面發揮著關鍵作用。能源結構。

Since the announcement about 2 weeks ago, I have had the opportunity to meet with some members of Fluence's team, and I'm very impressed with their experience and commitment to enabling the global energy transition. I look forward to working with them and helping Fluence to achieve its ambitious growth and profitability goals, increase shareholders' value and deliver on its mission to transform the way we power the world.

自從大約兩週前宣布這一消息以來，我有機會會見了 Fluence 團隊的一些成員，他們的經驗和對實現全球能源轉型的承諾給我留下了深刻的印象。我期待與他們合作，幫助 Fluence 實現其雄心勃勃的成長和獲利目標，提高股東價值，並實現其改變我們為世界提供動力的方式的使命。

I would like to express my appreciation to Manu for his invaluable contributions to Fluence, particularly the strong foundation he has established to position us for continued success in the future. In the near term, I will be getting up to speed on things, but I expect to meet with many of our investors and analysts in the coming months. I look forward to hearing their views and sharing how we plan to achieve our key financial and strategic objectives.

我謹向 Manu 表示感謝，感謝他為 Fluence 做出的寶貴貢獻，特別是他為我們未來的持續成功奠定了堅實的基礎。在短期內，我將加快進展速度，但我預計在未來幾個月內會見我們的許多投資者和分析師。我期待聽到他們的意見並分享我們計劃如何實現我們的主要財務和策略目標。

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

這樣，我會將電話轉回朱利安。

Thank you, Ahmed. Beginning on Slide 4 with the key highlights. I'm pleased to report that in the quarter, we recognized $673 million of revenue. We continue to experience strong demand for our products and services with new orders totaling approximately $737 million, highlighted by our solution business contracted 2.1 gigawatt hours, our services business added 1.6 gigawatt hours and our digital business adding 1.8 gigawatts of new contracts.

謝謝你，艾哈邁德。從投影片 4 開始，介紹主要亮點。我很高興地報告，本季我們確認了 6.73 億美元的收入。我們的產品和服務需求持續強勁，新訂單總額約為 7.37 億美元，其中解決方案業務合約新增 2.1 吉瓦時，服務業務新增 1.6 吉瓦時，數位業務新增 1.8 吉瓦時合約。

Furthermore, our signed contract backlog as of September 30 remain at $2.9 billion due to acceleration of select projects ahead of schedule. Turning to adjusted EBITDA, we delivered approximately $20 million over the quarter. This is a tremendous milestone as we achieved this level ahead of schedule. As you recall, we expected to be close to adjusted EBITDA breakeven for the fourth quarter. However, we were able to accelerate select projects that resulted in higher revenue and margins for the quarter.

此外，由於部分項目提前加速，截至 9 月 30 日，我們已簽署的合約積壓仍為 29 億美元。談到調整後的 EBITDA，我們本季交付了大約 2000 萬美元。這是一個巨大的里程碑，因為我們提前達到了這個水平。正如您所記得的，我們預計第四季度調整後的 EBITDA 損益兩平。然而，我們能夠加速選定的項目，從而在本季度帶來更高的收入和利潤。

One of the areas we're concentrated on is organizational speed, especially reducing our project cycle times. We see a lot of value in reducing our cycle time from the roughly 18 months to closer to 12 months. We believe it will take us at least 2 years to reduce our cycle times down to 12 months. This quarter results are a perfect example of what speed can do to bring increased value to both our customers and our shareholders.

我們關注的領域之一是組織速度，特別是縮短專案週期時間。我們認為將週期時間從大約 18 個月縮短到接近 12 個月具有很大的價值。我們相信至少需要 2 年時間才能將週期時間縮短至 12 個月。本季度的業績完美地展示了速度可以為我們的客戶和股東帶來更多價值。

Lastly, our services and digital businesses, which will together represent our recurring revenue stream continue to see traction, our deployed service attachment rate, which is based on our cumulative active service contracts relative to our deployed storage remains above 90%. As I noted previously, we typically see a lag between signing solution contracts and entering into a service contract, which is why we believe that cumulative attachment rate is important to monitor.

最後，我們的服務和數位業務將共同代表我們的經常性收入流，繼續受到關注，我們的部署服務附加率（基於我們相對於我們部署的儲存的累積活躍服務合約）仍保持在 90% 以上。正如我之前指出的，我們通常會看到簽署解決方案合約和簽訂服務合約之間存在滯後，這就是為什麼我們認為監控累積附件率很重要。

Turning to our digital business. We had a very strong quarter as we were able to contract 1.8 gigawatts. More importantly, our digital assets under management increased by more than 1 gigawatt, and the total number reached 15.5 gigawatts as of September 30.

轉向我們的數位業務。我們有一個非常強勁的季度，因為我們能夠簽訂 1.8 吉瓦的合約。更重要的是，我們管理的數位資產增加了超過1吉瓦，截至9月30日，總數達到15.5吉瓦。

Turning to Slide 5. I'd like to highlight some of our accomplishments of the past fiscal year. As you may recall, a year ago, we embarked on the transformation of our business. I'm pleased to report that we delivered on our commitments to the market. We grew our iron ore revenue by 85% and achieved our first profitable quarter. Importantly, we exceeded our regional annual revenue guidance by more than $600 million, thanks to improved execution, easing supply chains and project time line acceleration.

轉向投影片 5。我想強調我們在上一財年取得的一些成就。您可能還記得，一年前，我們開始了業務轉型。我很高興地報告，我們兌現了對市場的承諾。我們的鐵礦石收入成長了 85%，並實現了第一個獲利季度。重要的是，由於執行力的提高、供應鏈的簡化和專案時間表的加快，我們超出了區域年收入指導超過 6 億美元。

We burned through almost all our legacy lower-margin backlog and we diversify our supply chains, including securing U.S.-made battery sales with the AESC. With the rollout of Fluence OS7, we have integrated Nispera into our hardware solutions on a go-forward basis so that now a renewed store solution cell has Nispera bundle input. We built out our India technology center and we published our inaugural sustainability report. A successful year that sets the tone for the years to come.

我們燒掉了幾乎所有遺留的低利潤積壓訂單，並使我們的供應鏈多樣化，包括透過 AESC 確保美國製造的電池銷售。隨著 Fluence OS7 的推出，我們已將 Nispera 整合到我們的硬體解決方案中，以便現在更新的商店解決方案單元具有 Nispera 捆綁輸入。我們建立了印度技術中心，並發布了首份永續發展報告。成功的一年為未來奠定了基調。

Turning to Slide 6. I would like to discuss progress on our 5 strategic objectives. As you recall, at this time last year, we laid out 5 strategic objectives that will guide our actions and markets that our investors can monitor and measure the company performance again. As we generated our first profitable quarter, I'm pleased to say the first phase of our transformation is complete. The second phase is just getting started, which will continue the theme of profitable growth. Now measured through the growth on a nominal adjusted EBITDA and annual recurring revenue or ARR, alongside the other strategic objectives that will continue to guide us on the second phase of our journey.

轉向投影片 6。我想討論我們 5 個策略目標的進展。正如您所記得的，去年的這個時候，我們制定了 5 個策略目標，這些目標將指導我們的行動和市場，以便我們的投資者可以再次監控和衡量公司績效。當我們實現第一個獲利季度時，我很高興地說我們轉型的第一階段已經完成。第二階段才剛開始，將延續獲利成長的主題。現在透過名義調整後 EBITDA 和年度經常性收入或 ARR 的成長來衡量，以及將繼續指導我們第二階段旅程的其他策略目標。

First, on delivering profitable growth. I'm pleased to report that we exceeded our fiscal year '23 guidance for both revenue and adjusted gross profit. Today, we're initiating guidance for fiscal '24. We expect total revenue for fiscal '24 to be between $2.7 billion and $3.3 billion. In line with our commitment from our last call, we are initiating guidance for adjusted EBITDA for fiscal '24 to be between $50 million and $80 million.

首先，實現獲利成長。我很高興地報告，我們的收入和調整後毛利都超出了 23 財年的指導。今天，我們正在啟動 24 財年指導。我們預計 24 財年的總營收將在 27 億至 33 億美元之間。根據我們上次電話會議的承諾，我們正在啟動將 24 財年調整後 EBITDA 調整為 5,000 萬至 8,000 萬美元的指引。

Second, we will continue to develop products and solutions that our customers need. As such, I'm pleased to report that in October, we launched Gridstack Pro, our larger enclosure providing higher density, faster installation, enhanced performance and industry-leading safety. In conjunction with the launch of Gridstack Pro, we also launched Fluence OS7, the latest Fluence operating system, designed with enhanced capabilities and fully integrated with the new Fluence battery management system, which I will touch on more in a few minutes.

其次，我們將繼續開發客戶所需的產品和解決方案。因此，我很高興地向大家報告，十月份，我們推出了 Gridstack Pro，這是我們更大的外殼，提供更高的密度、更快的安裝、增強的性能和行業領先的安全性。在推出 Gridstack Pro 的同時，我們也推出了 Fluence OS7，這是最新的 Fluence 作業系統，其設計具有增強的功能，並與新的 Fluence 電池管理系統完全集成，我將在幾分鐘後詳細介紹。

Third, I'm pleased to report that we have secured all our battery needs for fiscal '24 and '25. Four, we will use Fluence Digital as a competitive differentiator and a margin driver. I'm pleased to report that we are initiating guidance for our annual recurring revenue from our combined service and digital businesses. We expect to generate around $80 million of ARR by the end of fiscal '24.

第三，我很高興地報告，我們已經滿足了 24 財年和 25 財年的所有電池需求。第四，我們將使用 Fluence Digital 作為競爭優勢和利潤驅動因素。我很高興地報告，我們正在啟動對我們的綜合服務和數位業務的年度經常性收入的指導。我們預計到 24 財年末將產生約 8,000 萬美元的 ARR。

And finally, our fifth objective, which is to work better. I'm proud to say that just recently, we have launched a new $400 million Asset-Backed Lending facility or ABL. This credit facility is secured by our U.S. inventory, and we expect it will provide us increased flexibility. More importantly, we believe that the ABL facility provides us additional tools to manage our working capital as we continue to grow.

最後，我們的第五個目標是更好地工作。我很自豪地說，就在最近，我們推出了一項新的 4 億美元資產支援貸款工具（ABL）。此信貸安排由我們的美國庫存提供擔保，我們預計它將為我們提供更大的靈活性。更重要的是，我們相信，隨著我們的不斷發展，ABL 設施為我們提供了額外的工具來管理我們的營運資金。

Turning to Slide 7. Demand for energy storage continues to accelerate. In fact, our pipeline now sits at $13 billion, which is an increase of approximately $600 million from the third quarter and a 50% increase compared to this time last year.

轉向投影片 7。儲能的需求持續加速。事實上，我們的管道現在達到 130 億美元，比第三季增加了約 6 億美元，比去年同期增加了 50%。

Additionally, as I mentioned, with our backlog remain consistent at $2.9 billion, even after recognizing almost $675 million during the quarter. Importantly, we had several contracts that were signed to subsequent to quarter end amounting to approximately $400 million, which provides us with strong visibility to achieve our 2024 revenue guidance.

此外，正如我所提到的，即使在本季度確認了近 6.75 億美元之後，我們的積壓訂單仍保持在 29 億美元。重要的是，我們在季度末簽署了幾份合同，總金額約為 4 億美元，這為我們實現 2024 年收入指導提供了強大的可見性。

This is the eighth consecutive quarter we added more backlog than revenue recognized, further illustrating the growing demand for energy storage. Based on the conversations we are having with our customers and potential customers, we're expecting to see top line year-over-year revenue growth from fiscal '24 to fiscal '25 of approximately 35% to 40%, showcasing the robust market for utility energy storage.

這是我們連續第八個季度增加的積壓訂單超過確認的收入，進一步說明了對能源儲存的需求不斷增長。根據我們與客戶和潛在客戶的對話，我們預計 24 財年到 25 財年的營收年增約 35% 至 40%，這顯示了強勁的市場公用能源儲存。

Turning to Slide 8. As I mentioned earlier, we launched our Gridstack Pro and OS7 in fiscal year '24. These product launches are something our stakeholders suspect periodically for us. And we continue to innovate and identify new ways to serve our customer needs. When you look specifically our Gridstack Pro solution, this is a much larger product that integrates 6 battery racks and is designed for the largest and most complex utility scale projects globally. Gridstack Pro will offer our customers (inaudible) product with leading safety measures, faster deployments, first-class reliability and the flexible modular design that defines our product offerings.

轉向投影片 8。正如我之前提到的，我們在 24 財年推出了 Gridstack Pro 和 OS7。這些產品的發布是我們的利害關係人定期對我們懷疑的事情。我們不斷創新並尋找新方法來滿足客戶需求。當您仔細查看我們的 Gridstack Pro 解決方案時，您會發現這是一款更大的產品，整合了 6 個電池架，專為全球最大、最複雜的公用事業規模專案而設計。 Gridstack Pro 將為我們的客戶（聽不清楚）產品提供領先的安全措施、更快的部署、一流的可靠性以及定義我們產品的靈活模組化設計。

More importantly, for the U.S. market, the Fluence battery pack will be available with U.S. manufactured battery cells and modules. This positions Gridstack Pro as one of the first energy storage solutions to qualify for the 10% investment tax credit, domestic content bonus under the Inflation Reduction Act.

更重要的是，對於美國市場，Fluence電池組將配備美國製造的電池和模組。這使得 Gridstack Pro 成為首批有資格獲得 10% 投資稅收抵免和《通貨膨脹減少法案》規定的國內含量獎金的能源儲存解決方案之一。

In conjunction with Gridstack Pro, we launched OS7, the next generation of our operating system. This iteration is meant to handle bigger and more complex projects, and can reliably control more than 1 gigawatt hour system and is fully integrated with the Fluence battery management system.

我們與 Gridstack Pro 一起推出了下一代作業系統 OS7。此次迭代旨在處理更大、更複雜的項目，能夠可靠地控制超過1吉瓦時的系統，並與Fluence電池管理系統完全整合。

The software also provides a foundation for future enhancements to the architecture and enables component commoditization such as DC-DC converters. It provides new tools targeted to reduce our commissioning at times which, as I mentioned earlier, is a key area for the company. And importantly, OS7 comes standard with Nispera platform already preloaded. This is an important feature as we expect to provide all our product deployments with basic Nispera access for a certain amount of time. After which customers will be required to sign a longer-term contract, if they wish to continue using the APM platform for the best facility of which to upgrade to additional (inaudible).

該軟體還為未來增強架構奠定了基礎，並支援 DC-DC 轉換器等元件商品化。它提供了旨在減少我們有時調試的新工具，正如我之前提到的，這是公司的關鍵領域。重要的是，OS7 標配已預先安裝的 Nispera 平台。這是一項重要功能，因為我們希望在一定時間內為所有產品部署提供基本的 Nispera 存取權。此後，如果客戶希望繼續使用 APM 平台以獲得最佳設施並升級到其他設施（聽不清楚），則需要簽署長期合約。

Turning to Slide 9. I'm pleased to say that earlier this week, we secured a new $400 million ABL facility. This provides us with an additional tool to help manage our working capital. The new ABL facility features a lower cost of capital relative to our legacy revolving credit facility by approximately 50 basis points and is secured by a U.S. inventory balance, and is expected to provide us with more flexibility.

轉向幻燈片 9。我很高興地說，本週早些時候，我們獲得了價值 4 億美元的新 ABL 設施。這為我們提供了一個額外的工具來幫助管理我們的營運資金。與我們傳統的循環信貸便利相比，新的 ABL 便利的資本成本較低約 50 個基點，並由美國庫存餘額擔保，預計將為我們提供更大的靈活性。

As our U.S. inventory balance increase and so does our borrowing capacity, this ABL facility replaces our smaller $200 million revolving credit facility that require cash collateralization. As we enter fiscal year '24, we believe we have a very strong balance and an ample working capital facilities necessary to scale our platform and achieve our '24 guidance.

隨著我們美國庫存餘額的增加和借款能力的增加，這項 ABL 便利性取代了我們需要現金抵押的規模較小的 2 億美元循環信貸便利。隨著我們進入 24 財年，我們相信我們擁有非常強勁的平衡和充足的營運資本設施，以擴大我們的平台並實現我們的 24 指導方針。

Shifting to Slide 10, we're introducing guidance for annual recurring revenue, ARR. For our combined digital and business enterprises, our objective is to reach approximately $80 million in ARR by the conclusion of fiscal year '24, implying a notable increase of 40% from the preceding year. This target is well supported by a robust service attachment rate exceeding 90% and a full 100% attachment rate for Nispera moving forward.

轉到投影片 10，我們將介紹年度經常性收入 (ARR) 的指導。對於我們合併的數位和商業企業，我們的目標是在 24 財年結束時達到約 8,000 萬美元的 ARR，這意味著比前一年顯著成長 40%。 Nispera 超過 90% 的強大服務依附率和 100% 的依附率為這一目標提供了有力支持。

Additionally, our strategic efforts are concentrated on advancing our Mosaic offering, calling operational into the markets, Australia, CAISO and ERCOT. It's essential to note that we're in the process of refining this platform with substantial contributions not anticipated before '25, as previously communicated.

此外，我們的策略工作集中於推進我們的 Mosaic 產品，呼籲在澳洲、CAISO 和 ERCOT 市場開展業務。值得注意的是，正如先前所傳達的，我們正在完善這個平台，並將在 25 年之前做出未預期的重大貢獻。

In conclusion, I'm pleased with the achievements of the fourth quarter, although we're mindful there is still work to be done. We will look to continue this momentum as we progress into a new fiscal year. I will now turn the call over to Manu.

總之，我對第四季的成就感到滿意，儘管我們意識到仍有工作要做。隨著新財年的到來，我們將繼續保持這一勢頭。我現在將把電話轉給馬努。

Thank you, Julian. I will begin by reviewing our financial performance for the fourth quarter, and then I will pass it back to Julian to discuss our guidance for fiscal year '24. Please turn to Slide 12.

謝謝你，朱利安。我將首先回顧我們第四季度的財務業績，然後我會將其傳遞給朱利安，討論我們對 24 財年的指導。請翻到投影片 12。

Our fourth quarter revenue was $673 million, an increase of 52% from the prior year same period and 25% above the third quarter. We continue to execute well as we were able to accelerate some of our legacy backlog previously anticipated for fiscal year 2024, resulting in higher-than-expected revenue for the fourth quarter. We continue to expect a small portion of our legacy contracts will be recognized in the first quarter of 2024.

我們第四季的營收為 6.73 億美元，比去年同期成長 52%，比第三季成長 25%。我們繼續表現良好，因為我們能夠加快之前預計的 2024 財年的一些遺留積壓工作，從而導致第四季度的收入高於預期。我們仍然預計一小部分遺留合約將在 2024 年第一季得到確認。

Looking at our adjusted gross profit for the quarter. We generated approximately $78 million or approximately 11.6% in line with that commitment discussed on our third quarter call and reflects an increase from our third quarter margins of approximately 4.4%. More importantly, this is an increase from the previous fiscal year of 2.8%. I'm pleased to say we have demonstrated cost discipline as our operating expenses, excluding stock comp as a percentage of revenue continued to decline and ended up around 9% for the quarter.

看看我們本季調整後的毛利。我們的營收約為 7,800 萬美元，約 11.6%，與第三季電話會議上討論的承諾一致，反映出我們第三季利潤率約 4.4% 的成長。更重要的是，這比上一財年成長了2.8%。我很高興地說，我們已經證明了成本紀律，因為我們的營運費用（不包括股票費用）佔收入的百分比持續下降，本季最終下降到 9% 左右。

From a year-over-year comparison, our 2023 OpEx percentage of revenue, excluding stock compensation, came in around 10% which is below our 2022 results of around 15%, further illustrating our cost discipline. As a result of our strong execution in the fourth quarter, we were able to generate $20 million of adjusted EBITDA. And as Julian mentioned, this signals the first phase of our transformation is complete. As we have now become profitable, our focus will shift to growing our nominal adjusted EBITDA and ARR, which we will discuss further.

從同比比較來看，我們 2023 年的營運支出佔收入的百分比（不包括股票薪酬）約為 10%，低於 2022 年約 15% 的結果，進一步說明了我們的成本紀律。由於第四季的強勁執行力，我們實現了 2000 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA。正如朱利安所提到的，這標誌著我們轉型的第一階段已經完成。由於我們現在已經實現盈利，我們的重點將轉向增加名義調整後 EBITDA 和 ARR，我們將進一步討論這一點。

Turning to our cash balance. I'm pleased to report we ended the fourth quarter with $463 million of total cash, including short-term investments and restricted cash. This represents an increase of more than $45 million from the third quarter. As Julian mentioned, we secured a new $400 million ABL facility. This facility replaces our existing revolving credit facility and upsizes the amount of available borrow and should enable us to better manage the peak to trough elements of our working capital. When you look at our total cash balance combined with a new ABL facility and supply chain financing, we have ample liquidity putting us in an excellent shape to capitalize on the massive time in front of us.

轉向我們的現金餘額。我很高興地報告，截至第四季末，我們的現金總額為 4.63 億美元，其中包括短期投資和限制性現金。這比第三季增加了超過 4500 萬美元。正如朱利安所提到的，我們獲得了價值 4 億美元的新 ABL 設施。該設施取代了我們現有的循環信貸設施，並增加了可用借款金額，並使我們能夠更好地管理營運資金的高峰至低谷部分。當你看到我們的總現金餘額加上新的 ABL 設施和供應鏈融資時，我們擁有充足的流動性，這使我們處於良好的狀態，可以利用我們面前的大量時間。

Please turn to Slide 13. From a cash standpoint, we increased our total cash position by 11% relative to the third quarter. For 2024, we will continue to invest in technology, resulting in an expected use of cash of approximately $85 million. From a recurring CapEx assumption, a good run rate is between $20 million and $25 million as this is the level we expect in a steady-state environment without large nonrecurring investment items, such as the technology, IT and systems investments we expect to make in fiscal 2024.

請參閱投影片 13。從現金角度來看，我們的總現金部位較第三季增加了 11%。 2024 年，我們將繼續投資技術，預計使用現金約 8,500 萬美元。根據經常性資本支出假設，良好的運行率在2000 萬美元至2500 萬美元之間，因為這是我們在穩態環境中預期的水平，沒有大型非經常性投資項目，例如我們預期進行的技術、 IT 與系統投資。2024 財政年度。

As Julian will expand, we expect to generate around $65 million of adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2024, and we expect to see approximately $65 million to $70 million change in operating cash due to increase in working capital requirements and includes our deposits for our U.S. manufactured battery cells from AESC. As we mentioned on our last call, our U.S. battery cell supply agreement with AESC called for a down payment of $150 million to reserve this capacity, which will be paid in installments over fiscal year '24 and fiscal year '25, and will be funded by liquidity and customer deposits for these batteries.

隨著Julian 的擴張，我們預計在2024 財年將產生約6500 萬美元的調整後EBITDA，並且由於營運資金需求的增加，我們預計營運現金將發生約6500 萬至7000 萬美元的變化，其中包括我們為美國製造的電池提供的押金來自 AESC 的細胞。正如我們在上次電話會議中提到的，我們與AESC 簽訂的美國電池供應協議要求支付1.5 億美元的首付款來保留這一產能，這筆資金將在24 財年和25 財年分期支付，並將獲得資助這些電池的流動性和客戶存款。

The first $35 million will be paid in Q1 of fiscal year '24 and another $35 million will be paid in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. As Julian and I mentioned earlier, we have a strong balance sheet entering 2024 and have ample cash and facilities to support our 2024 guide and investments that will support multiyear industry growth. We also expect to generate free cash flow in fiscal year 2025.

首筆3,500 萬美元將在24 財年第一季支付，另外3,500 萬美元將在2024 財年第二季支付。正如朱利安和我之前提到的，我們在進入2024 年時擁有強勁的資產負債表，並擁有充足的現金和資金。支持我們的 2024 年指南和投資的設施，這將支持多年的行業成長。我們也預計在 2025 財年產生自由現金流。

Before I turn the call back to Julian, I would express -- I'd like to express my appreciation to the Fluence board, management team, employees and shareholders for their trust. Serving as the CFO of Fluence has been one of the highlights of my career. If I were to participate in the energy transition space today, this would be my preferred spot. I take comfort in knowing Fluence is in an excellent position from a balance sheet perspective as I pass the baton to Ahmed, who will take Fluence into the next chapter.

在我將電話轉回給 Julian 之前，我要向 Fluence 董事會、管理團隊、員工和股東的信任表示感謝。擔任 Fluence 的財務長是我職業生涯的亮點之一。如果我今天要參與能源轉型領域，這將是我的首選地點。當我將接力棒交給艾哈邁德時，我感到很欣慰，因為從資產負債表的角度來看，Fluence 處於有利位置，他將帶領 Fluence 進入下一章。

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

這樣，我會將電話轉回朱利安。

Thank you, Manu. Turning to Slide 14, as we previously discussed. We're initiating guidance for fiscal '24 of revenue between $2.7 billion and $3.3 billion. We expect our fiscal '24 adjusted EBITDA to be between $50 million and $80 million. And we are targeting our ARR to be around $80 million by the end of the fiscal '24. I'd like to point out that our revenue guidance represents an increase of $300 million when compared to our prior fiscal year '23 guidance midpoint plus our implied revenue growth of 35% to 40%.

謝謝你，馬努。正如我們之前討論的，轉向幻燈片 14。我們正在啟動 24 財年營收在 27 億美元至 33 億美元之間的指引。我們預計 24 財年調整後的 EBITDA 將在 5,000 萬美元至 8,000 萬美元之間。我們的目標是到 24 財年結束時 ARR 達到 8,000 萬美元左右。我想指出的是，與我們上一財年 '23 指導中點相比，我們的收入指導增加了 3 億美元，加上我們隱含的收入增長 35% 至 40%。

We now expect a fiscal '24 revenue split of 30% in the first half and 70% in the second half, which is an improvement to what we previously communicated to the market. As a result of this, we do expect our first quarter to produce negative adjusted EBITDA due to lower revenue and the execution of the remaining legacy contracts. From a margin perspective, we expect fiscal '24 adjusted gross margins to be between 10% and 12%, which is an improvement from the fiscal '23 adjusted gross margin of nearly 7%.

我們現在預計 24 財年上半年的收入分配為 30%，下半年的收入分配為 70%，這比我們先前向市場傳達的訊息有所改善。因此，由於收入下降和剩餘遺留合約的執行，我們預計第一季將產生負調整後 EBITDA。從利潤率角度來看，我們預計 24 財年調整後毛利率將在 10% 至 12% 之間，較 23 財年調整後毛利率近 7% 有所改善。

From a cash standpoint, we currently expect to use approximately $85 million of cash in fiscal '24, mostly funding nonrecurring incremental investments in systems and IT infrastructure necessary to support our continuous growth. When looking out to '25, we expect 35% to 40% year-over-year top line revenue growth. Additionally, we expect to begin generating free cash flow in fiscal '25.

從現金角度來看，我們目前預計在 24 財年將使用約 8,500 萬美元現金，主要用於支援我們持續成長所需的系統和 IT 基礎設施的非經常性增量投資。展望 25 年，我們預計營收年增 35% 至 40%。此外，我們預計將在 25 財年開始產生自由現金流。

Turning to Slide 15. We established ourselves as the preferred choice for utility-scale storage solution. Our competitive advantage is fortified by being able to offer our customers a full breadth of features, including bankability scale and supply chain management, power electronic engineering and innovation, digital software, services, safety and cybersecurity. While some of our competitors may focus on only a couple of these elements, we often win because we aim to excel in all and provide them universally to our customers.

轉向投影片 15。我們將自己確立為公用事業規模儲存解決方案的首選。我們能夠為客戶提供全面的功能，包括融資規模和供應鏈管理、電力電子工程和創新、數位軟體、服務、安全性和網路安全，從而增強了我們的競爭優勢。雖然我們的一些競爭對手可能只關注其中的幾個要素，但我們經常獲勝，因為我們的目標是在所有方面都表現出色，並將其普遍提供給我們的客戶。

This is corroborated by the 2023 S&P Global Battery and in-store systems integrator report, which ranked the top 10 integrators globally based on installed and contracted capacity. I'm pleased to say that Fluence was ranked #1 both globally and in the U.S.

2023 年標準普爾全球電池和店內系統整合商報告證實了這一點，該報告根據裝置容量和合約容量對全球排名前 10 的整合商進行了排名。我很高興地說 Fluence 在全球和美國都排名第一

In conclusion, I want to emphasize the key takeaway from this quarter results. Firstly, we had a robust financial performance contributing to a record breaking annual revenue. Attaining profitability for the first time is a significant milestone, and we aim to capitalize on this achievement in fiscal '24. Second, we proactively secure our future by solidifying our battery supply for fiscal year '24 and '25, thus ensuring our ability to meet our growing demand. Finally, the introduction of our new $400 million ABL facility, provides us an additional tool to continue capturing the robust growth of the utilities cut.

總之，我想強調本季業績的關鍵要點。首先，我們強勁的財務業績促成了創紀錄的年收入。首次實現獲利是一個重要的里程碑，我們的目標是在 24 財年利用這項成就。其次，我們透過鞏固 24 財年和 25 財年的電池供應來積極保障我們的未來，從而確保我們有能力滿足不斷增長的需求。最後，我們新的 4 億美元 ABL 設施的推出，為我們提供了一個額外的工具，以繼續捕捉公用事業削減的強勁成長。

As a reminder, while Ahmed is participating on today's call, he will not be answering any questions. This concludes my prepared remarks. Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

提醒一下，雖然艾哈邁德正在參加今天的電話會議，但他不會回答任何問題。我準備好的發言到此結束。接線員，我們現在準備好回答問題。

(Operator Instructions) Question comes from the line of George Gianarikas with Canaccord Genuity.

（操作員說明）問題來自 Canaccord Genuity 的 George Gianarikas 線路。

So maybe just to start, a lot has been made of the interest rate environment having an impact on project timing in the general renewable space and economics, your results sort of speak for themselves, but what impact, if any, are you seeing on your business from the change in interest rates?

因此，也許只是開始，利率環境對一般可再生能源領域和經濟中的專案時間產生了很大的影響，您的結果有點不言而喻，但是您看到對您的專案有什麼影響（如果有的話）業務不受利率變動的影響？

Thanks, George. I mean, as we have talked to in the past, we work with the top-tier developers in the U.S. where this is where this happens. And when you look at them, they don't really see any problems raising capital, accessing capital or putting the projects together. So we have not seen any delays due to cost of capital or access to capital in general.

謝謝，喬治。我的意思是，正如我們過去交談過的那樣，我們與美國的頂級開發商合作，這就是發生這種情況的地方。當你觀察他們時，你會發現他們在籌集資金、獲取資金或整合專案方面並沒有真正看到任何問題。因此，我們總體上沒有看到由於資本成本或資本獲取管道造成的任何延誤。

And I will tell you even more in our case because as you all know, our product costs have come down with battery prices coming down significantly this year in a way when you do the math between what our cost or lower costs compared with the higher 100 basis points, generally that prices have gone that -- the cost of money has gone up during the year. It's essentially a (inaudible) or maybe actually, you actually can do even better returns than what you do in the past. So we haven't seen any real effect of today.

我會在我們的案例中告訴您更多信息，因為眾所周知，今年我們的產品成本隨著電池價格的大幅下降而下降，當您計算我們的成本或較低成本與較高的 100 成本相比時基點，一般來說，價格已經上漲——這一年裡資金成本上漲了。這本質上是（聽不清楚）或實際上，你實際上可以獲得比過去更好的回報。所以我們今天還沒有看到任何實際效果。

In our customer segment, we do get the same information you get from other parties who tend not to work with, where they have had some problems raising money or raising money at competitive rates, well, but we haven't seen it in our group. We segment with a top-tier group and that top tier group essentially has had no problem of addressing capital.

在我們的客戶群中，我們確實從其他往往不合作的各方那裡獲得了相同的信息，他們在籌集資金或以有競爭力的價格籌集資金方面遇到了一些問題，但是我們在我們的團隊中還沒看到這種情況。我們與一個頂級集團進行細分，而該頂級集團基本上不存在解決資本問題的問題。

Maybe if I can ask one follow-up. Recently, one of your competitors, Wartsila announced that they're exploring strategic alternatives for their energy storage business. What -- any thoughts on that and any impact that it could have on your strategy going forward?

也許我可以問一個後續問題。最近，您的競爭對手之一瓦錫蘭宣布，他們正在為其能源儲存業務探索策略替代方案。對此有何想法以及它可能對您未來的策略產生的影響？

What I can do -- I was surprised by it because the prior quarter, they say that this was going to be the growth engine. In this quarter, they say that it's difficult to know we've been trying to understand where they come from. I prefer not to speculate at this stage. But I was surprised that this is a market that is offering tremendous growth. It's a tremendous opportunity to create value for shareholders to play in the new energy space. So why are they revising their view on the market if -- have no idea.

我能做什麼——我對此感到驚訝，因為上個季度，他們說這將成為成長引擎。在本季度，他們說很難知道我們一直在試圖了解他們來自哪裡。我不想在這個階段猜測。但令我驚訝的是，這是一個正在提供巨大成長的市場。這是為股東在新能源領域創造價值的巨大機會。那麼，如果他們不知道的話，為什麼要改變他們對市場的看法呢？

But I've been reading the Investor Day call and the rationale, at least it wasn't clear to me, but we will continue looking at it. While we are on the other side of that spectrum, doubling down on this. This is a once-in-a-life opportunity. It doesn't get any better than what this market offers today.

但我一直在閱讀投資者日電話會議及其理由，至少我還不清楚，但我們將繼續研究它。雖然我們處於該範圍的另一邊，但我們正在加倍努力。這是千載難逢的機會。沒有比今天市場提供的更好的了。

Our next question comes from the line of Brian Lee with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的布萊恩李 (Brian Lee)。

First off, Manu, congrats and best of luck on your new role and Ahmed looking forward to working with you more closely going forward. A couple of questions I had was, I guess, I appreciate the ARR breakout $80 million end of this year or end of the fiscal year. A 40% growth, it seems like versus last year's number. If I look at your bookings, though, in services and digital, it's growing a lot faster.

首先，Manu，恭喜您擔任新職務並祝您好運，Ahmed 期待與您更密切合作。我想，我有幾個問題，我很欣賞今年年底或本財年年底 ARR 突破 8000 萬美元。與去年的數字相比，成長了 40%。不過，如果我看看你們在服務和數位領域的預訂量，就會發現成長速度要快得多。

So can you give us a sense of -- I know there's a little bit of a delay, but as we think about your initial '25 revenue guidance consolidated like how fast can you grow that ARR balance off of the $80 million? When I kind of look at your bookings volume growing at a much faster rate across services and digital. And then also, what sort of the margins implied in that ARR balance? I suppose it's -- I would presume it's pretty high, but can you give us a sense of what the range is?

那麼，您能否讓我們了解一下——我知道有一點延遲，但是當我們考慮您最初的 25 年合併收入指導時，例如您能以多快的速度將 ARR 餘額從 8000 萬美元中增長出來？當我看到你們的預訂量在服務和數位方面以更快的速度成長時。另外，ARR 餘額隱含著什麼樣的利潤？我想它是相當高的，但是你能讓我們了解這個範圍是多少嗎？

I mean on the growth rate, I do think that our view is that our ARR to grow at a higher rate than our solutions business just the way it works. And the concept is very simple. We will -- we have Nispera and Mosaic and our services business. Our services business, 90% of our growth rate of our service, Nispera roughly around 100 and then Mosaic is on top of that. So not on top of that, will be -- we can add to it.

我的意思是，就成長率而言，我確實認為我們的觀點是，我們的 ARR 成長率將高於我們的解決方案業務的成長率。這個概念非常簡單。我們將—我們擁有 Nispera 和 Mosaic 以及我們的服務業務。我們的服務業務，占我們服務成長率的 90%，Nispera 大約在 100 左右，然後 Mosaic 位於最上方。因此，除此之外，我們還可以添加它。

So I do think that we will see that growth being ahead of it. So that's conceptually where we are, and you can -- we're growing 40% compared to what the 35% to 40% that we have set from last year. In terms of margins, the margins differ. I think that for their digital business, they are more on the -- around 70%, while our service business is between 20% and 30% depending on the type of service that deal that we agree. So the combined -- there's not a combined -- there's not a combined margin, but you should think about it this way.

所以我確實認為我們會看到這種成長提前到來。所以從概念上講，這就是我們現在的情況，而且你可以——與我們去年設定的 35% 到 40% 相比，我們成長了 40%。從利潤率來看，利潤率有所不同。我認為，對於他們的數位業務，他們更多的是 70% 左右，而我們的服務業務則在 20% 到 30% 之間，具體取決於我們同意的服務類型。因此，合併後——沒有合併——沒有合併利潤，但你應該這樣考慮。

And then in terms of the -- today, I think that the great -- or the majority of these services, but I'll see -- our view is that the digital will grow at a higher rate than our services business that you'll see, digital becoming a much more relevant part of our ARR as we move forward. So that's kind of it that you should think about all of this.

然後就今天而言，我認為這些偉大的服務或大多數服務，但我會看到，我們的觀點是，數位業務的成長速度將高於我們的服務業務。我們將會看到，隨著我們不斷前進，數位化將成為我們ARR 中更重要的一部分。所以這就是你應該考慮所有這些的原因。

That's great. Yes. I appreciate that color. That's super helpful. Second question for me, and I'll pass it on is looking at that kind of preliminary fiscal '25 revenue guidance, $35 million to $40 million. And that's quite robust. It puts you in kind of the $4 billion top line range. I'm assuming you kind of get to the midpoint. Can you -- it sounded (inaudible) like you were mostly, there are a lot of customer conversations and feedbacks. But could you give us a sense of (inaudible) backlogs?

那太棒了。是的。我很欣賞那種顏色。這非常有幫助。我要轉達的第二個問題是查看 25 年財政年度的初步收入指導，即 3500 萬至 4000 萬美元。這非常強大。它使您的收入達到 40 億美元。我假設你已經達到中間點了。你能－聽起來（聽不清楚）就像你大部分時候一樣，有很多客戶對話和回饋。但是您能給我們介紹一下（聽不清楚）積壓的情況嗎？

Brian, I lost -- we're losing you a little bit. I don't know. You mentioned that you were talking about '25 robust growth and then somehow you got -- can you repeat?

布萊恩，我輸了——我們有點失去你了。我不知道。您提到您正在談論 25 年的強勁增長，然後不知何故您得到了 - 您能重複嗎？

Yes. Maybe that's clear. Sorry, I turned off the Bluetooth. It's I'm just wondering what beyond customer conversations do you have any MSAs, contracted backlog? Like what else are you able to sort of key off on to get comfortable with the 35% to 40% additional growth into fiscal '25. And then when you talk about batteries being secured for '25, I mean I would assume that is matching up to that revenue growth potential you're looking at.

是的。也許這很清楚。抱歉，我關掉了藍牙。我只是想知道，除了客戶對話之外，你們還有什麼 MSA、合約積壓訂單嗎？就像您還能做些什麼來適應 25 財年 35% 到 40% 的額外成長。然後，當您談論 25 年的電池安全時，我的意思是我會假設這與您正在考慮的收入成長潛力相符。

Is it fixed pricing? Or is it indexed? Are you subject to any kind of cost volatility on the battery side, just having locked in the volume, maybe could you remind us where you are on the pricing side of things as well?

是固定定價嗎？或是否已編入索引？您會受到電池方面任何成本波動的影響，只是鎖定了銷量，也許您能提醒我們您在定價方面的處境嗎？

So on the growth, we clearly -- I think that the best evidence of our growth capabilities comes out of our pipeline. So we looked at our pipeline for this last quarter, we grew our pipeline by $600 million roughly. On top of converting [$735 million] to backlog. So in reality, we added $1.3 billion into the pipeline this quarter. And that's where -- that gives the -- and our view and on top of that, something that we don't disclose, we have lead projects that we're working with customers that we do not believe today, we can consider at a 50% chance of happening within the next 2 years.

因此，在成長方面，我們顯然 - 我認為我們成長能力的最佳證據來自我們的管道。因此，我們查看了上個季度的管道，我們的管道成長了約 6 億美元。除了將 [7.35 億美元] 轉化為積壓訂單之外。因此，實際上，本季我們在通路中增加了 13 億美元。這就是——這給出了——我們的觀點，最重要的是，我們沒有透露，我們正在與我們今天不相信的客戶合作的主導項目，我們可以考慮在未來2 年內發生的可能性為50 %。

But when we looked at our leads and we're talking to our customers, what we're doing gives us a good -- we feel very confident that we can do the 35% to 40% for '25. So that's essentially what it is. In terms of -- on that -- this number compared to where prices are -- we built our planning based on our current deal prices or on costs. So as long as prices stay within what we think, where we are today, generally, which is kind of what we think is going to say for the foreseeable future, I think which will be fine.

但當我們審視我們的潛在客戶並與客戶交談時，我們所做的事情為我們帶來了好處——我們非常有信心在 25 年實現 35% 到 40% 的目標。所以本質上就是這樣。就這一數字與價格相比而言，我們根據當前的交易價格或成本製定了計劃。因此，只要價格保持在我們所認為的範圍內，一般而言，這就是我們認為在可預見的未來將會發生的情況，我認為這會很好。

Well, what we have also seen, just to be clear, that if prices will continue to come down, I think that generally, what we see is that the volumes increase. So we don't feel that necessarily the 35% to 40% today. We don't believe that the 35% to 40% growth will be affected by costs coming down or battery costs coming down so much that we won't be able to meet it because of that. Because at the end of the day, what happens, a lot of more projects, let's say, our 50% more of our pipeline projects convert into a reality because they are easier to meet the economics of the customer.

好吧，我們也看到，需要明確的是，如果價格繼續下降，我認為一般來說，我們看到的是銷量增加。所以我們認為今天不一定是 35% 到 40%。我們不認為35%到40%的成長會受到成本下降或電池成本下降太多的影響，以至於我們無法滿足這一目標。因為歸根結底，會發生更多的項目，比如說，我們 50% 以上的管道項目轉化為現實，因為它們更容易滿足客戶的經濟需求。

So I think that's the -- our view on that one. Your second point, sorry, I did -- you had a second point?

所以我認為這就是我們對此的看法。你的第二點，抱歉，我說了──你還有第二點嗎？

You covered most of it. I guess my question around cost was whether or not, I guess, you have margin risk either up or down based on the security of supply in '25 and volumes and how long are in (inaudible) with us?

你涵蓋了大部分內容。我想我對成本的問題是，我想，根據 25 年的供應安全和數量以及我們的供應時間（聽不清楚），您的保證金風險是否會上升或下降？

We continue to be -- our strategy is not to take battery price cost risks. So we transferred to our customer that. And that -- and our view has always been with the RMI. So our view has always been as prices of lithium come down, it goes to our customers. If they were to go up, our customers will pay a higher number. And we don't want to become a commodity. They're much better players, there are much better ways of betting on the commodity movements than our stock. So we'll continue with our strategy that hasn't changed.

我們的策略仍然是不承擔電池價格成本風險。所以我們把這個轉給了我們的客戶。我們的觀點始終與馬紹爾群島共和國一致。因此，我們的觀點始終是，隨著鋰價格的下降，我們的客戶將會受益。如果價格上漲，我們的客戶將支付更高的價格。我們不想成為商品。他們是更好的玩家，有比我們的股票更好的方法來押注商品走勢。所以我們將繼續我們沒有改變的策略。

We're still very, very confident on our 10% to 15% margin. So I don't think that will be affected in any way.

我們對 10% 到 15% 的利潤率仍然非常非常有信心。所以我認為這不會受到任何影響。

And Brian, the margins are held up, right? The battery prices are materially different today than they were a year back.

布萊恩，利潤率保持不變，對嗎？如今的電池價格與一年前有很大不同。

And not only they've gone up.

不只是他們的股價上漲了。

They've gone up, right. So from that perspective, I think Julian and I feel fairly confident.

他們已經上升了，對吧。所以從這個角度來看，我認為朱利安和我都相當有信心。

I think the lower battery prices are an opportunity. They're not at risk. Clearly, we have organized ourselves in a way that it will not be -- it does not affect or changes, affects our margin, but they are generally we see them as an opportunity.

我認為較低的電池價格是一個機會。他們沒有危險。顯然，我們以一種不會的方式組織自己——它不會影響或改變，影響我們的利潤，但我們通常將它們視為一個機會。

Our next question comes from Andrew Percoco with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的安德魯佩科科。

I guess just to come back to Brian's question. I just want to make sure I understand this correctly. For the 2025 battery supply, have you locked in the pricing with your suppliers on that? I'm just kind of curious if battery prices continue to fall and you've locked in your pricing for 2025, is it going to be more difficult to sign a 10%, 15% gross margin contract if you have a higher priced battery versus where prices go from here?

我想只是回到布萊恩的問題。我只是想確保我正確理解這一點。對於 2025 年的電池供應，您是否與供應商鎖定了定價？我只是有點好奇，如果電池價格繼續下跌，而你已經鎖定了 2025 年的定價，如果你擁有價格更高的電池，簽訂 10%、15% 毛利率的合約是否會更困難？價格將走向何方？

I think that I'll put it this way. We are -- we have contracts with our suppliers that aligns with the current market world, in a world where prices are coming down. So that's generally our view. So we're not committing to significant volumes at fixed prices that will be out of price. That's conceptually one of (inaudible). No, that's very, very important.

我想我會這樣說。我們與供應商簽訂了符合當前市場世界、價格不斷下降的合約。這就是我們的普遍看法。因此，我們不會承諾以超出價格的固定價格大量生產。從概念上講，這是其中之一（聽不清楚）。不，這非常非常重要。

We -- very, very important from our point of view to have very competitive pricing that is better at market or better, and the ability -- the access to volumes. And I think that we have been able to design our contracts in a way that meets those goals. And in terms of margins, as I said, I see this as -- I don't think the lower pricing will affect our margins, our 10% to 15% margins going forward. This is more of good news, more than negative news. And our 10% to 15%, we feel very confident, that's the way we do deals.

從我們的角度來看，我們非常非常重要的是，擁有在市場上更好或更佳的極具競爭力的定價，以及獲得銷售的能力。我認為我們已經能夠以滿足這些目標的方式設計我們的合約。就利潤率而言，正如我所說，我認為較低的定價不會影響我們的利潤率，我們未來的利潤率將達到 10% 至 15%。這更多是好消息，而不是負面消息。我們的 10% 到 15%，我們感到非常有信心，這就是我們做交易的方式。

And people might argue, "hey, your volumes are going to come down because now you're going to come out of a lower price", but the reality is that, as I said, a lot of more projects meet their return criteria for our investors of our customers. So the volume more than covers any potential price reductions you might see around. So this is a growth -- this is, as I said earlier, you cannot -- if I looked at when I arrived, a $180 per megawatt hour prices today, not going to say price not to be let my competitors know, but it's a different world, and it doesn't get any better.

人們可能會說，“嘿，你的銷量將會下降，因為現在你的價格將會降低”，但現實是，正如我所說，更多的項目滿足了他們的回報標準我們的客戶的投資者。因此，這個數量足以涵蓋您可能看到的任何潛在的降價。所以這是一種增長——正如我之前所說，這是不可能的——如果我在到達時查看，今天每兆瓦時180 美元的價格，不會說價格不讓我的競爭對手知道，但它是一個不同的世界，而且它並沒有變得更好。

Well, maybe there will be some price, next year will be even better. But...

嗯，也許會有一些價格，明年會更好。但...

Understood. That's super helpful context. And then I guess my follow-up would be as you look at your backlog or even the pipeline, what percentage of it is new renewable energy projects that are adding battery storage versus maybe a retrofit opportunity? Obviously, the IRA presents an interesting opportunity there for retrofits. So I'm just kind of curious how that's breaking down as you look at the pipeline and backlog.

明白了。這是非常有用的背景。然後我想我的後續行動是，當你查看積壓訂單甚至管道時，其中增加電池儲存的新可再生能源項目與可能的改造機會的百分比是多少？顯然，愛爾蘭共和軍提供了一個有趣的改造機會。所以我只是好奇當你查看管道和積壓工作時，這是如何分解的。

Today, I will say if you look at our pipeline, the ones that have more than 50% is mostly new projects. Retrofits and things of that sort are more in the lead spot. So that's where they why [effect] mostly greenfield, if not essentially all today. However, we do see, as you can see, a lot of our customers are looking and talking to us on retrofits or replacing some [core] facilities. So there are some in our in our pipeline or in our contract backlog that are building it into a former core facility, but generally, they're greenfield.

今天我會說，如果你看一下我們的管道，超過50%的大部分都是新項目。改造和類似的事情更處於領先地位。所以這就是他們為什麼[影響]大部分是未開發的領域，即使不是今天基本上全部。然而，我們確實看到，正如您所看到的，我們的許多客戶正在尋找並與我們討論改造或更換一些[核心]設施。因此，我們的管道或積壓合約中有一些正在將其建造成以前的核心設施，但一般來說，它們是新建的。

Our next question comes from the line of Joseph Osha with Guggenheim Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自約瑟夫·奧沙與古根漢合夥人的關係。

Congratulations on the great outcome. I've got a couple of questions. First, looking -- you've alluded to the gross margin. But as we look at that FY '25 guidance, I'm wondering how we might think about operating cost absorption and what that implies roughly for the ability of the enterprise to grow EBITDA? I have a couple of other questions, but I'll start with that one.

祝賀取得的偉大成果。我有幾個問題。首先，看一下──你提到了毛利率。但當我們看到 25 財年的指導時，我想知道我們如何考慮營運成本吸收，以及這對企業成長 EBITDA 的能力大致意味著什麼？我還有其他幾個問題，但我將從這個問題開始。

I'll let Manu answer this.

我會讓馬努來回答這個問題。

So look, I think consistent with what you said, as you think about '25 EBITDA profile, gross margins are probably at the midpoint of the 10% to 15% range. And then we've been very disciplined around operating expense, and we expect to grow operating expense at a little bit less than half of our top line growth. And you saw that in '23, and you expect to see that in '24 and '25. Look, we are continuing to invest in the business on the backs of a growing market and $13 billion of pipeline.

因此，我認為與您所說的一致，當您考慮 25 EBITDA 概況時，毛利率可能處於 10% 至 15% 範圍的中點。然後，我們在營運費用方面一直非常嚴格，我們預計營運費用的成長略低於收入成長的一半。你在 23 年就看到了這一點，你也希望在 24 和 25 年看到這一點。看，在不斷增長的市場和 130 億美元的管道的支持下，我們將繼續投資該業務。

Okay. Could we begin to see any material benefit from 45x credits in FY '25, given how cell availability in the U.S. is evolving?

好的。考慮到美國的電池供應情況如何發展，我們能否在 25 財年開始看到 45 倍積分帶來的任何實質好處？

Yes. And the short answer is yes. But I think from a modeling perspective, I'd still stick within the lanes I just talked about.

是的。簡短的回答是肯定的。但我認為從建模的角度來看，我仍然會堅持我剛才談到的路線。

Okay. But to be clear, that number you put out there does not build in any 45x, is that correct?

好的。但需要明確的是，您給出的數字並不適用於任何 45 倍，對嗎？

The way we -- our view on the 45x is that they will be within the range. So that we will see that the 45x will take us outside of the range of the 10% to 15%. That's the way we should think on. Remember, we are building a new line. We are putting it together. We're starting this -- it will require some -- taking it up to more -- if we get to very -- to get to scale and efficiency, it takes a little while. So we believe that the 45x will help us paid for some of that learning curve.

我們對 45x 的看法是它們將在這個範圍內。這樣我們就會看到 45x 將使我們超出 10% 到 15% 的範圍。這才是我們該思考的。請記住，我們正在建造一條新線路。我們正在把它放在一起。我們正在開始這個——這將需要一些——將其提升到更多——如果我們達到非常——以達到規模和效率，這需要一段時間。因此，我們相信 45x 將幫助我們克服一些學習曲線的問題。

Sure. I mean it's -- it's early days. I just wanted to clarify. So it does sound like to the extent that those numbers do flow through the P&L in '25, it would be additive to that range you're discussing. Is that kind of what you're saying?

當然。我的意思是現在還為時過早。我只是想澄清一下。因此，聽起來確實是這些數字確實流經了 25 年的損益表，這將增加您正在討論的範圍。你是這麼說的嗎？

Well, I'll put it differently. As I said, I do not -- today where we are. I believe that the 45x will help us bring in our line into -- it will cover the cost of the learning curve. That's our view today. We might be able to do this much better than what we expect, but having gone through processes like this, they usually carry some risk and you need to be. So I don't want to overpromise on this.

好吧，我會換個說法。正如我所說，我不知道我們今天所處的位置。我相信 45x 將幫助我們引入我們的產品線——它將涵蓋學習曲線的成本。這就是我們今天的觀點。我們也許能夠做得比我們預期的要好得多，但是在經歷了這樣的流程之後，它們通常會帶來一些風險，而您也需要這樣做。所以我不想對此做出太多的承諾。

Okay. And then just a last one for me on business mix. Wondering how you're looking in terms of storage only freestanding products versus wind and solar coupled projects? And that's it for me.

好的。然後是我關於業務組合的最後一個。想知道您對僅儲存獨立式產品與風能和太陽能耦合專案的看法如何？對我來說就是這樣。

Yes. They'll see more and more coming into -- in the -- first, outside of the U.S., that's the norm. Just to be clear, in the U.S., we'll see them come more and more enough, more, more. We have solar -- we've signed a few last -- during the year. We see more coming into our leads and into our pipeline. And it will be -- I cannot give you the exact number, but I don't have on the top of my head. But we do see that over time, that will take over in the U.S., the U.S. will start looking more like the rest of the world where battery storage are stand-alone process. It will take a little time.

是的。他們會看到越來越多的人首先進入美國以外的地區，這是常態。需要明確的是，在美國，我們會看到他們越來越多、越來越多。今年我們有太陽能——我們已經簽署了一些。我們看到更多的人進入我們的銷售線索和管道。我無法給你確切的數字，但我不知道。但我們確實看到，隨著時間的推移，這將在美國佔據主導地位，美國將開始看起來更像世界其他地區，其中電池儲存是獨立的過程。這需要一點時間。

These projects that need to be -- people are working on projects that were with renewable assets, it will take a little time until they actually get them permitted in the queue and all that process.

這些項目需要——人們正在從事可再生資產的項目，需要一些時間才能真正在隊列和所有過程中獲得許可。

Our next question comes from the line of Dylan Nassano with Wolfe Research.

我們的下一個問題來自沃爾夫研究中心的 Dylan Nassano。

Welcome, Ahmed and wishing you the best in your new role, Manu. Just wanted to touch on the domestic content offering. I mean, how are those conversations kind of going with the customers right now? How much volume, I guess, are you seeing a drive within the pipeline? And just on the latest IRS rules that came out, does that kind of give any kind of incremental certainty to move the needle at all?

歡迎您，艾哈邁德，祝您在新角色馬努中一切順利。只是想談談國內內容的提供。我的意思是，現在與客戶的對話進行得怎麼樣？我想，您在管道中看到的驅動器有多大容量？就國稅局最新發布的規定而言，這是否會帶來任何增量確定性來推動這項進程？

I mean, as we said, I think that our volume growth is based on our view of our -- of domestic content. We do, as we mentioned it also, there might be an opportunity for margin expansion. We said it in the past. It's too early to say today. But we are working with our customers and it's going well, but it's too early to say whether we can expand margins based on it. That's our view.

我的意思是，正如我們所說，我認為我們的銷售成長是基於我們對國內內容的看法。正如我們也提到的那樣，我們確實可能有機會擴大利潤率。我們過去就說過。今天說還太早。但我們正在與客戶合作，進展順利，但現在說我們是否可以在此基礎上擴大利潤還為時過早。這是我們的觀點。

But volumes already where we are, the growth we're offering essentially includes what our view on where we see our domestic content offering. And that's generally our view on this. I think that potentially it could be a margin expansion that we said. And as soon as we have visibility, we'll share that with the market to let you know if it changes. That might be a potential upside for our '25 margins, just to be sure. We won't (inaudible) we will see any real significant revenue in '24. It will be at '25 revenue.

但數量已經達到我們的水平，我們提供的增長基本上包括我們對國內內容提供的看法。這就是我們對此的普遍看法。我認為這可能是我們所說的利潤率擴張。一旦我們有了可見性，我們就會與市場分享，讓您知道情況是否改變。可以肯定的是，這可能是我們 25 年利潤率的潛在上行空間。我們不會（聽不清楚）在 24 年看到任何真正可觀的收入。它將按 25 年的收入計算。

We'll let you know as the year progresses and we start signing contracts, we'll give you a view of what we can do. And the regulations were a step forward. I think like all these regulations they respond a set of questions and open a new set of questions. But I think that in general, it was good to see more coming. The -- we're still waiting for more clarifications. But you've got to see some clarification on that. A lot of the issues that we're addressing were not related to our industry, but the ones that were related to our industry to the battery storage were in line with what we expected, so...

隨著這一年的進展以及我們開始簽署合同，我們會讓您知道我們可以做什麼。這些法規是向前邁出的一步。我認為就像所有這些法規一樣，它們回答了一系列問題並提出了一系列新問題。但我認為總的來說，很高興看到更多的到來。我們仍在等待更多澄清。但你必須看到對此的一些澄清。我們正在解決的許多問題與我們的行業無關，但與我們行業相關的電池存儲問題符合我們的預期，所以...

Got it. And then just a quick follow-up. Can you just talk a little bit about the geographic breakout of the current backlog and where in the pipeline? Are you may be seeing incremental opportunities pop up?

知道了。然後進行快速跟進。您能否簡單談談目前積壓訂單的地理分佈以及流程中的哪些位置？您是否會看到增量機會的出現？

Yes. I mean, (inaudible) earlier, the same as our revenue, 2/3, the U.S. 1/3 of the rest. We see -- in terms of markets, I think we talked about this already, Canada has become now a new market where we'll be very active and has been doing very well. But besides that, I think that generally, we see a lot of growth in Australia, Europe has been -- Germany. And Germany, I guess, is the other market where we have done the two transmission projects and we are continuing to see growth and movement. But very, very strong market all around and the U.S. still leads the pack.

是的。我的意思是，（聽不清楚）之前，我們的收入佔 2/3，美國佔其餘收入的 1/3。我們看到——就市場而言，我想我們已經討論過這一點，加拿大現在已經成為一個新市場，我們將非常活躍，並且一直做得很好。但除此之外，我認為總的來說，我們在澳洲、歐洲、德國看到了很大的成長。我想，德國是我們完成兩個輸電項目的另一個市場，我們正在繼續看到成長和發展。但各地市場都非常非常強勁，其中美國仍處於領先地位。

The next question comes from the line of Ben Kallo with RW Baird.

下一個問題來自 Ben Kallo 和 RW Baird 的對話。

Just following up on the last question. How do we think about your cell supply matching up with your geographic opportunities? Just meaning U.S. cell supply for domestic content, how you guys think about that in '25, '26 and beyond with those contracts?

只是跟進最後一個問題。我們如何看待您的電池供應與您的地理機會的匹配？只是指美國國內生產的電池供應，你們如何看待 25 年、26 年及以後的這些合約？

We have -- I think we are -- besides the U.S. sales, we manage the rest of the world as a global market. So we -- today, we don't -- there's no risk from cells not having supply to any of our markets in any specific deal. Our deal for the U.S. supply is a multiyear deal that will cover a few years, and we expect that, that becomes a solidifies and it will continue for many years.

我們——我想我們是——除了美國的銷售之外，我們還將世界其他地區作為全球市場進行管理。因此，今天，我們不存在任何特定交易中電池無法向我們的任何市場供應的風險。我們對美國的供應協議是一項多年期協議，將持續幾年，我們預計，這項協議將得到鞏固，並將持續多年。

And I will tell you something that I think is important. We do see that the U.S. will have both domestic and import content. So we'll have a mix at the end of the day. So it's not like the U.S. market will become a fully only domestic content market, at least not at the beginning for a while, you'll see both imported batteries and the domestic content batteries competing here.

我會告訴你一些我認為重要的事情。我們確實看到美國將同時擁有國內和進口內容。所以我們最終會進行混音。因此，美國市場不會成為完全只有國產產品的市場，至少在一開始不會，你會看到進口電池和國產電池在這裡競爭。

In the past, you've made some acquisitions. I'm just wondering about -- looking at your Slide 21, the different; technologies, either on hardware or software, if there's areas that you see opportunities going forward?

過去，您進行了一些收購。我只是想知道——看看你的投影片 21，有什麼不同；技術，無論是硬體還是軟體，您是否看到了未來有機會的領域？

We have said from day 1 that we were not going to do any M&A until we had a profitability. So that continues to be our case. Clearly, this quarter has been good. If I -- my view on potential acquisitions is as follows: we -- clearly, we see M&A as an opportunity. We will be -- maybe one of our value ways of offering value to our customers. If we were to do any acquisitions, will be connected, most likely to our product development, accelerating our product development. But we have no -- we are not working on any acquisitions. There's nothing in the works. So we're not talking to anybody so don't be -- there's enough work with our current business and for us to make it happen. But to do anything, we'll be more on the technology side and connected to our product road map.

我們從第一天起就說過，在實現盈利之前我們不會進行任何併購。所以這仍然是我們的情況。顯然，本季表現不錯。如果我——我對潛在收購的看法如下：我們——顯然，我們將併購視為一個機會。我們將—也許是我們為客戶提供價值的價值方式之一。如果我們要做任何收購，很可能會連結到我們的產品開發，加速我們的產品開發。但我們沒有——我們沒有進行任何收購。沒有任何進展。因此，我們不會與任何人交談，所以不要這樣做——我們目前的業務有足夠的工作要做，我們可以實現這一目標。但要做任何事情，我們將更專注於技術方面並與我們的產品路線圖聯繫起來。

Our next question comes from the line of Kashy Harrison with Piper Sandler.

我們的下一個問題來自 Kashy Harrison 和 Piper Sandler 的對話。

So maybe just a quick follow-up on gross margins. your Fiscal '24 guidance calls for 10% to 12%, but Manu discussed 10% to 15% as we think about fiscal '25. And so just wondering what are some of the factors that could potentially push you towards the high end of that range, that 15% versus the low end of the range of 10%?

因此，也許只是對毛利率進行快速跟進。你們的 24 財年指導方針要求為 10% 至 12%，但當我們考慮 25 財年時，Manu 討論了 10% 至 15%。那麼，想知道哪些因素可能會推動您走向該範圍的高端（即 15%，而不是該範圍的低端 10%）？

I think that, clearly, our execution capabilities moves us higher up. Well, I think something, as I mentioned, that could be material -- I'd say our material driver will be the U.S. content offering if we can capture higher margins on that offering. So that's generally when you looked at it, see it will be a combination of maybe even better execution, so we can do better than what we expected and the U.S. content offering which might -- the domestic content offer, which might, as I said, this is something we might see an opportunity for higher margins.

我認為，顯然，我們的執行能力使我們走得更高。嗯，我認為，正如我所提到的，這可能是物質的——我想說，如果我們能夠在美國內容產品上獲得更高的利潤，我們的物質驅動力將是該產品。所以，一般來說，當你看它時，你會發現它可能是更好的執行的組合，所以我們可以做得比我們預期的更好，而且美國的內容提供可能——正如我所說，國內的內容提供可能會更好。 ，這是我們可能會看到更高利潤的機會。

That's helpful. And then just my follow-up, Manu said this as well and just doing the quick math, it's clear that you guys think you're going to be generating free cash flow as we think about fiscal '25. I know it's very early, but if you actually do successfully -- if Fluence actually successfully begins generating free cash flow, how do you think about capital allocation priorities for that free cash flow? Is it -- are you going to look to M&A? Are you going to look to returning capital to shareholders, just shore up the balance sheet. Maybe just thoughts on how you want to use free cash flow to create for the shareholders.

這很有幫助。然後我的後續行動，Manu 也說了這一點，只是做了快速計算，很明顯，你們認為當我們考慮 25 財年時，你們將產生自由現金流。我知道現在還為時過早，但如果你真的成功了——如果 Fluence 實際上成功地開始產生自由現金流，你如何看待自由現金流的資本分配優先順序？您打算尋求併購嗎？您是否打算向股東返還資本，只是支撐資產負債表。也許只是想一下你想如何利用自由現金流為股東創造價值。

I think my view on it today, I don't know, is supporting our growth. Technology, that's where I think that -- where we -- I don't see us distributing cash flows or distributing dividends or anything of that. The growth is so -- if the growth continues as we expect it to continue and I would see in the world, we will need all those resources to meet our customer needs to create. And that, I think, will be the best use of money, and it will create the most value for shareholders. So that's our view. It might change over time. But if you ask me about '25, that's the way I think about it.

我認為我今天對此的看法，我不知道，正在支持我們的成長。技術，這就是我認為的地方——我們——我不認為我們會分配現金流或分配股息或任何類似的東西。成長是這樣的——如果成長像我們預期的那樣繼續下去，我會在世界上看到，我們將需要所有這些資源來滿足我們客戶的創造需求。我認為，這將是資金的最佳用途，並將為股東創造最大價值。這就是我們的觀點。它可能會隨著時間的推移而改變。但如果你問我關於 25 歲的事情，我就是這麼想的。

Next question comes from the line of Julien Dumoulin-Smith with Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Julien Dumoulin-Smith。

It's actually -- it's Alex Vrabel on for Julien. Congratulations to you guys. Congrats to you, Manu. We'll miss you in your next journey, but great results here. Maybe my first question, just to -- you guys, obviously, a lot of growth guided for next year, and obviously the indication for fiscal '25 robust as well. Curious just when we think about the bookings cadence to support that, if I look back in time, it seems like you guys see a pretty big step-up in the first quarter. And then things seem to be sort of levelized 1x or a little bit greater book-to-bill throughout the rest of the year. Is that what we should look for kind of next year? Or is there any kind of gyrations or things you should watch for on cadence around IRA allowing projects to move forward or not that we should think about? Just as far as getting confidence in 2025.

事實上，亞歷克斯·弗拉貝爾（Alex Vrabel）取代朱利安（Julien）。恭喜你們。恭喜你，馬努。我們會在您的下一次旅程中想念您，但這裡取得了很好的成績。也許我的第一個問題是——你們，顯然，明年的成長有很多指導，顯然 25 財年的跡像也很強勁。好奇的是，當我們考慮支持這一點的預訂節奏時，如果我回顧過去，似乎你們在第一季看到了相當大的進步。然後，在今年剩下的時間裡，訂單出貨比似乎會增加一倍或更高。這是我們明年該尋找的嗎？或者，在 IRA 周圍是否有任何類型的迴轉或事情值得我們關注，從而使專案能夠向前推進，而我們是否應該考慮？就2025年的信心而言。

Yes. Maybe what I think we'll be kind of the next step-up will be the domestic content going back to it. So that which will happen over the year. It's difficult to have a seasonality on order intake to be very, very sincere with you. It changes over time. So I cannot give you a guidance as you expect much bigger first quarter and then everything kind of staying the same. It's difficult to give you a view on that from where we are today.

是的。也許我認為我們的下一步將是國內內容的回歸。所以這將在一年內發生。訂單量的季節性很難對您非常非常真誠。它隨著時間的推移而變化。因此，我無法給您指導，因為您預計第一季會更大，然後一切都保持不變。從我們今天的情況來看，很難向您提供對此的看法。

We -- what we can say is that we feel very, very comfortable about our '24 and '25 guidance and with what -- when we see how our converting pipeline into backlog. And we are in discussions with our customers, we feel that we're going to be able to meet very, very comfortably the '24 and '25 volume guidance that we just mentioned. So...

我們可以說的是，當我們看到我們如何將管道轉換為待辦事項時，我們對我們的 24 和 25 指導以及內容感到非常非常滿意。我們正在與客戶進行討論，我們認為我們將能夠非常非常輕鬆地滿足我們剛才提到的 '24 和 '25 卷指導。所以...

That's what I can say. I don't want -- first, I don't want to manage this company by quarter. I've told my team, there's not -- there's the deals, the right deals, don't worry about meeting a quarter number because in terms of backlog, it doesn't really matter as long as we feel confident that we can make it happen, just do it whenever we get it.

這就是我能說的。我不想——首先，我不想按季度管理這家公司。我告訴我的團隊，沒有——有交易，正確的交易，不要擔心達到四分之一的數量，因為就積壓而言，只要我們有信心能夠完成訂單，這並不重要。它發生了，只要我們得到它就去做。

Yes. Many of your peers would say, you're in the large project business. I know they sort of pointed the same. Maybe if I can just ask, obviously, a strong environment for storage, obviously, sort of a very price-elastic product as far as how the returns evolve, but the other thing I want to ask about is how much of this is just -- I mean, as far as the volume growth that you guys are able to put up, how much of this is sort of new customers or a higher win rate as opposed to the size of the projects you're seeing are just ballooning in size?

是的。您的許多同行會說，您從事的是大型專案業務。我知道他們的觀點是一樣的。也許如果我可以問，顯然，一個強大的存儲環境，顯然，就回報如何變化而言，這是一種價格彈性非常大的產品，但我想問的另一件事是，其中有多少只是 - - 我的意思是，就你們能夠實現的數量增長而言，其中有多少是新客戶或更高的獲勝率，而不是你們所看到的項目規模不斷膨脹？

Because if we look at the developer side, it seems like we've gone from 200-megawatt hours to 2 gigawatt hour projects in 1.5 years, and I'm just sort of curious how much of that is really kind of driving the confidence here? Where it's not just -- we have to win a bunch of new customers. It's literally just, hey, it's the same customers, the projects are just 5x bigger than they used to be 2 years ago. You can kind of expand on that?

因為如果我們從開發商的角度來看，我們似乎在 1.5 年內就從 200 兆瓦時發展到了 2 千兆瓦時項目，我只是好奇其中有多少真正推動了這裡的信心？我們不僅必須贏得一批新客戶。從字面上看，嘿，都是同樣的客戶，專案只是比兩年前大 5 倍。您可以對此進行擴充嗎？

Yes. My view is that, all of the above. Clearly, our customers are doing bigger projects for grade. We're also entering new markets like Canada, which are new customers that we didn't have before. and doing more work in Germany. So I will say in the U.S., it's mostly our projects getting bigger. In outside of the U.S. is new customers we're working with, and that's kind of the way I will put it. So we have a lot of repeated customers constantly all the time, but we're also looking to -- for customers that meet our profile, trying to entice them to come and work with us. So it's a...

是的。我的觀點是，以上都是。顯然，我們的客戶正在做更大的專案。我們也進入了加拿大等新市場，這是我們以前沒有的新客戶。並在德國做更多的工作。所以我想說，在美國，主要是我們的計畫變得越來越大。我們正在與美國以外的新客戶合作，這就是我所說的方式。因此，我們一直都有很多回頭客，但我們也在尋找符合我們概況的客戶，試圖吸引他們來與我們合作。所以這是一個...

I think in general, as the project sizes get bigger across, at least in the U.S. and also outside the U.S. Given the fact that we have one of the select set of providers that can provide a multitude of attributes between great safety records, bankability, supply chain, flexibility on attribute management. I think the current customers keep coming back to us and we're starting to see new customers who now want to work with partners who can manage large projects with multiple attributes start to come our way.

我認為總的來說，隨著專案規模越來越大，至少在美國以及美國以外的地區，考慮到我們擁有精選的一組提供者之一，可以提供良好的安全記錄、可融資性、供應鏈，屬性管理的彈性。我認為當前的客戶不斷回到我們身邊，我們開始看到新客戶現在希望與能夠管理具有多種屬性的大型專案的合作夥伴合作。

That's a way to think about how we step up as we go through the years.

這是我們思考這些年來如何進步的一種方式。

Our next question comes from the line of Chris Ellinghaus with Siebert Williams Shank.

我們的下一個問題來自 Chris Ellinghaus 和 Siebert Williams Shank。

Congrats to Manu and Ahmed. The fourth quarter, the adjusted gross margin was 11.6%. Is that informative for 2024 relative to the guidance? Or were there some special circumstances there, particularly related to the legacy contracts?

恭喜馬努和艾哈邁德。第四季度，調整後毛利率為11.6%。相對於 2024 年的指導意見，這是否提供了資訊？或者是否存在一些特殊情況，特別是與遺留合約相關的情況？

I think our guidance is 10% to 12% -- midpoint is 11%. In the fourth quarter, there were some change orders that help. That's what I will say. That helped bring it up beyond above the -- and those are difficult to predict. So that's the way I will put it.

我認為我們的指導是 10% 到 12%——中點是 11%。第四季度，出現了一些有幫助的變更單。這就是我要說的。這幫助它超越了——而這些是很難預測的。我就是這麼說的。

Okay. And Julian, you talked a lot about battery costs, but there's a bit of a slowdown in EV sales. Are you expecting that to maybe be a tailwind for battery costs in '24?

好的。朱利安，您談論了很多關於電池成本的問題，但電動車銷售略有放緩。您是否預計這可能會成為 24 年電池成本的推動因素？

I think that today, my view is that I don't think prices will continue coming down. That's our current view. It will stay kind of where they are. They won't go up, but I don't see these prices of batteries, lithium and lithium carbonate coming down below where we are, but if I knew where they were going to trade, I wouldn't be doing this job, but we do something where you make a lot more money to be very specific with you. But that's our view. And I think that talking to our suppliers, talking to the market and our [business] to China, we're in kind of -- that's kind of where things will be comfortable that that's the way to think about it.

我認為今天我的觀點是我不認為價格會繼續下跌。這是我們目前的觀點。它將保持原樣。它們不會上漲，但我不認為電池、鋰和碳酸鋰的價格會低於我們的水平，但如果我知道它們將在哪裡交易，我就不會做這份工作，但我們做一些能讓你賺更多錢的事情，對你來說是非常具體的。但這是我們的觀點。我認為，與我們的供應商交談，與市場交談，以及與中國的[業務]交談，我們會感到很舒服，這就是思考問題的方式。

Our next question comes from the line of Pavel Molchanov with Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題來自帕維爾·莫爾查諾夫（Pavel Molchanov）和雷蒙德·詹姆斯（Raymond James）的對話。

As you look to boost your services and software revenue, would you be open to the idea of placing some battery assets on your own balance sheet from the perspective of virtual power plants, peak shaving, rate arbitrage, any of these services that Fluence could participate in directly?

當您希望提高服務和軟體收入時，您是否願意從虛擬發電廠、調峰、費率套利以及 Fluence 可以參與的任何這些服務的角度將一些電池資產納入您自己的資產負債表中？直接進去？

Yes, not really. I mean my view on this is that it's our customers. It's our customer's job, they should do it. If I start doing what my customers do, is a recipe for [diaster]. So no, no, I'm not planning -- we're not planning to get into the storage business, using storage as a service business to (inaudible) .

是的，不是真的。我的意思是，我對此的看法是，這是我們的客戶。這是我們客戶的工作，他們應該做。如果我開始做我的客戶所做的事情，就會導致[災難]。所以不，不，我不打算——我們不打算進入儲存業務，使用儲存作為服務業務（聽不清楚）。

Understood. A quick follow-up on M&A. As you look at potential software acquisitions like AMS a couple of years ago, is it fair to say that valuation multiples on -- in a private company arena have come down quite a bit since AMS, for example?

明白了。併購的快速跟進。當你審視幾年前 AMS 等潛在的軟體收購時，是否可以公平地說，自 AMS 以來，私人公司領域的估值倍數已經下降了很多？

Yes. I mean, as I said, we are not actually in the market. So I'm not testing prices. So I cannot give you first evidence of where prices are for potential acquisitions. So -- but generally, I heard what you're telling me, what I hear from the banks is that when they come and pitch me stuff that there's all these great opportunities around. But as I said, we're not we're not jumping around. We're not -- we are in the process of capturing growth.

是的。我的意思是，正如我所說，我們實際上並沒有進入市場。所以我不會測試價格。因此，我無法向您提供潛在收購價格的第一手證據。所以，但總的來說，我聽到你告訴我的，我從銀行那裡聽到的是，當他們來向我推銷東西時，周圍有很多很好的機會。但正如我所說，我們不會到處亂跳。我們不是——我們正在實現成長。

Our next question comes from the line of Ameet Thakkar with BMO Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Ameet Thakkar。

Hopefully, two quick ones here. It looks like we talked a little bit about ASPs out in '24, but it looks like in the current quarter for your revenue recognition megawatts were kind of flat at 600 megawatts, but pretty big revenue increase. I was just wondering what kind of caused that big kind of step-up in ASP. Was it the change orders you mentioned a little while ago, Julian?

希望這裡有兩個快點。看起來我們在 24 年談論了一些關於 ASP 的問題，但看起來在本季度，您的收入確認兆瓦在 600 兆瓦上持平，但收入增長相當大。我只是想知道到底是什麼原因導致了 ASP 的大幅提升。是你剛才提到的變更單嗎，朱利安？

That is correct. I think it's a combination of project mix and change orders.

那是對的。我認為這是專案組合和變更單的結合。

So we should kind of think of that as a little bit of a kind of a one-off?

那麼我們應該將其視為一次性的嗎？

Yes. Look, remember, as we run off our legacy projects, some of them were signed way back in '22, early '23. You should expect the ASPs to kind of reflect what's happening with the battery prices. But as we said, our margins continue to be intact and grow through '24 and '25.

是的。請記住，當我們處理遺留項目時，其中一些項目早在 22 年、23 年初就已簽署。您應該預期平均售價能夠反映電池價格的變化。但正如我們所說，我們的利潤率在 2024 年和 25 年期間繼續保持不變並不斷增長。

Great. And then I think in your kind of cash flow guidance, you included the impact of deposits for the AESC's battery U.S. cells. I was wondering if you could kind of give us a little bit of clarity on what the magnitude of that is and when that cash comes back to you?

偉大的。然後，我認為在您的現金流量指導中，您考慮了 AESC 美國電池押金的影響。我想知道您是否可以向我們介紹一下這筆資金的規模以及這些現金何時會退還給您？

Yes. So what we've said is, I think it's $150 million over a 2-year period. I think it's roughly half and half between '24 and '25. Half of it gets financed through customer deposits and the other half we get financed through our own liquidity sources. And as you can see, we have ample of them. And then as the product starts coming through, we get it a little bit as we -- as AESC ships the product to us. So you should start to see some of that deposit come back to us starting end of '24, '25, along with the supply of the sales.

是的。所以我們所說的是，我認為兩年內需要 1.5 億美元。我認為24年到25年之間大約是一半一半。其中一半透過客戶存款融資，另一半我們透過自己的流動性來源融資。正如你所看到的，我們有足夠的。然後，當產品開始交付時，我們會在 AESC 將產品運送給我們時得到一些資訊。因此，您應該開始看到一些定金從 24 年末、25 年末開始連同銷售供應一起返還給我們。

Our next question comes from the line of Thomas Curran with Seaport Research Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自 Thomas Curran 和 Seaport Research Partners 的電話。

Manu, kudos on making so many positive contributions in such a short period of time and best of luck on the private side of the auto parts world. Ahmed, congratulations on (inaudible). Yes. Yes. We are quick to count on it. And then I made congratulations on stepping into some big shoes, I look forward to collaborating with you.

馬努，在如此短的時間內做出如此多的積極貢獻，祝你在汽車零件世界的私人方面好運。艾哈邁德，恭喜（聽不清楚）。是的。是的。我們很快就可以指望它了。然後我祝賀你踏入了大舞台，我期待與你的合作。

A follow-up on how the nature of storage projects have been evolving. It was just touched on about how the size of them has soared over the last 18 to 24 months. We've also seen an uptrend in the average duration of systems being installed. Would you expect that ever longer duration trend continue? And if so, what are some of the specifics of how you're positioning Fluence to ensure that strategically, technologically and supply chain-wise, you're staying ahead of that trend?

關於儲存項目性質如何演變的後續報導。剛剛談到了過去 18 到 24 個月內它們的規模如何飆升。我們也發現所安裝系統的平均持續時間呈現上升趨勢。您認為持續時間較長的趨勢會持續下去嗎？如果是這樣，您如何定位 Fluence 以確保您在策略、技術和供應鏈方面保持領先這一趨勢的具體細節是什麼？

Thomas, it's Rebecca. So what we see right now and what we're developing and delivering from the product road map really is still on that 2-, 4- and 6-hour duration systems. So kind of in the next 18 to 24 months, we're going to deliver what we deliver, which is not yet the multi-day or longer duration than that.

湯瑪斯，我是麗貝卡。因此，我們現在看到的以及我們正在開發和交付的產品路線圖實際上仍然是在 2 小時、4 小時和 6 小時持續時間系統上。因此，在接下來的 18 到 24 個月內，我們將交付我們交付的產品，但這還不是多天或更長的持續時間。

What we're doing from a product road map perspective is we're examining what's out there in the crystal ball of battery chemistries that allow for longer duration solutions. And we're just starting now to engage with those suppliers and put prototyping efforts in place. So when those things become more viable in the market, we will be ready.

從產品路線圖的角度來看，我們正在做的是研究電池化學水晶球中的內容，以實現更長的解決方案。我們現在才剛開始與這些供應商合作並進行原型設計工作。因此，當這些東西在市場上變得更加可行時，我們就會做好準備。

Makes sense, Rebecca. And then just looking to dissect the contracted backlog a bit further. I was hoping you could share 2 percentages with us. First, what's the portion of the current backlog that's nonrelated parties? And then could you give us a rough estimate for how much of it represents mega projects and storage of the transmission asset combined?

有道理，麗貝卡。然後只是想進一步剖析合約積壓的訂單。我希望你能與我們分享 2 個百分點。首先，目前積壓的訂單中有多少是非關聯方？那麼您能否給我們一個粗略的估計，其中有多少代表了大型專案和輸電資產的儲存總量？

So on the unrelated party, it's around 75%. As we said, we want to -- I want to bring it to around 20%. So we're kind of -- it will be bumpy, so -- but now on us, as projects are big, but I think we are -- it's been coming down and around 20% will be a number I feel comfortable with. So today, I think it's around 75%. So it's kind of in line with what -- and our -- if you looked at our revenue for the year, I think it was around 29%, with -- 29% with related parties and 61% with so. And it should tend to go towards a 75% revenue and then at some point, get to the 80% that I just talked about. And then you were saying on standalone. That was the second part of your question?

所以對於非關聯方來說，大約是75%。正如我們所說，我們希望——我希望將其提高到 20% 左右。所以我們有點——這會很坎坷，所以——但現在對我們來說，因為項目很大，但我認為我們——它一直在下降，大約 20% 將是一個我感到滿意的數字。所以今天，我認為大約是 75%。因此，這與我們的收入相符，如果你看看我們今年的收入，我認為約為 29%，其中 29% 與關聯方相關，61% 與關聯方相關。它應該傾向於實現 75% 的收入，然後在某個時候達到我剛才談到的 80%。然後你說的是獨立的。這是你問題的第二部分？

Just trying to get a sense, either if you want to break them out, that would be great. But even if you just want to look at them on a combined basis, the percentage of the contracted backlog that's either a mega project or storage as transmission assets?

只是想了解一下，如果你想打破它們，那就太好了。但即使您只想綜合考慮它們，大型專案或作為傳輸資產的儲存的合約積壓的百分比？

Yes. No. It's difficult to prefer not to go into that. So at this stage, but we have a lot of flavors in that pipeline, that what we're hopeful for.

是的。不。很難不去討論這個問題。所以在這個階段，我們有很多口味，這是我們所希望的。

Yes. Hence my curiosity.

是的。因此我的好奇心。

I think that -- I think it's better to keep it with this view, and that allows us -- all of us to work better as we move forward. Thanks for the question. I think this is one of our successes the ability to continue growing with -- we are unrelated party transactions that's growing at a much higher rate than the 35% to 40%, as you can see from where our pipeline stands today and where our revenue stands today.

我認為——我認為最好保持這種觀點，這讓我們——我們所有人在前進的過程中能夠更好地工作。謝謝你的提問。我認為這是我們的成功之一，能夠繼續成長——我們的非關聯方交易的成長速度遠高於 35% 至 40%，正如您從我們今天的管道狀況和我們的收入中看到的那樣今天站著。

Thank you for your questions. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a wonderful day.

謝謝您的提問。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。祝大家有美好的一天。