Flowers Foods Inc (FLO) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Flower Foods Third Quarter 2024 Results Conference Call. Please be advised that today's event is being recorded.

早安，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Flower Foods 2024 年第三季業績電話會議。請注意，今天的活動正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your opening speaker today, J.T. Rieck, Executive Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給今天的開幕演講者 J.T. Rieck，財務與投資者關係執行副總裁。請繼續。

Thank you, Josh, and good morning. I hope everyone had the opportunity to review our earnings release, listen to our prepared remarks and view the slide presentation posted earlier on our Investor Relations website. After today's Q&A session, we will also post an audio replay of this call.

謝謝你，喬什，早安。我希望每個人都有機會回顧我們的收益發布，聆聽我們準備好的評論並觀看之前在我們的投資者關係網站上發布的幻燈片演示。今天的問答環節結束後，我們也將發布本次通話的音訊重播。

Please note that in this Q&A session, we may make forward-looking statements about the company's performance. Although we believe these statements to be reasonable, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.

請注意，在本次問答環節中，我們可能會對公司業績做出前瞻性陳述。儘管我們認為這些陳述是合理的，但它們存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果出現重大差異。

In addition to what you hear in these remarks, important factors relating to Flowers Foods business are fully detailed in our SEC filings. We also provide non-GAAP financial measures for which disclosure and reconciliations are provided in the earnings release and at the end of the slide presentation on our website.

除了您在這些言論中聽到的內容之外，與 Flowers Foods 業務相關的重要因素在我們的 SEC 文件中也有詳細說明。我們還提供非公認會計原則財務指標，並在我們網站的收益發布和幻燈片演示的末尾提供披露和調節。

Joining me today are Ryals McMullian, Chairman and CEO; and Steve Kinsey, our CFO. Ryals, I'll turn it over to you.

今天與我一起出席的還有董事長兼執行長 Ryals McMullian；和我們的財務長史蒂夫金賽。賴爾斯，我會把它交給你。

Good morning, everybody. We're quite pleased with the strong performance of our leading brands in what continues to be a pretty challenging environment. While consumers value-seeking behavior pressured category sales, we did grow dollars and units in fresh packaged breads. And that growth drove the largest share gains in the category, which validates our investments in differentiation. In our other segment, execution of our portfolio strategy enabled sales growth as strong pricing initiatives more than offset volume losses.

大家早安。我們對我們的領先品牌在仍然充滿挑戰的環境中的強勁表現感到非常滿意。雖然消費者的價值追求行為給品類銷售帶來了壓力，但我們的新鮮包裝麵包的銷售和銷售確實有所增長。這種成長推動了該類別中最大的份額成長，這驗證了我們在差異化方面的投資。在我們的其他部門，我們的投資組合策略的執行促進了銷售成長，因為強有力的定價措施足以抵消銷售損失。

As we look to close out the year and look ahead to 2025, we remain focused on enhancing shareholder value, of course, and delivering results consistent with our long-term financial targets. That process includes maximizing our opportunities in areas that we can control by targeting pockets of growth in branded retail, margining up our private label and away-from-home businesses and executing on our cost savings plan.

當我們結束這一年並展望 2025 年時，當然，我們仍然專注於提高股東價值，並提供符合我們長期財務目標的績效。這個過程包括透過瞄準品牌零售的成長點、提高自有品牌和離家業務的利潤率以及執行我們的成本節約計劃，在我們可以控制的領域中最大化我們的機會。

So Josh, with that, we'll open up the floor for questions.

喬希，接下來我們將開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) Steve Powers, Deutsche Bank.

（操作員指令）Steve Powers，德意志銀行。

I was hoping we could actually start with the areas of expansion as we think about next year, both Dave's Snack Bites and Wonder. Just give a little sense for sort of the scale of those expansions and the ramp you're expecting?

我希望我們能真正從明年考慮的擴張領域開始，包括 Dave's Snack Bites 和 Wonder。只是對這些擴展的規模和您期望的斜坡有一點了解嗎？

And I guess a little bit of -- a little bit more detail around on the Wonder side, your confidence in the sweet baked goods category, which has obviously faced some pressure of late? And on the Daves side, just a little bit more detail on where you think you're going to get placement for those snack bites and just signs of confidence that you haven't -- we're not at risk of overextending that brand, I guess, is the question?

我想，關於 Wonder 方面的更多細節，您對甜烘焙食品類別的信心，該類別最近顯然面臨著一些壓力？在戴夫斯方面，只是更詳細地說明您認為您將在哪裡獲得這些零食的位置，以及您沒有的信心跡象 - 我們沒有過度擴展該品牌的風險，我想，問題是？

Yes, of course. Let me start with the Wonder line. We should -- we'll probably have more details for you on that in February. I mean, we're very early in rolling it out to customers. I can tell you that the early returns have been quite good. There's been a lot of enthusiasm from retailers. We noted the top 10 item at the NACS show just a few weeks back. So the items are unique. The quality is fantastic. The packaging looks great.

是的當然。讓我從 Wonder 系列開始。我們應該—我們可能會在二月向您提供更多相關細節。我的意思是，我們很早就向客戶推出了它。我可以告訴你，早期的回報是相當不錯的。零售商對此表現出了極大的熱情。幾週前，我們在 NACS 展會上註意到了前 10 款產品。所以這些物品都是獨一無二的。品質非常棒。包裝看起來很棒。

And honestly, we all know we need some help in the sweet baked goods category. I mean the category has been down -- we have not -- we performed kind of in line with the category, but that's not a good story. And so I think the important takeaway is that we are taking proactive steps to inject some growth into that category, and we're quite excited about doing it with the Wonder brand just given a very high unaided awareness for Wonder.

老實說，我們都知道我們在甜烘焙食品類別中需要一些幫助。我的意思是，該類別已經下降 - 我們沒有 - 我們的表現與該類別一致，但這不是一個好故事。因此，我認為重要的一點是，我們正在採取積極主動的措施，為該類別注入一些增長，並且我們對與 Wonder 品牌一起這樣做感到非常興奮，因為人們對 Wonder 的認知度非常高。

In terms of the DKB snack line, the bars continue to do well, the original three. The protein bars, we have more SKU innovation in the pipeline to deliver as early as next year. And then, of course, as you mentioned, the snack bites as well.

就DKB零食系列而言，酒吧繼續表現出色，原來的三個。對於蛋白質棒，我們正在醞釀更多 SKU 創新，最快將於明年交付。當然，正如你提到的，零食也很美味。

Steve, I don't think we're in danger of overextending. I mean if anything, if you take the bars, for example, shelf space and visibility are so important. And we were out of the gate with three SKUs did quite well, but now expanding to six and then beyond on that.

史蒂夫，我不認為我們有過度擴張的危險。我的意思是，如果有的話，例如，如果以酒吧為例，貨架空間和可見度非常重要。我們一開始推出的 3 個 SKU 表現相當不錯，但現在擴展到 6 個，甚至更多。

And then, of course, the snack bites are completely differentiated from that and in a different category and quite unique for the category. There's really nothing quite like it out there. Most analogous, I would say, is probably some of the granola products that you see out on the shelf. But with three savory items, three sweet items, we're very excited about the prospects for that. Retailer acceptance of it has been great.

當然，零食與此完全不同，屬於不同的類別，對於該類別而言非常獨特。真的沒有什麼比這更好的了。我想說，最相似的可能是你在貨架上看到的一些格蘭諾拉麥片產品。但憑藉三種鹹味食品和三種甜味食品，我們對其前景感到非常興奮。零售商對其的接受度很高。

But I always like to remind you guys that these things take time. I mean this is very much like a startup. And it takes a while to get the ramp to build the consumer base. Some of these consumers are not current DKB shoppers, which is great because we're expanding consumption of the brand, but it does take time to do that. Having said all that, we remain very bullish on this burgeoning snack business we have for DKB.

但我總是想提醒大家，這些事情需要時間。我的意思是，這很像一家新創公司。建立消費者基礎需要一段時間。其中一些消費者不是當前的 DKB 購物者，這很好，因為我們正在擴大該品牌的消費，但這確實需要時間。話雖如此，我們仍然非常看好 DKB 蓬勃發展的零食業務。

Okay. Great. And I'll pass it on, but I did want to ask Steve, if I could, on the CapEx reduction for the year. It does look like it's not the ERP side because that actually went up a little bit. Can you maybe just talk about what drove the reduction? And is that sort of -- is that true kind of efficiency? Or is that going to be something we should consider as we think about capital planning in '25?

好的。偉大的。我會轉告，但我確實想問史蒂夫，如果可以的話，關於今年資本支出削減的問題。看起來確實不是 ERP 方面，因為實際上上升了一點。您能否談談推動減少的原因？這是一種真正的效率嗎？或者說，當我們考慮 25 年的資本規劃時，這是否是我們應該考慮的事情？

Sure, Steve. This is Steve. I mean the main reason for the change there is really just kind of the pace of spend for the year. I mean, you're right, it's not necessarily ERP, it's other projects, primarily bakery. And a lot of those got pushed, we just weren't able to get to them. So they will roll over to 2025. So you should consider that as you think about next year.

當然，史蒂夫。這是史蒂夫。我的意思是，這種變化的主要原因實際上是今年的支出速度。我的意思是，你是對的，這不一定是 ERP，而是其他項目，主要是麵包店。其中很多都是被推動的，我們只是無法觸及它們。所以他們將延期到 2025 年。所以你在考慮明年的時候應該要考慮這一點。

Bill Chappell, Truist Securities.

比爾‧查普爾 (Bill Chappell)，Truist 證券公司。

Just wanted to talk a little bit about the sweet baked goods or the snack cake business. And just on the declines, are you seeing anything different, kind of a year in, from Smucker's owning Hostess, in terms of more competitive, more promotion, or even pushing down into kind of the store brand type stuff? Or is this just kind of the continued kind of ups and downs of the category for you?

只是想談談甜烘焙食品或小吃蛋糕業務。就在下降的過程中，你是否看到與 Smucker 旗下的 Hostess 相比一年來有什麼不同，在更具競爭力、更多促銷，甚至是推出商店品牌類型的東西方面？或者這對你來說只是該類別的持續起伏？

Yes. I think for us, it's just more generally --

是的。我認為對我們來說，這只是更普遍的事情--

Please hold. Your --

請稍等。你的--

Bill, can you hear me?

比爾，你聽得到我說話嗎？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. There was a sound interruption there. Yes, it's really just the ups and downs of the category. I think that is more attributable to consumers pulling back on discretionary spend pulling back on indulgence. You've seen some weakness even in the salty snack category, which has typically been very strong. I think it's temporary. But I do think it relates to consumers' pocketbooks more than anything else.

好的。那裡有聲音中斷。是的，這確實只是該類別的起伏。我認為這更多地歸因於消費者減少了可自由支配的支出以及減少了放縱。即使在鹹味零食類別中，您也看到了一些弱點，該類別通常非常強大。我認為這是暫時的。但我確實認為這與消費者的錢包關係最密切。

Got it. And just to follow up on what -- as you've seen this in the past, how long do you think it lasts? Just -- this doesn't seem to be a dire financial crisis. It's just pulling back. So do you think you can get back to growth as we move into '25? Or is it just too early to tell?

知道了。只是為了跟進——正如您過去所看到的那樣，您認為這種情況會持續多久？只是──這似乎不是一場可怕的金融危機。它只是向後拉。那麼，您認為進入 25 年後您能恢復成長嗎？還是現在說還太早？

Well, I mean, I don't have a crystal ball, but I think it's -- it would be reasonable to think that at some point next year, things start to normalize and the category gets a little bit healthier. I mean, you'll recall among before we hit this inflationary cycle. The sweet baked goods category was the strongest of the snacking categories despite all the stuff, health and wellness trends going on out there. So I do expect it to return.

嗯，我的意思是，我沒有水晶球，但我認為，在明年的某個時候，情況開始正常化，該類別變得更加健康，這是合理的。我的意思是，你會記得在我們進入這個通膨週期之前。儘管各種食品、健康和保健趨勢不斷發展，但甜烘焙食品類別是零食類別中最強勁的。所以我確實希望它能夠回歸。

We're focused on delivering super high-quality items to the consumer under great brands. And that's why we're excited about this Wonder brand. Tastykake is a great, iconic Philadelphia brand but for us, just speaking for us specifically doesn't play quite as well outside of that category. And I think you've seen that over the last several years, particularly as Hostess got stronger out of bankruptcy. So pivoting a bit to the Wonder brand, we think, can help us be more competitive with some of those stronger brands in the category, particularly if we deliver on the quality promise.

我們專注於以偉大的品牌為消費者提供超高品質的產品。這就是為什麼我們對這個 Wonder 品牌感到興奮。Tastykake 是一個偉大的、標誌性的費城品牌，但對我們來說，僅僅為我們自己說話，在這個類別之外並沒有發揮得那麼好。我想你在過去幾年裡已經看到了這一點，尤其是 Hostess 從破產中變得更加強大。因此，我們認為，稍微轉向 Wonder 品牌可以幫助我們在與該類別中一些更強大的品牌的競爭中更具競爭力，特別是如果我們兌現品質承諾的話。

Got it. And just sorry, one more. On the promotional level of the bread, bun and roll business, is it primarily coming from the largest competitor? Or are you seeing it in the smaller regional players as well?

知道了。抱歉，還有一個。麵包捲業務的促銷層面，是否主要來自於最大的競爭對手？或者您在較小的區域參與者中也看到了這種情況嗎？

Yes. I mean it's fairly broad-based. And look, I mean, our promotional activity has increased, too. Now the intensity of that is not as high, and we're still very well below pre-pandemic levels, but we've increased our promotions, too. So it's across the category. However, with our number one in differentiated brands, we are seeing pretty good lift from those promotions. And I think that may be a little bit different than what some others may have said.

是的。我的意思是它的基礎相當廣泛。我的意思是，你看，我們的促銷活動也有所增加。現在，這種情況的強度沒有那麼高，我們仍然遠低於大流行前的水平，但我們也增加了促銷。所以它是跨類別的。然而，由於我們在差異化品牌中排名第一，我們看到這些促銷活動帶來了相當大的提升。我認為這可能與其他人所說的有些不同。

Robert Dickerson, Jefferies.

羅伯特·迪克森，傑弗里斯。

Great. Maybe just quick housekeeping. I think you said in the prepared remarks, some of the trends didn’t continue in Q3 relative to Q2, but then kind of improved at the end of the quarter. It sounds like maybe a little help from a hurricane. So I'm just curious, I'm not sure if you want to quantify or if you can quantify how much do you think that might have helped the quarter? And then maybe how you kind of saw those trends coming out of the hurricane, even though it's only been a couple of weeks?

偉大的。也許只是快速的家事服務。我認為您在準備好的發言中說過，相對於第二季度，一些趨勢在第三季度沒有持續，但在季度末有所改善。聽起來颶風或許能帶來一點幫助。所以我只是很好奇，我不確定您是否想要量化，或者您是否可以量化您認為這可能對本季有多大幫助？然後也許您如何看待颶風帶來的這些趨勢，即使這只是幾週的時間？

Yes. So some of the stronger category trends that we noted in didn't continue. It did get a little bit weaker as we moved through the third quarter. The hurricanes had an impact, Rob, but not particularly material, honestly. I mean it did help. It was positive, of course but not really that significant in the quarter. I think, again, the important thing to emphasize specifically to Flowers in the quarter is that while the category continues to be a bit soft, we're outperforming the category.

是的。因此，我們注意到的一些更強勁的類別趨勢並沒有持續下去。當我們進入第三季時，它確實變得有點疲軟。羅布，颶風確實產生了影響，但老實說，影響並不是特別重大。我的意思是它確實有幫助。當然，這是積極的，但在本季度並不那麼重要。我認為，本季要特別強調花卉的重要一點是，雖然該類別仍然有點疲軟，但我們的表現優於該類別。

And our -- if you look at fresh packaged breads, our units were up some 70 basis points. We gained 20 basis points of dollar share, 20 basis points in share, both of those, the largest among competitors in the category. So our innovation, our brands, our differentiated items continue to make a difference even in the face of a bit of a soft category at the moment.

如果你看看新鮮包裝的麵包，我們的單位上漲了約 70 個基點。我們的美元份額提高了 20 個基點，市佔率提高了 20 個基點，這兩項都是同類競爭對手中最大的。因此，即使目前類別有點軟，我們的創新、我們的品牌、我們的差異化產品仍然會繼續發揮作用。

Okay. Great. And then maybe just more broadly speaking, you also had made the comments around the perimeter of the store doing a little bit better, and maybe that's helping certain subcategories of overall bread like buns or tortillas. And I'm just curious, maybe if you could just opine on that a bit, like someone's buying chicken on the perimeter of the store, I mean, I guess a burger, or using a bun, chicken, maybe you're going to throw it in a tortilla. So maybe there's just kind of a little switch in terms of like traditional sandwich bread relative to some of the other subcategories.

好的。偉大的。然後，也許更廣泛地說，您還對商店週邊的評論做了更好的處理，也許這有助於整體麵包的某些子類別，例如小圓麵包或玉米餅。我只是很好奇，也許如果你能對此發表一點意見，就像有人在商店週邊買雞肉一樣，我的意思是，我猜是漢堡，或者使用麵包、雞肉，也許你會把它扔進玉米餅裡。因此，也許傳統三明治麵包相對於其他一些子類別有一點小小的轉變。

And then, I guess, just kind of as like a tack on to that, you always kind of comment on M&A when you say kind of the deal activities out there, right? Are any of those areas that you actually would like to be bigger in, just to kind of diversify that portfolio?

然後，我想，就像對此的補充，當你說那裡的交易活動時，你總是對併購發表評論，對吧？您是否確實希望在這些領域中擴大規模，只是為了使投資組合多樣化？

In terms of the perimeter, you mean?

你指的是周長？

Yes. Just like buy a big tortilla brand. Now we have tortillas. We have lunch bread, and keto, and buns.

是的。就像買一個大品牌的玉米餅一樣。現在我們有玉米餅。我們午餐吃麵包、酮和小圓麵包。

Yes. I mean, look, we've said before, we're looking across baked goods. So that picks up the perimeter, that picks up the freezer case, that picks up center-store takes up away from home and convenience, those sorts of things. So we're looking across the expanse of Baked Foods, which altogether is a massive total category.

是的。我的意思是，看，我們之前說過，我們正在尋找烘焙食品。因此，它會拾取週邊，拾取冰櫃，拾取中心商店的離家和便利，諸如此類的事情。因此，我們正在研究整個烘焙食品，這是一個龐大的總體類別。

In terms of the trends, if you harken back, Rob, the perimeter of the store was sort of a big deal, pre-pandemic, right? And I think coming out of the pandemic, one of the questions we would get every single quarter was when do you expect the reversion to happen? When do you expect the reversion to? We actually haven't gotten that question in many quarters, but I think that that's a bit of what you're seeing now in terms of shopping patterns but also the trend now to in-home meeting just given the inflationary pressures and consumers trying to stretch their food budget. I do think that that trend tends to impact the traditional segment of our business more than the other parts.

就趨勢而言，羅布，如果你回想一下，在大流行之前，商店的周邊是一件大事，對嗎？我認為，在疫情結束後，我們每季都會收到的問題之一是，您預計何時會出現回歸？您預計什麼時候恢復？事實上，我們在很多季度都沒有得到這個問題，但我認為這就是你現在在購物模式方面看到的一些情況，也是考慮到通貨膨脹壓力和消費者試圖在家開會的趨勢。預算。我確實認為這種趨勢對我們業務的傳統部分的影響往往比其他部分更大。

We've talked in the past how that's arguably the least differentiated piece of our portfolio and we have plans to increase that level of differentiation there to kind of fight back, but obviously, much less impact on the buns and rolls, as you mentioned, on the Dave's Killer Breads of the world, on the Canyons of the world. So we continue to beat this drum that innovation and differentiation matter, and that's what's fueling our business overall.

我們過去曾討論過，這可以說是我們投資組合中差異化程度最低的部分，我們計劃提高那裡的差異化水平以進行反擊，但顯然，正如您提到的，對麵包和麵包卷的影響要小得多，在世界上的戴夫殺手麵包上，在世界上的峽谷上。因此，我們繼續鼓吹創新和差異化很重要，這就是推動我們整體業務發展的動力。

Okay. Great. Makes sense. And then maybe just a quick one, one last one. Just around the guide for EBITDA. If we kind of think about what's implied maybe for Q4, it seems like at least at the midpoint, there could still be a little bit of year-over-year kind of margin improvement.

好的。偉大的。有道理。然後也許只是一個快速的，最後一個。就在 EBITDA 指南附近。如果我們考慮一下第四季度可能意味著什麼，看起來至少在中點，利潤率仍可能略有改善。

So kind of a couple of questions in here. Just kind of what -- and the range, I guess, for quarters still seems like a little wide, right, which is fair, complicated backdrop. But kind of curious like kind of what could get you to the higher end of that implied margin guide for Q4, maybe what gets you at the lower end? And then like is part of this just also kind of playing it safe just given the promotional environment all in and kind of how you're thinking about the price piece?

這裡有幾個問題。我想，季度的範圍似乎仍然有點寬，對吧，這是一個公平、複雜的背景。但有點好奇，什麼可以讓你達到第四季隱含利潤指南的較高端，也許什麼可以讓你達到較低端？然後，考慮到促銷環境以及您如何考慮價格，這也是一種謹慎行事的方式？

Yes. I think overall, it's just a continued conservative outlook. Look, I get that we're into the fourth quarter, and we -- on the one hand, you think why don't you have better visibility. I think that we do have that visibility, Rob, but we're just trying to remain cautious just given the outlook.

是的。我認為總體而言，這只是一種持續保守的觀點。聽著，我知道我們已經進入了第四季度，而我們——一方面，你認為為什麼不擁有更好的可見性。羅布，我認為我們確實有這樣的知名度，但考慮到前景，我們只是試圖保持謹慎。

We started off the year when we issued guidance, noting the things that could impact the year including increased promotional activity and some of those things have happened. But offsetting that has been fantastic execution on our savings program, great execution in the marketplace continuing to grow our bread bun and roll units.

我們在新年伊始發布了指導意見，指出了可能影響這一年的事情，包括促銷活動的增加，其中一些事情已經發生。但我們的儲蓄計劃的出色執行力以及市場上的出色執行力抵消了這一影響，我們的麵包和麵包卷單位繼續增長。

The drag on the business is away from home and primarily the QSR of the business, which has been a bit weaker than we anticipated, honestly, just with the shift to in-home due to elevated pricing. And we've already covered the weakness in the Cake business. The fresh packaged bread business is doing great. I mean there's just -- there's really no issue on that part of the business. It's really those other pieces.

對業務的拖累來自於遠離家鄉，主要是業務的 QSR，老實說，這比我們預期的要弱一些，只是由於價格上漲而轉向在家。我們已經彌補了蛋糕業務的弱點。新鮮包裝麵包生意做得很好。我的意思是，這部分業務確實沒有問題。確實是其他作品。

So your question, what could get you to the higher end of the range? A bit better performance out a cake and QSR and continued strong performance in the core of the business could get you to the upper end of that range.

那麼你的問題是，什麼能讓你達到這個範圍的高端？蛋糕和快餐的更好表現以及核心業務的持續強勁表現可以讓您達到該範圍的上限。

Jim Salera, Stephens.

吉姆·薩萊拉，史蒂芬斯。

Ryals, I wanted to dig down a little bit on the other category. And you talked about some of the headwinds in food service and certainly the softness in QSR is well known. Can you maybe break out how much of a headwind the foodservice was to other volume relative to the business exits? Because I think we still have some of those in the third quarter. So if we just strip those out, how much would the other volume have been down? And maybe any color on your private label piece in that category as well would be helpful.

Ryals，我想深入了解其他類別。您談到了餐飲服務領域的一些不利因素，當然 QSR 領域的疲軟是眾所周知的。您能否透露一下，相對於業務退出，餐飲服務對其他業務量的影響有多大？因為我認為第三季我們仍然有一些。那麼，如果我們把它們去掉，其他卷會減少多少？也許該類別中您的自有品牌單品上的任何顏色也會有所幫助。

Yes. So we were finishing out the cycling of the strategic exits in the third quarter. I would say sort of mid-single digits from strategic exits the rest of it is kind of channel category dynamics, if you will. So mostly external factors, Jim.

是的。因此，我們在第三季完成了戰略退出的循環。如果你願意的話，我想說的是策略退出的中個位數，其餘部分是通路類別的動態。所以主要是外在因素，吉姆。

But I would also say that the steps that we've taken in terms of pricing to improve the profitability of that business more than overcame the volume losses. So that's an important note to take away.

但我還要說，我們在定價方面採取的提高該業務盈利能力的措施不僅僅是克服了銷售損失。所以這是一個需要注意的重要事項。

For sure. And then -- so is it safe to say that if I break out, and I realize for competitive reasons, you guys don't break out the private label piece anymore? But is it safe to assume that the private label component of that other segment is positive on volume?

一定。然後——那麼可以肯定地說，如果我突破了，並且我意識到出於競爭原因，你們就不再突破自有品牌了？但是否可以安全地假設其他細分市場的自有品牌成分在銷售上是正面的？

Actually, no. The private label, if you look at the -- we can just talk syndicated data, actually, private label is losing share and our volume in private label was down as well. Private label pricing has increased a little bit, Jim, and the price gaps have narrowed a bit as private label is going up and branded has gotten promoted a little bit more. So now you're starting to see that shift back a bit more to branded.

事實上，沒有。自有品牌，如果你看一下——我們可以談論聯合數據，實際上，自有品牌正在失去份額，我們的自有品牌銷量也下降了。吉姆，自有品牌的定價增加，隨著自有品牌的上漲和品牌的推廣，價格差距也有所縮小。所以現在你開始看到這種轉變更轉向品牌化。

Okay. Great. And then I think you also mentioned in your prepared remarks, is it possible we could see some incremental benefit if you have some new business wins that ramp up faster just curious on what would be a driver of kind of a faster or slower ramp with new customers and is there anything that we, on the outside can kind of look at that might give us some insight into -- if it's scaling faster or scaling slower?

好的。偉大的。然後我想你在準備好的發言中也提到，如果你有一些新的業務增長得更快，我們是否有可能看到一些增量收益，只是好奇什麼是新業務更快或更慢增長的驅動因素。

Yes. So the new business for the remainder of the year has pretty much already been captured. Now obviously, we'll have more for 2025 but the incremental gains that we expected to get for this year have been captured. So when we get to the end of the year and we come back to you in February, we'll have a much clearer picture on just how well that went but we're off to a good start.

是的。因此，今年剩餘時間的新業務幾乎已經被捕獲。現在顯然，我們將在 2025 年獲得更多，但我們預計今年獲得的增量收益已經實現。因此，當我們到了年底並在二月再次與您聯繫時，我們將對進展有一個更清晰的了解，但我們已經有了一個很好的開始。

Service is good. It's great that we're ramping up with some of these customers that we needed to be more strategic with, if you will. And this is going to have a nice added benefit for our branded business as well, reaching more consumers.

服務很好。很高興我們能夠與其中一些客戶合作，如果您願意的話，我們需要對這些客戶採取更具策略性的策略。這也將為我們的品牌業務帶來額外的好處，吸引更多消費者。

Mitchell Pinheiro, Sturdivant & Company.

米切爾‧皮涅羅 (Mitchell Pinheiro)，Sturdivant & Company。

Yes. So I guess when you -- your fresh bread category gains, we're obviously at the expense, I guess, a little bit of private label but like who's losing share? Is it broad-based? Is it regionals, our major national competitors, where are your gains being picked up from, do you think?

是的。所以我想，當你——你的新鮮麵包類別增長時，我想，我們顯然是以犧牲一點自有品牌為代價的，但就像誰在失去份額一樣？其基礎廣泛嗎？是地區性的，還是我們主要的全國性競爭對手，您認為你們的收益是從哪裡獲得的？

They are coming some from private label. They are coming from some of the regionals, although other of the regionals are doing pretty well, actually. And Pepperidge, for example, looking at syndicated, they look like they had a good quarter. I know they're promoting a bit more, but it looks like they're also getting some lift. So I mean, it's coming from around the category, but that's not really a new story. I mean we -- Mitch, as we continue to talk about being a leader in innovation and bringing differentiated products to the consumers, that we're pulling business away from other competitors in the category due to that focus on innovation.

其中一些來自自有品牌。他們來自一些地區，儘管其他地區實際上做得很好。以佩佩里奇為例，看看辛迪加，他們看起來季度業績不錯。我知道他們的促銷力道更大，但看起來他們也得到了一些提升。所以我的意思是，它來自整個類別，但這並不是一個真正的新故事。我的意思是，米奇，當我們繼續談論成為創新領導者並為消費者帶來差異化產品時，由於對創新的關注，我們正在從該類別的其他競爭對手手中奪走業務。

I mean, is any of that coming in a geographic market dynamic like you happen to be winning more than east or west? Or can you talk a little bit about that?

我的意思是，在像您這樣的地理市場動態中，是否有任何一個因素恰好比東部或西部贏得更多？或者你能談談這個嗎？

Yes, sure. So it's been -- more recently, it's been stronger in, frankly, in newer markets, the Northeast, the Midwest, et cetera, where we've had a little bit of share of pressure, Mitch, has actually been in the Southeast. So it's our most mature market.

是的，當然。所以，最近，坦白說，在東北部、中西部等較新的市場，我們承受了一點壓力，米奇，實際上是在東南部。所以這是我們最成熟的市場。

There tends to be quite a bit more competitive activity on soft variety. I'm really kind of harping on software. We're still higher than we were five years ago, but we've seen a little bit of share erosion there. But obviously, we're aware of it and taking steps to counteract it.

軟品種的競爭活動往往更加激烈。我真的很喜歡軟體。我們仍然高於五年前，但我們看到份額略有下降。但顯然，我們已經意識到了這一點，並正在採取措施加以應對。

So there are differences in geography. And in the newer geographies, we're -- those are the areas where we are gaining the most share.

所以地理上也有差異。在較新的地區，我們在這些地區獲得了最大的份額。

And what -- so I mean it's obviously very important to kind of grow your share in those newer geographies. Are there any near-term obstacles that are out there -- what's -- why wouldn't you be growing maybe at an accelerated rate in some of those new geographies? What's the challenge that you're seeing right now?

所以我的意思是，增加你在這些新地區的份額顯然非常重要。是否有任何近期障礙——什麼是——為什麼你不能在一些新的地區加速成長？您現在面臨的挑戰是什麼？

I'm not really sure I get the gist of your question, because we are growing in those new geographies. Obviously, you're new to the market, you've got to get consumer awareness and get trial and repeat and all those things. But we've been talking about the Northeast for a while, and we continue to grow share there. We're newer to the Midwest, so we just launched into one of the major Midwest retailers in the spring. So we're really just getting started there.

我不太確定我是否明白你問題的要點，因為我們正在這些新的地區發展。顯然，你是市場新手，你必須獲得消費者的認識並進行嘗試和重複以及所有這些事情。但我們談論東北地區已經有一段時間了，而且我們在那裡的份額繼續增長。我們是中西部地區的新手，因此我們剛在春季進入中西部主要零售商之一。所以我們真的才剛開始。

But no, I mean, it -- obviously, there's competitive activity. There are some very big competitors in those markets, but with the strength of our number 1 brands, we feel very confident that we can consistently grow share.

但不，我的意思是，很明顯，存在競爭活動。這些市場中有一些非常大的競爭對手，但憑藉我們第一品牌的實力，我們非常有信心能夠持續擴大份額。

Okay. No, I guess I was more looking for a little obviously, quicker share gains. You were -- I don't know exactly where you are today. You were a 10% share in the Northeast, say, two years ago. I'm not sure where that is today. And I know share gains, it's a very, obviously, a hypercompetitive business. But I just thought perhaps there was something maybe stopping you from growing at an even quicker rate. That's all.

好的。不，我想我更想要的是明顯、更快的份額收益。你——我不知道你今天在哪裡。比如說，兩年前，你在東北地區佔有 10% 的份額。我不確定今天那是哪裡。我知道份額收益，這顯然是一項競爭非常激烈的業務。但我只是想也許有什麼東西可能會阻止你以更快的速度成長。就這樣。

No, nothing specific. It's just I think you hit it right on the head. I mean, this is a competitive category. And it takes time to build share. Now at some point, capacity can become a constraint, but we're planning well ahead of that so that we don't get in a situation where we don't have enough capacity to continue to grow. But aside from that, it's just -- it's a competitive category. The Northeast, specifically, there's a lot of independents and co-ops up there, too. It takes time to get fully penetrated there. So yes, just things like that.

不，沒有什麼具體的。只是我認為你擊中了要害。我的意思是，這是一個競爭類別。建立份額需要時間。現在在某個時候，產能可能會成為一種限制，但我們會提前做好計劃，這樣我們就不會陷入沒有足夠產能來繼續成長的情況。但除此之外，它只是一個競爭類別。特別是東北部，那裡也有很多獨立和合作社。需要時間才能完全滲透到那裡。所以是的，就是這樣的事情。

Okay. Okay. And then when I haven't really looked at this lately, but you used to have -- your capacity utilization. I guess the OEE back a couple of years ago was in the mid-60s. And I was curious if there was any update on that. Where are you -- because that would seem to be a significant part of the margin story, the fixed cost leverage as you increase your capacity. Can you -- is there any update or any detail you could provide there?

好的。好的。然後，當我最近沒有真正關注過這個問題時，但你曾經有過——你的容量利用率。我猜幾年前的 OEE 是在 60 年代中期。我很好奇是否有任何更新。你在哪裡——因為這似乎是利潤故事的重要組成部分，即當你增加產能時的固定成本槓桿。您能提供任何更新或任何細節嗎？

Sure. So our OEE now is running -- it obviously depends on when you look, it gets a little bit more pressure in the summer when we're so busy in full. But call it, 70%, 71%. Obviously, we want it to be higher than that. But you're right, it's quite a bit better than it has been. So we've made some great strides. And we're seeing that in the bottom line. I mean, that's a component of the gross margin performance. So it's good to see us operating more effectively there.

當然。所以我們的 OEE 現在正在運行——這顯然取決於你什麼時候看，在夏天我們非常忙碌的時候，它會受到更大的壓力。但姑且稱之為 70%、71%。顯然，我們希望它比這個更高。但你是對的，現在比以前好多了。所以我們已經取得了一些巨大的進步。我們在底線上看到了這一點。我的意思是，這是毛利率表現的一個組成部分。因此很高興看到我們在那裡更有效地運作。

And so --

所以--

Sorry. In terms of overhead coverage, we've talked about before the strategic exits, long term are certainly the right thing to do because we had some very poor margin business that we jettisoned but it does leave us with a little bit of fixed overhead stranded. But as we refill that volume with higher-margin business, that also is going to have a direct bottom line impact.

對不起。就管理費用覆蓋而言，我們在策略退出之前已經討論過，長期來看肯定是正確的做法，因為我們放棄了一些利潤率非常低的業務，但這確實讓我們有一點固定管理費用陷入困境。但當我們用利潤率較高的業務補充這一數量時，這也將對利潤產生直接影響。

Okay. And then I know we're not ready to talk '25 guidance, but you're kind of nipping on the heels of your EBITDA margin on the lower end of 12% to 14% sort of range that the long-term range. I mean, is it too early to call that you can get that lower end next year? And I know you're not ready to provide that kind of guidance, but are we still going to see progress in the EBITDA growth next year? Or is there anything out there that you want to call out that we'd have to be -- have to consider?

好的。然後我知道我們還沒有準備好談論 25 年的指導，但你的 EBITDA 利潤率有點緊隨長期範圍的 12% 到 14% 範圍的下限。我的意思是，現在斷定明年可以達到較低的水平是否為時過早？我知道您還沒有準備好提供此類指導，但明年我們是否仍會看到 EBITDA 成長取得進展？或者有什麼是你想要指出的我們必須考慮的嗎？

So yes, I mean, we're not ready to talk '25 yet, but we can talk long term, Mitch. And certainly, we think it's within reach, we think, frankly, 13% to 14% is in reach. And if you run the long-term algorithm out, you can see where we can get there. And that's without including accretive M&A, which obviously we're focused on it as well.

所以，是的，我的意思是，我們還沒有準備好談論 25 年，但我們可以談論長期，米奇。當然，我們認為這是可以實現的，坦白說，我們認為 13% 到 14% 是可以實現的。如果你運行長期演算法，你就可以看到我們能達到什麼目標。這還不包括增值併購，顯然我們也很關注這一點。

So I think that we've shown between the growth of our branded business, the shift in the portfolio the cleaning up of the portfolio, the jettisoning of low-margin business, a lot of our savings initiatives. The OE, we talked about all these things factor in network optimization, et cetera. Not to mention accretive M&A. We feel quite confident that over time, we can get to that low teens EBITDA margin level.

因此，我認為我們已經在品牌業務的成長、投資組合的轉變、投資組合的清理、低利潤業務的放棄以及我們的許多儲蓄舉措之間展示了這一點。OE，我們討論了網路優化中的所有這些因素，等等。更不用說增值併購了。我們非常有信心，隨著時間的推移，我們能夠達到十幾歲的 EBITDA 利潤率水準。

Max Gumport, BNP Paribas.

馬克斯‧岡波特，法國巴黎銀行。

You're clearly observing an increasingly challenged US bread category as consumers continue to shift to the perimeter of the store and also as you see a ramp-up in competitive activity in the second half, and you noted this headwind is expected to be temporary, which seems reasonable to me given it's largely driven by the consumer feeling financial pressure. But I'm curious at this point in time, should we be expecting that these category pressures persist through a meaningful portion of 2025?

您清楚地觀察到，隨著消費者繼續轉向商店週邊，以及下半年競爭活動的加劇，美國麵包類別面臨的挑戰越來越大，並且您指出這種逆風預計將是暫時的，這對我來說似乎是合理的，因為它很大程度上是由消費者感受到的財務壓力所驅動的。但我現在很好奇，我們是否應該預期這些品類壓力會在 2025 年的一段時間內持續存在？

Yes, sure. I mean, again, no crystal ball, but Max, we've been through this many, many times before in our history. When the consumer feels a little bit of weakness, there's trade down, consumption patterns shift, [perimeter of the store], all the things that we talked about but they've always proven to be temporary.

是的，當然。我的意思是，再一次，沒有水晶球，但麥克斯，我們在歷史上已經經歷過很多很多次了。當消費者感到有點疲軟時，就會出現降價、消費模式轉變、[商店週邊]，所有我們談論過的事情，但事實證明它們總是暫時的。

So we're working hard on the things that we can control. We continue to make sure that we are as efficient as we can possibly be that we're delivering the highest quality of the consumers and that we continue to innovate. And I think that those things are showing up quite nicely in our market share performance and frankly, in our bottom line performance as well.

所以我們正在努力做我們可以控制的事情。我們繼續確保我們盡可能高效，為消費者提供最高品質的產品，並繼續創新。我認為這些事情在我們的市佔率表現中得到了很好的體現，坦白說，在我們的利潤表現中也得到了很好的體現。

Great. And then on Dave's Killer Bread and just I'm talking about the classic bread offering. Are you concerned by the slowdown you're seeing in trends for that business? I think in the most recent scanner data, it's flattish, maybe even just down slightly in dollar sales terms. I realize a lot of that could be pointed at the category feeling pressure, but just curious for an update on what you're seeing for read within the bread category and whether or not it can become the growth engine again that it had been over the past several years. I'll leave it there.

偉大的。然後是戴夫的殺手麵包，我正在談論經典的麵包產品。您是否對該業務趨勢放緩感到擔憂？我認為在最新的掃描器數據中，它的銷售額持平，甚至可能只是略有下降。我意識到其中許多可能是針對感受到壓力的類別，但只是想知道您在麵包類別中看到的內容的更新，以及它是否可以再次成為成長引擎，因為它已經過去了過去幾年。我會把它留在那裡。

Yes, sure. Thanks, Max. And we can talk about this offline too if you will. We saw your note and the data -- our data does not match up with yours. Dave's is still positive. It is not down. both in terms of dollars and units, it's up. Sequentially, it's down from last quarter, but there's always seasonality. If you go back and look as you get towards the back half of the year, there is a little bit of seasonality in our category, but Dave's is still growing dollars and units.

是的，當然。謝謝，馬克斯。如果您願意的話，我們也可以在線下討論這個問題。我們看到了您的筆記和數據——我們的數據與您的數據不符。戴夫的檢測結果仍然呈現陽性。它並沒有下降。無論是從美元還是單位來看，它都在上漲。從順序上看，它比上季度有所下降，但總是有季節性。如果你回顧今年下半年的情況，你會發現我們的類別有一點季節性，但戴夫的美元和銷售仍在成長。

I would now like to turn the call back over to Ryals McMullian for any closing remarks.

我現在想將電話轉回給瑞爾斯·麥克馬利安 (Ryals McMullian)，讓其發表結束語。

Okay. Thanks, Josh, and thanks, everybody, for taking time today and joining us for questions. We appreciate your interest in our company, and we certainly look forward to speaking with you next quarter. Everybody, take care.

好的。謝謝喬希，也謝謝大家今天抽空加入我們提問。我們感謝您對我們公司的興趣，我們當然期待下個季度與您交談。大家保重。

Thank you. This concludes the conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。