Federal Signal Corp (FSS) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Federal Signal Corporation fourth-quarter earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加聯邦訊號公司第四季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Felix Boeschen, Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations for Federal Signal. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給主持人 Felix Boeschen，Felix Boeschen，Federal Signal 公司策略與投資人關係副總裁。請繼續。

Good morning, and welcome to Federal Signal's fourth-quarter 2023 conference call. I'm Felix Boeschen, the company's Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations. Also with me on the call today is Jennifer Sherman, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Ian Hudson, our Chief Financial Officer.

早安，歡迎參加 Federal Signal 2023 年第四季電話會議。我是 Felix Boeschen，該公司負責企業策略和投資者關係的副總裁。今天與我一起參加電話會議的還有我們的總裁兼執行長 Jennifer Sherman；以及我們的財務長 Ian Hudson。

We will refer to some presentation slides today as well as to the earnings release, which we issued this morning. The slides can be followed online by going to our website, federalsignal.com, clicking on the Investor Call icon, and signing into the webcast. We've also posted the slide presentation and the earnings release under the Investor tab on our website.

我們將參考今天的一些簡報幻燈片以及我們今天早上發布的收益報告。您可以造訪我們的網站 Federalsignal.com，點擊「投資者電話」圖標，然後登入網路廣播，在線上觀看這些幻燈片。我們也在網站的「投資者」標籤下發布了幻燈片演示和收益發布。

Before I turn the call over to Ian, I'd like to remind you that some of our comments made today may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to the Safe Harbor language found in today's news release and in Federal Signal's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These documents are available on our website. Our presentation also contains some measures that are not in accordance with US generally accepted accounting principles. In our earnings release and filings, we reconcile these non-GAAP measures to GAAP measures. In addition, we will file our Form 10-K later today.

在我把電話轉給伊恩之前，我想提醒您，我們今天發表的一些評論可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受到今天的新聞稿和聯邦信號向證券公司提交的文件中的安全港語言的約束和交易委員會。這些文件可在我們的網站上找到。我們的簡報也包含一些不符合美國公認會計原則的措施。在我們的收益發布和文件中，我們將這些非公認會計準則衡量標準與公認會計準則衡量標準進行了協調。此外，我們將於今天晚些時候提交 10-K 表格。

Ian will start today with more detail on our fourth quarter and full-year financial results. Jennifer will then provide her perspective on our performance and update on our multi-year strategic initiatives and go over our outlook for 2024 before we open the line for any questions.

伊恩將從今天開始詳細介紹我們第四季和全年的財務表現。然後，Jennifer 將提供她對我們業績的看法以及我們多年戰略計劃的最新情況，並在我們開始回答任何問題之前回顧我們對 2024 年的展望。

With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Ian.

現在，我想將電話轉給伊恩。

Thank you, Felix. Our financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023 are provided in today's earnings release. Before I talk about the fourth quarter, let me highlight some of our full-year consolidated results for 2023.

謝謝你，菲利克斯。今天的財報中提供了我們 2023 年第四季和全年的財務表現。在談論第四季之前，讓我先強調一下我們 2023 年全年的一些綜合業績。

Net sales for the year were approximately $1.72 billion, a record high for the company and an increase of $288 million or 20% compared to the prior year. Organic sales growth for the year was $220 million or 15%. Operating income for the year was $224.5 million, an increase of $63.7 million or 40% from the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA for the year was $286 million, up $71 million or 33% compared to the prior year. That translates to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 16.6% this year, up 160 basis points from last year.

全年淨銷售額約 17.2 億美元，創公司歷史新高，較上年成長 2.88 億美元，成長 20%。本年度有機銷售額成長 2.2 億美元，成長 15%。全年營業收入為 2.245 億美元，比上年增加 6,370 萬美元，即 40%。本年度調整後 EBITDA 為 2.86 億美元，較上年增加 7,100 萬美元，即 33%。這意味著今年調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 16.6%，比去年增長 160 個基點。

GAAP earnings for the year equated to $2.56 per share, up $0.59 per share or 30% from the prior year. On an adjusted basis, we reported full-year earnings of $2.58 per share, a year-over-year increase of $0.62 per share or 32%. Orders for the year were $1.87 billion, another company record and an increase of $178 million or 11% from the prior year. With a strong momentum in customer demand, consolidated backlog at the end of the year was at an all-time high level of $1.03 billion, an increase of $146 million or 17% from last year.

本年度 GAAP 收益為每股 2.56 美元，較去年每股成長 0.59 美元，即 30%。調整後的全年收益為每股 2.58 美元，年增 0.62 美元，即 32%。全年訂單金額為 18.7 億美元，再創公司紀錄，較上年增加 1.78 億美元，或 11%。由於顧客需求強勁，年末綜合積壓訂單創歷史新高，達10.3億美元，較去年增加1.46億美元，成長17%。

For the rest of my comments, I will focus mostly on comparisons of the fourth quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2022. Consolidated net sales for the quarter were $448 million, an increase of $57 million or 15%. Organic sales growth for the quarter was $42 million or 11%. Consolidated operating income in Q4 this year was $63.1 million, up $16.5 million or 35% compared to Q4 last year. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $77.5 million, an increase of $16.4 million or 27%. That translates to a margin of 17.3%, an increase of 170 basis points from Q4 last year.

在我的其餘評論中，我將主要關注 2023 年第四季與 2022 年第四季的比較。該季度綜合淨銷售額為 4.48 億美元，增加 5,700 萬美元，即 15%。該季度有機銷售額成長 4,200 萬美元，即 11%。今年第四季的綜合營業收入為 6,310 萬美元，比去年第四季增加 1,650 萬美元，成長 35%。本季合併調整後 EBITDA 為 7,750 萬美元，增加 1,640 萬美元，成長 27%。這意味著利潤率為 17.3%，比去年第四季增加了 170 個基點。

GAAP EPS for the quarter was $0.75 per share, up $0.18 per share or 32% from Q4 last year. On an adjusted basis, EPS for Q4 this year was $0.74 per share, a year-over-year increase of $0.17 per share or 30%. Orders in Q4 this year were $465 million, up $21 million or 4%, 5%.

本季 GAAP 每股收益為 0.75 美元，較去年第四季每股成長 0.18 美元，成長 32%。調整後，今年第四季每股收益為0.74美元，年增0.17美元，增幅為30%。今年第四季訂單量為 4.65 億美元，年增 2,100 萬美元，增幅 4%、5%。

In terms of our fourth-quarter group results, ESG sales were $373 million, an increase of $48 million or 15% compared to Q4 last year. ESG's adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $73.3 million, up $15.7 million or 27%. That translates to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.6% in Q4 this year, up 190 basis points from Q4 last year.

就我們第四季的集團業績而言，ESG 銷售額為 3.73 億美元，比去年第四季增加了 4,800 萬美元，即 15%。ESG 本季調整後 EBITDA 為 7,330 萬美元，成長 1,570 萬美元，成長 27%。這意味著今年第四季調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 19.6%，比去年第四季成長 190 個基點。

SSG's fourth-quarter sales were $75 million this year, up $9 million or 14%. SSG's adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $16 million, up $2.8 million or 21% from Q4 last year. SSG's adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter was 21.2%, above the high end of its target range and up 130 basis points from Q4 last year. Corporate operating expenses in Q4 this year were $10 million compared to $10.2 million in Q4 last year.

SSG 今年第四季的銷售額為 7,500 萬美元，年增 900 萬美元，成長 14%。SSG 本季調整後 EBITDA 為 1,600 萬美元，比去年第四季增加 280 萬美元，成長 21%。SSG 本季調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 21.2%，高於其目標範圍的上限，比去年第四季上升 130 個基點。今年第四季的企業營運支出為 1,000 萬美元，而去年第四季的企業營運支出為 1,020 萬美元。

Turning now to the consolidated statement of operations, where the increase in sales contributed to a $22.8 million improvement in gross profit. Consolidated gross margin for the quarter was 26.6%, up 190 basis points compared to Q4 last year. As a percentage of sales, our selling, engineering, general and administrative expenses for the quarter were up 30 basis points from Q4 last year.

現在來看合併營運報表，銷售額的成長使毛利增加了 2,280 萬美元。該季度綜合毛利率為 26.6%，較去年第四季成長 190 個基點。從佔銷售額的百分比來看，我們本季的銷售、工程、一般和管理費用比去年第四季成長了 30 個基點。

During the fourth quarter of this year, we recognized a $1.6 million benefit from acquisition-related activities compared to $500,000 of expense in Q4 last year, with the majority of the year-over-year change driven by a change in the fair value of contingent consideration associated with acquisitions. Other items affecting the quarterly results include a $500,000 increase in amortization expense, a $100,000 increase in other expense, and a $100,000 reduction in interest expense.

今年第四季度，我們認識到收購相關活動帶來了 160 萬美元的收益，而去年第四季度的費用為 50 萬美元，其中大部分同比變化是由或有資產公允價值的變化驅動的與收購相關的考慮因素。其他影響季度業績的項目包括攤銷費用增加 50 萬美元、其他費用增加 10 萬美元以及利息費用減少 10 萬美元。

Income tax expense for the quarter was $12.1 million, an increase of $4.7 million from Q4 last year, with the year-over-year change largely due to higher pre-tax income levels and a $700,000 reduction in discrete tax benefits recognized in the current-year quarter in comparison to the prior-year quarter. Including discrete tax benefits, our effective tax rate for full year 2023 was 22.5%. For 2024, we currently expect a tax rate of between 25% and 26%, excluding any discrete tax benefits.

本季所得稅費用為 1,210 萬美元，比去年第四季增加 470 萬美元，年比變化主要是由於稅前收入水準提高以及當期確認的離散稅收優惠減少了 70 萬美元。與去年同期相比。包括離散稅收優惠在內，我們 2023 年全年的有效稅率為 22.5%。目前，我們預計 2024 年的稅率將在 25% 至 26% 之間，不包括任何離散的稅收優惠。

On an overall GAAP basis, we therefore earned $0.75 per share in Q4 this year compared with $0.57 per share in Q4 last year. To facilitate earnings comparisons, we typically adjust our GAAP earnings per share for unusual items recorded in the current or prior-year quarters. In the current-year quarter, we made adjustments to GAAP earnings per share to exclude acquisition-related benefits and purchase accounting expense effects. On this basis, our adjusted earnings in Q4 this year were $0.74 per share compared with $0.57 per share in Q4 last year.

因此，按照總體公認會計原則計算，我們今年第四季的每股收益為 0.75 美元，而去年第四季的每股收益為 0.57 美元。為了方便收益比較，我們通常會針對目前或去年季度記錄的異常項目調整 GAAP 每股盈餘。在本年度季度，我們對 GAAP 每股盈餘進行了調整，以排除與收購相關的收益和收購會計費用的影響。在此基礎上，我們今年第四季的調整後收益為每股 0.74 美元，而去年第四季為每股 0.57 美元。

Looking now at cash flow, where we generated $103 million of cash from operations during the quarter, an increase of $64 million or 162% from Q4 last year, with the increase primarily due to working capital improvements and higher net income. For the full year, our operating cash generation totaled $194 million, an increase of $123 million or 171% compared to last year. With the improved cash flow, we paid down approximately $70 million of debt during the quarter, ending the year with $238 million of net debt and availability under our credit facility of $493 million. Our current net debt leverage ratio remains low.

現在看看現金流，本季我們從營運中產生了 1.03 億美元的現金，比去年第四季增加了 6,400 萬美元，即 162%，增加的主要原因是營運資本的改善和淨利潤的增加。全年營運現金產生總額為 1.94 億美元，比去年增加 1.23 億美元，成長 171%。隨著現金流的改善，我們在本季償還了約 7,000 萬美元的債務，年底淨債務為 2.38 億美元，信貸額度下的可用資金為 4.93 億美元。我們目前的淨債務槓桿率仍然很低。

With our financial position remaining strong, we have significant flexibility to invest in organic growth initiatives, pursue strategic acquisitions, and return cash to stockholders through dividends and opportunistic share repurchases. On that note, we paid dividends of $6.1 million during the quarter, reflecting a dividend of $0.10 per share, and we recently announced that we are increasing the dividend by 20% to $0.12 per share in the first quarter of 2024. We also funded $1.2 million of share repurchases during the quarter.

由於我們的財務狀況保持強勁，因此我們可以靈活地投資於有機成長計劃、進行策略性收購，並透過股息和機會性股票回購向股東返還現金。有鑑於此，我們在本季度支付了 610 萬美元的股息，相當於每股 0.10 美元的股息，我們最近宣布，我們將在 2024 年第一季將股息增加 20%，達到每股 0.12 美元。我們也在本季資助了 120 萬美元的股票回購。

That concludes my comments, and I would like to turn the call over to Jennifer.

我的評論到此結束，我想將電話轉給珍妮佛。

Thank you, Ian. Overall, our fourth-quarter results represent an exceptional finish to a record year. Outstanding execution by both groups contributed to the strong Q4 results, which included record net sales and adjusted EPS and an all-time high backlog. We are also pleased to report that adjusted EBITDA margins expanded 170 basis points to 17.3% in the quarter and were slightly above the midpoint of our recently raised target margin range of 14% to 20%.

謝謝你，伊恩。總體而言，我們第四季度的業績代表了創紀錄的一年的出色收官。兩個集團出色的執行力為第四季度的強勁業績做出了貢獻，其中包括創紀錄的淨銷售額和調整後每股收益以及歷史最高的積壓訂單。我們也很高興地報告，本季調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率擴大了 170 個基點，達到 17.3%，略高於我們最近提高的目標利潤率範圍 14% 至 20% 的中點。

Looking ahead, we remain optimistic about further margin expansion opportunities into 2024 and beyond, driven by a combination of internal efficiency initiatives currently underway, our continued focus on organic growth, planned production increases, and value-added M&A.

展望未來，在目前正在進行的內部效率舉措、我們持續關注有機成長、計劃產量增加和增值併購等綜合推動下，我們對 2024 年及以後的利潤率進一步擴張機會保持樂觀。

Within our environmental solutions group, an improving supply chain supported higher production levels and with increased sales volumes contributions from our recent acquisitions, robust aftermarket demand, and strong price realization, we were able to deliver a 15% year-over-year net sales increase and a 27% increase in adjusted EBITDA compared to last year.

在我們的環境解決方案團隊中，不斷完善的供應鏈支持了更高的生產水平，並且由於我們最近的收購帶來的銷量貢獻增加、強勁的售後市場需求以及強勁的價格實現，我們能夠實現15 % 的年淨銷售額成長與去年相比，調整後的 EBITDA 成長了 27%。

Despite continued intermittent supply chain issues, we are encouraged by ongoing production improvements across our business units with fourth-quarter production at our two largest ESG facilities, up a combined 11% year over year and up 6% compared to Q3. We are particularly pleased about the sequential improvement in production compared to Q3 and continue to believe that our large-scale capacity expansions completed in recent years, including our 40% capacity expansion at our Vactor TRUVAC–Gosler facility in Streator, Illinois, position us well to absorb incremental volumes as supply chains continue to improve.

儘管供應鏈問題持續存在，但我們對各業務部門持續的生產改善感到鼓舞，我們兩個最大的 ESG 工廠第四季度的產量同比增長 11%，與第三季度相比增長 6%。與第三季相比，我們對產量的連續改善感到特別高興，並繼續相信，我們近年來完成的大規模產能擴張，包括我們位於伊利諾伊州斯特雷特的Vactor TRUVAC™ Gosler 工廠40% 的產能擴張，使我們處於有利地位。隨著供應鏈的不斷改善，可以很好地吸收增量。

Our aftermarkets team had another standout quarter with revenues up 24% over last year with notable strength in used equipment and parts sales. Recall, our acquisition of Joe Johnson Equipment in 2016 marks the onset of a targeted strategy to expand our aftermarket business, and we believe we are starting to reap some of the multi-year benefits associated with that strategic decision. The addition of our rental and used equipment offerings have allowed our teams to target entirely new cohorts of customers for our flagship sewer cleaners, safe digging, and street sweeper offerings.

我們的售後市場團隊迎來了一個出色的季度，營收比去年增長了 24%，二手設備和零件銷售表現強勁。回想一下，我們在 2016 年收購 Joe Johnson Equipment 標誌著我們擴大售後市場業務的有針對性的策略的開始，我們相信我們正在開始收穫與該策略決策相關的一些多年收益。我們的租賃和二手設備產品的增加使我們的團隊能夠針對我們的旗艦下水道清潔劑、安全挖掘和街道清掃產品的全新客戶群。

The opportunity of purchasing our used equipment at a lower price is an important additional procurement option for industrial contractors in this higher interest rate environment, exemplified by the $12 million year-over-year increase in used equipment sales in Q4. At the same time, we expanded our parts and service network and in deepening our relationship with existing customers throughout the life cycle of our equipment. In aggregate, aftermarket represented 27% of ESG revenue in Q4 compared to 25% last year. In addition to strong organic growth, our recent acquisitions also contributed with Trackless, our most recent acquisition, continuing its strong start. Acquisitions added approximately $15 million to our top line during the quarter.

在當前利率較高的環境下，以較低價格購買二手設備的機會是工業承包商的一個重要的額外採購選擇，第四季度二手設備銷售額年增 1200 萬美元就是例證。同時，我們擴大了零件和服務網絡，並在設備的整個生命週期中加深了與現有客戶的關係。總體而言，第四季售後市場佔 ESG 收入的 27%，而去年為 25%。除了強勁的有機成長之外，我們最近的收購也為我們最近的收購 Trackless 做出了貢獻，繼續保持強勁的開局。本季的收購為我們的營收增加了約 1500 萬美元。

Our safety and security systems group again delivered impressive results during the quarter with 14% topline growth and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 21.2%, slightly above the high end of our new SSG margin target range and a 130-basis-point improvement compared to last year. Topline strength was broadbased across our SSG businesses throughout 2023, with sales of public safety equipment, industrial signaling equipment, and warning systems each up organically by more than 15% this year.

我們的安全與安保系統集團在本季再次取得了令人矚目的業績，營收成長14%，調整後EBITDA 利潤率為21.2%，略高於我們新的SSG 利潤目標範圍的上限，與上一季度相比提高了130 個基點年。2023 年，我們的 SSG 業務的營收實力十分廣泛，今年公共安全設備、工業號誌設備和預警系統的銷售額均有機成長了 15% 以上。

As we have indicated previously, we still expect the addition of a third printed circuit board line to yield further benefits into this year through a combination of cost savings, reduced reliance on offshore suppliers, and increased production volumes of public safety equipment.

正如我們之前所指出的，我們仍然預計第三條印刷電路板生產線的增加將透過節省成本、減少對離岸供應商的依賴以及增加公共安全設備的產量等措施，在今年產生進一步的效益。

Lastly, we are particularly pleased with our cash conversion in the quarter, having generated $103 million of cash from operations, up 162% from last year. On an annual basis, we continue to target 100% cash conversion levels, which when coupled with a more normalized capital expenditures in the $35 million to $40 million range per year should result in substantial free cash flow generation in 2024 and beyond.

最後，我們對本季的現金轉換感到特別滿意，營運產生了 1.03 億美元的現金，比去年成長 162%。每年，我們繼續以 100% 現金轉換水準為目標，再加上每年 3,500 萬至 4,000 萬美元範圍內更正常化的資本支出，應該會在 2024 年及以後產生大量自由現金流。

Shifting now to current market conditions. Demand for our products remains rock solid with fourth-quarter order intake of $465 million, representing a 5% increase compared to last year. We believe our targeted end-market diversification efforts are yielding order strength across both our publicly funded and industrial end markets. Specifically, in the fourth quarter, public revenue orders were up mid-single digits over last year, led by a year-over-year increase in domestic street sweeper orders. Industrial orders were up low single digits year over year, primarily led by an increase in orders for dump truck bodies and road marking equipment orders, somewhat offset by lower safe digging truck orders.

現在轉向當前的市場狀況。對我們產品的需求仍然堅如磐石，第四季訂單金額為 4.65 億美元，比去年成長 5%。我們相信，我們有針對性的終端市場多元化努力正在為我們的公共資助和工業終端市場帶來訂單實力。具體來說，第四季度，公共收入訂單比去年同期增長了中個位數，其中國內街道清掃車訂單同比增長帶動了增長。工業訂單年增率較低個位數，主要是由於自卸車車身和道路標線設備訂單的增加，但在一定程度上被安全挖掘卡車訂單的減少所抵消。

Looking ahead, we see several internal and external tailwinds continuing to positively impact demand for our products and services. On the internal front, we remain energized by the market reception of our new product development initiatives such as our MicroPulse lighting product within our SSG segment, our recently introduced Elgin RegenX Street Sweeper, and our growing aftermarket offerings.

展望未來，我們看到一些內部和外部的有利因素繼續對我們的產品和服務的需求產生積極影響。在內部方面，我們的新產品開發計劃的市場接受度仍然使我們充滿活力，例如 SSG 細分市場中的 MicroPulse 照明產品、我們最近推出的 Elgin RegenX 街道清潔機以及我們不斷增長的售後市場產品。

I'm also pleased to announce that Dr. Scott Rohrbaugh has rejoined the company as our Chief Technology Officer in January. At Federal Signal, Scott previously drove the process that resulted in an acceleration of our safe digging product offerings. Scott also brings additional expertise in new product development for electric and autonomous solutions.

我還很高興地宣布 Scott Rohrbaugh 博士已於 1 月重新加入公司，擔任我們的技術長。在 Federal Signal，史考特之前推動了加速我們安全挖掘產品供應的流程。斯科特還帶來了電動和自動駕駛解決方案新產品開發的額外專業知識。

Externally, we expect to continue to see benefits from the American Rescue Plan Act in our publicly funded markets which, in 2021, earmarked $350 billion for state, local, and territorial governments for a variety of purposes including the maintenance of essential infrastructure such as sewer systems and streets.

從外部來看，我們預計將繼續在我們的公共資助市場中看到《美國救援計劃法案》的好處，該法案在2021 年為州、地方和地區政府指定了3500 億美元，用於各種目的，包括維護下水道等基本基礎設施系統和街道。

Similarly, we believe the $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure bill to be a substantial opportunity for many of our Federal Signal products and aftermarket offerings as projects begin to come online in the upcoming years. Although we don't believe the infrastructure bill will have a meaningful impact on our profits in 2024, we are beginning to see examples of the use of our products in early infrastructure projects. These projects include the Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport expansion as well as a lead replacement project in Upstate New York and include the use of our street sweeping and safe digging product offerings.

同樣，我們相信，隨著項目在未來幾年開始上線，5500 億美元的兩黨基礎設施法案對於我們的許多聯邦信號產品和售後市場產品來說將是一個巨大的機會。儘管我們認為基礎設施法案不會對我們 2024 年的利潤產生有意義的影響，但我們開始看到在早期基礎設施項目中使用我們的產品的例子。這些項目包括亞特蘭大哈茲菲爾德國際機場擴建以及紐約州北部的鉛更換項目，並包括使用我們的街道清掃和安全挖掘產品。

In short, even despite our consistent production increases throughout 2023, lead times for certain products remain extended given the strength in new order trends. As such, we remain focused on increasing production levels to build more trucks as we aim to reduce current backlog and lead times while continuing to maintain a healthy order intake.

簡而言之，儘管我們的產量在 2023 年持續成長，但鑑於新訂單趨勢的強勁，某些產品的交貨時間仍然延長。因此，我們仍然專注於提高生產水平以製造更多卡車，因為我們的目標是減少當前的積壓和交貨時間，同時繼續保持健康的訂單。

Turning to 2024. I am passionate about further improving and building on the successful strategies we have put in place since 2016. We remain committed to our strategic building blocks of operational excellence, organic growth, and value-added M&A, all of which would represent the foundation on which we raised our through-cycle EBITDA margin targets on our last earnings call.

時間轉向 2024 年。我熱衷於進一步改進和發展我們自 2016 年以來實施的成功策略。我們仍然致力於卓越營運、有機成長和增值併購的策略基石，所有這些都將成為我們在上次財報電話會議上提高整個週期 EBITDA 利潤率目標的基礎。

After codifying our Federal Signal operating system in 2023, which includes our 80:20 programs and lean initiatives, we are planning a phased rollout across our businesses in 2024. The goal of this continuous improvement initiative is to drive incremental efficiency gains, cost savings, and process simplification across the organization. We believe this renewed initiative will provide multi-year benefits to shareholders and customers in the form of reduced lead times and cost savings.

在 2023 年對我們的聯邦訊號作業系統（其中包括 80:20 計劃和精益計劃）進行編纂後，我們計劃在 2024 年在我們的業務中分階段推出。這項持續改善計畫的目標是推動整個組織不斷提高效率、節省成本和簡化流程。我們相信，這項新措施將以縮短交貨時間和節省成本的形式為股東和客戶帶來多年的利益。

Secondly, our team remains laser-focused on executing on our organic growth and new product development pipeline, which includes several electrification projects across the family of Federal Signal vehicles. Orders for our electric sweepers reached a new high point in Q4, and we expect to deliver all of our 2023 electric sweeper orders this year. We're also excited about a host of other electrification projects across the company, and we'll exhibit several of our dump truck body products mounted on electric chassis at the upcoming NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis.

其次，我們的團隊仍然專注於執行我們的有機成長和新產品開發管道，其中包括聯邦信號車輛系列的多個電氣化項目。我們的電動掃地機訂單在第四季度達到新高點，我們預計今年將交付所有 2023 年電動掃地機訂單。我們也對整個公司的許多其他電氣化項目感到興奮，我們將在即將舉行的印第安納波利斯 NTEA 工作卡車展上展示我們的幾款安裝在電動底盤上的自卸卡車車身產品。

In recent weeks, I had the opportunity to attend two other major trade shows, both of which confirmed our view of strong underlying demand for Federal Signal products. At the wet show in Indianapolis, we showcased a range of vacuum truck products, including our sewer cleaners, guzzler, industrial vacuum trucks and safe digging equipment. Our long-term outlook on the hydro excavation market remains unchanged. We continue to believe that safe digging remains a critical organic growth driver for Federal Signal as adoption and use cases proliferate across North America.

最近幾週，我有機會參加另外兩個主要貿易展，這兩個展會都證實了我們對聯邦訊號產品強勁潛在需求的看法。在印第安納波利斯的濕展上，我們展示了一系列真空卡車產品，包括我們的下水道清潔車、guzzler、工業真空卡車和安全挖掘設備。我們對水力開採市場的長期前景保持不變。我們仍然相信，隨著北美地區的採用和用例激增，安全挖掘仍然是 Federal Signal 的重要自然成長驅動力。

At the AFSA Trade show in San Diego, the combined MRL and Blasters booth generated substantial customer interest for our road marking and water blasting solutions. In addition to organic growth, we see an array of external levers, including an active M&A pipeline and opportunities to drive future efficiency gains from already completed acquisitions, including Toho, Blasters, and Trackless. Across all of our recently completed acquisitions, we strive to optimize distribution, aftermarket parts capture, and operational cost reduction initiatives as we fully integrate these businesses into the broader Federal Signal organization.

在聖地牙哥舉行的 AFSA 貿易展上，MRL 和 Blasters 聯合展位引起了客戶對我們的道路標線和水噴砂解決方案的極大興趣。除了自然成長之外，我們還看到了一系列外部槓桿，包括活躍的併購管道以及透過已完成的收購（包括 Toho、Blasters 和 Trackless）推動未來效率提升的機會。在我們最近完成的所有收購中，我們努力優化分銷、售後零件捕獲和降低營運成本計劃，因為我們將這些業務完全整合到更廣泛的聯邦訊號組織中。

Our latest acquisition, Trackless, is off to a fantastic start in year one. To size some of the progress made since the acquisition closed, we are proud to announce that Trackless has grown sales by over 30% in 2023 compared to 2022, having only been under Federal Signal's ownership since April of 2023. Importantly, the integration of Trackless products across our direct sales channel was critical in unlocking that sales growth with sales of Trackless products through our channel more than doubling compared to last year.

我們最新收購的 Trackless 在第一年就取得了良好的開端。為了衡量自收購完成以來取得的一些進展，我們很自豪地宣布，Trackless 自 2023 年 4 月起才被 Federal Signal 收購，2023 年的銷售額比 2022 年增長了 30% 以上。重要的是，Trackless 產品在我們的直銷管道中的整合對於釋放銷售成長至關重要，透過我們的通路銷售的 Trackless 產品與去年相比增加了一倍多。

The deeper integration between our existing municipal distribution network and Trackless is expected to allow Trackless products to reach entirely new customer cohorts and geographies. Into '24, we plan to further integrate Trackless into our aftermarket platform by scaling rental opportunities, initiative we believe, should yield incremental earnings growth in coming years. While we believe Trackless remains in the early stages of a multi-year growth opportunity, we thought it proved an excellent example of the value we are able to extract after completing acquisitions and integrating businesses into our Federal Signal family.

我們現有的市政分銷網絡與 Trackless 之間的更深層整合預計將使 Trackless 產品能夠覆蓋全新的客戶群和地區。進入 24 年，我們計劃透過擴大租賃機會，將 Trackless 進一步整合到我們的售後平台中，我們相信這項舉措將在未來幾年帶來增量收入成長。雖然我們相信 Trackless 仍處於多年成長機會的早期階段，但我們認為它證明了我們在完成收購並將業務整合到我們的 Federal Signal 系列後能夠獲得的價值的一個很好的例子。

For most acquisitions, key synergies typically span both revenue and costs with major opportunities across distribution, aftermarket optimization, and material cost reduction initiatives. Lastly, as our teams continue to navigate and improving but still fluid supply chain backdrop, we believe we have ample capacity to further scale our output after having completed major facility expansions in recent years.

對於大多數收購來說，關鍵的協同效應通常涵蓋收入和成本，以及分銷、售後市場優化和材料成本降低計劃等方面的重大機會。最後，隨著我們的團隊繼續導航和改進但供應鏈仍然不穩定的背景，我們相信在近年來完成主要設施擴建後，我們有足夠的能力進一步擴大我們的產量。

Turning now to our outlook. Conditions in our end markets remain healthy and with ongoing execution against our strategic initiatives and opportunities to drive improved efficiencies, we are confident that we will have another record year in 2024. For the full year, we are expecting net sales of between $1.85 billion and $1.9 billion, double-digit improvement in pre-tax earnings and EBITDA margin performance in the upper half of our new target range. We also currently expect to report adjusted EPS of between $2.85 and $3.05 per share for the year, which would represent a year-over-year increase of between 10% and 18% and the highest EPS level in the company's history.

現在轉向我們的展望。我們的終端市場狀況保持健康，並且透過持續執行我們的策略性舉措和提高效率的機會，我們有信心在 2024 年再創紀錄。我們預計全年淨銷售額將在 18.5 億美元至 19 億美元之間，稅前收益和 EBITDA 利潤率將實現兩位數增長，達到新目標範圍的上半部分。我們目前也預計今年調整後每股收益將在 2.85 美元至 3.05 美元之間，年增 10% 至 18%，達到公司歷史上最高每股收益的水準。

Our outlook does not include an anticipated tax benefit of approximately $14 million that we expect to realize in Q1 and also assumes continued improvement in production output and a robust aftermarket activity in Q2 through Q4. Lastly, although seasonal effects typically result in Q1 earnings being lower than subsequent quarters given less aftermarket revenue capture and more production slots earmarked for our internal rental fleet, we are expecting Q1 to represent between 19% and 20% of our full-year earnings.

我們的展望不包括我們預計在第一季實現的約 1400 萬美元的預期稅收優惠，並且還假設第二季度到第四季度產量持續改善以及售後市場活動強勁。最後，儘管季節性影響通常會導致第一季收益低於後續季度，因為售後市場收入減少，並為我們的內部租賃車隊指定了更多生產時段，但我們預計第一季將占我們全年收益的19% 至20%。

In closing, I want to express my profound thanks to all of our employees, suppliers and stakeholders for a tremendous 2023 with an active M&A pipeline, ongoing investment in new product development, available capacity, good access to skilled labor and anticipated multiyear tailwinds from infrastructure legislation, our businesses are well positioned for long-term sustainable growth.

最後，我想對我們所有的員工、供應商和利益相關者表示深深的感謝，感謝我們在2023 年取得了豐碩成果，包括活躍的併購管道、對新產品開發的持續投資、可用產能、良好的熟練勞動力以及預期的基礎設施多年推動力通過立法，我們的企業已做好長期可持續增長的準備。

With that, we are ready to open the line for questions. Operator?

這樣，我們就可以開始提問了。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Steve Barger, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）Steve Barger，KeyBanc 資本市場。

This is Jacob More on for Steve Barger. First one, backlog was up again for the 12th straight quarter and is still looking very strong. My question is how much of that backlog is set for delivery in '24? How much additional un-booked capacity do you think you have in '24? And what kind of chassis availability headwinds are you baking into your assumptions, if any?

這是雅各為史蒂夫·巴格做的更多報道。首先，積壓訂單連續第 12 季再次增加，而且看起來仍然非常強勁。我的問題是，有多少積壓訂單將在 24 年交付？您認為 24 年還有多少未預訂容量？您在假設中考慮了什麼樣的底盤可用性阻力（如果有）？

Yeah. So it really depends on the business. As I talked about in my prepared remarks, some of our lead times are longer than we would like, and we have initiatives in place, our build more trucks initiatives to reduce those lead times. And we are making progress in some areas, notably safe digging, which we talked about repeatedly, an important growth area for the company.

是的。所以這實際上取決於業務。正如我在準備好的發言中談到的，我們的一些交貨時間比我們希望的要長，我們已經採取了一些舉措，我們建造了更多卡車的舉措來減少這些交貨時間。我們正在某些領域取得進展，特別是安全挖掘，我們反覆談到，這是公司的重要成長領域。

With respect to chassis availability, we are in pretty good shape for Class 8 chassis which support the vast majority of our businesses. We do have some pockets of areas. For example, the Class 7 chassis for our street sweeper business. We're continuing to monitor that.

就機箱可用性而言，我們的 8 類機箱狀況良好，可支援我們的絕大多數業務。我們確實有一些區域。例如，我們街道清掃車業務的 7 級底盤。我們正在繼續監控這一情況。

And with respect to Class 5 chassis for a very small percentage of our dump truck business, they're flat year over year. And as we move forward, we are hopeful that the second half of the year, we will see more of those Class 5 and Class 7 chassis. But overall, we're in pretty good shape.

就我們自卸車業務中極小部分的 5 級底盤而言，它們與去年同期持平。隨著我們的前進，我們希望在今年下半年，我們將看到更多 5 級和 7 級底盤。但總體而言，我們的狀況還不錯。

And then I would conclude with the capacity expansions that we've invested in, particularly at Vactor, and some of our dump truck businesses. We're very well positioned with improving supply chain conditions to be able to leverage those investments.

最後，我將總結我們投資的產能擴張，特別是 Vactor 以及我們的一些自卸卡車業務。我們在改善供應鏈條件方面處於有利地位，能夠利用這些投資。

Understood. That's helpful. And my second question is how much of your 2023 growth would you attribute to price versus volume? And what sort of expectations are embedded in your roughly 10% growth guidance for '24?

明白了。這很有幫助。我的第二個問題是，您認為 2023 年的成長有多少歸因於價格與銷售？你們對 24 年大約 10% 的成長指引中包含了什麼樣的預期？

Yes. So as we think about the guide for '24, I think we're implying 7% to 10% growth. Pretty much all of that is organic. And I would say, price is about 2.5%, 3% of that. In '23, it was between 3% and 4% was the price impact on the top line.

是的。因此，當我們考慮 24 年的指南時，我認為我們意味著 7% 到 10% 的成長。幾乎所有這些都是有機的。我想說，價格大約是其中的 2.5%、3%。23 年，價格對營收的影響在 3% 到 4% 之間。

Got it.

知道了。

Chris Moore, CJS Securities.

克里斯摩爾，CJS 證券。

Congrats on two great years. All right. So we've asked this multiple ways. But clearly, Jennifer, you said that you still don't expect much in the way of -- in '24 from some of the infrastructure bills. But I'm trying to look at it from a three- to five-year perspective, is it reasonable to think that these bills could add a couple of points to annual revenue growth over that timeframe? Just curious how you guys look at that.

恭喜你度過了美好的兩年。好的。所以我們透過多種方式詢問了這個問題。但很明顯，詹妮弗，你說過你仍然對 24 年的一些基礎設施法案沒有太多期望。但我試著從三到五年的角度來看待它，認為這些法案可以在這段時間內為年收入成長增加幾個百分點是否合理？只是好奇你們怎麼看這個。

Yeah, absolutely. You are correct that we're not expecting a lot in '24. I think Transportation Secretary Buttigieg had a pretty good quote about it. He said one way to think about it is, the first year was about passing the money in '22. The second year was about the programs launching in '23, and '24 is about the money moving so we can get the dirt flying.

是的，絕對是。你說得對，我們對 24 年的期望並不高。我認為交通部長布蒂吉格對此有一個很好的引用。他說，一種思考方式是，第一年是在 22 年傳遞資金。第二年是關於 23 年啟動的項目，而 24 年是關於資金流動，這樣我們就可以讓污垢飛揚起來。

As we move forward, we think there's opportunities for almost all of our products, and we expect that to continue over a five-year period. So in terms of quantification of it, I think we -- I started with the Buttigieg quote because we got to really understand what those projects are. But again, we saw some early examples that we talked about in the prepared remarks, specifically around street sweepers and safe digging. And we're pretty energized about this five-year plus tailwind.

隨著我們的前進，我們認為幾乎所有產品都有機會，我們預計這種情況將持續五年。因此，就其量化而言，我認為我們從布蒂吉格的引言開始，因為我們必須真正了解這些項目是什麼。但我們再次看到了我們在準備好的發言中談到的一些早期例子，特別是關於街道清潔工和安全挖掘的例子。我們對這五年多的順風感到非常興奮。

Got it. That's very helpful. You had talked in prepared remarks about plant production increases. And I just wanted to maybe understand where we're focused on there.

知道了。這非常有幫助。您在準備好的發言中談到了工廠產量的增加。我只是想了解我們的重點在哪裡。

Sure. So if we look at backlogs for certain products, and we look at those associated lead times, we're very focused on reducing those lead times, and we've made some progress with respect to some of our safe digging products. And we're focused on reducing lead times for other product lines at our facility in Streator and for our street sweepers in Elgin, Illinois. So those are the two primary areas. And the teams have goals in 2024. The Federal Signal operating systems that we talked about is going to be an important part of that initiative. And we're continuing to see sequential improvement, which is encouraging.

當然。因此，如果我們查看某些產品的積壓情況，並查看相關的交貨時間，我們非常注重縮短這些交貨時間，並且我們在一些安全挖掘產品方面取得了一些進展。我們致力於縮短斯特雷特工廠其他產品線以及伊利諾伊州埃爾金街道清掃車的交貨時間。這是兩個主要領域。這些團隊有 2024 年的目標。我們討論的聯邦信號操作系統將成為該計劃的重要組成部分。我們繼續看到連續的改進，這是令人鼓舞的。

Got it. That's helpful. And I think after Q3, you talked about lead times for sewer cleaners and street sweepers being in the eight- to nine-month range versus typical four to five. Are they a little bit improved off of Q3 or still in that range?

知道了。這很有幫助。我認為在第三季之後，您談到下水道清潔工和街道清潔工的交貨時間為八到九個月，而通常為四到五個月。它們比第三季度有所改善還是仍然在這個範圍內？

It depends on which product line you're talking about in terms of the lead times. Certain street sweeper product lines are extended. I always talk about this is a high-class problem to have because our orders continue to remain strong while our production rates are increasing. And our aftermarket business continues to remain strong, which is an important driver of use of those particular products.

這取決於您所談論的產品線的交貨時間。某些街道清掃機產品線得到了擴展。我總是說這是一個高級問題，因為我們的訂單繼續保持強勁，而我們的生產力卻在提高。我們的售後市場業務持續保持強勁，這是使用這些特定產品的重要驅動力。

Got it. I appreciate it, guys. I will leave it there.

知道了。我很感激，夥計們。我會把它留在那裡。

Walt Liptak, Seaport Research.

沃爾特·利普塔克，海港研究中心。

Congratulations on a great end to the year. I guess my first question is to Ian. Just thinking about the way that you're looking at the guidance for 2024, and you made a comment that you're going to be at the upper end of the EBITDA range. And so I guess the question is what determines where you are within that range? Is it the amount of revenue that you ship and leverage? Or is it some of these productivity programs or capacity coming online? What helps you either plus or minus in the range?

恭喜您今年圓滿成功。我想我的第一個問題是問伊恩的。想想你如何看待 2024 年的指導，你就評論說你將處於 EBITDA 範圍的上限。所以我想問題是什麼決定了你在這個範圍內的位置？是您運送和利用的收入金額嗎？還是其中一些生產力計劃或產能上線了？什麼可以幫助您在範圍內加或減？

Yeah. I think firstly, well, I think just to correct what we said in the prepared comments is that we expect to be in the upper half of the new target range, so not necessarily at the upper end of that range. So just wanted to clarify that.

是的。我認為首先，我想糾正我們在準備好的評論中所說的話，我們預計將處於新目標範圍的上半部分，因此不一定位於該範圍的上端。所以只是想澄清這一點。

Okay. That's important.

好的。這很重要。

Yeah. But in terms of what helps us get that margin improvement, we think about what the expansion at the Vactor facility and being able to actually tap into that expansion in the sense of increasing the build production rates of that facility that has some pretty attractive drop-through. So as we think about ramping up production in that facility, that should have some margin benefits there.

是的。但就如何幫助我們提高利潤率而言，我們考慮了 Vactor 工廠的擴張，以及能夠實際利用這種擴張，以提高該工廠的建造生產率，這有一些相當有吸引力的下降——通過。因此，當我們考慮提高該工廠的產量時，這應該會帶來一些利潤收益。

The other thing that would be a consideration is just the continued growth in our aftermarket business. We've seen some nice growth there again this year. I think we were up north of 20% year over year in terms of our aftermarket business. So that should be margin accretive.

另一件需要考慮的事情是我們的售後業務的持續成長。今年我們再次看到了一些不錯的成長。我認為我們的售後業務同比增長了 20% 以上。所以這應該會增加利潤。

I think the other things would be some of the acquisitions we've completed in recent years, some of the value-added M&A we've done that can have some margin benefits. And then finally, Jennifer touched on it would be the Federal Signal Operating System and just our ability to execute and to drive some efficiencies in our production processes. So those would be the main drivers from a margin standpoint.

我認為其他事情是我們近年來完成的一些收購，我們所做的一些增值併購可以帶來一些利潤收益。最後，珍妮佛談到了聯邦訊號操作系統以及我們執行和提高生產流程效率的能力。因此，從利潤的角度來看，這些將是主要驅動因素。

Okay. Great. Okay. Thanks for that. In the prepared comments, you guys called out warning systems as having a good quarter. And if memory serves, warning systems have been -- might have been lagging for some time. I know that's not the biggest part of the business, but if it's picking up, does it tell you something about some of the larger municipal projects?

好的。偉大的。好的。感謝那。在準備好的評論中，你們稱警告系統度過了一個不錯的季度。如果沒記錯的話，警告系統可能已經落後了一段時間。我知道這不是業務的最大部分，但如果它正在回升，它是否能告訴您有關一些較大市政項目的資訊？

Yeah. So what I spoke about is that the warning systems was up year over year. And we have seen -- that's an area where we have seen the benefits from the FEMA funds. And again, we live in a very uncertain world, and the need for redundant warning is critical. And so we've seen applications of that equipment. The use cases continue to proliferate. And I'd be remiss if I didn't add there that one of the encouraging things that occurred in '23 and as we move into 2024, we just saw broad-based strength across all of our SSG brands.

是的。所以我所說的是警報系統逐年增加。我們已經看到，在這個領域，我們已經看到了 FEMA 資金帶來的好處。再說一次，我們生活在一個非常不確定的世界，冗餘警告的必要性至關重要。我們已經看到了該設備的應用。用例繼續激增。如果我不在那裡添加 23 年發生的令人鼓舞的事情之一，當我們進入 2024 年時，我們剛剛看到我們所有 SSG 品牌的廣泛實力，那就是我的失職。

Okay. Great. Okay. And along those lines in SSG, you're putting in the third production line. Can you tell us if this is because of market growth? Or is it market share gains? I know you were going after some international markets for some of the police lights and others?

好的。偉大的。好的。沿著 SSG 的這些路線，您將投入第三條生產線。您能告訴我們這是否是因為市場成長？還是市佔率的成長？我知道你們正在尋找一些警燈和其他產品的國際市場？

Yeah. The good news is that it's in. And so the teams have done a really nice job in terms of the installation. It's a major project. It's a combination to support organic growth initiatives. We're also bringing back -- we previously -- Our supply chain was in Asia. And so we're on-shoring some of that work, and it supports also approach that we have in terms of being the total supplier for certain pieces of equipment.

是的。好消息是它已經進來了。因此，團隊在安裝方面做得非常出色。這是一個重大項目。這是支持有機成長計劃的組合。我們也恢復了先前位於亞洲的供應鏈。因此，我們將部分工作外包，這也支持我們作為某些設備的總供應商的做法。

So it was a hole in our product portfolio that we sourced from a third party. And now as the teams move strategically to supply more and more of that equipment, this fills one of those product holes, but overall, a very successful initiative.

因此，我們從第三方採購的產品組合中存在一個漏洞。現在，隨著團隊策略性地採取行動，供應越來越多的設備，這填補了其中一個產品漏洞，但總的來說，這是一項非常成功的舉措。

Okay. Great. And then the last one for me is, you talked about the phased rollout of the operational excellence program that you talked about last year. What inning are we in? Obviously, SSG has done a great job with the lights, but are there other businesses that you could tell us that you're going to be working on or are working on? In M&A, it sounds like Trackless is doing great. Do they get operational excellence first, or do you let them grow?

好的。偉大的。對我來說，最後一個問題是，您談到了去年談到的分階段推出卓越營運計劃。我們現在處於第幾局？顯然，SSG 在燈光方面做得很好，但是您可以告訴我們您將要從事或正在從事的其他業務嗎？在併購方面，Trackless 聽起來做得很好。他們首先獲得卓越運營，還是讓他們成長？

Yeah, great question. So as we talked about last year, we added resources to our 80:20 and lean initiative program. So we had a number of wins last year with our Ox Bodies Group, in particular, is a great example in Alabama. And as we roll out this particular system, we are focused, for example, Elgin, teams are out there already started in 2024, and that's an area because we're very focused on reducing lead times for that particular product line and increasing -- obviously, increasing throughput.

是的，很好的問題。正如我們去年談到的，我們為 80:20 和精益計劃增加了資源。去年，我們的 Ox Bodies Group 取得了許多勝利，尤其是在阿拉巴馬州，這是一個很好的例子。當我們推出這個特定的系統時，我們的重點是，例如，Elgin，團隊已經在 2024 年開始了，這是一個領域，因為我們非常專注於減少特定產品線的交貨時間並增加——顯然，增加了吞吐量。

But Mark Weber and the teams have identified a number of different opportunities. Typically, with the acquisitions, we wait until year two for that type of work. But put it this way, there's more demand right now for the resources, which is fantastic. And we're looking at how do we increase demand in order to respond to what we think is meaningful opportunity going forward.

但馬克·韋伯和團隊已經發現了許多不同的機會。通常，透過收購，我們會等到第二年才進行此類工作。但這麼說吧，現在對資源的需求更大了，這太棒了。我們正在研究如何增加需求，以應對我們認為有意義的未來機會。

Okay, great. All right.

好的，太好了。好的。

(Operator Instructions) Dave Storms, Stonegate Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）Dave Storms，Stonegate Capital Markets。

So it looks like there was a slight divergence in sequential order patterns for ESG and SSG with SSG just seeing orders down slightly since last quarter. Is that just a blip from orders being inherently lumpy? Or is there more to that story that we should be thinking about?

因此，ESG 和 SSG 的順序訂單模式似乎略有不同，而 SSG 的訂單自上季以來略有下降。這是否只是訂單本身不穩定造成的一個小插曲？或者這個故事還有更多值得我們思考的地方嗎？

Yeah. There's some lumpiness in terms of large fleet orders. And I think we talked about a large fleet order that we got in the first half of the year for the SSG business. We also, I think, on the last call, made reference to Ford was having a model year changeover for its -- some of its police vehicles. So that had some impact. It probably was less of an impact than we originally anticipating in Q4, but that could have had some impact, and that's primarily timing. People wouldn't place deals in Q4, but then they'll place them in Q1.

是的。大型機隊訂單存在一些波動。我想我們討論了今年上半年我們為 SSG 業務獲得的大型機隊訂單。我認為，在上次通話中，我們還提到福特正在為其部分警車進行車型年份轉換。所以這產生了一些影響。它的影響可能比我們最初預期的第四季要小，但這可能會產生一些影響，這主要是時間問題。人們不會在第四季進行交易，但隨後他們會在第一季進行交易。

So I wouldn't necessarily say within SSG, there's anything that we weren't expecting. Probably the opposite that the orders probably came in certainly higher than we had expected with that model year changeover.

所以我不一定會在 SSG 內部說，有什麼是我們沒有預料到的。可能恰恰相反，訂單量可能肯定高於我們對車型年份轉換的預期。

Understood. Very helpful. And then just a quick one on your cash deployment priorities. I know you touched on it, but it seems like you did everything in 2023 from buybacks, dividend raises CapEx and M&A, if you had to prioritize them for 2024, what would that look like?

明白了。很有幫助。然後快速介紹一下您的現金部署優先事項。我知道您談到了這一點，但您似乎在 2023 年做了所有事情，從回購、提高股息、資本支出和併購，如果您必須在 2024 年優先考慮這些事情，那會是什麼樣子？

Sure. Number one, investment in organic growth initiatives; number two, M&A; number three, competitive dividend yield, number four, opportunistic share buybacks.

當然。第一，對有機成長計劃的投資；第二，併購；第三，有競爭力的股息殖利率，第四，機會性股票回購。

That's very helpful.

這非常有幫助。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I'll turn the floor back to Ms. Sherman for any final comments.

謝謝。女士們先生們，我們的問答環節到此結束。我將把最後的意見轉回給謝爾曼女士。

Thank you. We would like to express our sincere thanks to our stockholders, employees, distributors, dealers, and customers for their continued support. Thank you for joining us today, and we'll talk to you soon.

謝謝。我們衷心感謝我們的股東、員工、經銷商、經銷商和客戶的持續支持。感謝您今天加入我們，我們很快就會與您交談。

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

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。