GMS Inc (GMS) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. Welcome to GMS Inc. Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to Carey Phelp, Vice President, Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

問候。歡迎參加 GMS Inc. 2023 年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄製中。我現在將會議交給投資者關係副總裁凱里·菲爾普 (Carey Phelp)。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thanks, Sherry. Good morning, and thank you for joining us for the GMS earnings conference call for the fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2023. I am joined today by John Turner, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Scott Deakin, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In addition to the press release issued this morning, we have posted PowerPoint slides to accompany this call in the Investors section of our website at www.gms.com.

謝謝，雪莉。早上好，感謝您參加我們的 GMS 2023 財年第四季度和全年收益電話會議。今天，總裁兼首席執行官約翰·特納 (John Turner) 也加入了我的行列。以及高級副總裁兼首席財務官斯科特·迪肯 (Scott Deakin)。除了今天早上發布的新聞稿外，我們還在我們網站 www.gms.com 的投資者部分發布了本次電話會議的 PowerPoint 幻燈片。

Starting on Slide 2. On today's call, management's prepared remarks and answers to your questions may contain forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements address matters that are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ from those discussed today.

從幻燈片 2 開始。在今天的電話會議上，管理層準備好的評論和對您問題的回答可能包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》中定義的前瞻性陳述。前瞻性陳述涉及受風險和不確定性影響的事項，許多其中超出了我們的控制範圍，並可能導致實際結果與今天討論的結果有所不同。

As a reminder, forward-looking statements represent management's current estimates and expectations. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in the future. Listeners are encouraged to review the more detailed discussions related to these forward-looking statements contained in the company's filings with the SEC, including the Risk Factors section of the company's 10-K and other periodic reports.

提醒一下，前瞻性陳述代表管理層當前的估計和期望。該公司不承擔未來更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。我們鼓勵聽眾查看公司向 SEC 提交的文件中包含的與這些前瞻性陳述相關的更詳細討論，包括公司 10-K 和其他定期報告的風險因素部分。

Today's presentation also includes a discussion of certain non-GAAP measures. The definitions and reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures are provided in the press release and presentation slides. Please note that references on this call to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 relate to the quarter ended April 30, 2023. (Operator Instructions)

今天的演示還包括對某些非公認會計原則措施的討論。新聞稿和演示幻燈片中提供了這些非公認會計準則衡量標準的定義和調節。請注意，本次電話會議中提到的 2023 財年第四季度涉及截至 2023 年 4 月 30 日的季度。（操作員說明）

With that, I'll turn the call over to John Turner, whose discussion will be starting on Slide 3. J.T.?

接下來，我會將電話轉給 John Turner，他的討論將從幻燈片 3 開始。J.T.？

Thank you, Carey, and thank you all for joining us today. 2023 was a year of strong growth and profitability with record levels of full year net sales, net income, adjusted EBITDA and cash flow generation.

謝謝你，凱里，也感謝大家今天加入我們。 2023 年是增長和盈利強勁的一年，全年淨銷售額、淨利潤、調整後 EBITDA 和現金流量均創歷史新高。

For fiscal 2023, we achieved full year net sales of $5.3 billion, an increase of 15% compared to the prior year. Net income increased 22% to $333 million. Adjusted EBITDA grew 17% to $665.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA margin improved 30 basis points to 12.5%.

2023 財年，我們實現全年淨銷售額 53 億美元，比上年增長 15%。淨利潤增長 22%，達到 3.33 億美元。調整後 EBITDA 增長 17%，達到 6.657 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率提高 30 個基點，達到 12.5%。

Cash generation was also significantly improved year-over-year, reaching a full year record high with cash from operations of $442 million and free cash flow of $389 million, each more than double their levels from a year ago. For the quarter, even after seeing a pullback in single-family demand and without the benefit of the steel inflation that we experienced during fiscal 2022 and early 2023, our team performed exceptionally well to close out the year.

現金生成也同比顯著改善，達到全年曆史新高，運營現金為 4.42 億美元，自由現金流為 3.89 億美元，均較去年同期增加了一倍多。在本季度，即使單戶住宅需求有所回落，並且沒有受益於我們在 2022 財年和 2023 年初經歷的鋼鐵通脹，我們的團隊仍以出色的表現結束了這一年。

For our fiscal fourth quarter, we grew net sales to $1.3 billion, up 2.8% on a same-day basis. Net income declined slightly to $75.6 million. But despite having 1 less selling day, adjusted EBITDA grew to $154.3 million, marking our ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 11.8% for the quarter compared with 12% in the prior year period.

第四財季，我們的淨銷售額增至 13 億美元，同日增長 2.8%。淨利潤小幅下降至 7560 萬美元。儘管銷售日減少 1 個，調整後 EBITDA 仍增長至 1.543 億美元，這標誌著我們連續第九個季度調整後 EBITDA 同比增長。本季度調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 11.8%，上年同期為 12%。

Strong multi-family demand and continued growth in commercial construction combined with a favorable pricing environment in Wallboard, Ceilings and Complementary Products helped offset lower steel prices and the continued softness in single-family activity that we began to see at the start of this calendar year in most regional markets. That said, on strength in Florida, the Southeast has been an outlier with modest year-over-year single-family growth.

強勁的多戶型需求和商業建築的持續增長，加上牆板、天花板和配套產品有利的定價環境，幫助抵消了鋼材價格的下跌和我們在今年年初開始看到的單戶型活動的持續疲軟在大多數區域市場。儘管如此，憑藉佛羅里達州的強勁勢頭，東南部地區的單戶住宅同比增幅不大。

Looking at our balance sheet. During fiscal 2023 and just after the end of our fourth quarter, we refinanced our ABL and extended and amended our term loan facility. The foundational strength of our well-positioned capital structure and liquidity position helps enable us to continue driving growth and improve profitability through the execution of our strategic priorities, which I will review now.

看看我們的資產負債表。在 2023 財年和第四季度末後，我們為 ABL 進行了再融資，並延長和修改了我們的定期貸款安排。我們良好的資本結構和流動性狀況的基礎優勢有助於我們通過執行我們的戰略重點來繼續推動增長並提高盈利能力，我現在將對此進行審查。

Looking at Slide 4. The first of our 4 strategic priorities is to expand share in our core products. Our team has worked tirelessly to be the supplier of choice for our customers, providing exceptional service, expertise and product availability.

請看幻燈片 4。我們的 4 個戰略重點中的第一個是擴大我們核心產品的份額。我們的團隊孜孜不倦地努力成為客戶的首選供應商，提供卓越的服務、專業知識和產品可用性。

For Wallboard, despite being impacted the most by the slowdown in new single-family housing, our teams have successfully strengthened existing relationships and entered into new agreements with key customers across our end markets. In steel framing and Ceilings, we are also strengthening relationships and successfully winning business in most of the sectors we serve even in large office new and remodel, which does remain muted.

對於 Wallboard 來說，儘管受到新建單戶住宅放緩的影響最大，但我們的團隊成功加強了現有關係，並與終端市場的主要客戶簽訂了新協議。在鋼框架和天花板方面，我們還在我們服務的大多數領域加強了關係並成功贏得了業務，甚至在大型辦公室的新建和改建中，這仍然保持沉默。

As such, utilizing a combination of data sources, including the Gypsum Association, the Steel Framing Industry Association and our suppliers' disclosures, we believe that we continue to maintain or grow share in each of our core product categories. And we'll continue to focus on this objective going forward.

因此，綜合利用包括石膏協會、鋼框架行業協會和供應商披露的數據源，我們相信我們將繼續保持或增加每個核心產品類別的份額。未來我們將繼續關注這一目標。

Next, we are growing our Complementary Products. Broadening and realizing incremental scale in our offerings helps enhance the value we bring to our customers while also allowing us to accelerate our growth and strengthen our margins. The Complementary Products group, comprised of our field business leaders and our central purchasing team, is progressively sharing best practices, identifying areas of opportunity, leveraging scale and consolidating vendors where sensible.

接下來，我們正在發展我們的補充產品。擴大我們的產品範圍並實現增量規模有助於提高我們為客戶帶來的價值，同時也使我們能夠加速增長並提高利潤。補充產品小組由我們的現場業務領導者和中央採購團隊組成，正在逐步分享最佳實踐、識別機會領域、利用規模並在合理的情況下整合供應商。

This focus allows us to leverage sales of our core products, such as wallboard and steel, to pull through complementary items such as tools, fasteners or insulation. And we are also expanding our EIFS and stucco lines to new locations and onboarding additional specialized sales expertise to boost growth in this category.

這一重點使我們能夠利用牆板和鋼材等核心產品的銷售來推動工具、緊固件或絕緣材料等補充產品的銷售。我們還將 EIFS 和灰泥系列擴展到新地點，並引進更多專業銷售專家，以促進該類別的增長。

Also during fiscal 2023, we furthered the growth of our Complementary Products with the continued expansion of the AMES footprint. In addition, we entered the New York City market through the acquisition of Tanner Bolt & Nut, a leading distributor of tools, fasteners and other related construction products in that area, added additional EIFS-focused locations with the acquisition of Engler, Meier & Justus and purchased Blair Building Materials, a highly respected provider of Complementary Products in Ontario, Canada.

此外，在 2023 財年，我們通過不斷擴大 AMES 業務範圍，進一步促進了補充產品的增長。此外，我們通過收購 Tanner Bolt & Nut（該地區工具、緊固件和其他相關建築產品的領先分銷商）進入紐約市市場，並通過收購 Engler、Meier & Justus 增加了更多以 EIFS 為重點的地點並收購了加拿大安大略省備受推崇的補充產品供應商 Blair Building Materials。

As we've discussed on previous calls, within our Complementary Product offerings, we are focused primarily on expanding several high-opportunity growth subcategories, including tools and fasteners, stucco and EIFS and insulation. Collectively, these product lines grew nearly 15% during the fourth quarter and 25% for the full year. We intend to continue this push to profitably expand and scale these product offerings across our geographies.

正如我們在之前的電話會議中所討論的，在我們的補充產品中，我們主要致力於擴展幾個高機會增長的子類別，包括工具和緊固件、灰泥和 EIFS 以及絕緣材料。總的來說，這些產品線在第四季度增長了近 15%，全年增長了 25%。我們打算繼續努力，在我們的各個地區擴大和擴大這些產品的供應，並實現盈利。

Third, we continue to take steps to expand our platform through accretive acquisitions and greenfield opportunities. As I just mentioned, during the fourth quarter, we completed our acquisitions of EMJ in Chicago and Blair Building Materials in Ontario, Canada.

第三，我們繼續採取措施，通過增值收購和綠地機會來擴大我們的平台。正如我剛才提到的，第四季度我們完成了對芝加哥EMJ和加拿大安大略省Blair Building Materials的收購。

With EMJ, we significantly expanded our Chicago operations and in the process, strengthened our relationship with Armstrong World Industries in this important market. Meanwhile, the Blair acquisition will allow us to further scale our Complementary Product offerings in the Greater Toronto area.

通過 EMJ，我們顯著擴大了芝加哥業務，並在此過程中加強了我們與 Armstrong World Industries 在這個重要市場的關係。與此同時，收購 Blair 將使我們能夠進一步擴大在大多倫多地區的補充產品供應。

In addition, we are pleased with our continued growth of new greenfield opportunities with the opening of a new yard in Ottawa, Canada during the quarter as well as 2 new AMES store locations. For the year, we completed 4 acquisitions and opened 6 new greenfield yards and 11 AMES stores.

此外，我們對新的綠地機會的持續增長感到高興，本季度在加拿大渥太華開設了一個新船廠以及 2 個新的 AMES 商店。今年，我們完成了 4 項收購，並開設了 6 個新的綠地堆場和 11 家 AMES 商店。

Expanding our footprint, scale and product offerings remained a key priority for GMS. We have a healthy list of opportunities in our pipeline of core GSD businesses as well as numerous complementary focused businesses.

擴大我們的足跡、規模和產品供應仍然是 GMS 的首要任務。我們在核心 GSD 業務以及眾多互補的重點業務中擁有一系列健康的機會。

Our fourth strategic priority relates to our efforts to drive improved productivity and profitability by leveraging our scale and employing technology and best practices to deliver a best-in-class customer experience and further drive profit improvement. Notably, the steps we are taking to build our yard of the future are yielding improvements in efficiencies, productivity and profitability, all while making it easier for our customers to do business with us.

我們的第四個戰略重點涉及我們通過利用我們的規模、採用技術和最佳實踐來提高生產力和盈利能力，以提供一流的客戶體驗並進一步推動利潤提高。值得注意的是，我們為建設未來船廠而採取的措施正在提高效率、生產力和盈利能力，同時使我們的客戶更容易與我們開展業務。

To highlight some of our initiatives, we now have about 60% of our noncash U.S. customers set up with online accounts. Also, we are at the midpoint in our initiative to bring digital capabilities into our larger warehouses, equipping our teams with automated tablets to increase the speed and accuracy of the picking and shipping process and better facilitate customer pickups.

為了突出我們的一些舉措，我們現在約有 60% 的非現金美國客戶設立了在線賬戶。此外，我們正處於將數字化能力引入大型倉庫的計劃的中間階段，為我們的團隊配備自動化平板電腦，以提高揀选和運輸過程的速度和準確性，並更好地方便客戶提貨。

And we are bringing a much more robust and data-driven approach to our purchasing efforts. Using our automated forecasting and replenishment platform, we are seeing improved turns and reduced stock outs. While in the early stages of implementation now, we hope to eventually push approximately 60% to 70% of our purchase orders through this system.

我們正在為我們的採購工作帶來更加強大和數據驅動的方法。使用我們的自動預測和補貨平台，我們發現周轉率有所提高，缺貨情況有所減少。雖然目前處於實施的早期階段，但我們希望最終能夠通過該系統推送約 60% 至 70% 的採購訂單。

Finally, as we mentioned last quarter, some of our ongoing initiatives are focused on the consolidation of certain back-of-house functions as we continually look to improve efficiencies, streamline our processes and drive complexity cost out of the business. These are just a few of the many efforts we have underway to improve our productivity and profitability.

最後，正如我們上季度提到的，我們正在進行的一些舉措側重於整合某些後台功能，因為我們不斷尋求提高效率、簡化流程並降低業務複雜性成本。這些只是我們為提高生產力和盈利能力所做的眾多努力中的一小部分。

Such steps, along with growth in Complementary Products and expansion of scale, have contributed to our taking adjusted EBITDA margins from the upper single digits pre-COVID to now consistently reporting these returns at double-digit levels. As a result of our productivity initiatives and heightened systematic focus on organizational and people development, we have become better operators and look forward to making further improvements as we execute on all of our strategic priorities.

這些舉措，加上補充產品的增長和規模的擴大，促使我們將調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率從新冠疫情爆發前的高個位數提高到目前始終保持兩位數水平的回報。由於我們的生產力計劃以及對組織和人員發展的高度系統關注，我們已經成為更好的運營商，並期待在執行所有戰略優先事項時取得進一步的改進。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Scott. Scott?

這樣，我現在將把電話轉給斯科特。斯科特？

Thanks, J.T., and good morning, everyone. I'll be starting on Slide 5. As J.T. mentioned, in terms of the economic backdrop, we are seeing generally positive but in some ways inconsistent fundamentals. We've seen strong levels of multi-family construction activity and many signs of recovery in commercial construction, while at the same time, navigating soft but improving single-family construction demand and still saw new and remodel activity in the office space, particularly in large urban centers.

謝謝，J.T.，大家早上好。我將從幻燈片 5 開始。如上所述，就經濟背景而言，我們看到總體積極但在某些方面不一致的基本面。我們看到多戶建築活動的強勁水平和商業建築的許多複蘇跡象，同時，單戶建築需求疲軟但有所改善，並且仍然看到辦公空間的新建和改建活動，特別是在大型城市中心。

Additionally, we are seeing deflationary pricing in steel framing but largely resilient pricing in Wallboard and other products, all while we manage continuing inflationary and activity-based increases in operating expenses as product demand shifts between end markets. With that overview of current market conditions in mind, I'll provide some details related to our fourth quarter results.

此外，我們看到鋼框架的通貨緊縮定價，但牆板和其他產品的定價基本上具有彈性，同時，隨著產品需求在終端市場之間轉移，我們管理著運營費用持續的通脹和基於活動的增長。考慮到當前市場狀況的概述，我將提供一些與我們第四季度業績相關的詳細信息。

Net sales increased 1.2% year-over-year to $1.3 billion for the quarter. Organically, sales were roughly flat with a year ago. Adjusting for 1 less selling day year-over-year, however, net sales increased 2.8% with daily organic sales increasing 2.2%.

該季度淨銷售額同比增長 1.2%，達到 13 億美元。從有機角度來看，銷售額與一年前大致持平。然而，根據同比減少 1 個銷售日進行調整後，淨銷售額增長了 2.8%，每日自然銷售額增長了 2.2%。

From a U.S. end market perspective, continued strength in multi-family and increased commercial Wallboard volumes, coupled with resilience in Wallboard pricing, led to residential sales dollar growth of 5.8% for the quarter. Commercial sales dollar growth in the U.S. was softer at 1.2% overall with an increase of more than 25% for commercial Wallboard revenues, offset primarily by declining steel prices.

從美國終端市場的角度來看，多戶住宅的持續強勁和商業牆板銷量的增加，加上牆板定價的彈性，導致本季度住宅銷售額增長 5.8%。美國商業銷售美元增長總體放緩，為 1.2%，其中商業牆板收入增長超過 25%，主要被鋼材價格下跌所抵消。

Now looking at these fourth quarter results for each of our product segments. Wallboard sales of $544.7 million increased 10.9% in total and 12.7% on a per day basis, comprised of a 15.5% increase in price and mix, offset by a 2.8% decline in volume as the slowdown in the single-family residential market most heavily impacted this product segment, offsetting increases in both multi-family and commercial Wallboard volumes.

現在看看我們每個產品領域的第四季度業績。牆板銷售額為 5.447 億美元，總計增長 10.9%，日均增長 12.7%，其中價格和產品組合增長 15.5%，但被單戶住宅市場放緩最嚴重導致銷量下降 2.8% 所抵消影響了該產品領域，抵消了多戶型和商業牆板銷量的增長。

Organically, fourth quarter Wallboard sales on a per day basis [grew] 13.1% year-over-year, comprised of a 15.7% increase in price and mix and a 2.5% decrease in volume. In terms of U.S. Wallboard volume, multi-family residential led the way with 27.9% volume growth for the quarter as compared with a year ago. U.S. commercial Wallboard volumes improved 7.3%, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year commercial Wallboard volume growth.

從有機角度來看，第四季度牆板日銷量同比增長 13.1%，其中價格和產品組合增長 15.7%，銷量下降 2.5%。就美國牆板銷量而言，多戶住宅處於領先地位，本季度銷量較去年同期增長 27.9%。美國商業牆板銷量增長 7.3%，標誌著商業牆板銷量連續第四個季度同比增長。

And finally, again, reflecting reduced demand across most regional markets, single-family Wallboard volume in the U.S. was down 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Similar to our experience last quarter, Wallboard pricing has remained resilient given the supply side capacity and cost dynamics in that market.

最後，美國單戶牆板銷量第四季度下降了 16.6%，這再次反映出大多數區域市場需求的減少。與我們上季度的經驗類似，鑑於該市場的供應方產能和成本動態，牆板定價保持彈性。

Plus, there has been a small benefit to Wallboard prices from a mix shift toward higher commercial volumes, which utilize a higher-grade, higher-cost Wallboard product. While we are starting to see some minor reduction in Wallboard pricing as we head into the summer, we believe that a lack of excess capacity in the market, the inflationary input and production cost environment and increasingly pressured access to synthetic gypsum are causing Wallboard pricing to be more resilient than we've seen in prior cycles.

此外，由於混合轉向更高的商業量，使用更高等級、更高成本的牆板產品，牆板的價格也得到了一些小小的好處。雖然隨著夏季的到來，我們開始看到牆板價格略有下降，但我們認為，市場產能過剩、通貨膨脹的投入和生產成本環境以及合成石膏的獲取壓力越來越大，正在導致牆板價格下降。比我們在之前的周期中看到的更有彈性。

For the fourth quarter, the average realized Wallboard price was $482 per 1,000 square feet, up slightly from our fiscal third quarter and up 15.9% as compared with a year ago. While we are extremely pleased to see a jump in single-family starts for May and are encouraged by the recent sentiments expressed by several key homebuilders both regionally and nationally, permits are still down more than 10% year-over-year.

第四季度，牆板的平均實現價格為每 1,000 平方英尺 482 美元，比第三財季略有上漲，與去年同期相比上漲 15.9%。雖然我們非常高興地看到 5 月份單戶住宅開工量大幅增加，並且對地區和全國幾家主要住宅建築商最近表達的情緒感到鼓舞，但許可證仍同比下降 10% 以上。

Therefore, we believe that even as starts begin to recover, it will take some time for builders to reverse course and for closings to regain pace. But we are much more optimistic today about the near- to medium-term outlook for the single-family space than we were several months ago.

因此，我們認為，即使開工量開始復蘇，建築商也需要一段時間才能扭轉頹勢，而竣工量也需要一段時間才能恢復步伐。但今天我們對單戶住宅空間的中短期前景比幾個月前更加樂觀。

Multi-family residential is expected to continue its solid construction levels in the near term. And in the commercial space, even though our bidding activity remains robust, concerns about credit risk and lease renewals are creating uncertainty about the prospects of this end market.

多戶住宅預計在短期內將繼續保持穩定的建設水平。在商業領域，儘管我們的投標活動仍然強勁，但對信用風險和租約續籤的擔憂正在給這個終端市場的前景帶來不確定性。

With that in mind, given the current headwinds and affordability issues, we expect some modest degradation of Wallboard prices in the coming quarters with likely sequential stabilization in the back half of our fiscal year.

考慮到這一點，考慮到當前的不利因素和負擔能力問題，我們預計未來幾個季度牆板價格將略有下降，並可能在本財年後半段連續穩定。

Fourth quarter Ceilings sales of $155.1 million increased 4.2% year-over-year or 5.9% on a per day basis, comprised of a 6.9% benefit from price and mix and a 1% decrease in volumes. Organic sales in Ceilings grew 3.8% or 5.4% on a per day basis, with a 6.4% benefit from price and mix, partially offset by a 1% decrease in volume as Thailand grid volumes lag what was otherwise a period of demand for architectural specialties.

第四季度天花板銷售額為 1.551 億美元，同比增長 4.2%，日均增長 5.9%，其中價格和產品組合帶來 6.9% 的收益，銷量下降 1%。天花板的有機銷售額每天增長 3.8% 或 5.4%，價格和組合帶來 6.4% 的收益，部分被銷量下降 1% 所抵消，因為泰國電網銷量落後於建築專業需求時期。

As a reminder, acoustical Ceiling volumes tend to increase seasonally in the summer months. Consistent with that trend, we are starting to see sequentially higher acoustical Ceiling volumes in June.

提醒一下，在夏季，聲學天花板體積往往會季節性增加。與這一趨勢一致，我們開始看到 6 月份聲學天花板銷量連續上升。

Fourth quarter steel framing sales of $223.8 million were down 19.2% versus the prior year quarter or 17.9% on a per day basis as deflationary pricing drove a 24.7% decline in price and mix, while volumes increased 6.8%. Organically, steel framing sales were down 17.8% on a per day basis with a 24.2% decline in price and mix, partially offset by a 6.4% increase in volume.

第四季度鋼框架銷售額為 2.238 億美元，較去年同期下降 19.2%，日均下降 17.9%，原因是通貨緊縮定價導致價格和產品組合下降 24.7%，而銷量則增長 6.8%。從有機角度來看，鋼框架銷量日均下降 17.8%，價格和產品組合下降 24.2%，但銷量增長 6.4% 部分抵消了這一影響。

In addition to strength in multi-family, many of our regional markets are experiencing favorable commercial activity with active health care, education, government, hospitality, biotech and other sector projects underway. Prices for steel framing products were down as expected with specific declines of 22.8% year-over-year and 11.9% on a sequential basis.

除了在多戶住宅領域的實力外，我們的許多區域市場還經歷著有利的商業活動，醫療保健、教育、政府、酒店、生物技術和其他行業項目正在進行中。鋼框架產品價格如預期下降，具體同比下降22.8%，環比下降11.9%。

Prices hit their low point during the quarter in March with a very slight improvement in April. Steel prices will likely remain relatively volatile with slight sequential declines expected for each of the next several quarters.

價格在三月份觸及該季度的低點，四月份略有改善。鋼材價格可能會保持相對波動，預計未來幾個季度每個季度都會出現小幅環比下跌。

Complementary Products sales of $380.5 million for the quarter grew 2.3% year-over-year or 4% on a same-day basis as we benefited from positive contributions from acquisitions. Organically, sales of Complementary Products increased 1.5% on a per day basis.

本季度補充產品銷售額為 3.805 億美元，同比增長 2.3%，同日增長 4%，這得益於收購的積極貢獻。從有機角度來看，補充產品的銷售額每天增長 1.5%。

Included in this product segment are our Canadian lumber sales, which comprised 8.5% of the quarter -- of the category in the fourth quarter compared with 13% a year ago when commodity lumber prices were much higher. Excluding these lumber products, net sales for Complementary Products in the fourth quarter grew 7.6% or 9.3% on a per day basis.

該產品部分包括我們的加拿大木材銷售額，佔第四季度該類別銷售額的 8.5%，而去年同期商品木材價格高得多，這一比例為 13%。不包括這些木材產品，第四季度補充產品的淨銷售額每天增長 7.6% 或 9.3%。

As J.T. mentioned, we continue to focus on the growth of our tools and fasteners, EIFS and stucco and insulation product lines, all of which contributed to higher sales growth in the broader complementary category with fourth quarter combined sales growth of 14.8% or 16.6% on a same-day basis.

正如 J.T.提到的，我們繼續關注工具和緊固件、EIFS 以及灰泥和絕緣產品線的增長，所有這些都促進了更廣泛的互補類別的更高銷售增長，第四季度綜合銷售額增長 14.8%，較上一季度增長 16.6%。當日計算。

Now turning to Slide 6, which highlights our profitability for the quarter. Gross profit of $424.5 million increased 2.8% as compared with the prior year period principally due to the continued pass-through of product inflation, improved commercial Wallboard sales, growth in higher-margin Complementary Products and incremental gross profit from acquisitions.

現在轉向幻燈片 6，它突出顯示了我們本季度的盈利能力。毛利潤為 4.245 億美元，較上年同期增長 2.8%，主要是由於產品通脹的持續傳導、商業牆板銷售的改善、利潤率較高的配套產品的增長以及收購帶來的毛利潤增量。

Gross margin improved 50 basis points to 32.5% as a relative mix shift that was more heavily weighted toward multi-family and commercial projects provide a benefit, particularly in Wallboard and steel. As Wallboard prices moderate with a continued near-term slowdown in single-family residential demand and steel margins normalize over the next few quarters, we expect first quarter gross margins to return to our more normal levels around 32%, consistent with our first quarter of fiscal 2023.

毛利率提高了 50 個基點，達到 32.5%，這是因為更注重多戶住宅和商業項目的相對組合轉變帶來了好處，特別是在牆板和鋼材領域。隨著單戶住宅需求近期持續放緩以及未來幾個季度鋼材利潤率正常化，牆板價格趨於溫和，我們預計第一季度毛利率將恢復到 32% 左右的更正常水平，這與我們第一季度的預測一致。 2023 財年。

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased during the quarter to $279.8 million compared to $264.5 million in the prior year period. And SG&A as a percent of sales was 21.5%, an increase of 90 basis points from 20.5% a year ago while adjusted SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales of 20.9% increased 70 basis points from 20.2% in the prior year quarter.

本季度銷售、一般和管理費用增加至 2.798 億美元，而去年同期為 2.645 億美元。 SG&A 佔銷售額的百分比為 21.5%，比去年同期的 20.5% 增加了 90 個基點，而調整後的 SG&A 費用占淨銷售額的百分比為 20.9%，比去年同期的 20.2% 增加了 70 個基點。

SG&A leverage was negatively impacted by steel price deflation and the relative mix shift between softened single-family demand and strength in multi-family and commercial. While this end market shift was favorable to gross margin, it also requires a higher operational cost to serve.

SG&A 槓桿率受到鋼材價格通貨緊縮以及單戶需求疲軟與多戶和商業需求強勁之間的相對組合變化的負面影響。雖然這種終端市場轉變有利於毛利率，但也需要更高的運營成本來服務。

Inflationary wages, higher facility costs and a onetime charge for bad debt also contributed to the year-over-year variance. All in, including higher interest expenses, net income increased 1.2% to $75.6 million for the quarter or $1.80 per diluted share compared to net income of $76.5 million or $1.75 per diluted share a year ago.

通貨膨脹的工資、較高的設施成本和一次性壞賬費用也導致了同比差異。總而言之，包括較高的利息支出，本季度淨利潤增長了 1.2%，達到 7560 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.80 美元，而去年同期淨利潤為 7650 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.75 美元。

Growth in earnings per share for the quarter outpaced net income as a result of the continued execution of our share repurchase program. During the quarter, we repurchased approximately 497,000 shares for $27.9 million at an average cost of $56.15 per share compared with 348,000 shares repurchased for $17.6 million at an average cost of $50.63 per share during the prior year quarter. For the full fiscal year 2023, we repurchased 2.3 million shares for $110.6 million at an average price of $48.74 per share.

由於我們繼續執行股票回購計劃，本季度每股收益的增長超過了淨利潤。本季度，我們以 2790 萬美元的價格回購了約 497,000 股股票，平均成本為每股 56.15 美元，而去年同期以 1760 萬美元的價格回購了 348,000 股股票，平均成本為每股 50.63 美元。在 2023 財年，我們以 1.106 億美元的價格回購了 230 萬股股票，平均價格為每股 48.74 美元。

Adjusted EBITDA remained strong at $154.3 million, up just slightly from $154.2 million in the prior year quarter. Given the previously mentioned single-family demand pressure, steel framing price declines and the inflationary operating cost environment, adjusted EBITDA margin decreased to 11.8% compared to last year's fourth quarter level of 12%.

調整後 EBITDA 依然強勁，為 1.543 億美元，略高於去年同期的 1.542 億美元。考慮到前面提到的單戶需求壓力、鋼結構價格下跌以及通貨膨脹的運營成本環境，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率從去年第四季度 12% 的水平下降至 11.8%。

Now shifting to our balance sheet, which is highlighted on Slide 7. At quarter end, we had cash on hand of $164.7 million and $759.2 million of available liquidity under our revolving credit facilities. We have no near-term debt maturities. And our net adjusted EBITDA debt leverage at the end of the quarter improved to 1.4x, down from 1.8x a year ago.

現在轉向我們的資產負債表，這在幻燈片 7 中突出顯示。截至季度末，我們手頭現金為 1.647 億美元，循環信貸額度下的可用流動資金為 7.592 億美元。我們沒有短期債務到期。本季度末我們的淨調整後 EBITDA 債務槓桿率從一年前的 1.8 倍提高至 1.4 倍。

Cash from operating activities for the fourth quarter was $204.8 million compared with $199.5 million in the prior year period. Free cash flow for the quarter was $185.4 million compared with $191.6 million a year ago as capital expenditures increased year-over-year due to opportunistic off-lease equipment purchases and certain building and leasehold improvements.

第四季度經營活動現金為 2.048 億美元，去年同期為 1.995 億美元。本季度自由現金流為 1.854 億美元，而去年同期為 1.916 億美元，原因是由於機會主義的租賃期外設備購買以及某些建築和租賃權的改善，資本支出同比增加。

For the quarter, capital expenditures were $19.4 million compared to $7.9 million a year ago. And full year capital expenditures were $52.7 million compared with $41.1 million in fiscal 2022. We expect that for fiscal 2020 -- excuse me, fiscal 2024, capital expenditures will be approximately $50 million.

本季度資本支出為 1,940 萬美元，而去年同期為 790 萬美元。全年資本支出為 5270 萬美元，而 2022 財年為 4110 萬美元。我們預計 2020 財年——對不起，2024 財年的資本支出將約為 5000 萬美元。

We are always evaluating opportunities to ensure that our capital structure and allocation priorities align with our 4-pillar strategy, balancing investing in our strategic initiatives with paying down debt or otherwise strengthening our balance sheet and opportunistically leveraging favorable market conditions for share repurchases. As such, subsequent to the end of the quarter, we refinanced our term loan, extending its maturity date by 7 years to 2030.

我們始終在評估機會，以確保我們的資本結構和配置優先事項與我們的四大支柱戰略保持一致，平衡對我們戰略舉措的投資與償還債務或以其他方式加強我們的資產負債表，並伺機利用有利的市場條件進行股票回購。因此，在本季度末後，我們對定期貸款進行了再融資，將其到期日延長了 7 年至 2030 年。

We also entered into new interest rate swap agreements to reduce rates, smooth the variability of interest payment cash flows and otherwise hedge exposure to future interest rate escalation. With these steps, we have successfully strengthened our already solid balance sheet, which further enables the execution of our strategic priorities and growth plans.

我們還簽訂了新的利率掉期協議，以降低利率，平滑利息支付現金流的波動性，並以其他方式對沖未來利率上升的風險。通過這些步驟，我們成功地加強了本已穩固的資產負債表，這進一步使我們的戰略重點和增長計劃得以執行。

All in all, I am extremely pleased with our results for the fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2023. Despite lower steel prices and near-term softness in the single-family market, we are entering fiscal 2024 poised with the same commitment to deliver best-in-class service to our customers and to drive profitable expansion of the business. We are positioned to continue to capitalize on our significant scale, our wide breadth of product offerings and our team's expertise to provide value across all of our end markets.

總而言之，我對我們第四季度和 2023 財年全年的業績感到非常滿意。儘管鋼材價格較低且單戶住宅市場近期疲軟，但我們在進入 2024 財年時仍將一如既往地致力於提供最佳業績為我們的客戶提供一流的服務並推動業務的盈利擴展。我們準備繼續利用我們的巨大規模、廣泛的產品供應和團隊的專業知識，為我們所有的終端市場提供價值。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to J.T. for a review of our outlook starting on Slide 8.

現在，我將把電話轉給 J.T.從幻燈片 8 開始回顧我們的前景。

Thank you, Scott. First, I'd like to provide some further color on our end markets, which continue to inform our outlook. As we enter the new fiscal year, the operating environment continues to evolve, and customers are exploring how best to navigate the economic uncertainty. As such and despite the surge in single-family starts in May, we remain cautious in the very near term as homebuyers linger on the sidelines in most markets and broader macroeconomic concerns persist.

謝謝你，斯科特。首先，我想對我們的終端市場提供一些進一步的信息，這將繼續為我們的前景提供信息。隨著我們進入新的財年，運營環境不斷變化，客戶正在探索如何最好地應對經濟的不確定性。因此，儘管 5 月份單戶住宅開工量激增，但我們在短期內仍保持謹慎態度，因為大多數市場的購房者都在觀望，而且更廣泛的宏觀經濟擔憂依然存在。

However, the strong starts does provide some additional confidence in the relatively short duration of this slowdown. For multi-family, given the current backlog of projects, we believe that the current strength in this end market should continue at least into calendar 2024.

然而，強勁的開局確實為這次相對較短的放緩持續時間提供了一些額外的信心。對於多戶住宅，考慮到目前的項目積壓，我們認為該終端市場的當前強勢至少應持續到 2024 年。

And in the commercial space, although there is concern that the regional banking crisis and higher interest rates might constrain the availability of capital for construction to date and absent large office, commercial bidding and quoting activity remains strong. In fact, our teams recently secured some significant project wins such as the Walmart headquarters campus in Arkansas, a large Ford battery plant in Kentucky and the new Los Angeles Clippers arena in California as well as many smaller projects underway across our portfolio, providing some confidence to this end market as we head into fiscal 2024.

在商業領域，儘管人們擔心地區銀行危機和利率上升可能會限制迄今為止的建設資金的可用性，並且缺乏大型辦公室，但商業招標和報價活動仍然強勁。事實上，我們的團隊最近贏得了一些重大項目，例如阿肯色州的沃爾瑪總部園區、肯塔基州的大型福特電池廠和加利福尼亞州的新洛杉磯快船隊球館，以及我們投資組合中正在進行的許多小型項目，這給我們帶來了一些信心當我們進入 2024 財年時，我們將進入這個終端市場。

Looking now at each of our product segments. For Wallboard, as I just mentioned, given the current backlog and longer build times associated with multi-family projects, we continue to expect the strongest growth to come from this end market during our fiscal first quarter with multi-family Wallboard volumes expected to increase in the high teens year-over-year.

現在看看我們的每個產品領域。對於牆板，正如我剛才提到的，鑑於當前的積壓和與多戶型項目相關的較長建設時間，我們仍然預計第一財季期間該終端市場將出現最強勁的增長，多戶型牆板銷量預計將增加年復一年在十幾歲左右。

Single-family Wallboard volumes will likely be down 10% to 15%, while the commercial end market should continue its modest growth that we've enjoyed for the past 4 quarters with expected commercial Wallboard volumes up mid- to high single digits for the quarter. In all, given the near term drag created by softness in single-family construction, we expect our total Wallboard volumes to be flat to down low single digits for our fiscal first quarter with high single-digit year-over-year inflation in pricing.

單戶牆板銷量可能會下降 10% 至 15%，而商業終端市場應該會繼續我們過去 4 個季度所享受的溫和增長，預計本季度商業牆板銷量將增長中高個位數。總而言之，考慮到單戶建築疲軟造成的近期拖累，我們預計第一財季的牆板總銷量將持平至低個位數，而定價同比通脹率將達到高個位數。

In Ceilings, given the current sources of commercial demand and their relative mix of architectural specialties to acoustical tiles, we expect first quarter Ceilings volumes to decline in the low single digits with prices that are up in the low single digits. And for steel framing, we expect volumes to be up low to mid-teens as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2023, with a year-over-year decline in pricing of 25% to 30% as we'll anniversary last June's peak of steel prices.

在天花板方面，考慮到當前的商業需求來源及其建築專業與吸音瓷磚的相對組合，我們預計第一季度天花板銷量將出現低個位數下降，而價格將出現低個位數上漲。對於鋼框架，我們預計與 2023 財年第一季度相比，銷量將上升至十幾歲左右，而價格將同比下降 25% 至 30%，因為我們將迎來去年 6 月的峰值週年紀念日的鋼材價格。

Finally, in Complementary Products and including the benefits of recent acquisitions, we expect to see low double-digit sales growth with balanced contributions from both volume and price.

最後，在補充產品方面，包括最近收購的好處，我們預計銷售額將實現兩位數的低增長，銷量和價格的貢獻將保持平衡。

Turning now to Slide 9. Combined, we expect net sales for GMS to be up low single digits year-over-year on a per day basis for our fiscal first quarter. Gross margin should be roughly consistent with both our first quarter of fiscal '23 and our long-term average of around 32%, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA expectation in the $170 million to $175 million range.

現在轉向幻燈片 9。綜合來看，我們預計第一財季 GMS 的每日淨銷售額將同比增長較低的個位數。毛利率應與 23 財年第一季度和 32% 左右的長期平均水平大致一致，從而調整後的 EBITDA 預期在 1.7 億至 1.75 億美元之間。

As it's typical during our fiscal first quarter, we expect to record a use of cash. However, for the full year, we expect free cash flow generation to be 50% to 60% of our full year adjusted EBITDA.

正如第一財季的典型情況一樣，我們預計將記錄現金使用情況。然而，就全年而言，我們預計自由現金流產生將佔全年調整後 EBITDA 的 50% 至 60%。

With slower single-family housing conditions expected to continue in the near term, our team is prepared to continue to navigate this trend and deliver value to our customers, shareholders, supplier partners and the entire GMS team. Moreover, given the limited inventory of existing homes and the structural need for residential housing, we are also encouraged by recent improvement in starts activity and builder sentiment as we look later into the fiscal year. We maintain a high degree of confidence in the future prospects of our business.

由於單戶住房狀況預計在短期內將持續放緩，我們的團隊準備繼續順應這一趨勢，為我們的客戶、股東、供應商合作夥伴和整個 GMS 團隊創造價值。此外，鑑於現有房屋庫存有限以及住宅的結構性需求，當我們展望本財年後期時，近期開工活動和建築商情緒的改善也令我們感到鼓舞。我們對業務的未來前景保持高度信心。

Before we open the line for questions, I'd like to remind you of the strength of GMS and the power of our network. With more than 300 distribution yards and over 100 AMES stores, our unique operating model combines the benefits of a North American platform and strategy with a local go-to-market focus enabling us to generate significant economies of scale while maintaining high levels of specialized customer service.

在我們開始提問之前，我想提醒您 GMS 的實力和我們網絡的力量。我們擁有 300 多個配送場和 100 多家 AMES 商店，我們獨特的運營模式將北美平台和戰略的優勢與本地市場進入重點相結合，使我們能夠產生顯著的規模經濟，同時保持高水平的專業客戶服務。

As a leader in the markets we serve, our customers have come to rely upon the benefits that our scale provides to secure the products they need. We are continuing to leverage this scale and employ technology and best practices to deliver an outstanding customer experience. We are building the GMS yard of the future to improve efficiency, productivity and profitability while delivering greater value to our customers and stakeholders.

作為我們所服務的市場的領導者，我們的客戶已經開始依賴我們的規模提供的優勢來確保他們需要的產品。我們將繼續利用這種規模並採用技術和最佳實踐來提供卓越的客戶體驗。我們正在建設未來的 GMS 堆場，以提高效率、生產力和盈利能力，同時為我們的客戶和利益相關者提供更大的價值。

Thank you for joining us today. We have a number of investor-focused items on our agenda over the next few months, including several conferences, another earnings call in just 2 months. And we expect to issue our inaugural corporate social responsibility report at the end of this summer.

感謝您今天加入我們。在接下來的幾個月裡，我們的議程上有許多以投資者為中心的項目，包括幾次會議，以及兩個月內的另一次財報電話會議。我們預計將在今年夏末發布第一份企業社會責任報告。

Operator, please open the line for questions.

接線員，請開通提問線路。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Matthew Bouley with Barclays.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Matthew Bouley。

You have Elizabeth Langan on for Matt today. Just to kind of -- nice to speak with you again. So just getting started, as we kind of are seeing this new improvement in residential construction, would you mind talking about how that -- your expectations about how that's going to flow through relative to starts and maybe the timing of when you expect you might start to see volumes pick up on your end?

今天請伊麗莎白·蘭根為馬特發言。只是想——很高興再次與你交談。因此，剛開始時，當我們看到住宅建設方面的新改進時，您介意談論一下這一點嗎？您對相對於開工將如何進行的期望，以及您期望何時開始的時間看到你的交易量增加嗎？

Yes. I think we still have a couple of quarter trough here to work through in builder activity, but we certainly were encouraged with the May starts number. And if we start seeing that follow on with the builder sentiment that we're hearing, we would expect that to continue to some extent that the latter half of our fiscal year should probably be better than we would have previously expected. Not comfortable yet to talk about growth in that category, but I believe that what we just talked about certainly is less bad than we would have expected even a quarter ago.

是的。我認為我們還有幾個季度的低谷需要完成建築商活動，但我們肯定對五月份的開工數量感到鼓舞。如果我們開始看到這種情況與我們所聽到的建築商情緒有關，我們預計這種情況將在某種程度上持續下去，我們財政年度的後半段可能會比我們之前的預期更好。目前還不太願意談論該類別的增長，但我相信我們剛剛談論的情況肯定沒有我們一個季度前的預期那麼糟糕。

So our first quarter guide here of down 10 to 15 is probably in the neighborhood of 5 to 10 points better than we would have previously expected for this quarter. So the continuing backlog in the Southeast of starts versus completions, that still exists in Florida to some extent. Maybe there's 100,000 units or so total left in that backlog. But now you're starting to see some acceleration in other markets again.

因此，我們第一季度的指導值下降 10 到 15 個百分點，可能比我們之前對本季度的預期好 5 到 10 個百分點。因此，東南部的開工與完工量持續積壓，在某種程度上，這種情況在佛羅里達州仍然存在。積壓訂單中可能總共還剩下 100,000 件左右。但現在您又開始看到其他市場出現一些加速增長。

And like I said, I guess 6 months of still double digits, probably declines, I would guess, in volume. But after that, should be back into the single digits. And maybe we'll get lucky and we'll see some growth in the back half.

就像我說的，我猜 6 個月的銷量仍將保持兩位數，而且我猜銷量可能會下降。但在那之後，應該會回到個位數。也許我們會很幸運，我們會看到後半場的一些增長。

Okay. That makes a lot of sense. And would you also mind touching on multi-family, given that backlog seems to be pretty resilient. Would you mind talking about how long you think that will continue? Or if that -- if you see a point at which that might recede?

好的。這很有意義。鑑於積壓的訂單似乎相當有彈性，您是否介意談談多戶型住宅呢？您介意談談您認為這種情況會持續多久嗎？或者如果你發現這種情況可能會消退？

Again, even the starts numbers here just the other day were still strong for multi-family. And I think completions still trailed again this last month or for, again, I would say, not still, but again, trailed -- completions trailed starts in multi-family adding to the backlog.

同樣，即使是前幾天這裡的多戶住宅開工數據仍然強勁。我認為上個月的竣工量仍然再次落後，或者，我想說，不是仍然，而是再次落後——多戶住宅的竣工量落後於開工量，增加了積壓。

So 6 months, I think we've talked about getting through all of -- all the way to calendar '24. So that would be at least 6 more months of solid growth, and then we'll have to look at what happens.

所以 6 個月，我想我們已經討論過所有的事情了——一直到日曆 '24。因此，這將是至少 6 個月的穩健增長，然後我們將不得不看看會發生什麼。

I would expect those starts numbers to begin to decline as I think most people would say that we're going to be built out from a multi-family perspective mid-'24. We're at record levels now, right, or since at least the early '80s. So I'm comfortable and confident in the next 6 months. How about that?

我預計這些開工數量將開始下降，因為我認為大多數人會說我們將在 24 年中期從多戶家庭的角度進行建設。我們現在處於創紀錄的水平，對吧，或者至少自 80 年代初以來。所以我對接下來的六個月感到舒適和自信。那個怎麼樣？

We feel good about -- through the calendar year, but as you look at declining rents and you look at cap rates being more difficult to make, there's likely some decline into the next calendar year. But we feel good through this calendar year.

我們對整個日曆年都感覺良好，但當你看到租金下降並且資本化率變得更加難以製定時，下一個日曆年可能會出現一些下降。但今年我們感覺很好。

Our next question is from Jeffrey Stevenson with Loop Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 Loop Capital Markets 的 Jeffrey Stevenson。

I just wondered, how did your Wallboard price at the end of April compared with your fourth quarter average Wallboard price? And then Wallboard pricing has held in better than [peer] to start of the year. And just wondered if you think the consolidation at the manufacturer level over the last 5 years has helped contribute to the stability of prices so far.

我只是想知道，與第四季度的平均牆板價格相比，你們四月底的牆板價格如何？到今年年初，牆板定價一直保持在比[同行]更好的水平。只是想知道您是否認為過去 5 年製造商層面的整合有助於迄今為止價格的穩定。

Let me answer the macro, and I'll hand it back to Scott. Whether or not that specific issue is driving the resilience in pricing, I'll let others speculate, but it's a factor. There's a lot of factors, quite frankly, in my opinion. And that is -- that's purely that.

讓我回答宏，然後我會將其交還給斯科特。無論這個具體問題是否推動了定價的彈性，我會讓其他人猜測，但這是一個因素。坦率地說，我認為有很多因素。那就是——純粹就是這樣。

Even if you looked at the first quarter shipments from the GA, the Gypsum Association first quarter shipments calendar quarter, we're only down 1%. And so you still have high levels of capacity utilization happening.

即使您查看 GA（石膏協會日曆季度第一季度出貨量）的第一季度出貨量，我們也只下降了 1%。因此，產能利用率仍然很高。

And the expectation that those -- that what we will see is sequentially kind of normal seasonality in the market, which would mean this quarter should be better than the first quarter, which means more capacity being utilized.

預計我們將看到的是市場中連續的正常季節性，這意味著本季度應該比第一季度更好，這意味著更多的產能被利用。

And then we touched on it in our script. Certainly, there's a lot of noise around synthetic gypsum. And while I'm not an expert in manufacturing of this product, I certainly understand that the raw material itself is becoming more difficult to obtain and more costly to obtain.

然後我們在劇本中談到了它。當然，合成石膏周圍有很多噪音。雖然我不是該產品製造方面的專家，但我當然知道原材料本身變得越來越難以獲得，而且獲得成本也越來越高。

So I think between -- what you mentioned, just generally speaking, stronger volume than I think most people would have expected and raw material inflation, of course, wage inflation as well, I think we're seeing a more resilient Wallboard market.

所以我認為，你提到的，一般來說，銷量比我認為大多數人預期的要強，而且原材料通脹，當然還有工資通脹，我認為我們看到了一個更有彈性的牆板市場。

Specifically to your question, we ended the quarter just a tick higher than we were for the average. And even further, if you look into May, that actually reversed a little bit to come down just about 1% from where we ended the quarter. So on balance, relatively flat.

具體到你的問題，我們在本季度結束時只比平均水平高了一點。更進一步，如果你看看 5 月份，情況實際上發生了一點逆轉，比本季度結束時僅下降了約 1%。所以總的來說，相對平穩。

Great. That's very helpful color. Appreciate that. And then last quarter, you highlighted the reduction of 170 positions would result in $15 million in annualized savings. And I just wondered how much of that savings was realized in the fourth quarter? And are there any other kind of cost reduction initiatives the company is considering moving forward?

偉大的。這是非常有用的顏色。感謝。上個季度，您強調減少 170 個職位將帶來 1500 萬美元的年化節省。我只是想知道第四季度實現了多少節省？公司是否正在考慮採取其他類型的成本削減舉措？

I guess based upon the stronger-than-expected volumes and very strong steel volumes if you look at it, I wouldn't think that we are doing anything other than the existing productivity initiatives which we always have in place, which we talked about in the script. And that's getting better at what we do in leveraging technology to service our customers better.

我想，基於強於預期的銷量和非常強勁的鋼鐵銷量，如果你看一下的話，我認為我們除了我們一直在實施的現有生產力計劃之外，不會做任何其他事情，我們在劇本。我們在利用技術更好地為客戶提供服務方面做得越來越好。

And I think that's more cost avoidance opportunity for us going forward, the ability to push more through our machine without having to add as much cost. I think our slight beat to guidance in our SG&A number, we certainly had some contributing factors on the top line. But with steel declining as dramatically as it did, I feel pretty confident that we're achieving that $15 million on a run rate basis.

我認為這對我們未來來說是更多避免成本的機會，能夠在不增加太多成本的情況下通過我們的機器推動更多的工作。我認為我們的 SG&A 數字略高於指導，我們的營收肯定有一些影響因素。但隨著鋼鐵價格大幅下滑，我非常有信心我們能夠在運行率的基礎上實現 1500 萬美元的目標。

We did talk about it ramping up. So I would say it's probably a couple of million dollars in this quarter that we're talking about now. And then it will kind of ramp up into the run rate of the $3 million or $4 million a quarter as we go forward.

我們確實談到了它的發展。所以我想說，我們現在討論的本季度可能有幾百萬美元。然後，隨著我們的進展，它的運行速度將逐漸提高到每季度 300 萬美元或 400 萬美元。

Our next question is from David Manthey with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自 David Manthey 和 Baird。

If gross margins were to deteriorate from this 32 level closer to 31 at some point during fiscal '24, what would be the most likely cause of that?

如果毛利率在 24 財年的某個時候從 32 的水平惡化到接近 31 的水平，最可能的原因是什麼？

Probably steel doing something strange, I would imagine, would probably be the driver of that. I just don't see it happening in the other categories. Pricing is resilient in Wallboard. And even if that top line was to change a little bit, right, the margin probably doesn't change in that category. And it's really the volatility around steel would be the one negative wildcard for gross margin.

我想，鋼鐵公司可能會做一些奇怪的事情，這可能是其驅動因素。我只是沒有看到其他類別發生這種情況。 Wallboard 的定價具有彈性。即使頂線發生了一點變化，對吧，該類別的利潤率可能不會改變。事實上，鋼鐵行業的波動將成為影響毛利率的一個負面因素。

Okay. And then second, I'm wondering if there's a world that could possibly see cost of goods sold for you deflate, but your SG&A cost stack items continue to insulate labor, transportation, occupancy. We've seen everything go up clearly in unison, but is there a world where one continues to go up, and the other one moderates or goes down?

好的。其次，我想知道是否有一個世界可能會看到為您銷售的商品成本下降，但您的 SG&A 成本堆棧項目繼續隔離勞動力、運輸、佔用。我們已經看到一切都明顯同步上升，但是否存在一個世界，其中一個持續上升，而另一個則放緩或下降？

Well, that's a tough one. I mean, I think we could see steel continue to decline, right? I mean, even while steel prices declined, we maintained or grew our gross margin in the quarter. So I think that's something that we could see steel deflate. And we could see gross margin stay the same or improve slightly potentially based on the lag effect there on the way down, right?

嗯，這是一個艱難的事情。我的意思是，我認為我們可能會看到鋼鐵價格繼續下降，對吧？我的意思是，即使鋼材價格下跌，我們本季度的毛利率仍保持或增長。所以我認為我們可能會看到鋼鐵行業的萎縮。基於下降過程中的滯後效應，我們可以看到毛利率保持不變或略有改善，對吧？

We would have quoted some higher prices out into the future on commercial projects. Inflation is moderating somewhat on the wage side. It's -- we're still dealing with -- on a year-over-year basis, we're talking about kind of the inflation that we committed to last year. The inflation we're committing to at this point on the wage side is less on a percentage basis than it would have been in previous periods.

我們會對未來的商業項目報出更高的價格。工資方面的通脹有所放緩。我們仍然在逐年處理，我們談論的是我們去年承諾的通貨膨脹。我們目前在工資方面承諾的通脹率按百分比計算低於之前時期的水平。

Certainly, if the economy stays in kind of this odd malaise or the switch over to services from goods, I don't see a lot of transportation inflation. And I don't see a lot of fuel inflation in this environment either. So I don't know how to answer your question in aggregate. That's some macro things that I see.

當然，如果經濟持續這種奇怪的萎靡狀態，或者從商品轉向服務，我不會看到太多的交通通脹。在這種環境下，我也沒有看到太多的燃油通脹。所以我不知道如何綜合回答你的問題。這是我看到的一些宏觀的事情。

Our next question is from Steven Ramsey with Thompson Research Group.

我們的下一個問題來自湯普森研究小組的史蒂文拉姆齊。

This is actually Brian Biros on for Steven. So just start on just Wallboard, maybe overall commercial. Just can you touch on how much was driven by new construction versus T&I work?

這實際上是布萊恩·比羅斯 (Brian Biros) 為史蒂文 (Steven) 配音的。因此，只需從牆板開始，也許是整體商業廣告。您能否談談新建築與運輸與工業工作的驅動力有多大？

Yes. We don't have as good internal information on pure new versus the TI. But clearly, TI is lower than historical right now. And so there is a stronger mix of new commercial.

是的。我們沒有關於純新與 TI 的詳細內部信息。但顯然，TI 目前的水平低於歷史水平。因此，新商業廣告的組合更加強大。

And I think what you're seeing is you're seeing some of these mega projects that I mentioned in my remarks in our script here. You're seeing some of these larger projects come to fruition. And certainly, you've seen some huge plant announcements made, whether it be chip manufacturing or otherwise.

我認為您所看到的是我在腳本中的評論中提到的一些大型項目。您會看到其中一些較大的項目取得了成果。當然，您已經看到了一些大型工廠的公告，無論是芯片製造還是其他方面。

I think the -- I read the other day that manufacturing is now accounting for double. Manufacturing starts is accounting for double what it did in the prior year period in the put in place construction numbers. So you are seeing a resurgence in large manufacturing in the United States.

我認為——我前幾天讀到製造業現在的佔比翻了一番。製造業開工量佔已竣工建築數量的兩倍。所以你會看到美國大型製造業的複蘇。

And those projects, they take a lot of Wallboard depending on the type of manufacturing. So certainly, we're seeing new construction be more important.

這些項目根據製造類型需要大量牆板。當然，我們看到新建築變得更加重要。

All that being said, outside of office, you're still seeing good remodel activity. Institutions are remodeling dorms out there. You're seeing multi-family remodeling to compete with the new. You're seeing a lot of retail changes in the retail landscape, a lot of redevelopment of historical malls into all types of multi-use facilities and entertainment arenas and areas.

話雖如此，在辦公室之外，您仍然可以看到良好的改造活動。各機構正在改造宿舍。你會看到多戶住宅的改建與新住宅的競爭。您會看到零售業發生了很多變化，歷史悠久的購物中心被重新開發成各種類型的多用途設施以及娛樂場所和區域。

So there's still a lot of remodel activity out there as well, just not office, large office. What you're seeing is you're seeing the suburban office, right, start to tick up a little bit but that's -- a lot of that's new.

因此，那裡仍然有很多改造活動，只是不是辦公室，而是大型辦公室。你所看到的是，你看到郊區的辦公室，對吧，開始有點好轉，但那是——很多都是新的。

Helpful. And a follow-up, I guess, is on gross margin expectations. Generally, it's been about 32%. I think you've consistently kind of outperformed a little bit 32.5% in the past 3 quarters. Can you just put into context where you've exceeded expectations over time? And I guess just how realistic is it to think that might continue in the next quarter or 2?

有幫助。我想，後續行動是毛利率預期。一般來說，這個比例約為32%。我認為在過去 3 個季度中，您的表現始終優於 32.5%。您能否簡單介紹一下隨著時間的推移您超出預期的情況？我想這種情況可能會在下一兩個季度繼續下去有多現實？

The mix of multi-family and commercial has helped. The product mix on multi-family and commercial has absolutely helped. And our steel margins were better than expected because our volumes were much better. So some incentive type of impact to gross margin was real in the quarter that probably won't repeat as we go into our fiscal first and second quarters.

多戶住宅和商業住宅的結合起到了一定作用。多戶型和商業型的產品組合絕對有幫助。我們的鋼鐵利潤率好於預期，因為我們的產量要好得多。因此，對毛利率的某種激勵類型的影響在本季度是真實存在的，當我們進入第一財季和第二財季時，這種影響可能不會重複。

So while we still have good volume, those incentives won't be anything -- won't be a part of the calculation until much later in the year when we understand what the absolute total volume might really be. So steel will moderate a little bit this quarter for sure.

因此，雖然我們仍然擁有良好的銷量，但這些激勵措施不會有任何意義——直到今年晚些時候我們了解絕對總銷量可能真正是多少時，才會成為計算的一部分。因此，本季度鋼鐵產量肯定會有所放緩。

And that probably gets us back into our -- as we mentioned and Scott mentioned as well, the Wallboard moderation in price, we expect a little bit of moderation in price in Wallboard. So maybe a tick lower in Wallboard margins as well.

這可能會讓我們回到我們的——正如我們提到的和斯科特也提到的那樣，牆板的價格適度，我們預計牆板的價格會稍微適度。因此，牆板邊距可能也會降低一些。

Our next question is from Mike Dahl with RBC Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場部的邁克·達爾 (Mike Dahl)。

It's actually Chris Kalata on for Mike. Just to go back to the Wallboard pricing comments. I think May, you said the pricing came down. How much of that was mix versus like for like? And I think you also said there's some modest pickup in competitive dynamics. Is that broad-based or is that more regional?

實際上是克里斯·卡拉塔（Chris Kalata）代替邁克。回到牆板定價評論。我想梅，你說價格下降了。其中有多少是混合與同類的？我想你也說過競爭動態略有回升。這是基礎廣泛的還是更具區域性的？

It's tough to fully quantify truly how much the mix impact versus what the price impact was. But generally, I'd say the price came down, but we were benefited by the mix shift offsetting it.

很難真正完全量化混合影響與價格影響的大小。但總的來說，我想說的是價格下降了，但我們受益於混合轉變抵消了它。

So single-family pricing is -- came down a little bit more. The commercial and multi-family stuff was a little higher. And then we got the mix benefit just in terms of the value of those products relative to single-family was a benefit as well, roughly balanced between the 2.

所以單戶住宅的價格下降了一點。商業和多戶住宅的價格要高一些。然後我們得到了混合效益，就這些產品相對於單戶住宅的價值而言，這也是一種效益，兩者之間大致平衡。

Understood. That's helpful. And then just going back to commercial and your outlook for this year. Do you expect volumes to remain positive in commercial through the balance of your fiscal year? Or do you expect some sort of weakness to emerge later in the year, given the lag to residential weakness? Or is that kind of big project type work enough to keep volume supportive?

明白了。這很有幫助。然後回到商業和你對今年的展望。您預計本財年餘下的商業銷量將保持正值嗎？或者考慮到住宅疲軟的滯後性，您預計今年晚些時候會出現某種疲軟嗎？或者這種大型項目類型的工作是否足以保持數量支持？

I mean, at least in the next couple of quarters, the volume looks good. The backlog looks good. As we mentioned in the script, the regional banking discussions, the availability of capital, tightening lending standards, all those kinds of things that we all read about, they haven't impacted the near-term quoting activity yet.

我的意思是，至少在接下來的幾個季度，銷量看起來不錯。積壓看起來不錯。正如我們在腳本中提到的，區域銀行討論、資本的可用性、收緊貸款標準，所有這些我們都讀過的事情，它們還沒有影響近期的報價活動。

You saw the ABI came out, had growth again for the first time in a few months. Earlier this week, moderate growth but still growth. So most of the indicators would say we're probably in an environment that we should enjoy this mid-single digits through the next couple of quarters.

你看到 ABI 出來了，幾個月來首次再次增長。本週早些時候，溫和增長但仍在增長。因此，大多數指標都表明，我們可能處於這樣的環境中：在接下來的幾個季度中，我們應該享受這種中等個位數的增長。

After that, it will be based upon new data, right? It would be based on the tightening, Fed tightening, bank tightening, but take a look at all that.

之後，它將基於新的數據，對嗎？它將基於緊縮政策、美聯儲緊縮政策、銀行緊縮政策，但請看看所有這些。

Our final question is from Trey Grooms with Stephens Inc.

我們的最後一個問題來自 Stephens Inc. 的 Trey Grooms。

This is Noah Merkousko on for Trey. So first, I wanted to circle back on sort of the margin dynamics just with the mix shift to more multi-family and commercial. I guess how much longer should we expect to see the gross margin benefit and SG&A deleverage from this shift in end market demand?

我是諾亞·默庫斯科（Noah Merkousko），替補特雷。首先，我想回顧一下利潤動態，只是將混合轉向更多的多戶住宅和商業住宅。我想我們預計多久才能看到終端市場需求轉變帶來的毛利率收益和銷售、管理、行政費用去槓桿化？

Let's see. It will continue until we get -- we start rolling over where we started to see this, which is probably still 3 quarters. So I would imagine that it will be at least 3 quarters where we'll still see the mix shift benefit on the gross margin side to some extent, and that we'll still see the cost to serve being a little bit higher.

讓我們來看看。它會持續下去，直到我們開始滾動我們開始看到的情況，這可能仍然是 3 個季度。因此，我想至少在三個季度內，我們仍會在一定程度上看到毛利率方面的混合轉變效益，並且我們仍會看到服務成本略高。

The steel, as an example, when you ship 6% or 7% more volume in steel and it's going out at 20% lower prices, and there's inflation on the delivery side, the G&A as a percent of sales looks lousy. But you're still generating the same gross margin dollars or more gross margin dollars that we generated in the prior year period.

以鋼材為例，當你的鋼材出貨量增加 6% 或 7% 時，其出廠價格卻降低 20%，並且交貨方面存在通貨膨脹，那麼 G&A 佔銷售額的百分比看起來很糟糕。但您仍然產生與我們上一年期間產生的相同或更多的毛利率。

So it's still a really nice profitable sale. It's just as a percent of sales, that SG&A looks bad, right? So I think that dynamic is going to continue for 2, 3 quarters.

所以這仍然是一次非常有利可圖的銷售。僅佔銷售額的百分比，SG&A 看起來很糟糕，對吧？所以我認為這種動態將持續兩三個季度。

Yes. I mean, the macro is the driver. So you take J.T.'s point that if our -- if the view is that single-family is going to be softer for the next couple of quarters as the starts activity resets in the marketplace, and then you've got continued strength in multi-family and commercial during that time period, that relative mix shift difference will be there during that window.

是的。我的意思是，宏觀是驅動力。因此，你接受 J.T. 的觀點，如果我們的觀點是，隨著市場開工活動的重新啟動，單戶住宅在接下來的幾個季度將變得更加疲軟，那麼你就會在多戶住宅中獲得持續的優勢-在該時間段內的家庭和商業，相對混合轉變差異將在該窗口期間存在。

Got it.

知道了。

And in the latter part of the year, we should start to see single-family come back and that start to balance out a little bit more.

在今年下半年，我們應該開始看到單戶住宅的回歸，並且開始變得更加平衡。

Yes. And then maybe last one for me. Kind of circling back on that thought that we start to see some single-family improvement in the back half of the year. It sounds like supply chains have gotten a lot better, especially since last year, and homebuilders are talking about cycle times improving. So I guess, does that kind of assume that the lag from a start to when you ship volume is shortening at least compared to the sort of last up cycle we went through?

是的。然後也許是我的最後一個。回想一下，我們在今年下半年開始看到單戶住宅有所改善。聽起來供應鏈已經好多了，尤其是自去年以來，房屋建築商正在談論周期時間的改善。所以我想，這是否假設從開始到出貨量的滯後至少與我們經歷的最後一個上升週期相比有所縮短？

I mean, likely to some extent, yes. So I'm not sure -- we in Wallboard with the exception of maybe the Southeast didn't really delay projects in comparison to the long international supply chains of some of the finishes. So I think we were still able to supply -- even at the peak, we were still able to supply in a reasonable amount of time, although there was some scrambling going on for sure. But I would say that, yes. I mean, if you think your single family -- most of the builders can complete in 6 months, then start to finish it still is 6 months, and that's our cycle.

我的意思是，可能在某種程度上，是的。所以我不確定——與一些飾面的漫長國際供應鏈相比，我們牆板除了東南部之外，並沒有真正推遲項目。所以我認為我們仍然能夠供應——即使在高峰期，我們仍然能夠在合理的時間內供應，儘管肯定會發生一些爭先恐後的情況。但我想說的是，是的。我的意思是，如果你認為你的單身家庭——大多數建築商可以在 6 個月內完成，那麼開始到完成仍然需要 6 個月，這就是我們的周期。

With no further questions, this will conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. And thank you again for your participation.

沒有其他問題，今天的會議就結束了。此時您可以斷開線路。並再次感謝您的參與。

Thank you.

謝謝。