Haemonetics Corp (HAE) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Haemonetics Corporation third-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Haemonetics Corporation 2024 財年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I will now hand the conference over to your speaker host, Olga Guyette, Senior Director of Investor Relations and Treasury. Please go ahead.

我現在將會議交給演講主持人、投資者關係和財務部高級總監 Olga Guyette。請繼續。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for Haemonetics third-quarter fiscal year 2024 conference call and webcast. I'm joined today by Chris Simon, our CEO; and James D'Arecca, our CFO. This morning, we posted our third-quarter fiscal year 2024 results to our Investor Relations website, along with our updated fiscal 2024 guidance.

大家，早安。感謝您參加 Haemonetics 2024 財年第三季電話會議和網路廣播。今天我們的執行長克里斯·西蒙 (Chris Simon) 也加入了我的行列。以及我們的財務長 James D'Arecca。今天早上，我們在投資者關係網站上發布了 2024 財年第三季業績以及更新的 2024 財年指引。

Before we begin, just a quick reminder that all revenue growth rates discussed today are organic and exclude the impact of currency fluctuations and our recently completed acquisition of OpSens. We'll also refer to other non-GAAP financial measures to help investors understand Haemonetics' ongoing business performance. Please note that these measures exclude certain charges and income items. For a full list of excluded items, reconciliations to our GAAP results, and comparisons with the prior-year periods, please refer to our third-quarter fiscal year 2024 earnings release available on our website.

在我們開始之前，先快速提醒一下，今天討論的所有收入成長率都是有機的，不包括貨幣波動和我們最近完成的 OpSens 收購的影響。我們也將參考其他非公認會計準則財務指標，以協助投資人了解 Haemonetics 的持續業務績效。請注意，這些措施不包括某些費用和收入項目。有關排除項目的完整清單、與 GAAP 結果的對帳以及與上年同期的比較，請參閱我們網站上提供的 2024 財年第三季收益發布。

Our remarks today include forward-looking statements, and our actual results may differ materially from anticipated results. Factors that may cause our results to differ include those referenced in the Safe Harbor statement in today's earnings release and in our other SEC filings. We do not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

我們今天的言論包括前瞻性陳述，我們的實際結果可能與預期結果有重大差異。可能導致我們的結果出現差異的因素包括今天收益發布的安全港聲明和我們其他 SEC 文件中提到的因素。我們不承擔更新這些前瞻性聲明的任何義務。

And now I'd like to turn it over to Chris.

現在我想把它交給克里斯。

Thanks, Olga. Good morning and thank you all for joining.

謝謝，奧爾加。早安，感謝大家的加入。

Today, we reported third-quarter revenue of $336 million, growth of 10% on a reported and organic basis, and adjusted earnings per diluted share of $1.04, 22% growth over prior year. Our results underscore our success in driving above-market growth while we are achieving critical milestones in our long-range plan to fuel the transformation of our company. Margin expansion through FY24 foreshadows the compounding impact of changes in volume and mix, coupled with productivity and operating leverage. We are proud of our accomplishments and enthusiastic about the many opportunities to grow our business moving forward. Through portfolio evolution, operational excellence, and resource allocation, we've strengthened our leadership in plasma while building our high-growth, high-margin hospital segment to expand our scale and leverage.

今天，我們報告第三季營收為 3.36 億美元，按報告和有機增長 10%，調整後每股攤薄收益為 1.04 美元，比上年增長 22%。我們的業績突顯了我們在推動高於市場的成長方面的成功，同時我們正在實現推動公司轉型的長期計劃的關鍵里程碑。2024 財年的利潤率擴張預示著數量和結構變化以及生產力和營運槓桿的複合影響。我們為我們的成就感到自豪，並對未來發展業務的眾多機會充滿熱情。透過產品組合的演變、卓越營運和資源配置，我們加強了在血漿領域的領導地位，同時建立了高成長、高利潤的醫院部門，以擴大我們的規模和影響力。

Looking at our business unit results, plasma revenue grew 8% in the third quarter and 17% year to date, driven primarily by volume. Our collections environment in the US continue to be favorable with disposables growing 7% in the quarter and 17% year to date. With robust recovery continuing, our operational excellence program helped us ensure delivery for our customers as they continue to collect historically high volumes, further highlighting the need for reliability, donor safety, and yield-enhancing solutions. We are working in close collaboration with our customers to provide solutions that further distinguish Haemonetics as the undisputed industry leader in plasma innovation. The rollout of Persona, our proprietary technology proven to increase yield 9% to 12% on average, continues to gain momentum with more than 25 million collections.

從我們的業務部門業績來看，等離子收入在第三季成長了 8%，今年迄今成長了 17%，這主要是由銷售推動的。我們在美國的收藏環境持續良好，本季一次性產品成長了 7%，今年迄今成長了 17%。隨著強勁的復甦持續進行，我們的卓越營運計劃幫助我們確保為客戶提供交付，因為他們繼續收集歷史上最高的數量，進一步凸顯了對可靠性、捐贈者安全和提高產量的解決方案的需求。我們正在與客戶密切合作，提供解決方案，進一步使 Haemonetics 成為血漿創新領域無可爭議的行業領導者。Persona 是我們的專有技術，經證明可將產量平均提高 9% 至 12%，其推出繼續保持強勁勢頭，收藏量已超過 2500 萬份。

The limited market release of our new Express Plus Technology has been encouraging. We have performed over 50,000 collections that have demonstrated a significant reduction in procedure times, and we remain on track for full market release in early fiscal '25. Advancements in NexLynk DMS, our bidirectional connectivity software, are improving cycle times, reducing errors, and allowing staff to focus on taking care of donors and reducing door-to-door time, a key determinant of donor satisfaction. The combination of Persona, Express Plus, and NexLynk sets a new industry standard for center throughput, cost per liter, and donor satisfaction.

我們新的 Express Plus 技術的有限市場發布令人鼓舞。我們已經進行了超過 50,000 次收集，結果顯示程序時間顯著縮短，並且我們仍有望在 25 財年早期全面上市。我們的雙向連接軟體 NexLynk DMS 的進步正在縮短週期時間，減少錯誤，並使工作人員能夠專注於照顧捐贈者並減少上門時間，這是捐贈者滿意度的關鍵決定因素。Persona、Express Plus 和 NexLynk 的結合為中心吞吐量、每公升成本和捐贈者滿意度設立了新的行業標準。

Due to strong year-to-date results, we are increasing our plasma guidance from 10% to 12% to 11% to 13%. We remain bullish on plasma longer term, and we are confident in our ability to maintain leading market share while continuing to migrate customers to our latest technology. Blood center revenue declined 3% in the third quarter and 1% year to date. Apheresis revenue was down 1% in the quarter but grew 2% year to date. Both in the quarter and year to date, we continue to benefit from increasing blood center plasma collections, particularly within newly established plasma centers in Egypt, and strong efforts to increase the collection of red cell units in the US. These trends were partially offset by the strong growth we experienced last year and order timing among distributors particularly in our third quarter.

由於今年迄今的強勁業績，我們將血漿指引從 10% 至 12% 提高至 11% 至 13%。我們仍然看好等離子的長期發展，我們對保持領先市場份額的能力充滿信心，同時繼續將客戶遷移到我們的最新技術。血液中心營收第三季下降 3%，今年迄今下降 1%。本季單採術收入下降 1%，但年初至今成長 2%。在本季度和今年迄今為止，我們繼續受益於血液中心血漿採集量的增加，特別是在埃及新建立的血漿中心，以及美國為增加紅血球單位採集量所做的大力努力。這些趨勢部分被我們去年經歷的強勁成長和分銷商的訂單時間（特別是第三季）所抵消。

Whole blood revenue declined 6% in the quarter and 9% year to date predominantly driven by lower volumes associated with our decision to rationalize parts of this business, partially offset by benefits from last time buys. The portfolio and manufacturing network rationalization initiatives we introduced in November are critical for preserving blood center's ability to generate strong EBITDA as we continue to work with our customers to migrate them to alternative products. Due to price benefits and early success with customer migration, we are increasing our revenue growth guidance from a range of -4% to -2% to a range of -2% to flat.

全血收入本季下降了 6%，今年迄今下降了 9%，主要是由於我們決定合理化部分業務而導致銷量下降，部分被上次購買的收益所抵消。我們在 11 月推出的產品組合和製造網路合理化措施對於維持血液中心產生強勁 EBITDA 的能力至關重要，因為我們將繼續與客戶合作，將他們轉向替代品。由於價格優勢和客戶遷移的早期成功，我們將收入成長指引從 -4% 至 -2% 提高到 -2% 至持平。

Our hospital business had an especially strong third quarter with revenue growth of 22% as all of our products grew double digits. Year to date, hospital grew 17% driven by the continued success of vascular closure and hemostasis management. In interventional technologies which includes vascular closure and OpSens products, vascular closure grew 28% in the third quarter and 29% year to date, driven by continued momentum with new account openings and improving utilization throughout the US. We are on track to be in 80% of the target top 600 US hospital accounts by the end of this fiscal year, providing us access to the vast majority of addressable procedures in this market. This footprint will also provide the foundation for future growth, particularly as we realize opportunities through our innovation and M&A pipelines.

我們的醫院業務在第三季表現尤其強勁，營收成長了 22%，所有產品均實現了兩位數成長。今年迄今為止，在血管閉合和止血管理持續成功的推動下，醫院業務成長了 17%。在包括血管閉合和 OpSens 產品在內的介入技術中，在美國各地新帳戶開設和利用率提高的持續勢頭的推動下，血管閉合在第三季度增長了 28%，今年迄今增長了 29%。到本財年末，我們預計將進入美國 600 強醫院目標中 80% 的客戶，使我們能夠獲得該市場絕大多數可尋址的手術。這項足跡也將為未來的成長奠定基礎，特別是當我們透過創新和併購管道實現機會時。

Internationally, our products are gaining recognition, contributing approximately 200 basis points of growth in the third quarter.

在國際上，我們的產品正在獲得認可，第三季貢獻了約 200 個基點的成長。

We completed the OpSens acquisition on December 12. This is an exciting milestone for us as we continue to expand our hospital business with procedure-enabling technologies in high-growth areas. The integration is underway, and we plan to launch both SavvyWire and OptoWire sensor-guided technologies with our US commercial team in April. These products are highly synergistic with our vascular closure products and are immediately accretive to revenue and adjusted earnings per diluted share growth with an expected three-year ROIC in excess of 10%.

我們於 12 月 12 日完成了對 OpSens 的收購。這對我們來說是一個令人興奮的里程碑，因為我們繼續在高成長領域利用手術支援技術擴展我們的醫院業務。整合正在進行中，我們計劃於 4 月與我們的美國商業團隊一起推出 SavvyWire 和 OptoWire 感測器引導技術。這些產品與我們的血管閉合產品高度協同，可立即增加收入和調整後每股稀釋收益的成長，預計三年投資回報率超過 10%。

Now moving to blood management technologies which includes hemostasis management and our legacy hospital products, hemostasis management revenue grew 18% in the third quarter and 14% year to date, driven by increased capital sales and utilization of TEG disposables in the US and China. Growth in China rebounded in the third quarter more than offsetting previous underperformance in that market earlier this fiscal. We anticipate sustaining our growth momentum as we capitalize on our significantly expanded R&D and clinical capabilities to further develop new and existing products and commercial infrastructure to cover the majority of our strategic accounts in the $700 million underpenetrated total addressable market.

現在轉向血液管理技術，包括止血管理和我們的傳統醫院產品，受美國和中國資本銷售和TEG 一次性用品使用增加的推動，止血管理收入在第三季度增長了18%，今年迄今增長了14% 。中國第三季經濟成長反彈，抵消了本財年早些時候該市場表現不佳的影響。我們預計將維持我們的成長勢頭，因為我們利用顯著擴大的研發和臨床能力，進一步開發新的和現有的產品和商業基礎設施，以覆蓋我們在7 億美元的未滲透總目標市場中的大部分戰略客戶。

The rest of the blood management technologies portfolio which includes Transfusion Management and Cell Salvage, grew 18% in the third quarter and 6% year-to-date. Transfusion Management was up significantly year over year due to completion of customer implementations for both SafeTrace Tx and BloodTrack, as well as growth in recurring maintenance revenue for both products. Growth in Cell Salvage was driven by strong utilization of disposable kits both in the US and China.

血液管理技術組合的其餘部分，包括輸血管理和細胞回收，第三季增加了 18%，今年迄今成長了 6%。由於 SafeTrace Tx 和 BloodTrack 的客戶實施完成，以及這兩種產品的經常性維護收入的增長，輸血管理同比大幅增長。細胞回收的成長是由美國和中國一次性試劑盒的大量使用所推動的。

In hospital, we expect continued revenue growth acceleration and reaffirm our previous guidance range of 16% to 18%, which is on top of the strong revenue growth we experienced in prior two years. Our transformational growth plans are working across our businesses, and we are raising our total company revenue guidance by 200 basis points to a new range of 10% to 12% to better reflect the year-to-date momentum in plasma and our success, mitigating challenges in our blood center business.

在醫院方面，我們預計收入將繼續加速成長，並重申我們先前的指導範圍為 16% 至 18%，這是在我們前兩年經歷的強勁收入成長的基礎上實現的。我們的轉型成長計畫正在整個業務範圍內發揮作用，我們將公司總收入指引提高200 個基點，達到10% 至12% 的新範圍，以更好地反映Plasma 領域今年迄今的勢頭和我們的成功，從而減輕我們血液中心業務面臨的挑戰。

Now I'll hand it over to James to discuss the rest of our third-quarter results and updated FY24 guidance. James?

現在我將把它交給 James 來討論我們第三季業績的其餘部分和更新的 2024 財年指導。詹姆士？

Thank you, Chris. And good morning everyone. I'll begin with our business results and some additional updates to our fiscal 2024 guidance.

謝謝你，克里斯。大家早安。我將首先介紹我們的業務成果以及 2024 財年指導的一些其他更新。

Third-quarter adjusted gross margin was 55.3%, an increase of 280 basis points compared with the third quarter of the prior year. Adjusted gross margin year to date was 54.5%, an increase of 80 basis points compared with the prior year. Both the third quarter and year-to-date adjusted gross margins benefited from price, volume, and a favorable mix driven by strong sales in hospital and continued momentum in plasma. These benefits were somewhat offset by increased depreciation, impacts from foreign exchange, and a $6.8 million in cumulative year-to-date charges related to a voluntary product recall in our whole blood business, which was announced earlier in fiscal 2024.

第三季調整後毛利率為55.3%，較上年第三季成長280個基點。年初至今調整後毛利率為54.5%，較上年增加80個基點。第三季和年初至今的調整後毛利率均受益於價格、銷售以及醫院強勁銷售和血漿持續成長勢頭推動的有利組合。這些收益在一定程度上被折舊增加、外匯影響以及與全血業務自願產品召回相關的年初至今累計 680 萬美元的費用所抵消，該費用於 2024 財年早些時候宣布。

Adjusted operating expenses in the third quarter were $112.7 million, an increase of $11 million, or 11% compared with the third quarter of the prior year. As a percentage of revenue, adjusted operating expenses were at 33.5%. The increase in adjusted operating expenses in the third quarter was due to higher growth investments, higher performance-based compensation, and, to a lesser extent, higher freight cost.

第三季調整後營運費用為1.127億美元，比去年第三季增加1,100萬美元，即11%。調整後的營運費用佔收入的百分比為 33.5%。第三季調整後營運費用的增加是由於更高的成長投資、更高的基於績效的薪酬以及在較小程度上更高的貨運成本。

Adjusted operating expenses year to date were $314.9 million at 32.6% of revenue compared to last year's $299.9 million at 34.7% of revenue. The decrease in adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of revenue is driven by growing operating momentum, which more than offset continued investments in our business. Most of these investments were directed toward advancing our innovation pipeline and amplifying market share in our hospital business. We anticipate that the investments we are making today will continue to expand our operating leverage over the next several years.

年初至今，調整後營運費用為 3.149 億美元，佔營收的 32.6%，而去年為 2.999 億美元，佔營收的 34.7%。調整後的營運費用佔收入的百分比下降是由於營運勢頭不斷增長，這遠遠抵消了我們對業務的持續投資。這些投資大部分旨在推進我們的創新管道並擴大我們醫院業務的市場份額。我們預計，我們今天進行的投資將在未來幾年繼續擴大我們的營運槓桿。

Adjusted operating income was $73.4 million in the third quarter and $211.9 million year to date, representing increases of $14 million and $47 million, respectively. As a percentage of revenue, the adjusted operating margin was 21.8% in the third quarter and 21.9% year to date, up 250 basis points and 290 basis points, respectively when compared with the same periods in the fiscal year 2023.

第三季調整後營業收入為 7,340 萬美元，年初至今為 2.119 億美元，分別增加 1,400 萬美元和 4,700 萬美元。以佔營收的百分比計算，第三季和年初至今調整後營業利潤率為21.8%和21.9%，與2023財年同期相比分別上升250個基點和290個基點。

We remain confident in our ability to expand our margins. Our fiscal year 2024 adjusted operating margin guidance remains unchanged at approximately 21% and includes the expected contribution from OpSens, which we anticipate to be slightly dilutive to our adjusted operating margin in the near term. As you heard from Chris, we have big plans for this business and expect it to become increasingly accretive throughout our adjusted P&L in the next several years, particularly as we begin to realize synergies and improve scale.

我們對擴大利潤的能力仍然充滿信心。我們的 2024 財年調整後營業利潤率指引保持在約 21% 不變，其中包括 OpSens 的預期貢獻，我們預計該貢獻將在短期內略微稀釋我們調整後的營業利潤率。正如您從克里斯那裡聽到的，我們對這項業務有宏偉的計劃，並期望它在未來幾年調整後的損益表中變得越來越增值，特別是當我們開始實現協同效應並擴大規模時。

Our guidance also includes $20 million in target gross savings from the operational excellence program or about $6 million in net savings, helping to generate additional efficiency and free up resources that can be reallocated to drive growth. We are one year ahead of schedule to complete our OEP and deliver $116 million of gross target cumulative savings by the end of this fiscal year, with about 30% of these savings directly benefiting our bottom line. This program helped us drive renewed efficiencies and strengthen our supply chain.

我們的指導還包括透過卓越營運計畫實現 2000 萬美元的目標總節省或約 600 萬美元的淨節省，有助於提高效率並釋放可重新分配以推動成長的資源。我們提前一年完成了 OEP，並在本財年末實現累計節省 1.16 億美元的總目標，其中約 30% 的節省直接惠及我們的利潤。該計劃幫助我們提高了效率並加強了我們的供應鏈。

Beyond this program, we will continue to pursue additional opportunities to reduce our costs and further improve efficiency. The portfolio and manufacturing network rationalization initiatives announced in November are just a few examples of our stewardship.

除了該計劃之外，我們將繼續尋求更多機會來降低成本並進一步提高效率。11 月宣布的投資組合和製造網絡合理化措施只是我們管理工作的幾個例子。

The adjusted income tax rate was 25% in the third quarter, the same as in the third quarter of last year, and the adjusted income tax rate year to date was 23% and 24% in fiscal years 2024 and 2023, respectively.

第三季調整後所得稅率為25%，與去年第三季相同，2024年及2023財年年初至今調整後所得稅率分別為23%及24%。

Third-quarter adjusted net income was $53.3 million, up $9.7 million, or 22%, and adjusted earnings per diluted share was $1.04, also up 22% when compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Year-to-date adjusted net income was $157.6 million, up $41.1 million or 35%, and adjusted earnings per diluted share was $3.07, up 36% when compared with fiscal 2023.

第三季調整後淨利為 5,330 萬美元，成長 970 萬美元，即 22%；調整後稀釋每股收益為 1.04 美元，與 2023 財年第三季相比也成長 22%。年初至今調整後淨利為 1.576 億美元，較 2023 財年增長 4,110 萬美元，增幅為 35%；調整後每股攤薄收益為 3.07 美元，較 2023 財年增長 36%。

The combination of the adjusted interest expense, fluctuations in FX, and adjusted income tax had about a $0.09 unfavorable impact in the third quarter and about $0.02 unfavorable impact year to date when compared with the prior year. We are updating our fiscal 2024 adjusted earnings per diluted share guidance to be in the range of $3.90 to $4 or approximately 30% growth in our adjusted EPS at the midpoint of our guidance range to better reflect strong year-to-date momentum.

與前一年相比，調整後的利息支出、外匯波動和調整後的所得稅相結合，對第三季度產生了約 0.09 美元的不利影響，今年迄今產生了約 0.02 美元的不利影響。我們正在將 2024 財年調整後每股攤薄收益指引更新為 3.90 美元至 4 美元的範圍，即調整後每股收益在指引範圍中點增長約 30%，以更好地反映年初至今的強勁勢頭。

Turning now to select balance sheet and cash flow highlights. In our third quarter, cash outflow from operating activities was $0.5 million, and free cash outflow before restructuring and restructuring-related costs was $20.3 million, primarily due to the timing of disbursements, collection delays, which temporarily increased accounts receivable, and increased inventory balances.

現在轉向選擇資產負債表和現金流亮點。第三季度，經營活動現金流出為 50 萬美元，重組和重組相關成本前的自由現金流出為 2,030 萬美元，主要是由於付款時間、收款延遲，導致應收帳款暫時增加以及庫存餘額增加。

Cash flow from operations for the nine months was $118 million primarily attributed to higher net income partially offset by higher inventory levels, which were expected to increase throughout fiscal 2024 as we replenish our inventory of the NexSys PCS devices. After taking into account $55 million in CapEx and net of proceeds from the sale of property, plant, and equipment we had $68 million of free cash flow before restructuring and restructuring-related costs. We are confident in our ability to generate strong free cash flow, and we are updating our expectations for free cash flow before restructuring and restructuring-related costs to be in the range of $160 million to $180 million in fiscal 2024.

這九個月的營運現金流為1.18 億美元，主要歸因於較高的淨利潤，部分被較高的庫存水準所抵消，預計隨著我們補充NexSys PCS 設備的庫存，庫存水準將在整個2024財年增加。考慮到 5,500 萬美元的資本支出以及出售財產、廠房和設備的淨收益後，在重組和重組相關成本之前，我們的自由現金流為 6,800 萬美元。我們對產生強勁自由現金流的能力充滿信心，我們正在更新對重組前自由現金流的預期，並將 2024 財年重組相關成本調整為 1.6 億至 1.8 億美元。

Our financial position continues to provide us flexibility to operate our business and execute our disciplined capital allocation strategy. At the end of our third quarter we had $194 million of cash on hand, down $90 million since the beginning of our fiscal year 2024. In December 2023, we used the combination of $145 million of cash on hand and $110 million of the revolving credit facility to fund the acquisition of OpSens. Our net leverage ratio at the end of the third quarter was approximately 2.4 times EBITDA, leaving us ample room to continue our growth agenda including additional M&A and organic investments both in the short-term and in the long run.

我們的財務狀況持續為我們提供經營業務和執行嚴格資本配置策略的靈活性。截至第三季末，我們手頭現金為 1.94 億美元，比 2024 財年年初減少了 9,000 萬美元。2023 年 12 月，我們使用了 1.45 億美元的手頭現金和 1.1 億美元的循環信貸額度來為收購 OpSens 提供資金。第三季末我們的淨槓桿率約為 EBITDA 的 2.4 倍，為我們繼續成長議程留下了充足的空間，包括短期和長期的額外併購和有機投資。

And now I'd like to turn the call back over to Chris for a few closing remarks. Chris?

現在我想將電話轉回給克里斯，讓他做一些結束語。克里斯？

Thanks James. As I reflect on the quarter and where we are in our journey, I'd like to reiterate a few points. As we approach the end of our fiscal '24 and the midpoint of our LRP, we are tracking ahead of our growth goals of high single-digit organic revenue and mid-teens adjusted EPS growth rates.

謝謝詹姆斯。當我回顧本季以及我們所處的階段時，我想重申幾點。隨著我們接近 24 財年末和 LRP 的中點，我們正在提前實現高單位數有機收入和中雙位數調整後每股收益成長率的成長目標。

This year, we expect to deliver at least 200 basis points of adjusted operating margin expansion despite more than 700 basis points of inflationary impacts and heightened freight cost needed to help combat continued supply chain inefficiencies when compared with fiscal '22, the starting point for our long-range plan. We remain committed to our LRP, and as we scale our plasma business, execute portfolio rationalizations initiatives and drive commercial execution in hospital, we expect to see continued expansion in our adjusted operating margins consistent with our long-range plan.

今年，儘管通貨膨脹影響超過700 個基點，並且與22 財年（我們的起點）相比，需要幫助應對持續的供應鏈效率低下的貨運成本增加，但我們預計今年調整後的營業利潤率將實現至少200 個基點的擴張。長期計劃。我們仍然致力於 LRP，隨著我們擴大血漿業務、執行投資組合合理化計劃並推動醫院的商業執行，我們預計調整後的營業利潤率將繼續擴大，與我們的長期計劃保持一致。

In plasma, we are the company our customers know and trust. We will continue to strengthen our leadership through our value-adding technology, continuously setting new industry standards for cost per liter improvements and donor satisfaction. In hospital, we expect to more than double our revenue at the end of this fiscal year when compared with three years ago. Subsequently, our goal is to double this revenue again within the next four years, positioning it as the largest segment in our portfolio comparing favorably with the top quartile med-surg sector revenue growth and margin profile.

在 Plasma 中，我們是客戶了解和信任的公司。我們將繼續透過增值技術加強我們的領導地位，不斷為每公升成本的改進和捐助者滿意度製定新的行業標準。在醫院方面，我們預計本財政年度結束時的收入將比三年前增加一倍以上。隨後，我們的目標是在未來四年內將這一收入再次翻倍，將其定位為我們投資組合中最大的細分市場，與排名前四分之一的醫療外科行業收入增長和利潤率狀況相媲美。

We are optimizing capital allocation and value creation while driving what will be a fivefold increase in capacity to $2 billion by the end of fiscal year 2026. We are making strategic acquisitions and building an M&A pipeline to sustain our momentum and expand leverage. With a disciplined strategy and a high bar for expected returns we expect to accelerate our portfolio transformation as we launch new products, improve existing product features and further augment our growth with highly synergistic M&A over the next two years.

我們正在優化資本配置和價值創造，同時推動 2026 財年年底產能增加五倍，達到 20 億美元。我們正在進行策略性收購並建立併購管道，以維持我們的發展動能並擴大影響力。憑藉嚴格的策略和高預期回報標準，我們預計將在未來兩年推出新產品、改進現有產品功能並透過高度協同的併購進一步促進我們的成長，從而加速我們的產品組合轉型。

This isn't just a portfolio transformation; it's a company transformation, a journey consisting of a set of evolutionary steps to deliver revolutionary results. I'm confident that we have the right plan, the right resources, and the right focus to deliver value creation in the next several years and beyond. We are excited about the next phase of our growth. Thank you.

這不僅是投資組合的轉變；這是一場公司轉型，一次由一系列漸進步驟組成的旅程，以實現革命性的成果。我相信，我們擁有正確的計劃、正確的資源和正確的重點，可以在未來幾年及以後創造價值。我們對下一階段的成長感到興奮。謝謝。

We now would like to open the line for Q&A.

我們現在想開通問答熱線。

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Anthony Petrone, Mizuho Group.

謝謝。（操作員指示）Anthony Petrone，瑞穗集團。

Maybe, Chris, I'll start with a couple on plasma and then I'll go to Jim on margins. On plasma, maybe just a state of the union here a little bit on where do you see underlying demand from donors on one hand, but where do your customers sit the fractionators just on replenishing their inventories? And then maybe a comment just on how we should be thinking about CSL from a phase out standpoint just from the competitor update this week. And then I'll have a follow up for Jim.

克里斯，也許我會先從一些等離子開始，然後再去找吉姆。在血漿方面，也許只是一個聯盟的狀態，一方面您在哪裡看到捐贈者的潛在需求，但您的客戶在補充庫存時將分餾器放在哪裡？然後也許只是從本週競爭對手更新的情況來看，我們應該如何從逐步淘汰的角度思考中超聯賽。然後我會跟進吉姆的情況。

So state of the market, right? I think the supply demand equation in source plasma remains quite robust. From a fractionator perspective, they're continuing to work hard to meet growing end-market demand and replenish their inventories, and there's still a good way to go really on both sides of that. So we don't see any abatement in their desire to continue to accelerate collections, and what they're doing with their centers is really quite powerful. And we're delighted to be a part of helping enable that with our technology.

那麼市場狀況對嗎？我認為源血漿的供需方程式仍然相當穩健。從分餾廠的角度來看，他們正在繼續努力滿足不斷增長的終端市場需求並補充庫存，並且在這兩個方面仍然有很好的方法可以實現。因此，我們沒有看到他們繼續加速收集的願望有任何減弱，而且他們在中心所做的事情確實非常強大。我們很高興能夠利用我們的技術來幫助實現這一目標。

On the donor side we see no slowdown in donor traffic into the centers. A good chunk of that is economic, obviously for the donor demographic. They're still struggling quite heavily in this marketplace, unfortunately for them. So it does lead to a stronger desire to augment their disposable income. And again, we don't see any abatement there.

在捐款者方面，我們看到進入中心的捐款者流量沒有放緩。其中很大一部分是經濟方面的，顯然對捐助者而言。他們仍然在這個市場上苦苦掙扎，這對他們來說是不幸的。因此，這確實導致了增加可支配收入的更強烈願望。再說一遍，我們沒有看到任何減少。

I have read folks talking about the performance of the economy. We're hoping the economy strengthens as well. But we fully expect to collect high volumes of plasma in good markets and in more challenging markets. In fact, go back in time to 2018 and 2019, two very good years for the macroeconomy. Prior to this most recent robust recovery, they were the highest volume years we had ever experienced. So we can collect plasma in good markets and bad. Our customers are doing their part to make that a reality, so we feel quite good about that.

我讀過人們談論經濟表現。我們希望經濟也能走強。但我們完全期望在良好的市場和更具挑戰性的市場中收集大量血漿。事實上，回顧2018年和2019年，這對宏觀經濟來說是非常好的年份。在最近的強勁復甦之前，這是我們經歷過的銷量最高的年份。所以我們可以在好的市場和壞的市場收集血漿。我們的客戶正在盡自己的一份力量來實現這一目標，因此我們對此感到非常滿意。

With regard to CSL, we've orchestrated through the various amendments what will be a smooth and somewhat lengthy transition, and that's good for both parties. And so we're going to continue to execute fully against that, as we do with all of our customers to make sure that they have the supply they need into the future. And I think that will enable us to orchestrate a smooth landing while we continue to do the other things that ensure continued growth in our plasma business.

關於中超，我們透過各種修改精心策劃了一個平穩且有些漫長的過渡，這對雙方都有好處。因此，我們將繼續全力應對這個問題，就像我們對所有客戶所做的那樣，以確保他們擁有未來所需的供應。我認為這將使我們能夠順利著陸，同時繼續做其他事情以確保血漿業務的持續成長。

Helpful. And then, Jim, on margins, maybe revisit on the LRP bridge, just taking into consideration the complexion in the quarter. So there's nice jump in gross margin, ahead of expectations. But overall, OpEx did tick up here beyond at least our model. So is this kind of where we are from a percentage of total revenue standpoint for total OpEx? Is there leverage in OpEx, or does OpEx grow a little bit more from here?

有幫助。然後，吉姆，在邊緣，也許會重新訪問 LRP 橋，只是考慮到本季的情況。因此，毛利率大幅成長，超出了預期。但總體而言，營運支出確實有所上升，至少超出了我們的模型。那麼，從總營運支出佔總收入的百分比來看，我們所處的情況是這樣的嗎？營運支出是否有槓桿作用，或者營運支出會在此基礎上成長一點？

Yeah. On op margin, we still see a nice path to our high 20s that we initially came out with back when we unveiled our LRP last year. And that's really going to be driven by three main factors.

是的。在營運利潤方面，我們仍然看到了一條通往 20 多歲高位的良好道路，這是我們去年推出 LRP 時最初提出的。這實際上是由三個主要因素驅動的。

One is the hospital business really begins to scale, right. And we're going to gain leverage there because we're going to be increasing sales with just very modest growth in the cost base. So that addresses, I think, your question on OpEx. Will it grow a bit? Yes, but not nearly as quickly as we plan on growing sales. So that will be the biggest factor that helps drive us there.

一是醫院業務真正開始規模化，對吧。我們將在那裡獲得影響力，因為我們將在成本基礎略有成長的情況下增加銷售額。我認為這解決了您關於營運支出的問題。會長大一點嗎？是的，但沒有我們計劃的銷售成長速度那麼快。因此，這將是幫助我們實現這一目標的最大因素。

But there's two other really important points as well. The second one is mix on the gross margin line. We're going to end up in a position here where we have favorability from more sales from higher margin hospital products. So that will hopefully drop down to the bottom line.

但還有另外兩點非常重要。第二個是毛利率線上的混合。我們最終將處於這樣一個位置：我們將因利潤率較高的醫院產品的更多銷售而受到青睞。因此，這有望下降到底線。

And then finally, to get there, we also need to work on our manufacturing cost, and we'll do that in two ways. One with the higher volumes, and we'll gain the better absorption from that. But secondly, we need to continue our operational excellence initiatives that you've heard us talk so much about here over the prior couple of years. That doesn't end when the program end. That continues, and we take the learning's from that, and we continue to apply that to reduce the manufacturing costs. So those three factors really is what's going to get us there.

最後，為了實現這一目標，我們還需要降低製造成本，我們將透過兩種方式做到這一點。容量越大，我們就能從中獲得更好的吸收。但其次，我們需要繼續我們的卓越營運計劃，您在過去幾年中已經多次聽到我們在這裡談論這些計劃。當程序結束時，這並沒有結束。這種情況還在繼續，我們從中吸取了教訓，並繼續應用它來降低製造成本。所以這三個因素確實是我們要達成這目標的關鍵因素。

Yes. Thanks. I'll hop back in queue. Thank you.

是的。謝謝。我會跳回隊列。謝謝。

Larry Solow, CJS Securities.

拉里·索洛，CJS 證券。

I guess, just a follow up on Anthony's question, just on the plasma growth and CSL. Again, I don't know how specific you can get, but just in terms of, it does look like your guidance still kind of incorporates a little bit of downturn in Q4, and I know we were expecting -- or the market was expecting a little bit of an acceleration toward transition at CSL. So is this indicative of that? And I know they have a sales minimum, so is that tapered off, tapered into (inaudible) Can you give us any kind of color on that?

我想，這只是安東尼問題的後續，只是關於血漿生長和 CSL 的問題。再說一遍，我不知道你能說得有多具體，但就目前而言，你的指導看起來確實包含了第四季度的一些低迷，我知道我們正在預期——或者說市場正在預期稍微加速中超聯賽的轉型。那麼這是否表明了這一點？我知道他們有最低銷售量，所以是逐漸減少，逐漸減少到（聽不清楚）你能給我們任何顏色嗎？

Yeah. Larry, I appreciate the question. Again, we see robust growth across the board. CSL is participating in that along with all of our other customers. The highest growth that we are experiencing is actually from our customers who were the adopters of Persona because of the yield benefits as well as the gain in productivity from the integrated system. They are, by far, driving this, and we don't see any meaningful slowdown there.

是的。拉里，我很欣賞這個問題。我們再次看到全面強勁的成長。CSL 與我們所有其他客戶一起參與其中。我們所經歷的最高成長實際上來自我們的客戶，他們是 Persona 的採用者，因為整合系統帶來了產量優勢和生產力提高。到目前為止，他們正在推動這一進程，我們沒有看到任何有意義的放緩。

Normal historic seasonal averages were getting back to that, and that's as expected. The guidance -- we've raised guidance again in fourth quarter for plasma, and that does reflect seasonality as well as the anticipated ongoing CSL transition, right, and that's both factored into the guide. But again, we entered into this agreement with them because it works for both parties. It gives us that gradual soft landing if you will with – coupled with the ability to expand our share and market presence elsewhere. And that's what we're working hard to achieve simultaneously.

正常的歷史季節性平均值正在恢復到這一水平，這符合預期。指導——我們在第四季度再次提高了 Plasma 的指導，這確實反映了季節性以及預期正在進行的中超聯賽過渡，對吧，這兩者都已納入指南中。但我們再次與他們簽訂了這項協議，因為它對雙方都有效。如果您願意的話，它使我們能夠逐步實現軟著陸，並且能夠在其他地方擴大我們的份額和市場影響力。這就是我們正在努力同時實現的目標。

That's fair. And what about in terms of just, you mentioned sort of gaining some momentum on Persona continues and going to be rolling out Express Plus in a bigger way, it sounds like, coming up over the next few quarters. Do you expect to get some more pricing as you go forward as Persona continues to roll out and as Express Plus gets into the market?

這還算公平。就您提到的 Persona 繼續獲得一些動力並將以更大的方式推出 Express Plus 而言，聽起來會在接下來的季度中出現。隨著 Persona 的不斷推出以及 Express Plus 進入市場，您是否期望獲得更多定價？

Yeah. The fundamental aspects of our plans are continued market leadership, strengthened market leadership in plasma. We're absolutely committed to that. That's what we're experiencing. I'll give you two stats: $25 million and $50,000, $25 million Persona collections, right. We've demonstrated the safety and the reliability and the performance of that system, 9% to 12% yield enhancement on average. That's an answer for all of our collectors in this environment to their productivity challenges, and we do anticipate an appropriate premium for our technology.

是的。我們計劃的基本面向是繼續保持市場領先地位，加強等離子市場的領先地位。我們絕對致力於這一點。這就是我們正在經歷的。我給你兩個統計數據：2500萬美元和5萬美元，2500萬美元的角色收藏，對吧。我們已經證明了該系統的安全性、可靠性和性能，平均產量提高了 9% 到 12%。這是我們所有收藏家在這種環境下應對生產力挑戰的答案，我們確實預期我們的技術會得到適當的溢價。

Express Plus is performing exactly to our expectations. And just as soon as we have finalized our limited market release and have worked out all the remaining questions, which are few at this point, right, we feel great about it. The customer feedback has been outstanding. And we'll look to flick the switch in early fiscal '25 and roll that across the field. We're not going to talk about specific pricing given the competitive environment, but we remain committed to growing share and improving our margins as a result of technological advancements that have unrivaled value propositions.

Express Plus 的表現完全符合我們的預期。一旦我們完成了有限的市場發布並解決了所有剩餘的問題（目前還很少，對吧），我們對此感覺很棒。客戶的反饋非常出色。我們將期待在 25 財年初期按下開關並將其推廣到整個領域。鑑於競爭環境，我們不會談論具體定價，但我們仍然致力於透過具有無與倫比的價值主張的技術進步來增加份額並提高利潤。

Great. And just lastly, if I may, a simple question and just on the OpSens, obviously you closed the acquisition a few weeks back, hasn't been under the hood too long. But maybe you could just speak about just the expansion opportunities under your umbrella. I know they're two lead products, or I guess they're a lead product, OptoWire and then the SavvyWire, you mentioned. I guess they're both now going to be under a much larger sales force. So can you just speak to the limitations they had previously or just maybe that significant opportunity under your roof just going forward?

偉大的。最後，請容許我問一個簡單的問題，就 OpSens 而言，顯然您幾週前就完成了收購，並沒有隱藏太久。但也許您可以只談論您旗下的擴張機會。我知道它們是兩種主導產品，或者我猜它們是主導產品，您提到的 OptoWire 和 SavvyWire。我猜他們現在都將面臨更大的銷售團隊。那麼，您能否談談他們之前的局限性，或者只是談談您未來可能面臨的重大機會？

Yeah, thanks for the question. We are really excited to welcome OpSens as part of our company going forward. So shout out to those employees. We've spent a lot of time with them over the prior six weeks now and have really gotten to know them, understand and appreciate their work ethic and their commitment to advancing patient care. So it fits hand in glove with what we're doing, with what we're now referring to as interventional technology. So it's our Vascular Closure and it's sensor-guided technology that we've acquired.

是的，謝謝你的提問。我們非常高興歡迎 OpSens 成為我們公司未來的一部分。所以向那些員工大聲喊叫。在過去的六週裡，我們花了很多時間與他們在一起，真正了解了他們，理解並欣賞他們的職業道德以及他們對推進患者護理的承諾。因此，它與我們正在做的事情以及我們現在所說的介入技術密切相關。這就是我們所獲得的血管閉合技術和感測器引導技術。

So yes, we will put that directly in. In fact, the training is underway. Our sales force being trained on the guidewires and their sales force being trained on vascular closure. We expect to have completed the fullest of that training this quarter, fourth quarter fiscal 2024, such that we launched together in April with fiscal 2025. And the camaraderie, the esprit, the collaboration has been really excellent.

所以是的，我們將直接放入。事實上，培訓正在進行中。我們的銷售人員正在接受有關導絲的培訓，他們的銷售人員正在接受有關血管閉合的培訓。我們預計將在本季（即 2024 財年第四季）完成最全面的培訓，以便我們在 4 月與 2025 財年一起啟動。友誼、精神和合作都非常出色。

And so we're quite optimistic about what we can do together to advance that product. And I think some of what we talked about, some of the OpEx expansion you see over the last two quarters is us preparing to make sure that these products can live up to their full potential as part of our portfolio. So stay tuned for more, we're very optimistic about what we can do together here.

因此，我們對共同努力推進該產品非常樂觀。我認為我們所討論的一些內容，以及過去兩個季度中您看到的一些營運支出擴張，是我們準備確保這些產品作為我們產品組合的一部分能夠充分發揮其潛力。因此，請繼續關注更多信息，我們對我們在這裡可以一起做的事情非常樂觀。

Great. I appreciate the thoughts.

偉大的。我很欣賞這些想法。

Andrew Cooper, Raymond James.

安德魯庫珀，雷蒙德詹姆斯。

I'll save my CSL questions for offline. But maybe shifting to the VASCADE international and you called out 200 bps of incremental growth there. Just a little bit of help on the trajectory you expect from there. Is that the first bolus, and it's a gradual pacing? Or is there a potential for sort of an inflection here now that you're out in the market in some of these other geographies?

我將保存我的 CSL 問題以供離線使用。但也許轉向 VASCADE 國際，你會發現那裡的增量成長為 200 個基點。只是對您期望的軌跡有一點幫助。這是第一次推注嗎？是逐漸的節奏嗎？或者，既然您已經進入了其他一些地區的市場，那麼這裡是否有可能出現某種變化？

So the way we think about the expansion in vascular closure, we're going to, where appropriate, replicate the playbook that served us so well in the US. And so there aren't 600 accounts in Europe, for example, there is 250 or 260, and we'll use a combination of direct and distributor approaches to fully realize that potential. So it will be mixed in that regard and appropriately so. We think it's more economical and feasible as we scale.

因此，我們考慮擴張血管閉合的方式，我們將在適當的情況下複製在美國非常有效的策略。因此，歐洲沒有 600 個帳戶，例如有 250 個或 260 個，我們將結合使用直接和分銷商方法來充分發揮這一潛力。因此，在這方面它將是混合的，並且是適當的。我們認為隨著規模的擴大，它會更加經濟和可行。

A lot of the lift experienced in the third quarter was specifically from Japan, right? So like most companies, we're using a distributor model in Japan. There was the initial buy-ins that came with that, and you see that come forward. What we really like, and this is true in Europe and it's especially true in Japan, and we were able to secure a very favorable reimbursement in Japan to reflect this, this is a safety-first market, and this is a safety-first product. And we have exceptionally good data in support of that.

第三季經歷的許多提升都專門來自日本，對吧？因此，像大多數公司一樣，我們在日本採用經銷商模式。隨之而來的是最初的買入，你會看到它的出現。我們真正喜歡的是，這在歐洲是這樣，在日本尤其如此，我們能夠在日本獲得非常優惠的報銷來反映這一點，這是一個安全第一的市場，這是一個安全第一的產品。我們有非常好的數據來支持這一點。

And so we think it's an outstanding fit for markets that are looking for a better answer on closure, but want to put a premium on safety and productivity and patient satisfaction, all of which come with the vascular closure pipeline. So more to come, but we were optimistic about the growth trajectory in international. It's starting essentially from ground zero, it's a zero base, but we look forward to continued robust uptake.

因此，我們認為它非常適合那些正在尋找更好的閉合解決方案，但希望重視安全性、生產力和患者滿意度的市場，所有這些都伴隨著血管閉合管道。未來還會有更多，但我們對國際業務的成長軌跡感到樂觀。它本質上是從零開始的，這是一個零基礎，但我們期待繼續強勁的採用。

Okay, great. And then maybe shifting a little bit to costs and the cash flows. You mentioned freight costs rising again. A little bit more detail there would maybe be helpful. Are we back on the upswing? Any signs of kind of stabilization there? It has been noisy through the pandemic, but had felt like we had gotten a little bit more normal.

好的，太好了。然後可能會稍微轉向成本和現金流。您提到運費再次上漲。稍微詳細一點可能會有所幫助。我們又回到上升期了嗎？有任何穩定的跡象嗎？疫情期間一直很吵鬧，但感覺我們已經變得更正常了。

And then just would love a little bit more color on some of the collection delays you called out in terms of cash flow. I think with the guide, it sounds like it's maybe more timing than it is an actual fundamental shift. But just thinking about that and inventory balance, just a little bit of sense for how you think about cash flows, maybe beyond fiscal '24 and whether anything has changed.

然後，我希望對您在現金流方面指出的一些收款延遲有更多的了解。我認為，根據該指南，聽起來可能更多的是時機，而不是實際的根本轉變。但只要考慮一下這一點和庫存平衡，就可以了解您如何看待現金流，也許會超出 24 財年以及是否有任何變化。

So on the freight costs, what we've seen there in terms of higher freight, mostly a good story there, just because it has been more volume based. The more volume have, we have to pay more freight. And you see that in our cost line. That's the good news part of it.

因此，就運費而言，我們所看到的運費上漲，主要是一個好故事，只是因為它更多地基於數量。數量越多，我們就必須支付更多的運費。您可以在我們的成本線中看到這一點。這是好消息的一部分。

We are watching the events unfolding in the Red Sea. That has created some additional cost. We are looking to manage that as best we can and figure out ways to absorb that. But overall, big picture landscape on freight. Apart from what's going on in the Red Sea, I think it's a good story overall. The rates have certainly come back down from their peaks back a year or so ago.

我們正在關注紅海正在發生的事件。這造成了一些額外的成本。我們正在尋求盡我們所能來管理它，並找出吸收它的方法。但整體而言，貨運前景廣闊。除了紅海發生的事情之外，我認為總體來說這是一個很好的故事。利率肯定已經從一年前的高峰迴落。

On the cash flow side, there were some collection delays that I mentioned earlier. That has mostly resolved itself, and it really was more of a timing issue around year end with certain collections. And then we had some turnover on our staff which led to a bit of an uptick. We've seen a lot of that now come back, and we should see that normalize here very shortly.

在現金流方面，存在我之前提到的一些收款延遲。這個問題已經基本解決了，而且這實際上更多是某些系列在年底左右的時間問題。然後我們的員工發生了一些流動，這導致了一些上升。我們現在已經看到很多這樣的情況回來了，我們應該很快就會看到這種情況恢復正常。

And the story for the future in terms of overall cash flow is still a very good one. This business generates a lot of cash, and we expect it to continue to do so. You heard Chris remark at the end there, we're going to have about $2 billion in capacity by the end of 2026 to continue down our M&A agenda.

就整體現金流而言，未來的故事仍然非常好。這項業務產生大量現金，我們預計它將繼續產生這種情況。你聽到 Chris 在最後說道，到 2026 年底，我們將擁有約 20 億美元的產能來繼續推進我們的併購議程。

Great, appreciate it. I'll hop back in the queue.

太好了，欣賞一下。我會跳回到隊列中。

Joanne Wuensch, Citi.

喬安妮‧溫施，花旗銀行。

This is actually Anthony on for Joanne. First, going back to VASCADE, can you share or remind us just where you think your share is in the US in those small- and mid-bore procedures? And then is the incremental opportunity here really more share gain or market growth?

這其實是安東尼為喬安妮代言的。首先，回到 VASCADE，您能否分享或提醒我們您認為您在美國的中小口徑手術中所佔份額在哪裡？那麼這裡的增量機會真的是更多的份額增益還是市場成長？

Yeah, Anthony. I appreciate the question. The share question is not as simple and straightforward as we might like, because really what we're doing here is driving advancement in medical therapy. Disproportionately our competition, particularly in the small- and mid-bore areas that you called out, is manual compression, clearly a suboptimal therapy, or suturing, typically via a figure of eight.

是的，安東尼。我很欣賞這個問題。分享問題並不像我們希望的那麼簡單和直接，因為我們在這裡所做的實際上是推動醫學治療的進步。我們的競爭不成比例，特別是在您提到的小孔和中孔區域，是手動壓縮，顯然是次優的治療方法，或者通常通過八字形縫合。

And so we're actively transitioning jointly with the medical community advancements there. And what we think about it is, we've identified these top 600 hospitals. They represent more than 90% of the ablation procedures. And for those hospitals, we will be in fully 500 of them by the end of this fiscal, so in another month and a half. And the disproportionate source of growth for us is the already converted hospitals driving significantly higher levels of utilization.

因此，我們正在與那裡的醫學界進步共同積極轉型。我們的想法是，我們已經確定了這 600 家頂級醫院。它們代表了 90% 以上的消融手術。對於這些醫院，到本財年底，也就是再過一個半月的時間，我們將擁有 500 家醫院。對我們來說，不成比例的成長來源是已經改造的醫院，大大提高了利用率。

When we sat down and worked through with Cardiva at the time what we thought would be an appropriate level of utilization, we were targeting numbers that were 35% to 45%. What we are seeing in our most established accounts now are numbers well worth north of 50%, 65%, 75% in some cases. It's really good technology, and it's being broadly adopted. So it tells us there is significantly more upside, and there is a lot of stickiness to the product. That's what's driving the uptake. And that's true in ablation. It's also true in interventional technologies with PCI. So there's a lot more room to run with that product here in the US and internationally.

當我們坐下來與 Cardiva 研究我們認為合適的利用率水平時，我們的目標數字是 35% 到 45%。現在，我們在最成熟的帳戶中看到的數字在某些情況下遠遠超過 50%、65%、75%。這確實是一項很好的技術，並且正在被廣泛採用。因此，它告訴我們該產品有明顯更大的優勢，並且有很大的黏性。這就是推動採用的原因。消融也是如此。PCI 介入技術也是如此。因此，該產品在美國和國際上還有更大的運作空間。

Got it. That's helpful. And then you just mentioned the $2 billion in capacity talking about M&A, can you share maybe what other adjacencies you would be interested in when it comes to inorganic opportunities in the hospital segment?

知道了。這很有幫助。然後您剛剛提到了關於併購的 20 億美元產能，您能否分享一下，當談到醫院領域的無機機會時，您可能會對哪些其他鄰接感興趣？

Yes, I appreciate the question, Anthony. Look for us, our first priority for capital allocation will be organic, right, whether that is building a fit for task commercial force or strengthening our clinical and our data and analytic capabilities, we feel quite good about what we've done there. In R&D, it's about additional indications, it's about new product offerings on the same existing product families, and further build-out there in terms of registration and such.

是的，我很欣賞這個問題，安東尼。對我們來說，我們資本配置的首要任務將是有機的，對吧，無論是建立適合任務的商業力量還是加強我們的臨床、數據和分析能力，我們對我們在那裡所做的事情感到非常滿意。在研發方面，它涉及額外的適應症，涉及相同現有產品系列的新產品供應，以及在註冊等方面的進一步擴展。

In terms of M&A, our clear, close second priority, we think there is significantly more room to run with what we're now calling interventional technologies. So really anything in the EP and IC suite, our game plan hasn't changed. We want enabling technologies. We're not looking to drive the core therapeutics.

就併購而言，我們明確的、緊接著的第二優先事項，我們認為我們現在所說的介入技術還有更大的運作空間。因此，實際上 EP 和 IC 套件中的任何內容，我們的遊戲計劃都沒有改變。我們需要支援技術。我們並不打算推動核心療法。

We're going to rely on other larger companies that are better equipped to do that. But we make the procedure better, and that can be access, that can be closure, that can be monitoring and protection, that full suite. And we are typically agnostic as to which therapeutic choice the clinician is using. We want to help all of them. And that gives us unfettered access and candidly enables us to punch above our weight for a company of our size.

我們將依靠其他更有能力做到這一點的大公司。但我們讓程式變得更好，可以是訪問，可以是關閉，可以是監控和保護，全套。我們通常不知道臨床醫生正在使用哪種治療選擇。我們想幫助他們所有人。這為我們提供了不受限制的訪問權限，並坦率地使我們能夠為像我們這樣規模的公司提供超越自身能力的機會。

And then we think we bring real value. And when we're talking to our OpSens colleagues or the prior Cardiva team, it's about being well enough resourced to be able to deliver the growth that they maybe weren't able to achieve as standalone entities, but still of a size and a scale where we focus and out execute, right? That's our mantra. We think there is more room to run, in interventional technologies, that's the primary focus. Eventually, we'll step out to the next adjacency, but I don't see that in the near term.

然後我們認為我們帶來了真正的價值。當我們與 OpSens 同事或之前的 Cardiva 團隊交談時，我們關心的是擁有足夠的資源，能夠實現他們作為獨立實體可能無法實現的增長，但仍然具有一定的規模和規模我們專注於執行的地方，對嗎？這是我們的座右銘。我們認為介入技術還有更大的發展空間，這是主要關注點。最終，我們將進入下一個鄰域，但我短期內看不到這種情況。

Great.

偉大的。

Mike Matson, Needham & Company.

麥克馬森，李約瑟公司。

So I just wanted to ask one on OpSens deal. So I think everyone understands FFR and PCI, but just in terms of the TAVR opportunity there or the SavvyWire product, can you just talk about the advantages and the reasons that the cardiologists shouldn't use SavvyWire in those procedures? And can you remind us, I don't think there's any other companies targeting that opportunity, but just remind us if there's any competitors there?

所以我只是想詢問有關 OpSens 交易的問題。所以我認為每個人都了解 FFR 和 PCI，但就 TAVR 機會或 SavvyWire 產品而言，您能否談談心臟科醫生不應該在這些手術中使用 SavvyWire 的優勢和原因？您能否提醒我們，我認為沒有其他公司瞄準了這個機會，但請提醒我們是否有競爭對手？

We think SavvyWire in TAVR is the shining gem, if you will, and a good portfolio OptoWire and some of the OEM work that we're doing at OpSens is valuable. But SavvyWire is really the growth engine, as we see it, going forward. And to your point, it will be disproportionately in TAVR as those procedures continue to expand double digit, right. So we are displacing essentially three other technologies, right, with an all-in-one offering that does the monitoring and the pressure sensing and the guide allt ogether. And so we think that it is meaningful advancement.

如果你願意的話，我們認為 TAVR 中的 SavvyWire 是一顆閃亮的寶石，而 OptoWire 的良好產品組合以及我們在 OpSens 所做的一些 OEM 工作也很有價值。但正如我們所見，SavvyWire 確實是未來的成長引擎。就您而言，隨著這些手術繼續擴大兩位數，TAVR 的比例將不成比例，對吧。因此，我們基本上正在取代其他三種技術，對吧，用一體式產品來完成監控、壓力感測和指導。所以我們認為這是有意義的進步。

I point to some of the most recent trial work, including work that was done by the leading therapeutics companies, where they used SavvyWire. And the commentary that we heard back from the key opinion leaders that were overseeing that is, to do these procedures without SavvyWire is borderline malpractice. This is just that much better in terms of the outcomes they believe they were able to achieve and the technology support that was gained.

我提到了一些最近的試驗工作，包括領先的治療公司所做的工作，他們使用了 SavvyWire。我們從負責監督的關鍵意見領袖那裡得到的評論是，在沒有 SavvyWire 的情況下執行這些程序是近乎瀆職的行為。就他們認為能夠實現的結果和獲得的技術支援而言，這要好得多。

So we'll continue to work and expand that. We think that that paves the way for some of our additional product and portfolio expansion elsewhere in interventional technologies. And we're proud to have a product of SavvyWire’s prowess to be able to do that on the back of. So stay tuned for more about that. We do have competition there, but we just think the opportunity to displace the existing suboptimal standard of care with an all-in-one product that really delivers was designed by clinicians for clinicians is the right way to go here.

因此，我們將繼續努力並擴大這一範圍。我們認為，這為我們在介入技術領域的其他產品和產品組合擴張鋪平了道路。我們很自豪擁有一款具有 SavvyWire 實力的產品，能夠做到這一點。因此，請繼續關注更多相關資訊。我們在那裡確實存在競爭，但我們只是認為，用一種真正由臨床醫生為臨床醫生設計的一體化產品取代現有的次優護理標準的機會是正確的方法。

And then I guess just reiterating the high 20s operating margin target from the Investor Day in 2022. So one of the things that you called out was that the operational excellence program doesn't end with the end of the program, I guess. But I've been wondering, do you need to do another formal sort of restructuring program to get you there, or can you – do you think you can do it without doing that once operational excellence ends?

然後我想只是重申 2022 年投資者日的 20 多美元營業利潤率目標。我想，您指出的一件事是，卓越營運計劃不會隨著計劃的結束而結束。但我一直想知道，您是否需要進行另一種正式的重組計劃才能實現這一目標，或者您是否可以——您認為一旦卓越運營結束，您是否可以在不這樣做的情況下做到這一點？

I want to start. I'll let James weigh in on this. But I just want to be crystal clear, right. We came out with those targets in June of 2022. We remain committed to those. They are not aspirational, they're not kind of some intangible thing. We believe that as we transition and evolve this portfolio, it absolutely has the capability to deliver the revenue growth and the margin expansion that we've highlighted.

我想開始。我會讓詹姆斯對此進行權衡。但我只想說得一清二楚，對吧。我們在 2022 年 6 月制定了這些目標。我們仍然致力於這些。它們不是有抱負的，也不是某種無形的東西。我們相信，隨著我們轉變和發展這個投資組合，它絕對有能力實現我們所強調的收入成長和利潤率擴張。

And James touched upon that. I tried to highlight a few of those things in my prepared remark. It is the combination of volume and mix and price driven disproportionately by the advanced technologies and the multiplicative effect that then has on productivity, to your point, and operating leverage more broadly. So we're excited about where that goes there.

詹姆斯談到了這一點。我試圖在我準備好的發言中強調其中的一些內容。它是數量、組合和價格的結合，由先進技術和乘數效應所驅動，這對生產力和更廣泛的營運槓桿產生乘數效應。所以我們對它的發展感到興奮。

There'll be fits and starts along the way. It won't be fully linear. But we really like the progress we're making there. And I'll let James weigh in. But operational excellence is as much a mindset as it is a program, and we're not going to back off of that in the spirit of advancing our own productivity.

一路上會有斷斷續續的情況。它不會是完全線性的。但我們真的很喜歡我們在那裡取得的進展。我會讓詹姆斯參與其中。但卓越營運既是一種心態，也是一項計劃，本著提高自身生產力的精神，我們不會放棄這一點。

Yeah. And I was just going to say just that. As I mentioned earlier, it just becomes part of who we are, right. If we're going to be a company that's high volume with disposables, that has to be a constant objective here is to figure out a way to -- to even reduce cost in a small amount, it has a big effect over time.

是的。我只想這麼說。正如我之前提到的，它只是成為我們的一部分，對吧。如果我們要成為一家大量生產一次性用品的公司，那麼我們的一個不變目標就是找到一種方法——即使是少量降低成本，隨著時間的推移也會產生巨大的影響。

Okay, got it. And then just one final one. So on the TEG business or hemostasis business, can you just give us an update on kind of where things stand with regard to the installed base versus existing utilization of the units that are out there? So in other words like, is it both that's driving the growth you're placing new units, or is it more about driving more volume utilization through the ones that are out there?

好，知道了。然後只有最後一件事。那麼，關於 TEG 業務或止血業務，您能否向我們介紹現有設備的安裝基礎與現有利用率的最新情況？換句話說，這是否既推動了新單位的成長，又或者更多地是透過現有單位推動更多的銷售利用率？

Yeah. Mike it is absolutely both. We had a record quarter for TEG. We expected it, right. That was the plan this year. We knew where we were coming out of it. Where we were surprised favorably was the robustness of equipment sales. And that bodes extremely well for the future because we see hospitals embracing the technology, scaling the technology, adding additional TEGs to their arsenal. So that bodes well for the future growth. Obviously, that doesn't happen if we don't continue to drive utilization.

是的。麥克，絕對是兩者兼具。我們的 TEG 季度創歷史新高。我們預料到了，對吧。這就是今年的計畫。我們知道我們會從中得到什麼。令我們驚訝的是設備銷售的強勁。這對未來來說是一個非常好的兆頭，因為我們看到醫院正在擁抱這項技術，擴展技術，並在他們的武器庫中添加更多的 TEG。因此，這預示著未來的成長。顯然，如果我們不繼續提高利用率，這種情況就不會發生。

So in this case, it was both record new equipment placements and continued uptick in utilization, absolutely led by the US but also complemented by an uptick in China, which may be a bit counterintuitive given the broader challenges that medtech is facing there. But in our case, coming off of a relatively modest performance, particularly this time last year, we saw a meaningful uptick there and that was predominantly utilization. So nice one, two combo record quarter for TEG. And I think it hopefully answers any questions about the robustness and the growth of that platform going forward.

因此，在這種情況下，新設備的投放量創歷史新高，利用率持續上升，絕對由美國引領，但中國的上升也起到了補充作用，考慮到醫療技術在中國面臨的更廣泛挑戰，這可能有點違反直覺。但就我們而言，在相對溫和的表現之後，特別是去年的這個時候，我們看到了顯著的上升，這主要是利用率。太棒了，TEG 的一、二組合創下了季度記錄。我認為它有望回答有關該平台未來穩健性和增長的任何問題。

Yeah. Great.

是的。偉大的。

David Turkaly, JMP securities.

David Turkaly，JMP 證券。

Just a quick follow-up on the operating margin. You grew at 250 bps year over year, and it sounds like you're saying that's sustainable or maybe that that can even accelerate. I know you didn't have OpSens when you mentioned that, but how should we think, I mean, is that 250 something in that range with two years left in the LRP about what we should expect a year? I know you said nonlinear, but something to that magnitude or more?

只是營業利潤率的快速跟進。你們的年增長率為 250 個基點，聽起來你們是在說這是可持續的，甚至可能會加速。我知道當你提到這一點時，你沒有 OpSens，但我們應該如何思考，我的意思是，LRP 還剩兩年時，250 是否在這個範圍內，大約是我們一年的預期？我知道你說的是非線性，但有那麼大或更大的東西嗎？

Yeah. I think something to that magnitude. We have to get to the high 20s, and we want to make -- I don't want to get too far ahead of our guidance that's going to come out in May, but we have to make a meaningful step next year or we're not going to hit it, right. So we're working on that right now. And we'll have more to say on that when we come give our annual guidance for our fiscal '25. But there'll be -- with that, there'll be a nice indication of how we're going to get there for '26 as well.

是的。我認為有那麼大的事情。我們必須達到 20 多歲，我們想要——我不想比我們將於 5 月份發布的指導走得太遠，但我們必須在明年邁出有意義的一步，否則我們就會我們不會打它，對吧。所以我們現在正在努力。當我們為我們的 25 財年提供年度指導時，我們將對此進行更多討論。但隨之而來的是，我們將如何在 26 年實現這一目標。

Thank you. And at this time, we have no further questions in the queue. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。目前，我們隊列中沒有其他問題了。女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。