Helen of Troy Ltd (HELE) 2004 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Helen of Troy second-quarter earnings conference call for fiscal 2004.

女士們、先生們，早上好，歡迎參加海倫特洛伊公司 2004 財年第二季度收益電話會議。

At this time, I would like to inform you that all participants are in a listen-only mode.

此時，我想通知您，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。

At the request of the company, we will open the conference up for questions and answers after the presentation.

應公司要求，我們將在Presentation後開放會議進行問答。

Our speakers for this morning's conference call are Gerald Rubin, Chairman, CEO, and President;

今天上午電話會議的發言人是董事長、首席執行官兼總裁 Gerald Rubin；

Christopher Carameros, Executive VP;

執行副總裁 Christopher Carameros；

Thomas Benson, SVP and CFO;

高級副總裁兼首席財務官 Thomas Benson；

Robert Spear, SVP and CIO.

羅伯特斯皮爾，高級副總裁兼首席信息官。

I will now turn the conference over to Robert Spear.

我現在將會議轉交給羅伯特斯皮爾。

Please go ahead, sir.

請繼續，先生。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Good morning, everyone and welcome to Helen of Troy's second-quarter earnings conference call for fiscal year 2004.

大家早上好，歡迎來到 Helen of Troy 的 2004 財年第二季度收益電話會議。

The agenda for this morning's conference call is as follows.

今天上午的電話會議議程如下。

We will have a brief review of our forward-looking statements followed by Mr. Rubin, who will discuss our second-quarter earnings release and related results of operations for Helen of Troy, followed by a financial review of our income statement and balance sheet for the quarter by Tom Benson, our Chief Financial Officer.

我們將簡要回顧我們的前瞻性陳述，隨後魯賓先生將討論我們第二季度的收益發布和海倫特洛伊的相關運營結果，然後對我們的損益表和資產負債表進行財務審查本季度由我們的首席財務官 Tom Benson 發布。

And finally, we will open it up for questions and answers -- question and answer session for those with any further questions.

最後，我們將開放它進行問答——為那些有任何進一步問題的人提供問答環節。

The Safe Harbor Statement -- this conference call may contain certain forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations with respect to future events or financial performance.

安全港聲明——本次電話會議可能包含某些基於管理層當前對未來事件或財務業績的預期的前瞻性聲明。

A number of risks or uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from historical or anticipated results.

許多風險或不確定性可能導致實際結果與歷史或預期結果存在重大差異。

Generally, the words anticipates, believes, expects and other similar words identify forward-looking statements.

一般來說，預期、相信、期望和其他類似的詞可以識別前瞻性陳述。

The Company cautions listeners to not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

公司提醒聽眾不要過分依賴前瞻性陳述。

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks that could cause such statements to differ materially from actual results.

前瞻性陳述存在可能導致此類陳述與實際結果存在重大差異的風險。

Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated are described in the Company's Form 10-K filed with the SEC for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2003, and for the 10-Q Form for the quarter ended May 31, 2003.

公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的截至 2003 年 2 月 28 日的財政年度的 10-K 表格和截至 2003 年 5 月 31 日的季度的 10-Q 表格中描述了可能導致實際結果與預期結果不同的因素。

Before I turn the conference call over to our Chairman, Mr. Rubin, I would like to inform all interested parties that a copy of today's earnings release has been posted to our web site at www.hotus.com.

在我將電話會議轉交給我們的董事長 Rubin 先生之前，我想通知所有感興趣的各方，今天的收益發布副本已發佈到我們的網站 www.hotus.com 上。

The release can be accessed by selecting the Investor Relations tab on the home page and then the News tab.

可以通過選擇主頁上的“投資者關係”選項卡，然後選擇“新聞”選項卡來訪問該新聞稿。

I will now turn the conference over to Gerald Rubin, Chairman, CEO and President of Helen of Troy.

我現在將會議轉交給海倫特洛伊的董事長、首席執行官兼總裁杰拉爾德魯賓。

Thank you, Bob, and good morning, everybody.

謝謝鮑勃，大家早上好。

Welcome to our second-quarter conference call.

歡迎來到我們的第二季度電話會議。

Helen of Troy today reported record sales and earnings for the second quarter and six months ended August 31st, 2003.

Helen of Troy 今天報告了截至 2003 年 8 月 31 日的第二季度和六個月的創紀錄銷售額和收益。

Second-quarter sales increased 4.3 percent to a record $116 million versus sales of $111 million for the same period of the prior year.

第二季度銷售額增長 4.3%，達到創紀錄的 1.16 億美元，而去年同期為 1.11 億美元。

Second-quarter net income increased 48 percent to a record $13 million or 42 cents per diluted share from 8,876,000 or 30 cents per diluted share for the same period a year earlier.

第二季度淨收入從去年同期的 8,876,000 美元或每股攤薄收益 30 美分增長 48% 至創紀錄的 1300 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 42 美分。

First-half sales climbed 4.1 percent to a record $222 million from sales of 213 million for last year's first half.

上半年銷售額從去年上半年的 2.13 億美元增長 4.1% 至創紀錄的 2.22 億美元。

Net earnings for the first half of this year was $28 million or 92 cents per diluted share versus 15.5 million or 52 cents per diluted share in the comparable period last year, representing an 81 percent increase in net earnings.

今年上半年的淨收益為 2800 萬美元或攤薄後每股收益 92 美分，而去年同期為 1550 萬美元或攤薄後每股收益 52 美分，淨收益增長了 81%。

Our business continues to do well and we are pleased with our overall results.

我們的業務繼續表現良好，我們對整體結果感到滿意。

Sales increased in every segment of our business except Tactica.

除 Tactica 外，我們業務的每個部門的銷售額都有所增長。

Our sales leaders include the international division, retail personal-care products, the professional division and Idelle Labs skin and hair care products.

我們的銷售領導者包括國際部、零售個人護理產品部、專業部和 Idelle Labs 皮膚和頭髮護理產品部。

The second-quarter operating income increased 1.6 percent to 12.7 percent of net sales from 11.1 percent a year ago.

第二季度營業收入占淨銷售額的比例從一年前的 11.1% 增長 1.6% 至 12.7%。

Second-quarter net income increased 3.3 percentage points to 11.3 percent from 8 percent a year ago.

第二季度淨收入從一年前的 8% 增長 3.3 個百分點至 11.3%。

Helen of Troy continues to have a strong balance sheet with cash of $33 million, equity of 320 million, which represents a $54 million increase in shareholders' equity from the comparable period last year, and accounts receivable of $81 million.

Helen of Troy 的資產負債表繼續保持強勁，現金為 3300 萬美元，股權為 3.2 億美元，股東權益較去年同期增加 5400 萬美元，應收賬款為 8100 萬美元。

Inventory at the quarter end was $147 million, which we believe is appropriate for our current level of overall business, heading into the strong fall selling season.

本季度末的庫存為 1.47 億美元，我們認為這適合我們目前的整體業務水平，即將進入強勁的秋季銷售旺季。

Helen of Troy announced today also that it is evaluating strategic alternatives for its investment in Tactica with a view towards maximizing shareholder value.

Helen of Troy 今天還宣布，它正在評估其對 Tactica 投資的戰略選擇，以實現股東價值最大化。

These alternatives include a possible sale of all or partial interest in Tactica.

這些備選方案包括可能出售 Tactica 的全部或部分權益。

There can be no assurance that any transaction involving Tactica will occur.

無法保證任何涉及 Tactica 的交易都會發生。

Excluding the results for Tactica, second-quarter sales increased by 17.1 percent to $105 million with operating income of $18 million or 17.1 percent of sales, with net earnings of 14.7 or 14 percent of sales and diluted earnings of 48 cents for the quarter.

不包括 Tactica 的業績，第二季度銷售額增長 17.1% 至 1.05 億美元，營業收入為 1800 萬美元或占銷售額的 17.1%，淨利潤為 14.7 或占銷售額的 14%，本季度攤薄收益為 48 美分。

And I think this is very meaningful that the Helen of Troy business alone -- the sales increased 17 percent, and we had an operating profit of 17 percent and net profit of 14 percent.

而且我認為僅海倫特洛伊業務就非常有意義——銷售額增長了 17%，我們的營業利潤為 17%，淨利潤為 14%。

As previously announced, we have entered into an agreement to acquire the Brut Brand in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and elsewhere in Latin America from Unilever.

正如之前宣布的那樣，我們已經達成協議，從聯合利華手中收購美國、加拿大、墨西哥、波多黎各和拉丁美洲其他地區的 Brut Brand。

This transaction closed on September 29, 2003.

該交易於 2003 年 9 月 29 日結束。

Therefore we are raising our current fiscal year earnings per diluted share guidance from $1.75 to $1.80 to $1.85 to $1.90 or a 41 to 45 percent increase from the prior fiscal year's diluted earnings per share of $1.31.

因此，我們將當前財年的每股攤薄收益指引從 1.75 美元上調至 1.80 美元至 1.85 美元至 1.90 美元，即比上一財年的每股攤薄收益 1.31 美元增加 41% 至 45%。

We are also projecting earnings per diluted share for our next fiscal year beginning March 1, 2004 to be in the range of $2.15 to $2.25 per share.

我們還預計從 2004 年 3 月 1 日開始的下一個財政年度的每股攤薄收益將在每股 2.15 美元至 2.25 美元之間。

Our business and financial performance continues to be strong and consistent.

我們的業務和財務業績繼續保持強勁和穩定。

This quarter marks 35 of the past 38 quarters with year-over-year sales increases, and 34 of the past 38 quarters with year-over-year increases in net earnings.

本季度標誌著過去 38 個季度中有 35 個季度銷售額同比增長，過去 38 個季度中有 34 個季度淨利潤同比增長。

Our third-quarter projections for this year for earnings per share is 62 to 64 cents, and our fourth-quarter projections for earnings per share is 31 to 34 cents.

我們今年第三季度的每股收益預測為 62 至 64 美分，第四季度的每股收益預測為 31 至 34 美分。

Our second half projection, which started September first -- our second half projection -- is 93 cents to 98 cents, which will give us $1.85 to $1.90 for this year.

我們從 9 月初開始的下半年預測是 93 美分到 98 美分，這將使我們今年的收入為 1.85 美元到 1.90 美元。

Third-quarter sales have started off strong in September, and we project total sales should increase 10 to 15 percent for the quarter.

第三季度的銷售在 9 月份開始強勁，我們預計該季度的總銷售額應增長 10% 至 15%。

Helen of Troy has had increases in the past year's per share for the following.

特洛伊海倫 (Helen of Troy) 在過去一年中的每股收益有所增加。

In fiscal 2001, earnings per share increased 36 percent.

在 2001 財年，每股收益增長了 36%。

In 2002, they increased 67 percent.

2002 年，他們增加了 67%。

In 2003, they increased 31 percent.

2003 年，他們增加了 31%。

In 2004, we are projecting a 45 percent increase in net earnings.

2004 年，我們預計淨收入將增長 45%。

Now, any company that you all know which would have a growth rate that I've just given you for the last three years deserves at least a PE of 30.

現在，你們都知道的任何一家公司，如果在過去三年中具有我剛剛給你們的增長率，則其 PE 至少應為 30。

But even if Helen of Troy had a PE of 20 for next year's earnings, the stock should be at 45.

但即使特洛伊海倫的明年收益的市盈率為 20，該股也應該為 45。

Why we only get a PE of 12 is beyond me.

為什麼我們只能得到 12 的 PE，這超出了我的理解範圍。

If Helen of Troy only deserves a PE of 12 with its growth rate and potential, everyone should sell every one of their stocks that they have with a PE of over 12 that doesn't have a growth rate comparable to Helen of Troy's.

如果特洛伊海倫的增長率和潛力僅應達到 12 的市盈率，那麼每個人都應該賣掉他們擁有的每隻市盈率超過 12 且增長率無法與海倫相提並論的股票。

I would now like to turn this conference call over to Tom Benson, our CFO.

我現在想把這個電話會議轉交給我們的首席財務官湯姆本森。

Thank you, Gerry, and good morning.

謝謝你，格里，早上好。

Needless to say, we are pleased with our operating performance through the second-quarter.

不用說，我們對第二季度的經營業績感到滿意。

Second-quarter net sales grew 4 percent year-over-year.

第二季度淨銷售額同比增長 4%。

In the quarter two, 2004, we had net sales of 115,782,000 versus 111,058,000 in quarter two, 2003.

2004 年第二季度，我們的淨銷售額為 115,782,000，而 2003 年第二季度為 111,058,000。

That's an increase of 4,724,000.

增加了 4,724,000。

However, more importantly, our second-quarter net earnings increased by 48 percent year-over-year.

然而，更重要的是，我們第二季度的淨收益同比增長了 48%。

Quarter two 2004 net earnings were 13,098,000 versus 8,876,000 in quarter two, 2003, an increase of 4,222,000.

2004 年第二季度的淨收益為 13,098,000 美元，而 2003 年第二季度為 8,876,000 美元，增加了 4,222,000 美元。

Second-quarter operating income also improved 20 percent year-over-year.

第二季度營業收入也同比增長 20%。

Quarter two, 2004 operating income was 14,674,000, 12.7 percent of sales.

2004 年第二季度營業收入為 14,674,000，佔銷售額的 12.7%。

For quarter two, 2003, operating income was 12,274,000, 11.1 percent of sales.

2003 年第二季度，營業收入為 12,274,000，佔銷售額的 11.1%。

This is an increase of 2,400,000, and a year-over-year percentage increase of 20 percent.

這增加了 2,400,000，同比增長 20%。

Second-quarter earnings per diluted share increased 40 percent year-over-year.

第二季度每股攤薄收益同比增長 40%。

And quarter two 2004 it was 42 cents per diluted share; in quarter two, 2003, it was 30 cents per diluted share, an increase of 12 cents per diluted share.

2004 年第二季度每股攤薄收益為 42 美分； 2003 年第二季度，每股攤薄收益為 30 美分，增加了每股攤薄收益 12 美分。

Now, I will provide a more detailed review of various components of our financial performance.

現在，我將對我們財務業績的各個組成部分進行更詳細的審查。

I'm going to start with net sales.

我將從淨銷售額開始。

The Company's quarterly net sales, exclusive of Tactica, were -- quarter two, 2004, 105,335,000 versus 89,916,000.

2004 年第二季度，公司的季度淨銷售額（不包括 Tactica）為 105,335,000 對 89,916,000。

This is an increase of 15,419,000, it's 17 percent increase year-over-year.

增加了 15,419,000，同比增長 17%。

This portion of the business represents 91 percent of consolidated net sales for this quarter, while it was 81 percent the prior year quarter.

這部分業務佔本季度合併淨銷售額的 91%，而去年同期為 81%。

By segments, our North American segments in quarter two, 2004, had net sales of 94,537,000 versus quarter two, 2003 of 83,693,000.

按部門劃分，我們的北美部門在 2004 年第二季度的淨銷售額為 94,537,000，而 2003 年第二季度為 83,693,000。

This is an increase of 10,844,000, which is a 13 percent increase.

增加了 10,844,000，增幅為 13%。

International had sales for quarter two, 2004 of 10,798,000 versus 6,223,000 in quarter two, 2003.

2004 年第二季度國際公司的銷售額為 10,798,000 輛，而 2003 年第二季度為 6,223,000 輛。

This is an increase of 4,575,000, a 74 percent increase in that segment.

增加了 4,575,000，在該細分市場中增加了 74%。

Tactica, however, had quarterly net sales of 10,447,000, for quarter two, 2004, versus 21,142,000 for quarter two, 2003.

然而，Tactica 2004 年第二季度的季度淨銷售額為 10,447,000，而 2003 年第二季度為 21,142,000。

This is a decrease of 10,695,000, which is a 51 percent decrease.

減少了 10,695,000，減少了 51%。

Tactica's sales decrease is primarily due to the reduction in sales of Epil Stop products that were such a large part of sales last year, and general softness of demand of products sold through television infomercials.

Tactica 的銷售額下降主要是由於去年佔銷售額很大一部分的 Epil Stop 產品銷售額下降，以及通過電視廣告銷售的產品需求普遍疲軟。

Tactica also had an order backlog of approximately 4 million at quarter end, which is much higher than historical backlogs.

截至季度末，Tactica 的訂單積壓量約為 400 萬，遠高於歷史積壓量。

Growth in the Company's sales exclusive of Tactica is due primarily to Idelle's sales, international, and core business.

公司除 Tactica 之外的銷售額增長主要歸功於 Idelle 的銷售、國際和核心業務。

Idelle includes the following --Sea Breeze, Vitalis (ph), Amens (ph), Final Net, 3-in-1 Conditioner and Vitapointe.

Idelle 包括以下產品 --Sea Breeze、Vitalis (ph)、Amens (ph)、Final Net、三合一護髮素和 Vitapointe。

The remainder of the growth is attributable to increased sales in the Vidal Sassoon, Revlon, and Dr. Scholl's lines of products sold at retail. (technical difficulty) Along with increased sales in our Hot Tools and Wigo brand distributed through the professional distribution channels.

其餘增長歸因於 Vidal Sassoon、Revlon 和 Dr. Scholl 零售產品系列的銷售額增加。 （技術難度）隨著我們通過專業分銷渠道分銷的 Hot Tools 和 Wigo 品牌銷量的增加。

Increased sales in the international segment were primarily increases in the UK, France, and other international.

國際市場銷售額的增長主要來自英國、法國和其他國際市場。

Also contributing to international growth has been the strengthening of the British pound and the euro versus the U.S. dollar.

英鎊和歐元兌美元走強也促進了國際增長。

If you take a look at the pound, we can see at an average of $1.55 in quarter two 2003 versus a $1.61 during quarter two, 2004, along with an increase in the euro from last year of 98 cents versus the euro at $1.12 during quarter two, 2004.

如果你看一下英鎊，我們可以看到 2003 年第二季度的平均匯率為 1.55 美元，而 2004 年第二季度為 1.61 美元，同時歐元兌歐元比去年同期上漲 98 美分，第二季度為 1.12 美元二、2004。

Improvements in exchange rates provided approximately 400,000 of additional benefit in quarter two, 2004.

匯率的改善在 2004 年第二季度提供了大約 400,000 的額外收益。

Gross profit, consolidated gross profit for the second quarter was 53,055,000, up 45.8 percent.

毛利方面，二季度綜合毛利為5305.5萬，同比增長45.8%。

Quarter two 2003 was 50,910,000, a gross profit rate of 45.8 percent also.

2003年二季度為5091萬，毛利率也為45.8%。

This is an increase of $2,145,000; it's a 4 percent increase.

增加了 2,145,000 美元；增加了 4%。

This increase is due to lower assertion costs along with contributions by the Idelle brands, and the benefit of strengthening foreign currencies against the dollar partially offset by a reduction of gross profit dollars and gross profit percentage on Tactica sales.

這一增長是由於較低的主張成本以及 Idelle 品牌的貢獻，以及外幣兌美元走強的好處部分被毛利潤美元和 Tactica 銷售毛利潤百分比的減少所抵消。

Gross profit without Tactica in quarter two 2004 was 47,121,00, a gross profit percentage of 44.7 percent, versus 35,129,000, or 39.1 percent in quarter two, 2004.

2004 年第二季度不含 Tactica 的毛利潤為 47,121,00，毛利潤百分比為 44.7%，而 2004 年第二季度為 35,129,000，或 39.1%。

This represents a gross profit dollar increase of 11,992,000, which is the 34.1 percent dollar increase and a percentage increase of 5.6 percentage points quarter-over-quarter.

這意味著毛利潤增加了 11,992,000 美元，增幅為 34.1%，環比增加了 5.6 個百分點。

SG&A expense in the second quarter -- expenses decreased both in absolute dollars and as a percentage of sales.

第二季度的 SG&A 費用——費用以絕對美元和占銷售額的百分比計算均有所下降。

For quarter two, 2004, the SG&A expense was 38,381,000, 33.1 percent of sales, versus quarter two, 2003 of 38,636,000, which is the 34.8 percent of sales.

2004 年第二季度，SG&A 費用為 38,381,000，佔銷售額的 33.1%，而 2003 年第二季度為 38,636,000，佔銷售額的 34.8%。

This is a decrease of 255,000.

這減少了 255,000。

A reduction in SG&A is due to -- primarily due -- to reduced royalty expense.

SG&A 的減少是由於——主要是由於——特許權使用費減少。

This was partially offset by increases in the following costs -- freight, freight-out, payroll, insurance and warehouse costs.

這部分被以下成本的增加所抵消——運費、運費、工資單、保險和倉庫成本。

Operating income, without Tactica, improved to 17.1 percent of net sales, 17,977,000 for quarter two, 2004, compared to 11.5 percent, 10,338,000 for quarter two, 2003.

不包括 Tactica 的營業收入提高到淨銷售額的 17.1%，2004 年第二季度為 17,977,000，而 2003 年第二季度為 11.5%，10,338,000。

Tactica had an operating loss of 3,303,000, 31.6 percent of net sales for quarter two, 2004, compared to an operating profit of 1,000,936, 9.2 percent of sales for quarter two, 2003.

Tactica 的經營虧損為 3,303,000，佔 2004 年第二季度淨銷售額的 31.6%，而經營利潤為 1,000,936，佔 2003 年第二季度銷售額的 9.2%。

As mentioned before, Tactica had a sales decrease of 10,695,000 for the quarter versus the prior year.

如前所述，Tactica 本季度的銷售額與去年同期相比減少了 10,695,000。

Other expense was a net expense of 257,000 for quarter two, 2004, versus an expense of 538,000 for quarter two, 2003.

2004 年第二季度的其他費用為 257,000 美元的淨費用，而 2003 年第二季度的費用為 538,000 美元。

Interest income was reduced 352,000 due to less investable cash and reduced interest rates, offset by a gain, both realized and unrealized, on securities of 247,000 in quarter two, 2004 versus a loss, both realized and unrealized, on securities in quarter two, 2003 of 281,000.

由於可投資現金減少和利率降低，利息收入減少了 352,000，被 2004 年第二季度證券的已實現和未實現收益 247,000 與 2003 年第二季度證券的已實現和未實現損失相抵消281,000。

I will comment on the use of our cash shortly.

我將很快評論我們的現金使用情況。

Income tax expense for quarter two 2004, it was 1,319,000; that's 9.2 percent of income before taxes, versus 2,860,000, which is 24.4 percent of income before taxes in quarter two,, 2003.

2004年二季度所得稅費用為131.9萬；這是稅前收入的 9.2%，而 2003 年第二季度為 2,860,000，佔稅前收入的 24.4%。

The most significant reason for the reduction in tax rates is due to the tax benefit recognized on the Tactica loss that is at a much higher tax rate (technical difficulty) for the remainder of the company's tax rate.

稅率降低的最重要原因是由於 Tactica 損失確認的稅收優惠，對於公司的其餘稅率而言，稅率要高得多（技術難度）。

Last portion I will cover is our financial position.

我將介紹的最後一部分是我們的財務狀況。

Our cash balance was 33.4 million at the end of quarter two, 2004, compared to 85 million at the end of quarter two, 2003.

2004 年第二季度末我們的現金餘額為 3340 萬美元，而 2003 年第二季度末為 8500 萬美元。

The reduction in cash is primarily due to an increase in inventory, purchases of six brands from Procter & Gamble, advanced payments for royalties from one of our major license agreements, and the purchase of our Mississippi distribution center, offset by the cash generated from operations over the last year.

現金減少的主要原因是庫存增加、從寶潔公司購買了六個品牌、根據我們的一項主要許可協議預付了特許權使用費，以及購買了我們的密西西比配送中心，這些都被運營產生的現金所抵消在過去的一年裡。

Receivables increased 1.2 million year-over-year on a quarterly net sales increase of 4.7 million.

由於季度淨銷售額增長 470 萬美元，應收賬款同比增長 120 萬美元。

Our days outstanding are at 64 days at the end of quarter two, 2004, compared to 66 days at the end of quarter two, 2003.

2004 年第二季度末，我們的未償還天數為 64 天，而 2003 年第二季度末為 66 天。

Inventories increased 35.1 million, or 31 percent from year end, and increased 48.7 million or 50 percent compared to last year.

存貨比上年末增加3510萬件，增長31%，比上年增加4870萬件，增長50%。

Inventories are now at 147.1 million.

現在庫存為1.471億。

Inventories increased 5.2 million due to the new Idelle business, and the remainder of the inventories increased as an anticipation of a strong fall selling season.

由於新的 Idelle 業務，庫存增加了 520 萬美元，其餘庫存因預期強勁的秋季銷售旺季而增加。

Debt to equity improved to 0.17 this year versus 0.21 last year.

今年的債務股本比從去年的 0.21 提高到 0.17。

We have recently arranged a $50 million line of credit that was partially used for the Brut transaction, and is available for ongoing working capital needs.

我們最近安排了 5000 萬美元的信貸額度，部分用於 Brut 交易，可用於滿足持續的營運資金需求。

Shareholder equity is at 319.8 million at August 31st, 2003 compared to 266.1 million at August 31st, 2002, an increase of 53.7 million.

2003 年 8 月 31 日的股東權益為 3.198 億，與 2002 年 8 月 31 日的 2.661 億相比增加了 5370 萬。

This concludes the review of the financial statements.

對財務報表的審閱到此結束。

Thank you, Tom.

謝謝你，湯姆。

Operator, I'd like to now open the floor up for questions.

接線員，我現在想開始提問。

The question and answer session will begin now. [OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS] Our first question comes from Doug Lane with Avondale Partners, please state your question.

問答環節現在開始。 [操作員說明] 我們的第一個問題來自 Doug Lane 和 Avondale Partners，請陳述您的問題。

Yes, good morning -- two questions.

是的，早上好——兩個問題。

First of all, focusing in on the North American business, excluding the Idelle Labs acquisition, can you give us what the sales growth was in the quarter?

首先，專注於北美業務，不包括對 Idelle Labs 的收購，您能告訴我們本季度的銷售增長情況嗎？

And then my second question is, what was your effective tax rate, excluding Tactica?

然後我的第二個問題是，你的有效稅率是多少，不包括 Tactica？

Doug, this is Tom Benson.

道格，這是湯姆·本森。

The North American sales growth, excluding Idelle, and I'm also excluding Tactica, was a 3.8 percent increase, year over year.

北美的銷售增長，不包括 Idelle，我也不包括 Tactica，同比增長 3.8%。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

The tax rates, without Tactica in it, is 17.5 percent.

不含 Tactica 的稅率為 17.5%。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Our next question comes from Joe Chumbler with Stephens.

我們的下一個問題來自 Joe Chumbler 和 Stephens。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Good morning.

早上好。

Can we get operating income by segment, by chance?

我們能否偶然獲得按部門劃分的營業收入？

Just a moment.

一會兒。

For the quarter, the operating income, for the North American segment, was 19,395,000.

本季度，北美分部的營業收入為 19,395,000。

For the international segment, it was a loss of 589,000; for Tactica, it was a loss of 3,333,000.

國際板塊虧損58.9萬；對於Tactica，損失了3,333,000。

And we have corporate and other expenses of 829,000.

我們還有 829,000 美元的公司費用和其他費用。

And again, that will be in the Q, which we will release in the next couple of days.

再一次，這將在 Q 中，我們將在接下來的幾天內發布。

Okay, thanks.And then, going through to the third-quarter sales guidance of 10 to 15 percent growth, does that include the Brut products acquired?

好的，謝謝。然後，根據第三季度增長 10% 到 15% 的銷售指導，這是否包括收購的 Brut 產品？

Joe, we just acquired the Brut on September 29.

喬，我們剛剛在 9 月 29 日收購了 Brut。

So we will include the Brut sales for October, November, yes.

所以我們將包括 10 月、11 月的 Brut 銷售，是的。

And then finally, there's been a lot of talk about Asian currencies, and I'm wondering if you've assessed the potential impact on your margins, should the Chinese currency appreciate against the dollar?

最後，關於亞洲貨幣的討論很多，我想知道您是否評估過對您利潤率的潛在影響，人民幣兌美元應該升值嗎？

We have looked at it, but there is nothing we can do about it.

我們已經看過了，但我們對此無能為力。

It's up to, certainly, the Chinese government.

當然，這取決於中國政府。

And I'm sure if it did happen, it would affect almost anybody who brings in products from the Orient.

而且我敢肯定，如果它真的發生了，它會影響到幾乎所有從東方進口產品的人。

And it would affect the big part of the imports of the United States.

這將影響美國的大部分進口。

No, we have, you know, I don't think anything is going to happen right now.

不，我們有，你知道，我認為現在不會發生任何事情。

But if it does, we will look at it.

但如果是這樣，我們會看看它。

Okay.

好的。

One more question on the Brut acquisition, do you plan to roll that debt into a longer-term debt?

還有一個關於 Brut 收購的問題，你是否打算將這筆債務轉為長期債務？

Or how do you expect to pay off the credit facility?

或者您希望如何還清信貸額度？

This is Chris Carameros.

我是克里斯·卡拉梅羅斯。

We have temporarily borrowed some money, obviously, off of a $50 million line.

顯然，我們暫時從 5000 萬美元的額度中藉了一些錢。

But we expect to have that line paid off by the end of the year, just through cash flow and operations.

但我們希望在今年年底之前通過現金流和運營還清這筆款項。

So, that might be available for us, for our other things in operations.

因此，這可能對我們可用，用於我們運營中的其他事情。

But we expect to be out of the line by the end of the year.

但我們預計到今年年底就會停產。

Okay.

好的。

So you don't see long-term debt going up any time soon?

所以你不認為長期債務會很快上升嗎？

No.

不。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Our next question comes from Richard Keim (ph) with Kensington Management.

我們的下一個問題來自 Kensington Management 的 Richard Keim (ph)。

Thank you.

謝謝。

The first question I had was concerning the tax rate.

我的第一個問題是關於稅率。

Without Tactica, would it be fair to assume that that 17.5 percent rate is what we would be looking at in the fourth quarter?

如果沒有 Tactica，假設我們在第四季度看到的 17.5% 的增長率是否公平？

Or do we go back to the 24 percent on the previous year?

還是回到上一年的 24%？

How do we do our models based on tax rates?

我們如何根據稅率建立模型？

This is Chris Carameros again.

我又是克里斯·卡拉梅羅斯。

If you take a look at the blended tax rate, the prior year had more income related to Tactica.

如果你看一下混合稅率，前一年有更多與 Tactica 相關的收入。

As you may or may not know, Tactica is not joined in our consolidated tax return; they file a separate tax return, and they're primarily located just in the United States.

您可能知道也可能不知道，Tactica 並未加入我們的綜合納稅申報單；他們提交單獨的納稅申報單，而且他們主要位於美國。

So it has a higher effective income tax rate, not only federally, but they also pay New York and state tax.

所以它有更高的有效所得稅率，不僅是聯邦的，而且他們還繳納紐約和州的稅。

Okay.

好的。

So it is a higher blended rate, to answer your question.

所以這是一個更高的混合率，來回答你的問題。

And as we had profitability last year, as Tom discussed in his closing to you, and a higher effective tax rate, which made that 24 percent rate go there.

去年我們實現了盈利，正如湯姆在結束時所討論的那樣，以及更高的有效稅率，這使得 24% 的稅率得以實現。

I think if you can look forward over to the next year or so, we would like to think that it depends on where the jurisdiction is, as where it's being taxed; our tax rate should be in the 16 to 18 to 18.5 percent rate.

我想如果你能展望未來一年左右，我們認為這取決於管轄權在哪裡，以及在哪裡徵稅；我們的稅率應該在16%到18%到18.5%之間。

If you take a look at where we have been historically, we continue, and have a very large deferred tax amount, but we obviously pay less than that; but we continue -- we'll continue to accrue in that 16 to 18.5 percent rate, and that's what you can look at going forward.

如果你看一下我們過去的情況，我們會繼續，並且有非常大的遞延稅額，但我們支付的稅款顯然要少；但我們會繼續——我們將繼續以 16% 到 18.5% 的速度增長，這就是你可以展望的未來。

Okay.

好的。

Including the next quarter?

包括下個季度？

Yes.

是的。

That's the rate we look at, with Helen of Troy, without Tactica.

這就是我們看到的速度，有特洛伊的海倫，沒有戰術。

They do not again, you're not joining our consolidated tax return.

他們又不這樣做了，您沒有加入我們的綜合納稅申報表。

We own 55 percent; to join the tax return, you have to have 80 percent.

我們擁有 55%；參加報稅，你必須有80%。

Richard Keim.

理查德·凱姆。

Okay.

好的。

Next question was, how are you doing on your market share of your basically, you know, your -- how are you doing versus Conair?

下一個問題是，你的市場份額基本上如何，你知道，你與 Conair 相比如何？

Are you picking up business or what is going on?

你是在接生意還是發生了什麼事？

We believe that our market share overall is increasing, yes.

我們相信我們的整體市場份額正在增加，是的。

We compete in so many different categories, but overall, we believe that our market share is increasing.

我們在許多不同的類別中競爭，但總的來說，我們相信我們的市場份額正在增加。

Are there any statistics around like that -- on that -- or it's just too diverse?

有沒有類似的統計數據——關於那個——或者它太多樣化了？

We do receive monthly statistics.

我們確實收到每月統計數據。

But they're by product category.

但它們是按產品類別分類的。

If somebody wanted them, I guess we could share it with you.

如果有人想要它們，我想我們可以與您分享。

It's done by over ten different types of products that we look into.

這是由我們研究的十多種不同類型的產品完成的。

We do monitor the market share.

我們確實監控市場份額。

Okay.

好的。

If you can't say hey, we're really beating them out on certain things or -- versus others.

如果你不能說嘿，我們真的在某些事情上擊敗了他們，或者 - 與其他人相比。

It's just that you think you are improving.

只是你認為你在進步。

Is that a fair conclusion?

這是一個公平的結論嗎？

Right.

正確的。

Okay.

好的。

Well, let's talk about one other thing.

好吧，讓我們談談另一件事。

You sold 500,000 shares of stock very recently.

您最近賣出了 500,000 股股票。

Any comments on that?

對此有何評論？

I mean, yes.

我的意思是，是的。

It was a private sale to a value fund who plans to hold the shares for many, many years.

這是對計劃持有股份多年的價值基金的私人出售。

And it was for diversification and estate planning.

這是為了多樣化和遺產規劃。

The stock was not sold into the market.

該股票未在市場上出售。

And as I told you, it was sold as a private sale.

正如我告訴過你的，它是作為私下出售的。

It was sold at the market?

市場上賣的？

Or market prices?

還是市場價？

No, I think it was sold through small discounts of the market on that day.

不，我認為它是通過當天市場的小折扣出售的。

Is there any agreement that they will keep it?

是否有任何協議，他們將保留它？

No.

不。

But since they -- we know a value fund who keeps their shares -- you know, I don't think you should be worrying about me.

但既然他們——我們知道一個持有他們股票的價值基金——你知道，我認為你不應該為我擔心。

It's the millions of shares that are traded every day by other people.

這是其他人每天交易的數百萬股股票。

I always wonder why they don't keep them long-term.

我總是想知道為什麼他們不長期保留它們。

But no, this is a value fund that plans to keep the stock.

但不，這是一隻計劃保留股票的價值基金。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Mimi Sokolowski with Sidoti & Company.

Mimi Sokolowski 與 Sidoti & Company。

I have actually a couple of questions.

我實際上有幾個問題。

First one, could you provide me with the cash from operating for the quarter?

第一個，你能給我提供本季度的運營現金嗎？

Yes, just a moment, please.

是的，請稍等。

Cash used by operating activities was 11 million -- I'm sorry; this is for the first six months; it was 11,000,146.

經營活動使用現金1100萬元——對不起；這是前六個月；是 11,000,146。

I don't have the quarterly numbers, that's for the first six months.

我沒有季度數字，那是前六個月的數字。

That's okay.

沒關係。

I can figure it out from there.

我可以從那裡弄清楚。

And can you give me the currency benefit on a per-share basis?

你能給我每股的貨幣收益嗎？

Or if you don't have that at your fingertips, can you just give me the number?

或者，如果您手邊沒有，可以給我電話號碼嗎？

It was $400,000.

那是 400,000 美元。

Probably, maybe about one cent.

大概，大概一分錢。

Okay.

好的。

Just a few more.

還有幾個。

What is the CapEx guidance for the full year?

全年的資本支出指導是什麼？

This is Chris Carameros.

我是克里斯·卡拉梅羅斯。

We shouldn't -- you know, traditionally, we're not capital intensive.

我們不應該——你知道，傳統上，我們不是資本密集型的。

We don't plan on buying any big warehouses, and such.

我們不打算購買任何大型倉庫等。

And the only project we have going is our new implementation of Oracle 11-I;

我們唯一正在進行的項目是 Oracle 11-I 的新實施；

I think we previously released that.

我想我們之前發布了它。

And that's the only thing we have going that's of any size.

這是我們唯一要做的任何規模的事情。

Okay.

好的。

And how about depreciation and amoritization for the year?

那一年的折舊和攤銷呢？

Have you got that, Tom?

你明白了嗎，湯姆？

Is it 6 and change?

是6和變化嗎？

For the first six months, was 3 million oh 30 .

前六個月是 300 萬 oh 30。

I'm not expecting any meaningful change in that.

我不期待任何有意義的改變。

The new Oracle system would not be placed into service until next fiscal year.

新的 Oracle 系統要到下個財政年度才能投入使用。

Okay.

好的。

And then turning to inventory and also Tactica, I guess investors have been pretty critical of your inventory levels, and you have given your explanations.

然後轉向庫存和 Tactica，我猜投資者對你的庫存水平非常批評，你已經給出了你的解釋。

Do you -- where do you expect to see annual inventory turns, by the end of fiscal '04?

到 04 財年末，您預計年度庫存周轉率在哪裡？

Lower than last year?

低於去年？

Last year, I think you ran about 2.2; now you're running at about 1.7.

去年，我想你跑了大約 2.2；現在您的運行速度約為 1.7。

I think it's going to run around 2.2.

我認為它會在 2.2 左右運行。

The inventory will be down.

庫存會下降。

We're going into our biggest sales period.

我們即將進入最大的銷售期。

We do have the inventory; the retailers are aggressively buying it.

我們確實有庫存；零售商正在積極購買它。

We can deliver.

我們可以送貨。

Last year, as you recall, we had the dock strike in the third quarter, and we paid a lot of air freight, and we lost a lot of business.

去年，你還記得，我們在第三季度發生了碼頭罷工，我們支付了很多空運費，我們失去了很多生意。

So you're going to see all that being made up.

所以你會看到所有這些都是虛構的。

And the good news is we do have the inventory.

好消息是我們確實有庫存。

And it will be down by February 28, at the end of our fiscal year to our normal ratios.

到 2 月 28 日，即我們財政年度結束時，它將下降到我們的正常比率。

Okay.

好的。

You break out Tactica on a couple of line items.

您在幾個訂單項上打破了 Tactica。

Could you do so for inventory as well?

您也可以對庫存這樣做嗎？

Just to provide greater transparency and to assure investors that the inventory build is not from a decline in sales in Tactica, and that we may be facing a charge sometime in the next few quarters.

只是為了提供更大的透明度並向投資者保證庫存增加不是由於 Tactica 銷售下降，我們可能會在未來幾個季度的某個時候面臨收費。

Would that kind of transparency be something you would consider?

你會考慮那種透明度嗎？

Tactica's inventory is about $12 million.

Tactica 的庫存約為 1200 萬美元。

Okay, great.

好的，太好了。

Last question -- Tactica -- what type of suitor do you think you might be looking at, if you were to sell it?

最後一個問題——Tactica——如果你要出售它，你認為你可能會尋找什麼樣的追求者？

Who do you think would pick it up?

你認為誰會撿起它？

Who would be interested in a company like Tactica?

誰會對 Tactica 這樣的公司感興趣？

This is Chris Carameros.

我是克里斯·卡拉梅羅斯。

We've had several conversations.

我們有過幾次談話。

And at this point in time, we're not going to disclose any more detail than that.

目前，我們不會透露更多細節。

Okay.

好的。

There are interested parties, though?

有興趣的人，但是？

That's correct.

這是正確的。

Okay.

好的。

Good enough.

夠好了。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Mike Carlotti with Paul Meier (ph).

Mike Carlotti 和 Paul Meier（博士）。

Yes, I have a couple of questions.

是的，我有幾個問題。

First, for the quarter, how much does FX benefit sales on the top line?

首先，對於本季度，外匯對銷售額的影響有多大？

$400,000.

400,000 美元。

$400,000, okay.

40萬美元，好吧。

And then if I just work through the guidance -- you guided up the year by 10 cents.

然後，如果我只是按照指導工作——你指導了一年 10 美分。

And if you take out the six cents that you beat this quarter, that leaves you about 4 cents of guidance for upside.

如果你去掉本季度超過的 6 美分，那麼你還有大約 4 美分的上行指導。

How much of that 4 cents would be from the Brut acquisition, considering that it closed, it looks like about five months early.

這 4 美分中有多少來自 Brut 的收購，考慮到它已經關閉，看起來大約提前了五個月。

And then -- how much would it be for just -- from Brut -- how much EPS are you expecting for Brut for FY '04?

然後——僅僅——來自 Brut——你期望 Brut 在 04 財年的 EPS 是多少？

First of all, everybody says Brut closed early.

首先，每個人都說 Brut 很早就關門了。

It didn't close early.

它沒有提前關閉。

We had a time schedule with Unilever in which we had to close by a certain time, and we met that deadline.

我們與聯合利華有一個時間表，我們必須在某個特定時間關閉，我們在最後期限前完成了。

And again, we entered a transition period that we will be with Unilever just as we did with Procter & Gamble.

再一次，我們進入了一個過渡期，我們將與聯合利華合作，就像我們與寶潔公司一樣。

But over the next quarter, less than the next quarter, we suspect that sales will be in the 3 million a month for Brut, 6 million for the next quarter.

但在下個季度，比下個季度少，我們懷疑 Brut 的銷售額將達到每月 300 萬，下個季度將達到 600 萬。

After that, we will have to evaluate it.

之後，我們將不得不對其進行評估。

And as we begin to digest all the numbers and the elements we did, we are quite optimistic, we got a great group within the Idelle Labs, and headed up by Jack Jancin, and some other great guys.

當我們開始消化我們所做的所有數字和元素時，我們非常樂觀，我們在 Idelle Labs 中有一個很棒的團隊，由 Jack Jancin 和其他一些很棒的人領導。

And we're optimistic we can take all this and digest it and grow it.

我們很樂觀，我們可以接受所有這些並消化它並發展它。

And just like we've been doing with other products we got from P&G.

就像我們一直在處理我們從 P&G 獲得的其他產品一樣。

Well, I guess when you announced that you were acquiring Brut, you said it was going to be 20 to 24 cents of earnings in FY '05, and it was going to close at the end of your fiscal '04.

好吧，我想當你宣布收購 Brut 時，你說這將佔 05 財年收益的 20 到 24 美分，並且將在 04 財年末結束。

And it closed, I guess, a couple of weeks ago.

它關閉了，我猜，幾週前。

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is, how much additive EPS do you expect to pick up for the five months that you will have Brut during FY '04?

我想我想弄清楚的是，您希望在 04 財年期間擁有 Brut 的五個月內增加多少每股收益？

Again, we said that we were going to close at the end of the calendar year.

再一次，我們說過我們將在日曆年結束時關閉。

And we were forecasting giving guidance for the year, our fiscal year, 2005.

我們預測了 2005 財年的指導。

We are still digesting those numbers.

我們仍在消化這些數字。

And I'm fairly reluctant at this point in time to give you much guidance.

在這個時間點我不太願意給你太多指導。

And maybe we'll give you a better guidance at the end of our third-quarter about what Brut will mean for our fiscal year.

也許我們會在第三季度末為您提供更好的指導，說明 Brut 對我們財政年度的意義。

Okay.

好的。

And then, you had one comment on the interest income section.

然後，您對利息收入部分發表了評論。

You said there was a $247,000 gain in the quarter?

你說本季度有 247,000 美元的收益？

Did I hear that right?

我沒聽錯吧？

Or was that --?

或者是——？

We'll go back and look at that.

我們會回去看看。

Just a second.

等一下。

Our next question comes from Justin Thomas (ph) with Petros (ph) Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 Justin Thomas (ph) 和 Petros (ph) Capital。

Can you hold a second?

你能等一下嗎？

Let's go ahead and answer that last question for just a second.

讓我們繼續回答最後一個問題。

What we had is we have a $247,000 gain in the quarter, both realized and unrealized, on securities that we are holding.

我們所擁有的是，我們持有的證券在本季度實現和未實現的收益為 247,000 美元。

I'm sorry about that gentleman.

我為那位先生感到抱歉。

The next question in queue we have is from Justin Thomas with Petros Capital.

我們排隊的下一個問題來自 Petros Capital 的 Justin Thomas。

Great.

偉大的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Could you talk a little about the advertising spend at Tactica?

你能談談 Tactica 的廣告支出嗎？

How did that change year-over-year?

這是如何逐年變化的？

And then, second question on the inventory levels at Tactica, where were those in the prior year same quarter?

然後，關於 Tactica 庫存水平的第二個問題，去年同期的庫存水平在哪裡？

As far as the advertising spend, as we previously tried to explain to everyone, Tactica has moved into not only being an infomercial company, but more into a selling at retail.

就廣告支出而言，正如我們之前試圖向所有人解釋的那樣，Tactica 不僅已成為一家信息商業公司，而且更像是一家零售公司。

And that's a quite significant shift between the two.

這是兩者之間相當重要的轉變。

And which we think, on the long term, is a better way to run the business.

我們認為，從長遠來看，這是一種更好的經營方式。

As far as inventory levels, the inventory levels are pretty consistent with that business, although we've had some increased inventory, you have to have an increased inventory at that level to be able to sustain retail business.

就庫存水平而言，庫存水平與該業務非常一致，儘管我們的庫存有所增加，但您必須在該水平上增加庫存才能維持零售業務。

And they're in stock in various items.

他們有各種商品的庫存。

And Tom mentioned to you we had a good backlog.

Tom 向您提到我們積壓了大量工作。

And it looks like their business is moving pretty good for the third quarter.

看起來他們的業務在第三季度進展順利。

Again, we're taking a look at trying to maximize shareholder value and trying to determine how it fits into our overall corporate structure.

同樣，我們正在研究如何使股東價值最大化，並試圖確定它如何融入我們的整體公司結構。

And that's why we made that announcement.

這就是我們發布該公告的原因。

Our next question comes from Rick Sing (ph) with Parsh (ph) Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 Rick Sing (ph) 和 Parsh (ph) Capital。

Hi, I think you have explained this, but could you go over what is in the 50 percent inventory increase?

你好，我想你已經解釋過了，但你能再看一下庫存增加 50% 的內容嗎？

Basically, it's our core business.

基本上，這是我們的核心業務。

It's merchandise that we will be selling off for the end of the fiscal year.

這是我們將在本財政年度末出售的商品。

Idelle Labs in there (indiscernible) 5 million this year versus last year -- (multiple speakers).

Idelle Labs 在那裡（音頻不清晰）今年與去年相比有 500 萬——（多位發言人）。

I think we talked about the 5 million inventory in that.

我想我們在那裡談到了 500 萬庫存。

Right.

正確的。

Right, was there some better buying that you did -- was there a unique opportunity?

是的，有沒有比你做的更好的購買——有沒有獨特的機會？

Was it artificially low last year?

去年是人為壓低的嗎？

You know, it's a little of everything.

你知道，它是一切的一點點。

I think it probably was artificially low last year.

我認為去年它可能人為地低了。

And we think these are more normalized inventories for the current quarter, although as I mentioned, the inventory will be down significantly by February 28th.

我們認為這些是本季度更正常化的庫存，儘管正如我提到的那樣，到 2 月 28 日庫存將大幅下降。

And we're trying to avoid airfreight on a lot of products; so we anticipate that by buying earlier.

我們正在努力避免對很多產品進行空運；所以我們預計通過早點購買。

Everybody looks at last year -- two years ago, we were at 149 million.

每個人都在看去年——兩年前，我們是 1.49 億。

So, we actually are down from where we were two years ago on a comparable quarter comparison.

因此，在可比季度比較中，我們實際上比兩年前的水平有所下降。

But in any case, yes, there were some opportunity buys.

但無論如何，是的，有一些機會購買。

And as I mentioned, the good news is that we have the inventory to take care of our retailers.

正如我提到的，好消息是我們有庫存來照顧我們的零售商。

And I think we're going to see hopefully better sales then I projected.

而且我認為我們有望看到比我預計的更好的銷售。

Right, so I see.

對，所以我明白了。

So your inventory is flat with two years ago, but your sales are actually up from two years ago.

所以你的庫存與兩年前持平，但你的銷售額實際上比兩年前有所上升。

So if you look at it on that basis, there's not really that much of an increase at all.

因此，如果您在此基礎上看，實際上根本沒有那麼多的增長。

That's true.

這是真的。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Our next question comes again from Doug Lane of Avondale Partners, please state your question.

我們的下一個問題再次來自 Avondale Partners 的 Doug Lane，請說出您的問題。

Yeah, I wanted to follow up on the question on Brut, just to double check the figures.

是的，我想跟進關於 Brut 的問題，只是為了仔細檢查數據。

Were you saying the expectation is sort of a $3 million a month kind of run rate?

你是說期望是每月 300 萬美元的運行率嗎？

Is that what you threw out there?

那是你扔在那裡的東西嗎？

I said for the end of the year, that's what we're looking at until we get a better handle on exactly what's happening.

我說到今年年底，這就是我們正在關注的內容，直到我們更好地處理正在發生的事情。

We've told you before, may have mentioned, it's about 75 percent business in the U.S. and Canada; about 25 percent in Mexico and other countries.

我們之前告訴過你，可能已經提到，大約 75% 的業務在美國和加拿大；在墨西哥和其他國家約佔 25%。

We expect to take that business, and grow that business, and build that business.

我們希望接管該業務，發展該業務，並建立該業務。

But over the next quarter, that's what I'm looking at for right now.

但在下個季度，這就是我現在正在尋找的。

And is that U.S. and international?

那是美國和國際嗎？

Yes.

是的。

Mostly what this business is, is remember, we have the Western Hemisphere; it's in the U.S.

記住，這項業務主要是什麼，我們有西半球；它在美國

Canada and (multiple speakers) and (multiple speakers) position in Mexico.

加拿大和（多個發言者）和（多個發言者）在墨西哥的位置。

So we do have other Latin American countries.

所以我們確實有其他拉丁美洲國家。

And the reason why I'm a little bit vague on that because Unilever included some of the sales in other countries besides Mexico, that did it out of the U.S.

我之所以對此有點含糊其詞，是因為聯合利華包括了墨西哥以外其他國家的一些銷售，這些銷售是在美國以外進行的。

So as we begin to digest this, I'll get a little bit more specific on where it may be.

因此，當我們開始消化它時，我會更具體地說明它可能在哪裡。

But we, again, as we previously announced, we think that we will be at $40 million on an annualized basis.

但是，正如我們之前宣布的那樣，我們認為我們的年化收入將達到 4000 萬美元。

The next couple of quarters, hopefully, we will have some good news and little bit higher increases than that.

希望在接下來的幾個季度，我們會有一些好消息，並且比這高一點。

Okay, and back on Tactica.

好的，回到戰術。

Can you give us what sort of -- I know it's premature for numbers.

你能給我們什麼樣的 - 我知道現在數字還為時過早。

But what kind of a financial impact would that divestiture have?

但這種資產剝離會產生什麼樣的財務影響？

It was mentioned earlier about inventory write-offs; but then you bought this for next to nothing.

前面提到了庫存核銷；但後來你幾乎一無所獲。

So will it be onetime gains?

那麼會不會是一次性收益呢？

How do you see that playing out?

你怎麼看結果？

Well, somebody may have mentioned inventory write-offs.

好吧，有人可能提到了庫存註銷。

I didn't mention inventory write-off.

我沒有提到庫存註銷。

Right.

正確的。

It just came up on the call; that's what I meant.

它剛剛出現在電話中；我正是這個意思。

Yeah.

是的。

We would suspect that it would have a positive impact upon the sale.

我們懷疑這會對銷售產生積極影響。

And we need to take a look at the alternatives and things that we're looking at.

我們需要看看我們正在研究的替代方案和事情。

But -- and, we are looking at different alternatives for what we are going to do with Tactica.

但是——而且，我們正在尋找不同的替代方案來處理我們將要用 Tactica 做的事情。

And then lastly, you mentioned with Tactica's weakness, that the whole infomercial category was soft; and one of your big products is Straight to the Maxx.

最後，你提到了 Tactica 的弱點，即整個電視購物類別都很軟；您的重要產品之一是 Straight to the Maxx。

Can you give us a feel for what you think the contribution to the sales in the November quarter will be from Straight to the Maxx, and how that's going so far?

您能否告訴我們您認為 11 月季度的銷售貢獻將從 Straight 到 Maxx，以及目前進展如何？

We don't disclose on our product by product item.

我們不會按產品項目披露我們的產品。

Can you give us just qualitatively how it's going?

你能給我們定性地告訴我們它是怎麼回事嗎？

Is it feeling the softness as well?

是不是也有柔軟的感覺？

Or is that just --

或者只是——

It's doing well.

它做得很好。

So you're happy with how Straight to the Maxx is doing despite the industry condition, okay.

因此，儘管行業狀況不佳，但您對 Straight to the Maxx 的表現感到滿意，好吧。

Yes, we are.

是的我們是。

You had asked what would happen if we didn't have Tactica.

你曾問過如果我們沒有 Tactica 會發生什麼。

And we already disclosed that we would have made 6 cents more if we had not owned Tactica, our earnings would've been 48 cents using our tax rate.

我們已經透露，如果我們沒有擁有 Tactica，我們會多賺 6 美分，如果按照我們的稅率計算，我們的收入將是 48 美分。

On that, just to be clear, the 1.80 to 1.85 -- I'm sorry, the 1.85 to 1.90 guidance for this year, that includes the 8 cents litigation gain in the first quarter, right?

關於這一點，要明確一點，1.80 到 1.85——對不起，今年 1.85 到 1.90 的指導，其中包括第一季度 8 美分的訴訟收益，對嗎？

At the present time, it does.

目前，確實如此。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Our next question comes again from Joe Chumbler from Stephens.

我們的下一個問題再次來自 Stephens 的 Joe Chumbler。

Please state your question.

請說出你的問題。

My question was answered.

我的問題得到了回答。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Our next question comes again from Mimi Sokolowski with Sidoti & Co, please state your question.

我們的下一個問題再次來自 Mimi Sokolowski 和 Sidoti & Co，請說出你的問題。

Three real quick questions, just for clarification.

三個真正的快速問題，只是為了澄清。

Could you go over that operating income from international again?

你能再檢查一下來自國際的營業收入嗎？

(Silence.)

（安靜。）

Hello?

你好？

Yes.

是的。

I think when the Q comes out, you can get all the details at that time.

我想當 Q 出來的時候，你可以得到所有的細節。

Okay.

好的。

And the tax rate that you had said we could use to forecast operating results going forward, did you say 16 to 18?

你說我們可以用來預測未來經營業績的稅率，你說的是 16 到 18？

I said 16 to 18 percent for Helen of Troy without Tactica.

我說沒有戰術的特洛伊海倫有 16% 到 18%。

Okay.

好的。

And the last thing is, you just said without Tactica, earnings would've been about 48 percent per share.

最後一件事是，你剛才說如果沒有 Tactica，每股收益約為 48%。

And that tax rate, you said using your tax rate, what tax rate does that imply?

還有那個稅率，你說用你的稅率，那意味著什麼稅率？

The one we used in results, 17.5 percent.

我們在結果中使用的是 17.5%。

15.5, you said?

15.5，你說？

17.5.

17.5。

Okay, that’s it.

好的，就是這樣。

Thank you again.

再次感謝你。

Our next question comes from Jeff Feinberg with JLS Asset Management, please state your question.

我們的下一個問題來自 JLS 資產管理公司的 Jeff Feinberg，請說出你的問題。

Thank you, very much.

非常感謝。

A couple of questions -- first is just a follow-up in terms of the inventory.

有幾個問題——首先是關於庫存的跟進。

At year end, can you give us a sense of where that should be?

在年底，你能告訴我們應該在哪裡嗎？

Jeff, I think it's going to be somewhere between, somewhere around 117 million or less.

傑夫，我認為它會介於兩者之間，大約 1.17 億或更少。

So, at year end, your inventories will actually be up less than your sales, just because there seems to be a lot of questions around that; and obviously, at the current time, it's artificially inflated by the acquisition that you made.

所以，到年底，你的存貨實際上會比你的銷售額少，只是因為這方面似乎有很多問題；顯然，目前，它因您進行的收購而人為地膨脹了。

But it sounds like at year-end, your inventories will be up less than sales; so that's terrific.

但聽起來好像在年底時，您的庫存增幅將低於銷售額；這太棒了。

The second question just with regard to stock buyback, I think that you put some information in the release about that.

關於股票回購的第二個問題，我認為你在新聞稿中提供了一些相關信息。

And you obviously made comments some comments in terms of your opinions on the stock price.

你顯然就你對股價的看法發表了一些評論。

But the stock is trading at $22 as we speak.

但就在我們說話時，該股的交易價格為 22 美元。

Could you just elaborate with regard to stock buyback, just to refresh my memory.

你能否詳細說明一下股票回購，只是為了讓我記憶猶新。

How much do you have in terms of authorized buyback and your general intent there, please?

請問您在授權回購方面有多少以及您在那裡的總體意圖？

Jeff, we have an authorization for the current time of 3 million shares.

傑夫，我們目前有 300 萬股的授權。

We only purchased approximately 82,000 shares for a couple of million dollars, because we were waiting for the acquisition of Brut where we used $55 million.

我們只花了幾百萬美元購買了大約 82,000 股股票，因為我們在等待收購 Brut，我們用了 5500 萬美元。

Now that we've acquired Brut, and because of the price the way it is, you will see that Helen of Troy is going to be very, very active in acquiring their stock, especially at this price.

現在我們已經收購了 Brut，並且由於目前的價格，您會看到特洛伊的海倫將非常非常積極地收購他們的股票，尤其是以這個價格。

I never expected, Jeff, that it would get this low.

傑夫，我從沒想過它會變得這麼低。

So (multiple speakers) --

所以（多位發言人）——

It's a great opportunity for the company and the long-term shareholders.

這對公司和長期股東來說是一個很好的機會。

I just wanted to understand because obviously, based on the guidance you've given, you're getting about a 10 percent yield just by buying back stock and making it accretive.

我只是想了解，因為很明顯，根據你給出的指導，僅通過回購股票並使其增值，你就能獲得大約 10% 的收益率。

You're intent is to take advantage of this opportunity aggressively?

你打算積極利用這個機會嗎？

Oh, definitely.

哦，當然。

Okay, terrific.

好的，太棒了。

Finally, if you could just be kind enough for all of us to walk through the assumptions on the Brut acquisition;

最後，如果您能好心讓我們所有人了解一下收購 Brut 的假設；

I think if I understood correctly, you talked about 20 to 24 cents accretion in next year's earnings.

我想如果我理解正確的話，你談到明年的收益增加 20 到 24 美分。

But I just want to understand the underlying assumptions on that.

但我只想了解對此的基本假設。

Is that taking into account some of the synergies that you might possibly have?

這是否考慮了您可能擁有的一些協同作用？

Or is there any growth embedded in that?

還是其中包含任何增長？

Are you being very conservative and not incorporating some of those benefits so the accretion could actually end up being more next year?

你是不是非常保守，沒有考慮其中的一些好處，所以明年的增長實際上可能會更多？

This is Chris Carameros.

我是克里斯·卡拉梅羅斯。

Again with the Brut transaction, I think we are being somewhat conservative.

對於 Brut 交易，我認為我們還是有些保守。

But we have, as we've done with the prior brands, we have to reposition those brands, and really protect our shelf space, so to speak going into the planagram (ph), season.

但是，正如我們對先前品牌所做的那樣，我們必須重新定位這些品牌，並真正保護我們的貨架空間，可以說進入 planagram (ph) 季節。

And then we are. as we expect for next year, we will take the opportunity to take and do a lot more things with that brand.

然後我們是。正如我們對明年的預期，我們將藉此機會利用該品牌做更多的事情。

We understand that Unilever has not taken some opportunities of doing the gift packs and Christmas promotions which we think we can do next year, which will be in our numbers.

我們知道聯合利華沒有抓住一些我們認為明年可以做的禮品包和聖誕節促銷活動的機會，這將在我們的數字中。

And we've been very pleased with the reception we've had at retail with our purchase of Brut, it's a great brand, people like the brand.

我們對購買 Brut 在零售業受到的歡迎感到非常滿意，這是一個很棒的品牌，人們喜歡這個品牌。

And we think we can do more things with it in the Christmas season, the fragrance.

我們認為我們可以在聖誕節期間用它做更多的事情，香水。

And then along with the deodorant, it's a great men's fragrance, and we think we can do more things with that and (multiple speakers) --

然後與除臭劑一起，它是一款很棒的男士香水，我們認為我們可以用它做更多的事情並且（多個揚聲器）--

Absolutely, no.

絕對沒有。

I'm just trying to understand, can you just be kind enough to walk us through what assumptions you've made to get to the 20 to 24 cents?

我只是想了解一下，您能否友好地向我們介紹一下您為達到 20 到 24 美分所做的假設？

Have you assumed any sort of --

你有沒有假設過——

We've assumed that we've basically taken Unilever sales and stabilized those sales and that's it.

我們假設我們基本上已經取得了聯合利華的銷售額並穩定了這些銷售額，僅此而已。

Well, and we've put in a larger amount of expense in advertising since they had not advertised it in the previous years.

好吧，我們在廣告上投入了更多的費用，因為前幾年他們沒有做廣告。

So that number would be net of the advertising that we will be doing.

所以這個數字將扣除我們將要做的廣告。

We would be expecting to spend at least 10 percent on advertising.

我們預計至少要花 10% 的錢在廣告上。

Where they had not done any advertising in that category -- in our numbers in the 20 cents.

他們沒有在該類別中做任何廣告——在我們的數字中是 20 美分。

So just to make sure, in the 22 to 25 cents accretion for next year, you've assumed that you spend 10 percent of sales on advertising, but you have not assumed any sort of benefit from that, no sales lift?

所以只是為了確保，在明年 22 到 25 美分的增長中，您假設您將 10% 的銷售額用於廣告，但您沒有假設任何形式的好處，沒有銷售提升？

At this point in time, we have not.

目前，我們還沒有。

Okay.

好的。

So if anything, that would be potential upside for us.

因此，如果有的話，那對我們來說將是潛在的好處。

That would be upside.

那將是有利的。

And I apologize, just a final question; the guidance you've given for next year, the 2.15 to 2.25 for next year, that assumes the 16 to 18 percent tax rate which is your sustainable long-term tax rate?

我很抱歉，只是最後一個問題；你給明年的指導，明年的 2.15 到 2.25，假設 16% 到 18% 的稅率是你可持續的長期稅率？

Yes.

是的。

And just within the general philosophy, obviously, being in the consumer business, you don't have specific orders or obviously specific shipments scheduled for next year, so I would assume the general overriding philosophy is wanting to be conservative in putting out preliminary guidance looking out that far?

就一般理念而言，很明顯，在消費者業務中，你沒有具體的訂單或明年明顯的具體發貨計劃，所以我認為一般的首要理念是希望在發布初步指導時保持保守出那麼遠？

Definitely.

確實。

I know your new with us, Jeff, but you could go back and look historically.

傑夫，我知道你是新來的，但你可以回顧一下歷史。

We like to be conservative, we don't want to miss our numbers, and of course, we like to make as much as much as we can on the upside.

我們喜歡保守，我們不想錯過我們的數字，當然，我們喜歡盡可能多地賺錢。

So we, at the current time, as we always do, we always try to be a little conservative.

因此，目前，我們一如既往地嘗試保守一點。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you, very much.

非常感謝。

Our next question comes from Steve Friedman of Wachovia Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wachovia Securities 的 Steve Friedman。

Good morning, Gerry, Tom, Chris, Bob.

早上好，格里、湯姆、克里斯、鮑勃。

My questions have pretty much been answered.

我的問題幾乎已經得到解答。

I was curious about the stock buyback and I think your release said you had repurchased 81,800 shares.

我對股票回購感到好奇，我想你的新聞稿說你已經回購了 81,800 股。

And Gerry, if I’m correct, you indicated that the buyback is for 3 million; is that correct?

Gerry，如果我是對的，你表示回購是 300 萬美元；那是對的嗎？

That's true.

這是真的。

And, you already commented that you feel fairly aggressive at the levels, as we talk, is under 22.

而且，你已經評論說你覺得在我們談論的水平上相當激進，低於 22 歲。

So you have a 40 percent increase in earnings and the stock's price is now 12, which translates to 10, 11 P, based on actual -- this year's earnings -- maybe even less.

所以你的收益增加了 40%，股票價格現在是 12，這意味著 10、11 P，基於實際 - 今年的收益 - 可能甚至更少。

That's true.

這是真的。

Okay.

好的。

Well, congratulations on a fine quarter, and that's really everything I had.

好吧，祝賀你有一個很好的季度，這就是我所擁有的一切。

Thank you, Steve, for your support.

史蒂夫，謝謝你的支持。

We appreciate it.

我們很感激。

Our next question comes from Patrick Tenney with Eastbourne Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 Eastbourne Capital 的 Patrick Tenney。

Please state your question.

請說出你的問題。

Quick question on the sales in the quarter.

關於本季度銷售額的快速問題。

Were the sales in the quarter a little bit lighter than expected?

本季度的銷售額是否略低於預期？

And if so, could you give us, could you talk a little bit about why that happened?

如果是這樣，你能告訴我們，你能談談為什麼會這樣嗎？

The sales in the quarter were only light because of the $10 million decrease in Tactica and for no other reason.

本季度的銷售額之所以不高，僅僅是因為 Tactica 減少了 1000 萬美元，沒有其他原因。

The numbers that Helen of Troy projected came in as we projected.

特洛伊海倫預測的數字與我們預測的一樣。

Okay, fair enough.

好吧，很公平。

And following up on the prior caller's question about the assumptions for the Brut accretion, we're still looking at 20 to 24 cents?

並跟進先前來電者關於 Brut 吸積假設的問題，我們仍在尋找 20 到 24 美分？

That's right.

這是正確的。

And that would imply, on revenues of $40 million, operating margins at something of 24 to 27 percent?

這是否意味著，對於 4000 萬美元的收入，營業利潤率大約為 24% 到 27%？

That's also correct.

這也對。

Which is much higher than sort of your core business model.

這比您的核心業務模型要高得多。

Can you help us understand why Brut is so much more profitable, or can be so much more profitable, even with that increase in ad expense?

您能否幫助我們理解為什麼 Brut 的利潤更高，或者即使在廣告費用增加的情況下也能利潤更高？

Well, number one, it's consistent with our Idelle Labs division, so it's not that inconsistent -- it's not that inconsistent with what we're doing right now.

好吧，第一，它與我們的 Idelle Labs 部門一致，所以它並沒有那麼不一致——它與我們現在正在做的事情並沒有那麼不一致。

It's very consistent with what we're doing with our other brands we have within Idelle, the skin and hair care.

這與我們在 Idelle 旗下的其他品牌、皮膚和頭髮護理方面所做的非常一致。

So,it's consistent with other products.

因此，它與其他產品一致。

So basically, we can take the Brut transaction; we already have the infrastructure, whether it be the sales and marketing staff, along with our existing distribution and accounting and everything else, and plug it in there, and it's very, I think, very realistic and somewhat conservative.

所以基本上，我們可以採用 Brut 交易；我們已經擁有基礎設施，無論是銷售和營銷人員，還是我們現有的分銷和會計以及其他一切，並將其插入其中，我認為這是非常現實且有些保守的。

And so operating margins in the Idelle Labs are what now?

那麼 Idelle Labs 的營業利潤率現在是多少？

They've been consistently higher than what we've had with just the appliance piece.

它們一直高於我們僅使用電器部件時的價格。

In that 25 percent range?

在那個 25% 的範圍內？

Yes.

是的。

Great.

偉大的。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Our next question comes again from Mike Carlotti with Paul Meier.

我們的下一個問題再次來自 Mike Carlotti 和 Paul Meier。

Please state your question.

請說出你的問題。

Yes, hi.

是的，嗨。

Did you disclose previously what the sales at Brut were for the 12 months prior to your acquiring it?

您之前是否披露過收購 Brut 之前 12 個月的銷售額？

We did not disclose it, but Unilever disclosed it; it was $45 million.

我們沒有透露，聯合利華透露了；這是4500萬美元。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Our next question comes again from Jeff Feinberg with JLS Asset Management.

我們的下一個問題再次來自 JLS Asset Management 的 Jeff Feinberg。

No, I'm all set.

不，我已經準備好了。

Thank you.

謝謝。

All my questions have been answered.

我所有的問題都得到了回答。

[OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS] If there are no further questions, I will turn the conference back to Gerald Rubin to conclude.

[操作員說明] 如果沒有其他問題，我將把會議轉回杰拉爾德魯賓來結束。

Thank you all for attending and participating in our second-quarter conference call.

感謝大家參加我們的第二季度電話會議。

And I look forward to speaking with you, if not before, certainly on our third-quarter conference call.

我期待著在我們第三季度的電話會議上與您交談，如果不是之前的話。

Thank you, again.

再次感謝你。

Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to access a replay for this call, you may do so by dialing 1-800-428-6051, or 973-709-2089, with an ID number of 307197.

女士們，先生們，如果您想收聽此次通話的重播，可以撥打 1-800-428-6051 或 973-709-2089，ID 號碼為 307197。

This concludes our conference for today.

我們今天的會議到此結束。

Thank you all for participating, and have a nice day.

感謝大家的參與，祝你有美好的一天。

All parties may now disconnect.

所有各方現在都可以斷開連接。