Helen of Troy Ltd (HELE) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Helen of Troy Ltd Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

歡迎來到 Helen of Troy Ltd 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）提醒一下，正在錄製此會議。

I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Jack Jancin, Senior Vice President of Corporate Business Development. Please go ahead, sir.

我現在想把會議轉交給你的主持人，公司業務發展高級副總裁 Jack Jancin。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Helen of Troy's Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2022 Earnings Conference Call. The agenda for the call this morning is as follows: I will begin with a brief discussion of forward-looking statements. Mr. Julien Mininberg, the company's CEO, will comment on the business performance and key accomplishments, and then provide some perspective as we begin the new fiscal year. Then Mr. Matt Osberg, the company's CFO, will review the financials in more detail and comment about current trends and expectations for the upcoming fiscal year. Following this, we will take questions you have for us today.

謝謝你，運營商。大家早上好，歡迎來到特洛伊的海倫 2022 財年第四季度收益電話會議。今天上午的電話會議議程如下：我將首先簡要討論前瞻性陳述。公司首席執行官 Julien Mininberg 先生將對業務績效和主要成就發表評論，然後在我們開始新的財政年度時提供一些觀點。然後，公司首席財務官 Matt Osberg 先生將更詳細地審查財務狀況，並對當前趨勢和下一財年的預期發表評論。在此之後，我們將回答您今天向我們提出的問題。

This conference call may contain certain forward-looking statement that are based on management's current expectation with respect to future events or financial performance. Generally, the words anticipates, believes, expects, and other words similar are words identifying forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause anticipated results to differ materially from the actual results.

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陳述。一般來說，預期、相信、預期和其他類似的詞是識別前瞻性陳述的詞。前瞻性陳述受到許多風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致預期結果與實際結果存在重大差異。

This conference call may also include information that may be considered non-GAAP financial information. These non-GAAP measures are not an alternative to GAAP financial information and may be calculated differently than the non-GAAP financial information disclosed by other party. The company cautions listeners not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or non-GAAP information.

此電話會議還可能包含可能被視為非 GAAP 財務信息的信息。這些非 GAAP 措施不能替代 GAAP 財務信息，並且計算方法可能與其他方披露的非 GAAP 財務信息不同。公司提醒聽眾不要過分依賴前瞻性陳述或非 GAAP 信息。

Before I turn the call over to Mr. Mininberg, I would like to inform all interested parties that a copy of today's earnings release has been posted to the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.helenoftroy.com. The earnings release contains tables that reconcile non-GAAP financial measures to their corresponding GAAP-based measures. The release can be obtained by selecting the Investor Relations tab on the company's homepage, and then the Press Releases tab.

在我將電話轉給 Mininberg 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公司網站 www.helenoftroy.com 的投資者關係部分。收益發布包含將非 GAAP 財務指標與其相應的基於 GAAP 的指標相協調的表格。可以通過選擇公司主頁上的“投資者關係”選項卡，然後選擇“新聞稿”選項卡來獲取新聞稿。

I will now turn the conference call over to Mr. Mininberg.

我現在將電話會議轉交給 Mininberg 先生。

Thank you Jack. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We're excited to discuss our recent acquisition of Curlsmith and our fourth quarter and full year fiscal '22 results. On today's call, we will also introduce our outlook for fiscal '23 and provide an overview of the investments we're making to continue to drive our transformation in the back half of phase 2 and beyond. As we have now completed our third year of phase 2, we will also update you on the outstanding progress we have made on the goals we laid out during our May 2019 Investor Day. Spoiler alert, we are ahead nearly across the board.

謝謝杰克。大家早上好，感謝您今天加入我們。我們很高興討論我們最近對 Curlsmith 的收購以及我們第四季度和全年的 22 財年業績。在今天的電話會議上，我們還將介紹我們對 23 財年的展望，並概述我們為繼續推動我們在第二階段後半期及以後的轉型所做的投資。由於我們現在已經完成了第二階段的第三年，我們還將向您介紹我們在 2019 年 5 月投資者日制定的目標方面取得的突出進展。劇透警報，我們幾乎全線領先。

Let me start by providing a bit more color on the Curlsmith acquisition. We see it as an exciting and excellent strategic fit for our prestige beauty portfolio that also delivers immediate value creation and strong growth potential. Our M&A strategy calls for adding leadership brands and up-and-comers where we can add value and leverage our scalable operating platform.

讓我首先提供更多關於 Curlsmith 收購的顏色。我們認為這是對我們聲望很高的美容產品組合的一個令人興奮和出色的戰略契合，它還可以帶來即時的價值創造和強勁的增長潛力。我們的併購戰略要求增加領導品牌和後起之秀，我們可以在其中增加價值並利用我們可擴展的運營平台。

In this case, we are adding a fast-growing, innovative up-and-comer that complements our portfolio of leadership brands. With approximately 60% of US consumers having hair with varying degrees of waves and curls, prestige textured hair products are growing 10x faster than products for non-textured hair, and twice as fast as mass market textured hair products.

在這種情況下，我們正在增加一個快速增長、創新的後起之秀，以補充我們的領導品牌組合。大約 60% 的美國消費者的頭髮有不同程度的波浪和捲曲，高檔紋理美髮產品的增長速度比非紋理美髮產品快 10 倍，是大眾市場紋理美髮產品的兩倍。

Curlsmith business more than doubled in size over the last 2 years and we expect it to continue growing at a double-digit rate. Curlsmith products are designed to make caring for textured hair easier for consumers, earning it leading net promoter scores, impressive repeat purchase loyalty and strong reviews. Curlsmith further builds our presence in prestige with a brand that complements our successful Drybar acquisition. We expect it to immediately become our most profitable brand and further sweeten our mix in beauty.

Curlsmith 業務的規模在過去 2 年中翻了一番以上，我們預計它會繼續以兩位數的速度增長。 Curlsmith 產品旨在讓消費者更輕鬆地護理有質感的頭髮，贏得了領先的淨推薦值、令人印象深刻的重複購買忠誠度和強烈的評價。 Curlsmith 通過一個品牌進一步提升了我們的知名度，該品牌與我們成功收購的 Drybar 形成互補。我們預計它會立即成為我們最賺錢的品牌，並進一步豐富我們的美妝組合。

Consistent with our better-together thinking on acquisitions, we expect to add significant, further value to Curlsmith by capitalizing on our much larger beauty salesforce in brick and mortar and online, additional DTC capability, marketing, appliance know-how, our international go-to-market footprint and our robust shared services platform that includes global sourcing, distribution, IT and back office capability well beyond what Curlsmith has today.

與我們更好地合作收購的想法一致，我們希望通過利用我們在實體店和網上更大的美容銷售隊伍、額外的 DTC 能力、營銷、電器專業知識、我們的國際業務，為 Curlsmith 增加重要的、進一步的價值。市場足跡和我們強大的共享服務平台，包括全球採購、分銷、IT 和後台功能，遠遠超過 Curlsmith 今天所擁有的。

Our acquisition and divestiture activities so far in phase 2 has significantly improved our beauty portfolio. With the acquisition of Curlsmith and Drybar, the Revlon licensed buyout and divestiture of our mass market personal care liquids, 4 of our last 5 major deals have been in beauty. These were strategic moves, which, when combined with beauty's organic growth and efficiency projects, have made it our highest margin segment. Portfolio now includes a good, better, best set of winning appliance brands under Revlon, Bed Head, Hot Tools and Drybar and a growing consumables presence in prestige liquids with Drybar and Curlsmith.

到目前為止，我們在第二階段的收購和資產剝離活動顯著改善了我們的美容產品組合。通過收購 Curlsmith 和 Drybar，露華濃授權收購和剝離我們的大眾市場個人護理液，我們最近 5 筆主要交易中有 4 筆是在美容領域。這些都是戰略舉措，與美容的有機增長和效率項目相結合，使其成為我們利潤率最高的部分。產品組合現在包括 Revlon、Bed Head、Hot Tools 和 Drybar 旗下的一系列優秀、更好、最佳的獲獎電器品牌，以及 Drybar 和 Curlsmith 等知名液體中不斷增長的消耗品。

Turning to the fourth quarter, today we are pleased to report outstanding results, including double-digit growth in consolidated revenue and EPS. All three business segments performed well ahead of our expectations on both the top and bottom line. Since COVID has had such a big impact on the comparisons over the past 2 years, we think it is also helpful to look at the two-year stack comparisons, which are included in today's press release. On that basis, for the quarter, we grew core net sales by 37% and core adjusted diluted EPS by 45%.

談到第四季度，今天我們很高興地報告出色的業績，包括綜合收入和每股收益的兩位數增長。所有三個業務部門的收入和利潤都超出了我們的預期。由於 COVID 對過去兩年的比較產生瞭如此大的影響，我們認為查看今天新聞稿中包含的兩年堆棧比較也很有幫助。在此基礎上，本季度我們的核心淨銷售額增長了 37%，核心調整後攤薄每股收益增長了 45%。

As you have likely noticed in today's earnings release, we've renamed two of our business segments to reflect the substantial changes to our portfolio in recent years. With OXO now joined by two iconic brands in the outdoor industry, Hydro Flask and Osprey, we are renaming our Housewares segment to Home & Outdoor. We are also renaming our Health & Home segment to Health & Wellness. The Health side of the new name reflects the functional benefits of helping consumers monitor their physical condition and provide relief when family members may be sick. The Wellness side allows us to put even more focus on the emotional benefits of providing peace of mind and wellbeing.

您可能已經在今天的收益發布中註意到，我們已經重新命名了我們的兩個業務部門，以反映近年來我們投資組合的重大變化。隨著 OXO 現在與戶外行業的兩個標誌性品牌 Hydro Flask 和 Osprey 一起加入，我們將我們的家庭用品部門更名為家庭和戶外。我們還將我們的健康與家庭部門重命名為健康與保健。新名稱的健康方面反映了幫助消費者監測身體狀況並在家人生病時提供救濟的功能優勢。健康方面使我們能夠更加關注提供安心和幸福的情感益處。

Looking specifically at segment performance, Home & Outdoor sales grew significantly in the fourth quarter, aided by the contribution of Osprey. This comes on top of double-digit growth in the comparison period. The growth this quarter was led by Hydro Flask, which continued to grow market share.

具體來看細分市場的表現，在 Osprey 的貢獻的幫助下，第四季度家居與戶外銷售額顯著增長。這是在比較期間兩位數增長的基礎上。本季度的增長由 Hydro Flask 引領，其市場份額繼續增長。

Turning to Beauty, demand was especially strong in volumizers and wavers. We continue to grow share in this segment as well. Beauty also continued to perform internationally, posting double-digit growth with particular strengths in EMEA and Latin America. This reinforces our strategic focus on appliances and premium beauty products in Latin America. Fiscal '22 marks 2 years of Drybar under our ownership, delivering performance ahead of our acquisition economics despite the challenges of the pandemic.

談到美妝產品，豐盈產品和捲髮產品的需求尤其強勁。我們也在繼續增加這一領域的份額。美妝業務在國際上也繼續表現出色，實現兩位數增長，尤其是在歐洲、中東和非洲和拉丁美洲。這加強了我們在拉丁美洲的電器和優質美容產品的戰略重點。 '22 財年標誌著我們擁有 Drybar 2 年，儘管面臨大流行的挑戰，但仍提供了領先於我們收購經濟的績效。

Turning to Health & Wellness, the segment significantly exceeded our expectations. Key drivers in the fourth quarter included higher-than-expected sales of thermometers and humidifiers related to a late season Omicron surge that tended to produce cough and flu-like symptoms. With the cold and flu season itself indeed below historical averages as we forecasted on our third quarter call in January, it turned out that Omicron stimulated demand for health-related products. The quarter also benefited from higher sales of seasonal products, such as fans.

談到健康與保健，該部門大大超出了我們的預期。第四季度的主要推動因素包括溫度計和加濕器的銷量高於預期，這與 Omicron 旺季銷售量的增加有關，這種銷售量往往會產生咳嗽和流感樣症狀。正如我們在 1 月份的第三季度電話會議上預測的那樣，由於感冒和流感季節本身確實低於歷史平均水平，事實證明 Omicron 刺激了對健康相關產品的需求。本季度還受益於風扇等季節性產品銷量的增加。

Turning now to the full fiscal year result, we are proud to continue delivering growth over the elevated based laid down last year and despite the many challenges from supply chain disruption, inflation and the EPA matter. Fiscal '22 marks another record year for revenues and adjusted earnings per share and delivered further adjusted operating margin expansion. Growth rates on top of the elevated base were ahead of our phase 2 targets.

現在轉向整個財政年度的結果，我們很自豪能夠繼續在去年奠定的基礎上實現增長，儘管供應鏈中斷、通貨膨脹和 EPA 問題帶來了許多挑戰。 '22 財年標誌著收入和調整後每股收益又創紀錄的一年，並進一步擴大了調整後的營業利潤率。高基數之上的增長率超過了我們的第二階段目標。

Our business model is working, reflecting the power of a diversified portfolio of nine leadership brands, investment in our value creation flywheel, and excellence in execution of our transformation strategy by a high performance organization who operates under a winning culture. Fiscal '22 also demonstrated that the playbook we executed was effective in helping mitigate supply chain disruption and inflation.

我們的商業模式正在發揮作用，反映了由九個領先品牌組成的多元化組合的力量、對我們價值創造飛輪的投資，以及一個在致勝文化下運營的高績效組織對我們轉型戰略的卓越執行。 22 財年還表明，我們執行的劇本在幫助緩解供應鏈中斷和通貨膨脹方面是有效的。

Stepping back now to look at our progress so far in phase 2, we are proud that our results have contributed to total shareholder returns well ahead of our proxy peer group since the start of phase 2 and all through phase 1. Even though we are just 3 years into phase 2, we have grown significantly, with core net sales growth of 50% and core adjusted diluted EPS growth of 68%. Both represent an acceleration of compound annual growth rates versus phase 1.

現在回過頭來看看我們在第 2 階段迄今為止取得的進展，我們感到自豪的是，自第 2 階段開始到第 1 階段以來，我們的業績為股東總回報做出的貢獻遠遠超過了我們的代理同行群體。儘管我們只是進入第二階段的 3 年裡，我們取得了顯著增長，核心淨銷售額增長了 50%，核心調整後攤薄每股收益增長了 68%。兩者都代表了與第一階段相比複合年增長率的加速。

Looking at other phase 2 targets, we are also ahead of plan. Core adjusted operating margins so far in phase 2 has expanded well beyond our target. This was achieved primarily through flywheel investments, cost reduction projects, and new products that have sweetened our mix. When we started phase 2, we set a goal of feeding our leadership brands with an average annual increase of at least 10% in growth investments, such as consumer-centric product innovation and marketing support. The ROI from these investments has helped expand our margins as has the benefits of our flywheel investments made in international and in shared services.

看看第二階段的其他目標，我們也提前完成了計劃。到目前為止，第二階段的核心調整後營業利潤率已遠遠超出我們的目標。這主要是通過飛輪投資、成本降低項目和使我們的產品組合更加豐富的新產品實現的。當我們開始第二階段時，我們設定了一個目標，即為我們的領導品牌提供平均每年至少增長 10% 的增長投資，例如以消費者為中心的產品創新和營銷支持。這些投資的投資回報率幫助擴大了我們的利潤率，因為我們在國際和共享服務方面進行的飛輪投資也帶來了好處。

Doubling down on international is another phase 2 strategic choice that has paid off with results ahead of plan. During our 2019 Investor Day, we set a goal of adding over $100 million of organic revenue growth outside of the United States by the end of fiscal '24. I am pleased to report that we have achieved this goal 2 years ahead of schedule. That provides us an opportunity to raise the bar.

在國際上加倍投入是第二階段的另一個戰略選擇，它已經取得了超出計劃的成果。在我們的 2019 年投資者日，我們設定了一個目標，即到 24 財年結束時在美國以外增加超過 1 億美元的有機收入增長。我很高興地報告，我們已經提前 2 年實現了這一目標。這為我們提供了提高標準的機會。

Today, we are announcing that we are targeting an additional $130 million of growth outside the United States over the 2 remaining years of phase 2. This includes further organic growth in the 2 geographic regions we originally chose, EMEA and Asia Pacific, while now also adding two new important international growth drivers, both of which are expected to grow double digits in the back half of phase 2. The first of those is Latin America, which has been growing rapidly over phase 2 on a core basis; And second is Osprey, which is 50% international.

今天，我們宣布，我們的目標是在第二階段剩餘的 2 年內在美國以外的地區實現 1.3 億美元的額外增長。這包括我們最初選擇的 2 個地理區域的進一步有機增長，即 EMEA 和亞太地區，同時現在還包括增加兩個新的重要國際增長動力，預計在第二階段的後半段都將實現兩位數的增長。首先是拉丁美洲，它在第二階段的核心基礎上一直在快速增長；其次是 Osprey，它是 50% 的國際化。

Another impressive outcome from the choice to double down on international is the margin improvements during phase 2. International margins have increased significantly over the past three years, with EMEA and Latin America joining Asia Pacific as investment grade, making them a further focus for the back half of phase 2.

選擇在國際上加倍下注的另一個令人印象深刻的結果是第二階段的利潤率提高。國際利潤率在過去三年中顯著增加，歐洲、中東和非洲和拉丁美洲加入亞太地區成為投資級別，使它們成為後方的進一步關注點第二階段的一半。

ROIC is another key metric of our phase 2 plan. Careful stewardship and allocation of capital has been a hallmark of our transformation from the beginning. In priority order, our stated capital allocation strategy has been to invest in our business, make strategic and accretive acquisitions and buy back shares. We have committed approximately $1.3 billion of capital in the first three years of phase 2, which includes investments to date in the new distribution center, the Drybar, Osprey, and Curlsmith acquisitions, the Revlon 100-year license buyout and share repurchases. This is approximately the same amount that we committed over the 5 years of phase 1. Like all capital allocations that have multi-year payouts, these latest investments require time to deliver their return, not just in ROIC, but also in the form of an even more robust enterprise that we expect will serve as the foundation for further growth well beyond phase 2.

ROIC 是我們第二階段計劃的另一個關鍵指標。從一開始，細心的資本管理和分配就是我們轉型的標誌。按照優先順序，我們既定的資本配置策略是投資於我們的業務，進行戰略性和增值性收購以及回購股票。我們在第 2 階段的前三年投入了大約 13 億美元的資金，其中包括迄今為止對新配送中心的投資、Drybar、Osprey 和 Curlsmith 的收購、Revlon 100 年許可買斷和股票回購。這與我們在第一階段的 5 年中承諾的金額大致相同。與所有具有多年支出的資本配置一樣，這些最新投資需要時間來提供回報，不僅是 ROIC，而且還以我們期望的更強大的企業將成為遠遠超過第二階段的進一步增長的基礎。

Now looking ahead to fiscal '23, the outlook we are introducing today projects another year of solid growth in revenue and profitability. Our two new acquisitions, Osprey and Curlsmith, are expected to drive revenue and margin growth. We expect our incremental revenues to add operating leverage and make further use of our shared services, which in turn provides further lift from adding critical mass to the flywheel, not only in fiscal '23, but also in future years, very similar to what we did with Hydro Flask and Drybar in the past and continue to do today.

現在展望 23 財年，我們今天介紹的展望預計收入和盈利能力將在又一年實現穩健增長。我們的兩項新收購，Osprey 和 Curlsmith，預計將推動收入和利潤增長。我們預計我們的增量收入將增加運營槓桿並進一步利用我們的共享服務，這反過來又會進一步提升飛輪的臨界質量，不僅在 23 財年，而且在未來幾年，這與我們非常相似過去用 Hydro Flask 和 Drybar 做，今天繼續做。

We recognize the broad-based concerns about continued supply chain interruption, rising interest rates and rising inflation that puts pressure on input costs and also on consumer buying power. And in fact, we are seeing weakness in consumption in some categories in March and April. It is important to note, our outlook includes our current assessment of the impact of each of these headwinds. To address them, we are reapplying our proven playbook, which we expect to mitigate more than $3 a share of inflation and supply chain interruption.

我們認識到對供應鏈持續中斷、利率上升和通脹上升的廣泛擔憂，這些都給投入成本和消費者購買力帶來壓力。事實上，我們看到 3 月和 4 月某些類別的消費疲軟。值得注意的是，我們的展望包括我們目前對這些不利因素影響的評估。為了解決這些問題，我們正在重新應用我們經過驗證的劇本，我們預計這將減少每股 3 美元以上的通貨膨脹和供應鏈中斷。

We have now contracted all of our expected shipping needs for the year, which locks in sea freight for the full fiscal year at significant discounts to current spot market rates and provide considerable visibility on these costs. We have also now introduced many of our price increases. To help offset margin compression from higher costs, we also expect growth from Drybar and Hydro Flask to sweeten our organic mix.

我們現在已經簽訂了今年所有預期的航運需求合同，從而以比當前現貨市場價格大幅折扣的價格鎖定整個財年的海運費，並為這些成本提供了相當大的可見性。我們現在也推出了許多我們的價格上漲。為了幫助抵消更高成本帶來的利潤壓縮，我們還預計 Drybar 和 Hydro Flask 的增長將使我們的有機產品組合更加甜美。

With regard to the EPA matter, the recent EPA concerns are related to the packaging and labels of certain additional humidifiers and air products that have been in the market for years. We continue to engage in dialogue with the EPA to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. The current estimate of the impact of this matter is included in our outlook.

關於 EPA 問題，最近 EPA 的關注與市場上銷售多年的某些附加加濕器和空氣產品的包裝和標籤有關。我們繼續與 EPA 進行對話，以盡快解決此事。目前對此事影響的估計包含在我們的展望中。

On the spending side for fiscal '23, we continue to believe strongly that executing our transformation strategy is the best way to continue delivering long-term value for shareholders. Our fiscal '23 outlook therefore includes carefully considered investments in the most important opportunities for our brands, and the key shared service initiatives intended to open new efficiency, capability and scalability for the back half of fiscal '23 and beyond.

在 23 財年的支出方面，我們仍然堅信執行我們的轉型戰略是繼續為股東創造長期價值的最佳方式。因此，我們的 23 財年展望包括對我們品牌最重要機會的仔細考慮投資，以及旨在為 23 財年後半期及以後開闢新效率、能力和可擴展性的關鍵共享服務計劃。

We also continue to invest in consumer-centric innovation, which has been the lifeblood of our leadership brands throughout the transformation. We are investing in the most attractive brand marketing opportunities, customization, personalization and international. As mentioned earlier, we see further upside in EMEA and Asia Pacific and are increasing our focus on Latin America, especially in beauty appliances.

我們還繼續投資於以消費者為中心的創新，這在整個轉型過程中一直是我們領導品牌的命脈。我們正在投資最具吸引力的品牌營銷機會、定制化、個性化和國際化。如前所述，我們看到 EMEA 和亞太地區的進一步上漲，並且正在增加對拉丁美洲的關注，尤其是在美容電器方面。

In shared services, the major fiscal '23 investments are primarily related to improvements in operations, IT and in executing the $10-plus million multi-year cost-of-goods savings programs underway in each business unit.

在共享服務方面，'23 財政年度的主要投資主要與改進運營、IT 以及執行每個業務部門正在進行的超過 1000 萬美元的多年商品成本節約計劃有關。

In operations, we are further diversifying the geographic footprint of our global sourcing across China, Southeast Asia and Mexico and creating more dual sourcing to improve cost and certainty of supply. This in turn opens the door to creating new efficiencies and lower risks, such as shortening lead times, decreasing inventory, lowering freight and reducing exposure to global geopolitical friction and to tariffs.

在運營方面，我們正在進一步分散我們在中國、東南亞和墨西哥的全球採購的地理足跡，並創造更多的雙重採購以降低成本和供應的確定性。這反過來又為創造新的效率和降低風險打開了大門，例如縮短交貨時間、減少庫存、降低運費以及減少全球地緣政治摩擦和關稅的風險。

On the distribution side of operations, the new Tennessee distribution center will significantly increase our capacity and allow us to more efficiently handle the growth of our business over the past 5 years and the new growth we are planning. Construction is proceeding on time and on budget, and we expect to open by the end of fiscal '23.

在運營的配送方面，新的田納西配送中心將顯著提高我們的能力，使我們能夠更有效地處理過去 5 年的業務增長和我們正在規劃的新增長。施工正在按預算按時進行，我們預計在 23 財年末開放。

On the IT side, our outlook includes choiceful investments and system upgrades, such as best-of-breed applications for demand planning and warehouse management, and new direct-to-consumer capability and capacity to adapt even further to the growing demand for online purchases and increasing service expectations. We believe we are making the right spending decisions and have been careful, especially in this cost environment, to focus on the ones we expect will matter most.

在 IT 方面，我們的前景包括有選擇的投資和系統升級，例如用於需求規劃和倉庫管理的同類最佳應用程序，以及新的直接面向消費者的能力和進一步適應不斷增長的在線購買需求的能力和提高服務期望。我們相信我們正在做出正確的支出決定，並且一直很謹慎，特別是在這種成本環境下，將重點放在我們認為最重要的事情上。

We have a track record of delivering on the annual guidance we provide. This has been the case throughout the transformation and was proven again today in our fiscal '22 results. This track record is driven by our relentless focus on execution of our strategic plan, our agility in the face of adversity and our culture that brings out the very best in our outstanding people. As we look further out, we reiterate our commitment to our long-term average annual top and bottom line growth targets for fiscal '24. Overall, we expect phase 2 will deliver a 5-year run of top and bottom line organic growth well ahead of the average annual targets we set.

我們有交付我們提供的年度指導的記錄。在整個轉型過程中都是如此，今天我們的 22 財年業績再次證明了這一點。這一業績記錄源於我們對戰略計劃執行的不懈關注、我們在逆境中的敏捷性和我們的文化，讓我們的優秀人才發揮出最好的一面。當我們放眼未來時，我們重申我們對 24 財年的長期平均年度頂線和底線增長目標的承諾。總體而言，我們預計第二階段將實現連續 5 年的頂線和底線有機增長，遠遠超過我們設定的平均年度目標。

Even though we have 2 years left in phase 2 and are focused on executing with excellence in all of the areas just mentioned, we are now beginning to work on phase 3. Over the balance of this fiscal year, I will be working with our global leadership team and our Board on the strategic planning for phase 3. As you can see from the previously discussed investments we are making now in infrastructure, we are looking to further build out our platform so we can scale it in the next generation of profitable, organic and inorganic growth. We look forward to sharing our phase 3 strategic choices and plans with you in fiscal '24.

儘管我們在第 2 階段還有 2 年的時間，並且專注於在剛才提到的所有領域實現卓越，但我們現在開始著手進行第 3 階段。在本財政年度的剩餘時間裡，我將與我們的全球合作領導團隊和我們的董事會就第三階段的戰略規劃進行討論。正如您從之前討論的我們現在在基礎設施方面進行的投資中看到的那樣，我們正在尋求進一步構建我們的平台，以便我們可以在下一代盈利中擴展它，有機和無機增長。我們期待在 24 財年與您分享我們的第三階段戰略選擇和計劃。

Moving now to an update on executive leadership, I am pleased to report that we have completed our previously announced search for a chief operating officer. Adding this role will help us focus on continuing our growth and executing the major strategic initiatives for the back half of phase 2 and beyond with excellence. Noel Geoffroy will join Helen of Troy as the Chief Operating Officer on May 9th 2022, and will oversee the day-to-day business, the execution of major projects and help plan for phase 3. Ms. Geoffroy brings over 25 years of experience as a proven leader in president and general manager roles at world-class companies, including Sanofi in Consumer Healthcare, Kellogg, H. J. Heinz and Procter & Gamble. She is a consumer-centric leader, a passionate brand builder, a product innovator, and has a strong reputation as an inspirational, organizational and cultural leader. She will report directly to me and will sit on our global leadership team.

現在轉到有關行政領導的最新消息，我很高興地報告我們已經完成了之前宣布的首席運營官搜尋工作。增加這個角色將幫助我們專注於繼續我們的增長和卓越地執行第二階段後半期及以後的主要戰略計劃。 Noel Geoffroy 將於 2022 年 5 月 9 日加入 Helen of Troy，擔任首席運營官，負責監督日常業務、主要項目的執行並幫助規劃第 3 階段。Geoffroy 女士擁有超過 25 年的經驗，擔任在世界一流公司擔任總裁和總經理職務的公認領導者，包括消費者保健領域的賽諾菲、家樂氏、H. J. Heinz 和寶潔公司。她是一個以消費者為中心的領導者、一個充滿激情的品牌建設者、一個產品創新者，並且在鼓舞人心、組織和文化方面享有盛譽。她將直接向我匯報工作，並將加入我們的全球領導團隊。

Additionally, I am very pleased to announce that we have new leadership in Health & Wellness. Christophe Coudray, President of our Health & Wellness business segment, retired from Helen of Troy at the end of February. It is an honor to see long service leaders like Christophe finish a distinguished career of over 35 years in the consumer products industry. Mauricio Troncoso has joined Helen of Troy as our new president of Health & Wellness. He brings 30 years of domestic and international experience. His career spans progressive roles at Kimberly-Clark, Ontex, Mead Johnson Nutrition, and Proctor & Gamble. He has led a wide range of consumer goods businesses, reorganizations, transformation programs, and operational efficiency initiatives as well as acquisition integrations.

此外，我很高興地宣布，我們在健康與保健領域擁有新的領導層。我們的健康與保健業務部門總裁 Christophe Coudray 於 2 月底從 Helen of Troy 退休。很榮幸看到像 Christophe 這樣長期服務的領導者在消費品行業結束了超過 35 年的傑出職業生涯。 Mauricio Troncoso 已加入 Helen of Troy，擔任我們的新任健康與保健總裁。他帶來了 30 年的國內和國際經驗。他的職業生涯跨越了金佰利、Ontex、美贊臣營養品和寶潔公司的進步角色。他領導了範圍廣泛的消費品業務、重組、轉型計劃、運營效率計劃以及收購整合。

Before concluding my remarks, I would like to briefly touch on further progress we have made on ESG and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Starting with ESG, at the corporate level, we recently increased our efforts to minimize our impact on the environment by confirming our plastic packaging targets as part of our participation in the new plastics economy. Through the global commitment, business and governments commit to change on how we produce use and reuse plastic to work towards a circular economy for plastics. We look forward to providing more details on our corporate and brand specific ESG initiatives in our second annual ESG report, which we expect to issue in June.

在結束髮言之前，我想簡要談談我們在 ESG 和多樣性、公平性、包容性和歸屬感方面取得的進一步進展。從 ESG 開始，在企業層面，我們最近加大了力度，通過確認我們的塑料包裝目標，將我們對環境的影響降至最低，作為我們參與新塑料經濟的一部分。通過全球承諾，企業和政府承諾改變我們生產、使用和再利用塑料的方式，以實現塑料循環經濟。我們期待在預計於 6 月發布的第二份年度 ESG 報告中提供更多關於我們公司和品牌特定 ESG 舉措的詳細信息。

Turning to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, throughout the transformation, our focus has been to attract, retain, unify, include and train the very best talent. Like ESG, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging is a priority for Helen of Troy and we continue to make significant progress. This includes adding more diversity of thought, experience, gender and ethnic background. With Noel joining next month, half of our named executive officers will be women and half of our global leadership team will be women or ethnically diverse. Beyond senior management, diversity and hiring across levels also continues to increase, with more and more diverse candidates in our hiring pools. Our plans for the back half of phase 2 include further focus on DEI&B initiatives.

談到多元化、公平、包容和歸屬感，在整個轉型過程中，我們的重點一直是吸引、留住、統一、包容和培養最優秀的人才。與 ESG 一樣，多樣性、公平性、包容性和歸屬感是 Helen of Troy 的首要任務，我們將繼續取得重大進展。這包括增加更多的思想、經驗、性別和種族背景的多樣性。隨著 Noel 下個月的加入，我們指定的執行官中有一半將是女性，我們全球領導團隊的一半將是女性或不同種族的人。除了高級管理層之外，多元化和跨級別招聘也在繼續增加，我們的招聘池中有越來越多的多元化候選人。我們對第二階段後半部分的計劃包括進一步關注 DEI&B 計劃。

With that I'd like to hand the call over to our CFO, Matt Osberg.

有了這個，我想把電話轉給我們的首席財務官馬特奧斯伯格。

Thank you, Julien. Good morning, everyone. Our fourth quarter results represent a very strong finish to the year and deliver full fiscal year core business net sales and adjusted diluted EPS growth ahead of our long-term phase 2 targets. I am very proud of how our entire organization, again, delivered strong results in what proved to be a very challenging year as we navigated the unpredictable path of COVID-19, inflationary cost headwinds, continued supply chain disruption and the EPA matter.

謝謝你，朱利安。大家，早安。我們第四季度的業績代表了今年非常強勁的收官，並在我們的長期第二階段目標之前實現了整個財年的核心業務淨銷售額和調整後的攤薄後每股收益增長。我感到非常自豪的是，在我們應對 COVID-19 不可預測的道路、通脹成本逆風、供應鏈持續中斷和 EPA 問題的過程中，我們整個組織再次在事實證明非常具有挑戰性的一年中取得了強勁的成果。

Couple of points before I move on to my discussion of our fourth quarter and full year results. First, I'll be speaking primarily to consolidated results as well as core business results. Core business results exclude the entire personal care business in all periods and provide the best comparability between historical and future periods. Second, our results include $24.4 million in sales and $0.06 in adjusted diluted EPS from Osprey, which we acquired in December 2021.

在我繼續討論我們的第四季度和全年業績之前，有幾點要點。首先，我將主要談論綜合結果和核心業務結果。核心業務結果不包括所有時期的整個個人護理業務，並提供歷史時期和未來時期之間的最佳可比性。其次，我們的業績包括我們於 2021 年 12 月收購的 Osprey 的 2440 萬美元銷售額和 0.06 美元的調整後攤薄每股收益。

Now moving on to results for the fourth quarter. Core business net sales increased 17.2%, reflecting growth in brick and mortar and online channels in our Home & Outdoor and Beauty segments. We benefited from strong consumer demand, higher sales in the club and closed-out channels, the impact of customer price increases and growth in international sales. Results also reflect approximately $20 million in sales that were pulled forward into the fourth quarter from the first quarter of fiscal '23 as retailers accelerated orders to improve their inventory levels and in anticipation of price increases. We also had a comparative benefit due to last year's Winter Storm Uri which delayed approximately $15 million in orders that were not able to be shipped in the fourth quarter of fiscal '21.

現在轉到第四季度的結果。核心業務淨銷售額增長 17.2%，反映了我們家居與戶外和美容領域實體和在線渠道的增長。我們受益於強勁的消費者需求、俱樂部和封閉渠道的更高銷售額、客戶價格上漲的影響以及國際銷售額的增長。結果還反映出約 2000 萬美元的銷售額從 23 財年第一季度提前到第四季度，原因是零售商加快訂單以提高庫存水平並預計價格會上漲。由於去年的冬季風暴 Uri，我們也獲得了相對收益，它延遲了大約 1500 萬美元的訂單，這些訂單無法在 21 財年第四季度發貨。

GAAP consolidated operating income was $50.4 million or 8.7% of net sales. On an adjusted basis, operating margin increased 4.1 percentage points to 12.5%, primarily due to a decrease in marketing expense. Net income was $39.8 million or $1.64 per diluted share. Non-GAAP core adjusted diluted EPS increased 76.8% to $2.51, primarily due to higher adjusted operating income in the Home & Outdoor and Health & Wellness segments, and lower weighted average diluted shares outstanding. Net cash provided by operating activities for the fourth quarter of fiscal '22 was $145.9 million, reflecting higher EBITDA, strong collection of accounts receivable and a sequential reduction in inventory levels from the third quarter, despite the incremental inventory added as part of the Osprey acquisition.

GAAP 綜合營業收入為 5040 萬美元，占淨銷售額的 8.7%。在調整後的基礎上，營業利潤率增長 4.1 個百分點至 12.5%，這主要是由於營銷費用的減少。淨收入為 3980 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 1.64 美元。非 GAAP 核心調整後攤薄每股收益增長 76.8% 至 2.51 美元，這主要是由於家居與戶外和健康與保健部門的調整後營業收入增加，以及加權平均攤薄流通股較低。 22 財年第四季度經營活動提供的淨現金為 1.459 億美元，反映出更高的 EBITDA、強勁的應收賬款回收以及第三季度以來庫存水平的連續下降，儘管作為 Osprey 收購的一部分增加了庫存.

Looking at our results on a full year basis, we were able to grow our core business at rates in excess of our long-term phase 2 target over the high base of fiscal '21. In fiscal '22, core sales grew 8.4%, including the unfavorable impact of approximately $60 million related to the EPA matter. This growth is on top of 25.1% growth in fiscal '21. We also grew core adjusted diluted EPS by 10.4% on top of the 26.5% growth in fiscal '21. EPS growth in fiscal '22 includes the unfavorable impact of approximately $0.30 per share due to lost sales volume related to the EPA matter as well as approximately $2.25 per share of incremental inflationary costs. We also expanded our core adjusted operating margin by approximately 30 basis points, despite the EPA matter and inflationary cost headwinds.

從全年來看我們的業績，我們能夠以超過 21 財年高基數的長期第二階段目標的速度增長我們的核心業務。在 22 財年，核心銷售額增長了 8.4%，其中包括與 EPA 問題相關的約 6000 萬美元的不利影響。這一增長高於 21 財年 25.1% 的增長。在 21 財年增長 26.5% 的基礎上，我們還將核心調整後攤薄每股收益增長了 10.4%。 22 財年的每股收益增長包括因與 EPA 問題相關的銷量損失造成的每股約 0.30 美元的不利影響，以及每股約 2.25 美元的增量通貨膨脹成本。儘管有 EPA 問題和通脹成本逆風，我們還將核心調整後營業利潤率提高了約 30 個基點。

Finally, we deployed over $630 million in capital towards the Osprey acquisition, share repurchases and investments in our new distribution center. Our fiscal '22 results illustrate the power of our value creation flywheel, and our ability to continue executing our strategy even in the face of significant headwinds. Although we deployed significant amounts of capital on fiscal '22, our net leverage ratio as defined in our debt agreements was 2.0x at the end of the fourth quarter.

最後，我們部署了超過 6.3 億美元的資金用於收購 Osprey、股份回購和投資我們的新配送中心。我們的 22 財年業績說明了我們價值創造飛輪的力量，以及我們即使在面臨重大逆風的情況下也能繼續執行我們的戰略的能力。儘管我們在 22 財年部署了大量資本，但我們債務協議中定義的淨槓桿率在第四季度末為 2.0 倍。

Now turning to our full year outlook for fiscal '23. Since we have now completed the sale of all our mass market personal care business, we are not expecting any material activity related to non-core business in fiscal '23. Therefore, the fiscal '23 amounts we are providing in our outlook are on a consolidated basis, which includes Osprey and Curlsmith. However, due to the fact that the fiscal '22 results include material activity related to non-core business, the year-over-year growth rates on a consolidated and core business basis will be different. The tables provided in today's release compare our outlook to the prior year on both a consolidated and core basis. We believe that core business growth is the most relevant basis as it provides the best comparability between historical and future periods.

現在轉向我們對 23 財年的全年展望。由於我們現在已經完成了所有大眾市場個人護理業務的出售，我們預計 23 財年不會有任何與非核心業務相關的重大活動。因此，我們在展望中提供的 23 財年金額是綜合計算的，其中包括 Osprey 和 Curlsmith。然而，由於 22 財年的業績包括與非核心業務相關的重大活動，因此綜合業務和核心業務的同比增長率將有所不同。今天發布的表格在綜合和核心基礎上將我們的展望與上一年進行了比較。我們認為核心業務增長是最相關的基礎，因為它提供了歷史和未來時期之間的最佳可比性。

For fiscal '23, we expect consolidated net sales revenue in the range of $2.38 billion to $2.42 billion, which implies consolidated growth of 6.8% to 8.8% and core growth of 8.5% to 10.5%. Our net sales outlook reflects the following expectations by segment: Home & Outdoor net sales growth of 19% to 21%, including net sales from Osprey of $180 million to $185 million; Health & Wellness net sales decline of 1% to growth of 1%; and Beauty core business net sales growth of 4.5% to 7.5%, including net sales from Curlsmith of $30 million to $35 million for the pro rata period of fiscal '23.

對於 23 財年，我們預計綜合淨銷售收入在 23.8 億美元至 24.2 億美元之間，這意味著綜合增長率為 6.8% 至 8.8%，核心增長率為 8.5% 至 10.5%。我們的淨銷售額展望反映了以下按細分市場的預期：家庭和戶外淨銷售額增長 19% 至 21%，其中 Osprey 的淨銷售額為 1.8 億美元至 1.85 億美元； Health & Wellness 淨銷售額下降 1% 至增長 1%；美容核心業務淨銷售額增長 4.5% 至 7.5%，其中 Curlsmith 在 23 財年按比例計算的淨銷售額為 3000 萬至 3500 萬美元。

We expect consolidated GAAP diluted EPS of $9.92 to $10.38 and consolidated non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $12.73 to $13.03, which implies consolidated growth of 3% to 5.4% and core growth of 4.5% to 7%. This includes an adjusted diluted EPS contribution from Osprey of approximately $0.50 to $0.55 and a pro rata fiscal '23 contribution from Curlsmith of approximately $0.20 to $0.25. The EPS contribution from both acquisitions includes the impact of interest expense that reflects our current expectation of 225 basis points of interest rate increases in calendar year '22.

我們預計綜合 GAAP 攤薄每股收益為 9.92 美元至 10.38 美元，合併非 GAAP 調整後攤薄每股收益在 12.73 美元至 13.03 美元之間，這意味著綜合增長率為 3% 至 5.4%，核心增長率為 4.5% 至 7%。這包括 Osprey 調整後的攤薄每股收益約為 0.50 美元至 0.55 美元，以及 Curlsmith 按比例分配的 23 財年貢獻約為 0.20 美元至 0.25 美元。兩次收購對每股收益的貢獻包括利息支出的影響，這反映了我們目前對 22 日曆年加息 225 個基點的預期。

Our fiscal '23 outlook includes the unfavorable category and consumption trends we are seeing in March and April, some caution relating to medium-term uncertainty of consumer behavior in an inflationary environment, our best estimate of incremental inflationary input costs and the impact of forecasted higher interest rates. While sales and operating results were unfavorably impacted in fiscal '22 by the EPA matter, we expect a favorable effect from the recovery of a portion of that impact in fiscal '23.

我們的 23 財年展望包括我們在 3 月和 4 月看到的不利類別和消費趨勢、與通脹環境下消費者行為的中期不確定性有關的一些警告、我們對增量通脹投入成本的最佳估計以及預測更高的影響利率。儘管 EPA 問題在 22 財年的銷售和經營業績受到不利影響，但我們預計在 23 財年部分影響的恢復會產生有利影響。

Additionally, as a result of continuing dialogue with the EPA, we are executing further repackaging and relabeling plans on certain additional humidifier and air filtration products. We currently expect this to limit our ability to ship to demand for the newly affected products and result in an unfavorable impact to net sales and EPS in fiscal '23. We estimate that the net result of the EPA matter on fiscal '23 will be a favorable impact to net sales of approximately $10 million and adjusted diluted EPS of approximately $0.10, which is included in our outlook.

此外，由於與 EPA 的持續對話，我們正在對某些額外的加濕器和空氣過濾產品執行進一步的重新包裝和重新貼標籤計劃。我們目前預計這將限制我們滿足新受影響產品需求的能力，並對 23 財年的淨銷售額和每股收益產生不利影響。我們估計 EPA 問題對 23 財年的淨結果將對約 1000 萬美元的淨銷售額和約 0.10 美元的調整後攤薄每股收益產生有利影響，這包括在我們的展望中。

On March 30th, 2022, a third-party facility that we utilize for inventory storage, incurred severe damage from a weather-related incident. The inventory stored at this facility primarily relates to our Health & Wellness and Beauty segments. While the inventory is insured, some seasonal inventory and inventory designated for specific customer promotions is currently not accessible. As a result, we expect not to be able to ship certain products on a timely basis and have included an unfavorable impact on net sales of approximately $10 million and adjusted diluted EPS of approximately $0.10. We are working with local officials and our insurance provider to understand the extent of the damage. However, the building must be assessed and made to be structurally sound before we will have access to the inventory and be able to fully assess damages and the related financial impact.

2022 年 3 月 30 日，我們用於庫存存儲的第三方設施因與天氣有關的事件而遭受嚴重破壞。存儲在該設施的庫存主要與我們的健康與保健和美容部門有關。雖然庫存已投保，但目前無法訪問某些季節性庫存和指定用於特定客戶促銷的庫存。因此，我們預計某些產品將無法及時發貨，並對約 1000 萬美元的淨銷售額和調整後的攤薄每股收益產生了約 0.10 美元的不利影響。我們正在與當地官員和我們的保險公司合作，以了解損失的程度。但是，必須先對建築物進行評估並確保其結構完好，然後我們才能獲得清單並能夠全面評估損失和相關的財務影響。

In fiscal '23, we believe we can expand gross profit margin as well as grow our adjusted operating margin by 10 basis points to 20 basis points, despite the headwind of approximately 100 basis points from the net dilutive effect of price increases to offset the majority of the dollar gross profit impact of higher product and freight costs.

在 23 財年，我們相信我們可以擴大毛利率，並將調整後的營業利潤率提高 10 個基點至 20 個基點，儘管價格上漲的淨稀釋效應帶來約 100 個基點的逆風以抵消大部分較高的產品和運費成本對美元毛利的影響。

Our outlook includes an estimated after-tax impact of incremental inflationary costs of approximately $75 million to $80 million or approximately $3.10 to $3.30 of adjusted diluted EPS. Using our proven playbook, we believe we can mitigate the majority of these costs through a combination of improved mix, price increases, locking in shipping contracts at rates below current market prices, and continuing to implement other cost reduction initiatives across our supplier base. We are also pleased to be able to expand operating margin as we continue to make further growth investments to transform our business and support the rapid growth we have experienced since we began phase 2.

我們的展望包括約 7500 萬至 8000 萬美元的增量通貨膨脹成本的稅後影響或約 3.10 至 3.30 美元的調整後攤薄每股收益。使用我們經過驗證的劇本，我們相信我們可以通過改進組合、提價、以低於當前市場價格的價格鎖定運輸合同以及繼續在我們的供應商基礎上實施其他成本削減計劃來降低大部分成本。我們也很高興能夠擴大營業利潤率，因為我們繼續進行進一步的增長投資以轉變我們的業務並支持我們自第二階段開始以來經歷的快速增長。

Due to expected higher levels of average debt from the Osprey and Curlsmith acquisitions, and capital investments in our new distribution center as well as higher expected interest rates in fiscal '23, we expect interest expense in the range of $35 million to $36 million. We expect a fiscal '23 GAAP effective tax rate of 13% to 14% and an adjusted effective tax rate of 11.7% to 12.7%. We do not expect a meaningful impact in fiscal '23 from currently proposed tax legislation changes. At this stage, it is still unclear what domestic and global tax laws will be passed, in what form and on what timing. We will continue to assess the impacts as proposed legislation is considered and keep you updated.

由於收購 Osprey 和 Curlsmith 後預計平均債務水平較高，對我們新配送中心的資本投資以及 23 財年的預期利率較高，我們預計利息支出在 3500 萬至 3600 萬美元之間。我們預計 23 財年 GAAP 有效稅率為 13% 至 14%，調整後有效稅率為 11.7% 至 12.7%。我們預計當前提議的稅法變更不會對 23 財年產生重大影響。現階段，尚不清楚將通過何種國內和全球稅法、以何種形式以及何時通過。我們將在考慮擬議立法時繼續評估影響，並讓您了解最新情況。

Capital asset expenditures are expected to be in the range of $180 million to $205 million for fiscal '23, which includes expected expenditures related to our new distribution facility in the range of $145 million to $170 million as well as further investment in IT systems for other key phase 2 projects. We continue to expect the total cost of the new distribution center and equipment to be in the range of $200 million to $225 million spread over fiscal years '22 and '23.

23 財年的資本資產支出預計在 1.8 億美元至 2.05 億美元之間，其中包括與我們新分銷設施相關的 1.45 億美元至 1.7 億美元的預期支出，以及對其他 IT 系統的進一步投資二期重點項目。我們繼續預計新配送中心和設備的總成本將在 22 和 23 財年的 2 億至 2.25 億美元之間。

With respect to cash flow and liquidity, typically the majority of our operating cash flow is generated in the second half of our fiscal year. This, coupled with a higher concentration of capital expenditures expected in the first half of our fiscal year, is expected to lead to higher average debt balances and increasing net leverage ratios during the first half of our fiscal year. We expect debt levels and net leverage ratios to improve sequentially in the second half of our fiscal year to levels in line with where we finished fiscal '22. We expect to end fiscal '23 with inventory levels approximately flat to fiscal '22 as increases in inventory for Osprey and Curlsmith as well as higher product and freight costs are planned to be offset by inventory efficiency.

關於現金流量和流動性，通常我們的大部分經營現金流量是在我們財政年度的下半年產生的。再加上預計本財年上半年資本支出將更加集中，預計將導致本財年上半年平均債務餘額增加，淨槓桿率上升。我們預計債務水平和淨槓桿率將在本財年下半年連續改善，達到與我們完成 22 財年水平一致的水平。我們預計 23 財年結束時庫存水平將與 22 財年大致持平，因為 Osprey 和 Curlsmith 的庫存增加以及更高的產品和貨運成本計劃被庫存效率所抵消。

In terms of the quarterly cadence of sales and EPS, we expect the majority of our net sales and adjusted diluted EPS growth to be concentrated in the second and third quarters of fiscal '23. This is primarily due to the strong net sales and adjusted diluted EPS growth comparisons in the first and fourth quarters of fiscal '22, the adverse net sales and earnings impact of the EPA matter in the second and third quarters of fiscal '22, and the impact of approximately $20 million from retailers accelerating orders in the fourth quarter of fiscal '22.

就銷售額和每股收益的季度節奏而言，我們預計我們的大部分淨銷售額和調整後的攤薄每股收益增長將集中在 23 財年的第二和第三季度。這主要是由於 22 財年第一季度和第四季度的強勁淨銷售額和調整後的攤薄每股收益增長比較，EPA 問題對 22 財年第二和第三季度的淨銷售額和收益的不利影響，以及零售商在 22 財年第四季度加速訂單產生了約 2000 萬美元的影響。

As I conclude my comments, I am very proud of the fact that despite significant headwinds and challenges during the first 3 years of phase 2, we have delivered coordinate sales growth of 50%, core adjusted diluted EPS growth of 68% and core adjusted operating margin expansion of 130 basis points. Our fiscal '23 outlook plans for continued core business net sales and adjusted EPS growth as well as adjusted operating margin expansion, even as we plan to make further growth investments and overcome higher inflationary costs, continued supply chain, disruption, and higher interest expense.

在我結束評論時，我感到非常自豪的是，儘管在第 2 階段的前 3 年遇到了巨大的阻力和挑戰，但我們實現了 50% 的協調銷售增長、68% 的核心調整後攤薄每股收益增長和核心調整後的運營利潤率擴大 130 個基點。我們的 23 財年展望計劃繼續核心業務淨銷售額和調整後的每股收益增長以及調整後的營業利潤率擴張，即使我們計劃進行進一步的增長投資並克服更高的通脹成本、持續的供應鏈、中斷和更高的利息支出。

We are also looking forward to leveraging the opportunities in our existing brands as well as the new ones created through the acquisitions of Osprey and Curlsmith. We expect these growth investments to set us up for success for the remainder of phase 2 and beyond. We have dedicated and talented people, a track record of overcoming challenges and proven strategies to further leverage our value creation flywheel to continue to drive growth and incremental shareholder value over the long term.

我們也期待利用我們現有品牌以及通過收購 Osprey 和 Curlsmith 創建的新品牌的機會。我們預計這些增長投資將使我們在第二階段的剩餘時間及以後取得成功。我們擁有敬業且才華橫溢的人才、克服挑戰的良好記錄和行之有效的戰略，以進一步利用我們的價值創造飛輪繼續推動長期增長和增加股東價值。

And with that, I'd like to turn it back to the operator for questions.

有了這個，我想把它轉回給接線員提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Bob Labick with CJS Securities, please proceed with your question.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 CJS 證券的 Bob Labick，請繼續您的問題。

Thank you. Good morning. Congratulations on a great quarter and year, and on the Curlsmith acquisition.

謝謝。早上好。祝賀一個偉大的季度和一年，以及對 Curlsmith 的收購。

Bob, great to hear from you and thanks for the comment.

鮑勃，很高興收到你的來信，感謝你的評論。

So just wanted to start, you touched on ad you alluded to the impact of inflation on demand, talked about that a little bit. Maybe taking a step back, could you give us a sense - a broader sense of the consumer now? Where are the areas of weakness as it relates to inflation or what are you seeing and what were you kind of hinting at? And you mentioned some softness in, I think March and April. And then, so what are you seeing, what's the consumer and then what is your response to that and how do you kind of play through that?

所以只是想開始，你談到了廣告，你提到了通貨膨脹對需求的影響，談到了一點。也許退後一步，你能給我們一種感覺——現在更廣泛的消費者意識嗎？與通貨膨脹相關的弱點在哪裡，或者你看到了什麼，你在暗示什麼？你提到了一些疲軟，我認為是三月和四月。然後，那麼你看到了什麼，消費者是什麼，你對此有何反應，你是如何應對的？

Yes, a great question. I think a lot of folks on the call are trying to read the tea leaves on where consumers are as the various factors that dominate the headlines every day play through the news. Our take is that the consumer is generally quite healthy and will continue to stay so, and that said, there is pressure on the consumer. So what we see is not just more employment, but importantly, more labor participation. So that rate, we watch very closely because it's one thing to have a job, it's another thing for more people to be in the workplace altogether. And then see the unemployment rate go down means there's just a lot more jobs. Wages are climbing. And unfortunately, that climb is largely eaten away by inflation. And so it impacts buying power and ultimately, consumer bullishness, animal spirit, all of that.

是的，一個很好的問題。我認為電話中的很多人都在嘗試閱讀有關消費者所在位置的茶葉，因為每天佔據頭條新聞的各種因素都在播放。我們的看法是，消費者總體上非常健康，並將繼續保持健康，也就是說，消費者面臨壓力。所以我們看到的不僅僅是更多的就業，更重要的是更多的勞動參與。所以這個比率，我們非常密切地關注，因為找到工作是一回事，讓更多的人完全進入工作場所是另一回事。然後看到失業率下降意味著有更多的工作。工資在攀升。不幸的是，這種攀昇在很大程度上被通貨膨脹所吞噬。因此，它會影響購買力，並最終影響消費者的樂觀情緒、動物精神等等。

In the case of consumers, they're very wise when - and careful with their money. So I think what we're seeing is people just making choices about where to spend in the face of things like higher gas prices and other stuff that grabs headlines. Supermarket itself, it's just more expensive, go to the checkout and ask yourself, how does that feel? It feels more expensive. So we have a good, better, best portfolio. We've been very careful to build one. So think of not just OXO at the high end, but also SoftWorks at the middle level of the market. Revlon, good; Hot Tools, better; Drybar, best and on it goes through our portfolio. And so we appeal to all the different price points.

就消費者而言，他們在什麼時候是非常明智的——而且對他們的錢很謹慎。所以我認為我們所看到的是人們只是在面對更高的汽油價格和其他成為頭條新聞的事情時選擇在哪裡消費。超市本身，就是比較貴，去收銀台問問自己，什麼感覺？感覺比較貴。所以我們有一個好的、更好的、最好的投資組合。我們一直非常小心地建造了一個。因此，不僅要考慮高端的 OXO，還要考慮中端市場的 SoftWorks。露華濃，不錯；熱工具，更好； Drybar，最好的，它通過我們的產品組合。因此，我們呼籲所有不同的價位。

And then from the consumer itself, things like the Michigan Consumer Confidence Indicator speak and their number's above 100 and it stays there. So that says to us that it backs these up. The only other thing that's on my mind is this very famous thing that you hear all the time, which is, "Hey, the stimulus money is not in the annual compare now and consumers want experiences." It doesn't mean they don't want goods. It just means they want experiences. So if people make choices, things rebalance. All of that added to a little pressure in March and April, we said so, and you're right to pick it up. But our outlook importantly includes every single one of the things I mentioned, plus the ones that were not mentioned; supply chain costs, the $3 a share, inflation, input cost headwinds, etc. So that's how we see it, Bob.

然後從消費者本身來看，密歇根消費者信心指數之類的東西說話，他們的數字超過 100，並且保持在那裡。所以這對我們說它支持這些。我唯一想到的另一件事就是你一直聽到的這句非常有名的話，那就是，“嘿，刺激資金現在不在年度比較中，消費者想要體驗。”這並不意味著他們不想要商品。這只是意味著他們想要體驗。因此，如果人們做出選擇，事情就會重新平衡。所有這些都在 3 月和 4 月增加了一點壓力，我們是這麼說的，你接受它是對的。但是我們的前景重要的是包括我提到的每一件事，以及沒有提到的那些；供應鏈成本、每股 3 美元、通貨膨脹、投入成本逆風等。這就是我們的看法，鮑勃。

Okay, great. Thanks. And then just, kind of sticking along that line, how has kind of the inflation and supply constraints impacted your marketing, your ability to drive sales, your desire to get more people into your products? Because the supply chain has been difficult for quite some time. So where do you stand in terms of that marketing and where's the balance of demand and your ability to supply?

好的，太好了。謝謝。然後，沿著這條線，通貨膨脹和供應限制是如何影響你的營銷、你推動銷售的能力、你想讓更多人購買你的產品的願望？因為供應鏈困難已經有一段時間了。那麼，就營銷而言，您的立場是什麼？需求與供應能力之間的平衡點在哪裡？

I think we're in much better shape than most on this one. Excuse me, hang on one sec. I'm sorry. I think we're in much better shape than most on this front. And the reason is because we got ahead of the supply chain disruption with the strategic inventory build more than a year ago. Remember we were coming off of the COVID craziness of especially health-related products and the scarcity of supply. So we built back more quickly and we went with the tough move of depleting our cash flow in order to have more inventory and meet demand. The demand then surged. And so our situation on out-of-stocks and the ability to market to that demand surge was extremely good. And you saw that all through last year. So we just reported a big number in Q4, and you've seen us do it in earlier quarters when others were just suffering from more of the supply chain disruption.

我認為我們在這方面的狀態比大多數人要好得多。對不起，請稍等。對不起。我認為我們在這方面的狀況比大多數人要好得多。原因是因為我們在一年多前通過戰略庫存構建領先於供應鏈中斷。請記住，我們正在擺脫特別是健康相關產品的 COVID 瘋狂和供應短缺。因此，我們更快地重建，並採取耗盡現金流的艱難舉措，以擁有更多庫存並滿足需求。然後需求激增。因此，我們的缺貨情況和針對需求激增的營銷能力非常好。你在去年看到了這一點。所以我們剛剛在第四季度報告了一個很大的數字，你已經看到我們在早些時候的幾個季度就這樣做了，當時其他人只是遭受更多的供應鏈中斷。

We're not bulletproof, and we do have some places where there are shortages, but we've been very careful. You also heard in our statements that we're continuing to carry a bit of elevated inventory, but less than before. You see in our balance sheet that our inventory number's down, even though we just put another 7 or 8 points of growth on the top line, and we are just projecting, in Matt's comments, to end the year with inventory roughly flat. But remember we also have the Curlsmith and the Osprey coming in as additional inventory year-over-year, so all of that is netted into the number.

我們不是防彈的，我們確實有一些地方短缺，但我們一直非常小心。您還在我們的聲明中聽說我們繼續持有一些高庫存，但比以前少了。你在我們的資產負債表中看到我們的庫存數量下降了，儘管我們只是在收入上增加了 7 或 8 個點，我們只是預測，在馬特的評論中，今年年底庫存大致持平。但請記住，我們還有 Curlsmith 和 Osprey 作為額外庫存逐年增加，所以所有這些都計入了數字。

The bottom line of it all is we're in pretty good shape, but not perfect. And on the contracting and the sea freight and the rest of it, we've been super careful with our suppliers to keep it that way. And there are bumps in the road, whether it's the backups of ships in the Long Beach kind of thing that you see all over the place or the COVID scares that sweeps still through China even to this day. So we're not immune, but we're in better shape than most.

這一切的底線是我們的狀態非常好，但並不完美。在承包和海運以及其他方面，我們對我們的供應商非常小心，以保持這種狀態。道路上也有顛簸，無論是長灘上隨處可見的船隻倒車，還是時至今日仍在席捲中國的 COVID 恐慌。所以我們不能倖免，但我們的狀態比大多數人都好。

And on the marketing side, we spend to opportunity, as mentioned in my comments, we support the demand and then we support our retail customers. So we're in pretty good shape. And on the long term, you heard some pretty substantial comments, I hope, in my prepared remarks about the work to diversify our supplier base. So this was mentioned specifically in Southeast Asia, Mexico and even within China, with dual sourcing in multiple places in order to be able to better meet this, which also has the benefits of shorter lead times, less inventory, less sea freight and the other efficiencies I mentioned.

在營銷方面，正如我在評論中提到的，我們抓住機會，我們支持需求，然後我們支持我們的零售客戶。所以我們的狀態非常好。從長遠來看，我希望在我準備好的關於使我們的供應商基礎多樣化的工作的評論中，你聽到了一些非常重要的評論。所以特意在東南亞，墨西哥，甚至中國境內提到了，多地雙源，為了能夠更好的滿足這個，也有交貨期短，庫存少，海運費少等好處。我提到的效率。

So the net of it all is, better shape than most, and we'll spend to the demand, and we'll try to stimulate the demand with the marketing money.

所以總的來說，形狀比大多數都好，我們會花錢滿足需求，我們會嘗試用營銷資金刺激需求。

Okay, great. And last one for me, I'll jump back in queue, but maybe on Curlsmith. Obviously, it's a really attractive asset for you. What attracted you to it? What's unique about Curlsmith? You touched on better together, but what are the primary attributes that make you believe it is poised for significant growth going forward? What differentiates it and how can it continue to grow. or how can it grow double digits going forward?

好的，太好了。最後一個對我來說，我會跳回到隊列中，但也許是在 Curlsmith 上。顯然，這對您來說是一項非常有吸引力的資產。是什麼吸引了你？ Curlsmith 有什麼獨特之處？你們一起談到了更好，但是讓你相信它準備好在未來顯著增長的主要屬性是什麼？它有什麼區別以及它如何繼續增長。或者它如何才能在未來增長兩位數？

Yes, great. It's a terrific brand. Curlsmith is quite new. So you remember probably from our Investor Day back in 2019, we said that we're focusing on adding leadership brands and also some up-and-comers that can serve as earlier stage tuck-ins, especially when they're disruptive. This one is disruptive in segments of the prestige hair care category that really catches our attention. Not just because it's in prestige rather than mass, where you've seen us actually exit rather than lean in with the personal care sales. But this part of prestige, I'm talking about curly hair, is something like 60% of consumers. In fact, just a little bit more have type 2A, or higher hair. And that those types, by the way, you can see it on our website, there's a chart in the Curlsmith deck that shows each of the hair types and the type it goes - that goes with it in terms of curviness or texturedness.

對，很好。這是一個了不起的品牌。 Curlsmith 很新。所以你可能還記得我們在 2019 年的投資者日，我們說我們專注於增加領導品牌以及一些可以作為早期階段的後起之秀，尤其是當它們具有破壞性時。這一款在真正引起我們注意的高端護髮產品領域具有顛覆性。不僅僅是因為它是聲望而不是大眾，你看到我們實際上退出而不是依靠個人護理銷售。但這部分聲望，我說的是捲髮，大約有 60% 的消費者。事實上，2A 型或更高的毛髮稍多一點。順便說一下，那些類型，你可以在我們的網站上看到它，Curlsmith 甲板上有一張圖表，顯示了每種頭髮類型和它的類型——在曲線或紋理方面與之相關。

Curlsmith has a unique approach. It's consumer centric, which is chapter and verse for us, our DNA. It has the natural type of ingredients and on product development, it focuses on consumer-centric changes to get regimens that really work for a group of consumers who are incredibly loyal to their products. And the reason they're loyal is not unique to Curlsmith, it's unique to their hair type, which is when they find something that works, they really stick with it. he further thing we liked about it is the speed of growth in the textured hair segment is higher than that of non-textured hair by double and within prestige, actually by 10x.

Curlsmith 有一個獨特的方法。它以消費者為中心，這對我們來說是章節和詩句，我們的 DNA。它具有天然類型的成分和產品開發，它專注於以消費者為中心的變化，以獲得真正適合一群對其產品非常忠誠的消費者的方案。他們忠誠的原因並不是 Curlsmith 獨有的，而是他們髮型的獨特之處，即當他們找到有用的東西時，他們就會真正堅持下去。我們還喜歡它的另一件事是，有紋理的頭髮部分的生長速度比無紋理的頭髮快兩倍，而且在聲望範圍內，實際上是 10 倍。

And then you take Curlsmith itself in that up-and-comer in nature on the better together side, we see the opportunity to significantly expand its distribution almost immediately. We see international opportunity, and then they're at an inflection point as an up-and-coming, developing company. Everything they need next; bigger salesforce, better system, supply chain, all of it, we have, and we've invested big time in the platform over the last 7 or 8 years. So dropping more into it, using the beauty machine that we've built in the last 4 or 5 years to drive that expansion. This is all super attractive to us.

然後你把 Curlsmith 本身放在更好的一面的自然界中，我們看到了幾乎立即顯著擴大其分佈的機會。我們看到了國際機會，然後他們作為一家嶄露頭角的發展中公司正處於轉折點。接下來他們需要的一切；更大的銷售隊伍、更好的系統、供應鏈，所有這一切，我們擁有，並且在過去 7 或 8 年裡我們在平台上投入了大量時間。因此，投入更多精力，使用我們在過去 4 或 5 年中打造的美容機來推動這種擴張。這對我們來說都超級有吸引力。

Then you put the margins, the accretion, the less than 10x multiple that we paid it for it and what you've got is the most profitable brand at Helen of Troy from day 1. And further, you've got a business that we think we can grow double digits for the foreseeable future. On top of this, their talent will join Helen of Troy. It's a small team, less than 15 people and we are very glad to have them, so formal welcome. And on top of this, their expertise can help us in other parts of prestige where we're still in development mode. So better together in the biggest way and who doesn't want your most profitable brand at less than 10x, Bob.

然後你把利潤、增長、我們為此支付的不到 10 倍的倍數放在一起，你得到的是從第一天起在海倫特洛伊的最賺錢的品牌。而且，你有我們的業務認為我們可以在可預見的未來實現兩位數的增長。最重要的是，他們的才華將加入特洛伊的海倫。這是一個小團隊，不到 15 人，我們很高興有他們，非常正式的歡迎。最重要的是，他們的專業知識可以在我們仍處於發展模式的其他方面幫助我們。以最大的方式更好地合作，誰不希望你的品牌利潤低於 10 倍，Bob。

That sounds great. Congratulations.

聽起來不錯。恭喜。

Yes, it's a great business. I'm glad we were able to buy it.

是的，這是一項偉大的事業。我很高興我們能夠買到它。

Our next question comes from Rupesh Parikh with Oppenheimer. Please proceed with your question.

我們的下一個問題來自 Rupesh Parikh 和 Oppenheimer。請繼續你的問題。

Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. Also congrats on a really nice quarter.

早上好。感謝您回答我的問題。也祝賀一個非常好的季度。

Thanks, Rupesh.

謝謝，魯佩什。

I guess, my first question, since I've gotten this question a number of times this morning, if we look at core sales growth ex M&A or even organic growth in your guide next year, is it fair to assume that you guys are essentially guiding to maybe 1 percent-ish? Is that the right way to think about organic growth for next year?

我想，我的第一個問題，因為我今天早上多次收到這個問題，如果我們在明年的指南中查看併購前的核心銷售增長甚至有機增長，是否可以公平地假設你們基本上是引導到大約 1%？這是考慮明年有機增長的正確方法嗎？

Yes, but with a sweeter mix. So you'll see margin expansion in that guide and you'll - in a total basis. You'll also see that we're able to use Drybar and Hydro Flask growth to sweeten the mix. And you'll also see that the pricing moves and other changes we're making are overcoming all kinds of things, including the 100 basis points or more of gross margin dilution. So there's a lot in that flatness that you're talking about.

是的，但混合更甜。因此，您會在該指南中看到利潤率擴張，並且您會 - 總體而言。您還會看到我們能夠使用 Drybar 和 Hydro Flask 生長來增加混合物的甜度。你還會看到我們正在進行的定價變動和其他變化正在克服各種問題，包括 100 個基點或更多的毛利率稀釋。所以你所說的平坦度有很多。

Then on the flatness itself, I think you're correct, you see a largely flat, maybe slightly up a base business on a total company basis, essentially flat in Beauty and Health & Wellness. And then on Home & Outdoor, what you'll see is organic growth. And then in the case of Beauty and Home & Outdoor, you'll see them turbocharged by each of the two acquisitions. And both, by the way, the acquisitions are an attractive mix versus our fleet average.

然後就扁平化本身而言，我認為你是正確的，你看到一個基本持平，也許在整個公司的基礎上略有上升的基礎業務，在美容和健康方面基本持平。然後在 Home & Outdoor 上，您將看到有機增長。然後在 Beauty 和 Home & Outdoor 的情況下，您會看到它們因兩次收購中的每一次而加速。順便說一句，與我們的機隊平均水平相比，這些收購都是有吸引力的組合。

Okay, great. And then just on your commentary of weaker consumption in March and April, any particular categories where you're seeing the weakness, and is it fair to say that you guys are assuming this headwind could persist for the balance of the year?

好的，太好了。然後就您對 3 月和 4 月消費疲軟的評論，您看到疲軟的任何特定類別，可以公平地說，你們假設這種逆風可能會持續到今年餘下的時間嗎？

We don't presume it'll persist for the balance of the year, but we do believe that the factors that were discussed in response to Bob's questions will continue to be choppy. We watched those indicators that I talked about, consumer buying power, real income versus nominal inflation rates, all the things that - the consumer confidence, labor participation, the things that you heard. So we watch and we just are cautious. To be very clear, that's in our outlook. So if you look at our assumptions and say, well, will it just be harder and harder? We've made an assumption based on what we've seen so far.

我們不認為它會持續到今年餘下的時間，但我們確實相信，在回答 Bob 的問題時討論的因素將繼續波動。我們觀察了我談到的那些指標，消費者購買力、實際收入與名義通貨膨脹率，所有這些——消費者信心、勞動力參與，以及你聽到的一切。所以我們觀察，我們只是謹慎。非常清楚，這是我們的展望。因此，如果您查看我們的假設並說，好吧，它會變得越來越難嗎？我們根據目前所見做出了假設。

And then in the case of the weakness on which categories, it's just sort of a general softness. Certain categories more than others. We've seen a little bit of it in Beauty. We've seen some in certain parts of Home & Outdoor, not the Outdoor part, more in the Home side. And then in the health-related categories, it's a bit harder to read because of the Omicron surge. So Omicron, as we talked about, surged big in Q4 and was kind of like a cold and flu season, but in Omicron clothing. And that makes it harder to read what the underlying consumption story really is. So we'll see how that plays out.

然後就哪些類別的弱點而言，它只是一種普遍的疲軟。某些類別比其他類別更多。我們已經在 Beauty 中看到了一點點。我們在家庭和戶外的某些部分看到了一些，而不是戶外部分，更多是在家庭方面。然後在與健康相關的類別中，由於 Omicron 的激增，閱讀起來有點困難。因此，正如我們所說，Omicron 在第四季度大幅飆升，有點像感冒和流感季節，但穿著 Omicron 服裝。這使得更難理解潛在的消費故事到底是什麼。所以我們將看看結果如何。

And then we have a diversified portfolio with fashion. People often think category by category. But if you look at the whole thing, whether you're talking about the new wildfires, like, are unfortunately starting even earlier this year, this is a sad, good guy. The global warming and the fan thing has been a good guy for us for some time. You heard us call out strength in fans in the specific remarks that we just made in the sell-in for the preseason. And then you heard us talk about innovation and especially consumer-centric innovation, which never goes out of style.

然後我們擁有多元化的時尚產品組合。人們經常按類別思考。但如果你看看整個事情，不管你是在談論新的野火，比如，不幸的是今年早些時候開始，這是一個可悲的好人。一段時間以來，全球變暖和粉絲對我們來說一直是個好人。你聽到我們在季前賽的銷售中剛剛發表的具體言論中呼喚球迷的力量。然後你聽到我們談論創新，尤其是永遠不會過時的以消費者為中心的創新。

So I think we'll be okay in the end, and we've certainly put it all into our guidance expectation for fiscal '23.

所以我認為我們最終會好起來的，我們當然已經把這一切都納入了我們對 23 財年的指導預期。

Okay. And then maybe my last question. So, historically Helen generates significant free cash flow. Obviously last and this year inventory and CapEx has weighed on - is going to weigh on the cash generation. So as you look at towards next year, you're obviously not looking for guidance, just anything you can share just from where normalized CapEx is. And as you look at your working capital, do you see further improvement in working capital exiting this year as well?

好的。然後也許是我的最後一個問題。因此，從歷史上看，海倫產生了大量的自由現金流。顯然，去年和今年的庫存和資本支出都受到了影響——將對現金產生產生影響。因此，當你展望明年時，你顯然不是在尋找指導，只是在標準化資本支出所在的地方可以分享的任何東西。當您查看您的營運資金時，您是否看到今年退出的營運資金也有進一步改善？

Yes, we do see improvement in working capital. Let me tip it to Matt who can speak to both topics, free cash flow and also normalization of working capital as we make some of these big strategic investments.

是的，我們確實看到營運資金有所改善。讓我向馬特 (Matt) 提出建議，他可以在我們進行一些重大戰略投資時就自由現金流和營運資本正常化這兩個話題發表講話。

Yes, thanks for the question, Rupesh. So I think you guys can see from what we put out there, we're ending our - the year of fiscal '22 with debt balances, $815 million plus we're putting on the Curlsmith acquisition, which was after year-end. So you've got to add $150 million to that. And we talked about, in our prepared remarks, today that we're looking at a CapEx spend on the high end of our range next year of $205 million, which includes $170 million for the new distribution center. So implied in that is kind of a business-as-usual CapEx of about $35 million, which is a little bit higher than our typical run rate of $25 million. And we tried to also provide a little bit of context that, that is primarily due to us spending a little more on IT systems and infrastructure development in the coming years.

是的，謝謝你的問題，Rupesh。所以我想你們可以從我們在那裡看到的東西中看到，我們正在結束我們的 - 22 財年的債務餘額，8.15 億美元加上我們在年底之後進行的 Curlsmith 收購。所以你必須增加 1.5 億美元。我們在準備好的發言中談到，今天我們正在考慮明年 2.05 億美元的上限資本支出，其中包括用於新配送中心的 1.7 億美元。因此，這隱含了大約 3500 萬美元的常規資本支出，略高於我們 2500 萬美元的典型運行率。我們還試圖提供一些背景信息，這主要是由於我們在未來幾年在 IT 系統和基礎設施開發上投入了更多資金。

So if you take where we ended the debt balance at year-end, you add $150 million for Curlsmith, you add $205 million of CapEx, you put a reasonable assumption for your operating cash flow, you're going to kind of get back to debt balances of almost where we are at the end of the year for fiscal '22. And we tried to call that out, that the timing of the CapEx investment, because we're building - we're the middle of building that new distribution center, will be in the first half of the year, when typically our historical pattern of cash flow generation, that's also the low cash flow generation period for us. So you'll see that kind of debt balance and leverage build through the first half of the year, and then come down as we get to the sweeter portion of cash flow generation in the second half of the year for us.

因此，如果你把我們在年底結束的債務餘額計算在內，你為 Curlsmith 增加了 1.5 億美元，你增加了 2.05 億美元的資本支出，你對你的經營現金流做出了合理的假設，你會有點回到22 財年年底的債務餘額幾乎與我們的水平相當。我們試圖指出，資本支出投資的時機，因為我們正在建設 - 我們正在建設新的配送中心，將在今年上半年，通常是我們的歷史模式現金流量產生，這也是我們的低現金流量產生期。所以你會看到這種債務餘額和槓桿在今年上半年建立起來，然後隨著我們在下半年進入現金流產生的更甜蜜部分而下降。

So it's going to be a little bit of an up and down, but we think we'll finish the year approximately the same type of leverage that we finished fiscal '22.

所以這會有點起伏，但我們認為我們將在今年結束時使用與我們在 22 財年結束時大致相同的槓桿類型。

We think that's pretty meaningful. I mean, if you think about that, that's including adding several hundred million dollars' worth of new asset to the company, whether it's the new distribution center or the 2 acquisitions, if you end up at the same leverage ratio, which is meaningfully below the industry average through the year, that takes a lot of cash. You just have to burn through that first half hump to get through the reduction in the back half when we traditionally generate the majority of our cash. So we see it as a win.

我們認為這很有意義。我的意思是，如果你考慮一下，這包括為公司增加價值數億美元的新資產，無論是新的配送中心還是 2 次收購，如果你最終的槓桿率相同，低於該比率有意義全年的行業平均水平，這需要大量現金。當我們傳統上產生大部分現金時，您只需克服前半部分的駝峰，就可以度過後半部分的減少期。所以我們認為這是一場胜利。

That said, we appreciate the comment because of the lumpiness of the cash flow, which you saw this fiscal year. And we had tremendous cash flow in Q4, we just reported it, over $140 million. But on a total year basis, because we had the inventory build, cash flow was lower, and now we put these investments. So we totally get where you're coming from and we concur. But if you say, well, just skip past all of the noise and ask how does it end? It ends at 2x.

也就是說，我們感謝您的評論，因為您在本財政年度看到了現金流量的波動。我們在第四季度擁有巨大的現金流，我們剛剛報告過，超過 1.4 億美元。但從全年來看，因為我們有庫存，現金流量較低，現在我們進行了這些投資。所以我們完全明白你的意思，我們同意。但如果你說，好吧，跳過所有的噪音，問它是如何結束的？它以 2x 結束。

Our next question is from Anthony Lebiedzinski with Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question.

我們的下一個問題來自 Sidoti & Company 的 Anthony Lebiedzinski。請繼續你的問題。

Thank you for taking the questions, and definitely very solid performance in 4Q. So, first, just - so first more or less kind of like housekeeping item here. So as far as the fourth quarter, what was the impact of increased product pricing on the sales? And then as far as what level of price increases is embedded in your fiscal '23 revenue guidance, if you could - if you have that, that'd be great.

感謝您提出問題，第四季度的表現肯定非常穩固。所以，首先，只是 - 所以首先或多或少有點像這裡的家政用品。那麼就第四季度而言，產品價格上漲對銷售額有何影響？然後就你的 23 財年收入指導中所包含的價格上漲水平而言，如果可以的話——如果你有的話，那就太好了。

Matt, do you want to take that one?

馬特，你要拿那個嗎？

Sure. Thanks, Anthony. Yes, we haven't provided that guidance before, Anthony, and it's not something that we're probably going to be doing. It's a mix. So in Q4, I would say if you're looking at what made the quarter, it was definitely the operating performance. We definitely benefited from price increases. We also talked about some of the accelerated orders that we had from retailers. But even taking those two out, there was a very, very strong organic performance in the business for a lot of the reasons Julien talked about within Health & Home and strong consumer demand.

當然。謝謝，安東尼。是的，我們之前沒有提供過這種指導，Anthony，而且我們可能不會這樣做。這是一個混合。所以在第四季度，我想說，如果你正在看這個季度的成就，那肯定是經營業績。我們確實從價格上漲中受益。我們還談到了我們從零售商那裡得到的一些加速訂單。但即使將這兩者排除在外，由於 Julien 在 Health & Home 中談到的很多原因以及強勁的消費者需求，該業務的有機表現也非常非常強勁。

As we look at next year, we called out the amount of inflationary costs that we expect to face as we head into the year, $75 million to $80 million. And obviously, we intend to offset a majority of that through price increases but also through some of the other leverage items we have in our playbook.

當我們展望明年時，我們提出了我們預計在進入這一年時將面臨的通貨膨脹成本數額，即 7500 萬至 8000 萬美元。顯然，我們打算通過價格上漲以及我們劇本中的其他一些槓桿項目來抵消其中的大部分。

And so it kind of probably gives you a little bit of a scope of what that is, but it's going to be meaningful to the full fiscal year, for fiscal '23, because you have two impacts. One is the price increases that were put in, in the back half of fiscal '22 will be annualized during that year, so you'll get kind of a half of a year of fiscal '22 price increases that went in place; plus you'll get new price increases that have been put in place for fiscal '23. So they'll be more - much more meaningful in fiscal '23 than they were in fiscal '22.

因此，它可能會讓你對它的範圍有所了解，但它對整個財政年度、23 財年都有意義，因為你有兩個影響。一個是已經實施的價格上漲，在 22 財年的後半年將在當年進行年度化，因此您將獲得 22 財年半年的價格上漲；此外，您將獲得為 23 財年實施的新價格上漲。因此，它們在 23 財年比在 22 財年更有意義。

All right. Thank you for that. That's definitely very helpful context. And then in terms of your inventory position, so even with the Osprey acquisition, your inventory overall was down sequentially from the November quarter. Just wondering, how do you feel about the health of your inventory, and then just kind of put that into context in terms of the current lockdowns in China, how does that impact your inventory, the way you guys think about that?

好的。謝謝你。這絕對是非常有用的背景。然後就您的庫存狀況而言，即使收購了 Osprey，您的整體庫存也比 11 月季度連續下降。只是想知道，您對庫存的健康狀況有何看法，然後將其置於中國當前封鎖的背景下，這對您的庫存有何影響，你們是怎麼想的？

Yes, let me start here. As I mentioned to Bob in his question, we're in better position than most, and we're pleased to have come into the year with a little bit of elevated inventory. Last year, we did it strategically on the one hand; on the other hand, it's awfully hard to deal with the seesaw of supply chain interruption and the post-COVID changes. So some of it's better lucky than good, some of it's planning.

是的，讓我從這裡開始。正如我在鮑勃的問題中提到的那樣，我們比大多數人都處於更好的位置，我們很高興今年的庫存有所增加。去年，我們一方面在戰略上做到了；另一方面，要應對供應鏈中斷的拉鋸和 COVID 後的變化是非常困難的。所以有些是幸運多於好，有些是計劃。

And in the case of the inventory position, we are very pleased that we were able to come down from the higher inventory base that we reported at the end of last quarter. We said we would and yet we added the Osprey and now the Curlsmith working capital. So we feel like we're in a good position, especially given your comment, and I saw it in your pre-market write-up - pre-release write-up as well, which is the continued concerns about China, such as the attempted lockdowns there could have an impact.

就庫存狀況而言，我們很高興能夠從上季度末報告的較高庫存基數中回落。我們說我們會，但我們增加了 Osprey 和現在的 Curlsmith 營運資金。所以我們覺得我們處於一個有利的位置，特別是考慮到您的評論，我在您的上市前報告中看到了這一點 - 發布前的報告也是如此，這是對中國的持續擔憂，例如那裡的封鎖嘗試可能會產生影響。

So we're pretty well covered from a buffer standpoint, what we have on the water and the timing of our plans. We're also finding that with the consumer purchasing that we saw was actually a little slower in March and April. We were able to accumulate a little bit more in certain key categories during a period when we would otherwise have just been selling through, selling through, selling through. And then during the year itself, we expect to bring inventory down, which will be very good for the cash flow comment that Matt just made in response to Rupesh's question. And it will be good for turns in health and interest expense and all of that as we bring it down. Even if we ended flat during the year, I'd consider that a win, just because we're putting more growth on the company, and we just delivered a year where we put growth on the company and brought inventory down versus where we expect it to be. So think flat, if I could make it as simple as possible.

因此，從緩衝的角度來看，我們已經很好地涵蓋了我們在水上的情況以及我們計劃的時間安排。我們還發現，我們看到的消費者購買在 3 月和 4 月實際上有點慢。在此期間，我們能夠在某些關鍵類別中積累更多，否則我們只能通過銷售、銷售、銷售。然後在今年本身，我們預計會降低庫存，這對於馬特剛剛針對 Rupesh 的問題所做的現金流評論非常有利。當我們降低它時，這將有利於健康和利息支出的轉變以及所有這些。即使我們在這一年中持平，我也認為這是一場胜利，只是因為我們為公司帶來了更多增長，而且我們剛剛交付了一年，我們為公司帶來了增長並使庫存低於我們的預期它是。所以想平點，如果我能讓它盡可能簡單的話。

Okay. Thank you for that. And then last question for me and just wanted to get a better sense of the quarterly cadence. So I know you guys talked about most of the sales and earnings growth coming in the second and third quarters. But that being said, just so, I guess, clarify, as far as taking into account what you just said as far as the March and April kind of softness and the kind of offset that, but with the acquisitions of Osprey and Curlsmith, but just putting everything altogether. So with that being said, do you still - would you expect this to grow sales and earnings in the first and fourth quarters?

好的。謝謝你。然後是我的最後一個問題，只是想更好地了解季度節奏。所以我知道你們談到了第二和第三季度的大部分銷售和盈利增長。但話雖這麼說，我想澄清一下，就考慮到你剛才所說的三月和四月的那種柔軟和抵消的那種，但隨著 Osprey 和 Curlsmith 的收購，但是只是把一切都放在一起。因此，話雖如此，您仍然 - 您是否期望這會在第一季度和第四季度增加銷售額和收益？

Well, let me tip this mostly to Matt. Before I do, I just want to point out, just so everybody in the call hears directly, that we had a huge first quarter last fiscal. So of all the four quarters that will be anniversary now from the new base that we just laid the down, the highest year-over-year growth in all of the four was in Q1 of last year. So just to make sure people know. In terms of how it'll play out during the quarters, maybe Matt could give a little perspective beyond what you already saw in our press release about quarterly cadence.

好吧，讓我主要給馬特小費。在我這樣做之前，我只想指出，讓電話中的每個人都能直接聽到，我們在上一財年的第一季度表現出色。因此，在我們剛剛奠定的新基地現在將成為周年紀念日的所有四個季度中，四個季度中最高的同比增長是在去年第一季度。所以只是為了確保人們知道。關於它在季度中的表現，也許 Matt 可以提供一些超出你在我們的新聞稿中看到的關於季度節奏的觀點。

Yes. So I mean just to highlight a little more what Julien's said, we grew 30% sales last year on the top line in Q1 and 37% on the bottom line in Q1. So we tried to highlight in our outlook that those are pretty big bases to grow from. And then in Q2 and Q3 was where we had the most impact from the EPA matter. And so that was a relatively lower base to compare to. So we've also just got done delivering a great Q4, which raises the bar on Q4 for next year as well. So we generally suspect that the majority of our earnings and sales growth will be in the second and third quarters of next year.

是的。所以我的意思是再強調一下 Julien 所說的，我們去年第一季度的銷售額增長了 30%，第一季度的銷售額增長了 37%。因此，我們試圖在我們的前景中強調，這些都是相當大的增長基礎。然後在第二季度和第三季度，我們受到 EPA 問題的影響最大。因此，與之相比，這是一個相對較低的基數。所以我們也剛剛完成了出色的第四季度，這也提高了明年第四季度的標準。所以我們普遍懷疑我們的大部分收入和銷售增長將出現在明年的第二和第三季度。

Our next question comes from Linda Bolton-Weiser with DA Davidson. Please proceed with your question.

我們的下一個問題來自 DA Davidson 的 Linda Bolton-Weiser。請繼續你的問題。

So can I just ask you to - just to make sure I understand the projection for FY '23 for Health & Wellness segment, because we had originally expected you to gain back some of the lost sales that you had lost from the labeling issue, but then there's incremental labeling changes. So is the idea that they kind of offset each other and that's why we're not expecting really any growth? Or am I understanding that correctly? Can you give a little bit more explanation?

所以我可以問你 - 只是為了確保我理解 23 財年健康與保健部門的預測，因為我們最初希望你能收回你因標籤問題而損失的一些銷售損失，但是然後是增量標籤更改。那麼，它們是否會相互抵消，這就是為什麼我們不期待任何真正的增長？還是我理解正確？你能再多解釋一下嗎？

Sure. Net 10 to the good is the answer, meaning $10 million upside net of the two, meaning the good guy and the bad guy that you're referring to, the old recovery and the new labeling matters that we're now working through. And so the result is $10 million to the good and then $0.10 to the good on the bottom line. So 10 to the good, $10 million on the top, $0.10 on the bottom.

當然。淨 10 是好的答案，這意味著兩者的 1000 萬美元上行淨額，這意味著你所指的好人和壞人，舊的複蘇和我們正在努力解決的新標籤問題。所以結果是 1000 萬美元的收益，然後是 0.10 美元的收益。所以 10 為好，頂部為 1000 萬美元，底部為 0.10 美元。

Now if you say, "Well, is that less than we expected?" The answer is yes. What we had originally projected that roughly half of the recovery would occur in fiscal '23. We're sticking by that actually in our outlook. We may be able to do a bit better. We're certainly trying. And on the new stuff, it's being worked through as we speak. But when we net it all together, we thought rather than go through all the drama, we'll just make a projection and just put the number out there so that people don't have to sweat this.

現在如果你說，“好吧，這比我們預期的要少嗎？”答案是肯定的。我們最初預計大約一半的複蘇將發生在 23 財年。在我們的展望中，我們實際上堅持這一點。我們也許可以做得更好。我們當然在努力。在我們說話的時候，關於新的東西，它正在被解決。但是當我們把所有這些都放在一起時，我們想與其經歷所有的戲劇性事件，不如做一個預測，把數字放在那裡，這樣人們就不必擔心了。

Okay. And then with regard to this issue with your third-party facility that may impact sales a little bit, I'm just wondering, the EPA labeling issue and your inability to ship did affect market shares in certain areas. So I'm wondering if this issue with the other facility could also open up an opportunity for competitors to take advantage of the situation. So can you be a little more specific, like what product lines, like is it particular beauty products? Or like what's being affected by the inability to ship?

好的。然後關於您的第三方設施可能會影響銷售的這個問題，我只是想知道，EPA 標籤問題和您無法發貨確實影響了某些地區的市場份額。所以我想知道另一個設施的這個問題是否也可以為競爭對手提供利用這種情況的機會。那麼你能不能說得更具體一點，比如什麼產品線，比如是不是特定的美容產品？或者像什麼受到無法運送的影響？

Sure. So importantly, it was largely as a storage facility, as Matt mentioned, and this was a tornado like event. So I think the weather service classifieds tornadoes a very specific way. They have to touch down for a certain amount of time and all that, so we didn't get into deciding exactly what kind of storm it was. We just called it a big weather thing. If you saw the place, you'd see it looks like a tornado hit.

當然。非常重要的是，正如馬特提到的那樣，它主要是作為一個存儲設施，這是一場類似龍捲風的事件。所以我認為氣象服務分類龍捲風是一種非常具體的方式。他們必須降落一段時間等等，所以我們沒有確定到底是哪種風暴。我們只是稱之為大天氣。如果你看到這個地方，你會發現它看起來像是一場龍捲風襲擊。

And in terms of getting in there to assess all the detail, this will be done, as Matt mentioned in his remarks, as soon as it's safe to go back in the building, that work is being done right now, and we already have a kind of preliminary estimate, which we've included in our outlook based on what we know so far. It's a storage facility, so very little shipping happens out of there. Beauty got hurt by a couple of million dollars' worth of an item that we couldn't ship. And therefore, it's cooked into our outlook. It's also in those Q1 comments that we made.

就進入那裡評估所有細節而言，這將完成，正如馬特在他的發言中提到的那樣，只要可以安全返回大樓，這項工作現在就已經完成，我們已經有了一種初步估計，我們已根據目前所知將其包含在我們的展望中。這是一個存儲設施，所以很少有運輸發生。一件價值幾百萬美元但我們無法運送的物品傷害了美女。因此，它融入了我們的前景。它也在我們所做的第一季度評論中。

And in the case of the Health & Wellness, it's not so much the EPA related. So think of some fans and some other products that are a little further out in our shipping cycle for our upcoming seasonal businesses. So of course, we're working with our suppliers to replace what we think is affected. And as soon as we get in there, we'll find out how much of the product is still good and sellable and can be moved to shipping facilities versus how much has to get put into the insurance cycle. And then because we're insured, we'll have our recovery that way. So that's how we approach it right now. I wish I could put numbers on it all and tell you exactly which SKUs we believe we know. And that said, once we get eyes and can do the counts and do the damage check, then we'll be able to get very specific.

就健康與保健而言，與 EPA 關係不大。因此，想想一些粉絲和其他一些產品，它們在我們即將到來的季節性業務的運輸週期中稍微靠後一點。因此，當然，我們正在與我們的供應商合作，以更換我們認為受影響的產品。一旦我們進入那裡，我們就會發現有多少產品仍然是好的和可銷售的並且可以轉移到運輸設施，而有多少必須進入保險週期。然後因為我們有保險，我們將以這種方式康復。這就是我們現在的處理方式。我希望我能在這一切上加上數字，並準確地告訴你我們相信我們知道哪些 SKU。就是說，一旦我們得到了眼睛並且可以進行計數並進行損壞檢查，那麼我們將能夠變得非常具體。

Hey, Linda, this is Matt. I might be able to add just a little bit to that, just on kind of the concerns over market share loss. So as Julien pointed out, we had some of that loss was a very specific promotion that we were running for Beauty. So that was timely. We had to get inventory into it for that one specific promotion and we missed the window on it. So that, I wouldn't look at as something that's really a long-term product placement on the shelves, something very specific.

嘿，琳達，這是馬特。我也許可以對此補充一點，只是出於對市場份額損失的擔憂。因此，正如 Julien 指出的那樣，我們有一些損失是我們為美容而進行的一項非常具體的促銷活動。所以這是及時的。我們必須為那個特定的促銷活動收集庫存，但我們錯過了它的窗口。因此，我不會將其視為貨架上的長期產品放置，非常具體。

And then as Julien said, the other part of it was a lot of seasonal inventory for Health & Wellness and that seasonal inventory, a lot of it is originally filled by retailers through DI shipments. And then a lot of what we have is replacement and replenishment as they sell through that during the year. So I think it's more temporary than permanent, but we'll have to kind of go through the cycle here and see how it plays out and see how fast we can get back in to restoring that inventory.

然後正如 Julien 所說，另一部分是 Health & Wellness 的大量季節性庫存以及季節性庫存，其中很多最初是由零售商通過直接發貨來填補的。然後我們擁有的很多東西都是更換和補貨，因為他們在這一年中通過這些銷售。所以我認為它是暫時的而不是永久的，但我們必須在這裡經歷這個週期，看看它是如何發揮作用的，看看我們能多快恢復到恢復庫存。

Okay. And then let me just ask about the Curlsmith acquisition. The valuation looks like it was a little bit lower that you paid versus the Drybar acquisition, which is interesting to me because Drybar was actually partly appliances and not all consumables, and this is all consumables. So it seems like it should be a higher valuation, perhaps. So are you finding the deal valuations are coming down a bit here? Or kind of what - can you just kind of help us understand maybe the valuations between the two deals?

好的。然後讓我問一下 Curlsmith 的收購。與收購 Drybar 相比，你支付的估值看起來有點低，這對我來說很有趣，因為 Drybar 實際上是部分電器而不是所有消耗品，而這都是消耗品。所以它似乎應該是一個更高的估值，也許。那麼你是否發現這裡的交易估值有所下降？或者是什麼——你能不能幫助我們了解兩筆交易之間的估值？

Sure. Yes, first of all, we concur, the valuation is compelling and it's great to see a high quality, fast growing, high margin prestige product with meaningful differentiation, like was talked in response to Bob's question, be able to trade for this multiple into a strategic portfolio that can add value to it. So we strongly concur on the attractiveness of the price. In terms of the valuations in general, I think it's too broad to say that we're generally seeing prices come down, but we are seeing is interest rates going up. And when interest rates go up, it gives buyers the need to be careful about the impact of interest expense at the higher rates in the valuations that they can bid. We did that and this valuation does reflect some discussion between the buyer and the seller on the impact of the higher interest rates.

當然。是的，首先，我們同意，估值很有吸引力，很高興看到高質量、快速增長、高利潤的知名產品具有有意義的差異化，就像在回答 Bob 的問題時所說的那樣，能夠將這個倍數交易到可以為其增值的戰略組合。因此，我們強烈同意價格的吸引力。就總體估值而言，我認為說我們普遍看到價格下跌但我們看到利率上升的說法過於寬泛。當利率上升時，買家需要注意利息支出對他們可以出價的估值的較高利率的影響。我們這樣做了，這個估值確實反映了買賣雙方就利率上升的影響進行的一些討論。

And then in terms of relative to Drybar, it's true that we bought it at roughly three turns lower. The Drybar has some unique features. Drybar has the moat around it of the salons. It has the license back to the salons which puts the name out every day. There's literally thousands of consumers every single day who are receiving professional treatments at Drybar salons with our products exclusively that are not only used but also recommended, also for sale in those stores. So there's a lot of uniqueness to the Drybar arrangement that made it trade at a higher multiple. Interest rates were lower at that time.

然後就相對於 Drybar 而言，我們確實是在大約低三圈的時候買的。 Drybar 具有一些獨特的功能。 Drybar 周圍有沙龍的護城河。它有發回沙龍的許可證，每天都把名字放出來。每天都有成千上萬的消費者在 Drybar 沙龍接受專業護理，我們的產品不僅被使用而且被推薦，並且在這些商店出售。因此，Drybar 安排有很多獨特之處，使其以更高的倍數進行交易。當時利率較低。

And then in terms of Curlsmith, as I said before, from an infrastructure standpoint, there's just less of it. So we'll be putting that infrastructure, but at a higher level of efficiency, which is attractive to us. So that's how it came to be. And Jack, I don't know if you have any comment on multiples in general, but it's not my view that this is an indication of the old 12 is the new 10, something like that. I don't see it that way.

然後就 Curlsmith 而言，正如我之前所說，從基礎設施的角度來看，它的數量就更少了。因此，我們將放置該基礎設施，但效率更高，這對我們很有吸引力。事情就是這樣發生的。傑克，我不知道你是否對一般倍數有任何評論，但我認為這並不是舊 12 是新 10 的跡象，類似的東西。我不這麼看。

No, I wouldn't use this one data point as a trend for what's happening in the marketplace right now. We paid for the business what it was worth with all the modeling that we did. And we really liked the deal and we think we can do a really good job with this business, both short term and long term.

不，我不會將這個數據點用作當前市場上正在發生的事情的趨勢。我們為我們所做的所有建模支付了業務的價值。我們真的很喜歡這筆交易，我們認為無論是短期還是長期，我們都可以在這項業務上做得很好。

Yes, no problem. Then Linda, I saw you had some other questions in the report that you put out on Curlsmith. And I know that a lot of those answers are in the PowerPoint that we have posted on our website. So you've probably had a chance to look. But in one in particular, I wanted to make sure got addressed here, which is, this is not about hairstyle, Curlsmith, as much as it is about hair type. So there's just a lot of people, not just women by the way but also men, that have textured hair. And regardless of whether it's an ethnic person of color, or it's just someone with wavy or curly hair or textured hair altogether, there's plenty of people of all types, this type of hair is difficult to care for.

是沒有問題。然後琳達，我看到你在 Curlsmith 上發布的報告中還有一些其他問題。我知道很多答案都在我們發佈在我們網站上的 PowerPoint 中。所以你可能有機會看過。但特別是，我想確保在這裡得到解決，那就是，這與髮型無關，Curlsmith，它與頭髮類型有關。所以有很多人，順便說一句，不僅僅是女人，還有男人，他們的頭髮有紋理。而且無論是有色人種，還是只是波浪捲發或捲髮或有紋理的頭髮，各種類型的人很多，這種頭髮很難打理。

So when you meet people with that type of hair and ask them, how do you care for your hair? They'll be quite involved in its care because it's challenging. And when they find products that stick with it, they're tremendously loyal to them. Curlsmith has the highest net promoter score we've seen so far in that category. It has the loyalty rates and the reviews that speak to this further. And because it's a re-purchasable or a consumable product, that's extremely attractive to us. And it's one of the things that made us go for it as opposed to something that might not be as sticky. So that's the - and I don't mean the product, I mean, the habit as sticky - so that's attractive to us. But it's not about, hey, curls might come back. It's more about if you have that type of hair, this is just important in your everyday regimen, regardless of your fashion.

所以當你遇到有這種頭髮的人並問他們，你是如何護理頭髮的？他們會非常參與它的護理，因為它具有挑戰性。當他們找到堅持使用的產品時，他們就會非常忠誠。迄今為止，Curlsmith 在該類別中的淨推薦值最高。它的忠誠度和評論進一步說明了這一點。因為它是一種可重複購買或消耗的產品，這對我們來說極具吸引力。這是讓我們堅持下去的原因之一，而不是那些可能不那麼粘的東西。所以這就是 - 我不是說產品，我的意思是，這種習慣很粘 - 所以這對我們很有吸引力。但這不是關於，嘿，捲髮可能會回來。更重要的是，如果你有那種頭髮，這在你的日常養生中很重要，不管你的時尚如何。

Our next question comes from Steve Marotta with CL King. Please proceed with your question.

我們的下一個問題來自 CL King 的 Steve Marotta。請繼續你的問題。

Good morning, Julien, Matt and Jack. Julien, has the Ukraine conflict negatively impacted the European consumer? Is that discernible at this moment or still just not impacted?

早上好，朱利安、馬特和傑克。 Julien，烏克蘭衝突是否對歐洲消費者產生了負面影響？這一刻是可辨別的還是仍然沒有受到影響？

Not directly that we know of. And that said, we're keenly aware in general that there's a lot of pressures in the world, whether it's the stuff that was made mentioned earlier about just general pressure on the consumer's confidence and buying power and all that. But on the specific topic of, has the Ukraine suppressed European demand? We haven't seen clear evidence of that. What we have seen is the interest rates - sorry, not the interest rates, the exchange rates move a bit. I'm sure you've all seen the pound and the euro have moved. We have some hedges in place. And as said, there have been significant movements in those currencies.

不是我們直接知道的。也就是說，我們總體上敏銳地意識到世界上存在很多壓力，無論是前面提到的關於消費者信心和購買力的普遍壓力等等。但具體話題是，烏克蘭是否抑制了歐洲需求？我們還沒有看到這方面的明確證據。我們看到的是利率——抱歉，不是利率，匯率有一點變動。我相信你們都看到了英鎊和歐元的變動。我們有一些對沖。如前所述，這些貨幣出現了重大波動。

We don't have a lot of exposure directly in Russia; in fact, almost none. And in Ukraine in particular, I believe the number's less than $1 million. It's actually in a prepaid customer, so the money's already been collected. And then from a sell-through standpoint, they'll do the best they can, but it's de minimis, I think is the word I would use. And on the sort of broader dark cloud over Europe, war sucks, so I can't speak anything positive about how it's helpful. What I can say is we're not seeing a direct input at this time.

我們在俄羅斯的直接曝光率不高；事實上，幾乎沒有。尤其是在烏克蘭，我相信這個數字不到 100 萬美元。它實際上是在預付費客戶中，所以錢已經被收取了。然後從銷售的角度來看，他們會盡力而為，但這是最低限度的，我想我會用這個詞。在歐洲上空的那種更廣泛的烏雲中，戰爭糟透了，所以我不能說它有什麼幫助。我能說的是我們目前沒有看到直接輸入。

Thank you. And I know that…

謝謝。我知道……

I'm sorry, Steve. I wanted to mention that the vast majority of our European sales are in Western Europe. Some of them are in the Middle Eastern countries, but there's a surprisingly small amount in the Eastern European countries, especially in the Southeastern European countries. So think of Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, these types of countries; it's just not a big part of our portfolio.

對不起，史蒂夫。我想提一下，我們在歐洲的絕大部分銷售都在西歐。其中一些在中東國家，但在東歐國家，尤其是東南歐國家的數量少得驚人。想想摩爾多瓦、白俄羅斯、烏克蘭這些類型的國家；它只是不是我們投資組合的重要組成部分。

Sure. I understand. I know that all the supply chain constraints that are known at this moment are incorporated within the guidance, but can you talk a little bit about direct exposure to Shanghai? Is that a new thorn in the side or is your exposure there relatively not material?

當然。我明白。我知道目前已知的所有供應鏈限制都包含在指南中，但你能談談直接接觸上海的情況嗎？這是一個新的棘手問題，還是你在那裡的曝光相對不重要？

Doesn't help, but relatively lean. The vast majority of our operational footprint in China is in other parts of China, especially Shenzhen, Macau, Hong Kong, from both a supply chain and a go-to-market standpoint in the region. That said, we do have some people on the ground in Shanghai, so it doesn't help. And then in the Northern parts of China, think Ningbo and other parts, we do have people on the ground, and capability and infrastructure. So it doesn't affect, but Shanghai in particular is just not a center of gravity for us at this time. So I suppose that's good news.

沒有幫助，但相對精益。從該地區的供應鍊和進入市場的角度來看，我們在中國的絕大部分業務足跡都在中國其他地區，尤其是深圳、澳門和香港。也就是說，我們在上海確實有一些實地人員，所以這無濟於事。然後在中國北部地區，想想寧波和其他地區，我們確實有實地人員、能力和基礎設施。所以這不影響，但是上海現在對我們來說不是一個重心。所以我想這是個好消息。

And that said, the concept of enforcing the lockdowns broadly, whether Shanghai and in other cities, it does have an impact, right? We see that in port shutdowns and other things. And as strong as our inventory buffers are and as good as our supply chain playbook is, if the stuff doesn't get made, it certainly doesn't ship. And if it doesn't ship, then it can't get here or to Europe. And so it does affect us but we have enough buffer to get through the, call it, bumps in the road, but not through earthquake.

也就是說，廣泛實施封鎖的概念，無論是在上海還是在其他城市，它確實有影響，對吧？我們在端口關閉和其他事情中看到了這一點。和我們的庫存緩沖一樣強大，和我們的供應鏈劇本一樣好，如果這些東西沒有被製造出來，它肯定不會發貨。如果它不發貨，那麼它就無法到達這里或歐洲。所以它確實影響了我們，但我們有足夠的緩衝來度過道路上的顛簸，但不是通過地震。

I understand. Thank you. I have a few more I'll take offline. Thank you again.

我明白。謝謝。我還有一些我會脫機。再次感謝你。

Yes, pleasure. Thanks. Nice to hear from everybody. Operator, are there more questions at this time?

是的，快樂。謝謝。很高興收到大家的來信。接線員，這個時候還有問題嗎？

It appears that we don't have any questions at this time. And I would like to turn it back over to Mr. Mininberg for closing remarks.

看來我們目前沒有任何問題。我想把它轉回給 Mininberg 先生作結束語。

Yes, that's me. Well, thanks everyone. Thanks for joining today, and for your continued interest in Helen of Troy. We're super excited about the results we just posted. You heard us speak clearly about what's happened over the last three years as phase 2 has had its first half. And you've heard us speak specifically as we know how -- on what's our expectation for phase 2's back half and, in particular, the guidance that we just provided for fiscal '23. You also, I hope, heard us reiterate our commitment to the long-term phase 2 average annual targets for fiscal '24. So you know where we stand. And so we're excited about the future. We're excited to speak to many of you in the coming weeks.

是的，這就是我。嗯，謝謝大家。感謝您今天加入，並感謝您對特洛伊海倫的持續關注。我們對剛剛發布的結果感到非常興奮。你聽到我們清楚地講述了過去三年中發生的事情，因為第二階段已經過了上半年。你已經聽過我們的具體發言——我們對第二階段後半段的期望是什麼，特別是我們剛剛為 23 財年提供的指導。我希望你也聽到我們重申我們對 24 財年第二階段長期平均年度目標的承諾。所以你知道我們的立場。因此，我們對未來感到興奮。我們很高興在接下來的幾週內與你們中的許多人交談。

And with that, I'll say thank you very much and have a great day.

有了這個，我會說非常感謝你，祝你有美好的一天。

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

今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。