ICU Medical Inc (ICUI) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the ICU Medical, Inc. Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded. I would like now to turn the conference over to John Mills, Managing Partner at ICR. Please go ahead.

下午好，歡迎參加 ICU Medical, Inc. 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，正在記錄此事件。現在我想將會議交給 ICR 的管理合夥人約翰·米爾斯 (John Mills)。請繼續。

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us to discuss ICU Medical's financial results for the third quarter of 2023. On the call today representing ICU Medical is Vivek Jain, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman; and Brian Bonnell, Chief Financial Officer. We want to let everyone know that we have a presentation accompanying today's prepared remarks. To view the presentation, please go to our Investor page and click on Events Calendar, and it will be under the third quarter 2023 events.

大家下午好。感謝您與我們一起討論 ICU Medical 2023 年第三季的財務業績。代表 ICU Medical 出席今天電話會議的是執行長兼董事長 Vivek Jain；和財務長布萊恩·邦內爾。我們想讓大家知道，我們在今天準備好的演講中附帶了一個簡報。要查看演示文稿，請前往我們的投資者頁面並​​點擊“活動日曆”，它將位於 2023 年第三季的活動下方。

Before we start our prepared remarks, I want to touch upon any forward-looking statements made during the call including beliefs and expectations about the company's future results. Please be aware they are based on the best available information to management and assumptions that are reasonable. Such statements are not intended to be a representation of future results and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Future results may differ materially from management's current expectations. We refer all of you to the company's SEC filings for more detailed information on the risks and uncertainties that have a direct bearing on operating results and financial position.

在我們開始準備好的發言之前，我想談談電話會議期間所做的任何前瞻性陳述，包括對公司未來業績的信念和期望。請注意，它們基於管理層可獲得的最佳資訊和合理的假設。此類陳述並不代表未來結果，並且存在風險和不確定性。未來的結果可能與管理層目前的預期有重大差異。我們建議大家查閱該公司向 SEC 提交的文件，以獲取有關對經營業績和財務狀況有直接影響的風險和不確定性的更多詳細資訊。

Please note that during the call today, we will also be discussing non-GAAP financial measures, including results on an adjusted basis. We believe these financial measures can facilitate a more complete analysis and greater transparency into ICU Medical's ongoing results of operations, particularly when comparing underlying results from period to period. We also included a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures in today's release and provided as much detail as possible on any addendums that are added back.

請注意，在今天的電話會議中，我們還將討論非公認會計原則財務指標，包括調整後的結果。我們相信，這些財務措施可以促進對 ICU Medical 持續營運結果進行更完整的分析和更大的透明度，特別是在比較不同時期的基本結果時。我們還在今天的發布中對這些非公認會計原則措施進行了調整，並就添加回來的任何附錄提供了盡可能詳細的資訊。

And with that, it is my pleasure to turn the call over to Vivek.

至此，我很高興將電話轉給 Vivek。

Thanks, John. Good afternoon, everyone. We hope you're well. Even with the volatility in the economic environment and some revenue variance in a few of our product lines, ICU Medical is operating very well for our customers in 2023, delivering high service levels, improving quality and relevant innovation. We're also equally focused on ensuring we take the right short- and long-term steps to do the same for our other stakeholders. The global demand environment was generally consistent and healthy in Q3 and it continues to feel that way, and the only macro items were some uptick in fuel pricing and continued pressure from currencies in our production geographies. Like everyone in our industry, we want to start first by thanking our customers and the frontline workers for trusting us to serve you during these times.

謝謝，約翰。大家下午好。我們希望你一切都好。儘管經濟環境波動且我們的一些產品線存在收入差異，但 ICU Medical 在 2023 年仍為我們的客戶運作良好，提供高服務水準、提高品質和相關創新。我們也同樣專注於確保採取正確的短期和長期措施，為其他利害關係人做同樣的事情。第三季的全球需求環境總體上是一致且健康的，而且這種情況仍然如此，唯一的宏觀因素是燃料價格的一些上漲以及我們生產地區貨幣的持續壓力。和我們行業的每個人一樣，我們首先要感謝我們的客戶和第一線員工信任我們在這段時間內為您服務。

We'll use the time today to discuss the Q3 revenue performance of our business units, and hopefully, we've reached the point where this is the last quarter with unusual year-over-year comparisons; provide more color on some of the product families that have been good and some of them have been challenged; go into a bit more detail on the actions we've been taking in aligning our inventory with demand, its impact on the P&L and explain why we're making this temporary choice; update our next steps towards integration and synergy capture as there are no other meaningful housekeeping updates; check our progress against the short -- check our progress against key short-term priorities we outlined at the start of the year to quickly frame up some of the items on the strategic agenda and make clear where we want to be.

我們將利用今天的時間來討論我們業務部門的第三季度收入表現，希望我們已經達到了最後一個季度與去年同期相比的程度；為一些表現良好的產品系列和其中一些受到挑戰的產品系列提供更多的色彩；更詳細地介紹我們為使庫存與需求保持一致而採取的行動及其對損益表的影響，並解釋我們為何做出這一臨時選擇；由於沒有其他有意義的內務更新，更新我們邁向整合和協同捕獲的下一步措施；檢查我們的短期進展 - 檢查我們在年初概述的關鍵短期優先事項的進展，以快速制定戰略議程上的一些項目，並明確我們的目標。

We finished the quarter with $547 million in adjusted revenues. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $90 million and adjusted EPS was $1.57. Revenue growth was minus 6% on a constant currency and reported basis with growth in the legacy ICU portfolio, offset by year-over-year declines on the acquired products from Smiths Group. We finally had a sequential decrease in inventories and as we had previously described our efforts to adjust output to bring inventory more in line with historical levels and, as a result, did generate some cash flow from operations and expect this trend to continue.

本季調整後營收為 5.47 億美元。調整後的 EBITDA 為 9,000 萬美元，調整後的每股盈餘為 1.57 美元。以固定匯率計算，收入增長為-6%，並報告了傳統 ICU 產品組合的增長，但被從 Smiths Group 收購的產品同比下降所抵消。我們的庫存最終出現了環比下降，正如我們之前描述的那樣，我們努力調整產量，使庫存更符合歷史水平，因此確實從營運中產生了一些現金流，並預計這種趨勢將持續下去。

The Mexican and Costa Rican local currencies continue to pressure gross margins in addition to the inventory correction. Our results reflected what we stated in the last call, good revenue growth in our differentiated historical portfolio and stability on the acquired product lines, but the large catch-up and fulfillments we started to make in Q3 of last year make the year-over-year results unattractive, so we'll have to go into that in more detail.

除了庫存調整之外，墨西哥和哥斯達黎加當地貨幣繼續對毛利率構成壓力。我們的業績反映了我們在上次電話會議中所說的內容，即我們差異化的歷史投資組合中的良好收入增長以及所收購產品線的穩定性，但我們去年第三季度開始實現的巨大追趕和實現使我們的業績同比成長-今年的結果沒有吸引力，所以我們必須更詳細地討論這一點。

For the balance of the year, we would expect continued sequential revenue growth, improved cash flow from operations and to have earnings inside of our revised guidance from last quarter, but towards the lower end as we prioritized inventory reduction.

對於今年餘下的時間，我們預計收入將持續連續增長，營運現金流有所改善，並且盈利將在我們上季度修訂後的指導範圍內，但由於我們優先考慮減少庫存，因此將達到較低水平。

So let me start with our Consumables business, which is our largest and most profitable business unit. We had $242 million in revenue, which was down 5% on a constant currency basis and down 4% reported. Again, we need to explain a bit more here. The legacy ICU product lines, IV therapy and oncology, which are the largest components of the business unit, had a record quarter again in Q3 with 7% growth and those businesses combined to be the largest they've ever been. That growth was driven by new customer implementations, consistent census throughout the quarter and increased capacity and ability to serve the market with a focus on clinical differentiation and the creation of niche markets. The tracheostomy unit was also slightly positive for the quarter.

讓我從我們的消耗品業務開始，這是我們最大、最賺錢的業務部門。我們的收入為 2.42 億美元，以固定匯率計算下降了 5%，報告下降了 4%。同樣，我們需要在這裡多解釋一下。傳統的 ICU 產品線、靜脈注射治療和腫瘤學是該業務部門最大的組成部分，在第三季度再次創下了創紀錄的季度增長率，增長了 7%，這些業務加起來是有史以來最大的。這一增長是由新客戶實施、整個季度一致的人口普查以及以臨床差異化和利基市場創建為重點的市場服務能力和能力的提高所推動的。氣管造口部門本季也略有成長。

The balance was the same story as the first half of the year with large year-over-year negatives in vascular access, which were accentuated by the strong back order recovery in COVID syringe deliveries we had in this line in Q3 of 2022. Of course, that's not desirable but we've been focused on stability here, and we have had stability sequentially for a few quarters now. On the last 2 calls we said we're at the bottom here as the losses occurred throughout last year, and that it felt very similar to the IV consumables and pump losses when we purchased Hospira when customer losses were still felt in the 4 to 6 quarters post deal.

這種平衡與今年上半年的情況相同，血管通路同比出現大幅負面影響，而 2022 年第三季度我們在該生產線中的新冠注射器交貨訂單的強勁復甦加劇了這種情況。 ，這是不可取的，但我們一直專注於穩定性，而且我們已經連續幾個季度保持穩定。在最後 2 通電話中，我們說我們處於底部，因為去年全年都發生了損失，感覺與我們購買 Hospira 時的 IV 消耗品和泵損失非常相似，當時客戶損失仍然在 4 到 6 年內感受到。交易後的季度。

In Q3, we did see some sequential improvement in the U.S. vascular access lines, which is the largest portion of the product line, and that was offset by some minor variations, O.U.S. But again, we did not back track versus the previous few quarters. For the year, nothing different than we said on the last call, we're relative to our own expectations. Our best estimate is that we'll be $20 million to $25 million short here for the year relative to our plan. And to be clear, our confidence and right to win here has not changed, but it's just taken time. The losses from 2021 and 2022 were predominantly due to supply issues and those have been addressed by our team as evidenced by our inventory overbuild. To be even more transparent, our medium and longer-term expectations are only to get back the minority of what was lost over the last 2 years.

在第三季度，我們確實看到美國血管通路產品線（該產品線的最大部分）出現了一些連續改善，但被一些細微的變化所抵消。但與前幾季相比，我們並沒有退縮。對於今年來說，與我們在上次電話會議上所說的沒有什麼不同，我們是相對於我們自己的期望而言的。我們的最佳估計是，今年相對於我們的計劃，我們將短缺 2000 萬至 2500 萬美元。需要明確的是，我們在這裡獲勝的信心和權利沒有改變，但這只是需要時間。 2021 年和 2022 年的損失主要是由於供應問題造成的，我們的團隊已經解決了這些問題，我們的庫存過剩就證明了這一點。更透明地說，我們的中長期期望只是收回過去兩年損失的一小部分。

We continue to believe our previous commentary of all 4 product families improving commercially and operationally with the losses predominantly out and improved capacities and believe we will see sequential improvement in the business unit for the balance of the year. We believe that this is the last time we'll need to explain the historical backorder catch-up here and COVID adjustments, et cetera.

我們仍然相信我們之前對所有 4 個產品系列的商業和營運改善的評論，其中虧損主要來自於產能的改善，並相信我們將看到該業務部門在今年餘下的時間裡出現連續改善。我們相信，這是我們最後一次需要解釋歷史缺貨追趕和新冠疫情調整等問題。

Moving to Infusion Systems, which is the combination of the legacy ICU LVP pump business and the syringe and ambulatory pump business -- that the acquired syringe and inventory pump business. This business unit reported $149 million in revenues, which equated to a decline of 7% constant currency or a decline of 8% reported. It's a similar story to the Consumables business with a wide year-over-year range across the sub-product families. The LVP and syringe product lines both grew at 6% constant currency or better and those were offset by a sharp year-over-year and minor sequential reduction in the ambulatory pump product lines. We're clear on the last call that Q3 would be a tough comp. But regardless, we feel okay in our commentary on the business unit for the year and would expect good sequential growth in the business unit.

轉向輸液系統，該系統是傳統 ICU LVP 幫浦業務與注射器和流動幫浦業務（即收購的注射器和庫存幫浦業務）的結合。該業務部門公佈的收入為 1.49 億美元，相當於以固定匯率計算下降 7%，或報告下降 8%。這與消耗品業務的情況類似，子產品系列的年比變化範圍很大。 LVP 和注射器產品線均以固定匯率 6% 或更高的速度增長，但這些增長被流動泵產品線的同比大幅增長和連續小幅減少所抵消。我們在上次電話會議中明確表示，第三季將是一場艱難的比賽。但無論如何，我們對今年業務部門的評論感覺良好，並預計該業務部門將出現良好的連續成長。

After our Q2 call, we did announce that ICU Medical received 510(k) clearances for the new IV performance platform including the Plum Duo precision infusion pump and LifeShield enterprise safety software, both of which we had obviously tried to develop as quietly as possible. That pump has now been on patients outside the U.S. for a few weeks in a limited market release and performing very well. By the end of the year, we expect to be doing a similar limited market release in a major U.S. health system. But we're glad to see the clearances given the heavy investments that were made into R&D since we brought all the programs in-house and realized it was hard to give appropriate color on where the majority of spend was being invested.

在第二季電話會議之後，我們確實宣布ICU Medical 獲得了新IV 性能平台的510(k) 許可，其中包括Plum Duo 精密輸液泵和LifeShield 企業安全軟體，這兩個平台顯然是我們試圖盡可能安靜地開發的。該泵現已在美國以外的患者身上進行了幾週的有限市場發布，並且表現得非常良好。到今年年底，我們預計將在美國主要衛生系統中進行類似的有限市場發布。但我們很高興看到這些許可，因為自從我們將所有項目都納入內部以來，我們對研發進行了大量投資，並意識到很難對大部分支出的投資方向給出適當的說明。

Now that it's all public, with more transparency, that spend will continue developing the new family of products with the Plum Solo, a single cassette lower-priced version of the Plum Duo and a refreshed syringe pump, which will all connect to the LifeShield enterprise safety software.

現在一切都已公開，透明度更高，這筆支出將繼續開發新的產品系列，包括 Plum Solo、單盒低價版本的 Plum Duo 和更新的注射泵，這些產品都將連接到 LifeShield 企業安全軟體。

On the broader market for pumps, which really starts with the LVPs, as we've talked about it -- as we've talked about how it was a bumpier time for decision-making over the last 2 years, we do think customers are now moving forward with evaluations and akin to some of the large non-infusion capital vendors, we don't see capital availability as a massive impediment to our types of products. We're starting to see some commercial benefits of having a full infusion device portfolio with our combined portfolio with innovation positioned differently versus other participants. Again, we believe over the medium term relative to our size, our competitive opportunity is solid, and we are focused on commercial execution here in a more action-oriented market.

在更廣泛的泵浦市場上，這實際上是從LVP 開始的，正如我們所討論的那樣，正如我們所討論的，在過去的兩年裡決策制定過程中經歷了一段坎坷的時期，我們確實認為客戶現在正在推進評估，類似於一些大型非注入資本供應商，我們不認為資本可用性是我們產品類型的巨大障礙。我們開始看到擁有完整的輸液設備產品組合以及我們的組合產品組合和與其他參與者不同的創新定位的一些商業利益。再次，我們相信，從中期來看，相對於我們的規模，我們的競爭機會是堅實的，我們專注於在一個更以行動為導向的市場中的商業執行。

Finishing the business unit discussion with Vital Care, which had $156 million in revenue or a decline of 8% on a constant currency and reported basis. IV Solutions is about half the business unit and IV Solutions was down $5 million year-over-year, but up $9 million to $76 million sequentially as demand was normal and consistent again with the only meaningful variance from our $80 million a quarter goal being the products that were impacted from Pfizer. The various contract renewals for 2025 are making progress as we need to recoup the substantial inflation that we've absorbed in IV Solutions. The remainder of the business unit, which is mostly acquired products, was sequentially flat but also down year-over-year due to the 2022 catch-up. For the year, both the critical care and temperature management product families should have a good year -- a good full year-over-year growth rate.

完成與 Vital Care 的業務部門討論，該公司的收入為 1.56 億美元，按固定匯率和報告計算，收入下降了 8%。 IV Solutions 約佔業務部門的一半，IV Solutions 同比下降500 萬美元，但由於需求正常且與我們每季8000 萬美元目標的唯一有意義的差異再次一致，環比增長了900 萬美元，達到7600 萬美元。受到輝瑞影響的產品。 2025 年的各種合約續約工作正在取得進展，因為我們需要彌補 IV Solutions 吸收的大量通貨膨脹。該業務部門的其餘部分（主要是收購的產品）與上一季持平，但由於 2022 年的追趕，同比也有所下降。今年，重症監護和溫度管理產品系列都應該有一個不錯的一年——良好的同比增長率。

The short story message has not changed for us. Our differentiated legacy ICU businesses are doing well, and we're focused on regaining a portion of the lost revenues in the acquired categories that are outlined in our investor presentations. Of the 5 product families we highlighted on that slide, ambulatory pump, syringe pumps, vascular access, tracheostomy and temperature management, all except vascular access are improving year-over-year and all are still below historical pre-COVID levels. We need to get all 5 improving consistently as we become more reliable for customers with the trust and service as the products have always been well-liked. And any improvement in underlying demand due to improving census works in our favor.

短篇故事的訊息對我們來說並沒有改變。我們差異化的傳統 ICU 業務表現良好，我們的重點是在投資者介紹中概述的收購類別中挽回部分收入損失。在我們在幻燈片上強調的5 個產品系列中，流動泵、注射泵、血管通路、氣管造口術和溫度管理，除血管通路外，所有產品都在逐年改善，並且仍然低於新冠疫情前的歷史水平。我們需要持續改進這五個方面，因為我們的產品一直很受歡迎，因此我們的信任和服務對客戶來說變得更加可靠。由於人口普查的改善而帶來的任何潛在需求的改善都對我們有利。

But improving that service to the customer or ensuring it for the legacy ICU product lines, which was exacerbated in the broader supply chain environment last year and the situational issues around the acquisition came at a cost reflected in cash consumption. The inventory levels on the balance sheet are more than what is required to run the business and we also have had substantial investments into quality remediation to ensure that we have a continued right to participate. We have been very focused on both of those areas. Quality is reasonably self-evident as we've been methodically cleaning up history and neglect for the acquired portfolio. That will get measured ultimately with a clean bill of health, which we hope we can get assessed sooner than later.

但改善對客戶的服務或確保傳統 ICU 產品線的服務，去年更廣泛的供應鏈環境加劇了這種情況，而且圍繞收購的情況問題的成本反映在現金消耗上。資產負債表上的庫存水準超過了營運業務所需的水平，我們還在品質補救方面進行了大量投資，以確保我們擁有持續參與的權利。我們一直非常關注這兩個領域。品質是不言而喻的，因為我們一直在系統地清理歷史記錄和對收購的投資組合的忽視。這最終將透過健康證明來衡量，我們希望我們能夠儘早得到評估。

But the correction of the investment into inventory is a little harder to forecast to perfection as it's a function of service level to the customers, growth and the overall supply chain health. We are glad we've finally seen reductions, but we had 5 quarters of $50 million-ish increases without the underlying business being the size we wanted. It does not all come off immediately, but the slowdowns we are taking, which impact the P&L are temporary. How long it takes is a function of growth, but it does take some time. Brian will try to quantify the impact of the production slowdown to date. We've tried to do this the right way without disrupting the supply chain without significant capital to restructuring here.

但庫存投資的修正有點難以預測完美，因為它是客戶服務水準、成長和整體供應鏈健康狀況的函數。我們很高興終於看到了削減，但我們有 5 個季度增加了 5000 萬美元左右，而基礎業務的規模卻沒有達到我們想要的規模。這一切不會立即消失，但我們正在採取的放緩措施對損益表的影響是暫時的。需要多長時間是成長的函數，但確實需要一些時間。布萊恩將嘗試量化迄今為止生產放緩的影響。我們試圖以正確的方式做到這一點，而又不會擾亂供應鏈，也沒有大量資金進行重組。

Okay. On integration, we're planning for next level activities around the ERP systems, logistics networks, functional support and locations. As mentioned on the previous call, we've taken the first step towards certain manufacturing consolidations and real estate adjustments, and we expect to be undertaking more of these integration activities next year with the goal of having as many of them as possible positively impact 2025.

好的。在整合方面，我們正在規劃圍繞 ERP 系統、物流網路、功能支援和地點的下一級活動。正如上次電話會議中提到的，我們已經邁出了某些製造業整合和房地產調整的第一步，我們預計明年將開展更多此類整合活動，目標是盡可能對2025 年產生正面影響。

Our IT platforms have been stable since separation. These items make a longer-term difference in gross margins and have our full attention. Our goal is to give more specifics here on the next call when we can at least size the prize and timing for our stakeholders as this is a meaningful amount. There are no other updates on quality, manufacturing or any other support areas.

自分離以來，我們的 IT 平台一直穩定。這些項目會對毛利率產生長期影響，並引起我們的充分關注。我們的目標是在下次電話會議上提供更多細節，屆時我們至少可以為利害關係人確定獎金的大小和時間安排，因為這是一個有意義的金額。品質、製造或任何其他支援領域沒有其他更新。

To check our progress against the key short-term priorities we outlined at the beginning of the year, we've resolved production, logistics, operational stability, have growth in some, but not all of our businesses and are working hard to ensure a clean bill of health on quality. Our priorities for 2023 remain unchanged, deliver revenue growth as expected in our differentiated business units while progressing the key product platforms, progress our quality remediation and ensure reliability for patients and high compliance for regulatory authorities, respectively, focus on cash flow again by improving working capital and addressing all the available items on the P&L, whether above or below the line, lay the groundwork via separation and the integration for capture of the remaining synergies and rationalize the portfolio, which becomes easier after separation stability.

為了根據我們在年初概述的關鍵短期優先事項檢查我們的進展，我們已經解決了生產、物流、營運穩定性問題，部分業務（但不是全部業務）實現了成長，並正在努力確保清潔品質健康法案。我們2023年的優先事項保持不變，在推進關鍵產品平台的同時，在差異化業務部門實現預期的收入增長，推進質量整治並分別確保患者的可靠性和監管機構的高度合規性，透過改善工作再次關注現金流資本並解決損益表上的所有可用項目，無論是在線上方還是線下，透過分離和整合奠定基礎，以獲取剩餘的協同效應並合理化投資組合，這在分離穩定後變得更容易。

To be direct on our goals for the next year or 2, we won our consumables and systems business to be reliable growers with an industry acceptable profit margin with the tightest and most optimized manufacturing network in each with a multiyear innovation portfolio. Over the last few years, we took an innovative component supplier and have scaled it to a global leading player where those efficiencies should be available to us over time at our size.

為了直接實現我們未來一兩年的目標，我們贏得了我們的消耗品和系統業務，成為可靠的種植者，擁有行業可接受的利潤率，每個領域都有最緊密、最優化的製造網絡，並擁有多年的創新組合。在過去的幾年裡，我們選擇了一家創新的零件供應商，並將其擴展到全球領先的供應商，隨著時間的推移，我們應該能夠以我們的規模獲得這些效率。

On the legacy ICU portfolio, we need to continue share gains and offset the inflation we experienced on the acquired portfolio, which probably lands between $900 million to $1 billion in revenue, it's still large enough to deliver an appropriate profit margin. But given the lower revenue level, we need to fully integrate and optimize it would take some time as we had to focus on service and quality first. There is no confusion within the company in pursuit of these goals, and we don't really have any frivolous activities here. We know we're still off the EBITDA level we expected a transaction, but the company is large enough to get there over time.

在遺留的ICU 投資組合中，我們需要繼續分享收益並抵消我們在收購的投資組合中經歷的通貨膨脹，該投資組合的收入可能在9 億至10 億美元之間，但仍足以提供適當的利潤率。但考慮到收入水平較低，我們需要全面整合和優化，這需要一些時間，因為我們必須先專注於服務和品質。公司內部在追求這些目標的過程中並不存在混亂，我們這裡也沒有任何無聊的活動。我們知道我們的 EBITDA 水平仍然低於我們預期的交易水平，但公司規模足夠大，隨著時間的推移可以實現這一目標。

From a balance sheet perspective, we want to focus on organic cash flow generation and if a strategic opportunity arises in a value-creating manner for any of the periphery of the portfolio, we'll explore those options. We think the order of activities and the way we're judging ourselves now that we're at the base of the acquired business is first, sustained revenue growth. We get that sounds awkward given the negative totals we just announced but it was very messy as we stabilized. We too miss the days of doing a little better than we expected, and it's still within our muscle memory. The second lens is, are we getting back to generating cash as we used to, which is hopefully combined with improving earnings post our production changes to improve our overall leverage position and then to have the next level synergies get incorporated for improved margins.

從資產負債表的角度來看，我們希望專注於有機現金流的產生，如果投資組合的任何外圍以創造價值的方式出現策略機會，我們將探索這些選擇。我們認為，既然我們處於被收購業務的基礎上，我們的活動順序和自我判斷方式首先是持續的收入成長。考慮到我們剛剛宣布的負總數，這聽起來很尷尬，但隨著我們穩定下來，情況非常混亂。我們也懷念那些比我們預期做得更好的日子，而且它仍然在我們的肌肉記憶中。第二個鏡頭是，我們是否能像以前那樣恢復產生現金的狀態，這有望與生產變化後的盈利改善相結合，以改善我們的整體槓桿狀況，然後整合更高水平的協同效應以提高利潤率。

The core premise of the acquisition was to enhance the product offerings for the categories that drive our returns as well as add logical adjacencies predicated on the same characteristics, sticky categories, low capital intensity, single-use disposables with opportunities to innovate and participate in a logical industry structure. These portfolios make sense together, and we're working on how to integrate them either literally or economically when sensible and we're focusing on all lines to show up with improvements in the P&L. We produce essential items that require significant clinical training, hold manufacturing barriers and in general, are items that customers do not want to switch unless they must. The market needs ICU to be an innovative, reliable supplier and the combination positions us better.

此次收購的核心前提是增強推動我們回報的類別的產品供應，並添加基於相同特徵、黏性類別、低資本密集度、一次性一次性用品的邏輯鄰接，並有機會進行創新和參與合理的產業結構。這些投資組合在一起是有意義的，我們正在研究如何在合理的情況下從字面上或經濟上整合它們，並且我們專注於所有項目以顯示損益表的改進。我們生產的必需品需要大量臨床培訓，有製造障礙，一般來說，除非必須，否則客戶不願意更換。市場需要 ICU 成為創新、可靠的供應商，這次合併使我們處於更好的地位。

Our company has emerged stronger from all the events over the last few years. We've gotten knocked down a bit, and we're getting closer to the top of the hill to drive value out of the combination. Thank you to all the customers, suppliers and frontline health care workers as we improve each day. Our company appreciates the role each of us must play. And with that, I'll turn it over to Brian.

我們公司從過去幾年發生的所有事件中變得更加強大。我們已經被擊倒了一些，我們正在接近山頂以從組合中驅動價值。感謝所有客戶、供應商和第一線醫護人員，我們每天都在進步。我們公司重視我們每個人都必須發揮的作用。有了這個，我會把它交給布萊恩。

Thanks, Vivek, and good afternoon, everyone. To begin, I'll first walk up the P&L and discuss our results for the third quarter and then move on to cash flow and the balance sheet. Along the way, I'll provide any relevant updates for the full year outlook for each of these areas.

謝謝維韋克，大家下午好。首先，我將首先討論損益表並討論我們第三季的業績，然後轉向現金流和資產負債表。在此過程中，我將提供每個領域的全年展望的相關更新。

So starting with the revenue line. Our third quarter 2023 GAAP revenue was $553 million compared to $598 million last year, which is down 7% on a reported basis or 8% constant currency. For your reference, the 2022 and '23 adjusted revenue figures for the total company and by business unit can be found on Slide #3 of the presentation.

所以從收入線開始。我們 2023 年第三季的 GAAP 營收為 5.53 億美元，去年為 5.98 億美元，以報告計算下降 7%，以固定匯率計算下降 8%。為了供您參考，2022 年和 23 年調整後的整個公司和按業務部門的收入數據可以在簡報的第 3 張幻燈片中找到。

As Vivek covered in some detail, the Q3 year-over-year revenue declines reflect a combination of growth in the legacy ICU businesses, offset by the impact of the legacy SM backorder recovery that occurred in the third quarter of last year. But on a sequential basis, adjusted revenue increased by $12 million or 2% relative to the second quarter as we again saw growth in the legacy ICU portfolio combined with stabilization in the legacy SM product lines.

正如 Vivek 詳細介紹的那樣，第三季營收年減反映了傳統 ICU 業務的成長，但被去年第三季傳統 SM 缺貨恢復的影響所抵消。但從環比來看，調整後的收入較第二季度增加了 1,200 萬美元，即 2%，因為我們再次看到傳統 ICU 產品組合的增長以及傳統 SM 產品線的穩定性。

Moving on to gross margin. As you can see from the GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation in the press release, for the third quarter, our adjusted gross margin was 36%, which was in line with our expectations and reflects the impact of 2 specific items that we have discussed on the past few calls. The first is the scheduled plant shutdowns during the second and third quarters as part of the IT TSA separation from Smiths Group as well as the annual maintenance shutdown of the Austin IV solutions manufacturing plant.

轉向毛利率。從新聞稿中的 GAAP 與非 GAAP 調節表中可以看出，第三季度，我們調整後的毛利率為 36%，這符合我們的預期，並反映了我們討論過的 2 個具體項目的影響過去的幾次電話。第一個是計劃在第二季和第三季關閉工廠，作為 IT​​ TSA 從 Smiths Group 分離的一部分，以及奧斯汀 IV 解決方案製造工廠的年度維護關閉。

The second and more meaningful impact is from lower manufacturing absorption as we reduced production volumes in the plants. As Vivek mentioned, for the period beginning at the time of the acquisition through the first quarter of 2023, we increased inventory levels each quarter by an average of approximately $50 million in order to address the legacy SM backorder situation and to bolster safety stock levels across the combined company. These increases drove around $10 million of additional manufacturing absorption each quarter that positively benefited gross margins by roughly 2 percentage points.

第二個也是更有意義的影響是由於我們減少了工廠的產量，導致製造業吸收率下降。正如 Vivek 所提到的，從收購時開始到 2023 年第一季度，我們每季的庫存水準平均增加約 5,000 萬美元，以解決傳統 SM 缺貨情況並提高整個行業的安全庫存水準。合併後的公司。這些成長帶動了每季約 1,000 萬美元的額外製造吸收，使毛利率提高了約 2 個百分點。

As we took action earlier this year to align production levels with underlying demand, the inventory increase in the second quarter slowed to $27 million, and for the third quarter actually decreased slightly and was a positive driver of free cash flow by $9 million. As a result, third quarter gross margins generally did not benefit from the over absorption that occurred in the prior quarters.

由於我們今年稍早採取了行動，使生產水準與潛在需求保持一致，第二季的庫存成長放緩至2,700 萬美元，而第三季的庫存實際上略有下降，並積極推動自由現金流增加900 萬美元。因此，第三季毛利率總體上並未受益於前幾季的過度吸收。

For the fourth quarter and extending into 2024, we expect inventory reductions to accelerate and the impact from producing at levels below current demand will have a temporary negative impact relative to Q3 gross margin. The exact impact to gross margin over the near term from the inventory reduction will depend on the extent and pace of the decline, but we expect the inventory reductions to continue through at least the middle of 2024. The actions we are taking here are the right economic decisions even though the manufacturing under absorption will temporarily impact gross margins over the near term.

從第四季直至 2024 年，我們預計庫存減少將加速，而低於當前需求水準的生產將對第三季毛利率產生暫時的負面影響。庫存減少對近期毛利率的確切影響將取決於下降的程度和速度，但我們預計庫存減少至少將持續到 2024 年中期。我們在此採取的行動是正確的儘管吸收的製造業將在短期內暫時影響毛利率，但經濟決策仍會受到影響。

On previous calls, we've talked about our desired long-term gross margins, and the primary drivers towards that improvement continue to be: one, manufacturing absorption benefits from volume increases towards historical levels for our acquired product lines plus continued growth for the legacy ICU differentiated products; two, price increases as our multiyear contracts renew; and three, synergies from the integration of our manufacturing and distribution networks and service, which should more than offset expected labor inflation in our Mexican manufacturing facilities.

在先前的電話會議中，我們已經討論了我們期望的長期毛利率，而實現這一改善的主要驅動力仍然是：一，我們收購的產品線的產量增加到歷史水平，加上傳統產品的持續成長，製造吸收效益ICU差異化產品；第二，隨著我們的多年期合約續約，價格上漲；第三，我們的製造和分銷網絡及服務整合帶來的協同效應，這將足以抵消我們墨西哥製造工廠預期的勞動力通膨。

And it's also worth noting, there is a high degree of variability in the gross margin rates of individual product families across our portfolio. For example, our IV Solutions business reduces the company's consolidated adjusted gross margin rate by approximately 5 percentage points. Adjusted SG&A expense was $106 million in Q3 and adjusted R&D was $20 million. Total adjusted operating expenses were down 3% year-over-year and reflect acquisition synergies and lower incentive compensation and our usual focus on SG&A cost management, which has more than covered inflationary pressures. For Q4, we expect total adjusted operating expenses to increase slightly relative to the third quarter.

另外值得注意的是，我們投資組合中各個產品系列的毛利率有很大差異。例如，我們的 IV 解決方案業務使公司的綜合調整毛利率降低了約 5 個百分點。第三季調整後的 SG&A 費用為 1.06 億美元，調整後的研發費用為 2,000 萬美元。調整後的營運支出總額年減 3%，反映出收購綜效和較低的激勵性薪酬以及我們通常關注的 SG&A 成本管理，這足以抵銷通膨壓力。對於第四季度，我們預計調整後的營運支出總額將較第三季略有增加。

Restructuring, integration and strategic transaction expenses were $7 million in the third quarter and related primarily to integration of the acquisition. This represents the lowest level of spend since the acquisition. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $1.57 compared to $1.75 last year. The current quarter results reflect net interest expense of $24 million, which is an increase over the prior year of $6 million and equates approximately to $0.20 on a per share basis. The third quarter adjusted effective tax rate was 6% and includes a discrete benefit related to U.S. federal return to provision adjustments, which contributed approximately $0.25 per share. Diluted shares outstanding for the quarter were 24.4 million. Finally, adjusted EBITDA for Q3 decreased 3% to $90 million compared to $93 million last year.

第三季的重組、整合和策略交易費用為 700 萬美元，主要與收購整合相關。這是自收購以來支出的最低水準。本季調整後攤薄每股收益為 1.57 美元，去年同期為 1.75 美元。本季業績反映淨利息支出為 2,400 萬美元，比上年增加 600 萬美元，相當於每股 0.20 美元。第三季調整後的有效稅率為 6%，其中包括與美國聯邦撥備調整回報相關的離散收益，該收益約為每股 0.25 美元。本季稀釋後流通股數為 2,440 萬股。最後，第三季調整後 EBITDA 下降 3%，至 9,000 萬美元，而去年為 9,300 萬美元。

Now moving on to cash flow and the balance sheet. For the quarter, free cash flow was a positive $14 million, which when excluding the onetime benefit from the accounts receivable sales program in Q1 of this year, represents the first quarter of positive free cash flow since the acquisition. This improvement reflects lower spending across all 3 of the key areas of the business where we have invested heavily over the past 18 months. The largest contributor to the free cash flow improvement is the previously mentioned inventory reductions in the quarter compared to inventory builds over the previous 6 quarters.

現在轉向現金流和資產負債表。該季度的自由現金流為正 1,400 萬美元，如果不包括今年第一季應收帳款銷售計劃的一次性收益，這是自收購以來第一季的正自由現金流。這項改善反映出我們在過去 18 個月中大力投資的所有 3 個關鍵業務領域的支出有所下降。自由現金流改善的最大貢獻者是前面提到的與前 6 個季度的庫存增加相比，本季的庫存減少。

In addition, we also saw a sequential step down in cash spend for quality improvement initiatives for legacy SM. And during the quarter, we spent $11 million on quality system and product-related remediation, which is the lowest level since the acquisition. And the third area is acquisition integration where, as previously mentioned, we spent $7 million on restructuring and integration. Additionally, we spent $21 million on CapEx for general maintenance and capacity expansion at our facilities as well as placement of revenue-generating infusion pumps with customers outside the U.S., and we expect Q4 CapEx to be about the same or slightly higher.

此外，我們還看到用於傳統 SM 品質改進計劃的現金支出連續下降。本季度，我們在品質系統和產品相關的整改上花費了 1,100 萬美元，這是自收購以來的最低水準。第三個領域是收購整合，如前面提到的，我們花了 700 萬美元進行重組和整合。此外，我們在資本支出上花費了 2,100 萬美元，用於我們設施的一般維護和產能擴張，以及向美國以外的客戶放置創收輸液泵，我們預計第四季度的資本支出將大致相同或略高。

Over the near term, we will continue to prioritize free cash flow. While actual free cash flow results may fluctuate from quarter-to-quarter due to the extent and phasing of integration activities, as well as timing of annual bonus and tax payments, we expect overall improvement driven by optimization of inventory levels as well as declining spend for both quality remediation and restructuring and integration. And just to wrap up on the balance sheet, we finished the quarter with $1.6 billion of debt and $199 million of cash and investments.

短期內，我們將繼續優先考慮自由現金流。雖然實際自由現金流結果可能會因整合活動的範圍和階段以及年度獎金和稅款支付的時間而逐季度波動，但我們預計庫存水準優化和支出下降將推動整體改善用於品質修復以及重組和整合。就資產負債表而言，本季末我們的債務為 16 億美元，現金和投資為 1.99 億美元。

During the second quarter earnings call, we provided updated full year EBITDA and EPS guidance. Based on our Q3 results as well as the latest outlook for Q4, including recent progress made to reduce inventory levels and the associated P&L impacts, we expect to end the year at the lower end of our previously provided guidance ranges for adjusted EBITDA of $375 million to $405 million and towards the midpoint of the adjusted EPS range of $6 to $6.85 per share. For modeling purposes, the Q4 adjusted EPS guidance assumes interest expense of $25 million, a non-GAAP tax rate of approximately 23% and diluted shares outstanding of 24.4 million.

在第二季財報電話會議上，我們提供了更新的全年 EBITDA 和 EPS 指引。根據我們第三季度的業績以及第四季度的最新展望，包括最近在降低庫存水平方面取得的進展以及相關的損益影響，我們預計今年年底的調整後EBITDA 將達到我們之前提供的指導範圍的下限，即3.75 億美元至 4.05 億美元，並接近調整後每股收益範圍 6 至 6.85 美元的中點。出於建模目的，第四季調整後每股盈餘指引假設利息支出為 2,500 萬美元，非 GAAP 稅率約為 23%，稀釋後流通股數為 2,440 萬股。

In summary, for the third quarter, we feel good about the sequential top line improvement and positive free cash flow generation. While our inventory optimization initiative will impact gross margins in the near term, longer term, we have a number of opportunities to drive improvement. And on SG&A, we've demonstrated our ability to operate efficiently and further synergy opportunities remain. We are still convinced of the longer-term opportunity, financial returns and our ability to tackle the remaining issues.

總而言之，我們對第三季的營收連續改善和積極的自由現金流產生感到滿意。雖然我們的庫存優化計劃將在短期內影響毛利率，但從長遠來看，我們有很多機會來推動改善。在SG&A 方面，我們已經證明了我們高效運作的能力，並且仍然存在進一步的協同機會。我們仍然相信長期機會、財務回報以及我們解決剩餘問題的能力。

And with that, I'd like to turn the call over for any questions.

就這樣，如果有任何問題，我想轉接電話。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Larry Solow with CJS Securities.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自 CJS 證券的 Larry Solow。

I guess first question is just on the sort of the gross margin and revenue outlook. So it sounds like if we use like 36% as the baseline for gross margin for this quarter, it sounds like you'll actually dip a little bit over the next couple of quarters as you continue to increase sort of the -- or decrease the amount of manufacturing, maybe even below current production or demand levels, I should say. Any sort of visibility as we look out into '24? Obviously, you'll need revenue growth, I guess, as a [way to] improve the gross margin. So what's your confidence level as you look out the next few quarters that you can actually grow top line year-over-year and that can actually drive bottom line growth.

我想第一個問題只是關於毛利率和收入前景。因此，聽起來如果我們使用 36% 作為本季毛利率的基準，那麼隨著您繼續增加或減少毛利率，您在接下來的幾個季度中實際上會略有下降。我應該說，製造量甚至可能低於目前的生產或需求水準。當我們展望 24 世紀時，有什麼可見性嗎？顯然，我想，你需要收入成長，作為提高毛利率的方法。那麼，當您展望未來幾個季度時，您對實際收入同比增長並實際推動利潤增長的信心程度是多少。

Larry, it's Brian. Your question about kind of gross margins and how we think about Q3, I think you summarized it correctly. And we believe the Q3 gross margin level generally reflects production levels, I would say, fairly consistent with underlying demand and that the fact that we will be more aggressive in taking inventory levels down over the next several quarters will put additional pressure on the margin line relative to where Q3 came in. On the revenue -- sorry, Larry, go ahead.

拉里，是布萊恩。您關於毛利率的類型以及我們如何看待第三季的問題，我認為您總結得正確。我們認為，第三季的毛利率水準總體上反映了生產水平，與潛在需求相當一致，而且我們將在未來幾個季度更積極地降低庫存水平，這一事實將為利潤線帶來額外的壓力相對於第三季的情況。關於收入——抱歉，拉里，繼續吧。

I was going to say just like in order to get back to like this 38% -- to get a long-term growth 38% to 40%, I guess revenue will have to kind of -- if I just do the math, you're kind of running 10%, you were manufacturing 10% above sort of current demand, right? So in order to get back to that level, you'll need revenue to grow 10%. Is that math correct?

我想說的是，為了回到 38% 的水平——為了獲得 38% 到 40% 的長期增長，我想收入必須是——如果我算一下，你運行速度是10%，你們的生產量比當前需求高出10%，對吧？因此，為了回到這個水平，您需要將收入成長 10%。這個數學正確嗎？

I think -- certainly, we don't see current demand levels being what we would expect in the future, whether that's 10% more or something a little bit higher, I think it's to be determined. But that's clearly an opportunity that we have for. I mean in addition to the other items we've talked about.

我認為，當然，我們認為當前的需求水準不會達到我們對未來的預期，無論是增加 10% 還是稍微高一點，我認為這還有待確定。但這顯然是我們所擁有的一個機會。我的意思是除了我們討論過的其他項目之外。

The reason we made the words in the script, Larry, was, one, of course, you're right, revenue growth is the most valuable thing over time, right? And I think we have a high degree of confidence that we're through the twists and turns and can be more predictable. The second piece of there's lots of components of gross margin, right? Price is obviously a component in revenue but also what is your ultimate production network and what are the efficiencies can you seek out in the running of your operations. And we've had a ton of variance there. And we have a number of sites that we're running substantially below capacity because the revenue is materialized, right? So you have to deal with those things. So it's -- revenue is the biggest chunk of it, but it takes a little bit of time to get the house in order and it's obviously a big logistics component of our stock too.

我們在劇本中寫下「拉里」這句話的原因是，一，當然，你是對的，隨著時間的推移，收入增長是最有價值的事情，對嗎？我認為我們非常有信心，我們已經度過了曲折，並且可以變得更加可預測。第二部分是毛利率的許多組成部分，對嗎？價格顯然是收入的一個組成部分，但也是您的最終生產網絡以及您在營運中可以尋求的效率的組成部分。我們在那裡有很多差異。我們有許多網站的運行速度大大低於容量，因為收入已實現，對嗎？所以你必須處理這些事情。所以，收入是其中最大的一部分，但需要一點時間才能讓房子井然有序，而且它顯然也是我們庫存的重要物流組成部分。

Right. And just to break out, what's sort of your confidence level? You definitely -- I get you're confident. You have -- you could still kind of get back to even those EBITDA targets maybe a couple of years later. But in terms of revenue, do you feel like 2024 could be growth over '23 but maybe margin improvement doesn't come until '25 as you get better pricing and revenue kind of -- you get to a point where gross margins could kind of rebound a little bit?

正確的。為了突破，你的信心等級是多少？你肯定——我知道你很有信心。也許幾年後，你仍然可以回到那些 EBITDA 目標。但就收入而言，你是否認為2024 年可能會比23 年有所增長，但也許利潤率要到25 年才會出現改善，因為你會獲得更好的定價和收入- 你會達到毛利率可能會有所提高的地步反彈一點點？

I mean, generally speaking, this is not a time to be a hero, right, after we've put everybody through. I think we would measure ourselves again, we're trying to say in the script, we have to foundationally deliver these items one by one, and we have to start with showing that we -- there's been a lot of revenue growth and a lot of valuable lines here. It hasn't shown up in earnings on the P&L. And so we need to, one, show that we have revenue growth in all the lines. The second thing is we generated more cash per quarter before we did the transaction that we've been doing since we did the transaction. And so the second state in the ground for us is, can we generate cash given using some of the work down on the balance sheet. To do that and does that buy a little air time to get the rest of the house in order and finish the integration to make sure we can get where we want the margins and then the contractual items. You talked about at '25. That's probably the batting order of how to measure it.

我的意思是，一般來說，在我們讓每個人都度過難關之後，現在不是英雄的時候，對吧。我認為我們會再次衡量自己，我們試圖在劇本中說，我們必須從根本上一一交付這些項目，我們必須首先表明我們 - 收入增長了很多，而且很多這裡有寶貴的線路。它沒有出現在損益表的收益中。因此，我們需要，第一，表明我們所有產品線的收入都在成長。第二件事是，在進行交易之前，我們每季產生了更多的現金，而自從我們進行交易以來，我們一直在這樣做。因此，我們面臨的第二個問題是，我們能否利用資產負債表上的一些工作來產生現金。為此，我們需要花一點時間來讓房子的其餘部分井然有序，並完成整合，以確保我們能夠獲得我們想要的利潤，然後是合約專案。你在25歲時談過。這可能就是衡量它的擊球順序。

Got it. And I appreciate that. And then just lastly, if I just -- stepping back, even with some of the -- obviously, you missed expectations that you had a couple of years ago, but the stock price has basically been cutting ahead. You lost $2.5 billion in market value, I think, since Q1. I guess it's my job to value the company and what the right valuation is. But just -- how do you think of this? And I know maybe perhaps some of your end markets speak about your customers, your hospital customers and their financial health and/or any other concerns that we should have?

知道了。我很欣賞這一點。最後，如果我退一步，即使有一些，顯然，你沒有達到幾年前的預期，但股價基本上一直在領先。我認為，自第一季以來，您的市值損失了 25 億美元。我想我的工作就是對公司進行估值以及正確的估值是多少。但只是——你怎麼看這個？我知道也許你們的一些終端市場會談論你的客戶、醫院客戶以及他們的財務健康狀況和/或我們應該關心的任何其他問題？

I mean there's a lot in that. It's kind of just piecing it up a little bit. I think, generally speaking, the health care systems in this country and around the world that we participate in are stable and increasing. So there's no concern about that. Obviously, it's been a hit rate of issues for us. I guess, we look at it and say the companies pre-transaction, the enterprise value of the company was the same as it is today. But obviously, the cost of capital change, and we used to be more predictable and generate a lot more cash than we have recently.

我的意思是其中有很多內容。這只是一點點拼湊起來。我認為，總體來說，我們參與的這個國家和世界各地的醫療保健系統是穩定的並且不斷增長。所以不用擔心這一點。顯然，這對我們來說是一個問題的命中率。我想，我們看看它，說公司在交易前，公司的企業價值和今天是一樣的。但顯然，資本成本發生了變化，我們過去比現在更可預測，並且產生了更多的現金。

And so I look at it, I think and say our Consumables business is 30% bigger over the last couple of years. Our pump shares, 20-ish percent improvement over what we started pump share a couple of years ago. I believe those assets are worth more, but that's -- the reality is the whole -- all the business lines have to deliver, et cetera. And so to me, it comes back to -- I can understand the skepticism because it's hard to be able to pinpoint whether it's revenue growth, cash generation that's been consistent, and we need to get back to that consistency.

所以我看著它，我認為並說我們的消耗品業務在過去幾年裡成長了 30%。我們的泵浦共享比我們幾年前開始的泵浦共享提高了 20% 左右。我相信這些資產更有價值，但事實是，所有業務線都必須交付，等等。所以對我來說，這又回到了——我可以理解這種懷疑，因為很難確定收入成長、現金產生是否保持一致，我們需要恢復這種一致性。

It doesn't matter what we believe, industry logic or the underlying assets that are impaired together. If they don't grow or create cash, I can understand the skepticism independent of all the macro [substances] but there are enough opportunities here at 2.5-ish, whatever 2.3, 2.4, whatever amount of revenues we can see over the next short and medium term to profitize that appropriately. But it just takes a little bit of time to get all that work done.

無論我們相信什麼、產業邏輯或共同受損的基礎資產，這並不重要。如果他們不成長或創造現金，我可以理解獨立於所有宏觀[物質]的懷疑，但在 2.5 左右，無論 2.3、2.4，無論我們在下一個短期內可以看到多少收入，這裡都有足夠的機會從中期來看，適當地從中獲利。但完成所有工作只需要一點時間。

The next question comes from Jayson Bedford with Raymond James.

下一個問題來自傑森貝德福德和雷蒙德詹姆斯。

Maybe just to go along with the gross margin strain of questions here. As you can appreciate, there's a lot of moving parts to this equation. So I just want to just simplify it. I don't think I heard a gross margin -- an updated gross margin guide. What is the expected gross margin in the fourth quarter? Or you can give me the year and I can back into it.

也許只是為了解決這裡的毛利率壓力問題。正如您所理解的，這個等式中有很多變化的部分。所以我只想簡化它。我想我沒有聽說過毛利率——更新的毛利率指南。預計第四季毛利率是多少？或者你可以給我年份，我可以重新開始。

I think for the year, we'll be in the 36% to 37% range for adjusted gross margins. And what that will imply is a little bit of a step down in Q4 relative to Q3 for the reasons we talked about, primarily related to accelerating the rate of inventory reductions.

我認為今年調整後毛利率將在 36% 至 37% 之間。這意味著第四季相對於第三季略有下降，原因我們已​​經討論過，主要與加快庫存削減速度有關。

And then you mentioned that the inventory kind of drawdown, if you will, will last, I think, into mid-'24, is the expectation that gross margin bottomed sometime in mid-'24?

然後你提到，如果你願意的話，庫存下降將持續到 24 年中期，毛利率是否會在 24 年中期某個時候觸底？

I think we don't want to say something we will regret positively or negatively on the rate there, Jayson. It is a function of how fast we can get some of the other activities done and the revenue growth rates, et cetera. I think we're trying -- we don't want to mislead anyone that it is going to take a little bit of time to caught up. I don't think we could tell you what month or quarter precisely it stops, but it took us 5 quarters, 6 quarters of -- we were building for 5 to 6 quarters. Probably it will take a little bit shorter than that to get through it, but not a lot shorter than that, right? We've been into it for a while.

我想我們不想說一些會讓我們對那裡的匯率感到後悔的積極或消極的話，傑森。它取決於我們完成其他一些活動的速度以及收入成長率等。我認為我們正在努力——我們不想誤導任何人，認為需要一點時間才能趕上。我認為我們無法告訴你它到底是在哪一個月或哪一個季度停止的，但我們花了 5 個季度、6 個季度——我們正在建設 5 到 6 個季度。也許需要比這短一點的時間才能完成它，但不會比這短很多，對吧？我們已經投入有一段時間了。

Okay. And is there a right level or what is the right level of inventory here, either on an absolute or a ratio of sales, however you want to depict it?

好的。是否有一個正確的水平，或者這裡的正確庫存水平是多少，無論是絕對銷售額還是銷售額比率，無論您想如何描述它？

Jayson, I think -- we believe that the right level is probably somewhere between where we started 2022, which was less inventory than what we needed but not as much as we have today. And I think it's kind of somewhere in the middle. And if you were to put a value on that, it's probably could be somewhere -- something that rounds to $100 million.

Jayson，我認為，我們認為正確的水平可能介於 2022 年開始的水平之間，當時的庫存量低於我們所需的庫存量，但也沒有今天那麼多。我認為它介於兩者之間。如果你要估價一下，它可能在某個地方——四捨五入到 1 億美元。

Just maybe up the P&L here. On revenue, I think there was a lot of noise in the year-over-year comparison, which you identified, I think you said sequential growth in the fourth quarter. But can you just comment on your ability to grow revenue on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter?

也許只是在這裡增加損益表。關於收入，我認為同比比較中存在很多噪音，您指出了這一點，我認為您說過第四季度的環比增長。但您能否評論一下第四季度營收年增的能力？

Yes, sure. The fourth quarter starts to look better from a year-over-year perspective, right? I don't think we expect these wide swings. They may not be wide positive, but it's a much more normal comparator in the fourth quarter. And demand is okay out there right now. Again, we've said a few things we've regretted here over the last number of quarters. We don't want to put ourselves in that position again.

是的，當然。從同比的角度來看，第四季開始看起來更好，對吧？我認為我們預計不會有如此大的波動。它們可能不是很積極，但與第四季度相比，這是一個更正常的比較。目前需求還可以。再次，我們說了一些在過去幾季中我們感到遺憾的事情。我們不想再讓自己陷入那樣的境地。

Okay. And then, Vivek, maybe about -- if you could talk about Plum Duo. You mentioned the limited market release. Are you taking orders now? And is that -- I'm wondering is that impacting pump sales? Or has it -- does it have the potential to pause pump sales in advance of kind of a full market release?

好的。然後，Vivek，也許你能談談 Plum Duo。你提到了有限的市場釋放。現在接單嗎？我想知道這會影響泵浦的銷售嗎？或者是否有可能在全面市場發布之前暫停泵的銷售？

I mean I think it's -- what it takes time -- I can't remember we talked about it. It takes time to get these new devices seasoned in the market implemented with and integrated with all the various IT vendors et cetera, and we didn't want to set the expectation that all of a sudden immediately, there's going to be Plum Duo sales, that's not going to be the case. Nothing happens fast in the pump business, but the product life cycles are incredibly long as evidenced by the market share leader and what new innovation does and a vision around the different pumping modalities and how they come together, gives us a reason to have a lot of conversations and gives people a reason to listen.

我的意思是，我認為這需要時間，我不記得我們談論過它。讓這些在市場上成熟的新設備與所有不同的 IT 供應商等一起實施和整合需要時間，我們不想設定突然立即出現 Plum Duo 銷售的預期，事實並非如此。在泵行業，沒有什麼事情是快速發生的，但市場份額領先者證明了產品生命週期非常長，新的創新的作用以及圍繞不同泵模式及其如何組合的願景，讓我們有理由擁有很多對話並給人們一個傾聽的理由。

And hopefully, there's been a couple of drivers of breaking through that inertia and I think people now have to make choices. And we have a very credible choice that can be an anchor product offering for many years. And so I think we feel pretty good about it. But it does take time. You got to get it on patients. You learn things along the way, regardless of approval and just make sure it's rock solid, and we're in the process of doing that.

希望有一些突破這種慣性的驅動因素，我認為人們現在必須做出選擇。我們有一個非常可靠的選擇，可以作為多年的主打產品。所以我認為我們對此感覺很好。但這確實需要時間。你必須把它用在病人身上。無論是否獲得批准，你都會一路學到東西，只要確保它堅如磐石，我們正在這樣做。

And then maybe lastly for me, and I can jump back in queue. Vivek, you mentioned Plum Solo as well as a refreshed syringe pump. What's the time line on those 2?

也許最後對我來說，我可以插回隊列。 Vivek，您提到了 Plum Solo 以及更新的注射幫浦。那2個時間線是啥？

I think it would be -- the goal would be to talk about them like we did with the Duo when it's approved. Obviously, we can't be as -- in the same -- we can't act exactly the same way now. I think if we could get them on file with our regulators in the next 12 to 18 months, we'd be happy with that time frame. It could be inside of that, could be outside of that, but that would be a safe window as fast as we can. But I think we feel pretty good that we cleared a lot of the regulatory hurdles in the base architecture of Duo here, which maybe makes some of those other things in the software side of it a bit easier.

我認為目標是像我們在 Duo 獲得批准時那樣談論它們。顯然，我們不能像現在一樣——我們不能以完全相同的方式行事。我認為，如果我們能夠在未來 12 到 18 個月內將它們向監管機構備案，我們會對這個時間框架感到滿意。它可能在裡面，也可能在外面，但這將是我們盡可能快的安全窗口。但我認為我們感覺很好，因為我們在這裡清除了 Duo 基礎架構中的許多監管障礙，這可能會讓軟體方面的其他一些事情變得更容易一些。

Okay. And just to be clear, just on cash flow generation, it's earmarked for debt pay down. Is that fair?

好的。需要明確的是，就現金流生成而言，它專門用於償還債務。這樣公平嗎？

Yes, that's still priority #1 for us, Jayson.

是的，這仍然是我們的第一要務，傑森。

I think on your revenue question, Jayson, I mean, it's a little bit of the previous commentary there to -- it is very, very messy this quarter with what happened in 3Q catch up next year. And so the standard, we certainly are expecting ourselves is to be able to grow all of our -- all 3 of our lines of business year-over-year, right? This requires way too much explanation, way too many words to describe what's going on in the revenue. And so your direct question, just a very direct answer. That is [certainly there].

我認為關於你的收入問題，傑森，我的意思是，這有點像之前的評論——本季與明年第三季發生的情況非常非常混亂。因此，我們當然期望自己的標準是能夠逐年成長我們所有的業務線，對嗎？這需要太多的解釋，太多的文字來描述收入的情況。所以你的直接問題，只是一個很直接的答案。那是[肯定在那裡]。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Vivek Jain for any closing remarks. Please go ahead.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回給 Vivek Jain 發表閉幕詞。請繼續。

Thanks, operator. I guess I'd make one comment on behalf of ICU Medical here. We did have one less participant on this Q&A portion of the call today. We wanted to acknowledge the passing of Matt Mishan, tendered analyst we had from KeyBanc. We would offer our condolences to his family and his colleagues, and he was a critical thinker and a supportive partner and brought a smile to our face when we interacted with him. So just a moment to recognize that.

謝謝，接線生。我想我會代表 ICU Medical 發表一條評論。今天電話問答部分的參與者確實少了一位。我們想對 KeyBanc 聘請的分析師 Matt Mishan 的去世表示敬意。我們向他的家人和同事表示哀悼，他是一位批判性的思想家和支持性的合作夥伴，當我們與他互動時，他給我們帶來了微笑。所以請花一點時間來認識這一點。

Back to ICU, we understand the situation we're in. We feel like we are finding some stability on the products that we've acquired, continue to get good growth on our legacy businesses, and we just sort of need to bring the pieces together here and show that with evidence of revenue growth, cash flow generation and ultimately, margins. So we appreciate folks' interest, and we are -- obviously, Brian and I are available for anybody who would like to discuss further. Thanks very much.

回到 ICU，我們了解我們所處的情況。我們覺得我們在收購的產品上找到了一些穩定性，我們的傳統業務繼續獲得良好的增長，我們只是需要把碎片帶回來在這裡一起展示這一點，並透過收入成長、現金流產生以及最終利潤的證據來證明這一點。因此，我們感謝大家的興趣，顯然，布萊恩和我可以為任何想要進一步討論的人提供幫助。非常感謝。

This conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

本次會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。