IPG Photonics Corp (IPGP) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to IPG Photonics Fourth Quarter 2021 Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded and webcast.

早上好，歡迎參加 IPG Photonics 2021 年第四季電話會議。今天的通話正在錄音並進行網路直播。

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to your host, Eugene Fedotoff, IPG's Director of Investor Relations for introductions. Please go ahead, sir.

現在，我想將電話轉給主持人、IPG 投資者關係總監 Eugene Fedotoff 進行介紹。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, Rob, and good morning, everyone. With us today is IPG Photonics' CEO of Dr. Eugene Scherbakov; and Senior Vice President and CFO, Tim Mammen.

謝謝你，羅布，大家早安。今天與我們在一起的有 IPG Photonics 執行長 Eugene Scherbakov 博士；以及資深副總裁兼財務長 Tim Mammen。

Statements made during the course of this call that discuss management's or the company's intentions, expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements.

在本次電話會議期間發表的討論管理層或公司的意圖、期望或對未來的預測的聲明均為前瞻性聲明。這些前瞻性陳述存在風險和不確定性，可能導致公司的實際結果與此類前瞻性陳述中的預測有重大差異。

These risks and uncertainties include the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and those detailed in IPG Photonics' Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2020, and our reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

這些風險和不確定性包括COVID-19 大流行對我們業務的影響，以及IPG Photonics 截至2020 年12 月31 日止期間的10-K 表格以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告中詳述的風險和不確定性。

Copies of these filings may be obtained by visiting the Investors section of IPG's website or by contacting the company directly. You may also find copies on the SEC's website.

可透過造訪 IPG 網站的投資者部分或直接聯繫該公司來取得這些文件的副本。您也可以在 SEC 網站上找到副本。

Any forward-looking statements made on this call are the company's expectations or predictions as of today, February 15, 2022 only. The company assumes no obligation to publicly release any updates or revisions to any such statements. For additional details on our reported results, please refer to the earnings press release, earnings call presentation and the Excel-based financial data workbook posted on our Investor Relations website. We will post these prepared remarks on the Investor Relations website following the completion of this call.

本次電話會議中所做的任何前瞻性陳述僅是本公司截至今天（2022 年 2 月 15 日）的預期或預測。本公司不承擔公開發布任何此類聲明的任何更新或修訂的義務。有關我們報告的結果的更多詳細信息，請參閱我們的投資者關係網站上發布的收益新聞稿、收益電話會議演示和基於 Excel 的財務數據工作簿。本次電話會議結束後，我們將在投資者關係網站上發布這些準備好的評論。

With that, I will now turn the call over to Eugene Scherbakov.

現在，我將把電話轉給尤金·謝爾巴科夫。

Good morning, everyone. We are pleased with our fourth quarter performance. We delivered revenue that was 8% higher than a year ago and above the top end of our guidance range.

大家，早安。我們對第四季的業績感到滿意。我們的收入比一年前高出 8%，高於我們指導範圍的上限。

Our full year revenue was a record slightly above our prior record revenue reported in 2018. These strong results were driven by solid demand for our lasers in Europe, North America and improved demand in Japan, which more than offset soft demand in high-power cutting applications in China. We saw increased sales in welding, high-power cutting outside of China, marking, 3D printing, foil cutting, cleaning, semiconductor and a number of other products and applications that all contributed to our growth this quarter.

我們的全年收入創歷史新高，略高於2018 年報告的先前創紀錄收入。這些強勁的業績是由歐洲、北美對我們的雷射器的強勁需求以及日本需求的改善所推動的，這遠遠抵消了高功率切割的疲軟需求在中國的應用。我們看到焊接、中國以外的高功率切割、打標、3D 列印、箔片切割、清潔、半導體以及許多其他產品和應用的銷售額增加，這些都為本季的成長做出了貢獻。

Overall, sales outside of China grew to 69% of total revenue. However, we have not seen in many years showing our progress in achieving the better geographic balance in our business. Sales of high-power lasers benefited from increase in order volumes in cutting application in Europe, North America and Japan as well as a strong welding revenue, which was offset by lower demand in China high-power cutting market. This was due to general market softness and increased competition in low-cost portion of this market.

整體而言，中國以外的銷售額成長至總收入的 69%。然而，我們多年來一直沒有看到我們在實現更好的業務地域平衡方面取得的進展。高功率雷射的銷售受益於歐洲、北美和日本切割應用訂單量的增加以及強勁的焊接收入，但被中國高功率切割市場需求的下降所抵消。這是由於整體市場疲軟以及該市場低成本部分的競爭加劇。

We continue to successfully protect our market share in areas, which focus on reliability, technology and service. Our high-power lasers and optical heads can deliver significant productivity improvement, electrical efficiency, flexibility and ease of use and integration as well as the lowest total cost of ownership and global support unmatched by other lasers and non-laser tools.

我們繼續成功地保護我們在註重可靠性、技術和服務的領域的市場份額。我們的高功率雷射和光學頭可以顯著提高生產力、電力效率、靈活性、易用性和整合性，以及其他雷射和非雷射工具無法比擬的最低總擁有成本和全球支援。

At the same time, we are introducing the ultra-compact rack mount U series lasers, which power up to 6-kilowatt to be more competitive in low-cost cutting system. We were also pleased with growth, and we are seeing a medium power and QCW lasers this quarter, which are primarily driven by higher demand on -- in emerging applications.

同時，我們推出超緊湊機架式U系列雷射器，功率高達6千瓦，在低成本切割系統中更具競爭力。我們對成長也感到滿意，本季我們看到了中等功率和 QCW 雷射器，這主要是由新興應用的更高需求推動的。

I would like to also highlight our exceptional growth in welding this year, driven by higher demand of AMB lasers used in EV battery manufacturing and introducing LightWELD, our handheld welder. Both products are example of IPG focus on innovation and ability to deliver solutions to our customers that expand our total available market.

我還想強調一下，由於電動車電池製造中使用的 AMB 雷射器的需求增加以及推出我們的手持式焊接機 LightWELD，推動了今年我們在焊接方面的出色成長。這兩款產品都是 IPG 專注於創新和為客戶提供解決方案的能力的典範，從而擴大了我們的整體可用市場。

Our AMB lasers provide a broad range of beam tune-ability that enables superior speed, better foil quality, ability to out disparate materials and spatter laser welding, which is extremely important in the EV battery manufacturing process.

我們的 AMB 雷射器提供廣泛的光束調諧能力，可實現卓越的速度、更好的箔片品質、排除不同材料和飛濺雷射焊接的能力，這在電動車電池製造過程中極為重要。

Another driver behind the strong welding results is LightWELD. Compared to traditional MIG & TIG welding, LightWELD is easier to use, faster, more precise, welds in wide range of material, better and incomparable surface cleaning capability. This quality significantly reduce preparation processing and post processing times resulting in lower total operation costs for our customers.

強勁焊接效果背後的另一個推動因素是 LightWELD。與傳統的 MIG & TIG 焊接相比，LightWELD 更易於使用、更快、更精確、焊接材料範圍廣、具有更好且無與倫比的表面清潔能力。這種品質顯著減少了準備處理和後處理時間，從而降低了客戶的總營運成本。

Growth in welding is one of the main example of successful revenue diversification strategy that IPG has been pursuing. We are also pleased with the performance of our medical business. This prior year quarter revenue -- this quarter has our gold standard technological lasers and disposable fibers continue to gain acceptance.

焊接業務的成長是 IPG 一直奉行的收入多元化策略成功的主要例子之一。我們對醫療業務的表現也感到滿意。去年第四季的收入——本季我們的黃金標準技術雷射和一次性光纖繼續獲得認可。

Additionally, IPG is well positioned to benefit from global market trends such as automation, miniaturization as well as a focus on sustainability.

此外，IPG 處於有利地位，可從自動化、小型化以及對永續發展的關注等全球市場趨勢中受益。

Renewable energy and energy efficiency. As you read and heard, automakers and suppliers worldwide, are investing enormous amount in new e-mobility products. We expect these investments to continue in the next 3, 5 years or even longer.

再生能源和能源效率。正如您所讀到和聽到的，世界各地的汽車製造商和供應商正在對新的電動車產品進行大量投資。我們預計這些投資將在未來 3 年、5 年甚至更長時間內持續下去。

Our lasers are widely used in manufacturing of electrical vehicles. We are supplying laser solutions for battery welding and thin foil cutting applications, cleaning, high-quality welding in electrical battery and motor assembly as well as some body-in-white applications.

我們的雷射廣泛應用於電動車的製造。我們為電池焊接和薄箔切割應用、清潔、電池和電機組裝中的高品質焊接以及一些白車身應用提供雷射解決方案。

Demand in solar cell market can be cyclical, but strict emission targets are expected to drive significant investment in solar cell production in North America and China in the next 3 out of 5 years, resulting in high demand for green lasers. These lasers are used to improve solar cell efficiency and reduce the amount of wiring needed in solar cell design. Demand for our green lasers increased by 50% in 2021 focused on sustainability and efficiency as well as some recent energy shutdowns in China, and high energy costs in Europe are driving an increased interest in our ECO lasers that provide [work efficiency] of greater than 50% and can help to meaningfully reduce environmental impact energy cost for medium and large industrial manufacturers.

太陽能電池市場的需求可能具有週期性，但嚴格的排放目標預計將在未來五年內推動北美和中國對太陽能電池生產的大量投資，從而導致對綠色雷射器的高需求。這些雷射用於提高太陽能電池效率並減少太陽能電池設計所需的佈線量。 2021 年，對我們綠色雷射的需求成長了50%，重點是永續性和效率，以及中國最近的一些能源關閉，以及歐洲的高能源成本正在推動人們對我們的ECO 雷射越來越感興趣，這些雷射的[工作效率]高於50%，可以幫助大中型工業製造商大幅降低環境影響能源成本。

During the fourth quarter, emerging product -- emerging gross product sales were 38% of total revenue, increasing 57% year-over-year. We were pleased -- this performance of a number of products that were key for our diversification of our revenue, including the AMB high-power pulsed lasers, LightWELD, medical, beam delivery laser-based system and multichannel QCW laser for high-speed spot welding applications. Backlog for this product remains strong as we enter 2022, and we focus on successfully establishing a large market with our innovative solutions.

第四季度，新興產品－新興產品總銷售額佔總營收的38%，較去年同期成長57%。我們很高興 - 許多產品的這種性能對於我們收入多元化至關重要，包括 AMB 高功率脈衝雷射、LightWELD、醫療、基於光束傳輸雷射的系統和用於高速點的多通道 QCW 雷射焊接應用。進入 2022 年，該產品的積壓訂單仍然強勁，我們專注於透過我們的創新解決方案成功建立一個大市場。

Let me -- let me share some of our expectation for 2022. While we continue to have limited visibility and see uncertainty in the operational and geographical environment, we believe that the breadths and depths of our product offering, our innovative solutions, efficient R&D model, strong balance sheet and free cash flow provide us ample flexibility to respond to the business disruption and support growth.

讓我——讓我分享一下我們對2022 年的一些期望。雖然我們的能見度仍然有限​​，並且看到營運和地理環境的不確定性，但我們相信我們產品的廣度和深度、我們的創新解決方案、高效的研發模式強大的資產負債表和自由現金流為我們提供了足夠的靈活性來應對業務中斷和支援成長。

We expect continued growth demand in welding and cutting market in North America and Europe and in Japan. Sales in emerging growth products should benefit from continued market trend, such as investment in the EV batteries, solar cell, automation and miniaturization. However, this will be a transition year for IPG with growth in focus areas and continued diversification away from highly competitive portion of high-power cutting market in China leading to more moderate 3% to 6% revenue growth in 2022.

我們預計北美、歐洲以及日本焊接和切割市場的需求將持續成長。新興成長產品的銷售應受益於持續的市場趨勢，例如對電動車電池、太陽能電池、自動化和小型化的投資。然而，這將是 IPG 的過渡年，重點領域將實現成長，並持續多元化，遠離中國大功率切割市場競爭激烈的部分，從而導致 2022 年收入成長更為溫和，為 3% 至 6%。

With that said, we remain optimistic in our long-term growth opportunity for IPG and continue to expect double-digit revenue growth in the mid and long term.

儘管如此，我們對 IPG 的長期成長機會保持樂觀，並繼續預計中長期收入將實現兩位數成長。

I will turn the call over to Tim to discuss financial highlights in the quarter.

我將把電話轉給蒂姆，討論本季的財務亮點。

Thank you, Eugene, and good morning, everyone. My comments generally will follow the earnings call presentation, which is available on our Investor Relations website.

謝謝尤金，大家早安。我的評論通常會在收益電話會議演示之後發表，該演示可以在我們的投資者關係網站上找到。

I will start with the financial review on Slide 4. Revenue in the fourth quarter was $364 million, up 8% year-over-year, driven by growth in most of our key product lines and geographies, but declined 4% sequentially, mainly due to lower revenue in high-power cutting applications in China.

我將從幻燈片4 的財務回顧開始。第四季的營收為3.64 億美元，年成長8%，主要是由於我們大多數關鍵產品線和地區的成長所推動，但環比下降了4%，這主要是由於降低中國高功率切割應用的收入。

Revenue from materials processing applications increased 5% year-over-year, and revenue from other applications increased 41%. Fourth quarter GAAP gross margin was 45.5%, an increase of 190 basis points year-over-year, driven by lower inventory provisions, which reduced gross margin last year. It was partially offset by increased shipping costs and lower fixed cost absorption.

來自材料加工應用的營收年增5%，來自其他應用的收入成長41%。第四季 GAAP 毛利率為 45.5%，年增 190 個基點，這是由於庫存撥備減少導致去年毛利率下降。運輸成本增加和固定成本吸收降低部分抵消了這一影響。

Sequentially, gross margin decreased due to slightly higher cost of products sold, inventory provisions, shipping costs and unabsorbed manufacturing expenses. In order to offset some of the inflationary pressures we are experiencing, we have increased the selling price of some products.

隨後，由於銷售產品成本、庫存準備金、運輸成本和未吸收的製造費用略有上升，毛利率下降。為了抵​​消我們正在經歷的一些通膨壓力，我們提高了一些產品的售價。

GAAP operating income was $85 million, and operating margin was 23.3%. Net income was $65 million or $1.21 per diluted share. The effective tax rate in the quarter was 23%. During the quarter, we recognized a foreign exchange gain of $7 million primarily related to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar versus the euro and Russian ruble and appreciation of the Chinese yuan.

GAAP 營業收入為 8,500 萬美元，營業利潤率為 23.3%。淨利潤為 6,500 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.21 美元。本季的有效稅率為23%。本季度，我們確認了 700 萬美元的外匯收益，主要與美元兌歐元和俄羅斯盧布升值以及人民幣升值有關。

Exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar had been the same as 1 year ago, we would have expected revenue to be $3 million higher and gross profit to be $1 million higher.

相對於美元的匯率與一年前相同，我們預計收入將增加 300 萬美元，毛利將增加 100 萬美元。

Moving to Slide 5. Sales of high-power CW lasers decreased 19% and represented approximately 41% of total revenue. Sales of ultra high-power lasers above 6 kilowatts represented 51% of total high-power CW laser sales. Pulsed laser sales increased 32% year-over-year with continued growth driven by high-power pulsed lasers used in EV battery manufacturing, which is partially offset by lower sales of green pulsed lasers used in solar cell applications.

轉到幻燈片 5。高功率連續雷射的銷售額下降了 19%，約佔總收入的 41%。 6千瓦以上超高功率雷射銷售佔高功率連續雷射總銷量的51%。脈衝雷射器銷售額年增32%，電動車電池製造中使用的高功率脈衝雷射器的持續成長推動了脈衝雷射銷售額的持續成長，但太陽能電池應用中使用的綠光脈衝雷射銷售額的下降部分抵消了這一增長。

System sales increased 28% year-over-year, driven by growth across laser systems and higher sales of LightWELD. Medium power laser sales increased 28% on growth in 3D manufacturing and semiconductor applications. QCW laser sales were up 30% year-over-year due to higher demand in welding. Other product sales increased 81% year-over-year, driven by higher sales in medical, telecom, advanced applications as well as beam delivery in parts.

受雷射系統成長和 LightWELD 銷量成長的推動，系統銷量較去年同期成長 28%。由於 3D 製造和半導體應用的成長，中功率雷射銷售額成長了 28%。由於焊接需求增加，QCW 雷射器銷量年增 30%。在醫療、電信、先進應用以及零件光束傳輸等領域銷售成長的推動下，其他產品銷售額較去年同期成長 81%。

Looking at our performance by region on Slide 6. Revenue in North America increased 30%, driven by growth in materials processing with strong cutting and welding revenue driven by higher demand in electric vehicles in traditional automotive industry. We also saw record revenue in medical applications and improved sales in telecom.

從幻燈片6 中按地區劃分的業績來看，北美地區的收入增長了30%，這得益於材料加工的增長，而傳統汽車行業對電動車的需求增加推動了切割和焊接收入的強勁增長。我們也看到醫療應用領域的收入創歷史新高，電信領域的銷售額也有所提高。

In Europe, revenue increased 37% as a result of higher demand across many products and applications, including cutting, welding, marking and semiconductor. The region is becoming a close #2 in terms of revenue contribution for IPG.

在歐洲，由於切割、焊接、打標和半導體等許多產品和應用的需求增加，收入增加了 37%。就 IPG 的收入貢獻而言，該地區已接近排名第二。

Revenue in China decreased 20% year-over-year as we continue to see lower sales in high-power cutting applications, which was only partially offset by growth in welding, high-power pulsed cutting, 3D manufacturing, marking and cleaning applications. We're seeing order activity stabilizing in cutting, the portions of the cutting market to focus on price remain highly competitive.

中國的營收年減 20%，因為我們繼續看到高功率切割應用的銷售額下降，而焊接、高功率脈衝切割、3D 製造、打標和清潔應用的成長僅部分抵消了這一下降。我們看到切割領域的訂單活動趨於穩定，切割市場中以價格為重點的部分仍然具有高度競爭性。

We're pleased to see a solid improvement in demand in Japan this quarter, driven by higher demand in cutting and welding applications.

我們很高興看到本季日本的需求在切割和焊接應用需求增加的推動下穩步改善。

Moving to a summary of our balance sheet on Slide 7. We ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $1.5 billion and total debt of $34 million. Strong operational execution resulted in cash provided by operations of $85 million during the quarter. Capital expenditures were $29 million in the fourth quarter. We expect 2022 capital expenditures will be in the range of $130 million to $140 million for the full year.

接下來是投影片 7 上的資產負債表摘要。本季結束時，我們的現金、現金等價物和短期投資為 15 億美元，總負債為 3,400 萬美元。強勁的營運執行力使得本季營運提供的現金達 8,500 萬美元。第四季資本支出為 2,900 萬美元。我們預計 2022 年全年資本支出將在 1.3 億至 1.4 億美元之間。

2022 CapEx includes facilities and capacity expenditure to support our future growth as well as redundant capacity for critical components. During the quarter, we repurchased 345,000 shares for a total of $57 million and have approximately $80 million left under the May 2020 authorization.

2022 年資本支出包括支持我們未來成長的設施和產能支出以及關鍵組件的冗餘產能。本季度，我們回購了 345,000 股股票，總價值為 5,700 萬美元，2020 年 5 月的授權還剩約 8,000 萬美元。

Last week, the board authorized an additional $200 million in share repurchases. Including this new program, the board has authorized more than $0.5 billion in stock repurchases over the last 3 years.

上週，董事會額外批准了 2 億美元的股票回購。包括這項新計劃在內，董事會在過去 3 年中已授權進行超過 5 億美元的股票回購。

Moving to outlook on Slide 9. Fourth quarter book-to-bill was close to 1, and we are pleased with order flow across most geographies and products outside of China. Macroeconomic indicators have been moderating, but remained strong for the U.S. and Europe, while Japan continues to recover, and China has indicated it will focus on stimulating economic growth in 2022. We're also seeing China high-power cutting demand start to stabilize, albeit at lower levels.

轉向幻燈片 9 的展望。第四季度的訂單出貨比接近 1，我們對中國以外大多數地區和產品的訂單流感到滿意。宏觀經濟指標一直在放緩，但美國和歐洲仍然強勁，而日本繼續復甦，中國表示將在 2022 年重點刺激經濟成長。我們也看到中國大功率切割需求開始穩定，儘管處於較低水平。

Continue to benefit from growth opportunities in electric vehicle battery manufacturing, rollout of LightWELD, growth in medical sales. As said, there is still a great uncertainty in the operating environment and price competition in China that make forecasting our business challenging in the medium term. And our first quarter guidance remains subject to significant uncertainties, including the impact on global business environment from geopolitical events, COVID-19, economic trends, growth from emerging product revenue, competition and the lack of long-term binding order commitments.

繼續受益於電動車電池製造、LightWELD 的推出以及醫療銷售成長的成長機會。如上所述，中國的經營環境和價格競爭仍存在很大的不確定性，這使得我們對中期業務的預測充滿挑戰。我們的第一季指引仍受到重大不確定性的影響，包括地緣政治事件、COVID-19、經濟趨勢、新興產品收入成長、競爭以及缺乏長期約束性訂單承諾對全球商業環境的影響。

We are closely monitoring the situation between Russia and the Ukraine. As we have disclosed before, we supply components between our major manufacturing operations in the U.S., Germany and Russia. At this time, it's unclear if sanctions would be put in place, and should they be, if they would cover components bought or sold from our Russian subsidiary.

我們正在密切關注俄羅斯和烏克蘭之間的局勢。正如我們之前所揭露的，我們在美國、德國和俄羅斯的主要製造工廠之間供應零件。目前，尚不清楚是否會實施制裁，是否應該實施制裁，是否會涵蓋從我們的俄羅斯子公司購買或出售的零件。

Sanctions could also target Russian banks and the banking system. In response to this uncertainty, we're developing contingency plans to mitigate possible disruptions, including increasing local inventory levels of key imported components and increasing production at other locations. For the first quarter of 2022, IPG expects revenue of $320 million to $350 million. The company expects the first quarter tax rate to be approximately 26%.

制裁也可能​​針對俄羅斯銀行和銀行系統。為了應對這種不確定性，我們正在製定應急計劃，以減輕可能的干擾，包括增加關鍵進口零件的本地庫存水準以及增加其他地點的產量。 IPG 預計 2022 年第一季營收為 3.2 億至 3.5 億美元。該公司預計第一季稅率約為26%。

An increase in tax rate assumption is due to a decrease in the benefit expected from discrete items such as the excess tax benefit related to equity compensation. IPG anticipates delivering earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.85 to $1.15 with 54 million diluted common shares outstanding.

稅率假設的增加是由於與股權補償相關的超額稅收優惠等離散項目的預期收益減少。 IPG 預計稀釋後每股盈餘將在 0.85 至 1.15 美元之間，稀釋後流通普通股數量為 5,400 萬股。

As discussed in the safe harbor passage of today's earnings press release, our guidance is based upon current market conditions and expectations, assumes exchange rates referenced in our earnings press release and is subject to risks outlined in the company's reports with the SEC.

正如今天收益新聞稿的安全港通道中所討論的，我們的指導基於當前的市場狀況和預期，假設我們的收益新聞稿中引用的匯率，並受到公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告中概述的風險的影響。

With that, we'll be happy to take your questions.

這樣，我們將很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Jim Ricchiuti with Needham & Company.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Needham & Company 的 Jim Ricchiuti。

You may have talked about this, I joined a couple of minutes late. But just with respect to the overall cutting business, it looks like it was down for the year in around 17% high teens or so. When you talk about that market potentially stabilizing at a lower level, how do we think about that over the course of '22?

你可能已經談論過這個，我遲到了幾分鐘。但就整體切割業務而言，今年的下降幅度約為 17% 左右。當您談到市場可能穩定在較低水準時，我們如何看待 22 年的過程？

You seem to be suggesting some signs of stabilizing in China. But on the other hand, it looks like that, that still has the potential to be weaker in the first half of the year. How do we think about the cutting market?

您似乎暗示中國出現了一些穩定的跡象。但另一方面，看起來上半年仍有走弱的可能。我們如何看待切割市場？

So I think overall, Jim, China started last year very strong on cutting. And then as you're all aware, it was weak in the second half of the year. Order flow in January, for example, seem to be a little bit stronger there. They've just come back from Chinese New Year. So really, we want to see what happens in March and April, particularly the next actually 3 or 4 weeks will drive some of that total feedback that we get.

吉姆，我認為總體而言，中國去年在削減方面開局非常強勁。眾所周知，下半年表現疲軟。例如，一月份的訂單流似乎有點強勁。他們剛過完農曆新年回來。所以說，我們真的想看看 3 月和 4 月會發生什麼，特別是接下來的 3 到 4 週，這將推動我們收到的總回饋中的一些。

But the January pointed to at least some stabilization. It was very weak in the second half of last year. The real positives, I think, on cutting now are really where some of our more focus is now in other geographies. So we are pleased with the performance in cutting in Europe, in North America, we actually saw some recovery in that market in Japan as well. So we continue to hold a very strong position outside of China.

但一月份的情況至少顯示有所穩定。去年下半年非常疲軟。我認為，現在削減的真正積極因素實際上是我們現在更關注的其他地區。因此，我們對歐洲和北美的切割表現感到滿意，實際上我們也看到了日本市場的一些復甦。因此，我們在中國以外的地區繼續保持著非常強大的地位。

The other thing we mentioned on the script just now was that we're actually increasing the power level of the ultra-compact lasers that we're offering in China. So they've been primarily at 3 kilowatts. We mentioned that very soon we're going to 6 kilowatts and even towards the end of the year to 8 kilowatts. That's a very competitive device for us there.

我們剛才在腳本中提到的另一件事是，我們實際上正在提高我們在中國提供的超緊湊雷射器的功率水平。所以它們主要是 3 千瓦。我們提到很快我們將達到 6 千瓦，甚至在年底達到 8 千瓦。這對我們來說是一個非常有競爭力的設備。

We're not going to compete on price with it, but it will enable us to price that device because that's a lower bill of material cost a bit more competitively. And then the other side of this is the opposite end of the spectrum, the really ultra-high power lasers. We're seeing some demand there, as we mentioned in Europe for the ECO lasers with higher energy efficiency.

我們不會在價格上與它競爭，但它將使我們能夠為該設備定價，因為材料成本較低，更具競爭力。另一方面是光譜的另一端，真正的超高功率雷射。正如我們在歐洲提到的那樣，我們看到了那裡對具有更高能源效率的 ECO 雷射的一些需求。

So -- the China cutting market remains subdued. We're pleased with performance elsewhere. And the other thing that's out there is potentially some stimulus coming into China, which the government has really been a more contractionary phase where everybody else has been fiscally more expansionary. So that could also help to improve the turn of the business during the year.

因此，中國切割市場依然低迷。我們對其他地方的表現感到滿意。另一件事情是，中國可能會推出一些刺激措施，中國政府確實處於一個更加緊縮的階段，而其他國家在財政上都更加擴張。因此，這也有助於改善今年的業務週轉率。

Follow-up question is just on gross margins. Just given, if we think about the year as being somewhat of a transition year with this much more modest growth rate, 3% to 6%.

後續問題只是關於毛利率。就目前而言，如果我們認為今年是過渡年，成長率要溫和得多，為 3% 到 6%。

In the past, you've talked about a range of gross margins in the 45% to 50% area. So in light of what you're seeing in the market, is there any update you can provide with respect to how we think about gross margins?

過去，您談到了 45% 到 50% 範圍內的毛利率。那麼，根據您在市場上看到的情況，您是否可以提供有關我們如何看待毛利率的最新資訊？

So overall, last year, gross margins performed pretty well, right? They are in the midpoint of our range and slightly above that. Clearly, Q4 was a bit weaker. It wasn't anything specific in Q4, there's a number of different things that we called out, product cost a little bit with mix. There's some inflationary pressures there, shipping cost, a little bit lower absorption.

所以整體來說，去年毛利率表現還不錯，對吧？它們位於我們範圍的中點，略高於該範圍。顯然，第四季的表現有些疲軟。第四季沒有什麼具體的事情，我們提出了很多不同的事情，產品成本有點混合。那裡有一些通貨膨脹壓力，運輸成本，吸收率有點低。

Overall, though, given a relatively slower start to the year and that guide for the year of 3% to 6%, that actually requires revenue to pick up meaningfully in Q2, Q3 and Q4. That's the first benefit we'll get on gross margin as we tend towards a higher -- slightly higher revenue level. And then in addition to that, I mentioned that we've started to increase the price of certain products. We're also focused on continuing to reduce the internal cost of components that the 3-kilowatt ultracompact moving to 6 and 8 is an example of some of the cost initiatives there.

不過，總體而言，考慮到今年開局相對較慢，並且今年的成長率為 3% 至 6%，這實際上需要第二季、第三季和第四季的收入大幅回升。這是我們在毛利率方面獲得的第一個好處，因為我們傾向於更高的——略高的收入水平。除此之外，我提到我們已經開始提高某些產品的價格。我們也致力於繼續降低組件的內部成本，從 3 千瓦超緊湊型轉向 6 千瓦和 8 千瓦就是其中一些成本計劃的一個例子。

So overall, as we get to a slightly higher revenue level in the second half of the -- not second half of Q2 and the second half of the year, expect to see some return to that upper half of our gross margin range. We're not stepping away from that target of getting into that more consistently into that of half of that range, Jim.

因此，總體而言，隨著我們在下半年（而不是第二季下半年和今年下半年）達到略高的收入水平，預計我們的毛利率範圍將有所回升。吉姆，我們不會放棄更一致地進入該範圍一半的目標。

And also with such kind of margin today is IPG. IPG definitely is a leader in this industry. Nobody can reach such kind of results.

今天，IPG 也擁有這樣的利潤。 IPG 絕對是這個行業的領導者。沒有人能達到這樣的結果。

Our next question comes from Patrick Ho with Stifel.

我們的下一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Patrick Ho。

Tim, maybe just as a follow-up to some of the comments you just made about gross margins. The supply chain and you talked about shipping costs being higher. Were there any challenges in procuring parts or were they just more that you had to pay more for those parts because the revenues look pretty good for December. What are some of the supply chain challenges that you're experiencing today?

提姆，也許只是您剛剛對毛利率發表的一些評論的後續行動。供應鏈和您談到運輸成本更高。在購買零件方面是否存在任何挑戰，或者只是因為 12 月的收入看起來相當不錯，所以您必須為這些零件支付更多費用。您今天遇到的供應鏈挑戰有哪些？

Of course, there will be some challenges, first of all, but taken in mind that IPG is vertically integrated company. The main important components for our lasers we're producing ourselves inside the company, this means it's not any problems to supply in time and we also got optimal cost for these components.

當然，首先會遇到一些挑戰，但要記住，IPG 是一家垂直整合的公司。我們雷射的主要重要部件都是我們在公司內部生產的，這意味著及時供應沒有任何問題，而且我們還獲得了這些部件的最佳成本。

We are talking about some components which are receiving from outside. Of course, there is some additional measures first of all, price for some components increased dramatically by the electronic components, for example, chips in some cases, price increase up to 3x up to 10x. Of course, it also will influence our gross margin. Also shipping cost, additional, yes, definitely.

我們正在談論一些從外部接收的組件。當然，首先還有一些額外的措施，電子元件中一些元件的價格大幅上漲，例如晶片，在某些情況下，價格上漲高達3倍到10倍。當然，這也會影響我們的毛利率。還有運費，額外的，是的，絕對的。

And the raw materials, some metals also transfer of this metal growth dramatic up to 20%, 25%, 30%. Of course, it's influenced on our gross margin, but we are also working to optimization every way. Every time we are talking about this, we are making this optimization is, why we would like to keep our margin high enough.

而原料方面，有些金屬也隨之轉移，這種金屬的增幅急劇達到20%、25%、30%。當然，這會影響我們的毛利率，但我們也在努力從各個方面進行最佳化。每次我們談論這個時，我們所做的優化就是為什麼我們希望保持足夠高的利潤率。

Great. That's helpful. And maybe as my follow-up question, this diversification strategy that you're taking on and obviously trying to accelerate. As we look at 2022 as a whole, given that you have new products and new markets, and also the regional expansion, where do you believe the greatest, I guess, traction you'll get among markets, products or regions, where is that diversification going to greatly contribute to at least 2022 this year?

偉大的。這很有幫助。也許作為我的後續問題，你們正在採取並顯然試圖加速的多元化策略。當我們把 2022 年當作一個整體來看時，考慮到你有新產品和新市場，還有區域擴張，我猜你認為市場、產品或地區中最大的吸引力在哪裡？多元化至少會在今年為2022 年做出巨大貢獻嗎？

I think the main -- our contribution will be definitely from the United States and also from Europe, a different kind of application, including cutting market, it's definitely. But also our medical business growing -- good enough. And also, we see growth opportunity first of all for United States and Europe.

我認為主要的——我們的貢獻肯定來自美國，也來自歐洲，一種不同類型的應用，包括切割市場，這是肯定的。而且我們的醫療業務也在不斷成長——這已經足夠了。此外，我們首先看到美國和歐洲的成長機會。

And also, there is some new products, which we start to introduce now to the market. And our main advantage for this year will be that we will not concentrate on cutting only market in China. We will concentrate on different applications for different regions.

此外，還有一些新產品，我們現在開始向市場推出。今年我們的主要優勢是我們不會只專注於削減中國市場。我們會專注於不同地區的不同應用。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Nik Todorov with Longbow Research.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Longbow Research 的 Nik Todorov。

I want to first double-click on China. Is there any change in the strategy going forward? It sounds to me that you're going to be even more selective in participating in deals and maybe you're seeing an incremental uptick in competition? I know competition has been formidable there for a while, but maybe the pricing aggression is penetrating into the ultra-high-power space. Can you give us a little bit of an update on the China strategy?

我想先雙擊中國。未來的策略有什麼改變嗎？在我看來，你們將更有選擇性地參與交易，也許你們會看到競爭的加劇？我知道競爭已經激烈了一段時間，但也許定價侵略正在滲透到超高功率領域。您能為我們介紹一下中國戰略的最新情況嗎？

China strategy is very simple. Of course, we are not cool with this price, reach producer our competitors in China for price strategy. In some cases, it's not -- it's not a financial basis for this. It's definitely they would like to get some shares in this market, result any consideration on gross margin as per profitability.

中國戰略非常簡單。當然，我們對這個價格並不感冒，我們向中國的競爭對手尋求價格策略。在某些情況下，它不是——它不是這樣做的財務基礎。他們肯定想在這個市場上獲得一些份額，因此根據盈利能力考慮毛利率。

Our strategy is very simple. We are producers of best product, with high quality, with high efficiency. In this case, we can keep ourselves -- premium price for our product. It's without any problem. I mean gold standard product. High-power lasers, I mean, is power more than 15, 20, 30 and 40 kilowatt, definitely, IPG is leader, and we also can keep a good enough price for this product.

我們的策略非常簡單。我們是高品質、高效率的最佳產品的生產商。在這種情況下，我們可以保持我們產品的溢價。這是沒有任何問題的。我的意思是黃金標準產品。高功率雷射器，我的意思是功率超過15、20、30和40千瓦，毫無疑問，IPG是領先的，而且我們也可以為這個產品保持足夠好的價格。

By the way, the first ECO, first order for ECO lasers, 20-kilowatt of ECO lasers also we see for China. Of course, there's also some demand in Europe and the United States. But first of all, in China. And also for us a good opportunity because nobody can supply such kind of lasers, such kind of parameter like 50% focused on efficiency also compact. There it is different.

順便說一句，第一個ECO，第一個ECO雷射訂單，我們也看到了中國的20千瓦ECO雷射。當然，歐洲和美國也有一些需求。但首先是在中國。這對我們來說也是一個很好的機會，因為沒有人可以提供這種雷射器，這種參數（例如 50% 注重效率）也很緊湊。那裡有所不同。

I'm not talking about this on the high power also pulsed laser, keep our -- of course, a portion of this market. And high-power pulsed lasers, which are using for foil cutting and other applications. Green lasers, there is lot of opportunities also to compete and to keep our part on the Chinese market.

我不是說高功率脈衝雷射器，當然，要保留我們的市場份額。以及高功率脈衝雷射器，用於箔片切割和其他應用。綠色雷射器，我們還有很多機會參與競爭並保持我們在中國市場的地位。

Okay. And as a follow-up, as you embark on this diversification strategy, how are you thinking about M&A?

好的。作為後續行動，當您開始實施多元化策略時，您如何考慮併購？

Traditionally, you've done some smaller tuck-in deals. How are you thinking about potential larger deals maybe to accelerate the diversification plans?

傳統上，您會進行一些較小的折衷交易。您如何看待可能加速多元化計劃的潛在更大交易？

Definitely, we have discussed about this, the recent opportunity, but we are very suspicious about it. Because one of the big problem is not only to take some company. The main problem is integrated. And this is why we are looking for every time or for the new technologies, which will be also added to our technology portfolio. Or to companies, which is -- can be easily integrated to our manufacturing process and also to integrate to our management system. This is our strategy for M&A.

當然，我們已經討論過這個，最近的機會，但我們對此非常懷疑。因為最大的問題之一不僅僅是拿一些公司。主要問題是整合。這就是為什麼我們每次都在尋找新技術，這些新技術也將添加到我們的技術組合中。或者對於公司來說，可以輕鬆整合到我們的製造流程中，也可以整合到我們的管理系統中。這是我們的併購策略。

Okay. Last quick follow-up. Just Tim, last year, I think you said EV sales were, I think, 9% of sales. Can you share an update how much EV related sales were for 2021 as a whole?

好的。最後的快速跟進。提姆，去年您說過電動車銷量佔銷量的 9%。您能否分享一下 2021 年全年電動車相關銷售額的最新情況？

I think we gave a specific number there. I mean EV sales can range from like 5% to slightly above 10% each quarter. And we haven't gone into more detail than that. So they were a meaningful contributor across all type of pulsed A and B, single-mode kilowatt-scale lasers, even LDD. So overall for the year, probably slightly above 10%.

我想我們在那裡給了一個具體的數字。我的意思是，每季電動車銷量的增幅可能在 5% 到略高於 10% 之間。我們還沒有討論更多細節。因此，他們對所有類型的脈衝 A 和 B、單模千瓦級雷射器，甚至 LDD 都做出了有意義的貢獻。因此今年整體而言，可能略高於 10%。

Nik, one thing I want to draw your attention to is like your comment about embarking on this diversification strategy. The company has been pursuing this diversification strategy for several years now, right? We introduced LightWELD over a year ago. We introduced higher-power pulsed lasers, AMB lasers, the QC lasers for spot welding, accessories, the green lasers has been in the market for a long period of time. We actually find ourselves having embarked on that strategy some time ago, better positioned now than we would otherwise have been.

尼克，我想提請您注意的一件事是您對實施這種多元化策略的評論。該公司多年來一直奉行這種多元化策略，對嗎？我們一年多前推出了 LightWELD。我們推出了更高功率的脈衝雷射、AMB雷射、用於點焊的QC雷射、配件，綠色雷射已經在市場上銷售了很長一段時間。事實上，我們發現自己在一段時間前就開始實施這項策略，現在的地位比其他情況下更好。

So -- there's a lot of work that's already gone on to that, and we now want to really accelerate that and remain committed not to just being drawn into a price war on certain parts of the China market. Even in China, there's a lot of diversity in revenue last year compared to 2020 or even 2019.

因此，我們已經在這方面做了很多工作，我們現在希望真正加速這一進程，並繼續致力於不只是捲入中國市場某些部分的價格戰。即使在中國，與 2020 年甚至 2019 年相比，去年的收入也存在很大差異。

Yes. Tim, I agree. I think acceleration of that strategy is a more fair description.

是的。提姆，我同意。我認為加速該策略是一個更公平的描述。

Our next question is from Michael Feniger with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Michael Feniger。

Can you touch on this earlier. I recognize this is a fluid situation with geopolitical tension. In a scenario where Russia is kicked out at Swift, what does that mean exactly? And can you flesh out a little bit more your plans to build contingencies right now? What does that entail exactly?

你能早點談一下這個嗎？我體認到這是一個不穩定的局勢，地緣政治緊張。如果俄羅斯被斯威夫特踢出局，這到底意味著什麼？現在您可以更具體地制定應急計劃嗎？這到底意味著什麼？

So first of all, I'm not a banking expert, right? I mean, being kicked out of Swift is actually, I don't think on the cards because they talked about Swift in 2014, and there's been a lot of pushback against that. There's probably be like targeted sanctions against Russian banks, which would mean that you'd be limited in your ability to receive or pay cash out there.

首先，我不是銀行業專家，對吧？我的意思是，我認為被踢出 Swift 實際上是不可能的，因為他們在 2014 年談論過 Swift，並且對此有很多反對。可能會對俄羅斯銀行實施有針對性的製裁，這意味著您在那裡接收或支付現金的能力將受到限制。

We also have international bank accounts in Russia. As round sanctions and the other areas, anything that we talked about at the moment is very speculative because there's a wide range of potential things that could happen. And a lot of what's been talked about in terms of sanctions doesn't target a lot of our optical components, it may target some of them. It depends whether they're retaliatory sanctions imposed or not by Russia. But at the moment, it's a very fluid situation.

我們在俄羅斯也有國際銀行帳戶。至於制裁和其他領域，我們目前談論的任何事情都非常具有推測性，因為可能會發生很多潛在的事情。我們談論的許多製裁並不是針對我們的許多光學元件，而是可能針對其中的一些。這取決於俄羅斯是否實施報復性制裁。但目前情況非常不穩定。

So -- and there's more positive, I think this morning even than it was at the end of last week. And we have obviously been looking closely at it and trying to mitigate those risks by putting inventory in different locations and also in the medium to longer term, looking at how to reduce some of those risks a bit more.

所以——我認為今天早上的情況甚至比上週末還要積極。顯然，我們一直在密切關注這個問題，並試圖透過將庫存放在不同的地點來減輕這些風險，並從中長期來看，研究如何進一步減少其中一些風險。

And just following up on that, Tim, you mentioned how -- I think inventories, your inventory levels were up 6% sequentially, yet I think sales were down a little bit sequentially. The inventory to sales ratio kind of jumped.

提姆，接下來，您提到瞭如何——我認為庫存，您的庫存水準環比增長了 6%，但我認為銷售額環比下降了一點。庫存與銷售比率上升。

How are we thinking about your inventory levels kind of going forward? Is there a specific region you guys are charging there of those inventories build right now?

我們如何看待你們未來的庫存水準？你們現在正在對某個特定區域的庫存進行收費嗎？

So there's a lot of focus on inventory now. I mean there's some -- habitually, there's some things the way that inventory was managed historically within the company that had a lot of positives. So for example, right now, when we talk about some of the risks, whether it's supply chain or geopolitical risk, some of the increases in Q4 relate to increasing inventory in different locations. Some of it relates to significant increase in electronic components, right?

因此，現在人們非常關注庫存。我的意思是，習慣上，公司內​​部歷史上的庫存管理方式有很多正面積極的一面。例如，現在，當我們談論一些風險時，無論是供應鏈風險還是地緣政治風險，第四季度的一些成長與不同地點的庫存增加有關。其中一些與電子元件的大幅增加有關，對嗎？

So you're kind of got to parse this out a little bit between some of the strategic things we've done around inventory that mitigate risks and enable us to maintain lead times to customers. And then also the fact that the company really is starting to look more holistically around inventory planning and management and targeting that is an area where we want to improve execution, improve the processes in different areas.

因此，您必須在我們圍繞庫存所做的一些策略性工作之間稍微解析一下這一點，這些策略性工作可以降低風險並使我們能夠維持向客戶提供的交貨時間。事實上，公司確實開始更全面地專注於庫存規劃和管理以及目標，這是我們希望提高執行力、改善不同領域流程的領域。

But at the moment, there's puts and takes around it. But our overall target this year, and I don't want to talk about this on a quarterly basis, but would be to try and stabilize inventory at the absolute level it's at, which would mean that we're not consuming cash on it and maybe even take a little bit of cash out of it. But we're not intending to certainly grow it from the level it's at, at the moment. There's a lot of strategic inventory on hand there.

但目前，有一些解決辦法。但我們今年的總體目標，我不想按季度談論這個問題，而是嘗試將庫存穩定在絕對水平，這意味著我們不會在這方面消耗現金，甚至可能從中取出一點現金。但我們並不打算將其從目前的水平提高。那裡有大量的戰略庫存。

Interesting. And just lastly, I know there's a lot of focus on the 2022 with the revenue growth range of 3% to 6%. How much do you think we're embedding costs going up in 2022? Is it going up a similar amount of that revenue growth? Should we think about is it slightly below that revenue growth figure? Just curious on what you're seeing on the inflationary cost side and how to think about that as we go through 2022.

有趣的。最後，我知道人們非常關注 2022 年，其收入成長範圍為 3% 至 6%。您認為 2022 年我們的嵌入成本會增加多少？它的增幅是否與收入增幅類似？我們是否應該考慮一下它是否略低於收入成長數字？只是好奇您在通膨成本方面看到了什麼，以及在 2022 年到來之際如何思考這一點。

Yes, there's cost on like the sort of material side that Dr. Scherbakov talked about, but we've also got -- continue to have initiatives where, for example, if you get more power out of an individual component, the cost per unit of power goes down a bit.

是的，謝爾巴科夫博士談到的材料方面存在成本，但我們也有 - 繼續採取舉措，例如，如果您從單個組件中獲得更多功率，則每單位的成本功率下降一點。

On the other side of it, for example, last year, we actually had a record year, right, and very strong revenue. So we had some of our variable compensation levels were higher last year. Those will probably go down, not probably, they will go down at the budgeted level of revenue. And that would be a benefit, both -- more on the operating expense side, that variable comp, a little bit on the manufacturing side. Looking really aligning and managing capacity on the manufacturing side and making sure you're absorbing costs would be a benefit that may offset some of the inflationary pressures.

另一方面，例如去年，我們實際上創下了創紀錄的一年，對吧，而且收入非常強勁。所以去年我們的一些可變薪酬水準較高。這些可能會下降，但不太可能，它們會在預算收入水準上下降。這將是一個好處，無論是在營運費用方面，還是在製造方面，都有一點好處。真正調整和管理製造方面的產能並確保吸收成本將是一個好處，可以抵消部分通膨壓力。

So it's -- even with merit increases at a higher rate expected this year than they are historically, right? Historically, you can budget at sort of 3% increase this year, your some regions at a higher -- significantly higher level than that and on average of 4% to 5%.

所以，即使今年的績效成長預期高於歷史水平，對吧？從歷史上看，今年你的預算可以增加 3%，某些地區的預算水平更高——明顯高於這一水平，平均為 4% 到 5%。

There are some benefits to the operating expense side that leave me with some degree that would actually create a total, for example, expense forecast relative to our revenue budget shows a little bit of leverage in it.

營運費用方面有一些好處，使我在某種程度上能夠真正創造出總額，例如，相對於我們的收入預算的費用預測顯示出一點槓桿作用。

Our next question is from Tom Diffely with D.A. Davidson.

我們的下一個問題來自 Tom Diffely 和 D.A.戴維森。

Tim, I was wondering if there's some way to quantify the impact of Russia, maybe the percentage of bill of materials that are sourced out of Russia or something along those lines?

提姆，我想知道是否有某種方法可以量化俄羅斯的影響，也許是從俄羅斯購買的材料清單的百分比或類似的東西？

Just at a high level, those 2,000-plus employees in Russia they provide a significant amount of components. They sell some of our lower-cost lasers and make them for China there. The headcount, if you approximate it is, 1/3 of total head count that we have.

就高水準而言，他們在俄羅斯的 2,000 多名員工提供了大量零件。他們出售我們的一些低成本雷射並為中國製造。如果估算的話，人數占我們總人數的 1/3。

And it's more on the component side of things, optical, the higher labor content optical components. But those are also the components that we think are pretty unlikely to be impacted by sanctions. Some of the work we've done on that, particularly from the U.S. and euro side -- European side indicates that those basic optical components wouldn't be part of any sanction. In any event, they're coming from Russia to our other manufacturing operations.

更多的是在光學元件方面，光學元件的勞動含量較高。但我們認為這些也是不太可能受到製裁影響的組成部分。我們在這方面所做的一些工作，特別是美國和歐元方面的工作——歐洲方面表明，這些基本光學組件不會成為任何制裁的一部分。無論如何，它們都是從俄羅斯來到我們的其他製造工廠。

Okay. That's very helpful. And then a follow-up question on China. How much is the softness that you're seeing today is driven by just kind of depressed end market demand versus kind of a recently intensified pricing environment.

好的。這非常有幫助。然後是關於中國的後續問題。您今天看到的疲軟在多大程度上是由終端市場需求低迷與最近加劇的定價環境所推動的。

The country market is both a combination of weaker demand as well as this, we're stepping or not stepping away. We haven't competed on price in China for 2 years. So particularly at the higher end of that market for automated investments may be a little bit weaker.

鄉村市場既是需求疲軟的組合，也是我們是否退出的原因。我們已經有兩年沒有在中國進行價格競爭了。因此，特別是在自動化投資的高端市場可能會有點弱。

Certainly, China has not been stimulating. They've been in a more contractionary phase. So it's a combination of probably a weaker macro environment, definitely, some COVID impact. And then the pricing competition that continues to be aggressive from the main manufacturers there.

當然，中國並沒有起到刺激作用。他們一直處於更加緊縮的階段。因此，這可能是宏觀環境疲軟的綜合影響，當然還有新冠疫情的一些影響。然後是來自主要製造商的持續激烈的價格競爭。

Our next question comes from Paretosh Misra with Berenberg.

我們的下一個問題來自 Paretosh Misra 和 Berenberg。

First, on your EV business. Any color you could provide as to what you're hearing from your customers on battery capacity build out this year. Do you expect incremental capacity built this year to be same as last year or maybe higher?

首先，關於您的電動車業務。您可以提供任何顏色來說明您從客戶那裡聽到的有關今年電池容量增加的信息。您預計今年新增產能與去年持平還是更高？

I'm guessing last year, you probably had 200 to 300 gigawatt hours of incremental capacity or demand. So just any color you could provide for this year? That would be my question #1.

我猜去年可能有 200 到 300 吉瓦時的增量容量或需求。那麼今年你可以提供任何顏色嗎？這就是我的問題#1。

When you look at the data out there around battery capacity, it basically kind of stabilizes in that 200-to-300-gigawatt capacity each year, but it goes on being sustained for a multiyear period, right? This is a decade-long investment cycle.

當你查看有關電池容量的數據時，它基本上每年穩定在 200 到 300 吉瓦的容量，但它會持續多年，對嗎？這是長達十年的投資週期。

What we would see within that and would hope to benefit from is, for example, an increased diversity of applications, whether they be increase in cleaning applications, perhaps more welding done, benefiting also, not just from the battery side of it but from increase in electric motor manufacturing and then as investments happen on body-in-white increases in laser demand from that. So all of the data you kind of look at doesn't say that battery capacity sort of jumps from 300 to 600 gigawatts a year in investment but it is a sustainable long-term source of revenue for the industry.

我們將在其中看到並希望從中受益的是，例如，應用多樣性的增加，無論是清潔應用的增加，也許是更多的焊接，也不僅受益於電池方面，還受益於增加隨著白車身投資的增加，雷射需求也隨之增加。因此，您看到的所有數據並沒有表明電池容量的投資每年從 300 吉瓦躍升至 600 吉瓦，但它是該行業可持續的長期收入來源。

Got it. And then can you also discuss your backlog? I think firm went up by a lot, but the frame agreements declined. So what's going on there?

知道了。然後可以討論一下你的積壓工作嗎？我認為公司上漲了很多，但框架協議卻下降了。那麼那裡發生了什麼事？

A lot of frame agreements come in China for the cutting applications. So sometimes it's timing of that, but given the weakness in that end market, that would be an explanation for that.

中國有很多針對切割應用的框架協議。因此，有時這是一個時機，但考慮到終端市場的疲軟，這將是一個解釋。

In addition, our total backlog in China is still quite strong. So we actually have quite a lot of orders on hand for cutting, which we're waiting to see when they get called off. And if that market continues to stabilize or even demand improves a little bit, you'd expect to see those orders called off. So there isn't a pressing need for new cutting orders. We've got -- it's more a question of them being called off.

此外，我們在中國的積壓總量仍然相當強勁。因此，我們實際上手頭上有相當多的切割訂單，我們正在等待訂單何時被取消。如果市場持續穩定，甚至需求略有改善，您可能會看到這些訂單被取消。因此，並不迫切需要新的切割訂單。我們有——這更多的是他們被取消的問題。

The other component of backlog, I think, if you look at the shippable backlog, that's up meaningfully year-over-year, which again is a positive trend. Some of that is driven by some of the changes in the business. So for example, we have a lot of visibility into the medical where not just for systems but consumable fibers.

我認為，積壓的另一個組成部分，如果你看看可交付的積壓，你會發現它逐年顯著增加，這又是一個正面的趨勢。其中一些是由業務的一些變化所驅動的。例如，我們對醫療領域有很多了解，不僅針對系統，也針對消耗性纖維。

We actually have from some of our semiconductor customers, orders on hand that go out even for the full year and potentially even I think even into early 2023. So that would be an emerging business line, the systems business, which is showing some recovery.

事實上，我們的一些半導體客戶手頭上的訂單甚至是全年的，我認為甚至可能持續到 2023 年初。因此，這將是一個新興的業務線，即係統業務，它正在顯示出一些復甦。

We've got very strong backlog for medical device systems where the lead times are a lot longer. And then the other thing that I think is influencing backlog a little bit, that's giving us a bit more than the normal 3-month trajectory into visibility is that given some of the supply chain issues we are getting orders from customers in Europe and North America with slightly more visibility or longer lead times because they want to make sure that they're getting allocated production. So there's sort of a number of different components of the makeup of backlog that have changed a little bit.

我們的醫療設備系統積壓非常多，交貨時間也長得多。然後，我認為對積壓訂單有一點影響的另一件事是，考慮到一些供應鏈問題，我們正在從歐洲和北美的客戶那裡獲得訂單，這使我們比正常的3 個月軌跡更能了解情況。具有稍微更高的可見性或更長的交貨時間，因為他們希望確保他們獲得分配的生產。因此，積壓訂單的許多不同組成部分都發生了一些變化。

Got it. And maybe just the last one. On your share repurchase plan, is there a time horizon over which you're looking to execute this? Just wondering if there might be some opportunity for some sort of accelerated buyback.

知道了。也許只是最後一個。在您的股票回購計劃中，您是否希望執行該計劃的時間範圍？只是想知道是否有機會進行某種加速回購。

We've not done ASRs before. We look at this more on the opportunistic basis. So depending upon where the stock is trading relative to our internal assessment of fair value you'd see more shares repurchased. There is no specific time line related to the new repurchase that's been announced.

我們以前沒有做過 ASR。我們更從機會主義的角度來看這個問題。因此，根據股票交易相對於我們內部公允價值評估的情況，您會看到更多股票被回購。目前尚無與已宣布的新回購相關的具體時間表。

But the last 2 quarters, I think you've seen some good level of repurchasing going on last quarter with almost $60 million. So that maybe gives you a time frame over which that may get done.

但在過去的兩個季度中，我認為您已經看到上個季度進行了一定程度的回購，回購金額接近 6000 萬美元。因此，這可能會給你一個完成該任務的時間框架。

Our next question comes from Jamie Wang with Citigroup.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗集團的 Jamie Wang。

Just a quick one. If I heard you correctly, you mentioned about the green laser demand for solar industry was also weak. So I was wondering, is that because of the industry growth slow down? Or the competition in the sector was getting more intensified.

只是快一點。如果我沒聽錯的話，您提到太陽能產業的綠色雷射需求也很疲軟。所以我想知道，這是因為產業成長放緩嗎？或者說產業內的競爭越來越激烈。

By the way, I mentioned in our presentation that this market is cycling. That is why maybe it's not too big -- we don't have big enough orders for this year. But definitely, it will grow because demand for solar in China and the United States will definitely increase, is why we anticipated that our green lasers will be used definitely for this market, but not only for solar applications.

順便說一下，我在演講中提到這個市場正在循環。這就是為什麼它可能不是太大——我們今年沒有足夠大的訂單。但它肯定會成長，因為中國和美國對太陽能的需求肯定會增加，這就是為什麼我們預計我們的綠色雷射肯定會用於這個市場，而不僅僅是用於太陽能應用。

Yes. It's not a competitive issue. It's the cyclical demand side of Jamie.

是的。這不是一個競爭問題。這是傑米的周期性需求面。

Okay. Maybe just a quick follow-up, sorry, the quick second question from me. Is it possible to share with us the gross margin differences between China and non-China? Because I found out that after 2019 the revenue contribution from China has somehow negatively correlated with the Europe gross margin trend.

好的。也許只是一個快速的跟進，抱歉，我問的第二個問題。能否跟我們分享一下中國和非中國的毛利率差異？因為我發現2019年後中國的收入貢獻與歐洲的毛利率趨勢呈現某種負相關。

So I was wondering if there less revenue contributing from China, is that really good for your margin.

所以我想知道來自中國的收入是否減少，這對你們的利潤率真的有好處嗎？

This is not -- we don't give that granularity around it. I mean what we've said is that, we're not competing on price in China. Certainly, when you look at like ultra high-power laser sales, whether they're in China or elsewhere, they have very, very strong margin profile, the pulsed lasers, high-power pulsed laser very strong margin profile. So we don't -- well, first of all, we don't break it out, but we've also said that we're really selling on the value proposition that we deliver for the product.

這不是——我們沒有給出它的詳細程度。我的意思是，我們已經說過，我們在中國不進行價格競爭。當然，當你觀察超高功率雷射的銷售時，無論是在中國還是在其他地方，他們都有非常非常強勁的利潤概況，脈衝雷射、高功率脈衝雷射非常強勁的利潤概況。所以我們不會——首先，我們不會透露這一點，但我們也說過，我們確實是根據我們為產品提供的價值主張進行銷售的。

Our next question is from Mark Miller with The Benchmark Company.

我們的下一個問題來自 The Benchmark Company 的 Mark Miller。

You talked about green lasers, but what are the other drivers in terms of emerging product sales?

您談到了綠色雷射器，但新興產品銷售的其他驅動因素是什麼？

Strong drivers in that are things like the high-power pulsed for foil cutting applications as well as cleaning applications and other ablative processes. The AMB laser for welding applications. The new LightWELD products which is the handheld welding application that displaces traditional MIG & TIG and brings numerous advantages to that process, including speed, quality of weld, ability to incorporate cleaning functions within it.

其中強大的驅動因素包括用於箔切割應用以及清潔應用和其他燒蝕製程的高功率脈衝。適用於焊接應用的 AMB 雷射。新的 LightWELD 產品是手持式焊接應用程序，取代了傳統的 MIG 和 TIG，並為該工藝帶來了眾多優勢，包括速度、焊接品質以及在其中整合清潔功能的能力。

Obviously, the green, the ultrafast pulsed, which we expect to start to more meaningfully contribute this year. Some of the beam delivery applications, so whether it's weld monitoring or high-speed scanners, cutting heads and welding heads that get delivered with the lasers.

顯然，綠色、超快脈衝，我們預計今年將開始做出更有意義的貢獻。一些光束傳輸應用，無論是焊接監控還是高速掃描器、切割頭和焊接頭都是透過雷射傳輸的。

Those would be the main -- and medical -- sorry, I left out the medical application for urology, the surgical medical application.

這些將是主要的——也是醫學的——抱歉，我遺漏了泌尿外科的醫學應用，外科醫學應用。

But I would like also to add some systems for EV applications, which we already stopped to supply this year. And we have a strong backlog for this system for this year. And I think it would give us a good opportunity to produce and to supply to our customer, not only components like lasers and vertical [fields] and LDD monitoring, but integrated systems, subsystems for EV applications first of all.

但我還想添加一些用於電動車應用的系統，我們今年已經停止提供這些系統。今年我們對該系統的積壓量很大。我認為這將為我們提供一個很好的機會來生產並向客戶供應，不僅是雷射器、垂直[場]和 LDD 監控等組件，而且首先是用於電動車應用的整合系統和子系統。

Just wondering, are any of your major customers experiencing component shortage? And is that impacting their business to you?

只是想知道，您的主要客戶是否遇到組件短缺的情況？這會影響他們對您的業務嗎？

Customers experience components shortage...

客戶遇到零件短缺...

So yes, I think some of the people on the cutting side have seen shortages of linear motors and drives and electronic components. I mean everybody is subject to the chip and electronic component supply chain issues that are affecting many different industries, and that would be the main area that you've heard about.

所以，是的，我認為切割方面的一些人已經看到了線性馬達、驅動器和電子元件的短缺。我的意思是每個人都受到影響許多不同行業的晶片和電子元件供應鏈問題的影響，這將是您聽說過的主要領域。

But it's only few because, as usual, our OEM customer for cutting application, for example, no, they don't have any big problems. This is...

但這只是少數，因為像往常一樣，我們的 OEM 客戶用於切割應用，例如，不，他們沒有任何大問題。這是...

We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call over to Eugene Fedotoff for closing comments.

我們的問答環節已經結束。我現在將把電話轉給尤金·費多托夫（Eugene Fedotoff）徵求總結意見。

Thank you, everyone, for joining us this morning and for your continued interest in IPG. We will be participating in a number of investor events this quarter, and looking forward to speaking with you over the coming weeks. Have a great day, everyone.

感謝大家今天早上加入我們，感謝大家對 IPG 的持續關注。本季我們將參加許多投資者活動，並期待在未來幾週內與您交談。祝大家有個美好的一天。

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路，我們感謝您的參與。