IPG Photonics Corp (IPGP) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to IPG Photonics' First Quarter 2023 Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded and webcast. 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.

早上好，歡迎來到 IPG Photonics 2023 年第一季度電話會議。今天的通話正在錄音和網絡直播中。現在，我想把電話轉給主持人 Eugene Fedotoff，他是 IPG 的投資者關係總監，請他介紹一下。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, Rob, and good morning, everyone. With me today is IPG Photonics' CEO Dr. Eugene Scherbakov; and Senior Vice President and CFO, Tim Mammen. Let me remind you that statements made during the course of this call that discuss management's or the company's expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements.

謝謝羅布，大家早上好。今天和我在一起的是 IPG Photonics 的首席執行官 Eugene Scherbakov 博士；高級副總裁兼首席財務官 Tim Mammen。讓我提醒您，在本次電話會議期間發表的討論管理層或公司對未來的期望或預測的陳述是前瞻性陳述。

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. These risks and uncertainties are detailed in IPG Photonics' Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2022, and our reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

這些前瞻性陳述受到風險和不確定因素的影響，這些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預測的結果存在重大差異。這些風險和不確定性在 IPG Photonics 截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的 10-K 表格以及我們向美國證券交易委員會備案的報告中有詳細說明。

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. Any forward-looking statements made on this call are the company's expectations or predictions as of today, May 2, 2023 only.

這些文件的副本可通過訪問 IPG 網站的投資者部分或直接聯繫公司獲得。您還可以在 SEC 的網站上找到副本。在此次電話會議上做出的任何前瞻性陳述都是公司截至今天（2023 年 5 月 2 日）的預期或預測。

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 or the Excel-based financial data order book posted on our Investor Relations website. We will post these prepared remarks on our Investor Relations website following the completion of this call.

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。有關我們報告結果的更多詳細信息，請參閱收益新聞稿、收益電話演示或我們投資者關係網站上發布的基於 Excel 的財務數據訂單簿。本次電話會議結束後，我們將在我們的投資者關係網站上發布這些準備好的評論。

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

有了這個，我現在將電話轉給 Eugene Scherbakov。

Good morning, everyone. We are pleased with our results this quarter, which were about our guidance range despite the macroeconomic uncertainty that continue to negatively impact demand in general industrial applications such as cutting and marking. We reported another quarter of solid revenue growth in welding that was driven by record sales in EV applications and an all-time high revenue for our handheld welder, LightWELD.

大家，早安。我們對本季度的業績感到滿意，儘管宏觀經濟的不確定性繼續對切割和標記等一般工業應用的需求產生負面影響，但該業績仍在我們的指導範圍內。我們報告了另一個季度的焊接收入穩健增長，這是由於電動汽車應用的創紀錄銷售以及我們的手持焊機 LightWELD 的歷史最高收入推動的。

Additionally, we saw the strong results in cleaning and solar cell manufacturing. Demand for these products is driven by global Macrotrends and increasing investments in renewable energy and eco-friendly solutions. IPG is developing innovative technologies that enable manufacturing of these products and improve speed and efficiency, with benefits to society and environment. Recently, we published our 2023 annual sustainability report on our website providing information on many of these trends and how IPG delivers on our new mission statement, "Applying light in ways that improve life."

此外，我們還看到了清潔和太陽能電池製造方面的強勁成果。對這些產品的需求受到全球宏觀趨勢以及對可再生能源和環保解決方案投資增加的推動。 IPG 正在開發創新技術，使這些產品的製造成為可能，並提高速度和效率，從而造福於社會和環境。最近，我們在我們的網站上發布了 2023 年度可持續發展報告，其中提供了有關其中許多趨勢的信息，以及 IPG 如何履行我們的新使命宣言“以改善生活的方式應用光”。

IPG has been making good progress in diversifying our revenue and reducing our exposure to cyclical and economically sensitive industrial markets. While these markets and applications still account for a major portion of IPG's revenue, we have been investing our R&D, sales and operating resources to support growth of emerging products and to drive further diversification of our revenues. In the first quarter, emerging growth product sales grew both sequentially and year-over-year and accounted for 45% of total sales. Many of these products are benefiting from global investments in e-mobility and renewable energy. We saw another quarter of record sales in AMB lasers, driven by growth in EV battery welding as global EV battery capacity build-out Continued.

IPG 在實現收入多元化和減少對周期性和經濟敏感的工業市場的敞口方面取得了良好進展。雖然這些市場和應用仍然佔 IPG 收入的主要部分，但我們一直在投入研發、銷售和運營資源，以支持新興產品的增長並推動我們收入的進一步多元化。第一季度，新興增長產品銷售額環比和同比增長，佔總銷售額的 45%。其中許多產品都受益於全球對電動汽車和可再生能源的投資。隨著全球電動汽車電池產能的持續擴建，電動汽車電池焊接的增長推動了 AMB 激光器銷售額的另一個季度創紀錄。

We also saw increased demand for our green lasers that are used in solar cell manufacturing applications, improving efficiency of these solar cells. We expect investments in solar cell capacity globally to drive increasing demand for our green lasers in the future. Additionally, our revenue for lasers used in cleaning applications grew significantly in the first quarter. Laser cleaning solutions provide sustainability benefits by reducing the use of abrasives and harmful chemicals. For example, a customer is evaluating replacing acid etching with our cleaning lasers. In addition to the environmental benefits, laser cleaning can significantly reduce costs of storage, transportation and handling toxic chemicals and eliminate reliance on consumables, which leads to reduced operating expenses.

我們還看到對用於太陽能電池製造應用的綠色激光器的需求增加，從而提高了這些太陽能電池的效率。我們預計全球對太陽能電池產能的投資將推動未來對我們的綠色激光器的需求不斷增長。此外，我們用於清潔應用的激光器收入在第一季度大幅增長。激光清潔解決方案通過減少研磨劑和有害化學品的使用來提供可持續性優勢。例如，一位客戶正在評估用我們的清潔激光器替代酸蝕刻。除了環境效益外，激光清洗還可以顯著降低存儲、運輸和處理有毒化學品的成本，並消除對消耗品的依賴，從而降低運營費用。

Our recently introduced laser drying and heating solutions are replacing less-efficient infra-red bulbs. The solutions are well-received by customers and are gaining market acceptance because they cut down on energy consumption and environmental impact. We expect orders for these systems in the second quarter and anticipate a strong demand for drying systems in the future. IPG had another quarter for the second sales of -- record sales for e-mobility applications. We are seeing customers accelerating investment in EV battery capacity in North America, Europe, Japan and Korea in addition to the investments being made in China. Our e-mobility business in the United States has increased substantially in the first quarter as customers shifted investments into the region to take advantage of government incentives.

我們最近推出的激光乾燥和加熱解決方案正在取代效率較低的紅外線燈泡。這些解決方案深受客戶歡迎，並獲得市場認可，因為它們減少了能源消耗和對環境的影響。我們預計第二季度會收到這些系統的訂單，並且預計未來對乾燥系統的需求會很強勁。 IPG 的第二個季度銷售額創歷史新高——電動汽車應用的銷售額創歷史新高。除了在中國的投資外，我們還看到客戶在北美、歐洲、日本和韓國加速對電動汽車電池產能的投資。隨著客戶將投資轉移到該地區以利用政府激勵措施，我們在美國的電動汽車業務在第一季度大幅增長。

We offer a broad range of solutions to customers from laser source to complete production lines for existing and emerging battery technologies. Our real-time weld monitoring solutions and adjustable mode beam lasers create an industry leading combination and addresses customers' challenges and provides superior weld quality for hundreds of welds in each battery pack. We continue to explore additional opportunities for welding components in electrical motor assembly. With the strong pipeline of opportunities we are expecting our global sales force focused on e-mobility applications. We expect the EV investment cycle to continue and e-mobility sales to remain strong in the next 3 to 5 years. Although demand can fluctuate depending on the pipeline of projects and regional capacity additions.

我們為客戶提供廣泛的解決方案，從激光源到現有和新興電池技術的完整生產線。我們的實時焊接監控解決方案和可調模式光束激光器創造了行業領先的組合，解決了客戶的挑戰，並為每個電池組中的數百個焊縫提供了卓越的焊接質量。我們繼續探索在電機裝配中焊接部件的更多機會。憑藉大量的機會，我們期望我們的全球銷售團隊專注於電動汽車應用。我們預計未來 3 至 5 年電動汽車投資週期將繼續，電動汽車銷售將保持強勁。儘管需求可能會根據項目管道和區域產能增加而波動。

Our medical business had a good quarter and grew year-over-year driven by continued adoption of our laser system and consumable fibers for urology applications. However, we expect medical sales will be softer in the second quarter as a large customer adjusts its buffer inventory. We are working on multiple new opportunities to broaden our medical portfolio and to further grow the business so it becomes a more meaningful contributor to IPG sales in the next 2 to 3 years.

我們的醫療業務有一個良好的季度，並且在繼續採用我們的激光系統和用於泌尿科應用的消耗性纖維的推動下同比增長。然而，我們預計第二季度醫療銷售將疲軟，因為大客戶調整其緩衝庫存。我們正在努力尋找多個新的機會來擴大我們的醫療產品組合併進一步發展業務，使其在未來 2 到 3 年內成為 IPG 銷售的更有意義的貢獻者。

I would like to thank our employees for their dedicated work. We believe that an engaged and diverse workforce is a great strength of our organization. IPG has always focused on inclusion and employs a large number of women and workers from diverse backgrounds. To further improve our diversity, for the first time, we announced targets in our recent CSR report to increase gender diversity and minority representation in the global workforce and management roles. We strongly believe that an inclusive workplace creates a better future for our company and the communities we operate in.

我要感謝我們的員工的辛勤工作。我們相信敬業和多元化的員工隊伍是我們組織的一大優勢。 IPG 一直專注於包容性，並僱用了大量來自不同背景的女性和工人。為了進一步改善我們的多樣性，我們在最近的企業社會責任報告中首次宣布了目標，以增加全球勞動力和管理角色中的性別多樣性和少數族裔代表。我們堅信，包容的工作場所可以為我們的公司和我們經營所在的社區創造更美好的未來。

I'll now turn the call over to Tim to discuss financial highlights in the quarter.

我現在將電話轉給蒂姆，討論本季度的財務亮點。

Thank you, Eugene, and good morning everyone. My comments generally will follow the earnings call presentation which is available on our investor relations website. I will start with the financial review on slide 4. Revenue in the first quarter was $347 million, a decline of 6% year-over-year due to foreign currency headwinds, which accounted for approximately 4% of the decline and telecom divestiture that reduced revenue by approximately 1%.

謝謝你，尤金，大家早上好。我的評論通常會在我們的投資者關係網站上提供的收益電話演示之後發表。我將從幻燈片 4 的財務回顧開始。第一季度的收入為 3.47 億美元，同比下降 6%，原因是外匯逆風，這佔下降的約 4%，電信資產剝離減少收入增長約 1%。

Revenue from materials processing applications decreased 8% year-over-year, while revenue from other applications increased 10%. GAAP gross margin was 42.3%, a decrease of 410 basis points year-over-year, due to increased manufacturing costs, higher inventory reserves as well as higher shipping costs and tariffs, which was partially offset by an improvement in absorption as a percentage of sales. On a sequential basis, gross margin did show some improvement. FX also had a negative impact in the quarter. If exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar had been the same as one year ago, we would have expected revenue to be $15 million higher and gross profit to be $8 million higher.

來自材料加工應用的收入同比下降 8%，而來自其他應用的收入增長 10%。 GAAP 毛利率為 42.3%，同比下降 410 個基點，原因是製造成本增加、庫存儲備增加以及運輸成本和關稅增加，這部分被吸收百分比的改善所抵消銷售量。從環比來看，毛利率確實有所改善。外彙在本季度也產生了負面影響。如果相對於美元的匯率與一年前相同，我們預計收入將增加 1500 萬美元，毛利潤將增加 800 萬美元。

GAAP operating income was $75 million and operating margin was 21.7%. Net income was $60 million or $1.26 per diluted share. The effective tax rate in the quarter was 28% and was impacted by certain discrete items. Foreign currency transaction gains related to remeasuring foreign currency assets and liabilities to period-end exchange rates, had a positive impact on operating income of $3 million and positively benefited earnings per share by $0.06. Excluding the currency transaction gain and a small restructuring charge, operating expenses declined year-over-year, primarily in research and development as we reduced spending on telecom product development as well as reduced expenses from the sale of the corporate aircraft last year.

GAAP 營業收入為 7500 萬美元，營業利潤率為 21.7%。淨收入為 6000 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 1.26 美元。本季度的有效稅率為 28%，並受到某些離散項目的影響。與根據期末匯率重新衡量外幣資產和負債相關的外幣交易收益對 300 萬美元的營業收入產生了積極影響，並使每股收益增加了 0.06 美元。不包括貨幣交易收益和小額重組費用，運營費用同比下降，主要是在研發方面，因為我們減少了電信產品開發支出以及去年公務機銷售費用的減少。

Moving to slide 5. Sales of high power CW lasers decreased 8% and represented approximately 44% of total revenue. Sales of ultra-high power lasers above 6 kW represented 42% of total high power CW laser sales. The decline was primarily due to lower demand in high power cutting applications due to softer demand and competition in China, which was only partially offset by growth in welding. Pulsed lasers sales decreased 16% year-over-year as strong growth in cleaning and solar cell applications was offset by lower demand in cutting and marking applications.

轉到幻燈片 5。高功率 CW 激光器的銷售額下降了 8%，約佔總收入的 44%。 6 kW 以上的超高功率激光器的銷售額佔高功率 CW 激光器總銷售額的 42%。下降的主要原因是由於中國需求疲軟和競爭加劇導致大功率切割應用的需求下降，這僅被焊接增長部分抵消。脈衝激光器銷售額同比下降 16%，原因是清潔和太陽能電池應用的強勁增長被切割和標記應用的需求下降所抵消。

Systems sales increased 20% year-over-year driven by growth in laser-based systems and LightWELD. Medium power laser sales decreased 42% while QCW laser sales were down 12% year-over-year, negatively impacted by lower sales to consumer electronics applications. Other product sales increased driven by strong medical sales and increased revenue in advanced applications. Looking at our performance by region on slide 6, revenue in North America decreased by 1%, due to the telecom divestiture. Growth in welding, cleaning, advanced applications and medical applications was strong in the quarter and offset lower cutting revenue.

受激光系統和 LightWELD 增長的推動，系統銷售額同比增長 20%。中功率激光器銷售額下降 42%，而 QCW 激光器銷售額同比下降 12%，受到消費電子應用銷售額下降的負面影響。強勁的醫療銷售和先進應用的收入增加推動了其他產品銷售額的增長。在幻燈片 6 中查看我們按地區劃分的業績，由於電信資產剝離，北美的收入下降了 1%。本季度焊接、清潔、高級應用和醫療應用的增長強勁，抵消了較低的切割收入。

In Europe, sales decreased 7% as a result of difficult comparisons as some growth in the first quarter of the prior year was attributed to pull forward of demand from the second quarter due to supply chain concerns. However, European revenue increased sequentially despite overall uncertainty in the economy. Revenue in China decreased 22% year-over-year as growth in welding for EV battery applications and cleaning applications was offset by continued softness in the cutting market and lower demand in marking applications.

在歐洲，由於比較困難，銷售額下降了 7%，因為去年第一季度的一些增長歸因於供應鏈問題導致需求從第二季度提前。然而，儘管經濟總體存在不確定性，但歐洲收入環比增長。由於電動汽車電池應用和清潔應用的焊接增長被切割市場的持續疲軟和標記應用的需求下降所抵消，中國的收入同比下降 22%。

Moving to a summary of our balance sheet on slide 7, we ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $1.1 billion and total debt of $16 million. Cash provided by operations was $37 million during the quarter and capital expenditures were $33 million in the quarter. First quarter cash provided by operations is typically low due to bonus and tax payments. Our inventories stabilized in the quarter and we continue target a reduction in inventories during the year. While maintaining a strong balance sheet, we have been returning a significant amount of capital to shareholders over the last year and continued to do so in the first quarter. During the first quarter, we repurchased shares for a total of $113 million completing our existing authorization.

轉到幻燈片 7 的資產負債表摘要，我們在本季度結束時現金、現金等價物和短期投資為 11 億美元，總債務為 1600 萬美元。本季度運營提供的現金為 3700 萬美元，資本支出為 3300 萬美元。由於獎金和納稅，第一季度運營提供的現金通常較低。我們的庫存在本季度穩定下來，我們的目標是在年內繼續減少庫存。在保持穩健的資產負債表的同時，我們在去年向股東返還了大量資本，並在第一季度繼續這樣做。第一季度，我們回購了總計 1.13 億美元的股票，完成了我們現有的授權。

Today, we announced a new $200 million share repurchase program, another commitment in our efforts to enhance shareholder value by returning capital. IPG has returned a significant amount of capital since the beginning of 2022, repurchasing over $600 million in shares outstanding. Moving to outlook on slide 9, first quarter book-to-bill was 1. We continue to see uncertain macroeconomic conditions and soft demand in general industrial markets. Despite relaxing COVID restrictions in China, demand remains relatively muted. However, we are still seeing solid activity and orders in e-mobility and renewable energy across all geographies. Despite all of the uncertainty, IPG continues to benefit from growth opportunities created by major macrotrends such as electric vehicle battery manufacturing and renewable energy. Furthermore, LightWELD has been gaining traction in the U.S., Europe and Asia. We believe these trends and continuing efforts to diversify our revenues will make IPG more resilient and drive our growth.

今天，我們宣布了一項新的 2 億美元股票回購計劃，這是我們通過返還資本來提高股東價值的又一項承諾。自 2022 年初以來，IPG 已返還大量資金，回購了超過 6 億美元的已發行股票。轉到幻燈片 9 的展望，第一季度訂單出貨比為 1。我們繼續看到不確定的宏觀經濟狀況和一般工業市場的疲軟需求。儘管中國放寬了 COVID 限制，但需求仍然相對低迷。然而，我們仍然看到所有地區的電動汽車和可再生能源領域的活動和訂單都很穩固。儘管存在各種不確定性，但 IPG 繼續受益於電動汽車電池製造和可再生能源等主要宏觀趨勢所創造的增長機會。此外，LightWELD 在美國、歐洲和亞洲越來越受歡迎。我們相信，這些趨勢以及為實現收入多元化而做出的持續努力將使 IPG 更具彈性並推動我們的增長。

For the second quarter of 2023, IPG expects revenue of $325 million to $355 million. The Company expects the second quarter gross margin to be between 41.5% and 43.5%. IPG anticipates delivering earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.05 to $1.35, with approximately 47.5 million diluted common shares outstanding. 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 "Safe Harbor" and the company's reports with the SEC. With that, we will be happy to take your questions.

對於 2023 年第二季度，IPG 預計收入為 3.25 億美元至 3.55 億美元。公司預計二季度毛利率在41.5%至43.5%之間。 IPG 預計每股攤薄收益在 1.05 美元至 1.35 美元之間，約有 4750 萬股攤薄普通股流通在外。正如今天的收益新聞稿的“安全港”段落中所討論的那樣，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“安全港”和公司向 SEC 提交的報告。這樣，我們將很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) My first question comes from Ruben Roy with Stifel.

（操作員說明）我的第一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Ruben Roy。

Tim, I was wondering if you could expand a little bit on the commentary around demand in China remaining relatively muted. Recently, you characterized some of those applications in China that have been weak like cutting as sort of near or at trough level. And I'm just wondering, at this point, if you think there might be a further lag down based on what you're seeing from the order environment or with reopening.

蒂姆，我想知道你是否可以稍微擴展一下關於中國需求相對低迷的評論。最近，您將中國的一些應用描述為接近或處於低谷水平，如切割等較弱的應用。我只是想知道，在這一點上，根據您從訂單環境或重新開放中看到的情況，您是否認為可能會進一步延遲。

I know there's been some mixed PMI data recently. But as you think about the second half, do you think that we might see a little bit of improvement off of what potentially could be at trough level?

我知道最近有一些喜憂參半的 PMI 數據。但是當你考慮下半年時，你認為我們可能會看到潛在的低谷水平有所改善嗎？

I mean I think at the moment, demand remains relatively muted, as we've said, the expected traction from a recovery is taking longer to really crystallize. I still think we're running relatively speaking on some of the older industrial applications like cutting and marking and engraving at that sort of trough level but continuing to perform very well on EV and some of our precision applications, which now are a dominant part of our overall revenue there.

我的意思是，我認為目前需求仍然相對低迷，正如我們所說，復甦的預期牽引力需要更長的時間才能真正體現出來。我仍然認為我們相對而言在一些較舊的工業應用程序上運行，例如在那種低谷水平上的切割和標記和雕刻，但在 EV 和我們的一些精密應用程序上繼續表現非常好，這些應用程序現在是我們在那裡的總收入。

I think our commentary is in line with what other people are seeing, right? You're not just seeing a very strong rebound post COVID restrictions being lifted. The PMI data is not particularly strong. But for example, in Q1 relative to our guidance, China did outperform a little bit. So that was a positive. So there was some evidence of a little bit of strengthening and the Q2 guidance is reasonable. It doesn't show any material pickup compared to Q1, it's relatively flat, but it does point to stability. I think it's way too early to say where the second half of the year really ends up at this point in time.

我認為我們的評論與其他人看到的一致，對嗎？您不僅會看到取消 COVID 限制後出現非常強勁的反彈。 PMI數據並不是特別強勁。但例如，在第一季度，相對於我們的指導，中國確實表現優於大盤。所以這是積極的。因此，有一些證據表明有所加強，第二季度的指導是合理的。與 Q1 相比，它沒有顯示任何材料拾取，它相對平坦，但確實表明穩定性。我認為現在說下半年在這個時間點真正結束還為時過早。

Understood. That's helpful. As a quick follow-up, I wanted to touch on some of the emerging markets, which obviously are doing very well and specifically around EV and how to think about that marketplace. You doubled revenues 2021 to '22. Order rates continue to remain very strong. Eugene talked about a little bit of a slowdown in medical as one of your large customers adjust against buffer inventory. I'm wondering how to think about EV and the order book going forward? Do you think some of the new applications that you're addressing are going to continue to drive momentum or new customer diversity, et cetera? Or is there a period that we might see coming up where you have some equipment utilization and pause in spend in that market? Just kind of wondering how we should think about that for the rest of this year?

明白了。這很有幫助。作為快速跟進，我想談談一些新興市場，這些市場顯然做得很好，特別是圍繞 EV 以及如何考慮該市場。您將 2021 年的收入翻了一番到 22 年。訂單率繼續保持非常強勁。尤金談到了醫療業務的一點點放緩，因為您的一位大客戶正在調整緩衝庫存。我想知道如何考慮未來的 EV 和訂單簿？您認為您正在解決的一些新應用程序是否會繼續推動勢頭或新客戶多樣性等？或者我們可能會看到某個時期您有一些設備利用率並暫停在該市場上的支出？只是想知道在今年餘下的時間裡我們應該如何考慮這個問題？

So overall, the EV demand environment remains really quite strong, right? I think the benefit is that where you might see weakness in one area, it's going to be picked up in other areas. So we're seeing a lot of demand coming out of North America at the moment. Some of that's being driven by some of the benefits that came out of the Inflation Reduction Act. You're starting to see increased investments in Europe as well.

所以總的來說，電動汽車的需求環境仍然非常強勁，對吧？我認為好處是你可能會在一個領域看到弱點，它會在其他領域得到解決。所以我們現在看到北美有很多需求。其中一些是由《降低通貨膨脹法案》帶來的一些好處推動的。您也開始看到在歐洲的投資有所增加。

China remains quite resilient in that area. But even if there is a bit of a slowdown in one of those geographies, we expect it to be -- continue to be strong in some of the other areas. This demand we're expecting and we're seeing in some of our other areas in Southeast Asia as well, like South Korea and even in Japan.

中國在這方面仍然具有很強的彈性。但即使其中一個地區有所放緩，我們預計它會 - 在其他一些地區繼續保持強勁。我們期待這種需求，我們在東南亞的其他一些地區也看到了這種需求，例如韓國甚至日本。

The other benefit is that I think we're going to start to see orders for the drying equipment materialized during the second quarter, and that should continue to diversify that revenue stream. So I think we have to look at it more on a global basis rather than just specific geographies, and we believe that the puts and takes around that will make this still a very sustainable revenue driver for the company.

另一個好處是，我認為我們將開始看到干燥設備的訂單在第二季度實現，這應該會繼續使收入來源多樣化。所以我認為我們必須在全球範圍內更多地看待它，而不僅僅是特定的地理區域，我們相信看跌期權和收購將使這仍然是公司非常可持續的收入驅動力。

Also, I would like to add we have very strong growth for revenue, it's for past later applications, first of all, for cleaning. But for us, it's much more important that we are not selling only just lasers, but also final system of cleaning including our lasers, scanners, in some cases, our [laser] monitor and other options. And selling for such kind of product, it's also the good opportunity for us to penetrate to many, many different markets a year related to the cleaning applications.

另外，我想補充一點，我們的收入增長非常強勁，它是針對過去後來的應用，首先是清潔。但對我們來說，更重要的是我們不僅銷售激光器，還銷售最終清潔系統，包括我們的激光器、掃描儀，在某些情況下，我們的 [激光] 顯示器和其他選項。銷售此類產品，也是我們每年進入與清潔應用相關的許多不同市場的好機會。

Our next question is from Jim Ricchiuti with Needham & Company.

我們的下一個問題來自 Needham & Company 的 Jim Ricchiuti。

This is actually Chris Grenga on for Jim. Europe and Germany, in particular, saw sequential revenue growth. Could you provide some additional color on what you're seeing in that region?

這實際上是 Jim 的 Chris Grenga。尤其是歐洲和德國，收入環比增長。你能提供一些關於你在那個地區看到的東西的額外顏色嗎？

Yes, I think actually, Europe was performed very well in the first quarter, given the challenges that, that area has faced. I think you started to see really the energy issues that were a key headwind in the middle and third quarters and even into the end of last year has started to abate.

是的，我認為實際上，考慮到該地區面臨的挑戰，歐洲在第一季度的表現非常好。我認為你開始真正看到能源問題是中期和第三季度的主要逆風，甚至到去年年底已經開始減弱。

So the overall demand environment was quite strong. Some of that was EV, but there was also good demand from some of the cutting applications, particularly in Southern Europe, which helped some of that outperformance.

因此，整體需求環境相當強勁。其中一些是電動汽車，但一些切割應用也有良好的需求，特別是在南歐，這有助於部分錶現出色。

So yes, I think the economic data has really stabilized. PMIs are still not very strong there, but at least the underlying demand was certainly stronger than we'd expected, and the overall tone in the business for the first quarter was quite positive, and that carries on even in the second quarter with the guidance that we received from the individual entities.

所以是的，我認為經濟數據確實已經穩定下來。那裡的採購經理人指數仍然不是很強勁，但至少潛在需求肯定比我們預期的要強勁，第一季度業務的整體基調非常積極，即使在第二季度也有指導我們從各個實體那裡收到的。

And especially for EV applications, we see such kind of trend that our main potential customer for battery production. They're shifting this production close to the real manufacturing -- car manufacturing. And of course, for us, it's much more advanced because we are using all our portfolio for different kind of laser options for such kind of production.

特別是對於 EV 應用，我們看到了這種趨勢，我們的主要潛在客戶是電池生產。他們正在將這種生產轉移到接近真正的製造業——汽車製造業。當然，對我們來說，它要先進得多，因為我們將所有產品組合用於此類生產的不同類型的激光選項。

Got it. Great. And with respect to the battery applications. Is there any carryover overlap with stationary battery storage that would be in use in like a residential or like a utility scale solar application? Or is it mostly relevant for EV batteries?

知道了。偉大的。關於電池應用。與住宅或公用事業規模的太陽能應用中使用的固定電池存儲是否有任何結轉重疊？還是主要與電動汽車電池相關？

Of course, EV battery now has the first place, but battery for storage also is very important, especially for Europe because it's solar applications that maybe not so active now. But definitely, it will be growing in the future. Laser wise, the storage battery is a very important part of this production. But of course, on the first time now, it's on the first place, of course, definitely, it's battery for electrical cars.

當然，EV電池現在是第一位的，但是用於存儲的電池也很重要，尤其是對於歐洲，因為現在太陽能應用可能還不那麼活躍。但可以肯定的是，它將在未來增長。在激光方面，蓄電池是這種生產中非常重要的部分。但是，當然，現在是第一次，它是第一位的，當然，肯定是，它是電動汽車的電池。

EV application set would be very similar, whether it's on the welding, cleaning, all of that, it's basically pretty standard across those.

EV 應用程序集非常相似，無論是焊接、清潔還是所有這些，基本上都是非常標準的。

Got it. And just perhaps one more. So with respect to the migration of the production of components that were formally in Russia, just could you provide a status update on where that stands and perhaps any of the large remaining items on that effort?

知道了。也許還有一個。因此，關於正式在俄羅斯生產的組件的遷移，你能否提供一個狀態更新，說明它的位置以及該努力中可能剩餘的任何大項目？

First of all, it's not my migration of production, expanding our production in Germany because it's our standard product for many, many years. By the way, we introduced from Germany to Russia, this production for some simple blocks. All technology is we are keeping in Germany. Yes, we -- first of all, we increased our production in Germany, but also we installed a new manufacturing place in Poland and also in Italy.

首先，這不是我的生產遷移，而是擴大我們在德國的生產，因為它是我們多年來的標準產品。順便說一句，我們從德國引進到俄羅斯，這種生產用於一些簡單的積木。所有技術都在德國。是的，我們——首先，我們增加了在德國的產量，但我們也在波蘭和意大利建立了一個新的製造基地。

And from this manufacturing, now we'll have visibility to eliminate any reliance to the Russian production, many different kinds of components, including the final block, fibers and other -- specially fiber-based components.

從這種製造中，現在我們可以看到消除對俄羅斯生產的任何依賴，許多不同種類的組件，包括最終塊、纖維和其他——特別是基於纖維的組件。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Mark Miller with the Benchmark Company.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Benchmark 公司的 Mark Miller。

Could you discuss the automotive market, excluding EV?

你能談談汽車市場，不包括電動汽車嗎？

What do you mean excluding EV? Now EV is a substantial part of this production. All investment by the way, all investments, for example, European car production companies, mainly going to EV production, not the standard car production.

不包括 EV 是什麼意思？現在電動汽車是這種生產的重要組成部分。順便說一句，所有投資，例如歐洲汽車生產公司，主要用於電動汽車生產，而不是標準汽車生產。

And -- excuse me.

並且 - 對不起。

Go ahead.

前進。

And merchant applications, was that roughly 45% of sales last quarter?

而商業應用程序，上個季度的銷售額大約是 45% 嗎？

Yes.

是的。

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

我們已經結束了問答環節。我現在想把電話轉回 Eugene Fedotoff 以徵求意見。

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

感謝您今天早上加入我們以及您對 IPG 的持續關注。我們將在本季度參加一些投資者活動，我們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。您此時可以斷開線路，我們感謝您的參與。