Itron Inc (ITRI) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the Itron, Inc. Q4 2021 Earnings Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded. For opening remarks, I would like to turn the call over to Ken Gianella. Please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎參加 Itron, Inc. 2021 年第四季度收益電話會議。今天的通話正在錄音。作為開場白，我想將電話轉給肯·賈內拉 (Ken Gianella)。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and welcome to Itron's Fourth Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. We issued a press release earlier today announcing our results. The press release includes replay information about today's call. A presentation to accompany our remarks on this call is also available through the webcast and on our corporate website under the Investor Relations tab.

謝謝你，接線員。早上好，歡迎參加 Itron 2021 年第四季度收益電話會議。我們今天早些時候發布了一份新聞稿，宣布了我們的結果。該新聞稿包括有關今天電話會議的重播信息。您還可以通過網絡廣播和我們公司網站的“投資者關係”選項卡獲取與我們在本次電話會議上的發言相關的演示文稿。

On the call today, we have Tom Deitrich, Itron's President and Chief Executive Officer; and Joan Hooper, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Following our prepared remarks, we'll open the call to take questions using the process the operator described.

今天的電話會議由 Itron 總裁兼首席執行官 Tom Deitrich 主持。以及高級副總裁兼首席財務官瓊·胡珀 (Joan Hooper)。在我們準備好的發言之後，我們將按照接線員描述的流程打開電話並回答問題。

Before I turn the call over to Tom, let me remind you of our non-GAAP financial presentation and our safe harbor statement. Our earnings release and financial presentation include non-GAAP financial information that we believe enhances the overall understanding of our current and future performance. Reconciliations of differences between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures are available in our earnings release and on our Investor Relations website. We will be making statements during this call that are forward-looking. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from these expectations because of factors that were presented in today's earnings release and the comments made during this conference call and in the Risk Factors section of our Form 10-K and other reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

在我把電話轉給湯姆之前，讓我提醒您我們的非公認會計準則財務報告和安全港聲明。我們的收益發布和財務報告包括非公認會計準則財務信息，我們相信這些信息可以增強對我們當前和未來業績的整體了解。公認會計原則和非公認會計原則財務指標之間的差異調節可在我們的收益報告和投資者關係網站上找到。我們將在本次電話會議中發表前瞻性聲明。這些陳述基於當前的預期和假設，存在風險和不確定性。由於今天的收益發布中提出的因素以及本次電話會議期間以及我們的 10-K 表格的風險因素部分以及向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他報告和文件中發表的評論，實際結果可能與這些預期存在重大差異。

In addition, due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chain constraints, company estimates regarding the impact of these events on current or forward-looking statements are made in a good faith attempt to provide appropriate insight to our current and future operating and financial environment. Materials discussed today, February 28, 2022, may materially change, and we do not undertake any duty to update any of our forward-looking statements.

此外，由於 COVID-19 大流行的流動性和全球供應鏈的限制，公司對這些事件對當前或前瞻性陳述的影響進行了真誠的估計，旨在為我們當前和未來提供適當的見解。未來的運營和財務環境。今天（2022 年 2 月 28 日）討論的材料可能會發生重大變化，我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性聲明的義務。

Now please turn to Page 4 in the presentation, and I'll turn the call over to our CEO, Tom Deitrich.

現在請翻到演示文稿的第 4 頁，我會將電話轉給我們的首席執行官 Tom Deitrich。

Thank you, Ken. Good morning, and thank you for joining us.

謝謝你，肯。早上好，感謝您加入我們。

Turning to Slide 4. Market demand for Itron solutions has reached new heights, resulting in record bookings and backlog for the fourth quarter. Bookings in Q4 were $1.1 billion, which is our largest quarter on record. This pushed 2021 to be a record year with over $2.8 billion in bookings. Due to the strength of our portfolio and domain expertise, we are accelerating our leadership position with utilities and cities around the globe. Our bookings performance drove fourth quarter book-to-bill ratio to 2.2 and 1.4 for full year 2021. This was well above our full year target of a 1:1 ratio. Record bookings led to a total backlog exiting the fourth quarter of over $4 billion. This eclipsed our previous record of $3.5 billion. Additionally, we were pleased to see our 12-month backlog increased to approximately $1.5 billion. This is a key metric used to gauge the strength of near-term demand.

轉向幻燈片 4。市場對 Itron 解決方案的需求達到了新的高度，導致第四季度的預訂量和積壓量創歷史新高。第四季度的預訂量為 11 億美元，這是我們有記錄以來最大的季度。這推動 2021 年成為創紀錄的一年，預訂量超過 28 億美元。憑藉我們的產品組合和領域專業知識的優勢，我們正在鞏固我們在全球公用事業和城市中的領導地位。我們的預訂業績將第四季度的預訂出貨比推升至 2021 年全年的 2.2 和 1.4。這遠高於我們 1:1 的全年目標。創紀錄的預訂導致第四季度的積壓總額超過 40 億美元。這打破了我們之前 35 億美元的記錄。此外，我們很高興看到 12 個月的積壓訂單增加至約 15 億美元。這是用於衡量近期需求強度的關鍵指標。

Based on the rich pipeline of visible opportunities, we anticipate the strong demand environment will continue into 2022. And we are again targeting a full year book-to-bill ratio of at least 1:1. Noting that the vast majority of our Q4 bookings support our Network Solutions and Outcomes segments, I would like to quickly highlight some examples of our customer wins this quarter. The first is an example of our ability to combine technology and business model innovation to benefit our customers. We are pleased to announce that San Antonio Water System will leverage the existing Itron network technology in San Antonio to deploy their new water AMI solution, proving our build it once and use it multiple times axiom. Itron will also manage the SaaS-based data management solution, ensuring data is safe and secure while lowering the total cost of ownership for both SAWS and CPS Energy.

基於豐富的可見機會，我們預計強勁的需求環境將持續到 2022 年。我們再次目標是全年訂單出貨比至少為 1:1。注意到我們第四季度的絕大多數預訂都支持我們的網絡解決方案和成果部門，我想快速強調一下本季度我們客戶獲勝的一些例子。第一個例子表明我們有能力將技術和商業模式創新結合起來，使我們的客戶受益。我們很高興地宣布，聖安東尼奧供水系統將利用聖安東尼奧現有的 Itron 網絡技術來部署其新的水 AMI 解決方案，證明我們一次構建、多次使用的公理。 Itron 還將管理基於 SaaS 的數據管理解決方案，確保數據安全可靠，同時降低 SAWS 和 CPS Energy 的總擁有成本。

Next, I would like to highlight Itron's commitment to safety in the gas solutions market. CenterPoint Energy Service Company, one of the leaders in the utility industry, will deploy our Intelis gas solution across their service territories. Our Intelis solution not only enables CenterPoint with 2-way communications for monitoring and building their gas assets, but will push intelligence to the edge of the network. Our Intelis gas meter offers self-monitoring capabilities, so the smart meter can shut itself off without utility intervention in the event of a high-flow or high-temperature event. Simultaneously, alarms can be sent via the Itron network, alerting both the utility and local authorities of potential concerns, thus minimizing the risk of gas safety incidents.

接下來，我想強調 Itron 對氣體解決方案市場安全的承諾。 CenterPoint Energy Service Company 是公用事業行業的領導者之一，將在其服務領域部署我們的 Intelis 天然氣解決方案。我們的 Intelis 解決方案不僅使 CenterPoint 能夠通過雙向通信來監控和構建其天然氣資產，而且還將智能推向網絡邊緣。我們的 Intelis 燃氣表具有自我監控功能，因此在發生高流量或高溫事件時，智能儀表可以自行關閉，無需公用事業干預。同時，可以通過 Itron 網絡發送警報，向公用事業公司和地方當局發出潛在問題的警報，從而最大限度地降低天然氣安全事故的風險。

Finally, our Outcomes business signed a 15-year agreement with Sarawak Energy in Malaysia to deploy Itron's network-as-a-service solution, including the monitoring and maintenance of the communication network. The NaaS solution for Sarawak Energy includes a 180,000 advanced metering infrastructure endpoints as well as the deployment of our Operations Optimizer and utility UIQ software-as-a-service offerings. Itron's open standards-based network enables Sarawak Energy to improve customer service, safety and operational efficiency by providing valuable insights for daily operations. These are just a few examples of how Itron solutions are driving our bookings and backlog performance. As these projects are executed over the next few years, they will add to our 3.8 million cumulatively deployed distributed intelligence-capable endpoints and our 82 million customer endpoints that are under Itron's management. Both metrics are important leading indicators of our Outcomes growth.

最後，我們的成果業務與馬來西亞砂拉越能源公司簽署了為期 15 年的協議，部署 Itron 的網絡即服務解決方案，包括通信網絡的監控和維護。砂拉越能源公司的 NaaS 解決方案包括 180,000 個先進的計量基礎設施端點以及我們的 Operations Optimizer 和實用 UIQ 軟件即服務產品的部署。 Itron 基於開放標準的網絡使 Sarawak Energy 能夠為日常運營提供寶貴的見解，從而改善客戶服務、安全性和運營效率。這些只是 Itron 解決方案如何推動我們的預訂和積壓績效的幾個示例。隨著這些項目在未來幾年的執行，我們累計部署的 380 萬個具有分佈式智能功能的端點以及由 Itron 管理的 8200 萬個客戶端點將進一步增加。這兩個指標都是我們成果增長的重要領先指標。

Turning to Slide 5. I will now provide some operational insights to the prior quarter and 2022. While demand for Itron solutions is at record levels, the supply chain constraints and inflationary pressures continued in Q4. Strong customer demand was more than offset by semiconductor component constraints. For the full year 2021, component supply constraints gated our revenue by approximately $225 million. Additionally, we anticipate our revenue will be impacted by semiconductor constraints through the first half of 2022 at similar levels experienced in the second half of 2021. We continue to manage through these macro constraints. We are grateful for the support and collaboration of our customers on project profiles and emphasize that we have not seen any cancellation of backlog. The long-term nature of our business, particularly in the Network Solutions and Outcomes areas, serves us well in this regard.

轉向幻燈片 5。我現在將提供對上一季度和 2022 年的一些運營見解。雖然對 Itron 解決方案的需求處於創紀錄水平，但供應鏈限制和通脹壓力在第四季度持續存在。強勁的客戶需求被半導體元件的限制所抵消。 2021 年全年，零部件供應限制導致我們的收入減少了約 2.25 億美元。此外，我們預計我們的收入將在 2022 年上半年受到半導體限制的影響，影響程度與 2021 年下半年的水平相似。我們將繼續應對這些宏觀限制。我們感謝客戶對項目概況的支持和合作，並強調我們沒有看到任何積壓訂單的取消。我們業務的長期性質，特別是在網絡解決方案和成果領域，在這方面為我們提供了良好的服務。

Turning next to our efforts around price/cost actions. We are actively working to protect our margins from cost pressures that stemmed from the pandemic and resulting inflation that we saw last year and is continuing into 2022. We are aggressively moving to lower costs, secure supply and adjust pricing with customers to adapt to the new market realities. As component constraint ease, we anticipate increased factory utilization, combined with our continued efforts to move to a more asset-light model, will improve our margins.

接下來轉向我們圍繞價格/成本行動所做的努力。我們正在積極努力保護我們的利潤率，免受去年疫情和由此產生的通貨膨脹帶來的成本壓力，這種情況將持續到 2022 年。我們正在積極降低成本、確保供應並與客戶一起調整定價，以適應新的形勢市場現實。隨著零部件限制的緩解，我們預計工廠利用率的提高，加上我們不斷努力轉向輕資產模式，將提高我們的利潤率。

Finally, today, we anticipate the completion of the sale of our noncommunicating mechanical gas businesses that were announced last fall. Since 2019, we have divested or exited over $300 million of annualized revenue from noncore, nonstrategic assets, including an annualized approximately $100 million of revenue in this most recent transaction. While this revenue was highly concentrated in our Devices Solutions segment, it has allowed us to focus our efforts and develop innovative product offerings for our Network Solutions and Outcomes segments, which has led to our record bookings in 2021. The close of this transaction with Dresser Utility Solutions is another milestone on our journey towards more advanced networks, distributed intelligent endpoints and data-driven outcomes to better serve our customers for the next decade and beyond.

最後，今天，我們預計將完成去年秋天宣布的非通信機械氣體業務的出售。自 2019 年以來，我們已從非核心、非戰略資產中剝離或退出了超過 3 億美元的年化收入，其中包括在最近的交易中約 1 億美元的年化收入。雖然這些收入高度集中在我們的設備解決方案部門，但它使我們能夠集中精力，為我們的網絡解決方案和成果部門開發創新產品，這導致我們在 2021 年創下了預訂量紀錄。與德萊賽完成此項交易公用事業解決方案是我們邁向更先進網絡、分佈式智能端點和數據驅動成果的旅程中的另一個里程碑，以便在未來十年及更長時間內更好地為客戶服務。

Now please turn to Slide 7 as I hand off to Joan to cover our fourth quarter results and our 2022 outlook.

現在請轉到幻燈片 7，我將向 Joan 介紹我們的第四季度業績和 2022 年展望。

Thank you, Tom.

謝謝你，湯姆。

As Tom discussed, we continued to be impacted by supply chain constraints in the fourth quarter and expect a similar environment through the first half of 2022.

正如 Tom 所討論的，我們在第四季度繼續受到供應鏈限制的影響，並預計到 2022 年上半年也會出現類似的環境。

Slide 7 has a summary of consolidated GAAP results. Fourth quarter revenue of $486 million decreased 8% from last year or 6% in constant currency. The year-over-year decline was due to supply constraints, which limited our ability to meet customer demand, reducing revenue by approximately $75 million in the quarter. Gross margin for the quarter was 25%, 330 basis points lower than last year, primarily due to higher component costs and manufacturing inefficiencies, driven by the supply constraints. The GAAP net loss of $59 million or $1.30 per share compares with net income of $22 million or $0.53 per diluted share in the prior year. The net loss in the current period was primarily due to lower gross profit, higher restructuring expenses and a loss related to the expected sale of our mechanical C&I gas business.

幻燈片 7 總結了綜合 GAAP 結果。第四季度收入為 4.86 億美元，比去年下降 8%，按固定匯率計算下降 6%。同比下降是由於供應限制，這限制了我們滿足客戶需求的能力，導致本季度收入減少約 7500 萬美元。本季度毛利率為 25%，比去年低 330 個基點，主要是由於供應限制導致零部件成本上升和製造效率低下。 GAAP 淨虧損為 5900 萬美元，即每股 1.30 美元，而上一年的淨利潤為 2200 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.53 美元。本期淨虧損主要是由於毛利潤較低、重組費用較高以及與機械工商業燃氣業務預期出售相關的虧損所致。

Regarding non-GAAP metrics on Slide 8. Non-GAAP operating income was a loss of $7 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $3 million. Non-GAAP net income for the quarter was $34 million or $0.75 per diluted share.

關於幻燈片 8 上的非 GAAP 指標。非 GAAP 營業收入虧損 700 萬美元。調整後 EBITDA 為 300 萬美元。本季度非 GAAP 淨利潤為 3400 萬美元，或攤薄後每股收益 0.75 美元。

Looking at revenue by business segment on Slide 9. Device Solutions revenue was $157 million, a $25 million or 13% year-over-year decline on a constant currency basis. The decrease was due in part to component shortages, which resulted in unfulfilled customer demand. Also, it was a tough year-over-year compare as the fourth quarter of 2020 reflected a catch-up of shipments from delays caused by earlier COVID shutdowns in Europe. Network Solutions revenue was $265 million, a $12 million or 4% decrease year-over-year in constant currency. The decline is attributable to the component shortages. Revenue in the Outcomes segment was $64 million, a $3 million or 4% increase in constant currency from 2020. The increase was due to higher software and professional services. Lastly, foreign currency changes resulted in $5 million lower revenue versus the prior year.

查看幻燈片 9 中按業務部門劃分的收入。設備解決方案收入為 1.57 億美元，按固定匯率計算，同比下降 2500 萬美元，即下降 13%。下降的部分原因是零部件短缺，導致客戶需求未能得到滿足。此外，與去年同期相比，情況也很艱難，因為 2020 年第四季度反映了歐洲早些時候因新冠疫情關閉而導致的發貨延誤。網絡解決方案收入為 2.65 億美元，按固定匯率計算，同比減少 1200 萬美元，即 4%。下降的原因是零部件短缺。結果部門的收入為 6400 萬美元，比 2020 年增加了 300 萬美元，按固定匯率計算增加了 4%。這一增長歸因於軟件和專業服務的提高。最後，外匯變化導致收入比上年減少 500 萬美元。

Moving to our non-GAAP year-over-year EPS bridge on Slide 10. Our Q4 non-GAAP EPS was $0.75 per diluted share, up $0.10 from the prior year. A negative tax provision in 2021 had a very positive benefit to the year-over-year non-GAAP EPS, adding $1 per share. The unusually low tax rate in the quarter was due to a tax benefit, driven by the impact of certain transfers of business activities and assets. The tax benefit to EPS was mostly offset by net operating performance, which had a negative $0.96 per share impact versus Q4 of 2020. This was primarily due to the impact of component constraints and cost inflation on gross profit as well as higher variable compensation. Lower interest expense resulted in a $0.16 increase year-over-year. And finally, changes in foreign currency and share count resulted in a $0.09 per share decrease year-over-year.

轉到幻燈片 10 上我們的非 GAAP 同比每股收益橋樑。我們第四季度的非 GAAP 每股攤薄每股收益為 0.75 美元，比上一年增加 0.10 美元。 2021 年的負稅收撥備對非 GAAP 每股收益同比增加了 1 美元，帶來了非常積極的好處。本季度稅率異常低是由於某些業務活動和資產轉讓的影響所帶來的稅收優惠。每股收益的稅收優惠大部分被淨經營業績所抵消，與 2020 年第四季度相比，淨經營業績對每股產生了 0.96 美元的負面影響。這主要是由於零部件限制和成本通脹對毛利潤以及較高的可變薪酬的影響。較低的利息支出導致同比增加 0.16 美元。最後，外幣和股票數量的變化導致每股價格同比下降 0.09 美元。

Turning to Slides 11 through 13. I'll discuss the Q4 results by business segment compared with the prior year. Device Solutions revenue was $157 million, with gross margin of 9% and operating margin of 2%. Gross margin decreased 280 basis points due to manufacturing inefficiencies related to component shortages and inflationary cost pressures. Operating margin decreased 460 basis points due to the fall-through of lower gross profit as well as higher OpEx. Network Solutions revenue was $265 million, with gross margin of 30%. Gross margin decreased 600 basis points from the prior year, primarily due to manufacturing inefficiencies related to the component constraints and inflationary cost pressures. Operating margin of 19% decreased 690 basis points due to the fall-through of lower gross profit. Outcomes revenue was $64 million, with gross margin of 43%, which was essentially flat with the prior year. I would note that in both Q4 of '21 and in Q4 of '20, the Outcomes segment achieved stronger-than-average gross margin due to the recognition of software license sales. Lastly, Outcomes operating margin was 25%, 450 basis points lower due to higher R&D investment in 2021.

轉向幻燈片 11 至 13。我將按業務部門討論第四季度的業績與上一年的比較。設備解決方案收入為 1.57 億美元，毛利率為 9%，營業利潤率為 2%。由於零部件短缺和通脹成本壓力導致製造效率低下，毛利率下降了 280 個基點。由於毛利潤下降和運營支出上升，營業利潤率下降了 460 個基點。網絡解決方案收入為 2.65 億美元，毛利率為 30%。毛利率較上年下降 600 個基點，主要是由於零部件限制和通脹成本壓力導致製造效率低下。由於毛利潤下降，營業利潤率為 19%，下降了 690 個基點。結果收入為 6400 萬美元，毛利率為 43%，與上年基本持平。我要指出的是，在 21 年第 4 季度和 20 年第 4 季度，由於軟件許可證銷售的認可，結果部門實現了高於平均水平的毛利率。最後，由於 2021 年研發投資增加，結果營業利潤率為 25%，下降了 450 個基點。

Now to briefly recap full year 2021 results on Slide 14. The 2021 results were significantly impacted by supply constraints, particularly in the back half of the year. Revenue of approximately $2 billion was down 9% from 2020. The reduction was largely attributable to the impact of the supply constraints, which reduced our full year 2021 revenue by approximately $225 million. Gross margin was 28.9%, 120 basis points higher than 2020. Adjusted EBITDA was $115 million compared with $178 million in the prior year. Non-GAAP earnings per share was $1.75 compared to $1.85 in 2020. Free cash flow was $120 million compared with $63 million in the prior year. The strong year-over-year improvement in cash flow was driven primarily by lower variable compensation and interest payments in 2021.

現在，在幻燈片 14 上簡要回顧一下 2021 年全年業績。2021 年業績受到供應限制的嚴重影響，尤其是在今年下半年。收入約為 20 億美元，較 2020 年下降 9%。減少的主要原因是供應限制的影響，這使我們 2021 年全年收入減少了約 2.25 億美元。毛利率為 28.9%，比 2020 年高出 120 個基點。調整後 EBITDA 為 1.15 億美元，而上一年為 1.78 億美元。非 GAAP 每股收益為 1.75 美元，而 2020 年為 1.85 美元。自由現金流為 1.2 億美元，而上一年為 6300 萬美元。現金流同比強勁改善主要是由於 2021 年可變薪酬和利息支付減少。

Turning to Slide 15. I'll cover liquidity and debt. Free cash flow was $7 million in the fourth quarter. Cash and equivalents at the end of the fourth quarter were $172 million, including $10 million related to the pending sale of our mechanical C&I gas business, which was reclassified to assets held for sale. Total debt remained flat at $460 million and net debt was $288 million. Net leverage was 2.5x at the end of Q4. As we announced on our last earnings call, the Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to $100 million over an 18-month period. As of today, we have repurchased $25 million or approximately 400,000 shares under the program with an average repurchase price of $61.67.

轉向幻燈片 15。我將討論流動性和債務。第四季度自由現金流為 700 萬美元。第四季度末的現金及等價物為 1.72 億美元，其中 1000 萬美元與待出售的機械工商業天然氣業務相關，該業務已重新分類為待售資產。總債務保持在 4.6 億美元不變，淨債務為 2.88 億美元。第四季度末淨槓桿率為 2.5 倍。正如我們在上次財報電話會議上宣布的那樣，董事會授權在 18 個月內實施高達 1 億美元的股票回購計劃。截至今天，我們已根據該計劃回購了 2500 萬美元或約 40 萬股股票，平均回購價格為 61.67 美元。

Please turn to Slide 16. I'd like to provide some color on our 2022 expectations. We anticipate full year 2022 revenue to be in a range of $2.0 billion to $2.1 billion. We expect revenue in the first half of 2022 will be constrained by the supply chain shortages, similar to our experience in the back half of 2021. Our current expectation is the supply constraints will begin to improve in the second half of the year, allowing us to catch up on a portion of the first half shortfall. At the midpoint, the 2022 annual revenue guidance is approximately 3% year-over-year growth. This is driven by growth in both our Network Solutions and Outcomes segments, partially offset by a decline in Device Solutions. We continue to make portfolio decisions in our Devices segment, which has led to lower revenue. This guidance also reflects the sale of our mechanical C&I gas business, which reduced revenue by approximately $100 million on an annualized basis. If you normalize for the impact of the sale, the 2022 revenue growth rate at the midpoint of guidance would be approximately 8%. We anticipate full year non-GAAP EPS to be within a range of $1.25 to $1.75 per diluted share. At the midpoint of the guidance and normalizing the tax rate to 25% for both years, the year-over-year earnings growth rate is over 50% higher than our 2021 performance. Given the continued high level of supply constraints we expect in the first half of the year, the earnings will be heavily skewed to the second half of 2022. Other guidance assumptions are: a euro to U.S. foreign currency exchange rate of 1.14; an average non-GAAP effective tax rate of approximately 25%; average shares outstanding for the full year of approximately 45.5 million shares.

請參閱幻燈片 16。我想對我們 2022 年的期望提供一些說明。我們預計 2022 年全年收入將在 20 億美元至 21 億美元之間。我們預計 2022 年上半年的收入將受到供應鏈短缺的限制，與我們 2021 年下半年的經歷類似。我們目前的預期是供應限制將在下半年開始改善，使我們能夠彌補上半年的部分缺口。中值來看，2022 年收入指引約為 3% 的同比增長。這是由我們的網絡解決方案和成果部門的增長推動的，但部分被設備解決方案的下降所抵消。我們繼續在設備部門做出投資組合決策，這導致收入下降。該指引還反映了我們機械工商業氣體業務的出售，這導致年收入減少了約 1 億美元。如果將出售的影響標準化，2022 年指導中點的收入增長率將約為 8%。我們預計全年非公認會計準則每股攤薄每股收益將在 1.25 美元至 1.75 美元之間。在指導的中點並將稅率正常化至兩年的 25% 時，同比盈利增長率比我們 2021 年的業績高出 50% 以上。鑑於我們預計上半年供應持續受到高度限制，盈利將嚴重偏向 2022 年下半年。其他指導假設包括：歐元兌美元匯率為 1.14；平均非公認會計準則有效稅率約為 25%；全年平均已發行股數約為 4550 萬股。

In summary, it was a challenging year given the macro supply chain headwinds we faced. We worked diligently to mitigate the impact, but our results were obviously disappointing to us. While we see the supply constraints continuing through the first half of '22, we anticipate the situation will improve in the second half of the year. Our record bookings and backlog will facilitate a strong recovery when the supply chain rebalances.

總之，鑑於我們面臨的宏觀供應鏈阻力，這是充滿挑戰的一年。我們努力減輕影響，但結果顯然令我們失望。雖然我們認為供應限制將持續到 22 年上半年，但我們預計情況將在今年下半年有所改善。當供應鏈重新平衡時，我們創紀錄的預訂和積壓將促進強勁復甦。

Now I'll turn the call back to Tom.

現在我將把電話轉回給湯姆。

Thank you, Joan.

謝謝你，瓊。

Despite the impact that semiconductor constraints have had on our 2022 outlook, we are extremely pleased with the demand and opportunity pipeline for our technology and solutions. We continued to organically invest in solutions that enable our customers to overcome the dynamic challenges facing our industry.

儘管半導體限制對我們 2022 年的前景產生了影響，但我們對我們的技術和解決方案的需求和機會渠道感到非常滿意。我們繼續對解決方案進行有機投資，使我們的客戶能夠克服我們行業面臨的動態挑戰。

One final item I would like to highlight prior to opening for Q&A. Earlier this month, Itron formally launched our Optimizer Solution set. This solution combines EV charging management, distributed energy resource management and low-voltage distribution management into a platform with real-time insights and distributed edge intelligence. Available globally, Itron's Optimizer portfolio, including the first-of-its-kind EV charging Optimizer, is endpoint agnostic, combining grid elements, such as EV chargers, electric vehicles, solar inverters, local energy storage and grid transformers, allowing these disparate distribution network assets to be visible under a single pane of glass for management and service optimization. With Itron's Optimizer portfolio, utilities can use these assets to balance loading, optimize costs and improve service reliability as part of an end-to-end grid solution. For example, this solution enables EV charging fleet management to work cohesively with other assets present in the grid. A first of its kind solution, Itron has integrated EV charging control and grid management solutions into a single platform, allowing load management and optimization. Our open standards-based solution is vehicle and charger agnostic. And it alleviates a significant barrier in the development and deployment of multiple commercial and industrial EV fleets on the utilities low-voltage distribution network. Our Optimizer portfolio is the result of our continued commitment to invest in Outcomes to enable our customers to effectively manage and optimize services in the face of an exponential increase in grid complexity.

在開始問答之前我想強調最後一項。本月早些時候，Itron 正式推出了我們的優化器解決方案集。該解決方案將電動汽車充電管理、分佈式能源管理和低壓配電管理整合到一個具有實時洞察和分佈式邊緣智能的平台中。 Itron 的優化器產品組合在全球範圍內推出，包括首款電動汽車充電優化器，與端點無關，結合了電動汽車充電器、電動汽車、太陽能逆變器、本地儲能和電網變壓器等電網元素，允許這些不同的配電網絡資產在單一管理平台下可見，以實現管理和服務優化。借助 Itron 的 Optimizer 產品組合，公用事業公司可以使用這些資產來平衡負載、優化成本並提高服務可靠性，作為端到端電網解決方案的一部分。例如，該解決方案使電動汽車充電車隊管理能夠與電網中的其他資產協同工作。作為同類解決方案中的第一個，Itron 將電動汽車充電控制和電網管理解決方案集成到一個平台中，從而實現負載管理和優化。我們基於開放標準的解決方案與車輛和充電器無關。它消除了在公用事業低壓配電網絡上開發和部署多個商業和工業電動汽車車隊的重大障礙。我們的優化器產品組合是我們持續致力於投資成果的結果，使我們的客戶能夠在網格複雜性呈指數級增長的情況下有效地管理和優化服務。

We covered a lot of ground today, providing insight into the current supply-and-demand environment as well as proof points for our belief in our long-term model. We take pride in serving the technology needs of utilities and cities around the globe and are confident in the business.

我們今天介紹了很多內容，深入了解了當前的供需環境，並證明了我們對長期模型的信念。我們為滿足全球公用事業和城市的技術需求而感到自豪，並對這項業務充滿信心。

Thank you for joining today. Operator, please open the line for some questions.

感謝您今天加入。接線員，請撥通電話詢問一些問題。

(Operator Instructions) And we'll now take a question from Noah Kaye with Oppenheimer.

（操作員說明）現在我們將回答諾亞·凱伊和奧本海默提出的問題。

Pretty impressive bookings, I wonder if we could start there. Just give us a sense, you mentioned that's mostly related to networks. How are some of the regulatory changes that are supporting a transition from CapEx to OpEx in the utility world? How is that manifesting in your bookings pattern? And how much quotes are you seeing on the Outcomes side of that transition as well? Any kind of metrics you can provide about on that would be very helpful as well as qualitative color.

非常令人印象深刻的預訂，我想知道我們是否可以從那裡開始。請給我們一個感覺，您提到這主要與網絡有關。支持公用事業領域從資本支出向運營支出轉型的一些監管變化如何？這在您的預訂模式中有何體現？您在過渡的結果方面也看到了多少報價？您可以提供的任何類型的指標以及定性顏色都會非常有幫助。

Sure. I can take that one, Noah. This is Tom. The bookings that we saw in the fourth quarter and really a continuation of the trend that we saw for the full year was heavily tilted towards Networks and Outcomes. So that was 90% of the bookings, and that really flows through into the position in the backlog. The type of bookings that we're seeing are 4 more advanced network applications. And nearly every one of the bookings has an Outcomes component that goes along with it. That Outcomes component is generally a SaaS or a NaaS, network as a service-based solution that rides on top of the networking technology itself. That is longer term a recurring revenue in its very essence. We have more than 2 dozen customers that are already deploying our distributed intelligence-based endpoint solution. And we see good growth in distribution, automation and in streetlight smart city applications, which contributes to the bookings.

當然。我可以接受那個，諾亞。這是湯姆。我們在第四季度看到的預訂量實際上是我們全年看到的趨勢的延續，很大程度上傾向於網絡和成果。這就是 90% 的預訂，這確實流入了積壓訂單中的位置。我們看到的預訂類型是 4 種更高級的網絡應用程序。幾乎每一項預訂都有一個與之相伴的結果部分。該成果組件通常是 SaaS 或 NaaS，網絡即基於網絡技術本身的服務解決方案。從本質上講，這是一種長期的經常性收入。我們有超過 20 個客戶已經在部署我們基於分佈式智能的端點解決方案。我們看到配電、自動化和路燈智慧城市應用的良好增長，這有助於增加預訂量。

Okay. Very helpful. Just on operations and supply chain. Joan, you mentioned that you're expecting facility utilization to improve. I wonder if you could provide a little bit more color there. And of course, you're thinking about the back half of the year, so I'm not talking about -- I mean, I'm talking about kind of where your utilization is at and where going to bump it up. But I guess, can you kind of strategically update us on your progress in fortifying the supply base? Any kind of near-shoring initiatives you can talk about to help provide a little bit more visibility into the back half of the year?

好的。很有幫助。只是關於運營和供應鏈。瓊，您提到您預計設施利用率會得到改善。我想知道你是否可以在那裡提供更多的顏色。當然，你考慮的是下半年，所以我不是在談論——我的意思是，我在談論你的利用率在哪里以及在哪裡會提高它。但我想，您能否從戰略上向我們介紹一下您在加強供應基地方面的最新進展？您可以談論任何類型的近岸舉措來幫助提供更多有關今年下半年的信息嗎？

Sure. Happy to do so. As we talked about in our prepared remarks, we do expect the supply chain to begin to rebalance during the second half of the year. So what you will see in our results as that begins to happen is factories filling up. And then you get obviously the benefit of the revenue and the fall through, but also the utilization that goes along with it. Important to note that all of those bookings that we just spoke about a moment ago do flow through. So we've got a very strong and healthy demand environment. What we really need is the components that go along with it. We have continued to work hard on utilizing the -- or optimizing rather the factory footprint itself. Most of our factories are now well positioned close to the markets that they serve. So for example, the North American market, by and large, is served out of supply that comes from, I'll say, this side of the globe. So the notion of near-shoring has been our supply chain strategy that we undertook over the last 4, 5 years across the board.

當然。很高興這樣做。正如我們在準備好的發言中談到的那樣，我們確實預計供應鏈將在今年下半年開始重新平衡。因此，當這種情況開始發生時，您將在我們的結果中看到工廠已滿員。然後你顯然會得到收入和損失帶來的好處，而且還會得到隨之而來的利用率。需要注意的是，我們剛才談到的所有預訂都會流轉。所以我們有一個非常強勁和健康的需求環境。我們真正需要的是與之配套的組件。我們繼續努力利用——或者說優化工廠佔地面積本身。我們的大多數工廠現在都位置優越，靠近他們所服務的市場。例如，北美市場總體上缺乏來自地球這一端的供應。因此，近岸外包的概念一直是我們過去四五年全面實施的供應鏈戰略。

In terms of the margin improvement, I think it comes in 3 forms. One is revenue fall-through. As you get components, you start to see the top line grow, and that flows through. You see the cost improvements that we've been working on in terms of the factory footprint. And then, of course, the third is the utilization of those manufacturing assets. All of that accrues into the back half of the year, which is what our guidance and commentary was based on.

就利潤率的改善而言，我認為有3種形式。一是收入下降。當你獲得組件時，你開始看到收入增長，並且不斷增加。您可以看到我們一直致力於工廠佔地面積方面的成本改進。當然，第三個是這些製造資產的利用。所有這些都會累積到今年下半年，這也是我們的指導和評論的基礎。

And we'll now take our next question from Jeff Osborne with Cowen and Company.

現在我們將回答考恩公司的傑夫·奧斯本提出的下一個問題。

A couple on my end. On the semiconductor impact, I was wondering if you could remind us what that was in Q3? Joan, I heard you say $225 million for the year, $75 million for Q4. I'm just trying to get a sense of impact for the first half of 2022.

我這邊有一對。關於半導體的影響，我想知道您能否提醒我們第三季度的影響是什麼？瓊，我聽說你說今年 2.25 億美元，第四季度 7500 萬美元。我只是想了解 2022 年上半年的影響。

Yes. It was about $100 million in Q3.

是的。第三季度約為 1 億美元。

Okay. So about $175 million is an impact for semis and then $100 million from the acquisition? I'm just trying to bridge the gap on the guidance there.

好的。那麼大約 1.75 億美元是對半成品的影響，然後是收購帶來的 1 億美元影響？我只是想彌補那裡的指導差距。

$100 million is an annualized number on the divestiture. So if you're looking for kind of first -- sorry, if you're looking kind of first half impact, we would have owned that business for through February, so kind of 4 months' worth.

1億美元是剝離的年化金額。因此，如果您正在尋找某種第一 - 抱歉，如果您正在尋找上半年的影響，我們將擁有該業務直到 2 月，所以相當於 4 個月的價值。

Got it. Okay. And then on the $1.1 billion in bookings, the 2 you flagged in the prepared remarks, CenterPoint and San Antonio, that -- I wouldn't think that those are chunky percentages of that. Was there any large electric orders that you didn't name the customer that you could give us a flavor of? Because you mentioned to Noah's question that DA and networking for some electric applications were there. So could you detail that?

知道了。好的。然後，在 11 億美元的預訂量中，您在準備好的評論中標記的 2 個球隊，中心點隊和聖安東尼奧隊，我認為這些比例並不大。是否有任何您沒有透露客戶姓名的大型電力訂單可以讓我們了解一下？因為你在 Noah 的問題中提到了一些電力應用的 DA 和網絡。那麼你能詳細說明一下嗎？

Sure. The CenterPoint booking clearly was one of the larger that was in that fourth quarter bookings number. It is a territory-wide gas deployment for the smart gas solution that we offer. So it was one of the largest. There are numerous other bookings that are inside of there in the electricity space: TNMP, Texas-New Mexico Power is probably one of the larger. But I would see -- say is what you're starting to see in the bookings themselves is a lot of add-on type of business with existing customers. So in that particular case, it comes perhaps in smaller pieces. But it's also coming as long-term recurring revenue and added applications, which is exactly what our strategy is playing out to be.

當然。 CenterPoint 的預訂量顯然是第四季度預訂量較大的預訂量之一。這是我們提供的智能燃氣解決方案的全港燃氣部署。所以它是最大的之一。電力領域還有許多其他預訂：TNMP、德克薩斯新墨西哥電力公司可能是較大的預訂之一。但我會看到 - 你開始在預訂本身中看到的是與現有客戶的很多附加類型的業務。因此，在這種特殊情況下，它可能會分成更小的部分。但它也以長期經常性收入和增加的應用程序的形式出現，這正是我們的戰略正在發揮的作用。

Got it. That's helpful, Tom. And is the CenterPoint, is that an upgrade of the network that was put in, in 2007 through '10? I think they had a legacy Itron network pre the Silver Spring acquisition. Or was that only for the electric piece and not the gas?

知道了。這很有幫助，湯姆。 CenterPoint 是 2007 年至 10 年間投入的網絡升級嗎？我認為他們在收購 Silver Spring 之前擁有一個遺留的 Itron 網絡。或者這只適用於電氣部件而不適用於燃氣部件？

It is. Yes, this is the gas side of it. So think about it as the network and the endpoints. And really because of our solution, the endpoints are the network themselves in terms of how it plays through. But it is advanced endpoints. It's the gas meter, the advanced functionality and the comms equipment that goes along with it.

這是。是的，這是它的氣體方面。因此，請將其視為網絡和端點。實際上，由於我們的解決方案，就其運行方式而言，端點就是網絡本身。但它是高級端點。它是燃氣表、先進的功能以及與之相伴的通信設備。

Got it. And then lastly, is there any progress that's been made on the semiconductor side in terms of qualifying additional suppliers or product redesign to avoid some of the issues? Or are you just hoping that your existing suppliers have ramped up capacity and you'll have better allocation in the second half of 2022?

知道了。最後，半導體方面在資格額外供應商或產品重新設計以避免某些問題方面是否取得了任何進展？或者您只是希望現有供應商提高產能，以便您在 2022 年下半年獲得更好的分配？

Certainly, we've made tremendous progress on qualifying multiple suppliers. We do have good support on that front. That said, it's still a very, very constrained environment. So what we're -- instead of being allocation -- being on allocation with one supplier, you're likely to be on allocation with 2 suppliers. But as that supply chain begins to rebalance, we do believe that multi-sourcing effort that we have undertaken for the -- certainly the last few years will serve us well in terms of being able to ramp up and service that strong backlog that's ahead of us.

當然，我們在多家供應商資格認證方面取得了巨大進展。我們在這方面確實得到了很好的支持。也就是說，這仍然是一個非常非常受限的環境。因此，我們不是與一個供應商進行分配，而是與 2 個供應商進行分配。但隨著供應鏈開始重新平衡，我們確實相信，我們在過去幾年中所做的多采購努力肯定會為我們提供良好的服務，使我們能夠增加並服務於即將到來的大量積壓訂單。我們。

We'll now take our next question from Tommy Moll with Stephens.

現在我們將回答湯米·莫爾和斯蒂芬斯提出的下一個問題。

Tom, I wanted to circle back on bookings in the quarter. You've been bullish for some time on Network and Outcomes. And it sounds like those were 90% of the driver there. At the same time, you've been bullish, but maybe not $1.1 billion in a quarter bullish. So I just -- I wonder if you could identify anything possibly season-related, calendar year-end related, anything that was specific to that quarter just to walk us back from the potential repeatability there. I mean I don't think embedded in your outlook for book-to-bill, you're assuming that kind of a run rate on orders going forward. So anything you could do to piece some of that together would be helpful.

湯姆，我想回顧一下本季度的預訂情況。一段時間以來，您一直看好網絡和成果。聽起來這些人佔了那裡 90% 的司機。與此同時，你一直看漲，但看漲的季度可能不會達到 11 億美元。所以我只是——我想知道你是否能找出任何可能與季節相關、與日曆年終相關的東西、任何特定於該季度的東西，只是為了讓我們從那裡的潛在重複性中走出來。我的意思是，我不認為您對訂單到賬單的展望中包含了對未來訂單運行率的假設。因此，您可以採取任何措施將其中的一些內容拼湊起來，這都會有所幫助。

Sure. So I don't see it as particularly seasonal, meaning a fourth quarter or a particular time of the year. Bookings by their very nature in terms of some of the larger deployments that we do tend to come in buckets or in big chunks. So it is a little bit lumpy overall. So you're correct. I think it would be unwise to expect a new run rate of $1.1 billion per quarter, for example. That said, we do see a very rich pipeline of opportunities that are ahead of us. And all of that is based on just the strength of the technology and the breadth of applications that we provide. So we are very bullish about what the demand environment looks like in the short run, but also what the bookings environment will be throughout 2022.

當然。所以我不認為它是特別季節性的，即第四季度或一年中的特定時間。就其本質而言，我們所做的一些較大部署的預訂往往是成桶或大塊的。所以整體上有點凹凸不平。所以你是對的。例如，我認為期望每季度 11 億美元的新運行率是不明智的。也就是說，我們確實看到了擺在我們面前的非常豐富的機會。所有這一切都基於我們提供的技術實力和應用程序的廣度。因此，我們非常看好短期的需求環境，以及整個 2022 年的預訂環境。

The caveat that I would give you though is the bookings will be a little bit lumpy quarter-to-quarter. But I wouldn't blame that necessarily on pure seasonality. Final point, I think, that is important to point out, that none of the guidance for 2022 and the bookings that you see today are really related to a government stimulus that is still somewhere ahead of us. On the stimulus work that the U.S. government is working through when defining all of the rules on how that money will be allocated and opening up the opportunity for customers of ours to apply for the various grants and things, that will start to happen during this year, which will result in revenue somewhere beyond this year. So our guidance for the year is not based on any tailwinds nor is the strong pipeline of opportunities that we see today. I still think that's somewhere ahead of us as future opportunity.

不過，我要向您提出的警告是，每個季度的預訂量都會有點不穩定。但我不會將其歸咎於純粹的季節性。我認為，最後一點需要指出的是，2022 年的指導以及您今天看到的預訂量都與我們即將實施的政府刺激措施無關。關於美國政府正在開展的刺激工作，定義了有關如何分配資金的所有規則，並為我們的客戶提供了申請各種補助金和其他事項的機會，這將在今年開始發生，這將導致今年以後的收入。因此，我們今年的指引既不是基於任何順風車，也不是我們今天看到的強勁機遇。我仍然認為這是我們未來的機遇。

And shifting gears to the EV charging Optimizer announcement that you referenced. Can you talk to us about how long that had been in development internally? Where do you see the solution in terms of the adoption curve? I presume your answer is going to be very early, but just any context you could give about level of adoption or conversations with customers? And I guess, finally, can you hazard a guess, quantitative or qualitative, on what's the magnitude of the tailwind from EV adoption to Itron as a whole? How big a needle mover can that be for you in the next few years?

並轉向您提到的電動汽車充電優化器公告。您能告訴我們內部開發了多長時間嗎？您在採用曲線方面如何看待解決方案？我想您的答案會很早，但是您可以提供有關採用程度或與客戶對話的任何背景信息嗎？最後，我想您能否大膽猜測一下，無論是定量還是定性，電動汽車的採用對整個 Itron 的推動作用有多大？未來幾年這對您來說會有多大的推動作用？

Sure. So the portfolio of the Optimizer solution, so EVs that you mentioned, but also the low voltage grid assets, things like transformers, and then distributed energy resources, batteries, rooftop, solar, things of that nature, the notion that we've had all the way back since probably the 2018, 2019 time frame is the grid complexity was going to increase pretty dramatically as these things started to show up on the grid. And our customers would need a way to understand where those assets are and be able to begin to optimize and plan load balance around those types of solutions. So we've been putting the building blocks in place for a couple of years now and ended up doing some pilots early on this year around a very small-scale charging management types of things. We formalized all of that with the Optimizer portfolio and launched that during just the last couple of months. So what we have today is a number of customer pilots. We signed Duke Energy as our first commercial deployment on the EV optimizer portfolio and look to continue to add to it. The really interesting part about this is, this is all network or endpoint agnostic. So we can apply the analytics package over top of any existing assets that the customer has. Clearly, it works much, much better, the more insight you have into those assets. So if you have already deployed an Itron network and have distributed intelligence, you can even do quite a bit more with the solutions that we do have today. So we're fiercely, fiercely proud of being able to build on all of these solutions. And all of this was done with an organic R&D investment, which is how we've been thinking about it.

當然。因此，優化器解決方案的組合，您提到的電動汽車，還有低壓電網資產，例如變壓器，然後是分佈式能源，電池，屋頂，太陽能，這種性質的東西，我們已經有了的概念一直追溯到 2018 年、2019 年時間範圍內，隨著這些東西開始出現在網格上，網格複雜性將會顯著增加。我們的客戶需要一種方法來了解這些資產的位置，並能夠開始圍繞這些類型的解決方案優化和規劃負載平衡。因此，我們已經將構建模塊就位好幾年了，並最終在今年年初圍繞非常小規模的充電管理類型進行了一些試點。我們通過 Optimizer 產品組合將所有這些正式化，並在過去幾個月內推出了它。所以我們今天擁有的是一些客戶試點。我們與杜克能源公司簽約，作為我們在電動汽車優化器產品組合上的首次商業部署，並希望繼續增加這一產品組合。真正有趣的部分是，這與網絡或端點無關。因此，我們可以將分析包應用到客戶擁有的任何現有資產之上。顯然，您對這些資產的了解越多，它的效果就會好得多。因此，如果您已經部署了 Itron 網絡並擁有分佈式智能，您甚至可以使用我們現有的解決方案做更多的事情。因此，我們對能夠在所有這些解決方案的基礎上進行構建感到非常非常自豪。所有這一切都是通過有機研發投資完成的，這就是我們一直在考慮的方式。

In terms of future optimization -- or opportunity rather, to the last point of your question, I don't know that I could hazard a guess. I think distributed energy resource management is one of the largest challenges that electricity utilities have today. And the problem is definitely getting worse in terms of how they can ensure reliable and resilient service in the face of these challenges. So I think it is an enormous opportunity. And indeed, it's a place that stimulus money is heading as well. So I think it will be a growth driver for our Outcomes-based business and incremental network business in the years ahead.

就未來的優化而言——或者更確切地說，就機會而言，對於你問題的最後一點，我不知道我是否可以冒險猜測。我認為分佈式能源管理是電力公司當今面臨的最大挑戰之一。面對這些挑戰，他們如何確保可靠和有彈性的服務，問題肯定變得更加嚴重。所以我認為這是一個巨大的機會。事實上，這也是刺激資金的去向。因此，我認為這將成為未來幾年我們基於結果的業務和增量網絡業務的增長動力。

We'll now take our next question from Pavel Molchanov with Raymond James.

現在我們將回答帕維爾·莫爾查諾夫和雷蒙德·詹姆斯提出的下一個問題。

If component supply was limitless, how much higher would revenue be this year?

如果零部件供應無限，今年的收入會高多少？

It's really tough for me to put a perfect number on that. I would guess a couple of hundred million dollars higher than what our guidance point is. I say that based on where our 12-month backlog sits today, which is now at $1.5 billion. I look at it through the lens of where our customer deployment projects are today and think about that through the lens of the installed capacity that we have in place that we are eager to fill. So I would say, a few hundred million dollars higher than what we are expecting today. That is based on a first half that is a bit depressed in terms of where our guidance is, that is, and our ability to begin to catch up and fill some of that in the second half of the year.

我真的很難給出一個完美的數字。我猜比我們的指導點高出幾億美元。我這樣說是基於我們目前 12 個月的積壓訂單，目前已達到 15 億美元。我從我們今天的客戶部署項目的角度來看待它，並從我們渴望填補的已安裝容量的角度來思考這一點。所以我想說，比我們今天的預期高出幾億美元。這是基於上半年我們的指導水平有點低迷，也就是說，我們在下半年開始趕上並填補其中一些指導的能力。

Okay. And then zooming in on backlog. So $4 billion total, how much of that is in the Outcomes segment?

好的。然後放大積壓工作。總共 40 億美元，其中有多少屬於成果部分？

Yes. We haven't really broken out the Outcomes piece specifically. I would say that 90% of that $4 billion is in the Networks and Outcomes space. Clearly, Networks is bigger in that portion just because of the size of the business today. But the portion that is Outcomes is steadily growing. And we're looking forward to continue to do that with the types of products that we -- I just spoke about in Tommy's question on the Optimizer portfolio.

是的。我們還沒有真正具體分解結果部分。我想說，這 40 億美元中有 90% 用於網絡和成果領域。顯然，由於當今的業務規模，網絡在這方面的規模更大。但成果部分正在穩步增長。我們期待繼續使用我剛剛在 Tommy 關於優化器產品組合的問題中談到的產品類型來做到這一點。

We'll now take our next question from Ben Kallo with Baird.

現在我們將回答 Ben Kallo 和 Baird 提出的下一個問題。

Just as we think about -- and maybe just adding on to Pavel's question, as we think about next year and '23, could you talk to us about some of the -- maybe the cost reductions or restructuring, how that impacts your OpEx first? And then second, how do we think about the cadence of just -- because you have such a big backlog here flowing through into next year. Is it something that just is like when you have the components, and all of a sudden, you can turn the spigot on? Or is it a more moderate kind of build back than that?

正如我們所思考的——也許只是補充帕維爾的問題，當我們思考明年和 23 年時，您能否與我們談談一些——也許是成本削減或重組，這對您的運營支出有何影響？ ？其次，我們如何考慮節奏——因為這裡有大量積壓的訂單流向明年。是不是就像當你擁有組件時，突然間你就可以打開龍頭了？或者它是一種比這更溫和的重建方式？

Yes. I'll start, Ben, and then I'll pass it to Joan on the restructuring flow-through. But that $4 billion in backlog, the right way to think about it is that plays out over roughly a 3-year, maybe sometimes, for the long tail, 4-year kind of period. Of that backlog, $1.5 billion of it is in the next 12 months. Once you start a project with a customer and it starts to go well and deployment is underway, we tend to see that our customers generally accelerate that deployment as -- it starts a bit slow, but it accelerates along the path. So as we can supply the hardware, we do believe we can ramp up and be able to supply and fulfill that backlog over, let's say, roughly the next 3-year kind of period based on the visibility that we have today. The gating item very much is component supply at the moment.

是的。本，我先開始，然後我會將重組流程轉交給瓊。但這 40 億美元的積壓，正確的思考方式是，它會在大約 3 年的時間裡發揮作用，有時，對於長尾、4 年的時間段來說可能會如此。其中 15 億美元的積壓訂單將在未來 12 個月內完成。一旦您與客戶啟動了一個項目，並且項目開始進展順利並且部署正在進行中，我們往往會看到我們的客戶通常會加速部署，因為它開始時有點慢，但會沿著路徑加速。因此，當我們可以提供硬件時，我們確實相信我們可以增加並能夠在大約未來 3 年的時間段內供應和履行積壓訂單，根據我們今天的可見性。目前的控制項目很大程度上是元件供應。

Yes. If I think about the incremental year-over-year '21 to '22 from restructuring, it's somewhere between $15 million to $20 million. If you look forward to '23, maybe it's another $10 million in total. The majority of that is actually not in the OpEx line though. The majority of that is actually in the in the gross margin line. So think about the factory closures, et cetera.

是的。如果我考慮一下 21 年至 22 年重組帶來的逐年增量，則約為 1500 萬美元至 2000 萬美元。如果你期待 23 年，也許總共還會再花 1000 萬美元。但其中大部分實際上並不屬於運營支出。其中大部分實際上是在毛利率線中。所以想想工廠關閉等等。

Got it. And so when I think about gross margins and kind of normalizing after we get past component shortages, what's a good year to look back at? Is it 2018? Just on Networks. And then maybe, Tom, just on the regulatory front, I know that there were -- when we started shutdowns and COVID, the regulatory delays were happening for a variety of reasons. Could you give us an update there, where stuff stands now?

知道了。因此，當我考慮毛利率和在我們克服零部件短缺後的正常化時，回顧一下什麼是好的一年？現在是2018年嗎？就在網絡上。湯姆，也許就在監管方面，我知道當我們開始關閉和新冠疫情時，監管延遲是由於各種原因而發生的。您能給我們介紹一下最新情況嗎？現在的情況如何？

Yes. Let me take a shot at margins, and I wouldn't do it by Networks, but for the company. So given that the supply constraints are still with us, and we expect them to be comparable in the first half of '22 versus the last half of '21, I would say they'll continue to be very challenged in the first half of the year. Assuming the supply does start to rebalance in the second half of the year, which is what we're anticipating, I think our full year margins will get close to kind of the company 2019 level, which was approximately 30%. Again, Networks is obviously higher than the average of the company. And given that the preponderance of the backlog is Networks, that bodes well for the future. But think about it from that perspective. We're obviously are dealing with an inflationary environment now. We're doing everything we can to flow through those cost increases to customers. But that would be the best estimate I'd have right now.

是的。讓我嘗試一下利潤率，如果不是為了公司，我不會這樣做。因此，鑑於供應限制仍然存在，並且我們預計 22 年上半年與 21 年下半年的情況相當，我想說他們在 20 年上半年將繼續面臨很大的挑戰。年。假設供應確實在下半年開始重新平衡（正如我們所預期的那樣），我認為我們的全年利潤率將接近公司 2019 年的水平，約為 30%。同樣，網絡明顯高於公司的平均水平。鑑於積壓的大部分是網絡，這對未來來說是個好兆頭。但從這個角度思考一下。我們現在顯然正在應對通脹環境。我們正在盡一切努力將增加的成本轉嫁給客戶。但這將是我現在的最佳估計。

And with respect to the regulatory front, we really have seen the regulatory environment normalize. That happened during 2021 and continues on today. So regulatory decisions are being made and rate cases being approved. That is, I would say, more or less a normalized environment today. We do see regulatory commissions very interested in addressing resiliency and reliability types of issues to make sure that their communities are well served. So the regulatory environment is absolutely moving in the right direction. And I would suspect, as infrastructure money flows, that, that would continue.

在監管方面，我們確實看到了監管環境的正常化。這種情況發生在 2021 年，一直持續到今天。因此，監管決策正在製定中，評級案例也正在獲得批准。我想說，今天的環境或多或少是正常化的。我們確實看到監管委員會對解決彈性和可靠性類型的問題非常感興趣，以確保其社區得到良好的服務。因此，監管環境絕對正在朝著正確的方向發展。我懷疑，隨著基礎設施資金的流動，這種情況將會持續下去。

(Operator Instructions) We'll now take our next question from Chip Moore with EF Hutton.

（操作員說明）我們現在將回答 Chip Moore 和 EF Hutton 提出的下一個問題。

Very impressive to see the demand without any stimulus benefit yet. Can you maybe talk about what you're seeing, guys, that gives you comfort to get some improvement on component shortages in the back half of the year?

令人印象深刻的是，在沒有任何刺激效益的情況下，需求仍然存在。伙計們，您能談談您所看到的情況嗎？這讓您感到安慰，因為下半年零部件短缺問題得到了一些改善？

Sure. The environment that we see today with respect to the supply chain, I would summarize it as follows. The number of decommits really has slowed to a trickle. So a decommit being when a supplier says they're going to deliver something and then they don't turn up with the goods. So I'll say the reliability in terms of component supply from a say-do ratio is certainly much better than it was just several months ago. We definitely see lead times very, very long. So you have lead times that could be 40, 50, 70, 80 weeks long. Those lead times remain elongated. And we have not yet seen any sort of normalization or retraction on those lead times just yet. The situation remains fluid. There are a number of shocks that keep going into the system. So some of the things that happened from the early days of Omicron and Delta rattle through the supply chain that's not affecting our first-tier suppliers, but it's deeper into the supply chain itself. And as we work with our suppliers and try to understand the allocation that we have against those lead times because we're living in that long range kind of world, that's where we think the second half looks quite a bit better than what we have experienced back half of last year in the environment that we're operating in today. Again, remains fluid. So we've got to continue to watch it really closely. But we'll continue to work on self-help on our side, with qualifying multiple suppliers and making sure that we take advantage of every component that is available. We'll work with customers to plan out schedules and make sure that we can support the projects that they have. Our customers are absolutely working with us and not canceling any backlog. So it is a timing-related issue. But that's the basis that we use for the second half supply situation being better than what we experienced today.

當然。我們今天看到的供應鏈環境，我總結如下。退役的數量確實已經放緩至涓涓細流。因此，當供應商說他們要交付一些東西，但他們沒有帶著貨物出現時，就屬於解除承諾。因此，我想說，從供應比率來看，組件供應的可靠性肯定比幾個月前要好得多。我們確實看到交貨時間非常非常長。因此，您的交貨時間可能長達 40、50、70、80 週。這些交貨時間仍然很長。我們還沒有看到這些交貨時間有任何形式的正常化或撤銷。局勢仍然不穩定。有許多衝擊不斷進入系統。因此，Omicron 和 Delta 早期發生的一些事情對供應鏈造成了影響，這並沒有影響我們的一級供應商，但它更深入到供應鏈本身。當我們與供應商合作並嘗試了解我們對這些交貨時間的分配時，因為我們生活在一個長期的世界中，這就是我們認為下半年看起來比我們經歷過的要好得多的地方去年下半年我們所處的運營環境。再次，保持流動性。所以我們必須繼續密切關注。但我們將繼續致力於自助，對多個供應商進行資格審查，並確保我們利用每一個可用的組件。我們將與客戶合作制定時間表，並確保我們能夠支持他們的項目。我們的客戶絕對與我們合作，不會取消任何積壓訂單。所以這是一個與時間相關的問題。但這是我們認為下半年供應狀況比我們今天所經歷的更好的基礎。

That's helpful, Tom. And maybe just a quick follow-up there on booking shift, $1.5 billion, 12 months' backlog. Backlog -- a fair amount of a book and ship to get through this year as well. Just your positioning there and visibility.

這很有幫助，湯姆。也許只是對預訂班次進行快速跟進，15 億美元，12 個月的積壓。待辦事項——今年也有相當數量的書和船要完成。只是您在那裡的定位和可見度。

The environment certainly on the book and ship business is following what you see in the bookings environment. Customers are hungry for product. We're not always in a great position to be able to fulfill that based on some of the component constraints. But the book and ship business is -- has also been healthy. I would watch out closely to see what will happen in Europe with some of the conflict there to make sure that environment remains good. But I do believe that it will be a supply gated environment and not a demand gated environment even on the book and ship business.

預訂和船舶業務的環境肯定與您在預訂環境中看到的一樣。顧客渴望產品。由於某些組件的限制，我們並不總是能夠滿足這一要求。但圖書和船舶業務也一直很健康。我會密切關注歐洲會發生什麼以及那裡的一些衝突，以確保環境保持良好。但我確實相信，即使在圖書和船舶業務方面，這也將是一個供應封閉的環境，而不是需求封閉的環境。

We'll take our next question from Thomas Johnson with Morgan Stanley.

我們將接受摩根士丹利托馬斯·約翰遜的下一個問題。

I just had a question on the margin side of things. Helpful color in the presentation, just thinking through year-over-year dynamics. But can you kind of just help us think about the sequential change in operating margins for the Device Solutions business in the fourth quarter? And maybe kind of help us set some expectations on path to normalization and what that might look like in the first half of the year as well.

我只是有一個關於邊緣方面的問題。演示文稿中有用的色彩，只需考慮逐年動態即可。但您能否幫助我們考慮一下第四季度設備解決方案業務營業利潤率的連續變化？也許可以幫助我們對正常化之路以及今年上半年的情況設定一些期望。

Yes. So let me focus, I guess, first on just the gross margin level. So as Tom indicated, the supply constraints were pretty heavy in Q4, again, a total of $75 million. Most of that is Networks, but a portion of that impacts Devices as well. So that creates utilization issues in the factories in addition to kind of inflationary cost pressures. So both of those contributed to the lower gross margin in the quarter versus what we would have experienced in prior quarters in the year. Going forward, we're -- obviously, I mentioned we've been doing a lot of work on exiting businesses and kind of reshaping the Devices portfolio. Certainly would expect that gross margin to be higher going forward. But again, lower in the first half, higher in the second half as the supply rebalances.

是的。因此，我想，讓我首先關注毛利率水平。因此，正如 Tom 所指出的，第四季度的供應限制相當嚴重，總計 7500 萬美元。其中大部分是網絡，但其中一部分也會影響設備。因此，除了通脹成本壓力之外，這還造成了工廠的利用率問題。因此，這兩個因素導致本季度的毛利率低於我們今年前幾個季度的毛利率。展望未來，顯然，我提到我們一直在退出業務和重塑設備投資組合方面做了大量工作。當然預計未來的毛利率會更高。但同樣，隨著供應重新平衡，上半年較低，下半年較高。

Great. Understood. And then maybe just one more on the margin recovery, and this can be at the consolidated basis. But clearly, utilization and volume is a big driver of the 2H recovery. But can you maybe add any incremental color on what you guys have been able to achieve from a pricing standpoint and how that might support the kind of 2H normalization as well?

偉大的。明白了。然後也許還有一個關於利潤恢復的問題，這可以在合併的基礎上進行。但顯然，利用率和成交量是下半年復甦的一大推動力。但是，您能否從定價的角度為你們已經實現的目標添加任何增量色彩，以及這如何支持 2H 標準化？

Sure. Our guidance is definitely based on working price/cost actions. So the cost side is component cost as well as utilization being able to use that gear much better. But there are a number of pricing initiatives underway today. We certainly had passed along price increases on turns-based business where we had new orders starting to come in. We have written contracts based on indexing so that we are better protected in terms of the pricing in contracts going forward. We're working now on the backlog side of things to try to make sure we address the pricing side even on the backlog. That is a more difficult equation, but it is all part of how we are thinking about our 2022 guidance.

當然。我們的指導絕對是基於工作價格/成本行動。因此，成本方面是組件成本以及能夠更好地使用該設備的利用率。但目前有許多定價舉措正在進行中。當然，我們已經將價格上漲轉嫁到了基於回合的業務上，我們開始收到新訂單。我們編寫了基於指數的合同，以便我們在未來合同的定價方面得到更好的保護。我們現在正在處理積壓方面的工作，以確保我們即使在積壓方面也能解決定價方面的問題。這是一個更困難的方程式，但它是我們思考 2022 年指導方針的一部分。

It appears there are no further telephone questions. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Deitrich for any closing comments.

看來沒有進一步的電話問題了。我想將會議轉回給 Deitrich 先生以徵求結束意見。

Thank you, operator, and I thank everyone for joining today. We look forward to talking to you again in the next couple of months. Thanks, and have a great day.

謝謝接線員，也感謝大家今天的加入。我們期待在接下來的幾個月內再次與您交談。謝謝，祝你有美好的一天。

And once again, that does conclude today's conference. There will be an audio replay of today's conference available this afternoon. You can access the audio replay by dialing 1 (888) 203-1112 or 1 (719) 457-0820, with the passcode of 5471582 or you can go to the company's website at www.itron.com. We thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的會議再次結束。今天下午將提供今天會議的音頻重播。您可以撥打 1 (888) 203-1112 或 1 (719) 457-0820，密碼為 5471582，或者訪問該公司網站 www.itron.com 來觀看音頻重播。我們感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。