Itron Inc (ITRI) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Itron's fourth-quarter 2023 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Itron 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I will now hand the conference over to your speaker host, Paul Vincent, Vice President of Investor Relations.

我現在將會議交給演講主持人、投資者關係副總裁保羅文森 (Paul Vincent)。

Good morning, and welcome to Itron's fourth-quarter 2023 earnings conference call. Tom Deitrich, Itron's President and Chief Executive Officer; and Joan Hooper, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will review Itron's fourth-quarter results and provide a general business update and outlook.

早安，歡迎參加 Itron 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。Tom Deitrich，Itron 總裁兼執行長；高級副總裁兼財務長 Joan Hooper 將審查 Itron 第四季業績並提供整體業務更新和展望。

Earlier today, the company issued a press release announcing its results. This release also includes details related to the conference call and webcast replay information. Accompanying today's call is a presentation that is available through the webcast and on our corporate website under the Investor Relations tab. Following prepared remarks, the call will open for questions using the process the operator described.

今天早些時候，該公司發布了一份新聞稿，公佈了其業績。此版本還包括與電話會議和網路廣播重播資訊相關的詳細資訊。伴隨今天的電話會議的是一個演示文稿，可透過網路廣播和我們公司網站的「投資者關係」標籤觀看。在準備好發言後，電話會議將按照接線員描述的流程進行提問。

Before Tom begins, a reminder that our earnings release and financial presentation include non-GAAP financial information that we believe enhances the overall understanding of our current and future performance.

在湯姆開始之前，請提醒我們，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。

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.

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。

Actual results could differ materially from these expectations because of factors that were presented in today's earnings release and comments made during this conference call as well as those presented in the Risk Factors section of our Form 10-K and other reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

由於今天的收益發布中提出的因素和本次電話會議期間發表的評論以及我們的10-K 表格的風險因素部分以及向證券和證券交易委員會提交的其他報告和文件中提出的因素，實際結果可能與這些預期存在重大差異。外匯委員會。

All company comments, estimates, 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 26, 2024, may materially change, and we do not undertake any duty to update any of our forward-looking statements.

本公司的所有評論、估計或前瞻性陳述均出於善意，旨在為我們當前和未來的營運和財務環境提供適當的見解。今天（2024 年 2 月 26 日）討論的資料可能會發生重大變化，我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

Now, please turn to page 4 of our presentation as our CEO, Tom Deitrich, begins his remarks.

現在，請翻到我們簡報的第 4 頁，我們的執行長 Tom Deitrich 開始講話。

Thank you, Paul. Good morning to everyone, and thank you for joining our call. During the fourth quarter, strong operational execution, improved supply chain balance, and robust customer demand supported financial results ahead of our expectations, including single quarter record revenue for our networked solutions and outcomes segments.

謝謝你，保羅。大家早安，感謝您加入我們的通話。第四季度，強勁的營運執行力、改善的供應鏈平衡和強勁的客戶需求支持了超越我們預期的財務業績，包括我們的網路解決方案和成果部門的單季創紀錄收入。

The performance highlights for the fourth quarter were year-over-year revenue growth of 23% to $577 million; adjusted EBITDA of $68 million, an increase of 99% year over year; non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.23, an increase of 73%; and free cash flow of $39 million, which increased $57 million year over year.

第四季的業績亮點是營收年增 23%，達到 5.77 億美元；調整後 EBITDA 為 6,800 萬美元，較去年同期成長 99%；非公認會計準則每股收益為 1.23 美元，成長 73%；自由現金流為 3,900 萬美元，較去年同期增加 5,700 萬美元。

Turning to Slide 5, bookings for the fourth quarter of $839 million, equating to a book-to-bill ratio of 1.45. This brought cumulative 2023 bookings to $2.16 billion, and our total backlog at year end was $4.5 billion. Our customers face pressure due to increased resource demand, climate- and sustainability-related challenges, and the need to improve consumer experience. Itron's platform approach to provide grid-edge intelligence has a proven track record in addressing these customer concerns.

轉向投影片 5，第四季的預訂量為 8.39 億美元，相當於預訂出貨比為 1.45。這使得 2023 年的累計預訂量達到 21.6 億美元，年底的積壓總額為 45 億美元。由於資源需求增加、氣候和永續發展相關挑戰以及改善消費者體驗的需要，我們的客戶面臨壓力。Itron 提供網格邊緣智慧的平台方法在解決這些客戶問題方面擁有良好的記錄。

The magnitude and diversity of bookings during the fourth quarter also reflects the breadth of unmet needs of utilities around the world. Our largest booking was an award from Eversource Energy, who contracted for an advanced endpoint and network rollout in their Massachusetts territory, covering 1.3 million consumers.

第四季預訂的規模和多樣性也反映了全球公用事業未滿足的需求的廣度。我們最大的訂單來自 Eversource Energy，該公司簽訂了在馬薩諸塞州地區部署先進端點和網路的合同，覆蓋 130 萬消費者。

The program includes deployment services, 10 years of software and associated managed services, and grid-edge technology with Itron's distributed intelligence. This is another large multi-application award for Itron, and we look forward to supporting Eversource to add value across their territory.

該計劃包括部署服務、10 年的軟體和相關託管服務，以及具有 Itron 分散式智慧的網格邊緣技術。這是 Itron 的另一個大型多應用獎項，我們期待支持 Eversource 在其領域內增加價值。

Moving to the Southeastern US, Tampa Electric or TECO and Itron and have agreed to work together to migrate TECO's existing DI-capable endpoint and network lighting controllers from a prior generation of Itron networks to our latest, a multi-service canopy network platform, which will simplify and future proof the solution for new grid-edge intelligence use cases.

搬到美國東南部，坦帕電力或東元和Itron 已同意共同合作，將東元現有的支援DI 的端點和網路照明控制器從上一代Itron 網路遷移到我們最新的多服務天幕網路平台，該平台將簡化新的網格邊緣智慧用例的解決方案並使其面向未來。

TECO continues to adopt grid-edge intelligence and is increasing the use and scale of distributed intelligence applications, most recently through the deployment of location awareness at scale. By leveraging the consolidated Itron network and embracing distributed intelligence, TECO will be able to introduce more value and service resilience to their consumers.

東元繼續採用網格邊緣智能，並增加分散式智能應用的使用和規模，最近透過大規模部署位置感知。透過利用整合的 Itron 網路並採用分散式智能，東元將能夠為消費者帶來更多價值和服務彈性。

Further, Itron will be working with Tulsa, Oklahoma-based ONE Gas, a provider of natural gas services to more than 2.3 million consumers. ONE Gas will enhance the intelligence of their network through the deployment of the next generation of communication modules. This project will help ONE Gas increase reliability, accuracy, and safety for their consumers.

此外，Itron 將與總部位於俄克拉荷馬州塔爾薩的 ONE Gas 合作，該公司是一家為超過 230 萬消費者提供天然氣服務的供應商。ONE Gas 將透過部署下一代通訊模組來增強其網路的智慧性。該計畫將幫助 ONE Gas 提高消費者的可靠性、準確性和安全性。

Our market demand outlook for 2024 remains constructive, and customer interest in new technology continues to accelerate. We anticipate 2024 bookings will result in a book-to-bill ratio of at least 1 to 1. We are observing customers actively exploring projects that could benefit from IIJA funding programs. And although too early to accurately quantify, we do anticipate 2024 bookings will include some contributions from various government infrastructure investment programs, including IIJA, with the benefits of these programs flowing through in subsequent years.

我們對 2024 年的市場需求前景仍然具有建設性，客戶對新技術的興趣持續加速。我們預計 2024 年的預訂量將達到至少 1 比 1。我們觀察到客戶正在積極探索可以從 IIJA 資助計劃中受益的項目。雖然準確量化還為時過早，但我們確實預計 2024 年的預訂將包括來自各種政府基礎設施投資計劃（包括 IIJA）的一些貢獻，這些計劃的好處將在隨後的幾年中體現出來。

Slide 6 provides insights on the operational environment. We continue to see a strong and stable pipeline of customer opportunities with accelerating interest in new technologies. Our customers are facing growing pressure to adapt to a rapidly changing world and digitize critical infrastructure. Requirements to become more efficient and more agile through visibility gathered by Itron's grid-edge intelligence solutions will improve asset management, enhance consumer experience, and reduce inefficiencies.

投影片 6 提供了有關操作環境的見解。我們繼續看到強大而穩定的客戶機會管道，並且對新技術的興趣日益濃厚。我們的客戶面臨越來越大的壓力，需要適應快速變化的世界並對關鍵基礎設施進行數位化。透過 Itron 網格邊緣智慧解決方案收集的可見性變得更有效率和敏捷的要求將改善資產管理、增強消費者體驗並減少低效率。

Component supply has improved and has become more predictable. This has allowed Itron to fulfill a meaningful portion of previously constrained revenue and build inventory of certain critical components in light of a more uncertain and potentially volatile global landscape.

零件供應有所改善並且變得更加可預測。這使得 Itron 能夠滿足先前受到限制的收入的很大一部分，並根據更不確定和潛在不穩定的全球形勢建立某些關鍵組件的庫存。

During 2023, efforts to improve our price-cost ratio gained traction, and we were pleased with the results. Moving forward, we will continue to align our business needs for increased pricing flexibility with the predictability needs of our regulated customers.

2023 年，我們提高性價比的努力取得了成效，我們對結果感到滿意。展望未來，我們將繼續將提高定價彈性的業務需求與受監管客戶的可預測性需求結合。

Exiting 2023, approximately 70% of our $4.5 billion backlog has been repriced or indexed to help address margin compression in the event of continued inflationary cost volatility. Much of the remaining 30% of backlog is expected to be fulfilled during 2024, which does gate margins primarily in the network solutions segment.

到 2023 年，我們 45 億美元積壓訂單中的約 70% 已重新定價或指數化，以幫助解決通膨成本持續波動時利潤率壓縮的問題。剩餘 30% 的積壓訂單預計將在 2024 年完成，這將主要影響網路解決方案領域的利潤。

I will now ask Joan to provide details about our fourth-quarter and full-year results as well as our outlook for 2024.

我現在請 Joan 提供有關我們第四季度和全年業績的詳細資訊以及我們對 2024 年的展望。

Thank you, Tom. I'll review Itron's fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 results before discussing our financial guidance for the full-year 2024 and our outlook for the first quarter.

謝謝你，湯姆。在討論我們對 2024 年全年的財務指引和對第一季的展望之前，我將回顧 Itron 的第四季和 2023 年全年業績。

Please turn to slide 7 for a summary of consolidated GAAP results. Fourth-quarter revenue of $577 million increased 23% versus last year. Revenue growth was supported by strong operational execution and increased component availability, which allowed us to continue to catch up on previously supply-constrained revenue.

請參閱投影片 7，以了解綜合 GAAP 結果摘要。第四季營收為 5.77 億美元，較去年成長 23%。強大的營運執行力和增加的組件可用性支持了收入成長，這使我們能夠繼續趕上以前供應受限的收入。

Gross margin of 34% was 390 basis points higher than last year, primarily due to favorable product mix and operational efficiencies related to increased volumes. This was Itron's highest gross margin since 2017. GAAP net income of $44 million or $0.96 per diluted share compares to $22 million or $0.49 per diluted share in the prior year. The improvement was driven by higher operating income, partially offset by higher tax expense.

毛利率為 34%，比去年高出 390 個基點，這主要是由於有利的產品組合以及與銷售增加相關的營運效率。這是 Itron 自 2017 年以來的最高毛利率。GAAP 淨利潤為 4,400 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.96 美元，而前一年的淨利潤為 2,200 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.49 美元。這一改善是由較高的營業收入推動的，但部分被較高的稅收費用所抵消。

Regarding non-GAAP metrics on slide 8, non-GAAP operating income of $61 million increased $36 million year over year. Adjusted EBITDA of $68 million nearly doubled from the prior year. Non-GAAP net income for the quarter was $57 million or $1.23 per diluted share versus $0.71 a year ago. This quarter was an all-time high for non-GAAP EPS. Free cash flow was $39 million in Q4 versus negative $18 million a year ago. The improvement reflects significant year-over-year earnings growth.

關於幻燈片 8 上的非 GAAP 指標，非 GAAP 營業收入為 6,100 萬美元，較去年同期增加 3,600 萬美元。調整後 EBITDA 為 6,800 萬美元，幾乎是去年的兩倍。本季非 GAAP 淨利為 5,700 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.23 美元，去年同期為 0.71 美元。本季非公認會計準則每股收益創下歷史新高。第四季自由現金流為 3,900 萬美元，而一年前為負 1,800 萬美元。這項改善反映出獲利年比顯著成長。

Year-over-year revenue comparisons by business segment are on slide 9. Device solutions revenue of $114 million increased $9 million or 9% on a constant currency basis, driven by growth in water meter and communication module sales in our EMEA region.

依業務部門劃分的年收入比較請參閱投影片 9。受歐洲、中東和非洲地區水錶和通訊模組銷售成長的推動，設備解決方案收入達到 1.14 億美元，以固定匯率計算增加 900 萬美元，即 9%。

Network solutions revenue of $391 million increased 30% year over year. Growth was enabled by improved supply chain conditions, which allowed us to continue to catch up on previously constrained revenue. Outcomes revenue of $73 million increased $6 million or 9% in constant currency, primarily due to an increase in recurring and one-time services.

網路解決方案營收達 3.91 億美元，年增 30%。供應鏈條件的改善促進了成長，這使我們能夠繼續彌補先前受到限制的收入。結果收入為 7,300 萬美元，以固定匯率計算增加了 600 萬美元，即 9%，這主要是由於經常性服務和一次性服務的增加。

Moving to the non-GAAP year-over-year EPS bridge on slide 10, our Q4 non-GAAP EPS increased $0.52 year over year to $1.23 per diluted share. Pre-tax operating performance contributed a $0.78 per-share increase, driven by the fall through of higher gross profit, partially offset by higher operating expenses. Higher tax expense had a negative year-over-year impact of $0.27 per share.

轉到投影片 10 上的非 GAAP 同比 EPS 橋樑，我們的第四季非 GAAP 每股攤薄每股盈餘年增 0.52 美元，至 1.23 美元。由於毛利增加，稅前經營業績貢獻了每股 0.78 美元的成長，但部分被較高的營業費用所抵銷。較高的稅收費用對每股 0.27 美元的年比負面影響。

Turning to slides 11 through 13, I'll review Q4 segment results compared with the prior year. Device solutions revenue was $114 million, gross margin was 26.9%, and operating margin was 17.5%. Gross margin was up over 15 points year over year, and operating margin was up nearly 15 points, reflecting a higher value product mix and operational efficiencies. This was the device segment's highest quarterly gross margin since Q3 of 2016.

轉向投影片 11 至 13，我將回顧第四季的部門業績與前一年的比較。設備解決方案收入為 1.14 億美元，毛利率為 26.9%，營業利益率為 17.5%。毛利率年增超過 15 個百分點，營業利潤率成長近 15 個百分點，反映出更高價值的產品組合和營運效率。這是該設備領域自 2016 年第三季以來的最高季度毛利率。

Network solutions revenue of $391 million established a new quarterly record, and gross margin was 35%. Gross margin increased 220 basis points year over year, and operating margin was up 290 basis points due to favorable product mix and improved operational efficiencies. Outcomes revenue of $73 million was also a quarterly record, and gross margin was 39.8%.

網路解決方案營收達到 3.91 億美元，創下季度新紀錄，毛利率為 35%。由於有利的產品組合和營運效率的提高，毛利率年增 220 個基點，營業利潤率成長 290 個基點。結果收入為 7,300 萬美元，也創下季度紀錄，毛利率為 39.8%。

Gross margin decreased 670 basis points year over year, and operating margin was down 650 basis points due to a lower mix of software licensing activity. As we have previously discussed, the relative size of software licensing activity in a quarter can create variability from period to period.

由於軟體授權活動組合減少，毛利率年減 670 個基點，營業利潤率下降 650 個基點。正如我們之前所討論的，一個季度軟體授權活動的相對規模可能會造成不同時期的變化。

For a recap of full-year 2023 results, please turn to slide 14. Revenue of $2.17 billion grew 21% versus 2022, supported by a substantial conversion of previously constrained revenue, and supply availability improved faster than expected. We estimate approximately $275 million of revenue that had been constrained by supply limitations at the end of 2022 was converted to revenue during 2023. In addition, we were pleased with increased customer adoption of our grid-edge intelligence technology.

如需回顧 2023 年全年業績，請參閱投影片 14。由於先前受限收入的大幅轉變以及供應可用性的改善速度快於預期，該公司的收入為 21.7 億美元，較 2022 年增長了 21%。我們估計，2022 年底因供應限製而受到限制的約 2.75 億美元收入在 2023 年轉化為收入。此外，我們對客戶越來越多地採用我們的網格邊緣智慧技術感到高興。

Our networks and outcomes segments both delivered record revenue in 2023. Gross margin of 32.8% increased by 370 basis points year over year due to favorable product mix and operational efficiencies. Adjusted EBITDA was $226 million or 10.4% of revenue compared with $95 million or 5.3% in 2022.

我們的網路和成果部門在 2023 年均實現了創紀錄的收入。由於有利的產品組合和營運效率，毛利率為 32.8%，較去年同期成長 370 個基點。調整後 EBITDA 為 2.26 億美元，佔營收的 10.4%，而 2022 年為 9,500 萬美元，佔營收的 5.3%。

Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share was $3.36 versus $1.13 in 2022. Free cash flow of $98 million compares to $5 million in the prior year. The year-over-year increase was due to higher earnings, partially offset by a growth in working capital and increased cash taxes paid.

非 GAAP 攤薄每股收益為 3.36 美元，而 2022 年為 1.13 美元。自由現金流為 9,800 萬美元，而前一年為 500 萬美元。年比增長是由於收入增加，但部分被營運資本的成長和支付的現金稅增加所抵消。

Turning to slide 15, I'll review liquidity and debt at the end of the fourth quarter. Total debt was $460 million and net debt was $158 million. Net leverage was 0.7 times at the end of Q4, and cash and equivalents were $302 million.

轉向投影片 15，我將在第四季末審查流動性和債務。總債務為 4.6 億美元，淨債務為 1.58 億美元。第四季末淨槓桿率為 0.7 倍，現金及等價物為 3.02 億美元。

Please turn to Slide 16 for our full-year 2024 financial guidance. We anticipate 2024 revenue to fall within a range of $2.275 billion to $2.375 billion. At the midpoint, this represents approximately 7% year-over-year growth. An important factor to consider when looking at the projected revenue growth rate is the timing impact of the catch-up of previously supply constrained revenue.

請參閱投影片 16 以了解我們的 2024 年全年財務指引。我們預計 2024 年營收將下降在 22.75 億美元至 23.75 億美元之間。以中點計算，這相當於年增約 7%。在考慮預期收入成長率時，需要考慮的一個重要因素是追趕先前供應受限收入的時間影響。

You may recall that we entered 2023 with approximately $400 million of revenue we were unable to deliver due to component supply constraints. We knew the revenue was not lost, and we would be able to convert it as supply availability improved.

您可能還記得，進入 2023 年時，由於組件供應限制，我們無法交付約 4 億美元的收入。我們知道收入並沒有損失，隨著供應可用性的改善，我們將能夠將其轉換。

As I just mentioned, we estimate approximately $275 million of that catch-up occurred in 2023, and we anticipate the remaining $125 million will occur primarily in the first half of 2024. If you normalize for the impact of 2023 and expected 2024 catch-up of constrained revenue, the 7% year-over-year growth rate would be approximately 16%.

正如我剛才提到的，我們估計大約 2.75 億美元的追趕發生在 2023 年，我們預計剩餘的 1.25 億美元將主要發生在 2024 年上半年。如果將 2023 年的影響標準化，並預計 2024 年將追趕受限收入，則 7% 的年成長率將約為 16%。

We anticipate full-year 2024 non-GAAP earnings per share to fall within a range of $3.40 to $3.80 per diluted share. The EPS guidance assumes an effective tax rate of 25% for the full year. Quarterly rates could fluctuate based on the jurisdictional mix and the timing and amount of tax settlements. At the midpoint of this EPS range and normalizing the tax rate to 25% for both years, we expect 2024 year-over-year earnings growth of approximately 14%.

我們預計 2024 年全年非 GAAP 每股攤薄收益將降至 3.40 美元至 3.80 美元的範圍內。EPS 指引假設全年有效稅率為 25%。季度稅率可能會根據司法管轄區組合以及稅務結算的時間和金額而波動。在此每股收益範圍的中點並將兩年的稅率正常化至 25% 時，我們預計 2024 年的獲利將年增約 14%。

Now please turn to slide 17 for our first-quarter outlook. We anticipate Q1 revenue to be within a range of $575 million to $585 million, a 17% year-over-year increase at the midpoint. We anticipate first quarter non-GAAP earnings per share to be within a range of $0.80 to $0.90 per diluted share, which at the midpoint is approximately 68% year-over-year growth after normalizing for the tax rate.

現在請翻到投影片 17，了解我們對第一季的展望。我們預計第一季營收將在 5.75 億美元至 5.85 億美元之間，中位數年增 17%。我們預計第一季非公認會計準則每股攤薄收益將在 0.80 美元至 0.90 美元之間，在稅率正常化後，中位數年增約 68%。

Our 2023 financial results reflected strong operational execution. We reacted quickly to better-than-expected component supply, ramped manufacturing output and shipments to customers, enabling us to convert a greater-than-expected amount of supply-constrained demand. Our teams pivoted to growth and improved profitability. We're very pleased with our 2023 performance, and we began 2024 with considerable momentum and strategic flexibility.

我們 2023 年的財務表現反映了強勁的營運執行力。我們對好於預期的零件供應做出了迅速反應，提高了製造產量和向客戶的發貨量，使我們能夠轉化超出預期的供應受限需求。我們的團隊致力於成長和提高獲利能力。我們對 2023 年的業績感到非常滿意，並以相當大的勢頭和戰略靈活性開始了 2024 年。

Now I'll turn the call back to Tom.

現在我將把電話轉回給湯姆。

Thank you, Joan. The modern grid is undoubtedly the largest machine on the planet and possibly the most complex with the least readily available visibility into its operational conditions. Not only does it need to be modernized, but this needs to happen in years, not decades, as demand and complexity continues to rapidly increase. Itron's robust connectivity and grid-edge intelligence at scale is providing critical solutions to our customers in timeframes that match these needs.

謝謝你，瓊。現代電網無疑是地球上最大的機器，也可能是最複雜的機器，對其運作狀況的可見度也最差。它不僅需要現代化，而且需要在幾年內而不是幾十年內實現，因為需求和複雜性持續迅速增加。Itron 強大的連接性和大規模的電網邊緣智慧正在滿足這些需求的時間範圍內為我們的客戶提供關鍵解決方案。

To accelerate and broaden the adoption of new technologies. We recently announced co-innovation work with three industry-leading partners that have cutting-edge technology. Itron will integrate our grid-edge intelligence solutions with Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure platform. The combined solution will give utilities greater visibility and control over energy distribution and resource management, which in turn enables an increase in grid capacity while optimizing capital investments in physical equipment.

加速和擴大新技術的採用。我們最近宣布與三個擁有尖端技術的行業領先合作夥伴開展聯合創新工作。Itron 將整合我們的電網邊緣智慧解決方案與施耐德電氣的 EcoStruxure 平台。此組合解決方案將使公用事業公司對能源分配和資源管理具有更大的可視性和控制力，從而提高電網容量，同時優化實體設備的資本投資。

The collaboration is designed to simplify management against an increasingly challenging landscape. This initial step would digitize both the supply and demand sides of the energy value chain for distributed energy resource management.

此次合作旨在簡化管理，以應對日益嚴峻的挑戰。這一初始步驟將使能源價值鏈的供需雙方數位化，以實現分散式能源資源管理。

With the support of Microsoft, Itron is integrating Microsoft Azure OpenAI into our portfolio of outcome solutions. This enables secure natural language processing of utility data to speed access to business intelligence needed in a rapidly changing world. No longer is data science or automation of business intelligence limited to IT and engineering specialists. With this collaboration, actionable information will be more quickly available to all business managers for critical decisions.

在 Microsoft 的支援下，Itron 正在將 Microsoft Azure OpenAI 整合到我們的成果解決方案組合中。這使得能夠對公用事業資料進行安全的自然語言處理，從而加快對快速變化的世界所需的商業智慧的存取。數據科學或商業智慧自動化不再局限於 IT 和工程專家。透過此次合作，所有業務經理將能夠更快地獲得可操作的信息，以做出關鍵決策。

Additionally, we recently announced plans to integrate our grid-edge intelligence solutions with GE Vernova's GridOS orchestration software to collaborate and build a unified data model to ease the integration and utilization of data from the grid edge to the utility control room by connecting the two for real-time data insights for grid operators.

此外，我們最近宣布計劃將我們的電網邊緣智慧解決方案與GE Vernova 的GridOS 編排軟體集成，以協作並建立統一的數據模型，透過將兩者連接起來，簡化從電網邊緣到公用事業控制室的數據整合和利用。為電網營運商提供即時數據洞察。

Combining grid-edge data with operations data will close visibility gaps that previously prevented utilities from identifying and resolving grid issues quickly and efficiently. Grid-edge intelligence unlocks visibility as well as the ability to control and operationalize distributed energy resources inside and outside the home.

將電網邊緣數據與營運數據相結合將縮小以前阻礙公用事業公司快速有效地識別和解決電網問題的可見性差距。電網邊緣智慧解鎖了可見性以及控制和操作家庭內外分散式能源的能力。

Fully optimizing the distribution grid requires cooperation from the ADMS system to the edge and the ability to securely access cloud-based data for processing with the latest machine learning and AI capabilities. Itron believes collaboration between industry leaders is required to accelerate grid modernization, essential to economic and social prosperity.

全面優化配電網需要 ADMS 系統與邊緣的合作，以及安全存取基於雲端的資料以利用最新的機器學習和人工智慧功能進行處理的能力。Itron 認為，加速電網現代化需要產業領導者之間的合作，這對經濟和社會繁榮至關重要。

We will discuss these arrangements and more in our upcoming Investor Day on March 12 at NASDAQ MarketSite in New York City. We expect our program will be helpful for investors seeking to understand our business and why we believe we are positioned at the intersection of a multi-year market trend of wide-scale customer demand for technology with an innovative portfolio of solutions that supports our growth expectations.

我們將在即將到來的 3 月 12 日紐約納斯達克 MarketSite 投資者日討論這些安排及更多內容。我們希望我們的計劃將有助於投資者了解我們的業務，以及為什麼我們相信我們處於多年市場趨勢的交匯點，即客戶對技術的廣泛需求與支持我們成長預期的創新解決方案組合。

We look forward to visiting with everyone attending in person, and we'll also be broadcasting the event via webcast through Itron.com. For those interested in participating, please contact our IR team for registration details.

我們期待親自拜訪所有參加的人，我們也將透過 Itron.com 透過網路廣播來廣播活動。有興趣參加的人士，請聯絡我們的 IR 團隊以了解報名詳情。

To recap today's call, Itron had a strong fourth quarter and full-year 2023. Our teams executed at a high level across the organization and delivered significantly improved results. Our network solutions and outcomes segments set annual revenue records. We drove margin expansion through the year while continuing to earn high-quality customer awards that maintain our backlog at near record levels. While there may be continued volatility in the world ahead, we have assembled a strong and capable team that has proven itself as poised to continue to perform in 2024.

回顧今天的電話會議，Itron 的第四季和 2023 年全年表現強勁。我們的團隊在整個組織中表現出色，並取得了顯著改善的結果。我們的網路解決方案和成果部門創下了年度收入記錄。我們全年推動利潤率擴張，同時繼續贏得高品質客戶獎勵，使我們的積壓訂單保持在接近歷史記錄的水平。儘管未來世界可能會持續動盪，但我們已經組建了一支強大而有能力的團隊，他們已證明自己有能力在 2024 年繼續表現出色。

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) Noah Kaye, Oppenheimer.

（操作員說明）Noah Kaye，Oppenheimer。

Good morning. Thanks for taking the questions. Great quarter. Maybe we could start with the guide, actually. I think the first question would be how to think about the growth across the segments that's embedded in the guide. Is this sort of flattish devices and high single digit in outcomes or networks? Is that kind of the right way to think about it? Or how would you nuance that?

早安.感謝您提出問題。很棒的季度。實際上，也許我們可以從指南開始。我認為第一個問題是如何考慮指南中嵌入的各個細分市場的成長。這種扁平化的設備和高個位數的結果或網路是嗎？這是正確的思考方式嗎？或者你會如何區分這一點？

This is Joan. I would say that devices is relatively flat. And from the standpoint of time year over year growth, you would expect a little bit again in devices, but it's kind of low double-digit growth in networks. And outcomes would be more like high single digits. So if you think about networks, that's where the continuation of the catch-up of the constrained revenue primarily affects the networks segment.

這是瓊。我想說的是設備相對平坦。從逐年成長的角度來看，您可能會期望設備方面再次出現一些成長，但網路方面的成長卻是兩位數的低成長。結果更像是高個位數。因此，如果你考慮一下網絡，那就是收入受限的持續追趕主要影響網絡部分的地方。

Right. And I think most of that catch-up is happening in the first half. That implies that we're kind of back to underlying growth in the back half of the year from a revenue run rate perspective?

正確的。我認為大部分追趕都發生在上半場。這意味著從收入運行率的角度來看，我們在今年下半年恢復了基本成長？

Correct. So again, you're correct that most of the remaining catch-up of the $125 million should be in the first half.

正確的。再說一次，你是對的，1.25 億美元的剩餘追趕大部分應該發生在上半年。

And so that plays into how to unpack margin trends a little bit because you mentioned there's a couple of things going on. You've got some of the old backlog that still is maybe mix disadvantaged, right, rolling through revenue this year. But then you have kind of the catch-up on networks backlog and so that should be mix accretive.

因此，這會影響如何解釋利潤率趨勢，因為您提到有一些事情正在發生。你有一些舊的積壓訂單，但今年的收入可能仍處於不利地位，對吧。但隨後你會在網路積壓方面有所趕上，因此這應該會增加混合效應。

So just kind of help us understand how to think about the trajectory of margins over the course of the year and what kind of a cleaner margin trajectory might look like once we get past some of these different items.

因此，這只是幫助我們了解如何思考一年中的利潤軌跡，以及一旦我們克服了其中一些不同的項目，更清晰的利潤軌跡可能會是什麼樣子。

Yes, so I would say that the first comment would be about Q1. I would expect Q1 to be sequentially lower than Q4. Q4 was a very, very strong margin quarter. But if I think about the overall guidance for the year, it implies slightly higher than '23 in aggregate. And to your point, I would expect kind of first-half margins to be a little bit below second-half margins.

是的，所以我想說第一個評論是關於第一季的。我預計第一季將連續低於第四季。第四季是利潤率非常非常強勁的季度。但如果我考慮今年的整體指導，它意味著整體略高於 23 年。就你的觀點而言，我預期上半年的利潤率會略低於下半年的利潤率。

Tom, you mentioned in the prepared remarks, but just help us understand, where are we in the cycle for fund flow from IIJA and IRA? It looks like the DoE only just opened applications for the GRIP program in November. So are you starting to see quoting activity related to specific programs?

湯姆，你在準備好的發言中提到過，但請幫助我們理解，我們處於 IIJA 和 IRA 資金流週期的哪個階段？看起來美國能源部在 11 月才剛開放 GRIP 計畫的申請。那麼您是否開始看到與特定程式相關的報價活動？

Good question. You are correct that a lot of the proposals to obtain grants from the government are going in now that the first round of awardees happened in the fourth quarter. That's an award. That doesn't mean the cash is flowing just yet. So I would expect that we will see a lot of activities for proposals and for projects that we are working with our customers on during 2024.

好問題。你是對的，由於第一輪獲獎者發生在第四季度，許多從政府獲得資助的提案正在提交中。那是一個獎項。這並不意味著現金已經開始流動。因此，我預計 2024 年我們將看到大量與客戶合作的提案和專案活動。

What that means in terms of flowing it through to our P&L is that there will be bookings in 2024, but I don't expect a material amount of revenue in 2024. The revenue probably comes in '25 and beyond in terms of the timing itself.

就將其流入我們的損益表而言，這意味著 2024 年將會有預訂，但我預計 2024 年不會有大量收入。就時間本身而言，收入可能會在 25 年及以後出現。

Terrific. I'll turn it over.

了不起。我會把它翻過來。

Martin Malloy, Johnson Rice & Company.

馬丁·馬洛伊，約翰遜·賴斯公司。

Good morning. Congratulations on the strong quarter. My first question revolved around the pickup that you saw beginning last year in terms of network solutions revenues and deploying more endpoints. And how should we think about it that impacting the timing of related increase in outcomes revenues and solutions?

早安.恭喜季度表現強勁。我的第一個問題圍繞著去年開始網路解決方案收入和部署更多端點方面的回升。我們應該如何看待它影響成果收入和解決方案相關成長的時間？

I can start, and then, Tom, feel free to catch up. So typically, you'll see anywhere from a 12- to 18-month lag in terms of outcomes applications after the endpoints are deployed. So you're correct. We started to see a lot of this constrained revenue really was networks, and that has started to come to through. So think about 12 to 18 months beyond that.

我可以開始了，然後湯姆，你可以隨意跟上。因此，通常情況下，在部署端點後，您會發現結果應用程式存在 12 到 18 個月的延遲。所以你是對的。我們開始看到，這種受限的收入中有很多實際上是來自網絡，而且這一點已經開始顯現。因此，請考慮 12 至 18 個月後的情況。

The other thing I would just caution, though, is outcomes is a mix of different types of businesses. We have managed services and there we have license revenue. And then of course, we have the applications on distributed endpoint, so it's really all three of those. So I don't think you're going to see a complete correlation in terms of the ability to model it that way. But we would expect that that would pick up anywhere from 12 to 18 months after endpoints are deployed.

不過，我要提醒的另一件事是，結果是不同類型業務的混合。我們有託管服務，也有許可證收入。當然，我們在分散式端點上有應用程序，所以它實際上是這三個。因此，我認為您不會看到以這種方式建模的能力之間的完全相關性。但我們預計，這種情況會在端點部署後 12 到 18 個月內回升。

I don't know, Tom, if you've got anything else.

我不知道，湯姆，你還有其他的事情嗎？

No. Well stated, Joan.

不。說得好，瓊。

Okay. My second question, you've announced several partnerships here that they look like they're in collaborations. They look like they're important. Could you maybe give us a little more color in terms of the timing of when we might see these partnerships impact your results?

好的。我的第二個問題，你在這裡宣布了幾個合作關係，他們看起來像是在合作。他們看起來很重要。您能否就我們何時會看到這些合作夥伴關係影響您的結果向我們提供更多資訊？

Sure, happy to do so. So let me take a step back and try to put the collaborations in context and then come to the meat of your question. We think, fundamentally, it is extremely important to connect up and create full visibility across the distribution grid from the ADMS system, meaning things that are happening higher up in the grid from where we normally play all the way down to the last mile to the endpoint itself.

當然，很高興這樣做。因此，讓我退後一步，嘗試將合作放在上下文中，然後討論您問題的實質。我們認為，從根本上講，從ADMS 系統連接並創建整個配電網的完整可見性極為重要，這意味著從我們通常運行的地方一直到最後一英里，再到最後一英里，發生在電網高層的事情非常重要。端點本身。

You can't solve the full grid problem without that notion of connecting those two parts of it. So that the work that we announced with both Schneider Electric and with GE Vernova is really around that fundamental collaboration.

如果沒有連接這兩個部分的概念，您就無法解決整個網格問題。因此，我們宣布與施耐德電機和 GE Vernova 開展的工作實際上是圍繞著這一基礎合作展開的。

Additionally, the Microsoft collaboration has to do with bringing the power of generative AI to utility data. Today, only about a third of utilities are really doing something with that with AI, and there's a substantial productivity gain that can be possible when you do use that capability in a responsible way. So how do we enable that in a secure and responsible way is with the collaboration with Microsoft is really all about.

此外，微軟的合作還涉及將產生人工智慧的力量引入公用事業數據。如今，只有大約三分之一的公用事業公司真正利用人工智慧來做一些事情，當您以負責任的方式使用該功能時，可以大幅提高生產力。因此，我們如何以安全和負責任的方式實現這一目標是與 Microsoft 合作的關鍵。

Those collaborations themselves, we're working with the first customers in each of those right now. You'll hear some things, and I think we -- even with the GE Vernova, mentioned Florida Power & Light in the press release that went out in the past couple of days. But those collaborations, initial customer activities are going on now. And I would expect product releases to be happening during the year and flow through the results in 2025 and beyond.

這些合作本身，我們現在正在與每個合作的第一批客戶合作。你會聽到一些事情，我想我們——即使是 GE Vernova，也在過去幾天發布的新聞稿中提到了佛羅裡達電力與照明公司。但這些合作和最初的客戶活動現在正在進行中。我預計產品將在年內發布，並在 2025 年及以後產生結果。

Thank you. I'll turn it back.

謝謝。我會把它轉回來。

Jeff Osborne, TD Cowen.

傑夫·奧斯本，TD·考恩。

Thank you. Good morning. Just a couple of questions from my side. Tom, I was wondering, I think Joan mentioned the 16% normalized growth rate without the catch-up on the semiconductor side. I was just wondering, is there anything one time as it relates to 2024? Would you have a similar growth rate given the robust backlog as we look out into 2025? (Multiple speakers)

謝謝。早安.我這邊有幾個問題。湯姆，我想知道，我想瓊提到了 16% 的正常化成長率，但半導體方面沒有趕上。我只是想知道，有沒有什麼跟 2024 年有關的事？展望 2025 年，鑑於大量積壓訂單，你們的成長率是否會類似？（多位發言者）

Let me just clarify what that 16% represents. So what we did to get the 16% is we took the '23 book to revenue, reduced it by the $275 million of catch-up, and then compared that to the 2024 midpoint guidance I just provided and reduced that by $125 million of catch-up. So there's catch-up in both years. So we took -- we normalized both years, and that's how we got the 16%.

讓我澄清一下 16% 代表什麼。因此，為了獲得16％，我們所做的就是將23 年的收入計入收入，將其減少2.75 億美元的追趕，然後將其與我剛剛提供的2024 年中點指導進行比較，並將其減少1.25 億美元的追趕-向上。所以這兩年都有追趕。所以我們對這兩年進行了標準化，這就是我們得到 16% 的原因。

Got it. I apologize. I'm losing my voice here, but -- and then on the TECO, how do you think about the migration from 2.0 to -- or 1.0 to 2.0 solutions? Hypothetically, if you had spent $100 million, a 1.0 solution a decade ago are getting $0.60 on the dollar with the upgrades. How do we think about the legacy customers, [PMO], CenterPoint, et cetera?

知道了。我道歉。我在這裡失聲了，但是——然後在 TECO 上，您如何看待從 2.0 到——或 1.0 到 2.0 解決方案的遷移？假設，如果您花費了 1 億美元，十年前的 1.0 解決方案透過升級將獲得 0.60 美元的收益。我們如何看待傳統客戶、[PMO]、CenterPoint 等？

Right, right. Well, I'll give you a moment to clear your throat. I think I got the question, Jeff. The TECO upgrade, just to set the record there, is not really a 1.0 to 2.0. Think of it as a 1.0 -- sorry, think of it as a 2.0 to a 2.0, but there were two different underlying technologies that were part of 2.0. And really, what's going on is migrating everything to the latest and greatest version to allow that capability to scale much more efficiently across different applications.

是的是的。好吧，我給你一點時間清一下喉嚨。我想我明白了這個問題，傑夫。東元升級只是為了創下紀錄，並不是真正的1.0到2.0。將其視為 1.0——抱歉，將其視為 2.0 到 2.0，但 2.0 有兩種不同的底層技術。事實上，正在發生的事情是將所有內容遷移到最新和最好的版本，以使該功能能夠在不同的應用程式之間更有效地擴展。

So it's not a 1 to 2, which -- it's really a 2 to 2 in terms of the headline capability, but the underlying protocols are little bit cleaner in terms of where they're going.

因此，這不是 1 比 2，就標題功能而言，它實際上是 2 比 2，但底層協議就其發展方向而言更清晰一些。

That said, to your question, in a 1.0 AMI, just to make it a really simple application, the return you were getting on that as an operator was probably a 6%, 4%, 5%, somewhere in that range, typically. Mileage varies a bit, so you could have some a little bit higher than that, but that was more typical.

也就是說，對於您的問題，在 1.0 AMI 中，只是為了使其成為一個非常簡單的應用程序，您作為操作員獲得的回報可能是 6%、4%、5%，通常在該範圍內。里程略有不同，因此您的里程可能會比該里程高一些，但這是更典型的情況。

In a 2.0, the return that you get is much, much bigger. The more applications you pile on to a common set of infrastructure, the more the benefits accrue. So it's far and away a better investment to go to a 2.0 generation, and the cash register really accrues the benefits as you add more applications. We find incremental applications are substantially higher than the single-digit percentages that we saw in an initial automation of the meter to cash cycle.

在 2.0 中，您獲得的回報要大得多。在一組通用基礎架構上新增的應用程式越多，獲得的好處就越多。因此，升級到 2.0 代無疑是一項更好的投資，隨著您添加更多應用程序，收銀機確實會帶來好處。我們發現增量應用遠高於我們在儀表到現金週期的初始自動化中看到的個位數百分比。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

Kashy Harrison, Piper Sandler.

卡希·哈里森，派珀·桑德勒。

Good morning, everyone, and thanks for taking my questions. So my first one, just wanted to go back to the backlog. I think you flagged 70% being re-priced index, and then obviously implying that there's 30% on the other side. Can you give us a sense of what proportion of 4Q results were tied to the lower-priced backlog? And then maybe just generally, how should we think about the margin drag from the lower-priced backlog on 2024 guidance?

大家早安，感謝您提出我的問題。所以我的第一個，只是想回到待辦事項清單。我認為您標記了 70% 為重新定價指數，然後顯然暗示另一側還有 30%。您能否讓我們了解第四季度業績中有多少比例與低價積壓訂單相關？然後，也許只是一般而言，我們應該如何考慮 2024 年指引中低價積壓訂單對利潤率的拖累？

I don't know that I could give a perfect answer for Q4. I would say that there was a mix of pre-pandemic pricing as well as the more recent stuff in Q4. Certainly, it was less than the 70-30 split, meaning we had more of the older stuff flowing through in Q4.

我不知道我能為第四季給出一個完美的答案。我想說的是，大流行前的定價以及第四季最近的定價都是混合的。當然，它比 70-30 的比例要小，這意味著我們在第四季度有更多舊的東西流過。

The overall margins that we have in there, clearly, we've had a substantial run-up in costs on the components. Those component costs have not started to materially ease back to the pre-pandemic levels to this point just yet.

顯然，我們在那裡的總體利潤率，我們的組件成本大幅上升。到目前為止，這些零件成本尚未開始實質回落到疫情大流行前的水平。

So difficult to give you an off-the-cuff answer on the precise numbers. But I do think that margins in the network segment are probably most affected. The other segments are a little bit more free in terms of that margin compression dynamic from pre-pandemic backlog.

很難給你一個關於精確數字的即興答案。但我確實認為網路部分的利潤可能受到的影響最大。就疫情前積壓帶來的利潤壓縮動態而言，其他細分市場更為自由。

Got it. Okay. Fair enough. And then my follow-up question, you highlighted the integration of generative AI to your portfolio of outcome solutions. So clearly, the outcomes business will -- the services will improve due to the use of AI, but can you maybe speak to the financial impact specifically?

知道了。好的。很公平。然後是我的後續問題，您強調了將生成式人工智慧整合到您的結果解決方案組合中。很明顯，由於人工智慧的使用，業務將得到改善，服務將得到改善，但您能否具體談論財務影響？

Are you expecting margin expansion in the outcomes segment? Do you expect to win more business or higher revenues? And then when do you expect OpenAI to be fully integrated across the board to all your customers within the outcomes segment?

您預期成果領域的利潤率會擴大嗎？您希望贏得更多業務或更高收入嗎？那麼您預計 OpenAI 何時能夠全面整合到成果領域的所有客戶？

Three different parts of the equation there. Certainly, I think that the inclusion of more and better refined machine learning capabilities as well as AI capabilities into the data suite that we provide will help both revenue as well as margin. We definitely believe the collaboration with Microsoft, where you can do it in a secure way, really thinking about it as a copilot is the right way to do it in the utility space.

方程式的三個不同部分。當然，我認為將更多更好的精細機器學習功能以及人工智慧功能納入我們提供的數據套件中將有助於收入和利潤。我們絕對相信與微軟的合作，您可以以安全的方式做到這一點，真正將其視為副駕駛，這是在實用程式領域做到這一點的正確方法。

So I think it is accelerating business, which results in revenue and margin accretion. Timing wise, it's going to depend on customer adoption in terms of how it flows through the P&L. We're going to enable it for anything that is hosted in Azure as a first-off example. The faster we migrate customers to a cloud-based environment, I think the faster they will be able to consume it.

所以我認為它正在加速業務發展，從而帶來收入和利潤的增加。從時間角度來看，這將取決於客戶對損益表的採用。作為第一個範例，我們將為 Azure 中託管的任何內容啟用它。我們越快將客戶遷移到基於雲端的環境，我認為他們能夠更快地使用它。

There's a lot of power in being able to do this instead of running down the office hallway to the IT or the engineering department to say, write me a report for something. Why not speak a natural language and have the computer do the work to pull data out, so you can get better insights and make decisions much faster? That's really what the power would be. But I think it's a 2025 story in terms of revenue is where you'll start to see the initial results.

能夠做到這一點有很大的力量，而不是跑到辦公室走廊去 IT 或工程部門說，給我寫一份報告。為什麼不說自然語言並讓計算機來提取數據，這樣您就可以獲得更好的見解並更快地做出決策？這才是真正的力量。但我認為，就收入而言，這是一個 2025 年的故事，你將開始看到初步結果。

I appreciate the color there. And then maybe my final question, your bookings, you saw a nice recovery in Q4 and then you're highlighting one to one -- at least one-to-one bookings guidance for 2024. Can you help us think through what that one-to-one bookings guidance would imply for the year-end 12-month backlog?

我很欣賞那裡的顏色。然後也許是我的最後一個問題，您的預訂，您在第四季度看到了良好的復甦，然後您強調了一對一——至少是 2024 年一對一的預訂指南。您能否幫助我們思考一對一的預訂指南對年底 12 個月的積壓意味著什麼？

Yeah, I think that one is probably going to depend on customer deployment more so than the booking itself. Recall, when we do a booking, we require a signed customer contract and award, of course, but also regulatory approval to be able to put it into backlog. Once it's there, then the deployment schedule gets defined.

是的，我認為這可能更多地取決於客戶的部署，而不是預訂本身。回想一下，當我們進行預訂時，我們需要簽署客戶合約和獎勵，當然，還需要監管部門的批准才能將其放入積壓訂單中。一旦到達那裡，部署計劃就被定義了。

That 12-month backlog number is oftentimes based on deployment schedules more so than booking schedule. So I expect that demand is likely to remain stable and strong, which is a very good thing throughout 2024. And we would expect that 12-month backlog to reflect that strong and stable demand environment.

12 個月的積壓數量通常更多地基於部署計劃而不是預訂計劃。所以我預計需求可能會保持穩定和強勁，這在整個 2024 年是一件非常好的事情。我們預計 12 個月的積壓將反映出強勁且穩定的需求環境。

Got it. I appreciate the commentary. I'll pass it on. Thanks.

知道了。我很欣賞你的評論。我會把它傳遞下去。謝謝。

Chip Moore, Roth MKM.

奇普摩爾，羅斯MKM。

Good morning. Hey, everybody. I wanted to ask about recurring software and service attach rates. We've heard numbers as high as I think 30% for pursuing contracts out there. Is there a way to think about how those attach rates have been trending and how those are in backlog?

早安.嘿，大家。我想詢問有關經常性軟體和服務附加費率的問題。我們聽說，尋求合約的人數高達 30%。有沒有辦法考慮這些附加費率的趨勢以及積壓情況如何？

I think our software and services revenue is somewhere right around 17% to 20% of our total revenue today. Attach rates continue to drive that up over time. So the vast majority of new bookings include not only some hardware, but software and services associated with it. The exact portion that is software and services vary a lot, deal to deal. And probably, it's not a good bellwether to think about a single number there.

我認為我們的軟體和服務收入大約占我們今天總收入的 17% 到 20%。隨著時間的推移，附加率繼續推動這一成長。因此，絕大多數新預訂不僅包括一些硬件，還包括與之相關的軟體和服務。軟體和服務的具體部分因情況而異。也許，僅僅考慮一個數字並不是一個好的風向標。

It's very dependent on the individual deal itself. What we do know is once we have a network deployed, the amount of follow-on business that we get in the in the software and services area is a substantially higher portion of detach than in the initial deal itself. And that just is good for the customers. They are exercising the assets that they bought in multiple ways to help their communities, but it's also good for us as it adds to that software and services activity for the company itself.

這很大程度上取決於個人交易本身。我們所知道的是，一旦我們部署了網絡，我們在軟體和服務領域獲得的後續業務量將遠高於初始交易本身的分離部分。這對客戶來說是件好事。他們正在以多種方式運用他們購買的資產來幫助他們的社區，但這對我們也有好處，因為它增加了公司本身的軟體和服務活動。

Got it. That's helpful color, Tom. I appreciate it. And as a follow up, maybe on the component side, I think, Joan, you mentioned that you've been able to stockpile some critical components. I guess just your confidence if we do get some volatility, have you been able to engineer out some of the more challenging stuff? Or do you think you have enough on hand that you have good comfort if we get some volatility? Thanks.

知道了。這是有用的顏色，湯姆。我很感激。作為後續行動，也許在組件方面，我想，瓊，你提到你已經能夠儲存一些關鍵組件。我想如果我們確實出現一些波動，您是否有信心，您是否能夠設計出一些更具挑戰性的東西？或者您認為您手頭上有足夠的資金，以便在出現一些波動時可以放心嗎？謝謝。

Yeah, I'll start. And then, Tom, please chime in. So yeah, we have made a decision to strategically invest in inventory. And if you look over the past year, our inventory has gone up quite a bit. And that is to really make sure we built some supply chain resiliency.

是的，我要開始了。然後，湯姆，請插話。所以，是的，我們已經決定對庫存進行策略性投資。如果你回顧過去的一年，我們的庫存增加了很多。這是為了真正確保我們建立一定的供應鏈彈性。

And so we feel good about the projections we're providing for '24. Obviously, we continue to work on initiatives to make their supply chain more robust, including dual sourcings and things like that. But at this point, not overly concerned with supply chain shortages on components.

因此，我們對 24 年提供的預測感到滿意。顯然，我們將繼續致力於使他們的供應鏈更加穩健，包括雙重採購等。但目前並沒有過度擔心供應鏈上零件的短缺。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

Tommy Moll, Stephens, Inc.

湯米·莫爾，史蒂芬斯公司

Good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. I wanted to start with a follow up on the point you made about having repriced or indexed about 70% of that year-end backlog. And really, my question is to try to understand the philosophy that underlies those negotiations with your customers. Is the idea to hold the gross margin percentage constant in a changing environment? Gross profit dollars, hold those constant? Or what is the underlying mutually beneficial arrangement you're trying to get to there? Thank you.

早上好，感謝您回答我的問題。我想先跟進您提出的關於對年終積壓的 70% 進行重新定價或編制索引的觀點。事實上，我的問題是試著理解與客戶談判背後的理念。是在不斷變化的環境中保持毛利率不變的想法嗎？毛利（美元）維持不變嗎？或者說，你們想要達成的基本互惠互利的安排是什麼？謝謝。

Certainly, when we have a discussion with customers, we're trying to make sure we are selling the value of the solution that we provide. That's fundamentally how we have the discussion. It's good for the customer, and it's good for us and good for our shareholders. And we do that. We've got a better mousetrap than competition in our minds.

當然，當我們與客戶進行討論時，我們會努力確保我們所銷售的解決方案的價值。從根本上來說，這就是我們討論的方式。這對客戶有利，對我們有利，對我們的股東有利。我們就是這麼做的。我們心中有一個比競爭更好的捕鼠器。

Because our customers are largely regulated utilities, they're looking for price certainty so they can put it into a rate case, and they can go to their commission to develop the right rate structure for their communities. That's the world that they live in.

由於我們的客戶主要是受監管的公用事業公司，他們正在尋求價格確定性，以便將其納入費率案例中，並且他們可以委託委員會為其社區制定正確的費率結構。這就是他們所生活的世界。

If we live in a world with a lot of volatility on the cost side, how can we make those two worlds coincide? And indexing is largely the way we tend to work with customers most often, where if we do have a certain inflation rate, we can take the benefit of it. It largely -- it tends to go up.

如果我們生活在一個成本方面波動很大的世界，我們如何讓這兩個世界一致？索引在很大程度上是我們最常與客戶合作的方式，如果我們確實有一定的通貨膨脹率，我們就可以從中受益。它在很大程度上呈上升趨勢。

In cases where we had done fixed-price contracts where we were not able to renegotiate, that's the remaining 30%-ish that we referenced in our prepared remarks. Now when it comes to how do you have that negotiation with customers to rework those existing deals, again, we look for ways that we can try to provide incremental value so that we can help the customer solve new and interesting problems.

如果我們簽訂了固定價格合約但無法重新談判，則我們在準備好的評論中提到了剩餘的 30% 左右。現在，當談到如何與客戶進行談判以修改現有交易時，我們再次尋找可以嘗試提供增量價值的方法，以便我們可以幫助客戶解決新的有趣的問題。

Is there a way to do that, but still live within the construct that they have for their business? So we try to make it as much as possible a win-win for both sides.

有沒有辦法做到這一點，但仍然生活在他們的業務結構中？因此，我們盡力使雙方盡可能實現雙贏。

That's helpful. Thank you. As a follow-up, I wanted to ask a question on the EPS outlook you've provided. If we just take the first-quarter midpoint and the full-year midpoint for 2024, it's just shy of 25% earnings contribution from the first quarter.

這很有幫助。謝謝。作為後續行動，我想問一個有關您提供的每股盈餘前景的問題。如果我們只取第一季中點和2024年全年中點，它對第一季獲利的貢獻僅略低於25%。

And while it's difficult to know what a quote-unquote normal contribution looks like, I think if we look historically, that skews a little bit rich, which might imply some conservatism embedded in the 2Q, 3Q, 4Q outlook. So any comment you could provide there would be helpful.

雖然很難知道引用-未引用的正常貢獻是什麼樣子，但我認為，如果我們從歷史角度來看，這種偏差有點豐富，這可能意味著第二季、第三季、第四季的前景中嵌入了一些保守主義。因此，您可以在那裡提供的任何評論都會有所幫助。

Yeah, the only thing I would comment is what I said earlier, which is a normal progression of what a first half, second half would look like is going to be a little bit skewed in 2024 as a result of that catch-up of $125 million of revenue occurring primarily in the first half.

是的，我唯一要評論的是我之前所說的，這是上半年的正常進展，下半年的情況會因 125 美元的追趕而在 2024 年會有點偏差億美元的收入主要發生在上半年。

So if you think about that, you're going to have kind of more normal revenue without the catch-up in the second half. And as a result, you end up with something that looks more flattish than it would normally look from first half to second half.

因此，如果你考慮這一點，你將獲得更正常的收入，而不會在下半年出現追趕。結果，你最終得到的東西看起來比上半場到下半場通常看起來更平坦。

That makes sense. Thank you, Joan, and I'll turn it back.

這就說得通了。謝謝你，瓊，我會把它轉回來。

Benjamin Kallo, Baird.

班傑明卡洛，貝爾德。

Hey, good morning, guys. Congrats, Tom and Joan and team. Just quickly, I guess, Tom, on outcomes -- and congrats on the partnerships. Does that, the partnerships, change your strategy around build builds, home, acquire, or partner? I guess what I'm asking is that you talked about acquisitions in the past, and how do you think about that for outcomes for the other parts of the business?

嘿，早上好，夥計們。恭喜湯姆和瓊以及團隊。湯姆，我想，請盡快介紹成果，並祝賀我們的合作關係。合作夥伴關係是否會改變您圍繞構建、自建、收購或合作夥伴的策略？我想我要問的是，您過去談到過收購，您如何看待這對業務其他部分的結果？

Thanks, Ben. No, I don't see that these partnerships change our strategy for the technology we would look to add into our portfolio at all. We weren't looking to get into the high-end ADMS market. That's better served by others, and it's appropriate to partner there. The same with large language models, it's better to partner with the firm there to be able to do that.

謝謝，本。不，我認為這些合作夥伴關係根本不會改變我們希望添加到我們的產品組合中的技術策略。我們不想進入高階 ADMS 市場。其他人可以更好地服務於此，並且在那裡合作是合適的。與大型語言模型一樣，最好與那裡的公司合作才能做到這一點。

Let's make sure that we can extract value for our customers when we do that. That's how we think about those partnerships overall. When it comes to acquisitions itself, we're very focused on edge intelligence capability, adding technology that we can scale across multiple customers, primarily outcomes-related solutions is where you should look for us to continue to discover that market overall.

讓我們確保這樣做時能夠為客戶創造價值。這就是我們對這些合作關係的整體看法。就收購本身而言，我們非常關注邊緣智慧能力，添加可以跨多個客戶擴展的技術，主要是與結果相關的解決方案，您應該尋找我們繼續發現整個市場。

And when we think about just the booking, the very good bookings in Q4, I assume you are -- I think you have visibility for what you think you can book for the year. How does that mix play out between networking and outcomes this quarter than the past Q4 and then looking at it?

當我們只考慮預訂時，第四季度非常好的預訂，我認為您對今年可以預訂的內容有清晰的了解。與過去的第四季相比，本季的網路和成果之間的混合效果如何？

Two ways to look at it. The $839 million of bookings we had in Q4, the vast majority of that is networks and outcomes. That will be true again in 2024. The actual split between networks and outcomes inside of the number varies a bit quarter to quarter. Q4 happened to be a little bit heavier on the outcomes side. We'll see what 2024 looks like. The exact split comes down to how we work with customers for the contracts themselves.

有兩種看待它的方法。第四季我們的預訂量為 8.39 億美元，其中絕大多數來自網路和結果。2024 年，情況將再次如此。網路和數位內部結果之間的實際劃分每個季度都有所不同。第四季在結果方面碰巧更重一些。我們將看看 2024 年會是什麼樣子。確切的劃分取決於我們如何與客戶就合約本身進行合作。

I know you guys have been on a long journey of rightsizing costs and get your manufacturing footprint rightsized. Could you just update us where you are there, and if there's any benefit in '25 from anything that won't happen until then? I guess like a year-over-year benefit from '24 from cost savings or rightsizing manufacturing? Thank you.

我知道你們一直在努力調整成本並調整製造足跡。您能否告訴我們您的最新情況，以及 25 年之前不會發生的事情是否有任何好處？我想，‘24’ 會帶來逐年受益於成本節約或調整製造規模嗎？謝謝。

Well, yeah, I was going to say -- so we have -- in the plan we announced about a year ago, we have two factories closing, and they won't close until the tail end of '24, early 25. So the answer is yes, there will be some benefit in '25 versus '24 once those two factories close. And it's just as you mentioned, a continuation of the strategy we've been on to rightsize the manufacturing footprint.

嗯，是的，我想說 - 所以我們已經 - 在我們大約一年前宣布的計劃中，我們有兩家工廠關閉，它們要到 24 年底 25 年初才會關閉。所以答案是肯定的，一旦這兩家工廠關閉，25 年相對於 24 年將會有一些好處。正如您所提到的，這是我們一直在調整製造足跡的策略的延續。

So that is why, as we've mentioned a couple of times, '24 margins are a little bit muted from a standpoint of the unpriced backlog as well as the fact that the factories aren't closed yet. So we'll be in a position when we do Investor Day in a couple of weeks to talk about our view of 2027, actually.

因此，正如我們多次提到的，從未定價的積壓訂單以及工廠尚未關閉的事實來看，'24 的利潤率有點低。因此，當我們幾週後舉行投資者日時，我們實際上將能夠討論我們對 2027 年的看法。

Great. Thank you very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Pavel Molchanov, Raymond James.

帕維爾·莫爾恰諾夫，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

Thanks for taking the question. Can you talk about geographic sales mix of 2023, what you are thinking of this year and particularly what you're seeing in the European markets?

感謝您提出問題。您能否談談 2023 年的地理銷售組合、您對今年的想法，特別是您在歐洲市場看到的情況？

Yes, I can start. And then, Tom, if you want to add in -- I would say, given that our networks business and outcomes for that matter is heavily North America, the vast majority of our revenue continues to be from North America.

是的，我可以開始了。然後，湯姆，如果你想補充一下——我想說，鑑於我們的網路業務和成果主要集中在北美，我們的絕大多數收入仍然來自北美。

We do have primarily our devices business that has a good amount of revenue in Europe, and devices was much stronger than we expected in '23 on the backs of, really, strength in the water meter and water communication modules business. So we're seeing a lot of good water strength in Europe right now.

我們確實主要擁有在歐洲擁有大量收入的設備業務，並且在水錶和水通信模組業務的強勁支持下，設備業務比我們 23 年的預期要強得多。所以我們現在在歐洲看到很多好的水強度。

And if I just fast forward and add one more comment there, I agree fully with Joan's commentary that there is a push on the part of local governments, specifically in Western Europe, around the water market that's certainly helping the market overall. And we've seen pretty robust signals.

如果我快轉並在那裡再添加一條評論，我完全同意瓊的評論，即地方政府（特別是西歐）圍繞水市場進行了推動，這肯定有助於整個市場。我們已經看到了相當強勁的訊號。

That business tends to be a little bit shorter cycle. Almost a good portion of it is turns business, meaning a book-and-ship within the quarter. And that's one that we will continue to watch throughout the year. But Joan is right that the water market in 2023 was stronger than we had expected coming into the year, and we'll continue to watch that through 2022.

該業務的周期往往會短一些。其中幾乎很大一部分是周轉業務，即在本季度內預訂並發貨。這是我們全年都會繼續關注的。但 Joan 說得對，2023 年的水市場比我們今年的預期要強勁，我們將在 2022 年繼續關注這一情況。

Got it. And since my M&A question was already answered, I thought I would kind of frame slightly different around the free cash flow. You are building cash, and the only debt on the balance sheet is a convert that you have two years on. So what's the priority ranking on how you're thinking about that increase in cash balance?

知道了。由於我的併購問題已經得到解答，我想我對自由現金流的框架會略有不同。你正在累積現金，資產負債表上唯一的債務是你兩年後的皈依者。那麼，您如何看待現金餘額增加的優先順序是什麼？

M&A, that is the priority. We've been very active. We continue to be active, and we feel very good about our position now given our cash balance and our ability, if need be, for the right acquisition to actually take on more debt given where our leverage is. So that is by far the number-one priority is to find something that enhances our outcomes segment.

併購，這是當務之急。我們一直都非常活躍。我們繼續保持積極態度，考慮到我們的現金餘額以及我們的能力（如果需要的話），考慮到我們的槓桿水平，我們對我們現在的狀況感覺非常好。因此，到目前為止，首要任務是找到能夠增強我們成果部分的東西。

All right. Very clear. Thanks very much.

好的。非常清楚。非常感謝。

Scott Graham, Seaport Research.

斯科特·格雷厄姆，海港研究中心。

Yes, hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions and congratulations on your quarter. I hope you can answer this question, and I hope I'm not overly complicating it. It probably will be. When you reprice, does that get you -- because you threw around the word index and comp, does that get you to price cost, however you want to call it, price inflation neutrality? Or are you still price cost negative even after that indexing?

是的，嗨。早安.感謝您回答我的問題並祝賀您的季度。我希望你能回答這個問題，也希望我沒有把問題搞得太複雜。可能會的。當你重新定價時，這是否會讓你——因為你拋出了指數和比較這個詞，這是否會讓你定價成本，無論你想怎麼稱呼它，價格通膨中性？或者即使在索引之後您的價格成本仍然為負？

Well, it depends on the timeframe that you're talking about. So an index, just to really put a fine point on it, could be something like a PPI or CPI for the specific market that you're dealing with. That's what you could use to price -- to index pricing on a go-forward basis. And then it will depend very much on your internal productivity compared to that. Overall, very visible, very trackable metric between you and the customer to make it clear.

嗯，這取決於你所說的時間範圍。因此，為了真正說明一點，指數可以是您正在處理的特定市場的 PPI 或 CPI 之類的東西。這就是你可以用來定價的——在未來的基礎上對定價進行索引。與此相比，這在很大程度上取決於你的內部生產力。整體而言，您和客戶之間非常明顯、非常可追蹤的指標，使其一目了然。

So whether you win on price cost depends on your productivity against that particular metric. And generally, it's in a go forward sense is how that indexing tends to work. So if you started behind or you started ahead, then you know where you are relative to that index on a time evolution basis. I hope that helps put clarity behind it.

因此，您是否能在價格成本上獲勝取決於您針對該特定指標的生產力。一般來說，從長遠來看，索引的運作方式是這樣的。因此，如果您開始落後或開始領先，那麼您就知道在時間演變的基礎上您相對於該指數的位置。我希望這有助於澄清它。

I'll probably have to read the transcript again on that one for your answer, but it does help a little bit. I guess my follow-up question would be kind of the same question asked a little bit differently. Just for numbers' sake, the big jump in gross margin in the fourth quarter was that -- let's assume that we get to or closer to price cost parity. So was that like enriched mix? Was that volume, or was it productivity? You can say yes to all three, but then maybe rank them.

我可能需要再次閱讀該文字的文字記錄才能得到您的答案，但這確實有一點幫助。我想我的後續問題會是同樣的問題，但略有不同。僅就數字而言，第四季毛利率的大幅躍升是——讓我們假設我們達到或接近價格成本平價。那麼這就像豐富的混合嗎？是數量，還是生產力？您可以對所有三個都說“是”，但也許可以對它們進行排名。

I would say yes to all three. And I would say mix was probably the biggest.

我會對這三個人說「是」。我想說混合可能是最大的。

Right on.

就在。

Okay. And then how does that look for '24 gross margin?

好的。那麼 24 年的毛利率又是如何呢？

Well, I think I commented it earlier in the full-year guidance that we provided. The assumption is the gross margin is a little bit better than full-year '23. And so part of that is this headwind of the 30% on non-indexed backlog coming in, and that primarily affects networks. But in aggregate, we think the overall gross margin will be slightly higher than it was in '23 -- annual '23, not Q4.

嗯，我想我早些時候在我們提供的全年指導中對此進行了評論。假設毛利率略優於 23 年全年。因此，其中一部分是 30% 的非索引積壓出現的逆風，這主要影響網路。但總的來說，我們認為整體毛利率將略高於 23 年——23 年度，而不是第四季。

Yes. And Joan, does that headwind -- I assume that headwind reduces significantly in '25?

是的。瓊，我認為 25 年逆風會顯著減少嗎？

Yes, correct. Plus, you have the benefit of the two factories going offline, which will help margin as well. But yeah, in the 30% or so of the backlog that is not price protected, we would expect the majority of that to come into '24.

是，對的。另外，兩家工廠下線也為你帶來了好處，這也將有助於提高利潤率。但是，是的，在未受價格保護的積壓訂單中，有 30% 左右，我們預計其中大部分將在 24 年出現。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Austin Moeller, Canaccord.

奧斯汀·莫勒，Canaccord。

Hi, good morning. Nice quarter. So I have a two-part question here. Where do you view yourself in the sales cycle with the utilities right now? And do you expect further demand recovery as interest rates declined, just given the sensitivity of utilities to interest rates?

早安.不錯的季度。所以我這裡有一個由兩個部分組成的問題。您認為自己目前在公用事業公司的銷售週期中處於什麼位置？考慮到公用事業對利率的敏感性，您是否預期隨著利率下降，需求會進一步復甦？

So I can take that one. I think that we generally see utilities looking to solve the real problems that are on their hands today. They've got to figure out how to balance supply and demand with more renewables on the generation side and more distributed energy resources at the edge of the network.

所以我可以接受那個。我認為我們通常看到公用事業公司希望解決他們目前面臨的實際問題。他們必須弄清楚如何透過發電側更多的再生能源和網路邊緣更多的分散式能源來平衡供需。

How do they do that? They do it with grid-edge intelligence. They've got more environmental pressures with floods and fires and storms or ice storms or droughts, what have you, depending on where in the country you may be. And they've got to make their infrastructure more resilient, and they've got rising consumer demands.

他們是怎麼做到的？他們利用網格邊緣智慧來做到這一點。他們面臨更大的環境壓力，包括洪水、火災、風暴、冰暴或乾旱，你有什麼，取決於你在這個國家的哪個地方。他們必須提高基礎設施的彈性，消費者的需求不斷增長。

Consumers want to understand how they are buying the service in much finer detail than the traditional utility model allowed. Those are the pressures that to drive our customers towards new technology. We see customers actively looking at new technology to address those questions.

消費者希望比傳統實用新型更詳細地了解他們如何購買服務。這些壓力促使我們的客戶採用新技術。我們看到客戶積極尋求新技術來解決這些問題。

We haven't seen a shift in buying behavior from our customers with interest rates rising over the last couple of years. Indeed, the demand picture has been pretty steady and strong. Looking at these new technologies, rate cases are being approved. They're working through the regulatory process, and the return that they're getting on those rate cases is also pretty steady.

隨著過去幾年利率的上升，我們並沒有看到客戶的購買行為改變。事實上，需求情況一直相當穩定且強勁。看看這些新技術，費率案例正在獲得批准。他們正在完成監管流程，他們從這些利率案件中獲得的回報也相當穩定。

As interest rates come down, perhaps rate cases change a little bit or maybe demand goes up. Time will tell as to how that plays out. But independent of interest rates, we do expect the demand environment to continue to be stable and strong.

隨著利率下降，利率情況可能會發生一些變化，或者需求可能會上升。時間會告訴我們結果如何。但與利率無關，我們確實預期需求環境將持續穩定且強勁。

Excellent. Thanks for all the detail.

出色的。感謝您提供所有詳細資訊。

Thank you, and I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Tom Deitrich for any closing remarks.

謝謝您，我現在將把電話轉回給 Tom Deitrich 先生，讓其發表結束語。

I thank everyone for joining today. We look forward to updating everyone at our March investor event, and until next time, thank you for joining.

我感謝大家今天的加入。我們期待在三月的投資人活動中向大家通報最新情況，感謝您的參加，下次再見。

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。