J & J Snack Foods Corp (JJSF) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the J&J Snack Foods fiscal 2023 First Quarter Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Norberto Aja, Investor Relations. Sir, please begin.

女士們先生們，美好的一天，感謝你們的支持。歡迎來到 J&J Snack Foods 2023 財年第一季度電話會議。 （操作員說明）此時，我想將會議轉交給投資者關係部的 Norberto Aja 先生。先生，請開始。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining the J&J Snack Group's Fiscal 2023 First Quarter Conference Call. We'll start in just a minute with management's comments and your questions. But before doing so, let me take a minute to read the safe harbor language.

謝謝接線員，大家早上好。感謝您參加強生零食集團 2023 財年第一季度電話會議。稍後我們將開始討論管理層的評論和您的問題。但在此之前，讓我花點時間閱讀安全港語言。

This call will contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements made on this call that do not relate to the matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including statements regarding management's plans, strategies, goals and objectives; and our anticipated financial performance, industry-wide supply constraints and the expected impact of COVID-19 on our business.

本次電話會議將包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。本次電話會議上作出的與歷史事實無關的所有陳述均應視為前瞻性陳述，包括有關管理層計劃的陳述、戰略、目的和目標；以及我們預期的財務業績、全行業的供應限制以及 COVID-19 對我們業務的預期影響。

These statements are neither promises or guarantees that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors discussed in our annual report in Form 10-K for the year ended September 24, 2022, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made on this call today.

這些陳述既不是涉及已知和未知風險、不確定性和其他重要因素的承諾或保證，這些因素可能導致結果、業績或成就與前瞻性陳述明示或暗示的任何未來結果、業績或成就存在重大差異。我們在截至 2022 年 9 月 24 日止年度的 10-K 表格年度報告以及向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中討論的因素可能導致實際結果與今天在本次電話會議上做出的前瞻性陳述所表明的結果存在重大差異.

Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as to the date of this call, January 31, 2023. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause earnings to change.

任何此類前瞻性陳述均代表管理層對本次電話會議日期（2023 年 1 月 31 日）的估計。雖然我們可能會選擇在未來的某個時候更新前瞻性陳述，但我們不承擔任何這樣做的義務，即使隨後事件導致收入發生變化。

In addition, we may also reference certain non-GAAP metrics on the call today, including adjusted EBITDA, operating income or earnings per share, all of which are reconciled to the nearest GAAP metric in the company's earnings press release, which can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website.

此外，我們還可能在今天的電話會議上引用某些非 GAAP 指標，包括調整後的 EBITDA、營業收入或每股收益，所有這些都與公司收益新聞稿中最接近的 GAAP 指標相一致，可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分。

Joining me on the call today is Dan Fachner, our Chief Executive Officer; as well as Ken Plunk, our Chief Financial Officer. Following management's prepared remarks, we will go ahead and open the call for a question-and-answer session. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Dan Fachner, J&J Snack Foods' Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, Dan.

今天和我一起參加電話會議的是我們的首席執行官 Dan Fachner；以及我們的首席財務官 Ken Plunk。在管理層準備好的評論之後，我們將繼續進行問答環節。有了這個，我現在想把電話轉給 J&J Snack Foods 的首席執行官 Dan Fachner 先生。請繼續，丹。

Thank you, Norberto, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us this morning to discuss our fiscal 2023 fiscal quarter results. We are pleased to report the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit top line growth and remain confident in our plans to continue growing sales. We are investing in our brands, accelerating the cross-selling strategy with our customers and across our channels, expanding our production capacity and building a strong pipeline of product innovation.

謝謝你，Norberto，大家早上好。感謝您今天上午加入我們討論我們 2023 財年的財季業績。我們很高興地報告連續第七個季度實現兩位數的收入增長，並對我們繼續增長銷售額的計劃充滿信心。我們正在投資我們的品牌，加速與客戶和跨渠道的交叉銷售戰略，擴大我們的生產能力並建立強大的產品創新渠道。

We have hit the ground running with our Dippin' Dots business, having already gained placement at Regal Theaters, the second largest movie theater chain in the United States. In fact, we increased unit sales in our Dippin' Dots business over 14% in the first quarter.

我們的 Dippin' Dots 業務已經開始運作，已經在美國第二大連鎖電影院 Regal Theatres 獲得安置。事實上，我們在第一季度將 Dippin' Dots 業務的單位銷售額增加了 14% 以上。

Also, we recently launched Hola! Churros brand and are seeing strong momentum, including over 30% sales growth in the first quarter. This positions us well to grow our churro business including the introduction of new products and entry into new channels. These are just a couple of examples of the opportunities ahead of us.

此外，我們最近推出了 Hola！ Churros 品牌勢頭強勁，第一季度銷售額增長超過 30%。這使我們能夠很好地發展油條業務，包括推出新產品和進入新渠道。這些只是擺在我們面前的機會的幾個例子。

In the first quarter, our industry experienced some softness in spending and traffic across retail, restaurants and foodservice as consumers adapt to the changing economy. Also, the historic winter storm that hit most of the country during 2 key selling weeks prior to Christmas did impact volume sales, especially in theaters and outdoor venues. Despite these challenges, many of our strategic categories, including ICEE, Dippin' Dots and Hola! Churros grew volume during the quarter.

在第一季度，隨著消費者適應不斷變化的經濟，我們的行業在零售、餐館和餐飲服務方面的支出和流量出現了一些疲軟。此外，在聖誕節前的 2 個關鍵銷售週期間襲擊該國大部分地區的歷史性冬季風暴確實影響了銷量，尤其是在劇院和戶外場所。儘管面臨這些挑戰，我們的許多戰略類別，包括 ICEE、Dippin' Dots 和 Hola！ Churros 在本季度的銷量有所增長。

As it relates to our income performance, ongoing inflationary pressures and the softening consumer environment impacted our year-over-year bottom line results. Our recent pricing actions helped deliver improved gross margins of approximately 100 basis points above Q1 last year, and we are confident that this will continue throughout the year. However, we continue to manage cost pressures on the expense side when compared to prior year, most noticeably our distribution expense. We expect to see improvement in distribution expenses as we cycle through the high inflationary periods later in the year.

由於它與我們的收入表現相關，持續的通脹壓力和疲軟的消費環境影響了我們的同比利潤結果。我們最近的定價行動幫助提高了毛利率，比去年第一季度提高了約 100 個基點，我們相信這將在全年持續。然而，與上一年相比，我們繼續在費用方面管理成本壓力，最明顯的是我們的分銷費用。隨著我們在今年晚些時候經歷高通脹時期，我們預計分銷費用會有所改善。

Also, Dippin' Dots is a seasonal business. And as expected, it negatively impacted our results in the first quarter. This business will drive most of its profitability in the second half of the year. Ken will provide some more insights to our financial performance in just a few moments.

此外，Dippin' Dots 是一項季節性業務。正如預期的那樣，它對我們第一季度的業績產生了負面影響。該業務將在下半年推動其大部分盈利。肯將在短時間內對我們的財務業績提供更多見解。

Switching to our 3 business segments. Starting with foodservice. Q1 revenue was up 13%, even as we manage through the challenging winter weather events in December. This, combined with a weaker slate of movie releases, had some impact on our sales. Soft pretzel sales increased 4% this quarter. We see expanded growth opportunities throughout the year as we introduced (inaudible) and Pretzel Bites focused on the entertainment, theater, QSR and convenience channels.

切換到我們的 3 個業務部門。從餐飲服務開始。第一季度收入增長了 13%，即使我們在 12 月度過了充滿挑戰的冬季天氣事件。這一點，再加上電影發行量減少，對我們的銷售產生了一些影響。本季度軟椒鹽脆餅銷售額增長了 4%。隨著我們推出（聽不清）和專注於娛樂、劇院、QSR 和便利渠道的 Pretzel Bites，我們看到了全年擴大的增長機會。

We also saw continued strong momentum in our churros business with sales increasing 32% as we introduced our new Hola! Churros brand of food service. The sales team expanded placement of churros with major distributors, large regional QSRs and fast casual restaurants. We are confident that there are still significant growth opportunities across QSR, fast casual, convenience channels and with major distributors, including a significant opportunity with a major QSR burger chain going into test in the first half of 2023. Hola! Churros will have a whole selling and marketing support plan throughout the year.

隨著我們推出新的 Hola!，我們的油條業務也保持強勁勢頭，銷售額增長了 32%。 Churros 食品服務品牌。銷售團隊擴大了與主要分銷商、大型區域 QSR 和休閒快餐店的油條佈局。我們相信，QSR、快速休閒、便利渠道和主要分銷商仍然存在重大增長機會，包括 2023 年上半年進入測試的主要 QSR 漢堡連鎖店的重大機會。Hola！ Churros 將有一個完整的全年銷售和營銷支持計劃。

Frozen novelties was relatively flat in Q1, excluding sales from Dippin' Dots. The first quarter is a slow seasonal period for this category and was further impacted by the challenging weather conditions. We have strong incremental sales plans in place starting in the second quarter and remain very confident in growing this category throughout the year in theme parks, health care and convenience channels. We have also added 2 new production lines to support these growth opportunities.

第一季度冷凍新奇商品相對平穩，不包括 Dippin' Dots 的銷售額。第一季度是該類別的淡季，並進一步受到惡劣天氣條件的影響。從第二季度開始，我們制定了強有力的增量銷售計劃，並且對全年在主題公園、醫療保健和便利渠道中增長這一類別仍然充滿信心。我們還增加了 2 條新生產線來支持這些增長機會。

Transitioning to our bakery business. Sales increased 1% driven by strong growth of handhelds and cookies with a major club customer and we expanded business with a strategic convenience store customer as well. Looking forward, we see additional growth opportunities for our ICEE cookies and our frozen cookie dough.

過渡到我們的麵包店業務。主要俱樂部客戶的手持設備和餅乾的強勁增長推動銷售額增長了 1%，我們還擴大了與戰略便利店客戶的業務。展望未來，我們看到了 ICEE 曲奇和冷凍曲奇麵團的更多增長機會。

Our strategy to improve margins in the bakery business is working as we shift the mix to more profitable products and customers and rationalize less productive items in our portfolio, very pleased with our bakery group. Lastly, we continue to forecast added gains in key items such as handhelds and funnel fries.

我們提高麵包店業務利潤率的戰略正在發揮作用，因為我們將組合轉向利潤更高的產品和客戶，並合理化我們產品組合中生產率較低的項目，我們對麵包店集團非常滿意。最後，我們繼續預測手持設備和漏斗薯條等關鍵項目的收益會增加。

Moving to our Retail segment. Sales increased 1% for the quarter as the industry started to experience softness and macroeconomic spending for consumables. In our Soft Pretzel segment, we saw continued strength in our flagship SUPERPRETZEL brand, driven by distribution gains and organic growth. However, overall pretzel sales declined 11% in the quarter, primarily in licensed and private brand products as we executed the planned SKU rationalization of lower-margin items.

轉到我們的零售部門。由於該行業開始經歷消費品的疲軟和宏觀經濟支出，本季度銷售額增長了 1%。在我們的 Soft Pretzel 細分市場，我們看到我們的旗艦品牌 SUPERPRETZEL 持續走強，這得益於分銷收益和有機增長。然而，本季度整體椒鹽捲餅銷售額下降了 11%，主要是在許可和自有品牌產品中，因為我們執行了計劃中的低利潤商品的 SKU 合理化。

As the year progresses, our strong focus on SUPERPRETZEL brands, including new SUPERPRETZEL Pretzel Bite flavors, launch of SUPERPRETZEL knots and super SUPERPRETZEL BAVARIAN pretzel sticks, is expected to lead a full year revenue growth in the soft pretzel category.

隨著今年的進展，我們對 SUPERPRETZEL 品牌的高度關注，包括新的 SUPERPRETZEL Pretzel Bite 口味、SUPERPRETZEL knots 和超級 SUPERPRETZEL BAVARIAN 椒鹽捲餅棒的推出，預計將引領軟椒鹽捲餅類別的全年收入增長。

In frozen novelties, we saw a 1% sales increase for the quarter. As we entered the second quarter, we are planning for incremental growth in this category, including the launch of ICEE and SLUSH PUPPIE pops, Whole Fruit in the weekly distribution gains and further expansion of our Dogsters brand in grocery. We are also confident with our plans to bring all our churros to retail later this year. We added capacity. This will be a big growth opportunity for this category.

在冷凍新奇產品中，我們看到本季度的銷售額增長了 1%。當我們進入第二季度時，我們計劃在這一類別中實現增量增長，包括推出 ICEE 和 SLUSH PUPPIE 汽水、每週分銷收益中的 Whole Fruit 以及我們的 Dogsters 品牌在雜貨店的進一步擴張。我們也對今年晚些時候將所有油條零售的計劃充滿信心。我們增加了容量。這將是這一類別的巨大增長機會。

Regarding our third segment, Frozen Beverages, Q1 revenue was up 9%, driven by a 15% increase in beverage sales and an 8% increase in service sales. This was partially offset by 11% decline in equipment revenue due to the timing of customer installations between years. However, we are excited to communicate that we have secured a contract with Checkers to buy approximately 800 machines, and these will be installed over the second half of the year. This business also includes a service contract as well.

關於我們的第三個分部，冷凍飲料，第一季度收入增長了 9%，這主要受飲料銷售額增長 15% 和服務銷售額增長 8% 的推動。由於客戶安裝時間跨年，這部分被設備收入下降 11% 所抵消。但是，我們很高興地宣布，我們已經與 Checkers 簽訂了購買大約 800 台機器的合同，這些機器將在今年下半年安裝。該業務還包括服務合同。

ICEE branded test continue with large QSR customers, and we are in the process of rolling out ICEE across more stores nationwide.

ICEE 品牌測試繼續在 QSR 大客戶中進行，我們正在全國更多門店推廣 ICEE。

In regard to Dippin' Dots business, our pipeline is strong. Not only has it performed very well thus far, including a 14% increase in unit sales in the first quarter, but it holds significant potential for added growth, both in foodservice where it's predominantly today, as well as in expanding into the retail sector. As an example, we recently signed to deal with Regal Theaters, which as some of you know, is the second largest theater chain in the United States with over 540 locations. The initial placement will cover over 230 locations with the rest to come thereafter. The initial sales results are really encouraging.

關於 Dippin' Dots 業務，我們的管道很強大。到目前為止，它不僅表現非常好，包括第一季度單位銷售額增長 14%，而且它還具有巨大的增長潛力，無論是在當今主要的餐飲服務領域，還是在向零售業擴張方面。例如，我們最近簽署了與 Regal Theatres 的協議，正如你們中的一些人所知，它是美國第二大連鎖影院，擁有 540 多個地點。最初的安置將覆蓋 230 多個地點，其餘地點將在之後進行。最初的銷售結果確實令人鼓舞。

We also recently introduced ICEE Cherry and Blue Raz Dippin' Dots flavors, a new product launch with promising Q1 sales, which demonstrates our ability to leverage our strong brand portfolio across business channels. I would now like to spend a few moments reviewing our strategic priorities as we remain focused on transforming the business. We have taken aggressive measures to offset the challenges facing us as we operate under this historic backdrop of inflationary pressures, and can position the company for long-term success. We are aggressively focused on improving operational efficiencies through initiatives by implementing a new ERP system, adding 7 new more automated production lines, outsourcing our shipping logistics, and building a more geographically optimized distribution network. In addition, we have now fully implemented various price increases across our portfolio, which will continue to drive improved gross margins.

我們最近還推出了 ICEE Cherry 和 Blue Raz Dippin' Dots 口味，這是一款新產品，第一季度的銷售前景可觀，這表明我們有能力利用我們跨業務渠道的強大品牌組合。我現在想花點時間回顧一下我們的戰略重點，因為我們仍然專注於業務轉型。我們已採取積極措施來應對我們在這一歷史性通脹壓力背景下運營所面臨的挑戰，並使公司能夠取得長期成功。我們積極專注於通過實施新的 ERP 系統、增加 7 條自動化程度更高的新生產線、外包我們的航運物流以及建立地理上更優化的分銷網絡等舉措來提高運營效率。此外，我們現在已經在我們的產品組合中全面實施各種價格上漲，這將繼續推動毛利率的提高。

Let me start with our supply chain strategy priorities. We communicated last quarter that our logistics and distribution management responsibility have now been fully outsourced to NFI, a recognized expert in the industry. They are now managing 100% of our business, and we expect to generate approximately $4 million annualized benefit as we improve management of carriers, improve truckload efficiencies, and minimize miles through better network management.

讓我從我們的供應鏈戰略優先事項開始。我們在上個季度表示，我們的物流和配送管理職責現已完全外包給業內公認的專家 NFI。他們現在管理著我們 100% 的業務，隨著我們改進承運人的管理、提高卡車裝載效率並通過更好的網絡管理最大限度地減少里程，我們預計每年將產生約 400 萬美元的收益。

We are further investing in our supply chain process through the build-out of 3 geographically located distribution centers across the country. These RDCs will enable better location of inventory and simplify our warehouse network moving from managing over 30 plant 3PL locations to approximately 6. Two of these new RDCs will have a box in a box where we'll be able to store Dippin' Dots products, adding capacity for growing this business and getting product closer to the customer. Our first RDC will open up in June at a facility just outside of Dallas, and a second RDC should open up later in the fiscal year. The third RDC is still in development and expected to be opened in fiscal 2024.

我們通過在全國建立 3 個地理位置優越的配送中心，進一步投資於我們的供應鏈流程。這些 RDC 將能夠更好地定位庫存並簡化我們的倉庫網絡，從管理 30 多個工廠 3PL 位置轉移到大約 6 個。這些新的 RDC 中的兩個將有一個盒子中的一個盒子，我們將能夠在其中存儲 Dippin' Dots 產品，增加發展這項業務的能力，並使產品更接近客戶。我們的第一個 RDC 將於 6 月在達拉斯郊外的一個工廠開放，第二個 RDC 將在本財年晚些時候開放。第三個 RDC 仍在開發中，預計將於 2024 財年開放。

On the operations side, we have committed investments to add 7 new production lines that will add capacity and drive efficiency to better automation. To date, we have opened 2 new frozen novelty lines and one additional churro line. Over the next 6 months, we will activate 3 additional lines focused on expanded pretzel production.

在運營方面，我們已承諾投資增加 7 條新生產線，這將增加產能並提高效率以實現更好的自動化。迄今為止，我們已經開設了 2 條新的冷凍新奇生產線和一條額外的油條生產線。在接下來的 6 個月裡，我們將啟動 3 條額外的生產線，專注於擴大椒鹽捲餅的生產。

As it relates to M&A, we are currently working on integrating Dippin' Dots into the J&J systems, processes, customer channels and operations. At the same time, we continue to evaluate potential M&A opportunities that complement our brand portfolio and our business model.

由於涉及併購，我們目前正致力於將 Dippin' Dots 整合到強生系統、流程、客戶渠道和運營中。與此同時，我們繼續評估補充我們品牌組合和商業模式的潛在併購機會。

In summary, we will remain focused on building this business for the long-term growth. Strategically, we are transforming the business, investing in our brands and capacity to grow while implementing initiatives to help us operate more efficiently. Our leadership team is aligned. And the organization is excited about the opportunities ahead of us to continue building on the great history of J&J Snack Foods.

總之，我們將繼續專注於建立這項業務以實現長期增長。從戰略上講，我們正在轉變業務，投資於我們的品牌和發展能力，同時實施舉措以幫助我們更有效地運營。我們的領導團隊是一致的。該組織對我們面前的機會感到興奮，可以繼續鞏固 J&J Snack Foods 的偉大歷史。

I would now like to turn the call over to Ken Plunk, CFO, to review our financial performance. Ken?

我現在想將電話轉給首席財務官 Ken Plunk，以審查我們的財務業績。肯？

Thank you, Dan, and good morning, everyone. As Dan mentioned earlier, we continue to experience double-digit sell-through across our business. We remain optimistic about the balance of the year given the many issues we have underway and their expected impact on our business on the top line to the bottom line.

謝謝丹，大家早上好。正如 Dan 之前提到的，我們的業務繼續保持兩位數的銷售率。鑑於我們正在處理的許多問題及其對我們業務的預期影響，我們對今年的餘額仍然持樂觀態度。

Net sales for the quarter was $351.3 million growing by 7.3% versus the prior year period.

本季度的淨銷售額為 3.513 億美元，比去年同期增長 7.3%。

Starting with food service, our largest segment representing approximately 68% of our total sales, revenue of $278.3 million exceeding Q1 2022 by $26.6 million or an increase of 13%. That included approximately $13.4 million in Dippin' Dots sales. The healthy performance in food services was driven by 157% increase in n frozen novelties sales benefiting from our Dippin' Dots business as well, 32% increase in churro sales and 27% increase in handheld sales. We also saw growth in soft pretzels in our Bakery business of 4% and 1%, respectively.

從餐飲服務開始，我們最大的細分市場約占我們總銷售額的 68%，收入為 2.783 億美元，比 2022 年第一季度增加 2660 萬美元，增幅為 13%。其中包括大約 1340 萬美元的 Dippin' Dots 銷售額。得益於我們的 Dippin' Dots 業務，冷凍新奇產品銷售額增長了 157%，油條銷售額增長了 32%，手持設備銷售額增長了 27%，從而推動了食品服務的健康表現。我們還看到麵包店業務中的軟椒鹽捲餅分別增長了 4% 和 1%。

The Retail segment posted sales of $43.1 million or an increase of 1% compared to the same period in fiscal 2022. Handhelds continued their strong performance with a 127% increase in sales, while frozen novelties increased 1%. So pretzels and biscuits decreased 11% and 4% respectively, versus the prior year.

零售部門的銷售額為 4310 萬美元，與 2022 財年同期相比增長 1%。手持設備繼續保持強勁表現，銷售額增長 127%，而冷凍新奇產品增長 1%。因此，椒鹽捲餅和餅乾與上一年相比分別下降了 11% 和 4%。

Frozen Beverage sales were $70 million and grew 9% versus Q1 2022 led by beverage sales growth of 15%, as well as repairs and maintenance service revenue growth of 8%. Equipment sales declined 11% due to the timing of installation between years. Gross profit for the quarter was $9.9 million, an increase of over 14% compared to the previous year period. Gross margin was 25.9% in the quarter, favorably comparing to 24.9% in Q1 of fiscal 2022.

冷凍飲料銷售額為 7000 萬美元，與 2022 年第一季度相比增長 9%，其中飲料銷售額增長 15%，維修和保養服務收入增長 8%。由於安裝時間跨年，設備銷售額下降了 11%。本季度的毛利潤為 990 萬美元，比去年同期增長超過 14%。本季度毛利率為 25.9%，高於 2022 財年第一季度的 24.9%。

Moving down the income statement. Total operating expenses increased $81.5 million, representing 23.2% of sales for the quarter compared to 20.3% in Q1 of 2022. These results largely reflect the persistent inflationary pressures across all our expense lines, in particular, distribution expenses. Distribution expenses were 12% of sales compared to 10.5% in fiscal 2022, but did improve compared to Q3 and Q4 of 2022 when they were 12.7% and 12.4% respectively. 150 basis points higher distribution costs as a percent of sales contributed approximately $5 million additional expense for the quarter on an equivalent basis when compared to a year ago.

向下移動損益表。總運營費用增加了 8150 萬美元，佔本季度銷售額的 23.2%，而 2022 年第一季度為 20.3%。這些結果在很大程度上反映了我們所有費用項目（尤其是分銷費用）的持續通脹壓力。分銷費用佔銷售額的 12%，而 2022 財年為 10.5%，但與 2022 年第三季度和第四季度分別為 12.7% 和 12.4% 相比確實有所改善。與一年前相比，分銷成本佔銷售額的百分比增加了 150 個基點，為本季度貢獻了約 500 萬美元的額外費用。

Marketing and selling expenses represented 6.7% of sales versus 6.6% in the prior year period. Our administrative expenses were 4.7% of sales of sales in Q1 2022 compared to 3.3% in Q1 of 2022. Also Dippin' Dots is a seasonal business, and as expected, negatively impacts our results in the first quarter. This business will drive most of its profitability over the second half of the year as higher sales better (inaudible) expenses in those quarters. This led to an operating income of $9.3 million compared to $14.8 million in Q1 2022 or a year-over-year decline of 37%. Adjusted operating income was $11.2 million and adjusted earnings of diluted share was $0.42.

營銷和銷售費用佔銷售額的 6.7%，而去年同期為 6.6%。我們的管理費用佔 2022 年第一季度銷售額的 4.7%，而 2022 年第一季度為 3.3%。此外，Dippin' Dots 是一項季節性業務，正如預期的那樣，這對我們第一季度的業績產生了負面影響。該業務將在今年下半年推動其大部分盈利，因為這些季度更高的銷售額更好（聽不清）費用。這導致營業收入為 930 萬美元，而 2022 年第一季度為 1480 萬美元，同比下降 37%。調整後營業收入為 1120 萬美元，調整後攤薄收益為 0.42 美元。

After considering income tax of $2.3 million compared to $4 million in Q1 of fiscal 2022, net earnings decreased to $6.6 million, resulting in reported diluted earnings per share of $0.34. That compares to $0.58 in the prior period. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 8% to $25.3 million. Our effective tax rate was 26% in the first quarter.

考慮到 230 萬美元的所得稅（相比 2022 財年第一季度的 400 萬美元），淨收益下降至 660 萬美元，導致報告的攤薄每股收益為 0.34 美元。相比之下，上一時期為 0.58 美元。調整後的 EBITDA 下降 8% 至 2530 萬美元。我們第一季度的有效稅率為 26%。

Taking a look at our liquidity position. Even with the Dippin' Dots acquisition, we continue to have a healthy balance sheet, an overall strong liquidity position with $61.2 million in cash and marketable securities and approximately $92 million in debt. In addition, we have ample availability under our revolver of approximately $123 million of additional borrowing capacity.

看看我們的流動性狀況。即使收購了 Dippin' Dots，我們仍然擁有健康的資產負債表，整體流動性狀況良好，現金和有價證券為 6120 萬美元，債務約為 9200 萬美元。此外，我們的左輪手槍有充足的可用資金，可提供約 1.23 億美元的額外借貸能力。

In summary, we are excited about the opportunities ahead and remain confident that our portfolio of brands, investments in our business and strategic initiatives will continue to fuel growth. Our efforts to gain added efficiency and effectiveness puts J&J in the position of added strength. We improved our ability to leverage opportunities ahead of us. With $55 million in cash and ample available liquidity, we have the means to adequately support, invest in the growth drivers of the business. I would now like to open the call to questions. Operator?

總而言之，我們對未來的機遇感到興奮，並堅信我們的品牌組合、業務投資和戰略舉措將繼續推動增長。我們為提高效率和有效性所做的努力使強生處於更強大的位置。我們提高了利用擺在我們面前的機會的能力。憑藉 5500 萬美元的現金和充足的可用流動資金，我們有能力充分支持和投資於業務增長動力。我現在想開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question or comment comes from the line of Andrew Wolf from CL King.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題或評論來自 CL King 的 Andrew Wolf。

I want to start on the kind of your volume results and maybe what you saw with consumer behavior, elasticity and demand. I think it seems like you're kind of outperforming most on elasticity in particular. And then this quarter, you referenced the industry slowing, and it seems like, to some extent, perhaps the business itself kind of caught up to the industry and experienced some negative consumer behavior. Could you just kind of give us a qualitative sense of that and a quantitative sense, too like where your volumes are, maybe adjusted for the SKU rationalization as well, so get penalized by that? That would be great.

我想從你的數量結果開始，也許你看到的消費者行為、彈性和需求。我認為你似乎在彈性方面表現得最好。然後這個季度，你提到了行業放緩，在某種程度上，似乎企業本身有點趕上了行業並經歷了一些負面的消費者行為。您能否給我們一個定性和定量的感覺，就像您的銷量在哪裡一樣，也許也針對 SKU 合理化進行了調整，所以會受到懲罰嗎？那太好了。

Right. I'll talk to some of that, Andrew. Thanks for your question. Yes, much like what you said when we did our last quarter, our volumes were strong. And even as we entered into this quarter, they were strong. And then as the quarter went on, they trailed off. And so we're watching that really closely. I tend to personally think, and we do as a company that we were affected pretty greatly in the December month. And mainly, as we gotten into the really 2 or 3 weeks of cold weather, we never like to blame anything on weather, and I won't allow our people to do that. But it does have an effect, especially during the holiday shopping season, and we experienced that as we got late into the quarter.

正確的。我會談談其中的一些，安德魯。謝謝你的問題。是的，就像你在我們上個季度時所說的那樣，我們的銷量很強勁。即使我們進入這個季度，他們也很強大。然後隨著本季度的進行，他們逐漸落後。因此，我們正在密切關注這一點。我傾向於個人認為，作為一家公司，我們確實在 12 月份受到了相當大的影響。主要是，當我們進入真正的 2 或 3 週的寒冷天氣時，我們從不喜歡將任何事情歸咎於天氣，我不會允許我們的員工這樣做。但它確實有影響，尤其是在假日購物季，我們在進入本季度末時就體驗到了這一點。

And so now we'll watch it really closely as we move into a new quarter and are going to be mindful and watching it with a close eye to see what happens from there on out. I don't personally think that we have hit the issue of elasticity. I think the pricing that we took was well within line of what others in our categories might have taken, maybe even slightly below that.

因此，現在我們將在進入一個新季度時密切關注它，並將密切關注並密切關注它，看看從那時起會發生什麼。我個人認為我們沒有解決彈性問題。我認為我們採取的定價完全符合我們類別中其他人可能採取的定價，甚至可能略低於該定價。

So I don't think that, that's the issue. I just -- I really believe that we hit into a period of time where the stress of a recession and you got cold weather and people aren't out shopping as much as they might have done under different conditions.

所以我不這麼認為，這就是問題所在。我只是——我真的相信我們進入了一段時期，經濟衰退的壓力和寒冷的天氣，人們外出購物的次數不像在不同條件下那樣多。

Very helpful. And Ken, I alluded to the -- I think your SKU rationalization where you got out of some on productive SKUs, I think, in Soft Pretzels. Is that a pretty -- somewhat significant number worth calling out or just a rounding error?

很有幫助。肯，我提到了——我認為你的 SKU 合理化，你在 Soft Pretzels 中擺脫了一些生產性 SKU。這是一個相當重要的數字，還是只是一個舍入誤差？

I wouldn't call it significant, Andrew. Certain categories had a bigger impact than others. Again, with some of the trail-off of volume in other places that we can expect because of some of the things Dan said, it kind of magnified that a little bit more, but it's not the key driver.

我不會稱之為重要，安德魯。某些類別的影響比其他類別更大。同樣，由於丹所說的一些事情，我們可以預期其他地方的成交量有所下降，這有點放大了一點，但這不是關鍵驅動因素。

I mean as we try to comment, we really were taking that quarter to sharpen the pencil a bit, the places in bakery we mentioned, places in pretzel, where we feel really good about our business model, when we focus on the growth. But there are some things from a margin standpoint that we wanted to really get that -- kind of recalibrate a little bit. And so anyway, the answer to your question is, yes, it had an impact on a couple of categories, but I wouldn't call it significant in the quarter in total.

我的意思是，當我們試圖發表評論時，我們真的花了那個季度來削尖鉛筆，我們提到的麵包店的地方，椒鹽捲餅的地方，當我們專注於增長時，我們對我們的商業模式感覺非常好。但從保證金的角度來看，有些事情我們真的想得到——稍微重新校準一下。所以無論如何，你的問題的答案是，是的，它對幾個類別產生了影響，但我不認為它在本季度總體上很重要。

Got it. And just one other question really on capital allocation. First of all, you reported a pretty big increase in cash capital expenditures. It kind of seems to comport with your pretty aggressive plans for 7 new lines. But can you kind of express to us what your capital budget is for the year and how you -- what you think you might be spending to invest back in the business?

知道了。還有一個真正關於資本配置的問題。首先，您報告現金資本支出大幅增加。這似乎與您相當激進的 7 條新生產線計劃相符。但是你能向我們表達一下你今年的資本預算是多少嗎？你認為你可能會花多少錢來投資回企業？

And the other side is the M&A that you alluded to. I guess my question here is more balance sheet related. How much debt leverage is the Board and the Executive Committee willing to take on to execute deal?

另一方面是你提到的併購。我想我的問題更多是與資產負債表相關。董事會和執行委員會願意承擔多少債務槓桿來執行交易？

Yes. I mean, I appreciate the question, Andrew. Again, we feel really good about where we're at in terms of the ability to continue investing in the business. But to your point, as it relates to changes in debt, yes, you saw on the balance sheet. I think almost double capital spend for the quarter versus a year ago. We've been very clear that we're investing close to $100 million in 7 new lines, and then these new RDCs. So obviously, that's going to drive increases in CapEx versus 2, 3 years ago.

是的。我的意思是，我很欣賞這個問題，安德魯。同樣，我們對繼續投資業務的能力感到非常滿意。但就你的觀點而言，因為它與債務變化有關，是的，你在資產負債表上看到了。我認為本季度的資本支出幾乎是一年前的兩倍。我們非常清楚，我們正在投資近 1 億美元用於 7 條新生產線，然後是這些新的 RDC。很明顯，與 2、3 年前相比，這將推動資本支出的增長。

You'll see that I think the number was just south of $90 million that we spent in fiscal 2022 in CapEx. As we continue to execute these investments that we're making, the 2023 number is going to be probably in that range, I'd say $90 million to $105 million, somewhere in there. And it's really all focused on completing the execution of those key production lines and RDC investments that we're making.

你會看到，我認為這個數字略低於我們在 2022 財年的資本支出中花費的 9000 萬美元。隨著我們繼續執行我們正在進行的這些投資，2023 年的數字可能會在這個範圍內，我會說在 9000 萬到 1.05 億美元之間。它真的全部專注於完成我們正在進行的那些關鍵生產線和 RDC 投資的執行。

In terms of leverage in the Board, I wouldn't say there's an exact number that we've kind of landed on with the Board on what we're willing to do. We're evolving as a company. We move from really no debt to start to see that we can leverage our (inaudible) and grow this business and invest. And I think the Board is supportive of that. But I can't say that there's a specific leverage number that we kind of got in mind at this one.

就董事會的影響力而言，我不會說我們已經與董事會達成了我們願意做的事情的確切數字。作為一家公司，我們正在不斷發展。我們從真正沒有債務開始看到我們可以利用我們的（聽不清）並發展這項業務和投資。我認為董事會對此表示支持。但我不能說我們在這件事上想到了一個具體的槓桿數字。

Our next question or comment comes from the line of Todd Brooks from Benchmark Company.

我們的下一個問題或評論來自 Benchmark 公司的 Todd Brooks。

A few quick questions for you. First of all, on Dippin' Dots, obviously, with the seasonality of the business, is there a way that you can size for us so that we can gauge kind of the operating income trend outside of the Dippin' Dots impact what the drag on operating income was in the first quarter from Dippin' Dots?

幾個簡單的問題。首先，在 Dippin' Dots 上，很明顯，隨著業務的季節性，有沒有一種方法可以為我們調整規模，以便我們可以衡量 Dippin' Dots 之外的營業收入趨勢對拖累的影響第一季度營業收入來自 Dippin' Dots？

Yes. Todd, this is Ken. I think, in the last quarter, we had kind of tried to guide the group, almost all, we can even call it 100% of the profitability of Dippin' Dots in Q3 and Q4. Again, no surprise given the seasonality of that business. Q1 is the slowest, and it has a negative impact. I think you'll see this spelled out in the 10-Q just south of $1 million negative impact in this quarter from Dippin' Dots and that's -- Dippin' Dots actually had a great quarter and performed above expectations. But that's the weight of fixed expenses and high SG&A based on a low sales base, create the deleveraging in Q1. That was certainly expected on our side. But that gives you a little bit around idea kind of what that impact was in this quarter.

是的。托德，這是肯。我認為，在上個季度，我們有點試圖引導該集團，幾乎所有，我們甚至可以稱其為 Dippin' Dots 在第三季度和第四季度的盈利能力的 100%。同樣，考慮到該業務的季節性，這不足為奇。 Q1 是最慢的，它有負面影響。我想你會在 10-Q 中看到這一點，在本季度 Dippin' Dots 產生的 100 萬美元負面影響之外，那就是 - Dippin' Dots 實際上有一個很好的季度並且表現超出預期。但這是基於低銷售基礎的固定費用和高 SG&A 的重量，創造了第一季度的去槓桿化。這當然是我們這邊所期望的。但這讓您對本季度的影響有了一些了解。

Is that the right type of number to use for the March quarter as well as they're going into the June and September ramp?

這是用於三月季度以及進入六月和九月的正確數字類型嗎？

Slightly better than that Todd. I would probably kind of guide you that it should be positive, but less than $1 million positive.

比那個托德好一點。我可能會指導你它應該是積極的，但少於 100 萬美元。

Okay. That's helpful. Secondly, just wanted to get back to -- and a follow-up on Andy's question about volumes. I was wondering 2 things. One, did you see any -- and this would be outside of the consumer. Did you see a destocking of inventories from your Retail? Or obviously, you have the clubs and mass in the food service business. Were those customers working down inventories at all at the end of the year? Is that part of why the volume may have dipped later in the quarter?

好的。這很有幫助。其次，只是想回到 - 並跟進安迪關於數量的問題。我想知道兩件事。第一，你有沒有看到任何——這將是消費者之外的。您是否看到您的零售庫存減少？或者很明顯，您在餐飲服務行業擁有俱樂部和群眾。這些客戶是否在年底時減少了庫存？這是本季度後期交易量可能下降的部分原因嗎？

Yes. Todd, it's a good question and a good observation, and we absolutely believe that. We did feel that a little bit. As what I discussed with our own business, I think many of the retailers out there found themselves in the same situation and our smart retailers and started to drive inventories down. And so yes, I think that was a portion of what came into play in that December month.

是的。托德，這是一個很好的問題和一個很好的觀察，我們絕對相信這一點。我們確實有一點感覺。正如我與我們自己的企業討論的那樣，我認為許多零售商發現自己處於同樣的境地，我們的智能零售商開始降低庫存。所以，是的，我認為這是 12 月份發生的事情的一部分。

And then -- I'm sorry, Ken, go ahead.

然後-- 對不起，Ken，請繼續。

I was just going to add this data out there. There's a lot of data (inaudible) the same thing, but I did read one, it said spending at grocery stores was slightly down. So I think you're starting to see people be a bit more frugal on the basket. The other thing that I read was a quick and pronounced increase in traffic and shopping at dollar stores and a little bit less traffic at some of the bigger retailers, particularly higher end grocery stores. I think there's something in there where some that on the retail side, it is impacting buying of our products.

我只是想在那裡添加這些數據。有很多數據（聽不清）同樣的事情，但我確實讀過一個，它說在雜貨店的支出略有下降。所以我認為你開始看到人們在籃筐上變得更節儉了。我讀到的另一件事是，一元店的客流量和購物量快速而明顯地增加，而一些較大的零售商，尤其是高端雜貨店的客流量略有減少。我認為零售方面有些東西正在影響我們產品的購買。

And then to your first question, does it start to kind of drive different decisions on inventory, we've got too much for now, it's just back on us. We slowed down production and all of that, as you're trying to calibrate it, it can create a little bit inefficiency.

然後是你的第一個問題，它是否開始推動不同的庫存決策，我們現在有太多了，它只是回到我們身上。我們放慢了生產速度，所有這些，當你試圖校準它時，它會造成一點效率低下。

Okay. And this is just -- I was wondering if this was part of the volume compare as well, obviously, the ERP conversion in the March quarter of fiscal '22. Any customers kind of preload inventory in advance of the conversion that would have benefited the December quarter last year, but made for a tougher volume compared to this year?

好的。這只是 - 我想知道這是否也是數量比較的一部分，顯然，22 財年第三季度的 ERP 轉換。是否有任何客戶在轉換之前預加載庫存，這本可以使去年 12 月季度受益，但與今年相比銷量會增加？

No, that's a great question, but definitely did not happen. Maybe in 20/20 hindsight at this point, we might have encouraged that last year, but I can't say that that's what happens.

不，這是一個很好的問題，但絕對沒有發生。也許在這一點上 20/20 事後看來，我們去年可能會鼓勵這樣做，但我不能說這就是發生的事情。

Okay, great. And final question, I'll pass it along. The strength in churros, was the Hola! launch at food service, was that in place for the full quarter? Did it roll out over the quarter. So actually, that strength when you have a full quarter of selling it into the food service channel could actually accelerate a bit going forward?

好的，太好了。最後一個問題，我會把它傳下去。 churros 的力量是 Hola！推出餐飲服務，整個季度是否都已到位？它是否在本季度推出。所以實際上，當你有一個完整的季度將其銷售到食品服務渠道時，這種力量實際上可以加速向前發展嗎？

We believe they can continue to be accelerated. We're putting a lot of push behind it. Much like what we've talked about separately, Hola! Churros have really come of age. We love the new brand. We loved the opportunity sale there, not just with large customers out there, but even through the distribution network. And we're -- we've got a lot of marketing behind it. We feel really good about it. So I think it can continue to build momentum throughout the year, although (inaudible).

我們相信它們可以繼續加速。我們正在大力推動它。就像我們單獨討論的一樣，Hola！ Churros 真的成熟了。我們喜歡這個新品牌。我們喜歡那裡的銷售機會，不僅是針對那裡的大客戶，甚至是通過分銷網絡。而且我們 - 我們有很多營銷支持。我們對此感覺非常好。所以我認為它可以在全年繼續建立勢頭，儘管（聽不清）。

Was it available for the full quarter again? Or did it roll out over the quarter?

整個季度都可用嗎？還是在本季度推出？

It really rolled out throughout the quarter, but it would have been started early. And so it would have been early in the quarter. So I'm not sure how to guide you on that. It was a good quarter, we had a 32% increase and 30-plus, 30% increase. So it was a good quarter, I expect the same thing, if not greater, in the coming quarter.

它確實在整個季度推出，但它會提前開始。所以應該是在本季度初。所以我不確定如何指導你。這是一個很好的季度，我們增長了 32%，增長了 30 多個，增長了 30%。所以這是一個很好的季度，我預計下一季度也會有同樣的事情，如果不是更好的話。

There's even stronger promotional plans around that brand. I wouldn't say we've kind of really hit and executed every part of our marketing plan around that. There's more to come, and we're really excited about it, Todd.

圍繞該品牌還有更強大的促銷計劃。我不會說我們已經圍繞這一點真正實現並執行了我們營銷計劃的每一部分。還有更多，我們對此感到非常興奮，托德。

And we've got some really good (inaudible) as well.

我們也有一些非常好的（聽不清）。

Our next question comment comes from the line of Connor Rattigan from Consumer Edge.

我們的下一個問題評論來自 Consumer Edge 的 Connor Rattigan。

So just quickly on Dippin' Dots. It sounds like that $13.4 million in sales generated were decently ahead of your expectations. So by my math, it's about 13% of historical sales in the first quarter that puts the brand on about $100 million or so run rate or about 10% higher than last quarter. Could you maybe quantify your expectations for the brand over the year, just trying to get a sense of how big we should expect this thing to be given the planned distribution rollouts?

所以快點上 Dippin' Dots。聽起來 1340 萬美元的銷售額大大超出了您的預期。因此，根據我的計算，第一季度歷史銷售額的約 13% 使該品牌的運營率達到約 1 億美元左右，比上一季度高出約 10%。您是否可以量化您對這一年品牌的期望，只是想了解一下我們應該期望這個東西在計劃的分銷推出時有多大？

I think your math is good Connor. Good job on that. I'm not able to give exact number, but I think our expectations are in that ballpark that you just came out with. We feel really, really good about what we're doing with Dippin' Dots. And we just mentioned one example in the release and the script, the operational things we're doing, other things in the pipeline. So yes, we're aligned with you on kind of what we think we can do to that business this year.

我認為你的數學很好康納。幹得好。我無法給出確切的數字，但我認為我們的期望與您剛剛得出的那個大概一致。我們對 Dippin' Dots 所做的事情感到非常非常滿意。我們剛剛提到了發布和腳本中的一個例子，我們正在做的操作，以及管道中的其他事情。所以是的，我們在我們認為今年可以對該業務做些什麼方面與您保持一致。

We are -- that's good math in your part, and really excited about the team and what they're doing. In fact, the whole sales team is here in the office this week at a sales meeting, and we're just really thrilled with the way that they're responding.

我們 - 這對你來說是很好的數學，並且對團隊和他們正在做的事情感到非常興奮。事實上，整個銷售團隊本週都在辦公室參加銷售會議，我們對他們的回應方式感到非常興奮。

Awesome. That's great, guys. And then also just quickly on some of the efficiency efforts that you mentioned. So that $4 million figure, is that expected to be fully realized this year? Or is that more of a fiscal '24 goal? And also on the automation efforts, just to be clear, are these fully new orbited lines replacing manual lines? Or are these just really incremental capacity?

驚人的。太好了，伙計們。然後也很快就你提到的一些提高效率的努力。那麼 400 萬美元的數字是否有望在今年完全實現？或者這更像是一個 24 世紀的財政目標？還有關於自動化方面的努力，需要明確的是，這些全新的軌道線路是否正在取代手動線路？或者這些只是真正的增量容量？

Do you want to go first?

你想先走嗎？

Yes. Well, on the lines, it is added capacity. So this is not replacing current lines. It's new lines, but lines that are obviously more modern and with better automation than existing. So we expect to be more efficient in how we move product through those lines. I'm sorry, what was your first question?

是的。好吧，在線上，它是增加的容量。所以這不會替換當前行。這是新生產線，但明顯比現有生產線更現代化，自動化程度更高。因此，我們希望在如何通過這些生產線移動產品方面更有效率。抱歉，你的第一個問題是什麼？

Just on the $4 million in incremental savings from the logistics and distribution outsourcing. Is that expected to be fully realized this year? Or is that more of like fiscal '24?

僅靠物流和分銷外包帶來的 400 萬美元增量節省。預計今年會完全實現嗎？或者這更像是 24 財年？

Yes. I think the way we've spoken about it before, it really took us until September, October to get all of our business on NFI and kind of the key to managing all this is for them to be kind of pulling the strings on how we manage product and distribution across our entire network.

是的。我認為我們之前談到它的方式，我們真的花了 9 月、10 月才把我們所有的業務都放在 NFI 上，而管理這一切的關鍵是讓他們在某種程度上控制我們如何管理我們整個網絡中的產品和分銷。

Secondarily, their job get even easier as we execute this RDC strategy. So on an annualized basis, yes, if I had to make a guess for 2023, given what we've got in motion, I'd probably say it's going to carry -- some of that $4 million is going to carry into '24, but I think we should realize a good portion of that in this fiscal period.

其次，當我們執行此 RDC 策略時，他們的工作會變得更加輕鬆。所以按年化計算，是的，如果我不得不對 2023 年做出猜測，考慮到我們已經開展的工作，我可能會說它會帶來——這 400 萬美元中的一部分將進入 24 年，但我認為我們應該在本財年實現其中很大一部分。

And Connor, let me just touch on the line question that you have. They are in addition to the lines that we have today, but it also allows us to do some shifting of where we make some products to become much more efficient in different areas. Our intention is not to shut down the former line, but to be able to use that for more capacity.

康納，讓我談談你的問題。它們是我們今天擁有的生產線的補充，但它也使我們能夠對我們生產某些產品的地方進行一些轉變，從而在不同領域變得更加高效。我們的目的不是關閉前一條生產線，而是能夠利用它來提高產能。

Our next question or comment comes from the line of Jon Andersen from William Blair.

我們的下一個問題或評論來自 William Blair 的 Jon Andersen。

Maybe just -- I'll stick with that last question since we're on it. On the new production lines, how much capacity in aggregate will these 7 new lines kind of unlock? And are there also margin benefits associated with it? I guess, that's second part of the question and gets to some of comments around shifting or optimization of production. But again, how much capacity are you unlocking with these 7 new lines? And are the productivity benefits as well?

也許只是——我會堅持最後一個問題，因為我們已經討論過了。在新產線上，這7條新產線總共會釋放多少產能？是否也有與之相關的邊際收益？我想，這是問題的第二部分，並得到了一些關於生產轉移或優化的評論。但是，這 7 條新線路將釋放多少容量？生產力也有好處嗎？

I don't have the exact number to give you on the capacity, but it does allow us to grow our core products, right? So one of the things we really experienced was outgrowing our core, which is our churros and pretzels and frozen novelties and even our pretzel bar side of the business. And so we have addressed that to be able to have enough capacity to get our sales team back out there and really selling new lines and new opportunities. It does help on the margin side because we are becoming much more efficient in different areas, even making products like in our novelty side, making products where they're sold as opposed to maybe making them in one part of the country and ship them across to another side. So there are margin improvements that we think that we can realize as we open these up.

我沒有確切的數字可以告訴你容量，但它確實讓我們能夠發展我們的核心產品，對吧？因此，我們真正經歷的其中一件事是我們的核心業務增長超出了我們的核心業務，即我們的油條、椒鹽捲餅和冷凍新奇產品，甚至是我們業務的椒鹽捲餅酒吧方面。因此，我們已經解決了這個問題，以便能夠有足夠的能力讓我們的銷售團隊回到那裡，真正銷售新產品線和新機會。它在利潤方面確實有幫助，因為我們在不同領域變得更有效率，甚至像我們的新奇方面一樣生產產品，在銷售的地方生產產品，而不是在國內的某個地方生產並運送到各地到另一邊。因此，我們認為我們可以在打開這些時實現利潤率的提高。

That's helpful. Organic growth in the first quarter was about 6%. Can you help us kind of gauge how much of that the 6% organic growth was volume based and how much was price? And then you kind of laid out a lot of very interesting demand generation initiatives that are kind of kicking in through the year, the cross-selling opportunities, the new account, new channel opportunities that seem to be kind of lining up. How should we kind of think about organic growth accelerating through the balance of the year or kind of maintaining that level in this mid-single-digit range? It's a difficult question, but just trying to get a sense for your confidence in some of the initiatives that you have lined up and what that might do to the organic growth profile of the company during coming quarters.

這很有幫助。第一季度的有機增長率約為 6%。你能幫我們衡量一下 6% 的有機增長中有多少是基於數量的，有多少是基於價格的？然後你列出了很多非常有趣的需求生成計劃，這些計劃在今年開始實施，交叉銷售機會、新客戶、新渠道機會似乎正在排隊。我們應該如何考慮在今年餘下的時間裡加速有機增長，或者在這個中等個位數範圍內保持這種水平？這是一個很難回答的問題，但只是想了解您對您已製定的一些計劃的信心，以及這些計劃在未來幾個季度可能對公司的有機增長狀況產生什麼影響。

I'm going to let Ken talk a little bit about the numbers, if you can. But I just want to say this about our sales teams. We talked about it for 2 or 3 quarters now about cross-selling and getting people engaged in the different companies on selling the products across channels and across (inaudible). I couldn't be more proud the way they are responding to that. That is happening more and more, and I get to see it firsthand, and that will be helpful. It's certainly helpful as we're starting to look at the Dippin' Dots business, being able to leverage our relationships and our customer contacts that we have to accelerate that growth.

如果可以的話，我會讓 Ken 談談這些數字。但我只想說說我們的銷售團隊。我們已經討論了 2 或 3 個季度的交叉銷售，以及讓不同公司的人員參與跨渠道和跨（聽不清）銷售產品。他們對此的回應方式讓我感到非常自豪。這種情況越來越多，我親眼目睹了，這會很有幫助。這肯定有幫助，因為我們開始關注 Dippin' Dots 業務，能夠利用我們的關係和我們必須加速增長的客戶聯繫。

And so just really pleased with the progress that is happening on that side, led by our sales teams, really happy with that. Ken, I don't know if you have some numbers, if you could help him with that.

因此，在我們的銷售團隊的領導下，我們對這一方面取得的進展感到非常高興，對此感到非常高興。肯，我不知道你是否有一些數字，你是否可以幫助他。

Well, I'd just add this. Jon, I'm glad you picked up on it. But we were very intentional to really go, maybe even a little bit deeper on highlighting what we see is a lot of growth opportunity when we sprinkled in examples, some Dippin' Dots to SUPERPRETZEL to frozen novelties to churros. So yes, we still remain very, very confident in our ability in the next 3 quarters to grow the organic side of our business, if you just take out Dippin' Dots for a second.

好吧，我只是添加這個。喬恩，我很高興你接受了它。但我們非常有意真正去，甚至可能更深入地強調我們看到的是很多增長機會，當我們撒在例子中時，一些 Dippin' Dots 到 SUPERPRETZEL 到冷凍新奇到油條。所以是的，我們仍然非常非常有信心在接下來的 3 個季度中發展我們業務的有機方面，如果你只拿出 Dippin' Dots 一秒鐘。

Like every other company out there, I mean, we're watching things like GDP and data on consumption and you see a little bit of that being dialed back, you see savings rates going up. So there's some consumer things that we're watching, which obviously impacts our business as consumers pull back. But aside from that, I don't know the time of J&J, where we haven't felt more confident about what we do in an innovation with our brands and cross-selling. So we remain very confident in what we're going to be able to do for the rest of the year.

就像其他所有公司一樣，我的意思是，我們正在關注 GDP 和消費數據等數據，你會看到其中一些被回撥，你會看到儲蓄率上升。所以我們正在關註一些消費者的事情，隨著消費者的退縮，這顯然會影響我們的業務。但除此之外，我不知道強生的時代，我們對我們在品牌創新和交叉銷售方面所做的工作沒有信心。因此，我們對今年餘下時間的工作充滿信心。

Okay. That's helpful. One more. It's kind of a similar question, but more from an earnings perspective. When I look at EBITDA or adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter, and even adjust, I guess, for a bit of the impact of Dippin' Dots, the deleverage, it looks like EBITDA came in around 15% or so of what the Street anticipates full year EBITDA to be. And then if I kind of look back prepandemic to some more typical years, it looks like first quarter EBITDA might have trended more in the 20% to 22% of the year range. So just kind of optically, it would look like maybe you're starting the year a little bit slower this year from an EBITDA perspective, at least relative to what the Street has modeled for the full year.

好的。這很有幫助。多一個。這是一個類似的問題，但更多是從收益的角度來看。當我查看第一季度的 EBITDA 或調整後的 EBITDA 時，甚至進行調整時，我猜，由於 Dippin' Dots 的一些影響，去槓桿化，看起來 EBITDA 大約是華爾街預期的 15% 左右全年 EBITDA 為。然後，如果我回顧大流行前的一些更典型的年份，看起來第一季度 EBITDA 的趨勢可能在今年的 20% 到 22% 之間。因此，從視覺上看，從 EBITDA 的角度來看，今年開年的速度似乎有點慢，至少相對於華爾街為全年建模的情況。

But again, there are so many great cross-selling things going on. There are a lot of good things happening on the operational efficiency front, margin catch-ups from pricing, et cetera. Are you kind of -- am I thinking about it right that, hey, we're in a pretty good position exiting Q1 and entering Q2 despite those metrics I mentioned to kind of deliver on a full year expectation?

但同樣，有很多很棒的交叉銷售正在發生。在運營效率方面發生了很多好事，定價帶來的利潤追趕等等。你是不是——我想的對嗎，嘿，儘管我提到的這些指標可以實現全年預期，但我們在退出第一季度和進入第二季度時處於非常有利的位置？

Yes, yes. Again, we try to explain this a little bit. Two headwinds right off the back in terms of comparing a year ago, EBITDA or even if you went back to '19, I don't have this number in my head, but I think the number will be even bigger, but you've got roughly $5 million of impact on distribution expenses. If you just -- on an equal basis, that would be -- that would impact profitability this year versus a year ago. And then I mentioned the impact when we bring on the Dippin' Dots business that had a loss during the quarter, and again expected. Then that starts to create a $6 million kind of bogey right there just from 2 things.

是的是的。同樣，我們嘗試稍微解釋一下。與一年前相比，EBITDA 或即使你回到 19 年，我腦子裡沒有這個數字，但我認為這個數字會更大，但你已經對分銷費用產生了大約 500 萬美元的影響。如果你只是 - 在平等的基礎上，那就是 - 這將影響今年與一年前的盈利能力。然後我提到了當我們引入 Dippin' Dots 業務時的影響，該業務在本季度出現虧損，並且再次出現預期。然後，僅僅從兩件事就開始創造一個價值 600 萬美元的柏忌。

And then I think at the end of the quarter, we expect it to do a little bit better than that because we weren't expecting volumes to tail off in December with some of a weather challenges that we talked about. And it's in a quarter where if you don't create the cells, then you deleverage pretty quickly. Keep in mind that even for total J&J, 75% of the sales and really profitability for J&J going to be in Q3 and Q4, and that should play out if you go years back. That's just kind of the seasonality of the business.

然後我認為在本季度末，我們預計它會比這好一點，因為我們預計 12 月的銷量不會因我們談到的一些天氣挑戰而減少。而且它在一個季度中，如果你不創建細胞，那麼你會很快去槓桿化。請記住，即使是強生公司的總銷售額，強生公司 75% 的銷售額和實際盈利能力也將出現在第三季度和第四季度，如果你回顧幾年，這應該會出現。這只是業務的季節性。

Our next question or comment comes from the line of Robert Dickerson from Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題或評論來自 Jefferies 的 Robert Dickerson。

Great. Can you hear me okay?

偉大的。你能聽到我說話嗎？

We can. Good morning, Rob.

我們可以。早上好，羅伯。

Great. All right. Kind of follow-up to the last question that was asked. I just had to ask a little differently. Ken, to your point, right, there's a little volume deleverage that comes through, input cost inflation is still a little bit high. On the COGS side, it sounds like there could be other pricing offsets. And then as you keep mentioning, good innovation, distribution opportunities, as you get through the back half.

偉大的。好的。對最後一個問題的跟進。我只需要問一個不同的問題。肯，就你的觀點而言，是的，有一些去槓桿化，投入成本通脹仍然有點高。在 COGS 方面，聽起來可能還有其他定價抵消。然後正如你不斷提到的，好的創新，分配機會，當你完成後半部分時。

Q1, understand kind of the drivers behind what happened on EBITDA margin, but I'm speaking more specifically to the growth side. You go back a couple of quarters, right? And kind of the feel is as we kind of got into Q2 this year, maybe more back half-ish we could kind of get back a little bit more of those pre-pandemic margins, and it seems like you're making pretty decent progress on that goal in the back half of last year, right?

Q1，了解 EBITDA 利潤率背後的驅動因素，但我更具體地說是增長方面。你回去幾個季度，對嗎？某種感覺是，當我們進入今年第二季度時，也許我們可以恢復一半大流行前的利潤率，而且您似乎取得了相當不錯的進展去年下半年的那個目標，對吧？

And then December kind of had maybe a little softer volume, maybe some consumer behavior shifts to some extent. I guess, as you sit here now, right? If we're thinking about Q2, 1, right? Just point one, just because I do think you're kind of lapping right -- that ERP issue you had last year. I would think there'd be some nice margin progression. And then when we're thinking about the back half of this year, kind of what I'm hearing, I feel like is like it's still a little bit of a moving target, right? Some of this is going to be contingent, obviously, on consumer behavior as we get into the summer, right? Which is still kind of far away. It sounds like some pricing might come through to offset some of the cost inflation. And then maybe there's also some incremental distribution innovation that could help offset maybe some consumer weakness.

然後 12 月的銷量可能會有所下降，可能某些消費者行為在某種程度上發生了變化。我想，就像你現在坐在這裡一樣，對吧？如果我們考慮 Q2，1，對嗎？只是第一點，只是因為我確實認為你是對的——你去年遇到的 ERP 問題。我認為會有一些不錯的保證金進展。然後當我們考慮今年下半年時，我所聽到的，我覺得它仍然是一個移動的目標，對吧？顯然，隨著我們進入夏季，其中一些將取決於消費者的行為，對吧？這還很遙遠。聽起來有些定價可能會抵消部分成本通脹。然後也許還有一些增量分銷創新可以幫助抵消一些消費者的弱點。

So lot in there. I'm just trying to gauge kind of where -- how you want the market to be thinking about kind of that margin recovery potential this year. Or is it something that maybe we're kind of -- we're just pushing it forward a little bit kind of because maybe there's a little less clarity? That's all I have. That's a lot.

裡面那麼多。我只是想衡量一下——你希望市場如何看待今年的利潤率恢復潛力。或者它是不是我們有點——我們只是把它向前推進了一點，因為可能不太清楚？這就是我的全部。好多啊。

Thank you, Rob.

謝謝你，羅布。

You did my job for me, right?

你為我做了我的工作，對吧？

You did it pretty well though.

不過你做得很好。

Yes. I think, been clear as you had these meetings, even going back to last quarter. We can go on a trajectory to get this business up to those 30% margins. As I sit here now, I still feel confident in our ability to do that, particularly as we did Q3 and Q4, because I believe the things we're doing, the initiatives, getting all those inflationary stuff behind us, getting in the peak season, and I think we'll start to see volume really kick back in and some of these new products and new ideas, new innovations are going to drive growth.

是的。我想，在你召開這些會議時就已經很清楚了，甚至可以追溯到上個季度。我們可以繼續讓這項業務達到 30% 的利潤率。當我現在坐在這裡時，我仍然對我們做到這一點的能力充滿信心，尤其是在我們完成第三季度和第四季度的時候，因為我相信我們正在做的事情，這些舉措，讓所有那些通貨膨脹的東西都在我們身後，進入高峰期季節，我認為我們將開始看到銷量真正回升，其中一些新產品和新想法，新創新將推動增長。

So I still said here, seeing that as a pretty good benchmark, Rob. We manage this business long term. And if I could emphasize anything, as we come together each quarter, our jobs are to continue to demonstrate from an investment standpoint from where we're driving growth, the long-term aspects of what we're doing are going to pay dividends for us. We then in case get into a quarter like this, you get into some economic challenges and weather and that pulls back on volume and then you have to kind of recalibrate inventory reduction a little bit. And so that can hit a quarter, but still feel really good about the back half of the year.

所以我仍然在這裡說，將其視為一個很好的基準，Rob。我們長期管理這項業務。如果我可以強調什麼，當我們每個季度聚在一起時，我們的工作將繼續從投資的角度證明我們正在推動增長，我們正在做的事情的長期方面將為我們。然後，如果我們進入這樣的一個季度，你會遇到一些經濟挑戰和天氣，這會拉回銷量，然後你必須稍微重新調整庫存減少。因此，這可以達到四分之一，但對下半年仍然感覺非常好。

Yes, Rob, I would echo that as well. And I would just also add to it that we still have some pricing coming on the ICEE side. We talked about that in another quarter. ICEE takes pricing once a year. And so there's a pricing that was taken January 1 on the ICEE side. And so, yes, I think we're still feeling pretty confident about getting back to those pre-COVID percentages. And that's part of the conversation that we have amongst all of our groups and all of our conversations.

是的，Rob，我也同意。我還要補充一點，我們在 ICEE 方面仍有一些定價。我們在另一個季度討論過這個問題。 ICEE 每年進行一次定價。因此，1 月 1 日在 ICEE 方面進行了定價。所以，是的，我認為我們仍然對回到 COVID 之前的百分比很有信心。這是我們在所有小組和所有對話中進行的對話的一部分。

Our next question or comment is a follow-up from Mr. Andrew Wolf from CL King.

我們的下一個問題或評論是來自 CL King 的 Andrew Wolf 先生的跟進。

My first is on your outlook for commodity cost inflation slowing, which I think you said in the release. You might have talked about this, but I didn't hear it well if you did. But could you be a little more specific on kind of what you're thinking the cadence is going to be, maybe what percent of your costs are locked in through forged contracts and things like that. I think a lot of folks in the supply chain manufacturers and others are looking to the June quarter to really -- when the relief really comes in on the year-over-year comparisons where pricing is unambiguously a lot better than cost inflation, plus your sense of that for the business?

我首先是關於商品成本通脹放緩的前景，我想你在新聞稿中說過。你可能已經談到了這個，但如果你這樣做了，我聽不太清楚。但是你能否更具體地說明你認為節奏會是什麼，也許你的成本中有多少百分比是通過偽造合同和類似的東西鎖定的。我認為供應鏈製造商和其他人中的很多人都在期待 6 月份的季度——屆時同比比較確實會讓人鬆一口氣，其中定價無疑比成本通脹好很多，加上你的對企業的意義？

And then the other -- the second follow-up is very straightforward. It's just like there's been 5 full weeks and a couple more days since quarter ended. Have you seen any changes either way in the volume trends pretty much in January?

然後是另一個——第二個後續行動非常簡單。這就像自季度結束以來已經整整 5 週又多了幾天。您是否看到 1 月份的成交量趨勢有任何變化？

Ken, the commodity costs?

肯，商品成本？

Yes. On the commodities, I look at so much data on that, Andrew. And I think we've said this, trends are getting better. Sometimes they seem too gradual, but they are getting better. Just to give you a couple of examples. While it's 16% higher than was a year ago. Quarter-over-quarter, it went up just 40 basis points. So it did go up 40 basis points. And the outlook on this is that we do expect that continue to decline. I think as we look at the second quarter and I pick on wheat, as it's our biggest commodity, we think it may go down 3% to 4% is kind of our best guess right now as we look at Q2.

是的。在大宗商品方面，我查看了很多相關數據，安德魯。我想我們已經說過了，趨勢正在好轉。有時他們看起來太漸進，但他們正在變得更好。僅舉幾個例子。雖然它比一年前高出 16%。季度環比僅上漲 40 個基點。所以它確實上漲了 40 個基點。對此的展望是，我們確實預計會繼續下降。我認為，當我們看第二季度時，我選擇小麥，因為它是我們最大的商品，我們認為它可能會下降 3% 到 4%，這是我們目前對第二季度的最佳猜測。

But if you kind of go across the eggs, obviously, we use a lot of eggs, egg goes up triple digits year-over-year. Even, 43% quarter versus quarter. So eggs continue to go up. So it's kind of spending on what commodity you're talking about. It's a different answer. Collectively, we do expect them to continue to go down. I don't have a crystal ball. I think our best guess next quarter is maybe somewhere in that 3% to 5% range, and then as we look further out, hopefully better than that. I mean, wheat, diesel are 2 big ones that are supposed to continue to go down quite a bit. Sugar, it's not as high as it was, but it's still not showing signs of heavy decline at the same.

但是，如果你有點穿過雞蛋，很明顯，我們使用了很多雞蛋，雞蛋同比增長了三位數。甚至，43% 的季度與季度相比。所以雞蛋繼續上漲。所以這是在你所說的商品上花費。這是一個不同的答案。總的來說，我們確實希望它們繼續下降。我沒有水晶球。我認為我們對下個季度的最佳猜測可能是在 3% 到 5% 的範圍內，然後當我們看得更遠時，希望比這更好。我的意思是，小麥、柴油是兩大類，應該會繼續大幅下跌。糖，它沒有以前那麼高，但同時也沒有出現大幅下降的跡象。

And then Andrew all the weeks ahead, we're watching that cautiously being careful about kind of what's happening out in the industry. We do have some really bright spots. So one of those bright spots would be where the seasonal business was really off in the December month. They've come back pretty strong in the January month. And so we're encouraged by what we're seeing so far.

然後在接下來的幾周里，安德魯，我們都在謹慎地觀察這個行業正在發生的事情。我們確實有一些真正的亮點。因此，這些亮點之一就是季節性業務在 12 月份真正關閉的地方。他們在 1 月份強勢回歸。因此，我們對目前所看到的感到鼓舞。

I'm showing no additional questions in the queue at this time. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Dan Fachner for any closing remarks.

我目前沒有在隊列中顯示其他問題。我想將會議轉回 Dan Fachner 先生作閉幕詞。

Right. Thank you, operator. In closing, we want to assure you that more than ever, our teams are focused on effectively managing through these dynamic market conditions, while serving our customers and partners. As we have outlined on the call today, we've taken aggressive measures to offset these various challenges and to position the company for long-term success. Our momentum remains strong with our core brands and new products, continuing to resonate with customers.

正確的。謝謝你，運營商。最後，我們想向您保證，我們的團隊比以往任何時候都更加專注於有效管理這些動態市場條件，同時為我們的客戶和合作夥伴提供服務。正如我們在今天的電話會議上概述的那樣，我們已採取積極措施來應對這些不同的挑戰，並為公司的長期成功做好準備。我們的核心品牌和新產品勢頭強勁，繼續引起客戶的共鳴。

And we are -- and as we progress through 2023, we are confident that our strategies will have a marked and positive impact on our business and our results. We will also take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our talented teams across the entire business unit. And thank you, everyone, for joining us today on the call. We appreciate your interest and your continued support.

我們是 - 隨著我們在 2023 年取得進展，我們相信我們的戰略將對我們的業務和結果產生顯著和積極的影響。我們還將藉此機會表彰我們在整個業務部門的才華橫溢的團隊的辛勤工作和奉獻精神。感謝大家今天加入我們的電話會議。感謝您的關注和持續支持。

Should you have any questions or wish to speak to us, please contact our Investor Relations firm, JCIR at 212 835-8500. Thank you very much.

如果您有任何問題或希望與我們交談，請致電 212 835-8500 聯繫我們的投資者關係公司 JCIR。非常感謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for participating in today's conference. This concludes the program. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a wonderful day. Speakers, stand by.

女士們，先生們，感謝你們參加今天的會議。程序到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。每個人，祝你有美好的一天。喇叭，待命。