J & J Snack Foods Corp (JJSF) 2023 Q3 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 Third Quarter Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Norberto Aja of Investor Relations.

女士們先生們，美好的一天，感謝你們的支持。歡迎參加強生休閒食品 2023 財年第三季度電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。現在，我想把會議交給投資者關係部的 Norberto Aja 先生主持。

Thank you, Michelle, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining the J&J Snack Foods Fiscal 2023 Third Quarter Conference Call. We will 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.

謝謝米歇爾，大家早上好。感謝您參加強生休閒食品 2023 財年第三季度電話會議。我們將在一分鐘內開始提出管理層的評論和您的問題。但在此之前，讓我花一點時間閱讀一下安全港語言。

Today's call contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. As such, all statements made on this call that do not relate to matters of historical facts should be considered forward-looking statements, including statements regarding management's plans, strategies, goals, expectations and objectives as well as our anticipated financial performance.

今天的電話會議包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。因此，本次電話會議中所做的所有與歷史事實無關的陳述均應被視為前瞻性陳述，包括有關管理層的陳述計劃、戰略、目標、期望和目標以及我們預期的財務業績。

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.

這些陳述並非涉及已知和未知風險、不確定性和其他可能導致結果、業績或成就與前瞻性陳述所明示或暗示的任何未來結果、業績或成就存在重大差異的重要因素的承諾或保證。

Factors discussed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 24, 2022 and our 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. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this call, August 1, 2023.

我們在截至 2022 年 9 月 24 日的 10-K 表格年度報告以及我們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本次電話會議中所做的前瞻性聲明所表明的結果存在重大差異。任何此類前瞻性陳述均代表管理層截至本次電話會議之日（2023 年 8 月 1 日）的估計。

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 expectations to change. 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 our earnings press release, which can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website.

雖然我們可能選擇在未來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，即使後續事件導致預期發生變化。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 EBITDA、營業收入或每股收益，所有這些指標均與我們的收益新聞稿中最接近的 GAAP 指標進行了調整，這些指標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, along with 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.

今天與我一起參加電話會議的是我們的首席執行官 Dan Fachner 和我們的首席財務官 Ken Plunk。在管理層準備好發言後，我們將開始召開問答環節。現在，我想將電話轉給強生休閒食品公司首席執行官丹·法赫納 (Dan Fachner) 先生。請繼續，丹。

Thank you, Norberto, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us to discuss our fiscal 2023 third quarter results. I'd like to start by thanking our employees across all J&J segments for a record quarter. I am so proud of our team and their efforts to continuously improve on our business. Their hard work and dedication are allowing us to post record top and bottom line results and create added value for all our employees, partners and shareholders.

謝謝諾伯托，大家早上好。我們感謝您與我們一起討論我們 2023 財年第三季度的業績。首先，我要感謝強生所有部門的員工創造了創紀錄的季度業績。我為我們的團隊以及他們為不斷改進我們的業務所做的努力感到自豪。他們的辛勤工作和奉獻精神使我們能夠取得創紀錄的營收和利潤，並為所有員工、合作夥伴和股東創造附加值。

For the fiscal third quarter, revenue increased 12% to $425.8 million, and net earnings increased 124.8% to $35 million, led by strong gross margin performance and improved distribution expenses. Our gross margin initiatives and strategies are starting to gain momentum, helping us to drive improved profitability.

第三財季，在強勁的毛利率表現和分銷費用改善的帶動下，收入增長12%，達到4.258億美元，淨利潤增長124.8%，達到3500萬美元。我們的毛利率計劃和戰略開始獲得動力，幫助我們提高盈利能力。

Like most of our industry, we are beginning to see cost inflation stabilize, and our pricing actions are now better aligned with costs. This, combined with improved margin mix and adding efficiencies in our manufacturing plants, should have us well positioned to deliver consistent margin performance. Ken will provide more details on our financial performance later in the call.

與我們行業的大多數公司一樣，我們開始看到成本通脹趨於穩定，而且我們的定價行為現在與成本更加一致。再加上我們製造工廠的利潤率結構的改善和效率的提高，我們應該能夠很好地提供一致的利潤率表現。肯將在稍後的電話會議中提供有關我們財務業績的更多詳細信息。

Today, I'd like to begin by talking about the operations and supply chain side of our business. As we have discussed in prior quarters, our team has been focused on several initiatives to create more efficiencies in our business and enhance our capabilities. Combined, these initiatives will help us transform how we operate as a company. Here's a quick update on these key priorities.

今天，我想首先談談我們業務的運營和供應鏈方面。正如我們在前幾個季度所討論的，我們的團隊一直專注於多項舉措，以提高我們的業務效率並增強我們的能力。這些舉措結合起來將幫助我們改變公司的運營方式。以下是這些關鍵優先事項的快速更新。

Our team has improved logistics management over shipping, warehousing and product distribution through our partnership with NFI. NFI now manages a 100% of our transportation network and is helping us improve truck capacity, minimize miles, reduce stops, enhance customer service, helping us lower shipping, handling and storage costs.

通過與 NFI 的合作，我們的團隊改進了運輸、倉儲和產品分銷方面的物流管理。 NFI 現在管理著我們 100% 的運輸網絡，並幫助我們提高卡車運力、最小化里程、減少停靠點、增強客戶服務，幫助我們降低運輸、裝卸和存儲成本。

Next, we are transforming our warehouse network to simplify how we manage product through our warehouses. This includes the build-out of 3 geographically positioned regional distribution centers, adding freezer capacity, including more storage space for Dippin' Dots products in two of these three locations.

接下來，我們正在改造我們的倉庫網絡，以簡化我們通過倉庫管理產品的方式。這包括擴建 3 個地理位置優越的區域配送中心、增加冷凍室容量，以及在這三個地點中的兩個地點為 Dippin' Dots 產品提供更多存儲空間。

The first of these 3 RDCs recently opened in Terrell, Texas in June, and the other two locations are scheduled to open later this calendar year and early 2024. These initiatives will simplify our logistics network by moving from over 30 warehouse locations to less than 10, resulting in improved customer service and lower distribution costs.

這 3 個 RDC 中的第一個最近於 6 月在德克薩斯州特雷爾開業，另外兩個地點計劃於今年晚些時候和 2024 年初開業。這些舉措將簡化我們的物流網絡，將倉庫地點從 30 多個改為不到 10 個，從而改善客戶服務並降低分銷成本。

Also, we have rolled out 6 state-of-the-art production lines, adding capacity to support growth in our key product categories such as pretzels, churros and frozen novelties. These lines are more automated, creating production efficiencies and higher output metrics, all aligned to support our growth opportunity in these core products.

此外，我們還推出了 6 條最先進的生產線，增加產能以支持椒鹽捲餅、油條和冷凍新奇產品等關鍵產品類別的增長。這些生產線自動化程度更高，提高了生產效率和更高的產出指標，所有這些都旨在支持我們在這些核心產品方面的增長機會。

Our operations team has implemented stronger discipline within the plan that is driving efficiency improvements in areas such as waste reduction, maintenance spend, SKU productivity and our utilization.

我們的運營團隊在計劃中實施了更嚴格的紀律，推動了廢物減少、維護支出、SKU 生產力和利用率等領域的效率提高。

And we have improved our financial and operational foundation via the implementation of a new ERP system last year. This has enabled us to integrate processes and controls across our operations and is now providing better data to manage the key KPIs across operations, supply chain and finance. We expect to continue to see additional benefits from this initiative.

去年，我們通過實施新的 ERP 系統改善了我們的財務和運營基礎。這使我們能夠整合整個運營的流程和控制，並且現在提供更好的數據來管理跨運營、供應鍊和財務的關鍵 KPI。我們預計這一舉措將繼續帶來更多好處。

Together, these operational and supply chain initiatives are transforming our business and will play a pivotal role in reducing distribution and manufacturing costs and providing better service to our valued customers. One of our key strategy is to leverage the strength of our core products and brands to drive growth and improve profitability.

這些運營和供應鏈舉措正在共同改變我們的業務，並將在降低分銷和製造成本以及為我們尊貴的客戶提供更好的服務方面發揮關鍵作用。我們的關鍵戰略之一是利用核心產品和品牌的優勢來推動增長並提高盈利能力。

Our team is working across segments and channels to create new selling opportunities and drive innovation. I'd like to highlight a few of our brand priorities. Dippin' Dots is quickly penetrating new markets and gaining placements in new channels. One of our biggest growth opportunities is in the theater channel, where we are now in approximately 375 Regal theaters and actively testing with the other 2 largest theater chains.

我們的團隊正在跨細分市場和渠道開展工作，以創造新的銷售機會並推動創新。我想強調一下我們的一些品牌優先事項。 Dippin' Dots 正在迅速滲透新市場並在新渠道中佔據一席之地。我們最大的增長機會之一是影院渠道，目前我們在該渠道擁有約 375 家 Regal 影院，並積極與其他兩家最大的連鎖影院進行測試。

Like we reported last quarter, we are leveraging our brand portfolio to create products like Dippin' Dots ICEE Cherry and Blue Raspberry, which is already the best new product launch for Dippin' Dots ever.

正如我們上季度報告的那樣，我們正在利用我們的品牌組合來創造 Dippin' Dots ICEE Cherry 和 Blue Raspberry 等產品，這已經是 Dippin' Dots 有史以來最好的新產品發布。

Finally, we are pursuing numerous vending opportunities as we find new ways to serve our customers. [Hola! Churros] has exceeded our expectations, with sales growing by over 19% in the most recent quarter and almost 30% year-to-date.

最後，隨著我們尋找新的方式來服務客戶，我們正在尋求大量的自動售貨機會。 [你好！ Churros] 超出了我們的預期，最近一個季度的銷售額增長了 19% 以上，今年迄今的銷售額增長了近 30%。

We now have significant market share and are confident in our ability to maintain our leadership position. We are finding growth opportunities that include bringing all our churros into the retail space in the fourth quarter and new business with major U.S. food distributors, QSR and fast casual channels.

我們現在擁有重要的市場份額，並且對保持領先地位的能力充滿信心。我們正在尋找增長機會，包括在第四季度將所有油條引入零售領域，以及與美國主要食品分銷商、QSR 和快餐休閒渠道開展新業務。

SUPERPRETZEL is one of our most powerful brands, with endless potential it seems. In the fourth quarter, we will be launching SUPERPRETZEL BAVARIAN sticks, bites and mini dogs in the Food Service and Retail, creating new snack indications and solidifying our dominant position within soft pretzels. ICEE , it continues to benefit from a recovering theater industry as well as from its strong consumer appeal across a growing number of occasions.

SUPERPRETZEL 是我們最強大的品牌之一，似乎具有無限的潛力。第四季度，我們將在食品服務和零售領域推出 SUPERPRETZEL BAVARIAN 棒狀、咬咬和迷你狗，創造新的零食適應症並鞏固我們在軟椒鹽捲餅領域的主導地位。 ICEE 繼續受益於劇院業的複蘇以及其在越來越多場合的強大消費者吸引力。

There is recent momentum in the theater industry as attendance looks close to pre-pandemic levels and stronger movie releases are hitting the market. We continue to gain placement in QSR and are currently discussing a major opportunity with the club channel customer.

劇院行業最近呈現出強勁的勢頭，上座率看起來接近大流行前的水平，而且更強勁的電影正在投放市場。我們繼續在 QSR 領域佔據一席之地，目前正在與俱樂部渠道客戶討論一個重大機會。

On the marketing side, a new campaign is currently being tested in the Atlanta market called Let the Kid Out. That includes out-of-home, [curve-in] and digital media support and is receiving very positive reviews. We continue to have strong plans to market and grow this brand across our portfolio.

在營銷方面，一項名為“Let the Kid Out”的新活動目前正在亞特蘭大市場進行測試。這包括戶外、[曲線內]和數字媒體支持，並獲得了非常積極的評價。我們繼續制定強有力的計劃，在我們的產品組合中營銷和發展這個品牌。

We have really built a business balanced across multiple products, channels and customer segments, which together helps us adapt to changing consumer and snacking occasions. We manage this portfolio to maximize our growth opportunities across Food Service, Retail and Frozen Beverages segments. This quarter is a great example of our flexible business model and our capabilities to continue driving both sales and growth and profit growth.

我們真正建立了跨多個產品、渠道和客戶群的平衡業務，這有助於我們適應不斷變化的消費者和零食場合。我們管理這一投資組合，以最大限度地提高我們在食品服務、零售和冷凍飲料領域的增長機會。本季度是我們靈活的業務模式以及我們繼續推動銷售和增長以及利潤增長的能力的一個很好的例子。

Before transitioning to Ken, let me highlight a few additional insights within each of our business segments. Food Service continued its strong performance from prior quarters with sales up 11.9% to $255 million. SUPERPRETZEL BAVARIAN pretzel bite and Jalapeno-n-Cheese [bites] launched this quarter, and we gained placements of a SUPERPRETZEL BAVARIAN stick at a large family entertainment center.

在向 Ken 過渡之前，讓我強調一下我們每個業務部門的一些額外見解。餐飲服務繼續保持前幾個季度的強勁表現，銷售額增長 11.9%，達到 2.55 億美元。本季度推出了 SUPERPRETZEL BAVARIAN 椒鹽捲餅咬和墨西哥辣椒奶酪 [bites]，我們在一家大型家庭娛樂中心獲得了 SUPERPRETZEL BAVARIAN 棒的展示位置。

Also, we launched Hola! chocolate-filled churros across Food Service, including incremental placements with distributors, cash and carry, national accounts and individual operators. We're also testing a significant opportunity with a large QSR customer, with full rollout scheduled in early calendar 2024.

此外，我們還推出了 Hola！整個食品服務領域的巧克力油條，包括與分銷商、現金自運、國民賬戶和個體經營者的增量安置。我們還在與大型 QSR 客戶測試一個重要機會，計劃於 2024 年初全面推出。

Funnel Cakes Fries -- Funnel Cakes Fries are a big opportunity in QSR and casual dining, growing 10% in Q3. And Zaxby's , a fast casual restaurant chain with over 900 locations across the U.S., recently informed us that they will move from a test of our 5-inch Funnel Cake to a permanent menu item in Q4.

Funnel Cakes Fries——Funnel Cakes Fries 是 QSR 和休閒餐飲領域的一個巨大機遇，在第三季度增長了 10%。 Zaxby's 是一家在美國擁有 900 多家門店的快速休閒連鎖餐廳，最近通知我們，他們將在第四季度從對 5 英寸漏斗蛋糕的測試轉向永久菜單項目。

As it relates to the Retail segment, Sales were up 0.2% to $61.2 million. For the quarter, the consumer environment was a bit soft in the first couple of months as retailers and grocery stores reported lower traffic in their stores and smaller baskets. This trend did improve in June, but highlights the fluctuations we are seeing in Retail consumer spending.

與零售部門相關，銷售額增長 0.2% 至 6,120 萬美元。就本季度而言，前幾個月的消費環境有點疲軟，因為零售商和雜貨店報告稱，其商店的客流量較低，購物籃也較小。這一趨勢在 6 月份確實有所改善，但凸顯了我們在零售消費者支出中看到的波動。

We believe that impacted sales of soft pretzels and biscuits into Q3 as both were down 12.2% and 15.3%, respectively, compared to the prior year. We continue to see strong growth opportunities in Retail, especially in our SUPERPRETZEL, frozen novelties and churros. The SUPERPRETZEL brand continues to resonate with consumers, with purchases [stand up] 50% versus the year ago.

我們認為，這影響了第三季度軟椒鹽捲餅和餅乾的銷量，與去年同期相比，兩者分別下降了 12.2% 和 15.3%。我們繼續看到零售業的強勁增長機會，特別是我們的超級蛋糕、冷凍新奇食品和油條。 SUPERPRETZEL 品牌繼續引起消費者的共鳴，購買量比一年前增長了 50%。

As previously discussed, we are currently launching SUPERPRETZEL BAVARIAN sticks, bites and mini dogs in the Retail, supported by strong sales plans and marketing. Frozen novelties continue to be an opportunity, led by Luigi's, Dogsters and ICEE stick as the performance of each product continues to outpace the category. Hola! Churros will begin shipping in the Northeast region this month as we bring this growing brand to Retail.

如前所述，在強大的銷售計劃和營銷支持下，我們目前正在零售店推出 SUPERPRETZEL BAVARIAN 棒棒糖、咬咬棒和迷你狗。以 Luigi's、Dogsters 和 ICEE Stick 為首的冷凍新奇產品仍然是一個機會，因為每種產品的性能繼續超越同類產品。你好！隨著我們將這個不斷發展的品牌引入零售業，西班牙油條將於本月開始在東北地區發貨。

Moving to our third business segment Frozen Beverages, we saw a record Q3 sales of $109.6 million, reflecting the strong rebound in the theater channel as well as ongoing strength at our Mexico operations. There is a lot of excitement in the theater industry on the heels of stronger movie releases and higher food and beverage consumption per visit. Theater attendance is improving closer to pre-pandemic levels.

轉向我們的第三個業務部門冷凍飲料，第三季度銷售額達到創紀錄的 1.096 億美元，反映出影院渠道的強勁反彈以及我們墨西哥業務的持續強勁。隨著電影上映量的增加和每次參觀的食品和飲料消費的增加，劇院行業出現了很多令人興奮的事情。劇院的上座率正在接近大流行前的水平。

Beverage sales grew 26.1% in Q3, driven by 9% volume increases in the quarter. Our maintenance and service sales grew 5.5%. And equipment sales grew 17.1%, driven mostly by the continued Checkers rollout.

第三季度飲料銷量增長 26.1%，銷量增長 9%。我們的維護和服務銷售額增長了 5.5%。設備銷售額增長了 17.1%，主要得益於 Checkers 的持續推出。

Finally, we continue to make progress growing consumption and placements in amusement, mass merchandisers and restaurants. As it relates to M&A, we continue to evaluate potential M&A opportunities that complement our brand portfolio and business model and that offer an attractive shareholder return.

最後，我們繼續在增加娛樂、大型商場和餐館的消費和安置方面取得進展。由於與併購相關，我們將繼續評估潛在的併購機會，以補充我們的品牌組合和業務模式，並提供有吸引力的股東回報。

Financially, we are well positioned to invest in growth when the opportunities align with our business model. In summary, I applaud the excellent work everyone across the organization is doing to improve every aspect of our business. I am confident that our team is aligned on our core strategies and executing the right initiatives to grow our business and improve our operations. We are well positioned in the market with a long-term focus on growing sales and profits and delivering shareholder returns.

在財務上，當機會與我們的業務模式相一致時，我們處於有利位置，可以投資於增長。總之，我對整個組織中的每個人為改善我們業務的各個方面所做的出色工作表示讚賞。我相信我們的團隊在核心戰略上保持一致，並執行正確的舉措來發展我們的業務並改善我們的運營。我們在市場中處於有利地位，長期專注於增加銷售額和利潤以及為股東帶來回報。

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. Like Dan, I am so proud of our J&J employees and their many contributions in helping us deliver a record quarter. We are executing the strategy across organization with a focus on driving top line and bottom line growth.

謝謝丹，大家早上好。和丹一樣，我為我們的強生員工以及他們為幫助我們創造創紀錄季度業績所做的眾多貢獻感到自豪。我們正在整個組織內執行該戰略，重點是推動營收和利潤的增長。

I am equally pleased with our ability to show marked improvements across most of our operational KPIs, including gross margin and distribution expenses. We believe that we have the [lifeline employees] to drive continued growth and deliver value to our shareholders.

我同樣對我們在大多數運營關鍵績效指標（包括毛利率和分銷費用）方面取得顯著改善的能力感到滿意。我們相信，我們擁有[生命線員工]來推動持續增長並為股東創造價值。

I would like to take a few minutes to walk you through our results. Net sales for the quarter totaled a record $425.8 million, a 12% increase versus the prior period, and sales through 9 months totaled [$1.115 billion], a 13.7% increase versus the first 9 months of fiscal '22. The strong top line result was driven by growth across all 3 of our business segments and across most of our core products and reflects the health and resiliency of our business.

我想花幾分鐘時間向您介紹我們的結果。該季度的淨銷售額總計達到創紀錄的 4.258 億美元，比上一季度增長 12%，前 9 個月的銷售額總計 [11.15 億美元]，比 22 財年的前 9 個月增長 13.7%。強勁的營收業績是由我們所有 3 個業務部門和大多數核心產品的增長推動的，反映了我們業務的健康狀況和彈性。

Our largest segment, Food Service, experienced a 11.9% increase in sales to [$255 million], representing [59.9%] of total company sales. This strong performance has resulted in healthy growth across the segment, including 176.4% increase in frozen novelties to [$47.4] million, which included an incremental $29.2 million in Dippin' Dots sales and showcases the benefits from the Dippin' Dots acquisition.

我們最大的細分市場食品服務的銷售額增長了 11.9%，達到 [2.55 億美元]，占公司總銷售額的 [59.9%]。這一強勁的業績帶動了整個細分市場的健康增長，其中冷凍新奇產品增長了 176.4%，達到 4,740 萬美元，其中 Dippin' Dots 銷售額增加了 2,920 萬美元，並展示了收購 Dippin' Dots 帶來的好處。

Also, a 19% increase in churros, a 13.6% increase in soft pretzels and a decline in handheld and bakery of 33.9% and 8.3%, respectively.

此外，油條增加了 19%，軟椒鹽捲餅增加了 13.6%，手持式和麵包式分別減少了 33.9% 和 8.3%。

Moving to our Retail segment. Sales increased 0.2% to $61.2 million compared to the same period in fiscal 2022. Handheld sales increase 180.2%, driven by expanding growth in a major mass [merchandiser]. We did experience sales decline in soft pretzels, biscuits and frozen novelty of 12.2%, 15.3% and 0.4%, respectively, due to softness in traffic and basket size with retailers and grocery chains.

轉向我們的零售部門。與 2022 財年同期相比，銷售額增長 0.2%，達到 6120 萬美元。在主要大眾 [銷售商] 增長的推動下，手持設備銷售額增長 180.2%。由於零售商和雜貨連鎖店的客流量和購物籃規模疲軟，軟椒鹽捲餅、餅乾和冷凍新奇食品的銷量確實分別下降了 12.2%、15.3% 和 0.4%。

As it relates to our third segment, Frozen Beverages sales were at record $109.6 million or a 20% increase versus Q3 '22, led by strong growth across all 3 subcategories. Beverage sales increased 26.1%, led by gallon increases of 9%. Machine revenue increased by 17.1%, and maintenance revenue increased 5.5%, compared to the previous-year period.

與我們的第三個細分市場相關，冷凍飲料銷售額達到創紀錄的 1.096 億美元，比 22 年第三季度增長 20%，這主要得益於所有 3 個子類別的強勁增長。飲料銷量增長 26.1%，其中加侖銷量增長 9%。與上年同期相比，機器收入增長17.1%，維護收入增長5.5%。

As highlighted by Dan earlier, we made significant progress, including gross margins and distribution expenses, driving operating income growth of 127.2%, a $27 million improvement over last year. Starting with gross profit, Q3 gross profit improved to $142.9 million or [31%] increase versus the prior year.

正如 Dan 早些時候強調的那樣，我們取得了重大進展，包括毛利率和分銷費用，推動營業收入增長 127.2%，比去年增加 2700 萬美元。從毛利潤開始，第三季度毛利潤增至 1.429 億美元，比上年增長 [31%]。

Gross profit as a percentage of sales was 33.6% in Q3 2023 comparing favorably to 28.7% in Q2 '22 and was driven by a combination of better product mix, alignment of pricing and costs, production efficiencies as well as the stabilization of inflation pressures on the back of historic highs last year.

2023 年第三季度的毛利潤佔銷售額的百分比為 33.6%，而 22 年第二季度為 28.7%，這是由於更好的產品組合、定價和成本的協調、生產效率以及通貨膨脹壓力的穩定等綜合因素推動的。去年曆史高點的背後。

Overall, we experienced low single-digit inflation for the quarter. Cost of key ingredients, including flour, oil, dairy and meat, has declined. Though we are still experiencing double-digit inflation in sugar/sweetners and mixes, which continues to impact products such as frozen novelties and churros.

總體而言，本季度通脹率較低，為個位數。麵粉、油、乳製品和肉類等關鍵原料的成本有所下降。儘管我們仍在經歷糖/甜味劑和混合物的兩位數通貨膨脹，這繼續影響冷凍新奇食品和油條等產品。

Looking at expenses, total operating expenses increased $6.8 million or 7.7% and represented 22.2% of sales for the quarter compared to 23.4% in Q3 of 2022. Distribution cost was 10.4% of sales in the quarter, down sequentially from 11.3% and much improved from 12.7% in the prior-year period.

從費用來看，總運營費用增加了 680 萬美元，即 7.7%，佔本季度銷售額的 22.2%，而 2022 年第三季度為 23.4%。分銷成本佔本季度銷售額的 10.4%，較上一季度的 11.3% 有所下降，並大幅改善較上年同期的 12.7% 增長。

Our supply chain transformation initiatives, along with declining diesel prices and carrier costs, are starting to drive improvements in shipping efficiency, cost per truck and cost per pound. Marketing and selling expenses represented 7.4% of sales versus 6.3% in the prior-year period. And 74% in Q2 '23 and were driven primarily by the timing of spend for trade shows and sponsorships.

我們的供應鏈轉型計劃，加上柴油價格和運輸成本的下降，開始推動運輸效率、每卡車成本和每磅成本的提高。營銷和銷售費用佔銷售額的 7.4%，而去年同期為 6.3%。 23 年第二季度為 74%，主要是由貿易展覽和讚助的支出時間推動的。

Administrative expenses were 4.4% of sales in Q3 '22 compared to 4.1% in Q3 '22 and 5.3% in Q2 of '22, driven mostly by the expected seasonal impact of adding Dippin' Dots. This led to an operating income of $48.3 million or 127.2% increase compared to $21.3 million in Q3 of 2022.

管理費用佔 22 年第三季度銷售額的 4.4%，而 22 年第三季度為 4.1%，22 年第二季度為 5.3%，這主要是由於添加 Dippin' Dots 的預期季節性影響所致。這使得營業收入達到 4830 萬美元，較 2022 年第三季度的 2130 萬美元增長 127.2%。

Adjusted operating income was $51.1 million or a 104.8% increase compared to Q3 '22. After the impact of income taxes of $12.6 million compared to $5.6 million in Q3 of fiscal '22, net earnings increased to $35 million, resulting in reported diluted earnings per share of $1.81 or $2.51 for the first 9 months of fiscal 2023. This compares to $0.81 per share and $1.56 a share in the prior-year period.

調整後營業收入為 5110 萬美元，與 22 年第三季度相比增長 104.8%。與 22 財年第三季度的 560 萬美元相比，所得稅影響為 1,260 萬美元，淨利潤增加至 3,500 萬美元，導致 2023 財年前 9 個月報告的攤薄每股收益為 1.81 美元或 2.51 美元。每股收益為 0.81 美元，去年同期為每股 1.56 美元。

Adjusted diluted earnings per share was $1.92 for the quarter and $2.76 for the first 9 months compared to $0.95 per share and $1.72 in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA increased 73.3% to $66.6 million from $38.4 million in the prior-year period, and our effective tax rate was 26.5% in the third quarter.

調整後稀釋每股收益本季度為 1.92 美元，前 9 個月為 2.76 美元，而上年同期為每股 0.95 美元，1.72 美元。調整後 EBITDA 增長 73.3%，從上年同期的 3840 萬美元增至 6660 萬美元，第三季度的有效稅率為 26.5%。

Looking at our liquidity position, we continue to maintain a healthy balance sheet, including [$70.2 million] in cash and marketable securities. In addition to the investments we are making across our business, we also continue to pay down debt of approximately $125 million when we acquired Dippin' Dots to $83 million at the end of fiscal Q3 '23.

看看我們的流動性狀況，我們繼續保持健康的資產負債表，包括[7020萬美元]現金和有價證券。除了我們在整個業務領域進行的投資外，我們還繼續償還收購 Dippin' Dots 時約 1.25 億美元的債務，截至 23 年第三財季末，債務達到 8300 萬美元。

And we intend to continue returning value to our shareholders via dividend payment, given the help of our balance sheet and our strong free cash flow generation.

鑑於我們的資產負債表和強大的自由現金流生成的幫助，我們打算繼續通過股息支付為股東回報價值。

We have ample availability under our revolver of approximately $132 million of additional bond capacity. This affords us added flexibility to strategically invest and support our business.

我們的左輪手槍擁有充足的可用資金，約為 1.32 億美元的額外債券容量。這為我們提供了更大的靈活性來進行戰略投資和支持我們的業務。

In summary, we are executing our strategy and key initiatives in setting the foundation to continue to grow. Our teams are aligned across the segments once we focus on growing our core brands, innovating and finding new opportunities in snacking occasions, cross-selling across our portfolio and channel and improving how we operate.

總之，我們正在執行我們的戰略和關鍵舉措，為持續增長奠定基礎。一旦我們專注於發展我們的核心品牌、創新並在零食場合尋找新機會、跨我們的產品組合和渠道交叉銷售以及改進我們的運營方式，我們的團隊就會在各個細分市場保持一致。

This combination is helping us improve performance throughout the P&L and positions us well to grab strong returns and shareholder value. I would now like to open the call to questions.

這種組合有助於我們提高整個損益表的績效，並使我們能夠獲得豐厚的回報和股東價值。我現在想開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Connor Rattigan with Consumer Edge.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自 Consumer Edge 的 Connor Rattigan。

So I guess just first things first, just on the top line, so obviously, results came in a little lighter than I think we folks have expected. So I mean, I guess, maybe could you guys sort of maybe break out what you saw there, maybe if anything came in ahead below your expectations? If you saw any topic of weakness or softness ahead of expectations there?

所以我想首先要做的是第一件事，就在頂線上，所以顯然，結果比我認為我們人們預期的要輕一些。所以我的意思是，我想，也許你們能打破你們在那裡看到的情況，也許如果有什麼事情超出了你們的預期？您是否在其中看到了任何超出預期的弱點或疲軟話題？

Yes. Connor, this is Ken. Good question. Yes, let me break that down a little bit. Take the Food Service segment, and you've got to kind of break it in because there some different things going on here. So if you look at soft pretzels, frozen novelties, excluding Dippin' Dots, churros, that combination of products was up over 14%.

是的。康納，這是肯。好問題。是的，讓我稍微分解一下。以餐飲服務領域為例，你必須打破它，因為這裡發生了一些不同的事情。因此，如果你看看軟椒鹽捲餅、冷凍新奇食品（不包括 Dippin' Dots 和油條），那麼這些產品的組合價格上漲了 14% 以上。

So somewhat aligned with I think what you would expect and what we would expect and ties into what we talked about and emphasizing [drilling] those core products.

因此，我認為您所期望的和我們所期望的在某種程度上是一致的，並且與我們所討論的內容以及強調[鑽探]這些核心產品有關。

If you look at handhelds and bakery, in handhelds, there's around $3.5 million in there that is a cost past-due, based on an agreement we have with one of our club channel customers. So that's -- the units stay the same, but we passed on deflation that we got, we passed it on to the customer.

如果你看看手持設備和麵包店，根據我們與俱樂部渠道客戶之一簽訂的協議，在手持設備中，大約有 350 萬美元的成本是逾期未付的。所以，單位保持不變，但我們將我們得到的通貨緊縮轉嫁給了客戶。

Also, when you think about bakery and handheld, the big part of our business is sold through retail. And as we talked about in the Retail segment, the retail industry saw a decline in traffic, saw softer baskets, and that's pretty much aligned with I think anything you need from some of the core retail grocery channels that have come out recently. So those behave similar to that. And then if you add in Dippin' Dots, Dippin' Dots was an incremental 29.2 million novelties.

此外，當您考慮麵包店和手持設備時，我們的業務很大一部分是通過零售銷售的。正如我們在零售領域所討論的那樣，零售行業的客流量下降，購物籃變得疲軟，這與我認為最近出現的一些核心零售雜貨渠道所需要的任何東西都非常一致。所以那些行為與此類似。如果加上 Dippin' Dots，Dippin' Dots 的新奇點就增加了 2920 萬個。

Frozen Beverages, really excited about what we saw there. Beverage sales up 26%. The overall segment of 20% volume up over 9% in the quarter. We talked about the recovering the theater industry, so you start to see the consumer come back to theaters, the last few weeks having some of the biggest weekends they've had in a long, long time.

冷凍飲料，我們對在那裡看到的東西感到非常興奮。飲料銷量增長 26%。本季度整體銷量增長 20% 以上，增幅超過 9%。我們談到了劇院行業的複蘇，所以你開始看到消費者回到劇院，過去幾周經歷了他們很長一段時間以來最盛大的周末。

So all in all, we feel really good, but there's certainly some things going on with the consumer. There's probably a little bit, in the amusement area, of impact from some of the hot weather, and some of our amusement customers have talked about some impact on traffic in that category.

總而言之，我們感覺非常好，但消費者肯定也遇到了一些問題。在遊樂區，可能會受到一些炎熱天氣的影響，我們的一些遊樂客戶已經談到了對該類別交通的一些影響。

So kind of a quick overview, all in all, though, we feel like we're executing the plan we need to execute. And we're quite pleased, given all of that and where we ended up with sales.

不過，總而言之，我們感覺我們正在執行我們需要執行的計劃。考慮到所有這些以及我們最終的銷售情況，我們非常高興。

Connor, I'd just add to that. We are confident in where we ended up. Much like what we've seen throughout this year, there has been some ups and downs throughout the year. And even this quarter, April, as it started, was off. There a consumer confidence issue, I think, going on a time with a lot of different things happening in our world, and it kind of grew again throughout the quarter.

康納，我想補充一點。我們對最終的結果充滿信心。就像我們今年所看到的那樣，這一年有一些起伏。即使是這個季度，也就是四月開始的時候，也已經結束了。我認為，在我們的世界發生許多不同的事情的時候，存在消費者信心問題，並且在整個季度再次增長。

So we've watched that really closely, but I don't think we had any big surprises, as you asked, in the quarter.

因此，我們非常密切地關注這一點，但我認為我們在本季度沒有像您所問的那樣有任何大驚喜。

Okay. Great. That was really helpful, guys. And then I guess just looking at the gross margin, too, right, I mean as you guys called out pricing mix, stabilized inflation, right, I mean, I guess, could you maybe help us sort of, I guess, dimensionalize the extensive impact on each one of those, just kind of get a sense to that?

好的。偉大的。伙計們，這真的很有幫助。然後我想也只是看看毛利率，對吧，我的意思是，正如你們所說的定價組合，穩定的通貨膨脹，對吧，我的意思是，我想，你們能否幫助我們，我想，對廣泛的對其中每一個的影響，只是有點了解嗎？

Well, there's a lot in that, Connor, in terms of kind of parsing all that out. I mean the way I would answer your question is relative to mix, when you see us going in pretzels, churros, frozen novelties in our biggest segment Food Service, that mix will drive stronger margin, and it's a part of our strategy.

好吧，康納，就解析所有這些而言，其中有很多內容。我的意思是，我回答你問題的方式與混合有關，當你看到我們在我們最大的食品服務細分市場中投入椒鹽捲餅、油條、冷凍新奇食品時，這種混合將推動更高的利潤，這是我們戰略的一部分。

At the same time, some of the declines in bakery and handhelds are strategic. We're sharpening the pencil on SKUs, and some SKUs we got out of that weren't driving the margins we needed, and we're tweaking that, and we're investing in other products in those areas that we expect that things go down the road. But the combination of both dialing down in that area and then growing in those [highlands] helps mix, a little bit of that going on in Retail as well.

與此同時，麵包店和手持設備的一些下降是戰略性的。我們正在對 SKU 進行改進，但我們從中得到的一些 SKU 並沒有帶來我們所需的利潤，我們正在對此進行調整，並且我們正在投資於我們期望事情進展的那些領域的其他產品沿著路。但是，在該地區進行縮減，然後在這些[高地]中發展，兩者相結合有助於混合，零售業也發生了一些事情。

And then the other thing is when you mix in a record quarter for ICEE together with the biggest quarter to get the [], those are both very accretive to our top line margin, and so that mix in -- had a big role in our strong gross margin performance.

然後另一件事是，當你將 ICEE 創紀錄的季度與獲得 [] 的最大季度混合在一起時，這些都非常增加我們的頂線利潤率，因此這種混合在我們的業務中發揮了重要作用毛利率表現強勁。

You then add on inflation coming down, I think, more than all of us expected. I think PPI was just shy of 3%. PPI, I think, was closer to 5%, that was about, I think, 200 to 300 basis points decline just from quarter-to-quarter, and we benefited then that cost in some of our key commodities, flour, oils, things of that nature came down, and certainly, that played a role on that.

然後，我認為通貨膨脹的下降幅度超出了我們所有人的預期。我認為 PPI 略低於 3%。我認為，PPI 接近 5%，我認為，環比下降了 200 到 300 個基點，我們從一些主要商品、麵粉、石油等的成本中受益這種性質的下降，當然，這發揮了作用。

And then the other thing we talked about is our initiatives to get better in how we operate, get better in how we produce product, is start to drop some efficiencies. So it all came together really nicely in this quarter. And I think it kind of sets the foundation, going forward. And we've -- somewhat, we guided that really crazy 12, 18 months of historic inflation.

然後我們談論的另一件事是我們改善運營方式、改善產品生產方式的舉措，但開始降低一些效率。因此，這一切在本季度都非常順利地結合在一起。我認為這為未來奠定了基礎。在某種程度上，我們引導了 12、18 個月的歷史性通貨膨脹，這是非常瘋狂的。

The next question comes from Andrew Wolf with CL King.

下一個問題來自 Andrew Wolf 和 CL King。

Congratulations on the quarter and the results. The results speak for themselves, but I just wanted to ask about -- sort of a prior question on the sales, and you guys kind of touched on, I guess, pass-through some deflation to a large customer. But in the past, you talked about SKU rationalization and lower margin lines, which I think bakery is and perhaps handhelds as well.

祝賀本季度和結果。結果是不言而喻的，但我只是想問一個關於銷售的先前問題，我猜你們提到了向大客戶傳遞一些通貨緊縮。但過去，您談到了 SKU 合理化和較低的利潤線，我認為麵包店是這樣，也許手持設備也是如此。

Is there any deliberate, if you will, kind of portfolio management of the lines in that way where you're not bidding up for contracts that just don't make sense when you have other lines of products you can produce and distribute that maybe have 2 or 3x the margin?

如果你願意的話，是否有任何刻意的產品組合管理，以這種方式，你不會競標合同，當你有其他可以生產和分銷的產品線時，這些合同就沒有意義2 倍或 3 倍保證金？

Yes. Andrew, you heard us talk a lot about kind of our strategy of pushing our core products, and we continue to use that, and we'll continue to do that. Also in the bakery is we're all fond with the bakery and what happens there. But what we do have a strategic initiative there to make sure what we're bidding on and what we make and who we sell to also complements our strategy as what we've been talking about getting to that 30% gross profit margin.

是的。安德魯，你聽到我們談論了很多關於推動我們的核心產品的策略，我們將繼續使用它，我們將繼續這樣做。在麵包店裡，我們都喜歡麵包店和那裡發生的事情。但我們確實有一個戰略舉措，以確保我們競標的產品、我們生產的產品以及我們銷售給誰，這也補充了我們一直在談論的實現 30% 毛利率的戰略。

So absolutely has there been a strategy around it to reduce some SKUs that were operating there. And then the team that -- bakery team is really focused on new business and what they bring to the organization. And as I said in the opening, I'm proud of all of our teams in the way that they're executing the strategy.

因此，絕對有一個圍繞它的策略來減少在那裡運營的一些 SKU。然後，麵包店團隊真正專注於新業務以及他們為組織帶來的東西。正如我在開場白中所說，我為我們所有團隊執行戰略的方式感到自豪。

Is there any way to quantify beyond the pass-through on deflation of what the SKU rationalization might have been as a drag to see the sales growth?

除了通貨緊縮的傳遞之外，還有什麼方法可以量化 SKU 合理化可能對銷售增長造成的拖累嗎？

No, I'm not going to quantify what that is exactly and adds and flows with make month-to-month. I mean the bulk of it is going to be in bakery. So I think as you look at the bakery numbers, it's a combination of that SKU that together with the fact that a lot of that bakery is in retail and grocery bakery groups, where there has been some declines, softening of traffic in those venues.

不，我不會量化這到底是什麼，以及逐月增加和流動的內容。我的意思是大部分都在麵包店。因此，我認為，當你查看麵包店的數字時，會發現這是 SKU 的組合，再加上很多麵包店屬於零售和雜貨麵包店集團，這些場所的客流量有所下降和疲軟。

Okay. I understand. And Dan, if I could just get back to the way you're talking about your sales and just kind of -- I know you don't guide to us, but I just wanted to ask like how -- when you're thinking through your sales budget for the Board or however, how are you thinking about the current quarter and going into fiscal '24 for your budget about -- where the sales growth comes from in terms of price versus velocity gains on existing products? And it sounds like you're really bullish on new placements at new distribution.

好的。我明白。丹，如果我能回到你談論銷售的方式，我知道你不會引導我們，但我只是想問一下，當你在思考的時候通過您為董事會提供的銷售預算，或者您如何看待當前季度以及進入 24 財年的預算——銷售增長來自於現有產品的價格與速度增長？聽起來你真的很看好新發行版的新展示位置。

So I'm not trying to fish a number out of you because I know you don't guide, but I am trying to get sort of a sense of where you see the growth, especially as economy is showing less inflation. So obviously, price is going to be less and less of a driver of sales growth, where would your volume -- I guess, to focus more on the volume growth, do you see it more in velocity in this kind of economy or more in your distribution gains?

所以我並不是想從你那裡套出一個數字，因為我知道你不會提供指導，但我試圖了解你在哪裡看到的增長，特別是在經濟顯示出較低的通脹率的情況下。很明顯，價格對銷售增長的推動作用將越來越小，你的銷量會在哪裡——我想，為了更多地關註銷量增長，你會在這種經濟中更多地看到它的速度還是更多地看到它？你的分配收益？

Great question, Andrew. And to kind of highlight, I'd probably see it on both sides of it. right? I do think that we have the opportunity through some of the marketing activity that our team is doing to grow velocity in locations that we're already in. And then I love as we talked about some of the new innovation that we have and some of the new products that we're releasing and their abilities to complement and grow the business as well.

好問題，安德魯。為了強調一下，我可能會在它的兩側看到它。正確的？我確實認為我們有機會通過我們團隊正在開展的一些營銷活動來提高我們已經所在地區的速度。然後我喜歡我們談論我們擁有的一些新創新以及一些我們發布的新產品以及它們補充和發展業務的能力。

And the teams are working really hard and have what I consider a really strong pipeline to look at for this next year. And so -- as I talked about before, there is some volatility in the market. We'll watch that closely. Part of what I love about our company is that we have a really balanced portfolio, and you lived through this with us. There is a period of time when theaters were down, but retail was up, and now we're living in a period of time where theaters are up and retail has come back to more of a normal level.

這些團隊正在非常努力地工作，並且我認為明年有一個非常強大的渠道可供考慮。因此，正如我之前談到的，市場存在一些波動。我們將密切關注。我喜歡我們公司的部分原因是我們擁有真正平衡的產品組合，而您與我們一起經歷了這一切。曾經有一段時間，影院數量下降，但零售業卻在上升，而現在我們生活在一個影院數量上升、零售業恢復到正常水平的時期。

I like the way that this business has been built with great products and great customers around a portfolio that allows us to ebb and flow that way. I think this quarter, we'll continue to see some growth, and then I look forward to seeing the budgets as they roll up over the next month or so for next year.

我喜歡這個業務是由優秀的產品和優秀的客戶圍繞一個投資組合建立的，這使我們能夠以這種方式潮起潮落。我認為本季度我們將繼續看到一些增長，然後我期待看到明年下個月左右預算的增加。

Great. I appreciate that color. And if I can add just one kind of follow-up on your commentary on the marketing, budgeting being -- expenses being up, excuse me. When you talk about trade shows and sponsorships, is there some of the -- and I think in the past, you said to get some of the products like churros -- all the churros into retail, there would be slotting and things like that. Is that kind of what this is about? Or is this separate from that? And in the current quarter, we should look for the slotting fees as part of the marketing spend.

偉大的。我很欣賞那種顏色。如果我可以對您對營銷、預算的評論添加一種後續行動——費用增加，請原諒。當你談論貿易展覽和讚助時，是否有一些——我想在過去，你說過要獲得一些像油條這樣的產品——所有的油條都進入零售業，會有時段之類的東西。是這樣的嗎？或者這與那是分開的？在本季度，我們應該將進場費作為營銷支出的一部分。

Yes. It's really driven by kind of what we mentioned, is both timing and I would even say kind of the level of investment we're making in trade shows and sponsorship, particularly trade shows. I don't know if you've been to one recently that we were at, but kind of the level of kind of bringing together a good brand presence in an event, we will bring that out. I mean, it's really amazing what the marketing team has done to bring all our brands together and display it in a way.

是的。這實際上是由我們提到的時間驅動的，我什至可以說是我們在貿易展覽和讚助（特別是貿易展覽）方面進行的投資水平。我不知道你最近是否去過我們參加的一個活動，但我們會在活動中展現出良好的品牌形象。我的意思是，營銷團隊將我們所有的品牌整合在一起並以某種方式展示它所做的工作真是令人驚嘆。

So we're making investments there. We believe that's paying off. It's driving new channels, and it's driving new conversations. So it's really about that. I mean, full year, we may -- we want to be in the ballpark of where we typically are, maybe hear about that, Andrew. But it's money well spent. I think it started to tie in all the other strategies we're doing to drive interest in our brands.

所以我們正在那裡進行投資。我們相信這是有回報的。它正在推動新的渠道，也正在推動新的對話。所以這確實是關於這個的。我的意思是，一整年，我們可能 - 我們希望處於我們通常所處的位置，也許會聽到這一點，安德魯。但這錢花得值。我認為它開始與我們正在採取的所有其他策略結合起來，以提高人們對我們品牌的興趣。

I'll just add to that. Some of it is timing, Andrew, but we did make a really conscious decision at some of the major trade shows this year to really highlight all the great things that we do in our core products. And really proud of the team in the way that they put that together.

我就補充一下。安德魯，其中一些是時機，但我們確實在今年的一些主要貿易展上做出了一個非常有意識的決定，以真正突出我們在核心產品中所做的所有偉大事情。我們為團隊的整合方式感到非常自豪。

[You] let us talk about one of our core strategies being cross-selling our portfolio. By doing what we've done, we've had some really tremendous effort by the team, and some of our customers have just really seeing how well they can complement one of our products to the next. And and we think that's working. So we're proud of that.

[您]讓我們談談我們的核心戰略之一是交叉銷售我們的投資組合。通過我們所做的事情，我們的團隊付出了巨大的努力，我們的一些客戶才真正看到他們可以如何很好地補充我們的一種產品到下一種產品。我們認為這是有效的。所以我們為此感到自豪。

The next question comes from Robert Dickerson with Jefferies.

下一個問題來自杰弗里斯的羅伯特·迪克森。

Great. I guess just first question, just on Dippin' Dots. I say it's personal anecdote, but I don't know, past few months have been over kind of all in place and have seen certain formats in places like Wawas, few of my kids eat them in now kind of more handheld frozen novelty kind of on-the-go packaging.

偉大的。我想這只是第一個問題，關於 Dippin' Dots。我說這是個人軼事，但我不知道，過去幾個月已經全部到位，並且在像 Wawas 這樣的地方看到了某些格式，我的孩子很少有人用現在更手持冷凍新奇的方式吃它們便攜式包裝。

So as you talk about all the distribution opportunities, whether it's in Food Service, Retail, what have you, I mean, is it fair to say at this point, kind of despite some of the innovation of the overall portfolio that -- I mean it seems like kind of more highly likely, more highly probable kind of revenue generation upside here, J&J is kind of primarily being driven by Dippin' Dots. And I don't mean that as a negative. It just sounds like the runway is pretty low.

因此，當您談論所有分銷機會時，無論是在食品服務、零售領域，您有什麼，我的意思是，在這一點上可以公平地說，儘管整個投資組合有一些創新——我的意思是看起來，強生的創收可能性更大，主要是由 Dippin' Dots 推動的。我並不是說這是消極的。聽起來跑道很低。

We love that acquisition. You've heard us talk about that, Rob. Again, I'm proud of that team. And we've worked hard at integrating and then cross-selling and getting out and introducing them to some of the great relationships that we have out in the industry, it's really working. We see a really nice opportunity for that to continue to grow and are happy with what it's done to date.

我們喜歡這次收購。你已經聽我們談論過這個了，羅布。我再次為這支球隊感到自豪。我們努力整合，然後交叉銷售，並向他們介紹我們在行業中建立的一些良好關係，這確實很有效。我們看到了一個繼續發展的好機會，並對迄今為止所做的事情感到滿意。

And also, just thank you for your kids buying a product, too, all right. We appreciate that. But we really are happy with that acquisition. We're proud of the team and the way that they're managing it and the way that they have integrated with the whole J&J organization to find new growth, and have a lot of hopes for it in 2024.

另外，感謝您的孩子也購買了產品，好吧。我們對此表示讚賞。但我們對這次收購真的很滿意。我們為這個團隊、他們的管理方式以及他們與整個強生組織整合以尋找新增長的方式感到自豪，並對 2024 年寄予厚望。

Just to quickly add to that. Everything Dan said, yes, optimistic and aggressive in the way we believe we can grow Dippin' Dots. But Dan [Indiscernable] the script, his focus on churros or Hola! as a brand, super pretzels as a brand, ICEE as a brand, all of those businesses have performed quite well in the quarter. Soft pretzels in Food Service, which is the biggest area that we sell pretzels in, was about 13.5%. Churros is up 19%. ICEE beverages by itself was up 26%.

只是為了快速添加。丹所說的一切，是的，樂觀和進取，我們相信我們可以種植 Dippin' Dots。但是丹[無法辨別]劇本，他的重點是油條或Hola！作為一個品牌，超級椒鹽捲餅作為一個品牌，ICEE作為一個品牌，所有這些業務在本季度都表現得相當不錯。食品服務中的軟椒鹽捲餅是我們銷售椒鹽捲餅的最大領域，約為 13.5%。油條上漲 19%。 ICEE 飲料本身上漲了 26%。

So I certainly want to get credit to what we're doing, given that, but our focus areas are growing, and we feel really good about the opportunities down the road in those areas as well.

因此，我當然希望我們正在做的事情得到認可，但我們的重點領域正在不斷擴大，而且我們對這些領域未來的機會也感到非常滿意。

All right, super. And then I guess, just to jump to the margin side, clearly, gross margin is back strong as we think -- and then also Frozen Beverage, I think that's like may be the highest margin I've ever seen. So I'm just curious, as we think forward into kind of Q4, then clearly, we start thinking about next fiscal year, kind of where things sit today, is some of this kind of margin mix shift in the portfolio sticky?

好吧，超級。然後我想，只是跳到利潤率方面，顯然，毛利率如我們所想的那樣恢復強勁，然後是冷凍飲料，我認為這可能是我見過的最高利潤率。所以我只是好奇，當我們展望第四季度時，顯然，我們開始考慮下一個財年，就像今天的情況一樣，投資組合中的這種利潤率組合變化是否具有粘性？

Like is there anything that we saw in Q3 in Frozen Beverages maybe kind of like a one-off, so we don't want to get ahead of ourselves because you look at the gross margin in the quarter, it's great, but then you look at the op margins, too, and clearly, there are nice benefits flowing through? So I know that was the expectation kind of as we got into the back half. I'm just curious, at this point, kind of given normal seasonality as well as these improved margins now hopefully, kind of where we sit for some time?

就像我們在第三季度冷凍飲料中看到的那樣，可能有點像一次性的，所以我們不想超前，因為你看看本季度的毛利率，它很棒，但你看看在運營利潤方面，也很明顯，有很好的好處？所以我知道這是我們進入後半場時的期望。我只是好奇，在這一點上，考慮到正常的季節性以及現在希望利潤率的提高，我們在一段時間內會處於什麼位置？

Yes. As we go into Q4, we feel very good about the position we're in, from a gross margin standpoint. I think if you look at Q4 and Q2 historically, given a little bit of slowdown as kids go back to school, that kind of thing, the margins will probably be a little bit south of what they were in Q3, but they should still be very good because we think we've passed the hurdle of some of those things that challenged us and most in the industry over the last several months.

是的。當我們進入第四季度時，從毛利率的角度來看，我們對自己所處的位置感覺非常好。我認為，如果你從歷史上看第四季度和第二季度，考慮到隨著孩子們重返學校而出現一點放緩，這樣的事情，利潤率可能會比第三季度稍低一些，但它們仍然應該是非常好，因為我們認為我們已經克服了過去幾個月裡對我們和業內大多數人構成挑戰的一些障礙。

And if theaters continue to the perform the way they are, it's going to be a big shot in the [arm] is both our ICEE business and as we penetrate theaters [and given to us], again, those high-margin parts of our portfolio.

如果劇院繼續按照原來的方式表演，那麼我們的 ICEE 業務和當我們滲透劇院時（並給予我們），這將是我們的一個重要舉措，同樣，我們的那些高利潤部分文件夾。

So yes, I think we're pretty confident. I told you we're going to this make business to getting into the [higher] margin business year in, year out. And this is a really good start to that, and we expect to have good momentum going into Q4. Obviously, as you get into Q1 and Q2, the seasonality of that, those margins won't be at that level, but they will be much better than over the last year or so.

所以是的，我認為我們非常有信心。我告訴過你，我們將年復一年地開展這項業務，進入[更高]利潤的業務。這是一個非常好的開始，我們預計第四季度將有良好的勢頭。顯然，當你進入第一季度和第二季度時，由於季節性原因，這些利潤率不會達到那個水平，但會比去年左右好得多。

Rob, you heard us talk about kind of working all angles of the P&L, and that's exactly what we're doing. And we're really proud of each and everyone who's focused on that, right? We're certainly in the summer months where the mix helps us for sure.

羅布，您聽到我們談到從各個角度處理損益表，而這正是我們正在做的事情。我們真的為每一個專注於此的人感到自豪，對吧？我們正處於夏季，這種混合肯定對我們有幫助。

But also, just the movement in the ICEE business, not only domestically but really strong quarter out of our Mexico operations, proud of what that team is doing. We think that we can have those margins up in that 30-plus area, like we've been talking about for a while. And it certainly gets a boost when you're in the summer months, but we're proud of what the teams are doing at all angles of the P&L.

而且，ICEE 業務的發展不僅在國內，而且我們墨西哥業務的季度表現也非常強勁，我們為該團隊所做的事情感到自豪。我們認為我們可以在 30 多個區域提高利潤率，就像我們已經討論了一段時間一樣。當你在夏季的時候，它肯定會得到提升，但我們對團隊在損益表各個方面所做的事情感到自豪。

All right. Great. And then maybe just lastly, I know, clearly, kind of overall basket and cost inflation side improved like you're saying, but also you're seeing some kind of material step-up in sugar and sweeteners, and anybody with decent exposure to those commodities have been saying the same thing, we all see it. .

好的。偉大的。然後，也許最後，我清楚地知道，正如你所說，整體籃子和成本通脹方面有所改善，但你也看到糖和甜味劑方面出現了某種實質性的增長，以及任何有適當接觸的人這些商品一直在說同樣的事情，我們都看到了。 。

So it sounds like overall, clearly, kind of pricing relative to your overall cost structure has really improved. But we've also heard some others that, "Look, if some of these inputs on the sweetener side remain elevated, the industry overall could potentially think about incremental pricing."

因此，聽起來總體而言，相對於整體成本結構的定價確實有所改善。但我們也聽到其他一些人說，“看，如果甜味劑方面的一些投入仍然較高，整個行業可能會考慮增量定價。”

Is that anything -- is there anything in that that's kind of come up internally in terms of kind of those 2 core commodities? Or you're thinking about it more from an overall portfolio dynamic versus kind of, let's say, frozen novelties? That's it.

這有什麼嗎——有什麼是在這兩種核心商品方面內部出現的嗎？或者您更多地從整體投資組合動態而不是某種（比方說）凍結的新奇事物來思考這個問題？就是這樣。

Yes, that's a great question, Rob. We do a monthly review with our different teams around the P&L. And our review in the [snack foods] side of our business this last month, we talked a little bit about the frozen novelties and what we may or may not do. And so we will look at it individually like that. We're going to watch it closely. And you're right, if that doesn't come down, then we may have to approach that in a different manner.

是的，這是一個很好的問題，羅布。我們每月與不同的團隊圍繞損益進行審查。上個月我們在我們業務的[休閒食品]方面進行了回顧，我們討論了一些關於冷凍新奇事物以及我們可以做什麼或不可以做什麼的問題。所以我們將像這樣單獨地看待它。我們將密切關注。你是對的，如果這個問題沒有得到解決，那麼我們可能不得不以不同的方式來解決這個問題。

(Operator Instructions) The next question comes from Todd Brooks with Benchmark Company.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自 Benchmark 公司的 Todd Brooks。

Congrats on -- the results in the last quarter were surprising, margin improvement that you delivered, so congrats.

恭喜——上個季度的結果令人驚訝，您實現了利潤率的提高，所以恭喜。

Two quick questions here, if I may. And this is just kind of getting this first year of Dippin' Dots correct. Can you talk about what the seasonality typically is for Dippin' Dots revenues in Q4 versus Q3? I'm just trying to triangulate, you've talked about a couple of annual goals for Dippin' Dots, and I think we'd be a little bit less than $30 million here in Q3. Would you expect that business to grow meaningfully in Q4? And if you look at overall company revenues, would you expect that Q4 will be our peak revenue quarter or Q3?

如果可以的話，這裡有兩個簡單的問題。這只是 Dippin' Dots 第一年的正確表現。您能否談談 Dippin' Dots 第四季度與第三季度收入的典型季節性是什麼？我只是想進行三角測量，您談到了 Dippin' Dots 的幾個年度目標，我認為我們在第三季度的收入將略低於 3000 萬美元。您預計該業務在第四季度會出現有意義的增長嗎？如果您查看公司的整體收入，您預計第四季度將是我們的收入峰值季度還是第三季度？

Yes, Todd, we've talked about it, we're very clear about the seasonality in Dippin' Dots, particularly on the profit side, I talked about that. I would say, Q4 is going to probably perform similar to Q3, maybe a little bit better. Like you, we're still kind of running this business.

是的，托德，我們已經討論過了，我們非常清楚 Dippin' Dots 的季節性，特別是在利潤方面，我談到了這一點。我想說，第四季度的表現可能與第三季度相似，甚至可能更好一點。和您一樣，我們仍然在經營這項業務。

But we know, obviously, what they did last year, we know what some of the new initiatives and things we have in place in some of the areas of growth that you probably look at into Q4, that is somewhat similar to Q3 or given months.

但顯然，我們知道他們去年做了什麼，我們知道您可能會在第四季度看到的一些增長領域採取了哪些新舉措和措施，這與第三季度或特定月份有些相似。

Okay. Great. And then based on Dippin' Dots similar to a little bit better in Q4, more core products, the SKU rationalization, just trying to think about what the headwinds are, if revenues are relatively similar between the quarters that would cause much of a gross profit margin moderation sequentially?

好的。偉大的。然後基於類似於第四季度更好一點的 Dippin' Dots，更多核心產品，SKU 合理化，只是想想想逆風是什麼，如果季度之間的收入相對相似，這將導致很大的毛利潤保證金依次調整？

Are you asking talking about the headwind on sales or gross margin?

您是在談論銷售或毛利率方面的逆風嗎？

Well, if sales are relatively similar quarter-over-quarter and you're getting a little bit more Dippin' Dots revenue and you SKU-rationalize some lesser-margin products for core margin products. I'm just trying to figure out why gross profit should drop much from the 33% plus level that you did in Q3 when we get to Q4.

好吧，如果季度環比銷售額相對相似，並且您獲得的 Dippin' Dots 收入稍多一些，那麼您可以將一些利潤較低的產品合理化為核心利潤產品。我只是想弄清楚為什麼當我們進入第四季度時，毛利潤應該比第三季度 33% 以上的水平大幅下降。

Yes. It's really more about kind of historical seasonality. As you get into mid to late [August], it's certainly in the September, a lot of kids who are obviously, when [a lot of schools are] active and theaters and amusement parks and others, our business SKUs a bit heavier in Q3 and Q4 in those areas. So it's just more of the seasonal behavior of the consumer, which traditionally, we've seen a little bit lower gross margin in Q4 than Q3. But I wouldn't say it would be a dramatic time.

是的。這實際上更多地與歷史季節性有關。當你進入 [8 月] 中下旬時，肯定是在 9 月，當 [很多學校] 活躍、劇院和遊樂園等時，很多孩子顯然很活躍，我們的業務 SKU 在第三季度有點重以及這些領域的第四季度。因此，這更多地是消費者的季節性行為，傳統上，我們看到第四季度的毛利率比第三季度略低。但我不會說這將是一個戲劇性的時刻。

Okay. That's fair. And then one final follow-up question on the gross margin. I look back historically, just to try to map that seasonal movement in gross margins. And you get back to '18, '19, and you were looking at maybe 200 to 300 basis points higher gross margins in the back half of the year than the front half of the year. .

好的。這還算公平。最後一個關於毛利率的後續問題。我回顧歷史，只是為了嘗試繪製毛利率的季節性變動圖。回到 18 年、19 年，你會發現下半年的毛利率可能比上半年高 200 到 300 個基點。 。

Do you think that's where we normalize to? I know the difference as is a new piece of business that may drag a little bit more in the first half. But what would you expect that go-forward type of gross margin spend -- spread to be between the first half and second half of the year?

你認為這就是我們正常化的地方嗎？我知道其中的區別，因為一項新業務可能會在上半年拖累更多的業務。但是，您預計今年上半年和下半年的毛利率支出的未來類型會怎樣？

Yes. I think the spread, certainly, I would say, the next year or so, will be similar. But I think all quarters relative to what it was particularly the 2 that we've already gone through, it should be better. So Q1 is coming up which should be better than Q1 of last year because we've gotten half some of the inflationary impacts and yes, and some of our initiatives are starting to be big dividends.

是的。我認為，我想說，明年左右的傳播肯定會相似。但我認為相對於我們已經經歷過的第二個季度，所有方面都應該更好。因此，第一季度即將到來，這應該會比去年第一季度更好，因為我們已經受到了一半的通脹影響，是的，我們的一些舉措開始帶來巨大紅利。

But if you just look quarter-to-quarter and think about the behavior of margin, it will continue to be strongest in Q3 and Q4 and then more relative to history in Q1 and Q2.

但如果你只看季度與季度的情況，並考慮利潤率的表現，那麼它在第三季度和第四季度將繼續保持最強，然後在第一季度和第二季度更接近歷史水平。

Now, what we're focused on, like we did the ICEE business years ago, is as we grow the penetration given that in the places like theaters, that provides a better seasonality for us and helps those on [Indiscernable] which we think would pay dividends for a sound road. But that will be kind of a gradual move to that, I think, as we build that business up.

現在，我們關注的是，就像我們幾年前做的 ICEE 業務一樣，我們要提高滲透率，因為在劇院等地方，這為我們提供了更好的季節性，並幫助那些我們認為會在[難以辨別]上的人為健康道路付出紅利。但我認為，隨著我們業務的發展，這將是一個漸進的過程。

Okay. Great. And then, Dan, just a final one for you and I'll jump back in. You talked about the 6 new production lines that have been launched over the course of this year. As you start looking out to '24, how meaningful is that incremental capacity and throughput/productivity as a revenue driver for J&J because it's levered on those core categories where you're seeing the best growth around novelties, pretzels and churros?

好的。偉大的。然後，Dan，這是給你的最後一個，我會再回來。你談到了今年推出的 6 條新生產線。當您開始展望 24 世紀時，增量產能和吞吐量/生產率作為強生的收入驅動因素有多大意義，因為它利用了那些圍繞新奇產品、椒鹽捲餅和油條增長最快的核心類別？

Yes. Good question, Todd. We're really excited about those 6 new lines. We talked a little bit in the past about having capacity constraints in those core products that we think there's a lot of runway with. And so the teams are out there really actively being able to sell things like churros and different forms of pretzels and maybe even bringing some of that core into our bakery division as well, and that's being worked on right now.

是的。好問題，托德。我們對這 6 條新線路感到非常興奮。我們過去曾討論過一些核心產品的產能限制，我們認為這些產品還有很大的發展空間。因此，團隊非常積極地能夠銷售西班牙油條和不同形式的椒鹽捲餅等產品，甚至可能將其中一些核心產品帶入我們的烘焙部門，目前正在開展這項工作。

So they become really meaningful for us. They kind of are at the heart of the strategy that we have in place right now. We're being able to grow pretzels, churros, frozen novelties and been able to broaden that like releasing a new pretzel bite or a pretzel stick that we have had some great early interest in.

所以它們對我們來說變得非常有意義。它們是我們目前製定的戰略的核心。我們能夠種植椒鹽捲餅、油條、冷凍新奇食品，並能夠擴大範圍，比如推出我們早期非常感興趣的新椒鹽捲餅咬或椒鹽捲餅棒。

So I think it becomes very meaningful for us. It allows the team to get out there and sell on the things that we do best and on the things that help us drive the margin mix that we've been talking about.

所以我認為這對我們來說變得非常有意義。它使團隊能夠走出去，銷售我們最擅長的東西，以及幫助我們推動我們一直在談論的利潤組合的東西。

I am showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back to Dan Fachner for closing remarks.

我目前沒有提出任何進一步的問題。現在我想將電話轉回給丹·法赫納 (Dan Fachner)，讓其致閉幕詞。

Well, thank you for your time today. In closing, we are excited about the opportunities to continue growing this great business of ours and confident that we have the right people, products, partners and strategy to maximize these opportunities. We look forward to sharing our fiscal 2023 full-year results later this year and updating you on the positive impact of various operational and strategic initiatives we are having on our business.

好的，謝謝您今天抽出時間。最後，我們對繼續發展我們這項偉大業務的機會感到興奮，並相信我們擁有合適的人員、產品、合作夥伴和戰略來最大限度地利用這些機會。我們期待在今年晚些時候分享我們的 2023 財年全年業績，並向您介紹我們正在實施的各種運營和戰略舉措對我們業務的積極影響。

In the interim, should you have any questions or wish to speak to us, please contact our Investor Relations firm, JCIR at 212-835-8500. Thank you, and have a great rest of the summer.

在此期間，如果您有任何疑問或希望與我們聯繫，請聯繫我們的投資者關係公司 JCIR，電話：212-835-8500。謝謝你，祝你暑假愉快。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。