Joint Corp (JYNT) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to The Joint Corp. First Quarter 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to David Barnard of LHA Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 The Joint Corp. 2023 年第一季度財務業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意此事件正在被記錄。我現在想將會議交給 LHA 投資者關係部的 David Barnard。請繼續。

Thank you, Dave. Good afternoon, everyone. This is David Barnard of LHA Investor Relations. On the call today, President and CEO, Peter Holt, will review our first quarter 2023 performance metrics and provide an update on the business; CFO, Jake Singleton, will detail our financial results and guidance. Then Peter will close with a summary and open the call for questions.

謝謝你，戴夫。大家下午好。我是 LHA 投資者關係部的 David Barnard。在今天的電話會議上，總裁兼首席執行官 Peter Holt 將回顧我們 2023 年第一季度的業績指標並提供業務最新信息；首席財務官 Jake Singleton 將詳細介紹我們的財務業績和指導。然後彼得將以總結結束並開始提問。

Please note we're using a slide presentation that can be found at https://ir.thejoint.com/events. Today, after the close of the market, The Joint Corporation issued its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. If you did not already have a copy of this press release, it can be found in the Investor Relations section of the company's website.

請注意，我們使用的是幻燈片演示，可以在 https://ir.thejoint.com/events 上找到。今天收盤後，The Joint Corporation 發布了截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日的季度財務業績。如果您還沒有本新聞稿的副本，可以在公司網站的投資者關係部分找到。

As provided on Slide 2, please be advised today's discussion includes forward-looking statements, including statements concerning our strategy, future operations, future financial position and plans and objectives of management. Throughout today's discussion, we will present some important factors relating to our business that could affect these forward-looking statements.

如幻燈片 2 所示，請注意今天的討論包含前瞻性陳述，包括有關我們的戰略、未來運營、未來財務狀況以及管理計劃和目標的陳述。在今天的討論中，我們將介紹一些與我們業務相關、可能影響這些前瞻性陳述的重要因素。

The forward-looking statements are made based on our current predictions, expectations, estimates and assumptions and are also subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements we make today. Factors that could contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, our inability to identify and recruit enough qualified chiropractors and other personnel to staff our clinics, due in part to the nationwide labor shortage and an increase in operating expenses due to measures we may need to take to address such shortage; inflation exacerbated by COVID-19 and the current war in Ukraine, which has increased our costs and which otherwise could negatively impact our business; the potential for further disruption to our operations and the unpredictable impact on our business of the COVID-19 outbreak and outbreaks of other contagious diseases; our failure to develop or acquire company-owned or managed clinics as rapidly as we intend; our failure to profitably operate company-owned or managed clinics; short-selling strategies and negative opinions posted on the Internet, which could drive down the market price of our common stock and resulting class action lawsuits; our failure to remediate future material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which could negatively impact our ability to accurately report our financial results, prevent fraud or maintain investor confidence and other factors described in our filings with the SEC, including the section entitled Risk Factors in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on March 10, 2023, and subsequently filed current and quarterly reports.

前瞻性陳述是基於我們當前的預測、預期、估計和假設而做出的，並且還受到風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與我們今天所做的陳述存在重大差異。可能導致這些差異的因素包括但不限於：我們無法識別和招募足夠的合格脊椎按摩師和其他人員來為我們的診所配備人員，部分原因是全國范圍內勞動力短缺，以及我們可能需要採取措施解決這種短缺導致的運營費用增加； COVID-19 和當前烏克蘭戰爭加劇了通貨膨脹，這增加了我們的成本，否則可能會對我們的業務產生負面影響； COVID-19 爆發和其他傳染病的爆發可能進一步擾亂我們的運營，並對我們的業務產生不可預測的影響；我們未能按照我們的預期盡快開發或收購公司擁有或管理的診所；我們未能以盈利方式經營公司擁有或管理的診所；賣空策略和互聯網上發布的負面意見可能會壓低我們普通股的市場價格並引發集體訴訟；我們未能糾正未來財務報告內部控制中的重大缺陷，這可能會對我們準確報告財務業績、防止欺詐或維持投資者信心的能力產生負面影響，以及我們向 SEC 提交的文件中描述的其他因素，包括我們於 2023 年 3 月 10 日向 SEC 提交的截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的 10-K 表格年度報告中標題為“風險因素”的部分，以及隨後提交的當期報告和季度報告。

As a result, we caution you against placing undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and encourage you to review our filings with the SEC for a discussion of these factors and other risks that may affect our future results or the market price of our stock. Finally, we are not obligating ourselves to revise our results or publicly release any updates to these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.

因此，我們提醒您不要過分依賴這些前瞻性陳述，並鼓勵您查看我們向 SEC 提交的文件，以討論這些因素以及可能影響我們未來業績或股票市場價格的其他風險。最後，我們沒有義務根據新信息或未來事件修改我們的結果或公開發布這些前瞻性陳述的任何更新。

Management uses EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, which are non-GAAP financial measures. These are presented because they are important measures used by management to assess financial performance. Management believes they provide a more transparent view of the company's underlying operating performance and operating trends than GAAP measures alone. Reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA is presented in the press release. The company defines EBITDA as net income or loss before net interest, tax expense, depreciation and amortization expenses. The company defines adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA before acquisition-related expenses, stock-based compensation expense, bargain purchase gain, net gain or loss on disposition or impairment and other income related to the employee retention credit.

管理層使用 EBITDA 和調整後 EBITDA，這是非 GAAP 財務指標。提出這些是因為它們是管理層用來評估財務業績的重要指標。管理層認為，與單獨的 GAAP 指標相比，它們可以更透明地了解公司的基本經營業績和經營趨勢。新聞稿中介紹了淨利潤與 EBITDA 和調整後 EBITDA 的調節。該公司將 EBITDA 定義為扣除淨利息、稅費、折舊和攤銷費用之前的淨收入或虧損。該公司將調整後的 EBITDA 定義為扣除收購相關費用、股票補償費用、討價還價購買收益、處置或減值淨損益以及與員工保留信貸相關的其他收入之前的 EBITDA。

Management also includes commonly discussed performance metrics. System-wide sales include revenues at all clinics, whether operated by the company or by franchisees. While franchise sales are not recorded as revenues by the company, management believes the information is important in understanding the company's financial performance because these sales are the basis on which the company calculates and records royalty fees and are indicative of the financial health of the franchisee base.

管理還包括常見討論的績效指標。全系統銷售額包括所有診所的收入，無論是由公司還是特許經營商經營。雖然特許經營銷售並未記錄為公司收入，但管理層認為這些信息對於了解公司的財務業績非常重要，因為這些銷售額是公司計算和記錄特許權使用費的基礎，並且表明了特許經營商的財務狀況。

Comp sales include revenues from both company-owned or managed clinics and franchise clinics that in each case have been open at least 13 full months and exclude any clinics that are closed. Turning to Slide 3. It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Peter Holt.

補償銷售額包括來自公司擁有或管理的診所和特許經營診所的收入，這些診所在每種情況下都已開業至少 13 個完整月，不包括任何已關閉的診所。轉向幻燈片 3。現在我很高興將電話轉給 Peter Holt。

Thank you, David, and I welcome everybody to the call. As we noted in March, we entered 2023 with a fortified foundation to support our clinics as well as our long-term clinic expansion and financial growth. Today, I'm pleased to report on Q1 2023, we performed well during the continued economic uncertainty and expect our robust underlying clinic model and unit economics to thrive as markets improve.

謝謝你，大衛，我歡迎大家參加電話會議。正如我們在 3 月份指出的那樣，進入 2023 年，我們擁有了堅實的基礎來支持我們的診所以及我們的長期診所擴張和財務增長。今天，我很高興地報告 2023 年第一季度，我們在持續的經濟不確定性中表現良好，並預計我們強大的基礎診所模型和單位經濟學將隨著市場的改善而蓬勃發展。

For those investors that are new to the company, The Joint is revolutionizing access to chiropractic care by providing affordable concierge-style membership-based services in convenient retail setting. Turning to Slide 4. Let's review our financial metrics for the first quarter of 2023 compared to first quarter 2022. System-wide sales grew 17%. Comp sales for clinics have been opened for at least 13 full months increased 8%. Revenue grew 27%. Adjusted EBITDA improved to $2 million. And on March 31, 2023, our unrestricted cash was $14.8 million compared to $9.7 million on December 31, 2022.

對於新加入公司的投資者來說，The Joint 正在便利的零售環境中提供價格實惠的禮賓式會員制服務，徹底改變脊椎按摩治療的獲取方式。轉向幻燈片 4。讓我們回顧一下 2023 年第一季度與 2022 年第一季度相比的財務指標。全系統銷售額增長了 17%。開業滿 13 個月的診所的贈品銷售額增長了 8%。收入增長 27%。調整後 EBITDA 增至 200 萬美元。截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日，我們的非限制性現金為 1,480 萬美元，而 2022 年 12 月 31 日為 970 萬美元。

Turning to Slide 5. I'll discuss our clinic metrics. During Q1 2023, we opened 33 clinics, 29 franchise and 4 greenfield. This compares to 31 clinics, 27 franchise and 4 greenfields in Q1 2022. Our greenfield strategy is to locate clinic sites where they'll be -- where they'll capture pent-up demand in new markets where they can rapidly build a solid presence. This quarter, we augmented existing clinic clusters in California, Georgia, Missouri and North Carolina.

轉向幻燈片 5。我將討論我們的臨床指標。 2023 年第一季度，我們開設了 33 家診所、29 家特許經營店和 4 家新建診所。相比之下，2022 年第一季度有 31 家診所、27 家特許經營店和 4 家新建診所。我們的新建戰略是在診所所在地找到診所地點，以便抓住新市場中被壓抑的需求，從而快速建立穩固的業務。本季度，我們擴大了加利福尼亞州、佐治亞州、密蘇里州和北卡羅來納州的現有診所集群。

As previously stated, in 2023, we are focusing on supporting our existing greenfield clinic portfolio as it matures and moderating our pace of new greenfield openings. In the first quarter of 2023, we closed 1 franchise clinic, which will be relocated. That compares to closing 1 franchise clinic in the first quarter of 2022. Once again, our closure rate is one of the lowest in franchise community at less than 1%.

如前所述，到 2023 年，我們的重點是支持現有的新建診所投資組合的成熟，並放緩新開設新診所的步伐。 2023年第一季度，我們關閉了1家特許經營診所，並將進行搬遷。相比之下，2022 年第一季度關閉了 1 家特許經營診所。我們的關閉率再次成為特許經營社區中最低的之一，不到 1%。

In summary, our March 31, 2023, we had 870 clinics in operation, consisting of 740 franchise clinics and 130 company-owned or managed clinics. The portfolio mix remained 85% franchised clinics and 15% company-owned or managed clinics. At quarter end, we had 218 franchise licenses in active development, which is a solid pipeline for our future franchised clinic opening.

總而言之，截至2023年3月31日，我們有870家診所在運營，其中包括740家特許診所和130家公司擁有或管理的診所。投資組合中 85% 為特許診所，15% 為公司自有或管理的診所。截至季度末，我們擁有 218 個正在積極開發的特許經營許可證，這為我們未來開設特許經營診所奠定了堅實的基礎。

Subsequent to quarter end, in April, we opened 1 greenfield clinic at Fort Dix in New Jersey. This is our fourth location opened in conjunction with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service. Turning to Slide 6. In Q1 2023, we sold 17 franchise licenses, which is the same number as Q4 2022 when compared to 22 licenses sold in Q1 2022 . This past quarter, existing franchisees bought approximately 59% of our new licenses. This means that even in uncertain environment, those that are intimately involved in our network are reinvesting in the brand. This is a powerful indicator of the strength of our business model, demonstrating the health and viability of our franchise system.

季度末後的 4 月份，我們在新澤西州迪克斯堡開設了 1 家新建診所。這是我們與陸軍和空軍交流服務處聯合開設的第四個地點。轉向幻燈片 6。2023 年第一季度，我們售出了 17 個特許經營許可證，與 2022 年第四季度的數量相同，而 2022 年第一季度售出了 22 個許可證。上個季度，現有特許經營商購買了我們約 59% 的新許可證。這意味著即使在不確定的環境中，那些密切參與我們網絡的人也會對品牌進行再投資。這是我們商業模式實力的有力指標，展示了我們特許經營體系的健康性和可行性。

On March 31, our RD count remained 18 with our aggregate 10-year minimum development schedule for the new RD territories established since 2017 at 626 clinics. Turning to Slide 7. Let's review our marketing efforts. New patient acquisition continues to be a focus. For Q1 of 2023, the average number of new patients per clinic was down approximately 7% from the same quarter a year ago. To further improve new patient leads and conversions, our marketing team has invested in pay channel maximization and new paid digital tactics as well as prioritizing nondigital approaches such as gorilla marketing.

截至 3 月 31 日，我們的 RD 數量仍為 18 個，自 2017 年以來，我們在 626 家診所中建立了新 RD 地區的 10 年最低發展計劃。轉向幻燈片 7。讓我們回顧一下我們的營銷工作。新患者的獲取仍然是焦點。 2023 年第一季度，每個診所的平均新患者數量比去年同期下降了約 7%。為了進一步提高新的患者線索和轉化率，我們的營銷團隊投資於付費渠道最大化和新的付費數字策略，並優先考慮大猩猩營銷等非數字方法。

We've created multiple learning modules to effectively walk our franchisees through best practices in digital marketing, gorilla marketing, traditional awareness marketing and referrals. In February, we held our Annual Love The Joint and social media campaign in Giveaway, where 12 lucky winners received a gift of 1 year of free chiropractic care. During this promotion, we saw significant increases in our overall engagement in The Joint National Instagram account, where we gained almost 15,000 entries and comments and more than 20,000 likes and attracted over 13,000 new followers.

我們創建了多個學習模塊，以有效地引導我們的加盟商了解數字營銷、大猩猩營銷、傳統意識營銷和推薦方面的最佳實踐。 2 月份，我們在 Giveaway 中舉辦了年度 Love The Joint 和社交媒體活動，12 名幸運獲獎者獲得了 1 年免費脊椎按摩護理的禮物。在這次促銷活動中，我們看到 The Joint National Instagram 帳戶的整體參與度顯著增加，獲得了近 15,000 條條目和評論以及超過 20,000 個贊，並吸引了超過 13,000 名新關注者。

In March, we held our new patient context. This event incentivized clinic teams to promote The Joint's $29 new patient offer via signage, referral cards and local business partnerships and community events. For March, the network increased new patients over 19% compared to the prior 3-month average.

三月份，我們舉行了新的患者背景會議。該活動激勵診所團隊通過標牌、轉診卡以及當地商業合作夥伴關係和社區活動來宣傳 The Joint 的 29 美元新患者優惠。 3 月份，與前 3 個月的平均水平相比，該網絡的新患者數量增加了 19% 以上。

In terms of our digital efforts in March, we also launched a test to capture leads through a chat technology as well as leverage enhanced doctor of chiropractic profiles on an online medical sites as a new source for new patient leads. For the quarter, organic traffic to the site increased 14% year-over-year. As a part of our PR effort, we continue to focus on the education and benefits of chiropractic care and generate brand awareness about The Joint.

就我們三月份的數字化工作而言，我們還啟動了一項測試，通過聊天技術捕獲線索，並利用在線醫療網站上增強的脊椎按摩醫生資料作為新患者線索的新來源。本季度，該網站的自然流量同比增長 14%。作為我們公關工作的一部分，我們繼續關注脊椎按摩療法的教育和益處，並提高 The Joint 的品牌知名度。

Our PR strategies are reaching new highs. And in Q1 alone, we surpassed 1 billion in earned editorial impressions. And with that, Jake, I'll turn it over to you.

我們的公關策略正在達到新的高度。僅第一季度，我們獲得的編輯印象就超過了 10 億。傑克，我就把它交給你了。

Thank you, Peter. Turning to Slide 8. I'll review the financial results for Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2022. System-wide sales for all clinics opened for any amount of time increased to $115.4 million, up 17%. System-wide comp sales for all clinics opened 13 months or more increased 8%. System-wide comp sales for mature clinics opened 48 months or more increased 1%.

謝謝你，彼得。轉向幻燈片 8。我將回顧 2023 年第一季度與 2022 年第一季度相比的財務結果。所有開設時間長短的診所的全系統銷售額增加至 1.154 億美元，增長 17%。所有開業 13 個月或以上的診所的全系統贈品銷售額增長了 8%。開業 48 個月或以上的成熟診所的全系統補償銷售額增長了 1%。

Revenue was $28.5 million, up $6 million or 27%. Company-owned or managed clinic revenue increased 36%, contributing $17.1 million. Revenue from franchise operations increased 15%, contributing $11.3 million. The increases represent continued growth in both the corporate portfolio and franchise base. Cost of revenues was $2.6 million, up 13% over the same period last year, reflecting the associated higher regional developer royalties and commissions.

收入為 2,850 萬美元，增加 600 萬美元，即 27%。公司擁有或管理的診所收入增長 36%，貢獻 1,710 萬美元。特許經營業務收入增長 15%，貢獻 1,130 萬美元。這些增長代表了公司投資組合和特許經營基礎的持續增長。收入成本為 260 萬美元，比去年同期增長 13%，反映出相關地區開發商特許權使用費和佣金的增加。

Selling and marketing expenses were $4.2 million, up 27% over the same period last year, driven by an increase in advertising fund expenditures from a larger franchise base, an increase in local marketing expenditures by the company-owned or managed clinics and the timing of our national marketing fund spend. Depreciation and amortization expenses increased $713,000, up 44% compared to the prior year period, primarily due to the increase in the number of greenfield clinics developed and franchise clinics acquired.

銷售和營銷費用為 420 萬美元，比去年同期增長 27%，這是由於更大的特許經營基地的廣告基金支出增加、公司擁有或管理的診所的本地營銷支出增加以及我們的全國營銷基金支出時間安排的推動。折舊和攤銷費用增加 713,000 美元，較上年同期增長 44%，主要是由於開發的新建診所和收購的特許經營診所數量增加。

G&A expenses were $19.9 million compared to $15.4 million, up 30%, reflecting the cost to support the increased clinic count, revenue growth and higher payroll to remain competitive in the tight labor market. Operating loss was $678,000 compared to a loss of $176,000 in Q1 2022, mostly driven by the previously mentioned higher depreciation and amortization expenses.

一般管理費用為 1,990 萬美元，較 1,540 萬美元增長 30%，反映了支持診所數量增加、收入增長和工資增長以在緊張的勞動力市場中保持競爭力所需的成本。運營虧損為 678,000 美元，而 2022 年第一季度虧損為 176,000 美元，主要原因是前面提到的折舊和攤銷費用增加。

Other income was $3.8 million, reflecting the receipt of employee retention credits compared to other expense of $16,000 in Q1 of 2022. Income tax expense, including the impact of the employee retention credits, was $842,000 compared to $13,000 in Q1 of 2022. Net income was $2.3 million or $0.16 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $206,000 or $0.01 per diluted share in Q1 of 2022.

其他收入為 380 萬美元，反映了收到的員工保留積分，而 2022 年第一季度的其他費用為 16,000 美元。所得稅費用（包括員工保留積分的影響）為 842,000 美元，而 2022 年第一季度為 13,000 美元。淨利潤為 230 萬美元，即稀釋後每股 0.16 美元，而淨虧損為 206,000 美元，即稀釋後每股 0.01 美元2022 年第一季度。

Adjusted EBITDA was $2 million compared to $1.8 million in the same period last year. Franchise clinic adjusted EBITDA increased 6% to $4.8 million. Company-owned or managed clinic adjusted EBITDA increased 68% to $1.6 million, reflecting the maturation of our clinics in the corporate greenfield portfolio as well as our concentrated effort to optimize labor.

調整後 EBITDA 為 200 萬美元，去年同期為 180 萬美元。特許經營診所調整後 EBITDA 增長 6%，達到 480 萬美元。公司擁有或管理的診所調整後的 EBITDA 增長了 68%，達到 160 萬美元，反映出我們診所在公司綠地投資組合中的成熟以及我們在優化勞動力方面的集中努力。

Corporate expense as a component of adjusted EBITDA was $4.4 million, up $671,000 or 15% higher than Q1 2022. On to a review of our balance sheet and cash flow. At March 31, 2023, our unrestricted cash was $14.8 million compared to $9.7 million at December 31, 2022. This reflects $6 million in cash flow from operations, which included the receipt of the employee retention credits of $3.9 million. These were net of $1.2 million of investment in opening greenfield clinics and upgrading existing clinics.

作為調整後 EBITDA 組成部分的公司費用為 440 萬美元，比 2022 年第一季度增加了 671,000 美元，即 15%。回顧我們的資產負債表和現金流。截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日，我們的非限制現金為 1,480 萬美元，而 2022 年 12 月 31 日為 970 萬美元。這反映了運營現金流 600 萬美元，其中包括收到的 390 萬美元的員工保留信貸。其中不包括用於開設新建診所和升級現有診所的 120 萬美元投資。

Also, we continue to have access to additional cash through our line of credit with JPMorgan Chase. To date, we've drawn $2 million and have an additional $18 million available. On to Slide 9. We are reiterating our guidance for 2023. We continue to expect to grow revenue to between $123 million and $128 million compared to $101.9 million in 2022.

此外，我們繼續通過摩根大通的信貸額度獲得額外現金。迄今為止，我們已提取 200 萬美元，並還有 1800 萬美元可用。轉到幻燈片 9。我們重申對 2023 年的指導。我們繼續預計收入將增長至 1.23 億至 1.28 億美元，而 2022 年為 1.019 億美元。

We continue to expect adjusted EBITDA to be between $12.5 million and $14 million compared to $11.5 million in 2022. We continue to expect franchise clinic openings to be between 100 and 120 compared to 121 in 2022. Please note, historically, guidance for company-owned or managed clinic openings included a combination of both greenfields and acquisitions.

我們仍然預計調整後的 EBITDA 將在 1250 萬美元至 1400 萬美元之間，而 2022 年為 1150 萬美元。我們繼續預計特許經營診所開業數量將在 100 至 120 家之間，而 2022 年為 121 家。請注意，從歷史上看，公司擁有或管理的診所開業指南包括新建和收購的組合。

While we continue to acquire previously franchised clinics, these transactions are opportunistic and are no longer included in our guidance. For greenfield clinic openings, we continue to expect to open between 8 and 12 compared to 16 in 2022. And with that, I'll turn the call back over to you, Peter.

雖然我們繼續收購以前的特許診所，但這些交易是機會主義的，不再包含在我們的指導中。對於新開設的診所，我們預計將在 8 至 12 天內開放，而 2022 年將開放 16 個診所。這樣，我會將電話轉回給您，Peter。

Thanks, Jake. Turning to Slide 10. While managing today's uncertain economic conditions, including inflation and wage pressure, we remain focused on what we can control and continue to execute programs to improve performance and drive long-term growth. We continue to methodically implement our multiyear corporate initiatives. To forward to chiropractic dream, over the past several years, we've been increasing our educational outreach efforts with the associations and schools of chiropractic to drive awareness and support recruitment.

謝謝，傑克。轉向幻燈片 10。在管理當今不確定的經濟狀況（包括通貨膨脹和工資壓力）的同時，我們仍然專注於我們可以控制的事情，並繼續執行旨在提高績效和推動長期增長的計劃。我們繼續有條不紊地實施我們的多年企業計劃。為了實現脊椎按摩療法的夢想，在過去的幾年裡，我們一直在加大與脊椎按摩療法協會和學校的教育推廣力度，以提高人們的認識並支持招募。

As our relationships with these institutions continue to improve, these endeavors are being felt across the network nationwide. In fact, we have more interest than ever from doctors in these recent graduating classes, and we're attracting new doctors of chiropractic to The joint. To harness the power of our data, we've launched our business intelligence and analytical reporting tool, and we're shortly launching our automated marketing program.

隨著我們與這些機構的關係不斷改善，全國范圍內的網絡都可以感受到這些努力。事實上，最近畢業班的醫生比以往任何時候都對我們更感興趣，並且我們正在吸引新的脊椎按摩醫生加入該聯合機構。為了利用數據的力量，我們推出了商業智能和分析報告工具，並且很快將推出自動化營銷計劃。

This will reach existing, lapsed and potential patients to ensure that we send the right message to the right patient at the right time. To accelerate the pace of our clinic growth, we remain focused on our franchise sales, in addition to opening greenfield clinics. As reported this quarter, we continued to increase the number of our clinics opened year-over-year.

這將覆蓋現有患者、流失患者和潛在患者，以確保我們在正確的時間向正確的患者發送正確的信息。為了加快診所的發展步伐，除了開設新建診所外，我們仍然專注於特許經營銷售。正如本季度所報告的，我們開設的診所數量繼續逐年增加。

Our network is well positioned for expansion as the economy improves. Frankly, with only 16% of Americans using chiropractic care in the last 12 months and spending $19.5 billion on it annually, the chiropractic patient need is growing and our market opportunity is considerable. Based on our current patient demographics, we are approaching our near-term target of 1,000 clinics and are well positioned for our longer-term goal of 2,000 clinics.

隨著經濟的改善，我們的網絡已做好擴張的準備。坦率地說，只有 16% 的美國人在過去 12 個月內使用脊椎按摩療法，每年花費 195 億美元，脊椎按摩患者的需求正在增長，我們的市場機會相當可觀。根據我們目前的患者人口統計數據，我們正在接近 1,000 家診所的近期目標，並為實現 2,000 家診所的長期目標做好了準備。

We would expand our network and potential base by developing rural, urban and possibly international clinic models. We will broaden our long-term market potential. We are committed to capturing a greater share in growing the overall market. And with that, Dave, I'm ready to begin the Q&A.

我們將通過開發農村、城市以及可能的國際診所模式來擴大我們的網絡和潛在基礎。我們將擴大我們的長期市場潛力。我們致力於在整個市場的增長中佔據更大的份額。戴夫，我已經準備好開始問答了。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Jeremy Hamblin with Craig-Hallum Capital Group.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Craig-Hallum Capital Group 的 Jeremy Hamblin。

I wanted to start by asking about the sales and marketing. It was up about $900,000 sequentially from Q4 and about that same amount on a year-over-year basis. You noted there was a change in the timing of the national marketing fund spend. I wanted to see if you could provide a little bit more detail on how -- on what that was and how it may impact the rest of the year, if there's any other kind of timing differences that we should expect looking forward?

我想首先詢問銷售和營銷方面的情況。較第四季度連續上漲約 90 萬美元，同比上漲幅度約為 90 萬美元。您注意到國家營銷基金支出的時間發生了變化。我想看看您是否可以提供更多詳細信息，說明這是什麼以及它可能如何影響今年剩餘時間，是否還有我們應該期待的其他時間差異？

Yes, Jeremy, great question. And I would say the majority of that is just the increase of the collections from the increased clinic count. There is a chunk of that, that is really just timing quarter-to-quarter, right? So it depends on the timing of certain campaigns or when we're pushing collateral out to the clinics. And so I would categorize that as just a slight front-loading in Q1, but we expect that to normalize as we continue on.

是的，傑里米，好問題。我想說，其中大部分只是診所數量增加帶來的收集量的增加。其中很大一部分，實際上只是按季度計算，對嗎？因此，這取決於某些活動的時間安排或我們何時向診所提供抵押品。因此，我將其歸類為第一季度的輕微提前加載，但我們預計隨著我們的繼續，這種情況會正常化。

So there's really no kind of onetime item to call out there. I think it's just a slight quarter-over-quarter timing variance.

所以確實沒有什麼一次性的東西可以調用。我認為這只是季度與季度之間時間上的輕微差異。

Got it. Okay. And then I also wanted to just get a little bit more color on the net employee retention credits, which I believe was like $3.9 million. I think -- I don't know if that's related back to like FICA credits from COVID still, which is similar to what we've seen in the past with other businesses. But I wanted to just see if you could provide a little bit of color on that as well.

知道了。好的。然後我還想對淨員工保留積分進行更多的描述，我認為大約是 390 萬美元。我認為——我不知道這是否與新冠疫情的 FICA 積分有關，這與我們過去在其他企業看到的類似。但我只是想看看你是否也可以對此提供一點顏色。

Sure, yes. And it is related to some of the Jobs Act credits that were made available. Our qualification period was for periods in the first 2 quarters of 2021. And so really, the timing of both the application and then the processing through the IRS. So we just happened to receive the funds in the first quarter of '23, which kind of triggered our particular recognition.

當然，是的。這與一些已提供的《就業法案》積分有關。我們的資格審查期為 2021 年前兩個季度。實際上，申請的時間和 IRS 處理的時間都是如此。所以我們恰好在23年第一季度收到了這筆資金，這引發了我們特別的認可。

Got it. And if we back that out, that's about the EPS on a normalized basis would be like a $0.04 per share loss or so.

知道了。如果我們推翻這一點，那麼正常化基礎上的每股收益將相當於每股損失 0.04 美元左右。

That's about right. Yes, it's the -- it's really that net $3.9 million. We recorded that in other income. So adjusted EBITDA neutral, but it does have that boost to net income.

差不多是這樣吧。是的，這確實是 390 萬美元的淨收入。我們將其記錄在其他收入中。因此調整後的 EBITDA 呈中性，但它確實對淨利潤有推動作用。

Got it. And then last question I wanted to -- before I hop out of the queue, I wanted to just get an understanding in terms of what you're seeing for clinic performance, corporate versus franchise? It looked like you saw a nice little step forward here on the company-operated clinics like if we're thinking about it on a, let's call it, revenue per average clinic basis, whereas you saw maybe a little bit of a step down overall maybe in the franchisee performance, at least certainly in the royalties that you earned from that basis. I just wanted to get a sense in terms of what you're seeing company-operated versus franchise performance?

知道了。然後是我想問的最後一個問題——在我退出隊列之前，我想了解一下您所看到的診所績效、企業與特許經營的情況？看起來你看到公司經營的診所向前邁出了一小步，就像我們以每個診所的平均收入為基礎來考慮它一樣，而你看到的可能是特許經營商的整體表現略有下降，至少可以肯定是你從這個基礎上賺取的特許權使用費。我只是想了解一下您所看到的公司運營與特許經營績效如何？

Yes. I think, in both cases, it's reflecting some of the youth within our system. So our corporate portfolio with the number of clinic additions we've made over the last 2 years, I think we're going to have a natural leg up on the overall system average just based on our younger greenfield clinics continuing their maturation.

是的。我認為，在這兩種情況下，它都反映了我們系統內的一些年輕人。因此，我們的公司投資組合以及過去兩年新增的診所數量，我認為，基於我們年輕的新建診所的不斷成熟，我們將在整個系統的平均水平上自然獲得提升。

Again, when you're talking about overall growth, we added another 29 franchise units in the quarter. And so again, if you're using that end of quarter number as your final denominator there, that's going to kind of decrease the revenue on a per clinic basis. So we still posted same-store sales of 8% as a system. And again, not a huge disparity there between corporate and franchise performance.

同樣，當您談論整體增長時，我們在本季度又增加了 29 個特許經營單位。同樣，如果您使用季度末的數字作為最終分母，那麼每個診所的收入將會有所減少。所以我們還是把同店銷售額8%作為一個系統。再說一次，公司和特許經營業績之間並沒有巨大的差異。

So we're still pleased with the organic growth of the unit. But as you look at the denominators and the number of new clinics we have coming into the system, I think you could get some fluctuation there on a revenue per clinic basis.

因此，我們仍然對該部門的有機增長感到滿意。但是，當您查看分母和我們進入系統的新診所數量時，我認為每個診所的收入可能會出現一些波動。

And what I'd add to that, Jeremy, is that historically, what's been interesting and unusual for a franchise system is that our corporate portfolio has operated parallel or equal to or slightly better than our franchise segment. And we saw that change a little bit in -- as we're coming into the end of '21 and that we made some corrections. And so if you look at kind of the overall performance of '22, particularly by the end of the year in '22, we got our corporate portfolio operating equal or better to our franchise portfolio.

傑里米，我要補充的是，從歷史上看，對於特許經營系統來說，有趣且不尋常的是，我們的公司投資組合的運作方式與我們的特許經營部門平行或等於或略好。當我們進入 21 世紀末時，我們看到了這種變化，並且我們做了一些修正。因此，如果你看看 22 年的整體表現，特別是到 22 年底，我們的企業投資組合的運營與我們的特許經營投資組合相同或更好。

So we have seen kind of that dip that we went through. We made some changes in those operations, and we're now seeing that come back. And so when you look at some of the key metrics, whether we're talking about conversion or attrition, is that the corporate portfolio continues to do equal or better than our franchise community. The one area where I think that the franchisees continue to do better than corporate, which we're still focused on, is our new patient count and that we're seeing our franchisees have a higher new patient per clinic per month than the corporate portfolio at the moment.

所以我們已經看到了我們所經歷的那種下滑。我們對這些操作進行了一些更改，現在我們看到這種情況又回來了。因此，當您查看一些關鍵指標時，無論我們談論的是轉化還是消耗，您都會發現公司投資組合的表現仍然與我們的特許經營社區持平或更好。我認為特許經營商繼續比公司做得更好的一個領域是我們仍然關注的，那就是我們的新患者數量，我們看到我們的特許經營商每個診所每月的新患者數量比目前的公司投資組合要高。

Got it. That's great color. Just one more, if I could sneak in here. In terms of thinking about kind of the mature store comps, the -- you're seeing just like a little bit of degradation there. And I wanted to get a sense in terms of that price increase that you took last March, what percentage of your patients are on a legacy pricing plan at this point in time?

知道了。那顏色真棒。只要我能潛入這裡就好了。就考慮成熟的商店比較而言，您會看到那裡有一點退化。我想了解一下你們去年 3 月採取的價格上漲情況，目前你們的患者中有多少比例採用的是傳統定價計劃？

Yes, we continue to see about a 5% shift per quarter of our active members moving on to that new price point. I think, as I look at the legacy mix now, I think we're trending about 35% of our system is still on some legacy price point. The majority of those being on the pricing one tier ago, but because we have an existing current policy to grandfather in active members of their sign-up rate. We do have some that they're below that last year, but the majority are one tier ago are now on the higher price point.

是的，我們繼續看到我們的活躍會員每季度有 5% 的轉變轉向新的價格點。我認為，當我現在審視舊版組合時，我認為我們的趨勢是大約 35% 的系統仍處於某個舊版價格點。其中大多數都在一級之前的定價，但因為我們有一項現有的現行政策，可以降低活躍會員的註冊率。我們確實有一些價格低於去年，但大多數是一級前的，現在價格較高。

Yes. And we've talked about that before. And that group that's been there for a long time, it's probably around 15% that we don't see that moving much over time.

是的。我們之前已經討論過這一點。這個群體已經存在很長時間了，大概有 15% 左右，我們認為隨著時間的推移，這種情況不會發生太大變化。

Next question comes from Jeff Van Sinderen with B. Riley.

下一個問題來自 Jeff Van Sinderen 和 B. Riley。

Congratulations. It's great to see the 8% comp. Multiple question here if you can bear with me. But I wanted to ask a little bit more on the patient retention, attrition, new patient add metrics. I guess any more color you can share around that? And what do you think will drive the new patient adds back up? And then maybe also, how are you faring in terms of the Google search and location elements that I know were -- there were some changes there.

恭喜。很高興看到 8% 的補償。如果您能忍受我的話，這裡有多個問題。但我想多問一些關於患者保留、流失、新患者添加指標的問題。我想你還可以分享更多的顏色嗎？您認為什麼會推動新患者數量的增加？也許還有，據我所知，您在谷歌搜索和位置元素方面表現如何——那裡有一些變化。

And then any change you're seeing in terms of influencing new patient adds, given the macro backdrop? And then would it make sense to promote more on price to get new patient adds? I know a lot there. I apologize.

考慮到宏觀背景，您在影響新患者方面看到了什麼變化？那麼，為了吸引新患者而進行更多的價格促銷是否有意義呢？我在那裡知道很多。我道歉。

I'm going to try to remember all of those components. I mean -- and what you're really saying is we really focus on, Jeffrey, of course, new patient counts, so are we. And if you look at the -- in terms of where do our new patient counts come from, there are really 3 sources as we've talked about before. Number one, referral. It's just -- it's existing patients, refer their friends and family to come in and use the services of our clinic. And that's in all medical professions, that's probably the number one source of new patient counts.

我將嘗試記住所有這些組成部分。我的意思是——杰弗裡，你真正想說的是，我們真正關注的是新患者數量，我們也是如此。如果你看看我們的新患者數量來自哪裡，就會發現，正如我們之前討論過的，確實有 3 個來源。第一，推薦。只是——現有的患者，請推薦他們的朋友和家人來使用我們診所的服務。在所有醫療行業中，這可能是新患者數量的第一大來源。

And for us, that's probably averaging right around 35% on a network basis of -- coming into the clinics because they've been referred by a friend or family. What's interesting to watch over time is how increasingly the digital marketing campaign is essentially a part of our new patient count. So right now, we can track today that roughly 63% of our new patients have touched us digitally, so -- which where we can measure it. And patient attribution is always a little tricky because if you go online, because you saw the ad or you use the TV or whatever it was a coupon, but that's increasingly more important to us, and that's when we really saw that change in algorithm with Google, where vicinity became a higher rating or a higher metric to push you up in the search, and that we did make a series of changes to address that.

對於我們來說，在網絡基礎上，平均可能有 35% 左右的人來到診所，因為他們是由朋友或家人推薦的。隨著時間的推移，值得注意的是，數字營銷活動越來越多地成為我們新患者數量的一部分。所以現在，我們今天可以追踪到，大約 63% 的新患者已經通過數字方式接觸過我們，所以——我們可以測量它。患者歸因總是有點棘手，因為如果你上網，因為你看到廣告或你使用電視或任何優惠券，但這對我們來說變得越來越重要，那時我們真正看到了谷歌算法的變化，附近變成了更高的評級或更高的指標來推動你在搜索中的排名，我們確實做了一系列的改變來解決這個問題。

Some of them we can't because it's vicinity of vicinity. And so if you've got 3 clinics in front of you wherever that patient who's doing that search is, that's going to change that search order. But what we can do is yet really focused on optimizing our micro sites and making sure that we've got back links, we've got videos and updated photographs, which again helps very much in your ranking. And we've been working very closely with our franchisees to make sure they're doing that really critical effort. That where also one of the changes was that in the old days before the algorithmic change is that a lot of weight was given to your overall publishing on the Internet.

其中一些我們不能，因為它位於附近。因此，如果您面前有 3 個診所，無論進行搜索的患者在哪裡，搜索順序都會發生變化。但我們能做的仍然是真正專注於優化我們的微型網站，並確保我們有反向鏈接，我們有視頻和更新的照片，這再次對您的排名有很大幫助。我們一直與我們的特許經營商密切合作，以確保他們正在做出真正關鍵的努力。其中一項變化是，在算法更改之前的過去，人們對互聯網上的整體發布給予了很大的重視。

And we continue to this day are the largest publisher online on chiropractic, but it was more what we'd call short-form activity. And that's been changing. And so now what we're doing is seeing that you're getting greater recognition or greater waiting for what's called long form. And so we're changing the way in which we're publishing online to make sure that we're able to grab that attention when you're getting that search and being on the top of that list.

直到今天，我們仍然是最大的脊椎按摩療法在線出版商，但更多的是我們所說的簡短活動。而這種情況一直在改變。所以現在我們正在做的是看到你得到更多的認可或者更多的等待所謂的長形式。因此，我們正在改變在線發布的方式，以確保當您進行搜索並位於列表頂部時，我們能夠吸引人們的注意。

And so we're also looking at different methodologies that we haven't used before. So we've got a campaign now where TikTok is where we have a program that actually launched on March -- May 1. So we'll see the results of that. We're also launching at the end of this month, our automated marketing campaign. So what we're doing now is that those patients that are touching our website or their existing patients or lapsed patients, we can automatically direct to them specific messaging so that again, we're getting the right message to the right person at the right time in their patient journey.

因此，我們也在研究以前從未使用過的不同方法。所以我們現在有一個活動，在 TikTok 上我們有一個項目，實際上是在 3 月 - 5 月 1 日啟動的。所以我們會看到結果。我們還將在本月底啟動我們的自動化營銷活動。因此，我們現在正在做的是，那些接觸我們網站的患者或他們現有的患者或流失的患者，我們可以自動向他們發送特定的消息，這樣我們就能在患者旅程中的正確時間向正確的人發送正確的消息。

And so more to come on the results of that program, but we're really excited to see that launch at the end of this month. And so these are some of the key fact -- key activities that we're doing to ensure that we're increasing that patient count. And then the other -- the last bucket of new patients for us is what I'll call that gorilla marketing. It's that science or it's the coupon drop. It's an outreach to the gym or to the hospital or to the apartment build to make sure that you're educating that, that potential customer who lives works and travels in that 5- to 15-minute radius around that clinic, that they're aware that you're there when they need that relief from pain.

該計劃的結果還有更多信息，但我們很高興看到本月底推出該計劃。因此，這些是一些關鍵事實——我們正在開展的關鍵活動，以確保我們增加患者數量。然後另一個——我們的最後一批新患者就是我所說的大猩猩營銷。這是科學，還是優惠券掉落。這是對健身房、醫院或公寓樓的外展活動，以確保您正在教育那些在該診所周圍 5 到 15 分鐘半徑範圍內生活、工作和旅行的潛在客戶，讓他們知道當他們需要緩解疼痛時，您就在那裡。

So those are just -- I hope I kind of caught most of your questions as it relates to the new patient count. But that's what we're doing to make sure we're addressing this critical issue for the organization.

所以這些只是——我希望我能抓住你們的大部分問題，因為它與新的患者數量有關。但這就是我們正在做的事情，以確保我們正在為組織解決這個關鍵問題。

Okay. That's really helpful. And then any color you can give us if there are any changes you're seeing in underlying trend so far in Q2, maybe that you're seeing versus Q1 or Q2 last year? Just any other color here since the quarter ended.

好的。這真的很有幫助。如果您在第二季度到目前為止看到潛在趨勢有任何變化，您可以給我們任何顏色嗎，也許您看到的變化與去年第一季度或第二季度相比？自本季度結束以來，這裡只是任何其他顏色。

Well, we typically obviously don't comment on upcoming quarters because you will get to that about 3 months. But what I'd say is for all of us is that we're in a time of kind of economic uncertainty. And I don't know -- I know we're not in a recession, but there's a lot of concern about it. We've got the bank failures that are spooking everybody and that -- and so we -- I think for all of us, we're trying to figure out what comes next in the second quarter or the third quarter or the fourth quarter.

嗯，我們通常顯然不會對接下來的幾個季度發表評論，因為大約 3 個月後你就會看到這一點。但我想說的是，對我們所有人來說，我們正處於一個經濟不確定的時期。我不知道——我知道我們沒有陷入衰退，但人們對此有很多擔憂。我們的銀行倒閉讓每個人都感到不安，所以我們——我認為對於我們所有人來說，我們正在努力弄清楚第二季度、第三季度或第四季度接下來會發生什麼。

And so what we're really focused on, Jeff, is all the things that we can control. And so all of that activity is associated with new patient count, making sure that we're as effective as possible in one of our key metrics, which is conversion, converting new patients to our membership. And so for the last year, 84% of our sales were new membership. And so we're really happy for example, for this quarter, our conversion rate is running over 50%, which is a very, very high number for us. We're really excited about that.

因此，傑夫，我們真正關注的是我們可以控制的所有事情。因此，所有這些活動都與新患者數量相關，確保我們在關鍵指標之一（即轉化率）上盡可能有效，將新患者轉化為我們的會員。因此，去年我們 84% 的銷售額來自新會員。因此，我們真的很高興，例如，本季度我們的轉化率超過 50%，這對我們來說是一個非常非常高的數字。我們對此感到非常興奮。

The other metric that we really pay attention to is that, that attrition rate. So how long do they stay with us, when do they drop off. And so we've seen that attrition rate continue to stay very low or to improve. And so those are the things that we can really focus on as we all try to figure out what's going to happen in Q2 and beyond.

我們真正關注的另一個指標是流失率。那麼他們會和我們呆多久，什麼時候下班。因此，我們看到流失率繼續保持在非常低的水平或有所改善。因此，當我們都試圖弄清楚第二季度及以後會發生什麼時，這些才是我們真正可以關注的事情。

What did you think? I mean just as a follow-up to that, Peter, what do you think that, I mean, let's just say we do go into a recession, maybe high probability that we do. People still are not going to want to live with pain even in a recession. When you think they'd prioritize getting that pain handled?

你覺得呢？我的意思是，作為後續行動，彼得，你覺得怎麼樣，我的意思是，我們確實會陷入衰退，也許我們很有可能會陷入衰退。即使在經濟衰退時期，人們仍然不願意忍受痛苦。你什麼時候認為他們會優先考慮解決痛苦？

Absolutely. And then again, we haven't really as this system ever gone through a full recession, but I follow that logic, Jeff, is that as people are tightening their belts and making decisions, it feels like they're going to be more willing to give up that cup of coffee or that frozen yogurt than pain relief.

絕對地。話又說回來，我們這個系統還沒有真正經歷過全面衰退，但我遵循這樣的邏輯，傑夫，當人們勒緊褲帶並做出決定時，感覺他們會更願意放棄那杯咖啡或冷凍酸奶，而不是止痛。

I think another thing that we think about as we go through whatever this economic uncertainty is going to be is that right now that our ideal family income is between $50,000 and $105,000. And so that's -- that is not that high-end person who is -- who's our typical customer or a patient. And so what that means is very often when we go into those markets where you have a really high income per capita,is that we're, quite frankly, too inexpensive for them. It's like, "No, no, no, my son is going to have $125 adjustment, not a $29 adjustment."

我認為，當我們經歷這種經濟不確定性時，我們要考慮的另一件事是，目前我們理想的家庭收入在 50,000 美元到 105,000 美元之間。所以這不是那個高端人士，而是我們的典型客戶或患者。因此，這通常意味著，當我們進入那些人均收入非常高的市場時，坦率地說，我們對他們來說太便宜了。就像，“不，不，不，我兒子將有 125 美元的調整，而不是 29 美元的調整。”

But I think as that economic concern filters through a greater part of the economy and more people are, in fact, changing those decisions or trying to be more thoughtful on their spend, I think you are going to see the top of that funnel open up a little bit and say, well, how bad can that $29 adjustment be? And so we'll see that. But I do think that there is a real opportunity for the upper end of that funnel open up a little bit as the bottom of that funnel as it relates to income per capita tightens up.

但我認為，隨著對經濟的擔憂滲透到經濟的更大一部分，事實上，越來越多的人正在改變這些決定或試圖在支出上更加深思熟慮，我認為你會看到漏斗的頂部稍微打開一點，然後說，好吧，29 美元的調整有多糟糕？我們將會看到這一點。但我確實認為，隨著與人均收入相關的漏斗底部收緊，漏斗的上端確實有機會打開一點。

Our next question comes from George Kelly with ROTH Capital Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自羅斯資本合夥公司的喬治·凱利。

So maybe to start with a couple on the on segment. Just curious on the profitability there. How much visibility do you have? It seems like the whole plan of the maturation of these new stores and everything, the margin improvement has been kind of spotty another quarter of, I would call kind of mix, it looks like there was negative operating income in that segment again.

所以也許可以從現場部分的幾個開始。只是好奇那裡的盈利能力。你有多少可見度？看起來這些新店和一切的成熟的整個計劃，利潤率的改善在另一個季度有點參差不齊，我稱之為混合，看起來該領域再次出現負營業收入。

So I guess, two-part question is, what is the visibility like there for the rest of the year? And aside from the maturation of these new clinics, what else can you do to drive margin in that business?

所以我想，由兩部分組成的問題是，今年剩餘時間的能見度如何？除了這些新診所的成熟之外，您還可以採取哪些措施來提高該業務的利潤率？

Yes. Good question, George. We have clear visibility down to the individual clinic level, and we're going through a lot of efforts with a key focus on trying to maintain and drive sequential improvement in that profitability. And so that's really the expectation. We're still in a period where we have a lot of young units in that portfolio, and they're still working through their growth curves. And so with that, you're still going to have the margin suppression.

是的。好問題，喬治。我們對各個診所層面都有清晰的了解，並且我們正在付出很多努力，重點是努力維持和推動盈利能力的連續改善。這確實是我們的期望。我們仍處於投資組合中有很多年輕單位的時期，而且它們仍在經歷增長曲線。因此，你仍然會受到利潤率抑制。

But as we look throughout the remainder of the year, I am going to be looking for sequential improvement in that segment. We mentioned it in the transcript. We're also kind of looking at our labor optimization and trying to make sure that we have the correct staffing levels given our volumes to make sure that we're optimized as it relates to that inside the 4-wall labor component.

但當我們展望今年剩餘時間時，我將尋求該領域的連續改進。我們在文字記錄中提到過這一點。我們也在關注我們的勞動力優化，並試圖確保我們在考慮到我們的數量的情況下擁有正確的人員配置水平，以確保我們得到優化，因為它與 4 牆勞動力部分內部的相關。

And so those are -- when you have labor that's 50% or more of your unit level cost depending on age, that's a critical component that we're staying focused on because that's a real way that we can control the profitability within each of the units themselves. So it's a critical focus of ours. We're going to continue to work with our operators and continue to drive that. But again, as the clinics mature, we're looking for that sequential improvement quarter-over-quarter.

因此，當您的勞動力佔單位成本的 50% 或更多（具體取決於年齡）時，這是我們持續關注的關鍵組成部分，因為這是我們控制每個單位本身盈利能力的真正方法。所以這是我們的一個關鍵焦點。我們將繼續與我們的運營商合作並繼續推動這一目標。但同樣，隨著診所的成熟，我們正在尋求季度環比的連續改善。

Okay. And then a second question, same kind of topic. But if we stripped out the new clinics and just talk about your legacy owned business, is the 4-wall margin on that store base, has that stabilized? Or is that still seeing labor pressure and it still is compressing a bit?

好的。然後是第二個問題，同樣的話題。但是，如果我們剔除新診所，只談論您的傳統業務，那麼該商店基礎上的 4 牆利潤是否穩定了？還是勞動力壓力仍然存在，而且仍然有點壓縮？

I think we are starting to see some stabilization there. As I look at 4-wall margin numbers for my mature base, and I'll call that greater than 4 years, we're still doing that mid-20% 4-wall margin, which, again, factors in the labor pressures that we've seen over the last 2 years, and I've seen it kind of settle in there. We just released our franchise disclosure document for 2023.

我認為我們開始看到那裡的一些穩定。當我查看我的成熟基礎的 4 壁利潤率數字時，我將其稱為大於 4 年的時間，我們仍在執行 20％ 左右的 4 壁利潤率，這再次考慮了我們在過去 2 年中看到的勞動力壓力，並且我已經看到它在那裡穩定下來。我們剛剛發布了 2023 年的特許經營披露文件。

And I think, as you look at the P&Ls that were submitted by our franchisees, I think they put up a 4-wall margin in the high 20% as I look at the 358 P&Ls we collected as part of that Item 19 exercise. So we're still seeing overall holding power for our units even at maturity and still putting off that strong 4-wall margin potential that we've always talked about.

我認為，當你查看我們的特許經營商提交的損益表時，我認為他們將 4 壁利潤率設置為高 20%，因為我查看了我們作為第 19 項練習的一部分收集的 358 份損益表。因此，即使在成熟期，我們仍然看到我們單位的整體持有力，並且仍然推遲我們一直談論的強勁的四牆利潤潛力。

So the good news is, I think, we are starting to see some of the labor pressures start to plateau a little bit. And so I'm encouraged by that. We just have to continue to focus on driving the same top line growth to those clinics.

因此，我認為好消息是，我們開始看到一些勞動力壓力開始趨於平穩。所以我對此感到鼓舞。我們只需要繼續專注於推動這些診所的收入實現同樣的增長。

Okay. That's helpful. And then last one. Back to the new patient discussion, I'm still a little unclear exactly sort of what the issue is there. And I guess just to be specific -- more specific, are there any kind of competitive issues that you see that have arisen people become more challenging that you're facing in certain markets or anything? Or anything else you can isolate just that's impacting new patients?

好的。這很有幫助。然後是最後一張。回到新的患者討論，我仍然有點不清楚到底是什麼問題。我想具體一點 - 更具體地說，您是否看到任何類型的競爭問題導致人們變得比您在某些市場或其他方面面臨的更具挑戰性？或者您可以隔離出任何其他影響新患者的因素？

Sure, George. And I'll take that. I'm going to answer your second question first is that are we seeing an impact of competitive markets on clinical performance or new patient counts. And what I would say is that I have never worked for a franchise system that has a higher or greater first-mover advantage in this one. And yes, we are seeing increasingly some competitors. They're still very small and very localized.

當然，喬治。我會接受的。我要首先回答你的第二個問題是，我們是否看到競爭市場對臨床表現或新患者數量的影響。我想說的是，我從未在特許經營系統中工作過，它在這方面具有更高或更大的先發優勢。是的，我們看到越來越多的競爭對手。它們仍然很小並且非常本地化。

And George, if I look at it at an overall basis, I would answer, no. I don't think that's been a factor influencing the performance of the clinics. If we look at a specific market where ever they have a chain has presence in the Chicago market or in a specific Atlanta market, then sure there -- because there's definitely going to be some competitors there. And we are seeing them grow. I mean, so I'm not seeing out there, but I'm surprised on how slow they are growing.

喬治，如果我從整體上看，我會回答，不。我認為這不是影響診所績效的因素。如果我們看一個特定的市場，他們在芝加哥市場或特定的亞特蘭大市場有連鎖店，那麼肯定有——因為那里肯定會有一些競爭對手。我們正在見證他們的成長。我的意思是，所以我沒有看到那裡，但我對它們的增長速度感到驚訝。

And that, yes, over time, I would expect them to have an impact on the overall market, but I think there's so much potential for the market itself. I think that's our biggest opportunity is to grow the market.

是的，隨著時間的推移，我預計它們會對整個市場產生影響，但我認為市場本身潛力巨大。我認為我們最大的機會是擴大市場。

To answer your question on the kind of the new patient count what's driving that is that what -- there's no question that as digital marketing campaign becomes more and more important in our new patient drive that we really did see that impact with Google when they change that algorithm because the majority of our online patients were driven by the SEO search. Now we have both paid and organic search. Our paid search continues to perform well. We're seeing a close rate of that, that's been -- continues to stay strong. So that's working for us, but that's been a smaller portion of those leads that are coming online towards us.

要回答關於新患者類型的問題，請計算驅動力是什麼——毫無疑問，隨著數字營銷活動在我們的新患者驅動力中變得越來越重要，當谷歌改變算法時，我們確實看到了對谷歌的影響，因為我們的大多數在線患者都是由 SEO 搜索驅動的。現在我們有付費搜索和自然搜索。我們的付費搜索繼續表現良好。我們看到這種接近率繼續保持強勁。所以這對我們來說是有效的，但這只是在線向我們提供的線索的一小部分。

It's organic search that was the greater portion of those new patients. And so we are seeing recovery from the changes that Google made. This wasn't the first time that Google made changes in their algorithm, and it won't be the last. And so that we're just as you're continually focusing on making those changes so that we can maximize the opportunity, specifically in that digital realm, which is only becoming more and more critical for us in terms of that new patient drive.

在這些新患者中，有機搜索佔了很大一部分。因此，我們看到谷歌所做的改變正在恢復。這不是谷歌第一次改變算法，也不會是最後一次。因此，我們就像你們一樣，不斷專注於做出這些改變，以便我們能夠最大限度地利用機會，特別是在數字領域，就新的患者驅動力而言，這對我們來說只會變得越來越重要。

Our next question comes from Anthony Vendetti with Maxim Group.

我們的下一個問題來自 Maxim Group 的 Anthony Vendetti。

So first, I guess on the patient volumes, you mentioned, Peter, that -- and I think you've mentioned this in the past calls as well that patients are more likely to forgo the cup of coffee or something else than their joint treatment. Do you still feel that's the case because they may have to forego the cup of coffee and the joint treatment with inflation, higher interest rates, right? So I'm just wondering, is your data up to date with what's been transpiring over the last couple of months? Has any of that changed? And if so, how?

首先，我想在病人數量上，彼得，你提到過——我想你在過去的電話中也提到過這一點，即病人更有可能放棄一杯咖啡或其他東西，而不是聯合治療。你是否仍然覺得情況如此，因為他們可能不得不放棄一杯咖啡以及與通貨膨脹、更高利率的聯合治療，對嗎？所以我只是想知道，您的數據是否與過去幾個月發生的情況保持同步？這些有改變嗎？如果是這樣，怎麼辦？

Well, it's a great question, Anthony. And the challenge is, I don't have a lot of data in a sense that this company, we formed in 2010, we've never gone through a recession other than the quick dip in the COVID period, which I'm not sure would be relevant to the conversation. So we have yet to really go through a traditional recession as an organization so that I could give you data on what the impact had on our overall sales.

嗯，這是一個很好的問題，安東尼。挑戰在於，從某種意義上說，我沒有大量數據表明，我們於 2010 年成立的這家公司，除了新冠疫情期間的快速下滑之外，從未經歷過經濟衰退，我不確定這是否與談話相關。因此，作為一個組織，我們還沒有真正經歷過傳統的衰退，因此我可以向您提供有關其對我們整體銷售影響的數據。

And what I would say as well as I know we are in this time of economic uncertainty, and there's a lot of people out there that believe a recession is imminent. But at least in terms of the traditional measurement of that, and 1 of them being high unemployment rate, we're not there yet. And so when we look at, okay, what impact that had, if we could talk about the full year for the last 2022, we had an overall 9% increase in comps, and that was kind of the year of uncertainty because that gives us a sense of what's going on in the clinic level.

我想說的是，據我所知，我們正處於經濟不確定的時期，而且很多人認為經濟衰退即將來臨。但至少從傳統的衡量標準來看，其中之一就是高失業率，我們還沒有達到這一目標。因此，當我們看看這產生了什麼影響時，如果我們可以談論 2022 年全年，我們的比較總體增長了 9%，那是充滿不確定性的一年，因為這讓我們了解臨床水平上正在發生的事情。

If we look at Q1 2023, we had an 8% comp rate, which again gives an indication that they're still coming into the clinic, using our services in this environment of whatever is influencing the decisions they're making as consumers. And you're right, and it's more anecdotal than data driven when we think about what people choices that they're going to make with their discretionary income and it really is a belief that pain relief is going to take a greater weight than some of these other more optional choices that we make as people start tightening their belt.

如果我們看看 2023 年第一季度，我們的補償率為 8%，這再次表明他們仍然進入診所，在這種影響他們作為消費者做出的決定的環境中使用我們的服務。你是對的，當我們考慮人們將用他們的可自由支配收入做出什麼選擇時，這更多是軼事而不是數據驅動，而且我們確實相信，當人們開始勒緊腰帶時，緩解疼痛將比我們做出的其他一些更可選的選擇更重要。

Pain is a huge issue, and it's not going away. And in that, I think, again, one of the drivers of the success of this concept is just how effective it is in helping people manage that pain and stay out of pain.

疼痛是一個大問題，而且不會消失。在這一點上，我再次認為，這個概念成功的驅動力之一就是它在幫助人們管理痛苦和遠離痛苦方面的有效性。

Yes. No, fair point. Just last question on the digital marketing initiatives. I know you measure things very closely. Just can you talk about for -- do you have this measurement where as you're spending dollars on digital marketing, which platforms, sites -- what's working better? How have you transitioned from one to another? And do you feel like, in this environment, you have to spend more to get the same type of patient interaction and then eventual conversion?

是的。不，公平一點。關於數字營銷舉措的最後一個問題。我知道你會非常仔細地衡量事物。您能否談談——當您在數字營銷上花費金錢時，您是否有這樣的衡量標準，哪些平台、網站——哪些效果更好？你是如何從一種轉變為另一種的？您是否覺得，在這種環境下，您必須花費更多才能獲得相同類型的患者互動，然後最終轉化？

Really a great question. And there's no quite -- the short answer is, yes, our whole digital marketing strategy is evolving by the day. Just thinking a few years ago, TikTok wasn't even a word that we'd be talking about. And now it's a very billion users and all kinds of issues around it, but it seems to be an effective way of marketing for us. And so that's where we're putting more dollars.

確實是一個很好的問題。答案並不完全正確——簡短的回答是，是的，我們的整個數字營銷策略正在日益發展。想想幾年前，TikTok 甚至還不是我們談論的一個詞。現在它有一個非常十億的用戶和各種各樣的問題，但這對我們來說似乎是一種有效的營銷方式。這就是我們投入更多資金的地方。

And before I'd say in terms of the overall spend, and you see that in the P&L is that there's not so much that we are increasing the overall marketing spend, but what we're doing is reallocating that into those sources where we see having a greater impact. So one of the trends that we're seeing is our spend on Meta, which at 1 point was kind of being pulled back, and that's really where we didn't think our customers where we've been doing some more work with that. We've been increasing some of the -- allocating more of the spend toward Meta and that we are, quite frankly, seeing some very positive results of that.

在我談到總體支出之前，您會看到，在損益表中，我們並沒有增加太多的總體營銷支出，但我們正在做的是將其重新分配到我們認為產生更大影響的那些來源中。因此，我們看到的趨勢之一是我們在 Meta 上的支出，一度有所回落，這確實是我們沒有想到我們的客戶在這方面做了更多工作的地方。我們一直在增加一些——將更多的支出分配給 Meta，坦率地說，我們看到了一些非常積極的結果。

And so going forward in the next quarter or 2, we're going to continue to see an increase on that Meta spend and maybe less on the YouTube spend, which we do a lot. And so we're constantly evaluating where those leads coming from, and that's the power of marketing today. When I first got into my career, and I've never been in the marketing discipline, but you do this spend and you had no idea what impact it would have. And so I do my radios or I do my TV and hopefully get a 2% return on whatever.

因此，在接下來的一兩個季度，我們將繼續看到 Meta 支出增加，而 YouTube 支出可能會減少，而我們在 YouTube 上的支出可能會減少。因此，我們不斷評估這些潛在客戶的來源，這就是當今營銷的力量。當我剛進入職業生涯時，我從未涉足過營銷學科，但你這樣做時，你不知道它會產生什麼影響。所以我做收音機或者做電視，希望能得到 2% 的回報。

Well, in this day and age, everything is measurable. And that's where that automated marketing, I think, can be so essential in terms of making sure we're getting the right message to that right patient at the right time and then measuring its impact. And we can change that message on the fly almost and say, okay, this message is more effective than that message, do that AB test in a very short period of time and continually be refining the effectiveness of that project or that platform or whatever we're using.

好吧，在當今時代，一切都是可以衡量的。我認為，這就是自動化營銷至關重要的地方，它可以確保我們在正確的時間向正確的患者提供正確的信息，然後衡量其影響。我們幾乎可以即時更改該消息，然後說，好吧，該消息比該消息更有效，在很短的時間內進行 AB 測試，並不斷改進該項目或該平台或我們正在使用的任何內容的有效性。

What -- overarchingly what I would say to you that these activities are only more and more important as it relates to our digital marketing campaign because look who's our customer, and we've talked about this before. Our customer is not the older person who's looking to get out of pain and using their insurance. The median age of our 1.6 million patients, our active patients was 37.6 years old. We're almost equally between male and female, 45% of millennial, 15% are Gen Z and growing.

最重要的是，我要對您說的是，這些活動只會變得越來越重要，因為它與我們的數字營銷活動相關，因為看看誰是我們的客戶，我們之前已經討論過這一點。我們的客戶不是希望擺脫痛苦並使用保險的老年人。我們的 160 萬患者中，活躍患者的中位年齡為 37.6 歲。我們的男性和女性比例幾乎相同，45% 是千禧一代，15% 是 Z 世代且正在成長。

And so when they're looking for their alternative from pain and trying to figure out where do I go to address it, they're online. They're doing that search. They're putting in chiropractic near me, close to home, pain relief. And so that's why I think this will continually be only more and more important because that's actually where all of our patients are.

因此，當他們尋找擺脫痛苦的替代方案並試圖找出我該去哪裡解決這個問題時，他們就上網了。他們正在做那個搜索。他們在我家附近、離家很近的地方進行脊椎按摩治療，以緩解疼痛。這就是為什麼我認為這將變得越來越重要，因為這實際上是我們所有患者所在的地方。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference over to Peter Holt for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想請彼得·霍爾特（Peter Holt）發表閉幕詞。

Thank you. Before I close, I want to note that we will hold our Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 25 here in Scottsdale, Arizona. And we'll also present and conduct meetings at the B. Riley Securities Investor Conference on May 24 in Los Angeles, and the Virtual Oppenheimer Consumer Growth and E-Commerce Conference on June 13.

謝謝。在結束之前，我想指出，我們將於 5 月 25 日在亞利桑那州斯科茨代爾舉行股東年會。我們還將在 5 月 24 日在洛杉磯舉行的 B. Riley 證券投資者會議以及 6 月 13 日在虛擬奧本海默消費者增長和電子商務會議上進行演示和主持會議。

Finally, as we're constantly receiving patient testimonials, and this brings an athlete and parent managing several elements caught our attention.

最後，由於我們不斷收到患者的感言，這使得運動員和家長管理的幾個要素引起了我們的注意。

So Myriam from California wrote us and said, I can't say enough about these healers. I have significant and severe chronic spine injuries, including degenerative disc disease, bone spurs, osteoarthritis and bulge and herniated disc. I'm an athlete and live a very healthy life that demands a high level of activity and energy output daily.

來自加利福尼亞州的米里亞姆（Myriam）寫信給我們說，對於這些治療師，我無法說得太多。我患有嚴重的慢性脊柱損傷，包括椎間盤退行性疾病、骨刺、骨關節炎以及椎間盤突出和突出。我是一名運動員，過著非常健康的生活，每天需要高水平的活動和能量輸出。

The joint doctors have been treating me for over a year now, along with my son and spouse. These magical masters help me bring my body back in alignment so it's not an agonizing pain and limiting my demanding life. They are always immensely kind and playful with my little one and never mind me bringing them in or rush me. I'm very picky about my care team, and I promise you won't be sorry coming in for relief from these gems.

聯合醫生以及我的兒子和配偶已經治療我一年多了。這些神奇的大師幫助我讓我的身體恢復正常，這樣我就不會感到痛苦，也不會限制我的生活。他們總是對我的孩子非常友善和頑皮，從不介意我帶他們進來或催促我。我對我的護理團隊非常挑剔，我保證您不會因為這些寶石而感到遺憾。

With my new breast cancer diagnosis, I'm even more vigilant about self-care, and these angels are my supportive network for good. Thank you and stay well.

隨著我新的乳腺癌診斷，我對自我護理更加警惕，這些天使是我永遠的支持網絡。謝謝你，祝你一切順利。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連接。