Joint Corp (JYNT) 2022 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to The Joint Corp. Q1 2020 (sic) [2022] Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

女士們、先生們，感謝大家的支持，歡迎參加聯合公司 2020 年第一季（原文如此）[2022] 年財務業績電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, David Barnard, LHA Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

現在，我想將會議交給今天的第一位發言人，LHA 投資者關係部門的 David Barnard。先生，請繼續。

Thank you, Alexander. Good afternoon, everyone. This is David Barnard with LHA Investor Relations. On the call today, President and CEO, Peter Holt, will review our first quarter 2022 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. Please note, we are using a slide presentation that can be found at https://ir.thejoint.com/events.

謝謝你，亞歷山大。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，總裁兼執行長 Peter Holt 將回顧我們 2022 年第一季的績效指標並提供業務最新進展。財務長傑克辛格頓 (Jake Singleton) 將詳細介紹我們的財務表現和指導。然後，彼得將做總結並開始提問。請注意，我們正在使用可以在 https://ir.thejoint.com/events 找到的幻燈片簡報。

Today, after the close of market, The Joint Corp. issued its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. If you not already have a copy of this press release, it can be found in the Investor Relations section of the company's website.

今天，收盤後，聯合公司發布了截至 2022 年 3 月 31 日的季度財務業績。

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. 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.

如投影片 2 所示，請注意，今天的討論包括前瞻性陳述，包括有關我們的策略、未來營運、未來財務狀況以及管理計畫和目標的陳述。在今天的討論中，我們將提出一些與我們的業務有關的可能影響這些前瞻性陳述的重要因素。前瞻性陳述是基於我們目前的預測、預期、估計和假設做出的，同時也受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有重大差異。

Factors that could contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, the continuing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the economy and our operations, including temporary clinic closures, shortened business hours and reduced patient demand; inflation exacerbated by COVID-19 and the current war in Ukraine; our failure to develop or acquire company-owned or managed clinics as rapidly as we intend; our failure or profitably operate company-owned or managed clinics; our inability to identify and recruit enough qualified chiropractors and other personnel to staff our clinics, due in part to the nationwide labor shortage, short-selling strategies and negative opinions posted on the Internet, which could drive down the market price of our common stock and results in class action lawsuits; our failure to remediate the current or future material weaknesses in our internal controls 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 included in the section under Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on March 14, 2022, and subsequently filed current and quarterly reports.

可能造成這些差異的因素包括但不限於 COVID-19 疫情對經濟和我們的營運的持續影響，包括診所暫時關閉、營業時間縮短和病患需求減少；因 COVID-19 和當前烏克蘭戰爭而加劇的通貨膨脹；我們未能如預期迅速開發或收購公司擁有或管理的診所；我們未能獲利地經營公司擁有或管理的診所；我們無法找到並招募足夠的合格脊椎按摩師和其他人員來充實我們的診所，部分原因是全國範圍內的勞動力短缺、賣空策略和互聯網上發布的負面意見，這可能導致我們普通股的市場價格下跌並導致集體訴訟；我們未能糾正當前或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結果、防止欺詐或維護投資者信心的能力產生負面影響，以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中所述的其他因素，這些因素包含在我們於 2022 年 3 月 14 日向美國證券交易委員會提交的截至 2021 年 12 月 3 月 10-31 日的年度報告

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，我們提醒您不要過度依賴這些前瞻性陳述，並鼓勵您查看我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，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資訊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, bargain purchase gain, net gain or loss on disposition or impairment and stock-based compensation expenses.

管理層使用 EBITDA 和調整後的 EBITDA，它們是非 GAAP 財務指標。之所以呈現這些指標，是因為它們是管理階層用來評估財務表現的重要指標。管理層認為，與單獨的 GAAP 指標相比，它們可以更透明地反映公司的基本經營業績和經營趨勢。新聞稿中介紹了淨收入與 EBITDA 以及調整後 EBITDA 的對帳情況。該公司將EBITDA定義為扣除淨利息、稅金費用、折舊及攤銷費用前的淨收入或虧損。該公司將調整後的 EBITDA 定義為扣除收購相關費用、廉價購買收益、處置或減損淨損益以及股票薪酬費用前的 EBITDA。

Turning to Slide 3, it is my pleasure to turn the call over to Peter Holt.

翻到幻燈片 3，我很高興將電話轉給 Peter Holt。

Thank you, David, and welcome, everybody, to the call. During the first quarter of 2022, we continue to drive growth of our retail-based chiropractic clinic concept. We opened new franchise and company-owned or managed clinics, bringing the total to 736 at the end of March 31, 2022, with our corporate portfolio reaching the 100 clinic milestone. In addition, year-to-date, we've acquired 2 regional developer territories, which support our corporate clinic growth strategy. Throughout the year to advance our growth, we intend to execute on 3 enterprise initiatives: forging the chiropractic dream by offering the best career path for chiropractics and doctors of chiropractic; harnessing the power of our data by leveraging our new CRM platform and accelerating the pace of clinic growth through continuous improvement of our comprehensive franchise sales and clinic opening strategy. Guided by this strategic plan of action, we believe that we're well positioned to achieve our goal of 1,000 clinics in operation by the end of 2023, creating the foundation for continued future growth.

謝謝您，大衛，歡迎大家參加電話會議。 2022 年第一季度，我們將繼續推動基於零售的脊椎按摩診所概念的成長。我們開設了新的特許經營和公司自有或管理的診所，截至 2022 年 3 月 31 日，診所總數達到 736 家，我們的公司投資組合達到了 100 家診所的里程碑。此外，今年迄今為止，我們已經收購了 2 個區域開發商領地，這支持了我們的企業診所成長策略。為了促進我們全年的發展，我們打算執行 3 項企業計劃：透過為脊椎按摩治療師和脊椎按摩治療師提供最佳的職業道路來打造脊椎按摩治療師的夢想；利用我們新的 CRM 平台發揮數​​據的力量，並透過不斷改進我們的綜合特許經營銷售和診所開業策略來加快診所的成長速度。在這項策略行動計畫的指導下，我們相信我們有能力實現 2023 年底營運 1,000 家診所的目標，為未來持續成長奠定基礎。

Before I go into greater detail, I'd like to welcome our new investors and summarize our investment rationale. The Joint is revolutionizing access to chiropractic care. Located in convenient retail settings, our clinics provide concierge-style membership-based services. Patients benefit from attractive pricing and convenient hours without the need for insurance or appointments. Our growth strategy is to build our brand, increase awareness of the efficacy of chiropractic care, delivering exceptional patient experience and open more clinics. We're already the largest, most recognizable provider of chiropractic care in this country. And yet, we account for approximately 2% of this highly fragmented nearly $18 billion chiropractic market. As such, we have a significant opportunity to continue to increase our market share as we further refine and expand the market itself.

在詳細介紹之前，我想歡迎我們的新投資者並總結一下我們的投資理由。該聯合組織正在徹底改變脊椎矯正治療的取得方式。我們的診所位於便利的零售環境中，提供禮賓式會員制服務。患者可以享受優惠的價格和方便的時間，無需保險或預約。我們的成長策略是打造我們的品牌，提高人們對脊椎矯正治療功效的認識，提供卓越的患者體驗並開設更多的診所。我們已經是這個國家規模最大、知名度最高的脊椎按摩治療服務提供者。然而，我們僅佔這個高度分散的、價值近 180 億美元的脊椎矯正治療市場的約 2%。因此，隨著我們進一步完善和擴大市場本身，我們有重大機會繼續增加我們的市場份額。

Turning to Slide 4, I'll review our financial highlights, later Jake will discuss in the results in detail. For first quarter 2022 compared to first quarter 2021, system-wide sales grew $98.8 million, increasing 27%. Our comp sales for clinics have been opened for at least 13 full months grew 15%. Revenue increased 28%. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.8 million, reflecting macroeconomic conditions, as well as expected margin compression from the recent corporate greenfield openings. And at March 31, 2022, our unrestricted cash was $18.3 million compared to $19.5 million at December 31, 2021.

轉到幻燈片 4，我將回顧我們的財務亮點，稍後 Jake 將詳細討論結果。 2022 年第一季與 2021 年第一季相比，全系統銷售額成長 9,880 萬美元，成長 27%。我們診所開業至少 13 個月的同店銷售額成長了 15%。收入增加28%。調整後的 EBITDA 為 180 萬美元，反映了宏觀經濟狀況以及近期企業綠地開業預計帶來的利潤率壓縮。截至 2022 年 3 月 31 日，我們的無限現金為 1,830 萬美元，而 2021 年 12 月 31 日為 1,950 萬美元。

Turning to Slide 5, let's review our portfolio. Regarding the clinic expansion, during Q1 2022, we opened 31 clinics, up from 13 clinics in Q1 2021. Of the 31 opened this quarter, 4 were greenfield clinics and 27 were franchise clinics, which is the highest number of franchise clinics opened in any given first quarter. Also during Q1, one franchise closed compared to none last year's same period. The Joint continues to have exceptionally low closure rates of less than 1% annually. Three of our greenfield clinic openings in Arizona, California and New Mexico reinforced our strategy for enlarging our presence in corporate clusters. Our fourth greenfield clinic opened in MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, which is the second clinic opened as a part of our agreement with the Army and Air Force Exchange Services to install our clinics on the military bases and provide chiropractic care to our members of the military and their families.

翻到投影片 5，讓我們回顧一下我們的投資組合。關於診所擴張，2022 年第一季度，我們開設了 31 家診所，高於 2021 年第一季的 13 家診所。此外，在第一季度，有一家特許經營店關閉，而去年同期沒有一家特許經營店關閉。該聯合體的關閉率仍然非常低，每年不到 1%。我們在亞利桑那州、加州和新墨西哥州開設的三家綠地診所強化了我們擴大企業集群影響力的策略。我們的第四家綠地診所於佛羅裡達州坦帕市的麥克迪爾空軍基地開業，這是我們與陸軍和空軍交換服務處達成協議後開設的第二家診所，我們將在軍事基地設立診所，為我們的軍人及其家人提供脊椎按摩治療服務。

In summary, in March 31, 2022, we had 736 clinics in operation, consisting of 636 franchise clinics and 100 company-owned or managed clinics and maintain the same portfolio mix compared to December 31 with 14% corporate clinics and 86% franchise clinics. At the end of the quarter, we also had 278 licenses in active development, similar to the 283 at December 31, 2021. This metric continues to demonstrate the strong pipeline for franchise clinic openings and reflects both the accelerated number of franchise openings, as well as the ongoing increased interest in our franchise system.

總而言之，截至 2022 年 3 月 31 日，我們共有 736 家診所投入運營，其中包括 636 家特許經營診所和 100 家公司自有或管理的診所，與 12 月 31 日相比，我們的投資組合保持不變，其中公司診所佔 14%，特許經營診所佔 86%。截至本季末，我們還擁有 278 個正在積極開發中的許可證，與 2021 年 12 月 31 日的 283 個相似。

Turning to Slide 6, we'll review our regional developer strategy and our franchise license sales. In Q1 '22, we sold 22 franchise licenses, of which RD sold 77%. This compares to 26 franchise license sales in Q1 '21, of which RDs were responsible for 81% of the sales. We continue to attract sophisticated, well-capitalized franchisees and our overall performance proves that our RD system accelerates growth. We employ these regional developers to identify, vet and help manage franchisees, which leverage their knowledge and lowers our direct costs. RDs are responsible for -- RD responsibilities are extensive, including oversight and assistance with franchise sales, site selection, clinic build-out, landlord relations, training, marketing plan implementation and co-op formation.

前往投影片 6，我們將回顧我們的區域開發商策略和特許經營許可銷售。 22 年第一季度，我們出售了 22 張特許經營許可證，其中 RD 出售了 77%。相比之下，21 年第一季特許經營許可證銷售數量為 26 筆，其中 RD 佔銷售額的 81%。我們不斷吸引成熟、資金雄厚的加盟商，我們的整體表現證明我們的研發體系加速了成長。我們僱用這些區域開發商來識別、審查並幫助管理特許經營商，從而利用他們的知識並降低我們的直接成本。 RD 負責－RD 的職責非常廣泛，包括監督和協助特許經營銷售、選址、診所建設、房東關係、培訓、行銷計劃實施和合作社組建。

That said, in certain circumstances, we'll acquire mature RD territories to benefit from related economics and to other occasions will acquire RD territories for those who choose to leave the system for financial or personal reasons. Year-to-date, we acquired 2 RD territory rights. In March, with $250,000, we acquired the Northern New Jersey region. This newer territory represents the right to manage 4 existing franchise clinics, as well as the opportunity to expand our recently established cluster and open additional franchise and corporate clinics in the area. In April, for $2.4 million, we purchased the RD rights for Northern California. Our demographic modeling indicates that we have potential for 75 clinics in the area. Already, we have 20 franchises in operation and 36 licenses that have been sold are in an active development, which leaves room for another 19 sites for future corporate or franchise clinic development.

也就是說，在某些情況下，我們會收購成熟的研發領土，以從相關經濟中獲益，而在其他情況下，我們會為那些因財務或個人原因選擇離開系統的人收購研發領土。今年迄今為止，我們已獲得 2 項 RD 領土權。 3 月份，我們以 25 萬美元收購了新澤西州北部地區。這片較新的領土代表著管理 4 家現有特許經營診所的權利，以及擴大我們最近建立的集群並在該地區開設更多特許經營和企業診所的機會。今年4月，我們以240萬美元的價格購買了北加州的研發權。我們的人口統計模型顯示我們有潛力在該地區開設 75 家診所。目前，我們已有 20 家特許經營店在運營，另有 36 個已售出的許可證正在積極開發中，這為未來企業或特許經營診所開發的另外 19 個地點留下了空間。

As of April 1, we had 19 RDs that support 66% of our clinics and their territories cover 55% of the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, or MSAs. Our aggregate 10-year minimum development schedule for the new RD territories established since 2017 is 642 clinics as of April 1. Keeping in mind that that portion of these clinic count is already opened, but the remaining unopened clinics still provide a large foundation to fuel our continued clinic expansion in sales growth.

截至 4 月 1 日，我們擁有 19 名 RD，為 66% 的診所提供支持，其管轄區域涵蓋 55% 的大都會統計區 (MSA)。自 2017 年以來，我們在新 RD 地區建立的總體 10 年最低開發計劃為截至 4 月 1 日的 642 家診所。

Turning to Slide 7, let's review our marketing efforts. In Q1, we further increased our investment in higher-level brand advertising, fueled by our growing national marketing fund, as well as our regional co-ops. Our growing buying power has increased access to more sophisticated marketing programs to reach our target audience in individual trade areas. We continue to innovate by testing new tactics in video marketing and social media, and our public relations efforts are driving hundreds of millions of earned media impressions every month. All these efforts are building our brand and increasing our name recognition in the mass market. We rely increasingly on our digital marketing efforts to reach prospects and drive new patients to our clinics. In fact, according to our most recent attribution, in Q1, over 63% of our new patients were influenced by our online marketing activities at some point in their journey to The Joint. We know that younger consumers lean heavily on Dr. Google and other websites with their healthcare education and validation. And while traditional chiropractic patients skew female and older, our patient base is an even gender split with a median age of just 36 years old, with 61% of our patient base from the Gen Z and millennial generations.

翻到第 7 張投影片，讓我們回顧一下我們的行銷工作。在第一季度，我們進一步增加了對更高層級品牌廣告的投資，這得益於我們不斷成長的國家行銷基金以及區域合作。我們不斷增長的購買力使我們能夠採用更複雜的行銷計劃，從而接觸到各個貿易領域的目標受眾。我們透過在影片行銷和社群媒體中測試新策略來不斷創新，我們的公關努力每月帶來數億的媒體曝光。所有這些努力都在打造我們的品牌並提高我們在大眾市場的知名度。我們越來越依賴數位行銷來接觸潛在客戶並吸引新患者到我們的診所。事實上，根據我們最近的歸因分析，在第一季度，超過 63% 的新患者在前往 The Joint 的過程中受到了我們線上行銷活動的影響。我們知道，年輕的消費者非常依賴谷歌醫生和其他網站來獲取醫療保健教育和認可。雖然傳統脊椎矯正療法的患者以女性和老年人為主，但我們的患者群體的性別分佈均勻，平均年齡僅為 36 歲，其中 61% 的患者來自 Z 世代和千禧世代。

In the development and management of our online marketing strategy, one challenge we often navigate is adapting to Google's frequent changes in their online search algorithms. Even small changes can have implications on The Joint online search visibility and require changes to our search engine optimization activities and best practices. The algorithm changes Google made in late '21 negatively impacted our organic search traffic. While suppressed in Q1, our new patient acquisition remains exceptionally high when compared to historical levels. And we're in the process of implementing additional changes to our search engine optimization activities that we believe will boost our organic search traffic and further improve our patient acquisition.

在製定和管理我們的線上行銷策略時，我們經常面臨的一個挑戰是適應 Google 頻繁變化的線上搜尋演算法。即使是很小的變化也會對 The Joint 在線搜索可見性產生影響，並需要改變我們的搜尋引擎優化活動和最佳實踐。谷歌在 21 年末做出的演算法更改對我們的自然搜尋流量產生了負面影響。儘管第一季我們的新患者獲取量受到抑制，但與歷史水平相比仍然非常高。我們正在對搜尋引擎優化活動實施其他變更，我們相信這將增加我們的自然搜尋流量並進一步提高我們的患者獲取率。

Turning to Slide 8, I'd like to review our initiative to improve our technology infrastructure. The global environment, including increased political uncertainty in cyber risk, reinforces our decision last year to have moved away from our homegrown IT platform to the SugarCRM solution designed with security and mitigation capabilities. We continue to improve upon our initial CRM implementation, focusing on process efficiency and enhancing the patient experience. We've completed the work for a conceptual design of the patient portal and to harness the power of our data, we've engaged an outside partner and have begun to work on the design of our enterprise data warehouse. These critical initiatives will continue to significantly impact the way that we use our data when we run our business.

轉到第 8 張投影片，我想回顧一下我們改善技術基礎設施的舉措。全球環境，包括網路風險的政治不確定性增加，強化了我們去年做出的決定，從自主開發的 IT 平台轉向具有安全和緩解功能的 SugarCRM 解決方案。我們繼續改進我們最初的 CRM 實施，重點是提高流程效率並增強患者體驗。我們已經完成了患者入口網站的概念設計工作，為了利用我們資料的力量，我們已經聘請了外部合作夥伴並開始著手設計我們的企業資料倉儲。這些重要舉措將繼續對我們經營業務時使用數據的方式產生重大影響。

And with that, Jake, I'll turn it over to you.

說完這些，傑克，我就把麥克風交給你了。

Thank you, Peter, and turning to Slide 9. Before I review the quarterly financials, I'd like to close the discussion on 2021 and review the impact of the changing market conditions in 2022. Regarding the 2021 material weaknesses related to our internal controls, we have begun the process of remediation. Internal controls have been designed and implemented. They will be tested for operational effectiveness over the next couple of quarters, and we expect the process to be concluded by the end of 2022. We, like the rest of the country, have been impacted by the larger macroeconomic issues such as inflation, rising interest rates and the tight labor market. These dynamics have contributed to higher turnover and rising labor costs. While we cannot control all of these issues, we have taken steps to be an employer of choice. As discussed in Q4, we raised the starting and average salary of our doctors of chiropractic or DCs. Regarding our wellness coordinators, over the past year, we have increased the complexity of their job responsibilities, which has led to increased turnover. In addition to the DC and WC, we had significant turnover in our field support. As such, in Q1, we redefined the roles and started adjusting their compensation accordingly.

謝謝彼得，現在翻到第 9 張投影片。內部控制已設計並實施。他們將在接下來的幾個季度接受營運效率測試，我們預計該過程將在 2022 年底前完成。這些動態導致了更高的人員流動率和勞動成本的上升。雖然我們無法控制所有這些問題，但我們已採取措施，努力成為首選雇主。正如第四季度所討論的，我們提高了脊椎按摩治療師或 DC 醫生的起薪和平均工資。關於我們的健康協調員，在過去的一年裡，我們增加了他們的工作職責的複雜性，這導致了人員流動的增加。除了 DC 和 WC 之外，我們的現場支援人員也經歷了大規模的人員流動。因此，在第一季度，我們重新定義了角色並開始相應地調整他們的薪酬。

During Q1, our new clinic opening ramps continue to outpace historical averages. However, based on external macro factors, both build-out and operating costs have increased. In addition, the speed and magnitude of the accelerated greenfield openings and acquisitions warranted additional resources to manage this increased activity. To improve our corporate portfolio oversight, we've added operational support outside the 4 walls of the clinics and expect to bring the corporate portfolio back to its strong trajectory.

在第一季度，我們新診所的開業速度繼續超過歷史平均水平。然而，基於外部宏觀因素，建設成本和營運成本都有所增加。此外，綠地開發和收購的加速速度和規模需要額外的資源來管理這些增加的活動。為了改善我們對公司投資組合的監督，我們在診所外增加了營運支持，並希望將公司投資組合重回強勁軌道。

Regarding new patients at existing clinics, we encountered 2 challenges during the quarter. As Peter noted, Google's changes to their online search algorithm had a negative impact on our digital marketing and consequently, our new patient acquisition in Q1. We've implemented modifications that we believe will address the situation. Further, another COVID strain, combined with continued labor pressures caused in temporary clinic closures. The temporary closures may have also impacted new patient count for the quarter. That said, our expansion strategy continues. As noted in Q1, we opened a record number of franchise clinics and 4 more greenfield clinics in addition to the 14 in the second half of 2021. With the 18 recent greenfield openings, increasing the company-owned or managed portfolio to 100 clinics and the previously outlined macroeconomic factors, it was identified that additional resources would be necessary to operate a portfolio of that size and continue development at the current pace. These additional expenditures, as well as continued labor pressures contributed to the corporate clinic performance in Q1 2021. Even with this near-term effect, we're confident that these changes will allow us to appropriately manage the portfolio back to the same long-term profitability of this sound business model.

對於現有診所的新患者，我們在本季遇到了 2 個挑戰。正如彼得所說，Google對其線上搜尋演算法的改變對我們的數位行銷產生了負面影響，從而影響了我們第一季的新患者獲取。我們已經實施了相信可以解決這一問題的修改。此外，另一種 COVID 病毒株加上持續的勞動力壓力導致診所暫時關閉。暫時關閉可能也影響了本季的新患者數量。儘管如此，我們的擴張策略仍在繼續。如第一季所述，我們開設了創紀錄數量的特許經營診所，並在 2021 年下半年除了 14 家診所之外又開設了 4 家綠地診所。這些額外支出以及持續的勞動力壓力影響了 2021 年第一季企業診所的業績。

Now, I'll review the financial results for Q1 2022 compared to Q1 2021. System-wide sales for all clinics opened for any amount of time increased to $98.8 million, up 27%. System-wide comp sales for all clinics opened 13 months or more were 15%. System-wide comp sales for mature clinics opened 48 months or more were 11%. Revenue was $22.4 million, up $4.9 million or 28%. Company-owned or managed clinic revenue increased 33%, contributing $12.6 million. Franchise operations increased 22%, contributing $9.8 million. Please note that while we implemented a new price schedule for new patients, existing patient subscriptions were grandfathered at their original price. Therefore, the impact of the price increase to our revenue will be gradual and incremental with the addition of new patients.

現在，我將回顧 2022 年第一季與 2021 年第一季相比的財務表現。所有開業 13 個月或以上的診所的全系統同店銷售額成長了 15%。開業 48 個月或以上的成熟診所的系統範圍內同店銷售額為 11%。營收為 2,240 萬美元，成長 490 萬美元，增幅 28%。該公司自有或管理的診所收入成長了 33%，貢獻了 1,260 萬美元。特許經營業務成長22%，貢獻980萬美元。請注意，雖然我們為新患者實施了新的價格表，但現有患者的訂閱價格仍以原價保留。因此，隨著新患者的增加，價格上漲對我們收入的影響將是漸進的、增量的。

Cost of revenues was $2.3 million, up 31% over the same period last year, reflecting the increase in greenfield and franchise clinics, the associated higher regional developer royalties and commissions and higher website hosting costs related to the new IT platform.

收入成本為 230 萬美元，比去年同期增長 31%，反映了綠地和特許經營診所的增加、相關區域開發商特許權使用費和佣金的增加以及與新 IT 平台相關的網站託管成本的增加。

Selling and marketing expenses were $3.3 million, up 32% over the same period last year. This reflects the grand opening expenses for new greenfields, the larger number of franchised and company-owned or managed clinics and the timing of the national marketing fund spend, as well as the new brand campaign.

銷售和行銷費用為330萬美元，比去年同期成長32%。這反映了新綠地的開業費用、特許經營和公司所有或管理的診所數量的增加以及全國行銷基金支出的時間安排以及新的品牌活動。

Depreciation and amortization expenses increased compared to the prior year period, primarily due to the depreciation expenses associated with our new IT platform, amortization of previously acquired intangible assets and continued greenfield development.

折舊和攤銷費用與去年同期相比有所增加，主要原因是與我們的新 IT 平台相關的折舊費用、先前收購的無形資產的攤銷以及持續的綠地開發。

G&A expenses were $15.4 million compared to $10.1 million, up 52%, reflecting the cost to support total clinic and revenue growth, higher payroll to remain competitive in the tight labor market, greater IT expenses and $600,000 in one-time increased audit and professional service fees related to the incremental services rendered in connection with the FY '21 audit conducted during the quarter. As noted last quarter, our rapid pace of greenfield openings will increase G&A as a percentage of revenue over the next several quarters. As a result, we reported an operating loss of $176,000, which reflects the compressed margins from accelerated greenfield development, the aforementioned higher depreciation and amortization expenses and the higher G&A expenses. This compares to $2 million in Q1 2021.

一般及行政費用為 1,540 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,010 萬美元，增長 52%，反映了支持診所總體和收入增長的成本、為在緊張的勞動力市場中保持競爭力而增加的工資、更大的 IT 費用以及 60 萬美元的一次性增加的審計和專業服務費，這些費用與本季度進行審計的 21 財年。正如上個季度所指出的，我們快速的綠地開業步伐將在未來幾季提高 G&A 佔收入的百分比。因此，我們報告的營業虧損為 176,000 美元，這反映了加速綠地開發造成的利潤率壓縮、前面提到的更高的折舊和攤銷費用以及更高的 G&A 費用。相比之下，2021 年第一季為 200 萬美元。

Income tax expense was $13,000 compared to a benefit of $364,000 in Q1 2021.

所得稅費用為 13,000 美元，而 2021 年第一季的收益為 364,000 美元。

Net loss was $206,000 or $0.01 per diluted share compared to net income of $2.3 million or $0.16 per diluted share in Q1 2021.

淨虧損為 206,000 美元或每股攤薄虧損 0.01 美元，而 2021 年第一季的淨收入為 230 萬美元或每股攤薄虧損 0.16 美元。

Adjusted EBITDA was $1.8 million, decreasing 48% compared to the same period last year. Franchise clinic adjusted EBITDA increased 19% to $4.6 million. Company-owned or managed clinic adjusted EBITDA was $1 million, a decrease of $1.6 million, reflecting the increase in payroll required to remain competitive in the tight labor market, compounded by the margin compression related to the greenfield development. Corporate expense as a component of adjusted EBITDA loss was $3.7 million, increasing $842,000 compared to Q1 2021, reflecting one-time overages in audit and legal and other professional service fees related to the year-end audit.

調整後EBITDA為180萬美元，較去年同期下降48%。特許經營診所調整後 EBITDA 成長 19%，達到 460 萬美元。公司自有或管理診所的調整後 EBITDA 為 100 萬美元，減少 160 萬美元，反映了在緊張的勞動力市場中保持競爭力所需的工資增加，以及與綠地開發相關的利潤率壓縮。調整後 EBITDA 虧損的部分企業費用為 370 萬美元，與 2021 年第一季相比增加了 84.2 萬美元，反映了與年終審計相關的審計和法律及其他專業服務費用的一次性超額。

On to our balance sheet and cash flow review. At March 31, 2022, our unrestricted cash was $18.3 million compared to $19.5 million at December 31, 2021. During the quarter, the company entered into an amendment to its credit facilities with JPMorgan. Under the 2022 credit facility, the revolving line of credit was increased to $20 million, up from $2 million. The revolver will be used for working capital needs, general corporate purposes and for acquisitions, development and capital improvement uses. During Q1 2022, our investing activities of $1.5 million, consisting of the acquisition of RD territory rights and greenfield developments were partially offset by $448,000 provided by operating activities.

繼續審查我們的資產負債表和現金流量。截至 2022 年 3 月 31 日，我們的無限制現金為 1,830 萬美元，而 2021 年 12 月 31 日為 1,950 萬美元。根據 2022 年信貸安排，循環信貸額度從 200 萬美元增加至 2,000 萬美元。此循環信貸將用於營運資金需求、一般公司用途以及收購、開發和資本改善用途。 2022 年第一季度，我們的投資活動為 150 萬美元，包括收購 RD 領土權利和綠地開發，部分被經營活動提供的 448,000 美元所抵消。

On to Slide 10 for a review of our guidance for 2022 to reflect the impact of the macroeconomic environment and the impact of increased expenses as outlined, we're adjusting our 2022 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance. We reaffirmed our guidance for franchise clinic openings and company-owned or managed clinics. We now expect revenue to be between USD 98 million and USD 102 million, down from between USD 102 million and USD 106 million in our prior 2022 guidance. This reflects an increase from the $80.9 million in 2021 with the midpoint equal to 24% increase over the prior year. We now expect adjusted EBITDA to be between USD 12 million and USD 14 million, down from $15 million to $17 million in our prior 2022 guidance. This compares to $12.6 million in 2021. We continue to expect franchise clinic openings to be between 110 and 130 as compared to 110 in 2021. We continue to expect to increase our company-owned or managed clinics by between 30 and 40 through a combination of greenfield openings and franchise clinic purchases as compared to 32 in 2021.

轉到投影片 10，回顧我們對 2022 年的指導，以反映宏觀經濟環境的影響和概述的費用增加的影響，我們正在調整 2022 年的收入和調整後的 EBITDA 指導。我們重申了對特許經營診所開業以及公司自有或管理診所的指導。我們現在預計營收在 9,800 萬美元至 1.02 億美元之間，低於我們先前對 2022 年預期的 1.02 億美元至 1.06 億美元。這比 2021 年的 8,090 萬美元有所增加，中點比前一年增加了 24%。我們現在預計調整後的 EBITDA 將在 1,200 萬美元至 1,400 萬美元之間，低於我們先前預測的 2022 年 1,500 萬美元至 1,700 萬美元。相較之下，2021 年為 1,260 萬美元。

And with that, I'll turn the call back over to you, Peter.

說完這些，我將把電話轉回給你，彼得。

Thanks, Jake. Turning to Slide 11, our growth strategy is to enlarge our presence through accelerating the opening of franchise clinics. We'll also continue to open corporate clinics in existing clinic clusters by strategically opening greenfield and opportunistically acquiring previously franchised clinics. In 2022, to support this effort, we are focusing on 3 enterprise initiatives. During the first quarter, we've made progress. Regarding forging a chiropractic dream, we've revamped our recruitment of marketing materials and enhanced our messaging to better connect with candidates to become DCs. With the easing of COVID restrictions, we were able to participate in 5 live chiropractic industry and university DC recruitment events, and we remain focused on the developing new programs aimed at chiropractic students who are the future of the profession, along with the continuing education opportunities that appeal to established working DCs.

謝謝，傑克。轉到第 11 張投影片，我們的成長策略是透過加速開​​設特許經營診所來擴大我們的影響力。我們也將繼續在現有的診所集群中開設企業診所，策略性地開設綠地診所並抓住機會收購以前的特許經營診所。 2022 年，為了支持這項工作，我們將重點放在 3 項企業計畫。第一季度，我們取得了進展。關於打造脊椎按摩治療師夢想，我們修改了招募行銷資料，並增強了我們的訊息傳遞方式，以便更好地與成為脊椎按摩治療師的候選人建立聯繫。隨著 COVID 限制的放寬，我們能夠參加 5 場現場脊骨療法行業和大學 DC 招聘活動，並且我們仍然專注於開發針對脊骨療法學生的新課程，他們是該職業的未來，以及對已在職 DC 有吸引力的繼續教育機會。

Regarding harnessing the data -- harnessing the power of our data, while remaining critically focused on improving and enhancing our Axis platform, we're excited to launch our enterprise data warehouse initiative to enable more real-time self-serve reporting capabilities for a corporate office in the field, making our data more accessible and actionable by all decision makers.

關於利用數據——利用我們數據的力量，同時仍然專注於改進和增強我們的 Axis 平台，我們很高興推出企業數據倉庫計劃，為現場的公司辦公室提供更多實時自助報告功能，使所有決策者都可以更輕鬆地訪問和操作我們的數據。

And regarding the accelerating the pace of our clinic growth, we've discussed real estate optimization and development team innovation. In fact, we've shortened our development time line with new tools and training and are adding staff to our real estate and construction team that will enable us to move faster. In Q1, we opened our second clinic on a military base, as well as advance our strategy for targeting nontraditional sites such as micro or urban markets. Additionally, with the strong patient base from Canada within the U.S. operations, we're exploring the feasibility of expanding to Canada.

關於加快診所發展步伐，我們討論了房地產優化和開發團隊創新。事實上，我們已經利用新工具和培訓縮短了我們的開發時間，並正在為我們的房地產和建築團隊增加員工，以使我們能夠更快地發展。第一季度，我們在軍事基地開設了第二家診所，並推動了針對微型或城市市場等非傳統場所的策略。此外，由於美國業務擁有來自加拿大的強大患者基礎，我們正在探索擴展到加拿大的可行性。

We have our near-term goal set to open 1,000 clinics by the end of 2023, and this is just a tipping point. Already, our analysis comparing our actual patient demographics to MSAs across the U.S. indicates that we have a potential for almost 2,000 clinics, and this does not include the opportunities that we can create by expanding our business model to rural, urban, micro, military and even international locations. I'm confident in our ability to drive long-term growth and stakeholder value.

我們的近期目標是到 2023 年底開設 1,000 家診所，這只是一個轉捩點。目前，透過對比我們實際的患者人口統計數據和美國各地的 MSA，我們的分析表明，我們有潛力開設近 2,000 家診所，而且這還不包括我們透過將業務模式擴展到農村、城市、微型、軍事甚至國際地區而創造的機會。我對我們推動長期成長和利害關係人價值的能力充滿信心。

Alexander, I'm ready to begin the Q&A.

亞歷山大，我準備開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) We have your first question from Jeremy Hamblin with Craig-Hallum Capital.

（操作員指示）我們收到了 Craig-Hallum Capital 的 Jeremy Hamblin 提出的第一個問題。

I wanted to just get into the understanding of the cadence of the quarter. Obviously, you've seen a pretty significant change in the trends in inbound traffic, which sounds like some of it might be struggles with having enough docs, but it probably is more than that. So I wanted to get -- first, how did January versus February versus March versus April look?

我只是想了解本季的節奏。顯然，您已經看到入站流量趨勢發生了相當大的變化，這聽起來像是其中一些可能與擁有足夠的文件有關，但可能不僅僅如此。所以我想了解──首先，一月與二月、三月和四月的情況如何？

And then in terms of whether or not the slowdown in trends is more attributable to, let's say, an overall slowdown in retail traffic, given your leverage to power centers and retail centers. Is it -- how much of an impact from the price increases that was taken on March 1? I wanted to just get a better understanding of what you think is maybe transpired here?

然後，就趨勢放緩是否更多地歸因於零售流量的整體放緩而言，考慮到你對電力中心和零售中心的影響力。 3 月 1 日的價格上漲造成了多大影響？我只是想更好地理解您認為這裡可能發生的事情？

Well, Jeremy, you've got about 15 questions packed into that question and there's a couple of things there. And you're right as we reflect on Q1 performance that we did talk about the challenges in the labor market, but quite frankly, that was more related to our WCs and infill training. I think that the increase that we had on the DCs last fall has really helped us to retain the doctors that we have. So if I look at our turnover rate for the last 3 months in Q1 and compare that to the turnover rate of Q1 '21, it's 50% better. So this quarter was like 26% turnover for our doctors compared to over 52% in Q1 '21. So I think the changes we made last fall on the doctors is really helping. Now listen, our whole concept rests on doctors and so we know that we constantly have to be focused on recruiting and retaining the best doctors and that's why that's one of our enterprise initiatives.

嗯，傑里米，你在這個問題中包含了大約 15 個問題，其中有幾件事。您說得對，當我們回顧第一季的表現時，我們確實談到了勞動力市場的挑戰，但坦白說，這更多是與我們的 WC 和填充培訓有關。我認為去年秋天我們增加的醫生人數確實幫助我們留住了現有的醫生。因此，如果我查看第一季過去 3 個月的營業額，並將其與 21 年第一季的營業額進行比較，就會發現它好了 50%。因此本季我們醫生的流動率為 26%，而 21 年第一季的流動率超過 52%。所以我認為去年秋天我們針對醫生所做的改變確實有幫助。現在聽著，我們的整個理念都建立在醫生的基礎上，所以我們知道我們必須始終專注於招募和留住最好的醫生，這就是為什麼這是我們的企業舉措之一。

But I think when I look at Q1 performance, we saw a very significant turnover in our WCs and then in that field that supports those now 100 clinics. And I think that's closer to the impact of this kind of general resignation, this very tight labor market, people moving on because they can get better wages. I think we're all in the retail sector specifically facing that kind of pressure and we have not been immune to that. So I think those are the at least from the labor issues that we saw in '21 and that turnover of that WC and those field support did I think impact our overall performance of the portfolio. We did see a little bit of a softening of our new patient count, which of course is the fuel of the business. And as we talked about on the call, I think that was directly related to the algorithmic changes that Google made. We have an incredibly sophisticated digital marketing campaign. And as I said in my comments is that we've kind of tried to understand the attribution of those new patients.

但我認為，當我回顧第一季的業績時，我們發現我們的 WC 以及支持現在 100 家診所的領域的營業額都非常顯著。我認為這更接近這種普遍辭職的影響，在勞動市場非常緊張的情況下，人們選擇離開，因為他們可以獲得更好的薪水。我認為，零售業的所有從業人員都面臨這種壓力，我們也未能倖免。因此，我認為這些至少是我們在21年看到的勞動力問題，我認為該 WC 和那些現場支援的營業額確實影響了我們投資組合的整體表現。我們確實看到新患者數量略有下降，這當然是業務發展的動力。正如我們在電話中談到的那樣，我認為這與Google所做的演算法改變直接相關。我們有一個極其複雜的數位行銷活動。正如我在評論中所說，我們試圖了解這些新病人的病因。

At some point in that process, 63% of them are touched by our digital marketing campaign. So when you have some of the significant changes that were made to those algorithms that were drawing people into the clinic, that had some impact for us in Q1. Now we're making some big changes in trying to address the way in which we are managing our SEO strategy that we believe will again offset those changes that Google made in the algorithmic formula. I think you're right like so many service sector concepts out in the market today is that this macro environment has in fact impacted us as well. And it's hard to kind of measure exactly what that is, but I think that there is a concern about the war in Ukraine. The inflation is higher than it's been in 40 years, that kind of consumer confidence and I think it does give all of us a pause. I think that ultimately that we've shown ourselves in that short period during the pandemic that we are a very resilient concept and we expect that to continue to be true, but it's also factors that we're all in this retail environment trying to understand and adapt to. I don't know, Jake, if you have anything more to add to that?

在這個過程中，63％的人受到了我們的數位行銷活動的影響。因此，當你對吸引人們進入診所的那些演算法做出一些重大改變時，這對我們在第一季產生了一些影響。現在，我們正在嘗試解決管理 SEO 策略的方式上做出一些重大改變，我們相信這將再次抵消谷歌在演算法公式中所做的改變。我認為您說得對，就像當今市場上的許多服務業概念一樣，這種宏觀環境實際上也對我們產生了影響。很難確切衡量這到底是什麼，但我認為人們對烏克蘭戰爭感到擔憂。通貨膨脹率達到 40 年來的最高水平，這種消費者信心，我認為確實讓我們所有人都停下來思考。我認為，最終，在疫情流行的短暫時期內，我們已經證明了自己是一個非常有韌性的理念，我們希望這種情況能夠繼續下去，但這也是我們所有人都在努力理解和適應的零售環境中的因素。我不知道，傑克，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

No, I think you covered a lot of the points.

不，我認為你已經涵蓋了很多要點。

Well, I think my first question was actually pretty simple with the cadence of like the 15% system-wide comps that you posted in the quarter, I wanted to see if you could shed a little more light on the cadence of that because my sense is that things probably really slowed in February and March and I want to get a sense of how that's compared to April as well. But any color you could share there would be greatly appreciated.

嗯，我認為我的第一個問題實際上非常簡單，就像您在本季度發布的 15% 全系統同店銷售額的節奏一樣，我想看看您是否可以更清楚地說明一下這個節奏，因為我的感覺是，二月和三月的情況可能真的放緩了，我想了解一下與四月相比情況如何。但我們非常感激您能分享任何顏色。

Yes. I mean it kind of depends on the KPIs that we're looking at. As I look at new patient interest, the waiting months for us were actually January and March and I think those could be different factors potentially. We had a large spike of the Omicron variant in January, which could have impacted that and then in March, I think we were starting to see some of the real impacts of the search engine changes. February was relatively on par year-over-year. So as we look at that, as I look at comps, I think we started the year with a headwind. Our January results were a little bit lighter and we've kind of slowly made up some ground. In the overall system, our corporate clinics kind of did the opposite in terms of experiencing some of the headwinds. So I think there was different factors that contributed in terms of cadence depending on which metric you look at.

是的。我的意思是這有點取決於我們所關注的 KPI。當我查看新患者的興趣時，我們發現我們的等待月份實際上是一月和三月，我認為這些可能是潛在的不同因素。一月份，Omicron 變種病毒數量大幅增加，這可能對此產生了影響；三月份，我認為我們開始看到搜尋引擎變化的一些實際影響。 2月份與去年同期相比基本持平。因此，當我們回顧這一點，回顧同店商品時，我認為我們是在逆風中開始新的一年的。我們的一月份業績略有下滑，但我們已經慢慢取得了一些進展。在整個系統中，我們的公司診所遭遇到的一些不利因素卻恰恰相反。因此，我認為，影響節奏的因素有很多種，這取決於你所關注的指標。

Okay. And last one for me because I'm not quite sure we're getting at the root of it. But in terms of your guidance for the year, the lower guidance $4 million top line at the midpoint, is that -- it looks like that's basically assuming the performance that you had in Q1 kind of translate through the rest of the year without a whole lot of improvement nor a whole lot of decline. Is that a pretty fair assumption?

好的。對我來說這是最後一個，因為我不太確定我們是否找到了問題的根源。但就您對今年的預期而言，中間點的較低預期為 400 萬美元，這看起來基本上是假設您在第一季的表現可以延續到今年剩餘時間，既沒有太大的改善，也沒有太大的下降。這是一個相當合理的假設嗎？

Yes. We have a lot of consistency in terms of the increasing performance throughout the year, right? We've continued to post strong organic comps, 15% for the year so far quarter-to-date. And as we look at some of the uncertainties out there, we certainly factored in those elements as we look at forward guidance for the full year. And so we reaffirmed our clinic opening guidance, which is a slight acceleration in terms of pace. But there are those macro uncertainties that I think we have to acknowledge. So all of those have been factored into the full year 2022 estimates.

是的。我們在全年業績成長方面保持了很大的一致性，對嗎？我們持續保持強勁的有機成長勢頭，今年第一季迄今已成長 15%。當我們考慮外部的一些不確定因素時，我們在製定全年前瞻性指引時肯定會將這些因素納入考量。因此，我們重申了診所開業指導方針，速度略有加快。但我認為我們必須承認存在著宏觀不確定性。因此，所有這些都已計入 2022 年全年預測。

We have your next question from Brooks O'Neil with Lake Street Capital.

您的下一個問題來自 Lake Street Capital 的布魯克斯·奧尼爾 (Brooks O’Neil)。

I'm going to try to keep it as simple as I can. What are your feelings about the slowdown in the performance of the corporate stores and what do you think the key to getting those back on track are?

我會盡量讓它簡單。您對公司門市業績放緩有何感受？

Brooks, an excellent question and it's really kind of the things that we've been talking about. I think that there are a couple of factors that impacted the slowdown in particularly the corporate clinic performance and probably the most significant one was the higher turnover than expected with our WCs and our field support. Is that when you have that turnover and those are the people who are really driving that line performance and that WC is essential in the clinic. There's only 2 people in the clinic typically so you have that WC and a DC and so they play a significant role. And while we had been really focused on making sure we were taking care of our doctors, I don't think we paid enough attention to these other 2 levels.

布魯克斯，這個問題問得非常好，這也正是我們一直在談論的事情。我認為有幾個因素影響了業務放緩，特別是企業診所的業績，其中最重要的一個因素可能是我們的 WC 和現場支援的營業額高於預期。當你有這樣的營業額時，這些人才是真正推動生產線表現的人，而 WC 在診所中至關重要。診所通常只有 2 個人，所以有 WC 和 DC，所以他們扮演著重要角色。雖然我們確實非常注重確保照顧好我們的醫生，但我認為我們沒有給予其他兩個層面足夠的重視。

And that's why we have added additional resources, we've changed the onboarding process, we're doing a home mentoring program. And I do -- I absolutely believe that with those changes, we can pull that performance of our corporate portfolio back up to the high standard that it's had. I think that now at 100 corporate units in operation, that's a lot and there's probably a little growing pain there as well and that we're learning from that or making those adoptions or adaptions so that we make sure that we absolutely continue that trajectory of improved performance. So I think quite frankly, those are the key issues that I would discuss.

這就是我們增加額外資源、改變入職流程、進行家庭輔導計畫的原因。我確實——我絕對相信，透過這些變革，我們可以將我們公司投資組合的績效恢復到原來的高標準。我認為，現在我們有 100 個企業單位在運營，這是一個很大的數目，而且可能還會有一些成長的煩惱，我們正在從中吸取教訓，或者做出那些採用或調整，以確保我們絕對能夠繼續提高績效的軌跡。所以坦白說，我認為這些是我要討論的關鍵問題。

And then I'll just ask one more. How do you feel about available capital and do you see any scenario in which you'd need to go out and access additional capital beyond what you feel you have access to now?

然後我再問一個問題。您對可用資本有何看法？

Yes. We ended the quarter with $18 million of unrestricted cash. We also re-upped the revolver with JPMorgan, which really expanded that line up to $20 million. Of which, right now we've only pulled down $2 million. So as I look at overall liquidity, I'm confident that we still have the operational cash flow and the additional resources on hand. So I don't envision us having to go that route.

是的。本季末，我們擁有 1800 萬美元的無限現金。我們也與摩根大通重新簽訂了循環信貸協議，將信貸額度擴大到 2,000 萬美元。其中，現在我們只籌集了200萬美元。因此，當我審視整體流動性時，我相信我們仍然擁有營運現金流和額外資源。所以我不認為我們必須走那條路。

We have your next question from Jeff Van Sinderen with Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Jeff Van Sinderen。

Just wanted to follow up. Jake, did you say that the -- I think you mentioned quarter-to-date performance, did you say it was continuing comps at up 15%? I wasn't clear on that.

只是想跟進一下。傑克，你說過——我想你提到了本季度迄今為止的表現，你說過它的同比銷售額繼續增長 15% 嗎？我不太清楚這一點。

Yes. I was just mentioning our comps for the first quarter were 15%.

是的。我剛才提到，我們第一季的同店銷售額成長了 15%。

Okay. I thought you were saying quarter-to-date for Q2.

好的。我以為你說的是第二季迄今的數據。

No, no, no. For the first 3 months, our comps were 15%.

不，不，不。前 3 個月，我們的同店銷售額年增 15%。

Okay. All right, fair enough on that. And I'm assuming you probably don't want to give any color on comps for April or any guide on where comps might be for Q2?

好的。好吧，那就夠了。而且我猜您可能不想給出 4 月份的業績情況的任何細節，或者有關第二季度的業績情況的任何指導？

No, not at this time.

不，目前還不行。

Okay. And then maybe we can just turn to the greenfield clinics that have been recently opened, what you're seeing there, how you're seeing those come on board? Just any color you can give us on those?

好的。然後我們或許可以看看最近開業的新建診所，您在那裡看到了什麼，您如何看待它們的加入？您能給我們任何顏色嗎？

Sure. We've done 4 in the first quarter, 3 of which were within existing clusters and then we had the Air Force location. As we mentioned, the top line ramps look good. Our continue -- our clinics continue to start strong. We have a very strong grand opening program that's in place. So we're continuing to see the traction on the top line. I think where the headwinds are now from an overall time to breakeven are just the operating costs are increasing. And so while they're still ramping on the top line well, I've got additional payroll costs and payroll in our model is such a significant piece of that and you've got significant wage pressures that's going to increase your time to breakeven. But on the top line, our clinics continue to outperform historical averages and are on pace with some of our previous cohorts. So the top line looks good and it's just our cost structure is increasing.

當然。我們在第一季完成了 4 個，其中 3 個是在現有集群內，然後我們還有空軍位置。正如我們所提到的，頂線坡道看起來不錯。我們的診所繼續保持強勁開局。我們已製定了非常強大的開業計劃。因此，我們將繼續看到營收的成長。我認為，從整體收支平衡來看，現在的阻力就是營運成本在增加。因此，雖然他們仍在努力提高營收，但我有額外的工資成本，而工資在我們的模型中佔了相當重要的一塊，而且你面臨著巨大的工資壓力，這會增加你實現收支平衡的時間。但從營收來看，我們的診所表現繼續超越歷史平均水平，並與我們之前的一些診所保持同步。因此，營收看起來不錯，只是我們的成本結構正在增加。

No, I was just going to add. One of the offsetting things that we talked about as well, which is why we did that price increase, was to use our price increases to offset some of the increasing cost to operate the business both for corporate and franchises. Again that's going to be incremental and coming on in an impact that only affects new patients. But we think that that's another tool that we have there that will help us overcome some of the challenges with this increasing cost of the model.

不，我只是想補充一下。我們也談到的抵銷措施之一，也是我們提高價格的原因，就是利用價格上漲來抵銷企業和特許經營商經營業務時增加的部分成本。再次，這將是漸進的，並且只會對新患者產生影響。但我們認為這是我們擁有的另一種工具，它可以幫助我們克服模型成本增加帶來的一些挑戰。

Well, and that's another point I wanted to ask you about. Just I guess how are you approaching price increases? At this point what are you seeing? Is there a pushback at all from new patients? I guess maybe that's early to really have a gauge on that. I guess just trying to understand how those are being received and plans going forward on price increases where you haven't implemented them, where you might or just how you're thinking about that with a consumer backdrop of inflation, et cetera?

好吧，這是我想問您的另一點。我只是猜測一下你是如何應對價格上漲的？此時你看到了什麼？新病人有抵觸情緒嗎？我想也許現在就對此進行衡量還為時過早。我想只是想了解這些措施的接受程度如何，以及你們尚未實施的價格上漲計劃，你們可能實施的價格上漲計劃，或者在消費者通膨的背景下，你們是如何考慮這些措施的，等等？

Sure. I mean with the price increase going into effect March 1, I think the answer as of now that it's probably still a little early to tell. Obviously we're carefully monitoring KPIs. Our conversion in the first quarter was down a tick, but I don't know that we can attribute that fully to the price increase. Again when you have so much turnover at your wellness coordinator level, it's -- they're a key component to that process and that sales cycle. And when you have a turnover at those ranks, you would expect an impact there to that core KPI. As far as the prebuy or anything we're seeing in continuing KPIs, we're not seeing a ton of softness there. So I think so far everything we're seeing is pretty similar to our previous price increases, but I think it's a little early to tell the full effects.

當然。我的意思是，由於價格上漲將於 3 月 1 日生效，我認為現在回答這個問題可能還為時過早。顯然，我們正在仔細監控 KPI。我們第一季的轉換率略有下降，但我不知道是否可以將其完全歸咎於價格上漲。再者，當您的健康協調員級別的人員流動率如此之高時，他們就是這個流程和銷售週期的關鍵組成部分。當這些等級出現人員流動時，你會預期核心 KPI 會受到影響。就預購或我們在持續 KPI 中看到的任何內容而言，我們並沒有看到太多疲軟。因此我認為到目前為止我們看到的一切都與我們之前的價格上漲非常相似，但我認為現在判斷全部影響還為時過早。

But promising. I mean just in the 1 month of that price increase that we can see is that, as Jake is saying, nothing is outstanding. Nothing is sitting and saying wait a minute, the consumer is pushing back on the price. I think that that poor consumer is experiencing price increases about just anything that they touch these days.

但很有希望。我的意思是，在價格上漲的一個月內，我們看到的是，正如傑克所說的，沒有什麼特別突出的事情。沒有什麼是坐著說等一下，消費者正在壓低價格。我想那些可憐的消費者如今所接觸的所有東西的價格都在上漲。

Okay. And then I wanted to just broach one other subject and then I'll turn it over to somebody else. But I'm just wondering as you're thinking about franchisees, I know you mentioned most of them are well capitalized, any thoughts around potentially bringing on a third-party financial partner to support financing of franchising new clinics? Just any thoughts on that, out of the question or just any thoughts there?

好的。然後我想談談另一個話題，然後我會把它交給其他人。但我只是想知道，當您考慮特許經營商時，我知道您提到他們中的大多數都資本充足，有沒有考慮過引入第三方金融合作夥伴來支持新診所特許經營的融資？對此有什麼想法嗎，不可能，或只是有什麼想法嗎？

Jeff, listen, the whole franchise model is based upon financing. And so anytime that you can improve the financing access to your franchisees is only going to benefit the system and the franchisee. And so while we do not provide any direct franchising -- excuse me, any direct financing to a franchisee, we're continually working with third-party providers out there and working with them so that we get kind of preapproved as a concept. And just given the strong unit economics that we have is that the lending institutions really like The Joint as somebody to lend to. And in fact Brand Data just came out with -- every year they have an award that they give to, it's called [FranFind] and that we were awarded now 2 years in a row just given the strong financials that we have that provides the opportunity for lending and compared to all the other franchisors that are out there.

傑夫，聽著，整個特許經營模式都是基於融資的。因此，任何時候只要你能改善特許經營商的融資管道，就會為整個體系和特許經營者帶來好處。因此，雖然我們不提供任何直接特許經營——對不起，不向特許經營商提供任何直接融資，但我們一直在與第三方供應商合作，以便我們的概念獲得預先批准。鑑於我們擁有強大的單位經濟效益，貸款機構確實喜歡向 The Joint 提供貸款。事實上，Brand Data 剛剛公佈——他們每年都會頒發一個獎項，稱為 [FranFind]，我們已經連續兩年獲獎，只是因為我們擁有強大的財務實力，這為我們提供了貸款機會，並且與其他所有特許經營商相比，我們的表現更佳。

So we have strong new economics, they are attractive to the lenders. We are continually looking at ways to make sure that that capital is available to our franchisees for further investment. And as we've talked about in the past that if you look at in general, let's say from 2018 to today, is that 52% of our sales were to new franchisees, new to The Joint; but 48% of them were to existing franchisees. And so it's the existing franchisees who believe in the system, that understand the business model that you absolutely want to make sure that they are able to have access to capital to further expand to their desire.

因此，我們擁有強大的新經濟，對貸方來說具有吸引力。我們不斷尋找方法確保我們的特許經營商能夠獲得這些資金進行進一步投資。正如我們過去談到的那樣，如果從總體來看，例如從 2018 年到今天，我們 52% 的銷售額來自新的特許經營商、The Joint 的新加盟商；但其中48%是針對現有的特許經營商。因此，現有的特許經營者相信該系統，了解該商業模式，你絕對希望確保他們能夠獲得資金來進一步擴大他們的願望。

The only thing I would add to that is a pool of funds that we're looking at is what we're calling a fund to really help the doctors of chiropractic secure financing and so giving them a path to ownership within this model and looking for institutional partners to partner with us really to help them. So again just looking at ways to continue the career progression for our chiropractors.

我唯一想補充的是，我們正在考慮一個基金池，我們稱之為真正幫助脊椎按摩治療師獲得融資的基金，從而讓他們能夠在這個模式下獲得所有權，並尋找機構合作夥伴與我們合作，真正幫助他們。因此，我們再次尋找繼續促進脊椎按摩師職業發展的方法。

Okay. And if I could just squeeze in one more just on that. As you're thinking about higher rates out there, I mean for anybody who's borrowing to open more franchises, are you thinking that there may be a slowdown in new franchises opened because of the higher interest rates in association with opening franchises?

好的。如果我能夠再擠出一點時間就好了。當您想到更高的利率時，我的意思是對於任何借錢開設更多特許經營店的人來說，您是否認為由於開設特許經營店相關的更高利率，可能會出現新特許經營店開設速度放緩的情況？

Jeff, it's certainly possible I mean because -- okay, I've been at this franchise business for 35 years so that means that I have -- I wasn't here 40 years ago when we were dealing with this massive inflation and how that impacted franchise sales. But I think that your sense is right is that as the cost of borrowing goes up, whether you're trying to borrow for a house or borrow for a business, it becomes more expensive. That window closes a little bit on those who are able to be in that market. And I think that certainly I would imagine will be having impact on franchisers across the board as well or franchisers borrowing.

傑夫，這當然是有可能的，我的意思是，因為——好吧，當我從事特許經營業務已經 35 年了，這意味著——40 年前我們面臨巨大的通貨膨脹以及這對特許經營銷售的影響時，我還沒有經歷過。但我認為你的觀點是正確的，隨著借貸成本的上升，無論你是為了買房還是為了做生意，借貸成本都會變得更昂貴。對於能夠進入該市場的人來說，這個窗口稍微關閉了一點。我認為這肯定會對各個特許經營商或特許經營商的借貸產生影響。

Yes. The only thing I would add to that is I think a mitigating factor for us is just the overall cost to build, right? When you're looking at a build-out cost in our model of call it $200,000 compared to other concepts, that's relatively lesser. So as I think about the overall impacts to interest rates on lending and what they might need to acquire to invest within our concept, the simplicity and the size of our build-outs, I think would be a potential mitigating factor to that.

是的。我唯一想補充的是，我認為對我們來說一個緩解因素就是總建造成本，對嗎？當您查看我們模型中的建造成本時，與其他概念相比，該成本為 200,000 美元，相對較低。因此，當我考慮利率對貸款的整體影響，以及他們可能需要獲得什麼來在我們的理念、建設的簡單性和規模內進行投資時，我認為這將是一個潛在的緩解因素。

(Operator Instructions) We have your next question from Anthony Vendetti with Maxim Group.

（操作員指示）我們收到來自 Maxim Group 的 Anthony Vendetti 提出的下一個問題。

This is Matt on for Anthony Vendetti. I was hoping you could comment on any trends you may be noticing in terms of patients not renewing memberships or canceling memberships? Are you getting the general sense that budgets are tightening? And then I think you mentioned that you're exploring the feasibility of expanding into Canada. If you could just comment a little bit further on that in terms of what that would look like and the timing.

這是 Matt 代替 Anthony Vendetti 上場。我希望您能對您可能注意到的患者不續訂會員資格或取消會員資格的趨勢發表評論？您是否普遍感覺到預算正在緊縮？然後我想您提到您正在探索擴展到加拿大的可行性。如果您能就其樣子和時間安排進一步發表一些評論的話。

And if we look at the key metrics of the business, they really are new patient counts, that conversion rate and then attrition. And what I can tell you in the first 3 months of our business what we saw, as we talked about on the call, is that we did see a drop in our new patient count and we said we attribute that to the changes in the algorithmic or logarithms or algorithms of Google and that's a huge piece to our new patient development. I mean we still got -- there's other sources for new patients. One of them is referral and so if you just get a good service, it's very often you're going to tell friends and family and that's a significant portion of our new patients. But the digital marketing campaign is increasingly more important. And so that was the first metric that's been -- again we still have some strong patient counts, but not as strong as we saw let's say in than Q1 2021. The second metric that we're looking at is our conversion rate and again, as Jake had mentioned, that we're seeing a little drop in that.

如果我們看一下業務的關鍵指標，它們確實是新患者數量、轉換率和流失率。我可以告訴你們，在我們業務開展的前三個月，正如我們在電話會議上談到的，我們的新患者數量確實有所下降，我們將其歸因於谷歌演算法或對數或演算法的變化，這對我們的新患者開發至關重要。我的意思是我們還有其他來源可以接收新病人。其中之一就是轉診，所以如果你得到了良好的服務，你通常會告訴朋友和家人，而這佔了我們新患者的很大一部分。但數位行銷活動變得越來越重要。所以這是第一個指標——我們仍然有一些強勁的患者數量，但不如我們在 2021 年第一季看到的那麼強勁。

And so that's just more people not -- they may come in, they try the service and they're just not buying that membership. The one metric that we're seeing improve is that's our attrition. And I think what we've seen in Q1 is that our attrition rate has improved not massively, but it's definitely been a reasonable improvement in saying that our patients are staying with us longer. So those are the 3 metrics that we've watched and the impact we've seen go through Q1. Your question about Canada is that we believe Canada can be potentially a really good market for us. With what we know as we think about international expansion is that we wouldn't even consider a country that doesn't already have a strong chiropractic tradition just because obviously just think about the resources required to educate a consumer that has no expertise or experience or knowledge of a chiropractic and we're coming in and saying hey, here's our revolution of access.

所以就意味著更多的人——他們可能會進來，嘗試服務，但他們不會購買會員資格。我們看到的一個改善指標就是我們的人員流失率。我認為，我們在第一季看到的情況是，我們的流失率並沒有大幅改善，但肯定是一個合理的改善，因為我們的患者在我們這裡停留的時間更長了。所以這些就是我們在第一季關注的 3 個指標以及其影響。您關於加拿大的問題是，我們相信加拿大可能成為我們一個非常好的市場。當我們考慮國際擴張時，我們知道我們甚至不會考慮一個尚未擁有強大脊椎按摩療法傳統的國家，因為顯然只要想想教育沒有專業知識或經驗或脊椎按摩療法知識的消費者所需的資源，我們就會進來告訴他們，嘿，這是我們的訪問革命。

But when you look at the Canadian market, it does have a very strong tradition for chiropractic usage. Interestingly enough, the national health care system there does not cover chiropractic care. And we look at our base of members in this country and quite frankly, the largest portion of those from outside the United States are from Canada. And not that quite surprising, but it just again gives us the confidence that there's an opportunity to open up in the Canadian market. So we've done some additional research. We're looking at just some of the issues around patient privacy, about those that are managing the system and providing services in a medical environment. And so we're just doing that due diligence to make sure that our model is functional in that market. And there's other markets that we can consider that also have a strong chiropractic tradition like Mexico, but obviously Canada is the most likely market for us to really explore seriously.

但當你看看加拿大市場時，你會發現它在脊椎矯正方面確實有著非常悠久的傳統。有趣的是，那裡的國家醫療保健系統並不涵蓋脊椎矯正治療。我們查看了我們在這個國家的會員基礎，坦白說，美國以外的會員中最大的部分來自加拿大。這並不令人驚訝，但它再次讓我們有信心有機會開拓加拿大市場。因此我們做了一些額外的研究。我們正在研究有關患者隱私的一些問題，以及有關在醫療環境中管理系統和提供服務的問題。因此，我們只是盡職調查以確保我們的模型在該市場中發揮作用。我們也可以考慮其他擁有強大脊椎按摩療法傳統的市場，例如墨西哥，但顯然加拿大是我們最有可能真正認真探索的市場。

(Operator Instructions) We have your next question from [JP Roland] with ROTH Capital Markets.

(操作員指示) 我們收到了 ROTH Capital Markets 的 [JP Roland] 提出的下一個問題。

I think most of mine have been answered already. But one I wanted to just touch on quickly would be the corporate managed clinics. On the guidance of about $30 million to $40 million, I'm wondering if you guys have any thoughts sort of on mix between greenfield and buybacks? And regardless of whether or not you're willing to kind of share any thoughts on that, I'd just be curious to know if you've seen any further opportunities from the challenges with labor over the last year and it's kind of made you reconsider that mix at all?

我想我的大部分問題都已經得到解答了。但我只想快速談談公司管理的診所。關於約 3,000 萬至 4,000 萬美元的指導金額，我想知道你們對於綠地投資和回購的結合有何看法？無論您是否願意分享對此的想法，我只是好奇，您是否從過去一年勞動力面臨的挑戰中看到了進一步的機遇，並且這是否讓您重新考慮這種組合？

Good question. As I look at the overall kind of pro forma ramp for our greenfield clinic, we have seen those labor costs increase that I mentioned. But I think when you factor in the long-term impacts of the price increase, I think the top line increased potential would address some of those. So as I look at the return on capital for a greenfield unit today, it's still a great use of capital for us. So that's -- there's nothing there that would indicate we're going to change our strategy. We had no acquisitions in the first quarter. But as we've mentioned, that's always an opportunistic piece of our strategy and we evaluate those deals as they come through or we do hold the right of first refusal for any deals that are proposed across our system. So those are things that we look at. It's certainly a lever that we have to potentially gain some top line revenues or accretive earnings. It's such a large component of our GAAP revenues now. Those are all things that we'll continue to evaluate.

好問題。當我查看我們新建診所的整體預計坡道時，我們發現我提到的勞動成本增加。但我認為，當你考慮到價格上漲的長期影響時，我認為營收成長的潛力將解決其中的一些問題。因此，當我今天看到綠地單位的資本回報率時，我們發現這對我們來說仍然是一種很好的資本利用方式。所以——沒有任何跡象表明我們將改變我們的策略。我們第一季沒有進行收購。但正如我們所提到的，這始終是我們策略中的一個機會主義部分，我們會對這些交易進行評估，或對透過我們的系統提出的任何交易擁有優先購買權。這些都是我們要關注的事情。這無疑是我們潛在地獲得一些營業收入或加值收益的一個槓桿。現在它是我們 GAAP 收入的很大一部分。我們將繼續評估這些事情。

I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the conference back to Mr. Peter Holt, President and CEO, for any closing remarks.

我目前沒有其他問題。現在，我想請總裁兼執行長彼得·霍爾特先生致閉幕詞。

Thank you, Alexander, and thank you all for your time today. Next week we're hosting our National Franchise Conference and we're so excited to be in person for the first time in 3 years. The event includes general sessions, workshops and a trade show, all focusing on the improvement of our running of our businesses and as we acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable performance of our franchise community. We're inviting you all to our offices in Scottsdale on May 26 for our Annual General Meeting of Shareholders and we plan to present at the B. Riley, Craig-Hallum, Oppenheimer and Stifel conferences in May and June of this year.

謝謝你，亞歷山大，也謝謝大家今天抽出時間。下週我們將舉辦全國特許經營大會，我們非常高興三年來第一次親自出席。此次活動包括全體會議、研討會和貿易展覽，重點是改善我們的業務運營，並承認和慶祝我們的特許經營社區的卓越表現。我們邀請大家於 5 月 26 日到我們位於斯科茨代爾的辦公室參加我們的年度股東大會，我們計劃在今年 5 月和 6 月出席 B. Riley、Craig-Hallum、Oppenheimer 和 Stifel 會議。

And today I'm going to close with comments from a fairly new patient. Tracy, a 53-year-old flight attendant who describes herself as a short person, has said lifting bags into the overhead compartment strains her upper back in shoulders. Tracy finds The Joint drop-in convenience very valuable especially with her frequently changing schedule. More importantly, she thinks our chiropractics are the best she's seen. Tracy notes a visit to The Joint not only adjust my spine, but it also adjusts my attitude. I feel better. I feel like I'm aligned. It helps me make healthy choices for the rest of the day. It's just the time I spend on myself. I love that place. Thank you and stay well adjusted. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天我想以一位新病人的評論來結束今天的演講。 53 歲的空服員特蕾西自稱身材矮小，她說將行李放入頭頂行李架會讓她肩膀上背部承受壓力。 Tracy 發現 The Joint 的便利服務非常有用，特別是對於日程經常變動的人來說。更重要的是，她認為我們的脊椎矯正療法是她見過的最好的。崔西指出，去 The Joint 不僅可以調整我的脊椎，還可以調整我的態度。我感覺好多了。我感覺我已經對齊了。它可以幫助我為這一天剩餘的時間做出健康的選擇。這只是我花在自己身上的時間。我喜歡那個地方。謝謝您並保持良好狀態。女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。