Lancaster Colony Corp (LANC) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Carmen, and I will be your conference call facilitator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Lancaster Colony Corporation fiscal year 2025 the second-quarter conference call. Conducting today's call would be Dave Ciesinski, President and CEO; and Tom Piggott, CFO. (Operator Instructions)

早安.我叫卡門，今天我將擔任您的電話會議主持人。現在，我謹歡迎大家參加蘭開斯特殖民地公司2025財年第二季電話會議。主持今天的電話會議的是總裁兼首席執行官戴夫·西辛斯基 (Dave Ciesinski)；以及首席財務官湯姆·皮格特（Tom Piggott）。（操作員指令）

Thank you, and now to begin the conference call. Here is Dale Ganobsik, Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations for Lancaster Colony Corporation.

謝謝，現在開始電話會議。這是蘭開斯特殖民地公司財務與投資者關係副總裁戴爾‧加諾布西克 (Dale Ganobsik)。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for Lancaster Colony's fiscal year 2025 second-quarter conference call. Our discussion this morning include forward-looking statements which are subject to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

大家早安，感謝您今天參加蘭開斯特殖民地 2025 財年第二季電話會議。我們今天上午的討論包括前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受 1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法案的安全港條款約束。

These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, differ materially. And the company undertakes no obligation to update these statements based upon subsequent events. A detailed discussion of these risks and uncertainties is contained in the company's filings with the SEC. Also note that the audio replay of this call will be archived and available at our company's website, lancastercolony.com, later this afternoon.

這些聲明受到多種風險和不確定因素的影響，可能導致實際結果有重大差異。且本公司不承擔根據後續事件更新這些聲明的義務。這些風險和不確定性的詳細討論包含在公司提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中。另請注意，本次通話的音訊回放將被存檔，並於今天下午晚些時候在我們公司的網站 lancastercolony.com 上提供。

For today's call, Dave Ciesinski, our President and CEO, will begin with a business update and highlights for the quarter. Tom Piggott, our CFO, will then provide an overview of the financial results. They will then share some comments regarding our current strategy and outlook. At the conclusion of our prepared remarks, we'll be happy to respond to any of your questions.

在今天的電話會議上，我們的總裁兼執行長 Dave Ciesinski 將首先介紹本季的業務更新和亮點。我們的財務長湯姆·皮格特 (Tom Piggott) 將概述財務結果。然後他們會就我們當前的策略和前景分享一些評論。在我們準備好的演講結束時，我們將很樂意回答您的任何問題。

Once again, we appreciate your participation this morning. I'll now turn the call over to Lancaster Colony's President and CEO, Dave Ciesinski.

我們再次感謝您今天上午的參與。現在我將電話轉給蘭開斯特殖民地總裁兼執行長戴夫·西辛斯基。

Thanks, Dale. And good morning, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here with you today as we review the year 2025.

謝謝，戴爾。大家早安。我很高興今天能和大家一起回顧2025年。

In our fiscal second quarter which ended December 31, we reported record highs for net sales, gross profit, and operating income. Consolidated net sales increased 4.8% to $509 million. Gross profit improved 9.3% to $133 million and operating income grew 15.1% to $76 million.

在截至 12 月 31 日的第二財政季度，我們報告的淨銷售額、毛利和營業收入均創下歷史新高。綜合淨銷售額成長 4.8% 至 5.09 億美元。毛利成長 9.3% 至 1.33 億美元，營業收入成長 15.1% 至 7,600 萬美元。

In our retail segment, net sales increased 6.3%, driven by volume growth from both our licensing program and our own brands. In licensing, we saw a very strong consumer demand for the recently introduced Texas Roadhouse dinner rolls, along with solid contributions from Buffalo Wild Wing sauces, Subway sauces and Olive Garden dressings. I'm also pleased to share that our Marzetti branded caramel dips and refrigerated dressings also performed well.

在我們的零售部門，淨銷售額成長了 6.3%，這得益於我們的授權計劃和自有品牌的銷售成長。在授權方面，我們看到消費者對最近推出的 Texas Roadhouse 晚餐麵包卷的需求非常強勁，同時 Buffalo Wild Wing 醬汁、Subway 醬汁和 Olive Garden 調味品也做出了堅實的貢獻。我還很高興地告訴大家，我們的 Marzetti 品牌焦糖醬和冷藏調味品也表現良好。

Excluding the perimeter of the store bakery lines, we exited last March, retail segment net sales increased 8.4%. In retail segment volume, measured in pound shipped, grew 7.4%.

不包括我們去年 3 月退出的商店麵包店生產線週邊，零售部門淨銷售額成長了 8.4%。零售領域的銷售量（以運輸磅數衡量）成長了 7.4%。

Sirkanana scanner data for the quarter ending December 31, showed strong performance for several of our licensed items and core brands. In the frozen dinner roll category, our own Sister Schubert's brand and our licensed Texas Roadhouse brand combined to grow 15.9%, resulting in a market share increase of 440 basis points to a category leading 60.8%.

截至 12 月 31 日的季度 Sirkanana 掃描器數據顯示，我們的多個授權產品和核心品牌表現強勁。在冷凍晚餐卷類別中，我們自己的 Sister Schubert 品牌和我們授權的 Texas Roadhouse 品牌合併增長了 15.9%，市佔率增加了 440 個基點，達到 60.8%。

In the produce dressing category are Marzetti brand grew sales 1.4%, and increased market share about 30 basis points. Sales of our Marzetti brand produce dips advanced 2% with a market share gain of 110 basis points.

在農產品調味料類別中，Marzetti 品牌的銷售額成長了 1.4%，市佔率增加了約 30 個基點。我們的 Marzetti 品牌產品銷售上漲 2%，市佔率增加 110 個基點。

In the frozen garlic bread category are New York Bakery brand grew sales 2.8%, adding 40 basis points of market share, resulting in a category leading share of 41.7%.

在冷凍蒜蓉麵包類別中，紐約麵包店品牌的銷售額增長了 2.8%，市場份額增加了 40 個基點，最終以 41.7% 的份額位居該類別第一。

In the shelf stable sauces and condiments category, Buffalo Wild Wing sauces were up over 11% and Chick-fil- A sauce sales grew 1 1.1%. In the shelf stable dressing category, sales of Olive Garden dressings were up 3.3%, further improving their market share in the shelf stable dressing category.

在貨架期穩定的醬料和調味品類別中，Buffalo Wild Wing 醬料銷量上漲超過 11%，Chick-fil- A 醬料銷量成長 11.1%。在貨架穩定調味品類別中，橄欖園調味品的銷量增加了 3.3%，進一步提高了其在貨架穩定調味品類別中的市場份額。

It's worth noting that it's been more than a decade now since we formed our license agreement with Darden and Olive Garden restaurants to sell their eponymous salad dressing. Since those early days, we've expanded this amazing brand from one SKU and the club channel to a growing multi-SKU, multi-channel brand platform with over $160 million of scanner sales.

值得注意的是，自從我們與 Darden 和 Olive Garden 餐廳達成許可協議銷售其同名沙拉醬以來，已有十多年了。從成立初期開始，我們就將這個令人驚嘆的品牌從一個 SKU 和俱樂部通路拓展為一個不斷發展的多 SKU、多通路品牌平台，掃描器銷售額超過 1.6 億美元。

I believe the long-term performance of this brand and others such as Chick-fil-A, Buffalo Wild Wings, and most recently, Texas Roadhouse is a testament to the strength, the potential, and the enduring consumer relevance of our licensing program.

我相信這個品牌以及其他品牌（例如 Chick-fil-A、Buffalo Wild Wings 以及最近的 Texas Roadhouse）的長期表現證明了我們的授權計劃的實力、潛力以及持久的消費者相關性。

In the food service segment, net sales grew 3%, led by higher demand from several of our core national chain restaurant accounts and increased sales for our branded food service products. Food service segment volume measured in pounds shipped, advanced 1.5%.

在食品服務領域，淨銷售額成長了 3%，這主要得益於我們幾家核心全國連鎖餐廳客戶的需求增加以及我們品牌食品服務產品的銷售額增加。食品服務部門的出貨量（以磅數計算）增加了 1.5%。

Finally, we are pleased to report record second-quarter gross profit of $133 million. When compared to last year's second quarter, gross profit margin improved 110 basis points to 26.1%.

最後，我們很高興地報告第二季毛利達到創紀錄的 1.33 億美元。與去年第二季相比，毛利率提高了110個基點，達到26.1%。

The $11 million dollar increase in gross profit was driven by the higher sales volumes, more favorable sales mix, the positive impacts of our ongoing cost savings initiatives and some modest cost deflation. Our focus on supply chain productivity, value engineer and revenue management all remain core elements to further improve our margins and financial performance.

毛利增加 1,100 萬美元，主要得益於銷售量的增加、更有利的銷售組合、持續的成本節約措施的正面影響以及適度的成本縮減。我們專注於供應鏈生產力、價值工程和收入管理，這些都是進一步提高利潤率和財務表現的核心要素。

I'll now turn the call over to Tom Piggott, our CFO, for his commentary on our second quarter results.

現在，我將把電話轉給我們的財務長湯姆·皮格特 (Tom Piggott)，請他對我們的第二季業績發表評論。

Thanks, Dave.

謝謝，戴夫。

Overall, the results for the quarter exceeded our expectations. The company delivered strong top and bottom-line results. Second-quarter consolidated net sales increased by 4.8% to $509.3 million.

總體而言，本季的業績超出了我們的預期。該公司實現了強勁的營收和淨利潤業績。第二季綜合淨銷售額成長4.8%至5.093億美元。

Breaking down the revenue performance, higher volume in product mix contributed 580 basis points of core growth. This growth was partially offset by the exit or perimeter of the store bakery product lines, which reduced revenue by 110 basis points. A slightly higher level of net pricing makes up the balance.

具體分析收入表現，產品組合銷售增加為核心成長貢獻了 580 個基點。但這一增長被商店烘焙產品線的退出或關閉部分抵消，導致收入減少了 110 個基點。稍高一點的淨定價彌補了平衡。

Consolidated gross profit increased by $11.3 million or 9.3% versus a prior quarter to $132.8 million, in gross margin expanded by 110 basis points. The gross profit growth was driven by higher volumes in favorable sales mix, our cost savings initiatives and some modest cost deflation.

綜合毛利較上一季增加 1,130 萬美元，增幅 9.3%，達到 1.328 億美元，毛利率增加 110 個基點。毛利的成長主要得益於有利的銷售組合、銷售的增加、我們的成本節約措施以及適度的成本緊縮。

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $1.4 million or 2.5%. The increase reflects $1.6 million for integration costs for the planned acquisition of the Atlanta-based manufacturing facility we recently announced. These costs are primarily comprised of IT and legal expenses.

銷售、一般及行政費用增加了 140 萬美元，即 2.5%。這一增長反映了我們最近宣布的收購亞特蘭大製造工廠計劃的 160 萬美元整合成本。這些費用主要包括 IT 和法律費用。

Consolidated operating income increased $9.9 million or 15.1%, driven by the gross profit improvement, partially offset by the integration costs I mentioned. Excluding the acquisition integration costs, operating income grew by $11.5 million or 17.5%.

綜合營業收入增加了 990 萬美元，即 15.1%，這得益於毛利的提高，但部分被我提到的整合成本所抵消。除去收購整合成本，營業收入增加了 1,150 萬美元，增幅為 17.5%。

During the quarter, the company chose to transfer its remaining legacy pension plan assets and liabilities to a third party. This transfer effectively terminated the company's pension plans. It's important to note that these plans were frozen and relate to plant operations that were closed many years ago. The plan's participants will either continue to receive their benefits from the third-party insurance companyor elected to take a lump sum benefit payment in December of 2024. As a result of the termination, the company recorded a $14 million non-cash pension settlement charge to recognize all the unamortized costs associated with the plans.

本季度，該公司選擇將其剩餘的遺留退休金計畫資產和負債轉移給第三方。此次轉移實際上終止了該公司的退休金計劃。值得注意的是，這些計劃已被凍結，並與多年前關閉的工廠運作有關。該計劃的參與者要么繼續從第三方保險公司獲得福利，要么選擇在 2024 年 12 月領取一次性福利金。由於終止，該公司記錄了 1,400 萬美元的非現金退休金結算費用，以確認與該計劃相關的所有未攤銷成本。

Our tax rate for the quarter was 22.5% versus 22.4% in the prior year quarter. We estimate our tax rate for the remainder of fiscal '25 to be 23%.

我們本季的稅率為 22.5%，而去年同期的稅率為 22.4%。我們預計25財年剩餘時間的稅率為23%。

Second quarter diluted earnings per share decreased $0.09 or 4.8% to $1.78 as the growth in operating income is offset by the pension settlement charge. This charge reduced the EPS by $0.39 per share. In addition, the acquisition integration costs reduced the EPS by $0.05 per share.

第二季每股攤薄收益下降 0.09 美元或 4.8% 至 1.78 美元，因為營業收入的成長被退休金結算費用所抵銷。這筆費用導致每股收益減少 0.39 美元。此外，收購整合成本導致每股盈餘減少0.05美元。

With regard to capital expenditures, our payments for property additions totaled $28.7 million for the fiscal year-to-date period.

關於資本支出，我們本財政年度迄今的財產增值支出總額為 2,870 萬美元。

For fiscal ‘25, we are forecasting total capital expenditures of $70 million to $80 million. We continue to in both cost-savins projects and other manufacturing improvements, as well as the planned acquisition of the Atlanta-based manufacturing facility.

對於 25 財年，我們預測總資本支出為 7,000 萬至 8,000 萬美元。我們將繼續進行成本節約項目和其他製造改進，以及計劃收購位於亞特蘭大的製造工廠。

In addition to investing in our business, we also return funds to shareholders. Our quarterly cash dividend of $0.95 per share paid on December 31, represented a 6% increase from the prior year's amount are enduring streak of annual dividend increases stands at 62 years.

除了投資我們的業務外，我們還向股東返還資金。我們於 12 月 31 日支付了每股 0.95 美元的季度現金股息，比上年增長了 6%，年度股息連續增加已達 62 年。

Our financial position remains strong with the debt-free balance sheet in $203.1 million in cash. We expect to deploy $75 million for the purchase of the Atlanta manufacturing facility. We also will spend an additional $10 million in capital expenditures on facility, which is included in the fiscal '25 forecast I provided.

我們的財務狀況依然強勁，資產負債表上沒有債務，現金餘額為 2.031 億美元。我們預計將投入 7,500 萬美元購買亞特蘭大製造廠。我們還將額外花費 1000 萬美元用於設施資本支出，這筆費用包含在我提供的 25 財年預測中。

To wrap up my commentary, our second quarter results reflected strong top-line growth, improved gross margin performance in double-digit operating income growth. In addition, we're continuing to make investments to support further growth in cost savings.

總結一下，我們的第二季業績反映了強勁的營收成長、毛利率提高和兩位數的營業收入成長。此外，我們將繼續進行投資以支持成本節約的進一步成長。

I will now turn it back over to Dave for his closing remarks. Thank you.

現在我將把發言權交還給戴夫，請他作最後發言。謝謝。

Thanks, Tom.

謝謝，湯姆。

As we look ahead, Lancaster Colony will continue to leverage the combined strength of our team, our operating strategy, and our balance sheet in support of the three simple pillars of our growth plan.

展望未來，蘭開斯特殖民地將繼續利用我們團隊的綜合實力、我們的營運策略和我們的資產負債表來支持我們成長計畫的三大支柱。

So one, accelerate core business growth. Two, simplifier supply chain to reduce our cost and grow our margins. And three, to expand our core with focused M&A and strategic licensing.

首先，加速核心業務成長。二、簡化供應鏈以降低成本並提高利潤。第三，透過有針對性的併購和策略許可來擴大我們的核心業務。

Looking ahead to our fiscal third quarter and the remainder of the fiscal year, we anticipate retail segment sales will continue to benefit from our expanded licensing program and growth from investments and innovation for our own brands.

展望我們的第三財季和本財年剩餘時間，我們預計零售部門銷售將繼續受益於我們擴大的許可計劃以及我們自有品牌的投資和創新帶來的成長。

We are very excited to share the beginning this spring, we'll be expanding distribution for Chick-fil-A sauces into the strategic club channel.

我們非常高興地分享今年春天的開始，我們將把 Chick-fil-A 醬料的分銷擴展到戰略俱樂部管道。

On the food service side of the business, we anticipate continued growth from select customers in our mix of national chain accounts along with ongoing contributions from our branded food service products. We anticipate external factors including US economic performance and consumer behavior will continue to impact demand for the food service industry overall. With respect to input costs in the aggregate, we do not anticipate significant impact for commodity cost inflation or deflation in the remainder of the year.

在餐飲服務業務方面，我們預計，我們全國連鎖帳戶中的特定客戶將繼續成長，同時我們的品牌餐飲服務產品也將持續貢獻力量。我們預計包括美國經濟表現和消費者行為在內的外部因素將繼續影響整個食品服務業的需求。就整體投入成本而言，我們預計今年剩餘時間內商品成本通膨或通貨緊縮不會產生重大影響。

Before I conclude, I would like to comment briefly on the pending acquisition of the Atlanta-based sauce and dressing facility that we announced last November. We remain on track to complete this transaction during this current quarter, which ends March 31.

最後，我想簡單評論一下我們去年 11 月宣布的對亞特蘭大醬料和調味料廠的收購計劃。我們仍有望在本季（3 月 31 日結束）內完成此項交易。

The facility is an important strategic addition to our manufacturing network that will benefit our core sauce and dressing operations through improved operational efficiency, incremental capacity, and closer proximity to certain core customers. All the while enhancing our manufacturing network from a business continuity standpoint.

該工廠是我們製造網路的重要策略補充，透過提高營運效率、增加產能以及更接近某些核心客戶，它將使我們的核心醬料和調味料業務受益。同時從業務連續性的角度增強我們的製造網路。

We evaluated several strategic scenarios to support the continued growth of our sauce and dressing operations and identified this opportunity as the most practical and cost-effective solution for our long-term business needs. We very much look forward to welcoming the plant's employees to our Marzetti team.

我們評估了幾種策略方案來支持我們的醬料和調味料業務的持續成長，並認為這一機會是滿足我們長期業務需求的最實用、最具成本效益的解決方案。我們非常期待工廠的員工加入我們的 Marzetti 團隊。

In closing, I'd like to thank the entire Lancaster Colony team for all their hard work this past quarter, and their ongoing commitment to our business. This concludes our prepared remarks for today, and we'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. Operator?

最後，我要感謝整個蘭開斯特殖民地團隊在過去一個季度的辛勤工作，以及他們對我們業務的持續承諾。今天的準備好的演講到此結束，我們很樂意回答大家的任何問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Jim Salera, Stephens.

吉姆·薩萊拉、史蒂芬斯。

Hey. Good morning, Dave. Good morning, Tom.

嘿。早上好，戴夫。早上好，湯姆。

I wanted to start off with the performance of retail because really strong results certainly ahead of our expectations and you mentioned some of the drivers there on the license side of the business. Could you just give us a little more detail as to which of the license products you called out had the biggest impact?

我想從零售業績開始，因為強勁的業績肯定超出了我們的預期，而且您還提到了業務許可方面的一些驅動因素。您能否向我們詳細介紹您所提到的哪些授權產品影響最大？

And then if I could maybe tag on a part two to that question with the expansion of Chick-fil-A into club and then no more laps from the perimeter exit, is it fair to say that retail sales should kind of continue to accelerate as the year moves on?

然後，如果我可以將該問題的第二部分附加到 Chick-fil-A 擴展到俱樂部並且不再從外圍出口跑圈，是否可以說零售額應該隨著時間的推移繼續加速增長？

Yeah, well, give us a chance and we'll hit both of those questions in sequence.

是的，好吧，給我們一個機會，我們會按順序回答這兩個問題。

First, what was it that impact current quarter than what our outlook is. But as pertains to to retail and licensing in particular, what I would tell you, it was a combination of different brands. First, it's the introduction of the Texas Roadhouse rules, which are available today only in Walmart. And if you look at scanner sales that that accounted for an important component of that growth.

首先，對我們的前景影響最大的是什麼？但就零售和授權而言，我想告訴你，這是不同品牌的組合。首先，它引入了 Texas Roadhouse 規則，目前該規則僅在沃爾瑪 (Walmart) 適用。如果你看一下掃描器的銷量，你會發現這是這成長的重要組成部分。

The second is Buffalo Wild Wing sauces. This is an item that's been around now about 6 years. It was up about 12% in terms of pounds, so it had a really good period as well.

第二種是Buffalo Wild Wing醬汁。這個項目已經存在大約 6 年了。以英鎊計算，它上漲了約 12%，因此它也經歷了一段非常好的時期。

And then both Olive Garden and Chick-fil-A sauces continued to grow as well. But I think that's sort of the ranking and sequence of of how these things contributed to the period.

隨後，Olive Garden 和 Chick-fil-A 醬料也持續成長。但我認為這就是這些事物對這時期的貢獻的排序和順序。

Then what I would also shift focus to is even our own our brands continued to perform relatively well in terms of pound growth. Our New York Bakery in terms of consumption, pound sales were up 3.8%, our Marzetti produce dressing was up 4%.

然後我還要關注的是，即使我們自己的品牌在英鎊成長方面仍然表現相對良好。我們的紐約麵包店在消費方面，磅銷售額成長了 3.8%，我們的 Marzetti 產品調味料增加了 4%。

We had a really good season for Caramel dip and Sir Schubert continued to grow as well. And what you don't see in Sister Schubert is we made the decision to exit a channel that created a bit of a headwind on that because the margins were low. But we able to overcome that, still deliver some incremental growth and improve our our margin profile. So, I think net, it was balanced between licensing and our own brands with licensing growing a little bit more.

我們度過了一個非常好的焦糖醬季節，而舒伯特爵士也繼續成長。而在 Sister Schubert 中，您看不到的是，我們決定退出一個因為利潤率較低而帶來一些阻力的管道。但我們能夠克服這一點，仍然實現一些增量成長並改善我們的利潤率。因此，我認為，最終，我們在授權和我們自己的品牌之間取得了平衡，授權的成長略有增加。

Now, your second question is an important one, how do we think about the outlook? You know, we're bullish about our new product pipeline. We're continued to be optimistic about how our core brands are holding up, so we're looking at probably mid- to low-single digit growth, just depending on how things play out with consumers. But certainly, we're pleased with how things are going.

現在，您的第二個問題很重要，我們如何看待前景？您知道，我們對我們的新產品線非常看好。我們對我們的核心品牌的保持情況繼續持樂觀態度，因此我們預計其可能會實現中低個位數的成長，這取決於消費者的消費情況。但可以肯定的是，我們對事情的進展感到滿意。

Okay, great.

好的，太好了。

And then maybe if I could just sneak in a question food service --

然後也許我可以偷偷問餐飲服務--

Hye, Jim. By the way, that's all pound driven just so you know. There's no assumption in pricing on that.

嗨，吉姆。順便說一句，這一切都是由英鎊驅動的，你知道的。對此定價沒有任何假設。

Okay, great, that, that, that's helpful,

好的，很好，這很有幫助，

On food service, you mentioned the core national accounts being the drivers there. I know in QSR in particular, there's been a lot of focus on, let's just say, value-centric messaging, price points versus LTOs and flavor extensions. Do you have any sense in the conversations you're having with your food service partners if we're going to see a return to the more experiential focused messaging as the consumer gets a little bit better as the year progresses?

關於食品服務，您提到核心國家帳戶是其推動力。我知道，特別是在 QSR 領域，人們非常關注以價值為中心的訊息傳遞、價格點與 LTO 以及風味擴展。在您與餐飲服務合作夥伴的對話中，您是否意識到，隨著時間的推移，隨著消費者的消費習慣逐漸好轉，我們將會看到更加註重體驗式的信息傳遞方式的回歸？

The conversations that we're having with them, they continue to be somewhat circumspect. I don't think they're expecting a miracle recovery. I think, generally, the consensus is that the summer was probably going to be the low point and then we're going to see modest sequential improvement as we push forward.

在我們與他們的對話中，他們仍然保持著謹慎的態度。我認為他們不會期待奇蹟般的康復。我認為，普遍的共識是，夏季可能是最低點，然後隨著我們向前推進，我們將看到適度的連續改善。

If you look at our most recent results, the business unit was up 3 points. It was a point and a half of volume; it was a point and a half of pricing that gets you to that 3%.

如果你看我們最近的結果，你會發現該業務部門上升了 3 個百分點。音量是一點五；正是定價的 1.5 個百分點才讓你達到了那 3%。

If you look at our specific mix of customers, obviously, Chick-fil-A is continuing to contribute to our pound growth because of new store openings and their execution. But we have a range of other very important customers that are winning in this environment, one of which is Domino's, which is plain in value. And Pizza, QSR and we're winning effectively with them.

如果你看看我們特定的客戶組合，顯然，由於新店的開設及其執行，Chick-fil-A 正在繼續為我們的業績成長做出貢獻。但我們還有一系列其他非常重要的客戶在這種環境下取得成功，其中之一就是價值顯而易見的達美樂。還有披薩、快餐，我們都在與他們合作並取得良好的業績。

As far as their positioning, their menus going forward. It passes prologue, Jim. What we typically see is that they focus on value until they real in it and it brings more traffic back into the restaurant, but it really doesn't help them with margins, and it doesn't help with their franchisee's profitability overall. So, I think what I would expect to see is certainly not a more intense focus on value. You may begin to see that start to wean down a little bit more and just more focused on delivering great food.

就他們的定位和未來的菜單而言。它通過了序言，吉姆。我們通常看到的是，他們專注於價值，直到他們真正實現它並為餐廳帶來更多的客流量，但這實際上並沒有幫助他們提高利潤，也沒有幫助他們的特許經營商整體的盈利能力。所以，我認為我期望看到的肯定不是更關注價值。您可能會開始發現，我們開始逐漸減少開支，而更專注於提供美味的食物。

Awesome. I appreciate all the detail, guys. I'll get back in the queue. Thank you.

驚人的。我很感謝你們提供的所有細節。我會回到隊列中。謝謝。

Alton Stump, Loop Capital.

奧爾頓·斯圖普（Alton Stump），Loop Capital。

Great, thank you. Good morning and I appreciate you taking my questions, David, Tom.

太好了，謝謝。早安，感謝您回答我的問題，大衛、湯姆。

I guess, I want to ask about Texas Roadhouse obviously, of course, the first introduction was of the sauces and then (inaudible) came out shortly thereafter mid last year with the frozen dinner rolls. It sounds like a dinner rolls for them have become an even bigger business than your sauces. One, is that accurate? And two, how much of a surprise as it been given the fact that, once again, that that was a secondary offer when they came after you first introduced your sauces last year.

我想問一下關於 Texas Roadhouse 的問題，當然，最先推出的是醬料，然後（聽不清楚）去年年中不久後推出了冷凍晚餐麵包卷。聽起來，對他們來說，晚餐麵包捲已經成為比醬料更大的生意。一、這準確嗎？第二，這真是令人驚訝，因為這是去年你們第一次推出醬料後他們再次提出的二次報價。

Yeah, it's a great question, Alton.

是的，這是一個很好的問題，奧爾頓。

You know what I would tell you, and I know you're very familiar with the restaurant space and you visited Texas Roadhouse. And for anybody like you that has, those rolls are iconic. That's one of the reasons that people visit those restaurants.

你知道我會告訴你什麼，我知道你對餐廳領域非常熟悉並且你參觀過 Texas Roadhouse。對於像您這樣的任何人來說，這些卷都是標誌性的。這就是人們光顧這些餐廳的原因之一。

And one of the teams that we're pleased about and our partners at Texas Roadhouse are pleased about is that we've done a really nice job of really mirroring the taste of that roll that's available in the restaurant.

令我們感到高興的團隊和 Texas Roadhouse 的合作夥伴感到高興的是，我們做得非常好，真實反映了餐廳中提供的麵包捲的味道。

So we've got it so far into Walmart, 4,000 of their stores and it's performing exceptionally well. If you look at the scanner data sales when we can keep it in stock, it's running somewhere between a 1 million and 1.5 million per week, so it's really performing well.

目前，我們已將其推廣至沃爾瑪的 4,000 家商店，並且表現十分出色。如果您查看掃描器數據銷售情況，當我們有庫存時，它的每週銷量在 100 萬到 150 萬台之間，所以它的表現確實很好。

But I think it goes back to the lesson that we've learned with Olive Garden, with Buffalo Wild Wings and with Chick-fil-A. When you can take an iconic product from a strong restaurant property with a loyal following, there's just a lot of consumer upside for those products in retail and I think we're going to continue to see that story unfold.

但我認為這可以追溯到我們從 Olive Garden、Buffalo Wild Wings 和 Chick-fil-A 學到的教訓。當你能從擁有忠實追隨者的強大餐廳中推出標誌性產品時，這些產品在零售領域將為消費者帶來巨大的利益，我認為我們將繼續看到這個故事的發展。

Our plans on this product are to -- as we bring online more capacity which we're having to do to begin to roll it out into all the retail. First, in 4 states, and then early into our next fiscal year to actually launch it across all channels and all stores, not club, but all channels in retail and mass. And then we'll revisit club at some point in the future, but this is -- it's been an exciting development. It's succeeded our expectation enough so that we've had to actually take one of our bakery plants and that not just one to two more shifts to keep up with the demand.

我們對該產品的計劃是——隨著我們在線上提供更多的容量，我們必須開始將其推廣到所有的零售店。首先在 4 個州推出，然後在下一個財年初在所有通路和所有商店推出它，不是俱樂部，而是零售和大眾的所有通路。然後我們會在未來的某個時候重新審視俱樂部，但這是一個令人興奮的發展。它已經超出了我們的預期，因此我們實際上必須接管我們的一個麵包加工廠，而不僅僅是增加一到兩個班次來滿足需求。

Okay, great. Well, that's brilliant, help a couple things that date.

好的，太好了。嗯，這很棒，對約會有些幫助。

And then I guess one question, and I’ll hop back and queue. On the food service side, kind of back to the last question about restaurant space and clearly, everybody's trying to, if they can, to get traffic back. There's been a lot of pricing across the industry the last couple of years that have – probably giving their comp growth that you know all but gone away.

然後我猜一個問題，然後我就會跳回去排隊。在餐飲服務方面，回到關於餐廳空間的最後一個問題，顯然，如果可以的話，每個人都在努力恢復客流量。過去幾年，整個行業的定價都發生了很大變化，這可能使他們的同業成長幾乎消失了。

So given that environment where you're going to have a lot of focus on, new products, collaborations, I would think that would fit well into what you guys do with your partners, whether it is developing new sauces and/or similar items. How much of a benefit do you think that could be to you or as you kind of look at the course of calendar ‘25 if we do indeed see an increased focus. Formerly major QSR customers and you know pick a new product to drive traffic.

因此，考慮到你們將專注於新產品和合作的環境，我認為這將非常適合你們與合作夥伴所做的事情，無論是開發新醬料還是類似產品。您認為這對您有多大的好處，或者當您回顧 25 年日曆的進程時，如果我們確實看到了關注度的提高。以前是主要的 QSR 客戶，您知道選擇新產品來增加流量。

Yeah, so our outlook for the industry is that it's probably on and this is traffic, not sales. But traffic alone is that it's likely to continue down let's say 1 or 2 points. Our view on our business and food services that will be flattish, but we believe that based on this composition of customers, we’ll be able to overcome those trends to the degree to which the consumer gets stronger and traffic improves on restaurants.

是的，因此我們對該行業的展望是，它可能是流量，而不是銷售額。但光是流量就很可能會繼續下降，比如說 1 或 2 個點。我們對我們的業務和食品服務的看法將是持平的，但我們相信，基於這種客戶結構，我們將能夠克服這些趨勢，使消費者變得更加強大並且餐廳的客流量增加。

I'm fully confident that we'll be able to enjoy that, and we'll be able to give you guys an indication that sales would trend back into the mid-single low to mid-single digit range. But for now, predicated on the macro-economic outlook. I think we're holding fast at sort of flattish on this business but poised to recover when the industry recovers.

我完全有信心我們能夠享受這一點，並且我們能夠向你們表明銷售額將回到中等個位數低點到中等個位數的範圍。但目前來看，還是要以宏觀經濟前景為前提。我認為我們在這個業務上會保持平穩，但會隨著行業復甦而復甦。

Okay, okay. Thanks so much, Dave. I appreciate it. I'll hop back in the queue.

好的，好的。非常感謝，戴夫。我很感激。我將重新回到隊列中。

Brian Holland, D.A. Davidson.

布萊恩·霍蘭德（Brian Holland），地方檢察官戴維森。

Thanks. Good morning, and congratulations on the strong results.

謝謝。早上好，恭喜您取得的優異成績。

If I could just -- maybe just quickly on the gross margin and specifically the input cost outlook. Obviously, I think you called out modest deflation in the quarter if I have that right, just (inaudible) that out for because I think that's obviously an improvement from where we've been. So just as we tease that out over the second half of the year, what's your view on how that dynamic shakes out?

如果我可以的話，也許可以快速地介紹一下毛利率和投入成本前景。顯然，如果我沒有記錯的話，我認為您在本季度提到了溫和的通貨緊縮，只是（聽不清楚）因為我認為這顯然比我們之前的狀況有所改善。那麼，正如我們在今年下半年所預測的那樣，您對這種動態將如何發展有何看法？

Yeah. Hi, Brian. This is Tom. Thank you.

是的。你好，布萊恩。這是湯姆。謝謝。

So you're right, we did have a little bit of deflation that was a bit of a tailwind for this quarter's results. As we look at the second half, we're projecting more flattish commodity costs. We don't expect to have that tailwind that we experienced this quarter. And really, what's behind that is, and I'm sure you've read about it, we've seen a lot of inflation in terms of eggs prices, and that's an input cost for us. But we're getting the benefit from lower soybean oil and grain costs. So when you net it all together, we're looking at a flat outlook for the second half.

所以你說得對，我們確實遇到了一點通貨緊縮，這對本季的業績來說有點利好。展望下半年，我們預期大宗商品成本將更加持平。我們預計本季不會出現這樣的順風。而事實上，這背後的原因是，我相信你已經讀到過，我們已經看到雞蛋價格大幅上漲，這對我們來說是一種投入成本。但我們因大豆油和穀物成本下降而獲益。因此，綜合考慮所有因素，我們預計下半年前景將持平。

Thank you, that's helpful.

謝謝，這很有幫助。

And it may and forgive me to the extent that this may have been addressed and I missed it. With the new facility in Atlanta, maybe just sort of discern between this opens up more revenue capacity, implying that demand is increased, there's more innovation opportunities, et cetera versus strategic optionality kind of looking at your manufacturing network. So, the first one's probably to some extent, self-explanatory. But on the second one, do we think about margins, the ability of this plant to expand your margins over time, picking up some more cost synergies through optimization, et cetera. And maybe just I appreciate you probably wouldn't want to quantify that, but maybe just timeline for when we might just might start to see those benefits flow through?

也許，請原諒我，因為這個問題可能已經解決了，但我錯過了。有了亞特蘭大的新工廠，也許就能辨別出這是否會開闢更多的收入能力，這意味著需求增加了，有更多的創新機會等等，而不是從戰略選擇性角度來審視你的製造網絡。因此，第一個問題可能在某種程度上是不言自明的。但在第二個問題上，我們是否考慮利潤率、這家工廠隨著時間的推移擴大利潤率的能力、透過優化獲得更多的成本協同效應等等。也許我只是知道您可能不想量化這一點，但也許只是一個時間表，說明我們何時可能開始看到這些好處的產生？

Sure. So, why don't I -- I'll address the first part of the question, and then let Tom expand on margins.

當然。那麼，我為什麼不——我來回答問題的第一部分，然後讓湯姆擴大利潤範圍。

So the first part, as we said in our commentary up front, we expect to close this quarter. Really, what this plan is going to Florida since several things, it’s going to give us a capacity to make products that are both cooked and non-cooked.

因此，正如我們在前面的評論中所說，第一部分我們預計將於本季結束。實際上，這個計劃將在佛羅裡達州實施，因為有幾件事，它將使我們有能力生產熟食和非熟食產品。

And just give you background things like barbecue sauce and honey mustard require cooking whereas things like a ranch dressing, for example, don't. You're just mixing ingredients and packaging on those. So this plan, importantly, provides us both cooked and non-cooked, which gives us a lot of options to play both in sauces and dressings.

只是給你一些背景知識，例如燒烤醬和蜂蜜芥末醬需要烹飪，而牧場醬之類的東西則不需要。你只需將這些成分混合並進行包裝即可。因此，重要的是，這個計劃為我們提供了熟食和非熟食，這為我們在醬汁和調味料方面提供了多種選擇。

And then as far as their particular packaging abilities, they have high speed packaging line, they have deep capacity down there as well. And then they have a range of different food service manufacturing platforms that we're going to be able to use.

就他們的特定包裝能力而言，他們擁有高速包裝線，並且擁有雄厚的產能。他們有一系列不同的食品服務製造平台供我們使用。

Over time, what you can expect to see us do is to begin to put in some of our system-specific product packaging platforms, for example, (inaudible) which we use for Chick-fil-A. They're not a supplier today. You can expect in due course for us to put that down there and it'll provide a benefit for both us and for Chick-fil-A by way of where it's located.

隨著時間的推移，您可以期待看到我們開始引入一些系統特定的產品包裝平台，例如（聽不清楚）我們用於 Chick-fil-A 的平台。他們今天不是供應商。您可以期待我們在適當的時候把它放在那裡，它將為我們和 Chick-fil-A 帶來好處。

So, I would say that the single biggest thing that it gives us, Brian, is a great mix of cooked and non-cooked, a range of different packaging platforms. And it's in a highly cost-effective location for us in terms of proximity to customers.

因此，我想說，布萊恩，它給我們帶來的最大好處是熟食和非熟食的完美結合，以及一系列不同的包裝平台。並且從靠近客戶的角度來看，它的位置對我們來說是極具成本效益的。

Now, what I'll let Tom talk to you is then how does this sort of feather into our outlook on things like margins and things like that in due course. I'll turn it over to you, Tom.

現在，我想讓湯姆跟你談談，這種情況會如何影響我們對利潤率等事物的看法。我會把它交給你，湯姆。

Thanks, Dave.

謝謝，戴夫。

Thanks, Dave.

謝謝，戴夫。

So from a top-line basis, as we look at our long-term growth algorithm, we've said we're going to continue to grow in the low mid-single digits. This facility allows us to continue to grow without additional in -- an additional green field option. So, it supports our growth over the next 5 years as we've modelled it out, which is a very efficient use of capital for us.

因此，從營收基礎來看，當我們審視我們的長期成長演算法時，我們會表示我們將繼續以中低個位數的速度成長。該設施使我們能夠繼續發展，而無需額外的綠地選擇。所以，正如我們所模擬的那樣，它支持我們未來 5 年的成長，這對我們來說是一種非常有效的資本利用方式。

So then turning now into the margins. What I would caution is that the first quarter to as we get into that facility and start to ramp it up, we do expect a modest headwind as we have some absorbed overheads that will be incurring. But over time as you get into fiscal ‘26, we do expect to see some nice margin accretion from this business. As you mentioned, we're probably not ready to quantify the specifics on that, but it's projected to provide nice growth and margin accretion for us.

那麼現在就轉向邊緣。我要提醒的是，第一季度，當我們進入該設施並開始加速其建設時，我們確實預計會遇到適度的阻力，因為我們會吸收一些將要產生的間接費用。但隨著時間的推移，當進入26財年時，我們確實預期這項業務的利潤率將會成長。正如您所說，我們可能還沒有準備好量化具體細節，但預計它將為我們提供良好的成長和利潤成長。

The one thing I want to make sure we highlight for you, and we mentioned this in the initial release, in the 8-K, is that for a period of time, we're going to be manufacturing costs, manufacturing products for the seller of this facility. So, we'll be picking up some of their business and we agreed to do that to facilitate the transaction. We'll be splitting out that revenue separately. We don't expect it to have a significant profit impact, but we'll want you to take that out because we don’t -- we view it as noncore and short-term in nature.

我想要確保向您強調的一件事，我們在初始版本 8-K 中提到了這一點，那就是在一段時間內，我們將為該工廠的賣方製造產品，產生製造成本。因此，我們將接手他們的一些業務，我們同意這樣做以促進交易。我們將單獨分拆該部分收入。我們預計它不會對利潤產生重大影響，但我們希望您將其剔除，因為我們認為它本質上是非核心和短期的。

So overall, we feel very good about this acquisition. And we expect it to have a nice return for our shareholders. And as we get further in, we'll share more with you.

所以總的來說，我們對這次收購感到非常滿意。我們期望它能為我們的股東帶來豐厚的回報。隨著我們進一步了解，我們將與您分享更多資訊。

Thanks, Tom and Dave. That's very helpful.

謝謝，湯姆和戴夫。這非常有幫助。

Maybe just last question, just of -- because I probably left some things incomplete in that first question. With respect to input costs, good color there, thinking about the balance of the year, specific to input costs, but if we broaden that out and talk about gross margin, I would presume that throughput benefits from the volume was the primary driver of the gross margin expansion in 2Q. And if we expect volumes to sustain, then margins should be higher over the second half of the year. I just want to clarify and separate that point from the fact that input costs would be closer to flat. Tom, if you could help there.

也許只是最後一個問題，只是——因為我可能在第一個問題中遺漏了一些未完成的內容。關於投入成本，考慮到今年的餘額，具體到投入成本，這方面的情況不錯，但如果我們擴大範圍並談論毛利率，我會假設產量帶來的吞吐量收益是第二季度毛利率擴大的主要驅動力。如果我們預期銷售量能夠維持下去，那麼今年下半年的利潤率應該會更高。我只是想澄清並將這一點與投入成本接近持平的事實區分開來。湯姆，如果你能幫忙的話。

I think as we look at the second half, we do expect our cost savings initiatives to contribute further to our margin growth, why we won't have the commodity tailwind. So as we look at it, we expect to be able to grow our margins in the second half at similar levels to the first half, maybe in the 50 to 100 basis point range as we get greater cost savings initiatives. And the only headwind that could be an impact to that is the integration of the Atlanta manufacturing facility, the ramp up and and how that all goes. But certainly, we'll give you those impacts as they occur.

我認為，展望下半年，我們確實預計我們的成本節約措施將進一步促進我們的利潤率成長，這就是為什麼我們不會有大宗商品的順風。因此，從我們的角度來看，隨著我們採取更大的成本節約舉措，我們預計下半年的利潤率將能夠與上半年保持相似的成長水平，可能在 50 到 100 個基點的範圍內。唯一可能對此產生影響的阻力是亞特蘭大製造工廠的整合、產能提升以及這一切的進展。但當然，我們會在影響發生時告知您。

Fantastic. Leave it there. Thanks.

極好的。把它留在那裡。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Scott Marks with Jefferies.

傑富瑞 (Jefferies) 的斯科特馬克斯 (Scott Marks)。

Hey, good morning, guys. Thanks so much for taking my question.

嘿，大家早安。非常感謝您回答我的問題。

I just want to follow up on some of the conversation there on the gross margin side. My numbers are correct, but the gross margin that you guys put up in Q2 is the best in 4 years that it's been, obviously, going through the cost inflation cycle and everything else that's happened over the past few years. I know you spoke to some of the drivers, why that's the case, but wondering if you could maybe give a little bit more detail about the journey that you've been on and how you got to this 26% level and how you think you can sustain it moving forward.

我只是想跟進一下關於毛利率方面的一些討論。我的數字是正確的，但你們在第二季度提出的毛利率是四年來最好的，顯然，經歷了成本通膨週期以及過去幾年發生的其他一切。我知道您已經談到了一些驅動因素，為什麼會出現這種情況，但我想知道您是否可以更詳細地介紹一下您的歷程，如何達到 26% 的水平，以及您認為如何在未來保持這一水平。

Yeah. So, maybe I'll start with a little bit of context. One of the features of COVID for our business in particular is that we had 20% inflation two years in a row. And as you might imagine, it's got that math is our costs go up to 20% and we passed it on dollar for dollar into our pricing IER sales, but that in and of itself drove several 100 basis points of margin compression in the early part of COVID.

是的。因此，我可能先從一點背景開始。COVID 對我們業務的一個特殊影響是，我們連續兩年經歷了 20% 的通貨膨脹。您可能可以想像，計算結果表明我們的成本上漲了 20%，我們將其一美元一美元地轉嫁到了我們的定價 IER 銷售中，但這本身就導致 COVID 初期的利潤率壓縮了幾百個基點。

And then what you've seen in the period thereafter is you've seen us -- we've been able to hold on to pricing as we've seen a little bit of deflation and Tom has talked about that. But the other thing that's happened is a lot of the noise in the businesses behind us, our ERP implementation is behind us. The construction of the horse cave facility is behind us, and we have a team now that's just really focused on good end to end execution and productivity and we're getting back to more of the ordinary course.

然後，您在隨後的時期內看到的是，您已經看到我們 - 我們能夠堅持定價，因為我們看到了一點通貨緊縮，湯姆已經談到了這一點。但發生的另一件事是，我們後面的業務噪音很多，我們的 ERP 實施已經過去了。馬洞設施的建設已經完成，我們現在擁有一支團隊，真正專注於良好的端到端執行力和生產力，我們正在回歸更正常的軌道。

So as Tom pointed out, as we think about the outlook going forward, we don't expect some big tailwind from commodities. So, if we get a grade and you can expect to see that reflected in margin. But our view is we're going to be able to build on the trends that you see sequentially because of just going back to our roots of driving productivity, manufacturing and conversion productivity at the front, the back of our lines. Procurement productivity and supply chain and logistics, excuse me, transportation and logistics productivity.

因此，正如湯姆所指出的那樣，當我們考慮未來的前景時，我們並不認為大宗商品會帶來巨大的推動力。因此，如果我們獲得成績，您就可以看到這反映在利潤中。但我們的觀點是，我們將能夠依賴您連續看到的趨勢繼續發展，因為我們只需回歸推動生產力、製造和轉換生產力的根源，無論是生產線的前段還是後段。採購生產力和供應鏈和物流，對不起，運輸和物流生產力。

So we have a big catalog of initiatives that the team is running, they're doing a very nice job and I have every confidence that you'll see that continue to improve. So I -- we don't think, just to put a fine point on it that that was a one-off, clearly, it was a high water mark, but we expect to continue to build on every one of the quarters going forward.

因此，我們的團隊正在運行大量計劃，他們做得非常出色，我完全有信心，你會看到他們繼續進步。因此，我們並不認為這只是一次性事件，顯然，這是一個高水位，但我們預計在未來的每個季度都會繼續取得進展。

Appreciate that. Thank you.

非常感謝。謝謝。

And next question for me, I know you call out some of the drivers of topline retail volume strength, including some of the licensed brands, you call out some of the Marzetti products, some of the New York brand products, obviously licensed products you're introducing the Subway, Texas Roadhouse items more recently. But why are we going to talk about why the improvement in some of the Lancaster-owned brands, if you will. So you spoke to some of the Marzetti dips in the New York brand products. Just wondering if you could speak to some of those trends and what you think the main drivers are.

下一個問題是，我知道您提到了一些推動零售額成長的因素，包括一些授權品牌，您提到了一些 Marzetti 產品，一些紐約品牌產品，顯然還有您最近推出的 Subway、Texas Roadhouse 等授權產品。但如果你願意的話，我們為什麼要談談蘭開斯特旗下一些品牌的改進呢？您談到了紐約品牌產品中的一些 Marzetti 醬。只是想知道您是否可以談論其中的一些趨勢以及您認為的主要驅動因素是什麼。

Well, I think we'll hit them each one at a time. In the case of our New York Texas toast or garlic bread proposition is doing well, but we also launched a value side of our breadsticks that's continued to crush it in the marketplace. So, good core performance plus breadsticks is what's providing the tailwind on New York. And then I think our gluten free item is small, but it's providing incrementally to that as well.

好吧，我想我們會一次解決一個問題。舉例來說，我們的紐約德州吐司或蒜蓉麵包銷量很好，但我們同時推出了麵包棒的超值產品，繼續在市場上佔據主導地位。所以，好的核心表現加上麵包棒是紐約的順風因素。然後我認為我們的無麩質產品很少，但它也在逐步提供這一點。

If you look at Sister Schubert, a great execution in the holiday season, which is vital on this brand. And then I would add to that that our sweet rolls are doing well on that business. If you look at our Marzetti, our classics proposition has continued to perform well. And over the last, let's call it year, we've restaged simply, and that part of the portfolio has been performing better.

如果你看過 Sister Schubert 的作品，你會發現它在節慶期間的執行力非常強，這對這個品牌來說至關重要。然後我想補充一點，我們的甜麵包捲生意很好。如果你看一下我們的 Marzetti，你會發現我們的經典主張一直表現得很好。在過去的一年裡，我們只是簡單地重新調整了策略，這部分投資組合的表現變得更好。

Within Marzetti dressings and dips, we had a particularly good caramel season. When we can get that product with our key customers, Walmart, Kroger, and the others out early in the season and merchandise near Apples, it just performs well. And this is one of those years where our retailers were willing to really work with us, they got it out early, and it really performed well for us.

在 Marzetti 調味品和蘸醬中，我們度過了一個特別好的焦糖季節。當我們可以在季初將產品與我們的主要客戶沃爾瑪、克羅格和其他公司一起推出，並在蘋果附近銷售時，它的表現就很好。今年是我們的零售商願意與我們真正合作的一年，他們很早就推出了它，而且它確實為我們帶來了良好的業績。

So really, it's kind of a mix of in some cases the right skews, the value pack on sticks. And in other cases, it's just good detail execution by the selling organization, just good solid fundamentals.

因此，實際上，在某些情況下，它是一種正確傾斜的混合體，是棒狀產品上的超值包裝。在其他情況下，這只是銷售組織良好的細節執行，以及良好紮實的基本面。

Got it, and then one last one for me. One of the things I don't think I've heard you speak much about is promotional activity. And obviously, across the food landscape, that's been kind of a hot button topic. Just wondering if you can kind of share your perspective on what's happening in the promotional environment, maybe what you're hearing from retailers, and maybe why that's not really applicable to some of your products.

明白了，對我來說這是最後一個。我認為我很少聽到您談論的事情之一是促銷活動。顯然，在整個食品領域，這一直是個熱門話題。只是想知道您是否可以分享您對促銷環境中發生的事情的看法，也許您從零售商那裡聽到的內容，以及為什麼這並不適用於您的某些產品。

Yeah, so if you unpack our trade spending, one of the things that we talked to you about is that we took up our level of trade spending in the back half of last year in retail modestly, and that we intended to keep it up in the first and second quarter. We were going to take the overall spending rate and sort of level load so it's going to be a little bit higher in the first and second quarter and then marginally lower in the third and fourth quarter.

是的，如果您看一下我們的貿易支出，我們與您談論的事情之一是，我們在去年下半年適度提高了零售業的貿易支出水平，並且我們打算在第一和第二季度保持這一水平。我們將採用整體支出率和某種水平負荷，因此第一季和第二季的支出率將略高一些，而第三季和第四季的支出率將略低一些。

So, our trade spending rate was modestly, I don't -- 100 basis points or something maybe if higher in the period. But as it pertains to promotions, you know what I would focus your attention on, Scott, is I just recently went through all of our updated elasticities with our retail team and what we're finding is that heavy trade spending isn't really driving the incrementality that we would have expected.

因此，我們的貿易支出率比較適中，我不知道--如果在此期間更高的話，可能為 100 個基點或類似的數字。但就促銷而言，史考特，你知道我要關注的是什麼嗎？我最近剛與我們的零售團隊一起研究了所有更新的彈性，我們發現，大量的貿易支出並沒有真正推動我們預期的增量。

So as we think about trade spending going forward, we're going to be somewhat cautious about it. It's -- there's certain products where it seems to work better than others if we can get feature and display particularly on things like our license sauces, get it on an in cap. It really helps us drive household penetration and performance. But we don't think that it's a lever that we're going to want to lean into in this environment outside of very point specific activities.

因此，當我們考慮未來的貿易支出時，我們會對此保持一定謹慎。是的 — — 如果我們能夠獲得特色並展示，特別是我們的許可證醬汁之類的東西，那麼某些產品似乎比其他產品效果更好，將其放在上限上。它確實幫助我們提高家庭普及率和性能。但我們不認為在特定的活動之外，我們會在這個環境中依賴這種槓桿。

Understood. Thanks so much. I'll pass it on.

明白了。非常感謝。我會傳達的。

Andrew Wolf, CL King.

安德魯沃爾夫、CL金。

Thanks. Good morning. Congratulations on really good looking quarter.

謝謝。早安.恭喜本季取得如此佳績。

I'd like to ask about the -- few questions on the Texas Roadhouse dinner rolls, how the -- I think you've said it's right now it's still only at Walmart. And can you talk about is that being featured there or is that just sort of in their frozen aisle and just its movement is not being kind of promoted in any special way.

我想問關於德州客棧晚餐麵包卷的幾個問題，我想您說過現在它仍然只在沃爾瑪有售。您能否談談它是否在那裡有特色展示，還是只是在他們的冷凍貨架上展示，並且它的活動並沒有以任何特殊的方式進行推廣。

And secondly, do you have any view yet from their data or your outgoing shipping data, however you look at it, about repeat sales from similar customers or if it's still sort of in the trial phase?

其次，無論您如何看待他們的數據或您的發貨數據，您是否對類似客戶的重複銷售有任何看法，或者它是否仍處於試驗階段？

Yeah, so we'll hit those questions in sequence, Andrew.

是的，所以我們將按順序討論這些問題，安德魯。

But that one SKU at retail is not being featured, it's not getting incremental display. It did get a fair amount of viral support by way of social media once it became aware that the product was out there and it's just pulling right off of the shelf, so there's really nothing incremental being done in terms of marketing and promotion to facilitate this.

但零售店中的該 SKU 並未得到重點推薦，也沒有得到增量展示。當人們意識到該產品已經上市並且可以直接從貨架上取下時，它確實通過社交媒體獲得了相當多的病毒式支持，因此在營銷和促銷方面實際上沒有採取任何漸進式措施來促進這一點。

I think I mentioned the sales when we can keep it in stock, it's usually somewhere between 1 million and 1.5 million per week. As we launch it into full retail, I would expect to see those numbers at Walmart start to pull down as it becomes available at other places.

我想我提到過當我們有庫存時的銷售量，通常每週在 100 萬到 150 萬之間。隨著我們將其全面推向零售市場，我預計隨著它在其他地方的銷售，沃爾瑪的銷售量會開始下降。

Now, your last question about repeat is it really, really important question. And what we're seeing is the repeat on this item is actually quite high. The purchase cycle is actually somewhere in the range of like 13 days. So in many cases, we're seeing people come back twice a month to buy this item, which in a frozen category is faster than anything that I've seen.

現在，關於重複的最後一個問題是一個非常非常重要的問題。我們看到的是，這個項目的重複率實際上相當高。購買週期實際上在 13 天左右。因此在很多情況下，我們看到人們每月回來兩次購買這種商品，在冷凍類別中，這比我見過的任何商品都要快。

Sister Schubert tends to be a heavy holiday item and maybe a Sunday dinner item where this item is everyday item. If we look at it today, it's been the number one item available in frozen bread and when you measure it across all the frozen, just the velocity of the items, it's a performing quite well also.

舒伯特姐妹往往是節日期間的重要物品，也可能是周日晚餐的物品，而這種物品是日常物品。如果我們今天來看，它一直是冷凍麵包中銷售第一的商品，而當你衡量所有冷凍食品的速度時，它的表現也相當不錯。

So I think that the more we see of this, the more we believe that it's just a -- it's a great tasting item that we think has a long-term leg. So, we're excited to share with you as we bring online that capacity, how it continues to perform in the marketplace. And importantly, how we take the platform of Texas Roadhouse and expanded into more SKUs and more channels and help this brand and this channel achieve all of its full potential.

所以我認為，我們對這種情況了解得越多，我們就越相信這只是一種——一種味道很好的食品，我們認為它具有長期的暢銷性。因此，當我們將該產能上線時，我們很高興與您分享它在市場上的持續表現。重要的是，我們如何利用 Texas Roadhouse 平台擴展到更多 SKU 和更多管道，並幫助這個品牌和這個管道充分發揮其潛力。

Got it. So, the ACV outlook sounds quite promising, I would imagine, whenever that exclude. Can you just speak to the exclusivity par or is that a trade secret?

知道了。因此，我想，無論怎樣排除這一點，ACV 的前景聽起來都相當光明。您能談談獨家性嗎？還是這是商業機密？

No secrets here. Beginning in April, we'll begin to ship it into 4 states into all channels, so it'll be (inaudible). And then really beginning in August, once we're fully in capacity, we'll begin to ship it to the rest of retail. And then predicated on performance will be evaluating incremental SKUs and then also channels, by club and things like that.

這裡沒有秘密。從 4 月開始，我們將開始透過所有管道將其運送到 4 個州，因此（聽不清楚）。然後從八月真正開始，一旦我們完全達到產能，我們就會開始將其運送到其他零售店。然後根據績效評估增量 SKU，然後評估管道、俱樂部等。

Got it.

知道了。

Just two quick housekeeping if I can. On the pension plan retirements, is there ongoing kind of cost savings that was running through the P&L?

如果可以的話，我只想快速做兩件事。關於退休金計畫退休，是否有透過損益表進行的持續成本節約？

We will get a a modest savings in terms of fees aand administrative costs from that [edge]. And amortization of those losses will stop, so modest P&L benefit going forward.

我們將從中節省一些費用和管理成本[邊緣]。這些損失的攤銷將會停止，因此未來損益將保持適度。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

All right, I don't see any further questions in the queue. And I would like to turn the call back to Mr. Ciesinski for his concluding comments.

好的，我沒有看到隊列中還有其他問題。我想請 Ciesinski 先生作最後總結。

Thanks, operator. And thank you, everybody, for participating today. Before we wind up the call, I wanted to make just a couple of comments about all of the emerging discourse that's taking place out in the industry about Make America Healthy Again, and particularly the focus on big food. And in moments like this, we believe it's important to ground ourselves on really key facts. And first is our tagline, the better food company implies we have, and we always will comply with all state and federal food regulations.

謝謝，接線生。感謝大家今天的參與。在我們結束通話之前，我想針對業內關於「讓美國再次健康」的所有新興討論，特別是對大食品的關注，發表一些評論。在這樣的時刻，我們認為立足於真正關鍵的事實非常重要。首先是我們的標語，「更好的食品公司」意味著我們已經並將始終遵守所有州和聯邦食品法規。

It's especially food manufacturers, businesses historically focused on supply and leading restaurants and competing in niche retail categories, very few of our products contain many of the chemical ingredients of concern that are receiving attention today.

尤其是食品製造商、歷史上專注於供應和領先餐廳並在利基零售類別中競爭的企業，我們的產品中很少有含有當今受到關注的許多令人擔憂的化學成分。

And then I want to assure you that to the degree to which any of our ingredients, those are which are receiving some scrutiny today or anything else for that matter come under scrutiny, we have every confidence that our industry leading culinary R&D team will enable us to adapt to the meet consumer needs and continue to grow a big, strong, and relevant a food company to supply our critical restaurant partners as well as consumers in the categories in which we compete.

然後我想向你們保證，無論我們的任何原料，無論它們今天受到何種程度的審查，或者其他任何東西受到何種程度的審查，我們完全有信心，我們行業領先的烹飪研發團隊將使我們能夠適應滿足消費者的需求，並繼續發展成為一個龐大、強大、相關的食品公司，為我們重要的餐廳合作夥伴以及我們競爭類別的消費者提供產品。

So, a lot of interesting times in the food industry these days, and I just want to assure you guys that are following us that we're keeping track of this discourse and we're plotting the strategy to ensure that we always serve safe food and relevant food and meet the needs of all of our stakeholders.

所以，最近食品業有很多有趣的事情發生，我只想向關注我們的你們保證，我們會關注這一話題，並製定策略以確保我們始終提供安全食品和相關食品，並滿足所有利益相關者的需求。

So, that ends our our call today and our comments. We look forward to being with you guys in a few months where we go over our Q3 results. We hope you guys have a great rest of the day.

那麼，我們今天的通話和評論就結束了。我們期待幾個月後與大家一起討論我們的第三季業績。我們希望你們今天剩下的時間過得很愉快。

And thank you, everyone, for participating in today's conference. And you may now disconnect.

感謝大家參加今天的會議。現在您可以斷開連線了。