Lifetime Brands Inc (LCUT) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Lifetime Brands first-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

早安，女士們、先生們，歡迎參加 Lifetime Brands 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）

I would like to introduce your host for today's conference, [Carly King]. Miss King, please go ahead.

我想介紹一下今天會議的主持人，[卡莉金]。金小姐，請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, and thank you for joining Lifetime Brands' first-quarter 2024 earnings call. With us today from management are Rob Kay, Chief Executive Officer; and Larry Winoker, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝。早安，感謝您參加 Lifetime Brands 的 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。今天與我們一起出席的還有來自管理階層的執行長 Rob Kay；和財務長拉里·威諾克(Larry Winoker)。

Before we begin the call, I'd like to remind you that our remarks this morning may contain forward looking statements that relate to the future performance of the company, and these statements are intended to qualify for the Safe Harbor protection from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.

在我們開始通話之前，我想提醒您，我們今天早上的言論可能包含與公司未來業績相關的前瞻性陳述，這些陳述旨在獲得由私人證券訴訟改革法。

Any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and factors that could influence our results are highlighted in today's press release and other factors are contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such statements are based upon information available to the company as of the date hereof and are subject to change for future developments. Except as required by law, the company does not undertake any obligation to update such statements.

任何此類聲明都不能保證未來業績，今天的新聞稿中強調了可能影響我們業績的因素，其他因素包含在我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中。此類聲明基於截至本協議發布之日公司可獲得的信息，並可能因未來發展而發生變化。除法律要求外，本公司不承擔更新此類聲明的義務。

Our remarks this morning and in today's press release also contain non-GAAP financial measures within the meaning of Regulation G promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Included in such release is a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures with the comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

我們今天早上的言論和今天的新聞稿還包含美國證券交易委員會頒布的 G 條例含義內的非公認會計準則財務措施。此類發布中包括這些非公認會計原則財務指標與根據公認會計原則計算的可比較財務指標的調節表。

With that introduction, I'd like to turn the call over to Rob Kay. Please go ahead, Rob.

介紹完畢後，我想將電話轉給 Rob Kay。請繼續，羅布。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I am pleased to report a solid start to fiscal year 2024, delivering first quarter results that were in line with our expectations and came in above the broader market. Our performance this quarter is a direct testament to the work we have done in the last few years to ensure we are well positioned to compete and gain share, notwithstanding market conditions.

謝謝。大家早安，感謝您今天加入我們。我很高興地向大家報告 2024 財年的良好開局，第一季業績符合我們的預期，並且高於大盤。我們本季的業績直接證明了我們過去幾年所做的工作，以確保我們在競爭和贏得市場份額方面處於有利地位，無論市場狀況如何。

As we look ahead to the rest of the fiscal year, we are confident in our ability to continue driving operational excellence, advancing our strategic growth initiatives and investing in our business to drive value for our shareholders. We delivered $142.2 million in net sales this quarter, a decrease of 2.2% year-over-year.

展望本財年剩餘時間，我們對持續推動卓越營運、推動策略成長計畫以及投資業務以為股東創造價值的能力充滿信心。本季我們實現淨銷售額 1.422 億美元，年減 2.2%。

This slight decrease reflects both economic headwinds and the impact of inventory rationalization efforts among select retailers, which I will elaborate on later in my remarks. It is worth noting that third party market data, which we track, reported a decline of approximately 3.5% in point-of-sale revenues, indicating that Lifetime's top line performance exceeded the broader market across our categories.

這種小幅下降既反映了經濟逆風，也反映了特定零售商庫存合理化努力的影響，我將在稍後的演講中詳細闡述這一點。值得注意的是，我們追蹤的第三方市場數據顯示，銷售點收入下降了約 3.5%，這表明 Lifetime 的營收表現超過了我們各個類別的大盤。

Despite these macro pressures, we delivered strong bottom line growth, driven by gross margin of 40.5% for the quarter, exceeding expectations and surpassing that of our first quarter last year. This was a result of benefits from favorable product mix, new product introduction and stability in our supply chain.

儘管存在這些宏觀壓力，我們仍實現了強勁的獲利成長，本季毛利率達到 40.5%，超出預期，也超過了去年第一季的水平。這是得益於有利的產品組合、新產品的推出以及我們供應鏈的穩定性。

Further, our margin expansion and increased profitability, despite challenges in the underlying markets underscores our continued focus on disciplined expense management as we balanced investment in growth with delivering financial results. Beginning with our core US business, we delivered solid results in the first quarter and performed well in comparison to the market and our peers.

此外，儘管基礎市場面臨挑戰，但我們的利潤率擴張和獲利能力提高，凸顯了我們在平衡成長投資與實現財務績效的同時，繼續注重嚴格的費用管理。從我們的核心美國業務開始，我們在第一季取得了穩健的業績，與市場和同業相比表現良好。

As widely reported for the quarter, end markets across our industry experienced a dip in demand leading to decreased shipment volume among retailers. One factor which contributed to our decline in shipments was a lowering of in-stock levels at certain retailers, particularly in e-commerce.

正如本季廣泛報導的那樣，整個行業的終端市場需求下降，導致零售商的發貨量減少。導致我們出貨量下降的因素之一是某些零售商（尤其是電子商務零售商）的庫存水準下降。

Lifetime tracked a noticeable divergence between shipments and sell-through [remains] with these retailers, which speaks to the continued customer and consumer receptivity to our product. We are confident that as demand returns, we will see a corresponding rebound in shipment activity to normal level.

Lifetime 追蹤到這些零售商的出貨量和銷售率之間存在明顯差異，這表明客戶和消費者對我們產品的持續接受度。我們相信，隨著需求的恢復，我們將看到出貨活動相應反彈至正常水平。

I'll now discuss our international business, where we continue to invest, continue to focus on investing in growth and improving our performance across each of our end markets. While our investments broadly are bearing fruit and supporting share gains, the ongoing recessionary environment in the UK continues to put significant pressure on demand for the market.

我現在將討論我們的國際業務，我們將繼續投資，繼續專注於投資成長並提高我們在每個終端市場的表現。儘管我們的投資總體上取得了成果並支撐了股價上漲，但英國持續的經濟衰退環境繼續給市場需求帶來巨大壓力。

In the first quarter, we saw a substantial decline in UK order volume during the period, resulting from a temporary decrease in shipment volume from a major customer and sluggishness in the independent and specialty retail channels.

第一季度，由於主要客戶的出貨量暫時減少以及獨立和專業零售通路的低迷，英國訂單量大幅下降。

However, we expect volume return to normal levels in the coming months, particularly driven by recent incremental placement at national retailers and a rebound in the e-commerce channel, which we have begun to experience.

然而，我們預計未來幾個月銷售將恢復到正常水平，特別是受到近期全國零售商增量投放以及我們已經開始經歷的電子商務管道反彈的推動。

Turning to our other international markets. In Asia Pacific, we continue to realize the significant benefits of the change in our go-to-market strategy. In Australia and New Zealand, where we are consistently gaining new customers and seeing higher margins. Additionally, our markets throughout South-eastern Asia are benefiting from the infrastructure investments we've made over the last several quarters, and we are confident that the solid volume growth and pickup and sell-through rates we are seeing in those regions will continue throughout 2024.

轉向我們的其他國際市場。在亞太地區，我們繼續認識到市場進入策略變化的顯著好處。在澳洲和紐西蘭，我們不斷贏得新客戶並看到更高的利潤。此外，我們整個東南亞市場都受益於我們過去幾個季度進行的基礎設施投資，我們相信，我們在這些地區看到的銷量穩健增長以及提貨率和售出率將持續下去。

In the European markets and predominantly in our core UK market, after a strong start to the year, we saw a meaningful drop-off in shipments in March, driven by core retail sales across all channels and a shutdown in shipments to our largest customer, which is in the e-commerce channel for nearly a six week period.

在歐洲市場（主要是我們的核心英國市場），在今年強勁開局之後，由於所有通路的核心零售銷售以及向我們最大客戶的發貨停止，我們看到 3 月份的發貨量大幅下降，該產品在電子商務通路中已存在近六週的時間。

This had an adverse impact for our international segment results for the quarter, which were basically flat to prior year, but below our expectations. Although our international segment was not favorable in terms of contribution margin for the quarter, we remain confident this segment will produce a meaningful improvement in contribution margin for the full year.

這對我們本季的國際業務業績產生了不利影響，該業績與去年同期基本持平，但低於我們的預期。儘管我們的國際部門本季的邊際貢獻率並不理想，但我們仍然相信該部門將在全年的邊際貢獻方面產生有意義的改善。

Based upon the actions we have previously taken and some momentum we are starting to see in market share gains, which I will talk about in a moment.

根據我們之前採取的行動以及我們開始看到市場份額增長的一些勢頭，我稍後將討論這一點。

Turning to our growth initiatives. First, let me address our progress in our foodservice business. We are continuing to gain share through our Mikasa Hospitality product line and remain on a path to deliver $30 million in revenue from our foodservice business for the fiscal year. We remain excited about the opportunity in this business, which continues to gain traction with customers and build a book of business that will serve as a solid base for this foreseeable future.

轉向我們的成長舉措。首先，讓我談談我們在餐飲服務業務的進展。我們將繼續透過 Mikasa Hospitality 產品線獲得市場份額，並繼續致力於在本財年從餐飲服務業務中實現 3,000 萬美元的收入。我們對這項業務的機會仍然感到興奮，該業務繼續吸引客戶，並建立了一本業務手冊，為可預見的未來奠定了堅實的基礎。

In e-commerce, our sales for the current quarter were impacted by inventory rationalization efforts, as safety stock levels at our largest e-commerce customer were significantly reduced, leading to meaningful decreases in order volume. We believe this will be a temporary pause as sell-through data across all of our categories was strong and we picked up share in nearly all of our categories.

在電子商務方面，我們本季的銷售受到庫存合理化工作的影響，因為我們最大的電子商務客戶的安全庫存水準顯著降低，導致訂單量大幅下降。我們相信這將是暫時的停頓，因為我們所有類別的銷售數據都很強勁，而且我們幾乎所有類別的份額都增加了。

Accordingly, we expect to see robust performance in this channel throughout 2024. New product development is one of Lifetime's core capability that provides us with a competitive advantage. We remain excited about our robust product pipeline. Before, we have continued to invest in a challenging end market environment, which has further differentiated Lifetime for many of our competitors.

因此，我們預計該通路在 2024 年將表現強勁。新產品開發是 Lifetime 的核心能力之一，為我們提供了競爭優勢。我們對我們強大的產品線仍然感到興奮。在此之前，我們持續在充滿挑戰的終端市場環境中進行投資，這使 Lifetime 在許多競爭對手中進一步脫穎而出。

The Dolly Parton line of products we announced last year has now been introduced to our customers, and is garnering significant interest. While we originally expected some shipments in the second quarter due to a change in shipment mechanics, shipments will begin in the third quarter and at this point will exceed our initial estimates.

我們去年宣布的 Dolly Parton 系列產品現已介紹給我們的客戶，並引起了極大的興趣。雖然由於出貨機制的變化，我們最初預計第二季會有一些出貨，但出貨將從第三季開始，屆時將超出我們的初步估計。

Further, while this line is being launched in the dollar channel, we are having meaningful conversations with other retailers about expansion across several categories. Our KitchenAid line is gaining strong traction in our international end markets, notably in Continental Europe and Australia and New Zealand.

此外，雖然該系列產品在美元管道推出，但我們正在與其他零售商就跨多個類別的擴張進行有意義的對話。我們的 KitchenAid 系列在國際終端市場中獲得了強大的吸引力，特別是在歐洲大陸以及澳大利亞和紐西蘭。

As a result, there are numerous customers where we have either gained listings or expanded listings. Now that we have established a beachhead on shelf at these customers. We will see the benefit of this strategy this year.

因此，有許多客戶已經獲得了我們的清單或擴大了清單。現在我們已經在這些客戶的貨架上建立了灘頭堡。今年我們將看到這項策略的好處。

Looking ahead, we are preparing to announce a new partnership that we are particularly excited about for our international geographies. We expect to launch it likely this year, but no later than next year. More to come on that front, but we believe these new product introductions and brand will translate to top line growth in our international segment in 2025.

展望未來，我們正準備宣布一項新的合作夥伴關係，我們對我們的國際地區感到特別興奮。我們預計可能會在今年推出，但不遲於明年。這方面還會有更多內容，但我們相信這些新產品的推出和品牌將轉化為 2025 年我們國際市場的營收成長。

For our swell product line, we received good reception following our brand relaunch, as we sold through and out of many products delivering sales above expectations. Notably, these shipments were exclusively online, as we pursued this relaunch solely on swall.com and e-commerce platforms. We will continue to roll out this reenergized well product line across multiple channels and are pleased with the direction of this line.

對於我們豐富的產品線，我們在品牌重新推出後受到了良好的歡迎，因為我們的許多產品的銷售量超出了預期。值得注意的是，這些發貨完全是在線進行的，因為我們僅在 swall.com 和電子商務平台上進行了重新啟動。我們將繼續透過多個管道推出這條重新煥發活力的油井產品線，並對這條產品線的發展方向感到滿意。

Let me briefly touch on our supply chain. As I noted, stability in our supply chain was a contributor to the solid margin expansion we were able to deliver this quarter. To that end, we were pleased to lock in rates for our ocean freight contract at levels comparable to last year, offering us stability in these key cost factor.

讓我簡單談談我們的供應鏈。正如我所指出的，我們供應鏈的穩定性是我們本季實現利潤率穩健擴張的因素。為此，我們很高興將我們的海運合約費率鎖定在與去年相當的水平，從而為我們在這些關鍵成本因素方面提供了穩定性。

In Mexico, we are pleased with our continued progress, bringing our plastics manufacturing facility online. The facility remains on track to reach full production capacity this year. We continue to be active in many geographies, including Mexico and across Asia. Product supply diversification will remain a priority for us moving forward as part of our continued efforts to strengthen and de-risk our supply chain by moving towards sourcing 25% of our grid outside of China.

在墨西哥，我們對塑膠製造工廠的持續進步感到高興，使我們的塑膠製造工廠上線。該工廠仍有望在今年達到滿載生產。我們繼續活躍在許多地區，包括墨西哥和整個亞洲。產品供應多元化仍將是我們前進的優先事項，作為我們不斷努力加強和降低供應鏈風險的一部分，我們將把 25% 的電網採購到中國境外。

Turning now to our balance sheet. Our strong earnings and cash flows have provided us the flexibility to reduce our term loan down balance by almost $100 million over the past 12 months. While maintaining historical high levels of liquidity, we are pleased to be approaching our target leverage ratio of 3 times or below. Our continued focus on disciplined expense management has helped us maintain strong levels of liquidity above historical norms, which affords us ample flexibility with respect to capital allocation.

現在轉向我們的資產負債表。我們強勁的獲利和現金流使我們能夠靈活地在過去 12 個月內將定期貸款首付餘額減少近 1 億美元。在保持歷史高流動性水準的同時，我們很高興能夠接近 3 倍或以下的目標槓桿率。我們對嚴格費用管理的持續關注幫助我們保持了高於歷史正常水平的強勁流動性水平，這為我們在資本配置方面提供了充足的靈活性。

We continue to view the market as favorable for strategic acquisitions and remain open to opportunities for value-enhancing acquisitions that align with our priorities. We will continue to evaluate these opportunities as they arise.

我們仍然認為市場有利於策略性收購，並對符合我們優先事項的增值收購機會保持開放態度。我們將繼續評估這些機會的出現。

On that note, let me now turn to our financial guidance for 2024, which we issued in our release this morning. While we are closely monitoring the initial signs of pressure on retailer end market demand that we observed this quarter, our outlook reflects our confidence that we are positioned to continue executing and creating value regardless of market conditions.

就此而言，現在讓我談談我們今天早上發布的 2024 年財務指引。雖然我們正在密切關注本季觀察到的零售商終端市場需求壓力的初步跡象，但我們的前景反映了我們的信心，即無論市場狀況如何，我們都將繼續執行並創造價值。

We have growth opportunities already in our pipeline for the year and are eager to continue bringing new products to market and gaining share across categories. Our guidance is based on our belief that we can grow our top and bottom line through net market share expansion and diligent operational and expense management.

我們今年已經擁有成長機會，並渴望繼續將新產品推向市場並獲得跨類別的份額。我們的指導是基於我們的信念，即我們可以透過淨市場份額的擴大以及勤奮的營運和費用管理來提高我們的收入和利潤。

A rebound in our end markets will be accretive to our guidance. We note that due to timing factors, the expectation built into our full-year guidance is for a slight decline in the second quarter with growth in quarters three and four and for the full year.

我們終端市場的反彈將增加我們的指引。我們注意到，由於時間因素，我們對全年指引的預期是第二季略有下降，第三季和第四季以及全年將成長。

In summary, we are operating from a position of strength as we head into the remainder of fiscal 2024. With strong momentum across our business and the flexibility to invest in our continued growth, we are well positioned to capture opportunities as demand improves and create meaningful value for our shareholders.

總之，在進入 2024 財年剩餘時間之際，我們的營運處於強勢地位。憑藉我們業務的強勁勢頭以及持續成長投資的靈活性，我們處於有利位置，可以隨著需求的改善抓住機遇，並為股東創造有意義的價值。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Larry to discuss financials in more detail.

現在，我將把電話轉給拉里，更詳細地討論財務問題。

Thanks, Rob. As we reported this morning, net loss for the first quarter of 2024 was an improved $6.3 million or $0.29 per diluted share compared to $8.8 million or $0.41 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2023. Adjusted net loss was $3.2 million for the first quarter of 2024 or $0.15 per diluted share as compared to $2.6 million or $0.12 per diluted share in 2023.

謝謝，羅布。正如我們今天早上報導的那樣，2024 年第一季的淨虧損為 630 萬美元，即稀釋後每股 0.29 美元，而 2023 年第一季為 880 萬美元，即稀釋後每股 0.41 美元。2024 年第一季調整後淨虧損為 320 萬美元，即稀釋後每股虧損 0.15 美元，而 2023 年第一季調整後淨虧損為 260 萬美元，即稀釋後每股虧損 0.12 美元。

Income from operations was $1.8 million in the first quarter of '24 as compared to a loss of $1.8 million in '23 period. And adjusted income from operations for the first quarter '24 was $5.7 million to $3.4 million is it '23 period.

24 年第一季的營運收入為 180 萬美元，而 23 年第一季則虧損 180 萬美元。24 年第一季調整後的營運收入為 570 萬美元，23 年第一季為 340 萬美元。

Adjusted EBITDA for the trailing 12-month period ended March 31, 2024 was $59.5 million, an increase of $2.2 million from $57.3 million for full year 2023. Adjusted net loss, adjusted income from operations and adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures, which are reconciled to our GAAP financial measure in the earnings release. Following comments over the first quarter of 2024 and 2023, unless stated otherwise. Consolidated sales declined by 2.2%. US segment sales decreased by 2.3% to $130.5 million.

截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日的過去 12 個月期間的調整後 EBITDA 為 5,950 萬美元，比 2023 年全年的 5,730 萬美元增加了 220 萬美元。調整後的淨虧損、調整後的營運收入和調整後的 EBITDA 是非 GAAP 財務指標，這些指標與我們在收益發布中的 GAAP 財務指標進行了調整。除非另有說明，否則以下均為 2024 年第一季和 2023 年第一季的評論。綜合銷售額下降 2.2%。美國部門銷售額下降 2.3% 至 1.305 億美元。

As Rob commented, a key factor was lower in-stock levels at certain retailers. Within this segment, the decrease occurred in Home Solutions and kitchenware categories from solutions decline was due to lower hydration products and tailored bath measurement products. Kitchenware decline was from kitchen tools and barware partially offset by an increase for cutlery imports.

正如羅布評論的那樣，一個關鍵因素是某些零售商的庫存水平較低。在該細分市場中，家庭解決方案和廚具類別的解決方案下降是由於水合產品和客製化沐浴測量產品的減少所致。廚房用具的下降是由廚房工具和酒吧用具造成的，但被餐具進口的增加部分抵消。

The segment's decrease was partially offset by an increase in the tableware category due to a new warehouse club program. International segment sales were down 1.6% or $200,000 or $700,000 in constant USD to 11.7 million.

由於新的倉庫俱樂部計劃，餐具類別的成長部分抵消了該部門的下降。國際部門銷售額下降 1.6%，即 20 萬美元或 70 萬美元（以不變美元計算），至 1,170 萬輛。

As Rob commented, this slight decrease was due to the ongoing recessionary environment in the UK. They drop-off of shipments in March of a temporary decrease in shipments to a major customer. The decrease was partially offset by higher sales in Asia.

正如羅布評論的那樣，這一小幅下降是由於英國持續的經濟衰退環境造成的。由於主要客戶的出貨量暫時減少，他們在三月的出貨量有所下降。這一下降被亞洲銷售額的成長部分抵消。

Gross margin increased to 40.5% from 37%. US segment gross margin increased to 40.8% from 36.6%. The improvement was due to lower inbound freight costs and favorable product mix. International gross margin decreased to 35.9% from 42%, as the prior year benefited from a very favorable currency hedge. Excluding the hedge benefit, the current quarter's gross margin improved a better product mix and lower container costs.

毛利率從 37% 增至 40.5%。美國業務毛利率從 36.6% 增至 40.8%。這一改善歸因於入境貨運成本降低和有利的產品組合。由於上一年受益於非常有利的貨幣對沖，國際毛利率從 42% 下降至 35.9%。排除對沖收益，本季的毛利率改善了產品組合的改善和貨櫃成本的降低。

US distribution expenses as a percentage of goods shipped from its warehouses were 10.5% in both quarters. The significant inventory reduction during '23 resulted in second-order benefits of more efficient labor utilization and lower facility expenses in the current quarter. These benefits were offset by a temporary surcharge rate on domestic shipments.

兩個季度美國配送費用佔從其倉庫發貨的貨物的百分比均為 10.5%。23 年期間庫存的大幅減少帶來了本季勞動力利用效率提高和設施費用降低的二階效益。這些好處被國內運輸的臨時附加費所抵銷。

International segment distribution expenses as a percentage of goods shipped from its warehouses was 23.6% versus 24%. The improvement was due to lower outbound freight rates obtained from a new carrier. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 4.2% to $39.5 million. The US segment expenses increased by $1.5 million to $30.8 million as a percentage of net sales expenses increased to 23.6% from 21.9%.

國際分部配送費用佔從其倉庫出貨的貨物的百分比為 23.6% 比 24%。這一改善是由於新承運人的出境運費較低。銷售、一般和管理費用增加 4.2%，達到 3,950 萬美元。美國部門費用增加了 150 萬美元，達到 3,080 萬美元，佔淨銷售費用的百分比從 21.9% 增加到 23.6%。

The increase is driven by inflationary factors and mostly affecting employee expenses, the largest component of SG&A. Other increases included legal expenses and expenses related to start-up of the company's manufacturing operations in Mexico. Allowances for bad debt declined as last year included a charge of for bad debt and beyond.

這一成長是由通貨膨脹因素推動的，主要影響員工支出，而員工支出是銷售、管理和行政費用的最大組成部分。其他增長包括法律費用以及與該公司在墨西哥啟動製造業務相關的費用。壞帳準備金有所下降，因為去年包括了壞帳費用及其他費用。

International SG&A expense increased by $600,000 to $4.2 million as a percentage of net sales increased 35.9% and 30%. As in the US, the increase was driven by inflationary factors and mostly affected by employee expenses. The addition, the current quarter reflects an unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation.

國際 SG&A 費用增加了 60 萬美元，達到 420 萬美元，佔淨銷售額的百分比分別增加了 35.9% 和 30%。與美國一樣，這一增長是由通貨膨脹因素推動的，並且主要受到員工費用的影響。此外，本季反映出外幣換算的不利影響。

Unallocated corporate expenses decreased by $500,000 to $4.5 million due to lower professional expenses. Interest expense, excluding a mark-to-market adjustment for swaps, increased by $300,000 due to higher interest rates on our variable-rate debt, partially offset by lower average borrowings. For income taxes for the current quarter, the tax provision rate differs from the federal statutory impacts rate, primarily due to equity-based awards with a book expense exceeded the tax deduction and foreign losses for which no tax benefit was recognized.

由於專業費用減少，未分配的公司費用減少了 50 萬美元，達到 450 萬美元。由於我們的浮動利率債務利率上升，利息支出（不包括掉期的按市價調整）增加了 300,000 美元，部分被平均借款下降所抵消。對於本季的所得稅，稅務撥備率與聯邦法定影響率不同，主要是由於帳面費用超過稅收減免的股權獎勵以及未確認稅收優惠的海外損失。

Effective tax rate for the prior year's quarter differs from the federal statutory rate primarily due to state and local tax, as well as the impact of non-deductible expenses and foreign losses for which no tax benefit is recognised. Related to our 24.7% interest in Grupo Vasconia, the passive investment, we recorded a loss of $2.1 million.

上一季度的有效稅率與聯邦法定稅率不同，主要是由於州稅和地方稅，以及不可扣除費用和未確認稅收優惠的國外損失的影響。與我們在 Grupo Vasconia 24.7% 的被動投資權益相關，我們錄得 210 萬美元的損失。

Our investment in Grupo Vasconia is now fully written off. On April 29 of this year, that's going to be shareholders approved a resolution to a reorganization process in accordance with the law of commercial bankruptcy in Mexico. We will evaluate the impact of this on our accounting for the investment, noting that a loss of significant influence over Grupo Vasconia may result in a non-cash loss of $14.2 million that would be reclassified from the statement of other comprehensive loss to the statement of operations.

我們對 Grupo Vasconia 的投資現已全部註銷。今年4月29日，股東將根據墨西哥商業破產法批准重組程序決議。We will evaluate the impact of this on our accounting for the investment, noting that a loss of significant influence over Grupo Vasconia may result in a non-cash loss of $14.2 million that would be reclassified from the statement of other comprehensive loss to the statement of營運.

Turning to our balance sheet, we continue to continue to be quite strong. As of March 31, '24, our liquidity was approximately $125 million, which included cash plus availability under our credit facility and receivable purchase agreement. This was achieved notwithstanding the reduction of the term loan by $96 million over the past 12 months, plus $9.5 million of term loan original issue discount and fees. At quarter-end, our debt-to-adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio was 3.3 times versus 3.4 times at year-end '23, and significantly improved from 4.4 times at March 31 of 2023.

談到我們的資產負債表，我們繼續保持強勁。截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日，我們的流動資金約為 1.25 億美元，其中包括現金以及我們信貸安排和應收帳款購買協議下的可用資金。儘管過去 12 個月定期貸款減少了 9,600 萬美元，加上定期貸款原始發行折扣和費用 950 萬美元，但仍實現了這一目標。截至季末，我們的債務與調整後 EBITDA 槓桿率為 3.3 倍，而 2023 年末為 3.4 倍，較 2023 年 3 月 31 日的 4.4 倍顯著改善。

Finally, as discussed in the release, we are issuing financial guidance for the full year of 2024 as follows. Net sales of $690 to $730 million, adjusted income from operations of $49 million to $54 million, adjusted net income of $15 million to $17 million and adjusted EBITDA of $57.5 million to $62.5 million. This concludes our prepared comments.

最後，如新聞稿中所討論的，我們發布 2024 年全年財務指引如下。淨銷售額為 690 美元至 7.3 億美元，調整後營運收入為 4,900 萬美元至 5,400 萬美元，調整後淨利為 1,500 萬美元至 1,700 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 5,750 萬美元至 6,250 萬美元。我們準備好的評論到此結束。

Operator, please open the line for questions.

接線員，請開通提問線。

We are now opening the floor for question and answer session. (Operator Instructions)

我們現在開始問答環節。（操作員說明）

Anthony Lebiedzinski, Sidoti & Co.

萊別津斯基 (Anthony Lebiedzinski)，Sidoti & Co.

Good morning, and thank you for taking the questions. So, first, in regards to your first quarter commentary in international segment. So, it sounds like there was a big drop off there in March. As far as the core US segment, where the sales kind of more even by month? Or did you see any substantial variations in, just wondering about how the quarter slowed

早上好，感謝您提出問題。首先，關於您對國際部分第一季的評論。所以，聽起來三月有很大的下降。就美國核心市場而言，哪裡的銷售額按月比較均勻？或者您是否看到任何重大變化，只是想知道本季的放緩程度如何

Unrelated, but we did see a softer March and a stronger start started the year in the US markets as well. But the UK business, while the UK market is sluggish as we talked about. They were beating and having a very strong January and February, then primarily driven by being shut down by their largest customer. No shipments had a very bad March and that put them into the slight decline.

無關，但我們確實看到美國市場三月走軟，年初也走強。但是英國業務，雖然英國市場正如我們談到的那樣低迷。他們在一月和二月表現出色，表現非常強勁，然後主要是受到最大客戶關閉的推動。三月的出貨量沒有非常糟糕，這導致它們略有下降。

Understood, okay. And then, Rob, in terms of your commentary about the second quarter sales being down. Is that mostly because of the Dolly Parton merchandise shifting from April until to the third quarter? Or is there anything else driving that?

明白了，好吧。然後，羅布，關於您對第二季度銷售額下降的評論。這主要是因為多莉帕頓的商品從四月轉移到了第三季嗎？或者還有其他什麼因素在推動這一點嗎？

It's really not related to that, Anthony. While we initially expected to ship, start shipping in the second quarter, it wasn't substantial. It's just that we're going to ship, nothing or maybe 100,000 were expected to ship, maybe half a million or so. So, it is just timing and it's informational. The reason for decline is just seasonality and how the business rolled in last year versus this year in terms of different programs.

這確實與此無關，安東尼。雖然我們最初預計在第二季開始發貨，但數量並不多。只是我們要出貨，什麼都沒有，或預計出貨 10 萬，也許 50 萬左右。所以，這只是時機，而且是資訊性的。下降的原因只是季節性以及去年與今年的業務在不同項目方面的表現。

So, it's just timing of how last year played out versus this year. So, the comps are different quarter-to-quarter, and that's why you'll see that drop off and then pick up, not related to the Dolly Parton's launch.

所以，這只是去年與今年的情況對比的時間安排。因此，季度與季度的比較有所不同，這就是為什麼您會看到先下降後上升的原因，這與 Dolly Parton 的推出無關。

Okay, thanks for clarifying that, Rob. And then certainly it was nice to see the gross margin improving here in the quarter. How sustainable is that improvement if you think going forward?

好的，謝謝你的澄清，羅布。當然，很高興看到本季毛利率有所改善。如果您認為未來這種改進的可持續性如何？

No, that's, that was timing. Happy to do with how we recognize in inventory, the savings that hit the first quarter. We don't, that's not going to, we maintain for the balance of the year.

不，那是，那是時機。很高興我們如何在庫存中確認第一季的節省。我們不會，也不會，我們會在今年剩下的時間裡維持這一現狀。

Okay. (multiple speakers)

好的。（多個發言者）

So, most of the talking about the start to be able to talk about the gross margin rate?

那麼，最開始談論的能不能談談毛利率呢？

The comment about gross margin correctly, I was talking about the gross margin, right?

關於毛利率的評論正確，我說的是毛利率，對吧？

So it will be it'll be it should be better because we had a big pickup in this first quarter, so should be better than last year, but it's not going to be sustained at that level for the remainder of the year.

所以應該會更好，因為我們在第一季有很大的回升，所以應該比去年更好，但在今年剩餘時間不會維持在這個水平。

Right, year-over-year, there will be a higher side, and as we've talked and we've locked in things, but we're not going to see an increasing trend.

是的，年復一年，將會有一個更高的一面，正如我們所討論的，我們已經鎖定了一些東西，但我們不會看到成長的趨勢。

Don't expect 40% for the full year.

不要指望全年增長 40%。

Okay. That should clarify that. And then last time I will pass it on.

好的。這應該可以澄清這一點。然後最後一次我會傳遞它。

That's reflected in our guidance.

這反映在我們的指導上。

Of course. So, I guess my last question before I pass it on to others is that you talked about the potential acquisitions, just wondering how strong is your appetite for that? And then in terms of valuation multiples, what you're seeing out there in the marketplace now?

當然。所以，我想在向其他人傳遞之前我的最後一個問題是您談到了潛在的收購，只是想知道您對此的興趣有多強烈？那麼就估值倍數而言，您現在在市場上看到了什麼？

Our appetite is strong, but as we've done, as you've seen us done do. We'll maintain discipline. So there's a lot we could have been announcing to the public for a while now, but we just maintain discipline, and we're not willing to do something unless we're confident in it.

我們的胃口很強烈，但正如我們所做的那樣，正如您所看到的那樣。我們會維持紀律。因此，我們本可以在一段時間內向公眾宣布很多事情，但我們只是維持紀律，除非我們對此有信心，否則我們不願意做某事。

We have seen valuations being much more attractive than they've been for over a decade, particularly for strategic because, financials are less competitive in this market. Cost of debt is higher and the availability of debt is lower. So, they have to put in more equity therefore, valuations are down for them, and that's helped the whole market and giving an edge to strategic.

我們看到估值比十多年來更具吸引力，特別是對於策略而言，因為金融在這個市場上的競爭力較低。債務成本較高，而債務的可用性較低。因此，他們必須投入更多的股權，因此他們的估值下降，這有助於整個市場並賦予策略優勢。

So, we are interested, the availability of product is out there. In many cases, again, an advantage for a strategic as you need people who can add value and not on a stand-alone basis. So, we are active. We are looking, but we'll maintain our discipline.

所以，我們很感興趣，產品的可用性就在那裡。在許多情況下，這也是戰略優勢，因為您需要能夠增加價值的人，而不是單獨的人。所以，我們很活躍。我們正在尋找，但我們會保持我們的紀律。

That's good to hear. And thank you very much and best of luck.

聽起來還不錯。非常感謝你，祝你好運。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Brian McNamara, Canaccord Genuity

麥克納馬拉 (Brian McNamara)，Canaccord Genuity

Good morning, guys, thanks for taking the question. I guess my first one, as we look at, you know, the guidance applies a pickup of growth on the top line this year, which kind of investors have been waiting for after, I guess, Q2, like when we look at age to forward, should we kind of return to more consistent, predictive top-line growth from your perspective and kind of how should that look like?

早上好，夥計們，感謝您提出問題。我想我的第一個，正如我們所看到的，你知道，該指導意見適用於今年收入增長的回升，我猜，第二季度之後，投資者一直在等待，就像我們考慮年齡到展望未來，從您的角度來看，我們是否應該回歸更一致、更具預測性的營收成長？

Brian, as we talked about, there's still not tremendous visibility and we're not assuming big growth in the end markets and have not factored that into our guidance. If that happens, that's accretive business driven by stuff that we have in the pipeline. So, new product introduction and new launches and gaining share. It is what is driving our growth in the second half.

布萊恩，正如我們所說，仍然沒有巨大的可見性，我們並沒有假設終端市場會大幅成長，也沒有將其納入我們的指導中。如果發生這種情況，我們正在開發的產品就會推動業務成長。因此，新產品的推出和新產品的推出並贏得了份額。這是推動我們下半年成長的動力。

Okay. And then on, it's probably a broader question, but your stock is trading at about 9,000 shares since the market opened on an earnings day. So, but, Larry, you've been pretty vocal about your view that the stock's undervalued, but if it makes sense to be a public company. I know it's a big question here, but investors can't buy it because of the liquidity. So, I'm just curious how you guys think about that in terms of getting the value there? You work hard to and that you think you deserve?

好的。然後，這可能是一個更廣泛的問題，但自收益日開盤以來，您的股票交易價格約為 9,000 股。所以，但是，拉里，你一直直言不諱地表達了你的觀點，即該股票被低估了，但作為一家上市公司是否有意義。我知道這是一個大問題，但由於流動性問題，投資者無法購買。所以，我只是好奇你們如何看待在那裡獲得價值？你努力工作並且你認為你值得嗎？

Yes, we do think there's an intrinsic value gap and you know, management and the Board will assess different paths to realize that value, but we do recognize that gap that needs to be addressed.

是的，我們確實認為存在內在價值差距，你知道，管理階層和董事會將評估實現該價值的不同途徑，但我們確實認識到需要解決這一差距。

And then my last one is, I guess, what products you have out in the marketplace right now that has been surprises, both pleasant and maybe not so good. And kind of what's your relative hit or miss rate in a typical year in terms of new product launches?

我想我的最後一個問題是，目前市面上有哪些產品令人驚喜，既令人愉快，也可能不太好。就新產品發布而言，典型年份中您的相對成功率或錯過率是多少？

That's hard to answer. We launch so much and in so many different levels. Some of it is just what we refer to as lipstick on the pig and we're just taken something that we used to sell in blue we sell right now. And there's different reasons why we're launching things. But see if you look at beautiful, if you look at totally whitespace, I should say, we launched beautiful multiple categories.

這很難回答。我們在很多不同的層面上推出了很多東西。其中一些就是我們所說的豬身上的口紅，我們只是拿了一些我們以前賣的藍色的東西，現在我們賣。我們推出產品有不同的原因。但是看看你是否看美麗，如果你看完全空白，我應該說，我們推出了美麗的多個類別。

It is growing highly successful and grown where we already had major share at Walmart in terms of cutlery. But we also launched in tools in Walmart, where we are the number one provider as well. It did not do so well. So, we're no longer selling that, right? So, you've got to hit (inaudible) right in that one. You were highly confident in Dolly, which is all incremental. It gets us into a new channel, pretty much on pace. We don't sell, which is dollar channel.

它正在變得非常成功，我們已經在沃爾瑪的餐具方面佔據了主要份額。但我們也在沃爾瑪推出了工具，我們也是沃爾瑪的第一大供應商。但它的表現並不那麼好。所以，我們不再賣那個了，對吧？所以，你必須擊中（聽不清楚）這一點。你對多莉非常有信心，這一切都是漸進的。它讓我們進入了一個新的管道，而且速度非常快。我們不賣，這是美元通路。

But we're very bullish on the Dolly line based upon the tremendous feedback we've gotten from everyone we speak to and demand and stuff that we're not even selling it. So, that doesn't guarantee success. But we think that again, we're very bullish.

但我們非常看好 Dolly 系列產品，因為我們從每個與我們交談過的人那裡得到了巨大的反饋，需求以及我們甚至不出售的東西。所以，這並不能保證成功。但我們再次認為，我們非常樂觀。

We think that will work and there were things that we launched in the last year, which didn't. They were much smaller. So, we didn't talk to them fortunately, our biggest one, that were launching seems to have very good traction.

我們認為這會起作用，去年我們推出了一些東西，但沒有。它們要小得多。因此，幸運的是，我們沒有與他們交談，我們正在推出的最大的一個似乎具有非常好的吸引力。

Alright, I'll leave it there. Thanks a lot, guys. Best of luck.

好吧，我就把它留在那裡。非常感謝，夥計們。祝你好運。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Linda Weiser, Davidson.

琳達‧韋瑟，戴維森。

Yes, hi. So, I was curious in the market, where the consumer is particularly weak, I guess is the UK especially. Are you thinking about making some changes to your merchandising plans, your product mix, your marketing plans like maybe introducing more lower price point items?

是的，嗨。所以，我對消費者特別疲軟的市場感到好奇，我想尤其是英國。您是否正在考慮對您的銷售計劃、產品組合、行銷計劃進行一些改變，例如推出更多低價產品？

I know that your items are relatively low and price point anyways. But just how are you changing your plans? I mean, given sort of the sustaining consumer weakness in some regions?

我知道你們的商品價格相對較低。但你要如何改變你的計劃呢？我的意思是，考慮到某些地區的消費者持續疲軟？

Yes, well using, starting with the UK that you talked about. That business historically was very dependent on independents and specialty (technical difficulty) And what we've done is to reposition what we're selling and where we're selling. So, it's picked up and we're doing more with (inaudible) and next and national retailers there we're doing a similar strategy in Continental Europe, picking up Attica and car four and larger players in the major geographies.

是的，很好用，從你談到的英國開始。這項業務歷史上非常依賴獨立人士和專業（技術難度），我們所做的是重新定位我們銷售的產品和銷售地點。因此，它得到了提升，我們正在與（聽不清楚）下一步和全國零售商做更多的事情，我們正在歐洲大陸採取類似的策略，在主要地區收購Attica 和car four 以及更大的參與者。

So, it's really a strategy, it's more shifted to channel that has a price implication in terms of yourself points, as well and what you're selling. So, we had to have the right product for that. Secondarily is, we've been exploiting because, we didn't always have KitchenAid internationally when we got that, we're now, we've been selling that and we're now positioning and that's giving us a (inaudible)check as many, particularly retailers and larger retailers are very interested and want the KitchenAid brand.

所以，這實際上是一種策略，它更多地轉向對你自己的積分以及你所銷售的產品有價格影響的管道。因此，我們必須為此擁有合適的產品。其次，我們一直在利用，因為當我們獲得KitchenAid時，我們並不總是在國際上擁有KitchenAid，我們現在，我們一直在銷售它，我們現在正在定位，這給了我們一個（聽不清）檢查許多人，特別是零售商和大型零售商都非常感興趣並想要KitchenAid 品牌。

And now that we're getting that in there, we're now selling our complete portfolio. So, those are two main prongs that we've implemented, which is different from how we did business in the past.

現在我們已經把它放在那裡了，我們現在正在出售我們的完整產品組合。因此，這是我們實施的兩個主要方面，這與我們過去的業務方式不同。

Okay. And then Mikasa hospitality, is there any way of telling us roughly the sales level roughly in 2023? And then what kind of growth rate you're expecting in 2024?

好的。那麼三笠熱情好客，有什麼辦法可以告訴我們2023年大致的銷售水準嗎？那麼您預計 2024 年的成長率是多少？

So, yes, our foodservice business was in the neighborhood of $20 million, of which Mikasa hospitality was a very small piece of that for 2023. It'll grow five fold in 2024 at a minimum based upon what we believe we've already achieved. That means the Mikasa hospitality piece, the rest of the business will grow like 5%, and that combined will get us, we believe, close to $30 million that we talk.

所以，是的，我們的餐飲服務業務約為 2000 萬美元，其中 Mikasa 酒​​吧業務在 2023 年的業務中只佔很小的一部分。根據我們認為已經取得的成就，到 2024 年，這一數字將至少增加五倍。這意味著三笠酒店業務和其他業務將成長 5% 左右，我們相信，這三者加起來將為我們帶來接近 3,000 萬美元的收入。

So, for $30 million total in 2024?

那麼，2024 年總計 3,000 萬美元？

Yes.

是的。

Okay, great. And then--

好的，太好了。進而 -

Versus $20 million in '23, right? Linda?

與 23 年的 2000 萬美元相比，對嗎？琳達？

Yes, that's right, thank you. And then, sorry, I missed this a little bit or I didn't understand. Did Dolly Parton, you said there is a possibility of expanding it. Did you say into another retailer in the dollar channel or even beyond the dollar channel? I didn't quite catch that.

是的，沒錯，謝謝。然後，抱歉，我有點錯過了，或者我不明白。多莉·帕頓（Dolly Parton）嗎？你是說進入美元通路甚至美元通路之外的另一家零售商嗎？我不太明白。

Yes. So, when we launched Dolly, it's not an exclusive in the dollar channel, but we did, it allowed us to get into the dollar channel. So, we launched it first in the dollar channel with one retail large player now. We are in conversations to sell it in many other to many other customers that we traditionally do business with outside the dollar channel.

是的。所以，當我們推出Dolly時，它並不是美元管道的獨家產品，但我們做到了，它讓​​我們進入了美元管道。因此，我們現在首先在美元通路與一家零售大型企業推出了它。我們正在討論將其出售給許多其他客戶，而我們傳統上是在美元管道之外與之開展業務的。

Okay. And what would be the timing of the potential expansion? Would it be now until next year 2025 or?

好的。潛在擴張的時間是什麼時候？是從現在到明年 2025 年還是？

There might be some that shifts likely 2025, yes. But there's a chance of some in 2024, but most likely 2025.

是的，到 2025 年可能會有一些變化。但 2024 年有可能發生，但最有可能是 2025 年。

Okay. And then I was curious on the cost side, you mentioned of way that you had contracted for that to be fairly flattish going in the next year, which is good. What are you seeing more on the commodity side, just given that there's been some little increase in oil and things like that, or what are you seeing in the rest of the cost base?

好的。然後我對成本方面很好奇，你提到你已經簽訂合同，明年的成本將相當平穩，這很好。鑑於石油和類似產品略有增加，您在大宗商品方面看到了什麼，或者您在其他成本基礎上看到了什麼？

We have been very effective in reducing our cost of goods sold, not just in freight, and we don't see inflationary pressures on that. And in this end market environment, it's kind of a buyer's market and you can translate that into being more aggressive on costs.

我們在降低銷售成本方面非常有效，而不僅僅是運費，而且我們沒有看到通膨壓力。在這個終端市場環境中，這是一種買方市場，您可以將其轉化為更積極地降低成本。

Okay, that's it for me. Thank you very much.

好吧，我就這樣了。非常感謝。

Thank you, Linda.

謝謝你，琳達。

As of right now, we don't have any raised hands. I'd like to hand back over to Rob Kay for final remarks.

截至目前，我們還沒有任何人舉手。我想把最後的發言權交給羅布凱。

Thank you, and thank you for to everyone for spending your time and listening on our call and we look forward to continue dialogue. Have a great day.

謝謝你們，也謝謝大家花時間收聽我們的電話，我們期待繼續對話。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you so much for attending today's call. Have a wonderful day. You may now disconnect.

非常感謝您參加今天的電話會議。祝你有美好的一天。您現在可以斷開連線。