Littelfuse Inc (LFUS) 2015 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the Littelfuse Incorporated first quarter 2015 conference call. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, I will turn the call over to Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gordon Hunter. Please go ahead, sir.

大家好，歡迎參加 Littelfuse 公司 2015 年第一季電話會議。今天的通話正在錄音。此時，我將把電話轉給董事長、總裁兼執行長戈登‧亨特先生。請繼續，先生。

Thank you and good morning. Welcome to the Littelfuse first quarter 2015 conference call. And as always, joining me today is Phil Franklin, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. As you saw in the news release, we had a solid first quarter, despite some headwinds. Electronics and automotive continue to perform well.

謝謝你，早安。歡迎參加 Littelfuse 2015 年第一季電話會議。像往常一樣，今天與我一起出席的是我們的執行副總裁兼財務長菲爾富蘭克林 (Phil Franklin)。正如您在新聞稿中看到的那樣，儘管存在一些阻力，但我們第一季的表現仍然穩健。電子和汽車行業繼續表現良好。

The electrical business had another weak quarter, but it is starting to show signs of improvement. I'll now turn the call over to Phil, who will give the Safe Harbor statement and discuss the first quarter in more detail.

電力業務又經歷了一個疲軟的季度，但已開始顯示出改善的跡象。我現在將把電話轉給菲爾，他將發表安全港聲明並更詳細地討論第一季的情況。

Thanks, Gordon, and good morning. Before we proceed, let me remind everyone that comments made during this call include forward-looking statements based on the environment as we currently see it and as such, do include various risks and uncertainties. Please refer to our press release and SEC filings for more information on the specific risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements.

謝謝戈登，早安。在我們繼續之前，讓我提醒大家，本次電話會議中發表的評論包括基於我們目前所看到的環境的前瞻性陳述，因此確實包含各種風險和不確定性。請參閱我們的新聞稿和 SEC 文件，以了解有關可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中表達的結果存在重大差異的具體風險因素的更多資​​訊。

Sales for the first quarter of 2015 were $210 million, which was up 2% year-over-year and up 6% in constant currency. GAAP earnings for the first quarter of 2015 were $0.88 per diluted share. Excluding special items, earnings for the first quarter were $1.08 per diluted share, which was above the midpoint of our guidance despite further weakening of the euro during the quarter.

2015 年第一季銷售額為 2.1 億美元，年增 2%，以固定匯率計算成長 6%。 2015 年第一季 GAAP 攤薄收益為每股 0.88 美元。不計特殊項目，第一季稀釋後每股收益為 1.08 美元，儘管歐元在本季度進一步走弱，但仍高於我們指導的中點。

We were able to offset this additional euro headwind with stronger electronics and automotive sales and lower SG&A spending. Plant operations are improving on pace with our expectations. We also had a good start to the year for cash flow in what is typically our most challenging quarter. Cash provided by operating activities was $23.2 million compared to $11.5 million for the prior year.

我們能夠透過更強勁的電子產品和汽車銷售以及更低的銷售、管理和管理支出來抵消額外的歐元阻力。工廠營運的改善符合我們的預期。在通常是我們最具挑戰性的季度，我們的現金流也取得了良好的開局。經營活動提供的現金為 2,320 萬美元，而前一年為 1,150 萬美元。

As expected, we also saw capital spending increase to $12 million in the first quarter compared to $6 million in the prior year. This increase was mostly related to spending for the new Philippines plant and capacity for new automotive products. Now, I will turn it back to Gordon for more color on business performance and market trends.

正如預期的那樣，我們還看到第一季的資本支出從去年同期的 600 萬美元增加到 1,200 萬美元。這一增長主要與菲律賓新工廠的支出和新汽車產品的產能有關。現在，我將把它轉回給戈登，以獲取有關業務績效和市場趨勢的更多資訊。

Thanks, Phil. Let me start with some additional comments on the currency headwinds, particularly the euro. As you all know, this is a macro issue for many other companies as well and as we expected, the impact was the greatest in our automotive business. Fortunately, however, currency hasn't impacted car production in the US, which remains strong, and our automotive business is also benefiting from the European exports into the US.

謝謝，菲爾。首先讓我對貨幣逆風（尤其是歐元）進行一些補充評論。眾所周知，這對許多其他公司來說也是一個宏觀問題，正如我們預期的那樣，對我們的汽車業務影響最大。然而幸運的是，貨幣並沒有影響美國的汽車生產，美國的汽車生產仍然強勁，我們的汽車業務也受惠於歐洲對美國的出口。

We will continue to monitor the currency situation very closely, but our primary focus is on those things we can control: our business and the successful execution of our long-term strategies. As part of this focus, last quarter, we discussed our initiatives to help offset the currency headwinds by implementing tighter expense controls and selective price increases where possible, depending on the competitive environment and we're making progress on both fronts.

我們將繼續密切關注貨幣狀況，但我們的主要重點是我們可以控制的事情：我們的業務和我們長期策略的成功執行。作為這一重點的一部分，上個季度，我們討論了透過實施更嚴格的費用控制和在可能的情況下選擇性提價來幫助抵消貨幣逆風的舉措，這取決於競爭環境，我們在這兩方面都取得了進展。

We're also continuing to address the operational performance issues we discussed last quarter. Corrective actions are underway and key operational metrics show a solid improvement. We're pleased with the results of our spending control and cost reduction projects to date, but we still have more work to do. With that background, let's move on to the segment reports, starting with our electronics business, which accounts for about 47% of total Littelfuse sales.

我們也將繼續解決上季討論的營運績效問題。糾正措施正在進行中，關鍵營運指標顯示出紮實的改善。我們對迄今為止的支出控制和成本削減項目的結果感到滿意，但我們仍有更多工作要做。有了這個背景，讓我們繼續看細分報告，首先從我們的電子業務開始，該業務約佔 Littelfuse 總銷售額的 47%。

First quarter electronics sales of $99.4 million were up 4% over the prior-year quarter and as we anticipated, sales were also up sequentially with a 3% increase. We saw sequential growth in all regions in constant currency. Normal seasonality and our ongoing design wins and market share gains contributed to this growth. Electronics channel inventories were approximately flat from the end of the fourth quarter to the end of the first quarter.

第一季電子產品銷售額為 9,940 萬美元，比去年同期增長 4%，正如我們預期的那樣，銷售額也環比增長 3%。以固定匯率計算，我們看到所有地區都持續成長。正常的季節性因素以及我們持續的設計勝利和市場份額的成長促成了這一增長。從第四季末到第一季末，電子通路庫存大致持平。

The level of channel inventory and our book to bill of 1.06 at the end of the first quarter are consistent with where we typically are at this point in the year. Year-over-year sales were also up across most product lines. Sales continue to be strong in many of our core markets. In the consumer segment, we had significant wins in products using touchscreens and in the display segment. Touchscreens have been growing in popularity for many years.

第一季末的通路庫存水準和訂單出貨比為 1.06，與今年此時的通常水準一致。大多數產品線的年銷售額也有所上升。我們許多核心市場的銷售持續強勁。在消費領域，我們在使用觸控螢幕的產品和顯示器領域取得了重大勝利。觸控螢幕多年來一直越來越受歡迎。

By definition, these screens are touched by human hands, so the position sensing lines require ESD protection using diode arrays and multi-layer varistors. Our growth in this area has been from design-in work with key OEMs, as well as working with makers of the integrated circuits that drive the touchscreens. These integrated circuit manufacturers normally incorporate ESD protection schemes into their reference designs, which include Littelfuse products.

根據定義，這些螢幕是由人手觸摸的，因此位置感測線需要使用二極體陣列和多層壓敏電阻進行 ESD 保護。我們在這一領域的成長得益於與主要 OEM 廠商的設計合作，以及與驅動觸控螢幕的積體電路製造商的合作。這些積體電路製造商通常將 ESD 保護方案納入其參考設計中，其中包括 Littelfuse 產品。

A recent reference design win generated about $250,000 in revenues in the first quarter for our diode array of products and we expect our total revenues for diode arrays from this design alone to be about $1 million for the full year. In the display segment, as the new design architectures get more complex, the circuit boards also become more sensitive to surges. There's a trend towards using fuses that can withstand higher power surges without having to increase the current ratings.

最近贏得的一項參考設計在第一季為我們的二極體陣列產品帶來了約 25 萬美元的收入，我們預計僅此設計帶來的二極體陣列全年總收入約為 100 萬美元。在顯示領域，隨著新的設計架構變得更加複雜，電路板對突波也變得更加敏感。目前的趨勢是使用能夠承受更高電湧而無需增加額定電流的保險絲。

This requires some unique fuse design characteristics and our new series of cartridge fuses meet this need. Shortly after launching the new cartridge fuse line, we quickly secured a design win with a well-known LCD LED TV manufacturer in Korea. We began shipping product for this win in the first quarter and we expect about $500,000 in revenue in 2015 from this customer alone. The need for higher surge tolerance is a common design challenge for this application and we anticipate that other TV manufacturers will also choose these new fuses.

這需要一些獨特的保險絲設計特性，我們的新系列保險絲盒可以滿足這一需求。在推出新的盒式保險絲系列後不久，我們很快就贏得了韓國一家知名 LCD LED 電視製造商的設計勝利。我們在第一季開始為這場勝利交付產品，我們預計 2015 年僅來自該客戶的收入就約為 50 萬美元。需要更高的突波耐受能力是該應用的常見設計挑戰，我們預計其他電視製造商也將選擇這些新型保險絲。

Another traditional market segment we haven't discussed recently is the PC market and here, too, there's an emerging trend as PC manufacturers add HDMI ports, as well as USB 3.1 ports to their new machines. Both of these ports need ESD protection, as well as higher levels of over current protection for the higher power needed to run many of today's popular accessories. This trend is creating upside opportunities for Littelfuse.

我們最近沒有討論的另一個傳統市場領域是 PC 市場，這裡也出現了一個新興趨勢，因為 PC 製造商在他們的新機器上添加了 HDMI 連接埠和 USB 3.1 連接埠。這兩個連接埠都需要 ESD 保護，以及更高等級的過流保護，以提供運行當今許多流行配件所需的更高功率。這一趨勢為 Littelfuse 創造了上漲機會。

One recent design win for a top China PC maker will generate about $1.5 million to $2 million in diode array revenues this year for ESD protection alone. Last quarter, we discussed our strategy to provide greater performance in smaller size devices and our two new surface mount fuse families that are the smallest 125 volt and 250 volt fast acting fuses in the market today. In the LED light bulb segment, these new smaller footprint fuses allow bulb designers to meet both safety and efficiency standards, while maintaining standard light bulb package sizes.

中國一家頂級 PC 製造商最近贏得的設計，今年僅用於 ESD 保護的二極體陣列收入將達到約 150 萬至 200 萬美元。上季度，我們討論了在更小尺寸的設備中提供更高性能的策略，以及我們的兩個新的表面貼裝保險絲系列，它們是當今市場上最小的 125 伏特和 250 伏特快速熔斷保險絲。在 LED 燈泡領域，這些新型較小尺寸的保險絲使燈泡設計人員能夠滿足安全和效率標準，同時保持標準燈泡封裝尺寸。

During the first quarter, we secured a design win for one of our 125 volt small footprint fuses in a small size LED bulb that is used in many homes and businesses. We expect more than $100,000 in revenues from this one application and anticipate the new fuse line in total will generate about $1.5 million in revenues in 2015. As we've discussed on prior calls, packaged overvoltage protection for outdoor LED fixtures continues to be a strong and growing market for us.

在第一季度，我們贏得了 125 伏特小尺寸保險絲的設計，安裝在許多家庭和企業使用的小尺寸 LED 燈泡中。我們預計這項應用的收入將超過10 萬美元，並預計新保險絲系列在2015 年總共將產生約150 萬美元的收入。保護仍然是一個強大的市場。

This past quarter, we won new business for our new series-connected overvoltage module. This module is unique in that it offers traditional protection against overvoltages such as power surges and lightning, but it also notifies maintenance personnel if the module is damaged. It does this by interrupting power to the fixture, providing a clear indication that maintenance is required. Revenue from this recent design win is expected to exceed $500,000.

上個季度，我們的新型串聯過壓模組贏得了新業務。該模組的獨特之處在於，它提供傳統的過電壓保護，例如電湧和雷擊，但如果模組損壞，它也會通知維護人員。它透過中斷燈具的電源來實現這一點，並提供需要維護的明確指示。最近贏得的設計收入預計將超過 50 萬美元。

The push towards LED streetlights is not only occurring in North America and Europe, but in many countries in Asia as well; however, different countries have different protection specifications for LED street lighting and we are designing products to meet these requirements globally. Our total sales into the outdoor lighting segment are about $3 million today and are expected to double in the next one to two years.

LED路燈的推廣不僅出現在北美和歐洲，也出現在亞洲許多國家；然而，不同國家對LED路燈的保護規範不同，我們正在設計產品以滿足全球這些要求。目前，我們戶外照明領域的總銷售額約為 300 萬美元，預計在未來一到兩年內將翻倍。

This is on top of the $8 million to $9 million of annual revenue we generate from the indoor LED segment. So as you can see, we are well-positioned in this growing market. We're also seeing some nice opportunities in a category we haven't discussed before: electric scooters. And while we don't see many of these in North America yet, there's a push by many governments across Asia to encourage the use of electric scooters to reduce air pollution.

這還不包括我們從室內 LED 領域獲得的 800 萬至 900 萬美元的年收入。正如您所看到的，我們在這個不斷增長的市場中處於有利地位。我們還在之前沒有討論過的類別中看到了一些不錯的機會：電動滑板車。雖然我們在北美還沒有看到很多這樣的情況，但亞洲許多國家的政府都在努力鼓勵使用電動滑板車來減少空氣污染。

This is a major undertaking as gasoline-powered two wheelers are the primary mode of transportation for millions of people in Asia today. The opportunity for Littelfuse is providing protection in the battery management and charging systems of the electric scooters. As part of a recent design win, we are providing both fuse and semiconductor products to a scooter maker in Taiwan that will generate about $250,000 of revenue for 2015.

這是一項重大任務，因為汽油動力兩輪車是當今亞洲數百萬人的主要交通方式。 Littelfuse 的機會是為電動滑板車的電池管理和充電系統提供保護。作為最近設計勝利的一部分，我們正在向台灣一家踏板車製造商提供保險絲和半導體產品，該製造商 2015 年將產生約 25 萬美元的收入。

Moving on to the electronic sensor business, we had a nice win during the first quarter with a Chinese manufacturer of humidifiers where our Reed switch-based sensor is used to manage the water level. This win is worth over $150,000 a year and our goal is to extend this application to other customers, which could potentially add another $500,000 a year in new business. In addition to the examples I've highlighted, we continue to win new business for our broad line of circuit protection and sensing products at many customers across a wide variety of applications. These range from vacuum cleaners and pool and spa controls to irrigation systems, air purifiers, and many other segments. So to summarize, this was another good quarter for the electronics business. We are building on our established expertise and continuing to develop innovative new products that meet evolving customer needs.

轉向電子感測器業務，我們在第一季與一家中國加濕器製造商取得了不錯的勝利，我們的乾簧管感測器用於管理水位。這場勝利每年價值超過 15 萬美元，我們的目標是將這個應用程式擴展到其他客戶，這可能會每年再增加 50 萬美元的新業務。除了我強調的例子之外，我們還繼續為廣泛的電路保護和感測產品系列為各種應用的許多客戶贏得新業務。這些範圍從吸塵器、泳池和水療控製到灌溉系統、空氣淨化器和許多其他領域。總而言之，這是電子業務的另一個好季度。我們正在以現有的專業知識為基礎，繼續開發創新的新產品，以滿足不斷變化的客戶需求。

Next is our automotive business, which accounts for about 40% of total Littelfuse sales. Automotive sales of $84.1 million were up 2% from the first quarter of last year and increased 5% from the fourth quarter. All three automotive product groups contributed to the higher sequential first quarter sales. Passenger car fuse sales continue to outperform global car production with record sales in both Europe in China in local currency. Commercial vehicle products once again benefited from a strong heavy-duty truck market in North America and demand for our automotive sensor products also remained strong.

接下來是我們的汽車業務，約佔 Littelfuse 總銷售額的 40%。汽車銷售額為 8,410 萬美元，比去年第一季成長 2%，比第四季成長 5%。所有三個汽車產品組都對第一季連續銷售額的成長做出了貢獻。乘用車保險絲銷售量持續跑贏全球汽車產量，在歐洲和中國的銷售量均創歷史新高（以當地貨幣計算）。商用車產品再次受益於北美強勁的重型卡車市場，對我們的汽車感測器產品的需求也保持強勁。

Geographically, first quarter car production in North America was above 1% year-over-year, while our sales increased 18%. Low fuel prices have boosted sales of the best-selling Ford F-150 and other pickup trucks and SUVs where we have high content, including the Chevrolet Silverado, the GMC Sierra, and the Ford F-Series Super Duty. The Jeep Cherokee and Chrysler 200 are also selling well and we are well-positioned with both high current and low current products on all of these models.

從地理來看，北美第一季汽車產量年增超過 1%，而我們的銷量成長了 18%。低燃油價格推動了最暢銷的福特 F-150 以及其他我們擁有豐富內容的皮卡車和 SUV 的銷量，其中包括雪佛蘭索羅德、GMC Sierra 和福特 F 系列 Super Duty。吉普切諾基和克萊斯勒 200 也暢銷，我們在所有這些車型上的高電流和低電流產品方面都處於有利地位。

In Europe, car production was flat compared to the first quarter of last year, but was higher than anticipated. We had strong demand for our high current products from Volkswagen and robust sales at Tier 1 supply in German car models. And we are still ramping up sales in the popular small compact car segment; this includes sales of BF inline fuses for the Volkswagen Polo, the Skoda Fabia, as well as Masterfuse products for the Opel Corsa. The Chinese market continues to grow, but at a lower rate.

在歐洲，汽車產量與去年第一季持平，但高於預期。我們對大眾汽車的高電流產品有強勁的需求，德國車型的一級供應銷售強勁。我們仍在增加受歡迎的小型緊湊型汽車細分市場的銷售；其中包括銷售大眾 Polo、Skoda Fabia 的 BF 直列保險絲以及歐寶 Corsa 的 Masterfuse 產品。中國市場持續成長，但成長率較低。

First quarter car production was up 7% year-over-year, but down 5% from the fourth quarter. In spite of that, we set a new first quarter sales record with a 24% year-over-year increase. New programs, including the SGM 318, produced by a partnership between GM and Shanghai Automotive, and new models from a local Chinese OEMs are ramping up. In addition, models from Volkswagen and DCPA, the joint venture between PSA, Peugeot, Citroen, and the Dongfang group, sold better than expected.

第一季汽車產量年增7%，但季減5%。儘管如此，我們還是創下了第一季銷售新紀錄，年增 24%。通用汽車和上海汽車合作生產的SGM 318等新項目以及中國本土整車廠的新車型正在陸續推出。此外，福斯汽車和PSA、標緻、雪鐵龍和東方集團的合資公司DCPA的車型銷售量也比預期好。

We also continued to increase our market share in China. We continue to win new business for our strategically important Masterfuse for programs including GM and Volkswagen. Together with wins for CablePro fuses for the new Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel in North America and standard fuses for Alfa Romeo in Europe, these wins will contribute over $5 million in sales at peak. New business in Asia includes ceramic fuse protection for the sensor lines used in high-voltage battery management systems for the new Hyundai hybrid electric vehicle that will generate about $360,000 in sales at the peak. Another win for standard fuses at various OEMs in China will add another $520,000 in peak.

我們也繼續增加在中國的市場份額。我們繼續為具有重要戰略意義的 Masterfuse 贏得新業務，包括通用汽車和大眾汽車等項目。加上北美新吉普大切諾基柴油機的 CablePro 保險絲以及歐洲阿爾法羅密歐標準保險絲的勝利，這些勝利將在高峰期貢獻超過 500 萬美元的銷售額。亞洲的新業務包括為新型現代混合動力電動車的高壓電池管理系統中使用的感測器線路提供陶瓷保險絲保護，該汽車的峰值銷售額將達到約 36 萬美元。標準保險絲在中國各 OEM 廠商中的又一次勝利將使高峰再增加 52 萬美元。

Looking ahead, car sales in North America are typically at their highest level in the second quarter of the year and there is an expectation that sales of pickup trucks and SUVs, where we have high content, will continue to be strong. Higher than anticipated car sales are also expected to continue in Europe, as long as fuel prices remain low and exports to North America to continue at a high level.

展望未來，北美地區的汽車銷售通常會在今年第二季度達到最高水平，預計我們含量較高的皮卡和 SUV 的銷售將繼續強勁。只要燃油價格保持在低位並且對北美的出口繼續保持在高水平，預計歐洲的汽車銷量也將繼續高於預期。

In China, growth in the second quarter is expected to be less than 4% year-over-year, which is the lowest number in the past three years, and car production in Korea is expected to be below last year's levels. Overall, we are well-positioned on many of the leading vehicles and we expect to continue to outperform global car production. The commercial vehicle products group, or CVP, had another solid quarter with sales up 3% over the first quarter of last year. Margins also improved as expected.

中國第二季年增速預計將低於4%，為近三年來的最低數字，韓國汽車產量預計將低於去年水準。總體而言，我們在許多領先的汽車領域處於有利地位，我們預計將繼續超越全球汽車生產。商用車產品集團 (CVP) 又迎來了一個穩定的季度，銷售額比去年第一季成長了 3%。利潤率也如預期有所改善。

The heavy-duty truck market in North America continues to be strong, as indicated by increasing fleet truck orders. This strength was somewhat offset by continued weakness in the global agricultural segment and the North American construction market. Harsh environment applications are a targeted growth area for our CVP business that builds on our existing expertise in fully sealed power distribution products.

北美重型卡車市場持續強勁，車隊卡車訂單不斷增加。全球農業領域和北美建築市場的持續疲軟在一定程度上抵消了這一優勢。惡劣環境應用是我們 CVP 業務的目標成長領域，該業務建立在我們在全密封配電產品方面現有專業知識的基礎上。

Today's commercial vehicle end-users expect higher-quality products with longer warranties and life expectancy that can withstand the harshest environments, including mud, salt, snow, ice, water, and heat. During the first quarter, we introduced two new fuse and relay holder products that provide exceptional protection in harsh environments for specific heavy-duty truck applications.

當今的商用車最終用戶期望更高品質的產品，具有更長的保固期和預期壽命，能夠承受最惡劣的環境，包括泥、鹽、雪、冰、水和熱。在第一季度，我們推出了兩款新的保險絲和繼電器支架產品，這些產品在惡劣環境下為特定重型卡車應用提供卓越的保護。

These new products have already been adopted by a North American OEM. Our sales are expected to be about $450,000 annually when production starts later this year. We also won new business for a new hard wire, harsh environment fuse holder for a mobile power generation application beginning in 2016 and valued at approximately $200,000. Another nice win for the CVP business during the first quarter was with a global agricultural equipment manufacturer who will be providing the primary power distribution modules for this customer's medium horsepower tractors. The estimated value of this contract is $875,000 with production starting in 2017.

這些新產品已被北美一家整車廠採用。當今年稍後開始生產時，我們的年銷售額預計約為 45 萬美元。我們還從 2016 年開始贏得了用於行動發電應用的新型硬線、惡劣環境保險絲座的新業務，價值約為 20 萬美元。第一季 CVP 業務的另一個不錯的勝利是與一家全球農業設備製造商合作，該製造商將為該客戶的中馬力拖拉機提供主要配電模組。該合約預計價值 875,000 美元，將於 2017 年開始生產。

Our automotive sensing products also had another good quarter with sales up 9% year-over-year and up 5% sequentially from the fourth quarter. Demand for our products remains strong, particularly for safety applications in cars produced in Europe and North America. We added five new sensor programs during the first quarter that will generate about $2.7 million in annual revenues when the vehicles are in full production.

我們的汽車感測產品季度業績也表現出色，銷售額年增 9%，季增 5%。對我們產品的需求仍然強勁，特別是歐洲和北美生產的汽車的安全應用。我們在第一季增加了五個新的感測器項目，當車輛全面投產時，這些項目將產生約 270 萬美元的年收入。

A significant win during the quarter is for a high-volume seatbelt buckle switch that will be applied across multiple OEMs and vehicle platforms in Europe. While the primary market for our sensors is passenger cars, we're also moving forward with our strategy to expand into the commercial vehicle market. Two recent wins in this area are for a door safety sensor that will be used in agricultural equipment and a gearshift position sensor for snowmobiles. So as you can see, the automotive business is performing well. We are benefiting from new products and technologies and are seeing good results from our strategies to provide more content per vehicle and to expand in targeted growth areas, including high current fuses, CVP, and sensors.

本季度的一項重大勝利是大容量安全帶帶扣開關，該開關將應用於歐洲的多個原始設備製造商和車輛平台。雖然我們感測器的主要市場是乘用車，但我們也在推動擴展到商用車市場的策略。該領域最近的兩場勝利是用於農業設備的門安全感測器和雪地摩托車的換檔位置感測器。正如您所看到的，汽車業務表現良好。我們受益於新產品和技術，並看到我們的策略取得了良好成果，即為每輛車提供更多內容並擴大目標成長領域，包括大電流保險絲、CVP 和感測器。

Next is the electrical business unit, which accounts for about 13% of total Littelfuse sales. Total electrical sales of $26.9 million for the first quarter were down 6% from the prior year quarter. First quarter electrical fuse sales were soft year over year. Distributor inventory destocking was an issue, as early demand in the quarter was impacted by weather-related delays in the construction segment and demand dropped in the industrial MRO segment, as a result of manufacturing slowdowns tied to the softness in the oil and gas market. Despite the slow first quarter industry market conditions, we won several significant projects with two of the largest wins in the solar and telecommunications markets.

其次是電氣業務部門，約佔 Littelfuse 總銷售額的 13%。第一季電力銷售總額為 2,690 萬美元，比去年同期下降 6%。第一季電氣保險絲銷售年比疲軟。經銷商庫存去庫存是一個問題，因為本季的早期需求受到建築領域與天氣相關的延誤的影響，並且由於石油和天然氣市場疲軟導致製造業放緩，工業 MRO 領域的需求下降。儘管第一季行業市場狀況緩慢，我們還是贏得了幾個重要項目，其中兩個最大的項目是在太陽能和電信市場。

Nonresidential construction has begun to pick up and we should see an increase in power fuse demand as projects are completed and the buildings are energized for the first time. As we've discussed previously, distributor conversions are a key growth strategy for the fuse business. The acquisition of the SymCom line of protection relays last year broadens our product offering and we expect this will help us to grow share at existing distributors and also help us to gain new distribution.

非住宅建築已經開始回升，隨著專案的完成和建築物的首次通電，我們應該會看到電力保險絲的需求增加。正如我們之前討論的，經銷商轉型是保險絲業務的關鍵成長策略。去年收購 SymCom 保護繼電器系列擴大了我們的產品範圍，我們預計這將有助於我們增加現有經銷商的份額，並協助我們獲得新的經銷商。

Sales of our protection relay products remained soft in the first quarter, but we are seeing increased seasonal order activity. We also had several good new business wins during the quarter. One of these is a $300,000 order for a SymCom timer that is the result of our strategy to grow SymCom sales through our existing OEM and distributor networks.

第一季我們的繼電器保護產品銷售依然疲軟，但我們看到季節性訂單活動增加。本季我們也贏得了幾項良好的新業務。其中之一是價值 30 萬美元的 SymCom 計時器訂單，這是我們透過現有 OEM 和經銷商網路增加 SymCom 銷售額的策略的結果。

A major concern for our customers is electrical safety and specifically, arc flash protection. This is the fastest-growing protection relay category across our vertical segments. Our arc flash relays differentiate us in the market and as a result, we continue to win new business with customers that are retrofitting existing installations, as well as with OEMs adopting our products. We recently expanded the arc flash line with a new relay that has Ethernet communications capability so users can remotely adjust settings and monitor their systems, instead of relying on someone to perform configuration work in a live electrical panel.

我們客戶最關心的是電氣安全，特別是電弧閃光保護。這是我們垂直領域中成長最快的保護繼電器類別。我們的弧閃繼電器使我們在市場上脫穎而出，因此，我們不斷贏得改造現有裝置的客戶以及採用我們產品的原始設備製造商的新業務。我們最近使用具有乙太網路通訊功能的新繼電器擴展了電弧閃光產品線，因此使用者可以遠端調整設定並監控其係統，而無需依賴某人在現場電氣面板中執行配置工作。

On the custom products side, the very gradual recovery in potash mining that we started to see in the end of last year has continued. Quoting and booking activity has increased. However, while this progress is encouraging, significant mine expansion projects remain delayed. So overall, while some of our electrical markets remain soft, we're encouraged by the anticipated improvement in nonresidential construction and the continuing gradual recovery in potash mining. That concludes the report on the business units.

在客製化產品方面，我們在去年年底開始看到的鉀礦開採的逐步復甦仍在繼續。報價和預訂活動增加。然而，儘管這一進展令人鼓舞，但重大礦山擴建項目仍被推遲。因此，總體而言，雖然我們的一些電力市場仍然疲軟，但非住宅建築的預期改善和鉀肥開採的持續逐步復甦令我們感到鼓舞。關於業務部門的報告到此結束。

Now I'd like to touch on one more topic: our M&A program. Acquisitions continue to be an important part of our growth strategy and we've seen a pickup in overall activity, as well as actionable opportunities, over the past few months. We are currently in the initial stages of due diligence with several smaller acquisitions and anticipate that some of these will move to completion in the second half of the year.

現在我想談談另一個話題：我們的併購計畫。收購仍然是我們成長策略的重要組成部分，在過去的幾個月裡，我們看到整體活動以及可操作機會的回升。我們目前正處於幾項規模較小收購的盡職調查的初始階段，預計其中一些將在今年下半年完成。

In summary, the fundamentals of our business are solid and despite the currency headwinds, we're optimistic about the year ahead. I'll now turn the call over to Phil who will provide the second quarter outlook and then we'll take your questions.

總而言之，我們業務的基本面是穩固的，儘管存在貨幣逆風，但我們對未來一年持樂觀態度。我現在將把電話轉給菲爾，他將提供第二季度的展望，然後我們將回答您的問題。

Thanks, Gordon. Sales for the second quarter of 2015 are expected to be in the range of $221 million to $231 million, assuming a euro/dollar rate of $1.09. This represents 2% year-over-year growth at the midpoint and approximately 7% growth in constant currency. Excluding special items, earnings for the second quarter are expected to be in the range of $1.20 to $1.34 per diluted share.

謝謝，戈登。假設歐元兌美元匯率為 1.09 美元，2015 年第二季的銷售額預計在 2.21 億美元至 2.31 億美元之間。這意味著中間值年增 2%，以固定匯率計算約成長 7%。不計特殊項目，第二季攤薄後每股收益預計在 1.20 美元至 1.34 美元之間。

This includes negative currency effects of approximately $0.13 per share compared to the prior year. This concludes our prepared remarks. Now we'd like to open it up for questions.

這包括與前一年相比每股約 0.13 美元的負面匯率影響。我們準備好的演講到此結束。現在我們想開放提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Matt Sheerin from Stifel.

來自 Stifel 的馬特謝林。

Yes, thanks and good morning.

是的，謝謝，早安。

First question is regarding your commentary, Gordon and Phil, on the price increases that you put through. Could you give us more color on that? Is that primarily in your Electronics business? And are you seeing any pushback at all, or are you also seeing distributors or customers build inventory ahead of future price increases?

第一個問題是關於戈登和菲爾你們對你們提出的價格上漲的評論。您能為我們提供更多資訊嗎？這主要是在您的電子業務中嗎？您是否看到任何阻力，或者您是否也看到分銷商或客戶在未來價格上漲之前建立庫存？

Yes, it's primarily Europe; and it's primarily the Electronics business. I think our Automotive business tends to have long-term contracts. When we win programs, they've usually got pricing built into it for several years. So there's not very much we can really do in the automotive area where we continue to quote in euros.

是的，主要是歐洲；主要是電子業務。我認為我們的汽車業務往往有長期合約。當我們贏得專案時，他們通常會在幾年內將定價納入其中。因此，在我們繼續以歐元報價的汽車領域，我們真正能做的並不多。

In the Electronics business, however, we've said we are being very selective about it. I would say that we haven't seen a lot of pushback. We've had to be selective to find the right products and where the right competition is also suffering from higher cost structure. But we continue to look at that all over the electronics world, where there's much faster turnaround on programs and the opportunity to increase prices.

然而，在電子行業，我們說過我們對此非常挑剔。我想說的是，我們沒有看到太多的阻力。我們必須有選擇性地尋找合適的產品，而合適的競爭也受到更高成本結構的影響。但我們繼續關注整個電子世界，那裡的專案週轉速度要快得多，並且有機會提高價格。

Okay, thanks.

好的謝謝。

And could you update us on the various cost improvement initiatives you have with your acquisitions, in both the Automotive and Electronics businesses?

您能否向我們介紹一下您在汽車和電子業務領域透過收購採取的各種成本改進措施？

Yes. We've got several initiatives ongoing; and we also talked about operational challenges that we had in the fourth quarter, specifically in our Mexico plants. And we've got corrective actions. We've been monitoring those very carefully. So increasing the attention to cost reductions and productivity in our Mexico plants has been a major focus.

是的。我們正在進行多項措施；我們也討論了第四季的營運挑戰，特別是在墨西哥工廠。我們已經採取了糾正措施。我們一直在非常仔細地監控這些情況。因此，更加關注墨西哥工廠降低成本和提高生產力一直是我們關注的重點。

And then in our sensor products, both in the Automotive Area and the Electronics area, we have major programs that are going on there, including the opening of our new factory in the Philippines, where we're removing production from our plants in Suzhou and Lake Mills, Wisconsin. All of those programs are ongoing, and I would say they're all on track right now.

然後，在我們的感測器產品方面，無論是在汽車領域還是在電子領域，我們都正在進行重大計劃，包括在菲律賓開設新工廠，我們正在取消蘇州工廠和電子領域的生產。所有這些計劃都正在進行中，我想說它們現在都已步入正​​軌。

We also are in the process, we've talked about a SymCom plant consolidation that we're doing, closing down a plant in New York State and moving into our South Dakota facility. And that will be completed -- sometime towards the end of this year, that move will be completed. And we talked about I think something a little less than $2 million in savings coming from that. But probably not much of that is going to accrue until very late in this year and then into next year.

我們也在這個過程中，我們已經討論了我們正在進行的 SymCom 工廠整合，關閉紐約州的一家工廠並搬進我們南達科他州的工廠。這將會完成——到今年年底的某個時候，這項舉措將會完成。我們談到，我認為由此可以節省不到 200 萬美元。但可能直到今年很晚以及明年才會產生多少。

Okay, great, and just one last question if I can sneak it in just regarding your outlook.

好的，很好，還有最後一個問題，我是否可以偷偷地談談您的看法。

Gordon, it sounds like you're looking at seasonal trends, aside from the Electrical business, which you explained. Several other semiconductor and component suppliers are taking a more cautious view. Of course, they've got exposure to PCs and telecom, which appear to be the weak spots right now. You got some exposure there. But is it your broad customer exposure that's enabling you to see more seasonal trends versus what competitors are seeing?

戈登，聽起來您正在研究季節性趨勢，除了您解釋的電氣業務之外。其他幾家半導體和零件供應商的看法則更為謹慎。當然，他們也涉足個人電腦和電信領域，而這些領域目前看來是弱點。你在那裡得到了一些曝光。但是否是您廣泛的客戶曝光度使您能夠看到比競爭對手更多的季節性趨勢？

I think so. I think that our exposure to one segment, like PCs, is relatively small. I mean there is -- and I did highlight -- there is a fundamental change happening, not just in PCs, but in many kinds of peripherals. The movement to USB 3.1 is very significant in terms of the power that's connected through USB in the future and the speed of USB. And so USB and HDMI ports are a very attractive new opportunity because they all need ESD protection behind them.

我想是這樣。我認為我們對個人電腦等某一細分市場的接觸相對較小。我的意思是——我確實強調了——正在發生根本性的變化，不僅在個人電腦上，而且在許多種類的外圍設備上。就未來透過 USB 連接的功率和 USB 的速度而言，向 USB 3.1 的轉變非常重要。因此，USB 和 HDMI 連接埠是一個非常有吸引力的新機會，因為它們都需要 ESD 保護。

But I think your question is right. We've got segments, like LED lighting, that I'd say maybe some other companies are not supplying a product into. It's a very attractive segment for us; and we know it's got a long way to grow, both internal and outdoor lighting. We talk about electric vehicles, electric scooters. We talk about more sophisticated coffee machines and humidifiers and consumer goods that have touchscreens, that have sensors.

但我認為你的問題是對的。我們有一些細分市場，例如 LED 照明，我想說也許其他一些公司沒有向這些細分市場提供產品。這對我們來說是一個非常有吸引力的部分；我們知道它還有很長的路要走，無論是室內還是室外照明。我們談論電動車、電動滑板車。我們談論更複雜的咖啡機和加濕器以及帶有觸控螢幕和感測器的消費品。

So I think it's the broad segments that are having more and more electronics and, particularly in the human interface, the connection to that equipment. It's the breadth of the market and opportunities for us that I think is driving the growth and is able to offset any declines in one segment, such as telecom or PCs.

因此，我認為廣泛的細分市場擁有越來越多的電子產品，特別是在人機介面方面，與設備的連接。我認為，市場的廣度和我們面臨的機會正在推動成長，並且能夠抵消電信或個人電腦等某一細分市場的任何下滑。

Okay. Thanks very much.

好的。非常感謝。

Shawn Harrison from Longbow Research.

長弓研究中心的肖恩·哈里森。

Good morning.

早安.

First question I have goes back to the comments you made, Gordon, on M&A. Smaller deals -- if I think about your free cash flow for the year, you've had a great start to the year already. You have excess liquidity. How do smaller deals line up, also, with buyback activity?

我的第一個問題可以追溯到戈登您對併購的評論。較小的交易——如果我考慮一下你今年的自由現金流，你今年已經有了一個好的開始。你有過剩的流動性。較小的交易如何與回購活動結合？

I know you have a buyback that, I think, comes to an end here at the end of April. But just how would you look at buyback activity for the rest of the year, given that you probably have more liquidity than you need with smaller deals out there?

我知道你們有一次回購，我想，回購會在四月底結束。但是，考慮到您的流動性可能超過了較小交易所需的流動性，您將如何看待今年剩餘時間的回購活動？

Let me take that, Shawn.

讓我接受吧，肖恩。

I think that, certainly, as we said, I believe, in our last call that we continue to evaluate the progress in our M&A program and our progress towards our goal of adding 10% to revenue a year, which, as you know, we're behind that target. And what we said previously, and is still the case, is that as we get into the back half of this year, if we don't have some larger deals teed up -- and there are a few that we're working on, but I wouldn't say they're high probability at this point, but they're still possibilities.

我認為，當然，正如我們所說，我相信，在我們上次電話會議中，我們將繼續評估我們的併購計劃的進展情況以及我們在實現每年增加10% 收入的目標方面取得的進展，正如您所知，我們落後於該目標。我們之前說過，現在仍然如此，當我們進入今年下半年時，如果我們沒有準備一些更大的交易——而且我們正在處理一些更大的交易，但目前我不會說它們的可能性很大，但它們仍然是可能性。

But if those deals don't seem more likely by the back half of the year, I think you can expect to see us revisit the capital allocation targets that we've set out. And potentially talk about returning more cash to shareholders, either through dividends or through stock repurchase.

但如果這些交易在今年下半年似乎不太可能達成，我想你可以期待看到我們重新審視我們設定的資本配置目標。並可能討論透過股利或股票回購向股東返還更多現金。

Okay. And so you would re-up the buyback once it expires here at the end of April?

好的。那麼一旦四月底回購到期，您會重新增加回購嗎？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. The follow-up I have is just looking at the cost reductions in both SG&A and R&D quarter over quarter. It was I think somewhere in the tune of $2.5 million, $3 million. How much of that sustains into the second quarter versus just being kind of a temporary cost down? And what drove the cost down sequentially?

好的。我的後續行動只是專注於銷售、行政管理和研發成本的季度環比下降情況。我認為大約是 250 萬美元、300 萬美元。其中有多少可以持續到第二季​​度，而不是只是暫時的成本下降？是什麼推動成本連續下降？

Typically, our first quarter is going to be our lowest quarter for SG&A spend. I mean, if you look at last year's quarter by quarter, we had a similar level of spending in Q1 of last year; and then it ramped up significantly in Q2. Now part of that is what we also mentioned in the press release, the lumpiness of the stock comp expense and the way that we recognize that or are forced to recognize that per the GAAP rules there, where we have certain options that, in theory, accelerate if the people who receive those options are of retirement age. And therefore we have to accelerate the expense all into one quarter, as opposed to spreading it over 12 quarters, which is the norm.

通常情況下，我們的第一季將是 SG&A 支出最低的季度。我的意思是，如果你逐季查看去年的情況，我們去年第一季的支出水準相似；然後在第二季顯著增加。現在，其中一部分是我們在新聞稿中也提到的，股票補償費用的波動性以及我們認識到或被迫認識到的方式，根據公認會計準則規則，我們有某些選擇，理論上，如果獲得這些選擇的人已到退休年齡，則加速。因此，我們必須將費用全部加速到一個季度，而不是按照慣例將其分攤到 12 個季度。

So we have that big lump in Q2. The stock comp expense alone will go up a little over $2 million from Q1 to Q2. And then we'll probably have some increase, just due to the fact that Q1 is usually a fairly muted quarter for spending, generally.

所以我們在第二季遇到了很大的困難。從第一季到第二季度，光是股票補償費用就將增加略高於 200 萬美元。然後我們可能會出現一些成長，只是因為第一季通常是支出相當平靜的季度。

So I would expect to see that OpEx increase. But I think if you want to get a sense of what it should look like, I think probably look at last year's seasonality in the patterns through the quarter. And even the levels are going to be relatively similar this year to last year.

所以我預計營運支出會增加。但我認為，如果您想了解它應該是什麼樣子，我想可能會看看去年整個季度的季節性模式。甚至今年的水平也將與去年相對相似。

We've pulled back on certain things; we've made certain cuts. And I think what you'll more than likely see is that overall spending on OpEx will be at similar levels to last year. We'll be able to hold it to that kind of a level.

我們已經取消了某些事情；我們已經進行了某些削減。我認為您很可能會看到營運支出的總體支出將與去年相似。我們將能夠將其保持在這樣的水平。

Okay. And then just to clarify on the tax dynamic for the year. If I'm reading this correctly, does that mean whenever the R&D tax credit comes through that you get a boost just on the fall through maybe in the fourth quarter? And so you'd see an incremental earnings benefit tied to that 50 bps to 100 bps?

好的。然後澄清一下今年的稅收動態。如果我沒看錯的話，這是否意味著每當研發稅收抵免通過時，您就會在秋季（也許是在第四季）獲得提振？那麼您會看到增量收益收益與 50 個基點到 100 個基點相關嗎？

That's exactly right. So until that time that that goes through, we'll be booking rates more than likely above the 23% rate that was kind of the guidance that we gave for the year. But we're still expecting that those will come through sometime in the back half of the year. And at that point, we'd be able to book that impact into our provision, which, if it came through in the fourth quarter, we'd book a full-year impact of that in the fourth quarter, for example.

完全正確。因此，在那之前，我們的預訂率很可能會高於我們今年給出的指導值 23%。但我們仍然預計這些將在今年下半年的某個時候實現。到那時，我們就可以將這種影響記入我們的準備金中，例如，如果它在第四季度實現，我們將在第四季度記入全年的影響。

But we're still expecting the rate for the year to be somewhere near 23%. We haven't alluded to the fact that we're working on other tax planning activities as well. And over time, we are expecting that rate to come down lower. But for this year, I think 23% is a good target.

但我們仍然預計今年的成長率將接近 23%。我們沒有提到我們也正在進行其他稅務規劃活動。隨著時間的推移，我們預計該比率會下降。但對於今年來說，我認為23%是個不錯的目標。

Very helpful. Congrats on the results.

很有幫助。祝賀結果。

Sure. Thanks, Shawn.

當然。謝謝，肖恩。

John Franzreb from Sidoti & Company

Sidoti & Company 的 John Franzreb

Just regarding the operating margins at the segment level, Electrical had a tough quarter, but the margin profile held up reasonably well. I'm wondering if you could provide a little color as to why?

僅就部門層面的營業利潤率而言，電氣部門經歷了一個艱難的季度，但利潤率狀況保持得相當不錯。我想知道您是否可以提供一些顏色來說明原因？

You know, certainly it held up well, I guess, on a relative basis. We're expecting that margin to get better. Gordon talked about the Power Fuse business is starting. We had a very slow start to the year for Power Fuse and we're starting to see that business come back as nonresidential construction comes back. We had some weather issues earlier in the year, and we seem to be recovering from those. So expect to see -- normal seasonality would have that business ramping up anyway in Q2 and Q3. And we certainly expect to see that this year.

你知道，我想，相對而言，它確實表現得很好。我們預計利潤率會變得更好。 Gordon 談到電源保險絲業務正在啟動。我們的電源保險絲今年開局非常緩慢，隨著非住宅建築的恢復，我們開始看到該業務的復甦。今年早些時候，我們遇到了一些天氣問題，但我們似乎正在從中恢復。因此，預計正常的季節性因素將使該業務在第二季和第三季有所成長。我們當然希望今年能看到這一點。

I'm not sure that the margin was a whole lot different in the first quarter than what we were expecting. But particularly as the Power Fuse business ramps up and we're also expecting, because of some of the new wins that we have, expecting to see the Relay business start to improve, as well. Those are both very high margin businesses. As those businesses start to ramp up into Q2 and Q3, you should see that operating margin start to improve even more.

我不確定第一季的利潤率與我們的預期有很大不同。但特別是隨著電源保險絲業務的成長，我們也預計，由於我們取得了一些新的勝利，繼電器業務也開始改善。這些都是利潤率非常高的業務。隨著這些業務開始進入第二季度和第三季度，您應該會看到營業利潤率開始進一步提高。

Okay.

好的。

And, Phil, in the Electronics and Automotive, do you have a sense of how much the facility consolidations, be it the Philippines or South Dakota, what kind of impact it's having on the margin profile for running redundant lines? Do you have a sense of that?

而且，菲爾，在電子和汽車領域，您是否了解設施整合的程度，無論是菲律賓還是南達科他州，它對運行冗餘線路的利潤狀況產生了什麼樣的影響？你有這樣的感覺嗎？

The majority of that cost we pulled out of the non-GAAP number. So there still is some redundancy, but I don't think that's really started to hit us in a major way yet. It will start to hit us more as we get further and further into the year. It'll have an impact. It's not going to be that significant. It could be a couple million dollars of extra expense for the year that we don't pull out.

我們從非公認會計準則數字中提取了大部分成本。所以仍然存在一些冗餘，但我認為這還沒有真正開始對我們產生重大影響。隨著今年的時間越來越長，它對我們的打擊將會越來越大。會有影響。這不會那麼重要。如果我們不退出的話，這一年可能會產生數百萬美元的額外費用。

The costs that we're pulling out of the numbers are specific costs related to severance and some of the costs of shutting down the old plants and some of the transfer costs. The redundancy stuff will just run through the numbers. It's not going to be that big; you're not going to see a big blip there. But it will be a small headwind, probably, beginning probably sometime around the middle of the year.

我們從數字中提取的成本是與遣散費相關的特定成本、關閉舊工廠的一些成本以及一些轉移成本。冗餘的東西只會透過數字來體現。它不會那麼大；你不會在那裡看到一個大的亮點。但這可能會是一個小小的逆風，可能會在今年年中的某個時候開始。

Okay. And regarding the currency impact, you talked last quarter about $30 million and $0.40. Are we now thinking something along the lines of $0.50 headwinds at the current exchange rates or no?

好的。關於貨幣影響，您上季度談到了 3000 萬美元和 0.40 美元。我們現在是否正在考慮以當前匯率計算 0.50 美元的逆風？

It depends on what you mean by the current exchange rates. The guidance we gave was at $1.09. And I think the previous number that we were kind of basing our guidance around was like around $1.13 or $1.14. So, yes, if the euro stays at $1.09, it's a little bit stronger than that today -- it's up over $1.10 today, but that's going to vary from day to day. If it stays at $1.09, it would probably be, yes, something on the order of closer to a $0.50 impact year over year.

這取決於您所說的當前匯率是什麼意思。我們給出的指導價為 1.09 美元。我認為我們之前指導的數字大約是 1.13 美元或 1.14 美元左右。所以，是的，如果歐元保持在 1.09 美元，它會比今天稍微強一些——今天它會上漲超過 1.10 美元，但每天都會有所不同。如果它保持在 1.09 美元，那麼每年的影響可能會接近 0.50 美元。

Okay. Thanks for taking my questions. I'll get back in the queue.

好的。感謝您回答我的問題。我會回到隊列中。

Christopher Glynn from Oppenheimer.

奧本海默的克里斯托弗·格林。

On the Electrical side, I have a question on the core electrical fuse side. It was pressured for a lot of last year. I realize you did call out some destocking in the quarter just reported. But if it's a relevant question, then when would you expect trends to normalize for the core electrical fuse side? I think you're starting to talk about emerging distribution gains again, if I heard correctly.

在電氣方面，我有一個關於核心電氣保險絲方面的問題。去年壓力很大。我知道您確實在剛剛報告的季度中提到了一些去庫存的問題。但如果這是一個相關問題，那麼您預期核心電氣熔斷器方面的趨勢何時會正常化？如果我沒聽錯的話，我想你又開始談論新興的分配收益了。

I think we're already starting to see that. My previous comment related to that business was that we had a tough year last year. We had a tough first quarter as well. But towards the end of the first quarter and into the first month of the second quarter, we've seen a definite improvement in that business.

我想我們已經開始看到這一點了。我之前與該業務相關的評論是，去年我們度過了艱難的一年。我們的第一季也很艱難。但在第一季末和第二季第一個月，我們看到該業務有了明顯的改善。

Some of it's seasonality, but I think it's even a bigger improvement than even normal seasonality would suggest. So coming off some pretty low lows, we're starting to see a bounce back more to more normal levels. So that's very encouraging for that business.

其中一些是季節性的，但我認為這比正常季節性所暗示的改善更大。因此，在擺脫一些相當低的低點後，我們開始看到反彈至更正常的水平。所以這對業務來說非常令人鼓舞。

And I think the market trends there, we're starting to see the nonresidential segment sort of is picking up enough that it's been going for a few quarters where buildings start to put the electrical system into the building. So the construction may have started a few months ago, but the electrical sales don't really go in until later on in that cycle. And we're starting to see that picking up.

我認為從那裡的市場趨勢來看，我們開始看到非住宅領域的成長已經足夠快，幾個季度以來，建築物開始將電力系統安裝到建築物中。因此，施工可能在幾個月前就開始了，但電力銷售直到該週期的後期才真正開始。我們開始看到這種情況有所改善。

The transition in the solar area or the movement to 1,500 volt DC systems is happening, which we've talked about for quite a few quarters. That we were in the lead of developing products that were the leading products in 1,500 volt systems and that's starting to really happen. So I would say it's back to normal right now.

太陽能領域的轉變或向 1,500 伏特直流系統的轉變正在發生，我們已經討論了好幾個季度了。我們在開發 1,500 伏特系統中的領先產品方面處於領先地位，而且這已經開始真正實現。所以我想說現在已經恢復正常了。

Great.

偉大的。

And then on the Electrical side, pretty consistently talking about share gain here. I'm wondering how to think about the long-term runway with share gain. And is there a congenital aspect to it, given that you're pretty unique in your global footprint serving these markets?

然後在電氣方面，一直在談論份額增益。我想知道如何考慮股票收益的長期發展。鑑於您在服務這些市場的全球足跡中非常獨特，這是否有先天的面向？

You're talking about the Electronics business?

你說的是電子業嗎？

Electronics. Yes. Thank you.

電子產品。是的。謝謝。

Yes. I think, as we've said a few times, we are very committed to working with our distribution channel, so that we can get at that long tail of all of those segments I mentioned. All those pieces of consumer goods, like coffee machines and humidifiers, et cetera, that have become more sophisticated and have more content for our products than they might've had when they were very simple electromechanical products a few years ago.

是的。我認為，正如我們多次說過的那樣，我們非常致力於與我們的分銷管道合作，以便我們能夠獲得我提到的所有這些細分市場的長尾。所有這些消費品，如咖啡機和加濕器等，都變得更加複雜，並且比幾年前非常簡單的機電產品時擁有更多的產品內容。

And so getting to that long tail, as we call it, means we've got to be very focused on training distributors, bringing out new products for those new applications. And I think if we continue to do that, we can continue to gain market share, particularly in those emerging segments. I mentioned electric scooters, for example. The more battery-powered vehicles that we have, battery-powered equipment, they're all opportunities in protection of the batteries and in protection of the charging circuits.

因此，達到我們所說的長尾意味著我們必須非常注重培訓經銷商，為這些新應用推出新產品。我認為，如果我們繼續這樣做，我們就可以繼續獲得市場份額，特別是在那些新興領域。例如，我提到了電動滑板車。我們擁有的電池供電車輛、電池供電設備越多，它們都是保護電池和充電電路的機會。

So I think there's a lot of opportunity for us with the combination of the products that we have and adding the sensing products to our circuit protection products that we believe we can continue to gain share globally with good programs to work through distribution.

因此，我認為，透過結合我們現有的產品並將感測產品添加到我們的電路保護產品中，我們有很多機會，我們相信我們可以透過良好的計劃繼續在全球範圍內獲得份額，並透過分銷來發揮作用。

All sounds good. Thanks.

一切聽起來都不錯。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Tim Wojs from Baird.

來自貝爾德 (Baird) 的 Tim Wojs。

Just to start, I guess looking at the Electronics business, I think book to bill, it was a little slower, I think, than what you've typically done in Q1. I'm just curious if there's maybe some timing around that and maybe if FX had any issue on the book-to-bill numbers?

首先，我想看看電子業務，我認為從訂單到帳單，我認為比第一季通常所做的要慢一些。我只是好奇是否有一些時間安排，也許 FX 在訂單到帳單數字方面是否有任何問題？

I don't think FX really impacts our book to bill much.

我認為外匯對我們的書的計費影響不大。

But a couple things -- you're right, it probably is a little low. If you look at the last five years, I think you're probably looking at more like 1.09, 1.1 kind of book to bill would be more typical of what we've seen. But I think with the low inventory levels that we have at distribution, with a continuation of pretty good book to bills thus far in the second quarter, we're not overly concerned about that.

但有幾件事——你是對的，它可能有點低。如果你看看過去五年，我想你可能會看到更像是 1.09、1.1 類型的書籍計費方式，這更符合我們所看到的情況。但我認為，由於我們的分銷庫存水平較低，而且第二季度到目前為止，訂單量仍然相當不錯，因此我們並沒有過度擔心這一點。

And you could really see that in our guidance. We still feel like we're going to have a pretty normal seasonal uptick in Q2 in that business.

您可以在我們的指導中真正看到這一點。我們仍然認為該業務在第二季將出現相當正常的季節性成長。

I think the other thing that maybe contributed to it a little bit is the first quarter was sequentially a little bit stronger than you would normally expect. Normally, the first quarter is kind of flat with Q4. We saw a nice uptick in Q1; and therefore, the book to bill at the end of the quarter may not have been as strong as it might in a normal quarter.

我認為另一件可能對此有所貢獻的事情是第一季的表現比您通常預期的要強一些。通常情況下，第一季與第四季持平。我們在第一季看到了良好的成長；因此，季度末的帳簿可能不會像正常季度那樣強勁。

But I wouldn't read too much into that. I think we feel pretty good that we're going to see a normal seasonal pattern here.

但我不會對此進行太多解讀。我認為我們感覺很好，因為我們將在這裡看到正常的季節性模式。

Okay. That makes sense. That's what I thought; I just wanted to make sure.

好的。這就說得通了。我也這麼想;我只是想確定一下。

And then I guess just turning to Automotive, you posted really solid growth there, 9%, on what's your toughest organic comp in Q1. And I know you have pretty good visibility in that business. So is it fair for us to assume that business actually could accelerate a little bit throughout the year in 2015?

然後我想，就汽車而言，你們在第一季最艱難的有機競爭中實現了非常穩健的成長，成長了 9%。我知道你在這個行業有很好的知名度。那麼，我們是否可以假設 2015 年全年業務實際上會略有成長？

I think we're pretty optimistic about that business. But if you're talking about 9% constant currency growth, I'm not sure I would expect acceleration off that kind of a number. I think that we have seen some slowing, certainly in China and the China market. Our China sales are still pretty strong, but the China market clearly has slowed.

我認為我們對該業務非常樂觀。但如果你談論的是 9% 的恆定貨幣成長率，我不確定我是否會期望這個數字會加速。我認為我們已經看到了一些放緩，尤其是在中國和中國市場。我們在中國的銷售仍然相當強勁，但中國市場顯然已經放緩。

Europe, we're doing well share-wise in Europe. But the Europe car build certainly isn't growing. And so I think it's going to be tough to accelerate off that kind of a number for sure. But we still feel pretty good. In fact, we feel very good about the long-term growth prospects in that segment.

歐洲，我們在歐洲的份額方面做得很好。但歐洲的汽車製造肯定沒有成長。所以我認為要加速這個數字肯定是很困難的。但我們還是感覺很好。事實上，我們對該領域的長期成長前景感到非常看好。

Okay, great.

好的，太好了。

And then just free cash flow -- any I guess expectations for the year? Should we think of free cash flow exceeding earnings, like you have done historically? Any puts or takes there?

然後就是自由現金流——我對今年有什麼預期嗎？我們是否應該像您歷史上所做的那樣認為自由現金流超過收益？那裡有任何看跌期權或看跌期權嗎？

I would expect that. Yes.

我希望如此。是的。

Okay.

好的。

As you know, we had a very strong -- in fact, by far a record year last year in cash flow. This year, I think we should have similar to maybe slightly better cash from operations. But we are going to be spending more CapEx this year than we did last year, mostly related to some of the projects I just mentioned. The Philippines plant being the most notable of those.

如您所知，去年我們的現金流非常強勁，事實上，迄今為止創紀錄的現金流。今年，我認為我們的營運現金應該類似，甚至可能略好。但我們今年的資本支出將比去年更多，主要與我剛才提到的一些項目有關。菲律賓工廠是其中最引人注目的。

Okay. Great. Well, congrats on the quarter.

好的。偉大的。好吧，恭喜這個季度。

Thanks, Tim.

謝謝，蒂姆。

We have no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Mr. Gordon Hunter.

目前我們沒有進一步的問題。我現在將把電話轉回給戈登·亨特先生。

Thank you for joining us on today's call. 2015 is off to a very good start, and we look forward to updating you again next quarter. Have a good day.

感謝您參加今天的電話會議。 2015 年有一個良好的開端，我們期待下個季度再次為您提供最新消息。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This concludes today's call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

謝謝你們，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。