Lincoln National Corp (LNC) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and thank you for joining Lincoln Financial's 2024, fourth quarter and full year earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Now I would like to turn the call over to Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations, Tina Madon. Please go ahead.

早安，感謝您參加林肯金融 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。（操作員指示）現在，我想將電話轉給高級副總裁兼投資者關係主管蒂娜·馬登 (Tina Madon)。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our fourth quarter and full year earnings call. We appreciate your interest in Lincoln.

謝謝。大家早上好，歡迎參加我們的第四季和全年財報電話會議。我們感謝您對林肯的關注。

A quarterly earnings press release, earnings supplement, and statistical supplement can all be found on the investor relations page of our website www.lincolnfinancial.com. These documents include reconciliations of the non-GAAP measures used on today's call, including adjusted income from operations or adjusted operating income. Adjusted income from operations available to common stockholders, and free cash flow to their most comparable GAAP measures.

季度收益新聞稿、收益補充和統計補充均可在我們的網站 www.lincolnfinancial.com 的投資者關係頁面上找到。這些文件包括今天電話會議上使用的非公認會計準則指標的對帳表，包括調整後的營業收入或調整後的營業收入。調整後普通股股東可獲得的營業利潤和自由現金流將符合最具可比性的 GAAP 指標。

Before we begin, I want to remind you that any statements made during today's call regarding expectations, future actions, trends in our business, perspective services or products, future performance or financial results, including those relating to deposits, expenses, income from operations, share repurchases, liquidity and capital resources are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，今天電話會議上做出的有關預期、未來行動、業務趨勢、潛在服務或產品、未來業績或財務結果的任何陳述，包括與存款、費用、營業收入、股票回購、流動性和資本資源有關的陳述，根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法》，均為前瞻性陳述。

These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. These risks and uncertainties include those described in the cautionary statement disclosures in our earnings release issued earlier this morning. As well as those detailed in our 2023 annual report on Form 10-K, most recent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and from time to time in our other filings with the SEC.

這些前瞻性陳述涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致我們的實際結果與我們目前的預期有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括我們今天早上發布的收益報告中警告聲明披露中所述的風險和不確定性。以及我們 2023 年 10-K 表年度報告、10-Q 表最新季度報告以及我們不時向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中詳細說明的內容。

These forward-looking statements are made only as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of them to reflect events or circumstances that occur after today.

這些前瞻性陳述僅截至今天為止做出，我們不承擔更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述以反映今天之後發生的事件或情況的義務。

Presenting this morning are Ellen Cooper, Chairman, President and CEO; and Chris Neczypor, Chief Financial Officer. After their prepared remarks, we'll address your questions. Let me now turn the call over to Ellen. Ellen?

今天上午出席演講的有董事長、總裁兼執行長 Ellen Cooper；以及財務長 Chris Neczypor。在他們發表準備好的發言後，我們將回答您的問題。現在讓我把電話轉給艾倫。埃倫？

Thank you, Tina, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our call today. I want to start by taking a moment to reflect on our significant progress in 2024, to further position Lincoln for sustained long-term value creation.

謝謝你，蒂娜，大家早安。感謝您今天參加我們的電話會議。首先，我想花點時間回顧我們在 2024 年取得的重大進展，以進一步推動林肯實現持續的長期價值創造。

We delivered strong results with full year adjusted operating income increasing to its highest level in three years. We outperformed relative to the financial objectives we established last year and built substantial momentum across our businesses, further increasing our confidence in our longer term outlook.

我們取得了強勁的業績，全年調整後營業收入增至三年來的最高水準。我們的業績超越了去年制定的財務目標，並在各業務領域形成了強勁發展勢頭，進一步增強了我們對長期前景的信心。

We also successfully advanced our strategy, which is anchored upon three objectives. Build a strong capital foundation to ensure enterprise stability across market cycles and support investment for future growth. Optimize our operating model to advance a scalable framework to maximize our resources and deliver profitable growth to improve free cash flow and expand the franchise.

我們也成功地推進了以三個目標為基礎的策略。建立強大的資本基礎，確保企業在市場週期中的穩定並支持未來成長的投資。優化我們的營運模式，推進可擴展的框架，最大限度地利用我們的資源，實現盈利性成長，改善自由現金流並擴大特許經營權。

Last year we communicated our goal to build and maintain an RBC ratio of 420%, a 20 point buffer over our 400% RBC target, as we continue to take the necessary steps to strengthen our capital base. We closed on the sale of our wealth management business in the second quarter and increased our capital position throughout the year, ending 2024 with an estimated RBC ratio of over 430%.

去年，我們傳達了我們的目標是建立並維持 420% 的 RBC 比率，比 400% 的 RBC 目標高出 20 個百分點，同時我們將繼續採取必要措施加強我們的資本基礎。我們在第二季完成了財富管理業務的出售，並在全年增加了資本狀況，預計到 2024 年底 RBC 比率將超過 430%。

This is an important milestone and provides us with added financial flexibility as we continue repositioning our business for future growth and profitability.

這是一個重要的里程碑，為我們提供了額外的財務靈活性，因為我們將繼續重新定位我們的業務以實現未來的成長和利潤。

We also made meaningful headway in optimizing our operating model. We took targeted actions to reduce expenses across the enterprise while investing in the operations, technology, and talent needed to build the infrastructure for growth and elevate the customer experience in each of our businesses.

我們在優化營運模式方面也取得了重大進展。我們採取了有針對性的措施來降低整個企業的開支，同時投資於建立成長基礎設施所需的營運、技術和人才，並提升每個業務的客戶體驗。

We further enhanced our investment strategy and launched a Bermuda-based reinsurance subsidiary to support our financial objectives and increase our free cash flow over time.

我們進一步加強了投資策略，並成立了位於百慕達的再保險子公司，以支持我們的財務目標並隨著時間的推移增加我們的自由現金流。

Lastly, we advanced on our objective of delivering profitable growth. We grew our group business across products and market segments while prioritizing profitability over top line growth.

最後，我們實現了獲利成長的目標。我們在各個產品和細分市場中發展集團業務，同時優先考慮獲利能力而不是營收成長。

Evolved our annuity business to a more balanced mix with a higher proportion of spread-based products, repositioned our life business by optimizing our product portfolio and realigning our distribution model, and build upon the products and capabilities of our retirement business.

將我們的年金業務發展為更均衡的組合，增加利差產品的比例，透過優化產品組合和重新調整分銷模式來重新定位我們的壽險業務，並基於我們退休業務的產品和能力進行建設。

Since embarking on our multi-year journey to transform Lincoln, we have demonstrated substantial progress as we evolve into an organization characterized by businesses, market segments, and products with more stable cash flows and higher risk adjusted returns.

自從我們踏上改造林肯的多年旅程以來，我們已取得長足的進步，逐漸發展成為一個以業務、細分市場和產品為特徵、現金流更穩定、風險調整後回報更高的組織。

Now turning to our fourth quarter and full year results, which reflected strong execution of our strategic priorities. Key highlights at the segment level included our group protection business delivering a record fourth quarter with earnings more than doubling year over year and a margin of 8.4%, and a record year for sales, earnings, and margin.

現在談談我們的第四季和全年業績，這反映了我們策略重點的強大執行。分部層級的亮點包括我們的團體保護業務在第四季度創下了紀錄，收益同比增長一倍以上，利潤率達到 8.4%，並創下了銷售額、收益和利潤率的歷史新高。

Annuities also delivered excellent results, generating robust earnings growth for the quarter and full year, and its highest full year sales in five years. Retirement Plan Services increased quarterly earnings by 13% year over year and generated full year deposit growth of 25%, driving its 10th consecutive year of positive flows.

年金業務也取得了優異的業績，實現了本季和全年盈利的強勁增長，並創下了五年來最高的全年銷售額。退休計畫服務部門的季度收益年增了 13%，全年存款增加了 25%，連續第 10 年實現正向流動。

While our life insurance sales were essentially unchanged sequentially, we continued to expand our presence in the addressable markets for accumulation and protection products with more risk sharing. Now turning to our business results, starting with retail solutions, which includes annuities and life insurance.

雖然我們的人壽保險銷售額與上一季基本持平，但我們繼續擴大在累積和保護產品目標市場的影響力，並增加風險分擔。現在談談我們的業務成果，從零售解決方案開始，其中包括年金和人壽保險。

We continue to strengthen our annuities business, positioning it for additional growth by emphasizing a more diversified product mix. We are a leader in this market and offer a broad set of products in both fixed and variable annuities. This is a key competitive strength, enabling us to be a holistic solutions provider that can adapt to customer preferences in various market environments.

我們將繼續加強我們的年金業務，透過強調更加多樣化的產品組合來實現進一步的成長。我們是該市場的領導者，提供固定和可變年金的廣泛產品。這是一個關鍵的競爭優勢，使我們能夠成為能夠適應各種市場環境中客戶偏好的整體解決方案提供者。

Total annuity sales of $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter capped a strong year in which full year sales increased 7% compared to the prior year and as I mentioned earlier, reached the highest level since 2019.

第四季年金總銷售額為 37 億美元，為強勁的一年畫上了句號，全年銷售額比上年增長了 7%，正如我之前提到的，達到了 2019 年以來的最高水平。

Our diversified product mix supported this result with approximately two-third of full year sales attributable to spread-based products. Additionally, all product categories supported our profitable growth goals by meeting or exceeding their risk adjusted return and capital efficiency objectives.

我們多樣化的產品組合支撐了這一業績，其中約三分之二的全年銷售額歸因於基於價差的產品。此外，所有產品類別均達到或超過其風險調整後回報和資本效率目標，支持了我們的獲利成長目標。

Our RILA sales increased for both the quarter and the full year as we maintained a strong competitive position in this market, and our second generation RILA product resonated with customers.

由於我們在這個市場上保持了強大的競爭地位，我們的 RILA 銷售額在本季度和全年均有所增長，並且我們的第二代 RILA 產品引起了客戶的共鳴。

While our fixed annuity sales in the quarter were lower than the record prior year quarter, we are pleased with our full year sales level of $4.2 billion. We plan to continue leveraging the capabilities we built to sustain a consistent, competitive presence in the fixed marketplace, including investment strategy optimization and distribution expansion. We also expect to bolster our fixed products by utilizing our new Bermuda reinsurance affiliate.

雖然本季我們的固定年金銷售額低於去年同期的紀錄，但我們對全年 42 億美元的銷售水準感到滿意。我們計劃繼續利用我們所建立的能力來維持在固定市場的一致競爭力，包括投資策略優化和分銷擴展。我們也希望利用我們新的百慕達再保險附屬公司來增強我們的固定產品。

Finally, our traditional variable annuity sales nearly doubled year-over-year as our product offerings, coupled with the favorable market environment, supported sales growth in variable products with and without guaranteed living benefits. Variable annuities remain integral to our overall product suite, producing strong risk adjusted returns while delivering a compelling customer value proposition.

最後，我們的傳統變額年金銷售額比去年同期幾乎翻了一番，因為我們的產品供應加上有利的市場環境支持了有和無保證生存福利的變額產品的銷售成長。變額年金仍然是我們整體產品套件中不可或缺的一部分，它可以產生強勁的風險調整回報，同時提供引人注目的客戶價值主張。

In summary, annuities delivered robust results in 2024, for the quarter and the year, and we continue to diversify the product mix. Looking ahead, our strategic focus on further optimizing our investment strategy, leveraging capital efficient reinsurance solutions to accelerate spread-based product growth, and driving greater expense efficiencies, positions this business for continued strength and success.

總而言之，年金在 2024 年、本季和全年都取得了強勁的業績，我們將繼續實現產品組合多樣化。展望未來，我們的策略重點是進一步優化我們的投資策略，利用資本高效的再保險解決方案來加速基於利差的產品成長，並提高費用效率，從而使該業務繼續保持強勁並取得成功。

Now turning to life insurance. Last year was one of substantial transition for our life business. As I previously mentioned, we are refocusing this business to deliver accumulation and protection products with more risk sharing.

現在來談談人壽保險。去年是我們人壽業務發生重大轉變的一年。正如我之前提到的，我們正在重新調整這項業務的重點，以提供具有更多風險分擔的累積和保護產品。

We are currently in these markets today and have been building out additional product features to expand our solution set and position us for future profitable growth. Additionally, we realigned our life distribution team to optimize our wholesaler footprint, which will support the acceleration of our product shift over time.

目前，我們已經進入這些市場，並一直在開發更多的產品功能，以擴大我們的解決方案集，為未來的獲利成長做好準備。此外，我們重新調整了生活分銷團隊，以優化我們的批發商足跡，這將支持我們隨著時間的推移加速產品轉變。

While we made solid progress in 2024, the impact of our actions will take time to be fully reflected in our results. We are confident that leveraging our product distribution, and underwriting strengths, while investing in our customer centric service model and optimizing our expense efficiency, will increase our competitive differentiation and drive higher earnings growth over time.

雖然我們在 2024 年取得了堅實的進展，但我們的行動的影響還需要一些時間才能充分反映在我們的業績中。我們相信，利用我們的產品分銷和承保優勢，同時投資於以客戶為中心的服務模式並優化我們的費用效率，將增加我們的競爭差異化，並隨著時間的推移推動更高的盈利增長。

Next, turning to workplace solutions, which includes our group protection and retirement plans, services, businesses. Group had another excellent quarter, more than doubling its earnings and margin over the prior year quarter.

接下來，轉向工作場所解決方案，其中包括我們的團體保護和退休計劃、服務和業務。集團又度過了一個出色的季度，其收益和利潤比去年同期增長了一倍多。

For the full year, the earnings and margin of this business were well ahead of our expectations. With earnings increasing by more than 50% and the margin by 280 basis points when excluding the impact of the annual assumption review.

就全年而言，該業務的利潤和利潤率遠遠超出我們的預期。剔除年度假設審查的影響，獲利成長超過50%，利潤率成長280個基點。

Over the past year, we have substantially advanced this business. We executed our strategy to grow profitably with a targeted segment strategy to rebuild our local market presence and sustain our leadership in the national and regional markets.

在過去的一年裡，我們大幅推進了這項業務。我們實施了獲利成長策略，透過有針對性的細分市場策略重建我們的本地市場地位，並維持我們在國家和地區市場的領導地位。

We also made meaningful investments in our operations, technology, and talent to enhance our customer experience and began to see the benefits of those investments in the results of the business. In what is typically group's highest sales quarter of the year, sales increased 17% year over year, achieving a new fourth quarter record, and for the full year, sales were up 24%.

我們也對營運、技術和人才進行了有意義的投資，以提升我們的客戶體驗，並開始看到這些投資在業務成果中帶來的好處。這是該集團一年中銷售最高的一個季度，但本季的銷售額年增 17%，創下第四季新高，全年銷售額成長 24%。

These results reflected disciplined execution of our objective to produce a well-proportioned mix among our products and target segments supported by an increase in lines of coverage sold. We also delivered additional growth in supplemental health with annual sales increasing 35% year over year and contributing to a more balanced and diversified book of business.

這些結果反映了我們嚴格執行目標，即透過增加銷售的保險範圍，在我們的產品和目標市場之間形成均衡的組合。我們的補充保健產品也取得了額外的成長，年銷售額年增 35%，並為更均衡和多樣化的業務做出了貢獻。

Premium growth was up 3% for the full year, driven by the execution of our pricing strategies for new business and renewals to support our margin expansion efforts.

全年保費成長了 3%，這得益於我們執行新業務和續保定價策略以支持我們的利潤率提高的努力。

As we reflect on our success and our group business in 2024, we also continue to benefit from our industry leading position in disability as our solutions oriented approach and strong customer value proposition in leave management differentiate us competitively in this space.

當我們回顧我們在 2024 年取得的成功和集團業務時，我們也繼續受益於我們在殘疾領域的行業領先地位，因為我們以解決方案為導向的方法和在休假管理方面的強大客戶價值主張使我們在這一領域具有獨特的競爭力。

We also made substantial progress over the last year to tailor our strategy to each segment and delivered margin improvement in all three market segments. In our local market segment, we invested in transforming our operating model and product portfolio to support customer expectations for ease and access.

去年，我們也取得了實質進展，根據每個細分市場制定了適當的策略，並在所有三個細分市場中實現了利潤率的提高。在我們的本地市場領域，我們投資轉變我們的營運模式和產品組合，以滿足客戶對便利性和訪問的期望。

In our regional segment, we expanded our technology and service capabilities to support our partnerships with strategic broker relationships.

在我們的區域部門，我們擴展了我們的技術和服務能力，以支持我們與策略經紀人建立的夥伴關係。

In our national segment where we are a market leader, we leveraged our disability and leave expertise, continued to enhance our voluntary products such as supplemental health, and provided customer engagement tools and processes to further differentiate our value proposition and generate profitable growth.

在我們處於市場領先地位的全國性市場領域，我們利用我們在殘疾和休假方面的專業知識，繼續增強我們的補充健康等自願產品，並提供客戶參與工具和流程，以進一步區分我們的價值主張並實現盈利增長。

In summary, group's performance this year exceeded our expectations, driven by broad-based execution to deliver profitable growth and supported by an ongoing favorable macro backdrop. As we continue executing our targeted segment and product strategies, we expect our group business to become a larger and more profitable contributor to our overall earnings mix over time.

綜上所述，在廣泛執行的推動下，集團今年的業績超出了我們的預期，實現了盈利性增長，並受到持續有利的宏觀背景的支持。隨著我們繼續執行目標細分市場和產品策略，我們預計，隨著時間的推移，集團業務將為我們的整體獲利組合貢獻更大、更有利可圖。

Now turning to Retirement Plan Services or RPS. RPS had a solid quarter with earnings growth of 13% year over year and continued new business momentum, driving a 46% increase in first year sales. For the full year, first year sales grew by nearly 70% and total deposits were up 25%.

現在轉向退休計劃服務或RPS。RPS 本季表現穩健，獲利較上年同期成長 13%，且新業務動能持續，推動第一年銷售額成長 46%。就全年而言，第一年銷售額成長近 70%，總存款成長 25%。

As mentioned in last quarter's remarks, several known plan terminations impacted fourth quarter flows. However, RPS delivered a 10th consecutive year of positive net flows.

正如上個季度的評論中所提到的，幾項已知的計劃終止影響了第四季度的流量。然而，RPS 連續第 10 年實現了正淨流量。

Throughout 2024, we executed our strategy to generate profitable sales growth by further differentiating RPS in the retirement marketplace. We are focused on solving the needs of all our customers, whether they are employers, participants, or our intermediary partners.

在整個 2024 年，我們將執行我們的策略，透過在退休市場進一步差異化 RPS 來實現獲利性銷售成長。我們專注於解決所有客戶的需求，無論他們是雇主、參與者或我們的中介合作夥伴。

We've enhanced our service offerings, expanded the breadth of our product solutions with recent innovations. And partnered to broaden our financial wellness suite to meet the needs of our customers. We also increased our efficiency by optimizing our operating model, allowing us to accelerate sales growth while supporting earnings growth.

我們透過最近的創新增強了我們的服務範圍，擴大了我們的產品解決方案的廣度。並透過合作擴大我們的財務健康套件以滿足客戶的需求。我們還透過優化營運模式提高了效率，從而加快了銷售成長並支持了獲利成長。

In closing, we achieved strong results in 2024 that were ahead of our expectations. We demonstrated our continued momentum to build a solid capital foundation, increase operational efficiency, and deliver profitable growth, positioning Lincoln for long-term value creation.

最後，我們在 2024 年取得了超乎預期的強勁業績。我們展示了持續的勢頭，建立了堅實的資本基礎，提高了營運效率，實現了盈利性增長，為林肯的長期價值創造奠定了基礎。

Our success to date increases our confidence in achieving our longer term financial and strategic objectives, as you will hear from Chris shortly. The strength of our broad-based execution sets the stage for future advancement in positioning Lincoln for sustained profitable growth.

我們迄今為止所取得的成功增強了我們實現長期財務和策略目標的信心，克里斯很快就會告訴您。我們廣泛的執行力為林肯未來的發展奠定了基礎，使林肯能夠實現持續的獲利成長。

We will continue to leverage our competitive advantages, including our powerful franchise, distribution leadership, broad product portfolio, and trusted brand to serve our customers and build for the future. We look forward to updating you on our continued progress.

我們將繼續利用我們的競爭優勢，包括強大的特許經營權、分銷領導地位、廣泛的產品組合和值得信賴的品牌，為客戶服務並建立未來。我們期待向您通報我們持續取得的進展。

With that, I will hand the call over to Chris.

說完這些，我會把電話交給克里斯。

Thank you, Ellen, and good morning, everyone. Our fourth quarter results reflected another quarter of solid progress across our businesses, concluding a year of strong financial performance and disciplined execution of the strategic objectives we introduced last year.

謝謝你，艾倫，大家早安。我們的第四季業績反映了我們各項業務又一個季度的穩步進展，結束了一年強勁的財務業績和嚴格執行去年提出的戰略目標的一年。

We have built substantial momentum across the enterprise and are well positioned to continue delivering on our strategic and financial priorities. I'm going to focus on three areas this morning. First, I'll review our fourth quarter results, including our segment level financial performance.

我們在整個企業內形成了強勁的發展勢頭，並已做好準備繼續實現我們的策略和財務重點。今天上午我將重點討論三個方面。首先，我將回顧我們第四季的業績，包括我們分部的財務表現。

Second, I'll touch on our investment portfolio. And third, I'll provide an update on capital, free cash flow, and our execution against our multi-year outlook. So let's start with the review of the quarter.

第二，我想談談我們的投資組合。第三，我將提供有關資本、自由現金流以及我們多年展望的執行情況的最新資訊。那麼就讓我們從本季的回顧開始吧。

This morning, we reported fourth quarter adjusted operating income available to common stockholders of $332 million or $1.91 per share. There were no significant items in the quarter. Our alternative investments portfolio delivered over an 11% annualized return in the quarter or $105 million. On an after-tax basis, this amount was $8 million above our return target, or $0.05 per share.

今天上午，我們報告了第四季度普通股股東調整後的營業收入為 3.32 億美元，即每股 1.91 美元。本季沒有重大項目。我們的另類投資組合本季實現了超過 11% 的年化回報率，即 1.05 億美元。以稅後計算，該金額比我們的回報目標高出 800 萬美元，即每股 0.05 美元。

Excluding the impacts of our annual assumption review in each year, full year 2024, adjusted income from operations was over $1.2 billion, a 16% improvement compared to 2023, as earnings growth in our group and annuities businesses more than offset the headwinds in our life business.

除去每年年度假設審查的影響，2024 年全年調整後的營業收入將超過 12 億美元，比 2023 年增長 16%，因為我們集團和年金業務的盈利增長足以抵消人壽業務的阻力。

Turning to GAAP net income for the quarter, we reported net income available to common stockholders of $1.7 billion or $9.63 per diluted share. The difference between the net income and adjusted operating income was predominantly driven by two factors.

談到本季的 GAAP 淨收入，我們報告普通股股東的淨收入為 17 億美元，或每股稀釋收入 9.63 美元。淨收入和調整後營業收入之間的差異主要由兩個因素造成。

First, there was a favorable impact of $1.2 billion within non-operating income, primarily driven by a net positive movement and market risk benefits, resulting from higher interest rates in the fourth quarter. Our hedge program continues to perform in line with expectations.

首先，非營業收入產生了 12 億美元的有利影響，這主要得益於第四季利率上升帶來的淨正向變動和市場風險收益。我們的對沖計劃繼續按照預期執行。

And second, there was a $587 million dollar gain, primarily driven by the change in fair value of the GAAP embedded derivatives related to the fortitude reinsurance transaction we completed in the fourth quarter of last year.

其次，收益為 5.87 億美元，主要由於我們去年第四季完成的 Fortitude 再保險交易相關的 GAAP 嵌入式衍生性商品的公允價值變動所致。

This change was primarily driven by the impact of higher interest rates on available for sale securities in the funds withheld portfolio backing the fortitude agreement with the corresponding offset flowing through accumulated other comprehensive income or AOCI.

這項變更主要是由於支持堅韌協議的資金預扣投資組合中可供出售證券的利率上升所造成的影響，而相應的抵銷則流向累計其他綜合收入或 AOCI。

Now turning to our segment results. Let's start with Group, which had a record fourth quarter. Group reported operating income of $107 million and a margin of 8.4%, more than doubling from $52 million and a margin of 4.1% in the prior year quarter.

現在來談談我們的分部業績。首先要說的是集團，該集團第四季的業績創下了紀錄。該集團報告稱，本季營業收入為 1.07 億美元，利潤率為 8.4%，較去年同期的 5,200 萬美元和 4.1% 的利潤率增長了一倍多。

The dynamics that drove our results throughout the first three quarters of 2024 were also drivers in the fourth quarter, further supporting its year over year earnings improvement. First, strong execution of our strategic priorities, including disciplined pricing actions on new business and renewals, diversification into higher margin market segments and products, and strong operational performance, was the primary driver of our earnings growth this quarter and throughout the year.

推動我們 2024 年前三個季度業績的動力也是第四季度的驅動力，進一步支持了其盈利同比改善。首先，強力執行我們的策略重點，包括對新業務和續約採取嚴格的定價行動、向利潤率更高的細分市場和產品多元化、以及強勁的營運業績，這是我們本季乃至全年盈利增長的主要動力。

Second, the favorable macroeconomic conditions, which remain supportive throughout the year, continue to be reflected in our fourth quarter LTD incidence rate, further supporting the strength of our disability results.

其次，有利的宏觀經濟條件在全年保持支持作用，並繼續反映在我們第四季度的 LTD 發生率中，進一步支持了我們殘疾結果的強勁。

And lastly, while mortality results can vary, this quarter they were favorable relative to our expectations, leading to our lowest life loss ratio in over two years. Now turning to group product line results for the quarter.

最後，雖然死亡率結果可能有所不同，但本季的死亡率相對於我們的預期是有利的，導致我們的壽命損失率達到兩年多來的最低水準。現在來看看本季的集團產品線業績。

The disability loss ratio was 75%, improving by over 8% points year over year. The loss ratio remained favorable relative to our expectations, as incidence rates remained low and when coupled with strong LTD recoveries, enabled positive return to work outcomes for our claimants.

傷殘損失率為75%，較去年同期改善8個百分點以上。損失率相對於我們的預期仍然有利，因為發生率仍然很低，再加上強勁的 LTD 恢復，為我們的索賠人帶來了積極的重返工作崗位的結果。

The group life loss ratio was 65%, a 2% point improvement versus the prior year quarter, as lower incidents more than offset slightly elevated severity. As a reminder, mortality results are seasonally higher in the first quarter of each year, which we anticipate will drive a sequential increase in the life loss ratio.

團體人壽損失率為 65%，比去年同期改善了 2 個百分點，因為事故數量的減少足以抵消嚴重程度略有上升的影響。提醒一下，每年第一季的死亡率都會呈現季節性上升趨勢，我們預期這將導致生命損失率連續上升。

Now briefly touching on full year results. Group reported operating income of $426 million and a margin of 8.3% compared to $275 million and a margin of 5.5% in the prior year, excluding the impact of the assumption review in both periods.

現在簡要介紹一下全年業績。集團報告稱，若不包括兩個期間的假設審查的影響，本季的營業收入為 4.26 億美元，利潤率為 8.3%，而去年同期的營業收入為 2.75 億美元，利潤率為 5.5%。

Given the strategic emphasis we've placed on growth, diversification, and improving the profitability of the group business, I want to provide a few updates on its trajectory heading into 2025. As I noted in my comments on group's fourth quarter results, strong strategic execution was the primary driver of its earnings growth in 2024, and will continue to support earnings next year.

鑑於我們對成長、多元化和提高集團業務獲利能力的策略重點，我想就 2025 年的發展軌跡提供一些最新消息。正如我在對集團第四季業績的評論中所指出的那樣，強大的策略執行是其 2024 年獲利成長的主要驅動力，並將繼續支持明年的獲利。

However, as I discussed last quarter, the favorable macro tailwinds, which contributed roughly 100 basis points to the margin expansion group delivered in 2024, are unlikely to persist indefinitely. And as a result, we anticipate some moderation of the record low disability incidents we experienced during this period to occur in 2025.

然而，正如我上個季度所討論的那樣，有利的宏觀順風因素不太可能無限期地持續下去，這些因素為 2024 年實現的利潤率擴張貢獻了大約 100 個基點。因此，我們預計，2025 年這段期間發生的傷殘事故數量將有所減緩。

When adjusting for the normalization of macro tailwinds, we expect year over year margin expansion, driven by the benefits of our strategic actions and ongoing improvement in mortality. These actions should help us to sustain a similar level of earnings in 2025 compared to 2024.

在調整宏觀順風正常化後，我們預期利潤率將同比擴大，這得益於我們的策略行動和死亡率的持續改善。這些措施應該有助於我們在 2025 年維持與 2024 年類似的獲利水準。

As we look toward 2026, we expect continued premium growth alongside underlying earnings improvement to be supportive of a margin at or above 8%. Group's 2024 results reflects strong progress in our strategy to expand this business into a larger and more profitable part of the enterprise.

展望 2026 年，我們預期保費持續成長和基礎獲利改善將支撐利潤率達到 8% 或以上。集團 2024 年的業績反映了我們將業務擴展為企業更大、更有利可圖的部分的策略取得了重大進展。

Now turning to annuities. Annuities reported fourth quarter operating income of $303 million compared to $279 million in the prior year quarter, which included the favorable impact of $14 million from a model refinement. Excluding this item, annuities earnings increased 14% year over year.

現在轉向年金。年金報告第四季營業收入為 3.03 億美元，而去年同期為 2.79 億美元，其中包括模型改進帶來的 1,400 萬美元的有利影響。除此項外，年金收益年增14%。

The year over year growth was driven by higher account balances and increased spread income, partially offset by higher expenses. Turning to account balances. Average account balances were up 12% versus the prior year quarter and 2% sequentially as market growth offset net outflows and variable annuities.

年比成長主要得益於帳戶餘額增加和利差收入增加，但部分被支出增加所抵銷。轉向帳戶餘額。由於市場成長抵消了淨流出和可變年金的影響，平均帳戶餘額比去年同期成長了 12%，比上一季成長了 2%。

Touching briefly on expenses. As I noted in my third quarter remarks this year, we anticipated elevated expenses in the fourth quarter. This increase was driven by a reduced benefit from external reinsurance expense reimbursements, a result of this year's fourth quarter sales moderating compared to last fourth quarter record levels.

簡單談談費用。正如我在今年第三季的評論中指出的那樣，我們預計第四季的支出會增加。這一增長是由於外部再保險費用報銷收益減少所致，這是由於今年第四季的銷售額與去年第四季的創紀錄水平相比有所放緩。

Turning to spreads. The increase in spread income continued to be driven by the growth of our RILA account balances, which now represent 21% of total account balances and are up 25% compared to the prior year quarter.

轉向利差。利差收入的成長持續受到我們 RILA 帳戶餘額成長的推動，目前 RILA 帳戶餘額佔總帳戶餘額的 21%，與去年同期相比成長了 25%。

As we work towards shifting our business mix to increase the proportion of spread-based products as a percentage of our overall account balances, we are pleased to announce that we received approval for our first internal flow agreement with our Bermuda-based affiliated reinsurer Alpine focused on fixed annuities.

在我們努力轉變業務組合以增加利差產品在我們整體帳戶餘額中所佔比例的同時，我們很高興地宣布，我們已獲得批准，與總部位於百慕大的附屬再保險公司 Alpine 簽訂首份內部流量協議，專注於固定年金。

With an internal flow agreement now in place with Alpine, optimizing our internal and external reinsurance mix is a key focus for 2025, with the net benefit being the growth of spread-based account balances and earnings over time, all while maintaining our required product returns.

現在我們與 Alpine 達成內部流量協議，優化我們的內部和外部再保險組合是 2025 年的重點，淨收益是基於利差的帳戶餘額和收益隨著時間的推移而增長，同時保持我們所需的產品回報。

Annuities delivered strong results in 2024, reinforcing its importance as a key driver of earnings and free cash flow for the company. While ending account balances were down $2 billion sequentially, which when combined with two fewer fee days, will result in lower earnings in the first quarter relative to the fourth quarter, we believe the momentum in our annuities business will support continued success in 2025.

年金在 2024 年取得了強勁的業績，鞏固了其作為公司盈利和自由現金流的關鍵驅動力的重要性。雖然期末帳戶餘額環比下降 20 億美元，再加上費用收取日減少兩天，將導致第一季的收益低於第四季度，但我們相信，年金業務的發展勢頭將支持我們在 2025 年繼續取得成功。

Now turning to Retirement Plan Services, which reported fourth quarter operating income of $43 million compared to $38 million in the prior year quarter, a 13% increase.

現在來看看退休計畫服務部，該公司報告第四季營業收入為 4,300 萬美元，而去年同期的營業收入為 3,800 萬美元，成長了 13%。

Similar to the third quarter, the improvement was driven by lower net G&A expenses and higher equity markets, partially offset by elevated participant-driven stable value outflows over the last 12 months, resulting from the higher interest rate environment.

與第三季類似，這項改善主要得益於淨一般及行政開支下降和股票市場走高，但被過去 12 個月內因利率上升導致的參與者驅動的穩定價值流出增加所部分抵消。

Our base spread for the quarter was 101 basis points, 8 basis points lower year over year. We expect the base spread to stabilize at current levels throughout the first half of 2025, followed by modest expansion in the second half of the year.

本季我們的基準利差為 101 個基點，較去年同期下降 8 個基點。我們預計基差利差將在 2025 年上半年穩定在當前水平，隨後在下半年適度擴大。

Net outflows for the quarter were $732 million and as I noted in my third quarter remarks, this was driven by the impact from several known plan terminations, partially offset by continued sales strength.

本季淨流出為 7.32 億美元，正如我在第三季評論中指出的那樣，這是受幾項已知計劃終止的影響所致，但持續的銷售強勁部分抵消了這一影響。

Net flows for the year were favorable, representing RPS's 10th consecutive year of positive net flows. However, as we look ahead, we expect flows in 2025 to be pressured from a known large plan termination in the first quarter.

全年淨流量良好，這是 RPS 連續第 10 年實現正淨流量。然而，展望未來，我們預計 2025 年的流量將因第一季已知的大型計畫終止而受到壓力。

Now turning to account balances. Average account balances for the quarter increased 18% year over year and end of period account balances were nearly $113 billion up 11% versus the prior year quarter.

現在轉向帳戶餘額。本季平均帳戶餘額年增 18%，期末帳戶餘額接近 1,130 億美元，比去年同期成長 11%。

Overall, RPS had a solid year, despite pressure from stable value outflows and spread compression. As we look towards 2025, moderating spread compression, higher account balances, and continued expense discipline will support modest earnings growth in this business.

總體而言，儘管面臨穩定的價值流出和利差壓縮的壓力，但 RPS 的一年表現穩健。展望 2025 年，適度的利差壓縮、更高的帳戶餘額以及持續的費用控制將支持該業務的適度獲利成長。

Lastly, turning to life insurance. Life reported a fourth quarter operating loss of $15 million compared to an operating loss of $6 million in the prior year quarter. Elevated severity and the run rate impacts of the fortitude re-transaction were partially offset by above target alternative investment income and lower net G&A expenses.

最後，談談人壽保險。人壽報告第四季營業虧損為 1,500 萬美元，而去年同期的營業虧損為 600 萬美元。堅韌再交易帶來的嚴重程度提升和運行率影響被高於目標的另類投資收入和較低的淨 G&A 費用部分抵消。

As a reminder, year over year comparisons will no longer be impacted by the fortitude re-transaction starting in 2025. Turning to mortality. This quarter, we experienced elevated mortality driven by large claims, leading to an outsized impact from severity.

提醒一下，從 2025 年開始，年比比較將不再受到堅韌重新交易的影響。談到死亡率。本季度，由於索賠金額巨大，死亡率上升，嚴重程度造成了巨大影響。

While volatility like this can occur from time to time, this was an unusual quarter, and we would not expect this level of severity on a go forward basis.

雖然此類波動時有發生，但這是一個不尋常的季度，我們預計未來不會再出現這種嚴重程度。

Net G&A expenses were down $14 million or 10% versus the prior year quarter, reflecting the effect of the targeted actions we took throughout 2024. We expect this trend to continue into 2025 and be a key contributor to year over year earnings growth.

淨 G&A 費用較去年同期下降 1,400 萬美元，降幅 10%，反映了我們在 2024 年採取的有針對性的行動所產生的效果。我們預計這一趨勢將持續到 2025 年，並​​成為逐年獲利成長的主要貢獻者。

While life's operating income remained pressured in 2024, the actions we took throughout the year to right size the expense base and target growth in products with more risk sharing have strengthened the underlying fundamentals of the business.

雖然人壽的營業收入在 2024 年仍然面臨壓力，但我們全年採取的行動，包括合理調整費用基礎和瞄準具有更多風險分擔的產品的增長，已經增強了業務的基本面。

When coupled with normalized mortality trends and continued spread expansion, these actions reinforce our confidence in achieving and sustaining positive earnings for this business that will grow over time.

這些舉措與正常化的死亡率趨勢和持續的利差擴大相結合，增強了我們對該業務實現和維持正收益的信心，並且該業務的盈利能力將隨著時間的推移而增長。

Moving to investments. Overall performance remains solid in the fourth quarter, a reflection of our high quality and well diversified portfolio, and our ongoing emphasis on optimizing our investment strategy.

轉向投資。第四季的整體表現依然穩健，反映了我們的高品質、多元化的投資組合，以及我們對優化投資策略的持續重視。

Throughout 2024, we focused on capturing opportunities in less liquid and structured asset classes. We also improved the overall quality of portfolio assets year over year through our high quality purchase strategy and solid credit performance, with upgrades outpacing downgrades throughout the year.

在整個 2024 年，我們專注於尋找流動性較低和結構性資產類別中的機會。我們也透過高品質的購買策略和穩健的信貸表現，逐年提高投資組合資產的整體質量，全年升級速度超過降級速度。

The portfolio remained at 97% investment grade, demonstrating our ability to balance yield, diversification, and quality.

投資組合的投資等級仍維持在 97%，展現出我們平衡收益、多樣化和品質的能力。

Our general account optimization efforts, where we are leveraging our multi-manager platforms to deliver an increased value to the organization, continue to drive additional incremental yield through a targeted shift in our asset mix toward investment grade private assets and high quality structured products.

我們的一般帳戶優化工作，即利用我們的多經理平台為組織提供更高的價值，透過有針對性地將我們的資產組合轉向投資級私人資產和高品質結構化產品，繼續推動額外的增量收益。

New money in 2024 was invested at a 6.4% yield, approximately 140 basis points above the yield on comparably rated public bonds, 50 basis points higher than our yield pickup last year.

2024 年新資金的投資殖利率為 6.4%，比同等評級的公債殖利率高出約 140 個基點，比我們去年的殖利率上升高出 50 個基點。

The prevailing interest rate environment will continue to influence our new money yield, but as we look ahead, we see incremental opportunity to take advantage of higher yielding assets within our overall risk appetite.

現行的利率環境將繼續影響我們的新資金收益率，但展望未來，我們看到在整體風險偏好範圍內利用高收益資產的增量機會。

Touching briefly on our commercial mortgage loan portfolio, the portfolio remains high quality, is well diversified, and continues to deliver stable results within our expectations. We recognize office is still in a longer term transition and we continue to monitor our portfolio closely.

簡單介紹一下我們的商業抵押貸款組合，該組合仍然質量較高，多樣化程度較高，並繼續在我們的預期範圍內提供穩定的結果。我們認識到辦公室仍處於長期轉型階段，我們將繼續密切關注我們的投資組合。

However, we feel good about our high quality mortgage loan portfolio and the positioning of the office portfolio. Additional information can be found in our quarterly earnings supplements.

然而，我們對我們的優質抵押貸款組合和辦公室組合的定位感到滿意。更多資訊請參閱我們的季度收益補充報告。

Lastly, our alternative investments generated another strong quarterly return of 2.8% in the fourth quarter, above our expectation of 2.5%. For the full year, our annualized return was 8.9%. Overall, the performance of our alternative investments in the quarter and throughout 2024 benefited from our diversified investment approach with positive contributions from all underlying asset categories.

最後，我們的另類投資在第四季再次實現強勁的季度回報率，達到 2.8%，高於我們預期的 2.5%。全年我們的年化報酬率為8.9%。整體而言，本季及整個 2024 年我們的另類投資表現受益於我們的多元化投資方式，所有基礎資產類別都做出了積極貢獻。

Lastly, I'd like to provide an update on our financial outlook, focusing on capital, free cash flow conversion, and expected growth. I'll address this across three key time frames. First, the progress we made in 2024.

最後，我想介紹我們的財務前景，重點是資本、自由現金流轉換和預期成長。我將從三個關鍵時間範圍內討論這個問題。首先，我們在2024年所取得的進展。

Second, how we are positioned heading into 2025. And lastly, an update on our expectations for 2026 and beyond. As we look back on 2024, we made significant progress toward the strategic priorities we outlined a year ago.

第二，我們如何定位2025年。最後，我們來更新一下我們對 2026 年及以後的期望。回顧 2024 年，我們在實現一年前概述的策略重點方面取得了重大進展。

At the heart of our efforts to restore long-term value was a commitment to building a strong capital foundation, optimizing our operating model, and a strategic shift towards products and market segments that will deliver profitable growth and improve our free cash flow.

我們恢復長期價值的努力的核心是致力於建立強大的資本基礎，優化我們的營運模式，以及向產品和細分市場的策略轉變，以實現盈利性增長並改善我們的自由現金流。

Throughout the course of 2024, we invested in our group business and executed on our growth strategy, resulting in nearly 300 basis points of margin expansion on a full year basis when excluding the impacts of the assumption reviews.

在整個 2024 年期間，我們投資於集團業務並執行我們的成長策略，在排除假設審查的影響的情況下，全年利潤率擴大了近 300 個基點。

We took action on expenses, both from a total company perspective as well as targeted actions in our life business, increasing our operational efficiency. We also executed on large strategic initiatives such as the sale of our wealth management business and the launch of our Bermuda reinsurance affiliate.

我們從整個公司的角度以及壽險業務的角度採取了針對性的費用控制措施，提高了營運效率。我們也執行了一些重大策略舉措，例如出售我們的財富管理業務和成立百慕達再保險附屬公司。

The net result of these actions allowed us to end the year with RBC above 430%, grow adjusted operating earnings to its highest level in three years, despite a loss of $100 million in life earnings from the four to two transaction, and increase our free cash flow conversion from 35% in 2023 to 39% in 2024.

這些行動的淨結果使我們在年底的 RBC 超過 430%，儘管四比二交易導致人壽收益損失 1 億美元，但調整後的營業收入仍增長至三年來的最高水平，並且我們的自由現金流轉換率從 2023 年的 35% 提高到 2024 年的 39%。

As we look to 2025, we expect another year of investment, helping to drive continued momentum in the business. This year will continue to be a combination of growing our franchise, increasing the profitability of our businesses, and optimizing legacy blocks to grow earnings and free cash flow.

展望 2025 年，我們預計還將有一年的投資，以幫助推動業務持續發展。今年我們將繼續擴大特許經營範圍，提高業務盈利能力，並優化遺留業務以增加盈利和自由現金流。

Some examples include launching and beginning to scale our FABN program, recalibrating the optimal mix of internal and external flow reinsurance, continued targeted expense actions. Optimizing certain hedge programs and continuing our efforts to optimize our general account new money strategies.

一些例子包括啟動並開始擴展我們的 FABN 計劃，重新調整內部和外部流量再保險的最佳組合，繼續採取有針對性的費用行動。優化某些對沖計劃，並繼續努力優化我們的一般帳戶新資金策略。

Some of these initiatives are continuation or acceleration of the progress we made last year. Some are new initiatives, and some will be a multi-year effort. As we look out to 2026, we have increased confidence in the outlook laid out this time last year.

其中一些舉措是我們去年取得進展的延續或加速。有些是新舉措，有些則需要多年的努力。展望2026年，我們對去年此時制定的前景更有信心。

As you can see on slide 4 in our investor deck, we made two changes to our 2026 outlook, the first being a widening of the upper bound of expectations for free cash flow conversion from 45% to 55% in last year's outlook to 45% to 60%. And the second being an improvement in expected leverage, down from a range of 25% to 28% in last year's outlook to 25% to 26.5% in this year's outlook.

正如您在我們投資者簡報第 4 張幻燈片中看到的，我們對 2026 年的展望做出了兩項更改，第一項是將自由現金流轉換的預期上限從去年展望中的 45% 至 55% 擴大到 45% 至 60%。第二是預期槓桿率有所改善，從去年展望的25%至28%下降到今年展望的25%至26.5%。

There are risks to our outlook, as always, given the assumption for a relatively constructive economic backdrop, as well as a reliance on our ability to continue to execute on our strategic initiatives, particularly within group protection and retail life.

由於假設經濟背景相對樂觀，且我們依賴自己繼續執行策略性舉措的能力，尤其是在團體保護和零售人壽領域，因此我們的前景一如既往地存在風險。

But given the success we've been able to demonstrate over the last two years and the continued underlying momentum we see today, we feel confident in achieving our goals.

但鑑於我們在過去兩年中所取得的成功以及今天所看到的持續潛在勢頭，我們對實現我們的目標充滿信心。

We thank everyone for listening, and with that, I'll turn it back to Tina.

我們感謝大家的聆聽，現在我將話題轉回給蒂娜。

Thank you, Chris. Let me now turn the call over to the operator to begin the Q&A. Operator?

謝謝你，克里斯。現在，讓我將電話轉給接線員，開始問答環節。操作員？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Ryan Krueger, KBW.

瑞安·克魯格（Ryan Krueger），KBW。

Hey, thanks, good morning. My first question was just going back to the raising the top end of the free cash flow outlook for 2026. Can you give a little bit more color on what led to that and, I guess any kind of sense of kind of how to think about free cash flow in '25 as you move towards that '26 target.

嘿，謝謝，早安。我的第一個問題是回到提高 2026 年自由現金流前景的最高值。您能否更詳細地說明一下導致這種情況的原因，以及在朝著 26 年目標邁進的過程中，如何看待 25 年的自由現金流。

Sure. Good morning, Ryan, it's Chris. Good question. So, let me step back and just highlight a couple of key points around our free cash flow and it maybe reiterate some of the things that I just said on the call at a high level. So as you look back at 2024, and really 2023 as well, we've made a lot of progress on the strategic priorities that we've talked about, right.

當然。早安，瑞安，我是克里斯。好問題。因此，讓我退一步並強調我們自由現金流的幾個關鍵點，也許會重申我在電話會議上所說的一些事情。因此，當你回顧 2024 年，甚至 2023 年時，我們在所討論的策略重點上取得了很大進展，對吧。

And at the heart of it is really been this commitment to building a strong capital foundation, optimizing the operating model, and a strategic shift towards products and market segments that are going to produce profitable growth and improve our free cash flow, right?

而其核心其實就是致力於建立強大的資本基礎、優化營運模式以及向能夠產生盈利性增長並改善我們的自由現金流的產品和細分市場的戰略轉變，對嗎？

And you're seeing that come through, in 2024. So as we've talked about, we invested in our group business and executed on the growth strategy there resulting in 300 basis points of margin expansion. We took action on expenses as we've talked about. We sold LFN, we launched Bermuda.

您將在 2024 年看到這項成果。正如我們所討論的，我們投資了我們的集團業務並執行了成長策略，從而將利潤率提高了 300 個基點。正如我們所討論的那樣，我們對費用採取了行動。我們出售了 LFN，推出了百慕達。

So when you look at 2024, the net result of these actions, we were able to end the year with RBC in excess of 430%, operating earnings continue to grow, and the free cash flow conversion year over year, expanded as well. Now there's a lot of puts and takes underneath the surface, as you would expect.

因此，當您展望 2024 年時，這些行動的淨結果是，我們能夠在年底實現 RBC 超過 430%，營業收入繼續增長，並且自由現金流轉換逐年擴大。正如您所預料的，現在表面之下發生了很多事情。

But when you look towards 2025, as I said, I think, this is going to be another year of investment, along with, continued momentum, so we launched our FABN program in January, that went really well. We would expect to scale that.

但當你展望 2025 年時，正如我所說，我認為，這將是另一個投資年，同時保持持續的發展勢頭，因此我們在一月份啟動了 FABN 計劃，進展非常順利。我們希望擴大這一規模。

Bermuda is, up and running, as I mentioned, we have our first flow deal there, focused on fixed annuities, and then, we think that there's more to do on the expense side. And as it relates to some of the hedging programs that we've talked about looking to optimize, we think we'll see some progress there.

正如我所提到的，百慕達已經啟動並運行，我們在那裡進行了第一筆流量交易，重點關注固定年金，然後，我們認為在費用方面還有很多工作要做。由於它與我們討論過的一些尋求優化的對沖計劃有關，我們認為我們會看到一些進展。

We've talked about the expensive hedge that we had to put in place relative to the variable life block, in 2022. And then lastly, to reiterate, we do think that there's continued upside as we think about optimizing our new money strategies on the investment side.

我們已經討論過 2022 年必須針對可變壽險區塊實施的昂貴對沖。最後，重申一下，我們確實認為，當我們考慮優化投資方面的新資金策略時，還會有持續的上行空間。

So then when you look out to 2026, as you mentioned in the investor deck, it expanded the upper end of the range, right? And so 45% to 55% moved to 45% to 60%, and I think of it really as coming from three buckets.

那麼，當您展望 2026 年時，正如您在投資者演講中提到的那樣，它擴大了範圍的上限，對嗎？因此，45% 到 55% 轉變為 45% 到 60%，我認為這實際上來自三個方面。

So the first is just this ongoing mix shift, right? So as you grow group protection as an example that has the highest free cash flow conversion rate, that's going to help company-wide free cash flow conversions. You've seen that this year.

所以首先就是這種持續的混合轉變，對嗎？因此，當您以具有最高自由現金流轉換率的團體保護為例時，這將有助於全公司的自由現金流轉換。今年你已經看到了這一點。

Second, is really thinking about optimizing the capital efficiency of new sales while continuing to grow earnings. And here, again, Bermuda will help and, while we have the fixed deal in place and that will, continue to grow throughout the next two years. We think that there's other things to do there as well, and so we're studying, opportunities, for example, on the retail life side.

第二，真正考慮的是優化新銷售的資本效率，同時繼續增加獲利。在這裡，百慕達將再次提供幫助，而且，在我們已經達成固定協議的情況下，這項援助將在未來兩年內繼續增長。我們認為那裡還有其他事情要做，因此我們正在研究機會，例如零售生活方面的機會。

And then third, as we talked about in the legacy blocks, we think there are actions that, we can take and projects that are in flight that will help to accelerate that free cash flow conversion, I mentioned hedging and expenses, there's things you can look at with captives, there's better investment yields.

第三，正如我們在遺留區塊中討論的那樣，我們認為我們可以採取一些行動，正在進行的項目將有助於加速自由現金流轉換，我提到了對沖和費用，你可以透過俘虜來觀察一些事情，從而獲得更好的投資收益。

If you think about the enforce book, and then just over time there's a natural improvement, given the reserve pattern. So as I mentioned, we have a two year pattern of proving we can execute on our priorities. Obviously, there's risks to our outlook, but we do see momentum and, we're confident in achieving the goals that we laid out.

如果你考慮強制執行書，那麼隨著時間的推移，考慮到儲備模式，就會有自然的改善。正如我所提到的，我們有兩年的時間來證明我們能夠執行我們的優先事項。顯然，我們的前景存在風險，但我們確實看到了動力，並且我們有信心實現我們所設定的目標。

Great, thank you. And then. I guess, related questions just the leverage ratio being lower, is that more a function of just higher equity growth, or does that contemplate reducing the dollar amount of leverage and then I guess somewhat related just how are you thinking about uses of capital above and beyond your RBC targets over the next, couple of years.

太好了，謝謝。進而。我想，相關的問題只是槓桿率較低，這是否更多的是股權增長率較高的函數，還是考慮減少槓桿的美元金額，然後我想有點相關的是，您如何考慮在未來幾年超出 RBC 目標的資本用途。

Yes, so, I think when we talked about our leverage ratio, last year, we had some conservatism in there just, as we wanted to see how some of the actions that we're embarking on would progress as I mentioned 2024, came in better than expectations on most of the key metrics and projects that we were working on.

是的，所以，我認為當我們去年談論我們的槓桿率時，我們有一些保守的態度，因為我們想看看我們正在採取的一些行動將如何進展，正如我提到的 2024 年，我們正在進行的大多數關鍵指標和項目都比預期的要好。

So now as we, roll the clock forward and look at the plan, we just feel more confident that the numerator will continue to grow and just bringing that down over time and in a little bit of a quicker way. There is some contemplation as we think about the different options that we have available to us as it relates to delevering.

因此，現在，當我們將時鐘撥回到過去並查看計劃時，我們更加確信分子將繼續增長，並且隨著時間的推移，分子將以更快的速度下降。當我們思考與去槓桿相關的不同選擇時，我們會進行一些思考。

The good and bad news is that as we've been able to execute on our plan, our spreads have come in and so the opportunistic, repurchasing, is less attractive as it was then it was a year ago, but it's still something that we think we could do. As you grow your equity, that's going to bring that down.

好消息和壞消息是，隨著我們能夠執行我們的計劃，我們的利差已經出現，因此機會主義的回購不像一年前那麼有吸引力，但我們仍然認為我們可以做到這一點。隨著你的資產成長，這個數字將會下降。

And then, we'll obviously continue to look at different ways to be thoughtful about the leverage. And then on the question as it relates to deploying of excess capital, I would say a couple things. One, as we talked about before, the idea of returning to share repurchases at some point is important to us.

然後，我們顯然會繼續尋找不同的方式來思考槓桿。然後關於部署過剩資本的問題，我想說幾點。首先，正如我們之前談到的，在某個時候恢復股票回購的想法對我們來說很重要。

The constraints that we've talked about are growing free cash flow to a level that is sustainable. And so, I would think about the conversation we just had as it relates to free cash flow in 2025 and 2026. We're certainly getting back to a level by 2026, that feels more reflective of our underlying earnings power and then leverage, we've talked about wanting that to come back down to the 25% level.

我們討論的限制是將自由現金流增加到可持續的水平。因此，我會思考我們剛才的討論，因為它與 2025 年和 2026 年的自由現金流有關。到 2026 年，我們肯定會回到某個水平，這更能反映我們的潛在盈利能力和槓桿率，我們已經討論過希望將其回落至 25% 的水平。

So, we are continuing to outperform relative to our expectations, which is good, we think we have another year of investment and hard work to do, but we see momentum, and things feel good at the moment.

因此，我們的表現繼續超出我們的預期，這是件好事，我們認為我們還有一年的投資和努力工作要做，但我們看到了動力，目前情況感覺很好。

Great thanks a lot.

非常好，非常感謝。

Suneet Kamath, Jefferies.

蘇尼特·卡馬斯（Suneet Kamath），傑富瑞（Jefferies）。

Great, thanks. Good morning. Just wanted to circle back on Alpine. Should we think about Alpine is primarily helping with new sales strain or are you considering opportunities to take some of your enforced business and potentially internally reinsured to Alpine?

太好了，謝謝。早安.只是想回到阿爾卑斯山。我們是否應該認為阿爾派主要在幫助應對新的銷售壓力，或者您是否正在考慮將部分強制執行的業務和潛在的內部再保險轉移到阿爾派？

So I think for '25 and beyond, Suneet, it's really about thinking around maximizing the capital efficiency of new business. We would look at incremental enforced deals, but the goal really is to make sure that, we are deploying all the tools in the toolkit as it relates to being competitive in the key markets that we're operating in where, an economic capital framework is table stakes.

因此，我認為對於 25 年及以後，Suneet，真正的重點是如何考慮最大化新業務的資本效率。我們會考慮漸進式強制交易，但真正的目標是確保我們部署工具包中的所有工具，因為這與我們在營運的關鍵市場中的競爭力有關，而經濟資本框架是基本條件。

So, I think of it as fixed annuities like we talked about. I think there are some, big opportunities on the retail life side of things, we're going to study that over the course of the year, and longer term we'll see. But at the moment, as we've talked about, we really think of Bermuda as being a key input into growing our spread-based earnings and being more capital efficient as a company.

所以，我認為它就像我們所談論的固定年金。我認為零售生活方面存在一些巨大的機遇，我們將在今年內對此進行研究，並從長遠來看進行觀察。但目前，正如我們所討論的，我們確實認為百慕達是增加我們基於利差的收益和提高公司資本效率的關鍵投入。

Okay, got it. And then on the expenses, obviously noting that the expenses were down year over year, but if I look at that expense ratio on slide 12 of your supplement, it looks kind of flattish for most of the quarters in 2024. Do you have a target or where should we expect that to kind of glide to over the next year or so?

好的，明白了。然後談到費用，顯然費用同比下降，但如果我看補充資料第 12 頁的費用率，2024 年大多數季度的費用率看起來都比較平穩。您有目標嗎？

So, Suneet, I would say a couple things. I think, you'll see the actions that we took this year start to flow through, more so in 2025, right? Because in first or second quarter, we had the company wide action and then in the fourth quarter and starting the third quarter, there were some of the more targeted actions.

所以，Suneet，我想說幾件事。我認為，你會看到我們今年採取的行動開始發揮作用，尤其是在 2025 年，對嗎？因為在第一季或第二季度，我們採取了全公司範圍的行動，然後在第四季和第三季開始，採取了一些更有針對性的行動。

And so we just think about the way, the expenses flow through in terms of the reduction, there's, when you have actions like that, there's a lingering cost, that doesn't come through in one quarter. So, you'll continue to see that benefit on the net G&A side flow through in 2025.

因此，我們只是考慮費用流向的減少方式，當你採取這樣的行動時，就會產生揮之不去的成本，而這些成本不會在一個季度內顯現出來。因此，您將繼續看到 2025 年淨 G&A 方面的收益。

And then I think depending on the business segment as we've talked about, where we're able to find savings, if we think there's the opportunity to invest for growth and increase margins, and group is a great example, you're going to see that.

然後，我認為，正如我們所討論的，這取決於業務部門，我們在哪裡能夠找到節約的資金，如果我們認為有機會投資增長並提高利潤率，而集團就是一個很好的例子，你就會看到這一點。

And so, what I would say is if you think about the group, operating margin just or G&A margin, just use that as the example. You should continue to see improvement there over time, but it may not necessarily translate to lower net G&A expenses, which is fine because what you're doing is you're growing the overall margin and you're investing in the business.

所以，我想說的是，如果你考慮集團，只考慮營業利益率或一般及行政費用利潤率，就用它作為例子。隨著時間的推移，您應該會繼續看到改善，但這不一定意味著降低淨 G&A 費用，這很好，因為您所做的是增加整體利潤率並投資於業務。

Okay, thanks.

好的，謝謝。

Dan Bergman, TD Cowan.

丹·伯格曼（Dan Bergman），TD Cowan。

Yeah, thanks. Good morning. I guess to start, it obviously is a very strong quarter overall for group protection, but it looked like the premium growth was a little bit subdued, in that line at around 2%, which is I think a little below had been running.

是的，謝謝。早安.首先，對於團體保障而言，這顯然是一個整體表現非常強勁的季度，但看起來保費成長有些低迷，約為 2%，我認為略低於目前的水平。

So any update to what you're seeing in terms of the competitive pricing environment there and any thoughts on what level of top line growth we should expect over the coming year?

那麼，您對那裡的競爭定價環境有何看法？ 對於未來一年我們應該預期什麼樣的營收成長水準？

Sure, Dan. So, first of all, we are incredibly pleased with our overall results and progress that we've made in the group protection business and broadly speaking across the enterprise. When you look at our quarterly premium growth, you are correct that you see 2% premium growth.

當然，丹。因此，首先，我們對團體保護業務以及整個企業的整體表現和進步感到非常滿意。當您查看我們的季度保費成長情況時，您會發現保費成長率為 2%，這是正確的。

However, if you look full year, and we think that full year is important. What you'll see is that the annual premium growth is more around the 3% range. Now, if you think about some of what we have continued to talk about in the message as it relates to our overall strategy, we are positioning to grow profitably, and we are prioritizing that over top line growth.

然而，如果你看全年，我們認為全年很重要。您會發現，年度保費成長率大致在 3% 左右。現在，如果你思考我們在資訊中繼續談論的一些內容，因為它與我們的整體策略有關，我們定位於獲利成長，並且我們優先考慮獲利成長而不是營收成長。

So we are less focused on the overall premium growth, although we are very pleased with 3%. And more focused on ensuring that the business that goes onto our books is achieving the appropriate margins to be able to sustain some of the results that we have talked about around our longer term objectives.

因此，儘管我們對 3% 的增幅感到非常滿意，但我們不太關注整體保費成長。我們更專注於確保記入帳目的業務達到適當的利潤率，以便能夠維持我們在長期目標中談到的一些成果。

So when you look at that 3% premium growth, a couple of things. One is that the new business that we put on the books, which is priced at appropriate margins, is part of that. Secondly, what you'll see is that a piece of that is around renewal pricing that has higher margins than what we've had in the past.

因此，當你看到 3% 的保費成長時，有幾件事。一是，我們記入帳目的新業務是其中的一部分，這些新業務的定價是按照適當的利潤率進行的。其次，您會發現其中一部分與續約定價有關，其利潤率比過去更高。

And importantly, what you will also observe is that we have also shared that we continue to experience expected levels of persistency that are simply lower because we have business that is rolling off and not renewing with us as we continue to put the price increases through.

重要的是，您還會觀察到，我們還分享了我們繼續經歷預期的持久性水平，而這種水平只是較低，因為隨著我們繼續提高價格，我們的業務正在減少而不是與我們續約。

And then just a couple of other comments here. So you will continue to see, as we continue to invest in this business, that we expect to win.

這裡還有一些其他的評論。因此，隨著我們繼續對該業務進行投資，您將繼續看到我們期望獲得成功。

More than our fair share, and a piece of this is around, of course, having appropriate pricing and having the margins, but also all the investments that we're doing in the business to be able to have all of the infrastructure, all of the technology, all of the capabilities to be able to meet our customers where they want to be met in our targeted segments with the appropriate products, technology, operations, etc.

這超過了我們應得的份額，當然，其中一部分在於擁有適當的定價和利潤，也在於我們在業務中所做的所有投資，以便擁有所有的基礎設施、所有的技術、所有的能力，以便能夠透過適當的產品、技術、營運等在目標市場中滿足客戶的需求。

I got it that's super helpful, thank you. And then maybe it's shifting gears a little bit. You saw a big increase in variable annuity sales this quarter, particularly those with living benefits, and I know you touched on it some in the prepared remarks.

我明白了，這非常有幫助，謝謝。然後也許它會稍微改變一下方向。您發現本季變額年金銷售額大幅成長，特別是那些帶有生存福利的年金，我知道您在準備好的發言中已經提到了這一點。

But I was just hoping to give a little bit more color on what you saw in the quarter and how we should be thinking about the outlook for VA sales going forward? And given that I guess some others have, seemingly deemphasized these products? Any color on kind of competition would be great.

但我只是希望對您在本季度看到的情況以及我們應該如何看待未來 VA 銷售的前景提供更多的資訊？而且我猜其他一些人似乎已經不再強調這些產品了？任何類型的比賽顏色都很棒。

Absolutely. So, as you all know, we have been a leader in the annuity market for really for decades, and we view our annuity business as a real competitive strength. And when we think about annuities for us, we've spent a lot of time really building out the broad product categories.

絕對地。眾所周知，幾十年來我們一直是年金市場的領導者，我們將年金業務視為真正的競爭優勢。當我們考慮年金時，我們花了很多時間來建立廣泛的產品類別。

So we have always been a strong variable annuity with guaranteed living benefit writer, we also offer variable annuities without any kind of guaranteed living benefit. And then of course, in 2018, we went into the RILA business and then we also talked about that about a year ago, we built the capabilities to be able to have a consistent competitive presence in the in the fixed annuity space.

因此，我們一直是實力雄厚、具有保證生存福利的變額年金發行人，我們也提供不具有任何類型保證生存福利的變額年金。當然，在 2018 年，我們進入了 RILA 業務，然後大約一年前我們也談到了這一點，我們建立了在固定年金領域保持持續競爭力的能力。

So when you look across all of those, we are very intentionally offering a holistic range of product solutions for our clients and this really enables us to be able to adapt to customer preferences in various market environments, and you align that, of course, with the strength of our distribution organization.

因此，當您縱觀所有這些時，您會發現我們非常有意為客戶提供全方位的產品解決方案，這確實使我們能夠適應各種市場環境中的客戶偏好，當然，這與我們分銷組織的優勢相一致。

So nothing has changed in our strategic focus on growing our presence in spread-based products, and we consider that again to be fixed annuities and RILA. We also at the same time, we continue to be a leader in VA and that's both with and without product guarantees, and we are pleased.

因此，我們的策略重點並沒有發生任何改變，即擴大我們在利差產品方面的影響力，我們再次將其視為固定年金和 RILA。同時，我們將繼續成為 VA 領域的領導者，無論是否有產品保證，我們都感到高興。

And as we mentioned in our in our remarks, we're pleased with the overall level of sales and importantly the mix for 2024. So we had total sales for the year of $13.7 billion. That's the highest that we've had in five years from an overall level perspective, that's up 7% versus where we were a year ago.

正如我們在評論中提到的那樣，我們對整體銷售水平以及 2024 年的產品組合感到滿意。因此我們全年的銷售額達到了 137 億美元。從總體水平來看，這是我們五年來的最高水平，比一年前增長了 7%。

And then importantly to your question, the mix, spread-based products, RILAT and Fixed, they represented two-third of the sales for the year and VA with guaranteed living benefits represented less than 25%. And then importantly, of course, all products are achieving their risk adjuster turns.

然後對於您的問題來說很重要的一點是，混合型、基於利差的產品、RILAT 和 Fixed，它們佔全年銷售額的三分之二，而保證生活福利的 VA 佔不到 25%。當然，重要的是，所有產品都實現了其風險調整轉變。

And then I'll just add that with our fixed annuity sales being lower, that we just did broadly see that industry data was suggesting a decline in fixed annuity across the board. So we recognize that this is not unique to Lincoln.

然後我只想補充一點，由於我們的固定年金銷售額較低，我們普遍看到行業數據顯示固定年金全面下滑。所以我們體認到這並不是林肯獨有的。

As we go forward, just a couple of comments, you will see us continue to focus on growth in our overall annuity business, and you will also see us continue to strategically focus on our spread-based businesses going forward while also recognizing that VA is and has always been an important part of our overall products and also offering holistic product solutions for clients.

隨著我們繼續前進，我只想說幾句，您會看到我們繼續專注於整體年金業務的增長，您還會看到我們繼續從戰略上關注未來的利差業務，同時也認識到 VA 一直是我們整體產品的重要組成部分，並為客戶提供整體產品解決方案。

Got it thanks so much.

明白了，非常感謝。

[Nick Anido], Wells Fargo.

[Nick Anido]，富國銀行。

Hey, good morning, I just wanted to touch back on the FA point and appreciate, that it tends to be volatile quarter over quarter, but.

嘿，早上好，我只是想回顧一下 FA 的觀點，並意識到它往往在每個季度都出現波動，但是。

Any outlook or commentary that you could provide on the use of flow, I guess kind of how we should be thinking about sales going forward, the flow agreement with Bermuda, thanks.

您能否對流量的使用提出任何看法或評論，我想我們應該如何考慮未來的銷售，以及與百慕達的流量協議，謝謝。

So good question Nick. I think what I would say is that if you think about the use of Bermuda over time, and combined with having a more optimized investment, strategy on the new money side, we continue to see, strength and fixed annuities from a sales perspective as we look out over the next two or three years, the way that we're thinking about, our plan.

尼克，你問得真好。我想說的是，如果你考慮百慕達的長期使用，並結合更優化的投資和新資金策略，我們會繼續從銷售角度看到實力和固定年金，展望未來兩三年，我們正在思考我們的計劃。

Now obviously industry dynamics will play a role, and so, we'll see what happens. But at the end of the day, as you think about Bermuda, the other key component is to just think about what we said on the call, which is that there's also the ability for us to optimize the mix between internal and external flow reinsurance.

現在顯然行業動態將發揮作用，所以，我們將拭​​目以待。但歸根究底，當你想到百慕達時，另一個關鍵因素就是想想我們在電話中所說的話，那就是我們還有能力優化內部和外部流量再保險之間的組合。

So, sales are going to ebb and flow, we think there's upward trajectory relative to where we were in 2024. We're taking action to continue to improve our competitiveness in the market.

因此，銷售額將會有起有落，我們認為相對於 2024 年的水平，銷售額將呈現上升趨勢。我們正在採取行動，繼續提高我們在市場上的競爭力。

But at the same time as we've talked about what Bermuda allows us to do is be more capital efficient and ultimately to be able to retain more earnings as we decrease our reliance on the external quota share. Now there's an optimal mix between those two things.

但同時，正如我們所討論的，百慕達可以讓我們提高資本效率，並最終能夠在減少對外部配額份額的依賴的同時保留更多的收益。現在，這兩者之間存在著最佳組合。

We think that the, external reinsurance flow deals are, very attractive and can help, overall returns, but finding that right optimal mix is really the goal and Bermuda allows us to do that.

我們認為，外部再保險流量交易非常有吸引力，可以幫助提高整體回報，但找到正確的最佳組合才是真正的目標，百慕達可以讓我們做到這一點。

And just as a reminder, when we built the capabilities for our fixed annuities, there were three things that we focused on. The first was really expanding our distribution presence to be able to have fixed annuities on shelves. The second was the flow agreement, and the third was to begin. In the optimization of our investment strategy.

提醒一下，當我們建立固定年金功能時，我們專注於三件事。首先是真正擴大我們的分銷範圍，以便能夠在貨架上提供固定的年金。第二個是流程協議，第三個是開始。在優化我們的投資策略方面。

As we look forward to Chris's earlier point, we now have the opportunity to be able to optimize that reinsurance between the flow agreement and also our Bermuda affiliate. And so we do expect that that will support all of our objectives going forward.

正如我們期待克里斯先前提出的觀點一樣，我們現在有機會能夠優化流量協議和百慕達附屬公司之間的再保險。因此，我們確實希望這將支持我們未來的所有目標。

Thanks, that's really helpful. Then I guess just switching towards group I think it seems like the guide is, basically 8% or above going forward. So just wanted to see if there was anything like structural changing in the business that you're seeing, or it's just more a matter of link in internal actions?

謝謝，這真的很有幫助。然後我想只需轉向小組，我認為指南基本上是 8％ 或更高。所以只是想看看您是否看到業務中發生了結構性變化，或者這只是內部行動之間的聯繫問題？

So Nick, just to clarify, if you look at what we said in the call, when we talked about 8% that was specific to 2026, right? What we said about the margin expectations reflecting on 2024. Well and actually if you just step back, I mean, keep in mind this was a business that, in 2022, I think had a 1% margin '23 was 5.5% margin, and this year's coming in at 8.3%, right?

所以尼克，只是為了澄清一下，如果你看我們在電話會議中所說的內容，當我們談到 8% 時，這具體是指 2026 年，對嗎？我們談到了 2024 年的利潤預期。嗯，實際上，如果您退一步考慮，我的意思是，請記住，這是一個業務，我認為在 2022 年，其利潤率為 1%，'23 年的利潤率為 5.5%，而今年的利潤率為 8.3%，對吧？

So there's just been significant execution on that team's part to really redefine the strategy, grow earnings and focus on improving earnings, grow margins. And so what we said about 2024 was that when you think about the 8.3% margin that we did, we think about a 100 basis points of that is due to a very favorable backdrop, right?

因此，該團隊已經採取了重大執行措施，真正重新定義了策略，增加收益並專注於提高收益和增加利潤率。因此，我們關於 2024 年的說法是，當您考慮到我們實現的 8.3% 的利潤率時，我們認為其中的 100 個基點是由於非常有利的背景，對嗎？

So if you dial the clock back, what we said last year was, we were at 5.5% and we expected 50 basis points to 100 basis points of improvement in 2024. So you know that would put you at about 6.5%. So we came in at 8.3% and we're saying 100 basis points of that was due to the favorable backdrop, which tells you that the other 100 basis points plus or minus are just due to us being able to execute better than we had envisioned at the time.

所以，如果回顧一下，我們去年所說的是，我們的成長率為 5.5%，我們預計 2024 年將提高 50 個基點到 100 個基點。因此您知道這將使您達到約 6.5%。因此，我們的利率達到了 8.3%，其中 100 個基點是由於有利的背景，這說明另外 100 個基點的增減只是因為我們的執行能力比我們當時預想的要好。

So when you look at 2025. The point that we made in the prepared comments was that we would expect earnings to be relatively flat relative to '24, given this expectation that that 100 basis points uplift from the favorable backdrop may not persist, right?

所以當你展望2025年時。我們在準備好的評論中提出的觀點是，我們預計收益將與24年相比相對持平，因為預計有利背景下的100個基點的上漲可能不會持續，對嗎？

So we'll just have to see how it goes. But at the end of the day, our disability loss ratios are, lower than what we would expect over time, and we think that, there's a role that's being played by the economic backdrop. I think you've heard this from some of our peers.

所以我們只需要看看事情進展如何。但最終，我們的殘障損失率低於我們預期的水平，我們認為，經濟背景起了一定作用。我想您已經從我們的一些同行那裡聽說過這一點。

But underneath the surface, the point is we continue to execute on our priorities, we continue to reprice the business, we continue to add more products for our customers, and we continue to be more efficient on the expense side. So when you roll forward to 2026, you can see that margin getting above 8%. So I hope that helps, but I wanted to clarify, just the comments that we made on the call.

但從表面來看，關鍵在於我們繼續執行我們的優先事項，我們繼續重新定價業務，我們繼續為客戶增加更多產品，我們繼續在費用方面提高效率。因此，當你前進到 2026 年時，你會看到利潤率將超過 8%。所以我希望這會有所幫助，但我想澄清一下我們在電話中發表的評論。

Yeah, really helpful. Thank you.

是的，非常有幫助。謝謝。

And there are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Tina Madon, for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。現在我將電話轉回給蒂娜·馬登，請她作最後發言。

So thank you for joining us this morning. We're happy to address any follow-up questions you have. Please email us at investor elations@lfg.com.

非常感謝您今天早上加入我們。我們很樂意解答您的任何後續問題。請發送電子郵件至 investor elations@lfg.com。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

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。