Lindsay Corp (LNN) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is MJ, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Lindsay Corporation Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2022 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions)

早上好。我的名字是 MJ，今天我將成為您的會議接線員。在這個時候，我想歡迎大家參加 Lindsay Corporation 2022 財年第四季度財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）

During this call, management may make forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which reflect management's current beliefs, estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. Forward-looking statements include the information concerning possible or assumed future results of operation of the company and those statements preceded by, followed by or including the words expectation, outlook, could, may, should or similar expressions. For these statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

在本次電話會議期間，管理層可能會做出受風險和不確定性影響的前瞻性陳述，這些陳述反映了管理層當前的信念、對未來經濟環境、行業狀況、公司業績和財務業績的估計。前瞻性陳述包括有關公司可能或假定的未來經營結果的信息，以及前面、後面或包括預期、展望、可能、可能、應該或類似表達的那些陳述。對於這些陳述，我們要求保護 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》中包含的前瞻性陳述的安全港。

Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Randy Wood, President and Chief Executive Officer.

請注意，此事件正在記錄中。我現在想將電話轉給總裁兼首席執行官 Randy Wood 先生。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our Fourth Quarter and Full Year Earnings Call. And with me today is Brian Ketcham, our Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝大家，大家早上好。歡迎參加我們的第四季度和全年收益電話會議。今天和我在一起的是我們的首席財務官 Brian Ketcham。

Fiscal 2022 was a dynamic year where we recognized record revenues and earnings per share. It was a year marked by a robust demand in our global irrigation business, highlighted by tremendous growth in our international regions.

2022 財年是充滿活力的一年，我們實現了創紀錄的收入和每股收益。這一年我們的全球灌溉業務需求旺盛，我們國際地區的巨大增長突顯了這一點。

In our infrastructure business, our teams demonstrated tremendous perseverance and finished the year strong delivering 2 Road Zipper systems projects. We continue to make investments in our global footprint, and this has allowed us to take advantage of global market tailwinds in high-growth markets, including Brazil and the Middle East. Despite inflationary pressures, logistics challenges and supply chain shortages, we were able to prioritize investments this year to support the strong demand in our irrigation business to make sure products were available when our customers needed them most.

在我們的基礎設施業務中，我們的團隊表現出極大的毅力，並在今年完成了 2 個 Road Zipper 系統項目。我們繼續對我們的全球足跡進行投資，這使我們能夠在巴西和中東等高增長市場利用全球市場順風。儘管存在通脹壓力、物流挑戰和供應鏈短缺，我們今年仍能夠優先投資，以支持灌溉業務的強勁需求，確保產品在客戶最需要時可用。

Navigating and rising above these challenges each day are our people, who are relentless in their pursuit to support our customers and our business around the world. We thank our teams for all they're doing to contribute to the success of our customers and our company. I'm very proud of the job they've done.

我們的員工每天都在應對和克服這些挑戰，他們不懈地追求支持我們在世界各地的客戶和我們的業務。我們感謝我們的團隊為我們的客戶和公司的成功所做的一切。我為他們所做的工作感到非常自豪。

In the area of sustainability, in July, we released the fourth edition of our annual environment, social and governance, or ESG report. This report highlights the progress we're making in establishing and meeting our goals in important areas that include investing in sustainable technologies, improving our operational footprint, empowering our people, engaging in our local communities and operating with integrity.

在可持續發展領域，我們於 7 月發布了第四版年度環境、社會和治理或 ESG 報告。本報告重點介紹了我們在建立和實現重要領域目標方面取得的進展，包括投資可持續技術、改善我們的運營足跡、賦予員工權力、參與當地社區和誠信經營。

I'm encouraged by the progress we've made and look forward to continuing to provide solutions that address some of the world's most pressing issues.

我對我們取得的進展感到鼓舞，並期待繼續提供解決世界上一些最緊迫問題的解決方案。

Turning to irrigation market conditions. The market continues to see a combination of factors impacting customer sentiment and business growth. In North America, commodity prices and net farm income are projected to remain strong. Droughts across broad geographies continues to highlight the opportunity for irrigated agriculture and a strong storm season also drove demand in North America in our fourth quarter.

轉向灌溉市場狀況。市場繼續看到影響客戶情緒和業務增長的多種因素。在北美，商品價格和農場淨收入預計將保持強勁。廣泛地區的干旱繼續突出灌溉農業的機會，強勁的風暴季節也推動了我們第四季度北美的需求。

Customers continue to deal with rising costs that include inputs, labor and cost of capital. This will have some impact on market upside, but we would not expect this to create significant headwind at this time. In international markets, we see some of the same strong market fundamentals connected to global commodity prices and farm income having a positive impact in the mature markets that include Australia, New Zealand, Western Europe and Brazil.

客戶繼續應對不斷上升的成本，包括投入、勞動力和資本成本。這將對市場上行產生一些影響，但我們預計此時不會造成重大阻力。在國際市場上，我們看到與全球商品價格和農業收入相關的一些同樣強勁的市場基本面對澳大利亞、新西蘭、西歐和巴西等成熟市場產生了積極影響。

Brazil continued to set shipping records, and our business there has more than doubled on a year-over-year basis. We continue to see project activity across Central Asia and the Middle East connected to food security. Our global manufacturing and commercial footprint allow us to participate and win these large projects around the world.

巴西繼續創造航運記錄，我們在那裡的業務同比增長了一倍多。我們繼續看到中亞和中東的項目活動與糧食安全有關。我們的全球製造和商業足跡使我們能夠參與並贏得世界各地的這些大型項目。

Moving to infrastructure. Macro indicators remain strong in the U.S. with the states having full access to the infrastructure bill funds. The increased funding has translated to state and local government contract awards increasing by 16% on a year-over-year basis. The purchasing power of this increase has been partially offset by the impact of inflation, which has required some projects to be delayed, rescoped or rebid.

轉向基礎設施。美國的宏觀指標仍然強勁，各州可以完全使用基礎設施法案資金。增加的資金已轉化為州和地方政府的合同獎勵，同比增長 16%。這一增長的購買力部分被通貨膨脹的影響所抵消，通貨膨脹要求一些項目被推遲、調整範圍或重新投標。

We continue to actively manage the Road Zipper sales funnel and have returned to pre-pandemic travel and customer engagement levels. This has allowed us to start moving projects through the funnel. And as previously communicated, 1 project in the Northeast started shipping in the fourth quarter and will continue into the first quarter of 2023.

我們繼續積極管理 Road Zipper 銷售渠道，並已恢復到大流行前的旅行和客戶參與水平。這使我們能夠開始通過漏斗移動項目。而正如此前所傳，東北地區1個項目於四季度開始出貨，並將持續到2023年一季度。

I'll now turn the call over to Brian to review our fourth quarter and full year financial results. Brian?

我現在將電話轉給布賴恩，以審查我們的第四季度和全年財務業績。布賴恩？

Thank you, Randy, and good morning, everyone. Total revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 increased 24% to $190.2 million compared to $153.6 million in the same quarter last year.

謝謝蘭迪，大家早上好。與去年同期的 1.536 億美元相比，2022 財年第四季度的總收入增長 24% 至 1.902 億美元。

Net earnings for the quarter were $17.9 million or $1.62 per diluted share compared to net earnings of $5.8 million or $0.53 per diluted share in the prior year. Total revenues for the full year of fiscal 2022 increased 36% to $770.7 million compared to $567.6 million in the prior fiscal year.

本季度的淨收益為 1790 萬美元或稀釋後每股收益 1.62 美元，而上一年的淨收益為 580 萬美元或稀釋後每股收益 0.53 美元。與上一財年的 5.676 億美元相比，2022 財年全年的總收入增長 36% 至 7.707 億美元。

Net earnings for fiscal 2022 were $65.5 million or $5.94 per diluted share compared to net earnings of $42.6 million or $3.88 per diluted share in the prior fiscal year. Irrigation segment revenues for the fourth quarter increased 20% to $150.5 million compared to $125.3 million in the same quarter last year.

2022財年的淨收益為6550萬美元或稀釋後每股收益5.94美元，而上一財年的淨收益為4260萬美元或稀釋後每股收益3.88美元。第四季度灌溉部門收入增長 20%，達到 1.505 億美元，而去年同期為 1.253 億美元。

North America irrigation revenues of $80.1 million increased 50% compared to last year's fourth quarter. The increase in North America irrigation revenues resulted from a combination of higher irrigation equipment unit sales volume and higher average selling prices. Higher unit sales volumes resulted primarily from increased storm damage replacement demand compared to the prior year fourth quarter.

與去年第四季度相比，北美灌溉收入為 8010 萬美元，增長了 50%。北美灌溉收入的增加是由於灌溉設備單位銷量增加和平均售價增加的共同作用。與去年第四季度相比，單位銷量增加主要是由於風暴損壞更換需求增加。

In international irrigation markets, revenues of $70.4 million were slightly lower compared to last year's fourth quarter and this includes unfavorable effects of foreign currency translation differences of approximately $3.5 million.

在國際灌溉市場，7040 萬美元的收入與去年第四季度相比略有下降，其中包括約 350 萬美元的外匯折算差額的不利影響。

Strong sales growth in Brazil, Europe and other markets more than offset Egypt project sales of $17 million in the prior year that did not repeat. Total irrigation segment operating income for the fourth quarter was $24.2 million, an increase of 129% compared to the prior year fourth quarter and operating margin was 16.1% of sales compared to 8.4% of sales in the prior fourth quarter.

巴西、歐洲和其他市場的強勁銷售增長抵消了埃及項目去年 1700 萬美元的銷售額，這一數字沒有重複。第四季度灌溉部門總營業收入為 2420 萬美元，與去年第四季度相比增長 129%，營業利潤率為銷售額的 16.1%，而去年第四季度為銷售額的 8.4%。

The increase in operating income and operating margin resulted from higher unit sales volumes, improved price realization and lower inflationary headwinds compared to the prior year fourth quarter.

與去年第四季度相比，營業收入和營業利潤率的增加是由於單位銷量增加、價格實現改善和通脹阻力減少。

For the full fiscal year, total irrigation segment revenues increased 41% to $665.8 million compared to $471.4 million in the prior year. North America irrigation revenues of $355.7 million increased 30% compared to the prior year and international irrigation revenues of $310.1 million increased 57% compared to the prior year.

整個財年，灌溉部門總收入增長 41%，達到 6.658 億美元，而上一年為 4.714 億美元。北美灌溉收入 3.557 億美元，同比增長 30%，國際灌溉收入 3.101 億美元，同比增長 57%。

Irrigation segment operating income for the full fiscal year was $105.8 million, an increase of 67% compared to the prior year. And operating margin was 15.9% of sales, compared to 13.4% of sales in the prior fiscal year. Infrastructure segment revenues for the fourth quarter increased 40% to $39.7 million compared to $28.4 million in the same quarter last year. The increase resulted from higher Road Zipper System project sales, which were partially offset by lower lease revenue compared to the prior year.

整個財政年度的灌溉部門營業收入為 1.058 億美元，比上年增長 67%。營業利潤率為銷售額的 15.9%，而上一財年為銷售額的 13.4%。第四季度基礎設施部門收入增長 40%，達到 3970 萬美元，而去年同期為 2840 萬美元。增長的原因是 Road Zipper System 項目銷售額增加，但與上一年相比，租賃收入下降部分抵消了該銷售額。

During the quarter, we delivered approximately $16 million of a $24 million barrier replacement project in Massachusetts and expect deliveries to continue in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.

在本季度，我們在馬薩諸塞州交付了價值 2400 萬美元的屏障更換項目中的大約 1600 萬美元，預計交付將在 2023 財年第一季度繼續。

Infrastructure segment operating income for the fourth quarter increased 97% to $11.5 million compared to $5.8 million in the same quarter last year. Infrastructure operating margin for the quarter was 28.8% of sales compared to 20.5% of sales in the prior year. Improved current year results reflect the increase in Road Zipper System sales compared to the prior year fourth quarter.

第四季度基礎設施部門營業收入增長 97% 至 1150 萬美元，而去年同期為 580 萬美元。本季度基礎設施運營利潤率為銷售額的 28.8%，而去年同期為 20.5%。與去年第四季度相比，本年度業績的改善反映了 Road Zipper System 銷售額的增長。

For the full fiscal year, infrastructure segment revenues increased 9% to $104.9 million compared to $96.3 million in the prior year. Infrastructure operating income for the full fiscal year was $18.3 million compared to $20.2 million in the prior year. And operating margin for the year was 17.5% of sales compared to 21.0% of sales in the prior year.

整個財年，基礎設施部門的收入增長 9%，達到 1.049 億美元，而上一年為 9630 萬美元。整個財年的基礎設施營業收入為 1830 萬美元，而上一年為 2020 萬美元。今年的營業利潤率為銷售額的 17.5%，而去年為銷售額的 21.0%。

Results for the full year reflect a less favorable margin mix of revenues compared to the prior year as well as the impact of under-absorbed fixed overhead costs in the first half of the current year.

全年業績反映了與上一年相比不太有利的收入利潤率組合，以及本年度上半年固定管理費用吸收不足的影響。

Turning to the balance sheet and liquidity. Our total available liquidity at the end of the fiscal year was $166.5 million, with $116.5 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and $50 million available under our revolving credit facility. At the end of the fiscal year, we were well within the financial covenants of our borrowing facilities, including a gross funded debt-to-EBITDA leverage ratio of 1.0 compared to a covenant limit of 3.0. We are well positioned going forward to invest in growth opportunities that create value for our shareholders.

轉向資產負債表和流動性。截至本財年末，我們的可用流動資金總額為 1.665 億美元，其中現金、現金等價物和有價證券為 1.165 億美元，我們的循環信貸額度為 5,000 萬美元。在本財政年度結束時，我們完全符合我們的借貸便利的財務契約，包括融資債務與 EBITDA 槓桿比率為 1.0，而契約限制為 3.0。我們處於有利地位，可以投資於為股東創造價值的增長機會。

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to the operator to take your questions.

在這個時候，我想把電話轉給接線員來回答你的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Today's first question comes from Nathan Jones of Stifel.

今天的第一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Nathan Jones。

I wanted to start off with a quick one on LIFO. Were there LIFO charges in the fourth quarter? And then can you -- I think it was like $20 million or something for the full year in LIFO charges. Can you talk about any expectations for 2023, whether that be charges or income?

我想從一個關於 LIFO 的快速開始。第四季度是否有 LIFO 費用？然後你能 - 我認為這相當於 2000 萬美元或全年的 LIFO 費用。你能談談對 2023 年的任何期望，無論是收費還是收入？

Yes, Nathan, this is Brian. I think when you look at just the fourth quarter compared to last year, last year, we had call that about a $6 million negative impact overall from LIFO, $5 million of that being in irrigation. And then first and second quarters this year, we also had some negative LIFO headwinds.

是的，內森，這是布賴恩。我認為，當您僅查看與去年相比的第四季度時，我們認為 LIFO 總體上產生了大約 600 萬美元的負面影響，其中 500 萬美元用於灌溉。然後今年第一和第二季度，我們也遇到了一些負面的 LIFO 逆風。

Third and fourth quarters, I would say there's been very little, if any, benefit from LIFO primarily being -- there's still some inflation. It's moderated, but our inventory levels from the end of our second quarter have not yet come down. So really no LIFO impact in our fourth quarter. As we look forward to 2023, as we potentially see some continued deflation in raw materials or our inventory levels start to come back down, we would expect to see some LIFO benefit coming through, but it's hard to predict at this point what the size of that might be.

第三和第四季度，我想說的是，後進先出法的好處很少，如果有的話——仍然存在一些通貨膨脹。它有所緩和，但我們第二季度末的庫存水平尚未下降。所以在我們的第四季度真的沒有 LIFO 影響。展望 2023 年，由於我們可能會看到原材料持續通縮或庫存水平開始回落，我們預計會看到一些 LIFO 收益，但目前很難預測那可能是。

Could you just give us the aggregate number for the '22 LIFO charge.

您能否告訴我們 '22 LIFO 費用的總數。

Yes. So for '22, it was $8.8 million in total with about $6 million -- yes, a little over $6 million of that being in irrigation.

是的。因此，對於 22 年，總計 880 萬美元，其中約 600 萬美元——是的，其中 600 萬美元多一點用於灌溉。

Okay. Next one I want to ask is on price costs. Coil steel prices come down pretty significantly, though some other types have remained elevated, breakups have come down, probably electronic and labor is still going up. Can you just talk about kind of what direction you are seeing your overall cost go on a net basis?

好的。我想問的下一個問題是價格成本。捲鋼價格大幅下跌，儘管其他一些類型的價格仍處於高位，拆分已經下降，可能電子和勞動力仍在上漲。您能否談談您認為總體成本在淨額基礎上的發展方向？

Yes. To your point, I think the steel coil has fallen over the last several months. It still remains higher than it was in the fall of 2020. At that same time, over the last several months, structural steel continued to increase over that period of time. And as you mentioned, other components, electronics as well as labor costs have increased.

是的。就你而言，我認為鋼捲在過去幾個月裡已經下跌。它仍然高於 2020 年秋季的水平。與此同時，在過去幾個月中，結構鋼在此期間繼續增加。正如你所提到的，其他組件、電子產品以及勞動力成本都在增加。

What I would say right now and kind of what we experienced in our fourth quarter is costs have stabilized for the time being. And our view going forward is we may continue to have some slight inflation. But overall, our cost outlook is stable, at least for the first half of the fiscal year.

我現在要說的以及我們在第四季度經歷的情況是成本暫時穩定了。我們未來的觀點是，我們可能會繼續出現一些輕微的通脹。但總體而言，我們的成本前景是穩定的，至少在本財年的上半年是這樣。

And just last one before I pass it on. Can you talk about the impact of price that you increased in '22 on 2023's revenue? What average level of growth you're expecting from carryover price?

就在我傳遞它之前的最後一個。你能談談你在 22 年提高的價格對 2023 年收入的影響嗎？您期望結轉價格的平均增長水平是多少？

Yes. We expect in our first and second quarters to still have a little price benefit. I'd say first quarter maybe high single digits, second quarter mid-single digits and then being relatively flat year-over-year as we lap the price increases from 2022. And that all depends also on what happens with raw material prices.

是的。我們預計第一季度和第二季度仍然會有一點價格優勢。我想說第一季度可能是個位數的高位，第二季度可能是個位數的中位數，然後隨著我們從 2022 年開始價格上漲，與去年同期相比相對持平。這一切也取決於原材料價格的走勢。

But assuming a stable raw material pricing environment, that's kind of our outlook on the price impact going into 2023.

但假設原材料價格環境穩定，這就是我們對 2023 年價格影響的展望。

The next question comes from Ryan Connors of Northcoast Research.

下一個問題來自 Northcoast Research 的 Ryan Connors。

So I wanted to -- and I apologize if I missed this. I know you talked about storm damage, but did you actually give a quantification of the impact of the storm damage in the quarter?

所以我想——如果我錯過了這個，我深表歉意。我知道你談到了風暴破壞，但你真的量化了本季度風暴破壞的影響嗎？

Yes, this is Randy. I'll take that question. And we haven't broken it out, Ryan. But what we can say is it was up fairly significantly this year versus prior years. And we always have some storm damage and it's moved around from the Southeast to the Midwest in different years. There was some strong storm activity in the Midwest regions, but we haven't broke that out in terms of volume specifically.

是的，這是蘭迪。我會回答這個問題。我們還沒有解決，瑞恩。但我們可以說的是，與往年相比，今年的漲幅相當大。而且我們總是有一些風暴破壞，並且在不同年份從東南部轉移到中西部。中西部地區有一些強烈的風暴活動，但我們還沒有具體地在數量上打破這一點。

Okay. Okay. And then is that generally a positive or a negative from a mix standpoint? I mean those would seem to be they want to replace those machines quickly. Is the pricing sort of normal for those? Or is it a little better than other orders?

好的。好的。然後從混合的角度來看，這通常是積極的還是消極的？我的意思是那些似乎是他們想快速更換那些機器。這些定價是正常的嗎？還是比其他訂單好一點？

It's not a sales type where we attempt to get stronger pricing, I would say there's less competitive pressure on price in those purchase decisions because it's more about timing and how quickly can you get the machine delivered, installed and get it irrigating again. So I would say pricing is normal, Ryan, but it's maybe less competitive just because timing is so important and price is less sensitive at that time.

這不是我們試圖獲得更強定價的銷售類型，我會說在這些購買決策中對價格的競爭壓力較小，因為它更多地是關於時間以及你能多快交付、安裝和再次灌溉機器。所以我會說定價是正常的，瑞恩，但它可能不那麼有競爭力，因為時間是如此重要，而且當時價格不那麼敏感。

Got it. I wanted to ask about the issue of sort of channel inventories. I know center pivots aren't necessarily held through inventory by dealers, there's sort of more made to order. But in terms of parts and aftermarket supplies, there's been a lot of industrial companies talking about destocking cycles. Is there anything of note to mention there for you in terms of your parts and aftermarket product?

知道了。我想問一下渠道庫存的問題。我知道中心支點不一定是經銷商通過庫存持有的，還有更多是定做的。但在零部件和售後市場供應方面，很多工業公司都在談論去庫存週期。就您的零件和售後產品而言，您有什麼值得注意的地方嗎？

In our view, there really isn't anything that would be substantial or drive a difference in our results, Ryan. Our dealers don't necessarily stock full machines. We do see some inventory go out in the summer months, just so dealers have it on the shelf, if they need to respond to storm damage very, very quickly. All of those machines, I would say, for the most part, have now been delivered and installed, but it shouldn't have a material impact on us going forward.

在我們看來，瑞恩，真的沒有任何東西可以使我們的結果產生實質性或產生差異。我們的經銷商不一定會備有整台機器。我們確實看到一些庫存在夏季月份用完，只是為了讓經銷商把它放在貨架上，如果他們需要非常、非常迅速地對風暴造成的損失做出反應。所有這些機器，我想說，在大多數情況下，現在已經交付和安裝，但它不應該對我們的未來產生重大影響。

Got it. And then one last one, more of a bigger picture question, but the whole issue of water scarcity, obviously, very front center. And you've talked in the past about that being "good thing" for you as long as it doesn't get too bad and what our availability becomes an actual problem. Where do we stand on that spectrum of how bad that's gotten? And then also, if you could comment on some of these programs that have come out. I know the Department of Interior announced that program to actually pay farmers to reduce water consumption as part of that latest infrastructure bill. So if you can comment on that as well, that would be helpful.

知道了。然後是最後一個，更多的是一個更大的問題，但整個缺水問題，顯然是非常前沿的中心。而且您過去曾說過這對您來說是“好事”，只要它不會變得太糟，並且我們的可用性成為一個實際問題。在這變得多麼糟糕的範圍內，我們站在哪裡？然後，如果您可以評論其中一些已經出來的程序。我知道內政部宣布了該計劃，作為最新基礎設施法案的一部分，實際支付農民減少用水量。因此，如果您也可以對此發表評論，那將很有幫助。

Sure. I'll take that one, Ryan. We're in the middle of our North American regional sales and strategy meetings now. So we spent the last several weeks kind of out with each of our dealers in the North American markets. We've got a similar meeting with our Europe, Middle East, Africa channel this week in Europe.

當然。我要那個，瑞恩。我們現在正在進行北美區域銷售和戰略會議。因此，我們在過去幾週與北美市場的每個經銷商都進行了交流。我們本週在歐洲與我們的歐洲、中東、非洲頻道舉行了類似的會議。

So I think we've got a lot of really good, even if it's anecdotal feedback from our people in the field and I think there are some markets, I would put kind of the Panhandle, West Texas in -- on that list right now where we've had customers that haven't been able to finish a crop. I know there's been some new stories on the impact on the cattle industry, as well in that part of the world.

所以我認為我們有很多非常好的東西，即使這是來自我們在該領域的人員的軼事反饋，而且我認為有一些市場，我現在會把西德克薩斯州的 Panhandle 放在那個名單上我們有客戶無法完成作物。我知道有一些關於對養牛業的影響的新故事，以及在世界的那個地區。

That's maybe one where we've seen a lot of stress that could impact a winter week and it could impact purchase and planting decisions going into next spring. So that's the one that probably stands out where we see the greatest risk. And in the other parts of the country that are pivot markets where we see drought, we're not quite at a point that there's a lack of water that's going to prevent them from planting and finishing a crop next year.

這可能是我們看到很多壓力的地方，這些壓力可能會影響冬季的一周，並且可能會影響到明年春天的採購和種植決策。因此，這可能是我們認為風險最大的地方。在我們看到干旱的關鍵市場的該國其他地區，我們還沒有完全到缺水的地步，這將阻止他們明年種植和收成。

But we've got to continue to watch that because this started in the West, it's moved steadily east. And if you look at the current drought map, it's got a lot of really deep red in the middle part of the country. That's a core market area for us. So right now, that's the one area there, West Texas, Panhandle, Texas that we see the greatest risk. The rest of the markets, we will continue to monitor.

但我們必須繼續觀察，因為這從西方開始，然後穩步向東移動。如果您查看當前的干旱地圖，該國中部地區有很多非常深的紅色。這是我們的核心市場領域。所以現在，這是我們認為風險最大的一個地區，即德克薩斯州西部、潘漢德爾。其餘市場，我們將繼續監測。

As far as government support goes, we've always benefited as an industry. And I think the government does recognize the importance of conserving and saving water and just a blanket statement really, any program that incents customers to consume less water, while producing food, fiber and fuel is going to be good for our business. And they have consistently supported our industry because of the conservation benefits that we can create. So any dollar invested in that space is going to be good for us.

就政府支持而言，作為一個行業，我們一直受益。我認為政府確實認識到節約用水的重要性，而且只是一個籠統的聲明，任何鼓勵客戶在生產食品、纖維和燃料的同時減少用水量的計劃都將對我們的業務有利。由於我們可以創造保護效益，他們一直支持我們的行業。因此，在該領域投資的任何美元都會對我們有利。

The next question comes from Brian Drab with William Blair.

下一個問題來自 Brian Drab 和 William Blair。

So first, I was curious if you can give us any additional color on the guidance. I mean from the guidance commentary, I guess, my takeaway is that you feel that domestic irrigation market is solid, but there's some uncertainty. Internationally, it's potentially stronger driven by food security.

所以首先，我很好奇你是否可以在指導上給我們任何額外的顏色。我的意思是，從指導評論中，我想，我的結論是，您認為國內灌溉市場是穩固的，但存在一些不確定性。在國際上，糧食安全的驅動力可能更強。

And I'm not sure what to take away in the infrastructure segment. I mean clearly, the infrastructure bill should be a positive. But I don't know if you could comment any more specifically on that and how that might affect fiscal '23. And are there any other Road Zipper projects in the pipeline. Just any more additional -- like can you talk about growth rates in these segments that you're expecting or directionally any other additional comments on guidance would be helpful.

而且我不確定在基礎設施領域要帶走什麼。我的意思很清楚，基礎設施法案應該是積極的。但我不知道您是否可以對此發表更具體的評論，以及這可能會如何影響 23 財年。還有其他 Road Zipper 項目正在籌備中嗎？再多一點——比如你能談談你所期望的這些細分市場的增長率嗎，或者在指導上的任何其他額外評論都會有幫助。

Okay. This is Brian. I'll take that one. Yes, as we start with domestic irrigation market, again, the positive ag fundamentals that are there, some of the drought-related impacts. We would expect to see steady demand and probably increase -- slight increase in demand in our first 3 quarters of the year.

好的。這是布萊恩。我會拿那個。是的，當我們從國內灌溉市場開始時，再次，積極的農業基本面，一些與乾旱相關的影響。我們預計需求將保持穩定並可能增加——今年前三個季度的需求略有增加。

I think that fourth quarter with the storm damage that we had this year, we're not going to expect that to continue. So when you put that all together, maybe it's more closer to flattish year-over-year from a volume standpoint.

我認為第四季度由於我們今年遭受的風暴破壞，我們預計這種情況不會持續下去。因此，當您將所有這些放在一起時，從數量的角度來看，它可能更接近於同比持平。

But again, that's off of a base of pretty solid demand. I think the wildcard there is going to be price and if raw materials go up or down and it has to be reflected in price, that would be one thing. But again, we're expecting that environment to be stable.

但同樣，這是基於相當穩固的需求。我認為通配符將是價格，如果原材料上漲或下跌並且必須反映在價格中，那將是一回事。但同樣，我們期望環境是穩定的。

When you look internationally in irrigation, we've got, I would say, our core developed markets continue to expect to see growth from the solid fundamentals. We do have about $19 million in the first 2 quarters related to the Egypt order that we are going to have to overcome. And I think there's ongoing activity in that project market, but that's, I would say, a little bit of a wildcard on the international side is whether there's another larger project like the Egypt project.

當您在灌溉方面放眼國際時，我想說，我們的核心發達市場繼續期望從堅實的基本面中看到增長。在前兩個季度，我們確實有大約 1900 萬美元與我們必須克服的埃及訂單有關。而且我認為該項目市場正在進行活動，但我想說的是，在國際方面，是否有另一個更大的項目，如埃及項目。

But -- and the core is, again, I would expect in that single-digits type growth coming off a very strong base from this year. Looking at infrastructure, obviously, the large project from Massachusetts this year. We've got some of that rolling over into the -- into next year.

但是 - 核心是，我再次預計，從今年開始，個位數的增長會在一個非常強勁的基礎上出現。看基礎設施，顯然是今年馬薩諸塞州的大型項目。我們已經將其中的一些滾動到明年。

The current pipeline, we don't anticipate a similar size project as Massachusetts next year, but we do have a number of smaller to midsized projects. So on the -- but on the leasing side, we do expect, based on our line of sight today, that will have an increase in leasing and then the road safety products benefiting from the additional infrastructure funding that's out there. So the outlook for our infrastructure business, I would say, is mid- to upper single-digit type growth for next year.

目前的管道，我們預計明年不會有與馬薩諸塞州類似的規模項目，但我們確實有一些中小型項目。所以在 - 但在租賃方面，我們確實預計，根據我們今天的視線，租賃將會增加，然後道路安全產品將受益於額外的基礎設施資金。因此，我想說，我們基礎設施業務的前景是明年的中上個位數增長。

Okay. That's all very, very helpful. Sorry, if there's an echo. I'm currently hearing a lot of echo on the call, and I'm hearing it again. But just a couple of follow-up questions. International, because if the core markets were up single digits. Does that mean that, that international irrigation might be down actually given the tough comp with Egypt?

好的。這一切都非常非常有幫助。對不起，如果有迴聲。我目前在通話中聽到很多迴聲，而且我又聽到了。但只是幾個後續問題。國際，因為如果核心市場上漲個位數。這是否意味著，考慮到與埃及的艱難競爭，國際灌溉實際上可能會下降？

I think that might be the case if we didn't have another project like Egypt, I think based on the activity that we're seeing, we would expect that we're going to see additional projects like that. We just can't I mean it's hard to predict the timing of that. But there was $19 million of Egypt in the first 2 quarters of 2022. So...

我認為如果我們沒有像埃及這樣的另一個項目，情況可能就是這樣，我認為根據我們所看到的活動，我們希望我們會看到更多類似的項目。我們只是不能我的意思是很難預測時間。但在 2022 年的前兩個季度，埃及有 1900 萬美元。所以......

Okay. And then just to clarify that your infrastructure segment, you have some tough comps with the Massachusetts project. But I think at the end, you said maybe up mid-single digit? Or is that including the projects? You have a tough comp with the project or is that kind of the core infrastructure business, excluding any big projects would be helpful.

好的。然後只是為了澄清你的基礎設施部分，你對馬薩諸塞州的項目有一些艱難的比較。但我想最後，你說可能是中個位數？還是包括項目？您對該項目有很強的競爭力，或者是那種核心基礎設施業務，排除任何大型項目都會有所幫助。

No, that was overall. I think we may be down a little on the projects if we don't replace the full value of the Massachusetts project, but we're going to be -- we're looking to be up in leasing and up in the road safety products.

不，那是整體。我認為如果我們不取代馬薩諸塞州項目的全部價值，我們可能會在項目上有所下降，但我們將會——我們希望在租賃和道路安全產品方面有所提升.

Okay. Okay. And then just the last question for now. There's about $8 million to $8.5 million left in that Massachusetts project.

好的。好的。然後只是現在的最後一個問題。馬薩諸塞州的項目還剩下大約 800 萬到 850 萬美元。

Yes, about $8 million.

是的，大約 800 萬美元。

The next question comes from Chris Shaw with Monness, Crespi & Hardt.

下一個問題來自 Chris Shaw 和 Monness, Crespi & Hardt。

I want to talk about irrigation margins. The fourth quarter margins were the highest that could find even going back to the sort of post drought early 2011, 2012 period. Is there anything funky going on this quarter in the margin? Or is it a replacement of parts just that much more higher margin?

我想談談灌溉邊際。第四季度的利潤率是最高的，甚至可以追溯到 2011 年初、2012 年的那種干旱後時期。這個季度的利潤有什麼奇怪的地方嗎？還是只是更換零件的利潤率更高？

Well, I think. Just if you're looking at fourth quarter alone, I mean, obviously, the higher volume that we got from North America, that's not typical in our fourth quarter. That's generally our lowest quarter for North America revenue. That would be the one anomaly. Otherwise, I would say our fourth quarter margins would be more reflective of where we would expect to be. When you look at fourth quarter last year, we did have the LIFO headwinds. So stronger incremental margins than what you would typically see, but that's more because last year was lower than what you'd expect.

嗯，我想。如果你只看第四季度，我的意思是，很明顯，我們從北美獲得的更高銷量，這在我們第四季度並不常見。這通常是我們北美收入最低的季度。那將是一個異常。否則，我會說我們第四季度的利潤率將更能反映我們的預期。當您查看去年第四季度時，我們確實遇到了 LIFO 逆風。增量利潤率比您通常看到的要高，但這更多是因為去年低於您的預期。

Can I just ask except for the storm season, was it mostly the tornadoes, I remember being a lot of tornadoes or was it just sort of literally like the [rain showers] and hard thunderstorms and things like that?

我能問一下，除了暴風雨季節，主要是龍捲風嗎？我記得有很多龍捲風，還是有點像[陣雨]和強雷暴之類的東西？

Yes. There wasn't a lot of direct tornado hit. These were Midwest storms though so they were wind related, but a lot of those Chris, were straight-line winds, more of that through Western and in Central Nebraska. And it was really May and June when we saw those storms roll through the biggest ones. So that's the volume that we really start shipping through June and July.

是的。沒有很多直接的龍捲風襲擊。這些是中西部風暴，所以它們與風有關，但克里斯中的很多都是直線風，更多的是穿過西部和內布拉斯加州中部。當我們看到那些風暴席捲最大的風暴時，真的是五月和六月。這就是我們真正開始發貨到 6 月和 7 月的數量。

Got it. And then just on the backlog, that's always a bit of a funky number in itself, but it's down over $50 million year-over-year. Is that just sort of mostly reflecting timing and potentially just the last year, I think you had some of Egypt still in there, right? So just could you talk about it?

知道了。然後就積壓訂單而言，這本身總是一個有點奇怪的數字，但同比下降了超過 5000 萬美元。這只是主要反映了時間安排，可能只是去年，我認為你還有一些埃及，對吧？那你能談談嗎？

Yes, yes. So when you look at it year-over-year, last year, we still had $19 million of Egypt in backlog. I would also say a good chunk of the difference is timing because last year, in that inflationary environment with a lot of price increases going on both in the U.S. and Brazil.

是的是的。因此，當您逐年查看時，去年，我們仍有 1900 萬美元的埃及訂單積壓。我還要說，很大一部分差異在於時機，因為去年，在通脹環境中，美國和巴西都出現了大量價格上漲。

I think we saw orders pulled up in the backlog earlier to beat the price increases. So I think -- those are the 2 things that really stand out. Infrastructure backlog is up, and that's mostly because of the carryover from the Massachusetts project.

我認為我們早些時候看到積壓訂單增加以擊敗價格上漲。所以我認為 - 這些是真正突出的兩件事。基礎設施積壓增加，這主要是因為馬薩諸塞州項目的結轉。

And then just back to irrigation for a second -- the -- just sort of the -- I mean outside of replacements, dryland and conversion volumes have been a bit weaker this year. Has the farmer really -- are they waiting out the higher prices? Or are they you think it's going to come back? It sounds like a little bit in 2023. I mean what is -- I'm just curious what maybe your customer now thinks of the -- these higher prices and where they're willing to buy at?

然後只是回到灌溉一秒鐘 - 只是 - 我的意思是在替代之外，今年旱地和轉換量有點弱。農民真的——他們在等待更高的價格嗎？還是他們認為它會捲土重來？這聽起來有點像 2023 年。我的意思是——我只是好奇你的客戶現在會怎麼想——這些更高的價格以及他們願意在哪裡購買？

You look at some of the market research in the area of customer sentiment, you certainly see some apprehension related to where pricing has gone, some apprehension connected to where interest rates are going. So you hear that from customers, but we always go back to the payback on an investment in irrigation. And we're really fortunate in this inflationary environment that we're seeing strong commodity support.

你看看客戶情緒領域的一些市場研究，你肯定會看到一些與定價去向有關的擔憂，一些與利率去向有關的擔憂。因此，您從客戶那裡聽到了這一點，但我們總是回到灌溉投資的回報。在這種通脹環境中，我們真的很幸運，我們看到了強大的商品支持。

And if you've got $6.75, $6.80 corn, your payback on a pivot, if you're going to get a 50-bushel lift, that payback is still a little over 2 years, which is what it's been historically. So we don't see a significant shift in the economic fundamentals of irrigated agriculture. I think that gives us an advantage maybe over some of the other capital investment decisions that a customer might be making.

如果你有 6.75 美元、6.80 美元的玉米，你的投資回報率是 50 蒲式耳，那麼投資回報期仍然是 2 年多一點，這是歷史上的情況。因此，我們認為灌溉農業的經濟基本面不會發生重大變化。我認為與客戶可能做出的其他一些資本投資決策相比，這給了我們一個優勢。

The next question is from Brett Kearney with Gabelli Funds.

下一個問題來自加貝利基金的布雷特·科爾尼。

On the infrastructure side, you guys highlighted and we've heard from some others in this space, what customers -- I guess, the U.S. state municipal level are dealing with in terms of getting projects to move forward particularly on rescoping projects on the inflation side and then also to some extent, labor availability.

在基礎設施方面，你們強調了，我們從這個領域的其他一些人那裡聽到，客戶——我猜，美國州市政一級在推動項目進展方面正在處理什麼，特別是在重新確定通貨膨脹項目方面方再也一定程度上，勞動力的可用性。

Curious, based on what you're seeing in your business, some initial signs of deflation. As we look out into next year, if -- are you hearing or expecting if, I guess, inflation moderates and/or labor frees up a little bit on the construction side. Could that kind of loosen up some of these projects that have been hanging out there?

好奇，根據您在業務中看到的情況，一些通貨緊縮的初步跡象。當我們展望明年時，如果——我猜你是否聽到或期待通脹放緩和/或勞動力在建築方面有所釋放。這樣可以放鬆一些一直在那裡閒逛的項目嗎？

I think that's a good prediction, Brett. And I guess, inflation is stabilizing, implying that we're not going to continue to see the sharp increases that we've seen over the last year. I think that's certainly going to help. I think the other thing is the money is now being appropriated and actually rolling into the bank accounts of these state organizations that are able to now invest the money. So I think there are a couple of things here that have kind of delayed implementation of some of those projects, unemployment access to labor, access to equipment that builds roads and bridges is something else. It's been a bit of a headwind here.

我認為這是一個很好的預測，布雷特。而且我猜，通脹正在企穩，這意味著我們不會繼續看到我們在去年看到的急劇增長。我認為這肯定會有所幫助。我認為另一件事是資金現在被挪用並實際流入這些現在能夠投資的國家組織的銀行賬戶。所以我認為這裡有幾件事導致其中一些項目的實施有所延遲，失業獲得勞動力，獲得建造道路和橋樑的設備是另一回事。這裡有點逆風。

So our view would be that a lot of those hopefully get a lot better in the second half of the year. And then as we enter the 2023 road construction season in those northern markets in particular, where we'll see a lot of those headwinds have been eliminated and hopefully create opportunity for some good market opportunity.

所以我們的觀點是，很多人希望在下半年變得更好。然後，當我們進入 2023 年特別是北方市場的道路建設季節時，我們將看到許多不利因素已被消除，並有望為一些良好的市場機會創造機會。

The next question is from Jon Braatz of Kansas City Capital.

下一個問題來自堪薩斯城首府的 Jon Braatz。

Randy, I think you mentioned that you met with the North American irrigation dealers recently. I guess my question is, if this drought continues the way it is and do you think it could be impactful in terms of purchase decisions going forward or for -- to 2023? There's one I -- when you look back at 2011, 2012, the drought there really spurred business on.

蘭迪，我想你提到你最近會見了北美灌溉經銷商。我想我的問題是，如果這種干旱繼續下去，你認為它會對未來或到 2023 年的購買決策產生影響嗎？有一個我——當你回顧 2011 年、2012 年時，那裡的干旱確實刺激了生意。

And it's dry out there. Another couple of weeks, we might be able to walk across the Mississippi River, but is there a possibility that we could see North American revenues being -- North American units being a little bit stronger than maybe what you're thinking?

而且那裡很乾。再過幾週，我們也許可以穿過密西西比河，但是我們是否有可能看到北美的收入——北美的收入比你想像的要強一些？

There's a possibility, Jon. That's for sure. And it really -- it gets back to how significant is the drought and where is the drought. And what we saw back in '12/'13, I was in the North American business at that time as that drought continued east and it moved across Iowa, and it popped up in Illinois, Ohio and Indiana, as it starts to move continue east, the reality is these investments become much easier to justify. If you look at the yield impact in those nontraditional, these are maybe more supplemental markets for us, but in those nontraditional markets, the yield impact of having a center pivot and irrigating a crop for 1 year, your payback could legitimately be 1 year in some of those markets.

有可能，喬恩。這是肯定的。它真的 - 它回到干旱的嚴重程度以及乾旱在哪裡。我們在 2013 年 12 月看到的情況是，當時我在北美做生意，因為乾旱持續向東，蔓延到愛荷華州，在伊利諾伊州、俄亥俄州和印第安納州突然出現，因為它開始繼續蔓延東方，現實是這些投資變得更容易證明是合理的。如果你看看那些非傳統市場的產量影響，這些市場對我們來說可能是更多的補充市場，但在那些非傳統市場中，有一個中心樞軸和灌溉作物 1 年的產量影響，你的投資回報可能是 1 年其中一些市場。

So as that drought continues to move east as it continues to intensify, it could certainly open up some of those nontraditional market for us and create some upside opportunity. And we feel we're in a good position when it comes to dealer channel, when it comes to technology and innovation, those are high motivators for customers in those parts of the country. And we feel like we'd be in a good position if we do start to see more market opportunity there.

因此，隨著乾旱繼續加劇，乾旱繼續向東移動，它肯定會為我們打開一些非傳統市場並創造一些上行機會。我們認為我們在經銷商渠道、技術和創新方面處於有利地位，這些都是該國這些地區客戶的高動力。如果我們確實開始在那裡看到更多的市場機會，我們覺得我們將處於有利位置。

Yes. And those nontypical markets, let's say, East of Mississippi. Is the availability of water on aquifer, is that at all an issue?

是的。還有那些非典型市場，比如說，密西西比東部。含水層上是否有水，這是一個問題嗎？

It's going to depend on where you are north to south, and I can't give you kind of a universal answer that would apply everywhere. But for the most part, there are areas, if they needed the water either through surface or groundwater, they'd have access to it.

這將取決於你從北到南的位置，我不能給你一種適用於任何地方的普遍答案。但在大多數情況下，如果他們需要通過地表水或地下水獲取水，他們可以使用這些區域。

So we don't see that being a significant limiting factor. If the customers need to irrigate because of the drought, I would say, for the most part, they're going to be able to find access to available water.

所以我們認為這不是一個重要的限制因素。如果客戶因為乾旱需要灌溉，我想說，在大多數情況下，他們將能夠找到可用的水源。

The next question comes from Brian Drab with William Blair.

下一個問題來自 Brian Drab 和 William Blair。

Yes, just one more question on the irrigation segment, given the commodity prices like input cost deal primarily have come down. What is your stance on what you'll do with price in the -- on the center pivots in the near term and throughout what would you predict will happen with price throughout 2023?

是的，考慮到像投入成本交易這樣的大宗商品價格主要已經下降，灌溉領域還有一個問題。您對近期將如何處理價格中心點以及整個 2023 年價格會發生什麼情況持什麼立場？

Yes, Brian. I would say right now, our view, again, as far as the raw material outlook to be overall, fairly stable. As I mentioned earlier, we did see -- we have seen some reduction in some of the hot rolled coil prices, but we've had continued inflation in structural steel and other things.

是的，布賴恩。我現在想說的是，我們的觀點是，就原材料前景而言，總體而言，相當穩定。正如我之前提到的，我們確實看到了——我們看到一些熱軋卷材價格有所下降，但結構鋼和其他產品的價格持續上漲。

So -- but our view is, let's say, we continue to see at some point in the year, more substantial softening in our raw material costs. Our view would be in a strong demand environment, we should be able to hold on to price -- and that would be our view. At some point, if we have to respond to competitive actions, we would do that. But our view is -- right now, we've got an opportunity to maintain our price.

所以 - 但我們的觀點是，假設我們在今年的某個時候繼續看到我們的原材料成本更大幅度地走軟。我們的觀點將是在強勁的需求環境中，我們應該能夠堅持價格 - 這將是我們的觀點。在某些時候，如果我們必須對競爭行為做出反應，我們會這樣做。但我們的觀點是——現在，我們有機會維持我們的價格。

And you have not lowered the price. Is that correct? Even given -- with any of the recent pullbacks in commodity.

而且你沒有降低價格。那是對的嗎？即使是給定的——最近商品的任何回調。

Yes. No, that's correct. And in fact, as recently as September 1, we implemented an additional, I would say, modest price increase, but we have not lowered price at all.

是的。不，這是正確的。事實上，就在 9 月 1 日，我們還實施了一次額外的，我想說的是適度的價格上漲，但我們根本沒有降低價格。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Randy Wood for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想把會議轉回給 Randy Wood 做閉幕詞。

Thank you all for your interest and participation today. We're very pleased with fiscal 2022 results and look forward to carrying that momentum into fiscal 2023. The infrastructure segment continues to be supported by incremental funding provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The irrigation segment continues to see strong drivers connected to high commodity prices and international project demand offset slightly but rising input costs that may have a detrimental impact on customer sentiment.

感謝大家今天的關注和參與。我們對 2022 財年的業績感到非常滿意，並期待將這一勢頭延續到 2023 財年。基礎設施部門繼續得到《基礎設施投資和就業法》提供的增量資金的支持。灌溉部門繼續看到與高商品價格和國際項目需求相關的強勁驅動力略有抵消，但投入成本上升可能對客戶情緒產生不利影響。

The positive ROI provided by an investment in irrigated agriculture will continue to support strong markets around the world. Both segments benefit from strategic investments in technology and innovation that improve customer profitability while conserving resources and making our roadways safer.

投資灌溉農業帶來的正投資回報率將繼續支持全球強勁的市場。這兩個部門都受益於技術和創新的戰略投資，這些投資可以提高客戶的盈利能力，同時節約資源並使我們的道路更安全。

This concludes our fourth quarter earnings call. We look forward to updating you on our continued progress following the close of our fiscal 2023 first quarter. Thanks for joining us.

我們的第四季度財報電話會議到此結束。我們期待在 2023 財年第一季度結束後向您通報我們的持續進展。感謝您加入我們。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連接。