Lindsay Corp (LNN) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Lindsay Corporation's Second Quarter 2022 -- 2023, pardon me, Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded. And again, this is Lindsay Corporation's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. I would now like to turn the conference over to Randy Wood, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lindsay Corporation.

美好的一天，歡迎來到 Lindsay Corporation 2022 年第二季度 - 2023 年的收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意正在記錄此事件。同樣，這是 Lindsay Corporation 的 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。我現在想將會議轉交給 Lindsay Corporation 總裁兼首席執行官 Randy Wood。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our fiscal 2023 second quarter earnings call. With me today is Brian Ketcham, our Chief Financial Officer. With the first half of our fiscal year complete, I'm pleased with the performance of our business and encouraged by our ability to execute operationally and strategically to drive improved profitability across the organization amidst a volatile macroeconomic environment.

謝謝大家，早上好。歡迎來到我們的 2023 財年第二季度財報電話會議。今天和我在一起的是我們的首席財務官 Brian Ketcham。隨著我們財政年度上半年的結束，我對我們的業務表現感到滿意，並為我們在動蕩的宏觀經濟環境中在運營和戰略上執行以提高整個組織的盈利能力的能力感到鼓舞。

While we have been faced with broader economic headwinds and strong year-over-year comparisons that have created pressure on the top line during the quarter, our organization continues to prove its resilience as demonstrated by the strong operating income results.

儘管我們面臨著更廣泛的經濟逆風和強勁的同比比較，這給本季度的收入帶來了壓力，但我們的組織繼續證明其韌性，正如強勁的營業收入結果所證明的那樣。

Looking at the macro environment. During the quarter, we continued to observe constraints across the supply chain, most notably in electronics. Our teams are working hard to mitigate these issues, and we maintain our expectation that we'll see continued improvement throughout the second half of the fiscal year.

再看宏觀環境。在本季度，我們繼續觀察到整個供應鏈的製約因素，尤其是在電子產品領域。我們的團隊正在努力緩解這些問題，我們仍然期望在本財年下半年看到持續改善。

Compared to the prior year period, inflationary pressures have subsided moderately. Having said that, we're still taking a cautious approach to managing costs, and this helped drive expansion in our operating margins during the quarter. Additionally, strong price realization contributed to improved operating income across the business.

與上年同期相比，通脹壓力有所緩和。話雖如此，我們仍然對管理成本採取謹慎的態度，這有助於推動本季度營業利潤率的增長。此外，強勁的價格實現有助於提高整個企業的營業收入。

Shifting to technology and business development. We continue to make progress on implementing our innovation strategy. Last quarter, we announced a strategic partnership with Ceres Imaging, a leading provider of high-resolution imagery and analytics that will expand the capabilities of our FieldNET platform.

轉向技術和業務發展。我們在實施創新戰略方面繼續取得進展。上個季度，我們宣布與 Ceres Imaging 建立戰略合作夥伴關係，Ceres Imaging 是高分辨率圖像和分析的領先供應商，這將擴展我們 FieldNET 平台的功能。

This partnership will provide valuable insights into crop health in alignment with our Smart Pivot roadmap, while giving customers a choice in the imagery platform that best suits their unique needs. During the quarter, we also introduced the TAU-XR to our MASH Crash Cushion lineup in our infrastructure business. This easy-to-install Crash Cushion expands our offering, increases safety and reduces maintenance labor in the field. We also recently appointed Brian Magnusson as our Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development.

該合作夥伴關係將根據我們的 Smart Pivot 路線圖提供有關作物健康的寶貴見解，同時讓客戶可以選擇最適合其獨特需求的圖像平台。在本季度，我們還在基礎設施業務的 MASH Crash Cushion 系列中引入了 TAU-XR。這種易於安裝的 Crash Cushion 擴展了我們的產品範圍，提高了安全性並減少了現場維護工作量。我們最近還任命 Brian Magnusson 為我們的戰略和業務發展高級副總裁。

Brian's role will be focused on accelerating growth and creating value for all stakeholders through synergistic partnerships as well as strategic M&A. This is going to be a critical role for the organization as we continue to strengthen our position in the market, drive deeper penetration and position Lindsay for stable top and bottom line growth.

Brian 的職責將側重於通過協同合作夥伴關係和戰略併購來加速增長並為所有利益相關者創造價值。隨著我們繼續加強我們在市場中的地位，推動更深層次的滲透並使 Lindsay 獲得穩定的收入和利潤增長，這將成為該組織的關鍵角色。

Touching on irrigation market conditions. The North American market continues to demonstrate stable demand trends. Our outlook remains positive despite the anticipated reduction in net farm income in 2023. In February, the USDA released its updated forecast for the year, indicating that net farm income is expected to decrease nearly 16% versus 2022 in nominal dollars.

觸及灌溉市場狀況。北美市場繼續呈現出穩定的需求趨勢。儘管預計 2023 年農業淨收入會下降，但我們的前景仍然樂觀。2 月，美國農業部發布了今年的最新預測，表明按名義美元計算，農業淨收入預計將比 2022 年下降近 16%。

Net farm income is still expected to be more than 26% above its 20-year average when adjusted for inflation. Strong commodity prices and net farm income should support market stability, and an investment in irrigated agriculture and water management technology will generate a positive return for our customers.

經通脹調整後，農場淨收入預計仍將比 20 年平均水平高出 26% 以上。強勁的商品價格和農場淨收入應支持市場穩定，對灌溉農業和水資源管理技術的投資將為我們的客戶帶來積極回報。

Regarding drought conditions. We have seen relief to some of the harsher conditions in California and other parts of the West. However, drought conditions have persisted and in some instances continue to worsen in the Midwest, including Kansas and Nebraska. This will likely drive an early start to the irrigation season and highlight the importance of efficient water and energy management with tools like FieldNET and FieldNET Advisor.

關於乾旱條件。我們已經看到加利福尼亞州和西部其他地區的一些更嚴酷的條件有所緩解。然而，包括堪薩斯州和內布拉斯加州在內的中西部地區，乾旱狀況持續存在，在某些情況下還會繼續惡化。這可能會推動灌溉季節提前開始，並突出使用 FieldNET 和 FieldNET Advisor 等工具進行高效水和能源管理的重要性。

Fundamentals in the international markets remain strong. Mature markets continue to be supported by high commodity prices and the developing markets are supported by increased focus on food security. The irrigation business did experience some delays in sales activity in Brazil during the quarter due to the transition in federal government following the presidential election at the end of 2022, we do not expect these delays to materially impact the full year results.

國際市場的基本面依然強勁。成熟市場繼續受到高商品價格的支撐，而發展中市場則得到對糧食安全日益關注的支持。由於 2022 年底總統選舉後聯邦政府的過渡，灌溉業務在本季度確實在巴西的銷售活動中出現了一些延遲，我們預計這些延遲不會對全年業績產生重大影響。

Project revenue in Egypt was elevated in the second quarter of fiscal 2022. This, along with sales in Ukraine and Russia in the prior year added a challenge on year-over-year comparisons in the quarter. Looking ahead, there are additional opportunities in the international markets that we are well positioned to capitalize on.

埃及的項目收入在 2022 財年第二季度有所增加。這與上一年在烏克蘭和俄羅斯的銷售額一起增加了本季度同比比較的挑戰。展望未來，我們已準備好把握國際市場中的更多機會。

Moving to infrastructure. As government spending increases in response to the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act, states should see additional funding flow from the federal programs. We are well positioned in the market to supply state and local government programs as the construction season starts this spring.

轉向基礎設施。隨著政府支出增加以響應基礎設施投資和就業法案，各州應該會看到來自聯邦計劃的額外資金流。隨著今年春季施工季節的開始，我們在市場上處於有利地位，可以供應州和地方政府的項目。

We're encouraged by what we've seen in the success of our Road Zipper program and the strength of our sales and lease funnel. Going forward, we'll continue to actively manage the funnel to drive continued infrastructure segment growth.

我們對 Road Zipper 計劃的成功以及銷售和租賃渠道的實力感到鼓舞。展望未來，我們將繼續積極管理漏斗，以推動基礎設施領域的持續增長。

I'll now turn the call over to Brian to review our second quarter financial results. Brian?

我現在將電話轉給布賴恩來審查我們第二季度的財務業績。布萊恩？

Thank you, Randy, and good morning, everyone. Total revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 were $166.2 million compared to $200.1 million in the same quarter last year. The decline in consolidated revenues came mainly from the Irrigation segment as infrastructure revenues showed only a slight decline. The lower revenue generation in our irrigation segment compared to the prior year quarter resulted in part from differences in market timing as well as from international project volume in the prior year that did not repeat.

謝謝你，蘭迪，大家早上好。 2023 財年第二季度的總收入為 1.662 億美元，而去年同期為 2.001 億美元。綜合收入的下降主要來自灌溉部門，因為基礎設施收入僅略有下降。與上一季度相比，我們灌溉部門的收入減少部分是由於市場時機的差異以及上一年沒有重複的國際項目量。

Operating income for the quarter was $27.3 million, an increase of 49% compared to $18.3 million in the same quarter last year. Strong operating income results helped drive improved operating margins of 16.4%, up meaningfully compared to 9.2% in the prior year. Strong gross margin improvement in both irrigation and infrastructure drove the expansion in total operating margin.

本季度營業收入為 2730 萬美元，與去年同期的 1830 萬美元相比增長 49%。強勁的營業收入結果幫助推動營業利潤率提高 16.4%，與上一年的 9.2% 相比大幅上升。灌溉和基礎設施毛利率的強勁改善推動了總營業利潤率的增長。

This increase was partially offset by higher operating expenses compared to prior year, which resulted primarily from higher employee compensation costs and increased investments in new product development. Net earnings for the quarter were $18.1 million or $1.63 per diluted share compared to net earnings of $14.6 million or $1.32 per diluted share in the prior year. The 24% increase in net earnings resulted from the increased operating income and was partially offset by foreign currency transaction losses in the current year compared to gains in the prior year and from higher income tax expense.

這一增長被與上一年相比更高的運營費用部分抵消，這主要是由於員工薪酬成本增加和新產品開發投資增加所致。本季度淨收益為 1810 萬美元或稀釋後每股收益 1.63 美元，而去年同期淨收益為 1460 萬美元或稀釋後每股收益 1.32 美元。淨利潤增長 24% 是由於營業收入增加，但部分被本年度外幣交易損失與上一年收益相比以及更高的所得稅費用所抵消。

The increase in the effective tax rate reflected a greater proportion of earnings in higher rate foreign jurisdictions, primarily Brazil compared to the same quarter last year. Moving on to the irrigation segment performance for the quarter. Irrigation segment revenues for the second quarter were $147.8 million compared to $180.7 million in the same quarter last year.

與去年同期相比，有效稅率的增加反映出在較高稅率的外國司法管轄區（主要是巴西）的收入所佔比例更大。繼續本季度灌溉部門的表現。第二季度灌溉部門的收入為 1.478 億美元，而去年同期為 1.807 億美元。

North America irrigation revenues were $90.4 million compared to $100.7 million in the same quarter last year. A decline in unit sales volume was partially offset by the impact of higher average selling prices. Prior year unit volume was bolstered by a pull forward of orders in advance of announced selling price increases.

北美灌溉收入為 9040 萬美元，而去年同期為 1.007 億美元。單位銷量的下降部分被平均售價上漲的影響所抵消。前一年的單位銷量受到在宣布售價上漲之前提前拉動訂單的支持。

Current year unit volume reflected a return to a more traditional seasonal demand cadence as selling prices have stabilized over the past few quarters. In the international irrigation markets, revenues were $57.4 million compared to $80 million in the same quarter last year. This decrease resulted primarily from the completion of a large Egypt project in the prior year that did not repeat and from lower sales volumes in Brazil, Ukraine and Russia compared to the prior year.

由於銷售價格在過去幾個季度穩定下來，今年的單位銷量反映出回歸到更傳統的季節性需求節奏。在國際灌溉市場，收入為 5740 萬美元，而去年同期為 8000 萬美元。這一下降主要是由於上一年完成了一個大型埃及項目，該項目沒有重複，以及與上一年相比巴西、烏克蘭和俄羅斯的銷量下降。

As Randy mentioned in his opening comments, sales and order activity in Brazil were temporarily reduced as a result of the federal government transition following the October 2022 presidential election. We expect the reduced order activity will have some impact on year-over-year comparisons in our third quarter. However, our full year outlook for Brazil remains unchanged.

正如蘭迪在開場白中提到的那樣，由於 2022 年 10 月總統大選後聯邦政府的過渡，巴西的銷售和訂單活動暫時減少。我們預計訂單活動減少將對我們第三季度的同比比較產生一些影響。然而，我們對巴西的全年展望保持不變。

Total irrigation segment operating income for the second quarter was $32.8 million, an increase of 33% compared to the prior year despite the year-over-year decline in segment revenues. Operating margin represented 22.2% of sales, expanding meaningfully compared to 13.7% of sales in the prior year.

儘管灌溉部門收入同比下降，但第二季度灌溉部門總營業收入為 3280 萬美元，同比增長 33%。營業利潤率佔銷售額的 22.2%，較上年銷售額的 13.7% 大幅增長。

The increase in operating income and operating margin resulted primarily from improved price realization, less inflationary impact on input costs and a more favorable margin mix of international irrigation revenues compared to the prior year. The prior year second quarter included additional cost of sales of approximately $2.8 million related to the LIFO method of accounting for inventory, while current year cost of sales were reduced to approximately $1.5 million.

與上一年相比，營業收入和營業利潤率的增長主要是由於價格實現的改善、對投入成本的通貨膨脹影響較小以及國際灌溉收入的利潤率組合更有利。去年第二季度包括與 LIFO 庫存會計方法相關的額外銷售成本約 280 萬美元，而本年度銷售成本減少至約 150 萬美元。

Additionally, the prior year included nonrecurring costs of approximately $1.8 million related to factory maintenance and outside consulting services. Turning to the Infrastructure segment. Infrastructure segment revenues for the second quarter were $18.5 million compared to $19.4 million in the same quarter last year. Lower sales of road safety products were partially offset by an increase in Road Zipper System lease revenue, while Road Zipper project sales were similar to the prior year period.

此外，前一年還包括與工廠維護和外部諮詢服務相關的約 180 萬美元的非經常性成本。轉向基礎設施部分。第二季度基礎設施部門的收入為 1850 萬美元，而去年同期為 1940 萬美元。道路安全產品銷售額的下降部分被 Road Zipper System 租賃收入的增加所抵消，而 Road Zipper 項目銷售額與去年同期相似。

Infrastructure segment operating income for the second quarter was $2 million compared to $300,000 in the same quarter last year. This increase in operating income helped improve operating margin for the quarter, which was 10.9% of sales compared to 1.7% of sales in the prior year. These improved current year results reflect improved price realization, a more favorable margin mix of revenue and lower inflationary impact on input costs compared to the prior year.

基礎設施部門第二季度的營業收入為 200 萬美元，而去年同期為 300,000 美元。營業收入的增長有助於提高本季度的營業利潤率，營業利潤率為銷售額的 10.9%，而去年同期為 1.7%。與上一年相比，這些改善的本年度業績反映了價格實現的改善、收入的利潤率組合更有利以及投入成本的通貨膨脹影響更低。

Turning to the balance sheet and liquidity. Our balance sheet remains solid, and our total available liquidity at the end of the quarter was $156.4 million, with $106.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and undrawn capacity on our revolving credit facility of $50 million.

轉向資產負債表和流動性。我們的資產負債表依然穩健，本季度末可用流動資金總額為 1.564 億美元，其中現金、現金等價物和有價證券為 1.064 億美元，循環信貸額度的未提取額度為 5000 萬美元。

Through improved operating income performance and an ongoing focus on working capital management, we expect to see enhanced free cash flow generation in the balance of fiscal 2023. This stronger cash flow will be strategically beneficial as it will further enhance our ability to invest in growth opportunities and create value for our shareholders.

通過改善營業收入表現和持續關注營運資本管理，我們預計在 2023 財年剩餘時間內產生的自由現金流量將增加。這種更強勁的現金流量將在戰略上有利，因為它將進一步增強我們投資於增長機會的能力並為我們的股東創造價值。

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

現在，我想把電話轉回給接線員來回答你的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Our first question comes from Ryan Connors from Northcoast Research.

我們的第一個問題來自 Northcoast Research 的 Ryan Connors。

I wanted to ask about the issue of these international projects, Brian, you said there was a project that did not repeat from last year. And you mentioned that pretty prominently as a positive mix driver. I know you've never really quantified the exact magnitude of the margin differential on those projects relative to the other business. But it sounds like that margin differential might be expanding. I mean is -- has that business gotten more competitive? Or is that -- am I reading too much into that?

我想問一下這些國際項目的問題，Brian，你說有一個項目沒有從去年開始重複。你非常突出地提到了這一點作為一個積極的混合動力。我知道您從未真正量化過這些項目相對於其他業務的利潤差異的確切幅度。但聽起來利潤率差異可能正在擴大。我的意思是——那家企業變得更有競爭力了嗎？或者是——我讀得太多了嗎？

Ryan, this is Randy. I'll take that one. And I think it's always been more competitive just due to the size and the magnitude of those projects. And I wouldn't say with certainty that it's expanding versus where it's been historically. I just think some of those projects are potentially larger than they've been historically. So you do see some of that -- the draw down with a little more significance. But I wouldn't say, again, with confidence that, that gap is getting any larger.

瑞安，這是蘭迪。我會拿那個。而且我認為，由於這些項目的規模和規模，它總是更具競爭力。而且我不會肯定地說它正在擴展而不是歷史上的擴展。我只是認為其中一些項目可能比歷史上更大。所以你確實看到了其中的一些——縮減的意義更大一些。但我不會再次自信地說，這個差距正在擴大。

Okay. Okay. And then in terms of the backlog, it's noted in the press release that the backlog is down in irrigation. But can you talk about the composition of backlog, any color there you can give us on international versus North America within that irrigation backlog.

好的。好的。然後就積壓而言，新聞稿中指出灌溉方面的積壓正在下降。但是你能談談積壓的構成嗎？在灌溉積壓中，你能給我們關於國際和北美的任何顏色嗎？

Yes, this is Brian. I would say both international irrigation and North America backlogs would be lower than last year. And I think similar dynamics driving that. I think, again, a year ago coming into the quarter, both international and North America, we had stronger backlogs as that pull ahead in orders to try to beat the price increases was going on.

是的，這是布萊恩。我想說國際灌溉和北美積壓的訂單都將低於去年。我認為類似的動力推動了這一點。我再次認為，一年前進入本季度，無論是國際還是北美，我們都有更多的積壓訂單，因為訂單的增加正在試圖阻止價格上漲。

And we've seen the prices stabilize in both markets. So I'd say Brazil, backlog year-over-year is down. But from a seasonal standpoint, nothing there other than just the difference in timing of orders. But as we've commented in the past, backlog is not necessarily always the best indicator, especially in shorter lead time situations where there's industry capacity and nothing really going on of any significance on the pricing side.

我們已經看到兩個市場的價格都趨於穩定。所以我想說巴西，積壓同比下降。但從季節性的角度來看，除了訂單時間的差異之外別無其他。但正如我們過去評論的那樣，積壓不一定總是最好的指標，尤其是在交貨時間較短的情況下，在這種情況下，行業產能充足，而且在定價方面沒有任何實際意義。

Got it. Okay. And then just 1 last housekeeping, Brian. You mentioned the tax rate and the shift there and the reasons behind that. But is that something from a modeling standpoint, we should expect that to remain elevated? Or will that jump right back down in 3Q?

知道了。好的。然後就是 1 最後一次客房清潔，布賴恩。你提到了稅率和那裡的轉變以及背後的原因。但從建模的角度來看，我們應該期望它保持高位嗎？還是會在第三季度跳回？

Yes. I think, last quarter, I had mentioned 27.5% for the year. I think that still remains the case. And if you look back over the last couple of years, I think the biggest driver in the increasing effective tax rate is just a greater proportion of earnings coming from Brazil, which has a higher statutory tax rate.

是的。我想，上個季度，我提到了全年的 27.5%。我認為情況仍然如此。如果你回顧過去幾年，我認為有效稅率提高的最大推動力只是更大比例的收入來自法定稅率更高的巴西。

We now have a question from Brian Wright from ROTH Capital.

我們現在有來自 ROTH Capital 的 Brian Wright 的問題。

I was wondering, is it possible to maybe try and quantify the demand pull forward from the irrigation in the year ago quarter to kind of get to kind of a normalized...

我想知道，是否有可能嘗試量化去年同期灌溉帶來的需求拉動，以達到某種正常化……

Yes. I don't -- I guess I'll put it in some context. When you -- if you look at the last, let's say, 9 or 10 years, generally, our strongest quarter is going to be the third quarter as we get closer to planning season. Last year was 1 of 2 years, I think, that second quarter was our strongest quarter. And so that's what -- and again, going into the second quarter last year is when we had the higher backlogs being driven by the order pull ahead.

是的。我不——我想我會把它放在某些上下文中。當你 - 如果你看看過去，比方說，9 年或 10 年，一般來說，隨著我們接近計劃季節，我們最強勁的季度將是第三季度。我認為，去年是兩年中的一年，第二季度是我們最強勁的季度。所以這就是 - 再一次，進入去年第二季度時，我們的積壓訂單增加了，這是由訂單提前推動的。

So -- it's -- I think the overall demand environment is fairly stable with a year ago. I think it is just a little bit of that shift from last year being more pulled forward into more of the traditional seasonal demand this year. But difficult to put an exact number on it because there's other variables that come into play in terms of regional differences across the U.S.

所以 - 這是 - 我認為整體需求環境與一年前相當穩定。我認為這只是從去年開始的一點點轉變，今年更多地轉向了傳統的季節性需求。但很難給出一個確切的數字，因為在美國各地的地區差異方面還有其他變量在起作用。

Okay. No, no, that's very helpful. I was also wondering on Slide 6 of the presentation, you kind of break out the revenue from conversion volumes and dryland volumes. And I was just hoping you can help us on how those are defined.

好的。不不不，這很有幫助。我還想知道在演示文稿的幻燈片 6 中，您將收入從轉換量和旱地量中分解出來。我只是希望你能幫助我們了解這些是如何定義的。

Yes. And that's tracked with every order that we take depending on what the application is, if it's a replacement machine or if it's dryland, which would be irrigation for the first time or conversion. And that can vary from quarter-to-quarter. Again, it can vary from region-to-region. But that's something that we have tracked for some period of time.

是的。我們會根據應用程序跟踪每一個訂單，如果它是替換機器或者如果它是旱地，這將是第一次灌溉或轉換。這可能因季度而異。同樣，它可能因地區而異。但這是我們已經跟踪了一段時間的事情。

And then I guess, just given the conditions in Nebraska and in Kansas in particular, and a little bit in Oklahoma as well, just how to think about that from a historical perspective and how that could impact demand?

然後我想，考慮到內布拉斯加州和堪薩斯州的具體情況，以及俄克拉荷馬州的一些情況，如何從歷史角度考慮這一點以及這將如何影響需求？

Right now, Brian, we'd say that the drought is at a point that it's probably positive for demand in general. And there's a couple of reasons for that. We do believe that there could be an earlier start to the irrigation season if there's not a lot of natural spring precipitation to germinate a crop, start a crop and the pivots might start a little earlier.

現在，布賴恩，我們認為乾旱可能對總體需求有利。這有幾個原因。我們確實相信，如果沒有大量的自然春季降水來使作物發芽、開始作物，那麼灌溉季節可能會提前開始，並且樞軸可能會更早開始。

I know talking with customers across Kansas and Nebraska, that's kind of their mindset right now. It could also accelerate some machine replacements. If they think they're going to put more hours on a machine this year, it could drive machine replacement, it could drive more parts upgrade programs as well. We've often talked about drought being a positive demand driver to a point.

我知道與堪薩斯州和內布拉斯加州的客戶交談，這就是他們現在的心態。它還可以加速一些機器的更換。如果他們認為他們今年要在一台機器上投入更多的時間，它可能會推動機器更換，它也可能會推動更多的零件升級計劃。我們經常談論乾旱在某種程度上是一個積極的需求驅動因素。

But when you run out of water to finish a crop and the machine stopped, then it stops becoming a positive demand driver. We don't see a lot of that severity this early in the season, but it's something that we're going to monitor very closely as we move into the core summer months here.

但是當你用完水來完成作物並且機器停止時，它就不再成為積極的需求驅動力。我們在本賽季初並沒有看到如此嚴重的情況，但隨著我們進入這裡的核心夏季月份，我們將密切關注這一點。

Our next question comes from Nathan Jones from Stifel.

我們的下一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Nathan Jones。

This is Adam Farley on for Nathan. I wanted to start on the infrastructure segment. What is your outlook for the Infrastructure segment for the remainder of the year? When does -- what do you expect federal funding to improve the road safety business? And -- maybe is there any notable timing related to the road safety products and all that we should be looking out for?

這是 Nathan 的 Adam Farley。我想從基礎設施部分開始。您對今年剩餘時間的基礎設施部門有何展望？什麼時候 - 您期望聯邦資金如何改善道路安全業務？並且 - 也許有任何與道路安全產品相關的值得注意的時間以及我們應該注意的所有事情嗎？

Yes, Adam, this is Brian. Yes, what we have been saying in the last couple of quarters is we do expect to see some of the IIJA funding start to have an impact in the second half of our year. As that gets to the states and then the states plan their projects, I think that's still the expectation. We -- and 1 of the areas that we expect to see some growth in the second half of the year is in the Road Zipper leasing side of the business as Road Zipper gets involved with some of those construction projects.

是的，亞當，這是布萊恩。是的，我們在過去幾個季度一直在說的是，我們確實希望看到一些 IIJA 資金在我們下半年開始產生影響。當它到達各州，然後各州計劃他們的項目時，我認為這仍然是期望。我們 - 我們預計下半年會出現一些增長的領域之一是 Road Zipper 租賃業務，因為 Road Zipper 參與了其中一些建設項目。

Timing can vary. I think the inflation that we've seen that's impacting some of the costs of some of these construction projects that have, in some cases, resulted in the projects going back and getting rebid, that kind of plays into some of the timing. I think the other -- a little bit of a wildcard out there right now, too, is just you've seen the extreme weather in California.

時間可能會有所不同。我認為我們所看到的通貨膨脹正在影響其中一些建設項目的部分成本，在某些情況下，這些項目導致項目倒退並重新招標，這在一定程度上影響了時機。我認為另一個 - 現在也有點通配符，就是你已經看到了加利福尼亞的極端天氣。

We do have projects that we were planning in California. So the question is, with the priorities, do the priorities get shifted into repairing a road versus a road construction project. So again, a number of variables, but still positive, I would say, tailwind to the infrastructure business, starting into the second half of '23, but really continuing on into 2024, probably a little bit more strongly.

我們確實有計劃在加利福尼亞州開展的項目。所以問題是，有了優先級，優先級是否會轉移到修復道路而不是道路建設項目上。因此，再次出現一些變量，但仍然是積極的，我想說，基礎設施業務的順風，從 23 年下半年開始，但真正持續到 2024 年，可能會更強勁一些。

Okay. And then I wanted to shift gears to the increased investments in new products. What are the investments being made? What are the expected contributions to revenue from new products? Should we expect these expenses to be discrete or maybe should these new product development expenses continue at this level or higher?

好的。然後我想改變方向，增加對新產品的投資。正在進行哪些投資？新產品對收入的預期貢獻是什麼？我們是否應該期望這些費用是離散的，或者這些新產品開發費用是否應該繼續保持在這個水平或更高水平？

Yes. This is Randy, Adam. I'll take that one. And we're seeing today a couple of things, an increase in total spending, but also a shift in spending. And our focus is really move towards technology and innovation, tools like FieldNET, our strategic partnerships to kind of broaden our presence in our customers' ecosystem. So we're really seeing more money and a shift of our total spending portfolio going into technology and innovation.

是的。這是蘭迪，亞當。我會拿那個。我們今天看到了幾件事，總支出增加，但支出也發生了變化。我們的重點實際上是轉向技術和創新，像 FieldNET 這樣的工具，我們的戰略合作夥伴關係，以擴大我們在客戶生態系統中的存在。所以我們真的看到更多的錢和我們的總支出組合轉向技術和創新。

We'll see our Smart Pivot platform that we've got out on beta launch right now, full commercial availability later this fall. We'll see new FieldNET user interface that we've been working on pretty aggressively, getting a lot of tremendous customer feedback there. But those products are going to get to market before the end of this calendar year, be in our customers' hands for this fall season, and we think it will do a lot in terms of customer loyalty and retention.

我們將看到我們的 Smart Pivot 平台，我們現在已經推出測試版，今年秋天晚些時候將全面上市。我們將看到我們一直在積極開發的新 FieldNET 用戶界面，並在那裡獲得了大量的客戶反饋。但這些產品將在本日曆年年底前上市，在這個秋季交付給我們的客戶，我們認為這將在客戶忠誠度和保留方面發揮很大作用。

We also think it's going to give us an upper hand on attracting new customers to the FieldNET spaces as well. As you know, we haven't broke out kind of the technology innovation sales as part of our mix. And when you look at the value of hardware device and a subscription compared to the value of a machine, there really isn't -- you can't compare those 2 with an acceptable ratio. So -- we do see it being an important part of long-term market share growth, our ability to attract and retain customers.

我們還認為，這也將使我們在吸引新客戶到 FieldNET 空間方面佔據上風。如您所知，我們還沒有將技術創新銷售作為我們組合的一部分。當您將硬件設備和訂閱的價值與一台機器的價值進行比較時，您會發現確實沒有——您無法將這兩者與可接受的比率進行比較。所以 - 我們確實認為它是長期市場份額增長的重要組成部分，我們吸引和留住客戶的能力。

But we, again, haven't broken it out in terms of revenue percent. When it comes to spending rates, this is an area that we feel we need to differentiate. So we'll continue to see, in my view, spending at these levels. And if we see a great market opportunity that comes back to our voice of the customer process, we don't have any fear of increasing spending there.

但是，我們再次沒有按照收入百分比進行細分。在支出率方面，我們認為這是一個需要區分的領域。因此，在我看來，我們將繼續看到這些水平的支出。如果我們看到一個巨大的市場機會回到我們對客戶流程的聲音，我們就不會擔心增加那裡的支出。

And there's really a meritocracy in many ways. As we start to generate gross margin, operating income improvement, we're going to be more than willing to put that back into new product innovation that we think will allow us to grow market share and retain and attract customers.

在很多方面確實存在精英管理。隨著我們開始產生毛利率，營業收入有所改善，我們將非常願意將其重新投入到我們認為將使我們能夠擴大市場份額並留住和吸引客戶的新產品創新中。

Our next question comes from Nathan Jones, I'm sorry, from Brett Kearney from Gabelli Funds.

我們的下一個問題來自 Nathan Jones，對不起，來自 Gabelli Funds 的 Brett Kearney。

With the new TAU-XR Crash Cushion, just wondering how that was received, I think you guys were recently out at a convention traffic expo. And also, I know you guys talked about strong funnel for the Road Zipper offering, and you've developed a lot of good relationships across the state and local department of transportation levels in the country. Are you able to kind of tie in some of your other road safety, crash cushion projects to those conversations? Or is it kind of a different sales cycle?

有了新的 TAU-XR Crash Cushion，只是想知道它是如何收到的，我想你們最近參加了一個會議交通博覽會。而且，我知道你們談到了 Road Zipper 產品的強大渠道，並且你們已經在該國的州和地方交通部門建立了很多良好的關係。您能否將其他一些道路安全、防撞墊項目與這些對話聯繫起來？或者這是一種不同的銷售週期？

Yes, Brett, I think the TAU-XR was launched at ATSSA. That was, I think, very well received, and it really opens up our channel to have access to a different product segment that had been a gap for us. So I think it did generate a lot of excitement and allows our dealers and Lindsay to participate in some of the bids and tenders in certain parts of the country where we maybe had to sit on the sidelines historically.

是的，布雷特，我認為 TAU-XR 是在 ATSSA 推出的。我認為，那是非常受歡迎的，它確實打開了我們的渠道，讓我們能夠進入不同的產品領域，而這對我們來說是一個空白。所以我認為它確實引起了很多興奮，並讓我們的經銷商和 Lindsay 參與了該國某些地區的一些投標和招標，在這些地區，我們過去可能不得不坐在場邊。

So we do have big plans for that product line. In terms of the Road Zipper and the road safety products, there's some overlap there, but they're really targeting 2 different ends of the construction spectrum for the most part when we look at Road Zipper in a construction application at least. So, there is some overlap, but we do view those as being fairly independent markets. And when we kind of go-to-market in those 2 market segments differently, different commercial teams focused on some of those activities. So we do our best to meet the customers where they want us to be for those product lines.

所以我們確實對該產品線有很大的計劃。就 Road Zipper 和道路安全產品而言，那裡有一些重疊，但至少當我們至少在建築應用中觀察 Road Zipper 時，它們實際上主要針對建築領域的兩個不同端。因此，存在一些重疊，但我們確實將這些視為相當獨立的市場。當我們在這兩個細分市場中以不同的方式進入市場時，不同的商業團隊會專注於其中的一些活動。因此，我們盡最大努力滿足客戶對這些產品線的期望。

Excellent. And then with the appointment of Brian, VP Strategy, Business Development, you guys feel the focus there will be primarily opportunities in the North America market and probably more skewed towards the irrigation side of the portfolio or also encompassing infrastructure?

出色的。然後，隨著業務發展戰略副總裁 Brian 的任命，你們認為北美市場的重點將主要是機會，並且可能更傾向於投資組合的灌溉方面或還包括基礎設施？

I'd say right now that Brian doesn't have a lot of obstacles. As a global company, I think we're more than capable and willing to look at the globe for good opportunities. We do see a lot of good opportunities for industry consolidation. We see a lot of good technology and innovation opportunities, a lot of bolt-on opportunities. We see some transformational stuff. So I think Brian is really not going to be limited in his ability to look around the world for anything that we think could grow Lindsay in both infrastructure or irrigation.

我現在可以說 Brian 沒有太多障礙。作為一家全球性公司，我認為我們完全有能力也願意在全球範圍內尋找好的機會。我們確實看到了很多行業整合的好機會。我們看到了很多好的技術和創新機會，很多補強機會。我們看到了一些變革性的東西。所以我認為 Brian 的能力真的不會受到限制，他會環顧世界尋找我們認為可以在基礎設施或灌溉方面讓 Lindsay 成長的任何事物。

Having said that, are some of the near-term opportunities easier to identify in irrigation, I think there's maybe a little more target-rich environment there. But Brian's got -- Brian's got an open book to look at all opportunities that we think will create value for shareholders and our customers.

話雖如此，灌溉領域的一些近期機會是否更容易識別，我認為那裡可能有更多目標豐富的環境。但是布賴恩有——布賴恩有一本打開的書來審視我們認為將為股東和客戶創造價值的所有機會。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

We'll follow now with a question from Brian Drab from William Blair.

我們現在將接聽來自威廉·布萊爾的布賴恩·德拉布的問題。

This is Blake Keating on for Brian. I just wanted to ask about the outlook for Brazil. I know you guys said it won't impact full year revenue, but I was just curious how much revenue was delayed and timing of that revenue being recognized.

這是布賴恩的布萊克基廷。我只是想問一下巴西的前景。我知道你們說這不會影響全年收入，但我只是想知道有多少收入被推遲了，以及收入被確認的時間。

Yes, I'll take the first part of the question, Blake. I think in terms of dollar amount. I won't quantify specifically, but we were -- I would say we were down slightly year-over-year in Brazil in the second quarter. If you compare that to the first quarter, we were up, I think it was 65%. So I mean it was a significant slowdown from what we would have expected.

是的，我會回答問題的第一部分，布萊克。我認為是按美元金額計算的。我不會具體量化，但我們 - 我會說第二季度我們在巴西的同比略有下降。如果將其與第一季度進行比較，我們上漲了 65%。所以我的意思是，這比我們預期的要嚴重放緩。

But this does traditionally happen when there's a transition. And in this particular case, probably more so just because of the amount of protesting and things like that, that was going on. But what we are -- I think we've gotten past that now and what we're hearing from our teams down there. There's been -- this is kind of the season, March, April, where you traditionally have your agri shows and the feedback we're getting is quoting activity, order activity has kind of returned to where we would have expected it to be. Randy, if you want to add anything to that?

但這在傳統上確實發生在有過渡的時候。在這種特殊情況下，可能只是因為抗議活動的數量之類的事情，所以才會發生。但我們是什麼——我認為我們現在已經過去了，我們從我們的團隊那裡聽到了什麼。有 - 這是一個季節，三月，四月，你傳統上有你的農業表演，我們得到的反饋是報價活動，訂單活動有點回到我們預期的水平。蘭迪，如果你想補充什麼？

Yes, I think that's the important part for us, is the market fundamentals in Brazil are very strong. We only saw kind of a temporary lull in new order activity but obviously as it works its way through the system results in a temporary lull in shipments. But as Brian said, they're in their fall show season, which are key selling shows for a company and our dealers. And then the feedback we're getting now is customers are back in the market, a lot of activity, and we expect that to really drive some opportunities in the second half of the year.

是的，我認為這對我們來說很重要，巴西的市場基本面非常強勁。我們只看到新訂單活動暫時停滯，但很明顯，當它通過系統運作時，會導致出貨量暫時停滯。但正如 Brian 所說，他們正處於秋季秀季，這對公司和我們的經銷商來說是關鍵的銷售秀。然後我們現在得到的反饋是客戶回到市場，活動很多，我們預計這將在下半年真正帶來一些機會。

All right. And then just lastly, any additional color on pricing? Do you expect pricing to come down for pivots? I think you guys have said you plan to hold on to it as long as you can. Just any color there.

好的。最後，定價上還有其他顏色嗎？您預計價格會因支點而下降嗎？我想你們已經說過，你們打算盡可能地堅持下去。那裡有任何顏色。

Yes. I think we've said prices had stabilized. We've seen, I would say, prior to about 3 months ago, steel hot-rolled coil prices had started to come down. I'd say what we've seen more recently is the steel mills pushing through price increases. So I think that certainly supported not lowering our price. I think what we're looking at now is if those steel cost increases continue then we may have to increase price again, which we've said in the past, as costs go up, we want to lead on the way up and protect our margins. So I would say, overall, right now, still stable, but with the situation where we could be increasing prices here if we still -- if we see steel continue to go up.

是的。我想我們已經說過價格已經穩定。我們已經看到，我想說，在大約 3 個月前，鋼材熱軋卷價格已經開始下降。我想說我們最近看到的是鋼廠推動價格上漲。所以我認為肯定支持不降低我們的價格。我認為我們現在正在考慮的是，如果這些鋼鐵成本繼續上漲，那麼我們可能不得不再次提高價格，正如我們過去所說的那樣，隨著成本上漲，我們希望引領上漲趨勢並保護我們的邊距。所以我想說，總體而言，現在仍然穩定，但如果我們仍然——如果我們看到鋼鐵繼續上漲的話，我們可能會在這裡提高價格。

And this concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Randy Wood, President and CEO, for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回給總裁兼首席執行官 Randy Wood，聽取任何閉幕詞。

Thank you for your interest and participation in today's conference call. We're pleased with our second quarter results and look forward to continued execution through 2023. The infrastructure segment continues to be supported by strong lease and sales demand as well as funding from the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act. While the irrigation segment may be faced with the decline in U.S. farm income throughout 2023, we still see strong underlying fundamentals in both the mature and developing markets. And both segments continue to benefit from ongoing investments in technology and innovation to drive growth.

感謝您對今天的電話會議的關注和參與。我們對第二季度的業績感到滿意，並期待在 2023 年之前繼續執行。基礎設施部門繼續得到強勁的租賃和銷售需求以及基礎設施投資和就業法案的資金支持。儘管整個 2023 年灌溉部門可能面臨美國農業收入下降，但我們仍然看到成熟市場和發展中市場都有強勁的基本面。這兩個細分市場繼續受益於對技術和創新的持續投資以推動增長。

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

我們的第二季度財報電話會議到此結束。我們期待在 2023 財年第三季度結束後向您通報我們的持續進展。感謝您加入我們。

Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連接。