Matthews International Corp (MATW) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to Matthews International Third Quarter Fiscal 2022 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加 Matthews International 2022 財年第三季度財務業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）作為提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

I'd now like to turn the conference over to your host, Bill Wilson, Senior Director of Corporate Development. Please go ahead, sir.

我現在想將會議轉交給您的主持人，企業發展高級總監比爾威爾遜。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, Vikram. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Matthews International Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Results Conference Call. This is Bill Wilson, Senior Director of Corporate Development. With me today are Joe Bartolacci, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Steve Nicola, our Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，維克拉姆。大家早上好，歡迎參加 Matthews International 2022 財年第三季度財務業績電話會議。我是企業發展高級總監比爾·威爾遜。今天和我在一起的是總裁兼首席執行官喬·巴托拉奇；和我們的首席財務官 Steve Nicola。

Before we start, I'd like to remind you that our earnings release was posted on our website, www.matw.com, in the Investors section last night. The presentation for our call can also be accessed in the Investors section of the website.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，我們的收益發布已於昨晚發佈在我們的網站 www.matw.com 的投資者部分。我們的電話會議演示文稿也可以在網站的“投資者”部分訪問。

In addition, as a reminder, beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, the company transferred its Surfaces and engineered products businesses from the SGK Brand Solutions segment to the Industrial Technologies segment. Prior period results reflect this new segmentation.

此外，提醒一下，從 2022 財年第一季度開始，該公司將其表面和工程產品業務從 SGK 品牌解決方案部門轉移到工業技術部門。前期結果反映了這種新的細分。

As a reminder, any forward-looking statements in connection with this discussion are being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Factors that could cause the company's results to differ from those discussed today are set forth in the company's annual report on Form 10-K and other periodic filings with the SEC.

提醒一下，與本次討論有關的任何前瞻性陳述都是根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款作出的。可能導致公司結果與今天討論的結果不同的因素載於公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表格和其他定期文件的年度報告。

In addition, we will be discussing non-GAAP financial metrics, and encourage you to read our disclosures and reconciliation tables carefully as you consider these metrics. In connection with any forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial information, please read the disclaimer included in today's presentation materials located on our website.

此外，我們將討論非 GAAP 財務指標，並鼓勵您在考慮這些指標時仔細閱讀我們的披露和調節表。關於任何前瞻性陳述和非公認會計原則財務信息，請閱讀我們網站上今天的演示材料中包含的免責聲明。

And now I'll turn the call over to Joe.

現在我將把電話轉給喬。

Thanks, Bill. Good morning. Our third quarter of fiscal '22 continues to present us with several challenges that we have faced throughout the year. But several new challenges accelerated quickly. Inflationary pressures in all of our businesses have impacted profitability, while supply chain issues have continued to impact our ability to control the timing of some deliveries.

謝謝，比爾。早上好。我們的 22 財年第三季度繼續向我們提出全年面臨的若干挑戰。但幾個新的挑戰迅速加速。我們所有業務的通脹壓力都影響了盈利能力，而供應鏈問題繼續影響我們控制某些交付時間的能力。

Additionally, during the quarter, we saw a rapid deterioration of the European market for our packaging business resulting from the progressively more challenging economic environment in that part of the world. The economic deterioration in Europe further drove the rapid decline in the euro and the U.K. pound negatively impacting our reported results. SGK was also faced with a couple of significant in-store project cancellations and delays in other projects due to supply chain challenges at our clients, or the inability of certain retailers to stack their stores, negating the need for in-store marketing. The combination of these challenges caused our SGK Brand Solutions segment to report very difficult results. Although these challenges are not the result of client losses or in any way of our making, we expect them to impact the balance of the year.

此外，在本季度，我們看到我們的包裝業務在歐洲市場迅速惡化，原因是該地區的經濟環境越來越具有挑戰性。歐洲經濟惡化進一步推動歐元和英鎊快速下跌，對我們報告的業績產生負面影響。由於我們客戶的供應鏈挑戰，或者某些零售商無法堆疊他們的商店，SGK 還面臨著一些重大的店內項目取消和其他項目的延遲，從而否定了店內營銷的需要。這些挑戰的結合導致我們的 SGK 品牌解決方案部門報告了非常困難的結果。儘管這些挑戰不是客戶損失或我們以任何方式造成的結果，但我們預計它們會影響今年的平衡。

Nevertheless, the remainder of our business has performed well in this difficult environment. On a constant currency basis, again, our Industrial Technology segment reported growth and remains on track to deliver a very strong year in 2022. More importantly, despite the continued positive performance, our order intake in this segment remained strong. Several significant orders in our energy business continued to progress well, while growing requests for proposals bode well for the future of this business.

儘管如此，我們的其餘業務在這種困難的環境中表現良好。在固定貨幣基礎上，我們的工業技術部門再次報告增長，並有望在 2022 年實現非常強勁的一年。更重要的是，儘管表現持續良好，但我們在該部門的訂單量仍然強勁。我們能源業務的幾個重要訂單繼續取得良好進展，而不斷增長的提案請求預示著該業務的未來。

The recently announced acquisition of Olbrich will add nicely to this segment as they add about $20 million of energy related orders in the previous year as well. Like us, they are seeing strong interest in their product offering which is complementary to our products, in some cases are used by the same customers. We have great hopes for this addition to our portfolio which adds significant coating line capabilities to our already proven calendaring and embossing product lines. Together, we offer several critical pieces of equipment, using the production of dry electrodes for the lithium-ion battery industry.

最近宣布的對 Olbrich 的收購將很好地增加這一細分市場，因為他們在上一年也增加了約 2000 萬美元的能源相關訂單。和我們一樣，他們對自己的產品產生了濃厚的興趣，這些產品與我們的產品互補，在某些情況下被相同的客戶使用。我們對我們產品組合中的這一補充寄予厚望，它將為我們已經證明的壓延和壓花產品線增加重要的塗層線能力。我們共同提供幾款關鍵設備，用於鋰離子電池行業的干電極生產。

I remind you that we are the only producers of production level equipment used in the production of dry electrode technology, a significant differentiator and in our advantage.

我提醒您，我們是用於生產乾電極技術的生產級設備的唯一生產商，這是一個顯著的差異化因素，也是我們的優勢。

Similarly, Olbrich, like us, is seeing strong interest in hydrogen fuel cell production level equipment. We hope to speak about the success of our combined offerings more in the quarters to come. Although we are yet unsure of how Olbrich will perform in the near term, our energy business is expected to finish the year strong as orders remain strong. Certainly, in our Product Identification and our Warehouse Automation business, we continue to see revenue and profit growth while order intake remained strong. Hardware delivery delays at several client warehouse site slowed the installation of our automation systems, thus preventing us from having an even stronger quarter. We expect these businesses to finish the year strong as well since much of the work we perform has to be delivered by the beginning of our next quarter.

同樣，與我們一樣，Olbrich 也看到了對氫燃料電池生產級設備的濃厚興趣。我們希望在接下來的幾個季度中更多地談論我們聯合產品的成功。儘管我們還不確定奧爾布里希在短期內的表現如何，但由於訂單保持強勁，我們的能源業務預計將在今年結束時表現強勁。當然，在我們的產品識別和倉庫自動化業務中，我們繼續看到收入和利潤增長，而訂單量保持強勁。幾個客戶倉庫站點的硬件交付延遲減緩了我們自動化系統的安裝速度，從而使我們無法擁有更強勁的季度。我們預計這些業務也將在今年結束時表現強勁，因為我們執行的大部分工作必須在下個季度初交付。

Regardless of the timing of the deliveries, evidence of the quality of our automation system solution is demonstrable when you look at our client list and installed base, and we look forward to using our reputation and success to expand this business over time, thanks to the addition of the R+S Group, part of the Olbrich acquisition. R+S brings us both engineering skills and capabilities to increase our service and delivery levels here in the United States. But R+S also brings us a much sought-after presence internationally, which should help us to expand our geographic footprint there as well. In addition, R+S will expand our total addressable market further to include factory automation, where R+S has significant experience and capabilities with some of the world's largest companies.

無論交付時間如何，當您查看我們的客戶列表和安裝基礎時，我們的自動化系統解決方案的質量證據是顯而易見的，我們期待隨著時間的推移利用我們的聲譽和成功來擴展這項業務，這要歸功於加入 R+S 集團，這是收購 Olbrich 的一部分。 R+S 為我們帶來了工程技能和能力，以提高我們在美國的服務和交付水平。但 R+S 也為我們帶來了在國際上廣受歡迎的影響力，這也應該有助於我們擴大我們在當地的地理足跡。此外，R+S 將進一步擴大我們的總目標市場，以包括工廠自動化，其中 R+S 在與一些世界上最大的公司合作時擁有豐富的經驗和能力。

In our Memorialization segment, we continued to have strong execution at all levels, despite declining casketed debts. Our Funeral Home Products business saw relatively consistent volumes when compared to prior years. Our revenues for this business are up over prior year due to price increases, but profitability is down as inflationary pressures outweighed the pricing we have achieved, as anticipated. Our Cemetery Products business, however, saw strong volume increases coupled with price increases to offset the rising commodity costs. We expect this business to also finish the year strong, particularly since most of the revenue derived in this business are U.S.-based and thus not significantly impacted by currency.

在我們的紀念部分，儘管棺材債務下降，但我們在各個層面繼續保持強勁的執行力。與往年相比，我們的殯儀用品業務的銷量相對穩定。由於價格上漲，我們這項業務的收入比上年有所增加，但由於通貨膨脹壓力超過了我們預期的定價，盈利能力下降。然而，我們的公墓產品業務的銷量強勁增長，加上價格上漲，以抵消商品成本的上漲。我們預計該業務也將在今年結束時表現強勁，特別是因為該業務產生的大部分收入都來自美國，因此不受貨幣的顯著影響。

All-in-all, we are not satisfied with our performance this quarter. As I have noted, however, much of the challenges we faced are geographically concentrated and not of our making. We hope economic conditions will return to a more normal state soon. Until then, however, we remain confident of our businesses and the opportunities before us. Given the challenges in Europe, however, we believe that our full year EBITDA guidance will be between $200 million and $210 million. We hope to do better, but many things remain unclear at this time.

總而言之，我們對本季度的表現並不滿意。然而，正如我所指出的，我們面臨的許多挑戰都集中在地理上，而不是我們造成的。我們希望經濟狀況能盡快恢復到更正常的狀態。然而，在那之前，我們仍然對我們的業務和我們面前的機會充滿信心。然而，鑑於歐洲的挑戰，我們相信我們全年的 EBITDA 指導將在 2 億美元至 2.1 億美元之間。我們希望做得更好，但目前很多事情還不清楚。

Now let me turn it over to Steve Nicola our CFO.

現在讓我把它交給我們的首席財務官史蒂夫尼古拉。

Thank you, Joe, and good morning. I'll begin the financial review with Slide 7. For the fiscal 2022 third quarter, we reported consolidated sales of $421.7 million compared to $428.4 million for the third fiscal quarter last year. As Joe just noted, European market conditions and the corresponding impact on currency rates, particularly the euro and British pound significantly affected comparability to last year. Relative to the reported decrease in consolidated sales of $6.7 million. The unfavorable impact of currency rate changes was $17.6 million. Memorialization sales were 10.2% higher for the current quarter compared with a year ago.

謝謝你，喬，早上好。我將從幻燈片 7 開始財務審查。對於 2022 財年第三季度，我們報告的綜合銷售額為 4.217 億美元，而去年第三財季為 4.284 億美元。正如喬剛剛指出的那樣，歐洲市場狀況和對貨幣匯率的相應影響，特別是歐元和英鎊，顯著影響了與去年的可比性。相對於所報告的合併銷售額減少 670 萬美元。匯率變動的不利影響為 1,760 萬美元。與一年前相比，本季度的紀念銷售額增長了 10.2%。

Excluding currency impacts, fiscal 2022 third quarter sales for the Industrial Technologies segment also improved relative to a year ago. Year-to-date, these segments reported sales growth of 10.6% and 15.2% respectively over last year.

排除貨幣影響，2022 財年第三季度工業技術部門的銷售額也比一年前有所改善。年初至今，這些部門的銷售額分別比去年增長了 10.6% 和 15.2%。

On a GAAP basis, the company reported net income of $2.9 million or $0.9 per share, compared to $3.4 million or $0.10 per share for the same quarter last year. On a non-GAAP basis, adjusted EBITDA, which represents net income before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization and other adjustments, for the fiscal 2022 third quarter was $46 million, compared to $60 million last year.

根據公認會計原則，該公司報告的淨收入為 290 萬美元或每股 0.9 美元，而去年同期為 340 萬美元或每股 0.10 美元。在非公認會計原則的基礎上，2022財年第三季度調整後的EBITDA（即利息支出、所得稅、折舊和攤銷及其他調整前的淨收入）為4600萬美元，而去年為6000萬美元。

Lower consolidated sales for the quarter combined with the impact of higher material costs, increased labor and freight costs, and higher travel and entertainment expense were the primary factors in the year-over-year decline. In addition, currency rate changes had an unfavorable impact of $2.5 million on consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the current quarter compared with a year ago.

本季度綜合銷售額下降，加上材料成本增加、勞動力和貨運成本增加以及差旅和娛樂費用增加的影響是同比下降的主要因素。此外，與去年同期相比，匯率變化對本季度合併調整後的 EBITDA 產生了 250 萬美元的不利影響。

Adjusted earnings per share was $0.58 for the current quarter compared to $0.91 last year, primarily reflecting the reduction in adjusted EBITDA. Please see the reconciliations of adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share in our earnings release.

本季度調整後每股收益為 0.58 美元，而去年為 0.91 美元，主要反映了調整後 EBITDA 的減少。請在我們的收益發布中查看調整後 EBITDA 和非公認會計原則調整後每股收益的對賬。

Investment income for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, was $59,000 compared to $959,000 for the same quarter a year ago. Investment income primarily reflects the changes in the value of investments held in trust for certain of the company's benefit plans.

截至 2022 年 6 月 30 日的季度的投資收入為 59,000 美元，而去年同期為 959,000 美元。投資收益主要反映公司某些福利計劃的信託投資價值的變化。

Interest expense for the fiscal 2022 third quarter was $6.7 million, which was relatively consistent with the third fiscal quarter last year. Other income and deductions net for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, represented expense of $448,000 compared with $2.4 million a year ago. The significant change primarily reflected a reduction in nonservice pension costs as a result of the settlement of the company's principal pension plan.

2022財年第三季度的利息支出為670萬美元，與去年第三財季相對一致。截至 2022 年 6 月 30 日的季度的其他收入和扣除淨額為 448,000 美元，而一年前為 240 萬美元。這一重大變化主要反映了由於公司主要養老金計劃的結算而導致的非服務性養老金成本的減少。

Year-to-date, other income and deductions net for fiscal 2022 represented net expense of $31.6 million compared to $6.8 million last year. The year-to-date change primarily reflected a significant first quarter charge in the current year as a result of the settlement of the company's principal pension plan.

年初至今，2022 財年的其他收入和扣除淨額為 3160 萬美元，而去年為 680 萬美元。年初至今的變化主要反映了本年度第一季度由於公司主要養老金計劃的結算而產生的重大費用。

The company's consolidated income tax expense for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, was $1 million compared to a benefit of $2.3 million a year ago. The unfavorable change primarily reflected the benefit of tax items discrete to the third quarter a year ago. For the 9 months ended June 30, 2022, the company's consolidated income taxes reflected a benefit of $2.3 million compared to expense of $2.6 million last year. The benefit for the current year primarily reflected the tax benefit of the first quarter pension cost.

該公司截至 2022 年 6 月 30 日的季度的綜合所得稅費用為 100 萬美元，而一年前的收益為 230 萬美元。不利的變化主要反映了與去年第三季度離散的稅收項目的好處。截至 2022 年 6 月 30 日的 9 個月，公司的綜合所得稅反映了 230 萬美元的收益，而去年的支出為 260 萬美元。本年度的收益主要反映了第一季度養老金成本的稅收收益。

Please turn to Slide 8 to begin a review of our segment results. Memorialization segment sales for the fiscal 2022 third quarter were $203.2 million compared to $184.3 million a year ago, representing an increase of $18.8 million or 10.2%. The growth was primarily the result of higher cemetery memorial product sales and increased pricing to mitigate the effects of inflation. Current quarter casket unit sales volumes were relatively steady compared to a year ago and U.S. cremation equipment sales were higher.

請轉到幻燈片 8 開始查看我們的細分結果。 2022 財年第三季度的紀念分部銷售額為 2.032 億美元，而去年同期為 1.843 億美元，增長了 1880 萬美元或 10.2%。增長主要是由於墓地紀念產品銷售增加和價格上漲以減輕通貨膨脹的影響。與一年前相比，本季度棺材銷量相對穩定，美國火化設備銷量較高。

Memorialization segment adjusted EBITDA for the fiscal 2022 third quarter was $32.1 million compared to $36.4 million a year ago. The favorable effect of higher sales was offset by the significant unfavorable impacts of higher material costs, mainly steel, lumber, and bronze compared to a year ago as well as increased labor and freight costs and other inflationary cost increases.

紀念分部調整後的 2022 財年第三季度 EBITDA 為 3210 萬美元，而一年前為 3640 萬美元。與一年前相比，較高的材料成本（主要是鋼材、木材和青銅）以及勞動力和運費成本增加以及其他通脹成本增加所帶來的重大不利影響抵消了銷售額增加的有利影響。

Please turn to Slide 9. Sales for the Industrial Technologies segment were $78.4 million for the fiscal 2022 third quarter compared to $81.8 million a year ago. Currency rates significantly affected comparability with last year. Relative to the reported decrease of $3.4 million in the segment sales, the unfavorable impact of currency rate changes was $5.1 million. Excluding currency, the segment sales improved from a year ago, primarily reflecting higher sales for the Warehouse Automation and Product Identification businesses.

請轉到幻燈片 9。2022 財年第三季度工業技術部門的銷售額為 7840 萬美元，而一年前為 8180 萬美元。貨幣匯率顯著影響了與去年的可比性。相對於報告的分部銷售額減少 340 萬美元，匯率變化的不利影響為 510 萬美元。不包括貨幣，該部門的銷售額比一年前有所改善，主要反映了倉庫自動化和產品識別業務的銷售額增加。

Backlogs and incoming order rates for these businesses continued to be solid through the fiscal 2022 third quarter. Year-to-date, sales for the Industrial Technologies segment were $230.9 million for June 30, 2022, compared to $200.5 million a year ago, representing an increase of 15.2%. Adjusted EBITDA for the Industrial Technologies segment was $11.8 million for the 2022 third quarter compared with $12.2 million a year ago. Currency rate changes had an unfavorable impact of $1 million on the segment's adjusted EBITDA for the current quarter. Excluding currency, the increase in Warehouse Automation and Product Identification sales and improved engineering models contributed to the current quarter adjusted EBITDA. On a year-to-date basis, adjusted EBITDA for the Industrial Technologies segment increased approximately 42% over last year.

在 2022 財年第三季度，這些業務的積壓和新訂單率繼續保持穩定。年初至今，截至 2022 年 6 月 30 日，工業技術部門的銷售額為 2.309 億美元，而一年前為 2.005 億美元，增長了 15.2%。 2022 年第三季度工業技術部門的調整後 EBITDA 為 1180 萬美元，而一年前為 1220 萬美元。匯率變化對該部門本季度調整後的 EBITDA 產生了 100 萬美元的不利影響。不包括貨幣，倉庫自動化和產品識別銷售的增長以及改進的工程模型對本季度調整後的 EBITDA 做出了貢獻。從年初至今，工業技術部門的調整後 EBITDA 比去年增長了約 42%。

Please turn to Slide 10. Sales for the SGK Brand Solutions segment were $140.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, compared to $162.2 million a year ago. The decrease primarily reflected the unfavorable impact of currency rate changes, primarily the euro and British pound and weak market conditions in Europe. Currency rate changes had an unfavorable impact of $10.9 million on the segment's current quarter sales compared with the same quarter last year. Year-to-date sales for the segment were $440.5 million for fiscal 2022 compared to $458.6 million last year. The unfavorable impact of currency rate changes was $20.3 million on a year-to-date basis.

請轉到幻燈片 10。截至 2022 年 6 月 30 日的季度，SGK 品牌解決方案部門的銷售額為 1.401 億美元，而一年前為 1.622 億美元。下降主要反映了貨幣匯率變化的不利影響，主要是歐元和英鎊以及歐洲疲軟的市場狀況。與去年同期相比，匯率變化對該部門當前季度的銷售額產生了 1,090 萬美元的不利影響。該部門的年初至今銷售額在 2022 財年為 4.405 億美元，而去年為 4.586 億美元。年初至今，匯率變化的不利影響為 2,030 萬美元。

Fiscal 2022 third quarter adjusted EBITDA for the SGK Brand Solutions segment was $14.5 million compared to $27 million a year ago. The decline primarily reflected the impact of lower sales, increased labor costs, other inflationary cost increases and higher travel and entertainment expenses.

SGK 品牌解決方案部門的 2022 財年第三季度調整後 EBITDA 為 1450 萬美元，而一年前為 2700 萬美元。下降主要反映了銷售額下降、勞動力成本增加、其他通貨膨脹成本增加以及旅行和娛樂費用增加的影響。

Please turn to Slide 11. Cash flow provided by operating activities for the fiscal 2022 third quarter was $11.6 million compared to $14.7 million a year ago. Cash flow provided by operating activities for the 9 months ended June 30, 2022, was $84.4 million compared to $106.9 million last year. The year-to-date change included a $36 million contribution to the company's principal pension plan during the fiscal 2022 first quarter in connection with the planned termination and settlement.

請轉到幻燈片 11。2022 財年第三季度運營活動提供的現金流為 1160 萬美元，而一年前為 1470 萬美元。截至 2022 年 6 月 30 日止 9 個月的經營活動提供的現金流為 8440 萬美元，而去年為 1.069 億美元。年初至今的變化包括在 2022 財年第一季度為公司的主要養老金計劃捐款 3600 萬美元，與計劃中的終止和結算有關。

Outstanding debt was $776 million at June 30, 2022, compared to $763.7 million at September 30, 2021. Net debt, which represents debt less cash at June 30, 2022, was $730.2 million and our net leverage ratio was 3.5 based on trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA. The leverage ratio covenant in our domestic credit facility is based on net debt. The increase in debt for the current year primarily reflected the reduction in operating cash flow and the impacts of higher capital expenditures and stock repurchases. These increases were partially offset by the impact of the replacement of the company's securitization facility. In in the fiscal 2022 second quarter, we replaced our existing securitization facility with a receivable purchase agreement that resulted in a corresponding reduction in our outstanding debt and trade receivables balances.

截至 2022 年 6 月 30 日，未償債務為 7.76 億美元，而 2021 年 9 月 30 日為 7.637 億美元。淨債務（即 2022 年 6 月 30 日的債務減去現金）為 7.302 億美元，基於過去 12 個月，我們的淨槓桿率為 3.5調整後的 EBITDA。我們的國內信貸工具中的槓桿率契約是基於淨債務。本年度債務的增加主要反映了經營現金流的減少以及資本支出和股票回購增加的影響。這些增長部分被更換公司證券化設施的影響所抵消。在 2022 財年第二季度，我們用應收賬款購買協議取代了現有的證券化設施，導致我們的未償債務和貿易應收賬款餘額相應減少。

Approximately 30.6 million shares were outstanding at June 30, 2022. During the fiscal 2022 third quarter, the company increased its level of share repurchase activity as a result of the stock's recent trading values. During the current quarter, the company purchased approximately 705,000 shares at a cost of $21.8 million. Year-to-date, the company has repurchased approximately 1.1 million shares at a cost of $34 million. At June 30, 2022, the company had remaining authorization of approximately 1.6 million shares under the program.

截至 2022 年 6 月 30 日，約有 3,060 萬股流通在外。在 2022 財年第三季度，由於股票近期的交易價值，公司提高了股票回購活動的水平。在本季度，該公司以 2180 萬美元的價格購買了大約 705,000 股股票。年初至今，該公司以 3400 萬美元的成本回購了大約 110 萬股股票。截至 2022 年 6 月 30 日，公司在該計劃下剩餘約 160 萬股授權。

Finally, the Board this week declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share on the company's common stock. The dividend is payable August 22, 2022, to stockholders of record August 8, 2022.

最後，董事會本周宣佈公司普通股的季度股息為每股 0.22 美元。股息將於 2022 年 8 月 22 日支付給 2022 年 8 月 8 日登記在冊的股東。

This concludes the financial review, and we will now open the call to questions.

財務審查到此結束，我們現在開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) We have a first question from the line of Daniel Moore with CJS Securities.

（操作員說明）我們有第一個問題來自 CJS 證券的 Daniel Moore。

Let me start with SGK Brand Solutions, maybe just talk about the cadence of -- obviously, a lot of headwinds and challenges this quarter. The cadence of margin recovery, how long you see that will take playing out and maybe some of the steps that you can take in the coming quarters to get back to where we were maybe a quarter or 2 ago? And a quick follow-up or 2.

讓我從 SGK 品牌解決方案開始，也許只是談談本季度的節奏——顯然，很多逆風和挑戰。利潤率恢復的節奏，你認為這需要多長時間，也許你可以在接下來的幾個季度採取一些步驟來回到我們可能在一個季度或兩個前的位置？并快速跟進或 2。

Sure. So when we look at SGK, Dan, as we said in the call, 2 principal areas that we had issues with. One, and the largest part of it is Europe. We are faced with 2 challenges there. One, currency, which we don't control, and we don't know when if or how that's ever going to come back or for that matter, whether it gets worse. But the other part of it was just flat out drop off of volume. Again, we noted that we did not lose any accounts whatsoever. There's just been a drying up of economic activity in that part of the world. So we would expect that to come back. Every one of the clients we've spoken with have suggested this is a temporary pause, and that would come back when things get a little bit better. Is it next quarter? Right now, we're not seeing that. So I'd expect it to be over the course of the next 6 to 12 months that we'll get back to a more normalized rate at current -- whatever exchange rate it may be.

當然。因此，當我們查看 SGK、Dan 時，正如我們在電話會議中所說，我們遇到了兩個主要問題。一，其中最大的部分是歐洲。我們在那裡面臨兩個挑戰。一，貨幣，我們無法控制，我們不知道它何時或如何會回來，或者就此而言，它是否會變得更糟。但它的另一部分只是成交量的下降。同樣，我們注意到我們沒有丟失任何帳戶。世界那個地區的經濟活動剛剛枯竭。所以我們希望它會回來。與我們交談過的每一位客戶都表示這是一個暫時的停頓，當情況好轉時會再次出現。是下個季度嗎？目前，我們沒有看到這一點。因此，我預計在接下來的 6 到 12 個月內，我們將恢復到目前更加正常化的匯率——無論匯率如何。

We are taking actions in the meantime. You'll see some of those come through to reduce the size of our footprint over there. But at the same time, I think that this, I hope that this quarter is an anomaly for that part of the world and maybe another a little bit of a challenge going next quarter.

與此同時，我們正在採取行動。你會看到其中一些通過減少我們在那裡的足跡大小。但與此同時，我認為這一點，我希望這個季度對世界的那個地區來說是一個反常現象，也許下個季度又是一個挑戰。

The second part of the challenge, which is our brand business in-store marketing efforts, it is really a strange world and you heard my commentary about client, very large clients, unable to get products to be able to be marketed as well as others who can't staff their stores in order to be open, so therefore negating the need for in-store marketing efforts. I mean these are unique challenges that are specific to this period of time we're operating in.

挑戰的第二部分，我們的品牌業務店內營銷工作，這真是一個奇怪的世界，你聽到我關於客戶的評論，非常大的客戶，無法讓產品能夠像其他人一樣被營銷他們無法為門店開張而配備人員，因此無需進行店內營銷工作。我的意思是，這些是我們所處的這段時期特有的獨特挑戰。

Again, clients there are long-standing, very large clients for us with reasonable margins that we expect that will return. It really is whether or not they can get product and that could come back as quickly as this quarter. It could come back in the quarter after that. It's difficult -- I mean, I'll give you a perfect example. We had a very large golf promotion going on across the United States at a large retail customer of ours. Couldn't get golf clubs out of China to be able to promote, cancelled. And that happens precipitously. They've got to have the product.

同樣，我們的客戶是長期存在的、非常大的客戶，我們預計這些客戶將獲得合理的利潤回報。這真的是他們是否可以獲得產品，並且可能會在本季度盡快恢復。在那之後的一個季度，它可能會回來。這很難——我的意思是，我會給你一個完美的例子。我們在美國的一個大型零售客戶那裡進行了一次非常大規模的高爾夫促銷活動。無法讓高爾夫球桿離開中國進行推廣，因此被取消。這發生得非常突然。他們必須擁有產品。

Others who were waiting to get photographs to be able to put on to websites and on to e-commerce sites, they couldn't get the product to shoot. So, we've reduced our volumes there significantly. This is unique. It is not something that is inherent in the business as much as inherent in the operating environment we live in today.

其他正在等待將照片上傳到網站和電子商務網站的人，他們無法讓產品拍攝。因此，我們大幅減少了那裡的交易量。這是獨一無二的。它不是企業固有的東西，而是我們今天生活的運營環境中固有的東西。

That's really helpful. Maybe talk a little bit more about Olbrich. What you've seen since closing the acquisition and what they kind of bring to the table for you?

這真的很有幫助。也許多談談奧爾布里希。自完成收購以來您所看到的以及他們為您帶來了什麼？

First, we've not closed. We are hoping to close in the next couple of weeks. We announced the agreement. We have authorization at the European Union Trade Authority to close. So we expect that to happen in the next couple of weeks. But they bring significant additions to the puzzle. As I've said before, we have a longer-term goal of adding various componentry to the production line for the equipment used to produce, dry electrode material. We also can use it for wet electrode as well. As you read more than we do, I'm sure, both the United States and the European Union are highly focused on trying to bring that onshore. We think we are the leading player, leading options for onshoring, particularly when you exclude the Asians. And at that point in time, we think this is a significant addition. They add coating lines and drying lines, things that we don't have, which are critical parts of that process. And we think that as we integrate that into our business, we will continue to expand our opportunities either through partnership or through acquisition, the ability to deliver that dry electrode material going forward.

首先，我們還沒有關閉。我們希望在接下來的幾週內關閉。我們宣布了協議。我們已獲得歐盟貿易管理局的授權關閉。因此，我們預計這將在接下來的幾週內發生。但它們為這個謎題帶來了重要的補充。正如我之前所說，我們的長期目標是為用於生產乾燥電極材料的設備的生產線添加各種組件。我們也可以將它用於濕電極。當您閱讀的內容比我們閱讀的更多時，我敢肯定，美國和歐盟都高度關注試圖將其帶到岸上。我們認為我們是領先的參與者，領先的外包選擇，尤其是當您排除亞洲人時。在那個時候，我們認為這是一個重要的補充。他們增加了塗層線和乾燥線，我們沒有這些東西，它們是該過程的關鍵部分。我們認為，當我們將其整合到我們的業務中時，我們將繼續通過合作或收購來擴大我們的機會，從而有能力提供這種干電極材料。

When it comes to R+S, which is a small part but a critical part, R+S represents automation engineering group out of the Czech Republic, but they have offices elsewhere in the world. They bring significant skill sets, both in the ability to help us get our product -- our current energy line off the lines and produce those and respond, frankly, even to technical RFPs, which we have difficult time getting to because of how much is coming in. But as I said in my commentary, the opportunity to expand both footprint and total addressable market in our Warehouse Automation and basically become factory automation as well. We think this is a big add that we'll see the benefit of over time.

說到R+S，這是一個很小但很關鍵的部分，R+S代表捷克共和國以外的自動化工程集團，但他們在世界其他地方設有辦事處。他們帶來了重要的技能組合，既能幫助我們獲得我們的產品——我們目前的能源線下線，也能生產這些產品，坦率地說，甚至對技術 RFP 做出回應，我們很難得到這些，因為有多少是進來。但正如我在評論中所說，有機會在我們的倉庫自動化中擴大足跡和總目標市場，並基本上成為工廠自動化。我們認為這是一個很大的補充，隨著時間的推移我們會看到它的好處。

Our current Warehouse Automation business focuses principally in the e-commerce side of the world -- of the North American markets, bringing that footprint to Europe as well as elsewhere in the world where R+S can help us as well as expanding in North America into factory automation where R+S brings tremendous skill sets, we think it's a win-win. And it's not going to happen overnight, as you might expect, but it is part of the puzzle that we think we needed for a while.

我們目前的倉庫自動化業務主要集中在世界的電子商務方面——北美市場，將這一足跡帶到歐洲以及世界其他地方，R+S 可以幫助我們並在北美擴張進入 R+S 帶來巨大技能組合的工廠自動化，我們認為這是雙贏的。正如你所料，這不會在一夜之間發生，但它是我們認為我們需要一段時間的難題的一部分。

Very good. Lastly, at least for the moment, just in terms of raw material costs on Memorialization side, where are we in the process of pricing gains catching up with the raw material inflation we're seeing? And are you seeing any flattening or even declining in some of those key inputs that you described that might help margins in the coming quarters?

很好。最後，至少就目前而言，僅就紀念方面的原材料成本而言，我們在定價收益的過程中在哪裡趕上我們所看到的原材料通脹？您是否看到您所描述的一些可能有助於未來幾個季度利潤率的關鍵投入出現持平甚至下降？

So first, let's talk about Memorialization margins to help understand what's going on there. Our Memorialization margins when we look at our Funeral Home and Cemetery Products business, architectural products as well, remained at about 19%.

所以首先，讓我們談談紀念邊際，以幫助了解那裡發生了什麼。當我們查看我們的殯儀館和墓地產品業務以及建築產品時，我們的紀念利潤率保持在 19% 左右。

This quarter, we had some fairly large charges in our European incineration business where we do waste-to-energy incineration. Those projects went negative for us from an accounting standpoint because we have -- if we believe there is a -- once we are aware that there is a potential loss on a project, we need to recognize it at this time. Several of those projects are large municipal projects that by contract have been going on for quite a while throughout the COVID period, and we're now feeling the impacts of commodity pressures, delays and everything else. Many of those contracts are in negotiation with those municipalities.

本季度，我們在歐洲焚燒業務中收取了一些相當大的費用，我們在這些業務中進行廢物轉化為能源的焚燒。從會計的角度來看，這些項目對我們不利，因為我們已經 - 如果我們相信存在 - 一旦我們意識到項目存在潛在損失，我們此時需要認識到它。其中一些項目是大型市政項目，根據合同在整個 COVID 期間已經進行了很長一段時間，我們現在感受到了商品壓力、延誤和其他一切的影響。其中許多合同正在與這些市政當局進行談判。

Although we don't have contractual rights that obligate them to pay us, many of them have suggested a willingness to meet us along the way, knowing what has happened over the last several years, and we hope to recover some of those charges going forward. Can I count on that? No. But I believe we will see improvement out of that business next quarter and the quarters to come, bringing our overall Memorialization margin back into that 20-ish range that we have seen historically for a while.

儘管我們沒有合同權利要求他們向我們付款，但他們中的許多人表示願意在此過程中與我們會面，因為他們知道過去幾年發生的事情，我們希望在未來收回其中一些費用.我可以指望嗎？不，但我相信我們將在下個季度和未來幾個季度看到該業務的改善，使我們的整體紀念利潤率回到我們歷史上一段時間以來看到的 20 左右的範圍內。

Direct answer to your comment around commodity side, we are starting to see some reduction in steel prices as well as in copper, the principal components of a couple of our businesses. Clearly, on the steel side, it takes a long time to get through. We won't see that in this quarter or next. But we still continue to feel pressure on the wage side. Wages and turnover remained significant in a couple of those businesses, and we are having to meet that demand going forward. We've raised prices on that business. We're coming up into a period of time here where traditionally, there have been price increases relative to a couple of those businesses. Some we lead, and we've been -- in those cases, principally on the Cemetery Products side, we have covered all of our material cost shortfalls. On the Funeral Home side, we still lag some of that. But from a positive standpoint, our volumes on Funeral Home remained strong relative to prior year despite the declining debt.

直接回答您關於商品方面的評論，我們開始看到鋼價和銅價有所下降，銅是我們幾項業務的主要組成部分。顯然，在鋼鐵方面，需要很長時間才能通過。我們不會在本季度或下一個季度看到這一點。但我們仍然繼續感受到工資方面的壓力。其中一些企業的工資和營業額仍然很高，我們必須滿足未來的需求。我們已經提高了該業務的價格。我們正在進入一個傳統上相對於其中一些業務價格上漲的時期。我們領導的一些人，我們一直在——在這些情況下，主要是在公墓產品方面，我們已經彌補了我們所有的材料成本短缺。在殯儀館方面，我們仍然落後一些。但從積極的角度來看，儘管債務下降，我們殯儀館的交易量仍較上年保持強勁。

Next question from the line of Liam Burke with B. Riley.

下一個問題來自 Liam Burke 和 B. Riley。

Joe, you touched on in-store display on SGK. Could you give us a sense how the rest of the domestic business for SGK is doing?

喬，你談到了 SGK 的店內展示。您能否告訴我們 SGK 的其他國內業務情況如何？

Yes. The rest of North America was fairly consistent with what we expected, down relative to prior year modestly. But even in North America, and for that matter APAC, APAC and North America were down modestly. And most of those modest shortfalls were related to the mix of projects going through. So we think -- as I said, this is a in-store marketing effort challenge and Europe, Europe being a huge driver of the shortfall.

是的。北美其他地區與我們的預期相當一致，與去年相比略有下降。但即使在北美，就這一點而言，亞太地區、亞太地區和北美也略有下降。大多數這些適度的短缺都與正在進行的項目組合有關。所以我們認為——正如我所說，這是店內營銷工作的挑戰，歐洲是造成短缺的巨大推動力。

Okay. And on cremation, you mentioned -- or Steve mentioned in his prepared comments, the sales are up. Could you give us a sense as to how input costs are affecting that business? And that seems to be a pretty consistent grower for you.

好的。在火化方面，你提到——或者史蒂夫在他準備好的評論中提到，銷售額上升了。您能否讓我們了解一下投入成本如何影響該業務？這對你來說似乎是一個相當穩定的種植者。

Well, it's an interesting situation in that business. We are relatively small player when it comes to some of the components that are used in that particular business, principally burners and electronic controls. We have gone through multiple suppliers throughout the COVID period, trying to meet the demand that we have out there. Throughout that period, prices have escalated materially, we've had obligations to kind of substitute that. At the same time, we are having COVID outages, people not coming to work as a result of that, a significant turnover. But one of the most important parts of this has been that we have had situations where we are unable to pass along the price because a well-run business like ours gets paid before. We ship product in North America. A little difficult to raise your price when I've already paid for it. So that's one of the challenges we're having in North America.

嗯，這是該行業的一個有趣的情況。在涉及該特定業務中使用的某些組件（主要是燃燒器和電子控制裝置）時，我們是相對較小的參與者。在整個 COVID 期間，我們已經通過了多家供應商，試圖滿足我們的需求。在那段時間裡，價格大幅上漲，我們有義務替代它。與此同時，我們遇到了 COVID 停電，人們因此而無法上班，人員流動很大。但其中最重要的部分之一是，我們曾遇到過無法轉嫁價格的情況，因為像我們這樣經營良好的企業之前已經獲得報酬。我們在北美運送產品。我已經付了錢，要提高你的價格有點困難。這就是我們在北美面臨的挑戰之一。

The U.K. side of it, I just mentioned to you, is having the challenges from a performance standpoint related to several relatively large projects. We hope those begin to turn. From a positive standpoint, the incineration business continues to get a lot of demand. And as we kind of get through this struggle that we're dealing with, which has really been lingering since COVID started in that part of the world for us, we think this business will be a nice add and continue to grow as you've seen, Liam.

我剛剛向您提到，英國方面從與幾個相對較大的項目相關的性能角度來看面臨挑戰。我們希望那些開始轉向。從積極的角度來看，焚燒業務繼續獲得大量需求。當我們克服我們正在處理的這場鬥爭時，自從 COVID 在世界那個地區開始對我們來說，這種鬥爭一直揮之不去，我們認為這項業務將是一個很好的補充，並隨著您的發展而繼續增長看過，利亞姆。

We have next question from the line of Justin Bergner with Gabelli Funds.

我們有下一個問題來自加貝利基金的賈斯汀·伯格納（Justin Bergner）。

I guess I wanted to start and just maybe ask a little bit about the performance sequentially. I mean if I look at the performance sequentially, SGK looks a little bit down in terms of sales and a little bit up in terms of EBITDA. So what you trying to suggest with the guidance that maybe SGK looks a little bit like this quarter, but the real weakness is going to come in the fourth quarter? And then I guess, conversely, Industrial Technologies, looks kind of flattish sequentially in terms of revenue and down in terms of EBITDA. So are you suggesting there that some of the headwinds are temporary and timing related, and that's going to sort of bounce back more in the fourth quarter?

我想我想開始，也許只是按順序詢問一下性能。我的意思是，如果我按順序查看業績，SGK 在銷售額方面看起來有點下降，在 EBITDA 方面看起來有點上升。那麼您試圖通過指導建議暗示 SGK 可能看起來有點像本季度，但真正的弱點將在第四季度出現？然後我猜，相反，工業技術在收入方面看起來有點平淡，而在 EBITDA 方面則有所下降。那麼，您是否認為某些不利因素是暫時的和時間相關的，並且會在第四季度反彈更多？

So let's take that in 2 parts. So when it comes to SGK, we're expecting -- the currency is an aside. I mean, we really don't know where currency is going, Justin. If you look at the euro drop and the precipitousness over the matter of 40 days, the decline you see, is that going to stop or is it going to continue? It is difficult to tell. But SGK, I'd tell you that it is not -- we don't expect it to get worse. That's not -- in fact, we hope it gets better here over the course of the next quarter or 2 as we move into the balance year from a sequential standpoint.

所以讓我們把它分成兩部分。因此，當談到 SGK 時，我們期待 - 貨幣是一個旁觀者。我的意思是，我們真的不知道貨幣的去向，賈斯汀。如果你看一下歐元下跌和 40 天的急劇下跌，你看到的下跌是會停止還是會繼續？很難說。但是 SGK，我會告訴你，事實並非如此——我們預計情況不會變得更糟。那不是 - 事實上，我們希望它在下一季度或第二季度的過程中變得更好，因為我們從連續的角度進入平衡年。

On the industrial side, currency, again, remember, when we look at industrials, we break that into 2 parts, which is our Industrial Automation segment as well as our Surfaces and energy business that we have on the other side. The energy business is -- and Surface is all European for the most part. And currency took that down on a year-over-year revenue basis. When we look at going through the next quarter, we expect both our industrial automation and our energy business to be strong and be up for the quarter.

在工業方面，貨幣，再次，記住，當我們看工業時，我們將其分為兩部分，即我們的工業自動化部門以及我們在另一邊擁有的表面和能源業務。能源業務是——Surface 在很大程度上是歐洲的。貨幣在同比收入的基礎上降低了這一點。當我們展望下個季度時，我們預計我們的工業自動化和能源業務都將強勁並在本季度有所增長。

So our guidance reflects, frankly, a couple of things. When we look at year-over-year, we're expecting currency to hit our bottom line $5 million, $6 million, $7 million from what we can tell today. And that's what we don't know. And then you couple with that a challenge for this quarter that we saw, particularly in SGK, we don't think that's going to -- it's not like we're going to pick that back up next quarter. Does that help?

因此，坦率地說，我們的指導反映了幾件事。當我們逐年查看時，我們預計貨幣將達到我們今天所知道的 500 萬美元、600 萬美元、700 萬美元的底線。而這正是我們所不知道的。然後你再加上我們在本季度看到的挑戰，特別是在 SGK，我們認為這不會 - 我們不會在下個季度恢復這種情況。這有幫助嗎？

Yes, that does help. So maybe you could just talk a little bit about some of the headwinds you felt in Industrial Technology in the third quarter. You mentioned some delays maybe in the Warehouse Automation side. The margin looked a little bit light sequentially...

是的，這確實有幫助。因此，也許您可以談談您在第三季度在工業技術領域感受到的一些不利因素。您提到倉庫自動化方面可能存在一些延遲。邊緣依次看起來有點輕……

Sure. Let's talk about the warehouse side. On the warehouse side, the challenges that we've had -- we've got a lot of backlogs, a lot of orders in-house, and we're going to be able to deliver that. We hope to be able to deliver that this quarter. Again, we've said this in the past, if my client can't get hardware and that's conveyors, pickers, sorters, things of that nature that are not dependent on us. If they can't get those installed, we can't install our automation systems. And that's what we saw a little bit of this quarter.

當然。再說說倉庫方面。在倉庫方面，我們面臨的挑戰——我們有很多積壓的訂單，很多內部訂單，我們將能夠交付。我們希望能夠在本季度實現這一目標。同樣，我們過去曾說過，如果我的客戶無法獲得硬件，那就是傳送帶、揀選機、分揀機，這些不依賴於我們的性質的東西。如果他們無法安裝這些，我們就無法安裝我們的自動化系統。這就是我們在本季度看到的一點點。

We expect, based on what we know today, to be able to deliver those solutions or at least on a percentage basis, deliver those solutions this quarter because most of those projects that we have in the works have to be completed before the Christmas season. So I expect that we're going to see an improvement on a year-over-year basis in our Industrial Automation business, and that's based on what we have in-house today.

根據我們今天所知道的，我們希望能夠在本季度提供這些解決方案，或者至少按百分比提供這些解決方案，因為我們正在進行的大部分項目必須在聖誕節前完成。因此，我預計我們的工業自動化業務將逐年改善，這基於我們今天的內部情況。

On energy side, we were down this quarter. We were -- currency exacerbated that being down, but that's timing. Look, these are very, very large projects. Those very large projects are recorded on a percentage of completion basis for revenue recognition and profitability. We expect those projects to time out and improve over the course of this quarter. And we will then begin to fill the backlog again. We expect a better quarter on our fourth quarter for this business as well.

在能源方面，我們本季度下跌。我們是 - 貨幣加劇了下跌，但那是時機。看，這些都是非常非常大的項目。這些非常大的項目按完工百分比記錄，以確認收入和盈利。我們預計這些項目將在本季度結束並得到改進。然後我們將再次開始填寫積壓工作。我們預計該業務的第四季度也會有更好的季度表現。

Okay. Great. Just finally on that, I mean the sequential revenue, I guess, Industrial Technology was flat. The sequential EBITDA was down. Was there a mix component to that or anything onetime related worth highlighting?

好的。偉大的。最後，我的意思是連續收入，我猜，工業技術持平。連續 EBITDA 下降。是否有一個混合組件或任何曾經相關的值得強調的東西？

Justin, could you repeat that real quickly again? I missed the first part of that.

賈斯汀，你能再快速重複一遍嗎？我錯過了第一部分。

If I read the numbers correctly, the Industrial Technology revenue was flat sequentially, but the EBITDA was down sequentially. And I was just wondering if there was anything mix related or onetime headwinds?

如果我沒看錯數字，工業技術收入環比持平，但 EBITDA 環比下降。我只是想知道是否有任何混合相關或曾經的逆風？

It was a tough quarter. It was a tough comparison from last year. Steve will have a comment to it and might give you a little bit more detail.

這是一個艱難的季度。與去年相比，這是一個艱難的比較。 Steve 會對此發表評論，並可能會為您提供更多細節。

Yes. Justin, actually, that's the currency. Because of the mix, the currency hit us harder in adjusted EBITDA that quarter. There was a $1 million impact year-over-year, just currency related in that business. So if you put that $1 million back to the bottom line, I think you'll true up on the comparability better.

是的。賈斯汀，實際上，那是貨幣。由於這種混合，貨幣在該季度調整後的 EBITDA 中對我們的打擊更大。僅與該業務相關的貨幣每年產生 100 萬美元的影響。因此，如果您將這 100 萬美元重新投入到利潤中，我認為您會更好地確認可比性。

We can't overstate what is happening in Europe, both from a currency standpoint and from an economic standpoint.

無論從貨幣角度還是從經濟角度來看，我們都不能誇大歐洲正在發生的事情。

Okay. Great. And then just I'll throw one more in, which is -- can you say anything more specific about orders and backlogs on the Industrial Technology business? I know you don't sort of quote a backlog number, but just to get a sense as to...

好的。偉大的。然後我再補充一個，那就是——你能更具體地談談工業技術業務的訂單和積壓工作嗎？我知道您不會引用積壓的編號，而只是為了了解...

I'll give you a perspective. On the Industrial Technology, the whole group, we are still sitting at 6 to 8 months' worth of backlog. I mean it is a significant backlog at this time and orders continue to come in. On the energy side, which is the most, I would tell you, it has significant impact given the size of the potential projects, we're having difficulty keeping up with requests for proposals. I mean it's that kind of situation. Now given the size, given the scope and given the type of technology we operate in, these are not decisions that are made overnight. And I'm not going to lie to you that we might have a quarter that is comparatively significantly different than prior year, but it doesn't change the demand outlook for this particular business. We have significant interest in it. One of the reasons we acquired Olbrich is not just the complementary product line it adds, but it has the capacity to help us move through these orders more quickly than they bring.

我給你一個觀點。在整個集團的工業技術方面，我們仍有 6 到 8 個月的積壓。我的意思是此時有大量積壓訂單，訂單不斷湧入。在能源方面，這是最大的，我會告訴你，考慮到潛在項目的規模，它具有重大影響，我們很難保持提出建議。我的意思是這種情況。現在考慮到規模、範圍和我們所使用的技術類型，這些都不是一夜之間做出的決定。我不會對你撒謊，我們可能有一個季度與去年相比有很大不同，但這不會改變這一特定業務的需求前景。我們對此非常感興趣。我們收購 Olbrich 的原因之一不僅是它增加了互補的產品線，而且它有能力幫助我們更快地完成這些訂單，而不是它們帶來的訂單。

We have next question from the line of Daniel Moore with CJS Securities.

我們有來自 CJS Securities 的 Daniel Moore 的下一個問題。

Yes. Just quickly, Steve, thoughts on free cash flow expectations for the remainder of this year and how you see fiscal '23 shaping up, if not specific numbers, just kind of broad strokes?

是的。史蒂夫，很快，關於今年剩餘時間的自由現金流預期以及你如何看待 23 財年的形成，如果不是具體數字，只是一種廣泛的筆觸？

You're welcome, Dan. Free cash flow for the fourth quarter should be somewhat comparable to a year ago, but we are -- just so you know, we are spending more with respect to capital expenditures this year. If you'll recall, during the COVID period, fiscal 2020, 2021, we really worked on constraining capital and candidly, other spend during that period of time. So you've seen in our results year-to-date, and I expect that to continue into the fourth quarter.

不客氣，丹。第四季度的自由現金流應該與一年前相當，但我們是——你知道，今年我們在資本支出方面的支出更多。如果您還記得，在 COVID 期間，即 2020 財年和 2021 財年，我們在此期間確實致力於限制資本和坦率地限制其他支出。所以你已經在我們今年迄今為止的業績中看到了，我預計這種情況會持續到第四季度。

Secondarily, during the year -- well, 2 things. We've been -- our inventories have been building this year. I expect a little bit of that to continue into the fourth quarter as well. Commodity costs, as you would expect, those input costs also impact value of inventory. But also, as we recover from COVID, we are building back to more normal levels, particularly in our Memorialization business. So I would tell you, those are the factors in addition to adjusted EBITDA that will have the impact on operating cash flow into the fourth quarter.

其次，在這一年中——嗯，有兩件事。我們一直 - 今年我們的庫存一直在增加。我預計這種情況也會持續到第四季度。正如您所料，商品成本也會影響庫存價值。而且，隨著我們從 COVID 中恢復過來，我們正在恢復到更正常的水平，特別是在我們的紀念業務方面。所以我會告訴你，除了調整後的 EBITDA 之外，這些因素還會影響到第四季度的經營現金流。

With respect to free cash flow, I do expect us to still remain active on share repurchases. But given the level in the third quarter and -- given the level in the third quarter, I expect we will be turning our attention back to debt in the fourth quarter.

關於自由現金流，我確實希望我們在股票回購方面仍然保持活躍。但考慮到第三季度的水平，並且考慮到第三季度的水平，我預計我們將在第四季度將注意力轉向債務。

Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. And I'd like to turn the call back to Steve Nicola for closing remarks. Over to you, sir.

女士們，先生們，問答環節到此結束。我想把電話轉回給 Steve Nicola 做閉幕詞。交給你了，先生。

Vikram, thank you. We'd like to thank everyone for participating in the call this morning, and we look forward to our fourth quarter earnings release and conference call in November. Thank you and have a good day.

維克拉姆，謝謝。我們要感謝大家今天早上參加電話會議，我們期待著我們在 11 月發布第四季度財報和電話會議。謝謝你，有一個美好的一天。

Thank you very much, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

先生非常感謝您。女士們，先生們，今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。