Matthews International Corp (MATW) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Matthews International Corporation First Quarter Fiscal 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Bill Wilson, Senior Director of Corporate Finance. Thank you, Bill. You may begin.

您好，歡迎參加 Matthews International Corporation 2023 財年第一季度財務業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）正式演示後將進行簡短的問答環節。 （操作員說明）提醒一下，正在錄製此會議。現在我很高興向您介紹主持人，公司財務高級總監比爾·威爾遜 (Bill Wilson)。謝謝你，比爾。你可以開始了。

Thank you, Paul. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Matthews International First Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Results Conference Call. This is Bill Wilson, Senior Director of Corporate Development. With me today are Joseph C. Bartolacci, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Steve Nicola, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we start, I would 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. Any forward-looking statements in connection with this discussion are being made pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

謝謝你，保羅。大家早上好，歡迎參加 Matthews International 2023 財年第一季度業績電話會議。我是企業發展高級總監 Bill Wilson。今天和我在一起的是總裁兼首席執行官 Joseph C. Bartolacci；和我們的首席財務官 Steve Nicola。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網站 www.matw.com 的投資者部分。也可以在網站的“投資者”部分訪問我們電話會議的演示文稿。與本次討論相關的任何前瞻性陳述均根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款作出。

Factors that could cause the company's results to differ from those disclosed today are set forth in the company's annual report on Form 10-K and other periodic filings with the SEC. 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.

可能導致公司業績與今天披露的業績不同的因素在公司的 10-K 表格年度報告和其他定期向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中有所規定。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 GAAP 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.

現在我會把電話轉給喬。

Thank you, Bill. Good morning. We are pleased with our fiscal '23 first quarter results. During the quarter, we had higher revenue, thanks to the particularly strong performance of our Industrial Technologies segment. This segment is on track to have yet another strong year of growth, thanks to the addition not only of (inaudible) Automotive and R&S, but most importantly, thanks to the recently announced $200 million plus in orders in the energy storage business. These orders cover client needs for new calendaring and coding equipment, spare parts, roller refurbishment and maintenance.

謝謝你，比爾。早上好。我們對 23 財年第一季度的業績感到滿意。本季度，我們的收入有所增加，這要歸功於我們的工業技術部門的特別強勁表現。這一細分市場有望迎來又一個強勁增長的一年，這不僅要歸功於（聽不清）汽車和 R&S，而且最重要的是，要歸功於最近宣布的 2 億美元以上的儲能業務訂單。這些訂單涵蓋了客戶對新壓延和打碼設備、備件、滾筒翻新和維護的需求。

Aside from our historical clients, our orders were received from leading battery customers like automotive cell company, otherwise known as ACC, a consortium consisting of Mercedes, Chrysler, Jeep, Fiat, Pooja and Saft, a global advanced battery manufacturer and a subsidiary of Total Energy. These orders also include Ola Electric and Indian e-mobility manufacturer with significant government backing with aspirations to be on the world stage.

除了我們的歷史客戶外，我們的訂單還來自領先的電池客戶，例如汽車電池公司，也稱為 ACC，這是一個由梅賽德斯、克萊斯勒、吉普、菲亞特、Pooja 和 Saft 組成的財團，全球先進電池製造商和 Total 的子公司活力。這些訂單還包括 Ola Electric 和印度電動汽車製造商，它們得到了政府的大力支持，並渴望登上世界舞台。

During the quarter, we also saw significant demand in orders from several hydrogen fuel cell component suppliers. These orders, although smaller, reflect the growing interest in our hydrogen fuel cell capabilities and give us confidence that in time, this business will grow like our dry electrode battery technology has grown. Although we don't expect to announce $270 million of new orders every quarter, we will keep you apprised of significant orders as they are received.

在本季度，我們還看到來自幾家氫燃料電池組件供應商的大量訂單需求。這些訂單雖然較小，但反映出人們對我們的氫燃料電池能力的興趣日益濃厚，並讓我們相信，隨著我們的干電極電池技術的發展，這項業務將隨著時間的推移而增長。雖然我們預計不會每季度宣布 2.7 億美元的新訂單，但我們會在收到重要訂單時及時通知您。

From fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2022, the energy business, driven by our dry battery electrode technology has grown from $20 million to almost $100 million last year. This year, we are confident that our energy business, in total, will continue that strong growth. As for the entire Technology segment, our total order intake during the first quarter was almost $270 million, a record amount of orders for this segment. So that's the $200 million of previously announced orders in our Energy business, plus another $70 million in other businesses that comprise the Industrial Technologies segment.

從 2020 財年到 2022 財年，在我們的干電池電極技術的推動下，能源業務從去年的 2000 萬美元增長到近 1 億美元。今年，我們有信心我們的能源業務總體上將繼續保持強勁增長。至於整個技術部門，我們第一季度的總訂單量接近 2.7 億美元，創下了該部門的訂單量記錄。因此，這是我們能源業務先前宣布的 2 億美元訂單，加上工業技術部門其他業務的 7000 萬美元訂單。

The Industrial Technologies segment reported roughly $230 million in revenue in fiscal 2020. But this year, it is on track to double those results. Warehouse automation and product identification had good order intake during the quarter as well from customers like (inaudible), Luxottica will be the (inaudible) frame. As we have been saying for quite a while, this segment is comprised of our fastest-growing businesses with unique selling propositions, making our products and services must have for the industries that we serve.

工業技術部門在 2020 財年報告的收入約為 2.3 億美元。但今年，它有望將這一數字翻一番。倉庫自動化和產品識別在本季度以及來自（聽不清）客戶的良好訂單接收，Luxottica 將成為（聽不清）框架。正如我們長期以來一直在說的那樣，該細分市場由我們發展最快的業務組成，具有獨特的銷售主張，使我們的產品和服務必須適合我們所服務的行業。

Our expectation is that revenues for this segment will approach $500 million this year. Our Memorialization business also delivered very good results despite the post-COVID substantial normalization of death rates. Even with the lower volumes, our revenues remained strong, thanks to good funeral home product mix, strong cemetery product sales and pricing throughout the business. Our margin in this business are beginning to normalize as some of the cost pressures that we have felt for the past year or so have begun to subside.

我們預計該部門今年的收入將接近 5 億美元。儘管 COVID 後死亡率大幅正常化，但我們的紀念業務也取得了很好的成績。即使銷量下降，我們的收入仍然強勁，這要歸功於良好的殯儀館產品組合、強勁的墓地產品銷售和整個業務的定價。隨著我們在過去一年左右感受到的一些成本壓力開始消退，我們在這項業務中的利潤率開始正常化。

This business has performed exceptionally well throughout the past several years and is poised to maintain that success into 2023. We continue to see strong order rates in our Cemetery Products business, particularly our bronze cemetery business, which will help partially offset the lower casket sales that are expected. As I've said before, this segment has reset its normalized revenues to a level that is materially higher than just a few years ago. We currently expect EBITDA results to be relatively comparable to prior year even with the lower volumes.

該業務在過去幾年中表現出色，並有望在 2023 年保持成功。我們繼續看到墓地產品業務的強勁訂單率，尤其是我們的青銅墓地業務，這將有助於部分抵消較低的棺材銷售預計。正如我之前所說，該細分市場已將其標準化收入重置為比幾年前高得多的水平。我們目前預計 EBITDA 結果與上一年相當，即使銷量較低。

In SGK, we continue to be challenged by the European market conditions and negative currency translation. Revenues reported for the quarter were $11 million lower due to negative currency translation. We have begun actions to reduce the size of our European business, which we expect will help the coming quarters. Moreover, we still have one more quarter of difficult comparisons in this business, which began to feel the impact of the Ukraine war and significant currency degradation at the end of our second quarter last year.

在 SGK，我們繼續受到歐洲市場狀況和負面貨幣換算的挑戰。由於不利的貨幣換算，本季度報告的收入減少了 1100 萬美元。我們已開始採取行動縮減我們歐洲業務的規模，我們預計這將有助於未來幾個季度。此外，我們在這項業務中還有一個季度的困難比較，該業務在去年第二季度末開始感受到烏克蘭戰爭和貨幣大幅貶值的影響。

As we look forward to the balance of 2023, we are expecting continued consolidated sales growth. As discussed above, our order rates in our fastest-growing businesses remain high, which bodes well for the continued development of these businesses. Also, subsiding commodity costs in our Memorialization business will benefit future quarters and allow us to return to more normal margins. Cost actions at SGK should make comparable more favorable starting in our third quarter. However, all of this positive news is offset by the economic uncertainties, which we cannot predict.

當我們展望 2023 年的平衡時，我們預計綜合銷售額將持續增長。如上所述，我們增長最快的業務的訂單率仍然很高，這預示著這些業務的持續發展。此外，我們紀念業務的商品成本下降將使未來幾個季度受益，並使我們能夠恢復到更正常的利潤率。從我們的第三季度開始，SGK 的成本行動應該會使可比性更加有利。然而，所有這些利好消息都被我們無法預測的經濟不確定性所抵消。

Therefore, with these factors in mind, we are reaffirming our previously announced fiscal 2023 EBITDA expectations to be between $215 million and $235 million. Although we have the orders in hand to potentially deliver towards the high end of this range, we remain prudent at this time, given the yet-to-be-determined timing of our deliveries in the energy business. We will continue to provide updates as we progress through the year. I will now turn it over to Steve for our financial review.

因此，考慮到這些因素，我們重申我們之前宣布的 2023 財年 EBITDA 預期在 2.15 億美元至 2.35 億美元之間。儘管我們手頭的訂單有可能交付到該範圍的高端，但鑑於我們在能源業務中的交付時間尚未確定，我們目前仍保持謹慎。隨著這一年的進展，我們將繼續提供更新。我現在將其轉交給史蒂夫進行財務審查。

Thank you, Joe, and good morning. I'll begin with Slide 7. For the fiscal 2023 first quarter, we reported consolidated sales of $449.2 million compared to $438.6 million for the first fiscal quarter last year, representing an increase of $10.6 million or 2.4%. Changes in currency rates continue to have a significant unfavorable impact on the reported sales compared to a year ago. On a constant currency basis with last year, consolidated sales for the fiscal 2023 first quarter were $27.6 million or 6.3% higher than a year ago.

謝謝你，喬，早上好。我將從幻燈片 7 開始。對於 2023 財年第一季度，我們報告的綜合銷售額為 4.492 億美元，而去年第一財季為 4.386 億美元，增加了 1060 萬美元或 2.4%。與一年前相比，貨幣匯率的變化繼續對報告的銷售額產生重大不利影響。按去年固定匯率計算，2023 財年第一季度的綜合銷售額為 2760 萬美元，同比增長 6.3%。

The increase primarily reflected higher sales for our Industrial Technologies segment, which included the impact of the recent acquisitions of (inaudible) GMBH and RNS Automotive GMBH. On a GAAP basis, the company's net income was $3.7 million or $0.12 per share for the current quarter compared to a loss of $19.8 million or $0.62 per share for the same quarter last year.

這一增長主要反映了我們工業技術部門的銷售額增加，其中包括最近收購（聽不清）GMBH 和 RNS Automotive GMBH 的影響。根據 GAAP，公司本季度的淨收入為 370 萬美元或每股 0.12 美元，而去年同期為虧損 1980 萬美元或每股 0.62 美元。

The first quarter last year included a loss of approximately $31 million or $0.74 per share on the termination and settlement of the company's U.S. principal pension plan. On a non-GAAP basis, consolidated adjusted EBITDA, which represents net income before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization and other adjustments was $49.3 million for the fiscal 2023 first quarter compared to $53.3 million last year. Changes in currency rates had an unfavorable impact of $1.6 million on adjusted EBITDA compared to the same quarter last year.

去年第一季度因終止和結算公司的美國本金養老金計劃而虧損約 3100 萬美元或每股 0.74 美元。在非美國通用會計準則基礎上，2023 財年第一季度綜合調整後 EBITDA 為 4930 萬美元，而去年同期為 5330 萬美元，後者代表扣除利息支出、所得稅、折舊和攤銷及其他調整前的淨收入。與去年同期相比，匯率變動對調整後的 EBITDA 產生了 160 萬美元的不利影響。

As I'll discuss further in a few minutes, the decrease reflected lower adjusted EBITDA for the Memorialization and SGK Brand Solutions segment, offset partially by an increase for the Industrial Technologies segment. Adjusted earnings per share for the current quarter was $0.53 compared to $0.74 a year ago. The decline primarily resulted from lower adjusted EBITDA and an increase in interest expense for the current quarter. Please see the reconciliations of adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share and constant currency sales and adjusted EBITDA provided in our earnings release.

正如我將在幾分鐘後進一步討論的那樣，減少反映了紀念和 SGK 品牌解決方案部分調整後的 EBITDA 較低，部分被工業技術部分的增加所抵消。本季度調整後每股收益為 0.53 美元，而去年同期為 0.74 美元。下降的主要原因是本季度調整後的 EBITDA 較低以及利息支出增加。請參閱我們的收益發布中提供的調整後 EBITDA、非 GAAP 調整後每股收益和固定貨幣銷售額與調整後 EBITDA 的對賬。

Interest expense for the fiscal 2023 first quarter was $10.2 million compared to $6.5 million a year ago. The increase reflected higher interest rates compared to a year ago and higher average debt levels. The company's consolidated income tax expense for the fiscal 2023 first quarter was $1.3 million compared to a benefit of $6.6 million a year ago. The benefit last year primarily reflected the pretax loss on a GAAP basis.

2023 財年第一季度的利息支出為 1020 萬美元，而一年前為 650 萬美元。這一增長反映了與一年前相比更高的利率和更高的平均債務水平。公司 2023 財年第一季度的綜合所得稅費用為 130 萬美元，而一年前的收益為 660 萬美元。去年的收益主要反映了按公認會計原則計算的稅前虧損。

Please turn to Slide 8 to begin a review of our segment results. The Industrial Technologies segment reported sales of $109.1 million for the current quarter compared to $74.3 million a year ago, representing an increase of 47%. The recent acquisitions of (inaudible) and RNS were the significant contributors to the year-over-year increase. Energy Storage Solutions and Product Identification sales for the current quarter were also higher than a year ago. Warehouse automation sales were lower than a year ago, reflecting a large low-margin project completed in the first fiscal quarter last year.

請轉到幻燈片 8 開始查看我們的細分結果。工業技術部門報告本季度銷售額為 1.091 億美元，而去年同期為 7430 萬美元，增長 47%。最近對（聽不清）和 RNS 的收購是同比增長的重要貢獻者。本季度的儲能解決方案和產品識別銷售額也高於一年前。倉庫自動化銷售額低於一年前，反映出去年第一財季完成的大型低利潤項目。

Changes in currency rates had an unfavorable impact of $4.8 million on the segment sales compared to the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA for the Industrial Technologies segment increased approximately 70% to $12.2 million for the fiscal 2023 first quarter compared to $7.2 million a year ago. The increase primarily resulted from the segment sales increase and improved margins in the Energy Storage Solutions and warehouse automation businesses. Changes in currency rates had an unfavorable impact of $1.1 million on the segment's adjusted EBITDA compared to the same quarter last year.

與去年同期相比，匯率變化對該部門的銷售額產生了 480 萬美元的不利影響。與一年前的 720 萬美元相比，2023 財年第一季度工業技術部門的調整後 EBITDA 增長了約 70% 至 1220 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於儲能解決方案和倉庫自動化業務的部門銷售額增加和利潤率提高。與去年同期相比，匯率變動對該部門調整後的 EBITDA 產生了 110 萬美元的不利影響。

Please turn to Slide 9. Memorialization sales were $206.5 million for the current quarter compared to $210.7 million for the first quarter last year. Changes in currency rates had an unfavorable impact of $1.5 million on the segment sales compared to the same quarter last year. On a constant currency basis, Memorialization sales were relatively steady compared to a year ago, declining only 1.3% despite lower death rates. Consistent with our fiscal 2022 fourth quarter, U.S. deaths have substantially normalized from the higher pandemic levels.

請轉到幻燈片 9。本季度紀念銷售額為 2.065 億美元，而去年第一季度為 2.107 億美元。與去年同期相比，匯率變化對該部門的銷售額產生了 150 萬美元的不利影響。按固定匯率計算，紀念銷售額與一年前相比相對穩定，儘管死亡率較低，但僅下降 1.3%。與我們的 2022 財年第四季度一致，美國的死亡人數已從較高的流行病水平大幅恢復正常。

As a result, unit sales volumes for casket and bronze memorial products were lower than a year ago. However, these declines were largely mitigated by improved pricing and higher granite memorial product and U.S. cremation equipment sales. Memorialization segment adjusted EBITDA for the fiscal 2023 first quarter was $39.1 million compared to $43.4 million a year ago. The decrease primarily reflected the impacts of lower sales and higher material costs compared to a year ago. In addition, the current quarter reflected increased labor and freight costs, higher project-related costs and other inflation-related cost increases.

因此，棺材和青銅紀念品的單位銷量低於一年前。然而，這些下降在很大程度上被定價的改善以及花崗岩紀念品和美國火葬設備銷售的增加所緩解。紀念部門在 2023 財年第一季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 3910 萬美元，而一年前為 4340 萬美元。這一下降主要反映了與一年前相比銷售額下降和材料成本上升的影響。此外，本季度反映了勞動力和貨運成本的增加、項目相關成本的增加以及其他與通貨膨脹相關的成本增加。

Please turn to Slide 10. Sales for the SGK Brand Solutions segment were $133.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 compared to $153.5 million a year ago. Currency rate changes had an unfavorable impact of $10.7 million on the segment sales for the current quarter compared to last year. In addition, sales in the segment's European markets were lower than a year ago, reflecting continued challenging market conditions. In addition, U.S. sales were also lower. Fiscal 2023 first quarter adjusted EBITDA for the SGK Brand Solutions segment was $12.2 million compared to $15.4 million a year ago.

請轉到幻燈片 10。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的季度，SGK Brand Solutions 部門的銷售額為 1.336 億美元，而一年前為 1.535 億美元。與去年相比，匯率變化對本季度的分部銷售額產生了 1070 萬美元的不利影響。此外，該部門歐洲市場的銷售額低於一年前，反映出市場環境持續充滿挑戰。此外，美國的銷售額也有所下降。 SGK 品牌解決方案部門 2023 財年第一季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 1220 萬美元，而一年前為 1540 萬美元。

Changes in currency rates had an unfavorable impact of $1 million on the segment's adjusted EBITDA compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, the decrease reflected the impact of the sales decline, lower margins for the European packaging business and other inflation-related cost increases.

與去年同期相比，匯率變動對該部門調整後的 EBITDA 產生了 100 萬美元的不利影響。此外，下降反映了銷售額下降、歐洲包裝業務利潤率下降以及其他與通貨膨脹相關的成本增加的影響。

Please turn to Slide 11. Cash flow used in operating activities for the fiscal 2023 first quarter was $36.2 million compared to $27.2 million a year ago. Operating cash flow is typically slower in our first fiscal quarter, reflecting seasonality of the businesses and payments on year-end accruals, including performance-based compensation. In addition, operating cash flow for the current quarter included final payouts in connection with the termination and settlement of the company's supplemental retirement plans.

請轉到幻燈片 11。2023 財年第一季度用於經營活動的現金流為 3620 萬美元，而一年前為 2720 萬美元。我們第一個財政季度的經營現金流通常較慢，反映了業務的季節性和年終應計費用的支付，包括基於績效的薪酬。此外，本季度的經營現金流包括與公司補充退休計劃的終止和結算相關的最終支出。

Operating cash flow a year ago included contributions for the termination and settlement of the company's principal U.S. retirement plan. As of December 31, 2022, the company's accrued pension liability was $13.8 million compared with $149.8 million, a little over 2 years ago, September 30, 2020. Outstanding debt was $837 million at December 31, 2022 compared to $799 million at September 30, 2022. At December 31, 2022, the company's leverage ratio based on net debt, which represents outstanding debt less cash and trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA was 3.8x.

一年前的經營現金流包括終止和結算公司主要美國退休計劃的供款。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，公司的應計養老金負債為 1380 萬美元，而 2 年多一點前，即 2020 年 9 月 30 日，公司的應計養老金負債為 1380 萬美元。未償債務在 2022 年 12 月 31 日為 8.37 億美元，而 9 月 30 日為 7.99 億美元， 2022. 截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，公司基於淨債務（即未償還債務減去現金和過去 12 個月調整後的 EBITDA）的槓桿率為 3.8 倍。

As we anticipated, our debt levels have recently increased, primarily as a result of investments in our recent acquisitions and the Energy Storage Solutions business. Based on our projections for the remainder of the fiscal year, we expect these levels to decline as fiscal 2023 progresses. Approximately 30.4 million shares were outstanding at December 31, 2022. During the fiscal 2023 first quarter, the company purchased 89,000 shares at a cost of $2.5 million. The purchases were largely in connection withholding tax obligations on equity compensation. At December 31, 2022, the company had remaining authorization of approximately 1.2 million shares under the repurchase program.

正如我們預期的那樣，我們的債務水平最近有所上升，這主要是由於對我們最近的收購和儲能解決方案業務進行了投資。根據我們對本財年剩餘時間的預測，我們預計這些水平將隨著 2023 財年的進展而下降。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，約有 3040 萬股流通在外。在 2023 財年第一季度，公司以 250 萬美元的成本購買了 89,000 股股票。購買主要與股權補償的預扣稅義務有關。截至2022年12月31日，公司在回購計劃下剩餘授權約120萬股。

Finally, the Board this week declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share on the company's common stock. The dividend is payable February 20, 2023, to stockholders of record February 6, 2023. This concludes the financial review, and we will now open the call to questions. Paul?

最後，董事會本周宣布派發公司普通股每股 0.23 美元的季度股息。股息將於 2023 年 2 月 20 日支付給 2023 年 2 月 6 日登記在冊的股東。財務審查到此結束，我們現在開始提問。保羅？

We will now be conducting a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) One moment, please, while we call for questions. Our first question is from Daniel Moore with CJS Securities.

我們現在將進行問答環節。 （操作員說明）請稍等，我們打電話提問。我們的第一個問題來自 CJS 證券公司的 Daniel Moore。

Start with energy storage. I appreciate the color. Can you give maybe a little more detail regarding the increased order intake, specifically, roughly how much of the $200 million relates to lithium-ion battery production versus emerging technologies like hydrogen fuel cells and any breakdown in terms of how much of it is from some of the new customers that you described versus existing customers that were previously beta testing?

從儲能開始。我很欣賞這種顏色。您能否提供更多關於訂單量增加的細節，具體來說，2 億美元中有多少與鋰離子電池生產和氫燃料電池等新興技術有關，以及其中有多少來自某些方面的任何細分您描述的新客戶與之前進行 Beta 測試的現有客戶的比例？

Yes. I mean we're not going to break down between customers, but I can tell you, as it relates to technologies, I would tell you about 90% of it is going to be related to the lithium side of our business between coatings, spare parts, calendaring equipment and otherwise. But the balance is going to be in the new hydrogen fuel cell side of things that or something or things related to that. Does that answer your question?

是的。我的意思是我們不會在客戶之間崩潰，但我可以告訴你，因為它與技術有關，我會告訴你大約 90% 將與我們在塗層、備用之間業務的鋰方面有關零件、壓延設備等。但是平衡點將在新的氫燃料電池方面，或者與之相關的事物。這是否回答你的問題？

Yes, that's helpful. Just give a sense of where the momentum is building. And if we look at the midpoint of guidance, what roughly what percentage of those orders were actually the 270 million orders in total. How much of those are to be delivered for the remainder of 23 versus maybe 24.

是的，這很有幫助。只需了解勢頭在哪裡。如果我們看一下指導的中點，這些訂單中實際上有多少百分比實際上是總共 2.7 億個訂單。其中有多少要交付給剩下的 23 人而不是 24 人。

Dan, I mean I know you're trying to get to a model but with $200 million worth of orders in a matter of three months, if you recall, when we made the acquisition of (inaudible). One of the things that we said is we were buying capacity. We have put on 160 engineers, 500,000 square feet of manufacturing capabilities, low-cost production in the Czech Republic, all that just months before we landed these orders. So the timing of these deliveries is going to be really dependent on both our customers' readiness to be able to accept the orders, which is not insignificant. And our ability to kind of corral that very extensive portfolio of talent and space to be able to deliver it. So at this point in time, I can't give you modeling information. But suffice it to say, we have every expectation that we will maximize deliveries this year.

丹，我的意思是我知道你正試圖在三個月內獲得價值 2 億美元的訂單，如果你還記得，當我們收購（聽不清）時。我們說過的其中一件事是我們正在購買產能。我們已經在捷克共和國投入了 160 名工程師、500,000 平方英尺的製造能力和低成本生產，而這一切都發生在我們收到這些訂單的幾個月前。因此，這些交付的時間將真正取決於我們客戶是否準備好接受訂單，這並非無關緊要。我們有能力收集非常廣泛的人才和空間組合，以便能夠提供它。所以在這個時間點，我不能給你建模信息。但可以這麼說，我們完全期望今年能最大限度地提高交付量。

Okay. Switching gears, maybe more realization. Just to clarify, it sounds like overall, you expect profitability to be roughly flattish, just to make sure I heard that right. Would you expect pricing to remain fairly sticky even if input costs continue to decline?

好的。切換齒輪，也許更多的實現。澄清一下，這聽起來像是總體而言，您預計盈利能力大致持平，只是為了確保我沒聽錯。即使投入成本繼續下降，您是否預計定價仍會保持相當的粘性？

We never control everything. But as it relates to the businesses that we control, yes. As it relates to -- for example, our funeral home business, we'll watch what our competitors do and be responsive to that. We expect to be able to manage pricing throughout the year to make sure that we deliver consistent kind of performance at the bottom-line level as commodities begin to drop. A little early to say what's going to happen on the pricing side. As you know, Dan, from the time that commodities drop to the time they hit our P&L, especially in the funeral home business from raw material through the warehouses and distribution to the customer can be upwards of 3 to 6 months. So it takes a little time. We're seeing that subside, which will continue to improve our margins. How pricing will be reflected is not in my control.

我們從不控制一切。但就我們控制的業務而言，是的。因為它涉及 - 例如，我們的殯儀館業務，我們將觀察我們的競爭對手的行為並對此做出回應。我們希望能夠全年管理定價，以確保我們在大宗商品開始下跌時在底線水平上提供一致的業績。現在說定價方面會發生什麼還為時過早。如你所知，丹，從商品下跌到達到我們的損益表，特別是在殯儀館業務中，從原材料到倉庫再到配送給客戶可能需要 3 到 6 個月以上的時間。所以需要一點時間。我們看到這種情況正在消退，這將繼續提高我們的利潤率。定價將如何反映不在我的控制範圍內。

Okay. Maybe one more, just from a capital allocation perspective, as you mentioned, leverage ticked a little higher. Where would you expect it to exit the year, maybe a range in terms of leverage? And is that pay down your primary focus outside of internal investments? Or would you continue to buy back stock and look for M&A as well?

好的。也許還有一個，正如你提到的，從資本配置的角度來看，槓桿率略有上升。您預計它今年會從哪裡退出，也許是槓桿率的一個範圍？這是否會降低您在內部投資之外的主要關注點？或者你會繼續回購股票並尋求併購嗎？

Sure. So as you heard in the commentary, we had a fairly significant uptick in the investments made in our principally our energy storage business with the acquisition and some buildup in working capital associated with orders and other things of that nature. We expect that to be a timing issue. As we flow through the year, our current projections will get us closer to 3.5 as we kind of work out based on what we see today. Obviously, in that mix is collections. It is a focus of ours, but we're also not dealing with mom-and-pop shops when we talk about energy, we're dealing with very large organizations that are substantially larger enough. We do have some cloud in that position given what we are delivering. But at the same time, you can imagine what the auto industry is relative to mom-and-pop funeral homes.

當然。因此，正如您在評論中聽到的那樣，我們主要通過收購以及與訂單和其他此類性質相關的營運資金積累，對我們主要的儲能業務進行的投資有了相當大的增長。我們預計這是一個時間問題。隨著這一年的流逝，我們目前的預測將使我們接近 3.5，因為我們根據今天所看到的情況進行了計算。顯然，在這種組合中是集合。這是我們關注的焦點，但當我們談論能源時，我們也不是在與夫妻店打交道，我們是在與足夠大的非常大的組織打交道。鑑於我們正在交付的產品，我們確實在這個位置上有一些雲。但與此同時，您可以想像汽車行業與夫妻殯儀館的關係。

Our next question is from Liam Burke with B. Riley.

我們的下一個問題來自 Liam Burke 和 B. Riley。

Joe, could you give us some sense -- I mean, I know the revenues on factory warehouse automation were down year-over-year on the project delivery a year ago. But could you give us a sense of how the backlog is doing if we normalize for that order?

喬，你能給我們一些意義嗎——我的意思是，我知道工廠倉庫自動化的收入在一年前的項目交付中同比下降。但是，如果我們對該訂單進行標準化，您能告訴我們積壓情況如何嗎？

The backlog is strong. I mean we -- I would tell you, we have almost the full year booked out with orders continuing to come in. And that is part of that $70 million on top of the $200-plus million of orders that we received. We gave you some color on who the clients are when we announced (inaudible) Luxottica largely because -- I mean, some of the feedback I have received is people think that we play in the smaller ranges. I wish I can only describe to you the larger customers that we do business with, but they are significant players in the retail and CPG world that are using our accounts and those come in fairly significant chunks when they come.

積壓量很大。我的意思是我們——我會告訴你，我們幾乎全年都預訂完了，訂單還在繼續進來。這是我們收到的 200 多萬美元訂單之外的 7000 萬美元的一部分。當我們宣布（聽不清）Luxottica 時，我們給了你一些關於客戶是誰的顏色，主要是因為 - 我的意思是，我收到的一些反饋是人們認為我們在較小的範圍內發揮作用。我希望我只能向你描述與我們有業務往來的大客戶，但他們是零售和 CPG 領域的重要參與者，他們正在使用我們的賬戶，而且當他們來的時候，他們的數量相當大。

Fair enough. And on SGK, Europe is obviously still weak. Are you seeing any stabilization there? I know you've had to do some adjustments on the expense side of the ledger, but are you seeing any kind of relief from what looks to be a tough market?

很公平。而在SGK上，歐洲顯然還是弱勢的。你看到那裡有任何穩定嗎？我知道您不得不對分類帳的費用方面進行一些調整，但是您是否看到從看似艱難的市場中得到任何緩解？

What we are seeing relief is, frankly, which is a little bit surprising for us is in the U.K. and other countries beyond the German-speaking world. It's principally our German and Polish-related businesses associated with that part of the world that are feeling the impact. But that is, as you know, Liam, a significant part of our European presence. Our U.K. team which covers some of the other countries that manages the other countries, is feeling pretty bullish about the balance of the year.

坦率地說，讓我們感到欣慰的是英國和德語世界以外的其他國家。受到影響的主要是我們與該地區相關的德國和波蘭相關業務。但正如你所知，利亞姆是我們歐洲業務的重要組成部分。我們的英國團隊負責管理其他一些國家，他們對今年的餘額感到非常樂觀。

The cost actions, Liam, you recognize this is Europe. So we take charges as we have identified the plans to be able to take those actions. The ability to implement those require works councils and other negotiations that go on. So it will take a little bit of time throughout the balance of that quarter or 2 to get those benefits. That's why we said third and fourth should be a far more comparable from a standpoint of improvements and seeing those flow through.

成本行動，利亞姆，你知道這是歐洲。因此，當我們確定了能夠採取這些行動的計劃時，我們就會負責。實施這些的能力需要工作委員會和其他正在進行的談判。因此，在該季度或 2 季度的剩餘時間裡，需要一點時間才能獲得這些好處。這就是為什麼我們說第三和第四應該從改進的角度來看更具可比性，並看到它們的流動。

Our next question is from Justin Bergner with Gabelli Funds.

我們的下一個問題來自 Gabelli Funds 的 Justin Bergner。

The first question would be around non energy storage-related industrial technology orders. Should I see that $70 million or so is representing a book-to-bill modestly above 1 for the non energy storage industrial technology businesses?

第一個問題是圍繞非儲能相關的工業技術訂單。我是否應該看到 7000 萬美元左右代表非儲能工業技術業務的訂單出貨比略高於 1？

Good question. Let me kind of do the math in my head, I really focused on it that way. I would tell you modestly above would probably be a fair way to look at it. But I will caution you, Justin, because it is a little lumpy. I wouldn't say this was an extraordinary quarter by any stretch, either on the downside or on the top side, but modestly higher is a fair way to look at it.

好問題。讓我在腦子裡算一算，我真的很專注於這種方式。我會謙虛地告訴你上面可能是一個公平的方式來看待它。但我要提醒你，賈斯汀，因為它有點粗糙。我不會說這是一個非凡的季度，無論是下行還是上行，但適度上漲是一種公平的看待方式。

Great. And then as you look at your annual EBITDA guide and the first quarter, would you characterize the first quarter revenue is coming in above your own management expectations? And if so, in which parts of the business is?

偉大的。然後，當您查看年度 EBITDA 指南和第一季度時，您是否認為第一季度的收入超出了您自己的管理層預期？如果是這樣，業務的哪些部分是？

So I would tell you our Memorialization business came in slightly higher, not significantly, but slightly higher. The balance are pretty much in line with our expectations for the guidance. The issue, I think, for us is the comparability with currency. If you recall what I said last earnings call, our -- we finished last year, I believe it on 2018, Steve, if I'm looking at it here. 218 on a full year basis for EBITDA. On a comparable basis, our guidance when we set it out was at $225 million to $245 million. And what we're saying today is given the strength of our orders, only controlled by our ability to deliver, we hope to be able to -- we have the orders in house to be towards that higher end.

所以我會告訴你我們的紀念業務略高，不是顯著，而是略高。餘額幾乎符合我們對指導的預期。我認為，對我們來說，問題在於與貨幣的可比性。如果你還記得我在上次財報電話會議上所說的話，我們的 - 我們去年完成了，我相信它在 2018 年，史蒂夫，如果我在這裡看的話。全年 EBITDA 為 218。在可比的基礎上，我們制定時的指導價為 2.25 億美元至 2.45 億美元。我們今天所說的是鑑於我們的訂單強度，僅由我們的交付能力控制，我們希望能夠——我們有內部訂單以實現更高的目標。

To clarify, that range that Joe just mentioned would have been if the currency were constant for year-over-year. And currency is changing. So we'll see where that ends up at anybody's guess.

需要澄清的是，如果貨幣同比保持不變，Joe 剛才提到的這個範圍就是這樣。貨幣正在發生變化。因此，我們將看到任何人猜測的最終結果。

And I know that you've highlighted a lot of the strength in the energy storage business. But is there anything you just want to point out in terms of what helped trigger the sort of acceleration in orders in that business in the first quarter.

而且我知道您已經強調了儲能業務的很多優勢。但是，您是否只想指出什麼有助於觸發第一季度該業務訂單的加速增長。

Sure. I mean we've been saying for a long time, and I think the message is getting out loud and clear. What we deliver is a substantially more effective cheaper, faster, better solution than current technology that's out there for what's called wet electrode. And what is happening is there are other components to the process, which are front-ended, like material handling as well as the balance of it. What you're starting to see is significant accounts realizing that they can get the benefits of our technology, if they can figure out those other pieces, I think the IRA, the Inflation Reduction Act has stimulated a lot of willingness to take that chance to move forward.

當然。我的意思是我們已經說了很長時間了，我認為這個信息正在大聲而清晰地傳播開來。我們提供的是一種比目前用於所謂的濕電極的技術更有效、更便宜、更快、更好的解決方案。正在發生的事情是該過程還有其他組件，這些組件是前端的，例如材料處理及其平衡。你開始看到的是重要的客戶意識到他們可以從我們的技術中獲益，如果他們能弄清楚那些其他的部分，我認為 IRA，《降低通貨膨脹法案》已經激發了很多人抓住這個機會的意願前進。

We expect this kind of acceleration to continue. The market for dry battery electrode, we believe over time is very significant. There is a lot of discussion in the market about what solid state is. Solid-state batteries is the ultimate Holy Grail, I guess, a battery technology on the lithium side. This is a necessary step to get there. So, this is -- we think this is the beginning of a trend. Will it be as consistent as $200 million a quarter, most likely not. But at the same time, do I think this trajectory is where we're going, absolutely.

我們預計這種加速將繼續下去。乾電池電極的市場，我們相信隨著時間的推移非常可觀。市場上對什麼是固態有很多討論。固態電池是最終的聖杯，我猜，是鋰方面的電池技術。這是到達那裡的必要步驟。所以，這是——我們認為這是趨勢的開始。它會像每季度 2 億美元一樣穩定嗎，很可能不會。但與此同時，我認為這條軌跡絕對是我們要去的地方嗎？

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

There are no further questions at this time. I'd like to turn the floor back over to Bill Wilson.

目前沒有其他問題。我想把發言權交還給 Bill Wilson。

Thank you, Paul, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today and for your interest in Matthews. For additional information about the company and our financial results, please contact me or visit our website. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your day.

謝謝你，保羅，感謝大家今天加入我們並對馬修斯感興趣。有關公司和我們財務業績的更多信息，請聯繫我或訪問我們的網站。謝謝，祝您度過餘下的一天。

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。