Matthews International Corp (MATW) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Matthews International second quarter fiscal 2024 financial results conference call.

您好，歡迎您參加 Matthews International 2024 財年第二季財務業績電話會議。

(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 development.

（操作員說明） 提醒一下，本次會議正在錄製中。

Thank you, sir, you may begin.

謝謝您，先生，您可以開始了。

Thank you, Christine.

謝謝你，克里斯汀。

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Matthews International Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 conference call.

大家早安，歡迎參加 Matthews International 2024 財年第二季電話會議。

This is Bill Wilson, Senior Director of Corporate Development.

我是比爾‧威爾遜，企業發展資深總監。

With me today are Joe Bartolacci, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Steve Nicola, our Chief Financial Officer.

今天與我在一起的有總裁兼執行長喬·巴托拉奇 (Joe Bartolacci) 和財務長史蒂夫·尼古拉 (Steve Nicola)。

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.

在開始之前，我想提醒您，我們的收益報告已在昨晚發佈在我們網站 www.matw.com 的投資者部分。

The presentation for our call can also be accessed in the Investors section of our website.

我們的電話會議演示也可以在我們網站的投資者部分訪問。

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.

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 discussed today are set forth in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and other periodic filings with the SEC.

本公司向 SEC 提交的 10-K 表格年度報告和其他定期文件中列出了可能導致公司業績與今天討論的結果不同的因素。

In addition, we will be discussing non-GAAP financial metrics and encourage you to read our disclosures and reconciliations tables carefully.

此外，我們將討論非公認會計原則財務指標，並鼓勵您仔細閱讀我們的揭露和調節表。

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, and I will turn the call over to Joe.

當您考慮這些指標與任何前瞻性陳述和非公認會計原則財務資訊時，請閱讀我們網站上今天簡報資料中包含的免責聲明，我會將電話轉給喬。

Thank you, Bill.

謝謝你，比爾。

Good morning.

早安.

We are generally pleased with our fiscal '24 second quarter results given the transitory challenges that we faced in several of our businesses.

鑑於我們在多項業務中面臨的暫時挑戰，我們對 24 財年第二季的業績整體感到滿意。

Sales and adjusted EBITDA were relatively consistent at declining only slightly during the quarter due to macro trends impacting several of our businesses, while other businesses performed very well.

由於宏觀趨勢影響了我們的多項業務，本季銷售額和調整後 EBITDA 相對穩定，僅略有下降，而其他業務則表現良好。

Memorialization continues to maintain strong sales and EBITDA post COVID, while SGKs digital initiatives and restructuring efforts are showing promise.

在新冠疫情之後，Memorialization 繼續保持強勁的銷售和 EBITDA，而 SGK 的數位化舉措和重組工作也顯示出了希望。

As for our Industrial Technologies segment.

至於我們的工業技術部門。

Energy Solutions sales were higher, but we continue to see delays in customer installations.

能源解決方案的銷售額較高，但我們仍然看到客戶安裝延誤。

Additionally, the warehouse automation business reported lower sales consistent with the overall market, which has seen a moderation in new warehouse development recently, despite these near-term events, however, we see both businesses continuing to offer strong long-term growth opportunities.

此外，倉庫自動化業務的銷售額較低，與整體市場一致，最近新倉庫開發有所放緩，儘管發生了這些近期事件，但我們認為這兩項業務將繼續提供強勁的長期成長機會。

Sales for the Memorialization business remained relatively consistent with the prior year despite lower death rates.

儘管死亡率較低，紀念業務的銷售額仍與上年保持相對穩定。

We're pleased with the trends in this business as the segment continues to outperform with sales and adjusted EBITDA run rate significantly exceeding pre-COVID levels.

我們對該業務的趨勢感到滿意，因為該細分市場的銷售業績和調整後的 EBITDA 運行率顯著超過新冠疫情前的水平，繼續表現出色。

In addition, I'm pleased to add that we recently won another significant cemetery account, which we hope will afford us continued opportunity for growth as we offer our extensive portfolio of solutions.

此外，我很高興地補充說，我們最近贏得了另一個重要的墓地客戶，我們希望在我們提供廣泛的解決方案組合時，這將為我們提供持續的成長機會。

We continue to be encouraged by the performance of SGK as a segment reported sales growth in the second quarter despite continued challenges in the European markets, thanks to pricing and cost actions taken over the past 12 months, we also saw a significant increase in the segment's adjusted EBITDA and margin improvement.

我們繼續對SGK 的業績感到鼓舞，因為儘管歐洲市場持續面臨挑戰，但由於該細分市場第二季度的銷售增長，得益於過去12 個月採取的定價和成本行動，我們還看到該細分市場的銷售額顯著成長。

The team at SGK continue to outperform and win new accounts despite the challenges they have faced over the last year.

儘管在過去的一年裡面臨著挑戰​​，SGK 團隊仍然表現出色並贏得了新客戶。

We also continue to execute on the e-commerce digital initiative we mentioned last quarter.

我們也繼續執行上季提到的電子商務數位計劃。

We expect this program to hit the $40 million sales target we set for the current year as our clients look for ways to consolidate their marketing spend more efficiently.

我們預計該計劃將達到我們今年設定的 4,000 萬美元銷售目標，因為我們的客戶正在尋找更有效整合行銷支出的方法。

With respect to our Industrial Technologies, segment.

關於我們的工業技術部門。

Total sales were lower for the quarter, primarily driven by market conditions that impacted our warehouse automation business, but offset by higher energy storage sales.

本季總銷售額較低，主要是受到影響我們倉庫自動化業務的市場狀況推動，但被較高的儲能銷售額所抵銷。

As I mentioned on our earlier calls, we and other industry peers experienced a pullback dating back to the mid last year as customers evaluated the prevailing economic conditions, highlighted by continued high interest rates and concerns about consumer confidence.

正如我在之前的電話會議中提到的，我們和其他行業同行經歷了可追溯到去年年中的回調，因為客戶評估了當前的經濟狀況，尤其是持續的高利率和對消費者信心的擔憂。

We still see some softness in larger warehouse projects but continue to be brought in on customer upgrades.

我們仍然看到大型倉庫專案存在一些疲軟，但繼續受到客戶升級的影響。

And we have seen a pickup in quoting activity.

我們看到報價活動增加。

Our confidence in the in the growth opportunities for this business is supported by a recently published industry research excuse me, I guess supported by recently published industry research that it indicates more than 75% of respondents expected increase in their investment in robotic systems in the next few years.

我們對該業務成長機會的信心得到了最近發布的行業研究的支持，對不起，我想最近發布的行業研究也支持了這一點，它表明超過75% 的受訪者預計未來會增加對機器人系統的投資幾年。

We believe that Advancis warehouse automation, like autonomous robots, which we manage, will drive demand for our warehouse execution systems software as we continue to enhance the platform through coal through cloud and AI technology improvements.

我們相信，Advancis 倉庫自動化（如我們管理的自主機器人）將推動對我們倉庫執行系統軟體的需求，因為我們將繼續透過雲端和人工智慧技術改進來增強煤炭平台。

Turning to our new printhead solution, we made significant progress during the quarter, all milestones related to launching the product were met and we remain on schedule to launch the solution by calendar year end.

談到我們的新印字頭解決方案，我們在本季度取得了重大進展，與推出該產品相關的所有里程碑均已實現，並且我們仍按計劃在日曆年末推出該解決方案。

As previously stated, we will continue to update you on our progress for this product.

如前所述，我們將繼續向您通報該產品的最新進展。

As for our Energy Solutions business, we reported sequential growth reflecting the benefit of orders from multiple customers that we continued to experience the previously discussed and anticipated customer and installation delays from our largest customer, which are out of our control.

至於我們的能源解決方案業務，我們報告的環比增長反映了來自多個客戶的訂單的好處，我們繼續經歷之前討論和預期的來自我們最大客戶的客戶和安裝延遲，這是我們無法控制的。

Let me reiterate our strategic focus in this business segment as we believe that we have a unique opportunity.

讓我重申我們在該業務領域的策略重點，因為我們相信我們擁有獨特的機會。

We've had no shortage of interest in our dry battery electrode solutions, and we hope to have significant announcements to share before our fiscal year end interest in battery dry battery electrode across the rest and the globe remained very high.

我們對我們的乾電池電極解決方案不乏興趣，我們希望在我們的財政年度結束之前能夠發布重大公告，以分享其他地區和全球對電池幹電池電極的興趣仍然非常高。

In the second quarter, we had good order entry, including two battery OEMs.

第二季度，我們有良好的訂單輸入，其中包括兩家電池原始設備製造商。

But as we mentioned before, however, the battery electric dry battery electrode development cycle within the industry can be lengthy.

但正如我們之前提到的，電動乾電池的電極開發週期在業界可能是漫長的。

Therefore, we are laser focused on leveraging our technology advantage and assisting our customers in their development of their development process.

因此，我們專注於利用我們的技術優勢並協助我們的客戶開發他們的開發流程。

With that in mind, our hope is to accelerate adoption of dry battery electrode as a definitive solution for battery production.

考慮到這一點，我們希望加速採用乾電池電極作為電池生產的最終解決方案。

We intend to build a production scale system which will allow our clients to run their formulation at speed, thus significantly shortening the adoption cycle.

我們打算建立一個生產規模系統，使我們的客戶能夠快速運行他們的配方，從而顯著縮短採用週期。

Our total addressable market of over $8 billion remains unchanged, but our timeline is extended due to the current EV market.

我們超過 80 億美元的潛在市場總額保持不變，但由於目前的電動車市場，我們的時間表有所延長。

Cooldown demand remains in place and we expect the market to move toward our dry battery electrode solution given the inherent advantages it offers, including lower required investments, lower OpEx, faster, build up and improved battery performance and a solvency three process.

冷卻需求仍然存在，鑑於我們的乾電池電極解決方案所提供的固有優勢，包括較低的所需投資、較低的運營成本、更快、建立和改進的電池性能以及償付能力三流程，我們預計市場將轉向我們的乾電池電極解決方案。

In the end, it offers a cheaper and better battery.

最終，它提供了更便宜、更好的電池。

Secondly, on a hydrogen fuel cell side, we are focused on creating a solution that significantly reduces the cost for components of the fuel cell stack via throughput increases, utilizing our proprietary know-how, and we hope to announce a significant partnership for this development as well by our year end.

其次，在氫燃料電池方面，我們致力於創建一種解決方案，利用我們的專有技術，透過增加吞吐量來大幅降低燃料電池堆組件的成本，我們希望宣布針對這項開發建立重要的合作夥伴關係到我們年底也是如此。

Finally, with respect to our balance sheet, we will continue to emphasize debt reduction in our capital allocation and expect to further improve our leverage ratio by the end of the fiscal year.

最後，在資產負債表方面，我們將繼續在資本配置中強調減債，並預計在本財政年度結束時進一步提高槓桿率。

As we progress through fiscal '24, we anticipate continued demand in our energy storage solutions business as evidenced by the recent flow of orders from multiple customers in the second quarter.

隨著 24 財年的進展，我們預計能源儲存解決方案業務的需求將持續成長，第二季多個客戶最近的訂單流量證明了這一點。

We caution that customer delays within the energy business outside of our control have and may continue to impact our forecasted results.

我們警告說，我們無法控制的能源業務中的客戶延誤已經並將繼續影響我們的預測結果。

With that said, we expect to start deliveries of some of the orders soon.

話雖如此，我們預計很快就會開始交付部分訂單。

We expect further reduction in working capital in the latter half of the fiscal year and well into next year as those orders are delivered.

我們預計，隨著這些訂單的交付，本財年下半年和明年的營運資金將進一步減少。

As a result, we project adjusted EBITDA for fiscal '24 to be around $220 million.

因此，我們預計 24 財年調整後的 EBITDA 約為 2.2 億美元。

And I'll now turn it over to Steve for more insight on our financial results.

現在我將把它交給史蒂夫，以獲取有關我們財務表現的更多見解。

Steve?

史蒂夫？

Thank you, Joe. Good morning.

謝謝你，喬。早安.

Let's begin with slide 7.

讓我們從幻燈片 7 開始。

For the fiscal 2024 second quarter, net income attributable to the company was $9 million or $0.29 per share compared to $9.1 million or $0.29 per share a year ago.

2024 財年第二季度，公司應佔淨利為 900 萬美元，即每股 0.29 美元，去年同期為 910 萬美元，即每股 0.29 美元。

On a non-GAAP adjusted basis, earnings for the current quarter were $0.69 per share compared to $0.65 per share last year.

在以非公認會計準則調整後的基礎上，本季每股收益為 0.69 美元，而去年為每股 0.65 美元。

Income tax benefits for the current quarter generally offset the impact of slightly lower consolidated adjusted EBITDA and higher interest expense.

本季的所得稅優惠總體上抵消了綜合調整後 EBITDA 略有下降和利息支出上升的影響。

Consolidated sales for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, were $471.2 million compared to $479.6 million a year ago.

截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日的季度綜合銷售額為 4.712 億美元，去年同期為 4.796 億美元。

Sales for the SGK Brand Solutions segment increased for the current quarter and memorialization sales remained relatively stable compared to last year.

本季 SGK 品牌解決方案部門的銷售額有所成長，紀念銷售額與去年相比保持相對穩定。

The Industrial Technology segment reported lower sales than the same quarter a year ago, with energy storage solutions sales offset by lower warehouse automation sales.

工業技術部門的銷售額低於去年同期，其中能源儲存解決方案的銷售額被倉庫自動化銷售額的下降所抵消。

changes in currency rates were estimated to have a favorable impact of $4.8 million on fiscal 2024 consolidated sales compared to a year ago.

與去年同期相比，匯率變動預計將對 2024 財年合併銷售額產生 480 萬美元的有利影響。

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the fiscal 2024 second quarter was $56.8 million compared to $58.4 million a year ago.

2024 財年第二季合併調整後 EBITDA 為 5,680 萬美元，去年同期為 5,840 萬美元。

The SGK Brand Solutions segment reported higher adjusted EBITDA for the current quarter, which was offset by lower adjusted EBITDA in the memorialization and industrial technology segments.

SGK 品牌解決方案部門本季調整後 EBITDA 較高，但被紀念和工業技術部門調整後 EBITDA 較低所抵銷。

Please see the reconciliations of adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share provided in our earnings release.

請參閱我們的收益報告中提供的調整後 EBITDA 和非 GAAP 調整後每股收益的調整表。

Please move to slide 8 to review our segment results.

請移至投影片 8 查看我們的細分結果。

Net sales for the Memorialization segment for the fiscal 2020 for second quarter were $222.2 million, which was relatively consistent with sales of $222.9 million for the same quarter a year ago.

2020 財年第二季紀念業務的淨銷售額為 2.222 億美元，與去年同期的 2.229 億美元銷售額相對一致。

The recent acquisitions of our Granite business in February 2023 and a casket distributor in January 2024, combined with the benefit of improved price realization generally offset declines in sales volumes for cemetery memorials and caskets resulting from lower US tests post COVID.

最近於2023 年2 月收購了我們的花崗岩業務，並於2024 年1 月收購了棺材分銷商，再加上價格實現提高的好處，總體上抵消了新冠疫情后美國檢測量下降導致的公墓紀念碑和棺材銷量下降的影響。

Memorialization segment adjusted EBITDA for the current quarter was $46.6 million compared to $48 million for the same quarter last year.

紀念部門本季調整後的 EBITDA 為 4,660 萬美元，去年同期為 4,800 萬美元。

The increase primarily resulted from the impact of lower memorial sales volumes and increased labor and material costs.

這一增長主要是由於紀念館銷售下降以及勞動力和材料成本增加的影響。

These increases were partially offset by the favorable impact of recent acquisitions, improved pricing and benefits from cost savings initiatives.

這些成長部分被近期收購、定價改善和成本節約措施帶來的有利影響所抵銷。

Please move to slide 9.

請移至投影片 9。

Sales for the Industrial Technologies segment for fiscal 2020 for second quarter were $116.1 million compared to $125.5 million a year ago.

2020 財年第二季工業技術部門的銷售額為 1.161 億美元，去年同期為 1.255 億美元。

The decline primarily resulted from lower sales for the segment's warehouse automation and automotive engineering businesses.

下降的主要原因是該部門的倉庫自動化和汽車工程業務的銷售下降。

These decreases were partially offset by higher sales for the Energy Storage Solutions business.

這些下降被儲能解決方案業務銷售額的成長部分抵消。

Currency rate changes had a favorable impact of $944,000 on the segment's current quarter sales compared to a year ago.

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 944,000 美元的有利影響。

Adjusted EBITDA for the industrial technology segment for the current quarter was $10 million compared to $15.6 million a year ago.

本季工業技術領域調整後 EBITDA 為 1,000 萬美元，去年同期為 1,560 萬美元。

The decrease primarily reflected the impact of lower warehouse automation sales, higher labor costs, and lower margins for the engineering business compared to a year ago, the reduction in engineering margins primarily reflected project timing as the prior period reflected higher margin engineering design work.

與去年同期相比，這一下降主要反映了倉庫自動化銷售額下降、勞動力成本上升以及工程業務利潤率下降的影響，工程利潤率的下降主要反映了專案時間表，因為上一時期反映了利潤率較高的工程設計工作。

The declines were partially offset by higher margins and improved pricing for the Product Identification business.

利潤率的提高和產品識別業務定價的提高部分抵消了下降幅度。

Changes in currency exchange rates had a favorable impact of $103,000 on the segment's current quarter adjusted EBITDA compared to a year ago.

與去年同期相比，貨幣匯率的變化對該部門當前季度調整後的 EBITDA 產生了 103,000 美元的有利影響。

Please move to slide 10.

請移至投影片 10。

Sales for the SGK Brand Solutions segment increased to $132.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, compared to $131.2 million a year ago.

截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日的季度，SGK 品牌解決方案部門的銷售額增至 1.329 億美元，而去年同期為 1.312 億美元。

The increase primarily reflected higher sales in the US brand market and for the European packaging and private label businesses the segment also continued to benefit from improved pricing.

這一成長主要反映了美國品牌市場銷售的成長，而歐洲包裝和自有品牌業務也持續受益於定價的改善。

Currency rates had an unfavorable impact of $1.3 million on current quarter sales compared to a year ago.

與去年同期相比，匯率對本季銷售額產生了 130 萬美元的不利影響。

Adjusted EBITDA for the SGK Brand Solutions segment was $15.4 million for the current quarter compared to $11 million a year ago.

本季 SGK 品牌解決方案部門調整後 EBITDA 為 1,540 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,100 萬美元。

The increase primarily reflected the benefits of higher sales, improved pricing and in certain segments.

這一成長主要反映了某些細分市場銷售增加、定價改善的好處。

Recent cost reduction actions offset partially by the impacts of higher labor related costs and bonus expense.

最近的成本削減行動部分被勞動相關成本和獎金費用增加的影響所抵銷。

Please move to slide 11.

請移至投影片 11。

The company's consolidated cash flow from operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, was $57.1 million compared to $80.9 million a year ago.

截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日的季度，該公司的合併營運現金流為 5,710 萬美元，而去年同期為 8,090 萬美元。

Operating cash flow for the current quarter primarily reflected the benefits of the Company's consolidated adjusted EBITDA and working capital reduction.

本季的營運現金流量主要反映了公司合併調整後 EBITDA 和營運資本減少的效益。

Operating cash flow last year reflected the benefits of the new UK receivables, financing facility and cash received from the settlement of several interest rate swaps.

去年的營運現金流反映了英國新應收帳款、融資便利性以及從多項利率掉期結算中收到的現金的好處。

In addition to working capital reductions, outstanding debt was $843 million at March 31, 2024, compared to $862 million at December 31, 2023, representing a reduction of $19.6 million during the second quarter.

除營運資本減少外，截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日，未償債務為 8.43 億美元，而 2023 年 12 月 31 日為 8.62 億美元，第二季減少了 1,960 萬美元。

Net debt, which represents outstanding debt less cash was $797 million at March 31, 2024, compared to $824 million at December 31, 2023, representing a reduction of $27.2 million during the second quarter.

截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日，淨債務（即未償債務減去現金）為 7.97 億美元，而 2023 年 12 月 31 日為 8.24 億美元，第二季減少了 2,720 萬美元。

At March 31, 2024, the company's leverage ratio based on net debt and trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA was reduced to 3.62% compared to 3.71% at the end of last quarter.

截至2024年3月31日，該公司基於淨債務和過去12個月調整後EBITDA的槓桿率降至3.62%，而上季末為3.71%。

Additionally, we renewed our $750 million domestic revolving credit facility during the fiscal 2024 second quarter and are now focused on refinancing of our bonds, which do not mature until December 2025.

此外，我們在 2024 財年第二季續簽了 7.5 億美元的國內循環信貸安排，目前專注於我們債券的再融資，這些債券要到 2025 年 12 月才會到期。

We fully expect this refinancing to be completed before the end of this fiscal year.

我們完全預計此次再融資將在本財年結束前完成。

For the fiscal 2024, second quarter, the company purchased only 1,029 shares under its stock repurchase program, primarily reflecting our focus on debt reduction.

2024 財年第二季度，該公司根據股票回購計畫僅購買了 1,029 股股票，主要反映了我們對債務削減的關注。

While we will remain focused on debt reduction through the end of the fiscal year, we may also increase repurchase activity in light of current stock price levels and forecasted cash flow.

雖然我們將在本財年末繼續關注債務削減，但鑑於當前的股價水準和預測的現金流，我們也可能增加回購活動。

Approximately $30.7 million shares were outstanding at the end of the fiscal 2024 second quarter.

截至 2024 財年第二季末，流通股價值約為 3,070 萬美元。

Finally, the Board last week declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share on the company's common stock.

最後，董事會上週宣布對該公司普通股派發每股 0.24 美元的季度股息。

The dividend is payable May 20, 2024, to stockholders of record May 6, 2024.

股利將於2024年5月20日支付給2024年5月6日登記在冊的股東。

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

財務審查到此結束，我們現在將開始徵求任何問題。

Christine?

克里斯汀？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Daniel Moore, CJS Securities.

丹尼爾·摩爾，CJS 證券。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Good morning, Joe. Good morning, Steve.

早安，喬。早安，史蒂夫。

Good morning, Dan.

早上好，丹。

I'll start with energy storage, EV.

我將從能源儲存、電動車開始。

Yes, obviously now the end market slowdown and EV is very well documented, so but absolutely no surprise there.

是的，顯然現在終端市場放緩和電動車已經有很好的記錄，所以但絕對不足為奇。

Just looking beyond the next few quarters.

只是展望未來幾季。

You talked about in your prepared remarks, Joe, but elaborate on what you're seeing hearing from your customers as it relates to a longer-term transition to drive better to EV production.

喬，您在準備好的發言中談到了這一點，但請詳細說明您從客戶那裡聽到的內容，因為這涉及到更好地推動電動車生產的長期過渡。

Do you still expect that transition and the opportunity be to be on par with what you would have thought maybe four to six quarters?

您是否仍然期望這種轉變和機會與您想像的四到六個季度相當？

Yes, I would tell you the transition is in place.

是的，我會告訴你過渡已經到位。

I think the issue is timing.

我認為問題在於時機。

I will view, as you've mentioned, and it is slowing a little, but our interest level has never been higher.

正如你所提到的，我會認為，它正在放緩一點，但我們的興趣水平從未如此高。

But the reality is the cost benefits of the efficiency, the productivity that comes out of our system and the better battery will ultimately be the winner, we believe, and it's just slowed and the timing of when that will occur.

但現實是，我們相信，效率、生產力和更好的電池所帶來的成本效益最終將成為贏家，只是速度有所放緩，而且發生的時間也放緩。

So we hope to have more discussion about this over the coming quarters.

因此，我們希望在未來幾季對此進行更多討論。

But nothing has changed from our perspective.

但從我們的角度來看，一切都沒有改變。

All right.

好的。

And in the prepared remarks, you mentioned that the platform is not the right word.

在準備好的發言中，您提到「平台」這個詞並不合適。

I wasn't typing fast enough, but you plan to build out a platform for to enable faster production.

我打字速度不夠快，但您計劃建立一個平台以實現更快的生產。

Just elaborate on that?

簡單說一下嗎？

And is there any incremental expense or CapEx associated with?

是否有任何與之相關的增量費用或資本支出？

Yes.

是的。

So the reality is that the cycle for adoption in the auto industry is lengthy, especially when something was as innovative and new is because our technology, the process of going through from development to full production could take multiple years.

因此，現實情況是，汽車行業的採用週期很長，特別是當某些東西具有創新性和新穎性時，因為我們的技術，從開發到全面生產的過程可能需要數年時間。

A lot of that has to do with the fact that the development cycle is currently being done in house at a lot of these locations, whether it be battery manufacturers or other OEMs, we believe that we have enough know-how and the ability to build a what I would call a production like facility just for dry battery electrode, allowing our customers to come in-house with their formulation and accelerating the adoption so they can basically produce their own batteries with their own formulations, do the testing that is necessary and already know what a production like machine will look like.

這在很大程度上與以下事實有關：開發週期目前正在許多此類地點內部完成，無論是電池製造商還是其他原始設備製造商，我們相信我們擁有足夠的專業知識和能力來構建我稱之為乾電池電極生產設施，讓我們的客戶在內部提供他們的配方並加速採用，這樣他們基本上就可以用自己的配方生產自己的電池，進行必要的測試，並已經知道生產型機器會是什麼樣子。

So I would call it the serial serialization of manufacturing equipment and at least eliminating a lot of the customization and testing that is done in advance.

因此，我將其稱為製造設備的系列化，至少消除了預先完成的大量客製化和測試。

That's going to require probably 40 million worth of CapEx over the next 12 to 18 months, but well within our ability to fund.

未來 12 到 18 個月內，這可能需要價值 4,000 萬美元的資本支出，但完全在我們的融資能力範圍內。

Got it.

知道了。

Very helpful.

很有幫助。

And then on the printhead solution, product ID update us on the transition to the new chip provider and your confidence in ramping that product.

然後，在印字頭解決方案方面，產品 ID 向我們介紹了向新晶片提供者的過渡以及您對提升該產品的信心。

As we think about 25, do you have orders in hand and it's just a matter of getting the technology buttoned up or do we need to kind of go out and test again as that new chip is implemented and integrated and functioning smoothly.

當我們考慮 25 時，您手邊是否有訂單，這只是將技術固定下來的問題，還是我們需要在新晶片實現、整合並順利運行時再次進行測試。

So we have and we've had great success and very happy with and provide new provider out of Sweden that is helping us with the new chip, the current batch of wafers that have come in are exceptional.

因此，我們已經取得了巨大的成功，我們非常高興並提供了來自瑞典的新供應商，他們正在幫助我們生產新晶片，目前收到的這批晶圓非常出色。

We've had so far no issues with respect to that.

到目前為止，我們在這方面還沒有遇到任何問題。

We expect it as we described before.

正如我們之前所描述的，我們期待它。

We are in line with our expectation to be in market early or early calendar 25.

我們預計提前或日曆 25 號提前上市。

So by January end of December, January, we should start to be out there.

因此，到一月底、十二月、一月，我們應該開始行動。

Do we have customers?

我們有客戶嗎？

These are not but multimillion dollar projects, Dan, these are 10 to $15,000 each, but there's a lot of them were sold with the people we've already spoken to about what's coming.

這些都不是數百萬美元的項目，丹，每個項目售價 10 到 15,000 美元，但其中很多都是與我們已經談論過即將發生的事情的人一起出售的。

There's a lot of interest.

有很多興趣。

Obviously, we're not going to start with the largest CPGs that are out there day one, just to make sure that what we believe is correct is what we believe is a new and novel approach is functional and working well.

顯然，我們不會在第一天就從最大的 CPG 開始，只是為了確保我們認為正確的新方法有效且運作良好。

So we don't burn it.

所以我們不燒它。

But at the same time, we'll be in market here at the beginning of next year with a lot of upside to go.

但同時，我們將在明年初進入市場，並有很大的上漲空間。

It's a very significant market out there that we don't participate in.

這是一個非常重要的市場，我們沒有參與其中。

Perfect.

完美的。

And then I guess just one more I'll jump back in queue at this GKN, Chuck, on domestic hybrid solutions, how much of the improvement in revenues, what kind of easier comps and how much is it more sustained commitment to spending that you're seeing or hearing from your customers.

然後我想還有一個問題，我會在吉凱恩(GKN) 上插隊，查克(Chuck)，關於國內混合解決方案，收入有多少改善，什麼樣的更簡單的補償，以及對支出的持續承諾有多少？

Thanks.

謝謝。

And I guess the best way to describe it is you've heard us speak about and you read about in the newspapers over the last several quarters as CPGs have exhausted their ability to raise prices they're having to reinvest in their brands through innovation and new product development.

我想描述這一點的最好方式是，你已經聽過我們談論過，也讀過過去幾個季度的報紙，因為快速消費品已經耗盡了提高價格的能力，他們不得不通過創新和技術對自己的品牌進行再投資。

And we believe this is sustainable.

我們相信這是可持續的。

Most of the increase in top line came from North America.

收入成長的大部分來自北美。

So you can see where that what's driving the market and we hope to be the leader as an industry into that spend.

因此，您可以看到推動市場發展的因素，我們希望成為該支出產業的領導者。

So I would tell you.

所以我會告訴你。

It's much more sustainable and more, hopefully more to come.

它更具可持續性，而且更多，希望未來還會有更多。

Our next question comes from the line of Liam Burke with B. Riley Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 Liam Burke 與 B. Riley Securities 的對話。

Please proceed with your question.

請繼續你的問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Good morning, Joe. Good morning, Steve.

早安，喬。早安，史蒂夫。

Hello.

你好。

Good morning, Liam.

早上好，利亞姆。

Joe, on memorialization and cremation is still an important part of the business mix.

喬，紀念和火葬仍然是業務組合的重要組成部分。

How did that perform this quarter and what's the outlook for the rest of the year.

本季的表現如何以及今年剩餘時間的前景如何。

So as we've said publicly before, we do about 125 million in product and services in the in the Cremation segment it performed well.

正如我們之前公開說過的那樣，我們在火葬領域提供了約 1.25 億個產品和服務，表現良好。

I would tell you that the we still have some opportunities to improve performance out of our cremation equipment manufacturing business that the team is looking at right now, which should give us a good tailwind from that business going into next year, Liam.

我想告訴你，我們仍然有一些機會來提高團隊目前正在考慮的火葬設備製造業務的績效，這應該會為我們明年的業務帶來良好的推動力，利亞姆。

Okay, great.

好的，太好了。

Getting back to SGK., you did on your prepared statements, talk about Europe branding, I guess, being up.

回到 SGK。

But generally you said that Europe remains a challenge, or are you just looking at easy comps or you're looking at sort of a fragile recovery there, I would say easy comps.

但總的來說，你說歐洲仍然是一個挑戰，或者你只是在尋找簡單的比較，或者你正在尋找那裡脆弱的復甦，我會說簡單的比較。

I mean, it's I wouldn't say we've seen a recovery in Europe.

我的意思是，我不會說我們已經看到歐洲的復甦。

The performance of the business still remains North America and some help out of the A-Pac region.

北美地區的業務表現仍然良好，亞太地區也有一些幫助。

Europe has a while to go yet and had a factor this year.

歐洲還有很長的路要走，今年有一個因素。

This quarter was okay in North America being the driver for the quarter.

本季北美地區表現良好，成為本季的驅動因素。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Joe.

喬.

Our next question comes from the line of Justin Bergner with Gabelli.

我們的下一個問題來自賈斯汀·伯格納和加貝利的對話。

Please proceed with your question.

請繼續你的問題。

Good morning, Joe.

早安，喬。

Morning, Steve.

早安，史蒂夫。

Good morning, Justin.

早安，賈斯汀。

Good morning.

早安.

As you think about the revised EBITDA guidance for the current fiscal year beyond the delays from your major energy storage customer, what are the other puts and takes to think about in terms of how comfortable we are adjusting.

當您考慮本財年修訂後的 EBITDA 指引時，除了主要儲能客戶的延遲之外，就我們調整的舒適度而言，還有哪些其他需要考慮的因素。

Help me understand the question a little better.

幫助我更好地理解這個問題。

Just now parts of the business.

現在只是部分業務。

They're looking a little bit better than they were at the start of the fiscal year and parts of business that we're looking at looking a little bit more challenged outside of the US delays from the major energy storage customer.

他們看起來比本財年開始時要好一些，而且我們正在考慮的部分業務在美國以外的地區面臨著來自主要能源儲存客戶的延遲的更多挑戰。

I would tell you in my summary comments are pretty consistent with that.

我想告訴你，我的總結評論與此非常一致。

Memorialization is performing much better than we had maybe initially expected for the year.

今年紀念活動的表現比我們最初預期的要好得多。

There's a lot of unknowns when you start a year, especially on the demand side of that business.

當你開始新的一年時，會有很多未知因素，尤其是在該業務的需求方面。

And we obviously think we picked up some market share and that's performing well.

我們顯然認為我們獲得了一些市場份額並且表現良好。

And the new recent wins should help us as well.

最近的新勝利也應該對我們有幫助。

SGK. as well.

SGK。以及。

Our performance is performing well and we expect that to continue to be the case.

我們的業績表現良好，我們預計這種情況將持續下去。

You could have a quarter that's going to change, but at the end of the day.

你可能有一個季度會發生變化，但最終會發生變化。

We think that that is a sustainable business that this year will be a contributor to our results.

我們認為這是一項可持續發展的業務，今年將為我們的業績做出貢獻。

Product Identification is well performing very well that there's a new team in place over there, and they are performing very well in getting ready for the new launch should only make that business a bigger contributor as we go forward.

產品識別表現良好，那裡有一個新團隊，他們在為新產品發布做好準備方面表現得很好，這只會讓該業務在我們前進的過程中成為更大的貢獻者。

Warehouses challenge I mean, it's not I mean, we are it's making money.

我的意思是，倉庫挑戰，這不是我的意思，我們是在賺錢。

This is not a question of whether it's profitable or not.

這不是盈利與否的問題。

It's a question of what we would have expected going into the year.

這是我們對今年的預期的問題。

If you look into the automated warehouse marketplace, you'll see our competitors who are much more public about it struggling as well.

如果您研究自動化倉庫市場，您會發現我們的競爭對手也在苦苦掙扎，他們對此的公開程度要高得多。

And I mean, these numbers could be off 23% on a top line were consistent with that.

我的意思是，這些數字在營收上可能會下降 23%，與此一致。

But we think that turns, I think that's a large capital spend.

但我們認為情況相反，我認為這是一筆龐大的資本支出。

We've seen a number of our clients pull back on contracts because of the size of the capital spend and maybe the interest rate environment may be impacting that as well.

我們看到許多客戶因為資本支出規模而取消了合同，也許利率環境也可能會產生影響。

So warehouse has been a little bit of a challenge in going forward.

因此，倉庫在未來發展中遇到了一些挑戰。

And I think I covered just about all the businesses other than energy at that point.

我想當時我幾乎涵蓋了除能源以外的所有業務。

Okay.

好的。

Great.

偉大的。

That's very helpful.

這非常有幫助。

On the energy side, you mentioned in the press release, a benefit of orders from multiple customers as broader set of potential customers are able to kind of order production equipment more flexibly looking into later 2024 and early 2025, is that kind of really opening up the spigot for orders?

在能源方面，您在新聞稿中提到，來自多個客戶的訂單的好處是，隨著更廣泛的潛在客戶能夠在2024 年晚些時候和2025 年初更靈活地訂購生產設備，這是否是真正的開放訂單的龍頭？

And is that driving this likely 40 million CapEx investment to standardize serialize from the manufacturing equipment?

這是否會推動這可能的 4000 萬資本支出投資來實現製造設備的標準化序列化？

Yes.

是的。

So I would say as it relates to the development cycle and to help you understand you go from what I would call preproduction machine to a production prototype to a production machine that is a multi quarter process at a minimum.

所以我想說，因為它與開發週期有關，並幫助您理解從我所說的預生產機器到生產原型再到生產機器，這至少是一個多季度的過程。

So what we are doing is with the investment making taking one of those turns out a prototype machine as well as a lot of the testing that is done from the product that comes off the manufacturing.

因此，我們正在做的就是投資將其中一台製成原型機，並對製造出來的產品進行大量測試。

So right now, the orders that we're seeing, I would say, would be on the smaller side, they're beyond just a what I would call a lab machine.

所以現在，我想說，我們看到的訂單會比較小，它們不僅僅是我所說的實驗室機器。

We're trying to take you from concept directly to production equipment.

我們試圖將您從概念直接帶到生產設備。

It was our with our investment and that should shorten that cycle significantly.

這是我們的投資，這應該會大大縮短這個週期。

Okay, fantastic.

好吧，太棒了。

But I guess the other part of my question was I think there were some intellectual property, I guess issues that might have some hindered the ability of some of your potential customers in the energy storage side to see no order production equipment by writing off is that against seller notes and her customer interest in the present time.

但我想我的問題的另一部分是我認為存在一些知識產權，我想可能會阻礙能源存儲方面的一些潛在客戶通過註銷而看不到訂單生產設備的能力的問題是反對賣家的筆記和她的客戶目前的興趣。

Yes.

是的。

Now I'm now I understand your question.

現在我明白你的問題了。

Yes, there is a there are patents that are held on dry battery electrode products that have expires here in July.

是的，有一項乾電池電極產品的專利已於七月到期。

So the acceleration of interest and the what I call the interest in investing has accelerated because of that, no question about that.

因此，興趣的加速以及我所說的投資興趣的加速因此而加速，這是毫無疑問的。

And we're trying to facilitate that with our investments.

我們正在努力透過我們的投資來促進這一點。

Great.

偉大的。

Thanks so much.

非常感謝。

Sure.

當然。

Our next question comes from the line of Nick Grupo Stella with NR management.

我們的下一個問題來自 NR 管理層的 Nick Grupo Stella。

Please proceed with your question.

請繼續你的問題。

Good morning.

早安.

This is more of a big question.

這更是一個大問題。

You know, all the investments you've made in these other businesses outside of memorialization, how have they really benefited shareholders if you look at the stock price, so at any point, would you change the strategy and Dom, you know, split up the businesses because shareholders really have not benefited for a long time.

你知道，除了紀念之外，你在這些其他業務中所做的所有投資，如果你看看股價，它們如何真正使股東受益，所以在任何時候，你會改變策略，而多姆，你知道，分道揚鑣企業因為股東確實已經很久沒有受益了。

So from the guys with businesses being together yes, I understand your question.

因此，從那些一起做生意的人看來，是的，我理解你的問題。

We have had we've been fairly public with the commentary.

我們已經相當公開地發表了評論。

Our hope is to continue to build these smaller businesses to scale and then to begin to look at the strategy of what the business looks like going forward as they as a couple of these things come to market, whether it be the new new printhead in the new product identification and as energy starts to get some legs to it, I think that's fair to say that there will be an evaluation of what we what the business looks like at that time at this point with these still, but the three businesses still being relatively nascent, I would say that we're probably not at that point just yet.

我們的希望是繼續擴大這些規模較小的業務，然後開始研究業務的未來發展策略，因為其中一些東西進入市場，無論是新的印表機頭新產品識別，隨著能源開始獲得一些支持，我認為可以公平地說，我們將在此時對我們的業務進行評估，但三個業務仍在進行中相對新生，我想說我們可能還沒有到那個地步。

Okay.

好的。

Fair enough?

很公平？

Well, I'll just say this and by the way, your investor relations contact apparently because I'm not an institutional, but I'm still a shareholder or a long-time shareholder.

好吧，我就這麼說，順便說一句，你的投資者關係聯絡人顯然是因為我不是機構人士，但我仍然是股東或長期股東。

If you can't get through to anyone to speak to or ask questions.

如果您無法與任何人交談或提出問題。

I find that a little troubling, but I'm sorry, I'm sorry to hear that.

我覺得這有點令人不安，但很抱歉，我很遺憾聽到這個消息。

Well, I left many messages, but anyway, here's the here's the issue.

好吧，我留言了很多，但無論如何，這就是問題所在。

We all want to be long-term investors and are promising technology.

我們都想成為長期投資者，都看好有前景的技術。

I just hope that if the stock ends up, you know, under 2019 and you have to know what will happen as there's more push and things.

我只是希望，如果股票最終在 2019 年結束，你必須知道隨著更多的推動和事情會發生什麼。

I'd like to see insiders buying a lot of stock.

我希望看到內部人士購買大量股票。

You know, I just hope that's the case because you're levered you have to pay down debt now at and year-end situation really really can't take advantage in any dramatic way.

你知道，我只是希望情況如此，因為你現在有槓桿，你必須償還債務，而年底的情況真的不能以任何戲劇性的方式利用。

But that's I just wanted to reflect my my opinions.

但這只是我想反映我的意見。

My feelings Thank you so much, Nick.

我的感受 非常感謝你，尼克。

We will I'll see to it that somebody can drive tried to reach out to every major price.

我們將確保有人可以嘗試接觸到每個主要價格。

I'm sorry about the investor contact.

對於投資者的聯絡方式，我深表歉意。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Our next question is a follow-up question from Daniel Moore with CJS Securities.

我們的下一個問題是 CJS 證券的 Daniel Moore 提出的後續問題。

Please proceed with your question.

請繼續你的問題。

I'll just kind of get off mute.

我會保持沉默。

Thank you again, I'm just looking, Steve, just kind of looking at that, the industrial tech, I think you called out some less engineering work, but just kind of looking at the decrementals from this quarter to Q2 last year and EBITDA margin decrementals closer to 60%, a little bit higher than what we would normally think.

再次感謝你，我只是在看，史蒂夫，只是在看工業技術，我認為你提到了一些較少的工程工作，但只是在看從本季度到去年第二季度的減量以及 EBITDA利潤率下降接近60%，比我們通常認為的要高一點。

So anything else going on or weighing on margins that might be unusual or temporary As Dan noted, revenues revenue declined.

因此，正如丹所指出的那樣，任何其他發生的事情或對利潤率的影響可能是不尋常的或暫時的，收入下降了。

Yes.

是的。

The two things dimension just to highlight with respect to the industrial margins are one, it's the it's the revenue decline, particularly on the warehouse side.

關於工業利潤率，需要強調的兩件事是，一是收入下降，特別是在倉庫方面。

And again, it's when we look at the engineering business, revenue was higher, but the stage of the phases of the work that we're working on now versus where we were comparable to a year ago last year was more of the higher margin design related work, engineering design related work so that those are the two major elements to the to the margin impact.

再說一次，當我們審視工程業務時，收入更高，但我們現在正在進行的工作階段與去年相比，更多的是更高利潤的設計相關工作、工程設計相關工作是造成邊際影響的兩個主要因素。

Okay.

好的。

Helpful.

有幫助。

And I appreciate the update on the debt.

我很欣賞債務的最新情況。

If you were to go to market today, any sense for what terms could look like on the refinancing bonds or wait and see given you have now at least a reasonable amount of time between now and year-end?

如果您今天要進入市場，那麼考慮到從現在到年底您至少有一段合理的時間，再融資債券的條款可能會是什麼樣子，或者觀望一下？

Yes, we're work actually, we're working through that now and just starting to get and understand some of those market indications.

是的，我們實際上正在工作，我們現在正在解決這個問題，並且剛開始獲取和理解其中一些市場跡象。

Sorry, thank you again.

抱歉，再次感謝您。

Our next question is a follow-up question from Justin Bergner with Gabelli.

我們的下一個問題是 Justin Bergner 和 Gabelli 提出的後續問題。

Please proceed with your question.

請繼續你的問題。

Thanks, or two quick follow-ups here.

謝謝，或者這裡有兩個快速跟進。

You mentioned that as you deliver more equipment on the energy storage side that will release working capital.

您提到，隨著您在儲能方面交付更多設備，將釋放營運資金。

Is there any way for you to frame sort of how much working capital is tied up and can be sort of the least in that business see about?

有什麼方法可以讓您確定有多少營運資金被佔用，並且在該業務中可以是最少的嗎？

I'm looking at Steve, I see when we give you a perspective on it, I would tell you that it is a significant amount of working capital, but closer to 80 to $90 million, I would say, Steve, yes, just I'd say the up if you when we release our 10 Q today, you'll see our balance sheet.

我看著史蒂夫，我明白當我們給你一個視角時，我會告訴你這是一筆很大的營運資金，但接近80 到9000 萬美元，我會說，史蒂夫，是的，只是我如果您今天發布 10 Q 時，您會看到我們的資產負債表，那麼您會說上升。

But the areas we are the biggest area where you noticed the working capital and the opportunity is going to be in an area called the line item called contract assets, contract liabilities, because those are the line items of working capital that really reflect the work that we've done based on not necessarily what we build because that would sit in accounts receivable.

但是，我們是最大的領域，您會注意到營運資金，機會將出現在稱為合約資產、合約負債的行項目的區域中，因為這些是營運資金的行項目，真正反映了工作我們所做的不一定是基於我們所建構的，因為這將屬於應收帳款。

But the work that we've done and the difference between the revenue recognized versus when we've reached of the milestones for billing purposes.

但是我們已經完成的工作以及已確認的收入與我們達到計費目的里程碑時之間的差異。

Got you.

明白你了。

Okay.

好的。

So it would be a contract asset reliability.

所以這將是合約資產的可靠性。

In this case?

在這種情況下？

It would actually be it could be both depending on where we sit with milestone payments, on particular on a particular aspect of a project.

實際上，這可能取決於我們在里程碑付款方面的情況，特別是專案的特定方面。

Okay.

好的。

So you mentioned that you should see both line items.

所以您提到您應該看到這兩個訂單項目。

Got you.

明白你了。

And then the other quick question was the auto engineering business, which I had to relate the acquisitions from a couple of years ago.

然後另一個簡單的問題是汽車工程業務，我必須將其與幾年前的收購聯繫起來。

I realize that's more to support your energy storage business, really how the acquisitions were is that business now, you know, profitable on an EBITDA basis or does it still have a little ways to go?

我意識到這更多的是為了支持你的能源儲存業務，實際上收購的情況是，你知道，該業務現在在 EBITDA 基礎上實現盈利還是還有一些路要走？

And so there's a couple of things that are happening in that business where we are incrementally better than prior year, modestly profitable at this point.

因此，該業務中發生了一些事情，我們比前一年逐漸好，目前獲利適度。

But we are we're looking at a substantial change in that in that organization starting hopefully here in the latter part of this this fiscal year as we've been in negotiations with the unions over there for quite a while trying to get an adjustment both in terms of compensation as well as head count.

但我們正在考慮該組織的重大變化，希望從本財年的下半年開始，因為我們已經與那裡的工會進行了相當長的談判，試圖在這兩個方面進行調整在薪酬和人數方面。

That's fairly significant.

這是相當重要的。

So we hope to have talk a little bit more about that just in a little later in the fiscal year, once we get confirmation.

因此，一旦得到確認，我們希望在本財年晚些時候就此事進行更多討論。

Great.

偉大的。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Thank you, Mr. Wilson, we have no further questions at this time.

謝謝您，威爾遜先生，我們目前沒有其他問題。

I would like to turn the floor back over to you for closing comments.

我想將發言權交還給您以供結束評論。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you Christine, and thank you for joining us today and your interest in Matthews.

謝謝克里斯汀，謝謝您今天加入我們以及您對馬修斯的興趣。

For additional information about the Company and our financial results, please contact me or visit our website, enjoy the rest of your day.

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，祝您度過愉快的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。

You may disconnect your lines at this time.

此時您可以斷開線路。

Thank you for your participation, and have a wonderful day.

感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。