美敦力 (MDT) 2008 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Medtronic first-quarter earnings call. At this time, all lines are in a listen-only mode. Later, there will be an opportunity for questions, and instructions will be given at that time. (OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS). And as a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

女士們，先生們，感謝各位的支持，歡迎參加美敦力第一季財報電話會議。目前，所有線路均處於收聽模式。稍後將提供提問機會，屆時將提供指導。 （接線生指示）。另請注意，本次會議正在錄音中。

I will now turn the conference over to our host, Martha Goldberg Aronson, Vice President, Medtronic Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在，我將會議交給主持人，美敦力投資者關係副總裁瑪莎‧戈德堡‧阿倫森 (Martha Goldberg Aronson)。請開始。

Good afternoon, and welcome to Medtronic's first-quarter conference call and webcast. During the next hour, we will review the results of our first quarter of fiscal year 2008, which ended July 27, 2007. Following these introductory remarks, you will hear from Medtronic Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Art Collins. Next, Bill Hawkins, President and Chief Operating Officer, will provide comments on the first-quarter results. Chief Financial Officer Gary Ellis will follow with a financial summary and comments on guidance. After our prepared remarks, we will take your questions, concluding the conference call at around 4:30PM Central Time.

下午好，歡迎參加美敦力第一季電話會議和網路直播。接下來的一個小時，我們將回顧截至2007年7月27日的2008財年第一季業績。開場致詞之後，美敦力董事長兼執行長Art Collins將發表演說。接下來，總裁兼營運長Bill Hawkins將對第一季業績進行點評。財務長Gary Ellis隨後將提供財務摘要和業績展望。在我們準備好的演講之後，我們將回答您的提問，並於美國中部時間下午4:30左右結束電話會議。

A few logistical comments -- this call is being webcast via our website, www.medtronic.com. Our press release, earnings statement, balance sheet, cash flow, revenue by business summaries, non-GAAP to GAAP reconciliations, as well as a transcript of the prepared remarks will all be posted on our website. The transcript will remain available on our website until our next earnings call.

一些後勤方面的評論—本次電話會議將透過我們的網站 www.medtronic.com 進行網路直播。我們的新聞稿、收益表、資產負債表、現金流量表、各業務收入摘要、非公認會計準則 (Non-GAAP) 與公認會計準則 (GAAP) 的對帳表以及準備好的發言記錄都將發佈在我們的網站上。該記錄將保留在我們的網站上，直到我們下次收益電話會議為止。

Today's commentary should be considered and evaluated in light of the important disclosures and reconciliations contained within our press release as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Please telephone Medtronic Investor Relations or Corporate Communications if you're unable to access the press release or the transcript.

今日評論應結合我們提交給美國證券交易委員會的新聞稿中的重要揭露和對帳內容進行考慮和評估。如果您無法存取新聞稿或文字稿，請致電美敦力投資者關係部或企業傳播部。

Today's webcast includes statements regarding Medtronic's anticipated financial results, market growth, acquisitions, divestitures, product acceptance and regulatory approvals, as well as other forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations. It is important to note that our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

今天的網路直播包含有關美敦力預期財務業績、市場成長、收購、資產剝離、產品驗收和監管批准的聲明，以及基於管理層當前預期的其他前瞻性聲明。需要注意的是，我們的實際結果可能與預期結果有重大差異。

Information on factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is contained in Medtronic's Form 10-K for the year ended April 27, 2007, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We encourage you to review this carefully. All statements are made as of today's date, and we undertake no duty to update the information provided in this call.

可能導致實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述有重大差異的因素資訊包含在美敦力公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的截至2007年4月27日的10-K表格中。我們建議您仔細閱讀該表格。所有聲明均截至今日，我們不承擔更新本次電話會議中提供資訊的義務。

Unless we say otherwise, the comparisons we make today will be on an as-reported basis, not on a constant currency basis, and references to quarterly results increasing or decreasing are in comparison to the first quarter of fiscal year 2007.

除非我們另有說明，我們今天所做的比較將以報告為基礎，而不是以固定貨幣為基礎，並且對季度業績增加或減少的引用是與 2007 財年第一季相比。

With that, I am now pleased to turn the call over to Medtronic Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Art Collins.

現在，我很高興將電話轉給美敦力公司董事長兼執行長阿特‧柯林斯。

Thank you, Martha, and good afternoon, everyone. By now, most of you should have seen the press release discussing our fiscal 2008 first-quarter financial results. Compared to the first quarter of last fiscal year, revenue of $3.127 billion increased 8%. If you exclude Physio-Control from both periods, the revenue growth was 10%.

謝謝瑪莎，大家下午好。現在，大多數人應該已經看過我們2008財年第一季財務表現的新聞稿了。與上一財年第一季相比，營收成長了8%，達到31.27億美元。如果將Physio-Control從兩個季度中剔除，收入成長率為10%。

Net earnings for the first quarter of $675 million resulted in a diluted earnings per share of $0.59, which grew 16% over the first quarter a year ago. After adjusting for restructuring, certain litigation and in-process research and development charges in both the current and prior year's quarters, our first-quarter diluted earnings per share on a pro forma non-GAAP basis of $0.62 grew 13% on net consensus estimate.

第一季淨利為6.75億美元，攤薄後每股收益為0.59美元，較去年同期成長16%。經調整本季及去年同期的重組、部分訴訟及在研研發費用後，我們第一季非公認會計準則下的攤薄後每股收益為0.62美元，較市場預期淨利增長13%。

During the quarter, four of our eight business segments in each major geography outside the United States saw double-digit revenue growth. Our quarterly performance again reflected successful initiatives to further enhance leverage throughout the P&L and the benefits of Medtronic's diverse business portfolio. As mentioned last quarter, we anticipate an acceleration of growth as we move into the back half of this fiscal year. Bill Hawkins will highlight some of the upcoming product launches and other initiatives that we believe will help drive growth and continue to improve operating performance.

本季度，我們在美國以外各主要地區的八個業務部門中，有四個實現了兩位數的收入成長。我們的季度業績再次體現了我們為進一步提升整個損益表中的槓桿率而採取的成功舉措，以及美敦力多元化業務組合的優勢。如上季所述，我們預計隨著本財年下半年的到來，成長將加速。比爾霍金斯將重點介紹一些即將推出的產品和其他我們認為將有助於推動成長並持續提升營運績效的舉措。

It has been a very busy time since we kicked off our new fiscal year on April 30. Throughout the quarter, we worked constructively with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as IPPS reimbursement rates were finalized, resulting in a neutral to positive outcome versus last year. A successful FDA panel for the BRYAN Cervical Disc was concluded, and our PRESTIGE Cervical Disc has just been launched in the United States, with very favorable initial results.

自4月30日開啟新財年以來，我們一直非常忙碌。本季度，我們與醫療保險和醫療補助服務中心（CMS）進行了建設性合作，最終確定了IPPS報銷率，與去年相比，本季的業績表現為中性至正值。 BRYAN頸椎間盤的FDA評審小組已順利完成，我們的PRESTIGE頸椎間盤也剛在美國上市，並且取得了非常好的初步結果。

We also continue to prepare for the Endeavor drug-eluting stent launch in the United States with two key milestones being met -- first, the successful attainment of the primary endpoint for the ENDEAVOR IV clinical trial, and second, the much-anticipated FDA panel review for Endeavor is now set to occur in October.

我們也繼續為在美國推出 Endeavor 藥物洗脫支架做準備，目前已實現兩個關鍵里程碑 - 首先，成功實現 ENDEAVOR IV 臨床試驗的主要終點；其次，備受期待的 FDA 專家小組對 Endeavor 的審查現定於 10 月進行。

We continue to roll out new products and move forward on a number of key clinical trials, while at the same time selectively pruning our product portfolio.

我們繼續推出新產品並推進多項關鍵臨床試驗，同時選擇性地精簡我們的產品組合。

On July 27, we announced an agreement to acquire Kyphon, and throughout the quarter we successfully continued the CEO and COO transition that will be completed at our annual shareholders' meeting on Thursday with the election of Bill Hawkins as President and CEO and Michael DeMane as COO.

7 月 27 日，我們宣布了一項收購 Kyphon 的協議，並且在整個季度中，我們成功地繼續了首席執行官和首席運營官的過渡，該過渡將於週四的年度股東大會上完成，屆時將選舉 Bill Hawkins 為總裁兼首席執行官，Michael DeMane 為首席運營官。

Since announcing the CEO transition in February, I have traveled extensively inside and outside the United States. I have had the chance to speak with a number of our customers and the patients they serve, together with regulators, payors and other government officials. And I can tell you that Medtronic is well positioned with all these groups. I have also met with a broad cross-section of our employees, and as you will hear from Bill in just a few moments, we're looking forward to the remainder of this year with a great deal of excitement and optimism.

自從二月宣布執行長換屆以來，我在美國國內外廣泛出差。我有機會與許多客戶及其服務的患者，以及監管機構、付款方和其他政府官員進行交流。我可以告訴大家，美敦力在所有這些群體中都佔有有利地位。我還與各行各業的員工進行了會面。正如比爾稍後將要介紹的那樣，我們對今年剩餘的時間充滿期待和樂觀。

Since Bill Hawkins will be elected President and CEO at our Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, I am going to let Bill and Gary run the rest of the call and the question-and-answer session. However, since this is my last investors' call as CEO of Medtronic, I would like to again say that I have enjoyed my interaction with the investment community for more than 25 years, the past 15 while I have been at Medtronic. I also want to reinforce how good I feel about the Company and its future and how confident I am in the leadership that Bill, Michael, Gary and the rest of their team will bring to the business going forward.

由於比爾霍金斯將在周四的董事會會議上當選為總裁兼首席執行官，我將讓比爾和加里主持電話會議的剩餘部分和問答環節。然而，鑑於這是我作為美敦力執行長的最後一次投資者電話會議，我想再次強調，過去25年來，我很享受與投資界的互動，其中過去15年我一直在美敦力工作。我還想強調，我對公司及其未來充滿信心，我對比爾、麥可、加里以及他們團隊未來將為公司帶來的領導充滿信心。

Bill, it is all yours.

比爾，這都是你的。

Well, thank you, Art. And first, on behalf of the entire executive team, I would like to thank you for your leadership. Medtronic is on very solid ground and I'm highly confident that we will continue to deliver top-tier growth and industry leadership in the years ahead. Rest assured that all 38,000 employees are dedicated to continuing the legacy of leadership that is the foundation of this great Company. So Art, we wish you and your wife, Anne, all the very best for the future.

好的，謝謝你，Art。首先，我謹代表整個管理團隊，感謝你的領導。美敦力公司基礎非常穩固，我堅信未來幾年我們將繼續保持頂級成長和行業領先地位。請放心，所有38,000名員工都將致力於傳承領導傳統，這也是這家偉大公司的基石。 Art，我們祝福你和你的妻子Anne未來一切順利。

I am now going to focus my comments around three areas -- new products, market development and geographic expansion, including some of the key achievements and challenges of the first quarter, along with some insights into what I believe will strengthen our growth as we move through this fiscal year.

我現在將主要圍繞三個領域——新產品、市場開發和地理擴張——發表我的評論，其中包括第一季的一些主要成就和挑戰，以及我認為在本財年將加強我們成長的一些見解。

Innovation continues to be the lifeblood of Medtronic. We saw significant progress during the first quarter with the approval and launch of several new products. We received FDA approval for the PRESTIGE Cervical Disc, and not only is PRESTIGE the first commercially available cervical disc in the U.S., it is also the first artificial disc to receive an FDA labeling claim of superiority. To date, we have trained over 800 physicians and plan to train about 200 more each weekend for the next several weeks. With regard to reimbursement, we're working closely with commercial payors on a case-by-case basis, and thus far we are encouraged by early reimbursement coverage.

創新始終是美敦力的命脈。第一季度，我們取得了顯著進展，多款新產品獲批上市。 PRESTIGE頸椎間盤獲得了FDA批准，它不僅是美國首個商用頸椎間盤，也是第一個獲得FDA標籤認證的人工椎間盤。到目前為止，我們已培訓了800多名醫生，並計劃在接下來的幾週內，每個週末再培訓約200名醫生。在報銷方面，我們正與商業付款方密切合作，並根據具體情況進行調整，目前為止，我們對早期的報銷覆蓋率感到鼓舞。

Also in the artificial disc arena, our BRYAN Cervical Disc received a positive recommendation for approval from an FDA panel in July. We expect to launch this product before the end of our fiscal year. Following BRYAN in the product pipeline is the Maverick Lumbar Disc, which is currently working its way through the FDA approval process. Taken together, these products will form a market-leading artificial disc portfolio that will bring more treatment options to patients, changing the basis of competition by raising the bar.

在人工椎間盤領域，我們的BRYAN頸椎間盤在7月獲得了FDA專家小​​組的正面推薦，預計在本財年結束前上市。緊接在BRYAN之後的產品線是Maverick腰椎間盤，目前正在申請FDA的批准。這些產品將共同構成市場領先的人工椎間盤產品組合，為患者帶來更多治療選擇，並透過提高標準改變競爭格局。

In the coronary vascular market, we experienced a quarter of market turbulence. This continues to be a very attractive market and one we believe will strengthen over the long run as next-generation products come on the market. Procedure rates for percutaneous coronary interventions and penetration rates for drug-eluting stents both declined during the first quarter. However, our performance continued to be strong, with coronary stent sales growing 27% and Endeavor revenue of $81 million, an increase of 22%. We believe that with the anticipated introduction of Endeavor in the United States later this calendar year, we will see the market rebound as there continues to be a lot of excitement about this product, given its unique safety and strong efficacy profile.

在冠狀動脈血管市場，我們經歷了一個季度的市場動盪。該市場仍然極具吸引力，我們相信，隨著下一代產品的上市，該市場將長期保持強勁成長。第一季度，經皮冠狀動脈介入治療的手術率和藥物洗脫支架的滲透率均下降。然而，我們的業績依然強勁，冠狀動脈支架銷售額成長27%，Endeavor營收達到8,100萬美元，成長22%。我們相信，隨著Endeavor預計今年稍晚在美國上市，我們將看到市場反彈，因為鑑於其獨特的安全性和強大的療效，人們對該產品的熱情將持續高漲。

With regard to the timing of Endeavor, you may remember that we announced earlier in the quarter that the ENDEAVOR IV clinical study met its primary endpoint and was submitted to the FDA for review. We have been notified by the FDA that the Endeavor dossier, including results from ENDEAVOR I, II, III and IV, will be reviewed at an FDA panel meeting in October. The FDA will announce the exact date and location four to six weeks prior to the meeting in accordance with standard FDA procedures.

關於Endeavor的啟動時間，您可能還記得，我們​​在本季早些時候宣布，ENDEAVOR IV臨床研究已達到其主要終點，並已提交FDA審查。 FDA已通知我們，Endeavor的檔案，包括ENDEAVOR I、II、III和IV的結果，將於10月份的FDA專家小​​組會議上進行審查。 FDA將根據FDA標準程序，在會議召開前四至六週公佈具體的日期和地點。

We expect the full ENDEAVOR IV results to be presented at the TCT Congress in Washington, D.C., in late October, and we plan to hold an investor briefing there on Monday, October 22. At that time, Scott Ward and his team will provide a full update on the Endeavor program as well as an overview of our cardiovascular business.

我們預計 ENDEAVOR IV 的完整結果將於 10 月下旬在華盛頓特區舉行的 TCT 大會上公佈，我們計劃於 10 月 22 日星期一在那裡舉行投資者簡報會。屆時，Scott Ward 和他的團隊將提供有關 Endeavor 計劃的全面更新以及我們心血管業務的概述。

Another strong growth component of our cardiovascular franchise is our endovascular business, which continues to grow in double digits. We expect this growth to accelerate as we expand into the thoracic segment in the U.S. Last month, we submitted the PMA for our Talent thoracic product, and we expect to submit the PMA for our Talent AAA stent graft later this quarter.

我們心血管業務的另一個強勁成長點是血管內業務，該業務持續保持兩位數成長。隨著我們拓展美國胸腔領域，我們預計這一增長將加速。上個月，我們提交了 Talent 胸腔產品的上市前批准 (PMA)，並預計將於本季度稍後提交 Talent AAA 支架移植物產品的上市前批准 (PMA)。

In our diabetes business, the introduction of Continuous Glucose Monitoring continued to drive strong sales growth of 23% and it continues to generate considerable interest among both physicians and patients. We saw quite an enthusiastic response to our launch of the MiniLink, a rechargeable low-profile sensor transmitter that enables continuous glucose monitoring capabilities for both our Paradigm insulin pumps and stand-alone Guardian monitors. And we received FDA approval and launched the Paradigm and Guardian systems for pediatric indications during the first quarter.

在我們的糖尿病業務中，持續血糖監測系統的推出持續推動銷售額強勁成長23%，並持續引起醫生和患者的濃厚興趣。我們推出的MiniLink獲得了熱烈的反響，這是一款可充電的小型感測器發射器，可為我們的Paradigm胰島素幫浦和獨立的Guardian監測儀提供持續血糖監測功能。此外，我們已獲得FDA批准，並於第一季推出了兒科適應症的Paradigm和Guardian系統。

I am also pleased to announce that we just signed two agreements that enable Johnson & Johnson's LifeScan glucose meters to wirelessly communicate with our pumps in the United States and for Bayer glucose meters to do so in other geographic markets. We believe that these agreements will provide compelling benefits for our patients and further enhance the appeal of insulin pump therapy.

我還很高興地宣布，我們剛剛簽署了兩項協議，允許強生公司的LifeScan血糖儀在美國與我們公司的胰島素泵進行無線通信，並允許拜耳公司的血糖儀在其他地區市場進行無線通信。我們相信，這些協議將為我們的患者帶來顯著的益處，並進一步提升胰島素幫浦治療的吸引力。

Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, I continue to be excited about our plans to launch many more new products in various parts of the world. These products include Resolute, our next-generation drug-eluting stent; the BRYAN Cervical Disc; the Restore Ultra neurostimulator; Reveal XT, a subcutaneous diagnostic for atrial fibrillation; and the Consulta/Secura/Advisa family of CRDM devices, our next generation of pacing and defibrillator products and the first to be build on a common platform. I am confident that these new products, along with many others, will enable us to gain market share and expand markets.

展望今年餘下的時間，我依然對我們在全球各地推出更多新產品的計劃感到興奮不已。這些產品包括：新一代藥物洗脫支架Resolute；BRYAN頸椎間盤；Restore Ultra神經刺激器；房顫皮下診斷儀Reveal XT；以及Consulta/Secura/Advisa系列CRDM設備，這是我們的新一代起搏和除顫器產品，也是首批基於通用平台打造的產品。我相信，這些新產品以及其他眾多產品將助力我們提升市場佔有率並拓展市場。

In addition to the steady cadence of new product introductions, our market development efforts are critical to our growth going forward. Let me start by commenting on the growth of the ICD market and our performance during the first quarter. Over the last five quarters, the U.S. market has been essentially flat. Outside the U.S., the market continued to be strong, growing at approximately 22% versus last year's first quarter. We believe the worldwide market grew approximately 7% versus last year.

除了穩定推出新產品外，我們的市場開發工作對我們未來的成長也至關重要。首先，我想談談ICD市場的成長以及我們第一季的業績。過去五個季度，美國市場基本持平。美國以外的市場持續保持強勁，與去年第一季相比成長了約22%。我們認為，全球市場與去年相比成長了約7%。

And while we remain confident in the long-term growth prospects, we continue to be cautious about the exact timing and degree of rebound of the U.S. ICD market. As we discussed previously, we remain focused on market development and being opportunistic and gaining profitable share. We continue to work on gathering the evidence that reinforces clinical guidelines which demonstrate that many patients in the healthcare system are not benefiting from optimal treatment, including ICD therapy.

儘管我們對長期成長前景充滿信心，但我們對美國ICD市場反彈的具體時間和幅度仍持謹慎態度。正如我們之前所討論的，我們將繼續專注於市場開發，把握機遇，爭取獲利份額。我們將繼續努力收集證據，以強化臨床指南，這些指南表明，醫療保健系統中的許多患者未能從最佳治療（包括ICD治療）中獲益。

Many of these potential benefits are already being seen by cardiologists. Along those lines, the IMPROVE HF study is designed to raise this awareness. Initial data from this 160-center study will be presented at the upcoming Heart Failure Society of America Congress in September.

許多潛在的益處已被心臟科醫師所關注。 IMPROVE HF 研究旨在提高這方面的認識。這項涉及 160 個中心的研究的初步數據將於 9 月在美國心臟衰竭學會 (HES) 大會上發表。

In regard to our sudden cardiac arrest awareness campaign, which we launched in January, we are pleased that the effort has successfully helped to raise the public's awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and bolster confidence in the benefits of ICD therapy. We have received positive feedback from both physicians and patients. As we indicated when we launched this campaign, there are many facets to the campaign beyond the television and press -- consumer media components. So we will now be building upon the efforts to date by shifting our focus into other components of the campaign, specifically in the areas of protocol and guideline adoption, as well as physician and patient education.

關於我們於一月份啟動的心臟驟停認知宣傳活動，我們很高興看到這項活動成功地提高了公眾對心臟驟停的認識，並增強了公眾對ICD治療益處的信心。我們收到了醫生和患者的正面回饋。正如我們在啟動這項活動時所指出的，除了電視和新聞媒體之外，這項活動還涉及許多方面——消費者媒體的組成部分。因此，我們現在將在迄今為止的努力基礎上，將重點轉移到活動的其他方面，特別是在方案和指南的採用以及醫生和患者的教育方面。

Our pacing business remains healthy as we saw the market grow 6% during the first quarter.

我們的起搏業務保持健康，因為我們看到第一季市場成長了 6%。

One final remark on CRDM. We completed the leadership transition in this business on August 1, when Pat Mackin assumed the role of Senior Vice President and President of the Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management, succeeding Steve Mahle. Pat brings tremendous customer focus, energy, a competitive drive and the discipline to his new role. Steve has done an exceptional job in leading our CRDM business for nine years and contributing to Medtronic for over 35 years. He will take on a new role assisting in the area of health policy.

最後再說一下心律不整管理（CRDM）業務。我們於8月1日完成了這項業務的領導過渡，Pat Mackin接替Steve Mahle出任資深副總裁兼心律不整管理總裁。 Pat將卓越的客戶導向、充沛的精力、競爭意識和嚴謹的紀律帶到了他的新崗位。 Steve在領導CRDM業務九年，並為美敦力貢獻了超過35年，表現出色。他將擔任新的職務，協助處理醫療政策領域事務。

Turning to neuromodulation, this past quarter we changed the name of this business to more accurately reflect our areas of focus in this segment. Even though we continue to believe this will be one of Medtronic's most attractive long-term growth platforms, we did fall short this quarter in our pain and movement disorder product lines. In response, we are stepping up our efforts to reach more patients and find new applications with clinical studies, referring physician education and focused local marketing activities. Although we lost market share this quarter, the U.S. pain stimulation market continues to grow at a healthy double-digit rate.

談到神經調節，上個季度我們更改了該業務的名稱，以更準確地反映我們在該領域的重點領域。儘管我們仍然相信這將是美敦力最具吸引力的長期成長平台之一，但本季我們在疼痛和運動障礙產品線方面確實有所欠缺。為此，我們正在加強力，透過臨床研究、轉診醫生教育和有針對性的本地行銷活動，涵蓋更多患者並探索新的應用。儘管本季我們的市佔率有所下降，但美國疼痛刺激市場仍保持著健康的兩位數成長。

On a positive note, we received FDA approval for our new surgical lead, and the initial customer reaction has been very favorable. We continue to work through the FDA approval process for the smaller Restore Ultra neurostimulator, as well as additional leads which we believe will even better position us to regain market share. During the quarter, we also completed a reorganization of the business to provide more focus on chronic pain and movement disorders.

正面的一面是，我們新的手術導線獲得了FDA批准，初期客戶反應非常正面。我們仍在繼續推動小型Restore Ultra神經刺激器的FDA審批流程，以及其他一些導線的研發，我們相信這些導線將幫助我們更好地重奪市場份額。本季度，我們也完成了業務重組，將業務重點更加集中在慢性疼痛和運動障礙領域。

In our InterStim product line, recent market development efforts to reach out to new implanting physicians resulted in 26% revenue growth this quarter.

在我們的 InterStim 產品線中，最近為接觸新的植入醫生而進行的市場開發工作導致本季度收入增長了 26%。

So next, I want to talk about growth outside the U.S. All of our businesses, excluding digital control, posted double-digit growth. IPDs grew 25% outside the U.S. or 19% on a constant currency basis. In the cardiovascular business, thoracic products outside the U.S., along with drug-eluting stents in parts of Asia, drove very strong growth. We continue to make progress towards bringing Endeavor to the Japanese market, having filed our shonin in May.

接下來，我想談談美國以外的成長。我們所有業務（不包括數位控制）均實現了兩位數成長。 IPD在美國以外成長了25%，以固定匯率計算成長了19%。在心血管業務方面，美國以外的胸腔產品以及亞洲部分地區的藥物洗脫支架推動了非常強勁的成長。我們繼續推進Endeavor進入日本市場，並在5月提交了上市申請。

Going forward, we expect to see strong results continuing from Japan with the help of our EnRhythm pacemaker. EnRhythm received regulatory and reimbursement approvals in Japan during the first quarter, with premium C1 pricing, which reflects the Japanese regulators' acknowledgment of the benefits of our unique MVP algorithm. Along with EnRhythm, we launched Concerto and Virtuoso in Japan during the first quarter. In Western Europe, we continue to lead the market in the cervical dynamic stabilizations segment with both the PRESTIGE LP and BRYAN Cervical Disc. This is another example of Medtronic utilizing technology to lead the transformation to a new standard of care. Also in Europe during the quarter, neuropathic pain treatment guidelines were published, which we believe will be another key growth driver for the neuromodulation market.

展望未來，在EnRhythm起搏器的幫助下，我們預期日本市場將持續保持強勁業績。 EnRhythm已於第一季在日本獲得監管和報銷批准，並享有C1溢價定價，這反映了日本監管機構對我們獨特MVP演算法優勢的認可。除EnRhythm外，我們於第一季在日本推出了Concerto和Virtuoso。在西歐，我們憑藉PRESTIGE LP和BRYAN頸椎間盤系統繼續引領頸椎動態穩定領域市場。這是美敦力利用科技引領醫療標準轉型的又一例證。此外，本季在歐洲，神經性疼痛治療​​指南也已發布，我們相信這將成為神經調節市場的另一個關鍵成長動力。

Now, next, let me update you on Physio-Control. We continue to address the issue that led us to suspend U.S. shipments in January and we are constructively working with the FDA regarding appropriate corrective actions. We have recently resumed limited shipments to critical-need U.S. customers. Assuming resolution of the issues, we anticipate resuming full U.S. shipments in the back half of the fiscal year. I want to reemphasize that we remain committed to the spinoff of Physio-Control at the appropriate time. As we have discussed before, we are continually evaluating our entire business portfolio. And during the first quarter, we did divest two nonstrategic product lines -- our [durodiagnostics and gastrodiagnostics], which together had annualized net sales of approximately $40 million.

接下來，我想向您介紹一下Physio-Control的最新情況。我們正在繼續解決導致我們在一月份暫停美國發貨的問題，並正在與FDA進行建設性合作，以尋求適當的糾正措施。我們最近已恢復對急需的美國客戶的有限發貨。假設問題已解決，我們預計將在本財年下半年恢復對美國的全部出貨。我想再次強調，我們仍然致力於在適當的時候剝離Physio-Control。正如我們之前討論過的，我們正在持續評估我們的整個業務組合。在第一季度，我們剝離了兩條非策略性產品線——硬腦膜診斷和胃腸道診斷，這兩條產品線的年化淨銷售額總計約為4000萬美元。

On the flip side, we are moving forward with obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals around the world to close the Kyphon transaction. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet with the Kyphon salesforce, and it reinforced why we're so enthusiastic and encouraged about the prospect of our two companies working together. We expect to complete the acquisition in the first calendar quarter of 2008.

另一方面，我們正在推動全球範圍內必要的監管審批，以完成對Kyphon的交易。幾週前，我有幸與Kyphon的銷售團隊會面，這進一步印證了我們對兩家公司合作前景的熱情和信心。我們預計將於2008年第一季完成收購。

Now I will conclude by saying that I am proud of our teams around the globe who, despite challenging market conditions in some of our businesses, delivered solid financial results, particularly on the bottom line.

最後，我想說，我為我們遍布全球的團隊感到自豪，儘管我們的一些業務面臨嚴峻的市場條件，但他們仍然取得了穩健的財務業績，尤其是在盈利方面。

With that, I want to now turn the call over to Gary Ellis. So, Gary?

現在，我想把電話交給加里·艾利斯。加里？

Thanks, Bill. In my remarks, I will review this quarter's revenue performance and then discuss the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement. I will also provide detail on the unusual items that complicate the understanding of our income statement this quarter. And finally, I will close the call by discussing our financial guidance for fiscal year 2008.

謝謝，比爾。在我的發言中，我將回顧本季的收入表現，然後討論損益表、資產負債表和現金流量表。我還將詳細說明那些導致理解本季損益表變得困難的異常項目。最後，我將以討論我們2008財年的財務指引作為結束。

As you heard earlier, first-quarter revenue of $3.127 billion grew 8%, while net earnings were $675 million or $0.59 diluted earnings per share. These earnings and diluted earnings per share numbers represent increases of 13% and 16%, respectively, over the prior year. After adjusting for certain reconciling items, our adjusted first-quarter non-GAAP net earnings and diluted earnings per share were $711 million and $0.62, respectively, an increase of 11% and 13% over FY '07 first-quarter adjusted results.

正如您之前所聽到的，第一季營收31.27億美元，成長8%，淨利為6.75億美元，即每股攤薄收益0.59美元。這些淨利和每股攤薄收益分別較上年同期成長13%和16%。經調整某些調節項目後，我們調整後的第一季非公認會計準則淨利及每股攤薄收益分別為7.11億美元及0.62美元，較2007財年第一季調整後業績分別成長11%及13%。

Excluding Physio-Control in both periods, revenue growth was 10%. Physio-Control also had a negative impact of $0.01 on earnings per share in Q1. However, we still expect Physio-Control to be earnings neutral in this fiscal year.

兩個季度均不計入 Physio-Control 的影響，營收成長 10%。 Physio-Control 也對第一季每股收益產生了 0.01 美元的負面影響。不過，我們仍預期 Physio-Control 本財年的獲利將保持中性。

The reconciling adjustments are comprised of a $33 million pretax charge for in-process R&D, primarily representing a milestone payment on a previously negotiated licensing agreement, and a $14 million pretax restructuring charge related to the initiatives we began in the fourth quarter of last year which could not be recorded at that time.

調節調整包括 3300 萬美元的在研研發稅前費用，主要代表先前協商的許可協議的里程碑付款，以及 1400 萬美元的稅前重組費用，與我們去年第四季度開始的計劃有關，但當時無法記錄。

First-quarter revenue in the United States was $1.948 billion, up 3%. Outside the U.S., revenue of $1.179 billion, which represented nearly 38% of the corporation's total revenue, increased 16%, including a $49 million positive impact of foreign currency. As you heard from Art and Bill, we are particularly pleased with the growth of our operations outside the United States.

第一季美國市場營收為19.48億美元，成長3%。美國以外地區收入為11.79億美元，占公司總收入的近38%，成長16%，其中包括4,900萬美元的外匯正面影響。正如Art和Bill所說，我們對美國以外業務的成長尤其感到欣慰。

In our ongoing efforts to streamline and focus our commentary, I will not reiterate the revenue detail by business as that information is in our press release and corresponding tables. I do want to highlight several reporting changes we're making this quarter which are reflected in the tables attached to the press release.

為了精簡和聚焦我們的評論，我不會重複按業務劃分的收入細節，因為這些資訊已在我們的新聞稿和相應的表格中。我想強調我們本季進行的幾項報告變更，這些變更已反映在新聞稿附帶的表格中。

With the creation of the cardiovascular business, we are splitting out five components on the revenue tables -- coronary stents, other coronary and peripheral, and endovascular, which together comprise the former vascular segment. Revascularization and surgical therapies, along with structural heart disease, comprise the former cardiac surgery segment. We are also reporting navigation separate from spinal, as it has become part of our newly formed corporate technology and new ventures group. Our navigation business focuses on technologies that we expect to leverage across many of our business, and thus you will see it reported separately.

隨著心血管業務的成立，我們將在收入表中拆分出五個部分——冠狀動脈支架、其他冠狀動脈及外周血管以及血管內治療，這些部分共同構成了先前的血管業務。血管重建和外科治療以及結構性心臟病則構成了先前的心臟外科業務。由於導航業務已成為我們新成立的企業技術和新創事業部的一部分，因此我們將導航業務與脊椎業務分開報告。我們的導航業務專注於我們預計將在眾多業務中運用的技術，因此您將看到它單獨報告。

Now let's turn to the rest of the income statement. This quarter's gross profit margin of 74.7% is consistent with the prior-year first quarter, but was negatively affected by 30 basis points for obsolescence reserves associated with product phase-outs, especially in our neuromodulation business. In addition, scrap and other product costs at Physio-Control ended 30 basis points to our cost of sales. We do not anticipate these costs continuing and we expect our gross profit margins to be in line with our previously communicated guidance.

現在我們來看看損益表的其餘部分。本季毛利率為74.7%，與去年同期第一季持平，但受到與產品逐步淘汰相關的過時儲備金30個基點的負面影響，尤其是在我們的神經調節業務中。此外，Physio-Control的廢品和其他產品成本占我們銷售成本的30個基點。我們預計這些成本不會持續，我們預計毛利率將與我們先前公佈的指引保持一致。

I would also like to remind you, as we discussed at the June analyst and investor meeting, that we have numerous actions underway across the organization to reduce our product costs by 25% over the next five years.

我還想提醒大家，正如我們在 6 月分析師和投資者會議上討論的那樣，我們整個組織正在採取多項措施，以在未來五年內將產品成本降低 25%。

First-quarter R&D spending of $300 million represented 9.6% of revenue. We saw declining clinical costs this quarter versus the prior year as the enrollment phases of several large clinical trials in cardiovascular and spinal were completed. This is a timing issue, and we expect R&D spending to return to approximately 10% of revenue in future quarters.

第一季研發支出為3億美元，佔營收的9.6%。由於心血管和脊椎領域幾項大型臨床試驗的入組階段已經完成，本季臨床成本較上年同期下降。這只是一個時間問題，我們預計未來幾季研發支出將恢復到營收的10%左右。

First-quarter SG&A expenditures of $1.096 billion increased 11% over the prior year, mostly in marketing and selling, and represented 35% of sales. We continue to build the sales organization in the U.S. for the Endeavor and PRESTIGE launches, and we continue to invest in our ERP implementation, where we have been preparing for a large-scale conversion of our U.S. distribution systems to SAP at the end of this month.

第一季銷售、一般及行政管理（SG&A）支出為10.96億美元，較前一年成長11%，主要用於行銷及銷售，佔銷售額的35%。我們繼續在美國建立銷售組織，以迎接Endeavor和PRESTIGE系列的發布，並繼續投資於ERP實施，我們一直在為本月底將美國分銷系統大規模遷移到SAP系統做準備。

We expect to leverage these investments and are taking other steps to reduce our cost structure such that SG&A will exit the fiscal year at approximately 33% of sales as we have previously discussed.

我們希望利用這些投資，並採取其他措施來降低我們的成本結構，以便銷售、一般及行政費用在本財年結束時佔銷售額的約 33%，正如我們之前討論過的。

Net other expense for the quarter was $57 million compared to $66 million in the prior-year first quarter. The improvement is primarily a result of $16 million in gains from the sale of certain equity investments during the quarter, partially offset by lower currency gains from our hedging programs. Net interest income for the quarter was $44 million compared to $39 million in the prior-year period.

本季淨其他支出為5,700萬美元，去年同期為6,600萬美元。這項改善主要源自於本季出售部分股權投資產生的1,600萬美元收益，但部分被對沖項目帶來的貨幣收益降低所抵銷。本季淨利息收入為4,400萬美元，去年同期為3,900萬美元。

As of July 27, 2007, we had approximately $6.1 billion in cash and cash investments compared to debt of about $6 billion. We continue to generate in excess of $700 million of free cash flow per quarter, defined as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures.

截至2007年7月27日，我們擁有約61億美元的現金和現金投資，而債務約60億美元。我們每季持續產生超過7億美元的自由現金流（定義為營運現金流減去資本支出）。

Let's now turn to our tax rate. Our effective tax rate of 23.25% compares to an effective tax rate of 25.25% in the prior-year first quarter and 24.5% for the prior fiscal year, excluding unusual charges in all periods. Our current tax position reflects the continued success of a number of actions taken over the last several years, and we continue to make investments and put into place strategies that have the potential to further reduce our tax rate. These efforts are designed to provide additional funds to invest in growth initiatives and to help improve the return to our shareholders. We expect our fiscal year 2008 effective tax rate, excluding unusual charges, to fall in the range of 23% to 23.5%.

現在我們來談談我們的稅率。我們的有效稅率為23.25%，而去年第一季的有效稅率為25.25%，上一財政年度的有效稅率為24.5%，所有期間均扣除非常規費用。我們目前的稅務狀況反映了過去幾年採取的一系列措施的持續成效，並且我們將繼續進行投資並實施可能進一步降低稅率的策略。這些舉措旨在為成長計畫提供額外資金，並幫助提高股東回報。我們預計，2008財政年度扣除非常規費用後的有效稅率將在23%至23.5%之間。

First-quarter weighted average shares outstanding on a diluted basis were 1.153 billion shares. During the quarter, we repurchased $500 million of our common stock, which represents over 9.6 million shares. Even though the repurchase of our shares reduces our net earnings because of the foregone interest income, it is accretive to earnings per share and remains a very compelling use of our cash. As of July 27, 2007, we had remaining capacity to repurchase over 55 million shares under our Board-authorized stock repurchase plan. We will continue to be opportunistic with our stock repurchasing activities.

第一季攤薄後加權平均流通股數為11.53億股。本季度，我們回購了價值5億美元的普通股，相當於超過960萬股。儘管回購股票會因放棄利息收入而降低我們的淨收益，但它仍能增加每股收益，並且仍然是我們非常有吸引力的現金用途。截至2007年7月27日，根據董事會授權的股票回購計劃，我們剩餘的回購能力超過5,500萬股。我們將繼續適時進行股票回購活動。

As before, we have attached an unaudited balance sheet and cash flow statement to this quarter's press release, and I direct your attention to these statements for additional financial detail.

與以前一樣，我們在本季度的新聞稿中附上了未經審計的資產負債表和現金流量表，請您關注這些報表以獲取更多財務細節。

That is all for our financial overview. Let me now turn to financial guidance for the remainder of fiscal year 2008.

我們的財務概覽就到這裡。現在，我來談談2008財年剩餘時間的財務展望。

As you recall, last quarter we made several decisions regarding guidance. Let me review these with you. First, we will not provide guidance past one year. We have long-term objectives, but the guidance will be limited to the fiscal year we are in.

各位還記得，上個季度我們做了幾個關於業績指引的決定。讓我和大家一起回顧一下。首先，我們不會提供超過一年的業績指引。我們有長期目標，但業績指引將僅限於當前財年。

Second, we will not be providing quarterly guidance. Timing of new product introductions and market shifts can have a material impact on quarterly results that make precise guidance difficult to predict and less meaningful.

其次，我們將不再提供季度業績指引。新產品發布的時間和市場變化可能會對季度業績產生重大影響，導致準確的業績指引難以預測，也缺乏實際意義。

Third, our annual guidance will be general and directional in nature.

第三，我們的年度指導將是一般性和方向性的。

FY '08 guidance remains unchanged from last quarter. With respect to revenue, most analyst estimates have our revenue growth in FY '08 in the low double digits, and we remain comfortable with that view. I want to remind you that we did expect the first half of the year to be softer and then to see an acceleration in the back half of the year as Endeavor, Physio-Control, PRESTIGE and other product lines pick up speed.

2008財年業績指引與上季維持不變。就營收而言，大多數分析師預測我們2008財年的營收將實現低兩位數成長，我們對此仍然感到滿意。我想提醒大家，我們確實預期上半年業績會較為疲軟，但隨著Endeavor、Physio-Control、PRESTIGE和其他產品線的加速成長，下半年業績將會加速。

Regarding earnings per share, we have communicated our intent and action plans to continue to improve our overall operating leverage. And as a result, we would expect earnings per share to grow somewhat faster than revenue in FY '08. We have assumed Physio-Control is included for the full year, although we still intend to spin off that business.

關於每股收益，我們已經傳達了我們的目標和行動計劃，以繼續提升我們的整體營運槓桿。因此，我們預計2008財年每股收益的成長速度將略高於營收成長速度。我們假設Physio-Control業務已納入全年業績，但我們仍打算剝離該業務。

As in the past, the guidance that I have just provide excludes the impact of any unusual charges or gains that might occur and also excluding any impact of the pending acquisition of Kyphon.

與過去一樣，我剛剛提供的指導不包括可能發生的任何異常費用或收益的影響，也不包括即將進行的 Kyphon 收購的影響。

That is all for our prepared remarks. We will now answer your questions. Please limit your questions to only one or two per firm. As Martha mentioned, we would like to end the call by about 4.30PM Central Time. Please initiate the question-and-answer period.

我們的準備演講到此結束。現在我們將回答大家的問題。請將每家公司的問題限制在一到兩個。正如瑪莎所說，我們希望在中部時間下午4:30左右結束本次電話會議。請開始問答環節。

(OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS). Rick Wise, Bear, Stearns.

（操作員指令）。瑞克·懷斯（Rick Wise），貝爾斯登（Bear, Stearns）。

Let me start with neuro. Can you give us a little more detail on where and how neuro fell short? You indicated you lost share in a market growing double digits. Maybe help us understand in a little more detail how you turn the business around. Is it new products? Is it new management? Just give us some perspective there. Thank you.

我先從Neuro開始。您能否更詳細地講講Neuro在哪些方面以及是如何失敗的？您之前提到，在兩位數成長的市場中，您的市佔率有所下滑。或許您可以更詳細地了解您是如何扭轉局面的。是新產品嗎？還是新的管理模式？請您給我們一些看法。謝謝。

Well, first, as I mentioned, the market is still a very healthy market. It grew about 14%, by our estimates, last quarter. And we did lose some share. There are two things, and it is really related to products. We did not have a surgical lead, and we just got approval for our surgical lead, which we think is going to be a very important competitive product for us to have.

首先，正如我所提到的，市場仍然非常健康。根據我們的估計，上個季度成長了約14%。但我們確實損失了一些市場份額。主要有兩點，而且都與產品有關。我們之前沒有手術導線，但我們的手術導線剛剛獲得批准，我們認為這對我們來說將是一個非常重要的競爭產品。

Secondly, we are very excited about the new Restore Ultra, which is the next-generation neurostimulator, which is about half the size of our current generation. And that, as we said, will be coming in in Q3.

其次，我們對新款 Restore Ultra 感到非常興奮，它是下一代神經刺激器，體積大約是當前一代的一半。正如我們之前所說，它將在第三季上市。

In addition, we have made some changes in the field structure. We went through a bit of a reorganization and have put some real focus on the pain stem market versus the movement disorders. So we had some changes in the field structure to provide more focus on both those areas.

此外，我們對領域結構進行了一些調整。我們進行了一些重組，將重點放在了疼痛幹細胞市場，而不是運動障礙市場。因此，我們對領域結構進行了一些調整，以便更加專注於這兩個領域。

So I am very confident that you will see us resume our strong leadership position in this marketplace going forward. So it is a combination of the focus on the field as well as new products.

因此，我非常有信心，你們會看到我們在未來恢復在這個市場上的強大領導地位。所以，這是對該領域和新產品的關注相結合的結果。

But it sounds like maybe not next quarter, but in --

但聽起來可能不是下個季度，而是在——

I think it is more the back half of the year when we consider Restore Ultra and we get a little more momentum with the new surgical lead. And we have another surgical lead as well coming out close to the back half of this year. So it is going to take a quarter, but by the back half of this year, you should see us building some considerable momentum.

我認為，我們考慮Restore Ultra的時機更接近下半年，屆時新的外科手術線索會為我們帶來更多動力。此外，我們還有另一個外科手術線索即將在今年下半年公佈。所以這可能需要一個季度的時間，但到今年下半年，你應該會看到我們累積了相當可觀的勢頭。

And Rick, just to add to what Bill said, there is also the standpoint that we have, as we indicated, disposed of some of the product lines, a couple of product lines in that business. So that will have a little bit of a dampening effect on the growth rate for the year here.

瑞克，補充比爾所說的，還有一個觀點，正如我們之前提到的，我們已經處理掉了一些產品線，一些產品線是該業務的幾條。所以這會對今年的成長率產生一些抑製作用。

That is a good point. And just to follow up on another topic, you talked about the second-half accelerators. I will let others ask about Endeavor, etc., but maybe you could give us a little more color or help us think through, Bill or Gary, the impact -- what should we be dialing in for the disc program as it rolls out here? How should we be thinking about how quickly it can build and the effect on growth rates, or however you want to help us think about it?

你說得對。順便問一下另一個話題，你談到了下半年的加速器。我會讓其他人問關於Endeavor之類的問題，但比爾或加里，也許你能給我們多講講，或者幫我們思考一下它的影響——當Disc項目在這裡推出時，我們應該關注什麼？我們應該如何考慮它的建設速度以及對成長率的影響？或者你想用什麼方式來幫助我們思考這個問題？

Well, again, this is probably one of the more exciting products that we have. And as I mentioned, we have already trained 800 physicians and expect to be training a couple hundred per weekend going forward. So we have a massive training effort going on as we speak. And we think that this is really going to be a game-changing technology where a large percentage of the ACDF market will convert to the cervical disc going forward. So it is a large market that we believe will move in our direction based on the technology that we have.

嗯，這或許是我們最令人興奮的產品之一。正如我所提到的，我們已經培訓了800名醫生，預計未來每個週末還會培訓數百名醫生。所以，我們現在正在進行大規模的訓練工作。我們認為，這將是一項真正改變遊戲規則的技術，未來ACDF市場的很大一部分將轉向頸椎間盤手術。因此，我們相信，基於我們現有的技術，這是一個巨大的市場，它將朝著我們的方向發展。

I will sneak in one last one on gross margin. Gary, your math, given the subtractions that hurt the gross margin this quarter, are you saying it should have been 75.3%, really, normalized, and that that is the kind of rate we should be thinking about for the rest of the year?

關於毛利率，我最後再補充一點。 Gary，你的計算方法是，考慮到本季影響毛利率的扣減，你的意思是說，正常情況下毛利率應該是75.3%，而我們今年剩餘時間應該考慮這個水平嗎？

Yes, what I would say on that is we would expect to be above 75% as we go through the rest of the year. If you pull off those two items, absolutely, our margin would have been 75.2%, 75.3% for the quarter that we are in. So yes, we would expect to see above 75% as we go through the rest of the year.

是的，我想說的是，我們預計在今年剩餘時間內利潤率會超過75%。如果算上這兩項，我們本季的利潤率肯定會達到75.2%或75.3%。所以，是的，我們預計在今年剩餘時間內利潤率會超過75%。

Bob Hopkins, Lehman Brothers.

雷曼兄弟公司的鮑伯‧霍普金斯。

Congrats to Art and good luck in retirement. I would like to start with ENDEAVOR, if I may. I assume you guys have now seen more of the data, and I was wondering if you could comment, if you've seen anything that diminishes in any way the safety or efficacy story that you have been advocating in Europe so far?

恭喜Art，祝他退休後一切順利。如果可以的話，我想先從ENDEAVOR開始。我想你們現在已經看到了更多數據，我想知道你們是否能評論一下，你們是否發現任何因素削弱了你們迄今為止在歐洲倡導的安全性或有效性？

We're not going to comment on any of the data at this juncture other than to say we are very excited about the fact that we have reached the overall endpoint and are looking forward to both the panel as well as the outcome to be presented at TCT.

目前我們不會對任何數據發表評論，只能說我們對已經達到總體終點感到非常興奮，並期待小組討論以及在 TCT 上展示的結果。

That is fair. Have you guys internally seen more of the full data set, though, at this point?

這很公平。不過，你們現在內部已經看到更多完整的資料集了嗎？

No.

不。

And then moving on on the ICD market a little bit, I was wondering if you guys could do what you have been willing to do in the past, which is to talk a little bit about your expectations for the overall market growth rate going forward, specifically in the back half of calendar '07 and into calendar '08, just some thoughts on the overall market growth rate.

然後稍微談談 ICD 市場，我想知道你們是否可以做你們過去願意做的事情，即談談你們對未來整體市場成長率的預期，特別是在 2007 年下半年和 2008 年，只是對整體市場成長率的一些想法。

Bob, again, two things -- first of all, outside the U.S., we continue to see very strong double-digit growth. As we shared with you, it was 22% this last quarter. And we see that continuing with the fact that so many of those markets were underpenetrated, particularly in Japan, as well as other parts of Asia and Europe. So outside of the U.S., we are seeing that is moving along very, very well.

鮑勃，再說兩點——首先，在美國以外，我們繼續保持著非常強勁的兩位數成長。正如我們之前分享的，上個季度的成長率達到了22%。而且，我們看到這種成長趨勢仍在繼續，因為許多市場滲透率較低，尤其是在日本以及亞洲和歐洲的其他地區。因此，在美國以外，我們看到成長非常非常好。

In the U.S., as I mentioned, the market has been relatively flat for the last five quarters. And we are continuing to do all the right things to be able to get that market to reaccelerate, to ultimately to get to where we said we the market will go. And that is we have said all along that we think this year in aggregate we can grow the total market in the mid to high single digits and that over the longer run that we will get this market back into the lower-double-digit growth rates. But we still feel very strongly that those are very realistic kind of growth numbers for the U.S., OUS and combined markets.

正如我之前提到的，美國市場在過去五個季度相對穩定。我們正在繼續採取一切正確的措施，推動市場重新加速成長，最終實現我們預期的目標。我們一直堅信，今年整體市場可以實現中高個位數的成長，並且從長遠來看，我們將使市場重回兩位數以下的成長率。但我們仍然堅信，對於美國、其他地區以及整個市場而言，這些成長數字是非常現實的。

And then just lastly, Bill, does the Kyphon deal suggest that you guys are unlikely to pursue other $1 billion-plus-type deals over the next 12 months?

最後，比爾，Kyphon 交易是否意味著你們不太可能在未來 12 個月內尋求其他 10 億美元以上的交易？

No, as we have said, Art has said and I had said it consistently that you can expect us to be looking to grow first with many of the things that we are excited about internally, the organic growth, but at the same time, we will be looking to add possibly potentially two to three additional platforms going forward. And, now, that could range in size, but we will be opportunistic, again, we will be disciplined, and we will be strategic in how we add businesses to our portfolio.

不，正如我們之前所說，Art 也說過，而且我一直都這麼說，你可以期待我們首先尋求增長，這主要體現在我們內部對很多事情的興奮點上，即有機增長，但與此同時，我們也會考慮未來可能新增兩到三個平台。現在，新增平台的規模可能會有所不同，但我們會抓住機會，再次強調，我們會嚴守紀律，在將業務拓展到投資組合方面也會採取策略性措施。

Tao Levy, Deutsche Bank.

德意志銀行的陶利維 (Tao Levy)。

Maybe you could just touch on the ICD market again and maybe you could provide some insight, at least here in the U.S. market -- any changes on -- inventory issues were something of a concern the last few quarters. Any changes there? The hospitals still -- again, any changes at the level there? And maybe any trends on procedures over the last couple months, just from your vantage point?

您能否再次談談ICD市場，並提供一些見解，至少在美國市場——庫存問題在過去幾季一直令人擔憂，有什麼變化嗎？醫院方面仍然——再說一次，那裡的水平有什麼變化嗎？從您的角度來看，過去幾個月的手術有什麼趨勢嗎？

Just a couple comments. Again, as I mentioned, the market has actually been fairly stable. Now, just in terms of looking at our numbers and maybe sequential comparisons this quarter, and not to get into the granularity, but there were a couple of days -- we had two fewer days this quarter. And that is part of when you look at quarter to quarter. But again, if you just look at this market kind of over a rolling 12 months, you will see that it has been pretty stable.

就幾點評論。正如我之前提到的，市場實際上相當穩定。現在，僅從我們本季的數據和環比來看，不必細究細節，但確實有幾天——本季少了兩天。這是季度環比變化的一部分。但同樣，如果你看一下過去12個月的市場狀況，你會發現它一直相當穩定。

Now, again, we are continuing to do the things that we think are important with the IMPROVE HF study, which we will be presenting that data at the Heart Failure Society meeting in September. And we think that is going to provide some very good direction to the importance of physicians to look more closely at their patients and things like that, plus the work that we continue to do in going upstream and calling on the referring cardiologists and many of the things that we are doing with the electrophysiologists to make sure that they are treating all the appropriate patients.

現在，我們將繼續推進IMPROVE HF研究中我們認為重要的工作，並將於9月在心臟衰竭協會會議上公佈相關數據。我們認為，這將為醫生更加密切關注患者等重要事項提供一些非常好的方向。此外，我們將繼續進行上游工作，聯繫轉診心臟科醫生，並與心電生理學家合作，以確保他們治療所有合適的患者。

So there are a number of things that are in play that we believe will ultimately get this market reaccelerated.

因此，我們相信，正在發生的一系列事件最終將推動這個市場重新加速發展。

And in terms of a couple clarifications, in the new ventures business that you have there, the new segment, is that just for now just the spinal navigation or is there anything else within that?

需要澄清的是，在你們的新業務中，新的細分市場目前只是脊椎導航，還是還有其他內容？

In terms of businesses, it is just the navigation business.

從業務上來說，就是導航業務。

From the revenue perspective.

從收益角度來看。

From a revenue -- but we have other things that are in that organization. And that is where we will be doing some -- incubating some of our new internal platforms. We talked at the analyst meeting in June about some of the work we're doing on Hep C. And that is an example where we would be doing that work.

從收入來看——但我們的組織還有其他業務。我們會在那裡做一些事情——孵化一些新的內部平台。我們在6月份的分析師會議上談到了我們在丙型肝炎方面開展的一些工作。這就是我們將開展這方面工作的一個例子。

And then just lastly, would you mind providing some sort of percentages of maybe the diabetes business, that Continuous Glucose Monitoring, just again, just rough, rough parameters if possible?

最後，您介意提供一些關於糖尿病業務的百分比嗎？例如持續血糖監測，如果可能的話，請提供一些粗略的參數？

Well, I am not sure what the question is. Again, this is a business that we see tremendous upside. We now have been consistently growing this in the 20% range. New pumps this -- or pumps this last quarter grew over 30%. All geographies did extremely well. And again, one of the other areas that has just really begun to take off is in the Continuous Glucose Monitoring sensor. We were well over plan -- I'm not going to tell you what my plan was, but I will tell you we were well over plan.

嗯，我不確定問題是什麼。再說一次，我們認為這項業務有巨大的成長潛力。我們現在一直保持著20%左右的持續成長。上個季度新泵的銷量成長了30%以上。所有地區都表現得非常好。再說一次，另一個真正開始起飛的領域是連續血糖監測感測器。我們的業績遠遠超出了計劃——我不會告訴你我的計劃是什麼，但我可以告訴你，我們的業績遠遠超出了計劃。

That is kind of what I was getting at was the plan you had.

這就是我所了解的你的計劃。

We are very excited about the uptake of the new MiniLink for both the Paradigm as well as for the Guardian.

我們對 Paradigm 和 Guardian 採用新型 MiniLink 感到非常興奮。

Matthew Dodds, Citigroup.

花旗集團的馬修‧多茲。

Just a couple questions. First, Bill, for Japan and the Endeavor timing, you still have the same timing. I just want to make sure -- what is that for potential approval?

就幾個問題。首先，比爾，關於日本和奮進號的發射時間，你們的時間安排仍然相同。我只是想確認一下——這意味著什麼？

And then going back to Neurostim one more time, it sounds like a lot of this was spinal cord stimulation, but were the DBS, InterStim, pumps, were any of the other businesses soft as well? Or is it really confined to spinal cord stimulation?

再說回 Neurostim，聽起來好像很多都是脊髓刺激，但 DBS、InterStim、幫浦以及其他產品也涉及軟性領域嗎？還是說真的只限於脊髓刺激？

First, on the Endeavor, we filed the shonin in May. And our expectation is it will be sometime in FY '09 that we should see approval. Now, we did work with Japan -- well, when we submitted the shonin, we did this through the Harmonization by Doing. We actually were the pilot group to actually work with Japan on sort of an improved process for how we would submit shonins. And so we are hopeful that that will be sooner rather than later. But right now, the guidance is in FY '09.

首先，關於Endeavor項目，我們在五月提交了申請。我們預計在2009財年的某個時候就能獲得批准。現在，我們確實與日本進行了合作——我們提交申請時，是透過「邊做邊協調」計畫進行的。實際上，我們是與日本合作改進申請提交流程的試點小組。因此，我們希望這能盡快實現。但目前，指導意見是在2009財年。

On the neuro side, yes, we actually fell a little bit short in other parts of the neuro business, particularly on the movement disorders, which we believe, to some degree, was an anomaly, because that is a fairly concentrated business right now. There are a few centers who do a number of procedures. And we had some extenuating circumstances with some dynamics where a couple of centers where physicians where changing centers and that actually had a bit of an impact. But again, that is one area where we feel very good about the long-term growth possibilities.

在神經方面，是的，我們在神經業務的其他領域確實略有不足，尤其是在運動障礙方面。我們認為這在某種程度上是一個異常現象，因為目前這項業務相當集中。只有少數幾家中心進行多項手術。我們也遇到一些特殊情況，例如幾家中心的醫生更換了中心，這確實造成了一些影響。但同樣，我們對該領域的長期成長潛力非常樂觀。

And one of the other parts of that business, though, that did do very well was in the InterStim, which grew over 26%. So there are a number of moving parts within the overall neuromodulation business. And I can assure you that Rick Kuntz and the team are all over that and we will be aggressive in regaining market share in the pain stim business. We will be very aggressive in continuing to develop the market for movement disorders and in our spasticity part of the business, which actually did pretty well, and then we are continuing to fuel the fire on the InterStim business.

不過，該業務的另一個表現非常出色的部分是InterStim，其成長超過26%。因此，整個神經調節業務中有很多活躍的部分。我可以向你們保證，Rick Kuntz和他的團隊正在全力投入其中，我們將積極奪回疼痛刺激業務的市場份額。我們將非常積極地繼續開發運動障礙市場以及我們痙攣業務，該業務實際上表現相當不錯，然後我們將繼續大力發展InterStim業務。

Larry Biegelsen, Wachovia.

比格森（Larry Biegelsen），美聯銀行。

Just one quick clarification -- did I hear you say that the full ENDEAVOR IV results will be at TCT and not presented at the advisory panel meeting?

只需快速澄清一下——我是否聽到您說過完整的 ENDEAVOR IV 結果將在 TCT 上公佈，而不是在諮詢小組會議上公佈？

The results will be available to the advisory panel and they may or may not present all of that data in a public forum. But it will be presented in a public forum at TCT. As you know, panels, there is -- it's the discretion of the panel as to what they want to be reviewing in a public manner. But it will be available to that panel.

研究結果將提供給諮詢小組，他們可能會也可能不會在公開論壇上公佈所有數據。但所有數據將在TCT的公開論壇上公佈。正如各位專家組所知，哪些數據需要公開審查，由專家小組自行決定。但所有數據都將提供給該小組。

Could you give us an update, please, on your discussions with the FTC regarding the Kyphon acquisition? Is there anything new to report?

您能否介紹一下您與聯邦貿易委員會（FTC）就 Kyphon 收購案的談判進展？還有什麼新消息可以報告嗎？

No, nothing other than we feel very good about the dialogue that we are having with the FTC, as well as with regulators outside the U.S. Things are moving along on track. We feel -- again, it is going very well.

不，沒什麼特別的，只是我們對與聯邦貿易委員會以及美國境外監管機構的對話感到非常滿意。事情進展順利。我們再次感到，一切進展順利。

And one on the ICD market. Could you talk a little bit about the underlying growth in initial implants versus replacements in the U.S.? Are they both growing at a similar rate or is one growing more rapidly than the other?

還有關於ICD市場的問題。您能否談談美國初次植入和替換的潛在成長？它們的成長速度相似嗎？還是其中一種成長更快？

No. The underlying sort of new implant has been pretty stable. And that is really what we focus on. It has been relatively flat for the last several quarters.

不。底層新植入物一直相當穩定。這才是我們真正關注的。過去幾個季度，它的發展相對穩定。

So initial has been flat, and replacement growth? Or you see one --

那麼初始資料持平，替代資料成長呢？或者你看到一個——

No, it has been really both. They have been pretty consistent, to be candid.

不，其實兩者都有。坦白說，他們的表現一直都很一致。

Glenn Reicin, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的 Glenn Reicin。

Just a couple of follow-ups. So you did mention, I think, that you still expect Endeavor launch this calendar year? I just wanted to know if that is realistic, given that [you have to go to] panel.

再問幾個問題。所以你之前提到過，我記得你仍然預計Endeavor火箭會在今年發射？我只是想知道，考慮到你必須參加小組討論，這是否現實。

Again, the FDA will set the date in October. And we believe that that gives us a couple of months for them -- two-and-a-half or whatever months in October for them to review it. But we believe that they have had a lot of time to review it. And so we believe there's a very good chance that we can get this approved within the calendar year. And then, depending on when it gets approved, if it gets approved in middle of December, then realistically we probably won't do the major rollout until early January. But if we get it approved in, let's say, middle to late November, we will look seriously at launching it in the December time frame.

再說一次，FDA 會在 10 月確定日期。我們認為這給了他們幾個月的時間——大約兩個半月，或者在 10 月的幾個月時間，讓他們來審核。但我們相信他們已經有足夠的時間審核了。因此，我們相信我們很有可能在年內獲得批准。之後，這取決於具體的審批時間。如果在 12 月中旬獲得批准，那麼我們實際上可能要到 1 月初才會大規模推廣。但如果我們在 11 月中下旬獲得批准，我們就會認真考慮在 12 月推出該產品。

And then I heard secondhand from a client, and I just wanted to get confirmation from Gary -- you have been quoted saying it is roughly $30 million per month is what you're assuming right now?

然後我從一位客戶那裡聽說了間接消息，我只是想得到加里 (Gary) 的確認——您曾說過，您現在的假設是每月大約 3000 萬美元？

I don't know whether I quoted the number. Scott maybe has done in his presentations as far as the impact on the overall U.S. numbers. But I think, again, it depends on what you assume the market size is going to be at that point, because obviously, as you are well aware, the DES market has been in somewhat of a turmoil over the last several quarters here. But again, back to the amount of market share, just assume that we are kind of in that, as we've indicated in the low teens, and you assume that you're in a $2 billion market, $2 billion, $2.5 billion market, you're in a situation of saying $300 million, $350 million, $30 million a month is kind of how you get there. So that number seems reasonable. I haven't said that, but I think that would be a reasonable number based on the market share we have indicated we believe we can achieve.

我不知道我是否引用過這個數字。史考特在他的演講中可能提到了對美國整體數據的影響。但我認為，這取決於你對屆時市場規模的預期，因為顯然，正如你所知，DES市場在過去幾個季度一直處於某種動盪之中。回到市場份額的問題，假設我們處於這個水平，正如我們在十幾億美元中指出的那樣，假設我們處於一個20億美元、20億美元、25億美元的市場，那麼每月3億、3.5億、3000萬美元的銷售額大概就能達到這個水平。所以這個數字似乎是合理的。我沒有這麼說過，但我認為，基於我們已經表明的、我們相信能夠達到的市場份額，這個數字是合理的。

Just two quick questions as well. Share count for the year -- do you have a view there? And then also, [VMP], saw that it continues to crank along. Can you talk about the contribution from new indications?

還有兩個簡單的問題。今年的股票數量—您對此有什麼看法？此外，[VMP] 看到它繼續穩步發展。能談談新適應症帶來的貢獻嗎？

What was the first question?

第一個問題是什麼？

Just on our share count. Share count overall -- our share count, I would assume as we go forward on the share count that it will probably be relatively flat to maybe slightly down. You will have some increases, obviously, as we have some of our new shares going out. We are at 1.153 billion right now in shares. And I would expect it to be relatively flat as we go through the year. We will continue to be opportunistic in buying back stock. So could you see that number drop if we are more aggressive? Possibly. But for right now, in the numbers, I would just assume a flat share count.

就我們的股份數量而言。總體而言，也就是我們的股份數量，我預計隨著我們股份數量的增長，它可能會相對持平，甚至略有下降。當然，隨著我們發行一些新股，股份數量會增加。我們目前的股份數量為11.53億股。我預計全年持股數量會相對持平。我們將繼續把握回購股票的機會。如果我們採取更積極的措施，這個數字會下降嗎？有可能。但就目前的數字而言，我預計股份數將持平。

on the VMP question, yes, there's still a lot of headroom left for VMP. And we did get marginal contribution from the new indications. As you know, we're selling it for OMF, although the big movement on OMF will come when we get the small-size vials approved, which is probably going to be now the beginning of calendar '08.

關於VMP的問題，是的，VMP仍有很大的發展空間。新適應症確實為我們帶來了一些邊際貢獻。如你所知，我們正在為OMF銷售VMP，不過OMF的重大進展要等到小瓶裝藥物獲得批准後才會到來，而這很可能要到2008年初。

Any way of quantifying what the contribution was from the new stuff?

有什麼方法可以量化新東西的貢獻嗎？

No.

不。

Mike Weinstein, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的麥克溫斯坦。

A couple topics -- first, on the Kyphon transaction, Gary, are you able at this point to talk a little bit more about financing?

幾個主題—首先，關於 Kyphon 交易，Gary，您現在能否再多談一些有關融資的問題？

And then second, as part of that, does the widening of credit spreads have any impact on your thoughts on the accretion and dilution in the transaction?

其次，作為其中的一部分，信用利差的擴大是否會對您對交易的增值和稀釋的看法產生影響？

With respect to financing, no, we are continuing to look at different alternatives. We have had, obviously, several of the banks in to meet with them as we evaluate different options. We literally are looking at all types of options. We are looking at options to potentially use our own U.S. cash. And there are some things that we think there is a possibility of using some of that as we go forward. We're still evaluating. We're talking to the banks. We have, [thoroughly] have the capacity of the bridge loans that are available to close the transaction.

關於融資，我們正在繼續研究不同的替代方案。顯然，我們已經與幾家銀行進行了會面，以評估不同的方案。我們實際上正在考慮各種方案。我們正在考慮使用我們自有美國現金的可能性。我們認為，有些項目在未來有可能動用其中一部分資金。我們仍在評估中，正在與銀行洽談。我們[完全]有能力提供可用於完成交易的過橋貸款。

As far as the widening of the credit spreads at this point in time, we don't see that having a tremendous impact on us. Obviously, that will depend on where the spreads are by the time we actually do finance the transaction and close on it. So I don't think that is going to have a significant impact on the accretion and dilution at this point.

就目前信貸利差擴大而言，我們認為不會對我們造成巨大影響。顯然，這取決於我們實際融資並完成交易時的利差水準。因此，我認為目前這不會對權益的增值和稀釋產生重大影響。

As you well now, a lot of that that is going on in the marketplace is obviously for lower-quality credit companies than where Medtronic is at. But it will have a slight impact on us, but right now we don't think it is going to have a major one on accretion and dilution.

正如您現在所知，市場上發生的許多事情顯然針對的是信用品質低於美敦力的公司。但這會對我們產生輕微影響，但目前我們認為不會對增值和稀釋造成重大影響。

And then a follow-up on the guidance commentary. You basically reiterated the guidance you gave, Gary, on the May call. One piece of difference today versus May is that in May, you indicated that the 24.5% tax rate should carry through fiscal 2008. And you're going to benefit from a lower tax rate -- 100, 150 basis points. What do you want the Street to do with the incremental earnings, in theory, that are generated by a lower tax rate?

然後是關於指引評論的後續問題。加里，您基本上重申了您在5月電話會議上給予的指引。今天與5月的一個不同之處在於，您在5月表示，24.5%的稅率應該會延續到2008財年。而您將從更低的稅率中受益——100到150個基點。理論上，您希望華爾街如何處理降低稅率帶來的增量收益？

Again, Mike, you are absolutely right. Obviously, from the standpoint of when we gave our original guidance, we were thinking at that point in time the tax rate would still be closer to the 24% to 24.5%. So we are, based on what we see currently, expecting that that tax rate will be slightly lower. As I mentioned, for the year we are thinking 23% to 23.5% as we go through the rest of the year. And so there will be a benefit from the tax rate for the year itself.

麥克，你再說一遍，完全正確。顯然，從我們最初給出指引的角度來看，當時我們預期稅率仍將接近24%到24.5%。因此，根據目前的情況，我們預期稅率會略低。正如我之前提到的，我們預計今年的稅率將在23%到23.5%之間，並持續到今年剩餘時間。因此，今年的稅率調整將帶來益處。

We are not changing the overall guidance at this point. If anything, I would hope that the Street would view that as just giving us some additional leverage on the P&L to make sure that we can achieve the overall objectives that we have in our organization. So we're not changing the overall guidance.

我們目前不會改變整體指引。如果要改變的話，我希望華爾街會認為這只是為我們在損益表上增加了一些額外的籌碼，以確保我們能夠實現我們組織的整體目標。所以我們不會改變整體指引。

You don't have official earnings guidance.

您沒有官方盈利指引。

That is correct.

沒錯。

Right, your earnings guidance is we are going to grow earnings a little bit faster than revenue, so there is no change to that commentary, but --

是的，您的盈利預期是我們的盈利增長速度將略快於收入增長速度，因此該評論沒有變化，但是 -

That is right.

沒錯。

Your commentary is qualitative, not quantitative.

您的評論是定性的，而不是定量的。

That is correct.

沒錯。

And then I just wanted to maybe get a better feel on Physio-Control. You are going to have two obvious drivers of growth in 2008. One should be the Endeavor approval, hopefully. The second will be Physio-Control's return, which has hurt you in 2007.

然後我想更了解Physio-Control的情況。 2008年你們將有兩個明顯的成長動力。一個是Endeavor的獲批，希望如此。第二個是Physio-Control的回歸，這在2007年對你們造成了打擊。

Your comment is in the back half of the fiscal year. Any guidance on whether right now you think it is early back half or late back half? That would be helpful.

您的評論是在財年下半年。請問您目前認為是下半年初期還是後期？這很有幫助。

No, Michael. I really can't give you any more granularity around front or back half. It will be, as we said, in the back half of our fiscal year.

不，麥可。我真的無法給你更多關於上半年或下半年的細節。正如我們所說，這將發生在我們財年的下半年。

Joanne Wuensch, BMO Capital Markets.

蒙特利爾銀行資本市場 (BMO Capital Markets) 的 Joanne Wuensch。

What came across the table when we were talking was the agreement that you have regarding the LifeScan blood glucose monitors. Could you just comment briefly on that and then what it may mean to you in terms of potential revenue?

我們談話時談到的是關於你們就LifeScan血糖監測儀達成的協議。您能否簡單談談這一點，以及這對你們的潛在收入意味著什麼？

We are excited about both of the partnerships, one with J&J and the one outside the U.S. with Bayer, which enable us to provide the diabetic customers that we serve a more complete offering of the products that they need to manage their diabetes. So it enables us to really be kind of a one-stop shop for many of the things that people with diabetes have.

我們對這兩項合作都感到興奮，一項是與強生的合作，另一項是美國以外的拜耳的合作。這使我們能夠為糖尿病患者提供更全面的糖尿病管理產品。因此，我們真正成為糖尿病患者所需的一站式服務中心。

So on the financial side, we're not really disclosing any of the terms by which we structured this arrangement with both J&J and Bayer, although we do believe that this will be attractive to us going forward, as we are able in some way to recognize some of the contribution from both the meters and the strips.

因此，在財務方面，我們實際上並沒有披露與強生和拜耳達成的這種安排的任何條款，儘管我們確實相信這對我們未來具有吸引力，因為我們能夠以某種方式認識到來自儀表和條帶的一些貢獻。

And then can you remind us on your plans for reimbursement for your artificial disc program?

然後您能否提醒我們一下您的人工椎間盤計劃的報銷計劃？

The plan is that we're going payor by payor. And what I can tell you is that it is going very well. I think about 80% of the cases have been reimbursed so far, which is very, very good. And we are in discussions with the large regional payors, and we are optimistic that that is going to turn out favorable for Medtronic.

我們的計劃是逐一付款。我可以告訴你的是，進展非常順利。我認為到目前為止，大約80%的病例已經得到了報銷，這非常非常好。我們正在與大型區域付款方進行洽談，我們樂觀地認為這將對美敦力有利。

So as you start generating revenue this quarter, when we think about it building, is this a slow, cautious rollout? Is this a pedal-to-the-metal type of rollout of product?

那麼，當你們本季開始創造收入時，當我們考慮如何建造它時，這是一個緩慢而謹慎的推出過程嗎？這是全速前進式的產品推出過程嗎？

No, I would say that we are going to be very careful. We're going to make sure that physicians are well trained. And we are putting a lot of effort behind the training. As I mentioned, we have already trained 800 physicians. We are doing a couple hundred every weekend. So our people are dedicating a lot of time to training. A lot of the rollout will be dependent on how quickly we train people. But that is going along very, very well.

不，我想說我們會非常謹慎。我們會確保醫生得到良好的訓練。我們正在大力開展培訓工作。正如我所提到的，我們已經培訓了800名醫生。我們每個週末都會培訓幾百名醫生。所以我們的員工投入了大量時間進行培訓。推廣工作很大程度取決於我們訓練的速度。但目前進展非常順利。

So I don't think you can expect to see a major inflection this quarter. But you will see, we believe you will see going through the rest of this year a nice contribution coming in from the addition of the cervical disc.

所以我認為本季不會出現重大轉折。但你會看到，我們相信，在今年剩餘時間裡，頸椎間盤的新增治療將帶來不錯的貢獻。

Tim Lee, Caris & Co.

李（Tim Lee），卡里斯公司（Caris & Co.）

Again, just wanted to follow up on the PRESTIGE reimbursements. When do you think we could see widespread reimbursement? Is that two quarters away? Is that three quarters away? When can we see it when it is in place and no longer on a one-off basis?

再次，我想跟進一下 PRESTIGE 的報銷政策。您認為什麼時候我們能看到全面報銷？是兩個季度後嗎？還是三個季度後？什麼時候才能真正實現報銷，不再是一次性報銷？

That is a hard question to answer. Again, it is working payor by payor right now. We have been in discussions with some of the large regional payors. Again, I wish I could tell you -- I wish I did control the timetable there. But again, what I will say is what I said, in that the conversations are going extremely well. We have the right people with our medical director, Dr. Matthews, who is in there, and the other people that we have in front of these groups. And I think people recognize the superiority benefits that we have with the cervical disc and appreciate the clinical data that suggests that patients with these procedures can return to work that much sooner. So we believe we have all of the right information to get ultimate approval from the different payors. And we will keep you abreast of that. As we learn things, we will let you know.

這個問題很難回答。再說一次，目前各個付款方都在努力。我們一直在與一些大型區域性付款方進行討論。我再次希望我能告訴你們——我希望我能掌控他們的時間表。但我還是要說，談判進展非常順利。我們的醫療主任馬修斯醫生和其他與這些團體會面的人員都與我們進行了溝通。我認為大家認可我們在頸椎間盤手術方面的優勢，並讚賞臨床數據顯示接受這些手術的患者可以更快地恢復工作。因此，我們相信我們掌握了所有正確的信息，可以獲得不同付款方的最終批准。我們會隨時向你們通報進度。一旦我們了解了情況，就會通知你們。

And just one follow-up, if I may. In terms of your share buyback program, given your pending Kyphon acquisition and your potential use of proceeds or operating cash flow for that transaction, could we expect to see you be more conservative on your share buyback program from the recent run rates that we have seen?

如果可以的話，我還有一個後續問題。關於你們的股票回購計劃，考慮到你們即將進行的Kyphon收購，以及你們可能將收益或營運現金流用於該交易，從我們最近看到的運行速度來看，我們是否可以預期你們在股票回購計劃上會更加保守？

Obviously, we will be in a situation there where we are going to have to make sure that we have the cash, whether it is through debt or using our existing cash, to make sure we can complete the transaction with Kyphon.

顯然，我們將面臨這樣的情況：我們必須確保我們有足夠的現金，無論是透過債務還是使用我們現有的現金，以確保我們能夠完成與 Kyphon 的交易。

On the other hand, I think as we shared at the June analyst meeting, the cash flows this Company generates, not only for the current year but as we go forward, is very, very significant. And as a result of that, I think we still have the financial flexibility to do both as necessary. But I think you can assume that, yes, we will be a little bit more cautious as we go through the next quarters here and make sure we've got everything lined up before we do major stock buyback. But from our perspective right now, we think we have the financial flexibility to do both of them.

另一方面，正如我們在6月分析師會議上所分享的，我認為公司產生的現金流，不僅在本年度，而且在未來，都非常非常可觀。因此，我認為我們仍然擁有必要的財務彈性，可以同時實現這兩項目標。但我想您可以假設，是的，在接下來的幾個季度裡，我們會更加謹慎，確保在進行大規模股票回購之前，一切都準備就緒。但從我們目前的角度來看，我們認為我們擁有同時實現這兩項目標的財務彈性。

I think we have time for one more question.

我想我們還有時間再回答一個問題。

Tim Nelson, Piper Jaffray.

蒂姆·尼爾森，Piper Jaffray。

Some comments on the international ICD market growth, if you please. It seems to me that it is a little bit less robust than it was last quarter. And I'm just wondering whether there is any significant changes in the source of that growth in terms of geographic mix?

請您談談國際ICD市場的成長情況。我認為，與上一季相比，成長勢頭略有減弱。我想知道，就地域結構而言，成長來源是否發生了顯著變化？

No. This is Bill. I wouldn't read anything into it. We are in the summer months right now. There's always a little bit of a slowdown, particularly in Europe in the July timeframe. But we're -- all the trends are very positive. We remain very optimistic about the long-term growth prospects for defibrillators outside the U.S. Again, you just look at the number of defibrillators implanted per million in the U.S. versus outside the U.S., 600 in the U.S. and something on the order of 80 in France and 28 in Japan. So there's a lot of headroom -- there's a lot of runway left to increase our business.

不，我是比爾。我不會對此有任何過度解讀。現在正值夏季，經濟總會放緩，尤其是在7月的歐洲。但所有趨勢都非常積極。我們對美國以外地區除顫器的長期成長前景仍然非常樂觀。再說一次，你只要看看美國每百萬人植入的除顫器數量，對比一下美國和美國以外地區，美國是600台，法國大約是80台，日本大約是28台。所以，我們還有很大的發展空間──還有很大的成長空間來提升我們的業務。

And was Japan itself as robust as it was last quarter?

日本本身是否像上一季一樣強勁？

Yes. Japan continues to be a very strong market for us. Again, there is a lot of runway left in Japan with the fact that today the penetration rates are so low there. And there is more and more government support. They recognize that they are behind in some areas in providing the latest medical technology for their patients. I was over there just recently, and it is pretty clear that the government is very keen to make sure that patients in Japan have access to the latest and the best technology. So I am encouraged by the long-term prospects in Japan.

是的。日本仍然是我們非常強勁的市場。儘管日本目前的醫療滲透率很低，但我們仍有很大的發展空間。而且政府的支持也越來越多。他們意識到，在為患者提供最新醫療技術方面，他們在某些領域仍處於落後狀態。我最近剛去過那裡，很明顯，政府非常渴望確保日本患者能夠獲得最新、最好的技術。因此，我對日本的長期前景感到鼓舞。

And finally on the cardiac surgery business, the old cardiac surgery business, can you make some comments on how heart valves did and some of the other components in the old reporting business?

最後，關於心臟外科手術業務，舊的心臟外科手術業務，您能否對心臟瓣膜的表現以及舊報告業務中的一些其他組成部分發表一些評論？

Overall, the heart valves hung in there very well. We continue to feel very good about the competitive position that we have with our tissue valves. And I think we, for the quarter, gained a little bit of share. So we feel good about the prospects going forward there.

整體而言，心臟瓣膜表現良好。我們繼續對組織瓣膜的競爭地位感到十分滿意。我認為本季我們的市佔率有所成長。因此，我們對未來前景充滿信心。

So let me, being mindful of the time, it is exactly 4.30 our time, and whatever time it is where you are. But I do want to say that we appreciate you being on the call and we hope that you will join us on Thursday for our annual shareholders' meeting. And again, thank you for participating on the call today. So with that, we will sign off.

所以，請容許我提醒一下，我們現在正好是下午4點30分，無論您身在何處，都請容許我提醒您。我想說的是，我們非常感謝您參加電話會議，並希望您週四能參加我們的年度股東大會。再次感謝您今天的電話會議。至此，我們的會議就此結束。

Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T Executive Teleconference. You may now disconnect.

謝謝大家。女士們，先生們，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與與使用AT&T高階主管電話會議。現在您可以斷開連線了。