Middleby Corp (MIDD) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the fourth quarter 2024 Middleby Corporation earnings conference call. (Operator instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded. On today's call are Mr. Tim Fitzgerald, CEO; Mr. Bryan Mittelman, CFO; Mr. James Pool, CTO and COO; and Mr. Steve Spittle, CCO.

您好，歡迎參加 Middleby Corporation 2024 年第四季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，該事件正在被記錄。今天參加電話會議的有執行長 Tim Fitzgerald 先生；財務長 Bryan Mittelman 先生；技術長兼營運長 James Pool 先生；以及商務長 Steve Spittle 先生。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Tim Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

現在，我想將會議交給執行長蒂姆·菲茨傑拉德先生。先生，請繼續。

Good morning. Thank you for joining us today on our fourth-quarter earnings call. This morning, we have made several important announcements alongside our 2024 fourth-quarter earnings. These announcements include the decision to separate our Middleby Food Processing business into a separate stand-alone public company. Additionally, we are pleased to announce the addition of two new Board members to our Board of Directors. Please note, there are two separate slide presentations covering our quarterly earnings and the Food Processing Spin transaction on the investor page of our website.

早安.感謝您今天參加我們的第四季財報電話會議。今天上午，我們在發布 2024 年第四季財報的同時也發布了幾個重要公告。這些公告包括決定將我們的 Middleby 食品加工業務分拆為獨立的上市公司。此外，我們很高興地宣布董事會新增兩名新成員。請注意，我們網站的投資者頁面上有兩個單獨的幻燈片演示，介紹我們的季度收益和食品加工旋轉交易。

As we've shared over the past several quarters, our Board of Directors and management team have been conducting a comprehensive review of our business portfolio with the goal of realizing Middleby's full value potential. As part of this process, our Board has unanimously approved a plan to separate our Food Processing business into a stand-alone separate public company.

正如我們在過去幾個季度所分享的那樣，我們的董事會和管理團隊一直在對我們的業務組合進行全面審查，目標是充分發揮 Middleby 的價值潛力。作為此過程的一部分，我們的董事會一致批准了一項計劃，將我們的食品加工業務分拆為獨立的上市公司。

This action will create two independent innovative industry leaders, the Middleby Corporation, which will be comprised of the Commercial and Residential kitchen equipment businesses and Middleby Food Processing.

這項舉措將誕生兩位獨立的創新產業領袖——米德爾比公司（Middleby Corporation，由商業和住宅廚房設備業務以及米德爾比食品加工業務組成）。

Our team has successfully built a premier Food Processing business with the necessary scale that now enables us to take this exciting next step in the evolution of the company, which we expect will unlock further value and growth opportunities for both Middleby Food Processing and our remaining Middleby kitchen equipment businesses.

我們的團隊已成功打造出具備必要規模的一流食品加工業務，這使我們能夠邁出公司發展令人興奮的下一步，我們預計這將為 Middleby 食品加工和我們剩餘的 Middleby 廚房設備業務釋放更多價值和成長機會。

As two market leading but separate businesses, this separation will assure greater strategic and operational focus at each stand-alone entity, allowing each business to implement an optimized capital structure and capital allocation policy to best support growth opportunities while greatly enhancing the strategic and financial impact from M&A opportunities for each stand-alone business and enabling Middleby Food Processing, with its best in class growth and margin, profile to be valued in line with key Food Processing peers.

作為兩個市場領先但相互獨立的企業，這種分離將確保每個獨立實體更加關注戰略和運營，從而使每個企業都能實施優化的資本結構和資本配置政策，以最好地支持增長機會，同時大大增強併購機會對每個獨立企業的戰略和財務影響，並使 Middleby Food Processing 憑藉其最佳的增長和利潤率同行的估值保持一致。

Now, I'll get into the specifics of each company. I'll first start with what this means for Middleby Food Processing. As highlighted in our investor deck, Middleby Food Processing is well positioned as a best-in-class equipment provider to the bakery and protein industries. We are posed for organic growth as we continue to execute on our strategy to be the full line solutions provider of choice by enhancing the ROI and value delivered to our customers.

現在，我將介紹每家公司的具體情況。我首先要說一下這對 Middleby Food Processing 意味著什麼。正如我們的投資者簡報中所強調的那樣，Middleby Food Processing 是烘焙和蛋白質行業一流的設備供應商。我們致力於實現有機成長，並繼續執行我們的策略，透過提高投資回報率和為客戶提供的價值，成為首選的全系列解決方案提供者。

We see market expansion opportunities as we extend into attractive adjacent market segments, such as poultry, pet, and snack food, leveraging our existing competencies. And with a strong track record of M&A, we expect to quickly scale the platform through continued strategic acquisition, which, on a stand-alone basis, will be more impactful financially and better understood by shareholders.

隨著我們利用現有的能力向有吸引力的相鄰細分市場（如家禽、寵物和零食）擴張，我們看到了市場擴張的機會。憑藉良好的併購記錄，我們希望透過持續的策略性收購快速擴大平台規模，從獨立的角度來看，這將對財務產生更大的影響，並能更好地被股東理解。

Our Middleby RemainCo Commercial and Residential kitchen equipment business, we are positioned to capture market opportunities and will continue with an even greater focus executing on our strategic growth initiatives. We are leading in innovation and are positioned to benefit from accelerating demand for automation, ventless kitchens, electrification, digital technologies, and IoT connectivity in the kitchen.

我們的 Middleby RemainCo 商用和住宅廚房設備業務，我們已準備好抓住市場機遇，並將繼續更加重視執行我們的策略成長計畫。我們在創新方面處於領先地位，並將從廚房對自動化、無通風廚房、電氣化、數位技術和物聯網連接的加速需求中獲益。

We have exciting growth opportunities through our expansion into new categories of ice and beverage with recent launches of new innovations highly relevant to our customers and current market trends. We expect to benefit from the differentiated go-to market investments we've made over the past several years as we are creating an engine to drive long-term organic growth. And we are well positioned to benefit from a recovery at our Residential business, which has been strengthened during the market downturn through strategic investments in sales and marketing, new product launches, and operational initiatives driving profitability and growth opportunities.

透過向冰和飲料的新類別擴張，我們獲得了令人興奮的成長機會，並且最近推出了與我們的客戶和當前市場趨勢高度相關的新創新。我們正在打造一個推動長期有機成長的引擎，我們希望從過去幾年進行的差異化市場投資中獲益。我們已準備好從住宅業務的復甦中獲益，透過對銷售和行銷的策略性投資、新產品的推出以及推動盈利能力和增長機會的運營舉措，我們的住宅業務在市場低迷期間得到了加強。

We intend to execute the separation of the Food Processing business through a tax-free spinoff, which is expected to be completed by early 2026.

我們打算透過免稅分拆來分離食品加工業務，預計將於 2026 年初完成。

Separately, I'm very excited to announce the additions of Julie Bowerman and Ed Garden to our Board of directors. Julie and Ed bring a wealth of relevant operating and director experience to Middleby as we implement our forward focused growth strategies, execute on our portfolio evolution with the announced Spin transaction, and drive value for our shareholders. I am confident that Julie and Ed will be strong additions to our Board room as we drive value for shareholders. And I could not be more pleased to welcome them to the Middleby Board.

另外，我非常高興地宣布朱莉·鮑爾曼 (Julie Bowerman) 和埃德·加登 (Ed Garden) 加入我們的董事會。當我們實施前瞻性成長策略、透過宣布的 Spin 交易實施投資組合變革並為股東創造價值時，Julie 和 Ed 為 Middleby 帶來了豐富的相關營運和董事經驗。我相信，在我們為股東創造價值的過程中，朱莉和艾德將成為我們董事會的強大補充。我非常高興地歡迎他們加入米德爾比董事會。

Julie and Ed's appointments are a continuation of our Board refreshment process, which started last year with the additions of Steve Scherger and Tejas Shah to our director group. Throughout this process, we have continued to focus on extending the capabilities of our Board and bringing out fresh perspectives.

朱莉 (Julie) 和艾德 (Ed) 的任命是我們董事會改組過程的延續，這個過程始於去年，當時史蒂夫·謝爾格 (Steve Scherger) 和特賈斯·沙阿 (Tejas Shah) 加入董事團隊。在此過程中，我們始終致力於擴展董事會的能力並帶來新的視野。

We also announced that longstanding Director, Jack Miller, has elected to retire from our Board. Jack has been instrumental to the success of the company, greatly contributing to the growth of Middleby from its small beginnings when the company was only $25 million in revenues and throughout the journey into the global food service leader that we have become today. Our management team and Board are incredibly grateful to Jack for his service to Middleby and our shareholders.

我們還宣布，長期擔任董事的傑克米勒 (Jack Miller) 已選擇退出董事會。傑克對公司的成功起到了至關重要的作用，為米德爾比的發展做出了巨大的貢獻，從公司成立之初收入僅有 2500 萬美元，到如今發展成為全球食品服務領導者。我們的管理團隊和董事會非常感謝傑克為米德比和我們的股東所提供的服務。

Lastly, I would like to briefly comment on our fourth-quarter results. We closed 2024 by delivering our strongest margins of the year, with all three businesses posting strong results given the respective backdrop for each industry. We continue to make progress on our profitability initiatives across the businesses as we execute on supply chain, take action to drive operational efficiencies, and strategically reposition sales mix to our latest higher margin product innovations.

最後，我想簡單評論一下我們第四季的業績。我們以年度最高利潤率結束了 2024 年，所有三項業務在各自行業的背景下均取得了強勁的業績。隨著我們執行供應鏈、採取行動提高營運效率以及策略性地重新定位銷售組合以適應我們最新的更高利潤的產品創新，我們在整個業務的盈利計劃方面繼續取得進展。

Macro conditions in the quarter remain challenged for Commercial and Residential business but are showing signs of gradual improvement as we move through the quarters ahead while the Food Processing business finished the year exceptionally strong. And we look to realize continued growth as we head into 2025 with favorable long-term drivers.

本季的宏觀環境對商業和住宅業務來說仍然充滿挑戰，但隨著未來幾季的推進，情況正在顯示出逐步改善的跡象，而食品加工業務在今年的表現異常強勁。我們期待在有利的長期驅動力下，於 2025 年實現持續成長。

We are navigating near-term market conditions, but as we -- and we continue to execute on our strategic initiatives focused on driving sustainable long-term organic growth with recent launches of transformative product innovations across all three businesses and the development of our differentiated go-to market capabilities. We're competitively well positioned across all three businesses to expand and realize growth in each segment as we progress through 2025.

我們正在應對短期市場狀況，但同時我們將繼續執行專注於推動可持續的長期有機增長的戰略計劃，最近我們在三大業務領域推出了變革性的產品創新，並開發了差異化的市場進入能力。我們在這三個業務領域都具有良好的競爭優勢，能夠在 2025 年實現各個領域的擴張和成長。

Bryan, I'll turn it over to you now for further comment on the quarter.

布萊恩，現在我將把話題交給您，請您就本季的情況發表進一步評論。

Thanks, Tim. While challenging market conditions persisted throughout 2024, driving margins and cash flow continue to be demonstrated strengths of ours. With free cash flows of $229 million in the fourth quarter, we concluded the year with a new record, having delivered over $640 million.

謝謝，蒂姆。儘管 2024 年全年市場環境依然充滿挑戰，但提高利潤率和現金流仍然是我們的優勢。第四季度，我們的自由現金流達到 2.29 億美元，以超過 6.4 億美元的新紀錄結束了這一財年。

Revenues in 2024 declined modestly to around $3.9 billion. Adjusted EBITDA of $866 million at a 22.4% margin, which was slightly ahead of last year, showed the power of our overall system with particularly impressive performance by the Food Processing segment at 25.6%.

2024 年的營收小幅下降至約 39 億美元。調整後 EBITDA 為 8.66 億美元，利潤率為 22.4%，略高於去年，顯示了我們整體系統的實力，其中食品加工部門的表現尤為出色，利潤率為 25.6%。

GAAP earnings per share was $7.90. Adjusted EPS, which excludes amortization expense and impairment charges, non-operating pension income, as well as other items noted in the reconciliation at the back of our press release, was $9.49.

每股 GAAP 收益為 7.90 美元。調整後的每股收益（不包括攤銷費用和減損費​​用、非營業退休金收入以及我們新聞稿後面對帳中註明的其他項目）為 9.49 美元。

Looking at Q4, quarterly revenue returned to a level above $1 billion. Our adjusted EBITDA of over $251 million was a record, at a margin of 24.8%. Q4 GAAP earnings per share were $2.07. Adjusted EPS was $2.88.

縱觀第四季度，季度營收重回10億美元以上的水準。我們的調整後 EBITDA 超過 2.51 億美元，利潤率為 24.8%，創下歷史新高。第四季 GAAP 每股收益為 2.07 美元。調整後每股收益為 2.88 美元。

Food Processing was really cooking. 4.7% organic revenue growth in the quarter led to revenues of over $219 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 29.6%, up 200 basis points versus the prior year. With organic growth over the back half of the year, we finished 2024 with $731 million of total revenue and expanded margins by 70 basis points to 25.6%.

食品加工其實就是烹飪。本季有機收入成長 4.7%，營收超過 2.19 億美元。調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 29.6%，較前一年上升 200 個基點。憑藉下半年的自然成長，我們在 2024 年實現了總收入 7.31 億美元，利潤率提高了 70 個基點，達到 25.6%。

Now, considering the impact of fourth-quarter acquisitions, the segment run rate revenues now exceed $800 million with a run rate margin of around 24%.

現在，考慮到第四季度收購的影響，該部門的運行率收入現已超過 8 億美元，運行率利潤率約為 24%。

In Residential, looking at Q4, $185 million of revenue was a sequential increase from Q3. This was down a modest 2.4% versus 2023 and was the slowest decline of the year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 13%, the highest level in 1.5 years.

住宅方面，縱觀第四季度，營收為 1.85 億美元，較第三季季增。與 2023 年相比，這一數字小幅下降了 2.4%，是今年降幅最慢的一次。調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 13%，為一年半以來的最高水準。

For 2024 in total, revenues were $725 million at roughly 10% margins. In Commercial, Q4 revenues of over $609 million were up sequentially, with organic revenues down 2.8% year over year, the slowest decline of the year. Margins remain healthy at over 28%. For 2024, revenues of $2.4 billion were supported by strong and fairly consistent margins of 27.4%.

2024 年的總收入為 7.25 億美元，利潤率約為 10%。商業業務第四季營收超過 6.09 億美元，環比成長，有機收入年減 2.8%，為今年以來最慢的降幅。利潤率仍維持在28%以上健康的水準。預計 2024 年，公司將實現 24 億美元的收入，這得益於 27.4% 強勁且相當穩定的利潤率。

Given our strong cost control, moderated CapEx, and focus on reducing inventory levels, which have declined by over $250 million in two years, we delivered record cash flows. Operating cash flows were $687 million for the year, with free cash flow conversion of 140%. Our total year-end leverage ratio is 2 times.

由於我們強有力的成本控制、適度的資本支出以及對降低庫存水準的重視，庫存水準在兩年內下降了 2.5 億美元以上，我們實現了創紀錄的現金流。全年經營現金流為6.87億美元，自由現金流轉換率為140%。我們年底的總槓桿比率是2倍。

Our balance sheet is strong. Share repurchases in the fourth quarter were $16 million, and we have repurchased an additional $20 million in the open market in the first quarter to date. We are planning further buyback activity at this pace for 2025 and thus, would potentially utilize around 20% of our free cash flow in this manner.

我們的資產負債表強勁。第四季的股票回購額為 1,600 萬美元，第一季迄今為止，我們已在公開市場額外回購了 2,000 萬美元。我們計劃在 2025 年以此速度進一步開展回購活動，因此可能會以這種方式利用約 20% 的自由現金流。

With respect to 2025 cash generation, we expect free cash flow to again exceed operational net income. Capital spending in 2025 will be back up to more typical levels, around 2% of revenues. We continue to actively manage overall working capital levels. However, we may have a lower inventory reduction this year. Nonetheless, cash flow generation will remain a real strength for the business.

對於 2025 年的現金創造，我們預期自由現金流將再次超過營業淨收入。2025 年的資本支出將回升至更典型的水平，約佔收入的 2%。我們持續積極管理整體營運資本水準。不過，今年我們的庫存減少幅度可能會較低。儘管如此，現金流創造仍將是企業的真正優勢。

Taking a look into the Q1 P&L, I will share a few perspectives. On a year-over year-basis and looking at total company revenue, we expect modest revenue growth benefiting from the impact of acquisitions and Food Processing, along with having slight margin expansion.

回顧第一季的損益表，我將分享一些觀點。與去年同期相比，縱觀公司的總收入，我們預計，受收購和食品加工的影響，公司收入將適度增長，利潤率也將略有擴大。

Shifting to an organic view for Q1 on a year over-year-basis. Revenues, in total, are likely generally flat. The Commercial business will have a slow start to the year with the timing of chain orders, so revenues will be down slightly for the quarter. For Food Processing, the timing of project completion was strong in Q4. Q1 will not be as robust, so organic revenue will be slightly down. In our Residential business, we expect to continue to see positive momentum, resulting in meaningful year-over-year growth.

與去年同期相比，第一季的業績呈現有機成長。總體而言，收入可能基本持平。由於連鎖訂單的時間安排，商業業務今年開局將會比較緩慢，因此本季的營收將略有下降。對於食品加工而言，該項目在第四季度完成的時間安排很緊湊。第一季的表現不會那麼強勁，因此有機收入將略有下降。在我們的住宅業務中，我們預計將繼續看到積極的勢頭，從而實現有意義的同比增長。

Now, considering performance on a sequential basis, please recall that seasonality in our business is such that Q1 results across our entire portfolio typically take a modest step down from Q4. Residential, however, could be a positive exception to that trend this year as they may demonstrate sequential as well as year-over-year growth.

現在，考慮連續的表現，請記住，我們業務的季節性使得我們整個投資組合的第一季業績通常比第四季度略有下降。然而，住宅市場可能是今年這一趨勢的一個積極例外，因為它們可能呈現連續和同比增長。

Now, taking a look at '25 for the full year. In Commercial and Residential, we are expecting at least low-single-digit organic revenue growth rates with modest margin expansion. For Food Processing, organic revenue growth is expected to be in the mid-single digits for the year. As I noted earlier, we call it the baseline on Food Processing margins is now in the 24% range due to recent acquisitions. Margins here will likely fall below last year's strong level as the integration processes are just beginning with two acquisitions having been completed late in 2024.

現在，讓我們來回顧一下 25 年全年的情況。在商業和住宅領域，我們預期有機收入成長率至少為個位數，利潤率將適度擴大。對於食品加工而言，預計今年的有機收入成長率將達到中等個位數。正如我之前提到的，由於最近的收購，我們稱之為食品加工利潤率的基準現在處於 24% 的範圍內。由於整合過程才剛開始，且兩項收購已於 2024 年底完成，因此這裡的利潤率可能會低於去年的強勁水平。

Summing it up for '25 for the total company, we expect to deliver organic revenue growth in the low-single digits with profitability growth at rates in excess of our organic revenue growth. Our view is also that revenues are growing sequentially over the course of the year for all of the segments.

總結整個公司25年的業績，我們預期有機收入成長率將維持在低個位數，獲利成長率將超過有機收入成長率。我們也認為，所有部門的收入在一年內都將持續成長。

Please note that this outlook excludes costs which may be incurred to support the Food Processing Spin we have announced today. We will provide updates on those activities throughout the year.

請注意，該展望不包括我們今天宣布的食品加工旋轉可能產生的支援成本。我們將全年提供這些活動的最新動態。

I will now turn it over to James for a NAFEM overview. If you come and see us there, you might find me serving ice cream, and I'm hoping to get adventurous and combine that with soda from our absolutely incredible new beverage dispensing platform by Newton to create ice cream floats. Innovation tastes great but maybe isn't less filling. But I like it, and hopefully, so will you.

現在我將把 NAFEM 概述交給詹姆斯。如果你來那裡看我們，你可能會發現我在賣冰淇淋，我希望大膽嘗試，將其與我們絕對令人難以置信的 Newton 新飲料分配平台上的蘇打水結合起來，製作出冰淇淋漂浮物。創新固然很好，但可能不會讓人缺乏滿足感。但我喜歡它，希望你也喜歡它。

James?

詹姆斯？

Thank you, Bryan. Today, I'd like to take a moment to extend a special invitation to our shareholders, analysts, and prospective investors to come experience Middleby's Commercial Foodservice equipment at the North American Food Equipment Manufacturer show in Atlanta, Georgia. The show runs tomorrow through Friday. You may refer to the accompanying earnings presentation for a detailed overview of our NAFEM setup and insight to what's cooking at Middleby.

謝謝你，布萊恩。今天，我想花點時間向我們的股東、分析師和潛在投資者發出特別邀請，來佐治亞州亞特蘭大舉行的北美食品設備製造商展會上體驗 Middleby 的商業食品服務設備。演出將於明天持續至週五。您可以參考隨附的收益報告，以獲得有關我們的 NAFEM 設定的詳細概述以及對 Middleby 正在做的事情的見解。

This year marks our most ambitious presentation for any show. We are featuring nine live cooking vignettes, including two fully operational, high-volume restaurants, one dedicated to smashed burgers and fried chicken and the other, to pizza and wings. Both concepts will be powered by our cutting-edge embedded digital, robotic automation solutions. Additionally, we will unveil and showcase our latest beverage dispensing technologies from Newton CFV, as Bryan mentioned, the Newton Gravity and Wild Goose Filling, the Cervici, along with a comprehensive lineup of ice solutions from Follett Ice and Icetro.

今年是我們所有演出中最具野心的一次呈現。我們推出了九個現場烹飪小插曲，其中包括兩個全面運營的高人氣餐廳，一個主要漢堡和炸雞，另一個主要披薩和雞翅。這兩種概念都將由我們先進的嵌入式數位機器人自動化解決方案提供支援。此外，正如 Bryan 所提到的，我們將發布並展示 Newton CFV 的最新飲料分配技術、Newton Gravity 和 Wild Goose Filling、Cervici，以及 Follett Ice 和 Icetro 的全系列冰塊解決方案。

Be sure to also check out our new innovative ice, which is 1.25 by 1.25 by 1.25 cracked cube solution. Beyond these innovations, our full-service coffee café will highlight various solutions for Middleby Coffee and Marco, including the Marco MilkPal, which I discussed on our last earnings call.

請務必查看我們新推出的創新冰塊，它是 1.25 x 1.25 x 1.25 的破碎立方體解決方案。除了這些創新之外，我們的全方位服務咖啡館還將重點介紹 Middleby Coffee 和 Marco 的各種解決方案，包括我在上次財報電話會議上討論過的 Marco MilkPal。

Our enterprise IoT solution, Open Kitchen, will be predominantly featured, seamlessly connecting all live equipment at the booth. We invite you to discover how we can quickly transform your kitchen operation from the front of the house with EMS, HVAC, and lighting control; the middle of the house with [cold] chain monitoring, (inaudible) of reporting, and [labor] tracking; and the back of the house with equipment connectivity. Open Kitchen is quickly driving to become the IoT standard for the Commercial Foodservice industry.

我們的企業物聯網解決方案「開放式廚房」將成為主要特色，無縫連接展位上的所有現場設備。我們邀請您了解我們如何透過 EMS、HVAC 和照明控制從房子前面快速改變您的廚房操作；房屋中間設有冷鏈監控、（聽不清楚）報告和勞動力追蹤；並與房屋後部的設備連接。開放式廚房正迅速成為商業餐飲業的物聯網標準。

Within Open Kitchen, we are also introducing a new fryer profitability tool to drive prior connectivity sales and differentiation from Middleby. The tool is designed to help restaurant operators understand and optimize their frying processes by providing insights into oil usage per pound of food cooked, oil quality, efficiency, and waste through Open Kitchen's real-time analytics.

在開放式廚房內，我們還推出了一種新的油炸鍋盈利工具，以推動先前的連接銷售和與 Middleby 的差異化。該工具旨在透過 Open Kitchen 的即時分析提供有關每磅食物的用油量、用油品質、效率和浪費的信息，幫助餐廳經營者了解和優化他們的油炸流程。

I'd like to conclude by acknowledging the Magnificent 7, seven innovative products selected for the WHAT'S HOT! WHAT'S COOL! innovation section at NAFEM. Middleby is honored to have received more selections than any other manufacturer. The Magnificent 7 will be showcased live and will feature the new Pitco pork fryer, the first commercialized, continuously filtering, high efficiency fryer at the ventless (inaudible) bar and the new invoked combi, which will be preparing some delicious bites within the center of the booth.

最後，我想對入選「WHAT'S HOT！」榜單的 7 款創新產品表示感謝。太酷了！NAFEM 的創新部分。Middleby 很榮幸能獲得比其他製造商更多的選擇。Magnificent 7 將進行現場展示，並將推出新的 Pitco 豬肉炸鍋，這是無通風（聽不清楚）酒吧中第一款商業化、連續過濾、高效的炸鍋，以及新調用的組合，它將在展台中心準備一些美味小吃。

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you at the show. We will now open it up for questions.

謝謝您，我們期待在展會上見到您。我們現在開始回答問題。

(Operator instructions) Saree Boroditsky, Jefferies.

(操作員指示)Saree Boroditsky，Jefferies。

I think we have to start with the decision to separate Food Processing. So could you just walk us through that decision process? What are the benefits of having the segment operate separately? And then how do you think about the stand-alone cash generation of Food Processing and the ability to sustain the acquisition pipeline?

我認為我們必須從分離食品加工的決定開始。那您能向我們簡單介紹一下這個決策過程嗎？各部門獨立運作有哪些好處？那麼您如何看待食品加工的獨立現金創造能力和維持收購管道的能力？

So we've been considering it for a while. I mean, every year and continuously, the Board is always reviewing the portfolio and what we think makes most sense to maximize shareholder value and really support the growth of all three of those businesses. So I think we've been building, I said in the comments, the Food Processing platform. For a while now and really over the last decade, that's accelerated.

因此我們已經考慮了一段時間了。我的意思是，董事會每年都會持續審查投資組合，並考慮我們認為最有意義的做法，以最大化股東價值並真正支持這三項業務的成長。所以我認為我們一直在建設，我在評論中說過，食品加工平台。一段時間以來，尤其是過去十年，這一趨勢一直在加速。

I think if you were to go back five years ago, it was not large enough, and I'll say it wasn't in the part of the life cycle of the journey, where we could stand it up as a separate stand-alone business. But now, we feel that we're at that point. And I think there's -- it's benefited from being part of Middleby for a long time to get to this point, but now, I think, as a separate company, being part of Middleby will hold back the growth, and separating it will accelerate the growth.

我認為，如果回顧五年前，它還不夠大，而且我會說它還不屬於旅程生命週期的一部分，我們可以將它作為一個獨立的業務來運作。但現在，我們感覺我們已經到達那個點了。我認為，長期以來作為 Middleby 的一部分，它受益匪淺，才達到今天的地步，但現在，我認為，作為一家獨立的公司，作為 Middleby 的一部分將阻礙其增長，而將其分離則會加速其增長。

So I think it's really -- we're excited about it. I mean, I think the things that I commented on the greater focus with the management team not being one of three businesses. And as you can see in some of the slides that we had this morning, there's a very strong track record of M&A over a long period of time, which we think will continue on and perhaps even accelerate. So we think that the platform will further scale on a more rapid basis outside of Middleby as a separate stand-alone company.

所以我認為這確實——我們對此感到非常興奮。我的意思是，我認為我所評論的事情更加關注的是管理團隊，而不是三家企業之一。正如您在我們今天早上的一些幻燈片中看到的，長期以來，併購交易的業績非常強勁，我們認為這種勢頭將會持續下去，甚至可能加速。因此我們認為，該平台將在 Middleby 之外作為獨立的公司進一步更快地擴大規模。

Thank you. And then should we think about the free cash flow conversion of both separate businesses as being 100% or greater? How do we think about that?

謝謝。那麼，我們是否應該將兩個獨立業務的自由現金流轉換率視為 100% 或更高？我們該如何看待這個問題？

Yeah. I mean, it's a little early. We haven't provided, I'll call it, specific long-range guidance certainly for the Food Processing company, but I do think that's a fair assumption. All our businesses really have somewhat similar cash flow generating characteristics.

是的。我的意思是，現在有點早。我們還沒有提供，我稱之為，針對食品加工公司的具體長期指導，但我認為這是一個合理的假設。我們所有的業務確實都具有相似的現金流量產生特性。

Appreciate that. And just one last one on Resi, just given the positive inflection, how are you thinking about that recovery? And what are the incremental margins on that business, given some of the factory investments you've made in recent years?

非常感謝。關於 Resi 的最後一個問題，鑑於目前的積極拐點，您如何看待這種復甦？考慮到近年來你們進行的一些工廠投資，該業務的增量利潤是多少？

Yeah. So I mean, I think we're clearly at a long-term cyclical trough, kind of put a bit of that in the deck as well. So I mean, I think there are significant opportunities, and unrealized shareholders will kind of go through the next several years. So it's hard to tell what the inflection is going to be on the backdrop of the market with housing, but it is positive, and we're -- we've got a significant, I'll say, tailwinds through the next several years.

是的。所以我的意思是，我認為我們顯然正處於一個長期的周期性低谷，在某種程度上我們也把這種因素考慮在內。所以我的意思是，我認為有重大機遇，未實現的股東利益將會度過未來幾年。因此，很難判斷房屋市場的背景將發生怎樣的變化，但它是積極的，而且我們——我可以說，在未來幾年裡，我們將迎來顯著的順風。

So I think it'll be kind of gradual as we go through 2025 with some recovery, but that will pick up steam we think is in the years going forward. We had been operating the business into the mid- to high-teens. Kind of if you were to go back pre-COVID, and the business fundamentally is much stronger today and what is really a tough period relative to what it was in those years.

因此，我認為隨著 2025 年的到來，我們將逐漸迎來復甦，但我們認為，在未來幾年，復甦將會加速。我們的業務運作已經達到了十五六歲時的水準。如果你回到疫情之前，你會發現今天的業務從根本上強勁得多，與那些年相比，這確實是一段艱難的時期。

We've certainly taken a lot of actions to improve the operation of the business, which drives margins higher. And also Commercial, we've made a lot of investments around new product as well as kind of our sales and marketing capabilities. So as we kind of get to more normalized levels, we think that that is all an exciting part of the story that shows up in the years ahead.

我們確實採取了許多措施來改善業務運營，從而提高了利潤率。在商業方面，我們在新產品以及銷售和行銷能力方面進行了大量投資。因此，當我們達到更正常化的水平時，我們認為這都是未來幾年故事中令人興奮的部分。

Yeah, and Saree, this is Bryan. [Spinning] that a little bit as you think about the incremental. Certainly, I will say this business will have the largest incremental benefits as revenues grow compared to the other segments given the low operating leverage.

是的，Saree，這是布萊恩。當你思考增量時，[旋轉] 一點點。當然，我會說，考慮到較低的營運槓桿，與其他部門相比，這項業務隨著收入的成長將獲得最大的增量效益。

We're seeing right now, right, and you've seen that in our gross profit reporting. So I think the incrementals here can be over 40% going forward. And to echo what Tim noted, as we achieve, I'll say, revenue levels consistent with those that we have posted in the past, we will have higher levels of profitability than we achieved in the past because of the investments and improvements that have been made in the business.

我們現在看到的是，對的，您已經在我們的毛利報告中看到了這一點。因此我認為未來的增量可以超過 40%。與蒂姆所說的一致，當我們實現與過去一致的收入水平時，我們將獲得比過去更高的盈利水平，這得益於我們在業務上進行的投資和改進。

Ross Sparenblek, William Blair.

羅斯·斯帕倫布萊克、威廉·布萊爾。

Guys, sticking with the Spin, can we put a finer point on some of the moving parts as we think about one-time and ongoing dis-synergies and maybe the expectations of the tax benefit versus outright sale of Food Processing?

夥計們，堅持旋轉，當我們考慮一次性和持續的不協同效應以及稅收優惠與食品加工直接銷售的預期時，我們能否更精確地指出一些活動部件？

Yeah, so it's tax free, so it's not a benefit, quote-unquote, but it's tax [avoid] if we were to consider -- contemplate other options, but we do see long-term upside in this business. So we really think shareholders benefit it being a separate public company trading on its profile with the margins, the growth characteristic, we think it trades in line with kind of higher industrial companies and that kind of comps set.

是的，所以它是免稅的，所以它不是一個好處，但如果我們考慮其他選擇的話，它就是稅收[避免]，但我們確實看到了這項業務的長期上升空間。因此，我們確實認為，作為一家獨立的上市公司，股東將從中受益，該公司按照其利潤率、成長特徵進行交易，我們認為它的交易與較高水平的工業公司和同類公司一致。

From a dis-synergy/synergy standpoint, I mean, I think one of the philosophies of Middleby is running decentralized. That's been very core to us over a long period of time. So certainly, we're an engine for accelerating growth with kind of a lot of our strategies and our core company culture. I mean, I think those things are exportable. And we think this is kind of Middleby 2.0 as we think about it with continuing with the culture, a lot of the best practices and operating philosophies of the business that will port over. But because the operations are largely decentralized, there's not a whole lot of dis-synergies here, so I think that makes it fairly clear from us from an operational standpoint for us to separate the business.

從協同/不協同的角度來看，我的意思是，我認為 Middleby 的理念之一是分散運作。長期以來這對我們來說一直都是核心。因此，毫無疑問，我們透過多種策略和核心公司文化成為加速成長的引擎。我的意思是，我認為這些東西是可以出口的。我們認為這有點像 Middleby 2.0，因為它延續了原來的文化，並移植了許多最佳實踐和業務運營理念。但由於營運基本上是分散的，這裡不存在太多的不協同效應，所以我認為從營運的角度來看，我們可以很清楚地分離業務。

And Ross, this is Bryan. We're not prepared to specifically quantify those things today, but in future quarters, we will get into more levels of granularity around one-time costs and such.

羅斯，這是布萊恩。我們今天還沒有準備好具體量化這些內容，但在未來的幾個季度中，我們將更詳細地量化一次性成本等。

Yeah, I can appreciate that. Well, I previously was under the expectation that Food Processing is more of the M&A engine here, just kind of given the fragment of white space, but with a strong free cash profile for RemainCo, can you maybe just update us on what the M&A landscape looks like within Commercial and kind of your early capital allocation expectations for the RemainCo business?

是的，我很感激。好吧，我之前預計食品加工將是這裡的併購引擎，只是考慮到一些空白領域，但 RemainCo 擁有強大的自由現金狀況，您能否向我們介紹一下商業領域的併購格局以及您對 RemainCo 業務的早期資本配置預期？

Yeah, I guess -- so definitely M&A is the core that for a long period of time that continues. However, we're at a different size and scale today. I mean, I think as you've kind of just noted, for more recent periods, Food Processing is still in the early stages, so it's a very fragmented, so it's gotten a bit more of the attention on M&A. And I think, as a separate company, that's going to become even more clear and more focused. So I think that's one of the things that we're excited about.

是的，我想——因此，併購肯定是長期持續的核心。然而，今天我們的規模和大小已經不同了。我的意思是，我認為正如您剛才提到的，最近一段時間，食品加工仍處於早期階段，因此非常分散，因此在併購方面受到了更多的關注。我認為，作為一家獨立的公司，這一點將變得更加清晰和更加集中。所以我認為這是讓我們興奮的事情之一。

As cash flow has grown over time, we've also kind of contemplated and built into really more recent actions, being able to execute on M&A while at the same time, really start taking action to return shareholder to --capital shareholders through stock repurchases, which is what we've been doing in the fourth quarter, in the first quarter, and Bryan alluded to in his comments.

隨著現金流隨著時間的推移而增長，我們也在考慮並實施最近的行動，能夠執行併購，同時真正開始採取行動透過股票回購將股東返還給資本股東，這是我們在第四季度、第一季度一直在做的事情，布萊恩在他的評論中提到了這一點。

So I think it'll be a little bit more of a balanced approaches, given we've got much larger cash flow to deploy today. I think as you kind of look at RemainCo, the platform is built up larger. But however, there still are significant opportunities out there. I think you'll see them be a bit more focused, particularly on the ice and beverage platform. I think that's something that we've also been excited to have built and scaled relatively quickly here. If you kind of think about the last five to seven years, it is a larger market.

因此我認為這將是一種更平衡的方法，因為我們今天有大量的現金流可供部署。我認為，當你看一下 RemainCo 時，這個平台就會變得更大。然而，仍然存在重大機會。我認為你會看到他們更加專注，特別是在冰和飲料平台上。我認為這也是我們很高興能夠在這裡相對快速地建立和擴展的事情。如果你思考過去五到七年，你會發現這是一個更大的市場。

I continue to say we're still a new player, but you can see it's meaningful to our revenues, and it's already a very highly profitable business. So we're pretty happy with the portfolio that we've got right now. We think that portfolio will have significant organic growth opportunities, given the different products, technologies, and kind of backdrop of what's going on in beverage. But there are additional opportunities to further build that ice and beverage platform. So I think that's one of the areas that we'll continue to be focused on.

我一直說我們仍然是個新手，但你可以看到這對我們的收入意義重大，而且它已經是一項利潤非常高的業務。因此，我們對目前的投資組合非常滿意。我們認為，考慮到不同的產品、技術和飲料行業的背景，該投資組合將具有顯著的有機成長機會。但還有其他機會進一步打造冰和飲料平台。所以我認為這是我們將繼續關注的領域之一。

And then just technology overall, I mean, I think we've really positioned ourselves as kind of the leader in automation controls IoT. A lot of that has been a combination of our organic investments as well as some of the M&A activities that we've had. So I think we want to ensure that we're gaping the competition, and I think we've positioned ourselves very nicely there for what we think is going to be driving growth over the next three to five years. So that's certainly an area that will continue to focus on opportunistically.

然後就整體技術而言，我的意思是，我認為我們確實將自己定位為自動化控制物聯網領域的領導者。其中很大一部分是我們的有機投資以及一些併購活動的結合。因此，我認為我們希望確保我們在競爭中處於領先地位，而且我認為我們已經為未來三到五年推動成長做好了充分準備。因此，這肯定是一個我們將繼續重點關注的領域。

Mig Dobre, Baird.

米格·多布雷、貝爾德。

Just maybe start with a clarification in this strategic review process, where are you on this? Is it complete? Is it still ongoing? Maybe to ask this question more pointedly, is Residential also being evaluated for strategic alternatives with something potentially happening down the line? Are there portions of your CFS portfolio that are being considered for divestiture?

也許可以從這個策略審查過程的澄清開始，您在這方面處於什麼位置？完整嗎？它還在進行嗎？也許可以更尖銳地提出這個問題，住宅區是否也正在接受戰略替代方案的評估，並且未來可能會發生一些事情？您的 CFS 投資組合中是否有部分資產正在考慮剝離？

I know that you've acquired a lot of businesses over time, and I do wonder if all those brands are as successful as you hoped or if you might find some better owners for some of those out there. So an update here would be helpful.

我知道您多年來已經收購了許多企業，我確實想知道這些品牌是否都如您所願地成功，或者您是否可以為其中一些品牌找到更好的所有者。因此在此處更新將會很有幫助。

Yeah. So look, I think we're continuously reviewing the portfolio, right? I mean, just this announcement is part of taking action on something that we think makes compelling strategic and financial sense for that business at this point in time. But we always review where we're at with all the businesses and what is the best opportunity to continue to grow those businesses, considering where they're at in their life cycle, what we see upcoming opportunities in the future.

是的。所以，我認為我們正在不斷審查投資組合，對嗎？我的意思是，我們認為這項聲明只是我們採取行動的一部分，這對我們目前的業務來說具有令人信服的策略和財務意義。但我們始終會回顧所有業務的現狀，以及繼續發展這些業務的最佳機會是什麼，同時考慮到它們處於生命週期的哪個階段，以及我們看到的未來​​機會。

And so I think right now, Food Processing is in a great place for us to take that next step, right? I mean, I think it will accelerate growth and be a continuation of the journey that we've been on for a long period of time. I mean, I think as we think about Residential, it's a phenomenal platform. I mean, we have assembled industry-leading brands. Even at what is now the trough, we're at very respectable margins. I would argue the margins that we have right now are in line with some of our peers on commercial foodservice and some of the food processing companies out there.

所以我認為現在，食品加工正處於一個非常適合我們採取下一步行動的階段，對嗎？我的意思是，我認為這將加速成長，並延續我們長期以來走過的旅程。我的意思是，我認為當我們考慮住宅時，它是一個非凡的平台。我的意思是，我們已經聚集了業界領先的品牌。即使目前處於低谷，我們的利潤率仍然非常可觀。我認為，我們目前的利潤率與一些商業餐飲業的同行以及一些食品加工公司的利潤率相當。

And so we see significant margin expansion, knowing that we've been to much higher levels in the past. And it's a stronger platform today, right? So those are things that we are considering for where we're at with the journey of Residential, right? So we're always going to be thinking about what is best for that business to reach its full potential and to maximize shareholder value.

因此，我們看到利潤率顯著擴大，因為我們知道我們過去的利潤率曾經達到更高的水平。現在它的平台更強大了，對吧？所以這些就是我們在住宅發展過程中正在考慮的事情，對嗎？因此，我們始終在思考如何最好地發揮企業的最大潛力並實現股東價值最大化。

But just to press you a little bit on Residential, I guess in a theoretical recovery here, what I've heard from you in the past is that when this business is operating in normal volumes, this is maybe a 20% EBITDA margin business. So in many ways, this business is dilutive to the overall portfolio from a margin standpoint. And it also carries an inherent degree of cyclicality that, arguably speaking, you do not have in Commercial Foodservice. The customers are also different. The way you go to market is different.

但只是想就住宅業務向您稍微施壓一下，我想在理論上的復甦中，我過去從您那裡聽到的是，當這項業務以正常量運營時，這可能是 20% 的 EBITDA 利潤率業務。因此，從利潤率的角度來看，這項業務在許多方面都會稀釋整體投資組合。而且它還具有一定的周期性，可以說，商業餐飲服務並不具備這種週期性。顧客也各有不同。進入市場的方式有所不同。

So what I'm trying to understand here is, other than where we are in the cycle, why this business would fit with the RemainCo longer term and how that would be additive to shareholder value?

所以，我在這裡試圖了解的是，除了我們處於週期中的位置之外，為什麼這項業務從長遠來看會適應「留守公司」制度，以及這將如何增加股東價值？

Well, I think we had similar conversations with that with Food Processing for many years, right? So I would say, it's not so different, right? I think there -- we've got a -- taking a long-term approach to build out that business and then take appropriate action when it was at -- it was an opportune time, and we were at kind of an appropriate chapter of its cycle, right?

嗯，我想我們多年來就食品加工問題進行過類似的對話，對嗎？所以我想說，這並沒有什麼不同，對吧？我認為——我們已經採取了——長期的方法來拓展業務，然後在適當的時候採取適當的行動——這是一個合適的時機，我們正處於其周期的一個適當篇章，對嗎？

So we're not saying that Residential maybe, at some point in time, maybe in a similar junction, but it's not today we see significant opportunity for improvement and because Food Processing had been a very lumpy and cyclical business. We've been told by shareholders for many years, and it would have also had lower margins, right? And we've kind of built it to the point that it is today that I think now, we're excited to unlock a lot of shareholder value and continue on the journey.

因此，我們並不是說住宅領域在某個時間點也許會面臨類似的情況，但我們現在並沒有看到重大的改進機會，因為食品加工一直是一個非常不穩定且具有週期性的業務。股東們多年來告訴我們，利潤率也會更低，對嗎？我們已經將它建設到了今天的水平，我認為現在，我們很高興能夠釋放大量股東價值並繼續前進。

So I would say, Residential has its own timing and cycle and life of where it is within the middle of the portfolio.

所以我想說，住宅有它自己的時間和週期以及在投資組合中間的位置。

Understood. Last question for me. Just on your outlook in Commercial Foodservice, if I heard you correctly, we're starting a little bit slow, maybe slightly negative organic growth. Implicitly, things get much better in the back half to get to low-single-digit growth. So I guess, I'm curious, do you expect to inflect positive from an organic growth in Q2? Or is this all a second half story? And what gives you the visibility that growth here can actually improve? And maybe you can comment in terms of what the headwinds have been in recent years and what gets better.

明白了。這是我的最後一個問題。關於您對商業食品服務的展望，如果我沒聽錯的話，我們的起步有點慢，可能略有負增長。隱含的意思是，下半年情況會好轉很多，達到低個位數的成長。所以我想，我很好奇，您是否預計第二季的有機成長將帶來正面影響？還是這都是故事的後半部？你怎麼知道這裡的成長確實可以改善？也許您可以評論近年來面臨的阻力是什麼以及哪些方面正在好轉。

This is Bryan. I'll start, I'll call it, on the number side a little bit and turn it over to Steve for some of the market commentary. We do things -- do think things improve sequentially throughout the year in terms of, I'll say, doing some math, the one nuance we have is we will compare '25 to '24. Is it Q2 '24 was the high point, so I'm not going to yet note specifically whether we'll eclipse Q2 of '24 and '25.

這是布萊恩。我先從數字方面開始講，然後交給史蒂夫進行一些市場評論。我們確實認為情況會在全年內逐漸改善，就我所說的做一些數學計算而言，我們唯一的細微差別是我們將 25 年與 24 年進行比較。2024 年第二季是不是最高點，所以我還不會具體指出我們是否會超越 2024 年和 2025 年第二季。

Obviously, the comps get a little bit easier in the back half of the year. Having said that, we're really looking at things over the perspective of a year and do expect generally improving conditions and hopefully delivering that revenue I noted. But Steve, I'll give it to you for some market perspectives.

顯然，今年下半年的競爭會變得容易一些。話雖如此，我們實際上是從一年的角度來看待問題，並且確實預計總體情況會改善，並且希望能夠實現我所指出的收入。但是史蒂夫，我會給你一些市場觀點。

Yeah, thank you, Bryan. I would call out maybe three specific areas, Mig, that gives us confidence in really the year progressing in a positive direction. We talked a lot about new store openings with our bigger chain customers, which they've gone back to the last couple of years. I think unfortunately, we have seen the last couple quarters of those new store openings being pushed out for a number of different reasons. Ranges from everything, from whether to obviously, the fires out West, snow, flooding, et cetera, has certainly impacted construction.

是的，謝謝你，布萊恩。米格，我想指出三個具體領域，這讓我們對今年的進展充滿信心。我們與較大的連鎖客戶討論了許多有關開設新店的事宜，過去幾年他們已經回到了這些連鎖客戶身邊。我認為不幸的是，我們看到過去幾季這些新店開業由於各種原因而被推遲。各種各樣的因素，顯然西部的火災、降雪、洪水等都對建築業產生了影響。

It's been allocation of personnel to actually build restaurants and just some of the broad macro challenges that the larger restaurant chains are facing. I think the positive there is if we look at our collective group of top chain customers and we compare their '25 build plans holistically for the entire year (inaudible) does push and move from quarter to quarter that the '25 build plans are up over '24. So I think we're pretty confident in our chain customers in their new store build plans for this year over '24.

這實際上是對餐廳建設人員的分配，也是大型連鎖餐廳面臨的宏觀挑戰之一。我認為積極的一面是，如果我們看一下我們的頂級連鎖客戶群體，並全面比較他們全年的'25建設計劃（聽不清），那麼'25建設計劃確實會逐季推動和推進，並且'25建設計劃比'24建設計劃有所增加。因此我認為，我們對我們的連鎖客戶今年及24年的新店建設計劃非常有信心。

I think the other thing we're seeing with our chain customers is knowing that opening stores has been more challenging. I do think you're seeing them add in sales layers to their existing footprints to try to capture market share. So that's where we're seeing beverage really start to pick up. That's going from being a concept to being actual reality in [that]. So that's the view on chains.

我認為我們從連鎖店客戶身上看到的另一個現像是，開店變得更具挑戰性。我確實認為你會看到他們在現有業務基礎上增加銷售層以試圖搶佔市場份額。所以我們看到飲料真的開始流行。這從一個概念變成了現實[那]。這就是對於鏈條的看法。

I would say just two more things. When we look at more the general market in the US, MAFSI, which is our association of reps here in the US, tracks every quarter. They're quoting consultant activity. If you look at their progression from the fourth quarter to the first quarter already, they see a very positive uptick in consultant and quoting activity to the general market, which aligns with what we're seeing from our reps and our dealers. So I think you're seeing that pipeline more or less build in the general market.

我只想再說兩件事。當我們進一步關注美國的一般市場時，MAFSI（我們在美國的代表協會）會每季進行追蹤。他們正在引用顧問的活動。如果您查看他們從第四季度到第一季的進展，他們會看到顧問和報價活動在整個市場中呈現出非常積極的上升趨勢，這與我們從我們的代表和經銷商那裡看到的情況一致。所以我認為你會看到該管道或多或少在一般市場中建立。

And I think the third thing I would call out, if you-picked up on the international markets that we talk about, I think we're very positive on what we've seen in our European divisions, knowing that there are some challenges in that market. But we've seen more and more people through innovation kitchens in both Madrid and in the UK. We're opening a new innovation kitchen in Munich this summer, so see, Germany is a big opportunity for us. So really see Europe actually with a lot of momentum as we go into this year.

我想說的第三件事是，如果你關注我們談論的國際市場，我認為我們對歐洲分部所看到的情況非常樂觀，因為我們知道該市場存在一些挑戰。但我們透過馬德里和英國的創新廚房看到了越來越多的人。今年夏天，我們將在慕尼黑開設一個新的創新廚房，所以德國對我們來說是一個巨大的機會。因此，我們確實看到，隨著今年的到來，歐洲實際上將擁有巨大的發展勢頭。

So it's really the change with the new stores. It's the quoting and consultant activity and I think some of the international markets that give us the confidence for the rest of this year, Mig.

所以這確實是新店帶來的改變。米格，我認為報價和諮詢活動以及一些國際市場給了我們對今年剩餘時間的信心。

And we did grow in Q4 internationally.

我們在第四季度的國際業務確實實現了成長。

Correct.

正確的。

Jeff Hammond, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

KeyBanc 資本市場公司的 Jeff Hammond。

Just last one I had on the Spin, can you just talk about what would you think the leverage profiles of each of the businesses are going to be? Do you leave more leverage on RemainCo and leave the balance sheet dry for acquisitions? Or is it more balanced?

我在 Spin 上問的最後一個問題，您能談談您認為每家企業的槓桿狀況是怎麼樣的嗎？您是否會在 RemainCo 上留下更多槓桿，並讓資產負債表為收購做好準備？或者說更加平衡？

Yeah, so we're still a year out from executing the Spin, right? So I think that things will evolve during the course of the year, but on balance, we would expect less leverage on the Food Processing business kind of given the M&A opportunities post-Spin.

是的，所以我們距離執行 Spin 還有一年的時間，對嗎？因此，我認為情況會在一年內發生變化，但總的來說，考慮到分拆後的併購機會，我們預計食品加工業務的槓桿率將會降低。

Okay. And then in terms of adding Ed Garden to the Board, can you maybe just -- I didn't see the 8-K. I don't know if it's out yet. Something -- I think you mentioned cooperation agreement, maybe some of the key tenants in there and if there's any kind of early feedback you've gotten from him or his group that they've kind of been built into this strategic plan?

好的。然後關於將 Ed Garden 加入董事會，您可能只是——我沒有看到 8-K。我不知道它是否已經出來了。某件事——我想您提到了合作協議，也許其中有一些關鍵的條款，以及您是否從他或他的團隊那裡得到了任何早期反饋，表明這些反饋已被納入這個戰略計劃中？

Yeah, so maybe I'll just kind of start with the Board refreshment overall because that's been a process we've been going through for a couple of years. We had brought on two new Board members w1ith Steve Scherger and Tejas Shah, which has been tremendous. So we've been excited about that, and they've contributed greatly to our Board. That process continued on as we kind of moved through the back half of last year.

是的，也許我會從董事會整體的更新開始，因為這是我們幾年來一直在經歷的過程。我們聘請了兩位新董事會成員，分別是 Steve Scherger 和 Tejas Shah，這是一個巨大的進步。因此我們對此感到非常興奮，他們為我們的董事會做出了巨大貢獻。這一過程一直持續到去年下半年。

So I mean, I think our -- we had a robust process that we're going through, thinking about the capabilities that we wanted to have to expand the Board, and again, that bring out fresh perspectives. So we were kind of in later stages of bringing on two new members alongside Jack Miller's announced retirement who had been a tremendous Board member over many years. And so as Ed kind of came into the fold, we've had very constructive conversations, sharing of perspective.

所以我的意思是，我認為我們——我們正在經歷一個強大的過程，思考我們想要擁有的擴大董事會的能力，並且再次帶來新的觀點。因此，我們在後期引入了兩位新成員，同時宣布退休，傑克米勒多年來一直是一位出色的董事會成員。當艾德加入我們之後，我們進行了非常有建設性的對話，分享了觀點。

So truly, we are very excited to have Ed joined the Board. I think he's going to add a lot of financial investor operational expertise insight and capabilities. So that's just kind of aligned. There is a cooperation agreement that's out there on our 8-K, but it's got, I would say, kind of standard -- standstill confidentiality provisions in it.

所以，我們真的很高興 Ed 加入董事會。我認為他將會增加許多金融投資者的營運專業知識、洞察力和能力。這只是一種一致的情況。我們的 8-K 表上有一項合作協議，但我想說，它裡面有一些標準的——靜止保密條款。

Bryan McNamara, Canaccord Genuity.

麥克納馬拉 (Bryan McNamara)，Canaccord Genuity。

I know you mentioned you regularly review the portfolio, but when was the official strategic review launched? Did that date back to the JBT Marel transaction last April? And is holding on to the Residential business at this point just a function of nursing that business back to health before you contemplate a separation or so?

我知道您提到您會定期審查投資組合，但是官方的策略審查是什麼時候啟動的呢？這可以追溯到去年 4 月的 JBT Marel 交易嗎？在考慮分離之前，堅持住宅業務是否只是為了讓該業務恢復健康？

So again, we're continuously have been reviewing the portfolio. So that was not only last year. That was the year before. So I mean, that is something our Board does regularly.

因此，我們一直在不斷審查投資組合。所以這不僅僅是去年的事。那是前年的事了。所以我的意思是，這是我們董事會經常做的事情。

I mean, I think with these things, they evolve. I mean, certainly, we were looking at many different options as we entered the year last year and then I think as we started evolving what we thought might be the most strategic option to unlock shareholder value for the long term. That was probably mid-year when we made that kind of more of an official comprehensive review, bringing on advisors in that regard.

我的意思是，我認為隨著這些事物的發展，它們會不斷發展。我的意思是，當然，我們在去年進入新年時就考慮了很多不同的選擇，然後我認為，我們開始發展我們認為可能是長期釋放股東價值的最具策略性的選擇。那大概是在年中，我們進行了一次更正式的全面審查，並聘請了相關顧問。

And look, the Residential business, I would not frame it the way you did. I mean, I think we -- again, it is a tough period for Residential. There's no question about it where housing, existing home sales, remodels are -- it's disrupted operationally even by [try] to execute in the marketplace because getting contractors, electricians, et cetera. I mean, I think that that's been pressure on longer lead time products in the housing market.

你看，對於住宅業務，我不會像你那樣來建造它。我的意思是，我認為我們——這對住宅來說又是一個艱難的時期。毫無疑問，住房、現有房屋銷售和改建——甚至由於獲得承包商、電工等，它在市場上的運作也受到了乾擾。我的意思是，我認為這對房地產市場上交貨期較長的產品造成了壓力。

And when you're dealing kind of with the premium sector, we get hit a bit harder, so it takes a little bit longer to start the engines. But when it comes back, it's going to come back strong. So we're confident of that.

而在處理高端領域時，我們受到的打擊會更大一些，因此啟動引擎需要更長的時間。但當它回歸時，它會強勢回歸。所以我們對此充滿信心。

So it is an exciting platform that I think when it is not in, I won't call it a cycle; I would call it a disrupted period. I mean kind of coming out of COVID, that's just kind of not normal macro up and down. It's a significant disruption. So we think, in better days, that this is a very -- this is a best-in-class, the highest margin, very unique portfolio of premium brands with nothing else like it. And we think there's a lot of shareholder value there.

所以這是一個令人興奮的平台，我認為當它不存在時，我不會稱它為一個週期；我稱之為一段混亂時期。我的意思是，從某種程度上來說，擺脫 COVID 之後，這不太正常的宏觀起伏。這是一個重大的破壞。因此我們認為，在更好的日子裡，這是一個非常——這是一流的、利潤最高的、非常獨特的高端品牌組合，沒有其他品牌能與之媲美。我們認為這其中蘊含著巨大的股東價值。

That being said, we always will continue to review the portfolio, what is the best opportunities for each of the businesses for the long term and to create shareholder value. But we think that the Residential business, again, presents probably some of the higher growth and higher margin expansion opportunities as we go through the next several years, kind of flipping it from where we are to where we think we will be.

話雖如此，我們將始終持續審查投資組合，尋找每個企業的長期最佳機會並創造股東價值。但我們認為，在未來幾年中，住宅業務可能再次帶來一些更高成長、更高利潤的擴張機會，這將使我們從目前的狀況轉變為我們認為將要達到的狀況。

Great, that's helpful. Secondly, on Commercial Foodservice, can you talk about your price and volume expectations for 2025 and compare that to recent years? Are volumes expected to be negative?

很好，很有幫助。其次，關於商業餐飲服務，您能談談您對 2025 年的價格和銷售預期，並將其與最近幾年的情況進行比較嗎？預計交易量會為負數嗎？

No. I mean, I think the pricing benefits for '25 are modest at best. We haven't maybe have the same level of pricing actions to start this year that we have in prior years as you look at what's kind of cumulatively happened over the past, let's say, four years or so. So I think we are in a year here where it will be more volume driven than price driven.

不。我的意思是，我認為 25 年的定價優勢至多也只是適度的。從過去四年左右的累積情況來看，今年年初我們可能沒有採取與前幾年相同水準的定價行動。因此我認為，今年我們將更多地受產量而非價格的驅動。

Great. And then finally, I guess for just your restaurant customers, how would you characterize the current operating environment? You have big players really leaning into value for limited time offers going from one month to one year. You said and you -- you're confident in your store's opening plans, I guess, your store customers opening plans this year. I guess, what drives that confidence kind of given the mid-year surprise in 2024?

偉大的。最後，我想針對您的餐廳顧客，您如何描述目前的營運環境？大玩家確實傾向於從一個月到一年的限時優惠的價值。您說過，您對您商店的開業計劃很有信心，我想，您商店的客戶今年的開業計劃也一樣。我想，考慮到 2024 年中期的意外情況，是什麼推動了這種信心？

Yes, it's a great question. I think, yes, there has been this push towards value that I think has probably been more in the traditional fast food QSR segment. I think what you're seeing though is I think you're seeing some of the more fast, casual dining concepts really start to thrive. I mean, I give so many of them a lot of credit for thinking creatively about adopting new operational initiatives, new technology initiatives to help with throughput, to help drive labor costs down, to help drive food costs down, and I think you're seeing those actually thrive in this scenario.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。是的，我認為，人們已經意識到價值的提升，這種趨勢可能更體現在傳統快餐 QSR 領域。我想您所看到的是一些更快捷、更休閒的餐飲概念確實開始蓬勃發展。我的意思是，我高度讚揚他們中的許多人創造性地思考採用新的營運舉措、新的技術舉措來幫助提高產量、幫助降低勞動力成本、幫助降低食品成本，而且我認為，你會看到，在這種情況下，這些舉措實際上正在蓬勃發展。

So it's a little bit of a nuance that yes, there are challenges around value, but you're also seeing again those, let's say, more forward-thinking chains again really adopt the new technologies and try to drive their costs overall down to give a better product experience to consumers. So I think that's very positive.

因此，這有點微妙，是的，在價值方面存在挑戰，但你也會再次看到，那些更有遠見的連鎖店再次真正採用新技術，並試圖降低整體成本，為消費者提供更好的產品體驗。所以我認為這是非常積極的。

I think in terms of what gives us confidence is all the chains are very open with their new store plans. And I do believe that if you look at them, there's so many new markets that they're entering in, especially from an international standpoint. And so I think when you look at markets like in India, certainly, parts of Europe, parts of Africa that are still new up and coming markets for these chains, they have to get there. And I think they're looking to us more and more to drive down the economics of opening those restaurants, which I think were coming through for them.

我認為讓我們有信心的原因是所有連鎖店都對其新店計劃持非常開放的態度。我確實相信，如果你看看他們，你會發現他們正在進入許多新市場，特別是從國際角度來看。所以我認為，當你看看印度這樣的市場，當然還有歐洲部分地區、非洲部分地區，這些市場對這些連鎖店來說仍然是新興市場，他們必須進入這些市場。我認為他們越來越希望我們降低開設這些餐廳的經濟成本，我認為這對他們來說是有利的。

So I think, yes, there's been a couple quarters where things have been kind of pushed out to the right. I think what gives us confidence is nobody, for the most part, in those changes has pulled their numbers down holistically for the year. So again, things are always going to move from quarter to quarter but really feel like they have held to their overall next 12 to 15 month build plan.

所以我認為，是的，有幾季的情況已經被推向了右邊。我認為，讓我們有信心的是，在這些變化中，大多數人沒有在全年整體上拉低數字。所以，話又說回來，事情總是會從一個季度轉移到另一個季度，但確實感覺他們已經堅持了未來 12 到 15 個月的整體建設計劃。

Just adding a couple of other things. I think some of the chains were surprised with traffic in the back half of the year. It was expected to grow, and that became a little bit more of a challenge. I think as of late or as we left the year, traffic patterns had started to improve. So I think that gives a little bit more confidence to the chains. Food cost was also another driver, and it's kind of a whole cycle of food costs being up, venue goes up, traffic goes down.

只需添加一些其他的東西。我認為一些連鎖店對今年下半年的客流量感到驚訝。預計它會成長，而這變得更具挑戰性。我認為截至目前為止或說我們即將離開的時候，交通狀況已經開始改善。所以我認為這會為連鎖店帶來更多信心。食品成本也是另一個驅動因素，這是一個食品成本上漲、場地價格上漲、客流量下降的循環。

I think the -- and we did see inflation in food costs in the back half of the year, which I don't think a lot of our chain customers were anticipating. So I think it was kind of a function of some of those dynamics and how that worked through their operation. I think going into this year, there's more stability in food costs, which then I think allows them to think about menu pricing which then helps drive traffic and then traffic patterns improving.

我認為——我們確實看到今年下半年食品成本上漲，我想很多連鎖客戶都沒有預料到這一點。所以我認為這是某些動態的功能以及它們如何透過其運作發揮作用。我認為今年的食品成本將更加穩定，這使他們能夠考慮菜單定價，有助於推動客流量，並改善客流量模式。

So I just think it's a little -- some of the issues that we saw in the third quarter started to kind of work their way through the cycle, which then allows the chains to be a little bit more confident executing on their plans.

所以我只是認為，我們在第三季度看到的一些問題開始在整個週期中發揮作用，這使得連鎖店對執行他們的計劃更有信心。

Tami Zakaria, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的塔米·扎卡里亞。

A question on the parts and services business. I saw on the presentation, RemainCo has about 17%, and the SpinCo would be about 33%. Do you have any targets in mind to increase the mix of parts and services over time for either of these businesses? Is that going to be a focus or strategy going forward? Or do you think this makes is pretty reasonable through the cycle?

關於零件和服務業務的問題。我在簡報中看到，RemainCo 約佔 17%，而 SpinCo 約佔 33%。您是否有任何目標來隨著時間的推移增加這兩家公司的零件和服務組合？這會成為未來的重點或策略嗎？或者您認為這在整個週期內是相當合理的嗎？

Yeah. No, that's a great question. I think we have initiatives and expectations to increase and invest in service for both Food Processing as well as RemainCo. One of the slides that we also put in the investor deck, a lot of the go-to market initiatives that we have to drive organic growth that includes service. I think we're very focused on how do we provide and enhance a more efficient customer experience, kind of leveraging the scale of the platform, leveraging some of the new tools that we've got coming out.

是的。不，這是一個很好的問題。我認為我們有舉措和期望來增加和投資食品加工以及RemainCo 的服務。我們在投資者展示平台上提供的其中一張幻燈片中介紹了我們為推動包括服務在內的有機成長所採取的許多市場舉措。我認為我們非常關注如何提供和增強更有效率的客戶體驗，利用平台的規模，利用我們推出的一些新工具。

IoT is included in that as we start leveraging data for service. And those statements are true, both for Food Processing as well as for Commercial. So I think over time, our expectation is to increase the percentage of that piece of the pie for all the businesses, respectively.

當我們開始利用資料提供服務時，物聯網就包含在其中。這些說法都是正確的，無論是食品加工或商業。因此，我認為隨著時間的推移，我們的期望是分別增加所有企業在這一領域的份額。

Understood. That's very helpful. So a quick follow-up to that is, would you be able to tell us what the mix was for these two businesses, call it, in 2019? I'm just trying to understand how the mix has changed over time in the last five years.

明白了。這非常有幫助。那麼，一個簡單的後續問題就是，您能告訴我們 2019 年這兩家企業的組合嗎？我只是想要了解過去五年中這種組合是如何隨著時間而變化的。

Yeah, Tami this is Bryan. I'd have to go back and see. I forget if we started breaking that out as early as '19. My colleagues think maybe it was around 2021 we started publishing some, I'll say, pie charts on that. I'll say Residential has always had the lowest portion of its business in terms of parts as you think about the three segments. I bet Commercial has been probably fairly consistent in the high-teens to 20%-ish area.

是的，塔米，我是布萊恩。我得回去看看。我忘了我們是否早在 19 年就已經開始突破這一點了。我的同事認為，大概在 2021 年左右我們開始發布一些相關餅圖。我想說，當你考慮這三個部分時，住宅業務在零件方面的佔比一直是最低的。我敢打賭，商業廣告的比例可能相當穩定，在 10% 到 20% 左右的範圍內。

Certainly, the last five years.

當然，是過去五年。

And then Food Processing is one that we've probably been doing -- has seen the most growth in it as we've been really working to offer more services to our customers, and with that, comes parts. And also, our customers have seen how their operations are being managed, has been evolving as we've been working through, I'll call it, labor issues for the past couple of years.

然後，食品加工可能是我們一直在做的一個領域——它是成長最快的領域，因為我們一直在努力為客戶提供更多的服務，隨之而來的是零件的供應。此外，我們的客戶也看到了他們的營運是如何管理的，隨著我們過去幾年來一直在努力解決勞工問題，這種管理方式也在不斷發展。

A lot of our large customers, say, have lost some of their maintenance and service abilities on their own. And it's giving us nice opportunities to be providing that level of service to them. As Tim noted, in Commercial, working on certain things strategically to be an even better and more aligned service provider with different networks out there.

我們的許多大客戶已經自行失去了一些維護和服務能力。這給我們提供了很好的機會為他們提供這種程度的服務。正如蒂姆所說，在商業領域，我們正在策略性地進行某些工作，以便成為一個更好、與不同網路更加協調的服務提供者。

Walt Liptak, Seaport.

沃爾特·利普塔克 (Walt Liptak)，海港。

Yeah, I wanted to ask about your supply chain work. I think you've been doing procurement and in supply chain operations or consolidations for a number of years now. And I wonder -- I think I heard in the prepared remarks that there's going to be some benefits in 2025. I wonder if you could talk about if that's true and if you guys are getting some benefits in 2025 from that.

是的，我想詢問一下你們的供應鏈工作。我想您已經從事採購和供應鏈營運或整合工作好多年了。我想知道——我想我在準備好的演講中聽過，2025 年會有一些好處。我想知道你們是否可以談談這是否屬實，以及您是否會在 2025 年從中獲得一些好處。

Yeah. Good morning, Walt. This is Steve. I call out a couple things from a supply chain standpoint. I think our team, really, over the last four or five years, has done a phenomenal job, first, navigating all the supply chain disruption certainly from a couple years ago and then as we kind of move into this new chapter with the tariffs coming through. I think we are extremely well positioned to navigate that from a competitive landscape standpoint.

是的。早上好，沃特。這是史蒂夫。我從供應鏈的角度指出幾點。我認為我們的團隊在過去四、五年裡確實做了出色的工作，首先，我們解決了幾年前出現的所有供應鏈中斷問題，然後隨著關稅的出台，我們進入了新的篇章。我認為，從競爭格局的角度來看，我們處於非常有利的位置來應對這個問題。

I think, from a pure cost savings perspective, I think it's a challenge that we put in front of every one of our divisions every year to be thoughtful and creative on how we can come up with supply chain savings. And then you layer in the Middleby supply chain team on top of that to leverage our brands together, to leverage the network together to come up with savings. So we do feel like there are savings that will come through this year from a supply chain standpoint. But I also really want to call out, I think that we're extremely well positioned to navigate the tariffs, having focused so much, obviously being predominantly domestic manufacturer across really all three of our segments.

我認為，從純粹的成本節約角度來看，這是我們每年擺在每個部門面前的挑戰，需要我們深思熟慮並發揮創造力，思考如何實現供應鏈節約。然後，您將 Middleby 供應鏈團隊置於其上，共同利用我們的品牌、共同利用網絡來實現節約。因此，我們確實覺得從供應鏈的角度來看今年可以實現節約。但我也真的想說一下，我認為我們非常有能力應對關稅，因為我們非常專注，而且顯然我們在所有三個部門都以國內製造商為主。

Our team has done a great job over the last couple of years, really, I'll call it, nearshoring our supply chain and manufacturing in many ways. I think we've been very focused on diversifying our qualified supplier roster, if you will, to make sure that we have domestic suppliers if we had an international supplier in some aspects.

在過去的幾年裡，我們的團隊做得非常出色，實際上，我稱之為在許多方面實現我們的供應鏈和製造的近岸外包。我認為，我們一直非常注重使我們的合格供應商名冊多樣化，以確保如果我們在某些​​方面有國際供應商，那麼我們就有國內供應商。

And I think, fundamentally, we're always leveraging the Middleby global supply chain network, having 120 brands across the globe and leveraging that to really build up a more resilient supply chain. So I think that positions us uniquely. It's a great competitive advantage, I think, as we come into this year, both from a savings standpoint but really from a competitive selling perspective as well.

我認為，從根本上來說，我們始終在利用 Middleby 全球供應鏈網絡，該網絡遍布全球 120 個品牌，我們利用該網絡真正建立更具彈性的供應鏈。所以我認為這使我們處於獨特的地位。我認為，隨著我們進入今年，這是一個巨大的競爭優勢，不僅從節約的角度，而且從競爭銷售的角度來看也是如此。

Okay, great. Maybe this is a follow-up, with the Food Processing, are there -- or have there been supply chain cost savings between the other two segments between Commercial Foodservice and Residential? Or are they -- or those supply chain benefits unique to each of the segments?

好的，太好了。也許這是對食品加工的後續關注，或者商業餐飲服務和住宅之間的其他兩個部分之間是否存在供應鏈成本節省？或者它們——或者這些供應鏈優勢對於每個細分市場來說都是獨一無二的？

There are -- so we've got one supply chain team that facilitates across all three of the businesses, and there's kind of unique, I'll say, synergies, depending on product by product, brand by brand. The Food Processing is inherently different in terms of the products of -- actually, size of the products and some of the components that go into it. So there's probably a bit less synergies there with the Food Processing than there is with Commercial and Residential, which you've got great similarity frankly in the process and has very much an overlapping and shared supply chain.

我們有一支供應鏈團隊，為三項業務提供便利，而且根據產品和品牌的不同，存在著獨特的協同效應。食品加工在產品方面本質上是不同的——實際上，產品的尺寸以及其中的一些成分。因此，食品加工與商業和住宅之間的協同作用可能要小一些，坦白說，商業和住宅在流程上非常相似，而且供應鏈非常重疊和共享。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Tim Fitzgerald for any closing remarks. Please go ahead, sir.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議交還給提姆·費茲傑拉先生，請他作最後發言。先生，請繼續。

Yeah. So thank you, everybody, for joining us today on the call. Obviously, we're excited about all the announcements that we've made and looking forward to the future of Middleby and the Food Processing spend. And we think it's going to create meaningful value to all of our shareholders and looking forward to updating everybody on those activities we kind of move through the next several quarters.

是的。所以感謝大家今天參加我們的電話會議。顯然，我們對所做的所有公告感到興奮，並期待米德爾比和食品加工支出的未來。我們認為這將為我們所有的股東創造有意義的價值，我們期待在接下來的幾季向大家通報我們所進行的活動。

Hopefully, we'll see some of you at NAFEM as James mentioned. We've got an exciting trade show with our latest and greatest products, and otherwise, we will talk to you next quarter.

希望我們能在 NAFEM 上見到你們，正如詹姆斯所說的那樣。我們將舉辦一場令人興奮的貿易展覽會，展示我們最新、最棒的產品，除此之外，我們將在下個季度與您交流。

The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。