Merit Medical Systems Inc (MMSI) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year 2022 Earnings Conference Call for Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (Operator Instruction]I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Fred Lampropoulos, Merit Medical Systems' Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

歡迎來到 Merit Medical Systems, Inc. 2022 財年第四季度收益電話會議（操作員說明）我現在想把電話轉給 Merit Medical Systems 的創始人、董事長兼首席執行官 Fred Lampropoulos 先生。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, and welcome, everyone, to Merit Medical Systems' Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year 2022 Earnings Conference Call. I am joined on the call today by Raul Parra, our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; and Brian Lloyd, our Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. Brian, would you mind taking us through our safe harbor provision.

謝謝大家，歡迎大家參加 Merit Medical Systems 2022 財年第四季度收益電話會議。今天，我們的首席財務官兼財務主管勞爾·帕拉 (Raul Parra) 也和我一起參加了電話會議；以及我們的首席法務官兼公司秘書 Brian Lloyd。布賴恩，你介意帶我們看看我們的安全港條款嗎？

Thanks, Fred. I would like to remind everyone that this presentation contains forward-looking statements that receive safe harbor protection under federal securities laws. Although we believe these forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, they are subject to unknown risks and uncertainties. The realization of any of these risks or uncertainties as well as extraordinary events or transactions impacting our company could cause actual results to differ materially from those from anticipated.

謝謝，弗雷德。我想提醒大家，本演示文稿包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述根據聯邦證券法受到安全港保護。儘管我們認為這些前瞻性陳述是基於合理的假設，但它們受到未知風險和不確定性的影響。實現任何這些風險或不確定性以及影響我們公司的特殊事件或交易可能導致實際結果與預期結果大不相同。

In addition, any forward-looking statements represent our views only as of today, February 22, 2023 and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any other date. We specifically disclaim any obligation to update such statements, except as required by applicable law. Please refer to the section entitled Cautionary Statement -- regarding -- forward-looking Statements in today's presentation for important information regarding such statements. Please also refer to our most recent filings with the SEC for a discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements. Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles, which are generally accepted in the United States. However, we believe certain non-GAAP financial measures provide investors with useful information regarding the underlying business trends and performance of our ongoing operations and can be useful for period-over-period comparisons of such operations.

此外，任何前瞻性陳述僅代表我們截至今天（2023 年 2 月 22 日）的觀點，不應被視為代表我們截至任何其他日期的觀點。除非適用法律要求，否則我們明確表示不承擔任何更新此類聲明的義務。有關此類聲明的重要信息，請參閱今天演示文稿中標題為“關於前瞻性聲明的警告聲明”的部分。另請參閱我們最近提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件，以討論可能導致實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述不同的因素。我們的財務報表是根據美國普遍接受的會計原則編制的。然而，我們認為某些非 GAAP 財務指標為投資者提供了有關我們持續運營的基本業務趨勢和績效的有用信息，並且可用於此類運營的期間與期間比較。

This presentation also contains certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measures is included in today's press release and presentation furnished to the SEC under Form 8-K. Please refer to the section of our presentation entitled -- non-GAAP Financial Measures for important information regarding non-GAAP financial measures discussed on this call. Readers should consider non-GAAP financial measures in addition to, not as a substitute for, financial reporting measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Please note that these calculations may not be comparable with similarly titled measures of other companies. Both today's press release and our presentation are available on the Investors page of our website. I will now turn the call back to Fred.

本演示文稿還包含某些非 GAAP 財務指標。非 GAAP 財務指標與最直接可比的美國 GAAP 指標的對賬包含在今天的新聞稿和根據 8-K 表格提交給 SEC 的演示文稿中。有關本次電話會議上討論的非 GAAP 財務措施的重要信息，請參閱我們的演示文稿部分——非 GAAP 財務措施。讀者應考慮非 GAAP 財務措施，以補充而非替代根據 GAAP 編制的財務報告措施。請注意，這些計算可能無法與其他公司的類似名稱的措施進行比較。今天的新聞稿和我們的演示文稿都可以在我們網站的投資者頁面上找到。我現在將電話轉回給 Fred。

Well, thank you, Brian. And let me start with a brief agenda of what we will cover during our prepared remarks. I will start with an overview of our strong revenue results for the fourth quarter. And after my opening remarks, Raul will provide you with a more in-depth review of our quarterly financial results and the formal financial guidance for 2023 that we introduced in today's press release as well as a summary of our balance sheet and financial condition as of December 31, 2022. Following that, we will open the call for your questions.

好吧，謝謝你，布賴恩。讓我先簡要介紹一下我們在準備好的發言中將涵蓋的內容。我將從概述我們第四季度強勁的收入結果開始。在我的開場白之後，Raul 將為您提供對我們季度財務業績和我們在今天的新聞稿中介紹的 2023 年正式財務指導的更深入回顧，以及截至 2023 年的資產負債表和財務狀況摘要2022 年 12 月 31 日。之後，我們將開始徵集您的問題。

Now beginning with a review of our fourth quarter revenue performance, we reported total GAAP revenue of $293 million in the fourth quarter, up 5% year-over-year. Our total GAAP revenue growth was driven by 7% growth in the U.S. and 3% growth in international sales. Our total revenue increased 8% year-over-year in the fourth quarter on an organic constant currency basis, excluding the headwind to our GAAP revenue growth related to changes in exchange rates compared to the prior year period. We delivered constant currency revenue results at the high end of our growth expectations that we discussed in our quarter 3 earnings call. Specifically, we shared our expectations for constant currency revenue growth in the range of 6% to 8% year-over-year in the fourth quarter.

現在從回顧我們第四季度的收入表現開始，我們報告第四季度的 GAAP 總收入為 2.93 億美元，同比增長 5%。我們的 GAAP 總收入增長是由美國 7% 的增長和 3% 的國際銷售額增長推動的。我們的總收入在第四季度按有機固定貨幣計算同比增長 8%，不包括與去年同期相比匯率變化對我們的 GAAP 收入增長造成的不利影響。我們在第三季度財報電話會議上討論的增長預期的高端實現了穩定的貨幣收入結果。具體來說，我們分享了我們對第四季度貨幣收入同比增長 6% 至 8% 的預期。

Quarter 4 constant currency revenue results were a result of solid execution from our team and were primarily driven by a more favorable than anticipated international sales trend, particularly in the EMEA region. And demand in the United States that was in line with the growth expectations we outlined in our third quarter call. Now let me provide you with a more detailed review of our revenue results in the fourth quarter, beginning with the sales performance in each of our primary reportable product categories. Note unless otherwise stated, all growth rates are approximated on our year-over-year and constant currency basis. We have included reconciliations from our GAAP reported results to the related non-GAAP item in our press release and presentation available on our website.

第 4 季度固定貨幣收入結果是我們團隊穩健執行的結果，主要是由比預期更有利的國際銷售趨勢推動的，尤其是在歐洲、中東和非洲地區。美國的需求符合我們在第三季度電話會議中概述的增長預期。現在讓我為您提供對我們第四季度收入結果的更詳細回顧，首先是我們每個主要可報告產品類別的銷售業績。請注意，除非另有說明，否則所有增長率均以我們的同比和固定貨幣為基礎進行估算。我們已將我們的 GAAP 報告結果與我們網站上提供的新聞稿和演示文稿中的相關非 GAAP 項目進行了對賬。

Now fourth quarter total revenue growth was driven by 9% growth in our Cardiovascular segment, offset partially by a 6% decline in our Endoscopy segment. Cardiovascular growth exceeded the high end of our expectations in Q4 and Endoscopy growth came in within the range of our expectations in quarter 4. Sales of our peripheral intervention products increased 9%, representing the largest driver of total cardiovascular segment growth again this quarter. Within the PI product category, Sales of our embolics and access products increased 14% and 15%, respectively, and together represented roughly 44% of our total PI growth and sales of our radar localization and geography and biopsy products each increased in the low double digits year-over-year and together represented roughly 41% of our total PI growth in quarter 4.

現在第四季度的總收入增長是由我們心血管部門 9% 的增長推動的，部分被我們的內窺鏡部門下降 6% 所抵消。第四季度心血管增長超出了我們預期的上限，內窺鏡檢查增長在我們第四季度的預期範圍內。我們的外周介入產品銷售額增長了 9%，再次成為本季度心血管領域總增長的最大推動力。在 PI 產品類別中，我們的栓塞和通路產品的銷售額分別增長了 14% 和 15%，合計占我們 PI 總增長的大約 44%，我們的雷達定位和地理和活檢產品的銷售額均以低雙增長數字同比增長，合計約佔第 4 季度總 PI 增長的 41%。

Cardiac invention product sales increased 10% in Q4, representing the second largest contributor to total cardiovascular segment growth year-over-year. Within our cardiac intervention business, the 3 largest contributors in the fourth quarter were 16% growth in sales of angiography products 6% growth in sales of interventional products and 19% growth in the sales of EP CRM products. Angiography products growth was driven by impressive growth results in our inquired diagnostic guidewires. Intervention products growth was driven by another strong quarter of demand for our PhD hemostatic valve products and EP/CRM product growth was driven by strong demand for our Snapsheet and our heart span sheets. Sales of our OEM products increased 16%, exceeding the high end of our expectations in Q4, which we attribute to continued improving demand from larger customers in multiple categories, including merit coatings, kits and angiography products.

心臟發明產品銷售額在第四季度增長了 10%，是心血管領域總銷售額同比增長的第二大貢獻者。在我們的心臟介入業務中，第四季度貢獻最大的三個是血管造影產品銷售額增長 16%、介入產品銷售額增長 6% 和 EP CRM 產品銷售額增長 19%。血管造影產品的增長是由我們詢問的診斷導絲的令人印象深刻的增長結果推動的。干預產品的增長是由對我們的 PhD 止血閥產品的又一個強勁需求推動的，而 EP / CRM 產品的增長是由對我們的 Snapsheet 和心臟跨度片的強勁需求推動的。我們 OEM 產品的銷售額增長了 16%，超過了我們在第四季度預期的上限，我們將這歸因於多個類別的大客戶的需求持續增加，包括優點塗層、套件和血管造影產品。

Finally, sales of our CPS products increased 2%, and sales in our Endoscopy segment decreased 6%, both of which were largely in line with the range of growth assumptions supporting our Q4 revenue expectations. Now turning to a brief summary of our sales performance on a geographic basis. Our fourth quarter sales in the U.S. increased 5% year-over-year. Sales to U.S. customers came in at the midpoint of our growth expectations and represented 34% of our total company constant currency growth this quarter. International sales increased 12% year-over-year, which is strong performance in light of the challenging global macro environment in certain international markets in Q4. We -- all 3 of our major regions posted growth at the high end or above the high end of our expectations in the fourth quarter specifically. Sales in EMEA, APAC and the rest of the world regions increased 15%, 11% and 9%, respectively, year-over-year. While all 3 regions were strong in Q4, we saw the most upside versus expectations in the EMEA region, driven primarily by demand from Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe. APAC growth was driven primarily by high single-digit growth in China, where we are seeing strong demand for PI and CI product, which is more than offsetting the continued headwinds related to volume-based purchasing. Low double-digit growth in Japan also contributed to strong growth in the APAC region in Q4. We -- and lastly, in our rest of the world region, we delivered 9% growth year-over-year, which was also ahead of expectations, driven by 20% growth in Canada and mid-teens growth in Latin America and Mexico, partially offset by high single-digit declines in Brazil compared to the prior year period.

最後，我們的 CPS 產品銷售額增長了 2%，我們內窺鏡部門的銷售額下降了 6%，這兩者在很大程度上符合支持我們第四季度收入預期的增長假設範圍。現在轉向對我們按地域劃分的銷售業績的簡要總結。我們在美國的第四季度銷售額同比增長 5%。對美國客戶的銷售額處於我們增長預期的中點，佔本季度我們公司總不變貨幣增長的 34%。國際銷售額同比增長 12%，鑑於第四季度某些國際市場充滿挑戰的全球宏觀環境，這是一個強勁的表現。我們 - 我們所有 3 個主要地區都在第四季度實現了高端或高於我們預期的高端增長。 EMEA、亞太地區和世界其他地區的銷售額分別同比增長 15%、11% 和 9%。雖然 3 個地區在第四季度都表現強勁，但我們看到歐洲、中東和非洲地區的上行空間高於預期，主要受德國、法國、英國和東歐需求的推動。亞太地區的增長主要受到中國高個位數增長的推動，我們看到中國對 PI 和 CI 產品的強勁需求，這足以抵消與批量採購相關的持續不利因素。日本的低兩位數增長也推動了亞太地區第四季度的強勁增長。我們 - 最後，在我們的世界其他地區，我們實現了 9% 的同比增長，這也超出了預期，這得益於加拿大 20% 的增長以及拉丁美洲和墨西哥的十幾歲中期增長，與去年同期相比，巴西的高個位數下降部分抵消了這一影響。

In summary, we're encouraged by the solid growth trends and part of our team's strong execution despite another quarter marked by a challenging operating environment, particularly in international markets. Now before turning the call over to Raul, I want to comment on a few other noteworthy items in the quarter. First, we delivered another quarter of profitability improvement, margin expansion and free cash flow generation in Q4. We -- our non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP operating profit and non-GAAP net income increased 4%, 8% and 13% year-over-year, respectively, in Q4. Our non-GAAP operating margin increased 47 basis points year-over-year to 17.8%, and we generated $15.5 million of free cash flow in the quarter. We believe our financial results in the fourth quarter represent a continuation of the strong performance that we've delivered throughout fiscal year 2022.

總而言之，儘管另一個季度的運營環境充滿挑戰，尤其是在國際市場，但我們對穩健的增長趨勢和我們團隊的部分強大執行力感到鼓舞。現在，在將電話轉給 Raul 之前，我想對本季度其他一些值得注意的項目發表評論。首先，我們在第四季度實現了另一個季度的盈利能力改善、利潤率擴張和自由現金流產生。我們——我們的非 GAAP 毛利潤、非 GAAP 營業利潤和非 GAAP 淨收入在第四季度分別同比增長 4%、8% 和 13%。我們的非 GAAP 營業利潤率同比增長 47 個基點至 17.8%，本季度我們產生了 1550 萬美元的自由現金流。我們相信，我們第四季度的財務業績代表了我們在整個 2022 財年實現的強勁業績的延續。

Importantly, we believe our financial results this year represent clear evidence that we are executing towards our goal of enhancing Merit's long-term growth and profitability profile. Specifically, in fiscal year 2022, we delivered more than 9% constant currency revenue growth, improvements in our profitability profile with a 17% non-GAAP operating margin, a 91 basis point improvement year-over-year, and we generated strong free cash flow of nearly $70 million. We remain committed to the financial targets that we outlined in the Foundations for Growth program for the 3-year period ending December 31, 2023, which by the way, a reminder called for constant currency organic revenue to increase at a CAGR of at least 5%; non-GAAP operating margins of at least 18% and cumulative free cash flow generated of more than $300 million.

重要的是，我們相信我們今年的財務業績清楚地表明我們正在朝著提高 Merit 的長期增長和盈利能力的目標執行。具體而言，在 2022 財年，我們實現了超過 9% 的固定貨幣收入增長，我們的盈利狀況有所改善，非 GAAP 營業利潤率為 17%，同比提高 91 個基點，並且我們產生了強勁的自由現金流量近7000萬美元。我們仍然致力於實現我們在增長基礎計劃中概述的截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日的 3 年期間的財務目標，順便提一下，這提醒我們要以至少 5 的複合年增長率增加固定貨幣有機收入%;非 GAAP 營業利潤率至少為 18%，累計產生的自由現金流超過 3 億美元。

Second, I wanted to highlight another area where our team has been executing well towards one of our key strategic initiatives, specifically the development, clearance and commercialization of new products. Throughout fiscal year 2022, we highlighted via press releases, our progress, including 8 new product launches, a FDA 510 clearance and a breakthrough designation from the FDA. I'm proud of the team's continued commitment to the strong execution in the areas of development, clearance and commercialization of new products in 2022. Finally, we also made progress in recent months towards our strategic initiative to expand the body of clinical evidence for our product.

其次，我想強調另一個領域，我們的團隊在其中一項關鍵戰略舉措方面執行得很好，特別是新產品的開發、許可和商業化。在整個 2022 財年，我們通過新聞稿強調了我們的進展，包括 8 種新產品的發布、FDA 510 批准和 FDA 的突破性指定。我為團隊在 2022 年繼續致力於在新產品的開發、批准和商業化領域強有力地執行而感到自豪。最後，我們在最近幾個月也在我們的戰略計劃方面取得了進展，以擴大我們的臨床證據體系產品。

Specifically, our clinical study, the WAVE study of the Rhapsody endovascular stent lap, an investigational device being studied for the treatment of stenosis or occlusion within dialysis outflow circuits continues to progress. We have 42 clinical sites actively enrolling patients, and we are targeting full enrollment of the first cohort by the end of quarter 3 of 2023. We were pleased to begin enrollment in Brazil in the fourth quarter as well. The RAP study is underway with 27 sites selected in 10 countries around the world. Roughly half of these sites have already been enrolling patients in a study design to evaluate the clinical benefits association associated -- excuse me, with the use of Rhapsody, cell impermeable Endoprosthesis in patients receiving hemodialysis that experience a narrowing or stenosis or blockage of blood vessels required for dialysis.

具體來說，我們的臨床研究，即 Rhapsody 血管內支架圈的 WAVE 研究，這是一種正在研究的用於治療透析流出迴路內狹窄或閉塞的研究設備，仍在繼續取得進展。我們有 42 個臨床站點正在積極招募患者，我們的目標是在 2023 年第三季度末完成第一批患者的全部註冊。我們很高興也能在第四季度開始在巴西註冊。 RAP 研究正在進行中，在全球 10 個國家/地區選擇了 27 個地點。這些站點中大約有一半已經在一項研究設計中招募患者，以評估相關的臨床益處關聯——對不起，在接受血液透析的患者中使用 Rhapsody、細胞不可滲透的內假體，這些患者會出現血管狹窄、狹窄或阻塞透析所需。

The STREAMLOCK study is progressing towards a start-up phase in the coming months, and we are working through site selection for this Canadian registry study intended to demonstrate the utility of the Scout surgical guidance system to improve workflow and efficiency in Canadian centers diagnosing and treating breast cancer.

STREAMLOCK 研究將在未來幾個月進入啟動階段，我們正在為這項加拿大註冊研究進行選址，旨在證明 Scout 手術引導系統在改善加拿大診斷和治療中心的工作流程和效率方面的效用乳腺癌。

Finally, we have 4 sites enrolling patients in our prospective observational study of EmboCube embolization gelatin used to control bleeding or hemorrhage. The study is designed to enroll 100 patients across multiple centers in Australia and France and represents a key step towards expanding our clinical portfolio of embolic agents that provide critical relate to diverse patient populations worldwide. With that, let me turn the call over now to Raul, who will take you through a detailed review of our fourth quarter financial results and our 2023 financial guidance, which we introduced in today's press release. Rahul?

最後，我們有 4 個站點在我們用於控制出血或出血的 EmboCube 栓塞明膠的前瞻性觀察研究中招募患者。該研究旨在在澳大利亞和法國的多個中心招募 100 名患者，這是我們朝著擴大我們的栓塞劑臨床產品組合邁出的關鍵一步，這些栓塞劑為全球不同的患者群體提供了重要的相關信息。有了這個，讓我現在把電話轉給勞爾，他將帶您詳細回顧我們在今天的新聞稿中介紹的第四季度財務業績和 2023 年財務指南。拉胡爾？

Thank you, Fred. Given Fred's detailed discussion of our revenue results, I will begin with a review of our financial performance across the rest of the P&L. For the avoidance of doubt, unless otherwise noted, my commentary will focus on the company's non-GAAP results during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022. We have included reconciliations from our GAAP reported results to the related non-GAAP items in our press release and presentation available on our website. Gross profit increased approximately 4% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. Our gross margin for the fourth quarter was 49.5% compared to 50% in the prior year period. The 57 basis point decrease in gross margins year-over-year was primarily due to unfavorable manufacturing bases, specifically purchase price variances.

謝謝你，弗雷德。鑑於弗雷德對我們收入結果的詳細討論，我將首先回顧我們在損益表其餘部分的財務業績。為避免疑義，除非另有說明，否則我的評論將重點關注公司 2022 財年第四季度的非 GAAP 業績。我們已將我們的 GAAP 報告業績與我們的新聞稿中的相關非 GAAP 項目進行了對賬和介紹可在我們的網站上獲得。第四季度毛利同比增長約4%。我們第四季度的毛利率為 49.5%，而去年同期為 50%。毛利率同比下降 57 個基點主要是由於不利的製造基礎，特別是採購價格差異。

As expected, our fourth quarter gross margins were impacted by the inflationary headwinds we are seeing in freight, logistics, labor and increase in raw materials. Despite the continued challenging operating environment, we were pleased to deliver gross margin results at the high end of the expectations we outlined on our Q3 call, which called for gross margins to be flat to up 100 basis points on a quarter-over-quarter basis. Fourth quarter operating expenses increased 2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. The year-over-year increase in operating expenses was driven by a 7% increase in SG&A expense, offset partially by a 16% decrease in R&D expense compared to the prior year period. Our operating expense performance in Q4 was largely in line with expectations and reflects continued prudent expense management, offset partially by continued investments to support our future growth initiatives. Total operating income in the fourth quarter increased $4 million or 8% year-over-year to $52.3 million. Our operating margin for Q4 was 17.8% compared to 17.4% in the prior year period.

正如預期的那樣，我們第四季度的毛利率受到我們在貨運、物流、勞動力和原材料增加方面看到的通脹逆風的影響。儘管經營環境持續充滿挑戰，但我們很高興在第三季度電話會議上概述的預期高端實現了毛利率結果，這要求毛利率與上一季度相比持平至 100 個基點.與 2021 年第四季度相比，第四季度運營費用增長了 2%。運營費用的同比增長是由 SG&A 費用增長 7% 推動的，部分被研發費用較上一季度減少 16% 所抵消年期間。我們在第四季度的運營費用表現基本符合預期，反映了持續審慎的費用管理，部分被持續投資所抵消，以支持我們未來的增長計劃。第四季度總營業收入同比增長 400 萬美元或 8% 至 5230 萬美元。我們第四季度的營業利潤率為 17.8%，而去年同期為 17.4%。

The 47 basis point increase in the operating margin was driven by 104 basis point reduction in our non-GAAP operating expense margin compared to the prior year period. offset partially by the 57 basis point decrease in our non-GAAP gross margin. Fourth quarter other expense net was $0.1 million compared to $1.6 million last year. The change in other expense net was primarily related to decreased expense from realized and unrealized foreign currency losses compared to the prior year period, partially offset by increased interest expense due to higher effective interest rates year-over-year. Fourth quarter net income was $46 million or $0.79 per share compared to $40.8 million or $0.71 per share in the prior year period. We are pleased with our profitability performance in the fourth quarter, where we delivered low double-digit growth year-over-year in both non-GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share, exceeding the high end of our expectations.

營業利潤率增長 47 個基點是由於我們的非 GAAP 營業費用利潤率與去年同期相比下降了 104 個基點。部分被我們的非 GAAP 毛利率下降 57 個基點所抵消。第四季度其他費用淨額為 10 萬美元，而去年同期為 160 萬美元。其他費用淨額的變化主要與上年同期相比，已實現和未實現的外幣損失的費用減少有關，部分被實際利率同比上升導致的利息費用增加所抵消。第四季度淨收入為 4600 萬美元或每股 0.79 美元，而去年同期為 4080 萬美元或每股 0.71 美元。我們對第四季度的盈利表現感到滿意，我們在非 GAAP 淨收入和稀釋後每股收益方面均實現了兩位數的同比低增長，超出了我們預期的上限。

Turning to a brief review of our financial results for fiscal year 2022. I Total revenue for the 12 months ended December 31 was $1.15 billion, up $76.2 million year-over-year or 9.3% growth on a constant currency basis. Gross profit increased 6% year-over-year to approximately $561 million, representing 48.8% of sales compared to 49.3% of sales in the prior year period, a 50 basis point decrease year-over-year. Note, compared to fiscal year 2021, we estimate that we have experienced incremental headwinds to our gross margin of approximately 240 basis points related to inflationary pressures in raw materials, freight and logistics. The early benefits we are seeing as a result of the team's hard work and dedication to our Foundations for Growth program are the primary reasons we have managed to offset the majority of these inflationary headwinds to our gross margins in fiscal year 2022.

簡要回顧一下我們 2022 財年的財務業績。截至 12 月 31 日的 12 個月總收入為 11.5 億美元，同比增長 7620 萬美元，按固定匯率計算增長 9.3%。毛利同比增長 6% 至約 5.61 億美元，佔銷售額的 48.8%，上年同期為 49.3%，同比下降 50 個基點。請注意，與 2021 財年相比，我們估計我們經歷了與原材料、貨運和物流通脹壓力相關的毛利率增加約 240 個基點的逆風。由於團隊的辛勤工作和對增長基礎計劃的奉獻，我們看到的早期收益是我們在 2022 財年成功抵消了大部分這些通貨膨脹逆風對我們毛利率的主要原因。

Operating profit increased 13% year-over-year to $195.1 million, representing 17% of sales compared to 16% of sales in the prior year period, a 91 basis point increase year-over-year. We are driving strong operating leverage through prudent expense management in our FFG program, which resulted in operating profit growing notably faster than revenue growth in fiscal year 2022. Net income increased 14% year-over-year to $155.8 million or $2.70 per share compared to $136.2 million or $2.37 per share in the prior year period. Turning to a review of our balance sheet and financial condition. As of December 31, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of $58.4 million, total debt obligations of approximately $198 million and available borrowing capacity of approximately $523 million. This compares to cash on hand of $67.8 million, total debt obligations of approximately $243 million and available borrowing capacity of approximately $490 million as of December 31, 2021. Our net leverage ratio as of December 31 was 0.6x on an adjusted basis.

營業利潤同比增長 13% 至 1.951 億美元，佔銷售額的 17%，上年同期為 16%，同比增長 91 個基點。我們在 FFG 計劃中通過審慎的費用管理推動強大的運營槓桿，這導致 2022 財年的營業利潤增長明顯快於收入增長。淨收入同比增長 14% 至 1.558 億美元或每股 2.70 美元，相比之下去年同期為 1.362 億美元或每股 2.37 美元。轉向審查我們的資產負債表和財務狀況。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們擁有現金和現金等價物 5840 萬美元，債務總額約為 1.98 億美元，可用借款能力約為 5.23 億美元。相比之下，截至 2021 年 12 月 31 日，手頭現金為 6780 萬美元，債務總額約為 2.43 億美元，可用借款能力約為 4.9 億美元。截至 12 月 31 日，我們的淨槓桿率為調整後的 0.6 倍。

With respect to our cash flow generation in the fourth quarter, -- our solid profitability performance in the fourth quarter of 2022, combined with strategic working capital investments resulted in strong free cash flow generation of $15.5 million in the quarter. As expected, our use of cash for working capital increase compared to the prior year period. In recent quarters, we have discussed our strategy to proactively invest in our inventory balances to build the requisite safety stock and ensure high customer service levels. We generated $69 million of free cash flow during the 12 months ended December 31, 2022. This was modestly below our target of $75 million due to higher cash taxes year-over-year and continued proactive investment in our inventory balances as part of our strategy to build the requisite safety stock to ensure we can meet customer demand amidst the ongoing challenges and disruptions in the global supply chain environment.

關於我們第四季度產生的現金流，我們在 2022 年第四季度穩健的盈利表現，加上戰略營運資本投資，導致本季度產生了 1550 萬美元的強勁自由現金流。正如預期的那樣，與去年同期相比，我們使用現金作為營運資金有所增加。最近幾個季度，我們討論了主動投資於庫存餘額以建立必要的安全庫存並確保高客戶服務水平的戰略。在截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的 12 個月內，我們產生了 6,900 萬美元的自由現金流。這略低於我們 7,500 萬美元的目標，原因是現金稅同比增加以及作為我們戰略的一部分繼續積極投資於我們的庫存餘額建立必要的安全庫存，以確保我們能夠在全球供應鏈環境持續面臨挑戰和中斷的情況下滿足客戶需求。

Turning to a review of our fiscal year 2023 financial guidance, which we introduced in today's press release. For the 12 months ended December 31, 2023, we expect GAAP net revenue growth of approximately 4% to 5% year-over-year. This GAAP net revenue range assumes a headwind from the changes in foreign currency exchange rates of approximately $10 million to $11 million, representing a headwind of approximately 90 to 100 basis points to our forecasted GAAP growth rate this year. The GAAP net revenue guidance range now assumes net revenue growth of approximately 3% to 5% in our Cardiovascular segment and net revenue growth of approximately 14% to 16% in our Endoscopy segment. Note the midpoint of our 2023 constant currency sales growth expectation assumes approximately 5% growth year-over-year in the U.S. and approximately 6% growth year-over-year in OUS markets.

回顧一下我們在今天的新聞稿中介紹的 2023 財年財務指南。截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日止的 12 個月，我們預計 GAAP 淨收入同比增長約 4% 至 5%。這一 GAAP 淨收入範圍假設外幣匯率變化帶來的逆風約為 1000 萬美元至 1100 萬美元，這意味著我們今年預測的 GAAP 增長率將出現約 90 至 100 個基點的逆風。 GAAP 淨收入指導範圍現在假設我們心血管部門的淨收入增長約 3% 至 5%，我們的內窺鏡部門的淨收入增長約 14% 至 16%。請注意，我們 2023 年不變貨幣銷售增長預期的中點假設美國同比增長約 5%，美國市場同比增長約 6%。

With respect to profitability guidance for 2023, we expect GAAP net income in the range of approximately $100 million to $105 million or $1.72 to $1.80 per diluted share and non-GAAP net income in the range of approximately $163 million to $168 million or $2.80 to $2.89 per diluted share. For modeling purposes, our fiscal year 2023 financial guidance assumes non-GAAP gross margins in the range of approximately 50.4% to 51%; non-GAAP operating margins in the range of approximately 18% to 18.2%, GAAP and non-GAAP other expense of approximately $7.6 million and $7 million, respectively, non-GAAP tax rate of approximately 21% and diluted shares outstanding of approximately 58 million. We expect CapEx in the range of $55 million to $60 million and free cash flow of approximately $115 million.

關於 2023 年的盈利指引，我們預計 GAAP 淨收入約為 1 億美元至 1.05 億美元或每股攤薄收益 1.72 至 1.80 美元，非 GAAP 淨收入約為 1.63 億美元至 1.68 億美元或 2.80 至 2.89 美元每攤薄份額。出於建模目的，我們的 2023 財年財務指南假設非 GAAP 毛利率在大約 50.4% 至 51% 的範圍內；非 GAAP 營業利潤率約為 18% 至 18.2%，GAAP 和非 GAAP 其他費用分別約為 760 萬美元和 700 萬美元，非 GAAP 稅率約為 21%，攤薄後流通股約為 5800 萬股.我們預計資本支出在 5500 萬至 6000 萬美元之間，自由現金流約為 1.15 億美元。

Lastly, given the continued uncertainty in the global macro environment, we would like to provide additional transparency related to our growth and profitability expectations for the first quarter of 2023. Specifically, we expect our total revenue to increase in the range of approximately 1% to 3% year-over-year on a GAAP basis and up approximately 3% to 5% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Note, the midpoint of our first quarter constant currency sales growth expectations assumes approximately 7% growth year-over-year in the U.S. and approximately 1% growth year-over-year in our U.S. markets. With respect to our profitability expectations for the first quarter, -- we expect to see non-GAAP gross margins increase in the range of 90 to 190 basis points year-over-year. We also expect to see non-GAAP operating margin in the range of down 10 basis points to up 80 basis points year-over-year. These margin expectations, combined with higher interest expense assumptions are expected to drive a year-over-year change in both our non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP EPS in the range of down 1% year-over-year on the low end to up high single digits year-over-year on the high end of the range. With that, I'll turn the call back to Fred.

最後，鑑於全球宏觀環境的持續不確定性，我們希望提供與我們對 2023 年第一季度的增長和盈利預期相關的額外透明度。具體而言，我們預計我們的總收入將增長約 1% 至按 GAAP 計算同比增長 3%，按固定匯率計算同比增長約 3% 至 5%。請注意，我們第一季度不變貨幣銷售增長預期的中點假設美國同比增長約 7%，美國市場同比增長約 1%。關於我們對第一季度的盈利預期，我們預計非 GAAP 毛利率將同比增長 90 至 190 個基點。我們還預計非 GAAP 營業利潤率將同比下降 10 個基點至上升 80 個基點。這些利潤率預期，加上更高的利息支出假設，預計將推動我們的非 GAAP 淨收入和非 GAAP 每股收益同比變化，在低端同比下降 1%在該範圍的高端同比增長高個位數。有了這個，我會把電話轉回給弗雷德。

Thanks, Raul. In closing, our fourth quarter growth and profitability performance came in at the high end of our expectations and importantly, capped off a great year of results in 2022. We -- we believe this is a direct result of our team's continued strong execution and relentless focus on our strategic initiatives. We would like to thank all of the team members around the world that made our performance in fiscal year 2022 possible. Our 2023 financial guidance reflects our confidence in our team's ability to deliver continued strong execution despite the operating environment around the world. We intend to build upon the significant progress we have made during the first 2 years of our Foundation for Growth program, and we remain committed to the financial targets that we outlined for the 3-year period ending December 31, 2023. That wraps up our prepared remarks. We would like to now turn -- open up the line for questions.

謝謝，勞爾。最後，我們第四季度的增長和盈利表現達到了我們預期的高端，重要的是，我們在 2022 年取得了豐碩的成果。我們相信這是我們團隊持續強勁執行力和不懈努力的直接結果專注於我們的戰略舉措。我們要感謝世界各地的所有團隊成員，是他們讓我們在 2022 財年的表現成為可能。我們的 2023 年財務指引反映了我們對團隊在全球運營環境下持續提供強大執行力的能力的信心。我們打算在增長基金會計劃的前兩年取得的重大進展的基礎上再接再厲，我們將繼續致力於實現我們為截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日的三年期間概述的財務目標。這總結了我們的準備好的言論。我們現在要開始——打開問題熱線。

Thank you, sir. (Operator Instruction] and our first question – will come from Steve Lichtman with Oppenheimer.

謝謝你，先生。 （操作員說明）和我們的第一個問題 - 將來自 Steve Lichtman 和 Oppenheimer。

I guess I'll ask my one and follow-up around the area of cash. So, it looks like you're implying a nice step-up in free cash flow conversion in 2023. I guess, Raul, can you talk a little bit about beyond margin expansion, some of the dynamics there and your confidence in that growth? It looks like you're also stepping up CapEx. I'm wondering some of the moving parts there. And then just as a follow-up to that, just given the cash position, balance sheet position, Fred, I was just wondering if you could sort of update us on your views on M&A. Could we see you getting a little bit more aggressive on that front in 2023? And just talk about that environment overall.

我想我會問我的人並在現金方面跟進。所以，看起來你暗示 2023 年自由現金流轉換將有一個很好的提升。我想，勞爾，你能談談利潤率擴張之外的一些動態以及你對這種增長的信心嗎？看起來你們也在加強資本支出。我想知道那裡的一些活動部件。然後作為後續行動，考慮到現金狀況、資產負債表狀況，弗雷德，我只是想知道你是否可以向我們介紹一下你對併購的看法。我們能否看到您在 2023 年在這方面變得更具侵略性？只談談整體環境。

All right. Yes. Thanks, Steve. Yes, look, I think the step up is really around the working capital piece. If you remember, at the beginning of the year, we made a commitment to make a bigger investment in inventory as we brought inventory back to normal levels. And then as we progress throughout the year, we also saw an investment in inventory to meet the demand that we were seeing, specifically as you saw kind of the logistics issues happening and also the supply chain. So, we wanted to make sure that we made that investment. We're not expecting to have as big as an investment this year, which feeds into that. And obviously, we're going to be more profitable, which will also help. So those are the 2 things kind of driving the increase in the free cash flow.

好的。是的。謝謝，史蒂夫。是的，看，我認為提升真的是圍繞營運資金部分。如果您還記得，在今年年初，我們承諾在將庫存恢復到正常水平時對庫存進行更大的投資。然後隨著我們全年的進步，我們也看到了對庫存的投資以滿足我們所看到的需求，特別是當你看到物流問題和供應鏈發生時。所以，我們想確保我們進行了這項投資。我們預計今年不會有那麼大的投資，這會影響到這一點。顯然，我們將獲得更多利潤，這也會有所幫助。所以這些是推動自由現金流增加的兩件事。

And Steve, let me go to the M&A. I mean you can see where we are in terms of our balance sheet, it's very strong. And I think it's really a matter of patience. -- and finding the right businesses that meet the need of our sales point, gross margins that are complementary to our foundations for growth. And you heard me kind of really emphasize that commitment to foundations for growth, but it has to be the right thing. And we've been spending time, we've been looking. And when we find it, we'll move, but we're not in any hurry. I don't think, by the way, personally, values are still a little high. There's no rush, but at the same time, I mean, we're in the best position we've ever been in. So, we're looking, we're spending time. I think we're better organized in terms of internal with great 3D and with John Alkire, working on all that and Chris Durham. So, we're organized -- we have our views, Raul and I look at them, we meet, we'll discuss, but patients and doing the right thing is more important than doing anything...

史蒂夫，讓我去併購。我的意思是你可以看到我們在資產負債表方面的位置，它非常強大。我認為這真的是一個耐心的問題。 - 並找到滿足我們銷售點需求的合適業務，毛利率與我們的增長基礎相輔相成。你聽到我有點強調對增長基礎的承諾，但它必須是正確的。我們一直在花時間，我們一直在尋找。當我們找到它時，我們會移動，但我們並不著急。順便說一句，我個人認為，價值觀仍然有點高。並不著急，但與此同時，我的意思是，我們處於有史以來最好的位置。所以，我們正在尋找，我們正在花時間。我認為我們在內部組織得更好，有出色的 3D 和 John Alkire，致力於所有這些和 Chris Durham。所以，我們是有組織的——我們有自己的觀點，勞爾和我會審視它們，我們會面，我們會討論，但是患者和做正確的事比做任何事情都更重要……

There's a lot of deals out there.

那裡有很多優惠。

And there are a lot of deals -- many of them are early, and that creates a somewhat problematic because it conflicts. So , I'm going on and on, but I think you can get the theme of what I'm trying to say in that is that there will be deals and opportunities. There'll be divestitures from larger companies. There'll be opportunities, but we just have to make sure it's the right deal.

並且有很多交易——其中很多都是早期的，這會產生一些問題，因為它會發生衝突。所以，我一直在繼續，但我認為你可以理解我想說的主題，那就是會有交易和機會。會有大公司的資產剝離。會有機會，但我們必須確保這是一筆正確的交易。

So that's my best way to answer your question... Thank you.

所以這是我回答您問題的最佳方式...謝謝。

Thank you. That's helpful color.

謝謝。這是有用的顏色。

Thanks guys... Our next question comes from Jayson Bedford with Raymond James.

謝謝大家...我們的下一個問題來自 Jayson Bedford 和 Raymond James。

Congrats on the success this year. Thanks, I'll just kind of keep it to the 2. You talked about high single-digit growth in China of what I remember was a pretty strong comp. But you also mentioned that the growth was offset by VBP measures. So, I just wanted to confirm that I heard that correctly and that you're facing and fighting through ongoing VBP measures in your business?

祝賀今年的成功。謝謝，我只是把它保留到 2。你談到了中國的高個位數增長，我記得這是一個非常強勁的競爭。但你也提到增長被 VBP 措施抵消了。所以，我只是想確認我聽到的是正確的，並且您正在面對並通過您的業務中正在進行的 VBP 措施進行鬥爭？

Yes, Jayson, we continue to see volume-based purchasing that will impact us. The way we're kind of looking at it, just to give a little bit of color is really, hopefully, we can kind of get through the bulk of it here through early 2024 and then kind of that becomes the low end or volume-based purchasing, and we can kind of get past it. But -- as of now, we do have it -- it's in our guidance. We don't call it out specifically. We will say that China is a big material driver of the 6% to 7% in constant currency growth that we're expecting in the APAC region. And so, we continue to be high in China. But we've been able to offset some of that growth just by the delivery and execution by our sales force there and leadership.

是的，傑森，我們繼續看到將影響我們的基於數量的採購。我們看待它的方式，只是為了提供一點顏色，真的，希望，我們可以在 2024 年初之前通過這裡的大部分內容，然後變成低端或數量 -基於採購，我們可以克服它。但是 - 截至目前，我們確實擁有它 - 它在我們的指導中。我們不專門說出來。我們會說，中國是我們預計亞太地區 6% 至 7% 的貨幣持續增長的重要推動力。因此，我們在中國繼續處於領先地位。但我們已經能夠通過我們在那裡的銷售人員和領導層的交付和執行來抵消部分增長。

And if I can just add that we continue to register products that we think give us an advantage that may not exist or produce locally and that takes time, but we continue to do that, and we think that will pay as part of our strategy going forward.

如果我可以補充一點，我們會繼續註冊我們認為會給我們帶來優勢的產品，這些產品可能不存在或在本地生產，這需要時間，但我們會繼續這樣做，我們認為這將作為我們戰略的一部分付出代價向前。

Okay. And I hate to waste my other question on other expense, but I feel like it kind of notable. The $7 million in other expense, it seems like a pretty big step-up from what you did in '22. So, can you just walk us through why the step up?

好的。我不想把我的另一個問題浪費在其他費用上，但我覺得這有點值得注意。 700 萬美元的其他費用，與你在 22 年所做的相比，這似乎是一個相當大的進步。那麼，你能告訴我們為什麼要加強嗎？

Yes. A portion of that is interest expense, obviously, with the higher interest rates. There's also -- we did pick up some exchange rate, foreign exchange gains that flow through there. We're not expecting that big of a benefit this year as rates kind of reset to normalized levels. So those are really the 2 primary things that hit that line item.

是的。顯然，其中一部分是利息支出，利率較高。還有——我們確實獲得了一些匯率，外匯收益流經那裡。我們預計今年不會有那麼大的好處，因為利率會重新回到正常水平。因此，這些確實是影響該訂單項的兩個主要因素。

Okay. I'll keep it to 2 and go back in the queue.

好的。我會保留到 2 人，然後回到隊列中。

Jason, thank you.

傑森，謝謝你。

Thank you, Jason.

謝謝你，傑森。

Our next question comes from Mike Matson with Needham & Company.

我們的下一個問題來自 Needham & Company 的 Mike Matson。

Yes. I guess I'll start with the -- just on Rhapsody. So you have the 2 trials going on Wave and Wrap. So what -- I think the WAVE trial is the pivotal for U.S. FDA approval? And can you maybe just talk about when you think we could potentially see data from that? And what's the latest expectation around the timing of the FDA approval?

是的。我想我會從——就 Rhapsody 開始。所以你有 2 個試驗正在進行 Wave 和 Wrap。那又如何——我認為 WAVE 試驗是獲得美國 FDA 批准的關鍵？你能不能談談你認為我們什麼時候可以從中看到數據？對 FDA 批准時間的最新預期是什麼？

Yes. So, the -- the WAVE study, I'm sorry, the wave study continues to progress. As you recall, Mike, there's 3 cohorts. Any one of those will trigger the opportunity to prepare and file a PMA -- we have one segment, I'm not going to get specific into which cohort, but we have one that's kind of leading the way there. And I think that we're using a -- if I recall, is at the end of the -- it's in the third quarter, end of the third quarter 2023 of this year that we'll have, we think, at least one cohort, possibly 2, that will be completed. So, it has accelerated from just coming out of Covid and contrast issues. But I think we're making a lot of progress. I mean we're getting there, and we've had all the sites are enrolled. So, I think it's going to be just fine. And then you just filed a PMA. And I think it's a 1-year follow-up, if I recall, on the data, Rahul. I think that's correct.

是的。所以，WAVE 研究，對不起，Wave 研究繼續取得進展。正如你記得的那樣，邁克，有 3 個隊列。其中任何一個都會觸發準備和提交 PMA 的機會——我們有一個細分市場，我不打算具體到哪個群體，但我們有一個在某種程度上領先的群體。而且我認為我們正在使用 - 如果我記得，是在 - 它是在今年第三季度，即今年 2023 年第三季度末，我們認為，至少有一個隊列，可能是 2，將完成。因此，它已經從剛剛擺脫 Covid 和對比問題中加速了。但我認為我們正在取得很大進展。我的意思是我們正在到達那裡，我們已經註冊了所有站點。所以，我認為它會很好。然後你剛剛提交了 PMA。我認為這是對數據的 1 年跟進，如果我沒記錯的話，Rahul。我認為這是正確的。

So we're getting there, Mike. And in the meantime, as you -- you'll recall that's kind of where we're going to stick for right now, but we are pleased that we began enrollment in Brazil in the fourth quarter. And of course, as you will all recall, we also continue to sell the product in Europe and Brazil and other locations. But as we all know, the U.S. is the big plum. And we're just working diligently to get down the road. So that's the update that we're going to provide today.

所以我們到了那裡，邁克。與此同時，作為你 - 你會記得這是我們現在要堅持的地方，但我們很高興我們在第四季度開始在巴西註冊。當然，正如你們都記得的那樣，我們也繼續在歐洲和巴西以及其他地方銷售該產品。但眾所周知，美國是大李子。我們只是在努力工作以走下去。這就是我們今天要提供的更新。

No, that's fine. So, I just want to make sure I'm understanding that. So, you're saying that the enrollment would be completed in the third quarter of this year. And then you have like a 1 year -- you have the follow-up period. And then after that, you'd be able to submit to the FDA the PMA...

不，沒關係。所以，我只是想確保我理解這一點。所以，你是說今年第三季度完成註冊。然後你有大約 1 年的時間——你有跟進期。然後在那之後，你就可以向 FDA 提交 PMA...

That's my understanding. Interestingly, in that third quarter, we'll have at least one cohort, not the entire study, the centrals. There's -- I'm not going to go through all of them because for competitive and other reasons, but we'll have at least one of those that will be finished in the third quarter...

這是我的理解。有趣的是，在第三季度，我們將至少有一個隊列，而不是整個研究，中央。有——出於競爭和其他原因，我不會把所有這些都講一遍，但我們至少會有一個將在第三季度完成……

But when you say finished, you just mean the enrollment, not the follow...

但是你說的完成了，你指的是招生，不是後續。。。

That's correct. That's correct Okay.

這是正確的。這是正確的好吧。

All right. And then I guess my other question would just be around -- I apologize if you went through this, but the gross margin kind of guidance for '23, what have you assumed in terms of currency inflation impact there?

好的。然後我想我的另一個問題就是——如果你經歷過這個，我深表歉意，但是 23 年的毛利率指導，你認為那裡的貨幣通脹影響是什麼？

Raul, I'm going to let you read pick that one up.

勞爾，我要讓你讀到那個。

Yes. So, on the gross margin, obviously, it's a little more robust than it was this last year. We're looking at the low end of the guidance is about 170 basis points up to 220 basis points. Obviously, we don't expect as many headwinds as we had in 2022 related to the pricing of raw materials, freight and logistics. And so as we move forward, we think we can make some headway there. We're really focused on our FFG initiatives there on pricing and also leveraging our fixed costs. So a lot of initiatives around operations and really leveraging that gross margin line, so we can make some investments in OpEx. We will have some tailwinds related to FX. And then we're also expecting some tailwinds related to the freight and logistics as we get back to ocean shipping versus air.

是的。因此，就毛利率而言，很明顯，它比去年要強勁一些。我們正在尋找指導的低端大約 170 個基點到 220 個基點。顯然，我們預計與 2022 年原材料定價、運費和物流相關的阻力不會像 2022 年那麼多。因此，隨著我們前進，我們認為我們可以在那裡取得一些進展。我們真正專注於我們的 FFG 計劃，包括定價和利用我們的固定成本。因此，圍繞運營採取了很多舉措，並真正利用了該毛利率線，因此我們可以對 OpEx 進行一些投資。我們將有一些與外匯相關的有利因素。然後我們還期待一些與貨運和物流相關的順風，因為我們回到海運與空運。

Great. Thanks, Mike...

偉大的。謝謝，邁克...

Thank you. Our next question comes from James Sidoti with Sidoti & Company.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自 Sidoti & Company 的 James Sidoti。

Good afternoon, thank you for question…

下午好，謝謝你的提問……

Thanks, Jimmy.

謝謝，吉米。

So, if you look at least on a GAAP basis, the R&D expense over the last couple of years have gone up fairly substantially. Is that primarily European regulatory costs, clinical trials? And how much -- how soon do you think that some of those investments start to turn into sales?

所以，如果你至少從 GAAP 的角度來看，過去幾年的研發費用已經大幅增加。這主要是歐洲監管成本、臨床試驗嗎？還有多少——你認為其中一些投資多久會開始轉化為銷售？

Well, that's the funny thing about MDR, right? I mean you're registering products that are currently being sold. But you're absolutely right, Jim. That's a lot of the expenses, the increase there. It's reregistering of those products and getting them up to the new standard. Obviously, we expect that expense to trickle down to normalized levels here over the next couple of years, I would say. There is just additional upkeep that comes with MDR that we'll have to absorb. But those products are being sold right now, and it's really just to maintain those sales going forward. It's one of the unfortunate parts.

好吧，這就是 MDR 的有趣之處，對吧？我的意思是您正在註冊當前正在銷售的產品。但你是絕對正確的，吉姆。那是很多費用，那裡增加了。它正在重新註冊這些產品並使其達到新標準。顯然，我想說，我們預計在接下來的幾年裡，這筆費用會逐漸下降到正常水平。我們必須吸收 MDR 帶來的額外維護。但這些產品現在正在銷售，而這實際上只是為了維持這些銷售。這是不幸的部分之一。

And then as far as the inflationary costs, are you starting to see those come down now? Or do you think that it will be another 6 or 8 months before you start to see things like shipping and freight costs to come down?

然後就通貨膨脹成本而言，您現在開始看到這些成本下降了嗎？或者您是否認為還需要 6 或 8 個月才能開始看到運輸和運費等事情下降？

I think it will get gradually better through the year.

我認為它會在一年中逐漸好轉。

Yes. Thanks, Jimmy.

是的。謝謝，吉米。

Our next question comes from Lawrence Biegelsen with Wells Fargo.

我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Lawrence Biegelsen。

Fred, could you talk a little bit about price in 2022 and what your expectations are for '23, please?

弗雷德，你能談談 2022 年的價格以及你對 23 年的期望嗎？

Yes. Well, listen, I will answer that by saying that price is one of our strategic initiatives as part of FFG. It's -- as you recall from our previous conversations, we hired an experienced person to do that. Some of this will be layered in as we have national accounts come due. So, we picked up some, but some of them will be expiring. And I think we've been extremely vigilant in terms of changing dramatically the way that we look at the business and how we price, whether they be for new products coming out in the U.S. or what we're doing in terms of taking advantage of the opportunities. And by the way, as you guys all know, I mean we were not immune to inflationary costs ourselves. So, we've been doing pass-ons that and that program continues. So, it's not just a 1-year program. It was something that started from the beginning. It took a little time to get started. I think we had a very positive year. Do you want to add some of that, Raul?

是的。好吧，聽著，我會回答說價格是我們作為 FFG 的一部分的戰略舉措之一。正如您從我們之前的談話中回憶的那樣，我們聘請了一位經驗豐富的人來做這件事。隨著我們的國民賬戶到期，其中一些將被分層。所以，我們選擇了一些，但其中一些將過期。而且我認為我們一直非常警惕地改變我們看待業務的方式以及我們定價的方式，無論是針對在美國推出的新產品還是我們在利用的機會。順便說一下，你們都知道，我的意思是我們自己也不能免受通貨膨脹成本的影響。因此，我們一直在進行傳遞，並且該計劃仍在繼續。所以，這不僅僅是一個為期一年的項目。這是從頭開始的事情。花了一點時間才開始。我認為我們度過了非常積極的一年。你想添加一些嗎，勞爾？

Yes. I was just going to say, really, our pricing initiative or foundations for growth is really about just maturing the company to a different level than we were at before. So, we have better tools. We have better visibility, better transparency around what we're doing. As Fred mentioned, this is kind of a multiyear approach as we get through contracts, both here in the U.S. and globally. So, there's a lot of work. I think we were pretty happy with what we were able to accomplish in the first year of its initiative last year, and there's more work to be done to get to where we want to be. A lot of opportunities still here.

是的。我只是想說，真的，我們的定價計劃或增長基礎實際上只是讓公司成熟到一個與以前不同的水平。所以，我們有更好的工具。我們對我們正在做的事情有更好的可見性和透明度。正如弗雷德所提到的，這是一種多年期的方法，因為我們在美國和全球都通過合同獲得了合同。所以，有很多工作要做。我認為我們對去年倡議的第一年所取得的成就感到非常滿意，而且要達到我們想要的目標，還有更多工作要做。這裡仍然有很多機會。

I mean... Is pricing net positive for you guys? Are you willing to say how much?

我的意思是...定價對你們來說是積極的嗎？你願意說多少錢嗎？

We're not going to quantify it, Larry.

我們不會量化它，拉里。

But we... Is positive real... It's positive, yes.

但是我們...是積極的...這是積極的，是的。

Okay. And on 2 of the businesses, Fred, OEM was extremely strong in '22. Could you talk about the sustainability there? And endoscopy, what drives the acceleration in the guidance in '23?

好的。在 22 年的業務中，Fred 和 OEM 中的 2 個非常強大。你能談談那裡的可持續性嗎？和內窺鏡檢查，是什麼推動了 23 年指南的加速？

So, listen, on the OEM, we, of course, exceeded the high end, which we attribute to the improving demand from larger customers. going away from, I'll call it, the just in time. People are starting to make sure they have enough product. We all know that everybody was cutting it to. It includes merit coatings, Kitch and geography. It's a dynamic business. We are -- this next year I think we called it out, didn't we?

所以，聽著，在 OEM 方面，我們當然超過了高端，我們將其歸因於大客戶不斷提高的需求。離開，我稱之為，及時。人們開始確保他們有足夠的產品。我們都知道每個人都在削減它。它包括功德塗料、基奇和地理。這是一項充滿活力的業務。我們 - 明年我想我們已經宣布了，不是嗎？

Yes. It's high single digits for '23, Larry. I think what we're seeing is a lot of opportunity in the OEM business, especially as people struggle with their logistics and supply chain, I think we're becoming -- we've been very fortunate and be able to deliver to our customers because of our vertical integration. And so, I think there's a lot of customers that continue to come to us and explore new opportunities for us to be their supplier. But we are, I would say, temporary that growth. I mean we were again, high single digits is what we're expecting for 22...

是的。這是 23 年的高個位數，拉里。我認為我們在 OEM 業務中看到了很多機會，尤其是當人們在物流和供應鏈上苦苦掙扎時，我認為我們正在成為——我們非常幸運，能夠為我們的客戶提供服務因為我們的垂直整合。因此，我認為有很多客戶繼續來找我們，並為我們探索成為他們供應商的新機會。但我想說，我們的增長是暫時的。我的意思是我們又一次，高個位數是我們對 22 的期望......

So I think that's Personally, I think to go to your question, the sustainability of that at that high single digit is historically where we've been at and we think that it has that sustainability. Let me go on to the endoscopy. That's really quite simple. I mean it was -- you know we had a problem with the vendor. We qualified 3 out of 4. There's still some supply chain issues, but it is improving and will continue to improve. And I think if you look at the -- what we call out this year for the full year, it's dramatically up from last year.

所以我認為就個人而言，我想回答你的問題，從歷史上看，這個高個位數的可持續性是我們一直在的地方，我們認為它具有可持續性。讓我繼續進行內窺鏡檢查。這真的很簡單。我的意思是 - 你知道我們與供應商有問題。我們在 4 個中有 3 個合格。仍然存在一些供應鏈問題，但它正在改善並將繼續改善。而且我認為，如果你看一下 - 我們今年全年所呼籲的，它比去年大幅增加。

15% to 16%...

15% 到 16%...

Yes. I mean, that's significant in the script that talks about that the 14% to 16% versus down. So, it's just working off on the back end of that challenge. We've got a lot of work to solve that and bring it onshore. Larry, and I think it's going to be a big contributor going forward. It's a great business.

是的。我的意思是，這在討論 14% 到 16% 與下降的腳本中很重要。因此，它只是在應對挑戰的後端。我們有很多工作來解決這個問題並將其帶到岸上。拉里，我認為它將成為未來的重要貢獻者。這是一項偉大的事業。

Our next question comes from Michael Peske with Barrington Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Barrington Research 的 Michael Peske。

So I don't think you've touched on this. The free cash flow, sort of the cadence in '22 was sort of all over the board. I'm just curious if you have any commentary whether it's by first half, second half or anything else? I assume Q1 will probably be relatively low, but will it sort of jump around? Or do you think it's going to be a little bit more consistent...

所以我認為你沒有觸及這個。自由現金流，有點像 22 年的節奏。我只是想知道您是否有任何評論，無論是上半場、下半場還是其他任何時間？我假設 Q1 可能會相對較低，但它會跳來跳去嗎？或者你認為它會更加一致......

Yes, it will definitely be paced by the FFG initiatives, but thank you for calling that out, Mike, because I don't think I did a very good job last year of given the cadence. Just as a reminder, Q1 will be kind of just -- it's probably the low end. We do have bonus payments that go out, tax payments, and we also have additional expense. So that flows through specifically this year as we ramp up on the sales meetings that we haven't had in 2 years. So, there will be a cadence to it. I think it will typically line up with our cadence for earnings, but Q1 will be the low point.

是的，它肯定會按照 FFG 計劃進行調整，但感謝你提出這一點，邁克，因為考慮到節奏，我認為去年我做得不是很好。提醒一下，第一季度會有點——可能是低端。我們確實有獎金支付、稅收支付，我們也有額外的費用。因此，隨著我們在 2 年內沒有舉行的銷售會議上的增加，這一點在今年特別明顯。所以，它會有一個節奏。我認為它通常會與我們的收益節奏一致，但第一季度將是低點。

Well, if I could add, the $115 million that we're calling out is a full year target, and that's impressive. I mean it's a big deal. And again, the focus, Mike, is to finish what we committed to. And that's what we'll do. And I just have to tell you, it's got everybody's attention, and it's also tied to compensation. So, there's a lot of incentives to make sure that people are paying attention and the discipline of saying no and trying to prioritize. So, I think we've done a good job. But at the end of the day, there's one more year.

好吧，如果我可以補充一點，我們提出的 1.15 億美元是全年目標，這令人印象深刻。我的意思是這是一個大問題。再一次，邁克，重點是完成我們承諾的事情。這就是我們要做的。我只想告訴你，它引起了每個人的注意，而且還與薪酬掛鉤。因此，有很多激勵措施可以確保人們的注意力和拒絕並嘗試確定優先次序的紀律。所以，我認為我們做得很好。但在一天結束時，還有一年。

Yes. And just as a reminder, just for everybody listening, we said FFG would deliver a minimum of $300 million in free cash flow. And so that's what we're focused...

是的。提醒一下，為了提醒大家，我們說 FFG 將提供至少 3 億美元的自由現金流。這就是我們關注的重點......

Over the 3-year period. I have to say I did like that 0.06 let... That 0.6, whatever it is. But I mean... It just continues to improve. And these are things that people were calling out 2 or 3 years ago, and we listened to what you said. So, Mike, we listened to you because you were one of the guys that we're speaking to it. So, thank you with a lot of voice for having to...

在 3 年期間。我不得不說我確實喜歡那個 0.06 讓...那個 0.6，不管它是什麼。但我的意思是......它只是在繼續改進。這些是人們在 2 或 3 年前呼籲的事情，我們聽取了您的意見。所以，邁克，我們聽了你的意見，因為你是我們正在與之交談的人之一。所以，謝謝你有很多聲音不得不......

I don't about that. But thank you. I'll take credit work. no creditors do whatsoever. So, I did want to ask also, Fred, you guys, during the last few years have sort of tried to streamline your R&D projects and really focus on what you thought was the highest potential ROIs, et cetera. And I guess just in sort of looking at it right now. I mean do you feel like -- you feel like that's worked in terms of, hey, yes, I feel like we picked the right projects? Or have there been some sort of misses and some things that maybe were eliminated initially and you've gone back to. I'm just curious how that sort of played out in practice.

我不關心那個。但是謝謝你。我會接受功勞。沒有債權人做任何事情。所以，我也想問，弗雷德，你們，在過去的幾年裡，你們一直在努力簡化你們的研發項目，真正專注於你們認為是最高潛在投資回報率的東西，等等。我想現在只是在看它。我的意思是你覺得 - 你覺得這在以下方面是有效的，嘿，是的，我覺得我們選擇了正確的項目？或者是否有一些遺漏和一些最初可能被消除的東西，你已經回去了。我只是好奇這種做法在實踐中是如何發揮作用的。

Well, let me just say that in terms of the availability of ideas, there's plenty of them out there. I think what has happened going back to the previous question is sitting down with the team and prioritizing those and make sure that they're budgeted for so that we can afford to pay them and afford them, I think has been very important. And you'll recall, Mike, a couple of years ago, we talked about, we may have had -- in fact, we did have too many things going. It was spread out a lot and that made up a lot of capital, and it slowed things down. So, I think I'd like to always would like to have more money for R&D. That money has to be earned. I think it's budgeted for. And I think we have the priorities because it's not just me, I've got Joe Wright, who's our Chief Commercial Officer, JoAnne, Alkire, I've got Jim Matola and our sales force. We sit and meet and talk about the things that you need, the things that we fit into our franchise, the things that will give us the competitive advantage. To go to your question, I think it's much more disciplined and much more focused. And there has to be a buy-in. Again, I don't have to have everybody nodding their head. But it's nice that we're all on the same page.

好吧，我只想說，就想法的可用性而言，那裡有很多。我認為回到上一個問題發生的事情是與團隊坐下來確定這些問題的優先級，並確保他們有預算，以便我們能夠負擔得起並負擔得起，我認為這非常重要。你會記得，邁克，幾年前，我們談到過，我們可能已經——事實上，我們確實有太多事情要做。它分散了很多，構成了很多資本，這讓事情變慢了。所以，我想我總是希望有更多的錢用於研發。這筆錢必須自己掙。我認為這是預算。而且我認為我們有優先事項，因為不僅僅是我，我有喬賴特，他是我們的首席商務官，喬安妮，阿爾基爾，我有吉姆馬托拉和我們的銷售人員。我們坐下來會面，討論您需要的東西，適合我們特許經營權的東西，以及會給我們帶來競爭優勢的東西。回答你的問題，我認為它更有紀律，也更專注。而且必須有一個買入。再一次，我不需要每個人都點頭。但很高興我們都在同一頁面上。

Okay. Very good. Well, congratulations on a great 22...

好的。非常好。好吧，祝賀你 22 歲...

Thank you. Our next question comes from Jason Bednar with Piper Sandler.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自 Jason Bednar 和 Piper Sandler。

Other congratulate on the results. First, apologies in advance any of these have been covered that have happened between calls. But maybe as a follow-up to some prior questions. I'd be curious if you could talk about whether maybe in response to Larry's question, you're expecting greater price contributions in '23 versus '22? It sounds that way. But maybe if you could confirm that. And then kind of on a related point, does China grow faster in '23 than what we saw last year, now that we're on the other side of the zero Covid policy and procedure volumes presumably accelerate here this year?

其他人對結果表示祝賀。首先，提前對通話之間發生的任何這些情況表示歉意。但也許作為一些先前問題的後續行動。我很好奇你是否可以談談是否可能在回答拉里的問題時，你預計 23 年與 22 年相比會有更大的價格貢獻？聽起來是這樣的。但也許如果你能證實這一點。然後在相關的一點上，中國在 23 年的增長速度是否比我們去年看到的更快，既然我們處於零 Covid 政策的另一邊，今年這裡的程序量可能會加速？

Okay. I'm going to -- I'll let you pick the China one, and I'll come back to the other question. Go ahead. Yes. I mean I think from a China perspective, it is a contributor to our APAC growth. It's one of the largest contributors. But we're not going to call out the specific country growth. Just know that we're excited about what is contributing, and it is a material driver to that 6% to 7% organic constant currency growth in the APAC region.

好的。我打算——我會讓你選擇中國問題，然後我會回到另一個問題。前進。是的。我的意思是，我認為從中國的角度來看，它對我們在亞太地區的增長做出了貢獻。它是最大的貢獻者之一。但我們不會說出具體國家的增長情況。只要知道我們對所做出的貢獻感到興奮，它是亞太地區 6% 至 7% 有機恆定貨幣增長的物質驅動力。

And now that I listen to him, Jason, you got to restate the question pricing. -- pricing. We don't spell it out. It is a key initiative, and it is part of our compensation. I think that answers the question. It's FFG, and it's got our attention, and it's got a lot of our attention. So, I'll answer it that way.

既然我聽了他的話，傑森，你必須重申定價問題。 - 價錢。我們不明說。這是一項重要舉措，也是我們薪酬的一部分。我認為這回答了問題。它是 FFG，它引起了我們的注意，它引起了我們的很多關注。所以，我會這樣回答。

Yes. Maybe to clarify, I mean, any reason to think it's not as good as it was in...

是的。也許是為了澄清，我的意思是，有任何理由認為它不如以前那麼好......

Jason, Jason, Jason, I think I answered the question, but thank you very much for asking again. -- good... He's really good at this.

傑森，傑森，傑森，我想我回答了這個問題，但非常感謝你再次提問。 ——很好……他真的很擅長這個。

I'll follow up maybe then a couple on -- on the margin side. Maybe can you discuss with where you're at with your transition efforts down to Mexico. And then as you do transition back to more of a normal structure of air and ocean freight, can you throw a dart at where you'd anticipate normalized logistics structure this year? I mean getting back to 80% ocean, 20% error, does that happen 2Q, 3Q, 4Q? Just trying to figure out if it's reasonable to think we should see some margin benefits from that initiative this year.

我可能會跟進一些 - 在保證金方面。或許你可以討論一下你在向墨西哥過渡的過程中所處的位置。然後，當您確實過渡回更多的空運和海運的正常結構時，您能否在您預計今年物流結構正常化的地方投擲飛鏢？我的意思是回到 80% 的海洋，20% 的錯誤，這會在第二季度、第三季度、第四季度發生嗎？只是想弄清楚認為我們今年應該從該計劃中看到一些利潤收益是否合理。

So, it is an initiative, Jason. I just -- we are not going to share the specifics on the cadence of how we're going to get there. I just think it just confuses things too much. But it is an initiative as part of our foundations for growth and its initiative for expansion of our gross margin this year, and it's got our focus on it. As far as Mexico, we continue -- it's not a 1-year initiative, right? I mean we've spent the last 5 years moving stuff to Mexico. I would say that there's been things that have moved ahead of plan at plan and behind plan. I mean that's just the way it works. We continue to move stuff down there, continue to analyze our business for things that make sense and we'll continue to do so over the years.

所以，這是一項倡議，Jason。我只是 - 我們不會分享我們將如何到達那裡的節奏的細節。我只是覺得它把事情搞得太多了。但這是一項舉措，作為我們增長基礎的一部分，也是今年擴大毛利率的舉措，我們將重點放在上面。就墨西哥而言，我們繼續——這不是一項為期 1 年的計劃，對嗎？我的意思是，過去 5 年我們一直在將東西轉移到墨西哥。我要說的是，有些事情比計劃提前了，也落後於計劃了。我的意思是這就是它的工作方式。我們繼續將東西轉移到那裡，繼續分析我們的業務以尋找有意義的東西，我們將在未來幾年繼續這樣做。

But just in conclusion to that thought in those comments, it's been a great success overall and continue to have our focus going forward. And -- but again, as Rob pointed out, it's not perfect. There's this that transfer, particularly on the early parts when you're going through Cohort were very difficult. I think that has smoothed out in most cases. But at the same time, little things pop up from time to time. But we actually had a board meeting down there about 3 months ago. And it was impressive to be there and particularly to have the board there as well. So, I think whenever the board goes some place, that's peach volumes.

但就這些評論中的想法而言，它總體上取得了巨大的成功，並將繼續讓我們繼續關注。而且——但是，正如 Rob 指出的那樣，它並不完美。這就是轉移，特別是在你經歷 Cohort 的早期部分非常困難。我認為在大多數情況下這已經很順利了。但與此同時，時不時會冒出一些小事。但實際上大約 3 個月前我們在那裡召開了一次董事會會議。在那裡，尤其是董事會也在那裡，真是令人印象深刻。所以，我認為只要董事會走到某個地方，那就是桃子卷。

Yes. Okay. Definitely. And maybe I'll try one more time with a clarifying follow-up here. But on the Ocean Air, I mean, normalizing that structure, is it right to think that we should have that complete by the end of this year?

是的。好的。確實。也許我會再嘗試一次，在這裡進行澄清跟進。但是關於 Ocean Air，我的意思是，使該結構正常化，認為我們應該在今年年底之前完成它是否正確？

Well, it is an initiative for our gross margin. As we called out, we're looking to get 170 to 220 basis points for the year, and it will definitely be a tailwind to our gross margin as we increase percentage towards Ocean. Okay. Thanks, Jason. He's good.

好吧，這是我們毛利率的一項舉措。正如我們所呼籲的那樣，我們希望今年獲得 170 到 220 個基點，隨著我們增加對海洋的百分比，這肯定會成為我們毛利率的順風。好的。謝謝，傑森。他很好。

[Operator Instruction] Our next question comes from William Plovanic with Canaccord...

[操作員說明] 我們的下一個問題來自 William Plovanic 和 Canaccord...

So, you've done a tremendous job growing the top line. And this kind of folds into the original M&A question earlier. But as we think of '23 and beyond in that 5% growth that you've targeted and you've definitely been growing beyond that. Is that something that you can maintain organically? Or do you need to meet or exceed 5% on a longer-term basis M&A to help augment what you have?

所以，你在增加收入方面做得非常出色。並且這種折疊到早期的原始併購問題中。但正如我們在 23 年及以後所設定的 5% 增長目標中所考慮的那樣，你的增長肯定已經超過了這個目標。這是你可以有機地維護的東西嗎？或者您是否需要在長期基礎上達到或超過 5% 的併購以幫助擴大您的資產？

Yes. Listen, we understand what -- the Street is focusing on what is next for our growth and profitability. Again, we're 100% focused on the FFG in those targets as we -- and listen, the race isn't over to you across the line. And we may be seeing a little bit stubborn, but what we have been doing and what we said we would do and the commitments we've made, we've kept up with that. In terms of the numbers that you have updated that we've given, of course, that's all organic when we talk about this year. And if you look at the history, and I'll let you do that work, Bill, but if you look at the history, you'll see that it's well within what we've done for many, many, many years. So, you have a better finely tuned company that has been growing for a long time. And I think if you just quickly look at that back and look back at that growth rate. But I want to say something. You said we've been doing great at growing the top line. I think we've done fine. But take a look at that bottom line and what we've improved there over the last 2 to 3 years, and that is extraordinary as well. So, I just can't have one part of it without talking about the other.

是的。聽著，我們明白什麼——華爾街正在關注我們的增長和盈利能力的下一步。同樣，我們 100% 專注於這些目標中的 FFG，因為我們 - 聽著，比賽還沒有結束。我們可能會看到有點固執，但我們一直在做的事情、我們說過會做的事情以及我們做出的承諾，我們一直在遵守。就我們提供的您更新的數字而言，當然，當我們談論今年時，這些都是有機的。如果你回顧一下歷史，我會讓你做這項工作，比爾，但如果你回顧一下歷史，你會發現我們已經做了很多很多年了。所以，你有一個更好的微調公司，已經發展了很長時間。而且我認為，如果您只是快速回顧一下並回顧一下該增長率。但我想說點什麼。你說我們在增加收入方面做得很好。我認為我們做得很好。但看看這條底線以及我們在過去 2 到 3 年裡在那裡取得的改進，這也是非同尋常的。所以，我不能在不談論另一部分的情況下擁有它的一部分。

Yes. I mean I think if you look at the operating margin and the expansion that we've done over the last couple of years, the last few years, to be honest, has just been anything but impressive. I mean I think there's a lot of hard work that goes into it from our employees. And I hate to not have you call that an...

是的。我的意思是，我認為，如果你看看我們過去幾年的營業利潤率和擴張，老實說，過去幾年簡直令人印象深刻。我的意思是我認為我們的員工付出了很多努力。我不想讓你稱之為...

Yes, I had to. I mean -- and again, that's -- if you take a look at the objectives. The growth 5 to 7. If you take a look at the operating margin and the free cash flow, they speak to top and bottom.

是的，我不得不。我的意思是 - 再一次，如果你看一下目標。增長 5 到 7。如果你看一下營業利潤率和自由現金流，它們會影響頂部和底部。

Yes. I think lastly, too, Bill, I know there's a lot of -- people want to focus on beyond 2023. But we still have a lot of work to do in 2023. It's the final year of FFG. And we just want to make sure that we can deliver what we promised. And we don't want to lose sight of that, but we've got more work to do, but we've got a solid game plan. We do have a case...

是的。我想最後也是，比爾，我知道有很多人希望關注 2023 年以後。但我們在 2023 年仍有很多工作要做。這是 FFG 的最後一年。我們只是想確保我們能夠兌現我們的承諾。我們不想忽視這一點，但我們還有更多工作要做，但我們有一個可靠的遊戲計劃。我們確實有一個案例...

You took the second half of my question, which is where does the incremental operating margin really leverage come from outside of gross margin. So, if we talk about OpEx, you've spent a couple of years really optimizing the organization. Where do you see the real incremental improvements in terms of leverage on the OpEx standpoint driving from? Is it just scale in R&D? Or is it really more of a leverage of the G&A line? I mean, how do we think about it...

你回答了我問題的後半部分，即增量營業利潤率的真正槓桿作用來自毛利率以外的地方。所以，如果我們談論 OpEx，你已經花了幾年時間真正優化組織。從 OpEx 的角度來看，您從哪裡看到在槓桿方面真正的增量改進？僅僅是研發規模嗎？或者它真的更像是 G&A 系列的槓桿？我的意思是，我們如何看待它...

I think it's a great question. And I can't wait to discuss it when we get to 2024 and we finished 2023. We're just focused on delivering FFG. And it's a great question, and I understand the question -- the reasoning behind it, but we're just not going to get ahead of ourselves. But I do want to go back and say this, if I could. And that is we said that we were going to leverage every aspect of that income statement. That's always been the goal. And I just want to bring that back to your attention.

我認為這是一個很好的問題。我迫不及待地想在 2024 年和 2023 年結束時討論它。我們只專注於交付 FFG。這是一個很好的問題，我理解這個問題——它背後的原因，但我們不會超越自己。但如果可以的話，我確實想回去說這個。那就是我們說過我們將利用損益表的各個方面。這一直是我們的目標。我只是想再次引起您的注意。

Thank you -- that concludes our Q&A session. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Fred Lampropoulos for any closing remarks.

謝謝 - 我們的問答環節到此結束。我現在想將電話轉回給 Fred Lampropoulos 先生，聽取任何結束語。

Yes. Well, again, thank you very much. Incidentally just for a point of interest. We're inviting you all out to Utah. We've had a major blizzard, and we've got 2 feet of snow outside. And I think they're doing that up in Minneapolis today, I heard as well. All that being said, thank you for your interest. I think you can hear our commitment. It's been solid. It hasn't changed. We have work to do. We'll complete this program. And then next year about this time, we'll tell you about where we're going from there. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of exciting opportunities in this company. We appreciate your interest. We thank you for your time today, and we'll sign off from a snowy blizzard in Salt Lake City, Utah. Have a good evening. Good night.

是的。嗯，再次，非常感謝你。順便說一句，只是為了一個興趣點。我們邀請大家去猶他州。我們遇到了一場大暴風雪，外面有 2 英尺厚的雪。我想他們今天也在明尼阿波利斯這樣做，我也聽說了。綜上所述，感謝您的關注。我想你能聽到我們的承諾。一直很結實它沒有改變。我們有工作要做。我們將完成這個程序。然後明年大約這個時候，我們會告訴你我們從那裡去的地方。在這家公司，我們有很多工作要做，也有很多令人興奮的機會。感謝您的關注。感謝您今天抽出時間，我們將在猶他州鹽湖城的暴風雪中結束。晚上好。晚安。

Thank you. That does conclude our conference call for today. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝。這確實結束了我們今天的電話會議。感謝您的參與。