MSA Safety Inc (MSA) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the MSA Safety First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 MSA 安全 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意此事件正在被記錄。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Chris Hepler. Please go ahead.

我現在想把會議交給克里斯·赫普勒。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to MSA's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. This is Chris Hepler, Executive Director of Corporate Development.

謝謝。早安，歡迎參加 MSA 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。我是克里斯‧赫普勒，企業發展部執行董事。

I'm joined by Nish Vartanian, Chairman and CEO; Steve Blanco, President and COO; Lee McChesney, Senior Vice President and CFO; and Stephanie Sciullo, President of our Americas segment. Larry De Maria, who we recently announced as Executive Director of Investor Relations, is also with us this morning. During today's call, we will discuss MSA's first quarter financial results and provide an update on our full year 2024 outlook.

董事長兼執行長 Nish Vartanian 也出席了會議；史蒂夫·布蘭科，總裁兼營運長； Lee McChesney，資深副總裁兼財務長；以及美洲部門總裁 Stephanie Sciullo。我們最近宣布擔任投資者關係執行董事的拉里·德瑪麗亞 (Larry De Maria) 今天早上也與我們在一起。在今天的電話會議中，我們將討論 MSA 第一季的財務業績，並提供 2024 年全年展望的最新資訊。

On Slide two, I'd like to remind everyone that matters discussed during this call may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, all projections and anticipated levels of future performance.

在第二張投影片上，我想提醒大家，本次電話會議中討論的事項可能包括 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。的預期水準。

Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those discussed today. These risks, uncertainties and other factors are detailed in our SEC filings. MSA Safety undertakes no duty to publicly update any forward-looking statements made on this call, except as required by law.

前瞻性陳述涉及許多風險、不確定性和其他因素，可能導致我們的實際結果與今天討論的結果有重大差異。這些風險、不確定性和其他因素在我們向 SEC 提交的文件中有詳細說明。除法律要求外，MSA Safety 不承擔公開更新本次電話會議中所做的任何前瞻性聲明的義務。

Turning to Slide 3. We have included certain non-GAAP financial measures as part of our discussion this morning. The non-GAAP reconciliations are available in the appendix of today's presentation. The presentation and press release are available on our Investor Relations website at investors.msasafety.com.

轉向幻燈片 3。非公認會計原則調節表可在今天簡報的附錄中找到。簡報和新聞稿可在我們的投資者關係網站 Investors.msasafety.com 上取得。

I'd now like to turn the call over to Nish Vartanian. Nish?

我現在想把電話轉給 Nish Vartanian。尼什？

Thanks, Chris, and good morning, everyone. As you're aware, on February 22, we announced a CEO succession plan. On May 10, I'll be turning over the CEO role to my colleague, Steve Blanco. I'm thrilled the Board has selected Steve to the role following a rigorous multiyear succession planning process.

謝謝克里斯，大家早安。如您所知，2 月 22 日，我們宣布了執行長繼任計畫。 5 月 10 日，我將把執行長的職位交給我的同事 Steve Blanco。我很高興董事會在經過嚴格的多年繼任計劃流程後選擇史蒂夫擔任該職位。

Many of you know Steve already. But for those of you who don't, Steve is an outstanding leader with deep expertise in MSA's business and our industry. He's passionate about MSA's mission and values. And he puts the customer at the center of everything we do. Steve and I have worked closely together since he joined the Company in 2012. He's been an invaluable partner over this time. And together, we have significantly improved the performance of MSA.

你們中的許多人已經認識史蒂夫了。但對於那些不這麼認為的人來說，史蒂夫是一位傑出的領導者，在 MSA 的業務和我們的行業擁有深厚的專業知識。他對 MSA 的使命和價值觀充滿熱情。他將客戶置於我們所做一切的中心。自從 Steve 2012 年加入公司以來，我和他一直密切合作。我們共同顯著提升了 MSA 的表現。

As we enter the 110th year of our great company, MSA has never been in a better position. With this foundation of strength and resilience, I have the utmost confidence in Steve's ability to lead MSA and continue the momentum we've achieved together to drive value for all stakeholders in the years ahead.

在我們偉大的公司邁入第 110 週年之際，MSA 處於前所未有的有利地位。憑藉這種力量和韌性的基礎，我對 Steve 有能力領導 MSA 並繼續我們共同取得的勢頭，在未來幾年為所有利益相關者創造價值充滿信心。

With that, let me turn it over to Steve to take you through the quarter. Steve?

接下來，讓我將其交給史蒂夫，讓他帶您了解本季的情況。史蒂夫？

Thank you, Nish, and good morning, everyone. First, I want to thank Nish and our Board of Directors for their trust and confidence in me to lead MSA Safety and our more than 5,000 associates around the world. The work done over the past several years executing our strategy has helped transform MSA into a higher growth, higher margin and more efficient company.

謝謝你，尼什，大家早安。首先，我要感謝 Nish 和我們的董事會對我領導 MSA Safety 以及我們遍布全球的 5,000 多名員工的信任和信心。過去幾年執行我們的策略所做的工作幫助 MSA 轉變為一家成長更快、利潤更高、效率更高的公司。

As Nish said, our company has never been stronger or positioned better for the future. As we move forward, we will continue to leverage our scale, brand and customer-centric innovation to drive profitable growth. Our leadership team and I are devoted to serving our customers in support of our singular mission of safety.

正如尼什所說，我們的公司從未如此強大或為未來做好了準備。隨著我們的前進，我們將繼續利用我們的規模、品牌和以客戶為中心的創新來推動獲利成長。我和我的領導團隊致力於為客戶提供服務，以支持我們獨特的安全使命。

On behalf of my fellow MSA associates, I want to thank Nish for his significant contributions, leadership and dedicated years of service. He's always demonstrated a passion for our mission, our associates and our customers. Nish has been instrumental in transforming MSA into the company it is today. I'm energized to build on this momentum as we enter the next phase of profitable growth. And I look forward to sharing more details with you at our upcoming Investor Day on May 22nd.

我謹代表 MSA 同事，感謝 Nish 的重大貢獻、領導能力和多年的奉獻精神。他始終對我們的使命、我們的員工和我們的客戶表現出熱情。 Nish 在將 MSA 轉變為今天的公司過程中發揮了重要作用。當我們進入下一階段的獲利成長時，我充滿活力地繼續保持這一勢頭。我期待在即將到來的 5 月 22 日投資者日與您分享更多詳細資訊。

As you'll see on Slide four, MSA is a purpose-driven growth company with a unique mission, that men and women may work in safety and that they, their families and their communities may live in health throughout the world. This mission has remained the same throughout MSA's 110-year history. As the safety company, we are committed to advancing our mission and helping our customers address their safety needs. Safety continues to be an attractive market with long-term growth tailwinds. Our customers around the world remain focused on enhancing their safety programs. And we strive to be their partner of choice.

正如您將在幻燈片4 中看到的那樣，MSA 是一家以目標為導向的成長型公司，肩負著獨特的使命：讓世界各地的男性和女性能夠安全地工作，讓他們、他們的家人和社區能夠健康地生活。這項使命在 MSA 110 年的歷史中始終如一。作為安全公司，我們致力於推進我們的使命並幫助我們的客戶滿足他們的安全需求。安全仍然是一個具有長期成長動力的有吸引力的市場。我們世界各地的客戶仍然專注於加強他們的安全計劃。我們努力成為他們的首選合作夥伴。

Innovation and customer-centricity are at the heart of everything we do. We have a proven process that brings to life unique solutions that help solve our customers' toughest safety challenges. As a result, we have established strong positions around the world in Firefighter Safety, Detection and Industrial PPE products and solutions.

創新和以客戶為中心是我們所做一切的核心。我們擁有經過驗證的流程，可以實現獨特的解決方案，幫助解決客戶最嚴峻的安全挑戰。因此，我們在消防員安全、偵測和工業個人防護裝備產品和解決方案領域在全球建立了強大的地位。

We will continue to deliver market-leading innovation complemented by inorganic growth, as you've seen in the past from us, to help us better serve our customers. And our team will leverage the MSA Business System to continually drive enhanced performance in all we do.

我們將繼續提供市場領先的創新，並輔以無機成長，正如您過去從我們身上看到的那樣，以幫助我們更好地服務客戶。我們的團隊將利用 MSA 業務系統不斷提高我們所做工作的績效。

Now let's look at our Q1 performance on Slide five. We're off to a solid start this year, sustaining the positive momentum from our record 2023. The team executed well and delivered sales growth of four percent and earnings growth of 18 percent. Backlog in the quarter continues to be slightly elevated, specifically in detection and industrial PPE due to certain supply chain challenges. The operating environment remains dynamic and the team did a good job of navigating these challenges to continue delivering solutions to our customers.

現在讓我們來看看投影片 5 上第一季的表現。今年我們開局良好，延續了 2023 年創紀錄的積極勢頭。由於某些供應鏈挑戰，本季的積壓數量持續略有增加，特別是在檢測和工業個人防護裝備方面。營運環境仍然充滿活力，團隊在應對這些挑戰方面做得很好，並繼續為客戶提供解決方案。

Moving on to our product categories. Sales in Firefighter Safety were strong, up double digits in the quarter. We saw strength across our head-to-toe firefighter solutions and delivered on the remaining SCBA units for the initial U.S. Air Force order we received last year.

繼續我們的產品類別。消防員安全產品的銷售額強勁，本季成長了兩位數。我們看到了我們從頭到腳的消防員解決方案的優勢，並為我們去年收到的美國空軍最初訂單交付了剩餘的 SCBA 裝置。

The fire service market continues to be resilient and the environment for funding around the world is healthy. We recently attended the Fire Department International Conference in Indianapolis and it was a pleasure to engage with our customers, channel partners and our MSA fire service team.

消防服務市場持續保持彈性，全球融資環境健康。我們最近參加了在印第安納波利斯舉行的消防局國際會議，很高興與我們的客戶、通路合作夥伴和 MSA 消防服務團隊進行交流。

We just launched an exciting new product, the Cairns 1836 Fire Helmet, which incorporates customer feedback regarding comfort, weight, ergonomics and cleanability. It was great to see the enthusiastic response to this helmet as well as our broad range of firefighter products and solutions.

我們剛剛推出了一款令人興奮的新產品，Cairns 1836 消防頭盔，它結合了客戶對舒適性、重量、人體工學和清潔性方面的回饋。很高興看到這款頭盔以及我們廣泛的消防產品和解決方案受到熱烈反響。

Our sales in Detection and Industrial PPE were down mid-single digits in the quarter. Although order activity was healthy, our conversion was slow due to supply chain issues, which were more pronounced in our shorter-cycle products, including portable gas detection and fall protection. We finished the quarter with higher backlog in both Detection and Industrial PPE. While the supply chain continues to be volatile, we're working closely with our suppliers and remain confident in our path forward.

本季我們在偵測和工業個人防護裝備方面的銷售額下降了中個位數。儘管訂單活動良好，但由於供應鏈問題，我們的轉換速度很慢，這在我們的週期較短的產品中更為明顯，包括便攜式氣體檢測和墜落保護。本季末，我們在偵測和工業個人防護裝備方面的積壓量都增加了。儘管供應鏈持續波動，但我們正在與供應商密切合作，並對我們的前進道路保持信心。

We continue to build out our Detection portfolio with innovative new products. In fixed gas and flame detection, we recently launched the FL5000, which has the latest advanced infrared sensors and leverages computer learnings to enhance performance and responsiveness. This is an exciting addition to our flame detection lineup. In portable gas detection, we continue to see accelerating momentum with our io4 ALTAIR Gas Detector, which is now available in over 60 countries.

我們繼續透過創新的新產品來建立我們的檢測產品組合。在固定氣體和火焰檢測方面，我們最近推出了 FL5000，它具有最新的先進紅外線感測器，並利用電腦學習來增強性能和響應能力。這是我們火焰檢測產品系列中令人興奮的補充。在便攜式氣體檢測領域，我們的 io4 ALTAIR 氣體探測器​​繼續保持加速發展的勢頭，該探測器現已在 60 多個國家/地區上市。

As I wrap up, I want to highlight the resiliency of our business, which continues to benefit from the broad diversity of our products, geographies and markets. With attractive industry fundamentals, our proven innovation process and leading positions in our markets, I'm excited by our future. I believe we have the best team in the industry. And with our mindset around continuous improvement and our commitment to MBS, we are well positioned to create value over the long-term for our stakeholders.

最後，我想強調我們業務的彈性，我們的產品、地理和市場的廣泛多樣性繼續受益於我們業務的彈性。憑藉著有吸引力的行業基本面、經過驗證的創新流程以及在市場中的領先地位，我對我們的未來感到興奮。我相信我們擁有業內最好的團隊。憑藉我們持續改進的理念和對 MBS 的承諾，我們有能力為利害關係人創造長期價值。

Before wrapping up, I want to thank all of our MSA associates who work diligently every single day to deliver on our mission and serve our customers. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Lee to review our first quarter results and outlook. Lee?

在結束之前，我要感謝所有每天辛勤工作的 MSA 員工，以完成我們的使命並為我們的客戶提供服務。現在，我將把電話轉給 Lee，回顧我們第一季的業績和前景。李？

Thank you, Steve, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining the call today. I will now review our performance in the first quarter and provide an update on our full year outlook.

謝謝你，史蒂夫，大家早安。我們感謝您今天加入電話會議。我現在將回顧我們第一季的業績，並提供全年展望的最新資訊。

Let's get started on Slide six with quarterly results. Sales were $413 million, an increase of four percent over the prior year with balanced contributions from volume and price. Currency translation added one point to overall growth. Across our product categories, Firefighter Safety was a strong contributor to growth, up double digits and was partially offset by declines in Detection and Industrial PPE.

讓我們從第六張投影片開始，展現季度業績。銷售額為 4.13 億美元，比上年增長 4%，銷量和價格貢獻均衡。貨幣換算為整體成長增加了 1 個百分點。在我們的產品類別中，消防員安全是成長的重要貢獻者，成長了兩位數，但部分被檢測和工業個人防護裝備的下降所抵消。

And from a regional perspective, sales in our more developed markets, including North America and EMEA, saw solid year-over-year growth while sales in Latin America and APAC were softer, resulting from a contract renewal timing with a customer in Latin America and a slower recovery in China.

從區域角度來看，包括北美和歐洲、中東和非洲在內的較發達市場的銷售同比穩健增長，而拉丁美洲和亞太地區的銷售則有所疲軟，這是由於與拉丁美洲和亞太地區客戶的合約續約時間造成的。

Orders were healthy in the quarter. Our order pace accelerated each month in the first quarter. And so far in April, orders are up high single digits over the prior year and our commercial pipeline is encouraging across our product categories and the majority of our regions. In the quarter, our book-to-bill was 1x. Backlog grew sequentially, specifically in Detection and Industrial PPE categories, due to supply chain issues. We expect backlog to normalize by the end of the year.

本季度訂單狀況良好。第一季我們的訂單速度每個月都在加快。到目前為止，4 月的訂單比去年增長了高個位數，我們的產品類別和大多數地區的商業管道都令人鼓舞。本季度，我們的訂單出貨比為 1 倍。由於供應鏈問題，積壓訂單持續成長，特別是在檢測和工業個人防護用品類別。我們預計積壓情況將在年底前恢復正常。

Now moving on to margins. Our margin performance continues to be very robust. And our team's commitment to MBS is clear from our results. Gross profit margin in the quarter was 47.3 percent, up 180 basis points over the prior year. Operating margin on a GAAP basis was 19.4 percent in the quarter. Adjusted operating margin was 21.3 percent, up 190 basis points over the prior year. And incremental operating margin was 71 percent. Margin expansion was largely driven by volume leverage, productivity and price/cost management.

現在轉向邊緣。我們的利潤率表現仍然非常強勁。從我們的結果中可以清楚地看出我們團隊對 MBS 的承諾。本季毛利率為47.3%，較上年同期成長180個基點。以 GAAP 計算，本季營業利潤率為 19.4%。調整後營業利益率為 21.3%，較上年成長 190 個基點。增量營業利益率為 71%。利潤率的擴張主要是由銷售槓桿、生產力和價格/成本管理所推動的。

GAAP net income was $58 million or $1.47 per diluted share. On an adjusted basis, diluted earnings per share were $1.61, up 18 percent over the prior year. The increase was primarily due to higher operating profit and lower nonoperating expenses.

GAAP 淨利為 5,800 萬美元，或攤薄後每股收益 1.47 美元。調整後每股攤薄收益為 1.61 美元，比上年增長 18%。這一增長主要是由於營業利潤增加和營業外支出減少。

Now moving on to our segment performance. In our Americas segment, sales increased five percent year-over-year with double-digit growth in Firefighter Safety, partially offset by Declines in detection and Industrial PPE. Adjusted operating margin was 29.2% percent, up 360 basis points compared to the prior year period. Margin expansion was largely driven by volume leverage, productivity and pricing.

現在轉向我們的細分市場表現。在美洲市場，銷售額年增 5%，其中消防員安全產品實現兩位數成長，但部分被檢測和工業個人防護裝備的下降所抵消。調整後營業利益率為 29.2%，較上年同期上升 360 個基點。利潤率擴張主要是由銷售槓桿、生產力和定價所推動的。

In our International segment, growth was flat year-over-year. Our EMEA region delivered mid-single-digit growth, which was offset by declines in our APAC region, where we continue to see slower market conditions in China. Currency translation was a one percent benefit in the quarter. Adjusted operating margin was 11.5 percent, a decline of 190 basis points year-over-year. And margin was impacted by unfavorable geographic mix and inflationary pressures.

在我們的國際部門，同比增長持平。我們的歐洲、中東和非洲地區實現了中等個位數的成長，但被亞太地區的下滑所抵消，我們繼續看到中國市場狀況放緩。本季的貨幣換算收益為 1%。調整後營業利益率為 11.5%，較去年同期下降 190 個基點。利潤率受到不利的地理組合和通膨壓力的影響。

Now turning to Slide seven. Free cash flow in the quarter was $40 million, representing a conversion rate of 62 percent of adjusted earnings. Free cash flow conversion was impacted by normal working capital seasonality and tax and compensation payments. Our robust financial position and strong free cash flow generation provides us optionality to reinvest in our business and enhance our portfolio going forward while continuing to return excess capital to our shareholders.

現在轉向幻燈片七。本季自由現金流為 4,000 萬美元，相當於調整後收益的 62%。自由現金流轉換受到正常營運資金季節性以及稅收和補償支付的影響。我們穩健的財務狀況和強大的自由現金流生成為我們提供了對業務進行再投資和增強未來投資組合的選擇，同時繼續向股東返還多餘資本。

We invested $11 million in CapEx, including investments in our Morocco and Mexico facilities to improve efficiencies. We also repaid $5 million of debt and returned $18 million in dividends to shareholders. Net debt at the end of the quarter was $448 million and cash was $148 million. Our net leverage ratio at quarter end was 1x. Adjusted EBITDA for the trailing 12 months ended March 31 was $461 million or 25.6 percent of net sales.

我們投資了 1,100 萬美元的資本支出，包括對摩洛哥和墨西哥工廠的投資，以提高效率。我們也償還了 500 萬美元的債務，並向股東返還了 1,800 萬美元的股息。本季末淨債務為 4.48 億美元，現金為 1.48 億美元。季度末我們的淨槓桿率為 1 倍。截至 3 月 31 日的過去 12 個月調整後 EBITDA 為 4.61 億美元，佔淨銷售額的 25.6%。

Now I'd like to move on to our full year outlook on Slide eight. While we're off to a solid start in 2024, we continue to take a very balanced approach as we look to the remainder of the year. The resilient and improving order trends throughout the quarter and a strong commercial pipeline support our full year outlook.

現在我想繼續在第八張幻燈片上展望我們的全年前景。雖然我們在 2024 年有一個良好的開端，但在展望今年剩餘時間時，我們將繼續採取非常平衡的方法。整個季度訂單趨勢的彈性和改善以及強大的商業管道支持了我們的全年前景。

We continue to carry some excess backlog and expect normalization will now occur by the end of the year. Broad diversification across products, geographic regions, end markets, along with the attractive underlying market trends in the safety industry, gives us the confidence in executing on our growth commitment this year. Tempering our view is the challenging operating environment in certain regions and industrial end markets.

我們繼續有一些過剩的積壓，預計到今年年底就會正常化。產品、地理區域、終端市場的廣泛多元化，以及安全產業有吸引力的潛在市場趨勢，使我們有信心履行今年的成長承諾。某些地區和工業終端市場充滿挑戰的營運環境使我們的觀點更加堅定。

As I look forward to full year 2024, we reiterate our sales outlook of mid-single-digit growth, which compounds on top of the 17 percent growth we delivered in 2023. We remain well positioned and are steadfastly focused on delivering our financial commitments and creating sustainable value for our shareholders. On that note, we are energized to host our Investor Day in New York via webcast on May 22, where we will provide an in-depth review of our business, strategy and financial objectives.

在展望2024 年全年時，我們重申我們的銷售前景將實現中個位數成長，這將在我們2023 年實現17% 的成長的基礎上實現複合成長。致力於履行我們的財務承諾和為我們的股東創造可持續的價值。有鑑於此，我們充滿活力地於 5 月 22 日透過網路直播在紐約舉辦投資者日，屆時我們將對我們的業務、策略和財務目標進行深入審查。

As I wrap up today, my final prepared remarks are for Nish. Congratulations to you as you conclude your management career at MSA. You've made a tremendous impact on our Company, customers and associates. Thank you. I appreciate your guidance, support and partnership over the past two years. I wish you all the best in your retirement and look forward to our ongoing partnership with you serving on our Board of Directors.

在我今天結束時，我最後準備的演講是針對尼什的。恭喜您結束在 MSA 的管理生涯。您對我們公司、客戶和同事產生了巨大影響。謝謝。我感謝您在過去兩年中的指導、支持和合作。我祝福您退休後一切順利，並期待與您在董事會任職時保持持續的合作關係。

I will now turn the call back to Nish for his concluding remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給尼什，聽他作總結發言。

Thank you, Lee. Let's advance to Slide nine. After 39 years at MSA and six years in the CEO role, my retirement comes after a very detailed succession planning process with our Board. MSA continues to demonstrate excellent performance and has a strong foundation in place with our talent, innovation and scale to continue advancing our mission and delivering strong results. I look forward to still being part of the MSA team as I continue to serve as a member of the company's Board of Directors.

謝謝你，李。讓我們前進到幻燈片九。在 MSA 工作了 39 年並擔任執行長 6 年後，我在與董事會進行了非常詳細的繼任計劃流程後退休。 MSA 繼續展現出卓越的業績，並憑藉我們的人才、創新和規模奠定了堅實的基礎，可以繼續推進我們的使命並取得強勁成果。我期待著繼續成為 MSA 團隊的一員，同時繼續擔任公司董事會成員。

I'm tremendously thankful for the support of our associates, our Board and the investment community during my tenure as CEO. It has been an absolute privilege leading MSA, serving our customers and developing MSA's next generation of leaders. I'm incredibly proud of our progress on accelerating innovation, growth and margin performance. This has resulted in significant value creation for our stakeholders. And today, MSA is a high-performing, purpose-driven growth company.

我非常感謝我擔任執行長期間我們的同事、董事會和投資界的支持。領導 MSA、為我們的客戶提供服務並培養 MSA 的下一代領導者是絕對的榮幸。我對我們在加速創新、成長和利潤績效方面取得的進展感到無比自豪。這為我們的利害關係人創造了巨大的價值。如今，MSA 是一家高績效、以目標為導向的成長型公司。

I had the pleasure of working alongside Steve and this leadership team. And I'm confident in their ability to continue the strong momentum that we've achieved together. I know MSA will be in excellent hands with Steve at the helm.

我很高興與史蒂夫和這個領導團隊一起工作。我對他們有能力繼續我們共同取得的強勁勢頭充滿信心。我知道 MSA 將在 Steve 的掌舵下得到出色的管理。

And with that, I'll now turn the call back to the operator for questions.

現在，我將把電話轉回給接線員詢問問題。

(Operator Instructions) The first question is from Stanley Elliott with Stifel.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自 Stanley Elliott 和 Stifel。

Congratulations on the nice start to the year. Could you guys help us maybe a little bit with the cadence? I mean, the mid-single digits seem very doable. Is there something kind of segment-wise you could point us to, kind of given how strong the fire piece was and maybe some of the supply chain issues you saw in some of the other businesses?

恭喜今年有一個好的開始。你們能幫我們調整一下節奏嗎？我的意思是，中個位數似乎非常可行。考慮到火件的強度以及您在其他一些業務中看到的一些供應鏈問題，您是否可以向我們指出一些細分領域的問題？

Steve, why don't you take that?

史蒂夫，你為什麼不接受這個？

Yes. So, if you look at it, I guess, I'd start with Q1. And we were pleased overall, as we said in the prepared remarks, with how the quarter went. I think what's really nice for us is we looked month-over-month, it continued to get better from a demand perspective. And we know that the industrial markets are a little bit mixed so that wasn't a surprise to us.

是的。所以，如果你看一下，我想我會從 Q1 開始。正如我們在準備好的發言中所說，我們總體上對本季的進展感到滿意。我認為對我們來說真正好的事情是我們逐月觀察，從需求的角度來看，它繼續變得更好。我們知道工業市場有點複雜，所以這對我們來說並不奇怪。

And it probably will remain that way on the short-cycle business. We don't have as much visibility there. But where we do have visibility, which is the Detection business and Fire Service, we feel really good. The fundamentals are good and the pipeline is very solid. So that gives us some really good confidence as we look throughout the remainder of the year.

在短週期業務中，這種情況可能仍會持續下去。我們在那裡沒有那麼多的能見度。但在我們確實有知名度的領域，即探測業務和消防服務，我們感覺非常好。基本面良好，管道非常穩固。因此，當我們展望今年剩餘時間時，這給了我們很大的信心。

And in terms of kind of International margins, certainly making a lot of nice progress here, did take a bit of a step down. It sounds like it might have been mix. But just curious kind of if that was the case, should we still think about this business as a mid-teen EBIT business? Or any color there, I guess, would be great.

就國際利潤率而言，這裡確實取得了很大進步，但確實有所下降。聽起來可能是混合的。但只是好奇，如果是這樣的話，我們是否仍然應該將這項業務視為中青年息稅前利潤業務？或任何顏色，我想，都會很棒。

Lee, why don't you take that?

李，你為什麼不接受這個？

Yes. Stanley, I was expecting that question, so happy you asked. So growth is definitely a bit mixed, as Steve and I highlighted. You have a situation where International growth is doing pretty well in Europe and Middle East. But you do have a bit of a headwind in Asia, particularly with China. So that's what we've experienced the last couple of quarters. But as we look forward, we still think some of those trends will continue. But you do have a little bit a comp difference as well, so we do think International will move into a bit more mid-single-digit growth like we've talked about for the year.

是的。史丹利，我正期待著這個問題，很高興你問了。因此，正如史蒂夫和我所強調的那樣，成長肯定是參差不齊的。歐洲和中東的國際成長表現良好。但在亞洲，尤其是在中國，確實遇到了一些阻力。這就是我們過去幾季所經歷的情況。但展望未來，我們仍然認為其中一些趨勢將持續下去。但也確實存在一點比較差異，因此我們確實認為國際業務將實現中個位數成長，就像我們今年討論的那樣。

Margins for the quarter were pressured because of some of those supply chain issues. We kind of grew in the lower margin portion of it so that definitely affected it. And there was a little bit of inflationary pressures as well. So, as we look forward, I mean, International hasn't changed because of what happened in the first quarter here and coming out of the fourth quarter. We still think this is a mid-single-digit growth business. We've talked about we've progressed with margins. I think you're going to see that step up from what you just saw in the first quarter. That naturally happens just because of the change in dollars running through the quarter.

由於其中一些供應鏈問題，本季的利潤率受到壓力。我們的利潤率較低部分有所增長，因此這肯定會影響它。而且還有一點通膨壓力。因此，當我們展望未來時，我的意思是，國際業務並沒有因為第一季和第四季發生的事情而改變。我們仍然認為這是一項中等個位數成長的業務。我們已經談到我們在利潤方面取得了進展。我認為你會看到比第一季的情況有所進步。這種情況自然會發生，只是因為整個季度的美元變化。

And then we have put a price increase in place. There's good productivity in mind there. So, it's more of the same. I mean, I'll link it back to what Steve said. Our outlook for the year hasn't changed. We had to manage a little of these supply chain things that hurt us later in the first quarter, caused a little bit of pain in the beginning of the second quarter here. But in the end, our outlook for the year is the same, just maybe a little bit of a subtle change between the first half and second half.

然後我們就提高了價格。那裡有良好的生產力。所以，它更像是一樣的。我的意思是，我會將其與史蒂夫所說的話聯繫起來。我們對今年的展望沒有改變。我們必須管理一些供應鏈問題，這些問題在第一季稍後對我們造成了傷害，並在第二季初造成了一些痛苦。但最終，我們對今年的展望是一樣的，只是上半年和下半年之間可能會有一些微妙的變化。

Perfect, guys. And Nish, congratulations on your retirement and best wishes to you, and I look forward to seeing everybody here in a couple of weeks.

完美，夥計們。尼什，祝賀你退休，並向你致以最良好的祝愿，我期待著幾週後在這裡見到大家。

Thanks, Stanley.

謝謝，史丹利。

The next question is from Rob Mason with Baird.

下一個問題是 Rob Mason 和 Baird 提出的。

I want to relay my congratulations to you, Nish, as well. It's a great run. And congratulations, Steve, also.

我也想向你轉達我的祝賀，尼什。這是一次很棒的跑步。也祝賀史蒂夫。

Thanks, Rob.

謝謝，羅布。

Just maybe to go back to the order pace, you said it picked up sequentially as you went through the quarter. I think at the last update, we were talking about mid-single-digit growth in orders at that point. Is that basically where the order rate shook out for the quarter? Or I'm just curious maybe what the comparisons look like just on that front.

只是也許要回到訂單速度，您說隨著您整個季度的進行，訂單速度會依次加快。我認為在上次更新中，我們談論的是當時訂單的中個位數成長。這基本上是本季訂單率波動的地方嗎？或者我只是好奇這方面的比較是什麼樣的。

Go ahead, Steve.

繼續吧，史蒂夫。

Yes, I think we started off a little softer than that, Rob, in the first part of the quarter and then that accelerated throughout the quarter. So, we ended up in a pretty good space overall. Mainly if we looked at the business, I'd even parse it down regionally, the Americas business accelerated a little faster than International.

是的，我認為我們在本季度的前半部分開始時比那要軟一些，然後整個季度加速了。所以，我們最終得到了一個整體上非常好的空間。主要是如果我們看一下業務，我甚至會按區域進行分析，美洲業務的成長速度比國際業務快一點。

But the pipeline that International has and where the team is at and what they expect to start showing up into this quarter and next quarter will come out even more clearly. So, it looks pretty good and April has turned out really nice. So, just what we kind of expected to have happened has kind of played out.

但國際公司擁有的管道、團隊所處的位置以及他們預計在本季和下季開始出現的內容將會更加清晰。所以，看起來很不錯，四月的結果也非常好。所以，我們所期望發生的事情已經發生了。

I would just probably say the book-to-bill is a solid one. As we always say, don't overreact to any quarter, right? I think we'll see something similar like that play out in the second quarter. Fourth quarter was a negative book-to-bill because that's what normally happens in the fourth quarter.

我可能會說，訂單到帳單是可靠的。正如我們常說的，不要對任何方面反應過度，對嗎？我認為我們會在第二季度看到類似的情況。第四季的訂單出貨比為負，因為這是第四季通常發生的情況。

But to Steve's point, orders have been in a good place. We've seen almost every week over the last now two, three months to be in the mid-single-digit, if not higher, zone. We do run into some large comps as we go through the year. So, for example, March of last year, we had a price increase announced for April and we also booked a large L.A. win.

但在史蒂夫看來，訂單一直處於良好狀態。在過去的兩三個月裡，我們幾乎每週都看到價格處於中個位數（如果不是更高的話）區域。在這一年中，我們確實遇到了一些大型競爭。例如，去年 3 月，我們宣布了 4 月的價格上漲，我們也預訂了洛杉磯的一大勝利。

So, we just navigate that daily business and then obviously have some of these comps that we've said all year will be our challenge. So, if you look at the first quarter, four percent growth, 20 percent growth in the first quarter last year, I'll take that two year stack any day, Rob.

因此，我們只是處理日常業務，然後顯然我們已經說過全年將面臨一些挑戰。所以，如果你看看第一季度，4% 的成長，去年第一季 20% 的成長，我隨時都會拿這兩年的數據，羅布。

Sure, sure. And then just could you put a little more color around the supply chain challenges? I mean, is it still kind of the same things we've talked about in the past? Is it more components and chips related in the Detection business or just a little feel for what you actually are dealing with at this point?

一定一定。那麼您能否對供應鏈挑戰進行更多描述？我的意思是，這仍然是我們過去談論過的同樣的事情嗎？是更多與檢測業務相關的組件和晶片，還是只是對您目前實際處理的問題有一點感覺？

Yes, Rob. First, I'd say the supply chain is significantly better than over the past years that we've talked about. So, it's not the same level of challenge. This year was a little bit more around timing and the impact of that on the quarter and kind of rolling into the second quarter, as Lee referenced. And it's twofold. We had a couple of challenges in fall protection and Detection overall. We also, earlier in the quarter, had problems with one of our sub-suppliers for transportation, trying to get things through the route around the world and get through the Suez Canal. So that kind of backed them up and with the domino effects, it took them a little while to get that cleaned up, which is now fine. So, I mean, if you look at it, broadly speaking, similar to other industrials, the supply chain is a ton better. It's more consistent. But as with others, we do have challenges every quarter. This time, it just happened to manifest itself in a way that showed up with our sales that we expected to pull through some of more of that backlog in Detection and Industrial PPE. So, nothing though that alarms us or concerns us like the previous chip issues that you referenced from the past years.

是的，羅布。首先，我想說供應鏈比我們談論的過去幾年好得多。所以，這不是同等級的挑戰。正如李所提到的那樣，今年更多的是關於時間安排及其對季度的影響，並有點進入第二季。這是雙重的。總體而言，我們在墜落防護和偵測方面面臨一些挑戰。在本季度早些時候，我們還與我們的一家分供應商在運輸方面遇到了問題，他們試圖通過世界各地的路線並通過蘇伊士運河運送貨物。因此，這為他們提供了支持，並且由於多米諾骨牌效應，他們花了一些時間才將其清理乾淨，現在已經好了。所以，我的意思是，如果你從廣義上看，與其他工業類似，供應鏈會好得多。它更加一致。但與其他公司一樣，我們每季都面臨挑戰。這一次，它恰好以我們的銷售表現出來，我們預計將解決檢測和工業個人防護裝備方面的更多積壓訂單。因此，沒有什麼比您在過去幾年中提到的晶片問題更讓我們感到震驚或擔憂的了。

Sure. And then just last for me, you talked about good visibility in the Fire Safety business. You concluded the first tranche, I guess, on the U.S. Air Force order. Is there the expectation that there will be more to ship on Air Force this year built into the mid-single-digit guide? And then maybe just a little bit of color also on the International front, I know last quarter, Steve, you seem to be optimistic on International fire as well.

當然。最後對我來說，您談到了消防安全業務的良好知名度。我猜你已經完成了美國空軍訂單的第一筆付款。是否預計今年空軍將有更多的飛機交付到中個位數的指南中？然後也許在國際戰線上也有一點色彩，我知道上個季度，史蒂夫，你似乎對國際火力也持樂觀態度。

Right, Rob. So, we're very pleased that we did finish that first tranche, the $35 million contract. We finished shipping that in the first quarter to our customer. And we are expecting the second part or second tranche of that for that order to come in later this year. So, we're working with the customer on what that timing might be.

對，羅布。因此，我們非常高興我們確實完成了第一部分，即價值 3500 萬美元的合約。我們在第一季完成了向客戶的出貨。我們預計該訂單的第二部分或第二部分將於今年稍後到來。因此，我們正在與客戶合作確定具體時間。

Internationally, Yes, I am optimistic. That team is very optimistic. We feel like we're competing very well with our customers across the international markets. There's some nice large orders that are coming up soon. It's not dissimilar to the United States or Canada or LAR.

在國際上，是的，我很樂觀。該團隊非常樂觀。我們覺得我們在國際市場上與客戶的競爭非常好。很快就會有一些不錯的大訂單。這與美國、加拿大或 LAR 沒有什麼不同。

Everywhere in the world, one thing with Fire, as you know, Rob, it's a little lumpy. So, when the orders come in, can vary somewhat. But the pipeline is really, really solid. So the International team, I think they're all over it. And I'm expecting to see that business continue to do well.

羅布，你知道，在世界各地，火都有點不穩定。因此，當訂單到來時，可能會有所不同。但管道確實非常堅固。所以國際隊，我認為他們已經全力以赴了。我期待看到該業務繼續表現良好。

The next question is from Ross Sparenblek with William Blair.

下一個問題是羅斯·斯帕倫布萊克和威廉·布萊爾提出的。

Just wanted to start on company-level gross margins, solid execution in the quarter. Are we right to assume that margins found a new base here in the high 40s, just given the productivity efforts have been put in place? And then can you also maybe help us frame some of the moving pieces this year as you think about price/cost mix? Just trying to get a sense of the cadence of incrementals.

只是想從公司層級的毛利率開始，本季的執行力紮實。考慮到生產力方面的努力已經到位，我們是否可以正確假設利潤率在 40 多歲左右找到了新的基礎？然後，當您考慮價格/成本組合時，您是否也可以幫助我們設計今年的一些變化？只是想了解增量的節奏。

Why don't you get that, Lee?

李，你為什麼不懂？

Yes, sure. So good question, Ross. So yes, we were certainly delighted with the progress in margins in the first quarter. We said when we issued our outlook for the year, we gave the commentary about 47 percent to 48 percent gross margin, sustaining those levels. So certainly, the first quarter, which is typically a little bit lower because of lower sales, to be where we're at says we're certainly on a good pace.

是的，當然。問得好，羅斯。所以，是的，我們當然對第一季利潤率的進步感到高興。我們表示，當我們發布今年的展望時，我們給出的評論是毛利率約為 47% 至 48%，維持了這一水平。因此，當然，由於銷售額下降，第一季的銷售通常會略低一些，但我們所處的位置表明我們的步伐肯定不錯。

Still, our mindset, 47 percent to 48 percent, it will step up with higher sales in the next several quarters. Kind of the way it usually works out, the second and fourth will be the best, the third gets a little bit affected by the European holidays and things like that. So, it's a good pace.

儘管如此，我們的心態（47% 到 48%）將在未來幾季隨著銷售額的增加而加快步伐。按照通常的方式，第二個和第四個將是最好的，第三個將受到歐洲假期等的影響。所以，這是一個很好的節奏。

Now what's behind that is really all elements of MBS, so things like NPD that we highlighted in our prepared remarks. Certainly, we're going after productivity on a sustained basis that we've talked about for the last several years. We really have a robust deck, again a real nice catalyst in the first quarter alone. We expect that to continue.

現在，背後實際上是 MBS 的所有要素，例如我們在準備好的發言中強調的 NPD 等內容。當然，我們持續追求生產力，這也是我們過去幾年所討論的。我們確實擁有強大的平台，僅在第一季就再次成為真正的良好催化劑。我們預計這種情況會持續下去。

And then price and inflation will kind of balance themselves out. We still have inflation. We just don't have the levels of inflation before. It's moderated as has our price as well. So, we're trying to keep those in balance and then let all the other elements of MBS kind of come through to either to protect margins or particularly give us an opportunity to expand them over time.

然後價格和通貨膨脹就會自行平衡。我們仍然面臨通貨膨脹。我們只是沒有達到以前的通貨膨脹水準。它和我們的價格一樣被調節。因此，我們試圖保持這些平衡，然後讓 MBS 的所有其他要素發揮作用，以保護利潤，或特別是讓我們有機會隨著時間的推移擴大利潤。

But that's our mindset for this year. And that should put us in a good place. It all ties back to, I'll use this opportunity to say that, our outlook for the year is the same as in February, mid-single-digit growth, 30 percent to 40 percent incrementals and then free cash flow, 90 percent to 100 percent. Nothing has changed. Everything, frankly, is just confirmed coming out of the first quarter.

但這就是我們今年的心態。這應該讓我們處於一個有利的位置。這一切都與，我想藉此機會說，我們今年的前景與 2 月份相同，中等個位數增長，增量 30% 至 40%，然後是自由現金流，增長 90% 至 40%。的。什麼也沒有變。坦白說，一切都在第一季才得到證實。

That's helpful. And then maybe just putting a finer point on the new products, can you give us a sense of what early demand trends have been for the 1836 and then also any other launches on the horizon that we should just remain cognizant of?

這很有幫助。然後也許只是對新產品進行更詳細的闡述，您能否讓我們了解 1836 的早期需求趨勢以及我們應該繼續關注的任何其他即將推出的產品？

Yes, Steve?

是的，史蒂夫？

So Ross, you're talking about the 1836, tremendous response. That's a new helmet in a market that we spent a lot of time with Voice of Customer with that market and quite a long time making sure we develop something that hit the mark. And this one seems to really have hit the mark. It's coming out of the gate very strongly and it's hitting some key competitive needs that, that market has about comfort and balance as well as the weight of that helmet. So, we're really excited by how the customers responded so far.

羅斯，你說的是 1836 年的巨大反響。這是一個市場上的新頭盔，我們花了很多時間與該市場的客戶之聲進行交流，並花了相當長的時間確保我們開發出符合要求的產品。而這一點，看來真的是一語中的。它的推出非常強勁，並且滿足了市場對舒適性、平衡性以及頭盔重量的一些關鍵競爭需求。因此，我們對客戶迄今為止的反應感到非常興奮。

And then I mean, just anything else that we should keep note of for the rest of 2024?

我的意思是，在 2024 年剩下的時間裡，我們還有什麼需要注意的嗎？

Yes, good question, Ross. We referenced the FL5000, which is an ultraviolet infrared flame detector that we launched. It replaces our FL4000. This is another one that we think is going to be a big game-changer in the market. It's got a lot of really cool features on it, much improved performance, reducing false alarms for our customers.

是的，好問題，羅斯。我們參考了FL5000，它是我們推出的一款紫外線紅外線火焰探測器。它取代了我們的 FL4000。這是我們認為將成為市場遊戲規則的重大改變者的另一項舉措。它具有許多非常酷的功能，大大提高了性能，為我們的客戶減少了誤報。

It's performance-certified for 22 flammable fuel sources, which is a really big deal. And I would also share, we talked about this on past calls, but this is a really great type of technology for hydrogen. So, we look at this product as a nice lead-in across all the energy markets, including renewable.

它通過了 22 種易燃燃料來源的性能認證，這確實是一件大事。我還要分享的是，我們在過去的電話中討論過這一點，但這是一種非常偉大的氫技術。因此，我們將該產品視為所有能源市場（包括再生能源）的良好先導產品。

That's great. Alright. Well, I just want to say congratulations, Nish, on the retirement. And Steve, we're looking forward to working with you. I know you guys' Investor Day is in a couple of weeks here. But maybe, Steve, if you could give us an early read on how you're thinking about the business, any areas of opportunity or low-hanging items that you think could be addressed early on?

那太棒了。好吧。好吧，我只想祝賀尼什退休。史蒂夫，我們期待與您合作。我知道幾週後就是你們的投資者日。但是，史蒂夫，您是否可以提前向我們介紹您對業務的看法，以及您認為可以儘早解決的任何機會領域或容易解決的問題？

Yes. Thanks, Ross. And first, I've got big shoes to fill. They're, I think, size 38, what Nish is wearing. But I joined the company 12 years ago because of us being purpose-driven. And like all of our associates, I'm passionate about our mission. And it really is about how we serve that mission through our customers, they'll remain and have been the center of everything we do. So, what we said in our prepared remarks around leveraging our scale and our brand are front and center for me personally and the leadership team.

是的。謝謝，羅斯。首先，我有很多需要填補的空缺。我想 Nish 穿的是 38 號。但我在 12 年前加入了這家公司，因為我們以目標為導向。和我們所有的同事一樣，我對我們的使命充滿熱情。這實際上是關於我們如何透過我們的客戶來履行這項使命，他們將仍然是我們所做的一切的中心。因此，我們在準備好的演講中所說的關於利用我們的規模和品牌的內容對於我個人和領導團隊來說是最重要的。

What I think is exciting, as we'll talk more about at Investor Day, and that's we spend a lot of time really evaluating our strategy, looking at what we've done well and what we think we can improve on. So, the team is really excited to share that at Investor Day and talk about where we envision the future to be and how we're going to execute that strategy with our Business System. So that would be kind of my early opener to make sure that people are there for Investor Day.

我認為令人興奮的是，我們將在投資者日更多地討論，那就是我們花了很多時間真正評估我們的策略，看看我們做得好的方面以及我們認為可以改進的方面。因此，團隊非常高興在投資者日分享這一點，並討論我們對未來的展望以及我們將如何透過我們的業務系統執行該策略。因此，這將是我的早期開場白，以確保人們參加投資者日。

Yes, absolutely, really looking forward to it. Congrats again, guys.

是的，絕對，真的很期待。再次恭喜，夥計們。

Thank you.

謝謝。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Chris Hepler for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回克里斯·赫普勒（Chris Hepler）發表閉幕詞。

Thank you, Debbie. We appreciate you joining the call this morning and for your continued interest in MSA Safety. To learn more about our purpose-driven culture, unique innovation engine and differentiated strategy, please join our Investor Day webcast on May 22.

謝謝你，黛比。我們感謝您今天早上加入電話會議並感謝您對 MSA Safety 的持續關注。若要詳細了解我們以目標為導向的文化、獨特的創新引擎和差異化策略，請參加 5 月 22 日的投資者日網路廣播。

And if you missed a portion of today's call, an audio replay will be made available later today on our Investor Relations website and will be available for the next 90 days. We look forward to updating you again on our continued progress next quarter. Thank you.

如果您錯過了今天電話會議的部分內容，我們的投資者關係網站將在今天晚些時候提供音訊重播，並將在接下來的 90 天內提供。我們期待再次向您通報我們下個季度的持續進展。謝謝。

The conference has 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。