Nordson Corp (NDSN) 2008 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Carmen, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time I would like to welcome everyone to the Nordson Corporation first-quarter fiscal year 2008 results conference call. (Operator Instructions). Thank you, I would now like to turn the call over to Ms. Price. You may begin your conference.

早上好。我的名字是卡門，今天我將成為您的會議接線員。在此，我想歡迎大家參加諾信公司 2008 財年第一季度業績電話會議。（操作員說明）。謝謝，我現在想把電話轉給女士。價格。你可以開始你的會議了。

Thank you, Carmen. Good morning, everyone. This is Barb Price, Manager of Shareholder Relations, along with Ed Campbell, Chairman President and Chief Executive Officer and Greg Thaxton, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. We would like to welcome you to our conference call today, Friday, February 22, 2008 on Nordson's first-quarter fiscal 2008 results. Our conference call is being broadcast live on our web page at www.Nordson.com and will be available for 14 days. There will be a telephone replay of our conference call available until midnight, Friday, February 29, by calling 1-800-642-1687 and you will need to reference I.D. number 34551546.

謝謝你，卡門。大家，早安。我是股東關係經理 Barb Price，以及董事長兼首席執行官 Ed Campbell 和副總裁兼首席財務官 Greg Thaxton。歡迎您參加我們今天（2008 年 2 月 22 日星期五）的電話會議，討論諾信 2008 財年第一季度的業績。我們的電話會議將在我們的網頁 www.Nordson.com 上進行直播，並將持續 14 天。我們的電話會議將在 2 月 29 日星期五午夜之前進行電話重播，請致電 1-800-642-1687，您需要提供 I.D.編號 34551546。

Our attorneys have requested we open this call with a cautionary statement under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. During this conference call, forward-looking statements may be made regarding our future performance based on Nordson's current expectations. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors as discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that could cause actual results to differ.

我們的律師已要求我們根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款，以一份警示性聲明來開啟本次電話會議。在本次電話會議期間，可能會根據諾信當前的預期就我們未來的表現做出前瞻性陳述。這些陳述可能涉及公司向證券交易委員會提交的文件中討論的許多風險、不確定性和其他因素，這些因素可能導致實際結果不同。

After our remarks, we will have a question-and-answer session.

發言結束後，我們將進行問答環節。

I would now like to turn the call over to Ed Campbell for an overview of our first--quarter fiscal 2008 results and Nordson's future outlook. Ed?

我現在想將電話轉給 Ed Campbell，以了解我們 2008 財年第一季度的業績和諾信的未來前景。埃德?

Thank you, Barb, and thank all of you for attending Nordson's conference call discussing our first-quarter 2008's results. Much of the data that I've typically provided in my comments such as order growth rates has been included with the earnings release, so my comments this morning will provide highlights of what was a very strong quarter for Nordson, both in terms of revenue growth and operational performance. In addition, I will provide some guidance relative to our outlook for the second quarter.

謝謝您，Barb，並感謝大家參加 Nordson 電話會議，討論我們 2008 年第一季度的業績。我通常在評論中提供的大部分數據（例如訂單增長率）已包含在收益發布中，因此我今天上午的評論將重點介紹諾信在收入增長方面非常強勁的季度和運營績效。此外，我將就第二季度的展望提供一些指導。

Our first-quarter performance generated record sales of $245 million, up 20% from the prior year, driven by a volume increase of 15% and favorable currency impacts of 5%. Of that volume increase, the first-year effect of acquisitions added approximately 9% with 6% coming from internal growth. All segments contributed solid revenue growth in the quarter, led by the Advanced Technology segment's gained of 41%.

在銷量增長 15% 和有利的貨幣影響 5% 的推動下，我們第一季度的業績創造了創紀錄的 2.45 億美元的銷售額，比上年增長 20%。在銷量增長中，第一年的收購效應增加了約 9%，其中 6% 來自內部增長。所有部門在本季度都貢獻了穩健的收入增長，其中先進技術部門增長了 41%。

Although much of this segment's growth is from the first-year effect of acquisitions, internal volume growth in this segment was approximately 9%. This is encouraging, as it represents another progressively stronger quarter of Advanced Technology shipments and reflects not only improvements in some of our end markets within this segment, but also growth from products introduced in recent quarters.

儘管該部門的大部分增長來自收購的第一年效應，但該部門的內部銷量增長約為 9%。這是令人鼓舞的，因為它代表了先進技術出貨量的另一個日益強勁的季度，不僅反映了我們在這一領域的一些終端市場的進步，而且反映了最近幾個季度推出的產品的增長。

The 13% growth in the Adhesive segment is also very encouraging, as the growth is fairly broad-based in terms of product lines and geographies. Within the Industrial Coating and Automotive segment, the 8% growth is primarily centered in Japan and Asia-Pacific. I will remind you as well that this segment is driven by larger dollar engineered systems, which can lead to volatility in both quarterly sales and order entry comparisons.

粘合劑部門 13% 的增長也非常令人鼓舞，因為就產品線和地域而言，增長的基礎相當廣泛。在工業塗料和汽車領域，8% 的增長主要集中在日本和亞太地區。我還要提醒您，該細分市場是由更大的美元工程系統驅動的，這可能導致季度銷售和訂單輸入比較的波動。

On a geographical basis, first-quarter revenue was up double-digit growth rates in all geographic markets except for the Americas, which grew by 8%. Asia-Pacific continues to be red hot with growth of 44%.

從地域來看，除美洲增長 8% 外，所有地域市場的第一季度收入均以兩位數的速度增長。亞太地區繼續炙手可熱，增長 44%。

Although the 20% sales growth in the first quarter fell just below our guidance range of 21 to 25%, I will point out that we had a larger than normal value of orders that were scheduled to ship in quarter one but were rescheduled to later quarters due to customer requests. These are not order cancellations; they are requests for delivery beyond the original delivery dates for orders that tend to be larger dollar systems orders.

儘管第一季度 20% 的銷售增長率略低於我們 21% 至 25% 的指導範圍，但我要指出的是，我們的訂單價值高於正常水平，這些訂單原定於第一季度發貨，但被重新安排到後期由於客戶的要求。這些不是訂單取消；它們是針對通常是較大的美元系統訂單的訂單的原始交貨日期之外的交貨請求。

The overall gross margin rate of 57.2% in the quarter was higher than guidance due to a variety of factors, including favorable mix, including the shift of the orders noted above, and down slightly from the prior year due to a higher mix of system revenue versus parts in the current quarter as compared to last year's first quarter.

由於多種因素，包括有利的組合，包括上述訂單的轉移，本季度的整體毛利率為 57.2%，高於預期，並且由於系統收入組合較高，比上年略有下降與去年第一季度相比，與當前季度的部分相比。

Let me turn to the impact on 2008 results from purchase accounting for the 2007 acquisitions. During the first quarter, the impact on earnings was neutral compared to last year's first quarter. During the final nine months of 2008, acquisition accounting will provide a favorable $0.12 per share as compared to the charges in 2007. Operating profit increased 29% to a first-quarter record of $36 million, or 15% of sales, a strong performance for a quarter that is traditionally our lowest performing quarter.

讓我談談 2007 年收購對 2008 年業績的影響。與去年第一季度相比，第一季度對收益的影響是中性的。在 2008 年的最後九個月，與 2007 年相比，收購會計將提供每股 0.12 美元的優惠。營業利潤增長 29%，達到第一季度創紀錄的 3600 萬美元，佔銷售額的 15%，這是我們傳統上表現最差的一個季度的強勁表現。

On a segment basis, I'm very pleased with the improved operating margins in the Adhesive segment, demonstrating the leverage that revenue growth has on operating performance. Likewise, the 4 percentage point improvement in the industrial coating and automotive segment's operating margin is very satisfying. Although not yet at the performance levels that we ultimately expect from this segment, we continue to see the benefits of our restructuring efforts.

在細分市場的基礎上，我對粘合劑業務的營業利潤率提高感到非常滿意，這表明收入增長對經營業績的影響。同樣，工業塗料和汽車部門的營業利潤率提高了 4 個百分點，非常令人滿意。儘管尚未達到我們最終期望從該部門獲得的績效水平，但我們繼續看到重組努力的好處。

With regard to the Advanced Technology segment margins, we're seeing the mix impact associated with acquisitions in the current quarter. And like most of our traditional product lines, the first-quarter performance for the acquired businesses tends to be the weakest performing quarter. I fully expect the margin performance of this particular segment to improve in the out quarters.

關於先進技術部門的利潤率，我們在本季度看到了與收購相關的混合影響。和我們大多數傳統產品線一樣，被收購業務的第一季度業績往往是表現最差的一個季度。我完全預計這一特定細分市場的利潤率表現將在接下來的幾個季度有所改善。

Net income for the quarter increased 37% over the prior year to a first-quarter record of $21 million and fully diluted earnings per share increased 35% to a first-quarter record of $0.62 versus $0.46 in the prior year.

本季度的淨收入較上年同期增長 37%，達到創紀錄的 2100 萬美元，完全攤薄後每股收益增長 35%，達到創紀錄的 0.62 美元，而去年同期為 0.46 美元。

Let me provide some additional perspective on cash flow. Contributions to cash flow were net income of $21 million, non-cash charges of $10 million, and $5 million from the net change in long-term assets and liabilities. Typical for a first quarter as we build inventory, the use of cash from a net change in working capital was $23 million, resulting in cash from operations of $13 million.

讓我提供一些關於現金流的額外觀點。對現金流的貢獻是 2100 萬美元的淨收入、1000 萬美元的非現金費用和 500 萬美元的長期資產和負債淨變化。在我們建立庫存時，第一季度的典型情況是，營運資本淨變化產生的現金使用量為 2300 萬美元，運營產生的現金為 1300 萬美元。

Net capital expenditures in the quarter were $4 million and dividends were $6 million. In addition, we did buy back approximately $7 million of stock in the quarter.

本季度的淨資本支出為 400 萬美元，股息為 600 萬美元。此外，我們確實在本季度回購了大約 700 萬美元的股票。

The current year's EBITDA was $45 million, a 36% increase over last year's $33 million. Our debt leverage measured as debt to total capital ended the quarter at 40%; net of cash, this ratio would be 37%. As we have articulated in the past, we're very comfortable with this level of debt and, short of any acquisition activity, would anticipate a fairly rapid reduction of this leverage as we move forward.

本年度的 EBITDA 為 4500 萬美元，比去年的 3300 萬美元增長 36%。我們的債務槓桿率以債務佔總資本的比率衡量，本季度末為 40%；扣除現金後，該比率為 37%。正如我們過去所表達的那樣，我們對這種債務水平感到非常滿意，並且在沒有任何收購活動的情況下，預計隨著我們的前進，這種槓桿率會相當迅速地降低。

In summary, we have a very strong start to the year and I'm pleased with the sales growth and operating performance of each of our segments.

總而言之，我們今年的開局非常強勁，我對我們每個部門的銷售增長和經營業績感到滿意。

Let me turn to some brief comments about our outlook for the second quarter of 2008.

讓我談談我們對 2008 年第二季度的展望的一些簡短評論。

Backlog at the end of the first quarter was approximately $131 million, up $25 million from the same period of the prior year and up $32 million from the beginning of the fiscal year, all measured in constant currency. Recent demand, as measured by orders, has shown considerable strength. The details of order rates by segment and geography have been included with our press release. But in summary, orders for the last 12 weeks ending February 17, measured in constant currency and including acquisitions in both years, were up 8% from the same period in the prior year.

第一季度末的積壓訂單約為 1.31 億美元，比上年同期增加 2500 萬美元，比本財年年初增加 3200 萬美元，均以固定匯率計算。以訂單衡量的近期需求顯示出相當大的強勁勢頭。我們的新聞稿中包含了按細分市場和地理位置劃分的訂單率的詳細信息。但總的來說，截至 2 月 17 日的過去 12 週的訂單（以固定匯率計算並包括兩年的收購）比去年同期增長了 8%。

To add some perspective to the segment order growth rate, the 12% Adhesive order growth is certainly a strong rate for this segment and is broad-based both geographically and across product lines. Asia-Pacific orders continue to grow in excess of 30% within this segment. Within the Advanced Technology segment, the growth of 10% is also fueled by Asia-Pacific, where orders are up 52% in this segment. I would also like to comment that this 10% order growth is the strongest we have seen for this segment in the last five quarters and demonstrates growth, both in our long-standing product lines as well as the new acquisitions.

為了增加對該細分市場訂單增長率的看法，12% 的膠粘劑訂單增長率對於該細分市場來說無疑是一個強勁的增長率，並且在地理上和跨產品線都具有廣泛的基礎。在這一領域，亞太地區的訂單繼續增長超過 30%。在先進技術領域，亞太地區也推動了 10% 的增長，該領域的訂單增長了 52%。我還想評論一下，這 10% 的訂單增長是我們在過去五個季度中看到的這一細分市場中最強勁的增長，並且無論是在我們的長期產品線還是新的收購中都顯示了增長。

Regarding the Industrial Coating and Automotive segment decline in order rates, one observation is that order rates at this time last year were up 15% so; we have a somewhat difficult comparison. And as noted above, orders in this segment relate to large dollar system orders, which can be lumpy on a quarter-to-quarter basis. Even with these current order rates, I remain confident that we will see respectable performance this year within this segment.

關於工業塗料和汽車領域的訂單率下降，一個觀察結果是去年這個時候的訂單率上升了 15%。我們有一個有點困難的比較。如上所述，該細分市場的訂單與大額美元系統訂單有關，這些訂單在每個季度的基礎上可能是塊狀的。即使以目前的訂單率，我仍然相信我們今年將在這一領域看到可觀的表現。

With this perspective on order rates, we currently have an outlook for a sales volume increase of 10% to 14% for the second quarter. Favorable currency effects should contribute a 4% increase to year-to-year sales, resulting in overall sales growth of 14% to 18% in the quarter. This sales outlook would be a record for any second quarter. Given the mix of products, we should see gross margins around 57%.

以這種對訂單率的看法，我們目前預計第二季度的銷量將增長 10% 至 14%。有利的貨幣效應應會導致銷售額同比增長 4%，從而使本季度的整體銷售額增長 14% 至 18%。這一銷售前景將是任何第二季度的記錄。考慮到產品組合，我們應該看到毛利率在 57% 左右。

This outlook results in earnings per share for the second quarter in the $0.77 to $0.86 range versus the prior year's $0.61. Earnings in this range would represent record earnings per share for any second quarter and with the $0.82 midpoint of this range, 34% higher than the prior-year second-quarter earnings per share. Obviously, the strong performance delivered in quarter one, coupled with this outlook for the second quarter, puts us well on the way to a very strong first half of the fiscal year.

這一前景導致第二季度每股收益在 0.77 美元至 0.86 美元之間，而去年同期為 0.61 美元。該範圍內的收益將代表任何第二季度的創紀錄每股收益，並且該範圍的中點為 0.82 美元，比去年第二季度的每股收益高出 34%。顯然，第一季度的強勁表現，再加上對第二季度的展望，使我們在本財年上半年的強勁表現上取得了很好的進展。

Let me stop now and open it up for your questions.

讓我現在停下來，為你的問題敞開心扉。

(Operator Instructions). John Franzreb, Sidoti & Company.

（操作員說明）。John Franzreb, Sidoti & Company。

First question is a clarification. You said that purchase accounting was flat in the quarter. If I recall a year ago I think it was $0.03. Does that mean you had a $0.03 call it negative impact on purchase accounting in the current quarter?

第一個問題是澄清。你說採購會計在本季度持平。如果我記得一年前，我認為它是 0.03 美元。這是否意味著您在本季度對採購會計產生了 0.03 美元的負面影響？

Sure. Let me just give a little broader background. The purchase accounting falls into two categories. The first is the short-term inventory effects that are essentially all behind us as we now begin 2008. And so, in last year's first quarter, we had the inventory on the Dage acquisition as well as a small piece of that second element of purchase accounting, which is the amortization of the intangible assets associated with the purchased company. As we're now in 2008 we have no more of the inventory effects but we have the intangibles from the four acquisitions coming through the income statement.

當然。讓我提供一個更廣泛的背景。採購會計分為兩類。首先是短期庫存效應，隨著我們現在開始 2008 年，這些效應基本上都已經過去了。因此，在去年第一季度，我們有大格收購的庫存以及採購會計的第二個要素的一小部分，即與被收購公司相關的無形資產的攤銷。由於我們現在是 2008 年，我們沒有更多的庫存影響，但我們通過損益表獲得了來自四次收購的無形資產。

We expect this year for those intangibles to total around $0.10 or between $0.02 and $0.03 in the first quarter. And so that $0.02 to $0.03 in quarter one of '08 is equal and offsetting to the roughly $0.03 that we had in the first quarter of '07. And then if you look at the remaining nine months it becomes quite favorable, totaling across the nine months about a $0.12 pickup, as we have that continuing $0.02 to $0.03 [per quarter] this year compared to much larger charges last year.

我們預計今年第一季度這些無形資產的總額約為 0.10 美元或 0.02 美元至 0.03 美元。因此，08 年第一季度的 0.02 美元到 0.03 美元是相等的，並抵消了我們在 07 年第一季度的大約 0.03 美元。然後，如果您查看剩餘的九個月，它會變得非常有利，在這九個月中總計大約收取 0.12 美元，因為與去年更高的費用相比，今年我們將繼續保持 0.02 美元至 0.03 美元 [每季度]。

Understood. Thank you very much. And the Adhesive Dispensing order growth was rather impressive at 12%. You said it was kind of broad-based but I wonder if you could provide us some additional color as to what kind of end markets may be a little bit stronger than others?

明白了。非常感謝。膠粘劑分配訂單的增長相當可觀，達到 12%。你說這是一種廣泛的基礎，但我想知道你是否可以為我們提供一些額外的顏色，說明哪種終端市場可能比其他市場更強大一點？

If I kind of look at the matrix of orders in that business, geographically, the Asia-Pacific region is over 30% as it was last quarter. So, if you will, six months equivalent of order rates we've been trucking along at over 30%. But we also see positive growth comparisons in all territories, including the U.S. And then if we look at the products lines within that segment, it is all relatively strong as compared to what each of those product lines might traditionally deliver.

如果我看一下該業務的訂單矩陣，從地理上看，亞太地區比上一季度增長了 30% 以上。所以，如果你願意的話，六個月的訂單率相當於我們一直在運輸的 30% 以上。但我們也看到所有地區的正增長比較，包括美國。然後，如果我們查看該細分市場中的產品線，與這些產品線中的每一個傳統上可能提供的產品相比，它都相對強大。

For example, our packaging products tend to be quite stable but perhaps not at the same kind of growth rates as we might get in some of the assembly markets. And packaging relative to what it might be producing in other periods of time is moving along well. Our nonwoven business, again fueled by a good strength in Asia, is quite strong. And what's encouraging about this, I think that 12% this quarter was 19% last quarter. These are big numbers for this segment and it reflects good levels of investment by customers, good success in some of our initiatives that we've got out there in the various regions, and we're just real pleased with it.

例如，我們的包裝產品往往相當穩定，但可能與我們在某些裝配市場中可能獲得的增長率不同。相對於它在其他時期可能生產的產品，包裝進展順利。我們的非織造佈業務再次受到亞洲良好實力的推動，非常強勁。令人鼓舞的是，我認為本季度的 12% 是上一季度的 19%。這些對於這一領域來說是很大的數字，它反映了客戶的良好投資水平，我們在各個地區開展的一些舉措取得了良好的成功，我們對此感到非常滿意。

I agree. It is very impressive numbers. Last question is -- and you also kind of touched on this in your commentary. The Industrial Coating and Automotive systems business, I know you said you were up with a tough comparison. But even in light of that number and the call it razor thin margins you kind of carry in that business, should we be concerned that that business might dip into the red in coming quarters? Or is there enough confidence in -- of the [course] you've taken out of the business or the potential order book that we should not be concerned about that?

我同意。這是非常令人印象深刻的數字。最後一個問題是——您在評論中也談到了這一點。工業塗料和汽車系統業務，我知道你說你做了一個艱難的比較。但是，即使考慮到這個數字以及你在該業務中的微薄利潤，我們是否應該擔心該業務可能會在未來幾個季度陷入虧損？或者是否有足夠的信心——在你從業務中撤出的 [課程] 或我們不應該擔心的潛在訂單簿中？

You know, the first quarter for this segment is always the weakest. I think if you look back a year ago, my recollection is that, in fact it's in the income statement, it had a down performance. And it's not uncommon for it to have that kind of relationships in quarter one compared to out quarters. And I'm not -- I think the short answer to your question is no, you should not be concerned.

你知道，這個細分市場的第一季度總是最弱的。我想如果你回顧一年前，我的回憶是，事實上它在損益表中，它的表現不佳。與第一季度相比，在第一季度擁有這種關係並不少見。我不是——我認為你的問題的簡短回答是否定的，你不應該擔心。

Matt Summerville, KeyBanc.

馬特薩默維爾，KeyBanc。

A couple of questions. First, Ed, you've commented that you felt that there were some orders that you thought would shift in the first quarter that have been rescheduled for the latter three quarters of the year. Could you provide a little more granularity in terms of was that relegated to a specific geography, a specific business segment? And then I guess how substantial would you say the dollar value of that business was? And then, is this something you traditionally see or should this be viewed as somewhat cautionary, I guess?

幾個問題。首先，Ed，您評論說您認為有些訂單會在第一季度發生變化，但已重新安排到今年後三個季度。您能否提供更多的細節，說明它是否屬於特定的地理位置、特定的業務部門？然後我猜你會說那項業務的美元價值有多大？然後，這是您傳統上看到的，還是應該被視為有點謹慎，我猜？

First of all, I will answer the second first. I don't think you should be concerned. These are issues associated with the logistics that our customers have in the facilities where they're looking to take these deliveries. It's across a handful of orders. It's not a large quantity of different circumstances. Each has their own story, but the -- I don't think it's in any way reflective of macroeconomic conditions but just rather particular customer circumstances.

首先，我先回答第二個。我認為你不應該擔心。這些是與我們的客戶在他們希望接收這些交付的設施中的物流相關的問題。它涉及少數訂單。這不是大量不同的情況。每個人都有自己的故事，但是——我不認為它以任何方式反映了宏觀經濟狀況，而只是反映了特定的客戶情況。

As to segment, it is substantially all in Adhesives. And geographically, it's not concentrated -- Greg, is it in any one area?

至於細分，它基本上都在粘合劑中。而且在地理上，它並不集中——格雷格，它在任何一個地區嗎？

No, it is not.

不它不是。

In terms of magnitude, in the internal growth rate, it's order magnitude, a couple percentage points. Now we always have some of this that comes and goes at the end of any one quarter. That couple percentage points that we specifically identified is larger than we would typically see. But it would've changed -- had those circumstances not arisen, it would've changed the actual shipments in the quarter closer and within the range that we had forecasted in our guidance in December.

就幅度而言，在內部增長率方面，它是數量級，幾個百分點。現在我們總是有一些在任何一個季度末來來去去。我們特別確定的這幾個百分點比我們通常看到的要大。但它會改變——如果沒有出現這些情況，它會改變本季度的實際出貨量，並在我們在 12 月的指導中預測的範圍內。

And then for your volume outlook in the second quarter, I think the number you provided was plus 10% to 14%. How much of that do you anticipate to be organic volume gains versus contributions from acquired businesses?

然後對於您第二季度的銷量展望，我認為您提供的數字是 10% 到 14%。與收購業務的貢獻相比，您預計其中有多少是有機銷量增長？

The acquired businesses are -- in terms of the first-year effect is between 4% and 5%. So, if I just split that number then the range for the volume would be 5.5% to 9.5%.

收購的業務是——就第一年的影響而言，在 4% 到 5% 之間。所以，如果我只是拆分這個數字，那麼音量的範圍將是 5.5% 到 9.5%。

I guess with respect to Advanced Tech margins, I just want to make sure I understand the issue here. So you had a couple extra cents of intangibles amortization. Even if I add that back, you still -- I highly doubt you would've seen margin improvement. Can you help me close the loop on that? I guess how profound was the mix shift in the business. And then, do you expect in the second quarter to get back on that trajectory of margin improvement that could get you kind of back into the high teens range for the full year that I think maybe you talked about previously?

我想關於先進技術的利潤，我只是想確保我理解這裡的問題。所以你有幾美分的無形資產攤銷。即使我把它加回來，你仍然——我非常懷疑你會看到利潤率提高。你能幫我結束這個循環嗎？我猜這個業務的混合轉變有多麼深刻。然後，您是否預計第二季度會回到利潤率提高的軌道上，這可能會讓您在全年回到青少年的高水平，我認為您之前可能談到過？

Let me just talk more broadly about operating margins in that segment. 2006 was a year that -- the four businesses that we owned before the acquisitions in '07 -- was a very good year for three of those four businesses, including the two larger businesses both had very good years. And we had 24% operating margin in the segment.

讓我更廣泛地談談該領域的營業利潤率。2006 年——我們在 07 年收購之前擁有的四家企業——對於這四家企業中的三家來說是非常好的一年，包括兩個較大的企業都擁有非常好的年份。我們在該領域的營業利潤率為 24%。

On a full-year basis?

以全年為基礎？

On a full-year basis. And when we announced the financials associated with each of the four acquisitions that we did last year, we indicated that their operating margins were in the range of 20% of sales. And that was before any impact of acquisition accounting. So if you do a weighted average of the size of those businesses versus the size of the businesses that we have today, the combined organization would be aiming to produce 20% kind of operating margins, including the effects of acquisition accounting. And we'll obviously finish this first quarter, which is always our weakest quarter, at a little more than 12% margin. If you adjust for the acquisition accounting, it only gets you up to 14%.

以全年為基礎。當我們公佈與去年進行的四項收購相關的財務數據時，我們指出它們的營業利潤率在銷售額的 20% 範圍內。那是在收購會計產生任何影響之前。因此，如果你對這些業務的規模與我們今天的業務規模進行加權平均，合併後的組織的目標是產生 20% 的營業利潤率，包括收購會計的影響。我們顯然會以略高於 12% 的利潤率完成第一季度，這始終是我們最弱的季度。如果您根據購置會計進行調整，則最多只能獲得 14%。

So we're very short of the 20% kind of number that we think we ought to be setting our sights to deliver to shareholders. There is a number of things that go on. One it's just the seasonality. The first quarter is always a little bit weaker than the others. And the second is the businesses we've talked about in 2007 regularly are not at the rates of investment and technology markets as we saw in 2006, which was a very good year in those markets. '07 was weak. Some segments of technology markets are projected to be even weaker in 2008.

因此，我們認為我們應該將目光投向股東的 20% 的數字非常少。有很多事情正在發生。一是季節性。第一季度總是比其他季度弱一點。第二個是我們在 2007 年經常談到的業務並沒有達到我們在 2006 年看到的投資和技術市場的速度，那是這些市場非常好的一年。'07 很弱。預計 2008 年技術市場的某些部分會更加疲軟。

Fortunately for us, many of the product lines that we sell are actually targeted at Advanced Technology advanced packaging and assembly that have different dynamics than say do markets like memory, where there was real weakness and overcapacity and very limited investment. But we have some exposure to those markets in businesses other than Asymtek, for example. And so the economic environment that is influencing our results in '07 and continuing in '08 is not back to where it was in 2006.

對我們來說幸運的是，我們銷售的許多產品線實際上是針對先進技術先進封裝和組裝的，它們的動態與內存等市場不同，後者存在真正的弱點和產能過剩，投資非常有限。但是，例如，我們在 Asymtek 以外的業務中也接觸過這些市場。因此，影響我們 07 年業績並在 08 年持續的經濟環境並沒有回到 2006 年的水平。

So you combine those various factors, the quarter, the rate of investment, and then the last item I will mention is that we made conscious efforts in 2006 -- pardon me, 2007, to increase the rate of investment in new product development, some programmatic activity that has delivered the brand new product lines that we have introduced here in recent months, in multiples of our businesses, that are beginning to fuel some of the order rates that we have reported here in this most recent announcement.

所以你把這些因素結合起來，季度，投資率，然後我要提到的最後一項是我們在 2006 年有意識地努力——對不起，2007 年，為了提高對新產品開發的投資率，一些程序化活動交付了我們最近幾個月在這裡推出的全新產品線，在我們的多個業務中，這些活動開始推動我們在最近的公告中報告的一些訂單率。

That spending, though, is measurable and visible in the operating margins that we're producing now compared to the operating margins that we had in 2006. And we need to, as an organization, reap the benefits of those investments. We look forward to improving environmental factors that should accelerate the rate of growth, and we think that we're on a way to drive ourselves towards that kind of target that I shared. But I think that I'm not forecasting that we're going to be at that 20% or greater operating margin in 2008.

不過，與 2006 年的營業利潤率相比，我們現在產生的營業利潤率是可以衡量和可見的。作為一個組織，我們需要從這些投資中獲益。我們期待改善應該加快增長速度的環境因素，我們認為我們正在朝著我分享的那種目標邁進。但我認為我並沒有預測到 2008 年我們的營業利潤率會達到 20% 或更高。

In order to get to the EPS guidance you provided for the second quarter though, suffice it to say you are looking for a pretty measurable sequential improvement in Advanced Tech op margin. Is that fair, Ed?

不過，為了獲得您為第二季度提供的每股收益指導，只需說您正在尋找先進技術運營利潤率的相當可衡量的連續改進。這公平嗎，埃德？

I hear the question. I'm just reflecting on the various things that are in this report. I expect operating margins in Advanced Technology to improve frankly across most of our businesses in quarter two compared to quarter one, simply as we grow in the seasonality and the volume that we have in quarter two compared to quarter one. I can't specifically speak to that margin because frankly I don't have that in front of me but I will tell you at 7% to 8%, sort of at the center point of the internal growth guidance for the quarter before currency, we've got meaningful growth over a quarter a year ago that obviously with the same seasonal factors was stronger than quarter one. So, I'd expect to see some improvement in operating margins. I think if you do the arithmetic on the earnings per share you can kind of back in that the sequential margin change would be positive.

我聽到了這個問題。我只是在反思這份報告中的各種內容。我預計與第一季度相比，第二季度我們大多數業務的先進技術營業利潤率將坦率地提高，因為我們的季節性和第二季度與第一季度相比的數量有所增長。我不能具體談及那個利潤率，因為坦率地說，我面前沒有這個，但我會告訴你 7% 到 8%，有點像貨幣前季度內部增長指導的中心點，我們在一年前的一個季度中取得了有意義的增長，顯然在相同的季節性因素下比第一季度要強。因此，我預計營業利潤率會有所改善。我認為，如果您對每股收益進行算術運算，您可以回溯到，連續的利潤率變化將是積極的。

Okay. And then just as far as more broadly speaking about the semiconductor piece of Advanced Tech, I guess the roadmaps that your key customers -- or that you speak about your key customers sharing with you that gives you some level of longer-term visibility, I guess over the last quarter or so, have those roadmaps become more favorable, less favorable, or pretty much stayed the same? I guess how do you feel about kind of the beyond '08 trajectory in Advanced Tech?

好的。然後就更廣泛地說關於先進技術的半導體部分，我猜你的主要客戶的路線圖 - 或者你談論你的主要客戶與你分享的那些給你一定程度的長期可見性的路線圖，我猜猜在上個季度左右，這些路線圖變得更有利、更不利，還是幾乎保持不變？我猜你對 Advanced Tech 08 年以後的發展軌蹟有什麼看法？

Yes. Well the -- I think there's two developments that have evolved in the Advanced Tech markets for us. As we mentioned in our last conference call, the Asymtek business, for example, has introduced an entirely new and major product line at an important trade show in Europe, and some of the strength that you see in Advanced Technology orders, that 10%, is particularly being fueled by very good order growth in that business and with those products. And that is consistent with our expectations. We believe that when this new product was introduced and based upon some timing we expected that we would have accelerating business. And I will tell you that Asymtek orders are very strong right now. And they are the standout in this segment. And that's consistent with all the things that we have expected.

是的。嗯 - 我認為我們的先進技術市場已經發展了兩個發展。正如我們在上次電話會議中提到的，例如，Asymtek 業務在歐洲的一個重要貿易展上推出了全新的主要產品線，以及您在先進技術訂單中看到的一些優勢，即 10%，尤其受到該業務和這些產品的訂單增長非常好的推動。這與我們的預期一致。我們相信，當這個新產品推出時，我們預計我們會加速業務發展。我會告訴你，Asymtek 的訂單現在非常強勁。他們是這一領域的佼佼者。這與我們預期的所有事情一致。

Great, thanks a lot.

太好了，非常感謝。

Charles Brady, BMO Capital Markets.

查爾斯·布雷迪，BMO 資本市場。

This is actually Tom [Brinkman] for Charlie Brady. Just one quick question. I apologize I joined the call a bit late if you've already covered this. But just wondering about the organic growth rate of technology, if I guess what your assumption is with the guidance going forward.

這實際上是查理布雷迪的湯姆 [布林克曼]。只是一個簡單的問題。抱歉，如果您已經討論過這個問題，我加入電話有點晚了。但只是想知道技術的有機增長率，如果我猜你對未來指導的假設是什麼。

Well first of all, in the quarter just announced, organic growth was 9%. And the acquisition effect was about 30%, rounding. And that 9% is consistent if you will, with the 10% order growth, which is a pro forma type of order growth; I'm putting the acquisitions in the prior year as well as the current year, so, it's apples-to-apples. So, 9% to 10% kind of both orders and shipments in the most recent periods, you know, drive obviously a portion of the expectations that we have in the second quarter. But, I don't have a specific forecast to share with you relative to organic growth in Tech in the second quarter.

首先，在剛剛宣布的季度，有機增長率為 9%。採集效果約為30%，四捨五入。如果你願意的話，那 9% 與 10% 的訂單增長是一致的，這是一種形式上的訂單增長；我把前一年和今年的收購都放在了一起，所以，這是蘋果對蘋果的。因此，您知道，最近幾個時期 9% 到 10% 的訂單和出貨量顯然推動了我們對第二季度的部分預期。但是，關於第二季度科技的有機增長，我沒有具體的預測可以與您分享。

Okay. So it's been relatively steady recently and you expect that going forward as well?

好的。所以最近它相對穩定，你也期望它繼續前進嗎？

Well, it's actually been accelerating. If you look back over the last several quarters, we had declines in order rates in Advanced Technology back in the first half of 2007. Third quarter was 5%, and fourth quarter was 10% organic growth, and we've got another quarter of 10%. So it's accelerated and been constant at 10% for the last two quarters.

嗯，它實際上一直在加速。如果回顧過去幾個季度，我們在 2007 年上半年的先進技術訂單率有所下降。第三季度是 5%，第四季度是 10% 的有機增長，我們還有一個 10% 的季度。因此，它在過去兩個季度加速並保持在 10%。

At this time, there are no further questions.

此時，沒有進一步的問題。

Okay. Well, again, let me thank all of you for your continued interest and support in Nordson Corporation and look forward to producing the kind of results that we shared with you in terms of our second-quarter outlook. Thank you.

好的。好吧，讓我再次感謝你們所有人對諾信公司的持續關注和支持，並期待在第二季度展望方面產生我們與你們分享的那種結果。謝謝你。

This concludes today's Nordson Corporation first-quarter fiscal year 2008 results conference call. You may now disconnect.

今天的諾信公司 2008 財年第一季度業績電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。