Neogen Corporation (NEOG) 2027 Q1 法說會逐字稿

(audio in progress) [Materially] from those projected in these forward-looking statements.

（音訊進行中）[重大地] 與這些前瞻性陳述中所預測的結果存在重大差異。

Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements is contained in the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, the company's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and the company's other filings with the SEC, as well as the press release and presentation issued in connection with today's call.

有關可能導致實際結果與我們前瞻性陳述中所述結果出現重大差異之因素的更多資訊，載於公司最近一期的 Form 10-K 年度報告、公司的 Form 10-Q 季度報告，以及公司向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的其他文件中，亦包括與今日電話會議一併發布的新聞稿與簡報。

We encourage you to review those documents. The company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

我們鼓勵您查閱上述文件。公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

With that, I'm pleased to turn the call over to Mike.

接下來，我很高興把電話會議交給 Mike。

Thank you, Bill. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us today. Last quarter, we described fiscal 2026 as a year of stabilization and foundation building, with a focus on becoming experts in the fundamentals. As we entered fiscal year 2027, our focus shifted to scaling those fundamentals to drive more consistent execution, better outcomes for customers and profitable growth.

謝謝你，Bill。各位下午好，感謝今天加入我們。上一季，我們將 2026 會計年度描述為穩定與奠基的一年，重點在於成為基本功的專家。進入 2027 會計年度後，我們的重點轉向擴大這些基本功的規模，以推動更一致的執行、更好的客戶成果與獲利性成長。

The first quarter showed continued progress. Bryan will discuss the results in more detail, but from an operating perspective, we saw tangible signs that the changes underway across Neogen are taking hold. We are strengthening commercial execution, rebuilding our innovation engine and improving how we connect supply, demand, inventory planning and customer service.

第一季顯示我們持續取得進展。Bryan 將更詳細說明結果，但從營運角度來看，我們看到明確跡象顯示 Neogen 全面推動的變革正在落地生根。我們正在強化商業執行力、重建創新引擎，並改善我們連結供給、需求、庫存規劃與客戶服務的方式。

We had an encouraging start to fiscal year 2027 with solid core revenue growth in both our food and animal safety segments. This represents an acceleration from the fourth quarter, and while timing of certain customer orders benefited growth to some extent, it is a positive start to the year. Given these results, we believe that the changes we are making are gaining momentum.

我們在 2027 會計年度開局令人鼓舞，食品安全與動物安全兩大事業部門的核心營收皆呈現穩健成長。這代表相較第四季有所加速；雖然部分客戶訂單的時點在一定程度上帶動了成長，但這仍是年度的正面開端。基於這些結果，我們相信我們正在推動的變革正在累積動能。

We are encouraged by the progress, but we remain focused on the work ahead and the areas where further improvement is needed. We understand the constraints that remain have clear accountability for our priorities and are implementing more disciplined operating mechanisms to drive execution.

我們對進展感到振奮，但仍專注於後續工作以及仍需進一步改善的領域。我們了解仍存在的限制，並對我們的優先事項建立清楚的責任歸屬，同時導入更具紀律的營運機制以推動執行。

Our objective is to build on this momentum and deliver more consistent growth and margin expansion over the long-term. We remain focused on near-term execution while also making targeted investments to strengthen Neogen's long-term leadership position.

我們的目標是在此動能基礎上，長期交付更一致的成長與毛利率擴張。我們仍聚焦於短期執行，同時也進行有針對性的投資，以強化 Neogen 的長期領導地位。

A key theme of fiscal 2027, is accelerating investment in our future. We are investing in innovation, technology enterprise systems and commercial capabilities to better serve customers and widen our competitive advantage in both of our segments.

2027 會計年度的一個關鍵主題，是加速對未來的投資。我們正投資於創新、科技企業系統與商業能力，以更好地服務客戶，並在兩大事業部門擴大我們的競爭優勢。

At the same time, we remain focused on profitability. Sustainable margin expansion starts with restoring consistent growth, improving execution and building scale. As we make progress in those areas, we expect to create additional opportunities for efficiency and margin improvement. Those efforts are centered around three strategic priorities: commercial prowess, high-impact innovation and operational excellence. I will now provide an update on each.

同時，我們仍專注於獲利能力。可持續的利潤率擴張始於恢復一致的成長、改善執行並建立規模。隨著我們在這些方面取得進展，我們預期將創造更多效率提升與利潤率改善的機會。這些工作聚焦於三項策略優先事項：商業實力、高影響力創新與營運卓越。我現在將逐一更新。

First, commercial prowess. Across our business, we are seeing early evidence that greater focus, a stronger operating cadence and more targeted customer engagement are translating into improved results. During the quarter, each region benefited from segment-focused initiatives, competitive conversions and new product promotions.

第一，商業實力。在整體業務中，我們已看到初步證據顯示，更聚焦的方向、更強的營運節奏，以及更具針對性的客戶互動，正在轉化為更佳的成果。本季，各區域皆受益於以事業部門為核心的推動方案、競品轉換以及新產品促銷。

We also advanced several important strategic account opportunities by working as one global team across commercial, technical, product and operations functions. To sustain that momentum, we recently enhanced our sales KPI review process across each region. This gives us weekly visibility into performance. And allows us to act faster when adjustments are needed. At the same time, we continue rolling out our new sales operating model through global training and capability building.

我們也透過商業、技術、產品與營運等職能作為一個全球團隊協同合作，推進了數個重要的策略性客戶機會。為了維持這股動能，我們近期強化了各區域的銷售 KPI 檢視流程。這讓我們能每週掌握績效能見度。並在需要調整時更快速採取行動。同時，我們持續透過全球訓練與能力建置，推動新的銷售營運模式落地。

We are making positive progress in building a world-class commercial organization, and the transformation is becoming more tangible. We are moving beyond organizational design and process definition into account-level execution, discipline pipeline management, and competitive wins. These fundamentals are helping us build the commercial foundation needed to support our goal of sustainable, profitable growth over the long-term.

我們在打造世界級商業組織方面取得正向進展，轉型也變得更具體可見。我們正從組織設計與流程定義，進一步走向以客戶為單位的執行、具紀律的管線管理，以及競爭性勝出。這些基本功正協助我們建立商業基礎，以支持我們長期可持續且具獲利性的成長目標。

Second, high-impact innovation. As we have said previously, innovation is the backbone of our growth strategy and our largest area of investment in fiscal year '27. We have several discovery projects underway and remain on track against our pipeline objectives for the year.

第二，高影響力創新。如同我們先前所述，創新是我們成長策略的骨幹，也是我們在 2027 會計年度最大的投資領域。我們正在推進多個探索性專案，並仍按計畫達成今年的產品/研發管線目標。

As a category leader, we are focused on solving our customers' most significant problems. These high priority opportunities are designed to strengthen our technology leadership and deliver faster, easier to use solutions for customers.

作為品類領導者，我們專注於解決客戶最重大的問題。這些高優先級機會旨在強化我們的技術領導地位，並為客戶提供更快速、更易用的解決方案。

Just as important as the projects themselves is how we are approaching innovation. We are bringing commercial, technical and product teams together more intentionally around customer needs, opportunity identification and prioritization.

與專案本身同樣重要的，是我們推動創新的方式。我們更有意識地讓商業、技術與產品團隊圍繞客戶需求、機會辨識與優先順序設定進行協作。

While we believe our biggest opportunity for innovation is within our existing portfolio. Our commitment to innovation also extends beyond our own walls. Earlier today, we announced a strategic collaboration with Hinalea, an early leader in hyperspectral imaging.

雖然我們認為最大的創新機會在於既有產品組合之內，但我們對創新的承諾也延伸至公司之外。今天稍早，我們宣布與 Hinalea 建立策略合作關係；Hinalea 是高光譜成像領域的早期領導者。

We see potential applications for this technology across several areas of our food safety business. This collaboration is part of our strategy of applying advanced, novel technology in food safety. This allows us to create new solutions that have the potential to simplify customer workflows. This is the first of many potential partnerships in our pursuit of elevating global food safety testing at the point of processing to enable automation and faster decision making.

我們看到這項技術在食品安全業務的多個領域具有潛在應用。此合作是我們在食品安全領域導入先進、新穎技術策略的一部分。這使我們能打造新的解決方案，並有潛力簡化客戶的工作流程。這是我們在提升全球食品安全檢測（於加工端點進行）以實現自動化與更快速決策的追求中，眾多潛在合作夥伴關係的第一個。

We are becoming more disciplined in how we identify customer problems, prioritize opportunities, and allocate resources. Over time, we believe this will translate into a customer-focused pipeline, more differentiated solutions, and a sustainable source of growth.

我們在辨識客戶問題、設定機會優先順序與配置資源方面，正變得更具紀律。隨著時間推進，我們相信這將轉化為以客戶為中心的研發/產品管線、更具差異化的解決方案，以及可持續的成長來源。

Third, operational efficiency. We view operational excellence as much more than a short-term recovery effort. Our objective is to build the processes, capabilities and culture that can create sustainable value for years to come.

第三，營運效率。我們將營運卓越視為遠不止於短期復原的工作。我們的目標是建立流程、能力與文化，為未來多年創造可持續的價值。

We are encouraged by the progress we are seeing. Across the organization, teams are operating with greater accountability, stronger cross-functional collaboration, and a willingness to challenge legacy approaches in pursuit of better outcomes. Those changes are being reinforced by more disciplined planning and supply chain management.

我們對所見到的進展感到鼓舞。在整個組織中，各團隊以更高的責任感、更強的跨職能協作，以及為追求更佳成果而願意挑戰既有作法的態度在運作。這些改變也透過更具紀律的規劃與供應鏈管理而持續被強化。

We continue to strengthen our sales and operations planning process to improve visibility across our global network and make progress in inventory optimization. This enables our teams to deliver the right inventory in the right place at the right time, while improving efficiency in customer service. We are beginning to see evidence that these efforts are working.

我們持續強化銷售與營運規劃流程，以提升對全球網路的能見度，並推進庫存最佳化。這使我們的團隊能在正確的時間、於正確的地點提供正確的庫存，同時提升客戶服務的效率。我們開始看到證據顯示這些努力正在奏效。

We previously mentioned our focus on continuous improvement. Today, black belts and dozens of green belts are leading projects across the organization. Combined with stronger daily management, operational dashboards, and regular operating reviews, this work is improving visibility, accountability, and execution. There's still work to do, but we believe a simpler, more scalable, or more resilient operating model will position us to improve customer satisfaction, expand margins, and generate stronger cash flow over time.

我們先前提到我們專注於持續改善。目前，黑帶與數十位綠帶正帶領全組織各項專案。結合更強化的日常管理、營運儀表板與定期營運檢討，這些工作正在提升可視性、問責性與執行力。仍有工作要做，但我們相信，更精簡、更具可擴展性或更具韌性的營運模式，將使我們得以提升客戶滿意度、擴大利潤率，並隨時間推進產生更強勁的現金流。

Another major operational priority, the manufacturing transfer of Petrifilm, remains on track and is expected to begin the planned multi-quarter transfer next month. This represents the last step in the integration of the former 3M food safety business.

另一項重要的營運優先事項——Petrifilm 的製造移轉——仍按計畫推進，預計將於下個月開始原定的跨多季移轉。這代表前 3M 食品安全事業整合的最後一步。

We have achieved an important milestone with the full validation of our first Petrifilm SKU. Full validation confirms that the product has completed production, quality, and stability testing and has demonstrated equivalent performance to product manufactured by our transition partner. We believe this is a major de-risking milestone for the program. As a reminder, Petrifilm, similar to the overwhelming majority of our products, is not regulated by the FDA.

我們已達成一項重要里程碑：完成我們第一個 Petrifilm SKU 的全面驗證。全面驗證確認該產品已完成生產、品質與穩定性測試，並證明其效能與由我們的移轉合作夥伴製造的產品相當。我們認為這是該計畫一項重大的去風險里程碑。提醒一下，Petrifilm 與我們絕大多數產品相同，不受 FDA 監管。

Our sales of FDA-regulated products totaled less than $10 million in fiscal year '26, with almost the entirety of that amount being comprised of several animal safety products, including those manufactured by unaffiliated third parties.

我們在 2026 會計年度的 FDA 監管產品銷售額合計不到 1,000 萬美元，其中幾乎全部由數項動物安全產品構成，包括由非關聯第三方製造的產品。

We continue to approach this transition with a high degree of rigor and discipline. Our objective is a seamless transition for customers maintaining the supply reliability and product performance they expect from Petrifilm.

我們持續以高度嚴謹與紀律來推進這項移轉。我們的目標是為客戶實現無縫移轉，同時維持他們對 Petrifilm 所期待的供應可靠性與產品效能。

I'll now turn the call over to Bryan to cover our results.

接下來我把電話交給 Bryan，請他說明我們的業績表現。

Thank you, Mike, and thanks to everyone participating in the call today. I'm pleased to provide an overview of our financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. We delivered first quarter revenue of $222.8 million, representing core growth of 8.1%. This continued momentum is driven by the positive progress of our focus on commercial excellence.

謝謝你，Mike，也感謝今天參與電話會議的各位。我很高興為各位概述 2027 會計年度第一季的財務結果。我們第一季營收為 2.228 億美元，核心成長 8.1%。這股持續動能來自我們聚焦商業卓越所取得的正向進展。

I would like to call out two items which benefited core growth in the first quarter by approximately 300 basis points. During the first quarter, we saw a positive impact from the timing of certain orders which we had expected in the second quarter. In addition, the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 was negatively impacted by inventory adjustments at two large distributors.

我想特別指出兩項因素，使第一季核心成長約增加 300 個基點。第一季我們因部分訂單時點提前而受益，這些訂單原本預期在第二季發生。此外，2026 會計年度第一季曾受到兩家大型經銷商庫存調整的負面影響。

At the segment level, our food safety business delivered $163.2 million in revenue for the quarter, representing 8.1% core growth, which included a benefit of approximately 400 basis points from the items previously mentioned.

以事業部門來看，我們的食品安全業務本季營收為 1.632 億美元，核心成長 8.1%，其中包含前述因素帶來約 400 個基點的助益。

Key product lines in food safety performed well, led by the continued strength in our indicator testing and culture media products, including Petrifilm, which were up 11%, and solid growth in our bacterial and general sanitation products, which grew 7%, including double-digit growth in pathogen detection.

食品安全的關鍵產品線表現良好，主要由指標檢測與培養基產品（包括 Petrifilm）持續強勁所帶動，成長 11%；同時細菌與一般衛生產品亦有穩健成長，成長 7%，其中病原體檢測達到雙位數成長。

From a market perspective, food safety is not tied directly to food production, but understanding what's generally happening with food production can be useful from a high-level trend perspective. Recent earnings calls for food producers seem to suggest a slight improvement in general volume trends, but the commentary is mixed with consumers remaining under pressure from inflation. Although higher food production volumes can positively influence demand, evolving regulatory requirements have the potential to increase food safety testing independently of production growth.

從市場角度來看，食品安全並非直接與食品生產綁定，但從高層次趨勢觀察，了解食品生產的整體情況仍具參考價值。近期食品生產商的財報電話會議似乎顯示整體出貨量趨勢略有改善，但由於通膨壓力，消費者仍承壓，使得相關評論呈現分歧。雖然更高的食品生產量可能正向影響需求，但不斷演進的法規要求，亦可能在不依賴產量成長的情況下，獨立推升食品安全檢測需求。

Our animal safety segment delivered $59.6 million in revenue with core growth of 8%, including a benefit of approximately 100 basis points from the timing of certain customer orders. This growth represents a significant acceleration from the fourth quarter and was led by our veterinary instruments product category with strong growth in needles and syringes from improved supply and our biosecurity product category which had strong growth in insect control products.

我們的動物安全事業部本季營收為 5,960 萬美元，核心成長 8%，其中包含因部分客戶訂單時點帶來約 100 個基點的助益。此成長相較第四季顯著加速，主要由獸醫器械產品類別帶動，受惠於供應改善使針頭與注射器強勁成長；同時我們的生物安全產品類別亦表現亮眼，昆蟲防治產品成長強勁。

From a macro perspective, signs in the animal safety end market continue to be encouraging. Although farmers are facing some elevated input cost, namely fuel and fertilizer, herd size in the US remains at multi-decade lows and pricing is favorable.

從總體面來看，動物安全終端市場的跡象仍令人鼓舞。儘管農民面臨部分投入成本偏高，尤其是燃料與肥料，但美國畜群規模仍處於數十年低點，且價格走勢有利。

The USDA still anticipates improvements in the US herd size in coming years based upon favorable prices supporting investment. For Neogen in total, US revenue was 49% of sales in the quarter and our international revenue was 51%. As anticipated, the positive impact of currency moderated from the fourth quarter with the strengthening of the US dollar index. We saw growth in each of our regions led by double-digit growth in Asia Pacific.

美國農業部（USDA）仍預期，基於有利價格支撐投資，美國畜群規模在未來幾年將有所改善。就 Neogen 整體而言，本季美國營收占銷售額 49%，國際營收占 51%。如預期所示，隨著美元指數走強，匯率帶來的正面影響較第四季有所減弱。我們各區域皆呈現成長，其中以亞太地區的雙位數成長領先。

Gross margin in the first quarter was 47.4% and adjusted gross margin was 49.8%, which is an increase of 30 basis points year-over-year on an adjusted basis. The adjusted gross margin expansion was due to the benefit from higher revenue offset by our deliberate investments to accelerate our focus in operational excellence and inventory optimization.

第一季毛利率為 47.4%，調整後毛利率為 49.8%，以調整後口徑計算，年增 30 個基點。調整後毛利率擴張主要來自較高營收的助益，但部分被我們為加速推動營運卓越與庫存最佳化而進行的策略性投資所抵銷。

Adjusted operating expenses in the quarter were approximately flat on a year-over-year basis. Investment in R&D and G&A functions was offset by a reduction in sales and marketing expenses, primarily from lower logistics and distribution expenses, the centralization of regional marketing resources, and the divestiture of our cleaners and disinfectants business.

本季調整後營業費用年比約持平。研發（R&D）與一般及行政（G&A）職能的投資，部分被銷售與行銷費用的下降所抵銷；下降主要來自較低的物流與配送費用、區域行銷資源的集中化，以及我們出售清潔與消毒業務。

Despite the overall decline in sales and marketing expenses in the quarter, we made targeted investments in our commercial capabilities, including key account and channel management. On a sequential basis, the largest increase in spend was in R&D, where we made investments in product and instrumentation engineering, as well as in assay and microbiological development.

儘管本季銷售與行銷費用整體下降，我們仍對商業能力進行了有針對性的投資，包括關鍵客戶與通路管理。以季比來看，支出增加幅度最大的是研發，我們在產品與儀器工程，以及檢測（assay）與微生物研發方面進行了投資。

Adjusted EBITDA was $41.6 million in the quarter, representing a margin of 18.7% and 170 basis points of expansion. We delivered this margin improvement while investing in the things Mike mentioned to position the company for the future: commercial capabilities, high-impact innovation and enabling technology and enterprise systems.

本季調整後 EBITDA 為 4,160 萬美元，利潤率為 18.7%，擴張 170 個基點。我們在提升利潤率的同時，仍持續投資於 Mike 提到、用以為公司未來布局的事項：商業能力、高影響力創新與賦能技術，以及企業系統。

First quarter adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share were $17.5 million and $0.08 respectively. Importantly, free cash flow of $4.7 million in the quarter represented a year-over-year improvement of approximately $18 million. This improvement was driven by both higher operating cash flow and reduced CapEx as we move closer to the completion of the Petrifilm manufacturing transition.

第一季調整後淨利與調整後每股盈餘分別為 1,750 萬美元與 0.08 美元。重要的是，本季自由現金流為 470 萬美元，年比改善約 1,800 萬美元。此改善同時來自較高的營運現金流，以及隨著我們更接近完成 Petrifilm 製造移轉而降低的資本支出（CapEx）。

Turning to the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with approximately $774 million of debt and a total cash balance of $172 million. We remain fully compliant with all debt covenants and believe we are well positioned to further strengthen our balance sheet as free cash flow continues to improve.

談到資產負債表，我們在本季末的債務約為 7.74 億美元，現金總餘額為 1.72 億美元。我們仍完全符合所有債務契約條款，並相信隨著自由現金流持續改善，我們具備進一步強化資產負債表的良好條件。

We took advantage of our cash balance to pay down $20 million of our term loan in June, followed by an additional $10 million we paid at the end of September. We're also continuing to advance treasury opportunities to free up global cash to lower our required cash balances to operate the business and support further debt repayment.

我們運用手上的現金餘額，於6月償還了2,000萬美元的定期貸款，並在9月底再額外償還1,000萬美元。我們也持續推進資金管理（treasury）相關機會，以釋放全球現金、降低營運所需的現金餘額，並支持進一步的債務償還。

We continue to work towards completing the previously announced divestiture of our genomics business. The transaction is moving through the review process with the regulatory authorities in Australia and New Zealand from whom we expect to receive a final decision by the end of December. As a reminder, we intend to use the expected net proceeds of approximately $140 million primarily for debt reduction. We believe this would put our net leverage below 3 times at closing and closer to 2.5 times by the end of the fiscal year.

我們持續推進先前已宣布的基因體學業務剝離案的完成。該交易正由澳洲與紐西蘭的監管機關進行審查流程，我們預期將在12月底前收到最終決定。提醒一下，我們計畫將預期約1.4億美元的淨收益主要用於降低負債。我們相信這將使我們在交割時的淨槓桿降至3倍以下，並在本財政年度末更接近2.5倍。

Now I'd like to discuss our guidance for fiscal year 2027. While it is still early in the fiscal year, we are raising our revenue guidance to $885 million to $890 million. We are also raising our adjusted EBITDA guidance to $181 million to $183 million to reflect the higher expected revenue. The genomics business continues to be included in our guidance, which we will update following the closing of the divestiture.

接下來我想討論我們對2027財政年度的指引。雖然本財年仍在初期，我們將營收指引上調至8.85億至8.90億美元。我們也將調整後EBITDA指引上調至1.81億至1.83億美元，以反映較高的預期營收。基因體學業務仍納入我們的指引中；在剝離交易完成交割後，我們將更新指引。

Contemplated in our increased revenue guidance is the expectation we had entering the fiscal year that the second quarter would see the lowest level of core growth. Given the timing items mentioned earlier which impact the year-over-year comparisons, we believe that looking at the first half in total is most reflective of the current trajectory of the business.

我們上調營收指引所考量的一點，是我們在進入本財年時的預期：第二季將出現核心成長的最低水準。鑑於先前提到的時點因素會影響年對年比較，我們認為以整體上半年來看，最能反映目前業務的發展軌跡。

We expect core growth in the first half to be in the range of approximately 3.5%, which is generally consistent with how we've thought about the full year. For adjusted EBITDA margin, our expectation is for the first half of the year to be in line with the first quarter.

我們預期上半年的核心成長約在3.5%左右，整體而言與我們對全年原先的看法一致。就調整後EBITDA利潤率而言，我們預期上半年將與第一季持平。

We intend to continue to invest in our business this fiscal year, prioritizing investments in R&D and our commercial infrastructure to support long-term growth. As our guidance continues to imply, we still believe we will be able to expand adjusted EBITDA margins through progress in our key operational efficiency programs.

我們打算在本財年持續投資於業務，並優先投入研發與商業基礎建設，以支持長期成長。如同我們的指引所暗示的，我們仍相信可透過關鍵營運效率計畫的進展，擴大調整後EBITDA利潤率。

The investment and transformation initiatives we've discussed is underway, which includes investments in enterprise capabilities, technology solutions, and automation across the organization. This level of investment has been in line with our expectations and we are maintaining our view that both our GAAP cash flow from operations and our free cash flow will increase meaningfully on a year-over-year basis. We are off to an encouraging start to the year and will remain focused on execution and restoring investor credibility.

我們先前討論的投資與轉型計畫正在進行中，其中包括在全公司範圍內投資企業能力、技術解決方案與自動化。這樣的投資水準符合我們的預期；我們維持原先看法，認為我們的GAAP營運現金流與自由現金流都將在年對年基礎上顯著增加。我們在本年度有一個令人鼓舞的開局，並將持續專注於執行力與重建投資人信任。

I'll now hand the call back to Mike for some final thoughts.

接下來我把電話交回給Mike，請他做一些最後的補充。

Thanks, Bryan. Our objective remains straightforward. Strengthen Neogen's leadership in food safety, grow consistently above market over time, and deliver industry-leading profitability. We are making progress across the business, including commercial wins, a customer-focused innovation pipeline, improved inventory management, greater operating discipline, and continued advancement of the Petrifilm manufacturing transition.

謝謝，Bryan。我們的目標仍然很明確。強化Neogen在食品安全領域的領導地位，長期持續以高於市場的速度成長，並交付業界領先的獲利能力。我們在各項業務面向都在取得進展，包括商務端的勝利、以客戶為中心的創新產品管線、改善的庫存管理、更強的營運紀律，以及持續推進Petrifilm製造轉移。

There's more work ahead, but the foundation is getting stronger. Our teams understand the priorities. Have clear ownership of the opportunities and constraints in front of them, and are operating with greater transparency, accountability, and urgency.

接下來還有更多工作要做，但基礎正在變得更扎實。我們的團隊了解優先事項。對眼前的機會與限制有清楚的責任歸屬，並以更高的透明度、問責性與緊迫感在運作。

My confidence in the trajectory of our business and in the team we have in place remains high. I want to thank our employees around the world for their dedication to our mission and their continued commitment to our customers. We know what we need to do, and we are focused on consistent execution.

我對我們業務的發展軌跡，以及我們現有團隊的信心仍然很高。我要感謝全球員工對我們使命的投入，以及對客戶持續的承諾。我們知道該做什麼，並專注於穩定一致的執行。

And with that. I'll now turn things over to the operator to begin the Q&A session.

那麼，就到這裡。我現在把時間交給接線員，開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

(接線員指示)

Brandon Vazquez, William Blair.

Brandon Vazquez，William Blair。

Thanks for taking the question and congrats on the nice quarter. I wanted to start quick on the EBITDA margin guidance and some of the comments you were saying, maybe just to clarify because there's a bunch of moving pieces here.

謝謝讓我提問，也恭喜本季表現不錯。我想先快速問一下EBITDA利潤率指引，以及你們剛才的一些評論；我想釐清一下，因為這裡有很多變動因素。

The EBITDA margins in the quarter were up 170 bips year-over-year, but if I'm doing my math correctly here on a full year basis, in the midpoint of the range largely flat. Can you just talk about some of the moving pieces where the incremental investments are, if that's correct?

本季EBITDA利潤率年對年提升了170個基點，但如果我算得沒錯，以全年來看，在區間中點大致上是持平。你能談談其中一些變動因素嗎？如果這樣理解正確的話，增量投資主要落在哪些地方？

And then clarify, Bryan, I think you had said the first half margin would be similar to Q1, did I hear that correctly because that would imply a sub-20% EBITDA margin in the second quarter, so just any clarification there? Thanks.

另外想請你澄清一下，Bryan，我記得你說上半年利潤率會與第一季相近；我有聽對嗎？因為那樣就意味著第二季的EBITDA利潤率會低於20%，所以想請你再說明一下。謝謝。

Yeah, thanks for the question, Brandon. Yeah, the commentary is that the first -- the second quarter or the first half will be in line with what we saw in Q1. I think when you look at the guide for the full year. And we had highlighted this on the call when we gave the full year guidance that our EBITDA margins for the year would basically be roughly similar to what they were in fiscal year '26.

好的，謝謝你的問題，Brandon。是的，我們的說法是：第二季或上半年整體會與第一季所看到的水準一致。我想當你看全年指引時，我們在提供全年指引時也在電話會議上強調過，我們今年的EBITDA利潤率基本上會與2026財政年度大致相近。

So I think that's consistent with where we were previously from a margin perspective. And as we thought about the full year and the way that plays out, I think some of the investments that we're making in Q1. We talked about some of the, excuse me, in the first half, some of the investments we made in Q1 with things like national sales meeting, etc.

所以我認為，從利潤率角度來看，這與我們先前的狀況一致。而當我們思考全年以及其展開方式時，我認為我們在第一季所做的一些投資——我們談到一些，抱歉，是在上半年、第一季所做的投資，例如全國銷售會議等等。

Are a bit of a headwind and then as we move through the year, we'll see the impact of some of the improvements in our margin expansion program, this would be things like inventory write-offs, sample collection, which has become has seen significant improvement through the course of last year and we'll see it in the back half of the year. So those things are more back half weighted and that's the profile we had expected for the year.

這些會帶來一些逆風；但隨著年度推進，我們會看到利潤率擴張計畫的一些改善所帶來的影響，例如庫存報廢、樣本收集等。這些項目在去年過程中已有顯著改善，我們也會在下半年看到效果。因此這些因素更偏向下半年權重較高，而這就是我們對今年所預期的輪廓。

Okay. That's helpful. Mike, on the operational side, you had said a couple of words or phrases here that we haven't heard in a very long time at Neogen, things like competitive conversions and strategic account wins. Maybe can you just first talk a little bit about. Are you guys in a share-taking position at this point already? It's hard for us to know what kind of end market growth is these days?

了解。這很有幫助。Mike，在營運面，你提到了一些我們在Neogen很久沒聽到的詞或說法，例如競品轉換（competitive conversions）與策略性客戶（strategic account）贏單。也許你能先談談。你們現在是否已經處於搶市佔的狀態？我們很難判斷目前終端市場的成長大概是什麼樣的水準？

So underlying, as you look at the business, just to confirm, are you guys already taking share? Where are you seeing those incremental wins because it's been a long time since we've seen some competitive conversions from you guys? Thanks.

所以從根本來看，當你們檢視這項業務時，想確認一下，你們現在是否已經在取得市占？你們在哪些地方看到那些增量的勝利？因為我們已經很久沒有看到你們從競爭對手那邊轉換過來的一些案例了。謝謝。

Yeah, thanks, Brandon. And we have Joe Freels with us and I'll ask him to give a bit more details. But I would say in general. We're very happy with how the commercial team is adopting the new way of working. And under Joe's leadership, we've really accelerated how tactical we are and sharpening our focus on not only competitive wins but just going after key accounts and supporting our customers.

好的，謝謝你，Brandon。我們也有 Joe Freels 在場，我會請他提供更多細節。但我想整體而言，我們對商務團隊採用新的工作方式感到非常滿意。在 Joe 的領導下，我們確實加快了戰術執行的速度，並更聚焦，不僅是競爭性贏單，也包括積極爭取關鍵客戶並支援我們的客戶。

So I'm very happy with the progress that we're making and I'd like to ask Joe to give you a bit more details around how we're doing that.

所以我對我們正在取得的進展非常滿意，也想請 Joe 再多分享一些我們是如何做到的細節。

Yeah, Brandon, one of the key areas is around global strategic accounts. For us, those are the accounts that do business in more than one region around the globe. These are trusted brands that are on the shelves of the grocery store and in the market that you're probably very familiar with.

是的，Brandon，其中一個關鍵領域是在全球策略性客戶（global strategic accounts）。對我們而言，這些是於全球超過一個區域開展業務的客戶。這些都是你在雜貨店貨架上、在市場上會看到、你可能非常熟悉的可信賴品牌。

And we're changing. We've got a very somewhat fragmented model where we have individual reps by region or category in the past and now we've changed that to a dedicated team where you have one singular accountable person for each one of these strategic customers individually.

而我們正在改變。過去我們的模式相當分散，會依區域或品類配置個別業務代表；現在我們已將其改為專責團隊，由一位單一的負責人，針對每一位策略性客戶各自負責到底。

And so we're starting to see some early evidence that that's working, 6.2% growth in Q1 that puts us on a path to do better than 8% on the year. So we're really pleased with how some of these efforts are starting to [see those] results.

因此我們開始看到一些早期證據顯示這樣做是有效的：第一季成長 6.2%，這讓我們走在全年優於 8% 的路徑上。所以我們對這些努力開始[看到那些]成果感到非常滿意。

Subbu Nambi, Guggenheim Securities.

Subbu Nambi，Guggenheim Securities。

Hey, guys, thank you for taking my question. Another strong quarter of indicator testing and bacteria general sanitation growth. What are you assuming for growth from these two segments as we move through the year? And what are the drivers you see to keep those segments at high single-digit percentages?

各位好，謝謝讓我提問。指標測試（indicator testing）以及細菌一般衛生（bacteria general sanitation）又是一個強勁的季度成長。隨著今年接下來的進程，你們對這兩個部門的成長假設是什麼？你們看到哪些驅動因素能讓這些部門維持在高個位數百分比的成長？

Yeah, thanks, Subbu, for that question. It's a lot of what we're bringing to bear with the commercial operating model, just greater focus on the right segments, making sure that we're focusing our efforts in the right places of the market. And also, as we think about the opportunities, it's really important not only to work the right opportunities, but to not work the wrong opportunities.

好的，謝謝你，Subbu，這個問題。這很大一部分來自我們商務營運模式所帶來的效益：更聚焦在正確的細分市場，確保我們把力氣用在市場中正確的位置。另外，當我們思考機會時，不僅要做對的機會，也同樣重要的是不要去做錯的機會。

So with just a greater degree of focus and execution from the team, Mike had mentioned, we've installed some new KPI reviews that are driving a much more rigorous rhythm within the commercial organization. So you start to add those things together, it makes us feel good about where we are in terms of being able to continue to drive growth in those particular product lines and segments.

因此，透過更高程度的聚焦與團隊的執行力，正如 Mike 提到的，我們導入了一些新的 KPI 檢視機制，讓商務組織的運作節奏更嚴謹、更有紀律。把這些因素加總起來，讓我們對於能持續推動這些特定產品線與細分市場的成長感到更有信心。

Okay. Helpful, Mike. And with the manufacturing transition, can you remind us through the current thinking on how you're planning to manage inventory and the 3M agreement as you get up and running? How are you ensuring you effectively manage inventory and costs?

了解。很有幫助，Mike。另外關於製造轉移（manufacturing transition），能否提醒我們目前你們對於庫存管理以及 3M 協議在啟動過程中的規劃思路？你們如何確保能有效管理庫存與成本？

Given the inventory management has been an issue in the past, but I'm sure with the new management, it's a different story. So would love to hear your current thinking.

考量到過去庫存管理曾經是個問題，但我相信在新管理團隊之下情況不同了。所以很想聽聽你們目前的想法。

Yeah, well, thank you. Yes, absolutely. We completely revamped how Neogen looks at inventory. And in fact, as part of our SNLP process and the other things that we spoke about earlier, we're seeing promising progress in managing that inventory and getting to a better position. Still some work to do, but we like what we're seeing and how the organization is adopting that.

好的，謝謝。是的，當然。我們已徹底改造 Neogen 看待與管理庫存的方式。事實上，作為我們 SNLP 流程以及先前提到的其他措施的一部分，我們在管理庫存、把庫存帶到更好的水位方面看到令人鼓舞的進展。仍有一些工作要做，但我們喜歡目前看到的成果，以及組織對這些做法的採納情況。

With regards to feature film transition, there's really four gating items that we are mindful of as we move forward. One, customer continuity. We have to make sure that our customers do not have any impact with regards to the transition.

至於 Petrifilm 轉移（transition），在我們往前推進時，有四個關鍵的門檻事項（gating items）是我們特別留意的。第一，客戶連續性（customer continuity）。我們必須確保轉移不會對客戶造成任何影響。

Number two is safety stock. So we've got existing safety stock, but also as we build new safety stock, we want to make sure that we economically don't put ourselves in a position where we have to write off unnecessarily. So we got to make sure that that's thoughtful.

第二是安全庫存（safety stock）。我們目前已有既有的安全庫存，但在建立新的安全庫存時，也要確保在經濟性上不會讓自己陷入不必要的報廢（write off）。所以我們必須審慎規劃。

Third, supplier management. As you can imagine, as we transition, there's a lot of new suppliers and things we have to work through. And I think the last one is really discipline sequencing. So these are [17] SKUs. And as you can imagine, it's not with the right team and focus, which we have, we're going to be successful at doing it, but it is a number of SKUs that we have to be thoughtful about doing that over a period of time.

第三，供應商管理。如你所想像，轉移過程中會有許多新的供應商與事項需要處理。最後一項我認為是有紀律的排序（discipline sequencing）。這裡有[17]個 SKU。如你所想像，這不是說有了正確的團隊與聚焦（我們確實具備）就一定能成功，但因為 SKU 數量不少，我們必須在一段時間內審慎地逐步推進。

So those are the four conditions that we're going to be monitoring SKU by SKU as we go through this new phase of moving Petrifilm from the third-party to our facility in Lansing.

因此，當我們進入把 Petrifilm 從第三方移轉到我們蘭辛（Lansing）廠的新階段時，以上四個條件將會以 SKU 為單位逐一監控。

Super helpful. Thank you, guys.

非常有幫助。謝謝各位。

Bob Labick, CJS Securities.

Bob Labick，CJS Securities。

Thanks. Good afternoon and congratulations on the results and also on the first full SKU validation. And I just wanted to continue down the discussion you're just having there, can you tell us how the model will be impacted and for how long in terms of running duplicative costs or excess costs? And when we see margin improvement where it comes and I guess finally the last biggest wild cards for the remaining SKU transitions?

謝謝。午安，恭喜你們的成果，也恭喜完成第一個完整的 SKU 驗證（validation）。我想延續你們剛才的討論，能否談談在承擔重複成本或超額成本方面，這個模式會受到什麼影響、以及會持續多久？另外，我們何時會看到毛利率改善、改善會從哪裡來？最後，我想問剩餘 SKU 轉移中最大的變數是什麼？

Yeah, Bob, thanks for the question. I think the first comment is really just around the way the duplicative cost will work. You've seen that it's up on a year-over-year basis. We would expect that to peak and then start to subside as we move through the year and complete the transition.

好的，Bob，謝謝你的問題。我想第一點是關於重複成本將如何發生。你已經看到它在年對年基礎上是上升的。我們預期它會先達到高峰，然後隨著我們在今年內推進並完成轉移而開始回落。

In terms of the margin improvement, I think what we've said is that once we're transitioned over, through fiscal year '28, we will begin implementing some of the operational improvements that we've identified through the transition process and we would expect to see margin improvement 200 basis points to 300 basis points in the FY29.

至於毛利率改善，我想我們先前說過，一旦完成轉移，在 2028 財年之前，我們將開始落實我們在轉移過程中所識別的一些營運改善措施，並預期在 2029 財年看到 200 個基點到 300 個基點的毛利率改善。

I think that would be the first full fiscal year or -- in the first fiscal year, we would be working on the improvements and then in the second year, we would expect that to be fully implemented.

我認為那會是第一個完整的會計年度，或者——在第一個會計年度，我們會著手進行改善，然後在第二年，我們預期會全面落實。

And Bob, with regards to your question on wildcards, we understand the importance of Petrifilm to the food safety industry, to our customers and to Neogen. And as such, this is our number one priority. And we have contemplated all scenarios as much as we can with the right mitigations to ensure that our customers do not feel the impact of this. And number two, we don't inadvertently put a financial impact to Neogen.

另外，Bob，關於你對通配符的問題，我們理解 Petrifilm 對食品安全產業、對我們客戶以及對 Neogen 的重要性。因此，這是我們的第一優先事項。我們已在力所能及的範圍內推演各種情境，並採取適當的緩解措施，以確保我們的客戶不會因此受到影響。第二點是，我們也不會在無意間對 Neogen 造成財務影響。

Okay, great. And then just on the Hinalea imaging announcement, are there more opportunities for partnerships like this? And are you thinking of this as R&D and innovation will there be ongoing payments to them or co-investments or how will this partnership play out over the next couple of years?

好的，很好。接著關於 Hinalea 影像的公告，是否還有更多像這樣的合作機會？你們是否把這視為研發與創新？未來幾年會不會對他們有持續付款或共同投資？或者這項合作在未來幾年會如何發展？

Yeah, so I look forward to those that will be at Investor Day tomorrow to listen to Jeremy to share with you how we're thinking about innovation. Certainly, for us, partnership and technology licensing that advances the food safety testing is one of the ways that we're going to drive innovation and Hinalea is a great example of that. They've got a market-leading position when it comes to low-cost hyperspectral images that we believe and play across multiple platforms.

是的，所以我也期待明天會出席投資人日的各位，聽 Jeremy 跟大家分享我們如何思考創新。當然，對我們而言，能推動食品安全檢測進步的合作夥伴關係與技術授權，是我們推動創新的方式之一，而 Hinalea 就是一個很好的例子。他們在低成本高光譜影像方面具備市場領先地位，我們相信這項技術可跨多個平台應用。

And why is that important? When you think about a regular camera that records three bands of light, red, green and blue, a hyperspectral sensor can capture almost 100 or more, building a detailed fingerprint of every pixel of an image. So what that means is that we can detect things a lot earlier and more importantly, it simplifies the downstream testing that our customers have to.

那為什麼這很重要？當你想到一般相機只記錄三個光譜波段：紅、綠、藍；高光譜感測器則能捕捉接近 100 個或更多波段，為影像中每個像素建立詳細的指紋。這代表我們能更早偵測到更多事物，更重要的是，它能簡化客戶必須進行的後端檢測流程。

And so this is one of many technologies that we're exploring and looking at. And as we identify the right partners and we believe they really can drive value in the industry, we will look to move that forward as part of our innovation plan.

因此，這是我們正在探索與評估的眾多技術之一。當我們找到合適的合作夥伴，並相信他們確實能為產業創造價值時，我們會把它作為創新計畫的一部分推進。

Sounds great. Look forward to seeing you guys tomorrow. Thanks.

聽起來很棒。期待明天見到各位。謝謝。

And just another plug for Investor Day, we will have one of those cameras tomorrow for the demo. So for those of you that are going to be able to make it in person, you'll actually get to see a live camera, one of the few in the world that I believe.

另外再替投資人日打個廣告，我們明天會準備其中一台相機做示範。所以如果各位能親自到場，將能看到現場運作的相機——我相信這是全球少數幾台之一。

Sounds great. Thanks.

聽起來很棒。謝謝。

David Westenberg, Piper Sandler.

David Westenberg，Piper Sandler。

Hi, this is Skye on for Dave. Thanks for taking the question. First on overall food safety growth, then you called out double-digit growth in the Asia Pacific. What are you seeing with end customer demand there? How broad-based is the performance? In which markets or customer segments offer the greatest opportunity for further growth for the remainder of 2027 and beyond? Thanks.

嗨，我是 Skye，代 Dave 提問。謝謝讓我提問。首先關於整體食品安全的成長，你們提到亞太地區有雙位數成長。你們在那裡看到終端客戶需求如何？這樣的表現有多廣泛？在 2027 年剩餘期間以及之後，哪些市場或客戶區隔提供最大的進一步成長機會？謝謝。

Yeah, in terms of customer segments. We're focusing across ready-to-eat, dairy, protein, etc. I mean, we've got such a broad customer base for us, it's not really about creating new markets, it's about building share of wallet within the current markets in which we play.

是的，就客戶區隔而言，我們聚焦於即食食品、乳製品、蛋白質等。我們的客戶基礎非常廣泛，因此重點不在於開創新市場，而是在我們既有參與的市場中提升客戶錢包占比。

So as we look out through the year, I think Bryan had shared the growth expectations for first half and for full fiscal year, but as we continue to execute on the commercial side of the house with our discipline and rigor cadence focus, we expect to continue on a current path.

因此，展望今年，我想 Bryan 已分享了上半年與全會計年度的成長預期；但隨著我們持續以紀律與嚴謹的節奏推進商業端的執行，我們預期將延續目前的發展路徑。

Okay, great. Thank you. And maybe just on your point to the commercial discipline, I know you've mentioned the sales KPIs. And can you talk a little bit more about the sales model? Kind of what are the early signs you're seeing that these changes are improving customer coverage? Is there a cross-selling or other sales productivity that you call out? Thank you.

好的，很好。謝謝。另外也想就你提到的商業紀律再問一下，我知道你們提過銷售 KPI。你能再多談一點銷售模式嗎？你們目前看到哪些早期跡象顯示這些變革正在改善客戶覆蓋？是否有你們會特別指出的交叉銷售或其他銷售生產力提升？謝謝。

Yeah, great. Well, I guess the first thing I would say is, this is the fifth consecutive quarter of core growth for the engine. So that's certainly a great start. Q1 performance I think is also a good indicator of where we are. In terms of the sales operating model, it's really about how do we focus more upon bringing value to our customers and the things that are strategically important to them versus just simply being a product supplier.

是的，很好。我想我首先會說，這已是引擎核心成長連續第五個季度。所以這當然是一個很好的開始。我認為第一季的表現也是我們目前狀況的一個良好指標。就銷售營運模式而言，重點在於我們如何更聚焦於為客戶帶來價值，以及那些對他們具有策略重要性的事項，而不只是單純當一個產品供應商。

So that's particularly shown at the corporate accounts level or the strategic accounts level that I spoke about earlier where we're aligning enterprise-wide with what our customers really care about deeply and making sure that we're aligning ourselves as a solutions provider and a partner in food safety rather than just a product provider.

這在我先前提到的企業客戶層級或策略客戶層級尤其明顯：我們在全企業範圍內與客戶真正深切關注的事項對齊，並確保我們把自己定位為解決方案提供者與食品安全的合作夥伴，而不只是產品提供者。

So with those in mind and you had mentioned the KPI reviews. That's just about accountability, frankly, in the commercial organization, you have to have visibility and transparency to where we are in real time and that allows the team to hold themselves accountable and ensure that we can countermeasure in results in real time versus waiting on results and reacting after the fact.

基於這些，你也提到了 KPI 檢視。坦白說，那就是商業組織的問責：你必須具備即時的可視性與透明度，了解我們目前的狀況；這讓團隊能自我負責，並確保我們能即時針對結果採取對策，而不是等到結果出來後才事後反應。

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Bill for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我現在把電話交回 Bill 作結語。

We'd like to thank everyone for participating in the call today and as always, please reach out with any questions and have a great rest of the day.

我們要感謝各位今天參與本次電話會議；一如往常，如有任何問題請與我們聯繫，祝各位今天剩餘時間愉快。

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位出席。各位現在可以掛線。