Nephros Inc (NEPH) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Nephros, Inc., first-quarter 2024 financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions). Please note this event is being recorded.

下午好，歡迎參加 Nephros, Inc. 2024 年第一季財務業績電話會議。（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 Kirin Smith, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議轉交給投資者關係部門的 Kirin Smith。請繼續。

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you all for participating in Nephros' first-quarter 2024 conference call.

謝謝。大家下午好。感謝大家參加 Nephros 2024 年第一季電話會議。

Before we begin, I would like to caution that comments made during this conference call by management will contain forward-looking statements regarding the operations and future results of Nephros. I encourage you to review Nephros' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, the company's Forms 10-K and 10-Q, which identify specific factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒大家，管理層在本次電話會議上發表的評論將包含有關 Nephros 營運和未來業績的前瞻性陳述。我鼓勵您查看Nephros 向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，包括但不限於該公司的10-K 和10-Q 表格，其中確定了可能導致實際結果或事件與報告中描述的結果或事件存在重大差異的具體因素。

Factors that may affect the company's results include, but are not limited to, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic; Nephros' ability to successfully timely and cost effectively market, sell its products, and service offerings; the rate of adoption of its products and services; the success of its commercialization efforts; and the effect of existing and new regulatory requirements on Nephros' business and other economic and competitive factors.

可能影響公司績效的因素包括但不限於COVID-19大流行的影響； Nephros 及時且具成本效益地成功行銷、銷售其產品和服務的能力；其產品及服務的採用率；其商業化努力的成功；現有和新的監管要求對 Nephros 業務以及其他經濟和競爭因素的影響。

The content of this conference call contains time-sensitive information that is accurate only as of the date of the live call today, May 9, 2024. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this conference call, except as required by law.

本次電話會議的內容包含時效性訊息，僅截至今天（2024 年 5 月 9 日）即時電話會議之日準確。除非法律要求，否則本公司不承擔修改或更新任何聲明以反映本次電話會議日期之後發生的事件或情況的義務。

I would now like to turn the call over to Nephros' President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Banks. Robert, please go ahead.

我現在想將電話轉給 Nephros 總裁兼執行長羅伯特班克斯 (Robert Banks)。羅伯特，請繼續。

Thank you, Kirin, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us to discuss the 2024 first-quarter results, which we reported today. It has been an exciting start to the year. I want to start by thanking the Nephros team for a job well done as our programmatic business grew 12% over the same quarter last year despite the 5% drop in top-line net revenue.

謝謝 Kirin，大家下午好。感謝您與我們一起討論我們今天報告的 2024 年第一季業績。今年是一個令人興奮的開始。首先，我要感謝 Nephros 團隊的出色工作，儘管淨收入下降了 5%，但我們的程式化業務比去年同期成長了 12%。

This top line decrease is attributed to a record nonrecurring emergency order that was reported in Q1 of last year and an unusually low amount of emergency business in this past quarter. The collective result of these factors was a modest 8% overall growth over the prior quarter.

營收下降的原因是去年第一季報告的非經常性緊急訂單創紀錄，以及上一季緊急業務量異常低。這些因素的綜合結果是整體較上一季小幅成長 8%。

Given unpredictable nature of ER orders, we remain focused on operational prudence and disciplined deployment of capital. These actions positively complement the growth of recurring sales and further support our steady advancement towards solid financial performance.

鑑於 ER 訂單的不可預測性，我們仍然注重謹慎營運和嚴格的資本部署。這些行動積極補充了經常性銷售的成長，並進一步支持我們穩步邁向穩健的財務表現。

With an established foundation of programmatic business and customer loyalty, we are investing in the development of new capabilities to extend our competitive advantages, addressing water quality and safety challenges.

憑藉已建立的程序化業務和客戶忠誠度基礎，我們正在投資開發新功能，以擴大我們的競爭優勢，以應對水質和安全挑戰。

One example is the creation of an online filter tracker, which enhances the customers' experience of managing their Nephros filters. This tool offers automated replacement reminders and documentation of installations and inventory. And these features are just the beginning as Nephros continues to explore ways of generating value in the digital space.

一個例子是創建線上過濾器追蹤器，它增強了客戶管理腎病過濾器的體驗。該工具提供自動更換提醒以及安裝和庫存記錄。這些功能只是 Nephros 繼續探索在數位空間中創造價值的方式的開始。

Nephros is also exploring how to best support customers in need of nano and microplastics, NMPs, as we seek to expand our future capabilities within our medical filtration lines. Our ability to retain microorganisms with the smallest pore size on the market uniquely positions us to address NMPs, particularly nanoplastics.

Nephros 也正在探索如何最好地支援需要奈米和微塑膠、NMP 的客戶，同時我們尋求擴展我們在醫療過濾產品線中的未來能力。我們能夠保留市場上最小孔徑的微生物，這使我們能夠獨特地解決 NMP，特別是奈米塑膠問題。

Looking ahead, the future growth of Nephros will depend upon the continuous enhancement of sales strategies, the leverage of changing regulatory guidance and the exploration of new products. Accordingly, our sales team is actively supporting our national partners and nurturing their success through increased training, expansion with existing accounts and conversion of emergency response to programmatic business.

展望未來，Nephros未來的成長將取決於銷售策略的不斷強化、監管指引的變化以及新產品的探索。因此，我們的銷售團隊正在積極支持我們的國家合作夥伴，並透過增加培訓、擴大現有客戶以及將緊急應變轉變為程序化業務來培養他們的成功。

Additionally, we have been participating in a record number of trade shows and regional industry events, generating significant brand awareness and visibility to our product capabilities. Nephros' presence also affords countless opportunities to educate key influencers and decision-makers on more salient regulatory changes and recommended solutions. The stakeholder connections cultivated in these environments inform customer frameworks and often lead to future sales.

此外，我們參與的貿易展覽和區域產業活動數量創歷史新高，提高了我們產品能力的顯著品牌知名度和知名度。Nephros 的存在也提供了無數的機會，讓關鍵影響者和決策者了解更重要的監管變化和推薦的解決方案。在這些環境中培養的利益相關者聯繫為客戶框架提供了信息，並且通常會帶來未來的銷售。

The last area I'd like to highlight before turning the floor over to Judy is the need for solutions that mitigate human exposure to nano and microplastics, NMPs. I read a new article almost weekly regarding the multiple health concerns related to NMPs, which are significant.

在將發言權交給 Judy 之前，我想強調的最後一個領域是需要找到能夠減少人類接觸奈米和微塑膠（NMP）的解決方案。我幾乎每週都會閱讀一篇關於與 NMP 相關的多種健康問題的新文章，這些問題非常重要。

The ability of NMPs to penetrate biological barriers and leach toxic chemicals can lead to cellular toxicity, inflammation, and damaged DNA. Our hollow fiber technology, which offers the smallest pore size on the market, enables us to provide filtration that may effectively retain NMPs.

NMP 穿透生物屏障和濾出有毒化學物質的能力可能導致細胞毒性、發炎和 DNA 受損。我們的中空纖維技術具有市場上最小的孔徑，使我們能夠提供可有效保留 NMP 的過濾。

I will now pass the mic to our CFO, Judy Krandel.

現在我將把麥克風交給我們的財務長 Judy Krandel。

Thanks, Robert. I will now provide a closer look at Nephros' financial performance in the first quarter.

謝謝，羅伯特。現在我將詳細介紹 Nephros 第一季的財務表現。

We reported first quarter net revenue of $3.5 million, a 5% decrease over the corresponding period in 2023. This decrease was primarily driven by decreased revenue from emergency response orders, which were unusually large in the first quarter of 2023 and not repeated in the comparable 2024 period.

我們報告第一季淨收入為 350 萬美元，比 2023 年同期下降 5%。這一下降主要是由於緊急響應訂單收入減少所致，緊急響應訂單收入在 2023 年第一季異常大，並且在 2024 年可比期間沒有重複。

However, the decrease in emergency response orders was partially offset by increased revenue from programmatic or recurring sales, which were 12% more than the same period in 2023.

然而，緊急應變訂單的減少被程序化或經常性銷售收入的增加部分抵消，該收入比 2023 年同期增加了 12%。

Gross margins in the quarter were 62% compared with 57% in 2023, an increase of 5 percentage points year over year. The increase in gross margins was driven by reductions in shipping expenses and more favorable terms with our largest supplier.

該季度毛利率為 62%，相較於 2023 年的 57%，較去年同期成長 5 個百分點。毛利率的成長是由於運輸費用的減少以及與我們最大的供應商的更優惠的條款所推動的。

Research and development expenses were $200,000 for the first quarter of 2024 and 2023, respectively. Sales, general, and administrative expenses were $2.1 million for both the first quarters of 2024 and 2023, respectively.

2024年和2023年第一季的研發費用分別為20萬美元。2024 年和 2023 年第一季的銷售、一般和管理費用分別為 210 萬美元。

Net loss for the quarter was $169,000 compared to $306,000 in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was negative $95,000 compared with positive $147,000 during the same period in 2023.

本季淨虧損為 169,000 美元，去年同期為 306,000 美元。本季調整後 EBITDA 為負 95,000 美元，而 2023 年同期為正 147,000 美元。

Net cash used in operating activities was $672,000 in the quarter compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $276,000 in the same quarter last year. The use of cash primarily reflects the operating loss; payment of 2023 annual bonuses, which always hit in the first quarter; and an investment in inventory to support future growth.

本季經營活動所使用的現金淨額為 672,000 美元，而去年同期經營活動提供的現金淨額為 276,000 美元。現金的使用主要反映經營虧損； 2023年年度獎金的發放，總是在第一季達到；以及庫存投資以支持未來的成長。

Our cash balance on March 31, 2024, was $3.6 million compared to $4.3 million as of December 31, 2023. We continue to remain debt-free.

截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日，我們的現金餘額為 360 萬美元，而截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，我們的現金餘額為 430 萬美元。我們繼續保持無債務狀態。

Please refer to today's press release for more details about the calculation of adjusted EBITDA and its reconciliation to GAAP net income or loss. Additional information about our results will be found in our filing on Form 10-K, which should be filed later today.

請參閱今天的新聞稿，以了解有關調整後 EBITDA 的計算及其與 GAAP 淨收入或虧損的調整的更多詳細資訊。有關我們結果的更多資訊可在我們提交的 10-K 表格中找到，該表格將於今天晚些時候提交。

I will now turn the call back to Robert for some closing remarks. Robert, please go ahead.

現在我將把電話轉回給羅伯特，讓他發表一些結束語。羅伯特，請繼續。

Thank you again for joining me and for your investment in this great organization that is so uniquely positioned to solve the toughest problems associated with water consumption. Additional thanks to each of our Nephros employees, our partners, and our customers, without which we would not see where we are today. I'd like to close by reiterating our enthusiasm for our future growth prospects as we continue to build on the momentum we have been experiencing.

再次感謝您加入我的行列並感謝您對這個偉大組織的投資，該組織在解決與水消耗相關的最棘手問題方面具有得天獨厚的優勢。也要感謝我們的每一位 Nephros 員工、我們的合作夥伴和我們的客戶，沒有他們，我們就不會取得今天的成績。最後，我想重申我們對未來成長前景的熱情，因為我們將繼續鞏固我們所經歷的勢頭。

This concludes our formal presentation remarks. We will now take questions from the audience. Operator, please open the call for questions.

我們的正式演講演講到此結束。現在我們將回答觀眾的提問。接線員，請打開電話提問。

(Operator Instructions) Thomas McGovern, Maxim Group.

（操作員說明）Thomas McGovern，Maxim Group。

Hey, guys. Congrats on the quarter. So yes, let's start off with looking at the growth in recurring revenue. I'm just curious, how much of this growth in the programmatic sales is reflective of expansion within those key partners that you discussed in the last couple of calls versus acquiring new clients? Thanks.

大家好。恭喜本季。所以，是的，讓我們先來看看經常性收入的成長。我只是很好奇，程序化銷售的成長有多少反映了您在過去幾次電話中討論的那些關鍵合作夥伴內部的擴張與獲取新客戶的關係？謝謝。

Thank you for that question, Thomas. It looks -- it's about a good mix of new customers and growth in existing customers. We've been adding a record number of new sites this past quarter, and that felt really good. So the programmatic business continues to expand.

謝謝你提出這個問題，托馬斯。看起來—這是新客戶和現有客戶成長的良好結合。上個季度我們添加了創紀錄數量的新網站，感覺非常好。因此程序化業務不斷擴大。

The strategy we've been quite effectiveness, it's been this land-and-expand approach. We would go in and we would acquire a business and one part of the facility. And then as we get comfortable and know who all the players are, we expand to other parts.

我們的策略非常有效，就是這種土地擴張的方法。我們會進去收購一家企業和該設施的一部分。然後，當我們熟悉並了解所有參與者是誰時，我們就會擴展到其他部分。

So that strategy has been pretty effective in two of the regions, whereas regions where we haven't typically had a lot of sales exposure are enjoying a lot of growth in new customers where we're just getting to build those relationships and trust as we look -- work with local partners and direct.

因此，該策略在其中兩個地區非常有效，而我們通常沒有大量銷售機會的地區卻享受著新客戶的大量增長，而我們只是在這些地區建立這些關係和信任。並直接進行。

What we have noticed is the existing business has not always been maintained and growing at the rate we expect. However, the new digital tool that I just mentioned, we'll take a look and track if they've got 10 units that we're treating, then we have changed that filter 10 times in the prescribed period.

我們注意到，現有業務並不總是以我們預期的速度維持和成長。然而，我剛才提到的新數位工具，我們會查看並追蹤他們是否有我們正在處理的 10 個單位，然後我們在規定的時間內更換了該過濾器 10 次。

And what we're finding probably 40%, 25% of the time, depending on what region we're in, they're not changing them when required or requested. And that's not because it's done on purpose, but also they forget that the filter is installed. There's been no problems and just missing their PMs, their preventive maintenance activities.

我們發現，大約 40%、25% 的情況下，根據我們所在的地區，他們不會在需要或要求時進行更改。這並不是因為這是故意的，而是因為他們忘記安裝了過濾器。沒有出現任何問題，只是缺少他們的 PM 和預防性維護活動。

So our goal, our task is to make sure that we're not reading anything on the business we've already won so that we keep that recurring programmatic business going while also adding new customers and expanding into places where we haven't been able to add our filters in the past.

因此，我們的目標和任務是確保我們不會閱讀任何有關我們已經贏得的業務的內容，以便我們保持經常性的程序化業務，同時增加新客戶並擴展到我們無法做到的地方添加過去的過濾器。

So the exact split between growth in new business versus new customers, difficult to track that based on some of the deficiencies in maintaining the programmatic business, as we mentioned. But we're going to get a lot easier in doing that when we add the digital tools that I just discussed a moment ago.

因此，正如我們所提到的，由於維護程序化業務的一些缺陷，很難追蹤新業務成長與新客戶成長之間的確切劃分。但是，當我們添加我剛才討論的數位工具時，我們會變得更加容易。

Hope that answers that question and look for more to come on that business in the future.

希望能回答這個問題，並期待未來在該業務上有更多的發展。

Absolutely. No, that's very helpful. So just on the online filter tracker, just curious when you guys exactly launched that. And have you guys already started to see that reflect and people ordering these filters on time versus you've mentioned several times since we've been covering that yeah, a lot of times, whether it's because they're -- this again like, it doesn't sound like it's intentional. It's just they have a lot on their plate.

絕對地。不，這非常有幫助。所以就在線上濾鏡追蹤器上，只是好奇你們什麼時候推出的。你們是否已經開始看到這種反映，人們按時訂購這些過濾器，而不是你們多次提到的，因為我們已經報道過這一點，是的，很多次，無論是因為他們是——這又是這樣的，聽起來不像是故意的。只是他們有很多事情要做。

They're focusing on their business and might not be ordering these as promptly as they should be. So have you already started to see a shift? Have you seen that start to pay off? Or is it too early to tell?

他們專注於自己的業務，可能不會像應有的那樣及時訂購這些產品。那麼您已經開始看到轉變了嗎？你看到這開始得到回報了嗎？還是現在說還太早？

Too early to tell. We are just in the beta phase. We are signing up a few customers, making sure we work out the kinks. And what we're finding is, oh there's another feature we'd like to add. Oh, it will be good if we could do this. So we'll probably need to say it's done and move on at one point, but it's proving so exciting and different capabilities and things that we'd like to do to enhance this functionality.

還為時過早。我們正處於測試階段。我們正在與一些客戶簽約，以確保我們解決問題。我們發現，哦，我們還想再增加一個功能。哦，如果我們能做到這一點就好了。因此，我們可能需要說它已經完成並在某個時刻繼續前進，但事實證明它具有如此令人興奮和不同的功能以及我們想要增強此功能的事情。

So it's really early in those phases. We've been talking about it internally for a few months. And we're just happy that it's finally ready to start launching and rolling out to customers, and we're starting to get those results now but still in early phases.

所以現在還處於這些階段的早期。我們內部已經討論了幾個月。我們很高興它終於準備好開始向客戶推出並向客戶推出，我們現在開始獲得這些結果，但仍處於早期階段。

Got you. I appreciate that. And then my final question is on the NMPs that you discussed in your prepared remarks. So are you guys currently servicing any customers for this express purpose of filtering some microplastics? Or is it something you have seen maybe industry demand for, and you guys are responding to and looking to enter that space more aggressively as it seems to be a pressing issue?

明白你了。我很感激。我的最後一個問題是關於您在準備好的發言中討論的 NMP。那麼，你們目前是否正在為任何客戶提供過濾某些微塑膠這項明確目的的服務？或者您是否看到了行業需求，並且您正在響應並尋求更積極地進入該領域，因為這似乎是一個緊迫的問題？

Yeah. This has been something that's come up fairly recently. And I read an article that said the average person consumes more than a credit card of plastics every week. And I just started to think about what can we do about that being a filtration company. There aren't regulations stating what the acceptable limits are in certain areas.

是的。這是最近才出現的事。我讀過一篇文章，說一般人每週消耗的塑膠量超過一張信用卡。我剛開始思考作為一家過濾公司我們能做些什麼。沒有法規規定某些領域的可接受限制。

And there's not really a driver other than people wanting to do the right thing when it comes to the damage that it can potentially do to humans. Obviously, still being evaluated and still under research. There's just a lot of gaps in understanding what it does long term, the effects of human health, how it disrupts development and people and adults.

當涉及到它可能對人類造成的損害時，除了人們想做正確的事情之外，沒有真正的駕駛者。顯然，仍在評估和研究中。人們對於它的長期作用、對人類健康的影響、它如何擾亂發展以及人類和成年人的理解存在很大差距。

So we are trying to get ahead of that. And by taking a look at our technology, because it just uses size exclusion, we have a hole of a certain size, anything bigger than that hole doesn't pass through. So without any scientific thought there, we can easily remove NMPs because they are a larger particle size.

所以我們正在努力搶先一步。透過觀察我們的技術，因為它只是使用尺寸排除，所以我們有一個特定尺寸的孔，任何大於該孔的東西都不會通過。因此，無需任何科學思考，我們就可以輕鬆去除 NMP，因為它們的粒徑較大。

But they are smaller than the average filter on the market, and they actually do pass right through. So because we have that smallest pore size in the market, we're the best filter company to address these NMPs, and that got me really excited as a new opportunity that we need to explore.

但它們比市場上的普通過濾器要小，而且實際上可以直接通過。因此，因為我們擁有市場上最小的孔徑，所以我們是解決這些 NMP 問題的最佳過濾器公司，這讓我非常興奮，因為這是我們需要探索的新機會。

So we first have to figure out, what are the holding capacity? How long will it last? Where we'd recommend it? So we're building that information up, and we'll get to the point where we can launch this as a solution that people can consider in lots of different markets.

那我們首先要弄清楚，什麼是承載力？它會持續多久？我們在哪裡推薦它？因此，我們正在建立這些訊息，我們將達到可以將其作為人們可以在許多不同市場中考慮的解決方案的程度。

But if you think about the health care and hospitality market, there is The Joint Commission, there's CMS, there's ASHRAE. There's all these regulating bodies that tell them what's good, what's bad and give suggestions. There is not that same guidance when you talk about schools, government facilities.

但如果您考慮醫療保健和酒店市場，您會發現聯合委員會、CMS、ASHRAE。所有這些監管機構都會告訴他們什麼是好的，什麼是壞的，並提出建議。當你談到學校、政府設施時，並沒有同樣的指導。

So it's a different cell. It's a different -- it's a push versus a pull. So -- and we're ready to provide the products once we get all that -- those details worked out. So it's very exciting for us. You're going to hear more and more about it as things go along, and I'm hoping that it represents a significant opportunity for Nephros.

所以這是一個不同的細胞。這是不同的——這是推力與拉力。因此，一旦我們得到所有這些細節，我們就準備好提供產品。所以這對我們來說非常令人興奮。隨著事情的發展，你會聽到越來越多的消息，我希望這對 Nephros 來說是一個重要的機會。

Awesome. I appreciate you guys taking time to answer my questions. I'll hop back in the queue.

驚人的。我很感謝你們花時間回答我的問題。我會跳回到隊列中。

Yeah. Thank you.

是的。謝謝。

[Mike Costides] with -- a private investor.

[Mike Costides] 與一位私人投資者。

Good afternoon and congratulations on the quarter, guys. Great job. My question is, Nephros has been selling to hospitals and health centers, of course. And you also just mentioned schools and municipalities, but there's also senior living centers and more that you started selling to even before the nanoplastics possibility. Do you see this trend of increasing your TAM continuing?

夥計們，下午好，恭喜這個季度。做得好。我的問題是，Nephros 當然一直在向醫院和健康中心銷售。您剛剛也提到了學校和市政當局，但也有高級生活中心等，您甚至在奈米塑膠出現之前就開始向其出售產品。您認為 TAM 增加的趨勢會持續嗎？

Hello, Mike, it's a great question and good to hear from you. Yeah, Nephros has been selling to those entities, and part of it comes from where we were born, getting our beginnings in the dialysis space and taking that technology and expanding it into patient care facilities.

你好，麥克，這是一個很好的問題，很高興收到你的來信。是的，Nephros 一直在向這些實體銷售產品，其中一部分來自我們的出生地，我們從透析領域起步，並將技術擴展到病患照護設施。

What you'll see when we start looking at the TAM of other places, schools, municipalities, senior centers, correctional facilities, government buildings, is they don't always have the same drivers that you're going to find in those health care facilities.

當我們開始觀察其他地方、學校、市政當局、老年中心、懲教所、政府大樓的 TAM 時，您會發現，它們並不總是擁有與醫療保健機構相同的驅動因素設施。

I just mentioned a few of the regulating bodies like The Joint Commission and ASHRAE that follow and become greatly adhered to when we deal with those patient care facilities. There's not the same driver for a school, believe it or not, saying that you must provide this hyper quality of water.

我剛才提到了聯合委員會和 ASHRAE 等一些監管機構，當我們與這些患者護理機構打交道時，它們會遵循並嚴格遵守。不管你信不信，學校裡不會有同樣的司機說你必須提供這種高品質的水。

But we do see that the articles and documentation of where patients or students or inmates or whomever have been injured and lawsuits happen. So we do get called in and can solve some of those problems. So I do see this continuing. I look forward to it being less of a push and more of a pull as when I was answering on Thomas' question.

但我們確實看到有關患者、學生、囚犯或任何人受傷的地方以及訴訟發生的文章和文件。所以我們確實被邀請並可以解決其中一些問題。所以我確實認為這種情況仍在繼續。我期待著當我回答托馬斯的問題時，它不再是推動，而是更多的拉動。

But in the meantime, it's all about my team and the Nephros team educating those who are dealing with ramifications when they do have those different contaminants and microorganisms impacting because our infection control products are -- really are providing a great solution for those places that otherwise would have significant problems.

但與此同時，我的團隊和 Nephros 團隊對那些確實受到不同污染物和微生物影響時正在處理後果的人進行教育，因為我們的感染控制產品確實為那些其他地方提供了一個很好的解決方案會有重大問題。

So expanding that TAM in size is really good, and we see this continuing. I think it will be a source of driving new business in the future. Thank you for that question.

因此，擴大 TAM 的規模確實很好，而且我們看到這種情況會持續下去。我認為這將成為未來推動新業務的來源。謝謝你提出這個問題。

Sounds great. Thank you. And one more question if I could. Could you elaborate at all on the OEM agreements that you have that include Nephros filters, dialysis, or otherwise?

聽起來很棒。謝謝。還有一個問題，如果可以的話。您能否詳細說明您所擁有的 OEM 協議，其中包括腎臟病過濾器、透析或其他方面的協議？

Sure. Sure. I can speak to that. I will have to be a little bit general and not mention names, just out of respect to a lot of the OEMs or competitors with others.

當然。當然。我可以談談。我必須籠統一點，不提及名字，只是出於對許多原始設備製造商或其他競爭對手的尊重。

But when you're dealing with dialysis -- and people are using our devices, they're FDA-cleared Class II, they become something that is worked into the clearance that device will obtain. So often, we have to work in parallel for months, if not years, ahead of the launch of a particular product so that the solution, when introduced or released, it becomes something that is you have to use a specific configuration in order to maintain the use case and the clearances that that device has achieved.

但是，當您進行透析時，人們正在使用我們的設備，它們是 FDA 批准的 II 類設備，它們會成為設備許可的一部分。通常，我們必須在推出特定產品之前並行工作數月甚至數年，以便解決方案在引入或發佈時變得必須使用特定配置才能維護使用案例以及該設備已達到的間隙。

So we have a fair amount of OEM agreements. That's a pretty significant part of our business, and we're always looking for ways to improve how we're performing and delivering value so that those OEMs choose us for the next product revisions and also for the new product launches.

所以我們有相當數量的 OEM 協定。這是我們業務的一個非常重要的部分，我們一直在尋找方法來改善我們的表現和交付價值，以便那些原始設備製造商選擇我們進行下一次產品修訂和新產品發布。

They may have requirements that our filters cannot perform today. Maybe it's a size restraint or a capacity constraint. So we're able to take and redesign, especially based on our smaller size, accommodate some of those needs. So we become a really favorable partner from the OEM's perspective.

他們可能有我們的過濾器目前無法滿足的要求。也許這是尺寸限製或容量限制。因此，我們能夠採取並重新設計，特別是根據我們較小的尺寸，滿足其中一些需求。因此，從 OEM 的角度來看，我們成為了真正有利的合作夥伴。

So those agreements are nurtured and treated extremely with high regard and importance and priority in our organization. And we have some great people on the team who are experts in what they do, whether it be dialysis or working in hospitals and able to meet the needs of some of those OEMs.

因此，這些協議在我們的組織中得到了高度重視、重視和優先對待。我們的團隊中有一些優秀的人才，他們是各自領域的專家，無論是透析還是在醫院工作，並且能夠滿足其中一些原始設備製造商的需求。

So thank you for that, and a great further question.

謝謝你，還有一個很好的問題。

Thank you. I was going to ask the third question on the exciting nanoplastics opportunity, but you actually covered that already. So thank you very much, and again, congratulations.

謝謝。我本來想問第三個問題，關於令人興奮的奈米塑膠機會，但你實際上已經涵蓋了這個問題。非常感謝，並再次恭喜。

Thanks, Mike.

謝謝，麥克。

(Operator Instructions) [Ankur Sagar], a private investor.

（操作員說明）[Ankur Sagar]，私人投資者。

[Mr. Sagar], your line of open. Did you have a question? Or perhaps your phone is muted (multiple speakers).

[先生。Sagar]，你的線路開放。你有問題嗎？或者您的手機可能已靜音（多個發言者）。

Hey. Good afternoon. Yeah, sorry about that. Hey. Good afternoon, Robert and Judy. Thank you for taking my questions. A good quarter with growth on the programmatic revenue. Robert, you laid out a couple of, I think, good initiatives on the recurring revenue part, the filter. I think you renegotiated the contracts with the distributors to know where the filters are placed.

嘿。午安.是的，對此感到抱歉。嘿。下午好，羅伯特和朱迪。感謝您回答我的問題。這是一個不錯的季度，程序化收入有所增長。羅伯特，我認為您在經常性收入部分（過濾器）方面提出了一些很好的舉措。我認為您與經銷商重新協商了合同，以了解過濾器的放置位置。

And now this online tracker filter, where the customers would know when the filter needs to be replaced. If you can share any insights -- any early insights that you have seen on how this can even help to accelerate the programmatic revenue further than what we have seen now, that would be great.

現在有了線上追蹤過濾器，客戶可以知道何時需要更換過濾器。如果您可以分享任何見解——任何您所看到的關於這如何能夠比我們現在所看到的進一步加速程序化收入的早期見解，那就太好了。

Sure, sure. That's great insight. And we started looking at this a couple of months ago. And what we were noticing is the team is working really hard. And it's closing a lot of new business. And we're not losing customers. Active customer sites stay pretty high. But yet we weren't seeing that recurring revenue. Our baseline was -- where we were starting from quarter after quarter, seemed lower and lower. So the numbers didn't add up.

一定一定。這是偉大的洞察力。幾個月前我們就開始研究這個問題。我們注意到團隊工作非常努力。它正在關閉很多新業務。我們並沒有失去客戶。活躍客戶網站保持相當高的水平。但我們還沒有看到經常性收入。我們的基線是——我們從一個季度又一個季度開始的基線，似乎越來越低。所以數字沒有加起來。

We started digging into accounts and taking out where we sold filters and they've got a certain number of machines and we're expecting a certain amount of turnover, it just wasn't achieving that turnover. Well, as it turns out, nursing homes, for example, don't have big budgets, and they could choose to leave them on for years before they change them out instead of three months or six months.

我們開始深入調查帳戶，找出我們銷售過濾器的地方，他們擁有一定數量的機器，我們預計會有一定的營業額，但只是沒有實現這一營業額。事實證明，例如，療養院的預算並不多，他們可以選擇將其保留多年然後再更換，而不是三個月或六個月。

And that's not good. Sometimes, it's just neglecting and not having the staff to go find it and change it. More often than not, it's just forgotten about and not the priority when they've got short staff and budgets go in other places.

那不好。有時，這只是疏忽，沒有讓工作人員去找它並改變它。通常情況下，當他們的人員短缺且預算花在其他地方時，它就被遺忘了，而不是優先考慮的事情。

So by having a reminder to be able to tell them that, hey, this was installed a certain time period ago, it is driving that change or should drive that change. That's the theory. And we have an offline tool, where you can look at a spreadsheet and say, okay, we installed this filter six months ago. But often the response was, well, we didn't install it yet, or we had installed it a month after we bought it. So it wasn't real clear.

因此，透過提醒能夠告訴他們，嘿，這是在某個時間段前安裝的，它正在推動變革或應該推動變革。這就是理論。我們有一個離線工具，您可以在其中查看電子表格並說，好吧，我們六個月前安裝了這個過濾器。但通常得到的答覆是，好吧，我們還沒有安裝它，或者我們在購買一個月後就安裝了它。所以這並不是很清楚。

But being able to scan that QR code on that filter once it's put in place gives us the exact time it's installed so that we cut that gap and get more accurately and automatically tell what and when and where these things are supposed to be installed so that we don't get the 75% or so that we're not replacing when they're supposed to be. And that's on the optimistic side.

但是，一旦過濾器安裝到位，我們就可以掃描過濾器上的二維碼，從而獲得安裝的準確時間，這樣我們就可以縮小差距，更準確、自動地知道這些東西應該安裝什麼、何時何地，以便我們沒有達到 75% 左右，因此我們沒有在應該更換的時候進行更換。這是樂觀的一面。

So the -- yeah, I'm very optimistic that we will get the growth in programmatic business that's reflective of the new sales that we're achieving on a daily basis.

所以，是的，我非常樂觀地認為，我們將獲得程序化業務的成長，這反映了我們每天實現的新銷售額。

I'm not sure that's exactly your question, but that's the --

我不確定這正是你的問題，但這就是--

That's great. I agree. I think it's easier to sell through the five filters in the existing installations that you have than to just sell new five brand-new devices from scratch. So that's great. Good to see that.

那太棒了。我同意。我認為透過現有安裝中的五個過濾器進行銷售比從頭開始銷售新的五個全新設備更容易。那太好了。很高興看到這一點。

And I think in the presentation that you had at the conference -- the Planet MicroCap conference, I think you laid out a few initiatives for growth. And I think there's a bunch of them. Microplastics, you mentioned with new devices.

我認為在您在 Planet MicroCap 會議上的演講中，我認為您提出了一些成長舉措。我認為有很多這樣的人。您在新設備中提到了微塑膠。

And then there was commercial, there could be even some foreign distributors. If I could have you probably summarize and go through at least the three top initiatives you think that you're working on currently and that could help for this year's top line, that would be great.

然後是商業，甚至可能有一些外國經銷商。如果我能讓您總結並回顧您認為目前正在進行的至少三項最重要的舉措，這可能有助於今年的營收成長，那就太好了。

Okay. No problem. That last phrase that you put in there for this year's top line made the difference. But I was going to say, will the growth initiatives change with the adoption of short term or long term? However, the short term for this year impact, I expect this digital tool to really be a driver. And it's not because it's going to bring in new customers.

好的。沒問題。你在今年的頂行中添加的最後一句話產生了影響。但我想說的是，成長舉措會隨著短期還是長期的採用而改變嗎？然而，從今年的短期影響來看，我預計這個數位工具將真正成為一個驅動力。這並不是因為它會帶來新客戶。

But for the reasons we talked about earlier of it not letting us forget about filters that we've already won. We did the hard work. We delighted the customer. We got the units installed. Why not get the filter changed out every six months? And by the way, it's only FDA cleared for six months.

但由於我們之前討論過的原因，我們不能忘記我們已經贏得的過濾器。我們做了艱苦的工作。我們讓客戶很開心。我們安裝了這些單元。為什麼不每六個月更換一次過濾器呢？順便說一句，它僅獲得 FDA 批准六個月。

Beyond that, we're not guaranteeing performance, although it doesn't just turn off at six months and one day. So I do think that this digital tool, getting that in the hands of people that like hospital officials, those who have a skin in the game when something doesn't go as planned or expected to drive that programmatic change out on a recurring basis.

除此之外，我們不保證性能，儘管它不會在六個月零一天後就關閉。因此，我確實認為，這種數位工具可以交到像醫院官員這樣的人手中，當事情沒有按計劃或預期進行時，他們可以參與其中，從而定期推動程序性變革。

Next, I think that this cross-selling, where we are -- maybe we're in there, taking care of the ice machine. But we also have sterile processing products. And that's a big part of the hospitals' spend on filters as well or bubblers, water fountains, showers, things, inline filters.

接下來，我認為這種交叉銷售，我們現在所處的位置——也許我們在那裡，負責維護製冰機。但我們也有無菌加工產品。這也是醫院在過濾器、起泡器、飲水器、淋浴器、內聯過濾器等方面的支出的很大一部分。

There's just so many different applications, and typically, you're just bought into a facility for one application. So that cross-selling or land-and-expand strategy is going to be probably the second bigger driver.

有這麼多不同的應用程序，通常情況下，您只是為了一種應用程式而購買了一個設施。因此，交叉銷售或土地擴張策略可能是第二大驅動力。

And then nurturing our partners and distributors. So it's getting out to these events, speaking at conferences. I will be at APIC in a month or two. We've got the ASHRAE conference coming up in California in July.

然後培養我們的合作夥伴和經銷商。因此，它正在參與這些活動，在會議上發表演講。一兩個月後我將在 APIC 工作。我們將於 7 月在加州召開 ASHRAE 會議。

These are big national events where you get all the infection control people, you get the members of the conferences, and the responsible parties at these facilities for maintaining infection control, protocol water management programs.

這些是全國性的大型活動，所有感染控制人員、會議成員以及這些設施中負責維護感染控制、協議水管理計劃的負責人都在其中。

Those are the people we're going to have to educate on the new guidelines that come out, the new technologies available and mitigation strategies against pathogens and other things that impact the infection control space.

我們需要對這些人進行有關新指南、可用新技術以及針對病原體和其他影響感染控制領域的其他因素的緩解策略的教育。

So if you ask what the top three are that will have an impact this year, I would take those three. But as you noted, there are others too that were discussed during the Planet MicroCap investment conference as well.

因此，如果你問今年會產生影響的前三名是什麼，我會選這三名。但正如您所指出的，Planet MicroCap 投資會議期間也討論了其他一些問題。

Yeah. Yeah, that's great. One last one regarding the gross margin. There was a nice gross margin improvement. Do you expect that to continue from that shipping gross margin side that you captured? Do you expect that to continue for the rest of the year?

是的。是的，那太好了。最後一個關於毛利率。毛利率有了不錯的改善。您預計這種情況會從您捕獲的航運毛利率方面繼續下去嗎？您預計這種情況會持續到今年剩餘時間嗎？

Yeah. I'm going to let Judy handle that question. I have my own thoughts, but she's been digging into it pretty deep. Judy, if you would?

是的。我會讓朱迪來解決這個問題。我有自己的想法，但她已經深入研究了。朱迪，如果你願意的話？

Yes. Ankur, could you repeat the question again? For some reason, that didn't come clear for me.

是的。Ankur，你能再重複一下這個問題嗎？出於某種原因，這對我來說並不清楚。

From a gross margin standpoint, Judy, I think the gross margin was higher. I think, about 62% compared to last year's quarter.

從毛利率的角度來看，朱迪，我認為毛利率更高。我認為，與去年同期相比約為 62%。

Yeah.

是的。

So do you expect that to continue for the -- throughout? Do you expect to keep that gross margin? Or that shipping will fluctuate and --

那麼您認為這種情況會持續下去嗎？您希望維持這個毛利率嗎？或者運輸會波動並且--

Yes. Okay. And thank you for repeating that. It was just -- it didn't come clear.

是的。好的。感謝您重複這一點。只是——事情還不清楚。

So we were very pleased with margins. Our shipping expenses, we've been managing very carefully. They were unusually high during the COVID period, but we've been working very hard managing air versus sea shipments and working through that. So we feel right now, without an economic increase overall in shipping expenses, we feel pretty good about that. The negotiations and the better terms with our supplier, that's something that continues.

所以我們對利潤率非常滿意。我們的運輸費用，我們一直非常謹慎地管理。在新冠疫情期間，它們的價格異常高，但我們一直在努力管理空運和海運，並努力解決這個問題。因此，我們現在覺得，在運輸費用總體經濟成長沒有增加的情況下，我們對此感覺很好。與我們供應商的談判和更好的條款仍在繼續。

So ultimately, our gross margin is affected by our mix of business slightly. Certain larger customers may have a different discount here. But we feel pretty good about maintaining relatively strong margins like this. We'll see quarter to quarter, there'll be some fluctuations. But I don't think this is just such an anomaly.

因此，最終，我們的毛利率受到我們業務組合的輕微影響。某些較大的客戶可能會在這裡享受不同的折扣。但我們對維持這樣相對強勁的利潤率感到非常滿意。我們會看到每個季度都會有一些波動。但我不認為這只是一種反常現象。

Nick Farwell, Arbor Group.

尼克法威爾，Arbor 集團。

Judy, may I follow up on the last gentleman's question? You indicated that gross margins might be sustainable for a couple of factors. One of them is better terms from your supplier. Is that in part or reflected in any way? Did currency have an impact either to your income statement or balance sheet?

朱迪，我可以跟進上一位先生的問題嗎？您指出，由於幾個因素，毛利率可能是可持續的。其中之一是您的供應商提供更好的條款。這是部分的還是以任何方式反映的？貨幣對您的損益表或資產負債表有影響嗎？

Thank you for the question. No, currency has just some modest negligible effect. When we renewed our contract with our largest supplier, we did do a good job of negotiating terms that were more favorable. We have a longer-term supply. They know our volumes are growing. So that really relates to the actual pricing of the finished good products that we buy.

感謝你的提問。不，貨幣只是有一些輕微的、可以忽略的影響。當我們與最大的供應商續約時，我們確實很好地談判了更有利的條款。我們有長期供應。他們知道我們的銷量正在成長。所以這確實與我們購買的成品的實際定價有關。

And I'm curious, given the base business grew 12%, to what degree does that, in your mind, reflect a softer economy or perhaps just a short-term perturbation? That seemed -- versus past history, seems a little more modest than the normal year-to-year growth or sequential growth, ex-ing out seasonality in the base business, not including the emergency response.

我很好奇，鑑於基礎業務成長了 12%，在您看來，這在多大程度上反映了經濟疲軟，或者可能只是短期的擾動？與過去的歷史相比，這似乎比正常的同比增長或環比增長要溫和一些，排除了基礎業務的季節性，不包括緊急響應。

Yeah. Judy, I'll take that question if you don't mind. Hi, Nick. How are things doing?

是的。朱迪，如果你不介意的話我會回答這個問題。嗨，尼克。事情進展得怎麼樣？

Fine. Thank you for answering, Robert. I appreciate it.

美好的。謝謝你的回答，羅伯特。我很感激。

No worries. It's a really good question and something I've been keenly aware and focused on over the past few weeks, if not months, coming up to the close of the quarter. And I've got probably three different attributions to guide that.

不用擔心。這是一個非常好的問題，也是我在過去幾週（如果不是幾個月的話）直到本季結束時一直敏銳地意識到並關注的問題。我可能有三種不同的歸因來指導這一點。

My first response is if you look at the number of hospital beds as indication of the performance of the health care or patient care market, that number is not growing. It's pretty stagnant, if not lower, which, in that case, the number of support services, whether it be ice machines, showerheads, and faucets, isn't growing accordingly. So from that aspect, the market is flat.

我的第一個反應是，如果您將醫院床位數量視為醫療保健或病患照護市場表現的指標，那麼這個數字並沒有成長。即使不是更低，也相當停滯不前，在這種情況下，支援服務的數量，無論是製冰機、淋浴噴頭和水龍頭，都沒有相應增長。所以從這個方面來說，市場是平淡的。

If you look at health care industry overall, it's only growing at 2%, 3% tops, so again, another indicator and if you look at just gross domestic product and other things. So when we hit a number like 12%, modest, yes, still far outpacing the growth of the industry itself.

如果你看一下醫療保健產業的整體情況，它只以 2%、3% 的速度成長，所以，如果你只看國內生產毛額和其他指標，那麼又是另一個指標。因此，當我們達到 12% 這樣的數字時，是的，這個數字雖然不大，但仍然遠遠超過了行業本身的成長速度。

So I think we're a victim of our own success as we set up expectations of huge growth numbers, which we do expect to continue to grow in double digits, just personal expectations, not anything we're committing to or guiding. But the growth, 12%, although modest, not something to be ashamed of.

因此，我認為我們是自己成功的受害者，因為我們設定了巨大成長數字的預期，我們確實希望繼續以兩位數成長，這只是個人預期，而不是我們承諾或指導的任何東西。但 12% 的成長雖然不大，但並不值得羞恥。

Another thing I would add is the winter months, the quarter months tend to be seasonally lower in sales. There has not been a lot of seasonality quite evident before, somewhat masked by that emergency response. But when I strip away the numbers and we adjust at that programmatic and core business, I do see a seasonality kick in quite clearly, and we're in the trough of that.

我要補充的另一件事是冬季月份，而季度月份的銷售額往往會季節性下降。之前並沒有太多明顯的季節性，在某種程度上被緊急應變所掩蓋。但是，當我去掉這些數字並對程序化和核心業務進行調整時，我確實非常明顯地看到了季節性的影響，而我們正處於低谷。

So those are the couple of three things, I would say, in response to the 12% number. It's nothing to be disappointed about from my perspective as far as the reflection of how well we're closing business. We are taking market share from our competitors, and we're not losing or bleeding customers on the back end. So I'm pretty happy from that perspective. And I look forward to still delivering those types of numbers going forward.

我想說的是，針對 12% 的數字，這就是三件事。從我的角度來看，就我們關閉業務的情況而言，這並沒有什麼值得失望的。我們正在從競爭對手那裡奪取市場份額，並且我們不會在後端失去或流失客戶。所以從這個角度來看我很高興。我期待未來繼續提供這些類型的數字。

Yeah. I'm curious, Robert, what is the mix between direct and your distribution -- your various distributors? And does that shift have any impact on the higher end of the range of gross profit margins?

是的。我很好奇，羅伯特，直接分銷和您的分銷（您的各個分銷商）之間的組合是什麼？這種轉變對毛利率範圍的高端有什麼影響嗎？

When we look at our partners, distributors, we have far fewer than we did this time one year ago. And that's very, very intentional and deliberate. Those who are still with us are much more aligned with how we do business, the value story that we sell. They've got the relationships in places we would not otherwise have a chance of touching. When you look at the small number of salespeople that we have and the thousands and thousands of targets out there, there's no chance about touching them all.

當我們看看我們的合作夥伴、經銷商時，我們的數量比一年前的這個時候要少得多。這是非常非常有意和深思熟慮的。那些仍然在我們身邊的人更認同我們的經營方式和我們所推銷的價值故事。他們在我們沒有機會接觸到的地方建立了關係。當你看到我們擁有的少數銷售人員和成千上萬的目標時，你就沒有機會接觸到所有的人。

So the distribution partners are essential. The trick is making sure they understand the value that Nephros provides when it goes to solving problems for our different customer base and facilities. So they're able to go in, and sell at -- sell the products, and it's not a discussion about price. It's how fast can you get it when we take care of everything from an installation and maintenance perspective. So they're commanding premiums over the alternatives.

因此分銷合作夥伴至關重要。訣竅是確保他們了解 Nephros 在為我們不同的客戶群和設施解決問題時所提供的價值。因此，他們能夠進入並以銷售產品的價格出售產品，而不是討論價格。當我們從安裝和維護的角度處理好一切時，您能多快獲得它。因此，他們比其他選擇要價更高。

When we sell direct, often we are offering some type of discount or -- and from a customer perspective, there isn't a lot of difference. From a margin perspective, it's slight, but I -- it's far -- the volume of sales far outweighs -- the gross margin dollar positively outweighs the -- what we give up in having a partner there delivering the goods as well.

當我們直接銷售時，我們通常會提供某種類型的折扣或——從客戶的角度來看，沒有太大區別。從利潤率的角度來看，這是微不足道的，但我——這遠遠超過了——銷售量遠遠超過了——毛利率美元正超過了——我們放棄了有合作夥伴交付貨物的東西。

So it's a good question. We always keep an eye on that mix. There's been no significant change one way or the other to say that that's what's impacting that gross margin. It's more the items that Judy mentioned earlier.

所以這是一個好問題。我們始終關注這種組合。從某種意義上說，沒有發生重大變化，這就是影響毛利率的原因。更多的是朱迪之前提到的項目。

Yeah. So really, I think I hear you saying that at the operating line, the sale through direct, quote-unquote, versus direct is roughly the same? The gross margin may be different, but the allocation of SG&A is perhaps if you did it in some fashion or could do it would be somewhat lower given the volume of a direct order.

是的。所以說真的，我想我聽到你說在營運線上，透過直接、報價-不報價的銷售與直接銷售大致相同？毛利率可能會有所不同，但考慮到直接訂單的數量，如果您以某種方式這樣做或可以這樣做，SG&A 的分配可能會稍微低一些。

I'm not sure I would say the same, but it's not significantly different. How is that for answering that?

我不確定我會說同樣的話，但並沒有顯著不同。怎樣回答這個問題呢？

That's good enough. And then last question, I'm curious, has headcount changed dramatically over the last year?

這就足夠了。最後一個問題，我很好奇，去年員工人數是否有了巨大變化？

Good question. Dramatically, no. However, we have been adding resources as the sales grow to support the additional resources. We've noticed that there's a certain capacity that a person in the region can handle. And once they reach that saturation point, we've got to add more heads to be able to cover more and still provide that personal touch with direct and guidance training for the partners.

好問題。戲劇性的是，沒有。然而，隨著銷售額的成長，我們一直在增加資源以支持額外的資源。我們注意到該地區的人有一定的處理能力。一旦他們達到飽和點，我們就必須增加更多的負責人，以便能夠涵蓋更多的內容，同時仍為合作夥伴提供個人接觸和直接的指導培訓。

So we've added in the area of sales and continue to selectively add, but we're being extremely prudent about where we deploy heads and what costs we incur because we think one of the bigger strengths that we have, and we remember the history quite well where we came from, that we have to maintain a certain level of performance that we are deploying the capital in the most efficient use so that we return that value for our shareholders.

因此，我們增加了銷售領域，並繼續有選擇地增加，但我們對部署頭的位置以及產生的成本非常謹慎，因為我們認為這是我們擁有的更大優勢之一，並且我們記住歷史我們的出發點是，我們必須保持一定的績效水平，以最有效的方式部署資本，以便為股東回報價值。

And then my last question briefly. You've moved into a new facility and consolidated. To what degree has that been reflected in the better gross margins, in particular, but perhaps the ability to generate a positive -- sustainable positive cash flow?

然後是我的最後一個問題。您已搬入新設施並進行整合。這在多大程度上反映在更好的毛利率上，尤其是產生正的、可持續的正現金流的能力？

That's a very good point. The new facility expansion to where we were, our main headquarters, allowed us to cease use of a couple of other sites, some off-site storage, another facility in a farther-away location. So it's a bigger place, and it's much closer so that the amount of effort transiting back and forth when it does occur is much, much less and easier cost.

這是一個很好的觀點。新設施擴展到我們的主要總部所在地，使我們能夠停止使用其他幾個站點、一些場外儲存以及位於較遠位置的另一個設施。所以它是一個更大的地方，而且距離更近，因此當它確實發生時，來回傳輸的工作量會少得多，成本也容易得多。

So that does result in some savings. I don't know if I've quantified that. We were just getting everything settled and getting that operation up and running and getting the inventories at the right levels. So I think that may be reflected in Q1, maybe more so in the future quarters.

所以這確實可以節省一些費用。我不知道我是否已經量化了這一點。我們剛剛把所有事情都解決了，讓營運開始運行，並將庫存保持在正確的水平。所以我認為這可能會反映在第一季度，也許在未來幾季更是如此。

I don't know, Judy, if you had anything to add to that or might be able to quantify any of it. I don't know that we've done that exercise to show what that impact has been or --

我不知道，朱迪，你是否還有什麼要補充的，或者是否能夠量化其中的任何內容。我不知道我們做這個練習是為了展示這種影響是什麼，或者--

No, I think you handled it well. I don't think you're going to see a dramatic change in our costs, but it will help long term.

不，我認為你處理得很好。我認為我們的成本不會發生巨大變化，但從長遠來看，這將有所幫助。

Okay. Thank you. I appreciate it, Judy, Robert. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。我很感激，朱迪，羅伯特。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thomas McGovern, Maxim Group.

托馬斯·麥戈文，馬克西姆集團。

Hey, guys. Yes. So I thought I'd follow up, and actually those last two questions are well suited for my outstanding questions.

大家好。是的。所以我想我應該跟進，實際上最後兩個問題非常適合我的懸而未決的問題。

So firstly, on the headcount increases that you guys did over the past year, you guys answered half of my question, saying that you guys are going to continue to selectively add heads where it is needed. But given what you discussed in terms of short-term catalysts between the digital tracking tool, the cross-selling opportunity in the event, each of these seems to me as though you'll need boots on the ground to do this.

首先，關於你們過去一年的增員，你們回答了我一半的問題，說你們將繼續有選擇地在需要的地方增加人員。但考慮到您所討論的數位追蹤工具之間的短期催化劑以及活動中的交叉銷售機會，在我看來，您似乎需要腳踏實地才能做到這一點。

And from where I stand, it looks like they could be fairly segmented in terms of skills or expertise. Do you guys anticipate any need -- well, first of all, do you expect a similar -- based on the demand you're seeing in the market, are you expecting to add pretty similar in terms of headcount, total number of headcount, similar to 2023? More or less?

從我的立場來看，他們似乎可以在技能或專業知識方面進行相當的細分。你們是否預期有任何需求——嗯，首先，你們是否期望類似的需求——根據你們在市場上看到的需求，你們是否期望在人員數量、員工總數、類似於2023年？或多或少？

And then second question is, have you guys looked at or considered adding maybe specialized salespeople, whether it's to target these NMPs or to really get to know the digital tool and bring people on, bring your sites on board with that? Or is it more just based on territory with general salespeople that go out and wear multiple hats to get you guys to where you need to be?

第二個問題是，你們是否考慮過或考慮增加專門的銷售人員，無論是針對這些 NMP 還是真正了解數位工具並吸引人們加入，讓您的網站加入其中？或者它更只是基於領域，一般銷售人員會出去擔任多個職務，以幫助您到達您需要去的地方？

So Thomas, thanks for that follow-up question. I do have to wonder, are you sitting in my staff meetings? Because very, very good thoughts, insights, and all things that we're thinking about. I love the thought that you just said to me. It's really the words in my mouth.

湯瑪斯，感謝您提出後續問題。我確實想知道，你參加我的員工會議嗎？因為非常非常好的想法、見解以及我們正在思考的所有事情。我喜歡你剛才對我說的想法。確實是我嘴裡的話。

When it comes to the app, and I'll start there first, that does require some specialized expertise. We don't have that in-house. So we're working with a partner that actually already has this software and technology developed, launched, and has been running it in other spaces, and we're just adopting it and changing it to fit ours.

當談到應用程式時，我將首先從這裡開始，這確實需要一些專業知識。我們內部沒有這個。因此，我們正在與一個合作夥伴合作，該合作夥伴實際上已經開發、推出了該軟體和技術，並已在其他領域運行它，我們只是採用它並對其進行更改以適應我們的需求。

That's how we were able to go to a minimal viable product in such a short period of time and now enhancing it to match what we want. And we literally only spent a few months on this. And if you've ever been in the software development world, starting from scratch can take a year or so. So that's -- we took advantage of an existing tool and just repurposed it for our needs. That saved time, cost, and also, we didn't have to bring expertise in-house.

這就是我們如何能夠在如此短的時間內開發出最小可行產品，並且現在對其進行增強以滿足我們的需求。我們實際上只花了幾個月的時間。如果您曾經涉足軟體開發領域，從頭開始可能需要一年左右的時間。所以，我們利用了現有的工具，並根據我們的需求重新調整了它的用途。這節省了時間和成本，而且我們不必引進內部專業知識。

When it comes to NMPs and other future-looking technologies, we did just add an engineer. We're looking to add another one, and we are selectively looking for people with certain skill sets to help handle some of these future growth areas.

當談到 NMP 和其他前瞻性技術時，我們只是增加了一名工程師。我們正在尋求添加另一個人，並且我們正在選擇性地尋找具有某些技能的人員來幫助處理其中一些未來的成長領域。

And all of what we're doing is put into our budget, bake into our profitability goals, and making sure that the sales support some of that growth and deploying capital, like I mentioned, where it makes sense. And I'm using an ROI-type decision for everything that we're doing. If I add this head, spend this money, will I get that return over what period of time? And does it make more sense to spend here than it does on this other project?

我們正在做的所有事情都是納入我們的預算，融入我們的盈利目標，並確保銷售支援部分增長並部署資本，就像我提到的，在有意義的地方。我對我們所做的一切都使用投資報酬率類型的決策。如果我加上這個頭，花這個錢，我在什麼時間內能得到那個回報？在這裡花錢比在其他項目上花錢更有意義嗎？

So that's been very helpful. As far as making sure that we feel comfortable about where we are spending and where it makes sense to lean forward and take a risk for bringing on an asset so that we might return greater growth faster, we're going ahead and doing that.

這非常有幫助。只要確保我們對自己的支出方向感到滿意，以及在哪些方面值得向前傾斜並承擔風險引入資產，以便我們可以更快地實現更大的增長，我們就會繼續這樣做。

So I think -- hope that answers your question. So yes, thanks for that. That's a good insightful question.

所以我想——希望這能回答你的問題。所以是的，謝謝你。這是一個很有洞察力的好問題。

I appreciate it. It does answer my question. And then the final question I have for you guys is on that warehouse, right? So maybe it doesn't make a huge impact in any one particular quarter. You're hoping to see some margin accretion over the long run as a result.

我很感激。它確實回答了我的問題。我要問你們的最後一個問題是關於那個倉庫的，對嗎？因此，也許它不會對任何一個特定季度產生巨大影響。從長遠來看，您希望看到利潤增加。

Two questions on that. Are you guys still using any third-party warehouses across the country, maybe just to make sure that your distribution points are near several sites, particularly as you guys continue to expand?

對此有兩個問題。你們是否仍在全國各地使用任何第三方倉庫，也許只是為了確保你們的配送點靠近多個地點，特別是當你們繼續擴張時？

And the second question is, with your in-house warehouses or the newly developed warehouse, how long do you expect the capacity of the warehouse, do you think you'll be able to service your inventory storage requirements for at least the foreseeable future? Or do you anticipate a need to bring on third-party warehouses or possibly expand the existing warehouse? Appreciate it.

第二個問題是，對於您的內部倉庫或新開發的倉庫，您預計倉庫的容量可以持續多久，您認為至少在可預見的未來能夠滿足您的庫存儲存需求嗎？或者您預計需要引入第三方倉庫或可能擴大現有倉庫？欣賞它。

Yeah. Sure, I can address that. So the first question, as far as I know, we don't have additional storage sites or other parent facilities throughout the country. Really that was the goal, to get rid of all of those extra expenses.

是的。當然，我可以解決這個問題。第一個問題，據我所知，我們在全國範圍內沒有額外的儲存站點或其他家長設施。事實上，這就是我們的目標，擺脫所有這些額外費用。

To address the point you mentioned where being closer to a customer or a key supplier, we do have partners now that are in the stocking mentality or stocking position. So that we've been able to lean on them even if it's not account that they actively service to be able to get something out the door, but we still maintain 24-hour-or-less type response with emergency orders, shipping out same day. The team won't hesitate to drive in 7:00 PM, 8:00 PM on a weekend and to get something shipped out, driving it personally to the shipping carrier.

為了解決您提到的與客戶或關鍵供應商更接近的問題，我們現在確實有處於備貨心態或備貨位置的合作夥伴。因此，我們能夠依靠他們，即使不是因為他們積極提供服務才能把東西送出去，但我們仍然保持 24 小時或更短時間的緊急訂單響應，同樣發貨天。團隊會毫不猶豫地在週末晚上 7:00 或晚上 8:00 開車將物品運出，並親自將其開往承運商處。

So the -- having a closer facility to service the West Coast or something in that effect may be -- there may be some benefit there, but it's going to be hard to beat the speed with what we turn around things today. But -- so that's the first part of your question.

因此，擁有一個更近的設施來為西海岸提供服務或類似的東西可能會帶來一些好處，但我們今天扭轉局面的速度將很難超越。但是──這就是你問題的第一部分。

The second part about needing to expand again, we have certain milestones built into -- once you get to this point, we're going to need to add that facility. And the particular space where we are now, I'm only utilizing about 50% of what I'm going to have available in the short term. So at that point, when that space becomes available, our sales should require us to need that additional space, and we will take advantage of it.

關於需要再次擴展的第二部分，我們內建了某些里程碑——一旦達到這一點，我們將需要添加該設施。對於我們現在所處的特定空間，我只利用了短期內可用空間的 50% 左右。因此，到那時，當該空間可用時，我們的銷售應該要求我們需要額外的空間，並且我們將利用它。

So it was very deliberately planned, very convenient, and we have an excellent real estate agent that we've been working with and making sure that we've got our needs met when we're planning out for three to five years and make sure that everything meshes up very well.

所以這是經過精心策劃的，非常方便，我們有一位優秀的房地產經紀人，我們一直在與他們合作，確保我們在規劃三到五年時滿足我們的需求，並確保一切都配合得很好。

Great. I appreciate you guys taking the time to answer my questions. Congrats again on the quarter.

偉大的。我很感謝你們花時間回答我的問題。再次恭喜本季。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Ralph Weil, R. Weil Investment Management.

拉爾夫·威爾，R.威爾投資管理公司。

Hi, Robert. Nice presentation today. I was wondering, in the past, they talked about customer retention. And I was wondering what the percentage of the customers have been retained versus new customers. And have you seen any price pressures in the -- in what you're selling? And are there any major new accounts that you've taken on or that you are close to taking on? And then I have another question.

嗨，羅伯特。今天的演講很好。我想知道，過去他們談論客戶保留。我想知道保留的客戶與新客戶的百分比是多少。您是否看到您所銷售的產品面臨任何價格壓力？您是否已經獲得或即將獲得任何主要的新客戶？然後我還有另一個問題。

Okay. Okay. So I'll start with the retention question. So we -- the retention rates -- sorry, let me go back a little bit.

好的。好的。所以我將從保留問題開始。所以我們——保留率——抱歉，讓我回顧一下。

Let's start with the active customer sites. We take the number of active customer sites, and we come up with a net sales -- net new customers, and that's a function of what we've lost versus what we've gained, and we have put a rolling retention rate. And quarter over quarter, we hover right around the same rate. Our quarterly retention rates are right around the mid-90s to 92%, 94%.

讓我們從活躍的客戶站點開始。我們統計了活躍客戶網站的數量，得出了淨銷售額——淨新客戶，這是我們失去的與獲得的函數的函數，並且我們制定了滾動保留率。每個季度，我們都徘徊在相同的速度附近。我們的季度保留率大約在 90 年代中期，達到 92%、94%。

So that's been very, very good, very high. It tells us that our customers are -- we're satisfying them. And despite our higher than the competitive -- competitors' price, we're still retaining them because we're -- frankly, it's just a different product with the way that we perform.

所以這非常非常好，非常高。它告訴我們，我們的客戶—我們正在滿足他們。儘管我們的價格高於競爭者的價格，但我們仍然保留它們，因為坦白說，這只是一種與我們的表現方式不同的產品。

Now the -- from a price perspective, we do get pressure. We do have a product that is a premium product. There is a significant amount of quality assurances and checks and just a lot that goes into a medical device versus a standard off-the-shelf filter.

現在，從價格角度來看，我們確實面臨壓力。我們確實有一款優質產品。與標準的現成過濾器相比，醫療設備需要進行大量的品質保證和檢查。

But when customers realized that what they were spending on, how frequently they were changing the previous filter, how to recover from a Legionella outbreak that they no longer have to, the price of our filter just becomes a mute point.

但是，當客戶意識到他們的花費、他們更換以前的過濾器的頻率、如何從他們不再需要的軍團菌爆發中恢復時，我們過濾器的價格就變成了一個靜音點。

So from that perspective, pressure, yes. However, in our premium product position, I think it's well justified, and our customers seem to agree. So yeah, we'll continue to leverage the performance and making sure that we're providing more value than we're charging and we're not leaving too much value on the table when it comes to how we price and as far as gaining customers and keeping customers.

所以從這個角度來看，壓力是存在的。然而，在我們的優質產品定位中，我認為這是有道理的，而且我們的客戶似乎也同意。所以，是的，我們將繼續利用性能並確保我們提供的價值比我們收取的更多，並且在定價和收益方面我們不會留下太多價值客戶並留住客戶。

Not sure -- did I cover your questions there? I might have missed one or two points but let me know if I didn't.

不確定——我在那裡回答了你的問題嗎？我可能遺漏了一兩點，但如果我沒有遺漏，請告訴我。

Okay. You've been there -- I'm not sure, but it's probably closer to a year now. And you saw a significant opportunity at Nephros, and you know the water business quite well from your past, and you've done well other companies in the past. What would you say -- now that you've been there for a while, what is come faster and better than what you might have expected? And what do you feel are your major challenges going ahead that you may not have thought were as major when you joined?

好的。你已經去過那裡了——我不確定，但現在可能已經接近一年了。你在 Nephros 看到了一個重要的機會，你過去對水務業務非常了解，而且你過去在其他公司也做得很好。你會怎麼說——既然你已經在那裡待了一段時間，有什麼比你預期的更快、更好的事情發生嗎？您認為您未來面臨的主要挑戰是什麼，而您在加入時可能沒有想到這些挑戰？

Okay. Let's see. I'll start with what's gone better. The fact that this team will jump through hoops, run through a wall to get a filter out the door to a customer and meet demand is just incredible. I've never experienced that in a company where the people that work here may take it personal.

好的。讓我們來看看。我將從做得更好的地方開始。事實上，這個團隊將跨越重重障礙，穿過牆壁，將過濾器送到客戶手中並滿足需求，這真是令人難以置信。我從來沒有在一家公司裡遇到過這樣的情況，在這裡工作的人可能會認為這是針對個人的。

Every customer need, every desire to have something installed, it means the world to them. And it shows. And when we have the sales team out willing to sacrifice on birthdays and weekends and kids events to go make sure they take care of the customer, that's how we win these customers that stay with us for life.

每個客戶的需求，每個安裝某些東西的願望，對他們來說都意味著整個世界。它表明。當我們讓銷售團隊願意在生日、週末和兒童活動上做出犧牲以確保他們照顧好客戶時，這就是我們贏得這些終生與我們在一起的客戶的方式。

And that's -- I didn't see that in previous places and positions where I worked, at least not to that extent. And also know that this team will pivot and change when something isn't working, or when there's a certain need that is not a standard off-the-shelf, we're jumping through hoops to try to figure it out.

那是——我在以前工作過的地方和職位上沒有看到這一點，至少沒有到那種程度。而且也要知道，當某些事情不起作用時，或者當存在某種不是現成標準的需求時，這個團隊會進行調整和改變，我們會克服重重困難來嘗試解決它。

And we'll put our heads together. And they're such smart people that have way more talent and experience in this industry than I do working here. It's just a matter of getting everybody that chance to help solve the problem, and it works really well.

我們會齊心協力。他們都是非常聰明的人，在這個行業擁有比我在這裡工作更多的才能和經驗。這只是讓每個人都有機會幫助解決問題的問題，而且效果非常好。

So those have been my really pleasant surprises takeaways, speed of responses. Happy to reflect on the first year.

所以這些是我真正驚喜的收穫，反應速度。很高興回顧第一年。

From a -- what was the second part? How did you phrase it? I think it was things that we would want differently.

來自－第二部分是什麼？你是怎麼表述的？我認為這是我們想要的不同的東西。

Yeah. What has been more challenging to you and how you're working those things?

是的。什麼對您來說更具挑戰性？

Got it. Got it. So the more challenging thing has been, if you have a customer who has a problem and they don't have a regulatory body telling them they need to fix that problem, the sheer complacency sometimes to not want to address the problem and only do what they're required has been somewhat startling.

知道了。知道了。因此，更具挑戰性的事情是，如果您的客戶遇到了問題，並且沒有監管機構告訴他們需要解決該問題，那麼有時會純粹自滿，不想解決問題，而只做他們的要求有點令人吃驚。

Frankly, it's -- I've had customers say, I'm not going to spend any money unless I'm told to. I just don't have the budget. I don't have the people. I've got other problems in the facility. And these are typically life-or-death situation, from people getting sick and (technical difficulty)

坦白說，有客戶說，除非有人告訴我，否則我不會花任何錢。我只是沒有預算。我沒有人。我在設施中還有其他問題。這些通常是生死攸關的情況，因為人們生病了（技術難度）

So that adjustment -- (technical difficulty) sorry, I guess it's back online. We've been addressing that through education, just making sure we're sharing exactly how -- yes, it may be more upfront cost, but it's saving you more in maintenance, less filter changes, less response cost dollars. So it's been working. It's just a slow grind, hand-to-hand combat when it comes to sharing that message with the parties that are making those decisions.

所以調整——（技術難度）抱歉，我想它已經恢復上線了。我們一直在透過教育來解決這個問題，只是確保我們準確地分享如何-是的，這可能會增加前期成本，但它可以為您節省更多維護費用，減少過濾器更換，減少響應成本。所以它一直在起作用。當涉及到與決策者分享這一訊息時，這只是一場緩慢的、肉搏戰。

So good. Yeah, good questions, insightful questions. Yeah, and it's been a nice year so far. Thank you.

超好的。是的，好問題，有洞察力的問題。是的，到目前為止，這是美好的一年。謝謝。

Robert, I suspect that there be -- I mean your major areas of the hospital business, nursing homes, and dialysis area. And I would assume that there were other areas that could use, in an important way, perhaps very pure water. And I'm just wondering whether you have the capability at this point to go after some of those areas and, if you do, how you would go about that?

羅伯特，我懷疑有—我指的是您的醫院業務、療養院和透析領域的主要領域。我認為還有其他領域可以以一種重要的方式使用也許非常純淨的水。我只是想知道您目前是否有能力去追求其中一些領域，如果有的話，您將如何做到這一點？

And how do you see the revenue mix perhaps changing over the next two to three years from the major reliance on hospitals and nursing homes and dialysis? Are there any significant thoughts that you might have in that area? And of course, you mentioned nanoplastics before.

您如何看待未來兩到三年收入結構可能發生的變化，不再主要依賴醫院、療養院和透析？您在該領域有什麼重要的想法嗎？當然，您之前提到過奈米塑膠。

Yeah. That's what I was going to revert back to. That's the example of an area where we have pivoted into or starting to look at different areas. Hospital or patient care in the lines of infection control, I want to make sure I use that word, patient care and infection control, as opposed to a hospital. Because there's clinics, there's senior housing facilities, there's correctional facilities, lots of places that house people and take care of people. Those are all our target markets, and it makes sense because there's regulation driving it.

是的。這就是我要恢復的。這是我們已經轉向或開始關注不同領域的一個例子。在感染控制方面，醫院或病人護理，我想確保我使用的是病人護理和感染控制這個詞，而不是醫院。因為有診所、有高級住房設施、有懲教設施，還有很多地方可以容納人們並照顧人們。這些都是我們的目標市場，這是有道理的，因為有監管在推動。

Now if we can get that same regulation guidelines from school boards or from government agencies recommending certain water quality standards in government buildings, those are going to be the areas that we pivoted to fastest. Other than that, it's us creating a market or a push versus a pull and that -- hence, the nanoplastics. It's something that we, through size exclusion, can already solve and resolve. So it's not inventing a new wheel. It's not creating some new muscle. It's deploying what we already have in a different application.

現在，如果我們能夠從學校董事會或政府機構獲得相同的監管指南，並推薦政府建築中的某些水質標準，那麼這些將是我們最快轉向的領域。除此之外，我們創造了一個市場或推動與拉動——因此，奈米塑膠。這是我們透過尺寸排除已經可以解決和解決的問題。所以它並不是發明一個新輪子。它並不是創造一些新的肌肉。它正在將我們已有的內容部署到不同的應用程式中。

So those are the areas that we're going to see impacting and growing fastest. Other places that I am getting inquiries here and there for applications, I won't mention too many of them here. But when it comes to sterile processing, that's an area that also is already suited for our technology. So we're going to dive into sterile processing and how we meet the needs of places that have instruments that need to be cleaned after coming in contact with patients of whatever nature.

因此，這些是我們將看到影響和成長最快的領域。還有一些地方我也常收到申請，這裡就不多說了。但說到無菌處理，這個領域也已經適合我們的技術。因此，我們將深入研究無菌處理，以及如何滿足那些在與任何性質的患者接觸後需要清潔器械的地方的需求。

So all good growth areas. I do see those becoming significant parts in the future.

所以所有良好的成長領域。我確實認為這些將成為未來的重要組成部分。

And parties are coming to you for this capability?

各方都來找你尋求這種能力嗎？

I've had two types of those -- two of those types of requests in the past month. I won't say who or which one, but it's areas that we haven't typically dealt with in the past outside that patient care realm. So that's exciting.

我收到過兩種類型的請求——在過去的一個月裡，我收到了兩種類型的請求。我不會說是誰或哪一個，但這是我們過去在患者護理領域之外通常沒有處理過的領域。所以這很令人興奮。

Yeah, that does sound good, especially if they're coming to you.

是的，這聽起來確實不錯，尤其是當他們來找你的時候。

Yeah.

是的。

Okay. I thank you. I thank you.

好的。我謝謝你。我謝謝你。

Okay.

好的。

This concludes our question-and-answer session and the Nephros, Inc., first-quarter 2024 financial results conference call. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

我們的問答環節和 Nephros, Inc. 2024 年第一季財務業績電話會議到此結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。