Nephros Inc (NEPH) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Nephros Inc. first-quarter 2026 financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions). Please note, this event is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加 Nephros Inc. 2026 年第一季財務業績電話會議。(接線員指示)。請注意，本活動將被錄音。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Kirin Smith, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想把會議交給投資人關係 Kirin Smith。請開始。

Good afternoon, everyone. This is Kirin Smith with PCG Advisory. Thank you all for participating in Nephros's first-quarter 2026 conference call. 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.

各位下午好。我是 PCG Advisory 的 Kirin Smith。感謝各位參與 Nephros 2026 年第一季電話會議。在開始之前，我想提醒各位，管理層在本次電話會議中的評論將包含有關 Nephros 營運及未來業績的前瞻性陳述。

I encourage you to review Nephros's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation on the Forms 10-K and 10-Q to identify specific factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements factors that may affect the company's results include, but are not limited to, Nephros's ability to successfully, timely, and cost-effectively market and sell its products and service offerings; the rate of adoption of its products and services by hospitals and other healthcare providers; the success of its commercialization efforts; and the effect of existing and new regulatory requirements on Nephros's business and other economic and competitive factors.

我鼓勵各位查閱 Nephros 向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，包括但不限於 10-K 與 10-Q 表格，以辨識可能導致實際結果或事件與前瞻性陳述所描述內容出現重大差異的特定因素。可能影響公司業績的因素包括但不限於：Nephros 能否成功、及時且具成本效益地行銷與銷售其產品與服務；醫院及其他醫療服務提供者對其產品與服務的採用速度；其商業化工作的成效；以及既有與新增監管要求對 Nephros 業務的影響，以及其他經濟與競爭因素。

The content of this conference call contains time-sensitive information that is accurate only as of the date of the live call, today, May 7, 2026. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any statements to reflect the defense or circumstances after the date of this conference call, except as required by law.

本次電話會議內容包含具時效性的資訊，僅在直播通話當日（即 2026 年 5 月 7 日）為準確。除法律要求外，公司不承擔任何義務修訂或更新任何陳述，以反映本次電話會議日期之後的發展或情況。

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

現在我想把電話交給 Nephros 總裁兼執行長 Robert Banks。Robert，請開始。

Thank you, Kirin, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm very pleased to welcome you to the call. Q1 2026 was a milestone quarter for Nephros. We delivered $5.2 million in revenue, representing a new all-time high for the company and marking the first time we've crossed a $5 million threshold in a single quarter.

謝謝你，Kirin，各位下午好。我非常高興歡迎各位參加本次電話會議。2026 年第一季對 Nephros 而言是具有里程碑意義的一季。我們實現營收 520 萬美元，創下公司歷史新高，並且是我們首次在單一季度突破 500 萬美元門檻。

This performance reflects continued execution across our core business, expanding adoption of our products and new applications, and increasing contribution from our service and installation capabilities. Importantly, this growth was driven by strong programmatic performance, which increased approximately 23% year over year. That is the clearest signal that our model is working.

這項表現反映我們在核心業務上的持續執行力、產品與新應用的採用擴大，以及我們服務與安裝能力貢獻的提升。更重要的是，這項成長由強勁的計畫性（programmatic）表現所帶動，年增約 23%。這是最清楚的訊號，顯示我們的商業模式正在奏效。

Customers are installing, reordering, and expanding usage over time. At the same time, we saw a decline in emergency response revenue compared to last year's first quarter, which included an unusually high active opportunity that did not repeat. Despite the normal proliferation, we still achieved record revenue, which speaks to the strength and durability of the underlying business.

客戶正在安裝、重複下單，並隨時間擴大使用。同時，與去年第一季相比，我們看到緊急應變（emergency response）營收下降；去年第一季包含一個異常高的活躍機會，本期未再重現。儘管回歸常態，我們仍達成創紀錄的營收，這凸顯了基礎業務的強勁與韌性。

Now let me address margins directly. Gross margins for the first quarter came in at 57%, compared to 65% the prior year, and that decline was driven by three very clear factors. First, tariffs created a meaningful headwind, contributing over $200,000 in incremental costs during the quarter. Without the tariffs, our gross margins would have been in the low 60s.

現在我直接談毛利率。第一季毛利率為 57%，低於去年同期的 65%；這一下降由三個非常明確的因素所致。第一，關稅造成顯著逆風，本季帶來超過 20 萬美元的額外成本。若沒有關稅影響，我們的毛利率本可落在 60% 出頭。

We are actively pursuing refund opportunities with respect to tariffs that we paid prior to February 2026, US Supreme Court decisions, and implementing mitigation strategies to reduce exposure going forward. Just a reminder, our tariff rates declined from 15% to 10% as of the end of February. That improvement will start to help us later this year as our newer inventory gets sold.

我們正積極就 2026 年 2 月之前已支付的關稅尋求退稅機會，並依據美國最高法院的裁決，同時推動降低未來曝險的緩解策略。提醒各位，我們的關稅稅率已於 2 月底由 15% 降至 10%。隨著較新的庫存於今年稍晚售出，這項改善將開始對我們帶來助益。

Second, currency pressure. Specifically, the strength in euro increased our product costs year over year. And third, product mix. We are intentionally expanding into commercial applications, which carry lower margins than our core infection control business. Let me be very clear. None of these factors reflect deterioration in the business. They reflect external cost pressures and deliberate strategic expansion into larger markets.

第二，匯率壓力。具體而言，歐元走強使我們的產品成本較去年同期上升。第三，產品組合。我們正有意擴展至商用應用領域，其毛利率低於我們核心的感染控制業務。我要非常清楚地說明：這些因素都不代表業務惡化。它們反映的是外部成本壓力，以及我們刻意的策略性擴張，以進入更大的市場。

The shift towards commercial applications is intentional and important. We are expanding into areas such as ice machines, shrinking fountains, bottle fillers, and other high-use water applications. These represent a much larger addressable market than our traditional segments. While this impacts margin in the near term, it positions us for scale, diversification, and long-term growth.

轉向商用應用是刻意且重要的。我們正擴展至製冰機、飲水機、瓶裝補水機（bottle fillers）以及其他高使用量的用水應用。這些領域的可服務市場規模遠大於我們的傳統細分市場。雖然短期內會影響毛利率，但這將使我們具備規模化、多元化與長期成長的定位。

Beyond products, we are seeing strong traction across our broader strategy. Number one, our installation and replacement programs are driving recurring revenue and strengthening customer relationships. Two, our service capabilities are expanding our role from product provider to full solution partner. Number three, and our education initiatives, including the Necklace Water Institute, are positioning us earlier in the customer's decision cycle.

除了產品之外，我們在更廣泛的策略上也看到強勁動能。第一，我們的安裝與更換計畫正在帶動經常性收入並強化客戶關係。第二，我們的服務能力正擴大我們的角色，從產品供應商提升為完整解決方案夥伴。第三，我們的教育倡議（包括 Necklace Water Institute）正讓我們更早進入客戶的決策週期。

These are not short-term drivers. They are structural advantages that will continue to build over time. Looking forward, we remain highly confident in the trajectory of the business. We expect continued growth driven by expansion in key markets such as New York and Puerto Rico, increasing contribution from programmatic installations and replacements, and continued adoption of our broader products, services, and education platform.

這些不是短期驅動因素。它們是結構性優勢，將隨時間持續累積。展望未來，我們對業務走勢仍高度有信心。我們預期成長將持續，動能來自於在紐約與波多黎各等關鍵市場的擴張、計畫性安裝與更換的貢獻提升，以及我們更廣泛的產品、服務與教育平台持續被採用。

We are building a larger, more durable, and scalable business. Near-term margin variability driven by tariffs, currency, product mix does not change that trajectory. I want to thank our employees for their clear execution, our customers for their continued trust, and our investors for their ongoing support.

我們正在打造一個更大、更具韌性且可擴展的業務。由關稅、匯率與產品組合所驅動的短期毛利率波動，不會改變這一趨勢。我要感謝我們員工清晰有力的執行、客戶持續的信任，以及投資人長期的支持。

With that, I'll turn the call over to our CFO, Judy Krandel, for a closer look at the financials.

接下來，我將把電話交給我們的財務長 Judy Krandel，請她更深入說明財務表現。

Thank you, Robert. I will now provide a closer look at Nephros's financial performance in the first quarter of 2026. We reported first-quarter net revenue of $5.2 million, compared to $4.9 million in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 7%. Product revenue related to our programmatic business grew strongly, while emergency response revenue declined compared to an elevated prior-year quarter.

謝謝你，Robert。我現在將更深入說明 Nephros 於 2026 年第一季的財務表現。我們第一季淨營收為 520 萬美元，較 2025 年第一季的 490 萬美元增加 7%。與我們計畫性業務相關的產品營收強勁成長，而緊急應變營收則因去年同期基期偏高而下滑。

Cost of goods sold increased to approximately $2.2 million, reflecting growth in sales as well as higher product costs driven by tariffs, currency impacts, and product mix Consequently, gross margin for the quarter was 57% compared to 65% in the prior-year period. As Robert mentioned, we expect to see some improvement with our new tariff rate that started the end of February.

銷貨成本增加至約 220 萬美元，反映銷售成長，以及由關稅、匯率影響與產品組合所帶動的產品成本上升。因此，本季毛利率為 57%，低於去年同期的 65%。如 Robert 所提及，我們預期隨著 2 月底開始適用的新關稅稅率，毛利率將出現一些改善。

Research and development expenses increased to approximately $346,000 or 17%, primarily due to higher headcount. Selling, general, and administrative expenses were approximately $2.5 million, an increase of 12%, reflecting increased headcount and professional fees.

研發費用增加至約 34.6 萬美元，增幅 17%，主要由於人力編制增加。銷售、一般及行政費用約為 250 萬美元，增加 12%，反映人力編制增加及專業服務費用上升。

As a result of the above changes, net income declined 75% for the quarter to approximately $140,000 compared to $558,000 in the prior-year period. And adjusted EBITDA declined 69% to approximately $206,000 compared to $667,000 in the prior year.

由於上述變動，本季淨利較去年同期的約558,000美元下滑75%，至約140,000美元。調整後EBITDA亦較去年同期的667,000美元下降69%，至約206,000美元。

As of March 31, 2026, we had approximately $4 million in cash and remained debt-free. Our cash balance has declined from December 31, 2025, due to the timing of receiving inventory as well as collections on accounts receivable. Since then, we have received customer payments, which translates right to cash.

截至2026年3月31日，我們約有400萬美元現金，且仍無負債。相較於2025年12月31日，我們的現金餘額下降，主要因存貨到貨時點以及應收帳款回收時點所致。此後，我們已收到客戶付款，並直接轉為現金。

I will now turn the call back to Robert for closing remarks. Robert?

我現在把電話交回給Robert作結語。Robert？

Thank you, Judy. This quarter demonstrates the strength of what we're building at Nephros. We are growing revenue, expanding into larger markets, and strengthening our recurring revenue model, all while navigating external pressures that we believe are temporary and manageable.

謝謝你，Judy。本季展現了我們在Nephros所打造事業的實力。我們在營收成長、拓展至更大的市場、並強化經常性收入模式的同時，也在因應我們認為屬於暫時且可控的外部壓力。

The fundamentals of the business remain strong, and our strategy is working. We are confident in our ability to continue driving both growth and long-term value. Thank you again for your time and support.

公司的基本面依然強勁，我們的策略正在奏效。我們對於持續推動成長與長期價值的能力充滿信心。再次感謝各位的時間與支持。

Operator, please open the line for questions.

接線員，請開放提問。

(Operator Instructions) Nick Sherwood, Maxim Group.

(接線員指示) Nick Sherwood，Maxim Group。

Hi, good evening. Thank you for taking my question. My first question is about the certification for the water management program development as a service. Is that -- how are you charging? Is that like by the hour, by the person that holds the certification? Is it based on the whole team? And are you expecting more employees to receive that certification or to hire people that may already have that certification?

嗨，晚安。謝謝讓我提問。我的第一個問題是關於「水管理計畫開發即服務」的認證。那個——你們是如何收費的？是按小時計費、按持有該認證的人員計費嗎？還是以整個團隊為基礎？你們是否預期會有更多員工取得該認證，或是聘用已經具備該認證的人？

So the certification, or -- falls under the Nephros Education arm of our pillar, we're not currently charging for services yet. It's something that we're training and getting our partners up to speed on, and we do have an employer or two that are capable of creating these water safety management plans.

關於這個認證——它隸屬於我們支柱之一的Nephros Education（教育）部門，我們目前尚未開始對相關服務收費。我們正在進行培訓，讓合作夥伴跟上進度；而且我們確實有一兩家雇主具備制定這些用水安全管理計畫的能力。

This is a new service that we offer. But by and large, our partners offer this service as well. It's in instances where we don't have the coverage from our partner that we can come in and help create those plans. We do see this evolving as we go forward into a service that we're offering more to smaller entities or outdoor groups, those who just don't understand the new regulations as they come out.

這是我們提供的一項新服務。但整體而言，我們的合作夥伴也會提供這項服務。在合作夥伴無法涵蓋的情況下，我們可以介入協助制定這些計畫。我們確實看到，隨著未來發展，這會演變成我們更多提供給小型機構或戶外團體的服務——那些不太理解新法規發布後要求的人。

And that's been an area for us to at least have that conversation where we can start the decision-making process and engaging those who are deciding to use Nephros earlier in that process.

這也讓我們至少能展開對話，從而啟動決策流程，並在流程更早期就與那些決定是否採用Nephros的人士互動。

So the capability of the certifications is just getting started. We are still kind of blowing that out and formalizing the offering as a product that we offer going forward, and we're pretty excited about it, and lots of interest and so far so good. Hope to report more wins in the future as we get that further developed.

因此，認證能力才剛起步。我們仍在擴充並將其正式化，作為未來我們提供的一項產品化服務；我們對此相當興奮，市場興趣也很高，目前進展良好。希望在我們進一步完善後，未來能回報更多成功案例。

Understood. And then my next question is about hiring the sales leader and a greater focus in the New York market. Part of that increased focus was due to sort of increased regulatory focus from New York itself. Can you kind of explain what that opportunity is in the New York City area or New York region?

了解。接著我的下一個問題是關於聘請銷售主管，以及更聚焦於紐約市場。這部分加大聚焦，某種程度上是因為紐約本身的監管關注度提高。你能否說明一下在紐約市或紐約地區的機會是什麼？

Absolutely. Yes, if you look at New York City, there's the greater region, five boroughs. There are a very high density of hospitals and others with infection control needs in that area. In the past, we've broken up our sales force into kind of these four or five large regions, and the person covering all of New York, [New England], was not able to really focus on the New York City region, when it's a completely different, I guess, sales cycle, sales process, and value proposition.

當然可以。是的，如果你看紐約市及其更大區域——五大行政區。該地區醫院密度非常高，還有其他有感染控制需求的機構。過去我們把銷售團隊劃分為四到五個大型區域，負責整個紐約（以及[新英格蘭]）的人，無法真正聚焦在紐約市區域；而那裡的銷售週期、銷售流程與價值主張，我想，完全不同。

In addition, there's been a number of outbreaks from Legionella and other in this in that region that have kind of really got a lot of questions coming to us. So we took the step to look for someone who knows the five boroughs extremely well and has been doing business in healthcare space for quite some time and decided to augment their capabilities by bringing that person on board to be able to focus on that unique and specific direct need in the area.

此外，該地區曾發生多起退伍軍人菌（Legionella）等疫情爆發，因而有很多問題向我們湧來。因此我們採取行動，尋找一位非常熟悉五大行政區、且長期在醫療保健領域從事業務的人，並決定透過聘用此人來強化我們的能力，以便專注於該地區獨特且明確的直接需求。

And so far, we're quite pleased. It does take some time to feed and educate and build and sell. So we're still early in the game, really unique, and I look forward to showing that revenue growth. There's no reason that New York City by itself can't be as large as any of our other regions combined. So that's the reason we've decided to really put a focused effort in that area.

到目前為止，我們相當滿意。確實需要一些時間來培育、教育、建立並完成銷售。所以我們仍處於早期階段，這非常獨特，我也期待能展現那裡的營收成長。沒有理由紐約市單一市場不能大到與我們其他所有區域合計相當。這就是我們決定在該地區投入更聚焦努力的原因。

Understood. Thank you for the details. And my last question is, what is the number of active customer sites at the end of the quarter?

了解。謝謝你提供的細節。我最後一個問題是：本季末的活躍客戶據點數是多少？

Active customer sites is 1,676. It's been growing very steadily, very healthy, not as fast as our revenue, which in my mind tells me that we're earning more per customer, which makes sense considering now that we're offering services and expanding commercial filter as well into some of those customers as well. So continued steady active customer site growth, and for some reason that shouldn't continue past 1,700 Lots of adoption and quite pleased with the results there.

活躍客戶據點數為1,676個。它一直非常穩定、健康地成長，但成長速度不如我們的營收；在我看來，這表示我們每位客戶的收入在提高，這也合理，因為我們現在提供服務，並且也把商用濾芯擴展到其中一些客戶。因此活躍客戶據點仍將持續穩定成長，沒有理由不會繼續突破1,700個。採用度很高，我們對這些結果相當滿意。

All right, great. Thank you for answering all my questions, and I'll return to the queue.

好的，很好。謝謝你回答我所有問題，我回到等候隊列。

No problem. Thanks, Nic.

沒問題。謝謝你，Nic。

(Operator Instructions) Ankur Sagar, a private investor.

(接線員指示) Ankur Sagar，一位私人投資人。

Hi, good afternoon, Robert and Judy. Thank you for taking my questions. Congratulations to you on this milestone for the company, achieving north of $5 million revenue in one quarter for the first time.

嗨，午安，Robert和Judy。謝謝讓我提問。恭喜公司達成這個里程碑：首次在單一季度實現超過500萬美元的營收。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. We're quite proud of that. It's been very exciting for us.

謝謝。我們對此感到非常自豪。這對我們而言非常令人振奮。

Yes, it is indeed. Robert, 23% growth, programmatic growth. I mean, it's great. I think it masquerades the overall growth. Could you -- I know you don't really break it out, but could you provide some number on what portion of the revenue came from programmatic and what was the emergency response? 23% is just really great on -- year over year from what the company did even in '25 -- in prior year.

是的，確實如此。Robert，23%的成長、計畫性（programmatic）成長——我的意思是，這很棒。我認為這掩蓋了整體成長的結構。你能否——我知道你們通常不會細分揭露——但能否提供一些數字，說明營收中有多少比例來自計畫性（programmatic），多少是緊急應變（emergency response）？23%的年增率真的很出色——相較公司在'25年、也就是前一年所做的表現。

Yeah, and you're right, we don't typically break that out. In the past, we've been seeing emergency response in average anywhere between 10%, 15% of our sales. In Q1, it was significantly less than that. So it's really a good thing to see. The team really stepped up. But a big difference is from prior year, emergency response was a big part of that.

是的，你說得對，我們通常不會把那部分單獨拆出來。過去我們看到緊急應變的占比平均大約在我們銷售額的 10% 到 15% 之間。在第一季，這個比例明顯低於那個水準。所以看到這樣其實是件好事。團隊確實很給力。但與前一年相比，一個很大的差異是：緊急應變在當時占了很大一部分。

Now, although we don't go out and create the emergency response, we don't create the outbreak, it does take a presence. You have to have your name known, that Nephros is someone that you can call in these situations, and that comes from our presence in the trade show. And networking and word of mouth, as many of our new customers come from referrals, and even our partners who run into problems and they call networks. They can solve this.

現在，雖然我們不會主動去製造緊急應變需求，我們也不會製造疫情爆發，但這確實需要市場能見度。你必須讓大家知道，在這種情況下 Nephros 是可以打電話求助的對象，而這來自於我們在展會上的曝光。以及人脈連結與口碑，因為我們許多新客戶都來自轉介，甚至我們的合作夥伴遇到問題時也會透過人脈網路打聽並打電話來。他們可以解決這些問題。

So what we're seeing is that recognition bringing us these emergency response opportunities more and more frequently when it's a really tough situation. So although there's not as many of these opportunities, when they do come, they tend to be a bit larger. And ats this particular quarter, there was none of that happening. So it doesn't mean that it's something that we can count on and repeat.

因此我們看到的是：這種品牌認知在真正棘手的情況下，愈來愈頻繁地為我們帶來緊急應變的機會。所以雖然這類機會的數量不多，但一旦出現，規模往往會更大一些。而在這一季，完全沒有發生這種情況。所以這並不代表它是我們可以依賴並重複發生的事情。

But really, if I'm trying to measure how healthy the business is, I really want to know what the core is doing, the things that we are actively going out and selling and closing. And that's why we turned to that programmatic number. So that's a long-winded answer, not exactly giving you the answer, but it is giving you a flavor that. I know that.

但如果我要衡量業務有多健康，我真正想知道的是核心業務表現如何，也就是我們主動去推銷、並且成交的那些項目。這也是為什麼我們會看那個「計畫性（programmatic）」的數字。所以這是一個有點冗長的回答，沒有直接給你精確答案，但能讓你感受到大概的情況。我知道的。

No, I appreciate that. And just to clarify, I mean, this is this is great. I mean, like, so, normally the emergency response is, up to like 10% to 15%, but you're saying this over $5 million quarterly number is entirely or mostly programmatic revenue?

不，我很感謝你的說明。我只是想再確認一下，我是說，這真的很棒。也就是說，通常緊急應變大概會占到 10% 到 15%，但你是說這個單季超過 500 萬美元的數字，全部或大部分都是計畫性收入（programmatic revenue）嗎？

I didn't characterize how much of it, just that it was significantly less than what we've been seeing in the past.

我沒有去界定其中占比多少，只是說它明顯低於我們過去看到的水準。

Okay. And one part of your strategy has been to really grow beyond the healthcare vertical in over -- since you joined as CEO. Anything you could share in terms of -- I mean, what sort of like sub-verticals, have you been able to penetrate, get some early success within that commercial segment?

了解。另外，你的策略之一是在你擔任執行長以來，真正把業務拓展到醫療垂直領域之外。你能否分享一下——我是說，在商用（commercial）這一塊，你們已經切入了哪些次垂直領域（sub-verticals），並取得一些早期成果？

Sure, I can characterize that in a little bit. Nephros being in between dialysis, we -- or healthcare is our sweet spot. That's really where we shine. Mainly because that's a regulated environment. FDA is regulated in many cases. And medical devices, being Class II, give us an edge.

當然，我可以稍微說明一下。Nephros 介於透析（dialysis）之間，我們——或者說醫療照護——是我們的甜蜜點。那真的是我們最能發揮的地方。主要因為那是一個受監管的環境。在很多情況下都受到 FDA 監管。而我們的醫療器材屬於第二類（Class II），這讓我們具備優勢。

We've got the competitors who can come in and sell and make claims. They don't have the clearances and FDA certifications to back it up. When I go into other spaces, such as aviation or hospitality or government, municipal buildings, retail, real estate management, large properties of that nature, schools, universities, they're not regulated in any cases by the FDA. So the competition is a lot more and there's not any watchdog saying that they can or can't do what they say.

我們有競爭對手可以進來銷售並提出各種宣稱。但他們沒有相應的核准與 FDA 認證作為支撐。當我進入其他領域，例如航空、旅宿、政府、市政建築、零售、不動產管理、這類大型物業、學校、大学等，它們在多數情況下並不受 FDA 監管。因此競爭者多得多，也沒有任何監督機構去管他們能不能做、或能不能說他們所宣稱的那些事。

So we tend to also see a little lower margins in some of these other spaces as the competitive landscape is basically based on results, and people do give a shot before they fail and they call us. So seeing traction in these other areas that I just mentioned is important and growing.

所以我們也往往會在這些其他領域看到毛利稍低一些，因為競爭格局基本上是以結果為導向；而且人們常常會先嘗試別的方案，等失敗了才來找我們。因此，在我剛提到的這些其他領域看到進展，是重要的，而且正在成長。

And what we're finding and what we saw in healthcare is most of our new sales comes from referrals, meaning somebody used us somewhere, had great success, and then called a friend, or they went and worked somewhere else. Similar occurrences are starting, not happened yet, but just starting to take place in some of the other commercial applications that I mentioned in locations.

我們發現——也在醫療領域看到——我們大多數的新銷售都來自轉介，也就是有人在某個地方用過我們、效果很好，然後打電話給朋友，或是他們換到別的工作地點。類似的情況也開始在我提到的其他商用應用與場域中出現——還沒有真正發生很多，但已經開始有這樣的跡象。

So one place might use us and then the management team leaves or goes somewhere else. But at the same time, some management team comes in and they're used to using somebody else. So it becomes a bit different competition for holding on to some of those places.

所以某個場域可能使用我們，然後管理團隊離職或轉到別的地方。但同時，新的管理團隊進來後，可能習慣使用其他供應商。因此在維持這些客戶據點上，競爭型態會有些不同。

So some of it, the business is a little less sticky. Much larger TAM, if we're looking at TAMs and [passes]. But it is more competitive and a lot more churn, so we do have to balance what our core sweet spot is, and that still remains where the lion's share of our margins are coming from, the healthcare space, and we'll always probably do that as well.

所以其中一部分業務黏著度會比較低。如果我們看 TAM（總可服務市場）以及[略過/聽不清]。但它確實更具競爭性、流失率也高得多，因此我們必須在核心甜蜜點之間取得平衡；而那仍然是我們大部分毛利來源的地方——醫療領域——而且我們大概也會一直持續深耕那裡。

But I do like the large scale, because a margin dollar versus a percent is also very important, especially as we scale to some of these larger numbers. So when we figure out how to conquer those spaces and get the same -- similar types of competitive advantage and our name out there, we'll start to see those growth in some of the cases that they do grow in the healthcare space.

但我也喜歡大規模的機會，因為以「毛利金額」而不是「毛利率百分比」來看也非常重要，尤其當我們把規模擴大到一些更大的數字時。所以當我們找出如何攻克那些領域、取得相同——或類似——的競爭優勢，並把我們的品牌打出去時，我們就會開始在某些案例中看到成長，就像在醫療領域成長那樣。

So it's exciting. I wouldn't look for quarter two, quarter three for it to be something significant in moving the needle. But it is part of the long-term strategy, especially if there's any ups or downs in the healthcare space that you want to kind of make us a bit more immune to. We want other ways to make money and grow, not just in the place where we're best at.

所以這很令人振奮。我不會期待第二季、第三季它就會在「推動業績」上有顯著影響。但這是長期策略的一部分，特別是如果醫療領域出現任何起伏，你會希望讓我們對這些波動更有免疫力一些。我們希望有其他賺錢與成長的方式，而不只是侷限在我們最擅長的那個領域。

A couple of examples that you mentioned, like large buildings or airports or airlines -- I mean, I assume these would be larger in size compared to what the company has done typically in healthcare.

你提到的幾個例子，例如大型建築或機場或航空公司——我的意思是，我猜這些案子的規模會比公司過去在醫療領域做的更大。

I would say larger in points of application, but not necessarily large flow rates at one time. I mean, we're not doing the entire building with the -- fixture by fixture. And they do seem attractive, but some of those, they're just -- even though it makes sense, they're not always making the decision that would make sense to us.

我會說是在「應用點位」上更大，但不一定是在同一時間的流量（flow rates）上更大。我的意思是，我們不是把整棟建築——逐一到每個出水端（fixture by fixture）都做。它們看起來確實很有吸引力，但其中有些案子——即使從我們角度看很合理——他們不一定會做出對我們而言「合理」的決策。

Like cruise ships, for example, when we reach out to them and try to get them to adopt some of the filters, it still comes down to price. And more often than not, our competition is against doing nothing, not a competitor.

例如郵輪，當我們接觸他們、嘗試讓他們採用一些濾芯時，最後仍然回到價格問題。而且很多時候，我們的競爭對手其實是「什麼都不做」，而不是另一家競爭公司。

So it still takes a lot of education, and that's why the education arm of -- pillar that we are really focusing on now is going to be so important. Because it's really going to be kind of creating the market as we're building and growing it. And that's what that blank space, that white space of sales is super exciting. It does take some more time and effort in development, but I see that as another frontier that we can start to open up.

所以仍然需要大量的教育，這也是為什麼我們現在非常聚焦的——教育這一支柱——會如此重要。因為這基本上是在我們建立並擴大市場的同時，也在某種程度上「創造」市場。而那一塊空白、那一塊銷售的「白地」非常令人興奮。它確實需要更多時間與投入來開發，但我把它視為另一個我們可以開始開拓的新前沿。

Okay, one last one. I'll make it a two-part. EPA has -- there was a new push on the EPA with new regulations for PFAS and microplastics. I think you have talked about those two in the past where you have some products in the area.

好，最後一個問題。我會把它分成兩個部分。EPA 一直在推動新的方向——針對 PFAS 與微塑膠推出新的法規。我想你們過去談過這兩項，你們在這個領域也有一些產品。

Do you expect those regulations when they come into play to help? Are you already hearing from customers or new customers about that? And the second part for Judy is, I mean, the gross margin was light due to the external factors, but how do you expect that to trend further out in the year, in Q2, Q3, Q4?

你預期這些法規在開始生效時會帶來幫助嗎？你們是否已經從客戶或新客戶那邊聽到相關需求？第二部分是問 Judy：我的意思是，毛利率因外部因素而偏低，但你預期今年後續在 Q2、Q3、Q4 會如何走勢？

I'll answer the first part, and I'm turning over to Judy after that. So the answer is yes. As there are drivers such as regulations, guidelines, even if it's not a rule, but it's a suggestion, we do see the activity and the churn.

我先回答第一部分，之後再交給 Judy。答案是會的。當有像法規、指引這類驅動因素時——即使不是硬性規定，而只是建議——我們確實會看到活動增加以及客戶更換（churn）。

The issue we have now is that there is not enough of a driver to overcome the cost. Adding a filter of any kind is the cost. And when we're talking to the average homeowner, when they're trying to decide between the price of gas or a filter, they start to make certain choices that are pretty clear. But we do get a ton of questions about nanoplastics, microplastics. Every time an article comes out in a different periodic publication, we see that as an opportunity for us to market our product as a solution for that.

我們目前的問題是，驅動力還不足以抵銷成本。加裝任何種類的濾芯/濾器都是成本。當我們和一般屋主溝通時，他們在汽油價格和濾器之間做選擇時，往往會做出相當明確的取捨。但我們確實收到大量關於奈米塑膠、微塑膠的問題。每當不同的期刊或出版物出現相關文章時，我們就把它視為一個機會，將我們的產品作為解決方案來行銷。

Right now, it tends to be limited to bigger spenders or people with some other needs. Because the plastics and forever chemicals problem is not such an acute right-now problem, it's something that you're preventing injury longer term. So it has to be an education so that people do see the long-term benefit of spending the extra money to have safer water.

目前這類需求往往仍局限於願意花較多錢的人，或是有其他需求的人。因為塑膠與「永久化學物質」的問題並不是那種當下立刻很急迫的問題，而是你在做長期的傷害預防。因此需要透過教育，讓大家看到多花一些錢換取更安全用水的長期效益。

So I really am excited and looking forward to kind of the discussions that we continue to have. We've got some excellent people in our team who are kind of sharing that message and how to make things change. Brianne McGuire's work with the Water Institute and all of our sales team. Shane Sullivan and the guys and gals are really good at going in and solving some of these problems for our customers.

所以我其實很期待、也很興奮能持續進行這些討論。我們團隊裡有一些非常優秀的人，正在傳遞這個訊息並推動改變。Brianne McGuire 與 Water Institute 的工作，以及我們整個銷售團隊。Shane Sullivan 和各位夥伴（男同事與女同事）也非常擅長深入現場，替客戶解決這些問題。

And a lot of times, it's just curiosity that plants the seed. And when they decide to make the move, they come to us. So that's a really fun part of our job, and I'm fortunate enough to be able to participate in those conversations as well. So for the second part, I'll turn it over to Judy.

很多時候，起點只是好奇心，先種下一顆種子。等他們決定採取行動時，就會來找我們。這是我們工作中很有趣的一部分，而我也很幸運能參與這些對話。那第二部分我就交給 Judy。

Great. Thank you for the question. Of course, we do want to point out that last year's first quarter had an unusually high gross margin. Euro was weaker against the dollar. Tariffs weren't there. If you look at sort of the gross margin from Q4 of last year to Q1, it was only slightly lower.

好的。謝謝你的提問。當然，我們也想指出，去年第一季的毛利率異常地高。歐元兌美元較弱。也沒有關稅。如果你看去年 Q4 到今年 Q1 的毛利率，其實只略微下降。

And so if you think about it, we did mention our tariff cost is over $200,000 this quarter. When tariffs move from 15% to 10%, one-third of that you would not have experienced. So you can sort of do the math. A third of that tariff would not have been there, which really will improve our margins.

所以你如果這樣想：我們確實提到本季的關稅成本超過 20 萬美元。當關稅從 15% 降到 10% 時，其中三分之一的影響你就不會承受。所以你可以大概算一下。那三分之一的關稅就不會存在，這確實會改善我們的毛利率。

I think as most of you know, who are familiar with the business, we buy inventory ahead of time to be prepared. And we have been growing inventory to support higher sales. So as the inventory, with the 15% tariff flows through and we start seeing the new inventory come through, we will see an improvement in margins.

我想多數熟悉我們業務的人都知道，我們會提前採購庫存以做好準備。而且我們一直在增加庫存，以支撐更高的銷售。因此，當含 15% 關稅的庫存逐步出清、並開始看到新庫存進來時，我們會看到毛利率改善。

Now, with all other things being equal, as Robert mentioned, we're considering other mitigation factors. Are there -- can we pass on some of this tariff to our customers as we watch what customers -- our other competitors are doing?

另外，在其他條件不變的情況下，如 Robert 提到的，我們也在考慮其他緩解因素。例如——我們能否把部分關稅轉嫁給客戶，同時觀察客戶以及其他競爭對手的作法？

So we're looking for ways to mitigate this as well. And of course, we'll see how successful commercial is as a percent of business. But don't forget, every incremental dollar of commercial business drives incremental gross profit dollars. So we're hopeful that we'll see some improvement in margins as we go through the year and these things take a step, but we feel very good about the health of our core product margins. These are just some external factors.

所以我們也在尋找方法來緩解這些影響。當然，我們也會看商用（commercial）業務占比能提升到什麼程度。但別忘了，每增加 1 美元的商用業務，就會帶來額外的毛利美元數。因此我們希望在今年推進的過程中，隨著這些因素逐步改善，毛利率也能有所提升；但我們對核心產品的毛利率健康狀況非常有信心。這些只是一些外部因素。

Got it. I know it takes a lot to produce this number, so great job on this programmatic revenue numbers and turnaround. That's all. Thank you for taking my questions.

了解。我知道要做出這個數字需要很多努力，所以你們在程式化（programmatic）營收數字與扭轉表現上做得很好。就這樣。謝謝你們回答我的問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

That this time, there are no further questions. So this concludes our question --

目前沒有其他問題。因此我們的問答環節到此結束--

Ralph Weil, R. Weil Investment Management.

Ralph Weil，R. Weil 投資管理公司。

Hi, nice quarter in the programmatic business and good to talk to you. Have there been any pricing pressures from your competitors in the business that may have been more so than normal? Maybe I missed it, but I heard about the nano, microplastic comments. What about the PFAS area? Are we able to make any headways in that area, or is that something that's become too difficult?

嗨，程式化業務這一季表現不錯，也很高興和你們交流。在這項業務上，競爭對手是否帶來任何比平常更大的定價壓力？也許我漏聽了，但我聽到你們提到奈米、微塑膠的評論。那 PFAS 方面呢？我們在那個領域能否取得任何進展，還是說那已經變得太困難了？

And can you comment about the potential in the home market? I see a lot of ads about filters for the homes, et cetera. Is that something that we might be looking at? And I'm sure that if we would be doing that, it wouldn't be on our own, maybe with a partner for all I know. Can you just comment on any of that at this point in time?

另外你能談談家用市場的潛力嗎？我看到很多關於家用濾水器等的廣告。那是我們可能會考慮的方向嗎？而且我也確定，如果我們要做，可能不會單打獨鬥，或許會和合作夥伴一起——我只是猜測。你能就目前這個時間點，對這些議題做一些評論嗎？

Sure. I can talk to all three of those points. And if, at the end of this, I miss any of the points, please just re-ask. First thing you asked about was price pressures. We at Nephros, we've never been seeking the lowest cost per builder. And the price pressures we've always faced has been a purchasing agent that looks at our SKU and compares our filter to the next. That's fine and dandy, but if our filter costs 20% more but it lasts 100% longer, 50 days instead of 30 or six months instead of three months, then that price per SKU goes out the window.

當然。我可以回應這三點。如果最後我漏掉任何一點，請再提醒我。你第一個問的是定價壓力。我們 Nephros 從來不是在追求對建商（builder）而言最低的單位成本。我們一直面對的定價壓力，主要來自採購人員把我們的 SKU 拿去和下一個產品的濾芯做比較。這當然沒問題，但如果我們的濾芯貴 20%，卻能多用 100% 的時間——例如 50 天而不是 30 天，或 6 個月而不是 3 個月——那麼以 SKU 來看價格的比較就沒有意義了。

What we have been seeing is that the low end is getting more competition where we see some entrants come in. But what I've noticed in the field, and I've been getting reports from our friends out on the West Coast and probably done in the South, is that these filters start to crack and leak and cause problems, and it's a great opportunity for us to step in with our product.

我們一直看到的是，低端市場的競爭正在加劇，因為我們看到有一些新進者加入。但我在第一線觀察到的情況，以及我從我們在西岸的朋友、可能也包括南方那邊收到的回報是，這些濾芯開始出現裂痕、滲漏並引發問題，而這正是我們可以用自家產品介入的絕佳機會。

Price pressures, yes. We've been able to incrementally raise prices year over year, and we do that each year. It does not keep up with inflation necessarily, but it is something that we try to make sure we try to stay on top of. We really want to talk about value and what we provide with our filters, how much water we filter, the contaminants that we're removing, because there isn't really the filters doing the same thing. The price comparison becomes an inadequate comparison when the two filters do and accomplish different tasks.

價格壓力，是的。我們已經能夠逐年小幅調漲價格，而且我們每年都會這麼做。它不一定能跟上通膨，但這是我們努力確保能持續掌握的事情。我們非常希望談的是價值，以及我們的濾芯所提供的內容：我們能過濾多少水、我們移除哪些污染物，因為實際上並沒有其他濾芯在做同樣的事情。當兩種濾芯執行與完成的任務不同時，單純做價格比較就會變成不充分的比較。

We're always looking at market situation and trying to capture price when necessary. We're making sure that we create customers that stay with us for a long time. There's a very high retention rate and we're in it for solving their problems and providing them more value than what they pay us in price.

我們一直在觀察市場情勢，並在必要時嘗試掌握價格。我們也確保能建立願意長期與我們合作的客戶。我們的留存率非常高，我們的目標是解決他們的問題，並提供超過他們所支付價格的價值。

We're always happy to have that discussion when it comes up, and it's easy when you have kind of a product like Nephros to be able to get past that and win the opportunity. As far as PFAS -- PFAS, river chemicals, we do hear a lot about that. We see a lot about that, but it's not too difficult. Quite the opposite. PFAS is actually fairly easy.

每當這個議題出現時，我們都很樂意進行討論；而當你擁有像 Nephros 這樣的產品時，要跨越這些障礙並贏得機會其實很容易。至於 PFAS——PFAS、河川化學物質，我們確實常常聽到相關討論。我們也看到很多相關資訊，但其實並不太困難。恰恰相反。PFAS 其實相當容易處理。

There's quite a few species and more specific types that we're trying to remove. You have to take a look at what we're trying to address in any particular application. Our solutions for PFAS are slightly different. They also remove other contaminants, iron and other things as well. So we try to provide some differentiation.

PFAS 有相當多的種類，以及我們想要移除的更特定類型。你必須檢視在任何特定應用中，我們要處理的是什麼。我們針對 PFAS 的解決方案會略有不同。它們也會移除其他污染物，例如鐵以及其他物質。因此我們會努力提供一些差異化。

But because there are a number of solutions out there, it just becomes a little bit harder to command the price that we want or to prove it when there's other people making claims as well that maybe don't have as much rigor as we do. So we continue to see PFAS as something where we're opportunistic about.

但因為市面上有不少解決方案，當也有其他人提出各種主張、而其嚴謹程度可能不如我們時，要達到我們想要的定價或證明其合理性就會變得稍微困難一些。因此我們仍把 PFAS 視為一個我們會伺機而動的領域。

I don't know that it's going to eclipse sales in our infection control product line to that extent. So it's more of the commercial product line. But I'm always happy to address and look at any of the opportunities because at a minimum, it starts the dialogue where I can go and talk to them about infection control and other filters that they have needs for.

我不認為它會在那種程度上超越我們感染控制產品線的銷售。所以它比較偏向商用產品線。但我總是很樂意去回應並評估任何機會，因為至少它能開啟對話，讓我可以進一步和他們談感染控制以及他們可能需要的其他濾芯。

Now, speaking about the home market and the potential there, the home space is huge. There are millions, tens of millions of people filtering water in their homes, whether they're on well water, city water, whether they're concerned about contaminants coming from the surface, lots of different needs and questions. And there's a lot of commodity filters providers out there, anything from the pictures of water filters or the ones that go in your tap.

現在談到家用市場以及其潛在機會，家用領域非常龐大。有數百萬、甚至數千萬人正在家中過濾用水，不論是使用井水、市政自來水，或是擔心地表來源帶來的污染物，需求與疑問非常多元。而市面上也有許多提供商品化濾芯的業者，從濾水壺到裝在水龍頭上的那種都有。

What I'm starting to see more and more today that I have not seen in the past is people concerned about what's coming in their water from a biological perspective. So once the conversation starts turning towards infection control, that's where we shine. And we have great solutions for either point of use, fixture points, and -- not yet for the whole home, but that's something that we're exploring.

我今天越來越常看到、而過去沒有看到的是，人們開始從生物性的角度擔心他們的用水中會進來什麼。所以一旦對話開始轉向感染控制，那就是我們的強項。我們在使用端（point of use）、各個出水點（fixture points）都有很好的解決方案——至於全屋（whole home）目前還沒有，但那是我們正在探索的方向。

But to your point, when we start dealing with the average homeowner, there's a lot of regulation out there saying that you've got to remove a certain amount of viruses or bacteria and they toxins from your water. So we rely on an educated customer who can come in and request it.

但如你所說，當我們面對一般屋主時，外面有很多法規規定你必須從水中移除一定量的病毒或細菌以及其毒素。因此我們仰賴受過教育、了解需求的客戶主動來提出要求。

We have partners that do very well and service those homeowners in different markets, typically high-end homes or maybe home builders. And we're starting to form more and more arrangements with those partners. And that's how I intend to address the home market.

我們有一些合作夥伴表現非常好，能在不同市場服務這些屋主，通常是高端住宅或可能是住宅建商。我們也開始與這些夥伴建立越來越多的合作安排。而這就是我打算切入家用市場的方式。

And I hope that in the quarters to come, maybe a couple, four, six quarters out, that we have some meaningful movement in those areas to report and share with you. But that is an exciting market that I hope to figure out how to penetrate without sacrificing our infection control product lines in the healthcare space. Thank you. Great questions.

我也希望在接下來的幾個季度，也許再過兩個、四個、六個季度，我們能在這些領域看到一些有意義的進展，並向各位報告與分享。但這是一個令人振奮的市場，我希望能找出如何在不犧牲我們醫療照護領域感染控制產品線的前提下，成功打入這個市場。謝謝。問題問得很好。

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

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想把會議交回給 Robert Banks，請他做任何結語。

Thanks, Debbie. And guy, it's been a really great quarter, and the team is working really hard. We've got our rockstars across the board. Stacey, with the house, this is just phenomenal. Kelly, Nick, shout out to those guys who are just rock solid. I mentioned Shane and the West. And with Dana's expertise in New York City and Jim with his years and years and years of self-experience, I just feel really comfortable with this team.

謝謝你，Debbie。各位，這真的是一個非常出色的季度，團隊也非常努力。我們各方面都有我們的明星成員。Stacey，在內部的表現，真的是太驚人了。Kelly、Nick，也特別向這兩位致意，他們真的非常可靠。我也提到 Shane 以及西部地區。再加上 Dana 在紐約市的專業，以及 Jim 多年、多年、多年的實務經驗，我對這個團隊感到非常放心。

By adding our service pillar and what Alfred's doing to really help the team install and get safety, it's been a big boost. And now augmenting it with education to kind of grow it and see that market upstream, I have full confidence that Brianne and all the webinars and the full team support will just do phenomenal business going forward. So look forward to the call and more great stuff. So thanks for all the continued support. Bye, everybody.

透過加入我們的服務支柱，以及 Alfred 所做的一切來真正協助團隊安裝並確保安全，這帶來了很大的助益。而現在再以教育來加強，讓它成長並在上游看到那個市場，我完全有信心 Brianne、所有的線上研討會以及整個團隊的支援，未來都會帶來非常出色的業績。所以期待下一次電話會議以及更多精彩進展。也謝謝大家持續的支持。各位再見。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

本次電話會議現已結束。感謝各位參加今天的簡報。您現在可以中斷連線。