諾斯洛普·格拉曼 (NOC) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Northrop Grumman's First Quarter 2024 Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded. My name is Josh, and I will be your operator today.

女士們、先生們，大家好！歡迎參加諾斯羅普格魯曼公司2024年第一季電話會議。今天的電話會議正在錄音中。我叫喬希，今天將擔任您的接線生。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

I would now like to turn the call over to your host, Mr. Todd Ernst, Vice President, Investor Relations. Mr. Ernst, please proceed.

現在我想把電話轉給主持人，投資者關係副總裁托德恩斯特先生。恩斯特先生，請繼續。

Thanks, Josh, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to Northrop Grumman's First Quarter 2024 Conference Call. We'll refer to a presentation that is posted on our IR website this morning. Before we start, matters discussed on today's call, including guidance and outlooks for 2024 and beyond, reflect the company's judgment based on information available at the time of this call. They constitute forward-looking statements pursuant to safe harbor provisions of federal securities laws.

謝謝喬希，大家早安，歡迎參加諾斯羅普格魯曼公司2024年第一季電話會議。我們將參考今天早上發佈在我們投資者關係網站上的一份簡報。首先，需要說明的是，今天電話會議上討論的事項，包括2024年及以後的指引和展望，均基於公司召開電話會議時掌握的資訊做出的判斷。根據聯邦證券法的安全港條款，這些陳述構成前瞻性陳述。

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those noted in today's press release and our SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties may cause actual company results to differ materially. Today's call will include non-GAAP financial measures that are reconciled to our GAAP results in our earnings release. And on the call today are Kathy Warden, our Chair, CEO and President; and Dave Keffer, our CFO.

前瞻性陳述涉及風險和不確定性，包括今日新聞稿和我們提交給美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 的文件中所述。這些風險和不確定性可能導致公司實際業績出現重大差異。今天的電話會議將包含非公認會計準則 (non-GAAP) 財務指標，這些指標將與我們財報中公認的會計準則 (GAAP) 績效進行協調。今天參加電話會議的嘉賓包括：我們的董事長、執行長兼總裁 Kathy Warden；以及我們的財務長 Dave Keffer。

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Kathy. Kathy?

現在，我想把電話轉給凱西。凱西？

Thank you, Todd. Good morning, everyone. It's so good to have you joining us today. So earlier this morning, we released our first quarter results. And as you can see, we are off to a strong start to the year with broad-based growth across our portfolio. The team's relentless execution of our strategy, which includes technology leadership aligned to our customers' priorities and a laser focus on performance has positioned us for continued success. Growing global demand for our capabilities led to an exceptional 9% year-over-year increase in Q1 sales, driven by growth in all four of our sectors.

謝謝，Todd。大家早安。很高興您今天加入我們。今天早些時候，我們發布了第一季業績。如您所見，我們今年開局強勁，所有產品組合均廣泛成長。團隊堅持不懈地執行我們的策略，包括與客戶優先事項保持一致的技術領導力以及對業績的高度關注，這些都為我們持續取得成功奠定了基礎。全球對我們產品功能日益增長的需求，推動了第一季銷售額年增9%，這得益於我們所有四個業務部門的成長。

The productivity and cost efficiency measures we've been implementing are gaining traction, and our program performance in the quarter was strong, resulting in segment operating margin dollars increasing by 10%. Operating profit expansion, along with the lower share count helped to drive 15% EPS growth. Overall, our first quarter performance was in line with or better than our expectations, and we are reaffirming our 2024 company level guidance. Global demand for our products continues to be robust, fueled by rising defense budgets and our market position. We're pleased that an agreement was reached on the U.S. fiscal year 2024 defense budget, which includes support for our key programs and represents a 6% growth in investment accounts over 2023.

我們一直在實施的生產力和成本效益措施正在取得進展，我們本季的專案表現強勁，導致部門營業利潤率成長了10%。營業利潤的成長，加上股票數量的減少，推動每股盈餘成長了15%。整體而言，我們第一季的業績符合或優於預期，我們重申了2024年公司層級的業績指引。受國防預算成長和我們市場地位的推動，全球對我們產品的需求持續強勁。我們很高興就美國2024財年的國防預算達成了一致，該預算涵蓋了對我們關鍵項目的支持，投資帳戶較2023年增長了6%。

In March, the Administration released the 2025 Defense budget and Future Years Defense Program or FYDP. And these also were consistent with our expectations. We continue to see robust support for our program portfolio in areas that include nuclear modernization, microelectronics, advanced weapons, and space. Together, the appropriations and FYDP give us confidence in our longer-term outlook even if we experience a somewhat slower top line growth environment for the U.S. Defense budget in the short term.

今年3月，美國政府公佈了2025年國防預算和未來幾年國防計畫（FYDP）。這些預算也符合我們的預期。我們繼續看到在核子現代化、微電子、先進武器和太空等領域，我們的專案組合獲得了強大的支持。即使短期內美國國防預算的營收成長環境略有放緩，這些撥款和未來幾年國防計畫仍然讓我們對長期前景充滿信心。

As we look beyond the domestic market, we continue to see numerous new international opportunities as well. These span a wide range of capabilities across our portfolio, and they provide an additional avenue for sustainable and profitable growth. In the first quarter, Poland signed a letter of acceptance with the U.S. government for an additional implementation of our IBCS product line, known as NAREW. This represents the short-range air and missile defense portion of Poland's missile defense architecture, and it will augment the medium-range portion, which is currently being deployed. In addition to Poland, we see an IBCS pipeline now of approximately $10 billion from numerous countries who are considering this joint battle management system.

放眼國內市場之外，我們也持續看到許多新的國際機會。這些機會涵蓋了我們產品組合中的各種能力，並為永續獲利成長提供了新的途徑。第一季度，波蘭與美國政府簽署了一份意向書，將進一步實施我們的IBCS產品線，即NAREW。這代表了波蘭飛彈防禦體系中的短程防空反導部分，並將增強目前正在部署的中程部分。除了波蘭外，我們還看到許多國家正在考慮部署這種聯合作戰管理系統，目前IBCS的採購總額約100億美元。

Another important suite of international opportunities for Northrop Grumman is sensor modernization of fourth-generation aircraft. This includes our IVEWS electronic warfare offering, which leverages the U.S. program of record. IVEWS has been down selected by two international partners, and we are in discussions with seven other countries. Overall, IVEWS has the potential to be a new multibillion-dollar product line for us. We're also well positioned to address emerging international opportunities for autonomous systems.

諾斯羅普·格魯曼公司的另一項重要國際機會是第四代飛機的傳感器現代化。這包括我們的IVEWS電子戰產品，該產品利用了美國現有的項目。 IVEWS已被兩家國際合作夥伴選中，我們正在與其他七個國家進行洽談。總體而言，IVEWS有潛力成為我們價值數十億美元的新產品線。我們也已做好準備，抓住自主系統領域新興的國際機會。

The first of four Triton aircraft is expected to be delivered to Australia later this year. In addition, NATO is actively looking to expand its maritime surveillance capabilities, enabling a higher degree of interoperability amongst allied nations. We believe our Triton program is well suited to meet these requirements, providing an opportunity for up to five aircraft. And we see additional Triton opportunities emerging elsewhere in Europe.

四架Triton飛機中的第一架預計將於今年稍後交付澳洲。此外，北約正在積極尋求擴展其海上監視能力，以提高盟國之間的互通性。我們相信，我們的Triton專案非常適合滿足這些需求，最多可容納五架飛機。而且，我們看到歐洲其他地區也出現了更多Triton的部署機會。

There also continues to be an uptrend in U.S. and allied partner demand for missile products and ammunition. This includes several significant ammunition opportunities for allies that in aggregate have the potential to support further growth in our Defense Systems portfolio at solid margins. And this week, the U.S. Congress passed supplemental funding bill, which includes munitions procurement and missile product capacity expansion.

美國及其盟國夥伴對飛彈產品和彈藥的需求也持續呈上升趨勢。這包括為盟國提供的幾個重要的彈藥機會，這些機會總體上有可能支持我們國防系統產品組合的進一步增長，並實現穩健的利潤率。本週，美國國會通過了一項補充撥款法案，包括彈藥採購和飛彈產品產能擴張。

As we shared in our prior calls, to meet growing demand across our weapon systems business, we have been investing in our largest solid rocket motor production facility over the past five years, and we have now tripled our production capacity for tactical SRMs.

正如我們在先前的電話會議中所述，為了滿足武器系統業務日益增長的需求，我們在過去五年中一直在投資我們最大的固體火箭發動機生產設施，現在我們的戰術固體火箭發動機的生產能力已經提高了兩倍。

Technology leadership is an important part of our business strategy. And we've been investing to maintain our lead in microelectronics for defense applications. To further this objective, we recently established the Northrop Grumman Microelectronics Center, which brings together our microelectronics capability from across the company into one organization. It will be led by our Mission Systems business, where over 80% of their revenue is enabled by our innovation and investments in microelectronics.

技術領先是我們業務策略的重要組成部分。我們一直在投資，以保持在國防應用微電子領域的領先地位。為了進一步實現這一目標，我們最近成立了諾斯羅普·格魯曼微電子中心，將公司上下的微電子能力整合到一個組織中。該中心將由我們的任務系統業務部門領導，該部門80%以上的收入來自我們在微電子領域的創新和投資。

Today, our U.S. microelectronics facilities produce over one million microchips a year with tailored design, fabrication and advanced packaging needed to support the most advanced defense systems and sensors. We also work with leading-edge technology developers in the commercial space, like NVIDIA to incorporate their technology into our national security solutions. In addition to advancement in capability, we are expanding our capacity in this important technology area.

如今，我們在美國擁有的微電子工廠每年生產超過一百萬個微晶片，這些晶片擁有客製化設計、製造和先進封裝技術，足以支援最先進的國防系統和感測器。我們也與NVIDIA等商業領域的尖端技術開發商合作，將他們的技術融入我們的國家安全解決方案中。除了提升產能外，我們也不斷拓展這一重要技術領域的產能。

In the quarter, we held a groundbreaking ceremony for our new advanced electronics facility in Waynesboro, Virginia. With this $200 million investment, we are increasing our ability to manufacture and test advanced electronics and mission solutions. As I mentioned earlier, we are laser-focused on performance and driving cost efficiencies in our business. This includes deploying systems and tools that help enable increased productivity across our business.

本季度，我們為位於維吉尼亞州韋恩斯伯勒的全新先進電子設備工廠舉行了奠基儀式。這項2億美元的投資將提升我們製造和測試先進電子設備及任務解決方案的能力。正如我之前提到的，我們高度重視業務績效並提升成本效率。這包括部署有助於提高整個業務生產力的系統和工具。

In the first quarter, we completed the implementation of a significant financial ERP upgrade, which consolidated multiple versions of our prior system, and it will significantly improve the efficiency of our operations. This new system provides a foundation that supports many of the other digital transformation initiatives. And it plays an integral role in our longer-term margin expansion strategy. The upgrade, as you would understand, was a massive undertaking that was achieved with minimal disruption to our business. It's really a credit to the entire team who worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome.

第一季度，我們完成了一項重要的財務ERP升級，整合了我們先前系統的多個版本，並將顯著提升我們的營運效率。新系統為支援許多其他數位轉型計畫奠定了基礎，並在我們的長期利潤成長策略中發揮不可或缺的作用。正如各位所理解的，此次升級是一項浩大的工程，但對我們業務的影響卻微乎其微。這要歸功於全體團隊的辛勤付出，他們為實現這一目標付出了巨大的努力。

We also continue to proactively address our overhead costs and indirect rates to drive affordability for our customers. We saw benefits of this in the first quarter, particularly in production programs at both AS and DS. Efficiency in both direct and indirect cost management continues to be a priority across the company.

我們持續積極控制間接成本和間接費率，以提升客戶的可負擔性。我們在第一季就看到了成效，尤其是在AS和DS的生產項目中。提高直接和間接成本管理的效率仍然是全公司的首要任務。

Program execution is another area of particular emphasis in 2024. In our Space sector, after rapid growth over the last several years, we are keenly focused on delivering key capabilities for our customers, executing our extensive backlog and generating strong returns in the process. This includes the progress we're making on the Sentinel program. We're continuing to execute the EMD phase of the program, and we've made solid progress on design and development activities for the facilities and support equipment as well as the missile itself.

專案執行是2024年另一個需要特別關注的領域。在航太領域，經過過去幾年的快速成長，我們專注於為客戶提供關鍵能力，執行大量積壓項目，並在此過程中創造豐厚的回報。這包括我們在「哨兵」計畫上的進展。我們正在繼續執行該專案的EMD階段，並且在設施、支援設備以及導彈本身的設計和開發活動方面都取得了紮實的進展。

The Nunn-McCurdy review is continuing, and we are providing support to the Department of Defense in that process as well. It's a complex undertaking to modernize the U.S. strategic deterrent, which requires delivering the most advanced capabilities in the world to form the basis of that deterrent. We're honored to be part of this vital mission, so we're partnering with our customers in bringing the focus, resources and talent needed to deliver on those commitments.

納恩-麥柯迪審查仍在繼續，我們也在此過程中為國防部提供支援。實現美國戰略威懾力量的現代化是一項複雜的任務，需要提供世界上最先進的能力來構成威懾力量的基礎。我們很榮幸能夠參與這項至關重要的任務，因此我們將與客戶合作，投入履行這些承諾所需的精力、資源和人才。

Finally, I'd like to provide an update on our capital deployment strategy. First and foremost, we are investing in capabilities that meet our customers' needs to address rapidly evolving threats. This year, we continue to expect that we'll invest roughly $1.8 billion in capital expenditures bringing our total investment to nearly $8 billion since the beginning of 2020. These investments have contributed to our strong growth performance and outlook. At the same time, we are efficiently returning capital to shareholders, including nearly $1.5 billion in the first quarter.

最後，我想介紹一下我們資本配置策略的最新情況。首先，我們正在投資滿足客戶需求的能力，以應對快速發展的威脅。今年，我們預計資本支出將達到約18億美元，自2020年初以來，我們的總投資已接近80億美元。這些投資為我們強勁的成長表現和前景做出了貢獻。同時，我們正有效率地向股東返還資本，其中第一季已返還近15億美元。

So in summary, with a broad portfolio of well-supported programs, continued new domestic and international opportunities, a relentless focus on performance and a capital deployment strategy designed to create value for customers and shareholders alike, Northrop Grumman is well positioned for the future.

總而言之，憑藉廣泛的、得到良好支持的專案組合、持續的國內和國際新機會、對業績的不懈關注以及旨在為客戶和股東創造價值的資本配置策略，諾斯羅普·格魯曼公司已為未來做好了準備。

So with that, I'd like to hand the call over to Dave, and he's going to cover some of the details of our financial performance and outlook before we take your questions. Dave?

因此，我想將電話交給戴夫，在回答您的問題之前，他將介紹一些有關我們財務表現和前景的細節。戴夫？

Thanks, and good morning, everyone. As Kathy highlighted, we're off to a strong start to the year. Sales, operating income and EPS all increased meaningfully from the first quarter of 2023 as we execute on our backlog and drive efficiencies in our business.

謝謝大家，早安。正如Kathy所強調的，我們今年開局強勁。由於我們完成訂單並提高業務效率，銷售額、營業利潤和每股收益自2023年第一季起均實現了顯著增長。

Starting with our top line results on Slide four in our earnings deck. First quarter sales increased 9% to $10.1 billion. We were pleased to deliver higher Q1 sales at all four of our segments. These results were ahead of our initial projections for the first quarter, due in part to the timing of material volume on certain programs. With that in mind, we expect a more gradual ramp in our quarterly sales profile than in the past few years. I'll address the factors contributing to this as I walk through updates to our segment guidance.

首先從我們財報簡報第四張投影片上的營收業績開始。第一季銷售額成長9%，達到101億美元。我們很高興看到所有四個部門在第一季的銷售額均有所成長。這些業績超出了我們對第一季的初步預期，部分原因是某些項目的材料量成長時機掌握得恰到好處。考慮到這一點，我們預計季度銷售額的成長速度將比過去幾年更加平緩。在介紹部門績效指引更新時，我將探討導致這種情況的因素。

As AS sales were particularly strong, up 18%, driven by higher volume on the B-21 program as well as on mature production programs like F-35. Defense Systems sales increased 3%, primarily due to growth on multiple programs in our weapons business, and as expected, were partially offset by lower volume on an international training program.

由於B-21項目以及F-35等成熟生產項目產量增加，AS銷售額尤為強勁，成長了18%。國防系統銷售成長了3%，主要得益於我們武器業務中多個項目的成長，但如預期，國際訓練項目產量下降部分抵銷了這一成長。

Mission Systems sales grew by 4%, led by rapid growth on advanced microelectronics programs in our restricted portfolio, partially offset by lower volume on SABR. And sales at Space increased by 9% with broad-based growth throughout the portfolio, including on the SDA transport layer programs as they continue to ramp.

任務系統銷售額成長4%，這得益於我們受限產品組合中先進微電子專案的快速成長，但部分抵消了SABR專案銷售的下降。太空業務銷售額成長9%，整個產品組合均廣泛成長，包括持續成長的SDA傳輸層專案。

Turning to the bottom line, we remain laser-focused on performance. In Q1, we generated segment operating income of $1.1 billion, a year-over-year increase of 10%. Margin rate was also solid at 10.9%. As we've outlined on previous earnings calls, we expect to increase our margin rate over time as mix shifts favorably, macro conditions improve, and productivity measures continue to bear fruit. Aeronautics operating income increased 25% for an operating margin rate of 10%. Efficient indirect rate performance, driven by productivity initiatives and careful cost management helped to generate a healthy volume of favorable net EAC adjustments. These adjustments were recognized across the AS portfolio but primarily benefited mature production programs.

談到業績，我們仍然高度關注業績表現。第一季度，我們實現了11億美元的分部營運利潤，較去年同期成長10%。利潤率也維持穩定，達到10.9%。正如我們在先前的財報電話會議上所概述的那樣，隨著產品組合向好轉變、宏觀環境改善以及生產力措施持續取得成效，我們預計利潤率將隨著時間的推移而提高。航空業務營運利潤成長25%，營運利潤率為10%。在生產力措施和謹慎的成本管理的推動下，高效的間接費率表現有助於產生大量有利的淨EAC調整。這些調整在整個AS產品組合中都得到了認可，但主要受益於成熟的生產項目。

On B-21, there were no significant changes to our EACs, and we continue to make good progress in the test phase of the EMD program and on the build of the LRIP production units in flow. We have finalized negotiations with additional suppliers on the LRIP phase of the program and are in the late stages of negotiations with the remaining.

在B-21專案上，我們的EAC（最終用戶認證）沒有發生重大變化，我們在EMD專案測試階段以及LRIP生產單元的管線建設方面繼續取得良好進展。我們已與其他供應商就該專案的LRIP階段完成了談判，並與剩餘供應商的談判已進入後期階段。

Defense Systems operating income grew 11%. They also benefited from favorable mix and indirect rate performance, driving their OM rate to 12.5%. At Mission Systems, segment operating income increased 5% and margin rate increased 20 basis points to 14.2%. MS's OM rate benefited from favorable mix on higher-margin advanced microelectronics programs, partially offset by lower net favorable EAC adjustments. We see opportunities to further improve performance at MS, driven by operational efficiencies and investments we've made in our factories. Lastly, Space operating income increased 6% and its margin rate was a solid 9.1%.

國防系統業務運作利潤成長11%。該業務也受益於良好的產品組合和間接利率表現，使其營運利率（OM）達到12.5%。任務系統業務的營運利潤成長5%，利潤率提升20個基點至14.2%。任務系統業務的營運利率受益於利潤率較高的先進微電子專案的良好產品組合，但部分被淨有利的EAC調整額降低所抵消。我們認為，在營運效率提升和工廠投資的推動下，任務系統業務的績效可望進一步提升。最後，太空業務營運利潤成長6%，利潤率穩定在9.1%。

Moving to earnings per share on Slide six. Diluted EPS were $6.32 in Q1, an increase of 15% from the prior year. The increase was driven by our strong growth and segment performance, as well as from higher net pension income and a lower share count.

第六張幻燈片展示了每股收益。第一季稀釋每股收益為 6.32 美元，較上年增長 15%。這一增長得益於我們強勁的成長和各部門的業績表現，以及更高的淨退休金收入和更少的股份數量。

Turning to cash flow, we're pleased with our cash performance, particularly in light of our ERP conversion that went live in the first quarter. This was a significant undertaking that will help to drive additional efficiencies in our business over time.

談到現金流，我們對現金表現感到滿意，尤其是在第一季上線ERP轉換系統之後。這是一項意義重大的舉措，將有助於我們長期提升業務效率。

Q1 free cash flow was an outflow of approximately $1 billion, and we expect a strong quarter of cash generation in Q2. This profile is consistent with our seasonal pattern of generating the majority of our free cash flow in the second half of the year.

第一季自由現金流約10億美元，我們預期第二季現金流將強勁成長。這與我們的季節性模式相符，即大部分自由現金流在下半年產生。

Moving to guidance, we are reaffirming our 2024 company level guidance and have a few updates at the segment level. We continue to project a book-to-bill ratio close to 1x for the year. Note, we expect a higher ratio at AS, DS and MS and a lower ratio at Space, given all the backlog growth that has generated in recent years and flattening U.S. Space budgets. At the company level, we expect our second quarter sales and segment margin volume to be roughly in line with the strong Q1 results with modest expansion in the second half. We expect the quarterly profile to vary at the segment level, so I'll take a moment to provide some additional color.

談到績效指引，我們重申2024年公司層級的績效指引，並在各細分市場層面進行了一些更新。我們持續預測今年的訂單出貨比接近1倍。需要注意的是，考慮到近年來積壓訂單的成長以及美國航太預算的趨於平穩，我們預計航太業務、航太服務業務和航太業務的訂單出貨比將有所提高，而航太業務的訂單出貨比將有所降低。在公司層面，我們預計第二季的銷售額和各細分市場利潤率將與強勁的第一季業績大致持平，下半年將略有成長。我們預計各細分市場的季度業績情況將有所不同，因此我將在此提供一些補充資訊。

First, DS and MS sales and margin dollars are expected to ramp throughout the year, generally consistent with prior year patterns. Restricted programs in MS continue to expand, and the DS weapons business has significant demand that Kathy described, which should lead to further second half growth.

首先，預計DS和MS的銷售額和利潤率全年都將成長，與去年的模式基本一致。 MS的限制項目持續擴張，而DS武器業務的需求正如Kathy所述，將帶來下半年的進一步成長。

Our margin rate guidance was adjusted slightly higher at DS and slightly lower at MS, reflecting our Q1 performance and latest expectations for the remainder of the year. At Aeronautics, we are increasing our sales guidance to the mid-$11 billion to reflect our strong Q1 results and our latest projections for B-21 sales timing. But the quarterly sales profile is projected to be different this year than it was in 2023. The timing of materials volume, primarily on F-35 and B-21, drove additional Q1 sales, so we'd expect a flatter profile through the remaining quarters. As our full year guidance indicates, AS margin rates are expected to be lower in subsequent quarters based on business mix and the strength of Q1 EAC adjustments. For the full year, we continue to expect margins in the mid-9% range.

我們略微上調了 DS 的利潤率指引，略微下調了 MS 的利潤率指引，以反映我們第一季度的業績以及對今年剩餘時間的最新預期。在航空業務方面，我們將銷售指引上調至 110 億美元左右，以反映我們強勁的第一季業績以及我們對 B-21 銷售時機的最新預測。但預計今年的季度銷售情況將與 2023 年有所不同。主要為 F-35 和 B-21 的材料產量時機推動了第一季的額外銷售，因此我們預計剩餘季度的銷售情況將更加穩定。正如我們的全年指引所示，根據業務組合和第一季 EAC 調整的力度，預計後續季度的 AS 利潤率將會下降。對於全年，我們繼續預計利潤率在 9% 左右。

And at Space, we're lowering our sales guidance to the low to mid $14 billion, which roughly reflects 3% annual growth. Sales volume is now expected to trend lower over the remaining quarters of 2024, reflecting the NGI decision and the contract termination in restricted Space that we noted last quarter. This is expected to be partially offset by continued growth in Sentinel and the SDA portfolio. Below the segment line, we are reaffirming our company-level guidance reflecting the strength of our broad portfolio. We continue to expect corporate unallocated costs to be weighted toward the second half of the year, consistent with prior years.

在太空業務方面，我們將銷售預期下調至140億美元的中低端，大致反映了3%的年增長率。目前預計2024年剩餘幾季的銷售額將呈下降趨勢，這反映了NGI的決定以及我們上個季度提到的受限太空合約的終止。預計Sentinel和SDA產品組合的持續成長將部分抵消此影響。在細分市場線以下，我們重申公司層面的預期，以反映我們廣泛產品組合的實力。我們繼續預期公司未分配成本將偏向下半年，與往年一致。

Interest expense will also be higher in future quarters due to the additional debt issuance in Q1, and we continue to project an effective tax rate around 17%. As we've noted before, we're monitoring any changes in tax legislation and any updates in our tax appeals processes, that by their nature, are not factored into our guidance.

由於第一季增發債券，未來幾季的利息支出也將增加，我們預計實際稅率仍將在17%左右。正如我們之前所述，我們正在密切關注稅法的任何變化以及稅務申訴流程的任何更新，這些變化本身並未計入我們的業績指引。

And as a reminder, we completed a $2.5 billion debt offering at attractive rates shortly after the filing of our 10-K. The proceeds will be used in part to retire $1.5 billion of notes that are maturing in January 2025, as well as for general corporate purposes, including share repurchases. We initiated a $1 billion accelerated share repurchase in Q1, which is now nearly complete. In total, including our open market purchases, our Q1 repurchases were $1.2 billion. For the full year, we have increased our expectations for share repurchases to greater than $2 billion.

值得一提的是，我們在提交10-K報告後不久就以極具吸引力的利率完成了25億美元的債券發行。所得款項將部分用於償還2025年1月到期的15億美元債券，以及用於包括股票回購在內的一般公司用途。我們在第一季啟動了一項10億美元的加速股票回購計劃，目前已接近完成。包括公開市場回購在內，我們第一季的回購總額為12億美元。我們已將全年股票回購預期上調至20億美元以上。

We also remain committed to providing a strong and growing dividend. Our capital deployment plans are enabled by our ability to generate strong and predictable cash flows in our diverse and durable portfolio. We continue to project industry-leading investments in our business to support our customers while returning excess cash to shareholders. We're confident that this business strategy will create value for all our stakeholders.

我們將繼續致力於提供強勁且不斷成長的股息。我們多元化且持久的投資組合能夠產生強勁且可預測的現金流，從而幫助我們的資本部署計劃。我們將繼續在業務領域進行業界領先的投資，以支持我們的客戶，同時將剩餘的現金回饋給股東。我們相信，這項業務策略將為所有利害關係人創造價值。

In summary, we're off to a great start to the year, and we remain upbeat about our long-term outlook.

總而言之，我們今年的開局很好，我們對我們的長期前景仍然樂觀。

And with that, let's open the call for questions.

現在，讓我們開始提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Our first question comes from Ron Epstein with Bank of America.

我們的第一個問題來自美國銀行的羅恩愛潑斯坦。

Kathy, if you could speak to just maybe a little more detail in that $95 billion supplemental, what potentially is in there for Northrop given everything you guys have been doing in those related businesses?

凱西，如果您能更詳細地談談這 950 億美元的補充資金，那麼考慮到您在相關業務中所做的一切，諾斯羅普可能從中獲得什麼？

Yes. Well, as I noted, we are pleased that the supplemental did pass this week. And as we are looking through it, there are a number of areas that align to our program portfolio. Some where we are prime in weapons programs, others where we are a supplier of solid rocket motors. And then there is a line for additional capacity expansion. I talked about the capacity expansion that we have done for solid rocket motors in our largest production facility that over the last several years has enabled us to triple capacity, there is additional funding that would take that capacity even higher and reflects what's needed to support those programs that are funded in the supplemental.

是的。正如我之前提到的，我們很高興補充撥款本週獲得通過。我們正在仔細研究，發現其中有許多領域與我們的專案組合相符。有些領域我們在武器項目中佔據主導地位，有些領域我們是固體火箭發動機的供應商。此外，還有一些領域需要進一步擴大產能。我之前提到了我們最大的生產設施對固體火箭發動機的產能進行了擴建，在過去幾年中，我們的產能已翻了三倍。此外，我們還獲得了額外的資金，這將進一步提高產能，這也反映了支持補充撥款項目所需的資金。

So, we are bullish on the opportunity to fulfill that demand through both the investments we've made and the additional capacity that we can lay in over these coming months and years.

因此，我們看好透過我們已進行的投資以及未來幾個月和幾年內可以投入的額外產能來滿足這一需求的機會。

And maybe just a quick follow-on, if I may. With the push out of F/A-XX, I mean how does that have -- like what strategic impact does that have on the Aeronautics business?

如果可以的話，我再簡單問一下。隨著F/A-XX的停產，這對航空業務有什麼策略影響？

There are a number of opportunities in Aeronautics that we are pursuing, that being one of them. It doesn't really have an impact on our near-term outlook for that business. As we shared today, we're raising the sales guidance for that business this year, and that's really on the strength of the current portfolio and the growth that we continue to see there, but we will continue to pursue additive opportunities, the Navy program being one of them.

我們正在航空領域尋求許多機會，海軍計畫就是其中之一。這實際上不會對我們該業務的短期前景產生影響。正如我們今天分享的那樣，我們今年將上調該業務的銷售預期，這主要得益於我們目前產品組合的強勁表現以及我們在該業務領域持續看到的成長。但我們將繼續尋求其他機會，海軍項目就是其中之一。

Our next question comes from Doug Harned with Bernstein.

我們的下一個問題來自伯恩斯坦的 Doug Harned。

You talked a little bit about outlook for book-to-bill this year and backlog was down in each segment in Q1. I understand some of the Space issues. But on AS, DS and MS, if you're looking at a book-to-bill of above 1 for the year, can you talk about where that's likely to come from? What will drive those business units since the backlog was down in Q1?

您稍微談了一下今年訂單出貨比的前景，第一季每個部門的積壓訂單都有所下降。我理解Space部門的一些問題。但是對於AS、DS和MS部門，如果您預計今年的訂單出貨比將超過1，您能談談這可能是什麼原因造成的嗎？由於第一季積壓訂單下降，這些業務部門將面臨哪些驅動力？

Yes. Doug, as we've talked about before, awards can be very lumpy, and so we tend to look at our book-to-bill over a longer stretch of time. And our last two years have been well over 1, so we expected this first quarter to be lighter and we had signaled that. As we look at the full year, we still believe that we'll be near 1. And it's largely going to be driven by our shorter-cycle businesses, so think Mission Systems and Defense Systems and Space will clearly be the lowest as we digest the NGI loss and, of course, the cancellation that we had in the first quarter. But I'll remind you, our Space business has nearly doubled over the last four years, and the book-to-bill there has been incredibly strong. So they're still carrying a large backlog of business that supports the growth rates that we're projecting for them.

是的。道格，正如我們之前提到的，合約授予可能非常不穩定，所以我們傾向於以更長的時間跨度來衡量訂單出貨比。過去兩年，我們的訂單出貨比都遠高於1，所以我們預計第一季的訂單出貨比會比較低，我們也已經暗示了這一點。展望全年，我們仍然相信訂單出貨比會接近1。這主要將由我們週期較短的業務推動，因此，在我們消化NGI損失以及第一季取消訂單的影響後，任務系統、國防系統和太空業務的訂單出貨比顯然會處於最低水平。但我要提醒您，我們的太空業務在過去四年中幾乎翻了一番，而且該業務的訂單出貨比一直非常強勁。因此，他們仍然有大量的訂單積壓，這支撐著我們預測的成長率。

Well, and then just on Space, you mentioned the importance of Sentinel and you've talked over the last quarter about some of the Nunn-McCurdy breach and those issues. But when you look at the Air Force moving the IOC schedule back by two years, how does that affect your growth path on Sentinel?

嗯，然後就太空項目而言，您提到了“哨兵”項目的重要性，並在上個季度談到了納恩-麥柯迪違規事件以及相關問題。但是，考慮到空軍將國際奧委會的日程安排推遲了兩年，這對「哨兵」計畫的發展路徑有何影響？

We had talked about Sentinel growth coming, flattening out for a few years, and then returning to growth as we moved into the production phase later in the decade. That still holds true. That timing has, of course, moved as the program schedule is moving, but the profile still is quite similar to what we have been discussing. And it was so far out in the future, it really wasn't in any of the projections that we had in '24 or even '25. It was well beyond that. Still a healthy ramp is expected for that program, and we are laser-focused on delivering and meeting the schedule commitments that we are working towards with the Air Force.

我們曾討論過哨兵飛彈計畫的成長，幾年內趨於平穩，然後在十年後期進入生產階段時恢復成長。現在依然如此。當然，隨著專案進度的推進，時間安排也發生了變化，但整體情況與我們之前討論的非常相似。而且它的未來發展非常遙遠，實際上並不在我們2024年甚至2025年的任何預測中。它遠遠超越了那個時期。預計該專案仍將保持健康的成長勢頭，我們正全心全意地致力於交付和履行與空軍共同努力的進度承諾。

Our next question comes from Kristine Liwag with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的克里斯汀·利瓦格 (Kristine Liwag)。

The Air Force lowered its near-term requested funding levels for B-21 in the fiscal year '25 budget proposal. And they talked about lower negotiated prices on low-rate production. How does this change, alter the economics of the program and risks of incremental charges?

美國空軍在2025財政年度預算提案中降低了B-21的近期資金申請水準。他們也談到了降低低速率生產的談判價格。這將如何改變該項目的經濟效益以及增加費用的風險？

It doesn't change the economics of the program. What happened is the budget was set based on the independent cost estimates. And as we move towards the contract phase where LRIP was exercised the first option, the government is now reconciling to our contract value. There was no change in price, schedule, quantities. It's just a reflection of them moving off an independent cost estimate and moving to our contract value, which, of course, was lower than their independent cost estimates.

這不會改變項目的經濟效益。實際情況是，預算是根據獨立成本估算制定的。隨著我們進入合約階段，LRIP 被優先採用，政府現在正在與我們的合約價值進行核對。價格、進度和數量都沒有變化。這只是反映出他們放棄了獨立成本估算，轉而採用我們的合約價值，而我們的合約價值當然低於他們的獨立成本估算。

Our next question comes from Sheila Kahyaoglu with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Sheila Kahyaoglu。

Kathy, I wanted to ask about DS. Maybe can you talk about the puts and takes there just given supply chain as well as services and incremental opportunities such as IBCS and Missile Systems. How do you think about the trajectory just given some of the positive movements we've seen in missiles, and missile defense and obviously, supplementals and the driver of potential margin improvement there?

凱西，我想問DS的狀況。您能否談談DS在供應鏈、服務和增量機會（例如IBCS和飛彈系統）方面的優缺點？鑑於我們在飛彈、飛彈防禦以及補充產品領域看到的一些積極動向，以及潛在利潤率提升的驅動因素，您如何看待DS的發展軌跡？

Yes. So our Defense Systems portfolio has been undergoing a transformation over the past several years. As you know, we divested the services business, and we still have a sustainment and modernization business. That business has been flattish. And this year, we talked about a headwind in that business to growth associated with an international training program. You see that weighing a bit on first quarter growth in DS being 3%. Over time, we expect that growth rate to reflect the other two portions of the business more and more as that mix shifts toward weapons and our battle management portfolio. That's where IBCS sits.

是的。我們的國防系統產品組合在過去幾年經歷了轉型。如你所知，我們剝離了服務業務，但我們仍然保留著維護和現代化業務。這項業務一直表現平平。今年，我們談到了與國際培訓計畫相關的成長對該業務帶來的阻力。你看，這對國防系統第一季3%的成長率造成了一定的影響。隨著時間的推移，我們預計，隨著業務結構向武器和戰鬥管理產品組合轉移，這一成長率將越來越反映出其他兩部分業務的貢獻。而這正是IBCS業務的定位所在。

I spoke on today's call about some of those opportunities, both domestically and internationally in the weapons and the IBCS portfolios. And so we expect those to contribute to growth, and they are also higher margin than our sustainment business. So as that mix shifts, so will margins improve.

我在今天的電話會議上談到了武器和IBCS產品組合在國內和國際市場的一些機會。我們預計這些業務將促進成長，而且利潤率也高於我們的保障業務。因此，隨著業務組合的轉變，利潤率也會隨之提高。

Our next question comes from Seth Seifman with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Seth Seifman。

Kathy, I wanted to ask on autonomous aircraft and the CCA program, we saw last night the news about Anduril selection along with General Atomics. And I was wondering if you can -- with that news, maybe update us on Northrop's strategy to capture new work in the autonomous space.

凱西，我想問一下關於自動駕駛飛機和CCA專案的問題。昨晚我們看到了關於通用原子公司和安杜里爾公司被選中的消息。我想請您結合這個消息，介紹一下諾斯羅普公司在自動駕駛領域開拓新業務的策略。

Yes. So we're obviously disappointed to learn that we weren't selected on this phase of the CCA program. The U.S. Air Force has described this acquisition strategy as a continuous competition and they're already outlining future phases. So we'll see what that presents in terms of future entry point. We also see the other services in the U.S., and I talked about international partners as well, continuing to look to add to their autonomous vehicle fleet. And so we are pursuing those opportunities.

是的。因此，我們很遺憾沒有被選中參與CCA計畫的這個階段。美國空軍將這項收購策略描述為持續競爭，並且他們已經在規劃未來階段。因此，我們將拭目以待，看看未來切入點會如何發展。我們也看到美國其他軍種，以及我之前提到的國際合作夥伴，都在繼續尋求擴大其自動駕駛車隊。因此，我們正在抓住這些機會。

We haven't learned anything at this point that fundamentally changes our strategy in autonomy, but we'll monitor how the CCA program progresses and will incorporate any learnings that we have into those future opportunities. And for us, you didn't ask, but this phase of the program was relatively small. We didn't have it assumed in our plan. So there's no impact to the guidance that we shared this morning for the AS sector.

目前，我們還沒有發現任何會從根本上改變我們自主駕駛策略的事情，但我們會密切關注CCA專案的進展，並將所獲得的經驗融入未來的發展機會中。對於我們來說，您沒有問，但該專案的這個階段規模相對較小。我們的計劃中並沒有考慮到這一點。因此，這不會對我們今天上午分享的針對自動駕駛部門的指導方針產生影響。

Okay. Okay. Great. And then maybe a follow-up on it. When you think about where you want to be focused in autonomy. I guess the legacy of the company is more on the exquisite side, and there will probably be some demand for that, but also demand for quantity and -- which requires affordability. Do you plan to pursue opportunities in both of those submarkets or really focus more on that kind of legacy exquisite piece of the market?

好的。好的。太好了。接下來或許可以繼續探討一下。關於自動駕駛汽車，您認為公司的傳統更偏向精緻，可能會有一些需求，但同時也需要數量和價格的平衡。您打算在這兩個細分市場中尋找機會，還是更專注於傳統精緻的細分市場？

We are obviously working toward affordability in our product line, so we do not want to be viewed as only offering exquisite and expensive technology. So we've been working to drive down the cost of our offerings, and I think we had quite a compelling offering on CCA and can compete in that marketplace. We are really positioned to provide the best solutions that our customer needs against a high-end threat, however. We are not looking to compete in a more commoditized part of the market that's very low cost and not survivable systems. That's just not our business model, and we know that. So we'll remain disciplined in where we invest in the pieces of the market that we pursue, but we think that what we provide is still highly relevant.

我們顯然正在努力提高產品線的可負擔性，因此我們不想被視為只提供精緻而昂貴的技術。因此，我們一直在努力降低產品成本，我認為我們在CCA領域擁有相當有吸引力的產品，並且有能力在該市場競爭。然而，我們真正的目標是提供客戶所需的最佳解決方案，以應對高端威脅。我們並不打算在更商品化的市場領域競爭，因為那裡的成本非常低，而且系統難以生存。我們知道，這不是我們的商業模式。因此，我們將在投資我們瞄準的市場領域時保持謹慎，但我們認為我們提供的產品仍然具有高度的相關性。

Our next question comes from David Strauss with Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的戴維‧史特勞斯。

Kathy, I wanted to ask about MS margins. A couple of years ago, we were running in the 15 level, they stepped down a little bit last year. You took down a margin guide there. Can you just kind of talk about what's driving the lower margins? Is it just solely mix that's driving the lower margin in MS?

凱西，我想問微軟的利潤率。幾年前，我們的利潤率大約在15%左右，去年他們稍微降低了一點。你當時取消了利潤率指南。能不能談談導致利潤率下降的原因？只是產品組合導致微軟利潤率下降嗎？

It's a bit of mix as we've been talking about. They have a higher cost plus mix now than they have historically, and we expect that to shift over time, but they are still at a high watermark. And there also is a productivity element to the story. We've talked about supply chain disruption as we have ramped, and we are also increasing the scale of that business. You see a mid-single-digit level growth in Mission Systems. But with price coming down on microelectronics, it's actually a much higher volume ramp than is reflected in the total sales growth of the business.

正如我們之前提到的，業務結構有點複雜。他們現在的成本和產品組合比以往更高，我們預計這種情況會隨著時間的推移而改變，但他們目前仍處於高位。此外，生產力因素也影響業務發展。我們之前談過，隨著業務規模的擴大，供應鏈中斷的問題也隨之而來，我們也正在擴大這項業務的規模。任務系統業務實現了中等個位數的成長。但隨著微電子產品價格的下降，實際的銷售成長遠高於該業務整體銷售額的成長。

So, as we have climbed that ramp, productivity has taken a bit of a dip. But as we said, we're focused on getting back to our prior performance levels at now this higher volume level, and we see that as something this team is very capable of doing. And that's why you see a margin profile that always is start a little slower and ramp through the year for MS, but you'll see it again reflected this year based on those productivity improvements that we expect to achieve throughout the year.

因此，隨著我們不斷攀升，生產力也略有下降。但正如我們所說，我們專注於在更高的產量水平下恢復到先前的績效水平，我們認為我們的團隊完全有能力做到這一點。這就是為什麼你會看到微軟的利潤率在年初略有下降，然後在全年逐漸上升，但今年你會再次看到這一點，這得益於我們預計全年將實現的生產力提升。

Okay. Got it. And then similar question over on the Space side. So you took down the top line there, I assume that was partially NGI. The slower growth, should we see that potentially reflect itself in a little bit better margin profile? I know you kept the margin guidance unchanged at [9%] (added by company after the call), but I guess the NGI loss and just a little bit slower growth, could that actually help the -- help enhance the margin side of things.

好的，明白了。然後關於太空業務，我也有類似的問題。所以你把營收數據降低了，我猜部分是新天然氣（NGI）造成的。成長放緩，我們是否應該看到這有可能反映在利潤率略有改善的水平上？我知道你維持了利潤率指引不變，仍為[9%]（公司在電話會議後增加了這個數字），但我想，新天然氣的虧損和略微放緩的增長，實際上是否有助於提高利潤率？

Yes. As we look at the slower growth, it is largely development programs that are dilutive to the, both Space margin rate and the company margin rate. So as -- that part of the business is no longer as significant. You will see that be both margin and cash tailwinds because there was also CapEx investments planned that we will not extend in those programs now either.

是的。從成長放緩來看，主要是開發項目稀釋了空間利潤率和公司利潤率。所以——這部分業務不再那麼重要了。你會看到，利潤率和現金流都受到提振，因為之前也有資本支出投資計劃，我們現在不會在這些項目中繼續投資。

Our next question comes from Cai von Rumohr with TD Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Cai von Rumohr。

Good performance, Kathy. So following up on Dave's focus on Space, I think I've got two questions. First, the restricted program that was canceled, is there any chance that we heard a rumor it might have been related to a supplier issue? Is there any chance that, that function or that program might reappear again in the future?

凱西，表現不錯。所以，關於戴夫對Space計畫的關注，我有兩個問題。首先，關於被取消的受限項目，我們有沒有聽到傳言說它可能與供應商問題有關？那個功能或項目將來有可能再次出現嗎？

And secondly, the SDA business, you basically decided not to bid one contract. Is that as a group, are those profitable contracts? Because every time I look, there's another new small supplier coming in and they're all fixed price contracts.

其次，關於SDA業務，你們基本上決定不參與任何合約的競標。作為一個整體，這些合約能帶來利潤嗎？因為每次我查看，都會有新的小型供應商加入，而且都是固定價格合約。

So let me start with your first question on the restricted program. There's very little I can say, given the nature of that program, except to say that the Air Force canceled that program largely due to budgetary concerns and prioritization, but the requirement likely does still exist. And so we will see how that plays out over time. I also -- as we look at the broader Space portfolio, will answer your SDA question more generally. We see a whole variety of opportunities that we can pursue, so we're simply selective on which ones we're best positioned to win, where we think that we can price competitively.

那麼，讓我先回答您關於限制性項目的第一個問題。鑑於該項目的性質，我幾乎無話可說，只能說空軍取消該項目主要是出於預算方面的考慮和優先排序，但這項需求可能仍然存在。因此，我們將拭目以待，看看情況會如何發展。此外，當我們審視更廣泛的太空業務組合時，我將更全面地回答您關於太空發展管理局（SDA）的問題。我們看到了各種各樣的機會，因此我們只是選擇那些我們最有可能贏得、我們認為價格具有競爭力的項目。

And with SDA, we've been quite successful and those programs are profitable. But that's because we're remaining disciplined in choosing where we can best compete and win with a reasonable fee and the probability of success.

我們在SDA專案上取得了相當大的成功，這些專案也獲利頗豐。但這是因為我們始終堅持嚴謹，選擇最有競爭力、收費合理、成功率最高的項目。

But you did no-bid that one program. As we move forward, is the pricing here getting a little bit more competitive as more people join the party?

但你確實沒有競標那個項目。隨著我們推進，隨著越來越多的人加入，這裡的定價是否會變得更有競爭力？

The way I think about bid strategies is if there is an area where you have a differentiated value, then you are going to be able to price accordingly. If you don't, you won't. And so we don't bid when we don't feel like we have a differentiated value that's going to be successful with the price we need to bid to both win and execute. It's really a decision we make on every capture. It's fundamental to the way we both commit and execute as well as deliver the returns that we expect. So no change there and no difference in Space than it is in other parts of our portfolio.

我對競標策略的看法是，如果你在某個領域擁有差異化價值，那麼你就能相應地定價。如果你沒有，那就無法定價。因此，如果我們覺得自己的差異化價值不足以以既能贏得競標又能執行的報價獲得成功，我們就不會競標。這實際上是我們每次競標時都要做出的決定。它對於我們承諾和執行的方式以及實現預期回報至關重要。因此，這一點沒有變化，Space與我們投資組合中的其他部分也沒有任何區別。

Our next question comes from Robert Stallard with Vertical Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Vertical Research 的 Robert Stallard。

Kathy, I just wanted to follow up on your comments at the start of the call where you talked about the FY '25 request and DoD spending leveling off. I was wondering who you think could be the bill payers in that budget scenario or whether there's any vulnerability in the Northrop Grumman portfolio?

凱西，我只是想跟進一下你在電話會議開始時提到的2025財年預算請求和國防部支出趨於平穩的問題。我想知道，你認為在這種預算情況下誰可能是帳單支付者，或者諾斯羅普·格魯曼公司的投資組合是否存在任何弱點？

We looked at the FY '25 President's Budget as very much in line with our expectations. So no surprises and no concerns about our portfolio. Obviously, we talked about two things where budget was a factor. in MDA choosing to down select early on NGI was largely due to budgetary constraints. And then, of course, the restricted Space program that we mentioned, but those we have now digested and, of course, reflected not only in our outlook, but my comments about the FY '25 budget.

我們認為2025財年的總統預算與我們的預期非常一致。因此，我們的投資組合沒有意外，也沒有任何擔憂。顯然，我們討論了兩件與預算相關的事。導彈防禦局（MDA）選擇在早期減少國家導彈防禦計劃（NGI）的選拔，主要是由於預算限制。當然，還有我們之前提到的受限制的太空計劃，但這些我們現在已經消化了，當然，這不僅反映在我們的展望中，也反映在我對2025財年預算的評論中。

So nothing else that we see in there that is concerning. And as I noted, '24 ended up being a strong year for the investment accounts with 6% growth over '23. And we also have the supplemental on top of that. So it's early in looking at '25 and where the budget environment will actually end up in the U.S. But I also just keep pointing back to international demand, that's the strongest that I've seen in a long time. And so we look at global demand, not just the U.S. marketplace.

所以，我們沒有看到其他令人擔憂的情況。正如我所指出的，2024年投資帳戶表現強勁，較2023年成長了6%。此外，我們還有補充數據。所以，現在還只是在展望2025年以及美國的預算環境最終走向的初期階段。但我也一直強調國際需求，這是我長期以來看到的最強大的需求。因此，我們關注的是全球需求，而不僅僅是美國市場。

Which is -- I've got a quick follow-on on that actually because you did mention exports as well. And I was wondering if you could give us an update on what sort of scale as a percentage of revenues, exports are at the moment and what that could grow to in the future.

也就是說——實際上，由於您也提到了出口，所以我想快速跟進。我想知道您能否更新一下目前出口占收入的比例，以及未來可能會成長到多少。

They're about 14% right now. And while we don't see that moving significantly in the near term because those opportunities I noted in the pipeline do take a while to prosecute and turn into sales. We do expect that, that will be a faster segment of growth than our domestic business over these next several years, just the richness of the pipeline.

目前約為14%。雖然我們認為短期內不會出現顯著增長，因為我提到的那些機會確實需要一段時間才能抓住並轉化為銷售額。但我們預計，未來幾年，這部分業務的成長速度將快於我們的國內業務，這主要得益於我們產品線的豐富性。

Our next question comes from Pete Skibitski with Alembic Global.

我們的下一個問題來自 Alembic Global 的 Pete Skibitski。

Kathy, can you talk about Northrop's role in the shipbuilding supply chain, which I guess is the Marine unit in MS. Just because the Navy has talked about some of the supply chain challenges in shipbuilding. Maybe you could just kind of assuage any concerns maybe in terms of how that unit is performing and the growth outlook there? And just kind of how you guys are managing that unit to just so we have a good feel that smoke doesn't turn into fire kind of scenarios?

凱西，您能談談諾斯羅普在造船供應鏈中扮演的角色嗎？我猜是密西西比州的海軍陸戰隊。因為海軍已經談到了造船業面臨的一些供應鏈挑戰。您能否就該部門的業績和成長前景，稍微緩解一下大家的擔憂？您能談談你們是如何管理該部門的，以確保我們不會像以前那樣出現“煙火”之類的情況嗎？

Absolutely. It's a critically important part of our portfolio. We're very focused on delivering for our customers in that portfolio. And there have been challenges that we own. We've been working on a development program for nearly 10 years. It's going to deliver an amazing step function improvement in propulsion for the Columbia class submarines. And we are near delivering the first pair of turbine generators. And that's what the Secretary of the Navy was referring to in his testimony on the Hill.

當然。這是我們產品組合中至關重要的一部分。我們非常專注於為客戶提供該組合的服務。我們也面臨一些挑戰。我們已經在一個開發案上工作了近10年。它將為哥倫比亞級潛艇的推進系統帶來驚人的階梯式改進。我們即將交付第一對渦輪發電機。這正是海軍部長在國會作證時所提到的。

We are working to address supply chain challenges, as you have heard across the entire shipbuilding enterprise, our experience is very consistent with that. These programs are long cycle. And so we only go through these development efforts once over a multi-decade period and there's learning that happens. But in this case, I think we are largely through that learning and on a path for delivery, and we're optimistic of the future ahead in being able to deliver this capability.

我們正在努力應對供應鏈挑戰，正如您在整個造船業所聽到的，我們的經驗與此非常一致。這些專案週期很長。因此，我們幾十年來只進行一次這樣的開發工作，期間也不斷學習。但就目前而言，我認為我們基本上已經完成了這些學習，並走上了交付之路，我們對未來能夠實現這一目標充滿信心。

From a financial perspective that you asked about, this is relatively small, so not something that you should think of as having a material financial impact, but that doesn't mean we don't take it very seriously.

從您所詢問的財務角度來看，這個數字相對較小，因此您不應該認為它會產生重大的財務影響，但這並不意味著我們沒有非常重視它。

Our next question comes from Scott Deuschle with Deutsche Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的史考特·多伊施勒。

Dave, just to clarify, what's the message on Space growth beyond this year? Does it reaccelerate off this 4% or so this year?

戴夫，我想澄清一下，今年以後航太業的成長前景如何？今年航太產業的成長速度會從4%左右再次加速嗎？

Yes, I appreciate the question. As you know, we'll provide more specific guidance for all of our businesses and at the enterprise level later this year and provide some indications on the October call as is our traditional approach. I think the broader themes that we've talked about in Space today are important. We've touched on the restricted program cancellation, and the NGI down select news. But broadly speaking, the doubling of that business's backlog over the last five years, the 17% CAGR in sales over that business in the last four years, both position us really well for continued success in that business.

是的，我很感謝你的提問。如你所知，我們將在今年稍後為所有業務以及企業層面提供更具體的指引，並在10月份的電話會議上提供一些指示，這是我們的一貫做法。我認為我們今天在Space部門討論的更廣泛的主題非常重要。我們談到了限制性項目的取消，以及NGI下調的部分消息。但總體而言，該業務的訂單量在過去五年翻了一番，銷售額在過去四年實現了17%的複合年增長率，這兩項數據都為我們在該業務的持續成功奠定了堅實的基礎。

And there is margin rate and margin dollar expansion opportunity on top of that. So we'll provide more specifics as we go about the combination of headwinds from the items we mentioned and tailwinds from the continued growth on other programs. So more specific later in the year, but we continue to be confident in the long-term outlook of the Space business.

除此之外，還有利潤率和利潤額擴張的機會。因此，我們將在討論上述項目帶來的不利因素以及其他項目持續成長帶來的有利因素時提供更多細節。具體細節將在今年稍後公佈，但我們對太空業務的長期前景仍然充滿信心。

Okay. Great. And then, Kathy, you flagged opportunities for increased demand for ammunition from U.S. allies, so I was wondering if you could talk a bit more about maybe the specific ammunition products that allies are looking to purchase from Northrop? And in which regions you're seeing that demand percolate? So I understand that there's at least one specific European supplier of ammunition that generates something like 25% operating margins off that revenue. So just curious to understand what that opportunity could mean for Northrop.

好的。太好了。凱西，你提到了美國盟友對彈藥需求增加的機會，所以我想知道你能否再多談談盟友希望從諾斯羅普公司購買的具體彈藥產品？你認為這種需求主要集中在哪些地區？我了解到至少有一家特定的歐洲彈藥供應商，其收入的營業利潤率約為25%。我很好奇，想知道這個機會對諾斯羅普公司意味著什麼。

Yes, of course. So as we look at our weapons portfolio today, it's about 6% to 7% of revenue. It's growing double digit, and we expect that to continue. A good part of that growth will be supported both by the supplemental that I spoke about in my opening comments in response to Ron's question, but also the European demand has strengthened. So we have a number of opportunities, countries across Europe looking to do the exact same thing the U.S. is doing in replenishing stockpiles for munitions.

是的，當然。就我們目前的武器組合而言，它約占我們收入的6%到7%。它正在以兩位數的速度增長，我們預計這種增長將持續下去。這一增長的很大一部分將得益於我在回答羅恩的問題時提到的補充，以及歐洲需求的增強。因此，我們有很多機會，歐洲各國都在尋求與美國相同的補充彈藥庫存的方式。

And those are basic and nonstandard ammo contracts that we have. Our business grew nicely last year. We expect that to continue this year. And we also have programs like AARGM, where there's international demand, that's a longer-term proposition as we look to provide those products to our European allies, particularly as they field the F-35. So a wide ranging set from ammunition all the way up to tactical missiles. And then, of course, our solid rocket motor facility expansion supports many of our peer programs like GMLRS, PAC-3, looking to be a second source to support SM-6, all of those opportunities are in the mix for us.

這些是我們擁有的基本彈藥和非標準彈藥合約。去年我們的業務成長良好，預計今年將繼續保持成長動能。此外，我們還有一些像AARGM這樣的項目，這些項目在國際上都有需求，這是一個長期目標，因為我們希望向我們的歐洲盟友提供這些產品，尤其是在他們部署F-35戰機的時候。因此，我們提供的產品範圍廣泛，從彈藥到戰術飛彈。當然，我們的固體火箭引擎工廠的擴建也支持著我們許多類似的項目，例如GMLRS、PAC-3，並希望成為SM-6的第二供應商。所有這些機會都包含在內。

Our next question comes from Myles Walton with Wolfe Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Myles Walton。

Kathy, you provided a ton of international color both in your opening remarks and also a follow-up to Rob's question. But when I look at the sales disclosures, it's been pretty locked in at $5 billion for five years of absolute dollar revenue. So is there a color you can give us on the backlog that shows that this international opportunity is at least working its way into backlog, if not sales in the coming year?

凱西，您在開場白和回答羅布提問時都提到了大量國際業務的細節。但我查看銷售揭露時發現，五年的絕對美元收入幾乎鎖定在50億美元。那麼，您能否提供一些關於待售訂單的情況，表明這個國際業務機會即使沒有轉化為明年的銷售額，至少也正在轉化為待售訂單？

Yes. So in terms of backlog, what you would look to see as we signed the IBCS deals that I mentioned with additional countries, as we sign the contracts for Triton that I highlighted in the call today, the IVEWS that are in the early stages, the two countries progressing toward awards. These are all awards that would be in new franchises that we have not had in the past. While we continue to see just the standard growth in areas like F-35 international and the Triton portfolio with the Australian buys that are already underway or our E-2D franchise with France and Japan. So those are still in the backlog and then you'd add to that, the opportunities that I highlighted this morning that are new franchises for us.

是的。就訂單積壓而言，隨著我們與其他國家簽署我提到的IBCS協議，隨著我們簽署我在今天電話會議上強調的Triton合同，以及處於早期階段的IVEWS合同，兩國正在推進合同授予，您將會看到什麼。這些合約都將是我們過去從未獲得的新特許經營權。同時，我們繼續看到F-35國際和Triton產品組合等領域的標準成長，包括已經在進行的澳洲採購，以及我們與法國和日本的E-2D特許經營權。所以這些仍然處於積壓狀態，然後，您還要加上我今天早上強調的那些機會，這些機會對我們來說是新的特許經營權。

Okay. So the percent of the backlog that's international has been expanding though, I think, is what you're saying?

好的。所以，您說的國際訂單積壓比例一直在擴大，對吧？

It has, although really what we see now is a whole set of opportunities for product lines that were not in our backlog over the last five years, so that's the difference. Our portfolio has largely been high-end capabilities that aren't exportable. And as you look at how the portfolio has evolved over time, these new franchises that I spoke about today, or franchises like Triton now getting permissibility for exports to more countries, is really opening up a whole new set of opportunities for our company.

確實如此，但我們現在看到的是過去五年來我們積壓產品線中沒有的一系列機會，這就是差異所在。我們的產品組合主要都是高階產品，無法出口。而當你回顧產品組合的演變時，你會發現我今天提到的這些新特許經營權，或者像Triton這樣現在獲得向更多國家出口許可的特許經營權，確實為我們公司開闢了一系列全新的機遇。

Our next question comes from Gavin Parsons with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀的加文·帕森斯。

Kathy, you mentioned you've finalized negotiations with additional suppliers on the B-21. Were those all in line with your expectations? Can you share what percentage of suppliers are now locked in? And then when you expect that to be fully finalized?

凱西，您提到已經與其他供應商就B-21轟炸機專案完成了談判。這些談判都符合您的預期嗎？能否透露一下目前已確定的供應商比例是多少？您預計什麼時候能完全敲定？

So they were largely in line with our expectations, which is reflected in the fact that we had no EAC change in the quarter. We are far along in negotiations with all of our suppliers, and we expect to be closing on those shortly that we're making sure that we have the best deal possible and that we work those negotiations diligently. So I've not set a time barrier to the team, more so an outcome set of objectives for them, and they're doing quite well against those expectations. And our suppliers are obviously key to us. We want to make sure that they are able to support the investment in this program that's necessary. And so, we're taking their interest in line as well.

因此，這些結果基本上符合我們的預期，這反映在本季我們未發生 EAC 變化。我們與所有供應商的談判進展順利，預計很快就會結束談判，我們正在確保達成盡可能好的協議，並認真進行談判。因此，我沒有為團隊設定時間限制，而是為他們設定了一套目標，而他們的表現也相當不錯，完全符合我們的預期。供應商顯然對我們至關重要。我們希望確保他們能夠支持對這個項目的必要投資。因此，我們也會考慮他們的利益。

Okay. Great. That's helpful. And then, Dave, maybe just on Aeronautics margin, I think you mentioned the strength in 1Q will be a little lighter through the rest of the year. But was 1Q as expected? Was that in guide? Or did you perform better than you thought you would in the first quarter?

好的。太好了。這很有幫助。然後，戴夫，也許就航空利潤率而言，我記得您提到過，第一季的強勁增長在今年剩餘時間內會略微減弱。但是，第一季的表現是否符合預期？是否符合預期？或者說，你們在第一季的表現是否比預期更好？

The first quarter was particularly strong. As we mentioned, we had anticipated an opportunity for productivity gains and indirect rate-driven enhancements to the margin as well this year that was baked into our guidance. And the timing was such that a lot of that came in, in the first quarter, which is why we've noted that we expect the margin rate to be slightly lower in subsequent quarters than it was right out of the gate set at 10%. And so while there's no single onetime item in the first quarter, it was a particularly strong start and a great way to kick off the year for AS.

第一季表現尤為強勁。正如我們之前提到的，我們預計今年將有機會提高生產力，並透過間接利率驅動利潤率的提升，這些因素也已納入我們的績效指引。時機恰到好處，許多利潤在第一季就已實現，因此我們預計後續季度的利潤率將略低於最初設定的10%。因此，雖然第一季沒有一次性項目，但這對AS來說是一個特別強勁的開端，也為新的一年拉開了良好的序幕。

Our next question comes from Matt Akers with Wells Fargo.

我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行的馬特‧埃克斯 (Matt Akers)。

I wanted to ask on Sentinel, you mentioned you're supporting the Nunn-McCurdy review. Just curious what you think the outcomes of that could be? And if there's any risk to that program or do you think that's not the case just given sort of how critical it is.

我想在《哨兵報》上問一下，您提到您支持納恩-麥柯迪法案的審查。我只是好奇您認為這項審查的結果會是什麼？這個項目是否有風險？或者，考慮到它的重要性，您認為風險不大。

Well, there has been strong bipartisan support for the program. We expect that will continue. It, of course, is the nation's policy as reviewed in the nuclear posture review to have three legs of strategic deterrence. So we do expect that the program will be recertified, but the government needs to take the process seriously. It's a good process. And they're working through the phases of that recertification now. And as I said, we're providing support to them and stay committed and very focused on delivering the program in the meantime, not getting distracted by the activity associated with the Nunn-McCurdy but supporting it fully.

嗯，該計劃得到了兩黨的大力支持。我們預計這種情況會持續下去。當然，正如《核態勢評估報告》所審查的那樣，國家政策是擁有三個戰略威懾支柱。因此，我們確實預計該計劃將獲得重新認證，但政府需要認真對待這個過程。這是一個好的過程。他們現在正在完成重新認證的各個階段。正如我所說，我們正在為他們提供支持，同時繼續致力於並高度專注於實施該計劃，不會因與納恩-麥柯迪法案相關的活動而分心，而是全力支持它。

Yes. Got it. And I guess one for Dave. Just thoughts on where EACs at the company level kind of go from here, you're still running quite a bit below where you were a couple of years ago, it sounds like AS had some good EACs, but just thoughts on the progress from here.

是的，明白了。我想問 Dave。我只是想問公司層級的 EAC 未來會如何發展。你們現在的水平比幾年前低了不少，聽起來 AS 有一些不錯的 EAC，但我只是想談談未來會取得怎樣的進展。

Sure. I agree with your characterization that there was good progress in the first quarter. And you'll see that further detailed in our 10-Q disclosures as well. We had been running substantially above the levels of 2022 and 2023 in prior years before the macroeconomic disruptions. And so over time, we anticipate that we will normalize to levels more like our history and we saw progress towards that in the first quarter, as you mentioned, particularly in AS.

當然。我同意您關於第一季度業績良好的說法。您也會在我們的10季揭露中看到更詳細的資訊。在宏觀經濟動盪之前的幾年裡，我們的業績遠高於2022年和2023年的水準。因此，隨著時間的推移，我們預期業績將恢復到更接近歷史水準。正如您所提到的，我們在第一季就看到了這一進展，尤其是在AS方面。

But really across the business, you're seeing the results of our heavy focus on program performance and cost efficiency. It's one of the three drivers that we anticipate for margin expansion, along with business mix enhancement, and the gradual decline of macroeconomic pressures. And so across those three dimensions, we see an opportunity to continue to see margins normalize over the next several years, and Q1 was a good example of what you can anticipate there.

但實際上，在整個業務範圍內，您都能看到我們高度重視專案績效和成本效率的成果。這是我們預期利潤率成長的三大驅動因素之一，其他三個因素是業務組合優化以及宏觀經濟壓力的逐步減弱。因此，從這三個維度來看，我們看到了未來幾年利潤率持續正常化的機會，第一季的業績就是一個很好的例子。

Our next question comes from Jason Gursky with Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Jason Gursky。

Kathy, I was wondering if I could ask you to dive a little deep on the Space business in two areas, maybe starting with sensors and payloads. And talk a little bit about the pipeline of business opportunity that you have there, where you're seeing the most interest kind of -- like type of sensor, letter optical communications, SAR, RF, that kind of thing. Just talk a little bit about the general kind of ecosystem and what's going on in the sensors and payload business that you've got there and what you're kind of excited about today?

凱西，我想請您從兩個領域深入探討航太業務，例如感測器和有效載荷。請您談談您在這方面有哪些業務機會，您認為哪些領域最受關注，例如感測器類型、光通訊、合成孔徑雷達 (SAR)、射頻 (RF) 等等。請您簡單介紹整個生態系統，以及您在感測器和有效載荷業務方面目前進展如何，以及您目前對哪些領域感到興奮？

So we are seeing interest in modernizing really the entire architecture in Space. And I've been talking about this for a while, so whether it's intelligence surveillance reconnaissance, communications, missile warning and tracking, the entire Space architecture is being upgraded, both in terms of advancing the capability of those sensors and payloads but also the coverage with the broadening of the Space architecture. And so we're involved selectively in all of those areas. As you know, we play a key role in ISR communications, and varying forms of both missile tracking and missile warning.

因此，我們看到人們對整個太空架構的現代化升級感興趣。我已經談論這個問題有一段時間了，無論是情報、監視、偵察、通信，還是導彈預警和跟踪，整個太空架構都在升級，不僅要提升感測器和有效載荷的能力，還要擴大太空架構的覆蓋範圍。因此，我們有選擇地參與所有這些領域。如你所知，我們在情報、監視與偵察（ISR）通信以及各種形式的飛彈追蹤和飛彈預警方面發揮關鍵作用。

So really, we feel we have a very broad portfolio that stretches across those areas, we don't focus in on one over the other, and we see them all equally attractive. And really, in many ways, that modernization is well underway and is what has contributed to the strong growth of our backlog in Space over the last few years.

所以，我們真的覺得我們的產品組合非常廣泛，涵蓋了這些領域，我們不會偏重於某一領域，而且我們認為所有領域都同樣有吸引力。而且，在許多方面，我們的現代化進程都在順利進行，這也是過去幾年我們在太空領域訂單強勁成長的原因。

Okay. And maybe a similar kind of discussion on the ground systems side of things and whether that's all the sensor payloads that we're launching up into Space are driving the ground system business, just kind of what the competitive environment looks like for you there?

好的。也許在地面系統方面也進行類似的討論，我們發射到太空的所有感測器有效載荷是否都在推動地面系統業務，那裡的競爭環境是什麼樣的？

Yes. They are, and we do participate in the ground segment. I'd say our strength is more in the sensors and payloads, but we look at a full integrated solution and often are asked by the government to support them on the ground systems development that go with the satellites that we're fielding. And so we see that as a marketplace where we absolutely can compete. We just choose to be a bit more selective there. Again, back to where we're more differentiated.

是的。他們確實參與了，我們也參與了地面部分。我想說我們的優勢在於感測器和有效載荷，但我們著眼於一個完整的整合解決方案，而且政府經常要求我們支持與我們正在部署的衛星配套的地面系統開發。因此，我們認為這是一個我們絕對可以參與競爭的市場。我們只是選擇在這方面要更加謹慎。再次回到我們更具差異化優勢的領域。

Josh, have time for one more question.

喬希，還有時間再問一個問題。

And our last question comes from Peter Arment with Baird.

我們的最後一個問題來自貝爾德公司的彼得·阿門特。

Nice results. Kathy, can you maybe just talk a little bit about what you expect on your CapEx kind of profile. When we think about last year, you had a big step up and things are staying elevated here, but you also have just tremendous demand signals, both domestically and internationally. Just how you're thinking about how CapEx should trend? Have you made enough of the investment? It sounds like you have on the solid rocket side and microelectronics, but just thinking about more broadly?

不錯的結果。 Kathy，您能否簡單談談您對資本支出的預期。回顧去年，您的業績取得了長足進步，目前情況仍然保持高位，而且國內外市場的需求訊號也十分強勁。您認為資本支出的趨勢如何？您的投資是否已經足夠？聽起來您在固體火箭和微電子領域已經投入了足夠的資金，但請您從更廣闊的視角來思考。

Yes. Some part of why we highlighted today some of those investments that we're making that will support growth over the long term is to reflect the statements that we've made that we do see this year being the peak 4% of revenue CapEx expenditures and then starting to see those come down gradually more towards a normalized level in our company, still see those as a robust growth environment. And so there will be investments that we're making. We're committed to do that. But we do not see the same demand for those investments over the next several years that we've seen over the last several.

是的。我們今天之所以強調我們正在進行的一些將支持長期成長的投資，部分原因是為了反映我們先前所做的聲明：我們確實認為今年資本支出佔收入的4%將達到峰值，然後開始逐漸下降，趨於公司正常水平，但我們仍然認為這是一個強勁的成長環境。因此，我們將繼續進行投資。我們致力於這樣做。但我們認為未來幾年對這些投資的需求不會像過去幾年那麼強烈。

Good well, thank you all for joining us on the call today. We -- as you see, we're off to a strong start to the year, and we will carry that momentum into the following quarters as our team focuses relentlessly on delivering that technology advantage for our customers and value to our shareholders. So thanks again for joining us. I look forward to speaking with you on our next call in July.

好的，感謝大家今天參加我們的電話會議。如大家所見，我們今年開局強勁，並將這種勢頭延續到接下來的幾個季度，我們的團隊將始終專注於為客戶提供技術優勢，並為股東創造價值。再次感謝大家的參與。期待在7月的下次電話會議上與大家交流。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝大家。女士們，先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與。