Patterson Companies Inc (PDCO) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Patterson Companies Inc. Second Quarter Fiscal 2024 Earnings Conference Call.

感謝您的耐心等待，歡迎參加 Patterson Companies Inc. 2024 財年第二季財報電話會議。

I would now like to welcome John Wright, VP of Investor Relations, to begin the call. John, over to you.

現在我歡迎投資者關係副總裁約翰·賴特 (John Wright) 開始電話會議。約翰，交給你了。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for participating in Patterson Companies Fiscal 2024 Second Quarter Conference Call. Joining me today are Patterson President and Chief Executive Officer, Don Zurbay; and Patterson Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Barry. After a review of our results and outlook by management, we will open the line to your questions.

謝謝你，接線生。大家早安，感謝您參加 Patterson Companies 2024 財年第二季電話會議。今天與我一起出席的還有 Patterson 總裁兼執行長 Don Zurbay；和帕特森首席財務官凱文·巴里。在管理層審查我們的結果和前景後，我們將開通您的提問專線。

Before we begin, let me remind you that certain comments made during this conference call are forward-looking in nature and subject to certain risks and uncertainties. These factors, which could cause actual results to materially differ from those indicated in such forward-looking statements, are discussed in detail in our Form 10-K and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We encourage you to review this material.

在開始之前，請允許我提醒您，本次電話會議中發表的某些評論本質上具有前瞻性，並存在一定的風險和不確定性。這些因素可能導致實際結果與此類前瞻性陳述中所示的結果有重大差異，我們在 10-K 表格和向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中詳細討論了這些因素。我們鼓勵您查看此資料。

In addition, comments about the markets we serve, including growth rates and market shares, are based upon the company's internal analysis and estimates. The content of this conference call contains time-sensitive information that is accurate only as of the date of the live broadcast, November 29, 2023. Patterson undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this call. Also, a financial slide presentation can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website at pattersoncompanies.com.

此外，對我們所服務的市場的評論，包括成長率和市場份額，都是基於公司的內部分析和估計。本次電話會議的內容包含時間敏感信息，僅截至直播日期（2023 年 11 月 29 日）準確。帕特森不承擔修改或更新任何前瞻性陳述以反映該日期之後的事件或情況的義務這次通話的。此外，您也可以在我們網站 pattersoncompanies.com 的投資者關係部分找到財務幻燈片簡報。

Please note that in this morning's conference call, we will reference our adjusted results for the second quarter of fiscal 2024. The reconciliation tables in our press release are provided to adjust various reported GAAP measures for the impact of deal amortization and an interest rate swap along with any related tax effect of these items. We will also discuss free cash flow as defined in our earnings release, which is a non-GAAP measure, and use the term internal sales to represent net sales adjusted to exclude the impact of foreign currency, contributions from recent acquisitions and the net impact of an interest rate swap. These non-GAAP measures are not intended to be a substitute for our GAAP results.

請注意，在今天早上的電話會議中，我們將參考2024 財年第二季的調整後結果。我們新聞稿中提供的調節表是為了調整各種報告的GAAP 措施，以了解交易攤銷和利率掉期的影響這些項目的任何相關稅務影響。我們還將討論我們的收益發布中定義的自由現金流，這是一種非公認會計準則衡量標準，並使用術語「內部銷售額」來表示調整後的淨銷售額，以排除外幣的影響、最近收購的貢獻以及淨銷售額的影響。利率掉期。這些非公認會計準則衡量標準無意取代我們的公認會計準則結果。

This call is being recorded and will be available for replay starting today at 10:00 a.m. Central Time for a period of 1 week.

此通話正在錄音，並可從中部時間今天上午 10 點重播，為期 1 週。

Now I'd like to hand the call over to Don Zurbay.

現在我想把電話轉給唐·祖爾貝 (Don Zurbay)。

Thanks, John, and welcome, everyone, to Patterson's Fiscal 2024 Second Quarter Conference Call. I will begin my remarks today with highlights of our consolidated results before providing more details on the performance of each of our segments.

謝謝 John，歡迎大家參加 Patterson 的 2024 財年第二季電話會議。我今天的演講將首先重點介紹我們的綜合業績，然後提供有關每個部門業績的更多詳細資訊。

Our team executed well against the evolving backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty and other industry factors that had varied impacts on discrete categories within our Dental and Animal Health segments. I'll start with key highlights of strong performance in the quarter.

在宏觀經濟不確定性和其他行業因素不斷變化的背景下，我們的團隊表現出色，這些因素對我們的牙科和動物健康領域的離散類別產生了不同的影響。我將從本季強勁表現的主要亮點開始。

In the Dental segment, Patterson's broad and resilient consumables portfolio enabled us to deliver sales growth above market growth amidst steady patient demand. And our core equipment category delivered solid year-over-year growth despite a tough comparison to last year's strong second quarter performance.

在牙科領域，Patterson 廣泛且富有彈性的耗材產品組合使我們能夠在患者需求穩定的情況下實現高於市場成長的銷售成長。儘管與去年第二季的強勁表現相比，我們的核心設備類別仍實現了穩健的年成長。

In Animal Health, our market-leading production animal business achieved strong sales growth primarily due to the leading omnichannel presence that Patterson has built to best serve producers. And in both of our business segments, our value-added services categories, including our software offerings, achieved significant growth that outpaced overall sales and sales within the Dental and Animal Health segments.

在動物保健領域，我們市場領先的生產動物業務實現了強勁的銷售成長，這主要歸功於帕特森為最好地服務生產商而建立的領先的全通路業務。在我們的兩個業務部門中，我們的增值服務類別（包括我們的軟體產品）實現了顯著增長，超過了牙科和動物保健部門的整體銷售額和銷售額。

Offsetting these results, we experienced softer-than-expected demand in 2 areas of our business. Macroeconomic conditions impacted our performance in the high-tech dental equipment categories, and our companion animal business was impacted by a decline in vet clinic visits and spending. Ultimately, we delivered second quarter adjusted EPS of $0.50. We also returned $86 million in capital to shareholders through our dividend and share repurchases.

我們的兩個業務領域的需求低於預期，抵消了這些結果。宏觀經濟狀況影響了我們在高科技牙科設備類別中的表現，而我們的伴侶動物業務則受到獸醫診所就診量和支出下降的影響。最終，我們第二季調整後每股收益為 0.50 美元。我們也透過股利和股票回購向股東返還 8,600 萬美元的資本。

Looking forward, we believe that macroeconomic and industry challenges are likely to persist for the duration of our fiscal year. We, therefore, have adjusted our fiscal 2024 guidance to reflect our revised expectations for the year. We now expect to deliver adjusted earnings in the range of $2.35 to $2.45 per diluted share, a decline of 4% at the midpoint of our previous range.

展望未來，我們認為宏觀經濟和產業挑戰可能在本財年持續存在。因此，我們調整了 2024 財年指引，以反映我們修改後的今年預期。我們現在預計調整後每股攤薄收益將在 2.35 美元至 2.45 美元之間，較先前區間的中位數下降 4%。

We remain focused on executing against our proven strategy, which, as a reminder, is designed to achieve 4 core objectives: first, drive revenue growth above the current end market growth rates; second, build upon the progress we've made to enhance our margin performance; third, evolve our products, channels and services to best serve the customers in our end markets; and fourth, improve efficiency and optimization.

我們仍然專注於執行我們行之有效的策略，提醒一下，該策略旨在實現 4 個核心目標：首先，推動收入成長高於當前終端市場成長率；其次，在我們已經取得的進展的基礎上，提高我們的利潤表現；第三，發展我們的產品、通路和服務，以最好地服務終端市場的客戶；第四，提高效率和優化。

Despite a more challenging macroeconomic environment during the second quarter, we continued investing across our business in service of our long-term strategic objectives. This includes investments in our distribution capabilities, software offerings and value-added services to further differentiate Patterson as a partner of choice for our customers. We are focused on managing Patterson for the long term because we are confident in the strength and resilience of our end markets and in Patterson's ability to perform for our customers and our shareholders.

儘管第二季宏觀經濟環境更具挑戰性，我們仍繼續對整個業務進行投資，以實現我們的長期策略目標。這包括對我們的分銷能力、軟體產品和增值服務的投資，以進一步使 Patterson 成為我們客戶的首選合作夥伴。我們專注於長期管理帕特森，因為我們對終端市場的實力和彈性以及帕特森為我們的客戶和股東服務的能力充滿信心。

I'd like to touch on some of the targeted investments we made during the second quarter that we expect will drive our efficiency and optimization over the long term. First, we recently completed the expansion of a distribution facility dedicated to our Dental business in Canada. We believe the expanded facility in Montreal will enhance our ability to serve customers on the east side of the country and add state-of-the-art features that will drive efficiencies.

我想談談我們在第二季度進行的一些有針對性的投資，我們預計這些投資將在長期內推動我們的效率和最佳化。首先，我們最近完成了加拿大牙科業務分銷設施的擴建。我們相信，蒙特婁的擴建設施將增強我們為該國東部客戶提供服務的能力，並增加最先進的功能，從而提高效率。

Second, we successfully completed the implementation of our ERP system in Canada. This is an important milestone in our ERP rollout, connecting our U.S. and Canada operations to provide greater visibility across our North American operations to drive meaningful efficiencies.

其次，我們成功完成了ERP系統在加拿大的實施。這是我們 ERP 部署過程中的一個重要里程碑，將我們的美國和加拿大業務連接起來，為我們的北美業務提供更大的可見性，從而顯著提高效率。

And finally, Patterson also continued to invest behind our robust suite of software solutions in both our Dental and Animal Health segments. As we've discussed previously, we believe the opportunity for growth within software is meaningful. And we're investing to build upon our strong foundation, add to our capabilities and address evolving customer preferences.

最後，帕特森也繼續投資於我們牙科和動物健康領域強大的軟體解決方案套件。正如我們之前討論的，我們相信軟體領域的成長機會是有意義的。我們正在投資以建立我們堅實的基礎，增強我們的能力並滿足不斷變化的客戶偏好。

In our fiscal 2024 second quarter, we added technical personnel and other resources to our dental software team and are pleased with the progress we have made toward an even stronger offering and customer experience. We're building a track record of driving returns from our strategic investments, and we expect that performance to continue.

在 2024 財年第二季度，我們為牙科軟體團隊增加了技術人員和其他資源，並對我們在提供更強大的產品和客戶體驗方面取得的進展感到滿意。我們正在建立推動策略性投資回報的良好記錄，並且我們預計這種表現將持續下去。

For example, last year, Patterson completed acquisitions of Dairy Tech and RSVP and ACT. Today, those businesses are performing even better than our expectations. The Dairy Tech owned brand is a positive margin contributor in our production animal business, and the RSVP platform for veterinarian staffing is solving today's most critical challenge for our animal health customers. And to meet that demand, we continue to expand RSVP to serve more of Patterson's customers.

例如，去年，帕特森完成了 Dairy Tech 以及 RSVP 和 ACT 的收購。如今，這些企業的表現甚至比我們的預期還要好。 Dairy Tech 自有品牌為我們的動物生產業務帶來了積極的利潤貢獻，而獸醫人員配置的 RSVP 平台正在為我們的動物健康客戶解決當今最關鍵的挑戰。為了滿足這項需求，我們繼續擴展 RSVP，為更多的 Patterson 客戶提供服務。

As we move through the second half of fiscal '24, we plan to continue to balance our investment strategy with cost discipline to calibrate our expenses appropriately within the macroeconomic environment. I am proud of the Patterson team in the way we are navigating a dynamic macroeconomic environment to deliver value for our customers and our shareholders. We continue to believe that the strength of our team, the resiliency of the Dental and Animal Health end markets and our comprehensive value proposition make Patterson well positioned to drive enhanced growth, profitability and value creation over the long term.

隨著我們進入 24 財年下半年，我們計劃繼續平衡我們的投資策略與成本紀律，以在宏觀經濟環境中適當調整我們的支出。我為帕特森團隊在充滿活力的宏觀經濟環境中為我們的客戶和股東創造價值的方式感到自豪。我們仍然相信，我們團隊的實力、牙科和動物保健終端市場的彈性以及我們全面的價值主張使帕特森處於有利地位，能夠推動長期增長、盈利能力和價值創造。

Now I'll provide more detail on the performance of each of our 2 business segments during the fiscal second quarter.

現在，我將提供有關第二財季我們兩個業務部門各自業績的更多詳細資訊。

Let's start with Dental. In the second quarter, Dental segment internal sales declined 0.2% year-over-year. As I mentioned, our consumables category performed very well in the quarter with 3% internal sales growth, including the negative deflationary impact of certain infection control product prices. Excluding those infection control products, we saw a nearly 5% sales growth.

讓我們從牙科開始。第二季度，牙科部門內部銷售額較去年同期下降 0.2%。正如我所提到的，我們的消耗品類別在本季表現非常好，內部銷售成長了 3%，其中包括某些感染控制產品價格的負面通貨緊縮影響。排除那些感染控制產品，我們的銷售額成長了近 5%。

We attribute this strong performance to a few key factors: first, steady patient traffic for standard dentistry; second, our long-term consistent commitment to strengthening our relationships with our customers; third, our broad and resilient dental consumables portfolio, including an expansive suite of private label products, which targets our customer base; and finally, the strong execution by our team. Taken together, these factors enabled Patterson to perform well in the consumables category and insulated us from macroeconomic headwinds that caused some patients to postpone specialty procedures.

我們將這種強勁的表現歸因於幾個關鍵因素：首先，標準牙科的患者流量穩定；其次，我們對加強與客戶關係的長期一致承諾；第三，我們廣泛且有彈性的牙科耗材產品組合，包括一系列針對我們客戶群的自有品牌產品；最後，我們團隊的強大執行力。總而言之，這些因素使帕特森在消耗品類別中表現出色，並使我們免受宏觀經濟逆風的影響，宏觀經濟逆風導致一些患者推遲專業手術。

On the dental equipment side, internal sales declined 6% year-over-year. Patterson achieved continued growth in core equipment during the quarter, even on top of last year's strong growth. However, this growth was more than offset by declining sales of high-tech equipment during the quarter.

牙科設備方面，內部銷售額較去年同期下降 6%。即使在去年強勁成長的基礎上，帕特森本季的核心設備也實現了持續成長。然而，這一增長被本季高科技設備銷量下降所抵消。

Our digital and CAD/CAM businesses faced industry headwinds from the broader economic environment as well as lengthening upgrade cycles and continued pricing pressure. Moving forward, we are encouraged by the fact that our manufacturing partners have indicated long-term plans to invest and innovate in these important product categories. This is a testament to the continued long-term demand for these types of products. And when there's new innovation, Patterson has a leading capability to sell, finance, install and service all dental equipment.

我們的數位和 CAD/CAM 業務面臨更廣泛的經濟環境、升級週期延長和持續的定價壓力所帶來的行業阻力。展望未來，我們的製造合作夥伴已製定了對這些重要產品類別進行投資和創新的長期計劃，這一事實令我們感到鼓舞。這證明了對此類產品的持續長期需求。當出現新的創新時，帕特森在銷售、融資、安裝和維修所有牙科設備方面擁有領先的能力。

And finally, Dental internal sales in our value-added services category increased approximately 3% over the prior year period. Value-added services represent the entire suite of offerings we provide to our customers that enhance the customer experience, drive loyalty and help make Patterson an indispensable partner to their practice. Dental value-added services continued to grow at a pace exceeding the rate of the Dental segment sales overall and remain a key strategic focus and significant growth opportunity for Patterson.

最後，增值服務類別的牙科內部銷售額比去年同期成長了約 3%。加值服務代表了我們向客戶提供的整套產品，這些產品可增強客戶體驗、提高忠誠度並幫助 Patterson 成為其實踐中不可或缺的合作夥伴。牙科增值服務的成長速度持續超過牙科部門整體銷售的速度，並且仍然是 Patterson 的關鍵策略重點和重大成長機會。

We are dedicated to continuously deepening Patterson's Dental value proposition and positioning ourselves for continued success in a healthy and attractive market that is supported by enduring trends, including an aging population, a drive towards practice modernization and heightened awareness of the link between oral health and overall health. We remain confident in our team's ability to effectively navigate ongoing macroeconomic and industry challenges and achieve our long-term goals.

我們致力於不斷深化帕特森牙科的價值主張，並定位自己在一個健康且有吸引力的市場中持續取得成功，該市場受到持久趨勢的支持，包括人口老齡化、實踐現代化的推動以及對口腔健康與整體健康之間聯繫的認識的提高健康。我們對我們的團隊有效應對持續的宏觀經濟和行業挑戰並實現我們的長期目標的能力充滿信心。

Now let's move on to our Animal Health segment. During the second quarter, Patterson's Animal Health segment internal sales increased 0.2% year-over-year. Even in an environment of modest growth, we're seeing evidence that Patterson's deep and broad value proposition across species and multiple channels continues to be a driver of our success.

現在讓我們繼續我們的動物健康部分。第二季度，帕特森動物保健部門內部銷售額年增 0.2%。即使在適度增長的環境中，我們也看到證據表明，帕特森跨​​物種和多渠道的深刻而廣泛的價值主張仍然是我們成功的推動力。

In companion animal, our internal sales declined by low single digits as veterinary clinic business decreased and spending moderated. As I mentioned, we attribute this decrease to moderation in the companion animal industry [hastened] by a tough economic climate for consumers navigating inflation and other challenges. However, it's important to put this quarter into broader context of the long-term health of this end market. As we look ahead, we expect this market as a whole to grow in the low single digits over the long term, supported by positive long-term trends in pet parenting.

在伴侶動物方面，由於獸醫診所業務減少和支出放緩，我們的內部銷售額下降了低個位數。正如我所提到的，我們將這種下降歸因於伴侶動物產業的放緩，這是由於消費者應對通貨膨脹和其他挑戰的艱難經濟環境。然而，重要的是要將本季置於更廣泛的終端市場長期健康狀況的背景下。展望未來，我們預計，在寵物養育積極的長期趨勢的支持下，整個市場將長期以較低的個位數成長。

On the production animal side, second quarter internal sales grew by mid-single digits. A strong performance in production reaffirms the strength of our omnichannel presence, highly tailored distribution strategy and comprehensive offering across animal species. Those strategies executed by our talented and tenured team enabled us to continue to win new business and outperform the broader production animal market. Secondarily, our performance also benefited because of the more historical timing of the annual fall run and movement of cattle to feed yards.

在生產動物方面，第二季內部銷售額實現中個位數成長。強勁的生產業績再次證明了我們的全通路影響力、高度客製化的分銷策略以及跨動物物種的全面產品服務的實力。我們才華橫溢的終身團隊執行的這些策略使我們能夠繼續贏得新業務並超越更廣泛的生產動物市場。其次，我們的表現也受惠於每年秋季跑步和牛到飼料場的運動的歷史時間安排。

Across the Animal Health segment, our value-added services category grew rapidly due to increased demand for our software solutions and equipment services as well as new programs to drive revenue and operational efficiency in freight. We're also confident that the opportunity for continued growth within software remains significant. And we continue to invest in existing solutions to better leverage our strong foundation, add to our capabilities and address evolving customer preferences.

在動物保健領域，由於對我們的軟體解決方案和設備服務的需求增加，以及提高貨運收入和營運效率的新計劃，我們的增值服務類別迅速增長。我們也相信，軟體領域持續成長的機會仍然很大。我們繼續投資現有解決方案，以更好地利用我們強大的基礎，增強我們的能力並滿足不斷變化的客戶偏好。

Now I'll turn the call over to Kevin Barry to provide more detail on our financial results.

現在我將把電話轉給凱文·巴里 (Kevin Barry)，以提供有關我們財務業績的更多詳細資訊。

Thank you, Don, and good morning, everyone. In my prepared remarks this morning, I will cover the financial results for our second quarter of fiscal '24, which ended on October 28, 2023, and then conclude with our outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year.

謝謝你，唐，大家早安。在今天早上準備好的發言中，我將介紹截至 2023 年 10 月 28 日的 24 財年第二季度的財務業績，然後總結我們對本財年剩餘時間的展望。

So let's begin by covering the results for our second quarter of fiscal '24. Consolidated reported sales for Patterson Companies in our fiscal '24 second quarter were $1.65 billion, an increase of 1.6% over the second quarter of 1 year ago. Internal sales, which are adjusted for the effects of currency translation, contributions from recent acquisitions and the net impact of an interest rate swap, increased 1.0% compared to the same period last year.

讓我們先介紹一下 24 財年第二季的業績。 Patterson Companies 在 2024 財年第二季的綜合銷售額為 16.5 億美元，比一年前第二季成長 1.6%。內部銷售額（根據貨幣換算的影響、近期收購的貢獻以及利率互換的淨影響進行調整）與去年同期相比增長了 1.0%。

Gross margin for the second quarter of fiscal '24 was 20.5%, an increase of 30 basis points compared to the prior year period. Beginning with our fiscal '24 second quarter, we have also provided adjusted gross margin, which is a non-GAAP financial measure that adjusts gross margin for the impact of the mark-to-market accounting related to our equipment financing portfolio and the associated interest rate swap hedging instrument.

2024財年第二季毛利率為20.5%，較去年同期成長30個基點。從 24 財年第二季開始，我們還提供了調整後的毛利率，這是一項非 GAAP 財務指標，根據與我們的設備融資組合和相關利息相關的按市值計價會計的影響調整毛利率掉期對沖工具。

We will provide this additional non-GAAP financial measure going forward as it adjusts for the impact of interest rate fluctuations net of the mark-to-market swap adjustment within the P&L. In particular, this adjustment classifies the gain or loss on the interest rate swap from other income expense to net sales to align the swap impact with the impact on customer financing net sales.

我們將在未來提供這項額外的非公認會計準則財務指標，因為它會根據損益表中扣除按市價掉期調整後的利率波動的影響進行調整。特別是，此調整將利率掉期的損益從其他收入支出分類為淨銷售額，以使掉期影響與對客戶融資淨銷售額的影響保持一致。

Remember, the accounting impact of the mark-to-market adjustment impacts our total company gross margin but not the gross margin within our business segment. And as before, the net impact of interest rate fluctuations between the swap and the equipment financing portfolio has a minimal impact on net income.

請記住，以市價調整的會計影響會影響我們公司的總毛利率，但不會影響我們業務部門的毛利率。和先前一樣，掉期和設備融資組合之間的利率波動對淨利潤的影響很小。

For the second quarter of fiscal '24, our adjusted gross margin was 20.6% compared to 20.8% in the year-ago period. We provided these comparative numbers for the second quarter and on a year-to-date basis. And we have included reconciliations for the first quarter in today's press release.

2024 財年第二季度，我們調整後的毛利率為 20.6%，去年同期為 20.8%。我們提供了第二季和年初至今的這些比較數據。我們在今天的新聞稿中納入了第一季的調節表。

Importantly, during the second quarter of fiscal '24, both of our business units posted a year-over-year increase to their respective gross margins compared to the prior year period. The initiatives we have put in place to improve gross margin, working more closely with strategic vendors who reward us for our sales performance, drive improved mix, exercise expense discipline and leverage our cost structure, have translated into improved gross margins for both of our business units.

重要的是，在 2024 財年第二季度，我們的兩個業務部門各自的毛利率與去年同期相比均實現了同比增長。我們為提高毛利率而採取的舉措，與獎勵我們銷售業績的策略供應商更密切地合作，推動改進組合，實行費用紀律並利用我們的成本結構，這些舉措已轉化為我們兩項業務毛利率的提高單位。

Adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of net sales for the second quarter of fiscal '24 were 16.5% and unfavorable by 70 basis points compared to the second quarter of fiscal '23. In the second quarter of fiscal '24, our consolidated adjusted operating margin was 4.2%, a decrease of 80 basis points compared to the second quarter of last year. Note that our adjusted operating margin now includes the impact of the interest rate swap adjustment mentioned previously.

24 財年第二季調整後營運費用佔淨銷售額的百分比為 16.5%，與 23 財年第二季相比下降了 70 個基點。 2024財年第二季度，我們的綜合調整後營業利益率為4.2%，比去年第二季下降了80個基點。請注意，我們調整後的營業利潤率現在包括前面提到的利率掉期調整的影響。

In the second half of fiscal '24, we plan to continue to effectively manage our expenses, while executing on the margin initiatives that have been yielding results within our business segments and for the company overall. Our adjusted tax rate for the second quarter of fiscal '24 was 25.1%, an increase of 90 basis points compared to the prior year period.

在 24 財年下半年，我們計劃繼續有效管理我們的開支，同時執行已在我們的業務部門和整個公司內產生成果的利潤計劃。我們2024財年第二季的調整後稅率為25.1%，比去年同期增加了90個基點。

Reported net income attributable to Patterson Companies, Inc. for the second quarter of fiscal '24 was $40.0 million or $0.42 per diluted share. This compares to reported net income in the second quarter of last year of $54.1 million or $0.55 per diluted share.

2024 財年第二季 Patterson Companies, Inc. 公佈的淨利為 4,000 萬美元，或攤薄後每股收益 0.42 美元。相比之下，去年第二季報告的淨利潤為 5,410 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.55 美元。

Adjusted net income attributable to Patterson Companies, Inc. in the second quarter of fiscal '24 was $47.3 million or $0.50 per diluted share. This compares to $61.2 million or $0.63 per diluted share in the second quarter of fiscal '23. This decrease in adjusted earnings per diluted share for the fiscal second quarter was primarily due to lower sales of dental high-technology equipment and increased operating expenses compared to the prior year period.

2024 財年第二季調整後歸屬於 Patterson Companies, Inc. 的淨利為 4,730 萬美元，或攤薄後每股收益 0.50 美元。相比之下，2023 財年第二季的 6,120 萬美元或攤薄後每股 0.63 美元。第二財季調整後每股攤薄收益的下降主要是因為與去年同期相比，牙科高科技設備的銷售下降以及營運費用增加。

Now let's turn to our business segments, starting with the Dental business. In the second quarter of fiscal '24, internal sales for our Dental business decreased 0.2% compared to the second quarter of fiscal '23.

現在讓我們轉向我們的業務部門，從牙科業務開始。在 24 財年第二季度，我們牙科業務的內部銷售額與 23 財年第二季度相比下降了 0.2%。

Internal sales of dental consumables in the fiscal second quarter increased 2.9% compared to 1 year ago despite being impacted by continued price deflation of certain infection control products. Internal sales of noninfection control products increased 4.7% in the second quarter of fiscal '24 compared to the year-ago period. This negative impact from infection control product deflation has steadily moderated over the past year. And we expect the year-over-year deflationary effect to continue moderating and fully normalize at the end of fiscal year '24.

儘管受到某些感染控制產品價格持續下跌的影響，第二財季牙科耗材的內部銷售額仍比一年前成長了 2.9%。與去年同期相比，2024 財年第二季非感染控制產品的內部銷售額成長了 4.7%。感染控制產品通貨緊縮的負面影響在過去一年中穩步減弱。我們預期年比通貨緊縮效應將繼續減弱，並在 24 財年末完全正常化。

In the second quarter of fiscal '24, internal sales of dental equipment decreased 6.3% compared to 1 year ago. This quarter, core equipment posted positive growth that was more than offset by a decline in the digital X-ray and CAD/CAM product category as compared to the prior year period. We believe the year-over-year decline in these 2 categories was the result of macroeconomic concerns on some equipment purchasing decisions as well as selling price declines within the imaging categories.

2024財年第二季度，牙科設備的內部銷售額比一年前下降了6.3%。本季度，核心設備實現了正成長，但與去年同期相比，數位 X 光和 CAD/CAM 產品類別的下降足以抵消這一增長。我們認為，這兩個類別的同比下降是由於宏觀經濟對某些設備採購決策的擔憂以及成像類別內售價下降的結果。

Internal sales of value-added services in the second quarter of fiscal '24 increased 3.1% over the prior year period, led by the continued growth of our software business and increased year-over-year contribution from our technical service team. Value-added services, including our software offerings, represent the entire suite of offerings we provide to our customers that help make us an indispensable partner to their practice, and these valuable offerings are also mix favorable to our P&L.

24財年第二季增值服務內部銷售額比上年同期成長3.1%，這主要得益於我們軟體業務的持續成長以及我們技術服務團隊年比貢獻的增加。加值服務，包括我們的軟體產品，代表了我們向客戶提供的整套產品，幫助我們成為他們實踐中不可或缺的合作夥伴，這些有價值的產品也有利於我們的損益。

The adjusted operating margin in Dental was 9.4% in the second quarter of fiscal '24, which represents an 80 basis point decrease over the prior year period. While gross margins in the Dental business for the second quarter of fiscal '24 improved year-over-year, increased operating expenses related to our SAP implementation and warehouse expansion in Canada along with investments in our software and technical service business drove the unfavorability in adjusted operating margin on a year-over-year basis.

2024 財年第二季度，牙科業務調整後營業利益率為 9.4%，較上年同期下降 80 個基點。雖然2024 財年第二季牙科業務的毛利率年比有所改善，但與我們在加拿大的SAP 實施和倉庫擴建相關的營運費用增加，以及對我們的軟體和技術服務業務的投資，導致了調整後的不利影響。營業利潤率同比。

Now let's move to our Animal Health segment. In the second quarter of fiscal '24, internal sales for our Animal Health business increased 0.2% compared to the second quarter of fiscal '23. Internal sales for our companion animal business in the second quarter of fiscal '24 decreased 3.6% over the prior year period.

現在讓我們轉到動物保健部分。在 24 財年第二季度，我們動物保健業務的內部銷售額比 23 財年第二季成長了 0.2%。 2024 財年第二季我們的伴侶動物業務的內部銷售額比去年同期下降了 3.6%。

Strong sales performance from our NVS business in the U.K. was more than offset by declines in the U.S. companion animal business. Internal sales for our production animal business in the fiscal second quarter increased 4.1% in the quarter compared to the prior year period. Our production animal team continues to execute well in the market, and our omnichannel approach across several species continues to pay off with sales growth above the overall market.

我們在英國 NVS 業務的強勁銷售業績被美國伴侶動物業務的下滑所抵銷。第二財季我們生產動物業務的內部銷售額與去年同期相比成長了 4.1%。我們的生產動物團隊繼續在市場上表現良好，我們在多個物種上的全通路方法繼續獲得回報，銷售成長高於整體市場。

The adjusted operating margin in our Animal Health segment was 3.6% in the fiscal '24 second quarter, a decrease of 20 basis points from the prior year period. Gross margins in our Animal Health segment were up in the fiscal '24 second quarter, and increased operating expenses on a year-over-year basis drove the operating margin decrease compared to the second quarter of fiscal '23.

2024 財年第二季度，我們動物保健部門調整後的營業利潤率為 3.6%，比去年同期下降 20 個基點。我們的動物保健部門的毛利率在 24 財年第二季度有所上升，而營業費用同比增加導致營業利潤率與 23 財年第二季度相比有所下降。

Now let me cover cash flow and balance sheet items. During the first 6 months of fiscal '24, our free cash flow improved by $28.0 million compared to the same period 1 year ago. This was primarily due to a decreased level of working capital in the first 6 months of fiscal '24 compared to the year-ago period.

現在讓我介紹一下現金流量和資產負債表項目。在 24 財年的前 6 個月，我們的自由現金流與一年前同期相比增加了 2,800 萬美元。這主要是由於 24 財年前 6 個月的營運資本水準與去年同期相比有所下降。

Turning now to capital allocation. Our capital spending in the first 6 months of fiscal '24 was $33.5 million and $6.7 million higher than the first 6 months of fiscal '23. This increased spending reflects the investments we are making in our distribution capabilities as well as software and value-added services.

現在轉向資本配置。我們在 24 財年前 6 個月的資本支出為 3,350 萬美元，比 23 財年前 6 個月增加了 670 萬美元。支出的增加反映了我們對分銷能力以及軟體和增值服務的投資。

We continue to execute on our strategy to return cash to our shareholders. In the first quarter of fiscal '24, we declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per diluted share, which was then paid at the beginning of the second quarter of fiscal '24. We also repurchased approximately $61 million of shares during the second quarter of fiscal '24, thereby returning a total of $85.9 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

我們繼續執行向股東返還現金的策略。在 24 財年第一季度，我們宣布季度現金股利為稀釋後每股 0.26 美元，然後在 24 財年第二季初支付。我們也在 24 財年第二季回購了約 6,100 萬美元的股票，從而透過股利和股票回購向股東返還了總計 8,590 萬美元的資金。

Let me conclude with our outlook for the remainder of fiscal '24. Today, we are revising our fiscal '24 GAAP earnings guidance to a range of $2.04 to $2.14 per diluted share and our adjusted earnings guidance range to $2.35 to $2.45 per diluted share. We have made these revisions to our GAAP and adjusted earnings per share guidance to account for the macroeconomic environment and uncertainty that we believe will persist for the remainder of our fiscal '24 year.

最後讓我對 24 財年剩餘時間的展望進行總結。今天，我們將 24 財年 GAAP 獲利指引修訂為稀釋每股 2.04 美元至 2.14 美元，調整後獲利指引區間為稀釋每股 2.35 美元至 2.45 美元。我們對 GAAP 進行了修訂，並調整了每股收益指引，以考慮宏觀經濟環境和我們認為在 24 財年剩餘時間內將持續存在的不確定性。

Now I will turn the call back over to Don for some additional comments.

現在我將把電話轉回給 Don，徵求一些補充意見。

Thanks, Kevin. Before we open it up for Q&A, I want to thank the entire Patterson team for their continued hard work and commitment to our strategy and serving our customers.

謝謝，凱文。在我們開始問答之前，我要感謝整個帕特森團隊的持續辛勤工作以及對我們策略和服務客戶的承諾。

Looking forward, the macroeconomic challenges we experienced during the second quarter do not change our strategic objectives or confidence in the health and attractiveness of our end markets. We continue to believe that Patterson is well positioned to drive enhanced growth, profitability and value creation as we execute our strategy over the long term.

展望未來，我們在第二季度經歷的宏觀經濟挑戰不會改變我們的戰略目標或對終端市場健康和吸引力的信心。我們仍然相信，在我們執行長期策略時，帕特森處於有利地位，能夠推動成長、獲利和價值創造。

That concludes our prepared remarks. Kevin and I will be glad to take questions. Operator, please open the line.

我們準備好的演講到此結束。凱文和我很樂意回答問題。接線員，請開通線路。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Brandon Vazquez with William Blair.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自布蘭登·巴斯克斯和威廉·布萊爾的對話。

Maybe just to start, there's a lot of moving pieces on the macro side. Kind of hard for us to see through it all, but you guys have a good exposure in both Dental and Animal Health. So maybe as you look at your updated guidance, can you talk a little bit about what is assumed in kind of the end markets for both of those segments for the rest of the year?

也許只是開始，宏觀方面有很多變化。我們很難看清這一切，但你們在牙科和動物健康方面都有很好的接觸。因此，也許當您查看更新的指導意見時，您能否談談對今年剩餘時間這兩個細分市場的終端市場的假設？

Yes, Brandon, thanks for the question. So I think if you kind of break things down a little bit, our consumables business on the Dental side, as you could see, we had another strong quarter. So we expect that trend to continue.

是的，布蘭登，謝謝你的提問。所以我認為，如果你稍微細分一下，我們在牙科方面的消耗品業務，正如你所看到的，我們又經歷了一個強勁的季度。因此我們預計這種趨勢將持續下去。

On the equipment side, that's kind of where we're talking about the guidance revision is really the equipment, specifically the high-tech equipment. We're expecting that market to be somewhat soft as we go through the rest of our fiscal year or the second half.

在設備方面，我們所說的指導修訂其實是設備，特別是高科技設備。我們預計，在本財年剩餘時間或下半年，市場將會疲軟。

And then on the Animal Health side, another really strong performance in our production business, and there's a lot of good reasons for that, that are sustainable. So that business, we'd expect to benefit from that.

然後在動物保健方面，我們的生產業務又取得了非常強勁的業績，這有很多充分的理由，這是可持續的。因此，我們希望從這項業務中受益。

And then on the companion side, we saw a little bit of a slowdown in visits and spend. Again, that's -- we think that's a bit of an enduring dynamic as we go through the rest of the year. Think if you kind of peel back from that, we're talking about and putting into place some cost actions to help ourselves in the back half of the year. And some of the disruption in the industry that everyone's been focused on will call -- will get us some benefit as well. So when you kind of put all that in the hopper, that got us back to a $0.10 reduction in the guidance as we move through the back half.

然後在同伴方面，我們看到訪問量和支出略有放緩。再說一次，我們認為，在今年剩下的時間裡，這是一種持久的動力。想一想，如果你能擺脫這一點，我們正在討論並採取一些成本行動來幫助我們在今年下半年。每個人都關注的產業顛覆也會為我們帶來一些好處。因此，當你將所有這些都放入料斗時，當我們進入後半部分時，這使我們的指導值減少了 0.10 美元。

Okay. Great. And then maybe as a follow-up, kind of staying on equipment is, first, just clarifying, it sounds like -- in the past, we've talked about equipment a lot being lumpy. You might have a down quarter, then an up double digits quarter, but this seems like it's different. This might be a little bit more sustained decline through the rest of the year. So just clarifying that.

好的。偉大的。然後，也許作為後續行動，首先，只是澄清一下，在設備上停留的情況，聽起來像是——在過去，我們經常談論設備的笨重性。你可能會經歷一個季度的下降，然後一個季度的兩位數成長，但這似乎有所不同。今年剩餘時間裡，這種下降可能會更加持續。所以只是澄清一下。

And then any -- you guys have a unique view on financing a lot of this equipment. Any notable kind of read-throughs that you would make to the financing of the equipment business or delinquencies changing? Is it just higher interest rates are making people less willing to finance? Anything you could call out there?

然後，你們對於為大量此類設備提供資金有獨特的看法。您會對設備業務的融資或拖欠情況的變更進行任何值得注意的審查嗎？只是更高的利率讓人們不太願意融資嗎？有什麼可以說的嗎？

Yes. And maybe I'll take the first question and kick it over to Kevin for the next. I think the dynamics in the equipment business for us, it was a little bit different. It's lumpy, as you know, and we've said that repeatedly. Hard to really take trends from 1 month, even 3 months.

是的。也許我會回答第一個問題並將其交給凱文來解決下一個問題。我認為我們設備業務的動態有點不同。正如你所知，它是塊狀的，我們已經反覆說過這一點。很難真正了解 1 個月甚至 3 個月的趨勢。

I think in this case, it was particularly interesting because a lot of the slowdown really happened at the -- right at the end of the quarter, which is what we would talk about in terms of the miss for the quarter on our expectations was really driven late in the quarter, which is, as you can imagine, harder to mitigate.

我認為在這種情況下，這特別有趣，因為很多放緩確實發生在本季度末，這就是我們所說的本季度未達到我們預期的情況正如您可以想像的那樣，這種情況更難緩解。

But if you take the longer view on the year, that's where we think, okay, this is the dynamic we saw. We're going to be obviously monitoring that as we go through Q3 to see how much of that was really just timing versus slowdown, and then with some cost actions and then that sort of thing, we're going to -- the plan is to help mitigate that.

但如果你以更長遠的眼光來看待這一年，我們會認為，好吧，這就是我們看到的動態。當我們進入第三季度時，我們將明顯地進行監控，看看其中有多少實際上只是時機與放緩，然後採取一些成本行動，然後諸如此類的事情，我們將 - 計劃是幫助緩解這種情況。

And then maybe I'll let Kevin answer the question on the financing.

然後也許我會讓凱文回答有關融資的問題。

Yes. So like Don said, within the quarter here, we did see growth in our core equipment. And the declines that offset it were really in the 2D and 3D imaging and CAD/CAM spaces. And those are pressured. We saw some unit demand pressure as well as some continuing price pressure in the market, some downward ASP pressure that hit that.

是的。正如唐所說，在本季度內，我們確實看到了核心設備的成長。抵消這一影響的下降實際上是在 2D 和 3D 成像以及 CAD/CAM 領域。而這些都是有壓力的。我們看到了一些單位需求壓力以及市場上持續的價格壓力，以及一些平均售價下降的壓力。

And from a financing standpoint, you're right, we do in-house financing, and it really is mostly directed towards those categories. So that's most of the stuff that we finance. And we're working internally. And we've obviously raised our interest rates as the overall external market's gone up. But we're looking internally and working with our manufacturers on promotional strategies to keep driving demand in those categories as we go through the year, and financing is certainly a lever that we'd be looking at.

從融資的角度來看，你是對的，我們進行內部融資，而且它確實主要針對這些類別。這就是我們資助的大部分內容。我們正在內部工作。隨著整個外部市場的上漲，我們顯然提高了利率。但我們正在內部尋找並與我們的製造商合作制定促銷策略，以在這一年中繼續推動這些類別的需求，而融資無疑是我們正在考慮的槓桿。

Our next question comes from the line of Jon Block with Stifel.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jon Block 和 Stifel 的對話。

Don, just for the guidance, you missed the quarter by roughly $0.08. Relative to consensus, you lowered by $0.10 for the full year. So the back part is sort of unchanged. And I know that can be a little bit difficult to tease out because you guys don't guide specifically by quarter. You're saying you expect the macro to remain challenging. I guess where I'm going with this is it would seem that the full year would come down by more because, again, the quarter miss was almost a full $0.10.

Don，僅供參考，您錯過了該季度約 0.08 美元。相對於共識，全年價格下調了 0.10 美元。所以後面的部分沒有什麼變化。我知道這可能有點難以弄清楚，因為你們並沒有具體地按季度進行指導。您是說您預計宏觀經濟仍將充滿挑戰。我想我的意思是，全年似乎會下降更多，因為季度失誤幾乎是 0.10 美元。

So maybe you could just talk to that, like what do you -- what are you building in with anything as a buffer? And maybe what I'm trying to get at, are there any tailwinds from Henry Schein share gains in there that would be offsetting, call it, a weaker core as we work our way throughout fiscal '24?

所以也許你可以談談這個，比如你在做什麼——你用什麼東西作為緩衝來構建什麼？也許我想表達的是，亨利·施恩 (Henry Schein) 的股票收益是否會帶來任何順風車，可以抵消我們在整個 24 財年努力工作時的較弱核心？

Yes. Well, thanks, Jon. And one thing I would mention is that in this particular quarter, Q2, our -- so it's an $0.08 miss from Street consensus to our reported results. The -- in this quarter, I think there was some -- there was a bit of a disconnect between consensus and maybe where we were expecting things to be. So I would view it a little bit like that number. $0.08 is a bit less for the miss in our perspective. And then we're taking that out of the second half. But yes, definitely.

是的。嗯，謝謝，喬恩。我要提到的一件事是，在這個特定的季度，即第二季度，我們的——因此，華爾街的共識與我們報告的結果相差 0.08 美元。我認為在本季度，共識與我們預期的情況之間存在一些脫節。所以我會認為它有點像那個數字。從我們的角度來看，0.08 美元對於失誤來說有點少。然後我們將其從下半場中剔除。但是，是的，絕對是。

Look, the 3 main things I'd call out in the second half that we're considering are the slowdown in the higher-tech equipment market but continued strength in our consumables -- in our dental consumables portfolio, continued strength in our production business, doing things -- some things to mitigate some of the weakness we're seeing in companion and then stack on top of that, the cost actions we plan to take in the second half and any benefit from some of the competitor's disruption that we're going to have in November, particularly.

看，我在下半年要考慮的三件主要事情是高科技設備市場的放緩，但我們的耗材的持續強勢 - 在我們的牙科耗材組合中，我們的生產業務的持續強勢，做一些事情——一些事情可以減輕我們在同伴中看到的一些弱點，然後除此之外，我們計劃在下半年採取的成本行動以及我們從競爭對手的一些破壞中獲得的任何好處」尤其是十一月。

And that's kind of -- we put all that into the math formula, and that's -- those are the main things I would call out to some puts, some takes, but it nets out to the $0.10 move we did in the guidance.

這就是——我們把所有這些都放入數學公式中，那就是——這些是我對一些看跌期權、一些看跌期權提出的主要內容，但它會扣除我們在指導中所做的0.10 美元的變動。

Okay. And maybe just to push you on Part B of that first question, your competitor's website was down from some point in mid-October. So you did have a good dental consumable number in a weakening market, up 5% ex PPE.

好的。也許只是為了讓您了解第一個問題的 B 部分，您的競爭對手的網站從 10 月中旬的某個時候開始就癱瘓了。因此，在市場疲軟的情況下，牙科耗材的數量確實不錯，不包括個人防護用品（PPE），增加了 5%。

So was that a -- sorry to frame it this way. Was that a clean number? Or do you think you saw some of that in the month of October? And have you started to -- have you continued to see some tailwinds for the month of November? And then I'll just ask my follow-up.

抱歉這樣表述。這是一個乾淨的數字嗎？或者你認為你在十月看到了一些這樣的情況嗎？您是否開始 - 您是否繼續看到 11 月份的一些順風車？然後我會問我的後續行動。

Yes. So the benefit in October, it was a 2-week period. So the one thing I would caution against is too much calculation on simple math for any of this just because of the reality of putting new customers into your system, making transitions, customer ordering patterns, et cetera. It never works out that way. But the benefit for us in October was approximately $2 million of revenue.

是的。所以十月的福利是兩週的時間。因此，我要警告的一件事是，由於將新客戶放入您的系統、進行轉換、客戶訂購模式等的現實情況，因此需要對任何簡單的數學進行過多的計算。事情永遠不會這樣。但 10 月我們獲得的收益約為 200 萬美元。

Got it. That's very helpful. And then just to shift gears a little bit. Can you guys just talk about the Dental -- how the backlog with equipment and where that sits? And I just called it out because you got now back-to-back negative dental equipment results, but core is doing well.

知道了。這非常有幫助。然後稍微改一下。你們能談談牙科——設備的積壓情況如何以及它們位於哪裡嗎？我只是指出這一點，因為現在牙科設備結果連續出現負面結果，但核心表現良好。

The culprit seems to be high tech, but I think core usually has the longer like lead time. And so I'm just trying to match almost like core orders, if you would, to your results. So maybe if you could just touch on, to a certain extent, the backlog.

罪魁禍首似乎是高科技，但我認為核心通常有更長的交貨時間。因此，如果您願意的話，我只是嘗試將幾乎類似的核心訂單與您的結果相匹配。因此，也許您可以在某種程度上談談積壓的問題。

Yes. Well, we're not -- we want to try to be very helpful here but not get too far ahead of ourselves on forward-looking type information. I guess I would just say that the dynamics we saw in the quarter which were that core had a -- core was solid for us, but that the high-tech equipment showed some softness, particularly late in the quarter.

是的。好吧，我們不是——我們想盡力在這裡提供幫助，但在前瞻性資訊方面不要太過超前。我想我只想說，我們在本季看到的動態，即核心對我們來說是堅實的，但高科技設備表現出一些疲軟，特別是在本季結束時。

The backlog looks good. I think there's still good investment happening, but it's more targeted. And we expect that core could hang in there, that -- but then high tech, we're going to show some continued weakness here for a period of time.

積壓看起來不錯。我認為仍然有很好的投資發生，但更有針對性。我們預計核心可能會繼續存在，但高科技方面，我們將在一段時間內表現出一些持續的弱點。

Our next question comes from the line of Jeff Johnson with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自傑夫·約翰遜和貝爾德的對話。

So Don, maybe I can just ask for 2 clarifying questions from answers you just gave here. But one, you talked about a disconnect maybe between consensus in the second quarter versus what the company internal expectations might have been. EPS for the quarter was down 20% year-over-year. And so I guess, one, what would have been in the quarter that you would have internally been expecting such a sizable year-over-year contraction?

所以唐，也許我可以從你剛剛給的答案中提出兩個澄清問題。但有一點，您談到第二季度的共識與公司內部預期之間可能存在脫節。該季度每股收益較去年同期下降 20%。所以我想，第一，您內部預計該季度會出現如此大幅的年比收縮嗎？

And two, again, kind of -- is it just the cost actions and some of the cost savings that you're now going to be kind of ratcheting into the model that helps you get back to kind of flattish EPS or even low single-digit EPS growth that's implied in the second half guidance?

還有兩個，是不是只是成本行動和一些成本節約，你現在要逐步融入到模型中，幫助你回到平淡的每股收益，甚至是較低的單一-下半年指導中隱含的每股收益成長數字是多少？

Yes. I think it's a combination of cost actions and some of the benefits we're seeing.

是的。我認為這是成本行動和我們看到的一些好處的結合。

Maybe I'll turn it over to Kevin Barry for a few more comments on that.

也許我會把它交給凱文·巴里（Kevin Barry），請他對此發表更多評論。

Yes. I think what I'd say about the quarter specifically, Jeff, in terms of our expectations, last year, in Q2, we had a few onetime benefits in stock comp and incentive compensation that we knew were not going to repeat this year. So we have that baked into our expectations.

是的。我想我要具體說一下這個季度，傑夫，就我們的預期而言，去年第二季度，我們在股票補償和激勵補償方面獲得了一些一次性的好處，我們知道今年不會再重複這些好處。所以我們已經將其納入了我們的期望之中。

And then we also knew that here this quarter, we had some investment spending that was going to hit. And that really relates to the software investments we're making and some of the fulfillment center and ERP investments Don mentioned in his comments.

然後我們也知道，本季我們的一些投資支出將會受到影響。這確實與我們正在進行的軟體投資以及唐在評論中提到的一些履行中心和 ERP 投資有關。

So we knew that we had that swing happening in our OpEx line for the quarter. And then I think we're -- and so that was all baked into our expectations. And I think what deviated from our expectation like we've been saying was the high-tech equipment that really happened late in the quarter where it was a bit late for us to react to. So that was sort of what our Q2 estimate was built on.

所以我們知道本季的營運支出線發生了這種波動。然後我認為我們——所以這一切都融入了我們的期望。我認為，與我們的預期背道而馳的是我們一直在說的，是本季末真正發生的高科技設備，我們對此做出反應有點晚了。這就是我們第二季預測的基礎。

Okay. That's helpful. And then, I guess, just one follow-up just on the Schein question, the tailwinds, given their cyber issues. The $2 million number you cited, Don, for the back 2 quarters for the last 2 weeks of October, that's a number, frankly, that's in line, maybe even a little lower than I'm hearing from some of the private dealers that are out there that are probably 4, 5, 6x smaller than you. So that number just sounds very low to me.

好的。這很有幫助。然後，我想，考慮到他們的網路問題，只是關於 Schein 問題的一個後續行動，即順風。唐，你提到的200 萬美元的數字，是10 月最後2 週的後2 個季度的數字，坦率地說，這是一個符合要求的數字，甚至可能比我從一些私人經銷商那裡聽到的數字低。那裡可能比你小 4、5、6 倍。所以這個數字對我來說聽起來很低。

One, how do you get to that number? I'm sure it's hard to tell what customers may be -- are incremental or coming to you because of Schein cyber issues. But then how do we think about maybe the third quarter impact where obviously, those Schein issues have continued for several weeks into the quarter?

一，你如何得到這個數字？我確信很難判斷哪些客戶可能是增量客戶，或是因為 Schein 網路問題而來到您這裡。但是，我們如何看待第三季度的影響，顯然，這些 Schein 問題已經持續了本季數週？

I'm sure you don't wish ill on any of your competitors, but it is an issue that obviously we're watching closely. So how do we think about maybe the third quarter contribution from some of those share gains that might have happened on a temporary or, we'll see, longer-term basis?

我確信您不希望您的任何競爭對手生病，但這顯然是我們正在密切關注的問題。那麼，我們如何看待第三季的一些股票收益的貢獻，這些收益可能是暫時的，或者我們將看到的長期的？

Yes, Jeff, and appreciate it. And yes, I would reiterate what you just said. I never wish (inaudible) on any one particular competitor. I mean this does not benefit anyone really.

是的，傑夫，並且很感激。是的，我會重申你剛才所說的話。我從不希望（聽不清楚）任何特定的競爭對手。我的意思是這對任何人都沒有真正的好處。

But the -- there was 2 weeks left in the quarter when this really just started to come to light. And so again -- so for us, I would kind of point people to the idea that it's not linear that -- to get started. There's a lot going -- lot to that to get people into your fold to start their ordering to make sure that your own customers are serviced appropriately.

但是，當這個季度還剩兩週時，這個問題才真正開始浮出水面。再說一次——所以對我們來說，我會向人們指出這不是線性的——開始吧。要讓人們加入您的行列並開始訂購，以確保您自己的客戶得到適當的服務，需要做很多工作。

And again, the other thing I'd say, frankly, is we compete vigorously for our -- to obtain business, but so do our competitors, including that competitor. And so they were working to keep their customers. So that's how you kind of look at that.

坦白說，我想說的另一件事是，我們為獲得業務而進行激烈競爭，但我們的競爭對手，包括那個競爭對手，也是如此。因此，他們正在努力留住客戶。所以這就是你的看法。

I would say we're not going to, unfortunately, be able to give too much color on November, and we're actually -- we just finished the November month. So we're in the process of closing and starting to mine out all of that information.

不幸的是，我想說的是，我們不會在 11 月提供太多的色彩，而且我們實際上 - 我們剛剛結束了 11 月。因此，我們正在關閉並開始挖掘所有這些資訊。

I would say that I think we have a pretty good process to get at a number with -- that has some precision to it. So I feel good about the $2 million number that we gave for the quarter.

我想說的是，我認為我們有一個非常好的流程來獲得一個具有一定精確度的數字。所以我對我們本季提供的 200 萬美元感到滿意。

As you get into November, we'll see how that's played out. The thing that November had that October didn't is that some of the initial setup, some of the things that just sort of reacting to what happened was behind us. And we were able to focus a little bit more on just trying to help those customers out.

進入 11 月後，我們將看看結果如何。 11 月有而 10 月沒有的事情是，一些最初的設置，一些對所發生的事情做出反應的事情已經過去了。我們能夠更加專注於幫助這些客戶擺脫困境。

Our next question comes from the line of Kevin Caliendo with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的 Kevin Caliendo。

I want to get back to the dental equipment stuff and talk a little bit about selling price versus delays in ordering and to account for how much is actual price -- average price declines versus decision-making. And if you think those decisions are being delayed or just canceled, meaning like are we waiting? Are we waiting for December? Or are we pushing everything out a year? Or are these just like this isn't the right time, come back to us next year or maybe would they expect prices to come down? I'm just trying to understand the behavior of what's happening in the market.

我想回到牙科設備的話題，談談銷售價格與訂購延遲的關係，並考慮實際價格的多寡——平均價格下降與決策的關係。如果您認為這些決定被推遲或只是取消，這意味著我們在等待嗎？我們還在等12月嗎？或者我們要把一切都延後一年嗎？或者他們只是覺得現在不是合適的時機，明年回到我們這裡，或者他們可能會期望價格下降？我只是想了解市場上正在發生的事情的行為。

Yes. Kevin, this is Kevin. I think it's tough to make one blanket statement with kind of all the purchasing decisions that are out there in the market. I think what we're seeing in our business is sort of a combination of -- just when we look at the data, we do see some -- here in the quarter, we saw some unit price declines in our CAD/CAM business. We saw a bit more of a mix of trade-ups as opposed to new unit sales.

是的。凱文，這是凱文。我認為很難對市場上的所有購買決策做出一攬子聲明。我認為我們在業務中看到的情況是多種因素的結合——當我們查看數據時，我們確實看到了一些——在本季度，我們看到 CAD/CAM 業務的單價有所下降。我們看到更多的是交易的組合，而不是新的單位銷售。

And then in the -- I guess, at the imaging categories, we are seeing average selling prices come down a bit. And I think as we put all that together and we've built our forecast, there's always a replacement cycle on these types of equipment. There's -- for a practitioner at a certain point, they just need to replace the piece of equipment. That's how it's kind of baked into the baseline of our business.

然後，我想，在成像類別中，我們看到平均售價略有下降。我認為，當我們將所有這些放在一起並進行預測時，這些類型的設備總是有一個更換週期。對於從業者來說，到了某個階段，他們只需要更換設備。這就是它融入我們業務基線的方式。

And like I said earlier, our teams are working on the right promotional activities to drive new demand over and above that as we go through the quarter to try to break through some of those purchasing headwinds we're seeing. And like I said, some of that might show up in financing promotions, other promotions that we would do.

正如我之前所說，我們的團隊正在進行正確的促銷活動，以推動新的需求，並在本季度努力突破我們所看到的一些採購阻力。就像我說的，其中一些可能會出現在融資促銷活動和我們要做的其他促銷活動中。

Now from a timing standpoint, does that manifest in the next 2 months, 6 months, 1 year? It kind of depends customer by customer what their individual situation is. What buoys us a bit is as we looked and as our results have come in, and we've been talking about the consumables business and even when we kind of strip out some of the market noise, we still see really good underlying patient demand for kind of the core hygiene restoration-type treatments that's kind of our bread and butter for our business. So we know that people are still going to the dentist, and that should -- that traffic should buoy the investment decisions of some of the practices out there.

現在從時間的角度來看，這會在未來 2 個月、6 個月、1 年內體現出來嗎？這在某種程度上取決於客戶的個人情況。讓我們感到振奮的是，我們看到了，我們的結果已經出來了，我們一直在談論耗材業務，即使我們排除了一些市場噪音，我們仍然看到患者對醫療器械的潛在需求非常好。這是一種核心的衛生恢復型治療方法，也是我們業務的支柱。所以我們知道人們仍然會去看牙醫，這應該會推動一些診所的投資決策。

Okay. And just a quick follow-up to that is, are you seeing different behaviors from DSOs versus sort of individual practices? Are DSOs being more conservative in any way, shape or form?

好的。對此的快速跟進是，您是否看到 DSO 的行為與個人實踐不同？ DSO 是否在任何方面、形式或形式上都更保守？

I think it's fair to say we've seen some of the expansion activity on the DSO side slow down compared to before. But I think the same dynamics play out. It really kind of depends practice by practice what their traffic is, what the kind of state of their equipment is and what opportunities they see to invest in their practice to drive better ROI, which our -- which is what our sales team is really good at working through with our customers. So I'd say there are probably a fewer de novos than prior years but similar dynamics within the core practices.

我認為可以公平地說，我們已經看到 DSO 方面的一些擴展活動比以前有所放緩。但我認為同樣的動態也會發生。這實際上取決於實踐，他們的流量是什麼，他們的設備狀態如何，以及他們看到哪些機會投資於他們的實踐以提高投資回報率，這是我們的——這就是我們的銷售團隊真正擅長的與我們的客戶合作。所以我想說，與前幾年相比，從頭開始的工作可能會少一些，但核心實踐中的動態卻相似。

And if I can ask a follow-up to Jeff's question. Do you think that there is any permanent share changing that has happened due to what happened with your competitors and their cyber attack? Meaning like is there -- has there been any -- what you think is permanent market share gains for you because of what happened to them?

我是否可以跟進傑夫的問題。您認為由於您的競爭對手發生的事情及其網路攻擊而發生了任何永久性的份額變化嗎？意思是說，你認為有沒有——有沒有——因為他們發生的事情而為你帶來永久的市場份額成長？

I think it's too early to tell on that. We had -- part of our strategic view on this was, as you can imagine, we would like to be looking at and working with potential customers that could be long term. So that's our focus. But it remains to be seen.

我認為現在說這個還為時過早。正如你可以想像的那樣，我們對此的戰略觀點的一部分是，我們希望尋找可能長期的潛在客戶並與之合作。這就是我們的重點。但這還有待觀察。

Our next question comes from the line of Elizabeth Anderson with Evercore ISI.

我們的下一個問題來自 Elizabeth Anderson 與 Evercore ISI 的對話。

This is Sameer Patel on for Elizabeth Anderson. I just wanted to talk a little bit more about OpEx. You kind of mentioned that this is a bit elevated related to SAP integration as well as that facility expansion.

這是伊麗莎白·安德森的薩米爾·帕特爾。我只是想多談談營運支出。您提到，這與 SAP 整合以及設施擴展相關，有點高。

What are some of the levers you can pull to moderate those costs? And also, what sort of step-down should we kind of expect in the next quarter related to the completion of those 2 projects?

您可以採取哪些手段來降低這些成本？此外，我們應該預期下個季度與這兩個項目的完成相關的是什麼樣的降級？

Yes, I'll start, and Don can add any color he has. In terms of the step-down, I think as we go through the rest of the year, the timing of those investments we've been talking about are a bit offset. We'll see a wind down a bit in the expenses related to the SAP implementation and the Canada and NVS warehouse expansions as those have kind of gone live here right now. So we'll see some of that in Q3, but kind of moderating into Q4.

是的，我會開始，唐可以添加他擁有的任何顏色。就降級而言，我認為隨著今年剩餘時間的推移，我們一直在談論的那些投資的時機有點抵消。我們將看到與 SAP 實施以及加拿大和 NVS 倉庫擴建相關的費用有所減少，因為這些費用現在已經在這裡上線了。因此，我們將在第三季度看到其中的一些變化，但在第四季度會有所緩和。

But I think that's going to be a bit offset as our software investments were sort of built to accelerate more as we go through the rest of the year. Now -- and as Don has been saying, we're still very committed to that part of our business, and we see the real long-term potential there. So we're going to work to protect those investments as we go through the year.

但我認為這會有所抵消，因為我們的軟體投資在某種程度上是為了在今年剩餘的時間裡加速成長。現在，正如唐所說，我們仍然非常致力於我們業務的這一部分，並且我們看到了那裡真正的長期潛力。因此，我們將在這一年中努力保護這些投資。

And offsetting that in terms of the cost actions that Don mentioned, it's the things that really are kind of under our discretionary spend. We're going to be looking more closely at discretionary travel and professional fees and things like that. That is -- when you're having a year like this, you tighten your belt on. And we'll be doing those sort of activities here as we go through the year to make sure that we can deliver on our commitments and also make space for the investments for the long term of the business.

就唐所提到的成本行動而言，抵銷這一點是真正屬於我們可自由支配支出的事情。我們將更密切地關注可自由支配的旅行和專業費用以及類似的事情。也就是說，當你度過這樣的一年時，你就勒緊褲帶。我們將在這一年中開展此類活動，以確保我們能夠兌現我們的承諾，並為業務的長期投資騰出空間。

Our next question comes from the line of Allen Lutz with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的艾倫·盧茨 (Allen Lutz)。

One for Kevin. You said that equipment was weak over the past 2 weeks in the quarter. Can you talk about the consumables trend that you saw over the quarter? Was October any different than September? Is there anything to call out there? And then any insight into what you're seeing early in November.

一份給凱文。您說本季過去兩週設備疲軟。您能談談您在本季看到的消耗品趨勢嗎？十月和九月有什麼不同嗎？那裡有什麼好喊的嗎？然後了解您在 11 月初所看到的情況。

I wouldn't call out any big trend shifts we saw month-to-month within the quarter. And I think Don kind of walked through the impact you saw very late in the quarter.

我不會指出本季每個月我們看到的任何重大趨勢變化。我認為唐已經經歷了您在本季末看到的影響。

But honestly, if you kind of step back a bit and look at our -- kind of how we've performed this whole fiscal year going back to May for us, we continue to see really strong performance by our team on the consumables line.

但老實說，如果你退後一步，看看我們從五月開始的整個財年的表現，我們會繼續看到我們的團隊在消耗品線上的強勁表現。

We've had this PPE headwind that we've been working through. And when you strip that out, we think our team is performing and executing really well with our customers. We think we were on a trend to get some share even before the end of the quarter here.

我們一直在努力克服個人防護裝備上的不利因素。當你剔除這一點時，我們認為我們的團隊在與客戶的合作中表現得非常好。我們認為，即使在本季末之前，我們也有可能獲得一些份額。

So I wouldn't call any big trend shifts within the quarter. I think our teams are executing really well, and it's showing up in that consumables performance.

因此，我不會認為本季內出現任何重大趨勢轉變。我認為我們的團隊執行得非常好，這體現在消耗品的性能上。

Yes. Just -- and maybe just one point of clarification. I think on the weakness we saw in the equipment sales were really more -- I would characterize it more as really for the month of October, not the last -- not really just the last 2 weeks.

是的。只是——也許只是澄清一點。我認為我們在設備銷售中看到的疲軟確實更多——我將其描述為真正的十月份，而不是最後一個月——不僅僅是過去兩週。

Our final question comes from the line of John Stansel with JPMorgan.

我們的最後一個問題來自摩根大通的約翰·斯坦塞爾 (John Stansel)。

Just one on production. Can you give us a bit of a sense of how that should fit within cattle, pork, dairy? Sounds like -- I know pork was stronger last quarter. Kind of what was driving that acceleration in growth, it sounds like?

只有一份在生產中。您能否讓我們了解一下它如何適用於牛、豬肉、乳製品？聽起來——我知道上個季度豬肉走強。聽起來是什麼推動了這種加速成長？

And then any way to think about that from -- I know you've done a fair number of acquisitions in the production space. Would that mid-single-digit growth translate to more of an internal number?

然後以任何方式思考這個問題——我知道你們已經在生產領域進行了大量的收購。這種中等個位數的成長會轉化為更多的內部數字嗎？

And then, I guess, final part of it, just anything to call out on the seasonal timing shift that you mentioned as we think about the back half?

然後，我想，最後一部分，當我們考慮後半部分時，您提到的季節性時間變化有什麼需要注意的嗎？

Yes, I'll try to cover that. I mean I think the one thing I'd say about our production animal business is -- and we've talked about this in prior calls. That team has done an excellent job of really kind of diversifying both the species that we serve and then how we reach the veterinarians and producers that work in those industries.

是的，我會盡力涵蓋這一點。我的意思是，我認為關於我們的動物生產業務，我要說的一件事是——我們在之前的電話會議中已經討論過這一點。團隊做得非常出色，真正實現了我們服務的物種的多樣化，以及我們如何接觸到在這些行業工作的獸醫和生產者。

And so quarter-to-quarter, we see some ups and downs between swine, dairy and beef. But really, this quarter was good performance across all. The timing of the fall run, it's always kind of the [cow straddles] our Q2 and Q3 every quarter, and so a little bit of art and science to figure out exactly what the impact is going to be.

因此，每個季度，我們都會看到生豬、乳製品和牛肉之間的一些起伏。但實際上，本季的整體表現都不錯。秋季運行的時機，總是有點像每個季度的第二季度和第三季度，所以需要一點藝術和科學來弄清楚到底會產生什麼影響。

And so I think -- but again, I think the message really there is that we've got a team that's servicing their customers really well, gaining some share. And that diversified and kind of omnichannel presence we have is really the differentiator for us so we can really meet the customer where they are.

所以我認為 - 但我再次認為，真正傳達的訊息是，我們擁有一支為客戶提供良好服務的團隊，並贏得了一些份額。我們擁有的多元化和全通路的存在確實是我們的差異化因素，因此我們可以真正滿足客戶所在的位置。

On the acquisition side, the key acquisition that we've made in the production animal business is a company called Dairy Tech, which is an owned brand now that really services the dairy part of our business. And I'd say at this point, it's a relatively small part of that overall portfolio, but it's performing really well.

在收購方面，我們在生產動物業務中進行的關鍵收購是一家名為 Dairy Tech 的公司，該公司現在是一個自有品牌，真正為我們業務的乳製品部分提供服務。我想說，在這一點上，它只是整個投資組合中相對較小的一部分，但它的表現非常好。

It's providing a service that those dairy customers really value. That integration has gone really well from our expectations and how that team is performing. But from an overall numerical standpoint, it's relatively small from an overall impact.

它提供了那些乳製品客戶真正重視的服務。這種整合非常符合我們的預期以及團隊的表現。但從整體數字的角度來看，其整體影響相對較小。

All right. Thank you for all -- sorry. Thanks for all your time today and interest in Patterson Companies, and we will talk to you in 3 months.

好的。謝謝大家——抱歉。感謝您今天抽出寶貴時間以及對 Patterson Companies 的興趣，我們將在 3 個月後與您聯繫。

I'd like to thank our speakers for today's presentation, and thank you all for joining us. This now concludes today's call, and you may now disconnect.

我要感謝今天的演講者，也感謝大家加入我們。今天的通話到此結束，您現在可以掛斷電話了。