Patterson Companies Inc (PDCO) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Patterson Companies fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

感謝您的耐心等待，歡迎參加 Patterson Companies 2024 財年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）

Thank you. I'd now like to turn the call over to John Wright, Vice President of Investor Relations. You may begin.

謝謝。我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係副總裁約翰·賴特 (John Wright)。你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for participating in Patterson Companies fiscal 2024 fourth-quarter and full-year 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 call to your questions.

謝謝你，接線生。大家早安，感謝您參加 Patterson Companies 2024 財年第四季和全年電話會議。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。管理層對我們的結果和前景進行審查後，我們將召開電話會議回答您的問題。

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, June 18, 2024.

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。本次電話會議內容包含時效性訊息，僅截至直播日期（2024 年 6 月 18 日）準確。

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.

帕特森不承擔修改或更新任何前瞻性陳述以反映本次電話會議之後發生的事件或情況的義務。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 fourth-quarter and full-year 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.

請注意，在今天上午的電話會議中，我們將參考2024 年第四季和全年的調整後結果。的影響和利率掉期，以及這些項目的任何相關稅收影響。

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.

我們還將討論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），並使用內部銷售額一詞來表示調整後的淨銷售額，以排除外幣的影響、近期收購的貢獻以及淨影響的利率掉期。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 AM Central Time for a period of one week. Now I'd like to hand the call over to Don Zurbay.

此通話正在錄音，並可從中部時間今天上午 10 點重播，為期一周。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 fourth-quarter and full-year conference call. On today's call, we'll provide an update on the considerable progress we've made in our core strategic objectives throughout the fiscal year before discussing the financial performance of our dental and animal health segments. But I'd like to start with a few key takeaways.

謝謝，約翰。歡迎大家參加 Patterson 的 2024 財年第四季和全年電話會議。在今天的電話會議上，我們將介紹整個財年我們在核心戰略目標方面取得的重大進展的最新情況，然後討論我們的牙科和動物健康部門的財務業績。但我想從一些關鍵要點開始。

On the top line, we finished fiscal 2024 with internal sales growth of approximately 1%. For both the fourth quarter and full year, our sales performance was highlighted by strong growth in both dental consumables and production animal.

就營收而言，我們 2024 財年的內部銷售成長率約為 1%。無論是第四季還是全年，我們的銷售業績都體現在牙科耗材和生產動物的強勁成長上。

Our fourth quarter was negatively impacted by the widely reported cybersecurity attack on our claims processing vendor, Change Healthcare, which resulted in many dental practices being unable to utilize their services for insurance claim processing. The financial impact to Patterson is seen within the value-added services category of our dental segment, as many of our practice management software solutions incorporated a fee-based integration with Change Healthcare for claims management.

我們的第四季受到廣泛報導的針對我們的索賠處理供應商 Change Healthcare 的網路安全攻擊的負面影響，導致許多牙科診所無法利用其服務進行保險索賠處理。對 Patterson 的財務影響體現在我們牙科部門的增值服務類別中，因為我們的許多實踐管理軟體解決方案都與 Change Healthcare 進行了收費整合以進行索賠管理。

During the outage, Patterson suspended charging for that service, resulting in a $0.04 impact to both our GAAP and adjusted EPS in the fourth quarter. Excluding the impact from Change Healthcare's cybersecurity attack, our underlying fourth-quarter EPS would have exceeded last year, and our full-year EPS performance would have landed at the high end of the guidance range we provided last quarter.

在停電期間，Patterson 暫停了該服務的收費，導致我們第四季度的 GAAP 和調整後 EPS 受到 0.04 美元的影響。排除 Change Healthcare 網路安全攻擊的影響，我們第四季度的基本每股收益將超過去年，我們的全年每股收益表現將達到我們上季度提供的指導範圍的高端。

Ultimately, we delivered adjusted EPS of $0.82 in the fourth quarter and $2.30 for the full fiscal year, reflecting our top-line performance along with ongoing cost discipline measures, balanced against the continued strategic investments Patterson is making across our businesses to further enhance our capabilities and profitability.

最終，我們第四季度的調整後每股收益為0.82 美元，整個財年的調整後每股收益為2.30 美元，反映了我們的頂線業績以及持續的成本紀律措施，與Patterson 為進一步增強我們的能力而對我們的業務進行的持續策略投資相平衡和盈利能力。

Finally, our performance during fiscal 2024 allowed us to return approximately $328 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, in alignment with our balanced capital allocation priorities. We are encouraged by our performance through a dynamic and evolving macro environment, marked by persistent inflation, elevated interest rates, and uncertainty.

最後，我們在 2024 財年的表現使我們能夠透過股利和股票回購向股東返還約 3.28 億美元，這與我們平衡的資本配置優先事項保持一致。我們對在充滿活力且不斷變化的宏觀環境（以持續通膨、利率上升和不確定性為特徵）中的表現感到鼓舞。

Our continued ability to advance our strategic objectives while delivering value to our customers and shareholders speaks to the strength of our team and competitive position, as well as the attractive and resilient end markets we serve.

我們持續推進策略目標，同時為客戶和股東創造價值的能力證明了我們團隊的實力和競爭地位，以及我們所服務的有吸引力和有彈性的終端市場。

What I'm most proud of over the past year are the many steps we've taken to better position Patterson for the future. As a reminder, our long-term strategy is designed to achieve four 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.

在過去的一年裡，我最自豪的是我們為讓帕特森更好地適應未來而採取的許多措施。提醒一下，我們的長期策略旨在實現四個核心目標：第一，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。

We entered this fiscal year laser-focused on those objectives, with an emphasis on expanding investment in strategic growth opportunities like software and value-added services in response to growing demand among our customers and vendors for tightly integrated software, technology, and actionable data and insights to drive growth and profitability and to compete more effectively.

我們進入本財年時，重點關注這些目標，重點是擴大對軟體和增值服務等策略性成長機會的投資，以滿足我們的客戶和供應商對緊密整合的軟體、技術和可操作數據和推動成長和盈利並更有效競爭的見解。

For Patterson, investing in these capabilities advances these strategic objectives, adding margin-enhancing software and services to our business and deepening the value proposition we bring to our customers. Our investments in fiscal 2024 yielded meaningful progress in our software and value-added services offerings across both our dental and animal health segments.

對帕特森來說，投資這些能力可以推進這些策略目標，為我們的業務增加提高利潤的軟體和服務，並深化我們為客戶帶來的價值主張。我們在 2024 財年的投資在牙科和動物健康領域的軟體和增值服務產品方面取得了有意義的進展。

For example, we recently introduced Patterson CarePay+, a new all-in-one patient financing, dental insurance, and payment solution available to new and existing Eaglesoft customers. Patterson CarePay+ provides alternative payment options to patients for care, enabling increased patient retention and streamlined practice operations for our dental customers.

例如，我們最近推出了 Patterson CarePay+，這是一種新的一體化患者融資、牙科保險和支付解決方案，可供新舊 Eaglesoft 客戶使用。 Patterson CarePay+ 為接受護理的患者提供替代支付選項，從而提高患者保留率並簡化牙科客戶的實踐操作。

Another investment we made during the year occurred during the third quarter, when we announced an agreement with Pearl, a leading AI solution provider for the dental business, to integrate a pathology detection feature set called Second Opinion into Patterson's Eaglesoft practice management software.

我們今年進行的另一項投資發生在第三季度，當時我們宣布與牙科業務領先的人工智慧解決方案提供商Pearl 達成協議，將名為Second Opinion 的病理檢測功能集整合到Patterson 的Eaglesoft 實踐管理軟體中。

Second Opinion uses AI to help dentists detect conditions commonly diagnosed in x-rays and will enhance productivity and improve clinical outcomes for our dental customers, exemplifying how Patterson continues to offer solutions that transform practice performance. On the animal health side, we invested in Turnkey, a market-leading enterprise resource planning system for cattle producers throughout the fiscal year.

Second Opinion 使用 AI 幫助牙醫檢測 X 光中常見的診斷狀況，並將提高牙科客戶的工作效率並改善臨床結果，這體現了 Patterson 如何繼續提供可改變實踐績效的解決方案。在動物健康方面，我們投資了Turnkey，這是一個面向整個財年牛生產者的市場領先的企業資源規劃系統。

The Turnkey platform is an integral platform for producer customers who view their business as highly tech-enabled. In fact, the majority of US cattle on automatic feed systems are managed by Patterson's Turnkey platform.

交鑰匙平台對於那些將其業務視為高科技支援的生產商客戶來說是一個不可或缺的平台。事實上，大多數使用自動餵食系統的美國牛都是由 Patterson 的交鑰匙平台管理的。

A recently launched Turnkey Insights platform meaningfully advances Turnkey beyond tracking to a tool that supports better business decision making. Turnkey Insights enables customers to view and leverage historical data, analysis, and actionable insights about their feed yards, bridging operational and financial data through a customizable dashboard and a cloud-based mobile app.

最近推出的 Turnkey Insights 平台有意義地將 Turnkey 推進到從追蹤到支援更好的業務決策的工具。 Turnkey Insights 使客戶能夠查看和利用有關其飼料場的歷史數據、分析和可操作的見解，透過可自訂的儀表板和基於雲端的行動應用程式橋接營運和財務數據。

We also added to our animal health software portfolio through a relationship with Weave, a leading client engagement platform for veterinary practices. Weave's suite of automated tools for marketing, scheduling reminders, payments, and analytics will integrate seamlessly with our veterinary practice management systems, unlocking powerful capabilities to streamline workflows and elevate the client experience at our veterinary customers' clinics.

我們也透過與領先的獸醫實踐客戶參與平台 Weave 的合作，增加了我們的動物健康軟體產品組合。 Weave 用於行銷、安排提醒、付款和分析的自動化工具套件將與我們的獸醫實踐管理系統無縫集成，釋放強大的功能來簡化工作流程並提升獸醫客戶診所的客戶體驗。

These investments demonstrate our commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology to meet the evolving needs of our customers and long-term growth opportunity for Patterson in this important arena. Fiscal 2024 was a notable year of investment in these types of solutions. And while our focus on enhancing Patterson's leading suite of software solutions remains ongoing, we are confident that these investments will provide appreciable value over time.

這些投資表明我們致力於提供尖端技術，以滿足客戶不斷變化的需求，並為 Patterson 在這一重要領域提供長期成長機會。 2024 財年是此類解決方案投資值得注意的一年。雖然我們仍然致力於增強 Patterson 領先的軟體解決方案套件，但我們相信這些投資隨著時間的推移將提供可觀的價值。

Looking ahead to fiscal 2025, our focus will remain on our core strategic objectives and on investments in our businesses that will deliver long-term growth. In addition to our software and value-added services capabilities, our acquisitions of Dairy Tech and RSVP and ACT provide a road map for value-enhancing M&A that we will continue to pursue.

展望 2025 財年，我們的重點將仍然是我們的核心策略目標以及對我們業務的投資，以實現長期成長。除了我們的軟體和增值服務能力之外，我們對 Dairy Tech 以及 RSVP 和 ACT 的收購為我們將繼續追求的增值併購提供了路線圖。

Both of these businesses continue to outperform our internal expectations and create a track record of success, integrating and enhancing acquired businesses in line with our strategy. And of course, balancing our investments, we remain committed to managing the organization with a keen focus on cost discipline.

這兩項業務的表現繼續超出我們的內部預期，並創造了成功的記錄，根據我們的策略整合和增強了收購的業務。當然，為了平衡我們的投資，我們仍然致力於管理組織，並高度關注成本紀律。

The adjusted earnings guidance range of $2.33 to $2.43 per diluted share that we initiated today reflects the continued confidence in our strategy, focused on investing to drive enhanced growth and profitability over the long term, combined with the current conditions in the markets that we expect to continue in fiscal 2025.

我們今天啟動的調整後每股攤薄收益指引範圍為2.33 美元至2.43 美元，反映了我們對戰略的持續信心，該戰略專注於投資以推動長期增長和盈利能力的提高，並結合我們預計的市場當前狀況2025 財年繼續。

Now I'll provide more details on the financial performance in each of our two business segments during the fiscal 2024 fourth quarter. Let's start with dental.

現在，我將提供有關 2024 財年第四季度我們兩個業務部門的財務業績的更多詳細資訊。我們先從牙科開始吧。

In dental, internal sales declined about 4% in the fourth quarter, driven by the expected moderation in dental equipment and the unexpected impact of the Change Healthcare cybersecurity attack to our value-added services sales, partially offset by strong performance in our consumables business. Our consumables portfolio delivered nearly 4% growth year over year in the fourth quarter and nearly 4.5% for fiscal 2024.

在牙科領域，由於牙科設備的預期放緩以及Change Healthcare 網路安全攻擊對我們的增值服務銷售的意外影響，第四季度內部銷售額下降了約4%，但消耗品業務的強勁表現部分抵消了這一影響。我們的消耗品組合第四季年增近 4%，2024 財年年增近 4.5%。

Excluding the deflationary impact of certain infection control products, our growth was even stronger at nearly 6% for fiscal 2024. Our performance, which encompasses the entire fiscal year, reflects the resilience of our product portfolio within the dental market, and even more so, the strength of Patterson's relationships with our customers and the value of our comprehensive consumables offering, spanning both branded and private label products.

排除某些感染控制產品的通貨緊縮影響，我們的成長在 2024 財年更加強勁，達到近 6%。 Patterson 與客戶的關係實力以及我們全面的消耗品產品（涵蓋品牌和自有品牌產品）的價值。

Both contribute to our ability to drive above-market growth. Within our infection control product portfolio, we are still experiencing some deflationary impact for certain products, but expect the year-over-year impact of that phenomenon to be negligible after the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

兩者都有助於我們推動高於市場成長的能力。在我們的感染控制產品組合中，某些產品仍面臨一些通貨緊縮影響，但預計這種現象的同比影響在 2025 財年第一季後可以忽略不計。

Turning to dental equipment, internal sales decreased approximately 12% in the fourth quarter, as we continue to lap top prior-year comparisons for the core equipment and CAD/CAM categories in a challenging time in this economic cycle, leading to moderation in equipment spending, combined with the lack of product innovation.

就牙科設備而言，第四季度內部銷售額下降了約12%，因為我們在本經濟週期的充滿挑戰的時期繼續保持核心設備和CAD/CAM 類別與去年同期相比的最高水平，導致設備支出放緩，加之產品創新不足。

This challenging period for our dental equipment category does not change Patterson's leading value proposition in dental equipment and technology. The market has long recognized and rewarded Patterson for our unique ability to support customers through the entire equipment life cycle, from financing and purchase to installation, training, maintenance, and repairs.

我們的牙科設備類別面臨的這段充滿挑戰的時期並沒有改變帕特森在牙科設備和技術方面的領先價值主張。 Patterson 長期以來在整個設備生命週期（從融資和購買到安裝、培訓、維護和維修）為客戶提供支援的獨特能力得到了市場的認可和獎勵。

In the fourth quarter, we strengthened our relationship with Convergent Dental by becoming the exclusive North American distributor of the Solea laser. The Solea is the only CO2 laser cleared by the FDA for all tissue indications. This versatile solution can benefit almost every dental patient, helping to address a range of common procedures in a way that is anesthesia-free, blood-free, and pain-free.

第四季度，我們成為 Solea 雷射機的北美獨家經銷商，加強了與 Convergent Dental 的關係。 Solea 是唯一經 FDA 批准用於所有組織適應症的 CO2 雷射。這種多功能解決方案幾乎可以讓每位牙科患者受益，有助於以無麻醉、無血、無痛的方式完成一系列常見手術。

Importantly, this novel technology enables dentists to elevate their practices through improved efficiency, patient experience, clinical effectiveness, and procedural expansion. Patterson has a proven track record of driving widespread adoption of leading technologies. We believe our exclusive arrangement with Convergent will further strengthen our ability to help dentists achieve better clinical outcomes, improve patient experiences, and drive growth for their practices.

重要的是，這項新技術使牙醫能夠透過提高效率、患者體驗、臨床效果和程序擴展來提升他們的實踐水平。帕特森在推動領先技術的廣泛採用方面有著良好的記錄。我們相信，我們與 Convergent 的獨家安排將進一步增強我們幫助牙醫實現更好的臨床結果、改善患者體驗並推動其業務成長的能力。

Finally, as I mentioned earlier, internal sales in our dental value-added services category declined 11% in the fourth quarter compared to the prior-year period, primarily due to the Change Healthcare cybersecurity attack.

最後，正如我之前提到的，第四季度牙科增值服務類別的內部銷售額與去年同期相比下降了 11%，這主要是由於 Change Healthcare 網路安全攻擊。

Now let's move on to our animal health segment. Internal sales in the animal health segment grew at approximately 3%, driven by strong performance in our production animal business. The animal health segment also achieved operating margin expansion in both the fourth quarter and for the full fiscal year, driven by our focus on managing our sales, mix, and execution; disciplined cost management; and commitment to driving business with customers and partners that recognize and reward us for our value-added approach to both our companion and production animal customers.

現在讓我們繼續我們的動物健康部分。在生產動物業務強勁表現的推動下，動物保健業務的內部銷售額成長了約 3%。在我們專注於管理銷售、組合和執行的推動下，動物保健部門在第四季度和整個財年也實現了營業利潤率的成長；嚴格的成本管理；並致力於推動與客戶和合作夥伴的業務發展，這些客戶和合作夥伴認可並獎勵我們為我們的伴侶動物和生產動物客戶提供的增值方法。

Our production animal business continued its strong momentum as internal sales grew high single digits in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. We see our strong performance in production as continued validation of the strength and effectiveness of our omni-channel presence, highly tailored distribution strategy, and comprehensive offering across animal species.

我們的生產動物業務持續保持強勁勢頭，2024 財年第四季度內部銷售額實現高個位數增長。的分銷策略、以及跨動物物種的全面產品。

The team's ability to execute these strategies and provide value-enhancing solutions tailored to our customer needs, has enabled us to continue winning new business and outperforming the broader production animal market. The companion animal internal sales in the fourth quarter declined by low single digits, driven in part by the moderation in veterinary clinic traffic and our own strategic decisions and continued discipline to focus on more profitable business in ways that modestly reduced our top-line growth while supporting margin expansion.

團隊執行這些策略並根據客戶需求提供增值解決方案的能力，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。第四季伴侶動物內部銷售額下降了低個位數，部分原因是獸醫診所流量的放緩以及我們自己的策略決策和持續的紀律，以專注於利潤更高的業務，從而適度降低了我們的營收成長，同時支持利潤率擴張。

We remain encouraged by the underlying market fundamentals and positive long-term trends in pet parenting and confident in the value proposition of our companion animal business. Going forward, we expect the companion animal market to continue to grow in the low single digits. And we are focused on aligning our value proposition with where pet owners are spending.

我們仍然對寵物育兒的潛在市場基本面和積極的長期趨勢感到鼓舞，並對我們的伴侶動物業務的價值主張充滿信心。展望未來，我們預期伴侶動物市場將繼續以低個位數成長。我們專注於使我們的價值主張與寵物主人的消費方向保持一致。

Across the animal health segment, the value-added services category continued to be an area of strength, achieving double-digit internal sales growth in the fourth quarter. As we look to fiscal 2025, we believe our animal health business is positioned for continued success amid a dynamic end market.

在動物保健領域，增值服務類別繼續成為優勢領域，第四季度實現了兩位數的內部銷售成長。展望 2025 財年，我們相信我們的動物保健業務將在充滿活力的終端市場中持續取得成功。

Now I'll turn the call over to Kevin Barry to provide more details 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, I will cover the financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal '24, which ended on April 27, 2024, as well as our full-year results for fiscal '24. I will also discuss our fiscal '25 earnings guidance we issued this morning, along with several modeling assumptions related to the financial outlook for the next fiscal year.

謝謝你，唐，大家早安。在我準備好的演講中，我將介紹截至 2024 年 4 月 27 日結束的 24 財年第四季的財務業績，以及我們 24 財年的全年業績。我也會討論我們今天上午發布的 25 財年獲利指引，以及與下一財年財務前景相關的幾個建模假設。

Consolidated reported sales for Patterson Companies in our fiscal '24 fourth quarter were $1.72 billion, an increase of 0.1% versus the fourth quarter one year ago. Internal sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal '24, which are adjusted for the effects of currency translation and the net impact of an interest rate swap, decreased 0.5% compared to the same period last fiscal year.

Patterson Companies 在 2024 財年第四季的綜合銷售額為 17.2 億美元，與一年前第四季相比成長了 0.1%。 24 財年第四季的內部銷售（根據貨幣換算的影響和利率互換的淨影響進行調整）與上一財年同期相比下降了 0.5%。

For the full year of fiscal '24, consolidated reported sales for Patterson Companies were $6.6 billion, an increase of 1.5% versus the same period one year ago. Internal sales for fiscal '24, which are adjusted for the effects of currency translation and the net impact of an interest rate swap, increased 0.8% compared to fiscal 2023.

24 財年全年，Patterson Companies 的綜合報告銷售額為 66 億美元，較上年同期成長 1.5%。 24 財年的內部銷售額（根據貨幣換算的影響和利率互換的淨影響進行調整）與 2023 財年相比增長了 0.8%。

Our fourth-quarter fiscal '24 gross margin was 21.5%, a decrease of 110 basis points compared to the prior year. We also provide the financial metric of 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.

我們 24 財年第四季的毛利率為 21.5%，較上年下降 110 個基點。我們還提供調整後毛利率的財務指標，這是一種非公認會計原則財務指標，根據與我們的設備融資組合和相關利率互換對沖工具相關的按市值計價會計的影響來調整毛利率。

The accounting impact of the mark-to-market adjustment affects our total company gross margin, but not the gross margin within our business segment. As previously mentioned, the net impact of interest rate fluctuations between the swap and the equipment financing portfolio has a minimal impact on net income.

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。如前所述，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 fourth quarter of fiscal '24, our adjusted gross margin was 21.8%, a decrease of 90 basis points compared to the year-ago period. The year-over-year decline in gross margin primarily due to the revenue and profit shortfall in our dental segment related to the cybersecurity attack on Change Healthcare.

24財年第四季，我們調整後的毛利率為21.8%，比去年同期下降90個基點。毛利率年減主要是由於與 Change Healthcare 遭受網路安全攻擊相關的牙科業務收入和利潤短缺。

Patterson's relationship with Change Healthcare and their cybersecurity attack significantly impacted many of our dental customers, as they were unable to submit insurance claims. During the disruption at Change Healthcare, we were unable to bill our dental customers for this valuable service, resulting in lost revenue and profit to Patterson.

Patterson 與 Change Healthcare 的關係及其網路安全攻擊對我們的許多牙科客戶產生了重大影響，因為他們無法提交保險索賠。在 Change Healthcare 中斷期間，我們無法向牙科客戶收取這項寶貴服務的費用，導致 Patterson 損失了收入和利潤。

Our software team worked diligently and quickly to connect our software platforms to alternative solutions to allow our customers to be able to process their insurance claims. Adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal '24, 15.8%, and favorable by 10 basis points compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal '23.

我們的軟體團隊勤奮且快速地將我們的軟體平台連接到替代解決方案，使我們的客戶能夠處理他們的保險索賠。 24 財年第四季調整後營運費用佔淨銷售額的百分比為 15.8%，與 23 財年第四季相比有利 10 個基點。

For the full year of fiscal 2024, adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of net sales were 16.5% and unfavorable to the prior year by 20 basis points compared to fiscal '23. In the fourth quarter of fiscal '24, our consolidated operating margin was 6.0%, a decrease of 70 basis points compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

2024 財年全年，調整後營運費用佔淨銷售額的百分比為 16.5%，與前一年相比，與 23 財年相比下降了 20 個基點。 24財年第四季，我們的綜合營業利潤率為6.0%，比去年第四季下降了70個基點。

For the full year of fiscal '24, our consolidated adjusted operating margin was 4.6%, a decrease of 40 basis points compared to the prior fiscal year. Our adjusted tax rate for the fourth quarter of fiscal '24 was 23.3%, a decrease of 110 basis points compared to the prior year.

24 財年全年，我們的綜合調整後營業利益率為 4.6%，比上一財年下降 40 個基點。 2024 財年第四季的調整後稅率為 23.3%，較上年下降 110 個基點。

For the full year of fiscal '24, our adjusted tax rate was 23.7%, an increase of 10 basis points compared to the full year of fiscal '23. Reported net income attributable to Patterson Companies, Inc., for the fourth quarter of fiscal '24 was $67 million or $0.74 per diluted share. This compares to reported net income in the fourth quarter of last year of $75 million or $0.70 per diluted share.

24財年全年，我們調整後的稅率為23.7%，比23財年全年增加了10個基點。 2024 財年第四季歸屬於 Patterson Companies, Inc. 的報告淨利為 6,700 萬美元，或攤薄後每股收益 0.74 美元。相比之下，去年第四季報告的淨利潤為 7,500 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.70 美元。

Adjusted net income attributable to Patterson Companies, Inc., in the fourth quarter of fiscal '24, which excludes deal amortization, was $74.4 million or $0.82 per diluted share. This compares to $82.4 million or $0.84 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of fiscal '23.

2024 財年第四季度，調整後歸屬於 Patterson Companies, Inc. 的淨利潤（不包括交易攤銷）為 7,440 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.82 美元。相比之下，2023 財年第四季為 8,240 萬美元，即稀釋後每股 0.84 美元。

The year-over-year decrease in reported and adjusted net income attributable to Patterson Companies, Inc., in the fourth quarter of fiscal '24 is primarily due to lower sales of equipment, as well as the Change Healthcare cybersecurity attack, which negatively impacted both reported and adjusted net income in the fiscal '24 fourth quarter by $0.04 per diluted share.

24 財年第四季 Patterson Companies, Inc. 的報告和調整後淨利潤同比下降，主要是由於設備銷量下降以及 Change Healthcare 網路安全攻擊對公司造成了負面影響兩家公司均報告並調整了2024財年第四季攤薄後每股淨利增加0.04美元。

For the full year of fiscal '24, reported net income attributable to Patterson Companies, Inc., was $185.9 million or $1.98 per diluted share, compared to $207.6 million or $2.12 per diluted share in fiscal 2023. Adjusted net income attributable to Patterson Companies, Inc., in fiscal '24, which excludes deal amortization, totaled $215.3 million or $2.30 per diluted share, compared to $236.4 million or $2.42 per diluted share in the prior fiscal year.

在24 財年全年，歸屬於Patterson Companies, Inc. 的淨利潤為1.859 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益1.98 美元，而2023 財年為2.076 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益2.12 美元。後歸屬於Patterson Companies, Inc. 的淨利潤， Inc.在24財年（不包括交易攤銷）總計2.153億美元，即稀釋後每股2.30美元，而上一財年為2.364億美元，即稀釋後每股2.42美元。

Now let's turn to our business segments, starting with our dental business. In the fourth quarter of fiscal '24, internal sales for our dental business decreased 3.8% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal '23. Internal sales of dental consumables in the fiscal fourth quarter increased 3.7% compared to one year ago.

現在讓我們轉向我們的業務部門，從牙科業務開始。在 24 財年第四季度，我們牙科業務的內部銷售額與 23 財年第四季相比下降了 3.8%。第四財季牙科耗材內部銷售額較上年同期成長 3.7%。

Internal sales of non-infection control products increased 4.4% in the fourth 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 believe the year-over-year deflationary effect has nearly normalized and will have minimal impact in the next fiscal year.

與去年同期相比，2024 財年第四季非感染控制產品的內部銷售額成長了 4.4%。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。我們認為逐年通貨緊縮效應已接近正常化，對下一財政年度的影響微乎其微。

For the full year of fiscal '24, internal sales of consumables increased by 4.4% compared to the prior year. Internal sales of non-infection control products increased by 5.8% for fiscal year '24 compared to fiscal '23. The strong above-market growth in consumables is a testament to the solid sales execution of our dental sales team and their passionate efforts to be indispensable partners to our dental customers across all types of practice models in the market.

24財年全年，消耗品內部銷售較前一年成長4.4%。與 23 財年相比，24 財年非感染控制產品的內部銷售額成長了 5.8%。耗材的強勁高於市場成長證明了我們牙科銷售團隊紮實的銷售執行力，以及他們在市場上所有類型的實踐模式中成為牙科客戶不可或缺的合作夥伴的熱情努力。

In the fourth quarter of fiscal '24, internal sales of dental equipment decreased 11.9% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal '23. Sales of all equipment categories declined year over year in the fourth quarter due to a number of factors that we have discussed previously, including the comparisons to the strong double-digit growth percentages in the fourth quarters of fiscal '23 and '22.

24財年第四季，牙科設備的內部銷售額比23財年第四季下降了11.9%。由於我們之前討論過的許多因素，所有設備類別的銷售額在第四季度均同比下降，包括與 23 財年和 22 財年第四季度強勁的兩位數增長百分比相比。

For the full year of fiscal '24, internal sales of dental equipment declined by 6.9% over fiscal '23. Internal sales of value-added services in the fourth quarter of fiscal '24 decreased 11% over the prior-year period, primarily due to the negative impact of the cybersecurity attack on Change Healthcare.

24 財年全年，牙科設備的內部銷售額比 23 財年下降了 6.9%。 2024財年第四季加值服務內部銷售額年減11%，主要是網路安全攻擊對Change Healthcare造成的負面影響。

Value-added services 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 mixed favorable to our P&L. For the full year of fiscal '24, internal sales of value-added services declined 0.8% compared to fiscal '23.

加值服務代表了我們提供給客戶的整套產品，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。 24 財年全年，加值服務的內部銷售額比 23 財年下降了 0.8%。

Adjusted operating margins in dental, 10% in the fiscal fourth quarter and a 210-basis-point decline over the prior-year period. For the full year of fiscal '24, adjusted operating margins in our dental business were 9% and a 100-basis-point decrease over the prior fiscal year. The fourth quarter and fiscal '24 dental adjusted operating margin was negatively impacted by the cybersecurity attack on Change Healthcare.

牙科業務第四季調整後營業利益率為 10%，較上年同期下降 210 個基點。 24 財年全年，我們牙科業務的調整後營業利潤率為 9%，比上一財年下降了 100 個基點。第四季和 24 財年牙科調整後營業利潤率受到 Change Healthcare 網路安全攻擊的負面影響。

Now let's move on to our animal health segment. In the fourth quarter of fiscal '24, internal sales for our animal health business increased 2.5% compared to the same period one year ago. For the full year of fiscal '24, internal sales for our animal health business were up 1.3% compared to fiscal year '23.

現在讓我們繼續我們的動物健康部分。 2024 財年第四季度，我們動物保健業務的內部銷售額與去年同期相比成長了 2.5%。 24 財年全年，我們動物保健業務的內部銷售額比 23 財年成長了 1.3%。

Internal sales for our production animal business in the fourth quarter of fiscal '24 increased 8.8% compared to the same period one year ago. For the full year of fiscal '24, internal sales in our production animal business increased 4.2% compared to fiscal '23.

2024 財年第四季度，我們的生產性動物業務的內部銷售額與去年同期相比成長了 8.8%。與 23 財年相比，24 財年全年，我們生產動物業務的內部銷售額成長了 4.2%。

This strong above-market growth in the fourth quarter and for the entire fiscal year reflects the focus and dedication of our team, our ability to serve various types of customers across multiple channels, and the value-added services that we deliver, that drive deep and productive customer relationships. Internal sales for our companion animal business in the fourth quarter of fiscal '24 declined to 2.7% compared to the prior year.

第四季和整個財年高於市場的強勁成長反映了我們團隊的專注和奉獻精神、我們跨多種管道為各類客戶提供服務的能力，以及我們提供的增值服務，這些都推動了我們的深入發展。 2024 財年第四季度，我們的伴侶動物業務的內部銷售額與前一年相比下降了 2.7%。

For the full year of fiscal '24, internal sales in our companion animal business decreased 1.1% compared to fiscal '23. While market growth rates in companion animal have moderated recently, our performance is more related to how we intentionally choose to nurture relationships and work with strategic partners to reward us with a high degree of value we provide in the channel and to our veterinarian customers.

在 24 財年全年，我們的伴侶動物業務的內部銷售額與 23 財年相比下降了 1.1%。雖然伴侶動物的市場成長率最近有所放緩，但我們的業績更與我們如何有意選擇培養關係以及與策略合作夥伴合作以獎勵我們在通路和獸醫客戶中提供的高價值有關。

Adjusted operating margins in our animal health segment in fiscal fourth quarter '24 were 5.8%, an increase of 30 basis points from the prior year. For the full year of fiscal '24, adjusted operating margins in our animal health segment were 4.4%, which represents 20 basis points of margin expansion compared to fiscal 2023.

2024 年第四財季動物保健業務調整後營業利益率為 5.8%，較上年成長 30 個基點。在 24 財年全年，我們動物保健部門調整後的營業利益率為 4.4%，與 2023 財年相比，利潤率擴大了 20 個基點。

Our animal health team continues to deliver improved profitability with their solid execution of margin-enhancing initiatives, including driving operational efficiencies, exercising expense discipline, growing their private label business, and maximizing rebate performance, with the strategic manufacturer partners who reward us for our strong performance in the market.

我們的動物保健團隊透過紮實執行提高利潤率的舉措，繼續提高盈利能力，包括提高營運效率、實行費用紀律、發展自有品牌業務以及最大限度地提高回扣績效，並與戰略製造商合作夥伴合作，他們對我們的強大實力給予獎勵。

Now let me cover free cash flow and capital allocation. During fiscal '24, our free cash flow declined by $8.6 million compared to the same period one year ago due to our operational performance and an increased level of capital spending reflected in the investments we made in fiscal '24 to improve our distribution capabilities and enhance our software and value-added services.

現在讓我介紹一下自由現金流和資本配置。在24 財年期間，我們的自由現金流與一年前同期相比下降了860 萬美元，原因是我們的營運表現以及我們在24 財年為提高分銷能力和增強能力而進行的投資所反映的資本支出水準的增加。

We continued to execute our strategy to return cash to our shareholders. In the fourth 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 first quarter of fiscal '25.

我們繼續執行向股東返還現金的策略。在 24 財年第四季度，我們宣布季度現金股利為稀釋後每股 0.26 美元，然後在 25 財年第一季初支付。

We also spent $14.9 million to repurchase shares during the fourth quarter of fiscal 24, returning a total of $38.2 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases for the fourth quarter of fiscal '24. And for the entire year of fiscal '24, we returned a total of $327.9 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

我們還在 24 財年第四季花費了 1,490 萬美元回購股票，透過 24 財年第四季的股息和股票回購向股東返還了總計 3,820 萬美元。在 24 財年全年，我們透過股利和股票回購向股東總共返還了 3.279 億美元。

Let me conclude with our financial outlook for fiscal '25. This morning, we issued a GAAP earnings guidance range for fiscal '25 of $2 to $2.10 per diluted share and an adjusted earnings guidance range of $2.33 to $2.43 per diluted share. For modeling purposes, let me highlight a few additional items to factor in as you think about our guidance for fiscal '25.

讓我以 25 財年的財務展望作為結語。今天上午，我們發布了 25 財年的 GAAP 獲利指引範圍，稀釋後每股 2 美元至 2.10 美元，調整後獲利指引範圍為稀釋後每股 2.33 美元至 2.43 美元。出於建模目的，讓我重點介紹一些在您考慮我們的 25 財年指導時需要考慮的其他項目。

Our guidance range assumes a low single-digit sales growth, primarily reflecting the current macroeconomic conditions in our dental and animal health markets, and roughly flat operating margin performance. The cybersecurity attack on Change Healthcare will have a modest negative impact on both sales and margin performance for the full year due to the continued inability for some customers to process their claims near term, as well as the impact of our transition to alternative claims processing solutions.

我們的指導範圍假設銷售額成長較低，主要反映了我們的牙科和動物保健市場目前的宏觀經濟狀況，以及大致持平的營業利潤率表現。由於部分客戶近期仍無法處理其索賠，以及我們向替代索賠處理解決方案過渡的影響，針對 Change Healthcare 的網路安全攻擊將對全年的銷售和利潤表現產生一定的負面影響。

We expect the year-over-year impact to be the greatest in Q1 and lessen until a positive comparison in Q4 of fiscal '25. Our operating margin expectations also reflect the impact of our continued investments in our commercial software franchise, offset by ongoing initiatives to drive improved margin mix and additional operating efficiencies.

我們預計第一季的年比影響最大，並且在 25 財年第四季出現正面比較之前，影響會逐漸減弱。我們的營業利潤率預期也反映了我們對商業軟體特許經營權的持續投資的影響，但被持續推動改善利潤率組合和提高營運效率的舉措所抵消。

We are assuming that interest expenses will be up slightly compared to fiscal '24. Our tax rate will be in the range of 24% to 25%. And our average share count in fiscal '25 will be lower than our average share count in fiscal '24.Our adjusted earnings guidance range of $2.33 to $2.43 per diluted share implies approximately 3% year-over-year growth in midpoint, which is enhanced by the yield provided by our dividends.

我們假設利息支出與 24 財年相比將略有上升。我們的稅率將在24%至25%之間。我們在25 財年的平均股數將低於我們在24 財年的平均股數。 我們調整後的每股攤薄收益指引範圍為2.33 美元至2.43 美元，意味著中點年增約3%，這一增長幅度有所增強由我們的股息提供的收益率。

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

現在我將把電話轉回給唐，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 in serving our customers. As we enter fiscal 2025, we remain committed to executing our proven strategy focused on driving enhanced growth and profitability.

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努力和對我們服務客戶策略的承諾。進入 2025 財年，我們仍然致力於執行經過驗證的策略，重點是推動成長和獲利能力的提升。

Patterson's strong position, combined with disciplined capital allocation and the fundamentals of our end markets, gives us confidence in our ability to deliver a long-term value creation for our shareholders.

帕特森的強勢地位，加上嚴格的資本配置和終端市場的基本面，使我們對為股東創造長期價值的能力充滿信心。

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) Kevin Caliendo, UBS.

（操作員說明）Kevin Caliendo，UBS。

Thanks. Thanks for taking my question. Congrats on the quarter. Just wanted to talk about first the strong consumables number you put up. You said it was growing faster than market. It clearly looks like you're taking market share.

謝謝。感謝您提出我的問題。恭喜本季。只是想先談談您提供的強大消耗品數量。你說它的成長速度快於市場。很明顯，您正在搶佔市場份額。

Can you maybe talk about what you think the market's actually doing in terms of consumables and visits, how that's trended, and maybe why and how you've been able to take share in the quarter?

您能否談談您認為市場在消費品和訪問量方面的實際情況、趨勢如何，以及您為何以及如何能夠在本季度佔據份額？

Yeah. Hey, Kevin. It's Don. Thanks. Good morning. Good question.

是的。嘿，凱文。是唐。謝謝。早安.好問題。

I think the way we would view the consumables situation is that the market traffic has been steady. So that's been helpful. But this is six quarters in a row, at least by my count, that I feel like we've substantially exceeded the market in terms of growth and that we're taking share.

我認為我們看待消耗品情勢的方式是市場流量一直穩定。這很有幫助。但至少根據我的統計，這是連續六個季度，我覺得我們在成長方面已經大大超過了市場，我們正在搶佔市場份額。

And if you really look at the year ex-PPE, you'd get a 6% growth for the year. So this is kind of a sustained program. I think when we look at this, there's a number of factors involved here. We've had a very strategic approach to how we want to look at our consumables business.

如果你仔細看看這一年（不包括 PPE），你會發現這一年增長了 6%。所以這是一個持續的計劃。我認為當我們看待這個問題時，這裡涉及到很多因素。我們對如何看待我們的消耗品業務採取了非常策略性的方法。

And so the strategies that we've employed, I think, are starting to really take hold. You look at our value proposition to our customers. We've always been very focused on this piece of the customer experience, and so a sales force execution.

因此，我認為我們所採用的策略已經開始真正發揮作用。您看看我們對客戶的價值主張。我們一直非常關注客戶體驗的這一部分，以及銷售人員的執行力。

And then we've made some very significant investments in how we service DSOs in that segment of the market as well that, I think, are starting to pay off. So really, when you put all those together, there's just been sustained performance that we're very happy with.

然後，我們在如何為該細分市場中的 DSO 提供服務方面進行了一些非常重大的投資，我認為這些投資已開始獲得回報。所以說真的，當你把所有這些放在一起時，你會發現我們對持續的表現感到非常滿意。

That's helpful. If I can ask a quick follow-up, when we think about the sort of low single-digit revenue growth, your animal health is usually pretty relatively more predictable than what we've seen in dental.

這很有幫助。如果我可以要求快速跟進，當我們考慮這種低個位數的收入成長時，您的動物健康通常比我們在牙科中看到的相對更容易預測。

Should we assume that this sort of mid-single-digit consumables growth continues? Does that underlie your assumption in dental? And what do you expect for equipment? I'm assuming that might be a drag on your growth rate. But I would love to hear your expectations around that for fiscal '25.

我們是否應該假設這種中位數個位數的消耗品成長會持續下去？這是否是您對牙科的假設的基礎？您對設備有何期望？我假設這可能會拖累您的成長率。但我很想聽聽您對 25 財年的期望。

Yeah, yeah. Good question. Well, let me maybe have Kevin give you just a little bit of color on that piece.

是啊是啊。好問題。好吧，也許讓凱文給你一點關於那件作品的色彩。

Yeah. I think -- I agree with you, Kevin. I think as we look at our mix for next year, I would expect that consumables is going to be a giver on the dental side. And as we watch the dental equipment market, we're being somewhat cautious, just looking forward of what we expect out of those categories.

是的。我想——我同意你的觀點，凱文。我認為，當我們審視明年的產品組合時，我預期消耗品將成為牙科的貢獻者。當我們觀察牙科設備市場時，我們有些謹慎，只是期待我們對這些類別的期望。

We still feel like those teams -- similar to the consumables story Don told, we're executing really well with our customers. It continues to be a big part of our value proposition. But just given the overall market dynamic, especially early in the year here, we're a bit more cautious on equipment.

我們仍然感覺像那些團隊一樣 - 類似於唐講述的消耗品故事，我們與客戶的執行得非常好。它仍然是我們價值主張的重要組成部分。但考慮到整體市場動態，尤其是今年年初，我們對設備更加謹慎。

But we do feel good about the dental consumables gains we've made to be sustainable. And as traffic maintains, the offices will continue to get more than our fair share there.

但我們確實對牙科耗材的可持續成長感到滿意。隨著交通量的維持，辦公室將繼續獲得超出我們應得份額的收入。

So net-net, animal health and dental should both support the low single-digit growth?

那麼淨淨、動物健康和牙科都應該支持低個位數的成長嗎？

Yes, yeah, animal health. Yeah, yeah, I agree. We see growth in animal health next year as well. But I was speaking more specifically to the dental dynamics for the year.

是的，是的，動物健康。是的，是的，我同意。我們預計明年動物健康也會有所成長。但我更具體地談論了今年的牙科動態。

Yeah. Don here. I think our story is somewhat similar to kind of where we've been over the last few quarters. And if you really break our business down, we feel good about the sustainability of the dental consumables.

是的。唐在這裡。我認為我們的故事與過去幾季的情況有些相似。如果你真的分解我們的業務，我們對牙科耗材的可持續性感到滿意。

The animal health markets and sales have been good, particularly as they translate those sales dollars to the bottom-line profitability. And the equipment market's been soft. And so we're looking for that to rebound. And when it does, I think that we feel like we're in an excellent position to take advantage of that.

動物保健市場和銷售一直很好，特別是因為它們將這些銷售收入轉化為利潤。設備市場一直疲軟。因此，我們正在尋找反彈。當它發生時，我認為我們感覺我們處於一個很好的位置來利用它。

Thanks so much, guys.

非常感謝，夥計們。

Nathan Rich, Goldman Sachs.

內森·里奇，高盛。

Great. Good morning, and thanks for the questions. Maybe just following up on the comments on animal health, your companion animal, I think, was down in the quarter. When we look at things like vet clinic revenue, I mean, it's still growing. Could you maybe just talk about what drove that performance?

偉大的。早安，感謝您的提問。也許只是跟進有關動物健康的評論，我認為你的伴侶動物在本季度有所下降。當我們看看獸醫診所的收入時，我的意思是，它仍在成長。您能談談是什麼推動了這項表現嗎？

And it sounded like you may have changed some manufacturer relationships. Can you just maybe talk about why those were made as you kind of focus on kind of the higher-margin areas of the business?

聽起來您可能已經改變了一些製造商關係。您能否談談為什麼在您專注於利潤率較高的業務領域時做出這些決定？

And then, Don, I think you said that longer term, you're kind of expecting low single-digit growth for companion. I feel like that's maybe a little bit softer than what we're used to hearing from companies in this space. So could you maybe just talk about that longer-term outlook?

然後，唐，我想你說過，從長遠來看，你預期伴侶的成長率將是低個位數。我覺得這可能比我們習慣從這個領域的公司聽到的聲音要溫和一些。那麼您能否談談長期前景？

Yeah. Hi, Nathan. This is Kevin. I'll start and turn it over to Don. He's on the modeling side.

是的。嗨，內森。這是凱文.我會開始並把它交給唐。他從事模特兒工作。

Yeah. I think for -- what we're seeing in the companion animal business from a market standpoint aligns with your view. We expected a moderation this past year after the highest -- kind of coming out of COVID. And we do see the traffic become more and more steady.

是的。我認為，從市場的角度來看，我們在伴侶動物業務中看到的情況與您的觀點一致。我們預計，在新冠疫情出現最高點之後，去年的情況將會放緩。我們確實看到流量變得越來越穩定。

Now what we've made the strategic decision around is certain parts of our business. When we looked at them that we said, they weren't delivering the contribution margin we needed. The team has made some decisions to shift our mix to new customers and new products away from some of those customers and manufacturers.

現在我們圍繞著我們業務的某些部分做出了策略決策。當我們觀察他們時，我們發現他們沒有提供我們所需的邊際貢獻。團隊做出了一些決定，將我們的產品組合從其中一些客戶和製造商轉向新客戶和新產品。

We still see a little bit of that's going to weigh on the top line here in the early part of fiscal '25. But like Don alluded to earlier, these are really healthy things for that business to do from an overall business model standpoint, that we'll continue to manage through this year.

我們仍然認為，這將在 25 財年初期對營收造成一定壓力。但就像唐之前提到的那樣，從整體商業模式的角度來看，這些對於該企業來說確實是健康的事情，我們將在今年繼續管理。

Yeah. I think for me, one of the important things that I think might be a bit lost in the numbers and kind of the way we report this, but both sides of the animal health business, the companion side and the production animal side, actually reported a record operating profit this quarter, all-time record operating profit this quarter. So sales aside, I think what's translating to the bottom line is exactly what we want.

是的。我認為對我來說，我認為重要的事情之一可能在我們報告這一問題的數字和方式上有所遺漏，但動物保健業務的雙方，伴侶方和生產動物方，實際上都報告了本季度營運利潤創歷史新高本季營運利潤創歷史新高。因此，除了銷售之外，我認為轉化為利潤正是我們想要的。

Okay. And maybe just on the longer-term outlook for low single-digit growth for companion.

好的。也許只是考慮到伴侶的低個位數成長的長期前景。

I think that's a little more toward -- I wouldn't say that's long term beyond our fiscal year guide and outlook, Nathan. I think the fundamentals of that market we still see in terms of the trends, in terms of how pet owners spend on their pets, the innovation that's coming in that category to service pet health.

我認為這更多的是——我不會說這超出了我們的財政年度指南和前景，內森。我認為我們仍然可以從趨勢、寵物主人如何在寵物身上花錢、該類別中為寵物健康服務的創新等方面看到該市場的基本面。

Those fundamentals are absolutely still continuing. So we still think over the longer-term horizon, we'd expect that to be that growth accretive to our portfolio.

這些基本面絕對仍在持續。因此，我們仍然從長遠角度考慮，我們預計這將促進我們投資組合的成長。

Okay. Sorry, I misunderstood. So the low single digit more referred to fiscal '25.

好的。抱歉，我誤會了。因此，低個位數更多地指的是 25 財年。

Yeah.

是的。

Correct.

正確的。

Yeah.

是的。

Okay. Sorry. And then just a quick follow-up, the impact from the Change disruption, I think, continuing into the first quarter. I guess, Kevin, any sense of magnitude relative to what you experienced in the fiscal fourth quarter?

好的。對不起。然後是快速跟進，我認為變革中斷的影響持續到第一季。我想，凱文，與您在第四財季經歷的情況相比，您有什麼感受嗎？

And then I guess, can you talk about maybe what the lingering impact is? Because I thought that kind of Change was largely back up and running. But I'd just be curious kind of what you're kind of seeing more real time in terms of the impact that you expect to continue.

然後我想，你能談談揮之不去的影響是什麼嗎？因為我認為這種變革很大程度上已經恢復並且正在運作。但我只是好奇你會更即時地看到什麼，以及你期望持續的影響。

Yeah. And as we look in terms of the impact, we quantified it at about $0.04 here and Q4. I think it will be a little bit less than that here in Q1 on a comparative basis compared to Q1 of last year. And then Q2 and Q3, slightly less than that. And then Q4, we'll have a positive comp.

是的。當我們考慮影響時，我們將其量化為本季和第四季的 0.04 美元左右。我認為與去年第一季相比，這一數字會比第一季少一些。然後是 Q2 和 Q3，略少於此。然後第四季度，我們將有一個積極的競爭。

And the dynamic is -- what we're dealing with here in the near term is -- the team is still working really diligently to get some customers back up onto our new provider for claim services. So we have a bit of a gap in terms of the customers and the number of claims that are running through our software. So that's a bit of a near-term gap.

動態是——我們近期要處理的是——該團隊仍在努力工作，讓一些客戶重新使用我們新的索賠服務提供者。因此，我們在客戶和透過我們的軟體運行的索賠數量方面存在一些差距。所以這是一個短期差距。

Longer term, we do expect that there's going to be some leakage from the franchise we had with Change Healthcare in our Eaglesoft franchise compared to what the new environment is going to be. And that's really what we're going to see in Q2 and Q3 until we lapped the issue here in Q4 of this year.

從長遠來看，我們確實預計，與新環境相比，我們在 Eaglesoft 特許經營權中與 Change Healthcare 的特許經營權將會出現一些洩漏。這確實是我們將在第二季和第三季看到的情況，直到我們在今年第四季解決這個問題。

The issue here we had in Q4 of fiscal '24, it was really -- we just couldn't charge our customers. The service wasn't being provided there for a couple of months. And that was -- and now we're back, providing the service again but just at a lower volume.

我們在 24 財年第四季遇到的問題確實是──我們無法向客戶收費。那裡已經有幾個月沒有提供這項服務了。那是 - 現在我們回來了，再次提供服務，但數量較低。

Yeah. And just to be clear, I'll add the move from Change Health -- we moved from Change Healthcare. So we now have a new provider. So you had mentioned changes back up. But in terms of the way we approach this, we moved to a different provider for this service.

是的。需要明確的是，我將添加來自 Change Health 的舉措——我們是從 Change Healthcare 轉移過來的。所以我們現在有了一個新的提供者。所以你提到了更改。但就我們處理此問題的方式而言，我們轉向了不同的提供者來提供這項服務。

Okay, great. Thanks very much for the questions.

好的，太好了。非常感謝您的提問。

Elizabeth Anderson, Evercore ISI.

伊麗莎白·安德森，Evercore ISI。

Hi, guys. Thanks so much for the question. One thing I wanted to dig into a little bit more was the equipment performance in the quarter, that came through very nicely despite a tough comp.

嗨，大家好。非常感謝您的提問。我想深入研究的一件事是本季的設備性能，儘管競爭很艱難，但它的表現非常好。

And I know last year, you had some like pull forward in dental equipment into the fourth quarter and then some outperformance in some of the base equipment in the first quarter. So can you sort of help us make sure we understand sort of the areas of strength in the fourth quarter, and then how to think about maybe the first quarter in a little bit more detail? Thanks.

我知道去年，牙科設備在第四季度有所增長，然後在第一季的一些基礎設備上表現出色。那麼您能否幫助我們確保我們了解第四季度的優勢領域，然後如何更詳細地考慮第一季？謝謝。

Yeah. So I'd say, here in the fourth quarter, like you mentioned, Elizabeth, we expected, coming up against a tough comp, we were going to see some lower sales volumes.

是的。所以我想說，在第四季度，就像你提到的，伊麗莎白，我們預計，面對嚴峻的競爭，我們將看到銷量下降。

And that came through, I'd say, fairly consistently across the subcategories, core and our technology, which -- it was really a unit story. It was lower units compared to a year ago, again, as we somewhat expected, given the performance in Q4 of fiscal '23 compared to two really strong quarters than years before. So that was -- so there wasn't necessarily one category that stuck out as fairly broad.

我想說，這在子類別、核心和我們的技術中相當一致，這確實是一個單元故事。考慮到 23 財年第四季的業績，與幾年前兩個非常強勁的季度相比，單位數量與一年前相比有所下降，這再次符合我們的預期。所以，不一定有一個類別是相當廣泛的。

I think as we look here into the new fiscal year, like I said earlier, we're being fairly cautious in our outlook here. In the near term, like you alluded to, we had a fairly strong equipment quarter last year in Q1 at core that we'll be comping over here.

我認為，正如我之前所說，當我們展望新財年時，我們對前景相當謹慎。在短期內，正如您所提到的，去年第一季我們的設備季度相當強勁，我們將在這裡進行比較。

But more broadly, I think we still see good opportunities for us to service our customers that have a need for new equipment upgrades this year. But in a year where there's not necessarily a macroeconomic catalyst that we're projecting at this point, we're expecting it to be fairly modest in our FY25 guide.

但更廣泛地說，我認為我們仍然看到了一個很好的機會為今年需要新設備升級的客戶提供服務。但在我們目前預計不一定存在宏觀經濟催化劑的一年，我們預期 25 財年指南中的宏觀經濟催化劑將相當溫和。

And I mean, I think the other thing I'd add is, we're -- the other reason we're being cautious is there's not as much sight into a bit of an innovation cycle this year. So innovation is a topic -- I mentioned our partnership with Convergent Dental, which we're very excited about as innovation here. But overall, we're probably a little bit down on the innovation side.

我的意思是，我想我要補充的另一件事是，我們保持謹慎的另一個原因是，今年對創新週期的關注度不高。因此，創新是一個話題——我提到了我們與 Convergent Dental 的合作夥伴關係，我們對此作為創新感到非常興奮。但總體而言，我們在創新方面可能有點落後。

That makes total sense. And I know -- just I want to follow up, too, about what you were saying about the sort of PPE impact to be mindful of in the first quarter as well. I know, in 1Q, I think, last year, you called out on the dental side maybe close over a 2% impact from that year-over-year negative PPE price.

這完全有道理。我知道——我也想跟進您所說的第一季需要注意的個人防護裝備影響。我知道，我想，去年第一季度，您在牙科方面呼籲可能會受到 PPE 同比負價格影響 2% 以上。

Can you help us sort of like relatively size that? Because it seems to be, again, about 2% or so in the fourth quarter. Just so that we make sure that we're not missing that in terms of that versus the underlying strong consumable growth.

你能幫我們比較一下它的大小嗎？因為第四季的成長率似乎約為 2% 左右。只是為了確保我們不會錯過這一點，而不是潛在的強勁消費品成長。

Yeah. So the way that we've been tracking it, we've got a basket of goods that have really been impacted by that deflation. And we sort of look at the average price of that basket. And in our fiscal '24, really, we saw that aggregate price stabilize, I'd say, late Q2 of this past fiscal year, where it's kind of been in the same relative zone since then.

是的。因此，按照我們追蹤的方式，我們有一籃子商品確實受到了通貨緊縮的影響。我們會看一下該籃子的平均價格。事實上，在我們的 24 財年，我們看到總價格穩定下來，我想說的是，上個財年的第二季度末，從那時起它就處於相同的相對區域。

And so we'd say that the pricing is stabilized. So for us, looking at fiscal '23, we'll have a minor comp to that compared to our fiscal one -- our fiscal '24 a year ago, where the pricing was -- it wasn't as dramatic a drop as we saw fiscal '24 versus fiscal '23. But it's still going to be somewhat of a drop for that basket and then moderating, really and hopefully, much more negligible in Q2 and beyond.

所以我們可以說定價已經穩定。因此，對我們來說，看看 23 財年，與一年前的 24 財年定價相比，我們會有一個較小的補償，下降幅度並不像我們那麼大。 「23 財年」。但該籃子的跌幅仍會有所下降，然後會有所放緩，希望在第二季度及以後的時間可以忽略不計。

Got it. That's super helpful. Thank you very much.

知道了。這非常有幫助。非常感謝。

Allen Lutz, Bank of America.

艾倫·盧茨，美國銀行。

Good morning, and thanks for taking the questions. As you talked about the higher OpEx last quarter around distribution facilities coming online and then the ongoing investments in software, how should we think about how those expenses are going to move forward into fiscal '25 and what's embedded in the guide? And is it fair to assume that maybe 3Q or 4Q of 2024 was peak spending in those areas? Thanks.

早上好，感謝您提出問題。當您談到上個季度圍繞配送設施上線以及持續的軟體投資而提高的營運支出時，我們應該如何考慮這些支出將如何轉移到 25 財年以及指南中包含哪些內容？假設 2024 年第三季或第四季可能是這些領域的支出高峰是否公平？謝謝。

Yeah. I'd say from an investment standpoint, there are really two big drivers. One was, like you alluded to, we brought on two new facilities recently. And we did an ERP implementation in our Canadian dental business.

是的。我想說，從投資的角度來看，確實有兩大驅動因素。一是，正如您所提到的，我們最近引進了兩個新設施。我們在加拿大牙科業務中實施了 ERP。

Those expenses -- there is some tail on those expenses now that the business has those capabilities. But for the most part, the kind of startup costs are done. And so that's a little bit of a tailwind we have going into next year.

這些費用——既然企業具備了這些能力，那麼這些費用就會有一些尾部。但大多數情況下，啟動成本已經完成。因此，這是我們明年將面臨的一點順風。

But what's sustaining in our OpEx structure is the investments that we're making in our commercial software franchise, particularly in the dental business. This is an investment that we've made. It shows up somewhat in our capital expenditures, but also in our OpEx.

但維持我們營運支出結構的是我們對商業軟體特許經營權的投資，特別是在牙科業務中。這是我們所做的一項投資。它在一定程度上體現在我們的資本支出中，也體現在我們的營運支出中。

And this is really around our dental price management system, Eaglesoft and Fuse, as well as our Ortho system, Dolphin. And those investments, we've seen really good progress in the product development cycle on those over the past years. We've increased our investments there.

這實際上是圍繞我們的牙科價格管理系統 Eaglesoft 和 Fuse 以及我們的 Ortho 系統 Dolphin 進行的。在這些投資中，我們在過去幾年的產品開發週期中看到了非常好的進展。我們增加了在那裡的投資。

We've gotten really good feedback from our customers. And we still have some work to do to continue enhancing those and also improve our go-to-market capabilities to commercialize those products that will continue here into fiscal '25.

我們從客戶那裡得到了非常好的回饋。我們仍然有一些工作要做，以繼續增強這些能力，並提高我們的上市能力，以將這些產品商業化，這些產品將持續到 25 財年。

Thanks, Kevin. And then one quick follow-up here. The revenue, that $0.04 headwind from Change -- I know that you said you stopped charging -- is that revenue that was impacted there completely lost revenue? Or should we expect at some point that the revenue from that flows through? Just trying to get a sense of whether or not that could be a tailwind or if it's just completely lost revenue. Thanks.

謝謝，凱文。然後是這裡的一個快速跟進。收入，來自 Change 的 0.04 美元逆風 - 我知道你說過你停止收費 - 受到影響的收入是否完全損失了收入？或者我們應該期望在某個時候從中產生收入？只是想了解這是否會帶來順風，或者只是完全損失收入。謝謝。

Unfortunately, that's just lost. That's just lost. Folks had to find some other workaround in that timeframe to get their claims processed. So that's just lost revenue from our standpoint.

不幸的是，那隻是丟失了。那隻是丟失了。人們必須在這段時間內找到其他解決方法才能處理他們的索賠。所以從我們的角度來看，這只是收入損失。

Makes sense. Thank you very much.

說得通。非常感謝。

Jeff Johnson, Baird.

傑夫·約翰遜，貝爾德。

Thanks. Good morning, guys. Kevin or Don, either one, I guess, maybe if I can just pull together a few comments you've made and just make sure I'm kind of understanding things correctly.

謝謝。早上好傢伙。凱文或唐，無論是其中之一，我想，也許我可以將你們發表的一些評論放在一起，並確保我正確理解事情。

So it sounds like you're saying that you would expect both the dental business and the animal health business to grow maybe low single digits in 2025. And then within dental, it sounds like, Don, you've mentioned stability a few times, that mid-single-digit growth rate on the consumables.

所以聽起來你是在說，你預計牙科業務和動物保健業務到 2025 年可能會實現較低的個位數增長。個位數成長率。

So if we kind of plug that into the model, would it be fair to assume equipment then kind of your internal assumptions -- and I know you don't guide to revenue -- but is down low to mid-single digits for equipment this year? Was there any kind of change in trend line? Is that equipment market getting better, worse, no change, just kind of down that low to mid-single digits as you've seen most of the past 12 months? Thanks.

因此，如果我們將其插入模型中，那麼假設設備符合您的內部假設是否公平——我知道您不會指導收入——但設備的收入會下降到中個位數年？趨勢線有任何變化嗎？設備市場是變得更好，還是更糟，沒有變化，只是像過去 12 個月的大部分時間裡看到的那樣，下降到了個位數中低位？謝謝。

Yeah, no, I think you have it exactly right. I mean, that's kind of how we're looking at our performance in the market. And we look at the market that way. And we're just trying to take a fairly cautious outlook on that recovery.

是的，不，我認為你說得完全正確。我的意思是，這就是我們看待市場表現的方式。我們就是這樣看待市場的。我們只是試著對復甦持相當謹慎的態度。

All right, fair enough. And then, Don, I think you've had three leaders at the dental business here over the last five years. Presumably, we'll be getting a fourth here at some point down the road.

好吧，很公平。然後，唐，我認為在過去的五年裡，這裡的牙科行業已經出現了三位領導者。據推測，我們將在未來的某個時候在這裡獲得第四個。

And so I guess just -- there's a little more change or a little more turnover than we're used to seeing, leading up some of these businesses. So just wondering, what's been the underlying issue there? How are you viewing kind of a long-term stability or hopeful stability of that position going forward?

所以我想，與我們過去看到的相比，有更多的變化或營業額，導致了其中一些業務的發展。所以只是想知道，那裡的根本問題是什麼？您如何看待該職位未來的長期穩定性或有希望的穩定性？

What are you looking for in a new leader there? Just any thoughts on the dental side of the leadership. Thanks.

您對新領導者的期望是什麼？只是關於領導層牙科方面的任何想法。謝謝。

Yeah, well -- and appreciate the question, Jeff. I think these are always tough, and there's always multiple factors involved in terms of each individual situation.

是的，好吧——感謝你提出這個問題，傑夫。我認為這些總是很困難，而且每個人的情況總是涉及多種因素。

But I would say, when I look at this, obviously, this is a key role for our company. As we sit here today, one of the things I'd just let everybody know is we have a great dental team. So we have full confidence in the team that's here.

但我想說，當我看到這一點時，顯然，這對我們公司來說是一個關鍵角色。當我們今天坐在這裡時，我想讓大家知道的一件事是我們擁有一支出色的牙科團隊。所以我們對這裡的團隊充滿信心。

I think in terms of a leader and how we move forward, we have a lot of plans. We have a lot of good strategies in terms of our dental business. And when I look at a leader and think about -- what are we thinking about, we're looking at somebody that can be aligned or is aligned and that can execute on where we want to be in the future, not necessarily where we are right now, and the road map to get there.

我認為就領導者和我們如何前進而言，我們有很多計劃。我們在牙科業務方面有很多好的策略。當我看著一位領導者並思考——我們在想什麼時，我們正在尋找一個能夠與我們保持一致或已經保持一致並且能夠執行我們未來想要達到的目標的人，而不一定是我們現在的位置現在，以及到達那裡的路線圖。

And so that's going to be the most important thing. I think beyond that, I believe strongly in the culture at Patterson. Each of our businesses has their own unique culture. And I'd say there's been an overarching culture that is strong. It's been, I think, an advantage for us.

所以這將是最重要的事情。我認為除此之外，我堅信帕特森的文化。我們的每個企業都有自己獨特的文化。我想說的是，這裡有一個強大的整體文化。我認為這對我們來說是一個優勢。

And so I also want to make sure that we have a leader that's going to honor that, maintain that culture, and really keep that competitive advantage there. So I'd say those are the things that I'm focused on in terms of where we go now.

因此，我也想確保我們有一位領導者能夠尊重這一點，維持這種文化，並真正保持競爭優勢。所以我想說，這些都是我現在的重點。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Erin Wright, Morgan Stanley.

艾琳·賴特，摩根士丹利。

On the back of that question, just in terms of where you go now, on capital deployment, has there been any change in how you're thinking about M&A or the M&A pipeline and capital deployment priorities? Just more broadly, it just seems the focus seems to be just still leaning more on the organic side and just opportunities you see out there. Has any part of your philosophy changed at all? Thanks.

在這個問題的背後，就您現在的資本部署而言，您對併購或併購管道和資本部署優先事項的看法是否有任何變化？更廣泛地說，焦點似乎仍然更傾向於有機方面以及你看到的機會。您的哲學中有任何部分發生了變化嗎？謝謝。

No, I don't think the philosophy has changed. And I think as we move forward, we would like to look at maintaining that philosophy, maybe accelerating kind of where that philosophy's been. But really no change in what we're trying to do.

不，我不認為哲學已經改變。我認為，隨著我們前進，我們希望保持這種理念，也許加速這種理念的發展。但我們正在努力做的事情確實沒有改變。

I think the other thing that gets lost in this type of conversation is just all the investment we're making internally. So we look at investment -- I look at investment -- we look at investment as internal and external and kind of what's the best use of the capital. Because we have a lot of good things internally we're doing as well, but no change.

我認為在這種類型的對話中迷失的另一件事就是我們在內部進行的所有投資。因此，我們專注於投資——我關注投資——我們將投資視為內部投資和外部投資，以及資本的最佳利用方式。因為我們內部也做了很多好事，但沒有改變。

Okay, thanks. And then on the animal health side, can you speak a little bit about the opportunity? And you kind of spoke to this earlier a little bit.

好的謝謝。那麼在動物健康方面，您能談談這個機會嗎？你之前也談過這個問題。

But just adding some of these new categories and product lines, especially across areas like dermatology, a billion-dollar category, and some other areas as well that are coming down the pipe, like how does that kind of underscore your value proposition, especially as the animal health manufacturer landscapes gets more innovative and more competitive, especially as we go into the second half of the calendar year? I mean, how can you leverage that and get some better economics from some of your vendor partners in that sort of environment? Thanks.

但只是添加一些新的類別和產品線，特別是在皮膚科等領域，這是一個價值十億美元的類別，以及其他一些即將推出的領域，例如這如何強調你的價值主張，尤其是動物保健製造商的格局變得更加創新和更具競爭力，特別是當我們進入日曆年下半年時？我的意思是，在這種環境下，您如何利用這一點並從一些供應商合作夥伴那裡獲得更好的經濟效益？謝謝。

Yeah. Hi, Erin. It's Kevin. Yeah, I'll start. I mean -- yeah, yeah. I mean, we think that's right on our wheelhouse of our value proposition. And it's good for us when there's innovation. Obviously, our sales team is well equipped to go out and partner with a manufacturer to get that innovation seeded out in the hospitals.

是的。嗨，艾琳。是凱文。是的，我要開始了。我的意思是——是的，是的。我的意思是，我們認為這正是我們價值主張的核心。當有創新時，這對我們有好處。顯然，我們的銷售團隊有足夠的能力走出去與製造商合作，將創新成果推廣到醫院。

And like you alluded to, competition is good for us, too. Because we know the strength of our customer relationships and our ability to influence the hospitals and the veterinarians with the right products. And so, yeah, we're excited about the innovation that's coming.

正如您所提到的，競爭對我們也有好處。因為我們知道我們的客戶關係的強度以及我們透過合適的產品影響醫院和獸醫的能力。所以，是的，我們對即將到來的創新感到興奮。

And George and his team are working closely with those manufacturers. You alluded to dermatology. That's something we're watching here for the year. But it's something we're in constant conversation with the manufacturers on.

喬治和他的團隊正在與這些製造商密切合作。你提到了皮膚科。這是我們今年在這裡關注的事情。但這是我們與製造商不斷討論的問題。

And we're well equipped for this. So I think this kind of thing for us is something that we think is going to play out as an advantage.

我們為此做好了充分準備。所以我認為這種事情對我們來說是一種優勢。

Okay. Great. Thank you.

好的。偉大的。謝謝。

Michael Cherny, Leerink Partners.

邁克爾·切爾尼，Leerink Partners。

Good morning, guys. I guess, I just have one follow-up related to everything else. This is targeting dental equipment. And Don, you mentioned the dynamics of no huge innovation you're expecting this year.

早上好傢伙。我想，我只有一個與其他所有事情相關的後續行動。這是針對牙科設備。唐，您提到了您預計今年不會出現巨大創新的動態。

As you think about, though, the breakdown of what's embedded in guidance, how do you see the market dynamics on growth? There's been, obviously, a lot of concerns over underlying growth in various different areas of both high-tech and basic.

不過，當您思考指導中所包含內容的細分時，您如何看待市場成長動態？顯然，人們對高科技和基礎設施各個不同領域的潛在成長存在著許多擔憂。

You have talked about the challenging comp at the start of the year. What does it mean, though, for the rest of the year in terms of core market growth and the visibility you have, whether through backlog, through other conversations, into where the general equipment growth should be over the course of the year?

您在年初談到了具有挑戰性的比賽。不過，就今年剩餘時間的核心市場成長和您所擁有的可見性（無論是透過積壓訂單還是透過其他對話）來了解今年通用設備成長的情況而言，這意味著什麼？

Maybe I'll start. I don't know if Kevin has any comments. But we look at all these factors when we try to peg the market. As you all know, it's a variable market, so that's difficult.

也許我會開始。不知道Kevin對此有何評論。但當我們試圖盯住市場時，我們會考慮所有這些因素。眾所周知，這是一個多變的市場，所以這很困難。

We do have visibility to some extent and on some tail to what's in the pipeline in terms of orders, obviously. But in terms of innovation, the innovation comment was really more that's kind of where we've been. We have, again, some visibility there as well, clearly.

顯然，我們確實在某種程度上能夠了解訂單方面的情況。但就創新而言，創新評論實際上更多的是我們一直以來的情況。我們再次清楚地看到了那裡的情況。

But my point is that that's been the history here recently. And we'll see where that takes us as we get toward maybe the back half of the year. But as we start the year, that's still something that's hampering the market just a bit.

但我的觀點是，這就是最近的歷史。當我們進入今年下半年時，我們將看到這將帶我們走向何方。但在今年開始，這仍然有點阻礙市場。

Yeah. I think maybe what I'd just add is, I think when we look at our equipment business, there's also kind of a replacement cycle that our sales force is well attuned to, that's going to help make sure that we're there and we've got the right promotions.

是的。我想也許我要補充的是，我認為當我們審視我們的設備業務時，還有一種我們的銷售人員非常適應的更換週期，這將有助於確保我們在那裡並且我們有合適的促銷活動。

And at certain times of the year, we do financing offers and things like that to drive demand to make sure that even without necessarily a tailwind from innovation, we've got the team out there that's really good at making sure the practices know when it's time to invest and how to get a good return on those investments and their equipment.

在一年中的某些時候，我們會提供融資優惠和類似的事情來推動需求，以確保即使不一定有創新的推動力，我們也有一支非常擅長確保實踐知道何時需要的團隊。以及如何從這些投資及其設備中獲得良好的回報。

And if I can just ask one more really quick modeling question, you talked about the Change impact on the income statement. Beyond the flow through, any dynamics in the balance sheet that we should think about in terms of the Change hit both in the quarter as well as into 2025?

如果我能再問一個非常快速的建模問題，您談到了變化對損益表的影響。除了流量之外，我們應該根據本季以及 2025 年的變化來考慮資產負債表中的任何動態嗎？

No balance sheet impact other than just the earnings flow through from it, Michael.

邁克爾，除了從中產生的收益之外，沒有對資產負債表產生影響。

Awesome. Thanks.

驚人的。謝謝。

Jonathan Block, Stifel.

喬納森·布洛克，斯蒂菲爾。

Okay, great. Thanks. Good morning, guys. I'll clean up a little bit. Kevin, sorry if I missed this, but with the fiscal '25 OMs expected to be flat year over year, just trying to sort of tease that out a little bit.

好的，太好了。謝謝。早上好傢伙。我會稍微清理一下。凱文，抱歉，如果我錯過了這一點，但由於 25 財年的 OM 預計將同比持平，我只是想稍微梳理一下這一點。

Is that reflecting, call it, maybe some gross margin expansion more in the back part of the year due to the year-over-year Change comp, but then maybe some OpEx deleverage due to the ongoing investments? Maybe if you can just talk to that, and then I'll ask a quick follow-up.

這是否反映出，由於同比變化，可能會在今年下半年出現一些毛利率擴張，但隨後可能會因為持續投資而出現一些營運支出去槓桿化？也許你可以談談這個問題，然後我會要求快速跟進。

No, you got it right. We expect that. We get some -- typically, we see our margins improve as the year goes on, generally, from some mix of business that evolves with our seasonality as well as just leverage.

不，你說得對。我們期望如此。我們得到了一些——通常，我們看到我們的利潤率隨著時間的推移而提高，一般來說，來自隨著我們的季節性和槓桿而變化的一些業務組合。

So Q1, we're going to have -- we usually have our lowest OM quarter in Q1 from that dynamic. It's going to be exacerbated a little bit this year because of that Change dynamic. And then we'll have a favorable comp there in Q4 that helps us a bit.

因此，第一季度，我們通常會在第一季看到這一動態中 OM 最低的季度。由於這種變化動態，今年這種情況將會加劇一些。然後我們將在第四季度獲得有利的比賽，這對我們有一些幫助。

If I would add, we're balancing, Jon, the investment we want to make with margin expansion. So there's a little bit of that in there. And obviously, as sales improve and to the extent their sales are above our expectations, that's going to be a big leveraging point potentially.

如果我要補充一點，喬恩，我們正在平衡我們想要與利潤擴張的投資。所以裡面有一點。顯然，隨著銷售的改善並且其銷售額超出我們的預期，這將成為一個潛在的重要槓桿點。

Understood. And then, Don, any color you can give on trends of late? I mean, dental has just been under a lot of pressure, all stocks. Hopefully, yours is going to be under less pressure today, you would think.

明白了。然後，唐，您能對最近的趨勢給出什麼顏色嗎？我的意思是，牙科剛剛承受了很大的壓力，所有股票。你可能會想，希望今天承受的壓力會更小。

But can you talk to the trends of late, anything specific to April, May? Any color around patient traffic versus maybe some more discretionary items? Anything you got would be helpful. Thanks, guys.

但您能談談最近的趨勢嗎？圍繞著患者流量是否有任何顏色，或者是否有一些其他可自由支配的項目？你得到的任何東西都會有幫助。多謝你們。

Yeah. I'd say that -- it sounds a bit like a broken record here. But again, I think when we look at the consumables market in dental, the traffic's been steady. I think there's not a lot there.

是的。我想說的是──這聽起來有點像一張破唱片。但我再次認為，當我們觀察牙科耗材市場時，流量一直很穩定。我認為那裡沒有很多。

And then I think what's lost in our story, again, not to harp on this, is the continued excellent performance in both of our animal health segments is pretty here on the bottom line. And so our story has a lot -- there's a lot of positives here that we're focused on.

然後我認為我們的故事中失去的東西，再次，不要反覆強調這一點，是我們在動物健康領域的持續出色表現在底線上非常重要。所以我們的故事有很多——這裡有很多我們關注的正面因素。

I think, again, what we're looking for is, and it will, the equipment business to get better. We're going to be perfectly well positioned at that point to take advantage of that. And then investments we're making in technology, software, some of the things we talked about today, driving that value-added services line item.

我再次認為，我們正在尋找的是設備業務變得更好，而且它也會變得更好。到那時我們將處於完全有利的位置來利用這一點。然後我們在技術、軟體以及我們今天討論的一些方面進行投資，推動增值服務項目。

And so if you really get into it, it gets down to just the equipment market and that improving. But the rest of the businesses, the P&L, from that standpoint, look good. And so I think that's kind of our go-forward view that, I think, maybe gets lost a little bit in all the focus on equipment.

因此，如果您真正投入其中，您會發現設備市場及其不斷改善。但從這個角度來看，其他業務的損益表看起來不錯。因此，我認為這就是我們的前瞻性觀點，我認為，在對設備的所有關注中，這種觀點可能會有點迷失。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Jason Bednar, Piper Sandler.

傑森·貝德納，派珀·桑德勒。

Hey, good morning. Thanks for squeezing me in here. Don, I wanted to start -- I'm trying to square the direction of margins relative to what you're posting for consumables growth in your two segments.

嗨，早安。謝謝你把我擠在這裡。唐，我想開始 - 我正在嘗試將利潤方向與您發布的兩個細分市場的消耗品增長方向相一致。

Animal growth's been fine. Margin's pretty solid. Dental consumables has been surprisingly good. But operating margins have been going the wrong direction and, really, I think, opposite to what conventional thinking would suggest when consumables are strong.

動物生長狀況良好。利潤相當可觀。牙科耗材的表現出奇的好。但營業利潤率一直在走向錯誤的方向，而且我認為，這實際上與消費品強勁時的傳統思維相反。

So I guess, the question is, why isn't that dental consumables performance translating to better margins for that franchise? Maybe it'd be helpful if you could quantify some of those software investments you've referenced, so we can get a better sense of underlying margins and give you credit for that core profitability.

所以我想，問題是，為什麼牙科耗材的業績沒有轉化為該特許經營店更好的利潤？如果您能夠量化您所引用的一些軟體投資，也許會有所幫助，這樣我們就可以更好地了解基本利潤並為您的核心盈利能力提供信用。

Jason, I can start, and Don can add any comment. I mean, I think from a consumables margin standpoint, I think you're correct that -- from a gross margin standpoint, that's, about average, slightly accretive to our portfolio in the dental business.

Jason，我可以開始，Don 可以添加任何評論。我的意思是，我認為從消耗品利潤率的角度來看，我認為你是正確的——從毛利率的角度來看，這大約是平均水平，對我們在牙科業務的投資組合略有增加。

I think what you're seeing in the near term here is, one, is, because you're in Q4, we keep bringing up Change Healthcare. But that was a very profitable part of our business that was disrupted here in Q4. So that was a significant gross margin drag for us here in the quarter.

我認為您在短期內看到的是，一是，因為您處於第四季度，我們不斷提出「變革醫療保健」。但這是我們業務中非常有利可圖的部分，但在第四季度受到了乾擾。因此，這對我們本季的毛利率造成了重大拖累。

As we look at margins for dental, then going to the bottom line, you're right, we have the software investments year over year. And that's a drag. We also did have a one-time gain a year ago in Q4 related to an asset sale that was worth a bit in dental that helped -- that we're copying over here in Q4.

當我們考慮牙科的利潤率，然後考慮底線時，你是對的，我們逐年進行軟體投資。這很麻煩。一年前，我們在第四季度也確實獲得了一次性收益，這與一項資產出售有關，該資產出售在牙科方面具有一定的價值，這對我們有所幫助——我們在第四季度複製了這一點。

So there's a couple of specific dynamics here. I think to your broader question around how do we see margins for the dental segment going forward, one, we'll start copying over some of the software investments. That'll be less -- it'll be a slight headwind year over year here early in the year, but less so than it was this past year.

所以這裡有一些具體的動態。我認為，對於您更廣泛的問題，即我們如何看待牙科領域未來的利潤率，第一，我們將開始複製一些軟體投資。這個數字會減少——今年年初，這裡會比往年略有阻力，但比去年小。

And as we do continue to see the consumables strength, if that continues and we continue on the trend that we're on with from a market share standpoint, I would expect that to flow through the margin expansion. That's still definitely part of our business model.

由於我們確實繼續看到消耗品的強勁勢頭，如果這種情況持續下去，並且我們繼續從市場份額的角度來看我們所處的趨勢，我預計這將透過利潤率擴張而實現。這仍然絕對是我們商業模式的一部分。

Okay. All right. Very helpful. And then just maybe a clarifying question, Kevin. I think you said the assumptions for share count to be down year over year.

好的。好的。很有幫助。然後也許是一個澄清問題，凱文。我想你說過股票數量的假設將逐年下降。

I think that, probably, goes without saying with how active you've been buying back your stock the past 12 months. Can you clarify whether your guidance assumes additional share repurchase activity in fiscal '25? I don't think I heard that in the comment.

我認為，這可能是不言而喻的，因為您在過去 12 個月中回購股票的活躍程度。您能否澄清一下您的指導意見是否假設在 25 財年進行額外的股票回購活動？我想我沒有在評論中聽到這一點。

Yeah. We're assuming not the same level that we had here in fiscal '24, but kind of a more balanced return to -- giving us some flexibility that -- like Don said, as the right M&A opportunities come along, we maintain our flexibility to execute on that. But we do assume some level of share count repurchases just to kind of stay anti-dilutive and maybe a little more if we see the opportunity.

是的。我們假設的水平與24 財年的水平不同，但會帶來更平衡的回報，這給我們帶來了一定的靈活性，就像唐所說，隨著合適的併購機會出現，我們將保持靈活性執行該操作。但我們確實假設一定程度的股票回購只是為了保持反稀釋性，如果我們看到機會，可能會回購更多。

Okay. Makes sense. Thank you.

好的。說得通。謝謝。

That concludes our question-and-answer session. Don, back over to you.

我們的問答環節到此結束。唐，回到你身邊。

All right. Thank you for all your time today and interest in Patterson Companies, and we'll talk to you next quarter.

好的。感謝您今天抽出寶貴時間以及對帕特森公司的興趣，我們將在下個季度與您交談。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。