PetIQ Inc (PETQ) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the PetIQ, Inc.'s fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this event is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 PetIQ, Inc. 的第四季和 2023 年全年財報電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意，該事件正在被記錄。

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

我現在想將會議交給投資者關係部門的凱蒂·特納 (Katie Turner)。請繼續。

Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us on PetIQ's fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 earnings conference call and webcast. For today's prepared remarks, we'll hear from Cord Christensen, Chief Executive Officer; and Zvi Glasman, Chief Financial Officer.

午安.感謝您參加 PetIQ 的第四季和 2023 年全年財報電話會議和網路廣播。對於今天準備好的講話，我們將聽取首席執行官科德·克里斯滕森 (Cord Christensen) 的發言；和財務長 Zvi Glasman。

Before we begin, please remember that during the course of this call, management may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs, and involve risks and uncertainties that could differ materially from actual events or those described in these forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，請記住，在本次電話會議期間，管理層可能會做出聯邦證券法含義內的前瞻性聲明。這些陳述是基於管理階層目前的預期和信念，涉及可能與實際事件或這些前瞻性陳述中描述的事件有重大差異的風險和不確定性。

Please refer to the company's annual report on Form 10-K and other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the company's press release issued today for a detailed discussion of the risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made today.

請參閱該公司的 10-K 表格年度報告和不時向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他報告，以及該公司今天發布的新聞稿，詳細討論可能導致實際結果與實際結果存在重大差異的風險。今天發表的任何前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的內容。

Please note, on today's call, management will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. While the company believes these non-GAAP financial measures will provide useful information for investors, the presentation of this information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information presented in accordance with GAAP.

請注意，在今天的電話會議上，管理階層將參考某些非公認會計準則財務指標。雖然公司相信這些非公認會計原則財務指標將為投資者提供有用的信息，但這些信息的呈現並不旨在被孤立地考慮或作為根據公認會計原則呈現的財務信息的替代品。

Please refer to today's release for definitions and a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. And in addition, please reference PetIQ's investor website for a supplemental presentation.

請參閱今天發布的新聞稿，以了解非 GAAP 財務指標與根據 GAAP 制定的最具可比較指標的定義和調整。此外，請參考 PetIQ 的投資者網站以獲取補充演示。

And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Cord Christensen.

說到這裡，我想把電話轉給科德·克里斯滕森。

Thank you, Katie, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate you joining us today to discuss our better-than-expected fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 financial results.

謝謝凱蒂，大家下午好。感謝您今天加入我們討論我們好於預期的第四季度和 2023 年全年財務業績。

I'll begin with an overview of key highlights. Then Zvi will review our financial results for the quarter and outlook. Finally, Zvi, Michael, John, and I will be available to answer questions.

我將首先概述主要亮點。然後 Zvi 將回顧我們本季的財務表現和展望。最後，Zvi、Michael、John 和我將回答問題。

The team started 2023 with the goal of generating a little over $1 billion in net sales and adjusted EBITDA of $89 million based on the midpoints of our guidance. I'm proud to report that after consistently exceeding our expectations quarter after quarter in 2023, we finished the year significantly better than we anticipated.

該團隊從 2023 年開始的目標是實現略高於 10 億美元的淨銷售額，並根據我們指導的中位數調整 EBITDA 為 8,900 萬美元。我很自豪地向大家報告，在 2023 年一個又一個季度持續超出我們的預期之後，我們今年的表現明顯優於我們的預期。

When compared to the prior year, our 2023 net sales increased 20% to a record $1.1 billion. And our adjusted EBITDA increased approximately 35% to $105 million.

與前一年相比，我們 2023 年的淨銷售額成長了 20%，達到創紀錄的 11 億美元。我們調整後的 EBITDA 成長了約 35%，達到 1.05 億美元。

Our stronger-than-expected 2023 net sales led to favorable leverage of our costs and expenses and strong profit contribution, which helped fuel record annual cash from operations of $61.9 million and free cash flow of $52.7 million, much higher than the $30 million to $40 million we projected. And finally, our net leverage was a record low 2.9 times as of December 31, 2023.

我們強於預期的2023 年淨銷售額帶來了有利的成本和費用槓桿以及強勁的利潤貢獻，這有助於推動年度營運現金達到6,190 萬美元，自由現金流達到5,270 萬美元，遠高於3000萬至40 美元的水平我們預計的 100 萬元。最後，截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，我們的淨槓桿率為 2.9 倍，創下歷史新低。

Looking to our total growth in 2023, I'd like to emphasize the power of the product segments and most importantly, PetIQ's portfolio brands. As we've discussed in the last few quarters, when you look at all sales channels combined for 2023, we had one of the strongest seasons in the last 10 years for the over-the-counter flea and tick category.

展望 2023 年我們的整體成長，我想強調產品細分市場的力量，最重要的是 PetIQ 的投資組合品牌。正如我們在過去幾季中討論的那樣，當您查看 2023 年所有銷售管道的總和時，您會發現，我們經歷了過去 10 年來非處方跳蚤和蜱蟲類別最強勁的季節之一。

For 2023, product segment net sales were $968.2 million, an increase of 21% compared to 2022. And more -- even impressive are the net sales of PetIQ's brands, which increased 28% and exceeded our growth expectations for the year. These results demonstrate the strength in the planning and execution of our entire team.

2023年，產品部門淨銷售額為9.682億美元，較2022年成長21%。更令人印象深刻的是 PetIQ 品牌的淨銷售額，成長了 28%，超出了我們今年的成長預期。這些結果證明了我們整個團隊的規劃和執行能力。

We are building significant brands in the pet categories that are growing online and at brick-and-mortar retail, while capturing disproportionate amount of market share. Across our PetIQ manufactured brand, we continue to see great returns on our enhanced advertising and promotional efforts, as evidenced by our growth recall.

我們正在寵物類別中打造重要品牌，這些品牌在網路和實體零售中不斷成長，同時佔領了不成比例的市場份額。在我們的 PetIQ 製造品牌中，我們不斷看到加強廣告和促銷努力的巨大回報，我們的成長回憶證明了這一點。

We told you that we plan to spend more on marketing in the second half of 2023. Our marketing budget for 2023 was $40 million. Midway through the year, we communicated that we would spend an incremental $4 million on marketing, $3 million of which we recorded in Q4 of 2023. So in total, for 2023, we spent $44 million to support our brands.

我們告訴過您，我們計劃在 2023 年下半年在行銷上投入更多資金。我們 2023 年的行銷預算為 4,000 萬美元。年中，我們表示將在行銷上增加 400 萬美元的支出，其中 300 萬美元是在 2023 年第四季記錄的。因此，到 2023 年，我們總共花了 4,400 萬美元來支持我們的品牌。

We expect this investment to have a longer-term payback for our brands beginning in 2024. Included on 2024 adjusted EBITDA guidance, which Zvi will review, is an incremental $12 million of market expense. This is on top of the $44 million that we spent in 2023.

我們預計這項投資將從 2024 年開始為我們的品牌帶來長期回報。Zvi 將審查 2024 年調整後 EBITDA 指導，其中包括 1,200 萬美元的增量市場費用。這是我們在 2023 年花費 4,400 萬美元的基礎上的。

$6 million of this, we told you on our last earnings call, will be funded by the savings from the services segment optimization. And the remaining $6 million, we expect to fund from cash from operations.

我們在上次財報電話會議上告訴您，其中 600 萬美元將由服務部門優化節省的資金提供。剩下的 600 萬美元，我們預計將透過營運現金提供資金。

Our team will continue to lean into prioritizing investments and initiatives that we expect to support the long-term success of our brands. We expect these efforts to drive outpaced growth in the coming year and beyond.

我們的團隊將繼續優先考慮我們期望支持我們品牌長期成功的投資和舉措。我們預計這些努力將在來年及以後推動超快成長。

Now I'd like to discuss our product segment in more detail. For Q4 of 2023, the product segment contributed net sales of $191.3 million, an increase of 22% compared to the prior-year period. The growth in Q4 of this year was broad-based across all product categories.

現在我想更詳細地討論我們的產品部分。2023年第四季，該產品部門貢獻淨銷售額1.913億美元，較去年同期成長22%。今年第四季所有產品類別均實現廣泛成長。

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the flea and tick category grew at a positive 13.2%, and PetIQ's brands increased 28.2%. PetIQ's portfolio brands continued to capture a disproportionate amount of the growth online and dramatically outperformed the broader category, as evidenced by our market share results.

2023 年第四季，跳蚤和蜱類類別成長 13.2%，PetIQ 品牌成長 28.2%。正如我們的市場份額結果所證明的那樣，PetIQ 的投資組合品牌繼續在線上成長中佔據不成比例的份額，並且顯著優於更廣泛的類別。

For the 12 weeks ended December 30, 2023, PetIQ's over-the-counter flea and tick brands captured 17.5% of the category dollars, which is an increase of 205 basis points versus the prior-year period. Most of this share growth was driven by gaining unit share as we picked up 190 basis for the quarter.

截至 2023 年 12 月 30 日的 12 週內，PetIQ 的非處方跳蚤和蜱蟲品牌佔據了該類別銷售額的 17.5%，比去年同期增長了 205 個基點。這一份額的成長大部分是由單位份額的增加所推動的，本季我們的基數為 190。

The pet supplement category also maintained its growth trajectory in the quarter, gaining 14.4% over the prior-year period. This fast-growing category has now more than doubled over the last four years and has surpassed the over-the-counter flea and tick category.

寵物補充劑類別在本季也保持了成長勢頭，較去年同期成長了 14.4%。這一快速增長的類別在過去四年中增長了一倍多，並超過了非處方跳蚤和蜱蟲類別。

Pet supplements now represent the largest category that we compete in. Our pet supplement products continue to see accelerated consumption and growth in the fourth quarter of 2023, where our offerings in this space grew plus 23.5% compared to the prior-year period.

寵物補充劑現在是我們競爭的最大類別。我們的寵物補充劑產品在 2023 年第四季持續加速消費和成長，我們在該領域的產品與去年同期相比成長了 23.5%。

Our strong household penetration trends, along with expanded need states in the pet supplement category, give us confidence that these double-digit growth rates should continue for many years to come. And PetIQ is positioned very well to continue to gain share in this important category.

我們強勁的家庭滲透率趨勢，以及寵物補充劑類別不斷擴大的需求狀態，讓我們相信這兩位數的成長率將在未來許多年持續下去。PetIQ 處於非常有利的位置，可以繼續在這一重要類別中獲得份額。

Recently we've completed tests for a premium supplement offering under the Rocco & Roxie brand and are excited about a full product launch at the end of Q1. We look forward to providing you more details on the product performance in the coming months.

最近，我們完成了對 Rocco & Roxie 品牌的優質補充劑產品的測試，並對第一季末全面推出產品感到興奮。我們期待在未來幾個月為您提供有關產品性能的更多詳細資訊。

In addition, our pet dental and treat offerings outperformed the category in Q4. The Minties and Pur Luv brands both grew at 2 times the category, leading to meaningful share gains. The Minties brand grew plus 36% and gained 61 basis points of share in the dental and treats category. The Pur Luv treat brand also continued to gain momentum, as it posted outstanding growth of 184% in Q4 versus a year ago.

此外，我們的寵物牙科和零食產品在第四季度的表現優於同類產品。Minties 和 Pur Luv 品牌的成長速度都是同類產品的 2 倍，帶來了可觀的份額成長。Minties 品牌成長了 36% 以上，在牙科和零食類別中的份額增加了 61 個基點。Pur Luv 零食品牌也持續保持強勁勢頭，第四季與去年同期相比成長了 184%。

The newest brand in our product portfolio, Rocco & Roxie, grew at a positive 21.2% for the fourth quarter of 2023, also well ahead of our projections. Remember, we exited several non-core Rocco & Roxie offerings in the first half of 2023, that we determined were not a strategic fit for us.

我們產品組合中的最新品牌 Rocco & Roxie 在 2023 年第四季實現了 21.2% 的正成長，也遠遠超出了我們的預測。請記住，我們在 2023 年上半年退出了幾項非核心 Rocco & Roxie 產品，我們認為這些產品不適合我們的策略。

And yet, our team has executed well. And we are very pleased to have grown the base business better than expected for the quarter and full year.

然而，我們的團隊執行得很好。我們很高興本季和全年的基礎業務成長優於預期。

Our core Rocco & Roxie products are focused on the premium pet and stain and odor category. And pet parents continue to look to Rocco & Roxie for their stain and odor needs in Q4. We believe the Rocco & Roxie brand can expand its growth in other premium categories like supplements and treats.

我們的核心 Rocco & Roxie 產品專注於優質寵物、污漬和異味類別。第四季度，寵物父母繼續尋求 Rocco & Roxie 來滿足他們的污漬和氣味需求。我們相信 Rocco & Roxie 品牌可以擴大其在補充劑和零食等其他高端類別的成長。

We are very encouraged about the brand's success thus far. For 2024, we are excited about increasing distribution of Rocco & Roxie's premium pet offerings, as we increase advertising and promotional investments to build brand awareness and consumption over the next several years.

我們對該品牌迄今為止所取得的成功感到非常鼓舞。到 2024 年，我們對增加 Rocco & Roxie 優質寵物產品的分銷感到興奮，因為我們將增加廣告和促銷投資，以在未來幾年內建立品牌知名度和消費。

Now focusing on the services segment. On an annual basis, in 2023, the services segment net revenue increased 10.4% to $133.8 million compared to 2022. And for Q4, the services segment net revenue was $28.6 million, an increase of approximately 7% compared to the prior-year period. The segment gross profit dollars and margin showing decreases due to our optimization efforts.

現在專注於服務領域。以年度計算，2023 年服務部門淨收入較 2022 年成長 10.4%，達到 1.338 億美元。第四季度，服務部門淨收入為 2,860 萬美元，較去年同期成長約 7%。由於我們的優化工作，該部門的毛利和利潤率有所下降。

We closed 149 wellness centers in the second half of 2024 -- this includes 45 wellness centers in Q3 and the remaining 104 in Q4 -- to improve future profitability. We ended 2023 with 133 wellness centers in operation.

我們在 2024 年下半年關閉了 149 家健康中心（其中包括第三季的 45 家健康中心和第四季的其餘 104 家），以提高未來的獲利能力。截至 2023 年底，我們共有 133 個健康中心投入營運。

We believe this is the right decision for our total business. Our optimizations have helped us to better align our investments in the areas of our business where we expect to achieve the highest rate of return.

我們相信這對我們的整體業務來說是正確的決定。我們的優化幫助我們更好地調整我們期望實現最高回報率的業務領域的投資。

Our collaboration with an existing retail partner on a new pilot wellness center offering continues to go well. We offer a variety of pet services, including veterinarian services as well as grooming and hygiene care. We are testing and learning together and remain optimistic about the options for this format in 2024.

我們與現有零售合作夥伴在新的試點健康中心產品上的合作持續順利。我們提供各種寵物服務，包括獸醫服務以及美容和衛生護理。我們正在一起測試和學習，並對 2024 年這種格式的選擇保持樂觀。

In closing, I'd like to thank our PetIQ employees located in our headquarters; our facilities in Omaha, Springville, and Daytona; and everyone in the 39 states offering our veterinarian services, that always help us to achieve our strong annual results. Your commitment to our mission and core values creates our strong culture for success.

最後，我要感謝總部的 PetIQ 員工；我們在奧馬哈、斯普林維爾和代托納的工廠；以及 39 個州提供我們獸醫服務的每個人，他們總是幫助我們取得強勁的年度業績。您對我們使命和核心價值的承諾創造了我們強大的成功文化。

With your consistent work and dedication, we are well positioned in 2024 and beyond to capitalize on the robust pet industry tailwinds and provide smarter, more convenient access to affordable pet health and wellness products and veterinarian services.

憑藉您不懈的努力和奉獻精神，我們將在 2024 年及以後做好充分準備，充分利用寵物行業強勁的順風車，並提供更聰明、更便捷的價格實惠的寵物保健產品和獸醫服務。

With that overview, I'd like to now turn the call over to Zvi.

有了上述概述，我現在想將電話轉給 Zvi。

Thank you, Cord. We are very pleased with the company's strong finish to 2023. Our team capitalized on our opportunities for growth, as evidenced by the strong growth in our PetIQ brand portfolio. And we took important strategic steps in the second half of the year to increase operating efficiencies and make planned marketing investments to fuel our growth and success into 2024 and beyond.

謝謝你，科德。我們對公司 2023 年的強勁表現感到非常高興。我們的團隊充分利用了成長機會，PetIQ 品牌組合的強勁成長證明了這一點。我們在下半年採取了重要的策略步驟，以提高營運效率並進行有計劃的營銷投資，以推動我們在 2024 年及以後的成長和成功。

I will now discuss our quarterly financials in more detail and finish with reviewing our first-quarter and full-year 2024 guidance. We've reported record Q4 net sales of $219.9 million, an increase of 19.5% compared to Q4 of last year, driven by an increase in sales from both the products and services segments as well as the addition of Rocco & Roxie.

我現在將更詳細地討論我們的季度財務狀況，並最後回顧我們的 2024 年第一季和全年指導。我們公佈的第四季度淨銷售額創歷史新高，達到 2.199 億美元，與去年第四季度相比增長 19.5%，這主要得益於產品和服務部門銷售額的增長以及 Rocco & Roxie 的加入。

As Cord mentioned, we had strong broad-based growth across sales channels and product categories. Adjusted gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $45.6 million, and adjusted gross margin was 20.7%.

正如 Cord 所提到的，我們在銷售通路和產品類別方面都實現了強勁的廣泛成長。2023年第四季調整後毛利為4,560萬美元，調整後毛利率為20.7%。

Our adjusted gross profit included a drag of approximately $1.2 million or 60 basis points from our services segment optimization and the related cost inefficiencies that we did not adjust for in the quarter. If you take this into account, our fourth-quarter 2023 adjusted gross margin would be essentially flat, compared to the prior-year period, at 21.3%.

我們調整後的毛利包括我們的服務部門優化以及我們在本季沒有調整的相關成本效率低下造成的約 120 萬美元或 60 個基點的拖累。如果考慮到這一點，我們的 2023 年第四季調整後毛利率將與去年同期基本持平，為 21.3%。

Q4 adjusted SG&A was $40.6 million compared to $34.7 million in Q4 last year. As a percentage of net sales, adjusted SG&A was 18.5%, a decrease of 40 basis points compared to the prior-year period. This improvement was primarily as a result of continued leverage of costs and increased business expense efficiencies relative to the growth in net sales, partially offset by incremental and planned marketing expense of approximately $3 million to support the long-term health of our manufactured brand portfolio.

第四季調整後的 SG&A 為 4,060 萬美元，而去年第四季為 3,470 萬美元。調整後的 SG&A 佔淨銷售額的百分比為 18.5%，比去年同期下降 40 個基點。這項改善主要是由於相對於淨銷售額成長而言，持續利用成本和提高業務費用效率，部分被增量和計劃行銷費用約 300 萬美元所抵消，以支持我們製造品牌組合的長期健康。

Total restructuring and related charges attributable to the services segment optimization were $5.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, $1.6 million of which were cash charges. So the majority of the restructuring was non-cash in the quarter.

2023 年第四季度，服務部門優化帶來的重組和相關費用總額為 510 萬美元，其中 160 萬美元為現金費用。因此，本季大部分重組都是非現金的。

We included a financial table in today's press release to provide you with the components of expenses included in restructuring and cost of services for modeling purposes. We currently expect our cash costs associated with the services optimization to be less than $5 million, below the initial expectations we provided last quarter of over $6 million.

我們在今天的新聞稿中包含了一個財務表格，為您提供重組中包含的費用組成部分和用於建模的服務成本。目前，我們預計與服務優化相關的現金成本將低於 500 萬美元，低於我們上季度提供的超過 600 萬美元的最初預期。

Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $12 million. This exceeded our implied guidance of $6.2 million to $10.2 million for the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2023 also includes the approximately $3 million of incremental and planned marketing expense I mentioned prior.

2023 年第四季調整後 EBITDA 為 1,200 萬美元。這超出了我們對本季 620 萬至 1,020 萬美元的隱含指引。2023 年第四季調整後 EBITDA 還包括我之前提到的約 300 萬美元的增量和計畫行銷費用。

Turning to our balance sheet and liquidity. The company ended Q4 with total cash and cash equivalents of $116.4 million. The company generated a record $61.9 million of cash from operations for 2023. And we generated the highest free cash flow in the company's history of $52.7 million, well in excess of our initial expectations of $30 million to $40 million.

轉向我們的資產負債表和流動性。截至第四季度，公司現金及現金等價物總額為 1.164 億美元。該公司 2023 年營運現金收入創紀錄的 6,190 萬美元。我們創造了公司歷史上最高的自由現金流，達到 5,270 萬美元，遠遠超出了我們最初預期的 3,000 萬至 4,000 萬美元。

For 2024, we expect to generate annual free cash flow in excess of $45 million. The company's total debt, which is comprised of its term loan, ABL, convertible debt, and capital leases, was $445.2 million as of December 31, 2023. In addition to our cash on hand, the company's $125 million ABL is undrawn.

到 2024 年，我們預計年度自由現金流將超過 4,500 萬美元。截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，該公司的總債務為 4.452 億美元，包括定期貸款、ABL、可轉換債務和資本租賃。除了我們手頭上的現金外，該公司的 1.25 億美元 ABL 尚未提取。

Total liquidity, which we define as cash on hand plus debt availability, was $241.4 million as of December 31, 2023. While we have no intention of making additional borrowings, we would note that our liquidity is ample, and our credit facilities are flexible.

截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，總流動性（我們將其定義為手頭現金加上可用債務）為 2.414 億美元。雖然我們無意額外借款，但我們注意到我們的流動性充足，信貸安排靈活。

Our net leverage, as calculated under the terms of our credit facilities at the end of 2023, was a record low 2.9 times, much better than our expectation for 2023. Our net leverage, as calculated under the terms of our credit facilities at the end of 2023, was a record low 2.9 times, much better than our expectations for 2023. And net leverage improved from 3.7 times in 2022.

根據 2023 年底信貸額度條款計算，我們的淨槓桿比率為 2.9 倍，創歷史新低，遠優於我們對 2023 年的預期。根據 2023 年底信貸額度條款計算，我們的淨槓桿比率為 2.9 倍，創歷史新低，遠優於我們對 2023 年的預期。淨槓桿比率較 2022 年的 3.7 倍有所改善。

Looking ahead, keep in mind, Q1 is always our highest leveraged quarter of the year. So for Q1 of 2024, you will see our net leverage increase a bit due to seasonal changes in working capital, primarily potential timing of increased inventory, to position us well for the flea and tick season. However, on a year-over-year basis, we expect an improvement in our net leverage ratio relative to Q1 of last year.

展望未來，請記住，第一季始終是我們一年中槓桿率最高的季度。因此，對於2024 年第一季度，您將看到我們的淨槓桿率因營運資金的季節性變化而略有增加，主要是庫存增加的潛在時機，以使我們能夠在跳蚤和蜱蟲季節做好準備。然而，與去年同期相比，我們預期淨槓桿比率較去年第一季有所改善。

Now, turning to our guidance. As stated in today's earnings release, our 2024 full-year and first-quarter 2024 outlook is inclusive of the services segment optimization; the expected sale of the company's foreign subsidiary, Mark & Chappell; and a return to a more normal flea and tick season as compared to the record seasonal patterns experienced in 2023.

現在，轉向我們的指導。如同今天的財報所述，我們的 2024 年全年和 2024 年第一季展望包括服務部門最佳化；公司外國子公司 Mark & Chappell 的預期出售；與 2023 年創紀錄的季節性模式相比，跳蚤和蜱蟲季節將回歸更為正常。

These three items total approximately $52 million in net sales and $8 million of adjusted EBITDA on an annual basis. If you take these into account, our growth in 2024 would be significantly higher or represent a net sales increase of approximately 10% and an adjusted EBITDA increase of approximately 15% as compared to 2023. We have broken these variables out for reference in the outlook section of today's earnings presentation posted on the Investors section of our website.

這三項每年的淨銷售額總計約為 5,200 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 約為 800 萬美元。如果考慮到這些因素，與 2023 年相比，我們 2024 年的成長將顯著更高，即淨銷售額成長約 10%，調整後的 EBITDA 成長約 15%。我們在網站投資者部分發布的今天收益報告的展望部分中對這些變數進行了細分，以供參考。

Inclusive of the variables I just mentioned, we expect 2024 net sales of $1,130 million to $1,180 million, an increase of approximately 5% based on the midpoint; an adjusted EBITDA of $109 million to $114 million, an increase of approximately 6.5% based on the midpoint, which includes the step-up in marketing expense Cord mentioned.

包含我剛才提到的變量，我們預計 2024 年淨銷售額為 11.3 億美元至 11.8 億美元，較中位數成長約 5%；調整後的 EBITDA 為 1.09 億美元至 1.14 億美元，比中位數成長約 6.5%，其中包括 Cord 提到的行銷費用的增加。

For the first quarter of 2024, we expect net sales of $290 million to $310 million, an increase of approximately 3% based on the midpoint; adjusted EBITDA of $31 million to $33 million, an increase of approximately 4.5% based on the midpoint. As noted in today's release, we expect our annual net sales to be weighted to the first half of 2024, with approximately 56% of our projected annual net sales recorded in this period versus 55% in 2023.

2024年第一季，我們預期淨銷售額為2.9億美元至3.1億美元，較中位數成長約3%；調整後的 EBITDA 為 3,100 萬美元至 3,300 萬美元，較中位數成長約 4.5%。正如今天的新聞稿中所指出的，我們預計我們的年度淨銷售額將加權到 2024 年上半年，這段期間記錄的預計年度淨銷售額約佔 56%，而 2023 年為 55%。

Annual seasonality can vary based on the timing of shipments, promotional activity, product launches, and a number of other factors. Additionally, for modeling purposes, we wanted to mention that going forward, our share count will vary during the course of the year due to the accounting rules regarding the company's convertible notes. This will depend on a number of factors, including quarterly earnings.

年度季節性可能因發貨時間、促銷活動、產品發布和許多其他因素而異。此外，出於建模目的，我們想指出的是，由於有關公司可轉換票據的會計規則，我們的股票數量在一年中將會有所變化。這將取決於許多因素，包括季度收益。

For certain quarters in 2024, the share count will increase by approximately 4.8 million shares. And our diluted EPS will be calculated on the same basis. Importantly, we currently have no intention of satisfying our convertible note obligation with shares, but are required to report the company's share count based on the theoretical increase.

2024 年的某些季度，股票數量將增加約 480 萬股。我們的稀釋後每股盈餘也將依照同樣的基礎計算。重要的是，我們目前無意用股票履行我們的可轉換票據義務，但需要根據理論增量報告公司的股票數量。

In closing, we reported strong, record 2023 financial results. Our team continues to execute well and deliver on our strategic initiatives to fuel growth and increase operating efficiencies. For 2024, we expect to increase value for all stakeholders as we deliver on our mission of smarter, convenient, and affordable pet health and wellness for parents.

最後，我們報告了強勁、創紀錄的 2023 年財務表現。我們的團隊繼續良好執行並實施我們的策略舉措，以推動成長並提高營運效率。到 2024 年，我們期望為所有利害關係人增加價值，並履行為父母提供更聰明、更方便、更實惠的寵物健康和保健的使命。

That concludes my financial review. Cord, Michael, John, and I are now available for your questions. Operator?

我的財務審查到此結束。科德、麥可、約翰和我現在可以回答你們的問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Rupesh Parikh, Oppenheimer.

（操作員說明）Rupesh Parikh，Oppenheimer。

Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question, and also congrats on a strong end to the year. So maybe just starting out with guidance.

午安.感謝您提出我的問題，也恭喜您在今年取得了良好的成績。所以也許只是從指導開始。

We'd just love to hear, as you look at the guidance range, where do you see sources of upside? And at the same time, where do you see the biggest risk in achieving the guidance range?

我們很想聽聽，當您查看指導範圍時，您認為上漲的來源在哪裡？同時，您認為實現指導範圍的最大風險在哪裡？

Yeah. Thanks, Rupesh, and thanks for your comment on the year. We did have a great year. And appreciate the question.

是的。謝謝 Rupesh，也謝謝您對這一年的評論。我們確實度過了美好的一年。並感謝這個問題。

Obviously, we talked about the $52 million that we discussed. And it's easy to see if we sell off M&C and we had the stores that we closed, that's easy. The flea and tick season, which we talked about here, how great it was; we always budget at an average rate.

顯然，我們討論了我們所討論的 5200 萬美元。很容易看出我們是否出售了 M&C，以及我們是否關閉了商店，這很容易。我們在這裡談到的跳蚤和蜱蟲季節，真是太棒了；我們總是以平均價格進行預算。

And so as we get into the season and we start to see the weather, it's a big source of upside for the company and for the business. We had a really strong last year, which led to a really strong retailer reception of our products and our promotions and placement. And once we see consumption, that's the source of upside.

因此，當我們進入季節並開始關注天氣時，這對公司和業務來說都是一個巨大的上升空間。去年我們的表現非常強勁，這導致零售商對我們的產品以及我們的促銷和投放產生了非常強烈的歡迎。一旦我們看到消費，那就是上漲的來源。

The very same items are the opposite, right? So we've been very good at capturing where we think we are. And when things go better than expected, it is much stronger. So I don't know, Michael, anything else you want to add to that?

相同的東西是相反的，對嗎？所以我們非常善於捕捉我們認為自己所處的位置。當事情進展得比預期好時，它就會變得更強大。所以我不知道，邁克爾，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

No, Rupesh. This is Michael. I think Cord said it well. Weather and the quality of the flea and tick seasons, the greatest variable we have to both the upside or the downside. And again, we kind of shooting it down the middle of the fairway for expectations that are built into the guidance.

不，魯佩什。這是麥可.我覺得科德說得很好。天氣以及跳蚤和蜱蟲季節的質量，是我們面臨的最大變量，無論是有利還是不利。再次，我們將其擊中球道中間，以達到指南中的預期。

We do have a couple meaningful launches this year, specifically our Rocco & Roxie supplement line, which we're just assuming we carve out a relatively small piece of the premium supplement pie with that launch. But we are very encouraged by very early testing and reads.

今年我們確實推出了一些有意義的產品，特別是我們的 Rocco & Roxie 補充劑系列，我們只是假設我們透過該產品的推出在優質補充劑市場中佔據了相對較小的份額。但我們對早期的測試和閱讀感到非常鼓舞。

That would be one area that we could see some meaningful upside, as that launch plays out in the back half of the year. But those are probably the biggest variables that we see coming up in '24.

隨著該產品的推出將在今年下半年進行，這將是我們可以看到一些有意義的上漲的領域。但這些可能是我們在 24 年看到的最大變數。

Great. And then maybe just one follow-up question. So as we -- I know there's some noise with gross margins in Q4. And it was very helpful to get an explanation there in terms of what the adjusted gross margins are.

偉大的。然後也許只是一個後續問題。因此，我知道第四季的毛利率存在一些噪音。在那裡獲得有關調整後毛利率的解釋非常有幫助。

But is there any guidance you can provide in terms of how to think about it for '24? And I don't know if there's a way to think about product versus service as well.

但對於如何思考“24”，您是否可以提供任何指導？我不知道是否有一種方法可以同時考慮產品與服務。

Yeah. This is me, Cord, if that's okay. We think we have 50-plus basis of margin upside next year. And as we think about it, what we control is our manufactured products and their growth rates. And they have had exceptional growth this year, and we expect exceptional next year as well.

是的。這是我，科德，如果可以的話。我們認為明年的利潤率有 50 以上的上升空間。正如我們所想，我們控制的是我們的製造產品及其成長率。他們今年取得了非凡的成長，我們預計明年也將取得非凡的成長。

So as you think about why our margin percentage could be lower, the only reason our margin percentage would be lower is if distributed exceeds our expectations and delivers more margin dollars. And in that case, we'd have a lower gross margin percentage.

因此，當您考慮為什麼我們的保證金百分比可能較低時，我們的保證金百分比較低的唯一原因是分配超出我們的預期並提供更多的保證金。在這種情況下，我們的毛利率就會較低。

But we'd all be happy because the higher gross margin dollars we'd have, and conversely, or in addition, we would have a higher EBITDA dollars. So that's how we think about it. And I don't -- I mean, it's hard to imagine doing much better than we've been doing the last several years in manufacturing. But we're going to try.

但我們都會很高興，因為我們將擁有更高的毛利率，相反，或者此外，我們將擁有更高的 EBITDA 美元。這就是我們的想法。我不認為——我的意思是，很難想像我們在製造業的表現會比過去幾年更好。但我們會嘗試。

Okay. Great. Thank you. I'll pass it along.

好的。偉大的。謝謝。我會把它傳遞下去。

Bill Chappell, Truist Securities.

比爾‧查普爾 (Bill Chappell)，Truist 證券公司。

Thanks. Good afternoon, and congratulations as well. Two questions. First, just maybe help us on the bridge of EBITDA for last year to 2024 with the services' shutdown. And I thought it was $5 million to $6 million in savings.

謝謝。下午好，也恭喜你。兩個問題。首先，隨著服務的關閉，也許可以幫助我們解決去年到 2024 年的 EBITDA 問題。我認為可以節省 500 萬至 600 萬美元。

Didn't know what you saw in the fourth quarter because it sounds like there was actually, I guess, a negative hit to gross margin from that. What you're expecting that to add to gross margin this year? And then from that standpoint, like, how are we factoring in how you're reinvesting all of that if you are reinvesting all of that upside?

我不知道你在第四季看到了什麼，因為我猜這聽起來實際上對毛利率造成了負面影響。您預計今年的毛利率會增加多少？然後從這個角度來看，如果您將所有這些優勢進行再投資，我們如何考慮您如何再投資所有這些？

All right. Thanks, Bill. Appreciate it. Good to hear your voice. Look, we've been consistently saying that we're going to step up our A&P investment.

好的。謝謝，比爾。欣賞它。很高興聽到你的聲音。聽著，我們一直在說我們將加大 A&P 投資。

We've had to grow into our advertising investments and pay them ourselves along the way. And $6 million that we are going to be saving from the operating losses that we had from those stores we closed is going to be funding half of that $12 million increase. The other $6 million we're going to fund out of operations.

我們必須加大廣告投資，並且一路上自己支付費用。我們將從關閉商店的營運損失中節省 600 萬美元，用於資助 1,200 萬美元增量的一半。另外 600 萬美元我們將從營運中籌集資金。

But that is $12 million that if we weren't continuing to push and drive our awareness and our brands and the return we're getting on that, that $12 million would have been available to take to the bottom line and increase our EBITDA from a company perspective. We were very efficient and worked very quickly to get the stores closed. And the expenses associated with that did have an impact on the end-of-the-year margin, and we've talked about that as well.

但這是 1200 萬美元，如果我們不繼續提高我們的知名度和品牌以及我們從中獲得的回報，那麼這 1200 萬美元本來可以用於實現利潤並增加我們的 EBITDA。公司視角。我們非常有效率，很快就關閉了商店。與此相關的費用確實對年終利潤率產生了影響，我們也討論過這一點。

As it relates to 2024, we should be back to kind of a normal state with our services organization and be kind of at a good place. I think the only thing that would be any kind of a negative drag would be -- we're really starting to push forward more community clinics.

就 2024 年而言，我們的服務組織應該恢復到正常狀態，並處於良好的狀態。我認為唯一會產生負面影響的是——我們確實開始推動更多的社區診所。

And anytime we open a new community clinic store, there is a maturing process takes place. But like I said, all that's been conservatively considered, and it's part of our guide going into next year. And as Zvi said, right now, we believe we're on track to have 50 basis points of margin expansion or more. And the only good change that we believe is the distribution portfolio outperformed during 2024.

每當我們開設新的社區診所商店時，就會發生一個成熟的過程。但就像我說的，所有這些都經過保守考慮，並且是我們明年指南的一部分。正如 Zvi 所說，目前我們相信我們的利潤率預計將擴大 50 個基點或更多。我們認為唯一好的變化是分銷投資組合在 2024 年表現優於大盤。

Zvi, anything else I miss there?

Zvi，還有什麼我想念的嗎？

The only thing I would add is, we did not add back the costs of the inefficiency of running the wellness centers that we announced would close in Q4. And so that dragged our growth -- our 2024 Q4 margins down about $1 million -- $1.2 million and had an impact on services margins. Services margin in Q4 would have been closer to 8%. So that's a little bit of noise that we have in the Q4.

我唯一要補充的是，我們沒有計入我們宣布將在第四季度關閉的健康中心運作效率低下的成本。因此，這拖累了我們的成長——我們 2024 年第四季的利潤率下降了約 100 萬美元至 120 萬美元，並對服務利潤率產生了影響。第四季的服務利潤率將接近 8%。所以這是我們在第四季遇到的一點噪音。

And if we look at our performance year over year, full year, '24 versus '23, if you exclude that $1.2 million, we'd be up about 50 basis points on an adjusted basis, year over year, for growth -- I'm sorry -- '23 versus '22. My bad.

如果我們逐年比較全年的業績，24 年與 23 年相比，如果排除這 120 萬美元，我們在調整後的基礎上同比增長約 50 個基點——我抱歉 - '23 與 '22。我的錯。

Got it. I think I understand the cushion per se. Switching just to your own company-owned products and the success this past year, how much of that do you think is (technical difficulty)? We've certainly heard some (technical difficulty) more super premium products within pet.

知道了。我想我理解坐墊本身。僅轉向您自己公司擁有的產品以及過去一年的成功，您認為其中有多少是（技術難度）？我們當然聽過一些（技術難度）更高的寵物產品。

How much of that is you think is just expanded distribution and availability, such as Rocco & Roxie and other on the supplement side? Any way to kind of characterize how that is and whether you expect that to continue going into 2024?

您認為其中有多少只是擴大了分銷和可用性，例如 Rocco & Roxie 以及其他補充品？有什麼辦法可以描述一下這種情況，以及您是否預計這種情況會持續到 2024 年？

Michael, do you want to take that one?

邁克爾，你想拿那個嗎？

Yeah. Hey, Bill. It's Michael. I think that there's two components, right? We're competing in very healthy categories. That is helping us.

是的。嘿，比爾。是麥可。我認為有兩個組成部分，對嗎？我們正在非常健康的類別中競爭。這對我們有幫助。

Flea and tick had an unusually healthy year based upon some of the seasonal profile. But the more organic fundamental health of the categories, like supplements and dental treats, we do think are sustaining and maintaining into 2024 and beyond.

根據一些季節性特徵，跳蚤和蜱蟲今年異常健康。但我們確實認為，補充劑和牙科治療等更有機的基本健康類別將持續到 2024 年及以後。

And if you look at how we've positioned ourselves in those categories, yes, we have historically had more of a value tilt to our portfolio. And we are benefiting from new consumers coming into the category. Primarily, there is some trade down. But those brands' presence in the marketplace continues to evolve.

如果你看看我們如何在這些類別中定位自己，是的，我們歷來對我們的投資組合有更多的價值傾斜。我們正受益於新消費者進入該類別。主要是有一些貿易下降。但這些品牌在市場上的地位仍在不斷發展。

And the biggest growth driver for us is, really, getting our ACV right, continuing to take brands that had a legacy of being in a single channel, being very productive and successful in those channels, and expanding them into some of our retail partners beyond kind of where they grew up.

對我們來說，最大的成長動力實際上是讓我們的 ACV 正確，繼續採用那些擁有單一通路傳統的品牌，在這些通路中非常有效率和成功，並將它們擴展到我們的一些零售合作夥伴之外他們長大的地方。

And I would say we're still in the relatively early innings of that journey. And in 2024, a pretty healthy step change for us in getting some of those brands broader exposure in the marketplace, that will be part of driving growth and continue to take share moving forward.

我想說，我們仍處於這趟旅程的相對早期階段。到 2024 年，我們將邁出相當健康的一步，讓其中一些品牌在市場上獲得更廣泛的曝光，這將成為推動成長並繼續擴大市場份額的一部分。

And just to follow up, do you think that happens with the spring resets? We'll see this in the next couple of months in terms of expanded ACV.

跟進一下，您認為彈簧復位時會發生這種情況嗎？我們將在接下來的幾個月內透過擴大 ACV 來看到這一點。

Yup. For the health and wellness category, we'll see most of our major retail partners turning over those sets in the next four weeks to six weeks. The treats category plays out a little bit later in the year, more towards the back end of Q2. And we'll see some of those changes benefit us more in the back half of this year.

是的。對於健康和保健類別，我們將看到大多數主要零售合作夥伴在未來四周到六週內交付這些套裝。零食類別將在今年稍後推出，更多是在第二季末。今年下半年，我們將看到其中一些變化為我們帶來更多好處。

Great. Thanks for the color.

偉大的。謝謝你的顏色。

Kaumil Gajrawala, Jefferies.

考米爾·加吉拉瓦拉，傑弗里斯。

Hey, guys. Good afternoon. Good evening. Whatever it might be. Just a quick point of clarification. The 50 basis points of margin upside, I think that means expansion for '24 on gross margin. Is that what you had said earlier, Zvi?

大家好。午安.晚安.不管它是什麼。只是簡單地澄清一下。利潤率上升 50 個基點，我認為這意味著 24 年毛利率的擴張。這是你之前說的嗎，Zvi？

Correct.

正確的。

Okay. Just clarifying that. And then maybe just thinking about marketing, how are you thinking about the right amount? You obviously have quite a bit of growth that's worked over the course of '23. Is this the right level?

好的。只是澄清一下。然後也許只是考慮行銷，您如何考慮合適的數量？顯然，你在 23 年的過程中取得了相當大的成長。這是正確的水平嗎？

Does it make sense to -- if you have -- the brands have heat, if the brands have traction, that now is the time to maybe overspend a bit to kind of keep it going or set itself to a higher level? Just maybe just giving us some context on how you're thinking about what the right figure is.

如果品牌有熱度，如果品牌有吸引力，那麼現在是時候稍微超支以保持其發展或將自己設定到更高的水平了，這是否有意義？也許只是向我們提供一些背景信息，讓我們了解您如何思考正確的數字是什麼。

Yeah. I think, Kaumil, we don't know that we've found the ceiling yet. We're seeing the return on the investment we're making. It's working. We're going to continue to invest.

是的。我想，考米爾，我們還不知道我們已經找到上限了。我們正在看到我們所做的投資的回報。它正在發揮作用。我們將繼續投資。

The good news is the commitments are 30 to 60 days. And so if we feel like we've hit a ceiling and it's time to pull back, we will. But we've been growing into that budget and what we could spend and afford to spend over the last couple of years. This is another significant step-up, as we've seen it's working.

好消息是承諾期限為 30 至 60 天。因此，如果我們覺得自己已經達到了上限，是時候撤退了，我們就會這麼做。但在過去的幾年裡，我們一直在不斷改進預算以及我們可以支出和負擔得起的支出。這是另一個重要的進步，我們已經看到它正在發揮作用。

When we see the ceiling, we'll pull back. And until we do, until we see the right level of return and acceleration, then we're going to continue. But we haven't been a company that just went out there and spent a ton of advertising dollars and hoped it would work.

當我們看到天花板時，我們就會撤退。直到我們做到這一點，直到我們看到正確的回報和加速水平，然後我們才會繼續。但我們並不是一家剛走出去、花費大量廣告資金並希望它能奏效的公司。

We had to kind of grow into it, keep it balanced on all aspects of our P&L and our ratios. And I think we've been very responsible about it. And this next step-up, we feel great about it because of how it works this year. And we haven't yet seen what the right level is from a standpoint of pulling back or pumping the brakes.

我們必須融入其中，在損益表和比率的各個方面保持平衡。我認為我們對此非常負責。下一步，我們對它感覺很好，因為它今年的運作方式。從拉回或踩剎車的角度來看，我們還沒有看到什麼是合適的水平。

So I think we're continuing to balance the P&L and what we need to do as a company. And the next step-up is going to be, we think, very valuable to continuing to accelerate the brand's performance and protect the company and, frankly, just increases the depth and width of our moat.

因此，我認為我們將繼續平衡損益表和我們作為一家公司需要做的事情。我們認為，下一步的舉措對於繼續加速品牌績效和保護公司非常有價值，坦白說，只會增加我們護城河的深度和寬度。

Okay, great. That's useful. Thank you.

好的，太好了。這很有用。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Jon Andersen, William Blair.

（操作員說明）Jon Andersen、William Blair。

Good afternoon. Thanks for the question. Most have been asked. I guess, one question I have is focusing a little bit more on the services business.

午安.謝謝你的提問。大多數都被問到了。我想，我的一個問題是更專注於服務業務。

Could you give us an update on where things stand with services? There are kind of three things in my head. We've got the community clinic business, which seems like it's operating well. But if you could kind of give us an update on staffing levels and cancellation rates and how you're moving ahead there in '24.

能為我們介紹一下服務的最新情況嗎？我腦子裡有三件事。我們有社區診所業務，看起來運作良好。但是，您能否向我們提供有關人員配置水平和取消率的最新信息，以及您在 24 年的進展。

And then we have the remaining wellness centers. Are you at kind of a status quo there now or good base level? And what are the plans for those in terms of converting them potentially to a broader service offering?

然後我們還有剩下的健康中心。您現在處於現狀還是良好的基礎水準？在將其潛在轉變為更廣泛的服務產品方面，他們有哪些計劃？

And then you mentioned a partner who you had piloted, I think, a program in one of their large stores. How is that going? And do you expect more positive news on that front, perhaps, with respect to further rollout there in 2024? Thanks.

然後你提到了一位合作夥伴，我想你曾在他們的一家大型商店試行過一個專案。進展如何？您是否期望在 2024 年進一步推出這方面的更多正面消息？謝謝。

Thanks for the questions, Jon. Good to hear your voice. The community clinic business is a bright spot for the company. We have the ability to schedule labor when the demand is right from a pet count perspective. And we pay that labor better than anybody in the country from a rate standpoint.

謝謝你的提問，喬恩。很高興聽到你的聲音。社區診所業務是公司的一大亮點。從寵物數量的角度來看，當需求合適時，我們有能力安排勞動力。從費率的角度來看，我們支付給勞動力的工資比全國任何人都高。

So we really are seeing the cancellation rates balance out and do well. We are starting to lean in to increase the number of clinics that we're running. It's part of our plans for 2024. It's also part of the way we're recovering the lost revenue that we got from closing the wellness centers that were unproductive and why we expect that business to be up a little or flattish versus negative from the closures.

所以我們確實看到取消率平衡並且表現良好。我們開始努力增加我們經營的診所數量。這是我們 2024 年計畫的一部分。這也是我們恢復因關閉生產力低下的健康中心而損失的收入的一部分，也是我們預計業務會略有增長或持平而不是關閉帶來的負面影響的原因。

The wellness center model, we have challenges because of the labor model. And we really need to lean into a model that uses kind of a community clinic model, where we can have the vet labor there when it needs to be there and not have it overstaffed when it's not.

健康中心模式，我們因為勞動力模式而面臨挑戰。我們確實需要採用一種使用社區診所模式的模式，在需要的時候我們可以讓獸醫在那裡工作，而在不需要的時候也不會出現人滿為患的情況。

And our tests of adding hygiene services that allow that to happen are still going. We think we're probably -- the end of Q3 to really kind of finish up our testing and decide what our expansion plans look like. The wellness centers that were left, as we've said in past quarters, have the ability to be converted. Or they're already growing and working and have the right labor balance in those markets.

我們對增加衛生服務以實現這一目標的測試仍在進行中。我們認為我們可能會在第三季末真正完成我們的測試並決定我們的擴展計劃。正如我們在過去幾個季度所說的，剩下的健康中心有能力進行改造。或者他們已經在成長和工作，並且在這些市場中擁有適當的勞動力平衡。

And so that's where we currently sit with our wellness center plan. But we're not out there building more stores until we kind of work through this last phase of the hygiene model. And our growth is really coming from that expansion on the community clinic business.

這就是我們目前的健康中心計劃。但在我們完成衛生模式的最後階段之前，我們不會再建造更多商店。我們的成長實際上來自社區診所業務的擴張。

Obviously, we did talk about last quarter, we had a significant new opening with one of our largest retail partners. It went extremely well. It was a gorgeous facility, the best we've put out there in the market. It is branded that retail partner's brand, and we operate it for them.

顯然，我們確實談到了上個季度，我們與最大的零售合作夥伴之一開設了一個重要的新店。進展非常順利。這是一個華麗的設施，也是我們在市場上推出的最好的設施。它是零售合作夥伴的品牌，我們為他們經營。

We built it out. We furnished it with everything. It is doing better than what we thought it was going to be doing from a production and pet count perspective. And so they're happy; we're happy. And I think we're close to announcing that we would open more locations. We're not there yet, but we're close.

我們把它建造出來了。我們為它配備了一切。從生產和寵物數量的角度來看，它的表現比我們想像的要好。所以他們很高興；很高興。我認為我們即將宣布將開設更多門市。我們還沒有達到那個目標，但我們已經很接近了。

Okay. That's helpful. Just one more. On the sales growth guidance for '24, I understand it's kind of accounting for the headwinds that you quantified. It's kind of a 10% growth year, inclusive of the headwinds, mid-single digit.

好的。這很有幫助。還有一個。關於 24 年的銷售成長指導，我理解這是您量化的不利因素的一種解釋。考慮到逆風因素，今年的成長率為 10%，為中個位數。

Can you help us just think through the breakdown there, product versus services, and what you're expecting? And one of the reasons I'm asking is, just given the service center closures, that creates more noise than maybe usual. So if there's any color around that segment-level growth expectations, that'd be helpful. Thank you.

您能幫助我們思考那裡的細分、產品與服務以及您的期望嗎？我問的原因之一是，鑑於服務中心關閉，這會產生比平常更多的噪音。因此，如果細分市場層面的成長預期有任何色彩，那將會有所幫助。謝謝。

Thanks, Jon. Look, I think we are into a year where we're doing exactly what we normally do, where our manufactured brands are going to be in the low double digits. And we feel great about that.

謝謝，喬恩。聽著，我認為我們正進入一個我們正常做的一年，我們的製造品牌將處於低兩位數。我們對此感覺很好。

And if the weather comes through, it'll be significantly better than those numbers that are in the plan. The distributor brands were still in the same kind of mid-single-digit step of growth rates. And we think that's conservative and the right place to be based on what we're seeing.

如果天氣好的話，它會比計劃中的數字好得多。分銷商品牌仍處於相同的中個位數成長率。我們認為這是保守的，並且基於我們所看到的情況是正確的。

Services is flattish because of the closures if you're looking on a year-over-year basis. But again, we think the right way to really measure our success is to take into account the $52 million we talked about. And we're up 10% top line, 15% bottom line, which is in line with what we think this business should be growing for the long term.

如果您按年比較的話，由於關閉，服務會很平淡。但我們再次認為，真正衡量我們成功的正確方法是考慮到我們談論的 5,200 萬美元。我們的營收成長了 10%，淨利潤成長了 15%，這符合我們認為這項業務應該長期成長的水平。

Right. And you're taking the savings from the closures and reinvesting it in higher ROI opportunities (multiple speakers) --

正確的。您將從關閉中節省下來的資金，並將其重新投資於更高投資回報率的機會（多位發言者）——

Yeah. That's why we're getting some additional momentum out of that. And the rally, like we said before, I mean, we're putting $12 million more into A&P that we're self-funding out of the business. That $12 million, we had the option to take to bottom line. And all of a sudden, the [111] million midpoint is going to be [123].

是的。這就是為什麼我們從中獲得了一些額外的動力。正如我們之前所說，這次反彈，我的意思是，我們向 A&P 投入了 1200 萬美元，而我們是從該業務中自籌資金的。我們可以選擇將這 1200 萬美元納入底線。突然間，[111]百萬中點將是[123]。

So we're doing the right things for the long term. We're investing in the business long term. We're clearly getting better and better all the time. And look, we've had four quarters in a row this year that I think the numbers and execution speak for themselves.

因此，從長遠來看，我們正在做正確的事情。我們正在對業務進行長期投資。顯然我們一直在變得越來越好。看，今年我們已經連續四個季度，我認為數字和執行力不言而喻。

Makes sense. Thank you very much.

說得通。非常感謝。

Thanks, Jon.

謝謝，喬恩。

Ryan Meyers, Lake Street.

瑞安·邁耶斯，湖街。

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my question. Just thinking about the marketing investments. Just wondering if you can speak to that a little bit, and maybe how you've seen some of that pay off or flow through the model. And then maybe how much of these marketing investments are baked into the revenue guidance.

大家好。感謝您提出我的問題。只是考慮行銷投資。只是想知道您是否可以談談這一點，也許您是如何看到其中一些成果或透過模型流動的。然後也許這些行銷投資中有多少會被納入收入指導中。

Thanks, Ryan. Look, I think that's -- you're a pet person. You have your dog barking in the background, right? Look, all of our projections bake into everything that we're spending into the business.

謝謝，瑞安。聽著，我認為那是──你是一個愛寵物的人。你的狗在背景中吠叫，對吧？看，我們所有的預測都融入了我們在業務上的支出。

Obviously, we want to be conservative when we test a few things that are new in the programs. And so I think we've been, as usual, reasonable as we've done all year. And that's why we've given the ranges all year on how we thought we'd perform.

顯然，當我們測試程式中的一些新內容時，我們希望保持保守。所以我認為我們和往常一樣，一整年都是理性的。這就是為什麼我們給出了全年的表現範圍。

And I think everyone's seen how our investments from a conservatism have ended up allowing us to be better than the midpoint consistently. So I don't know if there's anything else, Mike or Zvi, you want to add. But I think that's all been captured in our current revenue projections.

我想每個人都看到了我們的保守投資如何最終讓我們的表現始終優於中點。所以我不知道 Mike 或 Zvi 是否還有其他需要補充的內容。但我認為這一切都已包含在我們目前的收入預測中。

Yeah. You make marketing investments in a lot of different parts of what we call the marketing funnel, right? Some of them are more near-term impactful; some of them are more long-term impactful.

是的。您在我們所謂的行銷漏斗的許多不同部分進行了行銷投資，對吧？其中一些更具近期影響力；其中一些具有更長期的影響。

And we've got a healthy mix of investments in 2024 that will influence both. So yes, it's factored into our guidance. But much of those investments are, by design, intended to pay out in more than a one-quarter, one-year point of view.

2024 年我們將進行健康的投資組合，這將對兩者產生影響。所以是的，它已納入我們的指導中。但從設計上看，這些投資中的大部分都打算在一年以上的時間內收回成本。

Got it. Thanks for taking my question.

知道了。感謝您提出我的問題。

(Operator Instructions) John Lawrence, Benchmark.

（操作員說明）John Lawrence，基準。

Yeah. Good afternoon. Congrats, Cord. I think, Cord, when you look at the business and where you've come from over the last couple of years, all the changes and better profitability -- you've paid down the debt.

是的。午安.恭喜，科德。我認為，科德，當你審視過去幾年的業務和你的出身時，所有的變化和更好的盈利能力——你已經還清了債務。

As you look out a couple of years -- we've always talked about this: the base business, manufactured brands, and the R&R. As you look forward and this debt continues to come down, what does that capacity look like facility-wise as far as folding something else in or extensions, et cetera, to widen the portfolio?

幾年來，我們一直在談論這一點：基礎業務、製造品牌和 R&R。當你展望未來並且債務繼續下降時，就折疊其他東西或擴展等以擴大投資組合而言，這種能力在設施方面看起來是什麼樣的？

That's a good question, John. We've talked about it a lot, and we've been very vocal about it. We've been very disciplined as it relates to the acquisitions we've made and the value that we've paid, and the upside that we saw in those acquisitions to go out and execute and create significant synergy value for us and our shareholders.

這是個好問題，約翰。我們已經談論了很多，並且對此非常直言不諱。我們一直非常自律，因為這關係到我們進行的收購和我們支付的價值，以及我們在這些收購中看到的好處，即走出去執行並為我們和我們的股東創造顯著的協同價值。

We continue to look at lots of different assets out there that we think fit our criteria, that fit our area of expertise, that we think we can do similar things with. And if they don't match, they don't fit, we move on.

我們繼續關注許多不同的資產，我們認為這些資產符合我們的標準，適合我們的專業領域，我們認為我們可以用它們做類似的事情。如果它們不匹配，就不適合，我們就繼續前進。

And I think whether it's two years from now and how we paid on debt or along the way, when you buy a Rocco & Roxie that you pay 8, 8.5 times for and you know you can add substantial new items, you can add substantial distribution, you can execute better, you can take costs out, those acquisitions become very affordable and, frankly, aren't something we need to consider what's going to happen in the future.

我認為，無論是兩年後我們如何償還債務，還是一路走來，當您購買 Rocco & Roxie 並支付 8、8.5 倍的費用，並且您知道可以添加大量新商品時，您可以添加大量分銷，您可以更好地執行，你可以降低成本，這些收購變得非常負擔得起，坦白說，這不是我們需要考慮未來會發生的事情。

We can do those type of deals, and so we're looking at those. But PetIQ is a pet health and wellness company. We're very focused on hitting the bullseye with the brands, the products, the deals that we do because it's where we can guarantee execution.

我們可以進行此類交易，因此我們正在考慮這些交易。但 PetIQ 是一家寵物健康和保健公司。我們非常注重透過我們所做的品牌、產品和交易來擊中靶心，因為這是我們可以保證執行的地方。

And we're going to continue to be disciplined at doing that. I think in our three-year to five-year plan, we'd like to do another three to five deals similar to the Rocco & Roxie type deal. But that's going to be dependent on our values and on the valuations and what we know we can execute against.

我們將繼續遵守紀律這樣做。我認為在我們的三年到五年計劃中，我們希望再進行三到五筆類似於 Rocco & Roxie 類型交易的交易。但這將取決於我們的價值觀、估值以及我們知道我們可以執行的目標。

So I think we're going to continue to demonstrate responsible use of cash and responsible execution. And the company can execute like we did this year without making acquisitions and continue to grow and do really well.

因此，我認為我們將繼續展示負責任的現金使用和負責任的執行。該公司可以像我們今年一樣執行，無需進行收購，並繼續發展並做得非常好。

But we love when we find a Rocco & Roxie type brand that we can go out and just do really fun great things with and make them into just a better platform, with a more significant foundation to grow from. So I think that's kind of who we are and our culture.

但我們很高興找到一個 Rocco & Roxie 類型的品牌，我們可以出去做一些真正有趣的偉大的事情，並將它們打造成一個更好的平台，擁有更重要的成長基礎。所以我認為這就是我們的身分和我們的文化。

Great. Thanks. Good luck.

偉大的。謝謝。祝你好運。

Kaumil Gajrawala, Jefferies.

考米爾·加吉拉瓦拉，傑弗里斯。

(inaudible - microphone inaccessible)

（聽不清楚 - 麥克風無法存取）

The line may be muted for your question.

對於您的問題，線路可能會被靜音。

Sorry about that; on mute. At some point, I'll figure it out.

對於那個很抱歉;靜音。在某個時候，我會弄清楚的。

I was following up on M&A and in terms of the environment. So you laid out your philosophy on approaching M&A. But given some of -- there's been some subsegments within pet that have weakened in recent months. Has that changed what the -- maybe the asking prices are for some of the things you're looking at?

我正在跟進併購和環境方面的情況。因此，您闡述了您的併購理念。但考慮到寵物領域的一些細分市場，近幾個月來已經減弱。這是否改變了您正在尋找的某些商品的要價？

I don't know that we've looked at the macro market and how we looked at M&A. We're very focused on the assets that make sense for us.

我不知道我們是否關注過宏觀市場以及如何看待併購。我們非常關注對我們有意義的資產。

And we've had assets that don't make sense because they still are looking for multiples that we think are unrealistic and, definitely, don't fit our company. And we have other deals, we've looked at that once we get into them, just the assets themselves are not as clean as they should be.

我們擁有一些沒有意義的資產，因為他們仍在尋找我們認為不切實際且肯定不適合我們公司的倍數。我們還有其他交易，我們已經研究過，一旦我們進入這些交易，只是資產本身並不像應有的那麼乾淨。

And so I would say we're not really out there pushing like you're thinking. But look, the macro environment is good in our categories. We've obviously demonstrated that pet health is really strong and growing.

所以我想說，我們並沒有像你想像的那樣真正在推動。但看，我們類別的宏觀環境很好。我們已經明顯地證明了寵物的健康狀況確實非常好，而且還在不斷增長。

There's a lot of anticipation that it's going to be a significant growth category for a long time. And we're positioned extremely well as it relates to pet health and wellness and retail, with very little competition that's going to be available to do those deals.

人們普遍預計它將在很長一段時間內成為一個重要的成長類別。我們在寵物健康和零售方面處於非常有利的地位，幾乎沒有競爭可以進行這些交易。

So that's where we are today, Kaumil. And I wouldn't say that we're going to change that kind of environment. And it seems like we're looking at something all the time. But we pull the trigger and actually close very, very seldom.

這就是我們今天的處境，考米爾。我不會說我們要改變這種環境。我們似乎一直在關注某些東西。但我們扣動扳機並真正關閉的情況非常非常少。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

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

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回科德·克里斯滕森（Cord Christensen）發表閉幕詞。

Thank you, everybody, for joining today. We really appreciate all your support. Obviously, thank you to the PetIQ team and all the hard work that went into delivering such an amazing 2023, and setting us up for an amazing 2024.

謝謝大家今天的加入。我們非常感謝您的所有支持。顯然，感謝 PetIQ 團隊以及為實現如此出色的 2023 年所做的所有辛勤工作，並為我們迎接出色的 2024 年做好準備。

We, as usual, are taking a conservative approach to the company's performance and outlook, but are very excited about 2024 and beyond as PetIQ continues to gain momentum, further distance itself from its competition, and continues to execute at the level we execute.

像往常一樣，我們對公司的業績和前景採取保守態度，但對 2024 年及以後的前景感到非常興奮，因為 PetIQ 繼續獲得動力，進一步遠離競爭對手，並繼續按照我們的執行水平執行。

So we look forward to reporting and talking to you again in a couple of months and look forward to interact with any of you over the next few days, that would like to have interaction with us and have questions. So thank you, everyone. Take care.

因此，我們期待在幾個月後再次向您進行報告和交談，並期待在接下來的幾天內與任何願意與我們互動並提出問題的人進行互動。謝謝大家。小心。

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

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。