Photronics Inc (PLAB) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by, and welcome to Photronics Fiscal Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

您好，感謝您的支持，歡迎參加 Photronics 2025 財年第三季財務業績電話會議。（操作員指示）

Please note that today's conference is being recorded. I will now hand the conference over to your speaker host, Ted Moreau, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。現在，我將會議交給主持人、投資人關係副總裁 Ted Moreau。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our review of Photronics Fiscal Third Quarter 2025 financial results. Joining me this morning are George Macricostas, Chairman and CEO; Eric Rivera, CFO; Frank Lee, Head of our Asia Operations; and Chris Progler, CTO. The press release we issued earlier this morning, together with the presentation material that accompanies our remarks are available on the Investor Relations section of our website.

謝謝您，接線生。大家早安。歡迎閱讀我們對 Photronics 2025 財年第三季財務表現的回顧。今天早上與我一起出席的還有董事長兼執行長 George Macricostas、財務長 Eric Rivera、亞洲業務主管 Frank Lee 和首席技術長 Chris Progler。我們今天早上發布的新聞稿以及伴隨我們發言的演示材料可在我們網站的投資者關係部分找到。

This call will include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause Photronics results to differ materially from management's current expectations. We encourage you to review the notice regarding forward-looking statements contained both in today's earnings release, as well as our most recent SEC filings.

本次電話會議將包括前瞻性陳述，其中涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致 Photronics 的表現與管理層目前的預期有重大差異。我們鼓勵您查看今天的收益報告以及我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中有關前瞻性聲明的通知。

In the coming weeks, we will be participating in the Singular Research Investor Conference, and we'll be meeting with investors at the SEMICON West Trade Show, which will occur in Phoenix this year. I will now turn the call over to George.

在接下來的幾週內，我們將參加 Singular Research 投資者會議，並將在今年於鳳凰城舉行的 SEMICON West 貿易展上與投資者會面。現在我將電話轉給喬治。

Thank you, Ted, and good morning, everyone. We had another solid quarter with sales of $210 million ahead of expectations, and flat both year-over-year and sequentially. Our flat panel display business continues to perform well to offset more challenging demand in IC. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was also well ahead of guidance at $0.51.

謝謝你，泰德，大家早安。我們又度過了一個表現穩健的季度，銷售額達到 2.1 億美元，超出預期，且與去年同期相比持平。我們的平板顯示器業務持續表現良好，以抵消積體電路領域更具挑戰性的需求。非公認會計準則稀釋每股收益也遠高於預期，達到 0.51 美元。

At Photronics, we leverage our legacy as an efficient photomask provider, critical to the manufacturer of semiconductors to drive profitability and cash flow. In fiscal 2025 to date, operating cash flow has been 25% of revenue, which has enabled a strong balance sheet with $576 million of consolidated cash and short-term investments. We also continued to return cash to shareholders by repurchasing $21 million of stock in the quarter, bringing the total year-to-date to $97 million.

在 Photronics，我們利用我們作為高效光掩模供應商的傳統優勢，這對於半導體製造商推動獲利能力和現金流至關重要。截至目前，2025 財年的經營現金流量已佔收入的 25%，這使得資產負債表強勁，擁有 5.76 億美元的合併現金和短期投資。本季我們也持續向股東回購價值 2,100 萬美元的股票，使年初至今的總回購金額達到 9,700 萬美元。

After taking over as CEO three months ago, we have been evaluating opportunities, our positioning in the market and our internal operational execution. With the market driving geographic diversity of semiconductor production, we have identified excellent opportunities that we're looking to capitalize on. We are leveraging our strong balance sheet to reinvest in our business, driving competitive advantages, revenue and earnings growth in the future.

三個月前接任執行長後，我們一直在評估機會、我們在市場中的定位以及我們的內部營運執行情況。隨著市場推動半導體生產的地理多樣性，我們發現了我們希望利用的絕佳機會。我們正在利用強大的資產負債表對我們的業務進行再投資，以推動未來的競爭優勢、收入和獲利成長。

As part of the strategy, back in December we communicated our initial step to geographically diversify our revenue with the announced US expansion plans. We have been expanding our clean room facility in Texas for capacity and capability extensions to service increased demand for US mid-range nodes. We're also elevating our leading-edge production capabilities in Idaho with the installation of a new multi-beam mask writer to enable the highest end of our product portfolio.

作為該策略的一部分，早在去年 12 月，我們就宣布了美國擴張計劃，以實現收入地理多元化的初步舉措。我們一直在擴大位於德州的潔淨室設施，以擴大容量和能力，滿足美國中端節點日益增長的需求。我們還透過安裝新的多光束掩模寫入機來提升我們在愛達荷州的尖端生產能力，以實現我們產品組合的最高端。

These US projects coincide with a significant number of semiconductor industry announcements over the past year regarding major manufacturing reshoring of semiconductor production to the United States. As a merchant market leader in the US, we are further strengthening our position to benefit from this reshoring of semiconductor production.

這些美國計畫與過去一年半導體產業發布的大量關於將主要製造業轉移至美國的公告相吻合。作為美國商業市場的領導者，我們正在進一步加強我們的地位，以從半導體生產的回流中獲益。

Expanding our geographic revenue diversification strategy within our existing footprint, for the past several quarters, we have been assessing and closely collaborating with customers in various geographic regions to further strengthen our existing manufacturing capabilities. More specifically, we are evaluating capability extensions at a Photronics facility in Asia to extend from 14, down to 6-nanometer and 8-nanometer production. We would expect these new capabilities to contribute to revenue in the latter half of 2027 or 2028.

在我們現有的業務範圍內擴大我們的地理收入多元化策略，在過去的幾個季度裡，我們一直在評估並與不同地理區域的客戶密切合作，以進一步加強我們現有的製造能力。更具體地說，我們正在評估亞洲 Photronics 工廠的產能擴展，以從 14 奈米擴展到 6 奈米和 8 奈米的生產。我們預計這些新功能將在 2027 年下半年或 2028 年為收入做出貢獻。

We also continue to invest prudently in great opportunities and evaluate our optimal geographic footprint by collaborating with our customers to support their growth initiatives. Over time, our internal investments are expected to deliver a more diversified and robust geographic revenue base than we recognize today, which we expect to offset the growing competitive environment in the China IC market.

我們也將繼續審慎地投資於重大機遇，並透過與客戶合作來支持他們的成長計劃，評估我們的最佳地理覆蓋範圍。隨著時間的推移，我們的內部投資預計將帶來比我們今天認識到的更加多樣化和強勁的地理收入基礎，我們預計這將抵消中國積體電路市場日益激烈的競爭環境。

Regarding China, since Frank led the establishment of our operations there over five years ago, we have achieved many close customer relationships that have contributed to meaningful revenue growth and cash flow for the company. We will continue to optimize our product mix there to maintain our business performance.

關於中國，自從五年前弗蘭克領導我們在中國的營運以來，我們已經建立了許多密切的客戶關係，為公司帶來了有意義的收入成長和現金流。我們將繼續優化那裡的產品組合以保持我們的業務表現。

As we expand our global capabilities, it becomes more critical than ever that we execute a fully integrated and world-class global sales program. Toward that, we have recently hired a new Head of Global Sales, who will drive a coordinated global sales strategy designed to capture market share in this continuously evolving global semiconductor landscape.

隨著我們全球能力的擴大，執行完全整合的世界級的全球銷售計劃變得比以往任何時候都更加重要。為此，我們最近聘請了一位新的全球銷售主管，他將推動協調的全球銷售策略，旨在在不斷變化的全球半導體格局中搶佔市場份額。

Further, as we prepare for the next stage of Photronics growth and continue to invest for the future, we will leverage our unparalleled operational leadership that forms the basis of our 56-year legacy. We remain relentless in our efforts to improve efficiencies across the organization, further optimizing our cost structure and maximizing profit potential. This is an area that we have closely evaluated over the past three months.

此外，當我們為 Photronics 下一階段的成長做準備並繼續為未來投資時，我們將利用我們無與倫比的營運領導力，這是我們 56 年歷史的基礎。我們將繼續不懈努力，提高整個組織的效率，進一步優化我們的成本結構，最大限度地提高利潤潛力。這是我們在過去三個月中密切評估的一個領域。

We're not making, nor do we anticipate making, drastic wholesale changes. Rather we periodically make strategic and targeted organizational improvements within information technology, operations and sales to best deliver business performance within our expanding network.

我們不會做出、也不會打算做出徹底的改變。相反，我們定期在資訊科技、營運和銷售方面進行策略性和有針對性的組織改進，以便在我們不斷擴大的網路中最好地實現業務績效。

Returning to our results for the third quarter. In our integrated circuits end market, revenue of $148 million reflects the continued headwinds experienced through 2025, including the uncertainty associated with geopolitical trade restrictions, particularly in the Asia region that are muting demand. Similarly, unresolved tariff negotiations have temporarily influenced design release from our customers in Asia.

回顧我們第三季的業績。在我們的積體電路終端市場，1.48 億美元的收入反映了到 2025 年持續面臨的阻力，包括與地緣政治貿易限制相關的不確定性，尤其是亞洲地區的需求減弱。同樣，未解決的關稅談判暫時影響了我們亞洲客戶的設計發布。

Turning to our flat panel display market. Revenue of $63 million was the result of strong demand from our customers in Korea and China, driven by the timing of major smartphone, tablet and laptop design releases. The display market continues to prioritize development of panel products with enhanced capabilities, such as faster refresh rates and enhanced energy efficiency of mobile devices that must have thinner, lighter and more flexible displays.

轉向我們的平面顯示器市場。6,300 萬美元的收入得益於韓國和中國客戶的強勁需求，這得益於主要智慧型手機、平板電腦和筆記型電腦設計發布的時機。顯示器市場繼續優先開發具有增強功能的面板產品，例如更快的刷新率和增強的行動裝置的能源效率，這些行動裝置必須具有更薄、更輕、更靈活的顯示器。

As a result, flat panel makers are actively developing new technologies for advanced backplanes and touch panels that require more high-end mask layers. Utilization of these higher value masks, along with the increasing adoption of foldable consumer electronics, and scaling to larger form factors, are favorable demand drivers that we expect to capitalize on over the next several years.

因此，平板製造商正在積極開發需要更多高端掩模層的先進背板和觸控螢幕的新技術。這些更高價值口罩的使用，以及可折疊消費電子產品的日益普及和向更大尺寸的擴展，都是有利的需求驅動因素，我們預計這些因素將在未來幾年得到利用。

I now turn the call over to Eric to review our third quarter results and provide fourth quarter guidance.

現在我將電話轉給 Eric，讓他回顧我們的第三季業績並提供第四季指引。

Thank you, George. Good morning, everyone. Third quarter revenue was above expectations at $210 million, which was relatively flat both sequentially and year-over-year. IC revenue of $148 million declined 5% year-over-year. High-end IC revenue represented 36% of total IC revenue and increased 8% year-over-year. We recognized a recovery in our high-end business resulting from strong order patterns in the United States. Our mainstream IC revenue declined 12% year-over-year with the majority of the decline having occurred in Asia, while mainstream in the US and Europe were stable.

謝謝你，喬治。大家早安。第三季營收高於預期，達到 2.1 億美元，與上一季和去年同期相比均基本持平。IC收入為1.48億美元，較去年同期下降5%。高端IC收入佔IC總收入的36％，年增8％。我們認識到，由於美國訂單模式強勁，我們的高端業務出現了復甦。我們的主流 IC 收入年減 12%，其中大部分下降發生在亞洲，而美國和歐洲的主流 IC 收入則保持穩定。

Turning to FPD. Revenue of $63 million increased 14% year-over-year, led by strength in Korea. FPD continued to benefit from the uplift in seasonal demand particularly for higher-end applications utilizing our advanced AMOLED technologies. Geographically, during the quarter, our Taiwan facilities generated 33% of total revenue with China at 24%, and Korea at 21%. The US and Europe together accounted for 22% of total revenue.

轉向 FPD。受韓國市場強勁表現的帶動，營收年增 14% 至 6,300 萬美元。FPD 繼續受益於季節性需求的提升，特別是對於利用我們先進的 AMOLED 技術的高端應用。從地理位置來看，本季度，我們台灣工廠創造了總收入的 33%，中國大陸創造了 24%，韓國創造了 21%。美國和歐洲合計佔總收入的22%。

Keep in mind, the IC market is only a portion of our China revenue. We have built a strong and stable FPD business in China, and our IC operations there are generated out of our 50% joint venture in Xiamen.

請記住，IC市場只是我們中國收入的一部分。我們在中國建立了強大而穩定的FPD業務，我們的IC業務來自我們在廈門的50%合資企業。

We reported gross margin of 34%, which was higher than expectations, and our operating margin of 23% was above our guidance range. Diluted GAAP EPS attributable to Photronics shareholders was $0.39 per share. After removing the impact of foreign exchange, fully diluted non-GAAP EPS attributable to Photronics shareholders was $0.51 per share. Our overall profitability reflects a greater contribution from our operations in the US and Korea.

我們的毛利率為 34%，高於預期，而我們的營業利潤率為 23%，高於我們的指導範圍。歸屬於 Photronics 股東的稀釋 GAAP EPS 為每股 0.39 美元。剔除外匯影響後，Photronics 股東應佔完全稀釋非 GAAP 每股盈餘為 0.51 美元。我們的整體獲利能力反映了美國和韓國業務的更大貢獻。

During the third quarter, we generated $50 million in operating cash flow, which represented 24% of total revenue. CapEx was $25 million in the quarter. We remain on track to spend $200 million in CapEx in fiscal 2025 on a combination of capacity, expansion, capability improvements and end-of-life tool replacements.

第三季度，我們產生了 5,000 萬美元的營運現金流，佔總收入的 24%。本季資本支出為 2500 萬美元。我們仍計劃在 2025 財年投入 2 億美元的資本支出，用於產能、擴大、能力改善和報廢工具更換。

Total cash and short-term investments increased by $17 million in the quarter to $576 million, which includes $397 million of cash in the joint ventures. We have three elements to our capital allocation strategy, including organic growth, strategic investments and returning cash to shareholders.

本季現金和短期投資總額增加了 1,700 萬美元，達到 5.76 億美元，其中包括合資企業的 3.97 億美元現金。我們的資本配置策略有三個要素，包括有機成長、策略投資和向股東返還現金。

During the quarter, we repurchased 1.2 million shares for $21 million and received approval from our Board to increase the repurchase authorization by an additional $25 million. We now have $28 million available under our share repurchase authorization. As communicated throughout our prepared remarks, our fiscal 2026 capital allocation priority will lean towards investing in our existing business to deliver geographic revenue diversification in the future, while we remain strategic with respect to future stock repurchases.

本季度，我們以 2,100 萬美元回購了 120 萬股股票，並獲得董事會批准將回購授權額外增加 2,500 萬美元。我們的股票回購授權目前有 2800 萬美元可用。正如我們在準備好的發言中所傳達的那樣，我們 2026 財年的資本配置重點將傾向於投資我們現有的業務，以在未來實現地域收入多元化，同時我們在未來的股票回購方面仍保持戰略性。

Before providing guidance, I'll remind you that demand for our products is inherently uneven and difficult to predict, with limited visibility and typical backlog of one to three weeks. In addition, ASPs for high-end mask sets are high, meaning a relatively low number of high-end orders can have a significant impact on our quarterly revenue and earnings.

在提供指導之前，我要提醒您，我們產品的需求本質上是不均衡的且難以預測，可見性有限，並且通常積壓時間為一到三週。此外，高階遮罩版的平均銷售價格較高，這意味著相對較少的高端訂單會對我們的季度收入和收益產生重大影響。

Additionally, and as we have highlighted previously, our business is influenced by IC and display design activity, and to a lesser degree by wafer and panel capacity dynamics. Given current market conditions and continued geopolitical uncertainty, we remain cautious about the near-term demand environment. We expect fourth quarter revenue to be in the range of $201 million and $209 million.

此外，正如我們之前所強調的那樣，我們的業務受到 IC 和顯示器設計活動的影響，而晶圓和麵板產能動態的影響則較小。鑑於當前的市場狀況和持續的地緣政治不確定性，我們對近期的需求環境保持謹慎。我們預計第四季營收將在 2.01 億美元至 2.09 億美元之間。

Keep in mind, we have two fewer days in Q4 than last quarter, and six fewer days than Q4 last year. Based on those revenue expectations and our current operating model, we estimate our fiscal Q4 operating margin to be between 20% and 22%. Our non-GAAP earnings per share for the fourth quarter are expected to be in the range of $0.42 to $0.48 per diluted share.

請記住，我們第四季的天數比上一季少兩天，比去年第四季少六天。根據這些收入預期和我們目前的營運模式，我們預計第四季度的營業利潤率將在 20% 至 22% 之間。我們第四季的非公認會計準則每股收益預計在每股 0.42 美元至 0.48 美元之間。

I'll now turn the call over to the operator for your questions.

我現在將電話轉給接線員來回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Thomas Diffely, D.A. Davidson

托馬斯·迪菲利、D.A.戴維森

Yes. Good morning. I appreciate the chance to ask a couple questions. First, I just wanted to ask a quick question about the fourth quarter. Do you see the mix being very similar to the third quarter? Are there any changes in what's driving the revenue?

是的。早安.我很感謝有機會提出幾個問題。首先，我只想問一個關於第四季的簡單問題。您是否認為該組合與第三季非常相似？推動營收成長的因素有變化嗎？

Hello, Tom. Eric here. Yes, we see the mix in the fourth quarter to be similar to that of the third quarter, correct.

你好，湯姆。這裡是埃里克。是的，我們認為第四季的情況與第三季類似，正確。

Okay. And then you've made some comments about tariffs and trade restrictions. I assume those don't impact you directly, but it impacts your customers, which impacts just your revenue, as opposed to a direct restriction on what you can and can't do?

好的。然後您對關稅和貿易限制發表了一些評論。我認為這些不會直接影響您，但會影響您的客戶，從而影響您的收入，而不是直接限制您能做什麼和不能做什麼？

That is correct to some extent. So the trade restrictions, as you know, we have manufacturing facilities at different locations in -- throughout the world. So it doesn't impact us directly, it does impact our customers as you suggested. From a -- to a lesser extent, it does impact perhaps our material purchases and any equipment purchases we may have. But to date, those impacts haven't been immaterial.

這在某種程度上是正確的。因此，正如你所知，貿易限制在世界各地都有製造工廠。所以它不會直接影響我們，但正如您所說，它會影響我們的客戶。從較小程度上來說，它可能確實會影響我們的材料採購和任何設備採購。但到目前為止，這些影響還不算不重要。

Okay. And you are fairly regionalized where you take most of your equipment and most of your -- I guess, most of your materials from the region that you're serving?

好的。而且你們的業務相當區域化，你們的大部分設備和大部分材料都來自你們服務的地區？

Well, no. So from a materials perspective, as I mentioned, that does impact us. We have a lot of material purchases from Japan, for example, and those would incur some tariffs if we bring them to United States.

嗯，不。因此，從材料的角度來看，正如我所提到的，這確實對我們產生了影響。例如，我們從日本購買了大量材料，如果將它們運送到美國就會產生一些關稅。

Okay. And maybe just a quick question on the investments you're about to make. When you look at the multi-beam to go to the higher end, is that for essentially serving Samsung and TSMC at the higher end nodes? Or is that for your other independent customers that are actually moving to those nodes?

好的。也許只是想問一個簡單的問題，關於您即將進行的投資。當您考慮將多光束推向更高端時，這是否主要是為了在更高階節點為三星和台積電提供服務？或者這是否適用於實際上正在遷移到這些節點的其他獨立客戶？

So it would be for the higher end nodes or the -- yes, the higher end nodes for customers similar to what you mentioned there, including Samsung, which we've talked about that in the past. I won't go into more detail as to what the other customers are, but they are for that level of customer.

所以它將適用於更高端的節點或 - 是的，適用於類似於您提到的客戶的更高端的節點，包括三星，我們過去曾討論過這個問題。我不會更詳細地談論其他客戶是什麼，但它們是針對那個級別的客戶。

Okay. And then last question. When you look at the potential to move down to the 6-nanometer, 8-nanometer node in Asia. Does there -- is anything has to happen as far as getting the okay, or the permission to have that level of technology? Or is that already clear and it's really just a pure investment thesis at this point?

好的。最後一個問題。當你看到亞洲朝向 6 奈米、8 奈米節點邁進的潛力。為了獲得批准或許可使用這種級別的技術，是否需要採取任何措施？或者這已經很清楚了，而現在這其實只是一個純粹的投資論點？

Alright. So our restrictions for those type of nodes would be in China. And these are -- if we were to invest in Asia, it would be in a non-China location. We would be looking at anywhere else. As you know, we have Taiwan, we have Korea footprints there, so it could be at any of those sites.

好吧。因此，我們對這些類型節點的限制將在中國。如果我們要在亞洲投資，那將是在中國以外的地區。我們會去其他地方看看。如你所知，我們在台灣、韓國都有足跡，所以它可能出現在任何一個地點。

Okay. I appreciate the time.

好的。我很感激你抽出時間。

Christian Schwab, Craig Hallum Capital.

克里斯蒂安·施瓦布，克雷格·哈勒姆資本。

Thanks for taking my questions. Congrats on the on the great quarter and guide. Just a follow-up on the 6-nanometer to 8-nanometer product expansion. Can you give us an idea of what end market products that those chips would be going into? I assume you're working with your customers. Can you give any clarity regarding that? That would be great.

感謝您回答我的問題。恭喜本季取得的出色成績和指南。這只是對 6 奈米到 8 奈米產品擴展的後續。您能否告訴我們這些晶片將進入哪些終端市場產品？我假設您正在與您的客戶合作。您能對此作出澄清嗎？那太好了。

Chris, Chris, you can take -- perhaps take that Frank or Chris, either?

克里斯，克里斯，你可以帶上——也許帶上弗蘭克或克里斯？

Hi, Christian. This is Chris. It's mostly high-end processors starting to see edge AI devices that are driving some things, EVs and AI embedded into cars, these sorts of things. So higher-end processors, mobile communications. A little bit of memory as well, DRAM in particular. So it's fairly broad, most of the higher-end use cases the industry has for these nodes.

你好，克里斯蒂安。這是克里斯。主要是高階處理器開始看到邊緣人工智慧設備正在推動一些東西，例如電動車和嵌入汽車的人工智慧等等。因此更高階的處理器、行動通訊。還有一點內存，特別是 DRAM。因此，它的應用範圍相當廣泛，涵蓋了業界對這些節點的大多數高階用例。

Fantastic. Thank you. And then regarding your CapEx which -- go ahead.

極好的。謝謝。然後關於您的資本支出—繼續。

Yes. This is Frank. I'd like to add a few more comments. For this high-end technology, very often, we are working with our customer, most of them have their own captive (inaudible) so it's customer oriented. It depends on the customer demand. And I think our investment will be -- in combined with customer captive outsourcing future demand. So I think the product/mix is very complicated. And it's a mix with different kind of products, including logic and memory.

是的。這是弗蘭克。我想補充幾點評論。對於這種高端技術，我們經常與客戶合作，他們大多數都有自己的專屬（聽不清楚），因此它是以客戶為導向的。這取決於客戶的需求。我認為我們的投資將與客戶未來的外包需求結合。所以我認為產品/組合非常複雜。它是不同種類產品的混合體，包括邏輯和記憶體。

Great. And following up on that, do you see your move to smaller IC nodes, which is smaller than you historically have operated in. Does that represent a potential market share gain opportunity for you over a multiyear time frame? Is that the way we should be thinking about it?

偉大的。接下來，您是否考慮轉向較小的 IC 節點，即比您過去營運的節點更小的節點。這是否代表著您在多年時間範圍內獲得潛在的市場份額的機會？我們該這樣思考嗎？

Yes. Hi. This is Chris. We do see that opportunity for market share gain. Right now, those nodes, say, 6-nanometer, 8-nanometer, the commercial mask makers, merchant mask makers, are fairly recent entries into those nodes. So to some degree, it's still kind of a jump ball because those nodes are ramping in the commercial space. By making these investments, and also what we should point out, in our site in Idaho, we're already capable of servicing nodes to the 6-nanometer, 8-nanometer level. We do believe we'll have a good multi-region solution to take advantage of merchant growth for these sorts of IC nodes.

是的。你好。這是克里斯。我們確實看到了增加市場份額的機會。目前，那些節點，例如 6 奈米、8 奈米，商業掩模製造商、商用掩模製造商都是最近才進入這些節點的。因此從某種程度上來說，這仍然是一種跳躍，因為這些節點正在商業領域迅速發展。透過這些投資，以及我們應該指出的，在我們位於愛達荷州的工廠，我們已經能夠為 6 奈米、8 奈米等級的節點提供服務。我們確實相信我們將有一個良好的多區域解決方案來利用這些類型的 IC 節點的商家成長。

Fantastic. And then regarding your CapEx at $200 million elevated above your historical percentage range of aggregate revenue, if you will. And these investments, not only in Asia, as you highlighted, but also in Texas and Idaho is -- when would you anticipate CapEx to potentially normalize back to your historical level? Is that -- as we exit next calendar year? Or do you think CapEx investments, given the growth opportunities, will be elevated at current levels for multiple years past this?

極好的。然後，如果您願意的話，您的資本支出將達到 2 億美元，高於您的歷史總收入百分比範圍。而且這些投資不僅在亞洲（正如您所強調的），而且還在德克薩斯州和愛達荷州——您預計資本支出何時可能恢復到歷史水平？那是──我們明年離開的時候嗎？或者您是否認為，考慮到成長機會，資本支出投資在未來幾年內將保持在當前水準？

Yes. This is George. Basically, we're looking at about a three-year higher-than-normal CapEx. Part of it is end-of-life tools, which also give us more capability. We've been able to extend the life of many tools for much longer than normal. So part of it is end-of-life tool replacement, which again gives us extra capability, but also its investments, strategic investments, in Asia for increased technology ability, more advanced nodes. Those are probably the two big categories.

是的。這是喬治。基本上，我們預計未來三年資本支出將高於正常水平。其中一部分是報廢工具，它們也為我們提供了更多能力。我們已經能夠將許多工具的使用壽命延長到比正常情況下更長的時間。因此，其中一部分是更換報廢工具，這再次為我們提供了額外的能力，而且還有在亞洲的投資、戰略投資，以提高技術能力和更先進的節點。這可能是兩大類別。

Of course, you know about the expansion in the US, in Allen, Texas. That's already in the budget. But basically, that's the -- what we're looking at is future higher nodes and the life tool replacement but also giving us some more capability with those replacement tools.

當然，您知道我們在美國德克薩斯州艾倫市的擴張情況。這已經包含在預算中了。但基本上，這就是——我們所關注的是未來更高的節點和生命工具的更換，同時也為我們提供這些替代工具的更多能力。

Great. And then as far as capital intensity at end-of-life tools, I would think that maybe by the end of next calendar year, your end-of-life tool, replacement work should be finalized and additional -- slightly higher CapEx ranges would be more due to advanced technology spending? Am I thinking about that right or will end-of-life tools linger a little bit longer than that?

偉大的。然後就報廢工具的資本強度而言，我認為也許到明年年底，您的報廢工具更換工作應該完成，並且由於先進技術支出，額外的 - 略高的資本支出範圍會更多？我這樣想對嗎？或者說報廢工具的使用壽命還會更長嗎？

No, it will linger a little bit longer than that. We're basically not trying to do it all in one year. We're obviously trying to balance investing in future advanced technology nodes, like we mentioned in Asia and here in Allen that's more midrange investment because we have Boise for the high end, but it's more of a combined end of life and future investment for the next few years. I think after three years, we'll be more normalized because that end-of-life tool cycle will be behind us. It's not something we would want to do in one year anyway because it is -- it can be disruptive to some degree.

不，它會持續更長時間。我們基本上不會試圖在一年內完成所有的事情。我們顯然試圖平衡對未來先進技術節點的投資，就像我們在亞洲和艾倫這裡提到的那樣，這更多的是中端投資，因為我們有博伊西的高端投資，但它更多的是未來幾年的生命週期和未來投資的結合。我認為三年後，我們會更加正常化，因為工具壽命終止週期已經過去。無論如何，這不是我們想在一年內完成的事情，因為它在某種程度上可能會造成破壞。

Correct. I understand. All right. Thank you. And then as we think about the flat panel display business, there's pretty optimistic third-party research, talking about the migration to Gen 8.6 for obvious reasons of thinner, lighter, flexible, et cetera, of around a 15% CAGR for many years to come. Is that a market that as far as a growth rate where you think that you are extremely well positioned to capitalize on, and actually maybe outperform the aggregate growth rate of the industry?

正確的。我明白。好的。謝謝。然後，當我們考慮平板顯示器業務時，有相當樂觀的第三方研究，討論了向 8.6 代遷移，原因顯而易見，即更薄、更輕、更靈活等，未來許多年的複合年增長率約為 15%。就成長率而言，您是否認為您完全有能力利用這個市場，並且實際上可能超過整個行業的整體成長率？

Yes, you are correct. We are -- we have the technology for G8.6 AMOLED. And our customer in Korea has been working with us. And also, we are working closely with two important customers in China. So our growth in FPD in the coming years will grow with the tremendous contribution from G8.6 AMOLED.

是的，你說得對。我們擁有 G8.6 AMOLED 技術。而且我們在韓國的客戶一直與我們合作。此外，我們也與中國的兩個重要客戶密切合作。因此，未來幾年我們在 FPD 領域的成長將隨著 G8.6 AMOLED 的巨大貢獻而成長。

Right. And then our work in directionally, probably accurate, but probably not an exact percentage. But our work suggests that the ASP given the increased layer count for photomasks at that strong growth market are probably as much as 50% higher. Would you agree that that's directionally accurate or how should we be thinking about, not only is the growth rate great, but the prices are materially higher? I understand you can't make a comment regarding competitive reasons. But directionally, is that the way we should be thinking about it?

正確的。然後我們的工作是有方向性的，可能是準確的，但可能不是一個確切的百分比。但我們的工作表明，鑑於該強勁成長市場中光掩模層數的增加，平均售價可能高達 50%。您是否同意這個方向是準確的，或者我們應該如何思考，不僅增長率很高，而且價格也大幅上漲？我知道您不能就競爭原因發表評論。但從方向來看，我們應該這樣思考嗎？

We don't usually comment directly on ASPs for this. I assume you're talking about the kind of blended ASP for an AMOLED G6 set, which is the current high-volume manufacturing, versus the same kind of set build for the G8.6. Yes, for sure, we expect to see ASP lift between those two products. Also, frankly speaking, the materials cost also will go up because the substrates are larger. But generally, we do expect ASP to be higher. We expect margins to be better, but we really don't think we should comment on specific numbers and percents at this point.

我們通常不會直接對 ASP 做出此評論。我猜您指的是目前量產的AMOLED G6機型的綜合平均售價，以及G8.6機型的綜合平均售價。是的，我們當然預期這兩款產品的平均售價會有所提升。而且坦白說，由於基板更大，材料成本也會上升。但總體而言，我們確實預期平均售價會更高。我們預計利潤率會更高，但我們真的認為現在不應該對具體的數字和百分比發表評論。

Great. And then my very last question here has to do with capital allocation. Congratulations on taking advantage of your stock being mispriced and stepping up and buying a material amount. Have you guys, unlike many of your peers, focused in this market, or call it, mainstream semiconductors as a meaningful percentage of revenue? Your profitability and cash flow profile consistency is materially different. Have you guys ever considered beginning to introduce, say, a modest dividend to return more cash to shareholders as another metric?

偉大的。我的最後一個問題與資本配置有關。恭喜您利用股票定價錯誤的機會加緊購買大量股票。與許多同行不同，你們是否專注於這個市場，或稱之為主流半導體，並將其作為收入的一個有意義的百分比？您的獲利能力和現金流狀況的一致性有很大差異。你們有沒有考慮過開始引進適度股利來向股東返還更多現金作為另一個指標？

We've evaluated ways to give back -- cash back to our shareholders. At the moment, we still believe that share repurchases is the best tool for us. We've evaluated that internally and externally as well with some advisers. Having said that, I would say that over the -- as mentioned in the prepared remarks, over the next few years, we're going to be focusing more on internal investments. We're going to focus more of our attention and prioritize that than share repurchases necessarily.

我們已經評估了回饋股東的方式—現金回饋。目前，我們仍然認為股票回購對我們來說是最好的工具。我們與一些顧問一起對此進行了內部和外部評估。話雖如此，我想說的是，正如準備好的演講中所提到的，在未來幾年，我們將更加重視內部投資。我們將更加關注這一點，並優先考慮股票回購。

Although as mentioned, of course, we will be opportunistic, or I should say, rather continue to be opportunistic and doing so, and that's why we have the authorization expanded by the Board. But we will continue to be opportunistic. We have evaluated dividends. We still believe that share repurchases is our best tool at the moment. Does that answer your question?

儘管如上所述，我們當然會抓住機會，或者我應該說，我們會繼續抓住機會並這樣做，這就是為什麼我們獲得董事會擴大的授權。但我們將繼續抓住機會。我們已經評估了股利。我們仍然相信股票回購是我們目前最好的工具。這回答了你的問題嗎？

Yes, it does. No other questions. Thank you, guys.

是的。沒有其他問題。謝謝你們。

Gowshihan Sriharan, Singular Research.

Gowshihan Sriharan，奇異研究。

Good morning. Can you hear me?

早安.你聽得到我嗎？

We can.

我們可以。

Okay. Thank you. My first question is looking at the sequential change in gross margins between Q2 and Q3. Is that entirely due to mix shift within the IC segment or is there some ongoing cost inefficiencies associated with the recent build-out?

好的。謝謝。我的第一個問題是觀察第二季和第三季毛利率的連續變動。這是否完全是由於 IC 部門內部的組合轉變，還是最近的擴建導致了持續的成本效率低下？

It will be a combination of everything, but the biggest factors would be just a mix -- overall business mix, primarily in Asia that's causing that.

這將是各種因素的結合，但最大的因素只是整體業務組合的混合，主要是在亞洲，這是造成這種情況的原因。

Okay. And on the new technology ramp, with the multi-beam mask writer in Boise, can you give us any update on customer adaptation, qualification timelines, whether this new capacity is translating to tangible order visibility for customers?

好的。在新技術發展方面，借助博伊西的多光束掩模寫入機，您能否向我們提供有關客戶適應性、資格認證時間表的最新信息，以及這種新產能是否能轉化為客戶切實的訂單可見性？

Sure. I can make a couple of comments. Yes, Gowshi, the qualifications are well underway there. We have, let's say, three to five customers already qualified on it, we're ramping the utilization of that. It's a nice mix of customers on that tool. Some are very, very leading-edge products, EUV, that sort of thing. Others are customers. We have qualified on our single beam tools, and we're providing additional capacity to them and capability to them with the multi-beam, particularly in right speed and cycle time. So the adoption has been good.

當然。我可以提出幾點評論。是的，Gowshi，那裡的資格審查工作進展順利。假設我們已經有三到五位客戶符合該資格，我們正在提高其使用率。該工具的客戶組合很好。有些是非常非常前衛的產品，像是 EUV 之類的。其他人都是顧客。我們的單光束工具已獲得認證，並且我們正在為其提供額外的容量和多光束能力，特別是在正確的速度和週期時間方面。因此採用情況良好。

We're continuing to work on it. I think we have probably another six months or so to get all of our first pass customers qualified, but progress is good, and the customer reaction has been positive. We should point out, it's the only multi-beam and commercial mask maker hands in the US. So the mix in the US is going higher end. So we're getting a lot of interest in the use of this tool particularly from US customers.

我們正在繼續努力。我認為我們可能還需要六個月左右的時間來讓所有首批客戶獲得資格，但進展良好，客戶的反應也很積極。需要指出的是，它是美國唯一一家擁有多光束和商用掩模版的製造商。因此，美國的產品組合正在走向高端。因此，我們對使用該工具表現出了極大的興趣，尤其是美國客戶。

And given that your comments on elevated CapEx for the next couple of years, a significant portion of your cash is tied up in JVs. How much flexibility do you have to allocate, or redeploy those funds for strategic needs, or buybacks in the US?

鑑於您對未來幾年資本支出增加的評論，您的大部分現金都投入了合資企業。您有多少靈活性來分配或重新部署這些資金以滿足戰略需求或在美國進行回購？

So we have -- we control the cash for sure. That's why we -- that's why we consolidate it in accordance with US GAAP. We can certainly use that at the joint venture regions. And if needed, we can certainly dividend it out to the US, to the corporate office here in the US. Of course, if we were to dividend that out, we'd have to give our [minority partner their] (added by company after the call) share to the -- to our minority share partner there. But we do control the cash we control when we -- when and if we do dividends. And when we do so, we get our share.

所以我們——我們肯定控制著現金。這就是我們根據美國公認會計準則進行合併的原因。我們當然可以在合資地區使用它。如果需要的話，我們當然可以將其分紅到美國，到美國的公司辦公室。當然，如果我們要分紅，我們就必須將我們的[少數合夥人的]（公司在電話會議後添加的）份額給予那裡的少數股東。但是，當我們發放股息時，我們確實控制著我們控制的現金。當我們這樣做時，我們就會得到自己的份額。

Awesome. And then just my last question. With the US government involvement with Intel, does that affect or have any effect on your business or potential in the US market?

驚人的。這是我的最後一個問題。美國政府介入英特爾，這是否對您在美國市場的業務或潛力產生影響？

Maybe you want to talk about that? I'll make a few comments, and then I'll share it. I'll pass it over to Chris for his comments. I think if the government helps Intel, that strengthens Intel. Intel is a customer of ours. If a customer of ours is stronger, that can only be better for merchants like Photronics. But I'll pass it on to Chris for additional comments.

也許你想談論這個？我會發表一些評論，然後分享它。我會將其轉交給克里斯以徵求他的意見。我認為，如果政府幫助英特爾，將會增強英特爾的力量。英特爾是我們的客戶。如果我們的客戶更強大，那麼對於像 Photronics 這樣的商家來說，這只會更好。但我會將其轉發給克里斯以獲得更多評論。

Yes. And we have a pretty strong product portfolio in the US that's used by US government entities, so-called full trusted products in both Allen and Boise to the extent the government investment pushes Intel in the direction of supplying more government-related ICs and things like that. That's helpful for us because we're qualified to build those, so it could lead to some more outsourcing.

是的。我們在美國擁有相當強大的產品組合，供美國政府實體使用，即所謂的艾倫和博伊西完全可信的產品，在某種程度上，政府投資推動英特爾朝著提供更多與政府相關的集成電路等產品的方向發展。這對我們很有幫助，因為我們有資格建造這些，所以這可能會帶來更多的外包。

But generally, I just echo Eric's comments. Anything that helps Intel to be stronger, and also more committed to designs in the US region, is going to be beneficial for us. Because we're the only high-end commercial mask maker in the US today. So that will be generally beneficial for us.

但總的來說，我只是同意 Eric 的評論。任何有助於英特爾變得更強大、並更加致力於美國地區設計的舉措都將對我們有利。因為我們是目前美國唯一的高端商業口罩製造商。所以這對我們來說總體上是有利的。

Awesome. That's all I had. I'll take the rest offline. Thank you, guys.

驚人的。這就是我所擁有的一切。我將把其餘部分下線。謝謝你們。

And I'm showing there are no further questions in queue at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Ted Moreau for any closing remarks.

並且我顯示此時隊列中沒有其他問題。現在我將把電話轉回給泰德·莫羅，請他做最後發言。

Thank you, Livia. Really appreciate everybody joining the call today, and we appreciate your interest in Photronics. I look forward to connecting with everybody throughout the quarter and have a great afternoon. Thank you.

謝謝你，莉維亞。非常感謝大家今天參加電話會議，我們也感謝大家對 Photronics 的關注。我期待在整個季度與大家保持聯繫並度過一個愉快的下午。謝謝。

Thank you, everyone.

謝謝大家。

Thank you.

謝謝。

This concludes today's conference. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.

今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接。