Pool Corp (POOL) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone and welcome to the Pool Corporation third quarter 2024 conference call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. (Operator instructions)

大家早上好，歡迎參加 Pool Corporation 2024 年第三季電話會議。所有參與者將處於僅聽模式。（操作員說明）

Please also note today's event is being recorded. If it's time, I'd like to turn the floor over to Melanie Hart, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Ma'am, please go ahead.

另請注意今天的活動正在錄製中。如果時機成熟，我想請副總裁兼財務長梅蘭妮哈特 (Melanie Hart) 發言。女士，請繼續。

Thank you. And welcome to our third quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Our discussion comments and responses to questions today may include forward-looking statements including management's outlook for 2024 and future periods.

謝謝。歡迎參加我們的 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。我們今天的討論評論和對問題的答案可能包括前瞻性陳述，包括管理層對 2024 年和未來時期的展望。

Actual results may differ materially from those discussed today. Information regarding the factors and variables that could cause actual results to differ from projected results are discussed in our 10-K.

實際結果可能與今天討論的結果大不相同。我們的 10-K 中討論了有關可能導致實際結果與預測結果不同的因素和變數的資訊。

In addition, we may make references to non-GAAP financial measures in our comments, a description and reconciliation of any non-GAAP financial measures included in our press release will be posted on our corporate website in the Investor Relations section.

此外，我們可能會在評論中提及非 GAAP 財務指標，我們新聞稿中包含的任何非 GAAP 財務指標的描述和調整將發佈在我們公司網站的投資者關係部分。

Once again, we have included a brief presentation on our investor website to summarize key points from our press release and call comments. Unless otherwise stated within our prepared remarks, all comparisons referred to third-quarter 2024 versus third-quarter 2023.

我們再次在投資者網站上進行了簡短介紹，總結了我們新聞稿和電話評論中的要點。除非我們準備好的評論另有說明，否則所有比較均指 2024 年第三季與 2023 年第三季。

We will begin today's call with comments from Peter Arvan, our President and CEO. Peter?

我們將從我們的總裁兼執行長 Peter Arvan 的評論開始今天的電話會議。彼得？

Thank you, Melanie, and good morning, everyone. Earlier today, we released our third quarter results highlighting solid performance in our maintenance related sales and continued progress on our strategic priorities.

謝謝梅蘭妮，大家早安。今天早些時候，我們發布了第三季業績，強調了維護相關銷售的穩健表現以及我們策略重點的持續進展。

Our results reflect our team's coordinated efforts and our exceptional ability to fulfill our customers needs and deliver an outstanding experience during the critical peak season. With our expanded product offering enhanced customer service tools and resources and the ability to quickly deliver through our expansive distribution network, we continue outperforming the market during the dynamic economic conditions, our industry has experienced over the past few years.

我們的成果反映了我們團隊的協調努力以及我們在關鍵旺季滿足客戶需求並提供卓越體驗的卓越能力。憑藉我們擴展的產品、增強的客戶服務工具和資源以及透過我們廣泛的分銷網絡快速交付的能力，我們在過去幾年的行業經歷的動態經濟條件下繼續跑贏市場。

In the third quarter, total sales declined 3% as we saw similar year over year trends as last quarter with an extra selling day this year versus last. Our maintenance product offerings generated steady sales growth while the discretionary portion of our business continued to experience impacts from a hesitant consumer.

第三季的總銷售額下降了 3%，因為我們看到與上個季度類似的同比趨勢，而且今年的銷售日比去年增加了。我們的維護產品產品實現了穩定的銷售成長，而我們的非必需業務部分繼續受到消費者猶豫不決的影響。

We see pressure on entry to mid-level prospective pool buyers while demand for higher end pools remains resilient. We have made great progress on several of our strategic priorities from network expansion, capacity creation, and pricing optimization to growing our private label product sales and increasing adoption of our Pool360 ecosystem.

我們看到中級潛在泳池買家的進入壓力，而對高端泳池的需求仍然強勁。我們在幾個策略重點方面取得了巨大進展，從網路擴張、產能建設和定價優化到增加自有品牌產品銷售和提高 Pool360 生態系統的採用率。

Moving down the income statement, gross margins finished in line with prior year, signaling progress on our structural margin initiatives, especially considering the drag on our product mix from headwinds and new construction and renovation and remodel.

從損益表來看，毛利率與上年持平，表明我們的結構性利潤計劃取得了進展，特別是考慮到逆風以及新建和翻新改造對我們產品組合的拖累。

Melanie will go into more detail on this in her financial commentary. From a profitability standpoint, we produced operating income of $176.4 million and operating margin of 12.3%. We generated diluted earnings per share of $3.27 including a $0.01 tax benefit from ASU.

梅蘭妮將在她的財務評論中對此進行更詳細的闡述。從獲利能力的角度來看，我們的營業收入為 1.764 億美元，營業利益率為 12.3%。我們的攤薄每股收益為 3.27 美元，其中包括來自 ASU 的 0.01 美元稅收優惠。

Looking at sales by geography, we saw sales grow by 1% in Florida with underlying demand holding up well to support Florida's growing installed base. This is the first major market this year to post a positive sales trend which is very encouraging.

按地理位置查看銷售額，我們發現佛羅裡達州的銷售額增長了 1%，潛在需求保持良好，支持了佛羅裡達州不斷增長的安裝基礎。這是今年第一個出現正向銷售趨勢的主要市場，非常令人鼓舞。

Arizona sales were flat, which is also somewhat encouraging from a cyclical standpoint as it was one of the first areas that showed signs of a slowdown back in 2022. If I look only at the pool business for Arizona, they too had a positive quarter helped by excessive heat which created headwinds for our horizon business there.

亞利桑那州的銷售持平，從週期性的角度來看，這也有些令人鼓舞，因為它是 2022 年首批顯示出放緩跡象的地區之一。如果我只看亞利桑那州的泳池業務，他們也有一個積極的季度，這要歸功於過度的高溫，這給我們在那裡的地平線業務帶來了阻力。

Texas and California sales were down 6% and 3% respectively, reflecting the weak discretionary spending that is impacting our overall business. Texas also experienced excessive rain and cooler temperatures in July that adversely impacted maintenance needs during this key seasonal period.

德州和加州的銷售額分別下降 6% 和 3%，反映出可自由支配支出疲軟正在影響我們的整體業務。德州 7 月也經歷了過多的降雨和較低的氣溫，對這個關鍵季節期間的維護需求產生了不利影響。

For [horizon] net sales declined 7% in the period compared to the third quarter last year and consistent with what we have seen so far in 2024. Residential construction and remodel remain challenged while commercial construction is slightly better with demand relatively flat.

與去年第三季相比，[horizo​​n] 期內淨銷售額下降了 7%，與我們 2024 年迄今所看到的情況一致。住宅建設和改造仍然面臨挑戰，而商業建築稍好一些，需求相對穩定。

Similar to the pool business, the maintenance part of Horizon's business is stronger, although it makes up a much smaller portion of the business comprising approximately 25% of sales. Europe finished the quarter down 1% much improved sequentially this area has been challenged with a tough market and weak consumer sentiment since the spring of 2023.

與泳池業務類似，Horizo​​​​n 業務的維護部分更為強大，儘管它在業務中所佔的比例要小得多，約佔銷售額的 25%。歐洲本季末下降 1%，季比大幅改善，自 2023 年春季以來，該地區一直面臨市場嚴峻和消費者信心疲軟的挑戰。

Europe's third quarter results reflect the summer season and peak cool usage and will likely be more impacted by a cautious consumer behavior in the fourth quarter due to the uncertain macro environment.

歐洲第三季的業績反映了夏季和涼爽使用高峰，並且由於宏觀環境的不確定性，第四季度可能會受到謹慎的消費者行為的更大影響。

According to our product categories, chemical sales increased 2% supported by mid-teens growth in our private label chemical products and overall volume growth of 4% exceeding the increase in the installed base. Chemical pricing has remained relatively stable which is encouraging giving the dynamic market competitions we have seen in the past.

根據我們的產品類別，化學品銷售額成長了 2%，這得益於我們的自有品牌化學產品的中位數成長，以及超過安裝基數成長 4% 的整體銷量成長。化學品價格保持相對穩定，考慮到我們過去看到的充滿活力的市場競爭，這令人鼓舞。

Building material sales showed a 9% decline consistent with last quarter and while reflective of a tougher new construction and remodel environment perform better than projected industry estimates for new pool builds this year. This better than market building -- our market building material we have highlight the power of our over 100 NPT showrooms bringing our unique product offering to the customer with our design tool and the broadest selection of decking tile and pool finish for our customers.

建築材料銷售額與上季一致下降 9%，同時反映了更嚴峻的新建和改建環境，今年新泳池建設的表現優於產業預期。這比市場建設更好——我們的市場建設材料強調了我們100 多個NPT 陳列室的力量，透過我們的設計工具和為客戶提供最廣泛的裝飾瓷磚和泳池飾面選擇，為客戶帶來我們獨特的產品。

Equipment sales which exclude cleaners increased 1% this quarter bolstered by a recovery in heaters and solid demand for pumps, lights, electrical products and filters. Some of this product category is non-discretionary in nature. However, items like heaters and lights can be more discretionary and impacted by consumer sentiment.

由於加熱器的復甦以及對泵浦、燈、電氣產品和過濾器的強勁需求，本季不包括清潔劑的設備銷售額成長了 1%。此產品類別中的某些產品本質上是非自由裁量的。然而，加熱器和燈等物品可能更加隨意，並且會受到消費者情緒的影響。

As we have mentioned aftermarket equipment installations are roughly 4 times to 5 times that of new construction and combined with price increases that have been realized in the market, these products are holding up well even with lower discretionary spending.

正如我們所提到的，售後設備安裝量大約是新建設備安裝量的4 到5 倍，再加上市場上已經實現的價格上漲，即使可自由支配支出較低，這些產品也能保持良好的表現。

In our end markets, our commercial sales increased 7% during the quarter showing continued strength through the summer travel and community pool season. Sales to our independent retail customers declined 2%, these retail sales represent our wholesale sell in to the retail dealer channel which ultimately serves the [DIY] market.

在我們的終端市場，我們的商業銷售額在本季度增長了 7%，顯示出夏季旅遊和社區泳池季節的持續強勁勢頭。我們對獨立零售客戶的銷售額下降了 2%，這些零售額代表我們向零售經銷商通路的批發銷售，最終服務於 [DIY] 市場。

The improvement from what we saw in the second quarter reflects the strength of our service product offering and the value that our retail trained sales support teams provide during the swimming pool season. For Pinch A Penny, our franchisee sales to their end customers were flat boosted by strong store presence in year round markets and a premier customer and product service offering.

我們在第二季度看到的改善反映了我們服務產品的實力以及我們經過零售培訓的銷售支援團隊在游泳池季節提供的價值。對於 Pinch A Penny 而言，我們的特許經營商對最終客戶的銷售額持平，這得益於全年市場中強大的商店影響力以及優質的客戶和產品服務。

We continue to make progress on our Pool360 platform initiatives, orders process through our B2B Pool360 application, the foundation of our digital ecosystem, some increase to 14.5% of total sales for the quarter. While we are in the early innings of introducing our expanded suite of customer facing tools, we consider this metric to be the most meaningful in measuring our progress at this time.

我們繼續在 Pool360 平台規劃、透過 B2B Pool360 應用程式（我們數位生態系統的基礎）的訂單流程方面取得進展，部分成長至本季總銷售額的 14.5%。雖然我們正處於推出面向客戶的擴展工具套件的早期階段，但我們認為該指標是目前衡量我們進展的最有意義的指標。

Beginning last year, we introduced Pool360 water test to our independent retail customers and have developed a similar application that is embedded in our Pool360 service software product which we debuted earlier this year, just before the season began.

從去年開始，我們向獨立零售客戶推出了 Pool360 水質測試，並開發了一個類似的應用程序，嵌入到我們今年早些時候（就在季節開始前）推出的 Pool360 服務軟體產品中。

We believe both tools when combined with our incredible footprint, extensive inventory and growing private label brands provide a value proposition that cannot be matched in the industry. As I mentioned, we are early in the game. We continue to add innovative features and provide hyper responsive support for the early adopters to be sure that as we scale, we deliver on our commitments to our customers.

我們相信，這兩種工具與我們令人難以置信的足跡、廣泛的庫存和不斷增長的自有品牌相結合，提供了行業中無法比擬的價值主張。正如我所提到的，我們處於遊戲的早期階段。我們不斷添加創新功能，並為早期採用者提供超響應支持，以確保隨著我們的擴展，我們兌現對客戶的承諾。

During the quarter, we embarked on a journey around the country with our Pool360 road show, taking the tools and training directly to our customers and markets by a dedicated Pool360 team. Our employees enthusiasm and dedication played a crucial role in generating awareness and excitement around our software solutions showcasing the incredible value they bring to our customers.

本季度，我們透過 Pool360 巡迴展踏上了全國之旅，由專門的 Pool360 團隊將工具和培訓直接帶給我們的客戶和市場。我們的員工的熱情和奉獻精神在提高人們對我們的軟體解決方案的認識和興奮方面發揮了至關重要的作用，展示了它們為客戶帶來的難以置信的價值。

It's exciting to see our teams connect with so many cool professionals and their positive responses to our innovative new programs and solutions. Our relationships with customers are deep, as we have been their trusted supplier for decades in many cases.

很高興看到我們的團隊與如此多優秀的專業人士建立聯繫，並看到他們對我們創新的新計劃和解決方案的積極回應。我們與客戶的關係很深厚，因為在許多情況下我們幾十年來一直是他們值得信賴的供應商。

Combining trust and strong relationships with innovation and cool industry knowledge is enabling us to introduce feature rich software to help our customers grow and improve their capacity while strengthening our ability to grow, share into the future.

將信任和牢固的關係與創新和酷炫的行業知識相結合，使我們能夠推出功能豐富的軟體，幫助我們的客戶發展和提高他們的能力，同時增強我們發展和分享未來的能力。

Now let me update you on our network expansion activities. We opened three new sales centers during the quarter, bringing our year-to-date openings to nine. Well on track to achieve our stated goal of 10 openings this year. Our Pinch A Penny franchise network added three new stores including two in the strategic Texas market, bringing their store openings to 11 so far this year and ending the quarter with a total of 295 franchise stores.

現在讓我向您介紹我們的網路擴展活動的最新情況。我們在本季開設了三個新的銷售中心，使年初至今開設的銷售中心達到九個。有望實現今年開設 10 個職位的既定目標。我們的 Pinch A Penny 特許經營網絡增加了 3 家新店，其中 2 家位於德克薩斯州戰略市場，今年迄今新開店數量達到 11 家，本季度末特許經營店總數達到 295 家。

Now let me share how we see the remainder of the year shaping up. We would expect fourth quarter sales to be in line with the year-to-date performance, considering our results through the peak swimming pool season and our fourth quarter outlook, we are maintaining our full year diluted earnings per share guidance range of $11.06 to $11.46 including updated $0.21 estimated benefit from ASU.

現在讓我分享一下我們對今年剩餘時間的看法。考慮到我們在泳池旺季的業績和第四季度的前景，我們預計第四季度的銷售額將與今年迄今為止的業績保持一致，我們將維持全年攤薄後每股收益指導範圍 11.06 美元至 11.46 美元包括更新後的ASU 預計收益0.21 美元。

For the full year, we believe new pool construction could decline closer to 20% but still fall within our forecasted range. This includes the potential storm impact on pool construction in Florida where last year approximately 6,000 pools were built in the fourth quarter.

就全年而言，我們認為新泳池建設可能下降近 20%，但仍處於我們的預測範圍內。這包括風暴對佛羅裡達州泳池建設的潛在影響，該州去年第四季度建造了約 6,000 個泳池。

Given the storm damage and repair activity, it is not likely we will see similar levels of new construction for the balance of 2024 in Florida. We would expect new pool construction and remodel activity for the balance of the markets to be in line with previous guidance for the remainder of the year. For the overall business, we believe maintenance and repair activity will be steady with the notable exception of Florida where it will be higher as storm damage pools are repaired.

考慮到風暴造成的破壞和修復活動，我們不太可能在 2024 年剩餘時間內在佛羅裡達州看到類似水平的新建築。我們預計市場平衡的新泳池建設和改造活動將與今年剩餘時間的先前指導一致。就整體業務而言，我們認為維護和維修活動將保持穩定，但佛羅裡達州除外，隨著風暴損壞池的修復，維護和維修活動將會更高。

Given the normal seasonality, maintenance will be less of a contributor in the fourth quarter in our remaining markets. Hurricane Francine and Helene in the third quarter. And Milton in the fourth quarter created short term disruptions to our business. We sustained only minor damage to our facilities with operations restored quickly so that we could help our customers repairs the damage ahead of the busy season in Florida.

考慮到正常的季節性，第四季度維護對我們其餘市場的貢獻將較小。第三季的颶風弗朗辛和海倫。米爾頓在第四季度對我們的業務造成了短期幹擾。我們的設施僅遭受了輕微損壞，營運很快就恢復了，以便我們可以在佛羅裡達州繁忙季節之前幫助我們的客戶修復損壞。

Looking ahead, we remain encouraged by several economic factors such as stable home values, record home equity levels, continuing sunbelt migration and a resilient consumer and gradual interest rate easing.

展望未來，我們仍然受到一些經濟因素的鼓舞，例如穩定的房價、創紀錄的房屋淨值水平、持續的陽光地帶移民以及有彈性的消費者和逐步寬鬆的利率。

We expect a healthy set up for the industry dynamics and favorable growth opportunities in correlation with the broader housing market stimulation in coming years. Swimming pools and outdoor living are still very desirable and no one is better positioned to capitalize on that now and in the future. Our industry is 20% to 25% bigger than in 2019.

我們預計未來幾年行業動態將保持健康，並有與更廣泛的房地產市場刺激相關的有利成長機會。游泳池和戶外生活仍然非常令人嚮往，沒有人比現在和未來更能利用這一點。我們的產業規模比 2019 年擴大了 20% 至 25%。

The past five years have been volatile compared to the industry history and with rapid growth followed by a period of lower discretionary spending, but we believe it is coming closer to normalization.

與行業歷史相比，過去五年波動較大，成長迅速，隨後出現一段時期可自由支配支出較低的時期，但我們相信它正在接近正常化。

Our network is the largest, most integrated in the industry, allowing us to provide the greatest variety of products serve as an extension of our customer's business and to cultivate our vendor partnerships, providing what our customers need when they need it and bringing the latest product innovations to market.

我們的網路是業內規模最大、整合度最高的，使我們能夠提供種類最齊全的產品，作為客戶業務的延伸，並培養我們的供應商合作夥伴關係，在客戶需要時提供他們所需的產品並帶來最新的產品創新推向市場。

Our efforts to elevate our customer experience, help improve their business and operate with disciplined execution, make us the best positioned to grow, share in both periods of growth and normalization. We believe we are the clear market leader and we are getting stronger every day. Before I turn the call over to Melanie. I would be remiss if I did not once again, thank our incredible team.

我們努力提升客戶體驗，幫助改善他們的業務，並以嚴格的執行力進行運營，使我們處於最佳位置，能夠在成長和正常化時期實現成長、分享。我們相信我們是明顯的市場領導者，我們每天都在變得更強大。在我把電話轉給梅蘭妮之前。如果我不再次感謝我們令人難以置信的團隊，那就是我的失職。

Their knowledge, dedication and creativity and passion for the industry and customer experience are amazing and I could not be prouder to be part of such an extraordinary team.

他們的知識、奉獻精神、創造力以及對產業和客戶體驗的熱情令人驚嘆，我為能成為這樣一個非凡團隊的一員而感到無比自豪。

We'll now turn the call over to Melanie Hart, our Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for her detailed financial commentary, Melanie.

現在，我們將把電話轉給我們的副總裁兼財務長梅蘭妮哈特 (Melanie Hart)，梅蘭妮哈特將聽取她詳細的財務評論。

Thank you, Pete. Third quarter 2024 sales were $1.4 billion, a 3% decrease compared to prior year, as maintenance sales trends continue to see an improvement in year over year comparisons as the warm weather through the end of the season saw increased chemical usage.

謝謝你，皮特。2024 年第三季銷售額為 14 億美元，比去年同期下降 3%，原因是維護銷售趨勢年比持續改善，因為季末天氣溫暖導致化學品使用量增加。

The comparative trends are consistent with second quarter and an improvement over the year-to-date trend through the first half. The third quarter included an extra selling day compared to last year.

比較趨勢與第二季一致，並且比上半年迄今的趨勢有所改善。與去年相比，第三季的銷售日增加了一個。

Inflation provided a 1% benefit during the quarter as we saw a 2% pricing lift on equipment and other product sales that was offset by a 1% decline in chemicals and commodities. From a pricing standpoint, we noted no significant changes from second quarter.

通貨膨脹在本季度帶來了 1% 的收益，因為我們看到設備和其他產品銷售的價格上漲了 2%，但被化學品和大宗商品銷售下降 1% 所抵消。從定價的角度來看，我們注意到與第二季相比沒有重大變化。

New pool construction and remodel activity combined negatively impacted total sales by 5% and Europe and horizon sales declines together had a 1% adverse effect. No material sales impacts were noted from hurricane Francine and Helene that occurred during the quarter.

新泳池建造和改造活動合計對總銷售額產生了 5% 的負面影響，歐洲和地平線銷售額下降合計產生了 1% 的負面影響。本季發生的颶風弗朗辛和海倫並未對銷售造成重大影響。

Gross margin for the quarter was 29.1% the same as prior year third quarter and consistent with our typical seasonal growth margin pattern as we exit the peak selling season. Positive momentum in our supply chain actions including increased mix of private label chemical sales and higher vendor incentives compared to last year when we had lower purchasing levels were offset by a less favorable product and customer mix.

本季毛利率為 29.1%，與去年第三季相同，與我們退出銷售旺季後的典型季節性利潤率成長模式一致。我們供應鏈行動的積極勢頭，包括與去年相比，增加自有品牌化學品銷售組合和提高供應商激勵措施，當時我們的採購水平較低，但被不太有利的產品和客戶組合所抵消。

Product sales mix was affected by lower levels of higher margin building material sales. While customer mix was more heavily weighted to larger customers who typically have special pricing and higher volume related discounts.

產品銷售組合受到利潤率較高的建築材料銷售水準較低的影響。而客戶組合更偏重於大客戶，他們通常有特殊的定價和更高的與數量相關的折扣。

We tightly managed operating expenses to 2% growth for the third quarter compared to last year. The lowest growth we expect to see for the year as we focus on controlling volume related expenses as we wind it down from peak selling season activity. Last year third quarter, expenses included approximately $2 million of costs associated with our annual sales conference that occurred in the fourth quarter of 2024.

與去年相比，我們嚴格控制第三季營運費用成長 2%。我們預計今年的成長率將是最低的，因為隨著銷售旺季活動的結束，我們將重點放在控制與銷售相關的費用上。去年第三季的費用包括與 2024 年第四季舉行的年度銷售會議相關的約 200 萬美元的費用。

As a result, those expenses will impact Q4 this year adding to an increased expense expectation in Q4 compared to last year. During the quarter, we opened three new sales center locations for a total of nine year-to-date, which accounted for a 1% increase in the year over year expense.

因此，這些費用將影響今年第四季度，導致第四季度的費用預期比去年增加。本季度，我們新開設了 3 個銷售中心，今年迄今已開設 9 個銷售中心，費用年增 1%。

We continue to see progress on our technology investments with even more value added features rolled out this quarter. Interest expense was $12.4 million down $1.2 million from Q3 2023 due primarily to lower outstanding borrowings during the quarter compared to last year.

我們繼續看到我們的技術投資取得進展，本季推出了更多增值功能。利息支出為 1,240 萬美元，較 2023 年第三季減少 120 萬美元，主要是由於本季未償還借款較去年減少。

Operating income of $176 million was down $18 million or 9% with quarterly net income of $126 million, also down 9%. Diluted earnings per share were $3.27, down 7% compared to $3.51 in the prior year quarter, reflecting reduced shares outstanding due to our share buyback activity year-to-date.

營業收入為 1.76 億美元，下降 1,800 萬美元，或 9%，季度淨利為 1.26 億美元，也下降 9%。稀釋後每股收益為 3.27 美元，比去年同期的 3.51 美元下降 7%，反映出由於我們年初至今的股票回購活動導致流通股減少。

As we turn to our balance sheet and cash flows, we noted that accounts receivable days outstanding of 26.7 days compared to 26.8 days from last quarter, continuing to reflect our excellent collection efforts as we work with our customers to support their business.

當我們轉向資產負債表和現金流量時，我們注意到應收帳款未清天數為26.7 天，而上季度為26.8 天，這繼續反映了我們在與客戶合作支持他們的業務時所做的出色收款工作。

Quarter end inventory to us $1.2 billion, $79 million or 6% less than last year's third quarter, which reflected the completion of our stated inventory reduction effort. We are continuing our focus on inventory efficiencies under more normal supply conditions resulting in our current inventory days on hand trending seven days lower than prior year. Even with product cost inflation and inventory added for our new locations and acquisitions.

季末庫存為 12 億美元，比去年第三季減少 7,900 萬美元，即 6%，這反映了我們聲明的庫存削減工作的完成。我們將繼續專注於更正常供應條件下的庫存效率，導致我們目前的庫存天數比去年減少 7 天。即使產品成本上漲，並且我們的新地點和收購增加了庫存。

We continue to be a strong cash generator, as we reduce our total debt to $924 million, $110 million lower compared to last year. While repurchasing shares totaling $159 million year-to-date. We finished the quarter with a debt leverage ratio of 1.41 slightly below our target range of 1.5 times to 2 times.

我們繼續成為強大的現金產生者，因為我們將總債務減少至 9.24 億美元，比去年減少了 1.1 億美元。年初至今，回購股票總額達 1.59 億美元。本季結束時，我們的債務槓桿率為 1.41，略低於我們 1.5 倍至 2 倍的目標範圍。

During the quarter, we amended our credit facility increasing our borrowing capacity from $750 million to $800 million and extending the maturity date to September 2029. Our current debt leverage and increased borrowing arrangements provide significant capacity to continue funding our capital allocation priorities and strategic growth initiatives.

本季度，我們修改了信貸安排，將借款能力從 7.5 億美元增加到 8 億美元，並將到期日延長至 2029 年 9 月。我們目前的債務槓桿和增加的借款安排提供了繼續為我們的資本配置優先事項和策略成長計劃提供資金的強大能力。

Cash flow from operating activities of $489 million a year-to-date, reflects excellent working capital management. As we have realized operating cash flows of 123% of net income through the third quarter. Prior year cash flow benefited from our stated inventory reduction goals, which we completed at the end of third quarter 2023, resulting in a higher year-to-date benefit from inventory reduction of $150 million in 2023 compared to 2024.

年初至今，經營活動產生的現金流量為 4.89 億美元，體現了優秀的營運資本管理。截至第三季度，我們實現的營運現金流佔淨利的 123%。上一年的現金流量受益於我們在 2023 年第三季末完成的既定庫存減少目標，與 2024 年相比，2023 年庫存減少帶來的年初至今收益增加了 1.5 億美元。

As is typical part of our business, we will begin receiving inventory under our early buy purchase program with our vendors in the fourth quarter resulting in an expected increase in inventory from third quarter to fourth quarter.

作為我們業務的典型部分，我們將在第四季度開始根據我們的提前購買計劃向供應商接收庫存，從而導致庫存從第三季度到第四季度預計增加。

We also received a cash flow timing benefit in the third quarter for a deferral of quarterly estimated income tax payments for those impacted by hurricane Francine. Tax payments that would have been paid September 15, are now due in February 2025. The fourth quarter December's payment will also be delayed until first quarter of 2025.

我們還在第三季度獲得了現金流定時收益，為受弗朗辛颶風影響的人們推遲了季度估計所得稅的繳納。原定於 9 月 15 日繳納的稅款現在應在 2025 年 2 月繳納。12月第四季的付款也將推遲到2025年第一季。

We have utilized $50 million on capital expenditure including our nine new sales center locations opening to date. The two sales centers added through acquisitions have been fully integrated into the network. As noted above, we reduced outstanding debt, completed $159 million in total share buyback to your date and still have $507 million remaining under our share repurchase authorization.

我們已經使用了 5000 萬美元的資本支出，其中包括迄今為止開業的九個新銷售中心。透過收購新增的兩個銷售中心已完全融入網路。如上所述，我們減少了未償債務，截至您的日期已完成總額 1.59 億美元的股票回購，並且我們的股票回購授權仍剩餘 5.07 億美元。

As we wrap up 2024 we continue to expect similar top line trends in the fourth quarter as we have seen year-to-date. Sales will remain under pressure from a weak discretionary spending environment as our expectations for the full year still includes 15% to 20% fewer new pools built versus 2023.

在 2024 年即將結束之際，我們繼續預期第四季的營收趨勢將與年初至今類似。由於可自由支配支出環境疲軟，銷售仍將面臨壓力，因為我們對全年的預期仍包括與 2023 年相比，新建泳池數量減少 15% 至 20%。

As Pete mentioned, new pool builds could land on the lower end of that range given the restoration activity in Florida. Remodel activity may be down as much as 15% for the full year and will be labor and weather dependent in the fourth quarter.

正如皮特所提到的，鑑於佛羅裡達州的修復活動，新的泳池建設可能會落在該範圍的下限。全年改造活動可能會減少 15%，第四季度的改造活動將取決於勞動力和天氣。

The extra day in the fourth quarter of 2024 is expected to have less than a 1% impact in net sales for the quarter and the full year impact of the two additional selling days will also be a less than 1% impact. For the full year, we expect inflation to reflect similar characteristics to what we have seen so far this year providing an approximate 1% benefit overall with equipment and other product categories contributing a positive 2% effect and chemical pricing offsetting this positive benefit by 1%.

預計 2024 年第四季的額外銷售日對該季度淨銷售額的影響將小於 1%，另外兩個銷售日對全年的影響也將小於 1%。就全年而言，我們預計通膨將反映出與今年迄今所見類似的特徵，總體帶來約1% 的收益，其中設備和其他產品類別貢獻2% 的正效應，而化學品價格則抵消了1% 的正收益。

Chemical selling prices have remained stable since second quarter but at current levels will continue to be a modest drag on the remainder of the year. New construction and remodel activities are expected to negatively impact sales approximately 5% collectively and lower levels of activity for horizon Europe will affect total sales by about 1% for the year.

自第二季以來，化學品銷售價格一直保持穩定，但目前的水平將繼續對今年剩餘時間造成適度拖累。新建和改建活動預計將對銷售額產生約 5% 的負面影響，而 Horizo​​n Europe 活動水準較低將影響全年總銷售額約 1%。

For the fourth quarter we should see gross margins similar to prior year fourth quarter growth margin. Having finished the swimming pool season, we would expect that full year gross margins will be similar to the year-to-date rate for third quarter.

對於第四季度，我們應該會看到毛利率與去年第四季的成長率相似。泳池季節結束後，我們預計全年毛利率將與第三季年初至今的毛利率相似。

Any negative year over year impact from the higher levels of lower cost inventory on hand last year have been reflected in our first quarter 2024 gross margin comparison. Second and third quarter provide more opportunities for focus on variable expenses during our peak selling period. In the much lower volume fourth quarter, the higher relative impact of fixed expenses such as [rent] and insurance, additional sales center opening costs this year versus last year and our technology investments combined with the sales conference expense timing shift.

去年現有低成本庫存水準較高所帶來的任何負面影響都已在我們的 2024 年第一季毛利率比較中反映出來。第二季和第三季為我們在銷售高峰期提供了更多關注可變費用的機會。在銷售大幅下降的第四季度，固定費用（例如[租金]和保險）的相對影響更大，今年與去年相比額外的銷售中心開設成本以及我們的技術投資與銷售會議費用時間轉移相結合。

In the fourth quarter, we would expect that the year over year expense increase for the fourth quarter to be closer to 5%. Combined with the year-to-date results so far, this will result in operating expenses for the full year in the range of a 4% to 5% increase year over year.

第四季度，我們預計第四季費用將年增幅接近5%。結合今年迄今的業績，這將導致全年營運費用年增 4% 至 5%。

Note that the 2024 expense (inaudible) includes approximately $12 million in investment in current or new locations and $20 million of spending to develop and implement our significantly expanded Pool360 water test, full 360 service and enhanced Pool360 platform these technology investments are expected to provide future sales and productivity gains.

請注意，2024 年費用（聽不清楚）包括對目前或新地點的約1,200 萬美元投資，以及用於開發和實施顯著擴展的Pool360 水測試、全方位360 服務和增強型Pool360 平台的2,000 萬美元支出，這些技術投資預計將在未來提供銷售和生產力的提高。

Interest expense for the full year is expected to be approximately $50 million. The annual tax rate will be around 25% excluding ASU [benefits]. After consideration of the share buyback completed in the third quarter, our estimated fully diluted weighted average shares outstanding for fourth quarter will be $38.3 million shares and $38.5 million shares for the full year.

預計全年利息支出約5000萬美元。年稅率約 25%，不含 ASU [福利]。考慮到第三季完成的股票回購後，我們預計第四季完全攤薄加權平均流通股將為 3,830 萬美元，全年為 3,850 萬美元。

We are confirming our 2024 diluted EPS range of $11.06 to $11.46 including the additional $0.01 of [ASG] benefit added in the third quarter and the $0.21 realized year-to-date. During this period of industry transition, our management team has committed extraordinary efforts to effectively manage our dynamic business, during this period of weak discuss spending and softness in new construction and remodel and renovation activity.

我們確認 2024 年攤薄後每股收益範圍為 11.06 美元至 11.46 美元，包括第三季度額外增加的 0.01 美元 [ASG] 收益以及今年迄今實現的 0.21 美元。在這個產業轉型時期，我們的管理團隊付出了非凡的努力，以有效管理我們充滿活力的業務，在此時期討論支出疲軟，新建、改建和翻新活動疲軟。

We continue to strategically invest in our business with new locations, accelerated growth of our franchise store network acquisitions and enhanced technology initiatives. Improving both our customers experience and our internal operating efficiency. We will finish 2024 strategically better than we started it. Positioning us well for future growth.

我們繼續透過新地點、加速成長的特許經營店網路收購和增強的技術舉措對我們的業務進行策略性投資。提高客戶體驗和內部營運效率。我們將在戰略上比年初更好地結束 2024 年。為我們未來的發展做好準備。

I will now turn the call over to the operator for our Q&A session.

我現在將把電話轉給接線員進行問答環節。

Ladies and gentlemen, at this time we'll begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator instructions)

女士們、先生們，現在我們將開始問答環節。（操作員說明）

Scott Schneeberger, Oppenheimer.

史考特‧施內伯格，奧本海默。

Well, thanks. Good morning. I guess -- I want to start out, you guys elaborated a lot on the weather, but I wanted to follow up there. Was there any impact specifically from the hurricanes in the third quarter since they happened late in the third quarter, fourth quarter or is that more look ahead and could that have a trickle through into, I guess, how would you think about it as trickle through impact to next year? Given what and in particularly in Florida, given what you've seen with permits and then I'll come back with another. Thanks.

嗯，謝謝。早安.我想——我想首先，你們對天氣做了很多闡述，但我想繼續跟進。自從第三季末、第四季發生以來，第三季的颶風是否有任何影響，或者是更多地展望未來，這是否會慢慢滲透到，我想，你會如何看待它作為滲透對明年有影響嗎？考慮到這一點，特別是在佛羅裡達州，考慮到你所看到的許可證，然後我會帶著另一個回來。謝謝。

Thanks Scott. So I guess here's what I would say the hurricane happened those two back to back for Florida, they were late in the third quarter. So there was -- we were closed for a couple of days during the onset of the storm and we realized probably a little bit of a pickup immediately after that.

謝謝斯科特。所以我想這就是我要說的颶風發生在佛羅裡達州的那兩個背靠背的地方，他們在第三節末。因此，在風暴爆發期間，我們關閉了幾天，之後我們意識到可能會立即回升。

But the two -- from my perspective the two really kind of cancel each other out. So I can't say that it provided any real benefit in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter that we had another storm hit. It'll be a similar scenario. We were closed for a couple of days as the employees took shelter and we're protecting their homes and families and then -- we -- as I mentioned sustain relatively little damage.

但這兩者——從我的角度來看，兩者確實是相互抵消的。所以我不能說它在第三季帶來了任何真正的好處。在第四節，我們又遭遇了一場風暴。這將是一個類似的場景。我們關閉了幾天，因為員工們都在避難，我們正在保護他們的家園和家人，然後——正如我所提到的，我們受到的損害相對較小。

I think the net effect on the business is going to be that there will be an uptick in demand for maintenance and repair and that will come in a couple of waves. In my opinion, the initial wave I would describe more as a triage, which is the most important thing of a pool that has been damaged from a storm is to get it clean, get the water balance and get the water moving again.

我認為對業務的淨影響將是維護和維修需求將會增加，並且會出現幾波浪潮。在我看來，我將第一波更多地描述為分流，對於遭受風暴損壞的泳池來說，最重要的事情是清理乾淨、保持水平衡並讓水再次流動。

Now, depending on the nature of the flooding that could have impacted heaters, it could have impacted automation, heat pumps and such that will and lights that will probably be repaired later because I think the dealers are so busy right now just trying to get water circulating.

現在，根據可能影響加熱器的洪水的性質，它可能會影響自動化、熱泵等，以及稍後可能會修復的燈光，因為我認為經銷商現在很忙，只是想取水循環。

So I think we've seen an initial -- in our experiencing an initial lift now on maintenance and repair. I think there'll be another one that comes when they go back and say, okay, now I'll come back and fix the non-critical components. At the same time, we're going to have headwind in the fourth quarter, I believe on new construction that I think will create some tailwinds on Florida new construction in the first quarter of next year.

所以我認為我們已經看到了最初的——在我們現在經歷的維護和維修方面的最初提升。我想當他們回去說，好吧，現在我會回來修復非關鍵組件時，還會出現另一個問題。同時，我們將在第四季度遇到逆風，我相信新建築將在明年第一季為佛羅裡達州的新建築帶來一些順風。

Thanks. I appreciate that clarification and (inaudible) Pete. Melanie on inventories, certainly from two years ago and then down from last year and I think you said what we've completed the reduction efforts. I'm just kind of curious as you -- are you happy where you are? Is there a little bit more? And how are you thinking about the pre buy season particularly with regard to pricing given where we are in the market? Thanks.

謝謝。我感謝皮特的澄清和（聽不清楚）。梅蘭妮談到庫存，肯定是從兩年前開始，然後比去年有所下降，我想你說的是我們已經完成的削減工作。我只是跟你一樣好奇──你對現在的處境感到滿意嗎？還有一點嗎？鑑於我們所處的市場地位，您如何看待預購季節，特別是定價方面？謝謝。

Yeah. So we are happy with where we are from a current inventory level. Certainly acknowledging that our inventory declines year over year are down more than sales. And so, we look at that as gained efficiency and prudent management on our working capital.

是的。因此，我們對目前的庫存水準感到滿意。當然要承認我們的庫存逐年下降幅度大於銷售額下降幅度。因此，我們認為這提高了我們的營運資本效率和審慎管理。

And so we continue to work on that path. We've developed many new processes that allow us to better utilize our inventory throughout the network. And our quest for consuming efficiency there won't end. But with that we don't have any major reduction goals as we had just coming out of the higher levels of inventory that we were carrying with the supply chain disruptions.

因此，我們繼續沿著這條道路努力。我們開發了許多新流程，使我們能夠更好地利用整個網路的庫存。我們對消費效率的追求不會結束。但我們沒有任何重大的削減目標，因為我們剛剛擺脫了供應鏈中斷帶來的較高庫存水準。

As it relates to pre buy, the preliminary increases that we've seen from some of the equipment vendors are in the 2% to 3% range for next year. So we would plan to participate those in that as we normally would, where we would be bringing on inventory that we would sell really prior from a -- prior to the time that we would owe those payments from those early buys. So we would cover really kind of the early portion of the year prior to having to make those payments to the vendors.

就預購而言，我們從一些設備供應商看到明年的初步漲幅在 2% 至 3% 範圍內。因此，我們計劃像往常一樣參與其中，我們將在我們欠這些早期購買的付款之前真正出售庫存。因此，在必須向供應商支付這些款項之前，我們將在今年早些時候進行真正的覆蓋。

Thanks. I'll turn it over.

謝謝。我會把它翻過來。

Ryan Merkel, William Blair.

瑞恩·梅克爾、威廉·布萊爾。

Everyone, thanks for taking the question. I wanted to follow up on the last question. I'm curious, what are you seeing from the OEMs on equipment pricing for 2025 at this point?

各位，感謝您提出問題。我想跟進最後一個問題。我很好奇，目前您對 OEM 廠商對 2025 年設備定價有何看法？

Yeah. Morning Ryan, I would tell you that the if Melanie mentioned it's in the 2% to 3% range, some items are a little bit more, some items are a little bit less, but we think about it in terms of 2% to 3%. We expect that will flow through the channel Just like normal. So, I don't really see much different at this point.

是的。早上好，Ryan，我會告訴你，如果 Melanie 提到它在 2% 到 3% 的範圍內，有些項目會多一點，有些項目會少一點，但我們會以 2% 到 3% 來考慮。 。我們預計這將像平常一樣透過該管道流動。所以，目前我並沒有看到太大的不同。

Got it. Okay. And then a question on gross margin, you're guiding to approximately 30% this year. So how should we think about the fourth quarter? I think typically it's up seasonally, but just calibrate us if there's anything to think about.

知道了。好的。然後是關於毛利率的問題，今年你的指導大約是 30%。那我們該如何看待第四季呢？我認為通常會隨季節變化，但如果有什麼需要考慮的，請校準我們。

Yes, our fourth quarter margin outlook is that it'll be similar to last year, which would be up from where we are in third quarter. When we look at kind of the long term guidance on growth margins, the 30% is the full year margin. And as we typically see that very seasonally throughout the full year with second quarter being the highest level.

是的，我們第四季的利潤率預期將與去年相似，這將高於第三季的水平。當我們考慮成長率的長期指導時，30% 是全年利潤率。正如我們通常看到的，全年的情況非常季節性，第二季度是最高水平。

When you think about this year's third quarter and fourth quarter margins, this is actually really, I would say our first opportunity for normalized margins thinking back outside of the higher levels of inflation and the some of the supply chain disruptions. So if you go back and you look at our 2020 and our 2019 margins for third and fourth quarter, we are substantially ahead of where we were in both of those periods.

當你考慮今年第三季和第四季的利潤率時，我想說，這實際上是我們在通膨水平較高和一些供應鏈中斷之外進行利潤率正常化的第一個機會。因此，如果你回顧我們 2020 年和 2019 年第三季和第四季的利潤率，就會發現我們大大領先於這兩個時期的水平。

So kind of a normalized look and where we started our 29% to 30% bridge that we've talked about on how we -- how we've gotten to our 30% long term margin outlook. So, definitely well ahead of where we have been historically for all the supply chain things that we've discussed.

這是一種標準化的外觀，我們從 29% 到 30% 的過渡期開始，我們已經討論瞭如何實現 30% 的長期利潤率前景。因此，對於我們討論過的所有供應鏈問題來說，絕對遠遠領先於我們歷史上的水平。

And so when you think about, no, we're not at 30% for our third quarter, you won't be for fourth quarter because of the seasonality. And then the other thing is I would mention for the full year growth margin, we would be where we are kind of year-to-date because there's just not a lot of impact in fourth quarter from a seasonal standpoint because it is our smallest quarter.

因此，當你想到，不，我們第三季的成長率不是 30%，由於季節性原因，第四季也不會達到 30%。另一件事是我要提到的全年成長率，我們將達到今年迄今為止的水平，因為從季節性角度來看，第四季度沒有太大影響，因為這是我們最小的季度。

But the 30% growth margin is really in alignment with our long term guide, which does have built into that the sales growth and the operating efficiency leverage. And so the things that are impacting this year that are kind of outside of that normal top line. And algorithm is also impacting the margins. But with that being said, we're very proud of, it's a step ahead that we are from the historical level.

但 30% 的成長率確實符合我們的長期指導，該指導確實已納入銷售成長和營運效率槓桿。因此，今年影響的事情有點超出正常的收入範圍。算法也影響著利潤。但話雖這麼說，我們還是感到非常自豪，我們從歷史水平上領先了一步。

Hey, Ryan, let me add one other comment to that. So when we look at gross margins as Melanie said, when we look at, we're actually pretty happy with where we are, when you consider the impact of the reduction in new pool construction and renovation and remodel.

嘿，瑞安，讓我添加另一個評論。因此，當我們考慮毛利率時，正如梅蘭妮所說，當我們考慮到新泳池建設和翻新改造減少的影響時，我們實際上對我們的現狀非常滿意。

I mean, that is a significant driver of the enhanced gross margin and with new pool construction being well below where we thought we would be for this time period, I think our performance on gross margin is reflective of the team's effort and some wisely placed bets and investments that are helping us to improve gross margin.

我的意思是，這是毛利率提高的一個重要推動因素，而且新池建設遠低於我們在這段時間內的預期，我認為我們的毛利率表現反映了團隊的努力和一些明智的押注以及幫助我們提高毛利率的投資。

So the comment on, long term gross margins being in the 30% range when you consider the impact of renovation and remodel and new pool construction, I'm actually pretty happy with the team's work and what we've been able to accomplish.

因此，當您考慮翻新、改造和新泳池建設的影響時，長期毛利率在 30% 範圍內，我實際上對團隊的工作以及我們所取得的成就感到非常滿意。

That's really helpful. Thanks for that. I'll pass it on.

這真的很有幫助。謝謝你。我會把它傳遞下去。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Susan Maklari, Goldman Sachs.

蘇珊·馬克拉里，高盛。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. My first question is on demand. You had some positive comments as it relates to the trends that you saw in Florida and Arizona during the quarter, which is in contrast to what we're hearing more generally, I would say about the consumer, especially as it relates to some of the bigger ticket discretionary projects. Can you talk a little bit more about what drove those trends and how you're thinking about what that could suggest as we look out?

謝謝。大家早安。我的第一個問題是按需提出的。您有一些積極的評論，因為這與您在本季度在佛羅裡達州和亞利桑那州看到的趨勢有關，這與我們更普遍聽到的情況形成鮮明對比，我想說的是消費者，特別是因為它與一些更大的門票可自由支配的項目。您能否多談談推動這些趨勢的因素以及您如何看待我們觀察時可能提出的建議？

Yeah, I think it's a couple of things specifically in those areas and even frankly, more broadly. Number one, I would say that the things that we have been focused on for the last several years, our strategic priorities are helping us gain share.

是的，我認為具體在這些領域，甚至坦率地說，更廣泛地說，有幾件事。第一，我想說的是，過去幾年我們一直在關注的事情，我們的策略重點正在幫助我們獲得份額。

So we're encouraged by the level of growth that we saw in Arizona and Florida, those were very nice to see, especially knowing how hard the teams have been working in a very, very tough and very competitive market.

因此，我們對亞利桑那州和佛羅裡達州的成長水平感到鼓舞，這些都是非常令人高興的，特別是知道這些球隊在一個非常非常艱難和競爭非常激烈的市場中是多麼努力。

So I think it's a function of a couple of things. It's a function of the markets are becoming more normalized, number one. Number two, I think the investments that we have made to improve our customer experience and ultimately our value proposition, our efficiency, our customers efficiency are garnering us favor with the customers and for the business that is out there, I think we continue to take a disproportionate share of that and continue to build upon that.

所以我認為這是幾個因素的作用。這是市場變得更加正常化的結果，這是第一位的。第二，我認為我們為改善客戶體驗以及最終我們的價值主張、我們的效率、我們的客戶效率而進行的投資正在贏得客戶的青睞，對於現有的業務，我認為我們將繼續採取並在此基礎上繼續發展。

Okay. That's helpful. And then the other thing that you noted is the progress that you're seeing on the Pool360 initiatives there. Can you just give some more color on how that's coming together? Any feedback you got from the road show that you did and how we should think about the further lift in sales going forward.

好的。這很有幫助。您注意到的另一件事是您在 Pool360 計劃上看到的進展。您能否進一步說明它們是如何結合在一起的？您從路演中獲得的任何回饋以及我們應該如何考慮未來銷售的進一步提升。

Sure. It's a -- remember is when we debuted this, it's a complete ecosystem, right? So we built upon Pool360 which was just our B2B system, we completely rebuilt that and then we looked forward and said, okay, what can we do to create value for our customers, improve their experience, hopefully improve their business, help them and help them grow.

當然。這是一個——記得當我們首次推出這個時，它是一個完整的生態系統，對吧？因此，我們以Pool360 為基礎，這只是我們的B2B 系統，我們完全重建了它，然後我們展望並說，好吧，我們能做些什麼來為我們的客戶創造價值，改善他們的體驗，希望改善他們的業務，幫助他們並幫助他們他們成長。

So we invested in a couple of different areas. The first one was the Pool360 water test which goes hand in hand with our private brands on pool chemicals, primarily our [Regal Easy Glore] and Life (inaudible) for the spa business.

因此，我們在幾個不同的領域進行了投資。第一個是 Pool360 水質測試，該測試與我們的泳池化學品自有品牌（主要是水療業務的 [Regal Easy Glore] 和 Life（聽不清楚））密切相關。

So the software is primarily the drive -- is developed for the retail store that stocks our chemicals. It helps prescribe, it helps provide a uniform prescription for the water when homeowners bring their water in to test, to figure out what they need for the pool. The reception that we've gotten on that is been very good. As you can imagine if a for a retail store your chemical line is really a very big decision that they make because it's associated with their brand.

因此，該軟體主要是驅動器 - 是為庫存我們的化學品的零售店開發的。當房主帶水進行測試時，它可以幫助制定、提供統一的水處方，以確定他們需要什麼水池。我們收到的反應非常好。正如您可以想像的那樣，如果對於零售店來說，您的化學品系列確實是他們做出的一個非常重大的決定，因為它與他們的品牌相關。

In many cases, the dealers have been carrying specific brands for many, many years. So changes of that nature are not taken lightly. So as we rolled it out, we knew that it was going to be a slow adoption. We want to make sure that we were more right than fast. The feedback that we have gotten from the dealers has been consistently very, very good.

在許多情況下，經銷商多年來一直在銷售特定品牌。因此，這種性質的改變不會掉以輕心。因此，當我們推出它時，我們知道它的採用將會很緩慢。我們希望確保我們的判斷正確而不是快速。我們從經銷商那裡得到的回饋一直都非常非常好。

We think that we'll continue to expand that. We've got lots of upside to continue to add dealers to that. But we're very, very proud of where we are today and the feedback that we're getting and the feedback on the road show was in line with that.

我們認為我們將繼續擴大這一範圍。繼續增加經銷商有很多好處。但我們對今天的成績感到非常非常自豪，我們得到的回饋和路演的回饋也與此一致。

If I look at Pool360 Service, which has a much broader application if you will, because that is something that all of our dealers can use. Not all of our dealers as have a retail store, but almost all of our dealers -- and certainly the largest group of customers that we have are pool service companies.

如果我看一下 Pool360 服務，如果你願意的話，它有更廣泛的應用程序，因為這是我們所有經銷商都可以使用的東西。並非我們所有的經銷商都擁有零售店，但幾乎所有的經銷商——當然還有我們擁有的最大的客戶群——都是聯營服務公司。

That tool is specifically designed for them to create efficiencies on their side, to professionalize their business, to create tie with and improve efficiencies with how they procure material and also to help them grow their business by being able to tap into our edge marketing, digital marketing programs.

該工具是專門為他們設計的，旨在提高他們的效率，使他們的業務專業化，與他們採購材料的方式建立聯繫並提高效率，並透過利用我們的邊緣行銷、數位化技術來幫助他們發展業務。

So again, that too is going well, but as we're in a seasonal business, so the selling season, we're really just beginning the selling season. So we rolled that tool out right at the end of the selling season for 2024. And then once you're into the season, that's not something that most companies are going to embark on.

再說一遍，這也進展順利，但由於我們處於季節性業務，因此銷售季節，我們實際上才剛開始銷售季節。因此，我們在 2024 年銷售季結束時推出了該工具。一旦進入銷售季，大多數公司都不會採取這種做法。

So we've got a nice backlog of customers that have seen the tool and that are interested and that we're in the process of onboarding. But again, we are trying to be good. Are great, I should say, as opposed to being fast. So we are extending kind of hyper care to those new customers. And again, the feedback for the customers that are using it is really good and I know that the people that will use it that will see the benefits that we talk about. And more importantly, it'll allow them to tap into our digital marketing programs which will allow them to grow their business as well as gain the operating efficiencies.

因此，我們已經積壓了大量已經看過該工具並且感興趣的客戶，並且我們正在入職過程中。但同樣，我們正在努力做好事。我應該說，“很棒”，而不是“很快”。因此，我們正在向這些新客戶提供超級關懷。再說一次，使用它的客戶的回饋非常好，我知道使用它的人會看到我們談論的好處。更重要的是，這將使他們能夠利用我們的數位行銷計劃，從而發展業務並提高營運效率。

Okay. That's great color. Thank you, Pete. Good luck with everything.

好的。那顏色真棒。謝謝你，皮特。祝一切順利。

David Manthey, Baird.

大衛曼蒂，貝爾德。

Yeah. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. First off Pete, historically, your long term growth algorithm was for 6% to 9%. That's inflation, [1 to 2] installed base growth, 1 to 2 new pools, 1 to 2, giving you 4% to 6% industry growth and then pool outgrowing that by 2% to 3% I guess acquisition 0 to 1.

是的。謝謝。大家早安。首先，Pete，從歷史上看，您的長期成長演算法是 6% 到 9%。這就是通貨膨脹，[1 到2] 安裝基數成長，1 到2 個新池，1 到2，給你4% 到6% 的產業成長，然後池成長超過2% 到3%，我猜收購是0 到1。

And with all of those puzzle pieces, when you think about the next five years, any reason to believe there would be a change to that formula or do you want to tweak any of those variables at all?

面對所有這些難題，當您考慮未來五年時，有什麼理由相信公式會發生變化，或者您是否想調整其中任何變數？

No, Dave, I don't think so. One thing I would tell you is the 1% from acquisitions, which was a much easier number. When we were a much smaller business is going to become harder. There aren't a lot of acquisitions out there that can get us 1%. So most of the growth that we will get will come from share gain, the installed base growing new products.

不，戴夫，我不這麼認為。我要告訴你的一件事是來自收購的 1%，這是一個容易得多的數字。當我們規模較小時，業務將會變得更加困難。能夠讓我們獲得 1% 份額的收購並不多。因此，我們將獲得的大部分成長將來自份額成長，即安裝基礎不斷增長的新產品。

So inflation and such. So I found when I look at our long term model, it's predicated upon one. We need to return to a normal cycle on new construction. We need to return to the normal cycle on renovation and remodel, which I believe both of those things are going to happen. We've invested prudently in our business to provide additional value to our customers, which will allow us to continue to grow share and to continue to drive operational efficiencies for both us and for our customers which should help us from a share gain perspective.

通貨膨脹等等。所以我發現，當我查看我們的長期模型時，它是基於一個模型的。我們需要恢復新建築的正常週期。我們需要回到正常的翻新和改造週期，我相信這兩件事都會發生。我們對我們的業務進行了謹慎的投資，為我們的客戶提供額外的價值，這將使我們能夠繼續增加份額，並繼續提高我們和我們的客戶的營運效率，從份額增益的角度來看，這應該有助於我們。

I don't see any major changes in the pricing algorithm for how the industry operates and the installed base, continues to grow this year, it's going to be closer to 1% growth. But when we get back to a normal cadence on new pool construction, we'll be back closer to the 1.5 times to 2 times -- or 1.5% to 2% growth from installed base. So long term I think those are very much intact. The only caution I would give you is on the acquisition front.

我認為行業運作方式的定價演算法沒有任何重大變化，安裝基礎今年繼續成長，成長將接近 1%。但當我們恢復到新泳池建設的正常節奏時，我們將恢復到接近 1.5 倍到 2 倍，即安裝基數 1.5% 到 2% 的成長。從長遠來看，我認為這些都完好無損。我要給你的唯一警告是在收購方面。

Yeah, fair enough. Thank you for that color. And second, the value of new pools, if we look five years before COVID, a new pool is running 40,000 to 50,000. And then during COVID kind of '21 to '23 was 55,000 to 65,000 moving up.

是的，很公平。謝謝你的那個顏色。其次，新池的價值，如果我們看看新冠疫情爆發前五年，一個新池正在運行 40,000 到 50,000 個池。然後在新冠疫情期間，從 21 月到 23 月，人數增加了 55,000 到 65,000 人。

And Pete back in February, you said that the average was looking closer to 80,000 at the time. I'm just wondering, has there been this year or do you expect in '25 or '26 any retrenchment at all in that average price whether that's component prices coming down content mix, anything or does that number just continue to stair step higher do you think?

Pete 在二月時說過，當時的平均人數接近 80,000。我只是想知道，今年是否有，或者您預計在 25 或 26 年，平均價格是否會出現任何緊縮，無論是組件價格下降還是內容組合，或者這個數字是否會繼續走高？

I think there's a couple of things that could drive that. One is obviously the biggest component of new pool construction cost is labor. I don't really see a change in labor cost because of the inherent inflation that's been driven through the entire economy. And I don't really see wages dropping any time in the near future and we're at essentially nearing full employment.

我認為有幾件事可以推動這一點。其中之一顯然是新水池建設成本的最大組成部分是勞動力。由於整個經濟固有的通貨膨脹，我並沒有真正看到勞動成本的變化。我真的不認為工資在不久的將來會下降，而且我們基本上已經接近充分就業。

So it's not like there that there's a lot of people that are looking for work that could potentially drive down wages. I don't think that is the case certainly for this type of work. I think inflation on the -- or the inflation of the cost of materials is also I think pretty sticky and if not, I don't see any of the major components coming down much, I mean, you might see on commodities, you might see some deflation or inflation on steel or PVC but those are relatively small in terms of the total cost of the pool.

因此，並不是有很多人在尋找可能會壓低工資的工作。我認為此類工作的情況並非如此。我認為通貨膨脹，或材料成本的通貨膨脹，我認為也相當棘手，如果沒有，我認為任何主要組成部分都不會下降太多，我的意思是，你可能會看到大宗商品，你可能會看到鋼鐵或聚氯乙烯會出現一些通貨緊縮或通貨膨脹，但就池的總成本而言，這些通貨緊縮或通貨膨脹相對較小。

You mentioned the features, what I would tell you is, today our new pool construction we believe is going to be is going to be off in that 15% to 20% range, which brings us to a number that we haven't seen in many, many years, a component of the $80,000 pool cost is the mix and that we're seeing higher end pools being built versus lower end pools.

你提到了這些功能，我要告訴你的是，今天我們的新泳池建設我們相信將會在 15% 到 20% 的範圍內關閉，這給我們帶來了一個我們從未見過的數字很多很多年，80,000 美元泳池成本的一個組成部分是混合，我們看到高端泳池正在建設，而低端泳池正在建設中。

So if just logically speaking, if new pool construction returns to a normal cadence, you're going to have more entry level to mid-level pools, which could mix down the total cost or the average cost if you will. But that's simply a function of more overall mix than, than defeaturing.

因此，從邏輯上講，如果新的泳池建設恢復到正常節奏，您將擁有更多的入門級到中級泳池，如果您願意的話，這可能會降低總成本或平均成本。但這只是整體混合的功能，而不是破壞的功能。

That's great color. Thank you very much.

那顏色真棒。非常感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

David MacGregor, Wambo Research.

大衛‧麥格雷戈，萬博研究公司。

Yes, good morning and thanks for taking my questions. I wanted to ask you about the private label offering. And you've talked about leveraging that line with the investments in Pool360. Could you just talk about any plans or your thoughts longer term about expanding that private label offering? And also while we're on it, how do the margins on that line stand up in this kind of environment? Are you seeing some narrowing in contribution or are they getting better, any kind of color around that would be helpful?

是的，早上好，感謝您回答我的問題。我想問您有關自有品牌產品的問題。您也談到了透過對 Pool360 的投資來利用這條線。您能否談談關於擴大自有品牌產品的長期計劃或想法？而且，當我們這樣做時，在這種環境下該生產線的利潤率如何？您是否看到貢獻縮小，或者它們變得更好，周圍的任何顏色都會有幫助？

Sure. Good morning, David. Good question. I would tell you that the private label for us is a very important part of our go forward strategy, but we're very focused in a few areas. So for instance, the largest product category that we have as a company is which comprises 30% to 35% of our business is going to be equipment.

當然。早安，大衛。好問題。我想告訴你，自有品牌對我們來說是我們前進策略中非常重要的一部分，但我們非常專注於幾個領域。舉例來說，我們公司最大的產品類別是設備，占我們業務的 30% 到 35%。

So I don't see us getting into the equipment game from a private label perspective. With the acquisition of Pinch A Penny we acquired a world class chemical packaging facility which has allowed us to essentially refresh our brands. I mean, for the longest time we had proprietary brands, we had Regal and Easy Glore and Life for our chemical lines.

因此，我不認為我們會從自有品牌的角度進入裝備遊戲。透過收購 Pinch A Penny，我們獲得了世界一流的化學包裝設施，這使我們能夠從根本上更新我們的品牌。我的意思是，在最長的時間裡，我們擁有專有品牌，我們的化學產品線有 ​​Regal、Easy Glore 和 Life。

But frankly, they weren't complete and they were a bit outdated. So with the acquisition of Pinch A Penny and the knowledge that we acquired on the chemical side we were able to refresh those brands and we're leaning heavily into those. They have been refreshed, they have been rebranded. They look great, we have a complete line and frankly there is good as or better than any other products in the market.

但坦白說，它們並不完整，而且有點過時。因此，透過收購 Pinch A Penny 以及我們在化學品方面所獲得的知識，我們能夠更新這些品牌，並且我們正在大力發展這些品牌。他們已經煥然一新，他們已經重新命名。它們看起來很棒，我們有完整的產品線，坦白說，它們比市場上的任何其他產品都好或更好。

And we think that that will continue to allow us to gain share in that space. Because when you think about brands on chemicals, it's much more important on the retail side than it is on the service side. On the service side, they're buying essentially product in a bucket as long as it works, brand is really not a big part of that, price is a bigger component of it. Availability is a component of it. Being in the right location is a component of it. All of those boxes, we have historically checked very well.

我們認為這將繼續讓我們在該領域獲得份額。因為當您考慮化學品品牌時，零售方面比服務方面重要得多。在服務方面，他們基本上購買的是桶裝產品，只要它有效，品牌實際上並不是其中的重要組成部分，價格才是其中更重要的組成部分。可用性是其中的一個組成部分。處於正確的位置是其中的一個組成部分。所有這些框，我們歷來都檢查得很好。

Where we were weaker was on the retail side and there are thousands of independent retail stores that are selling pool chemicals every day that we now can compete head to head with the best of the best and the biggest in the industry which provide us a nice opportunity to continue to grow.

我們的弱點在於零售方面，每天有數千家獨立零售店在銷售泳池化學品，我們現在可以與行業中最好的和最大的企業進行正面競爭，這為我們提供了一個很好的機會繼續成長。

There's also some maintenance products, whether you're talking about cartridge filters or just tools, right? For the Pool Pro which is [net] pools brushes and such which are a big portion of the industry that and some parts where again, our work on the servicing side, and product management side has allowed us to refresh those brands and bring something to market that is complete, that is unique, great product that we think provides an opportunity for us to grow and continue to take a bit more share, leveraging our footprint.

還有一些維護產品，無論您是在談論筒式過濾器還是只是工具，對吧？對於Pool Pro 來說，它是[net] 泳池刷等，它是該行業的很大一部分，而且有些部分再次，我們在服務方面和產品管理方面的工作使我們能夠更新這些品牌，並給人們帶來一些東西。

So, we have almost in total almost 450 locations from a transaction count alone through August. We had over 5 million face to face transactions with customers in our branches, which provides an enormous opportunity when you have a very good curated product line to help grow our business and enhance the customer's business at the same time.

因此，僅從截至 8 月的交易計數來看，我們總共就有近 450 個地點。我們在分公司與客戶進行了超過 500 萬次面對面交易，當您擁有非常好的策劃產品線來幫助發展我們的業務並同時增強客戶的業務時，這提供了巨大的機會。

So we tend to lean into that very heavily because we see that as a very rich opportunity for us going forward. And then certainly on the margin side, when you're talking about our brands the margins are accretive, they're better than, they're better than when we're selling other products. So that too is a win for the business.

因此，我們傾向於非常重視這一點，因為我們認為這對我們前進來說是一個非常豐富的機會。當然，在利潤方面，當你談論我們的品牌時，利潤會增加，它們比我們銷售其他產品時更好。所以這對企業來說也是一場勝利。

So when you combine the enhanced marketing programs, the real focus that we've had on product management and product development if you will on the chemical side and tools and maintenance. And then you look at that across 5 million plus transactions and that was only through August. It provides a nice opportunity for us to grow for many years to come.

因此，當您結合增強的行銷計劃時，如果您願意專注於化學方面以及工具和維護，我們真正關注的是產品管理和產品開發。然後你會看到超過 500 萬筆交易，而且這只是截至 8 月的交易。它為我們提供了一個很好的機會，讓我們在未來的許多年裡都能成長。

Got it. Yeah, a lot of potential there. I guess as a follow up question, just with respect to the $20 million of technology spending this year. I guess it's early to think about 2025. But just your preliminary thoughts on directionally where that level of spending goes. Are we going to a more aggressive spend on technology next year?

知道了。是的，那裡有很大的潛力。我想作為一個後續問題，只是關於今年 2000 萬美元的技術支出。我想現在考慮 2025 年還為時過早。但這只是您對該支出水準的方向的初步想法。明年我們是否會在技術上加大投入？

Yeah, I don't think it's going to be much different, right? Because we did a bunch of work this year that we won't have to do next year. We technologies when you're in the technology business. And I believe we're in the technology business now you're never done.

是的，我認為不會有太大不同，對吧？因為我們今年做了很多工作，明年就不需要做了。當您從事技術業務時，我們會提供技術。我相信我們現在已經進入了技術行業，而且我們的工作還沒有完成。

So we have to continue to invest to keep our tools current and value creative to our customers into us. So I look at the spend as a given our size and scale frankly it's not a lot of money. And I would tell you that early -- it's early we obviously haven't settled on our 2025 budgets yet, but I don't see any major change in that number.

因此，我們必須繼續投資，使我們的工具保持最新狀態，並為客戶提供有價值的創意。因此，我認為鑑於我們的規模和規模，坦白說這並不是很多錢。我想提前告訴你們——顯然我們還沒有確定 2025 年預算，但我認為這個數字沒有任何重大變化。

Got it. Thanks very much and good luck.

知道了。非常感謝，祝你好運。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Stephen Volkmann, Jefferies.

史蒂芬‧福克曼，傑弗里斯。

Thanks. I just wanted to kind of cover the competitive landscape that you're seeing currently, specifically just the options from [SRS] if there's any sort of an impact in your business and it's still early days just trying to get a sense for how that kind of lays out as we go forward.

謝謝。我只是想介紹一下您目前所看到的競爭格局，特別是 [SRS] 的選項（如果對您的業務有任何影響），並且現在還處於早期階段，只是想了解這種影響如何我們前進時的佈局。

Yeah, thank you. I would tell you nothing really new to report on that side hasn't been, we haven't experienced really any changes from what we've seen in the past. The industry obviously is more competitive now because the industry is smaller than it would be with a normal new pool construction and remodel and renovation market.

是的，謝謝。我想告訴你，在這方面沒有什麼真正值得報告的新內容，與過去相比，我們並沒有經歷任何真正的變化。該行業現在顯然更具競爭力，因為該行業比正常的新泳池建設、改建和翻新市場規模要小。

So you have to be on top of your game in terms of value. We never sell on price, right? So we're not the price leaders never intend to be the price leaders we sell on value and providing the best customer experience, some of our competitors. The only way that they can compete with us on price is on price.

因此，您必須在價值方面處於領先地位。我們從來不以價格出售，對嗎？因此，我們不是價格領導者，也從來沒有打算成為價格領導者，我們以價值銷售並提供最佳的客戶體驗，我們的一些競爭對手。他們能在價格上與我們競爭的唯一方法就是價格。

Nothing new in that regard. We expect that to continue, but it's nothing that we haven't seen before. It will ebb and flow with demand, as demand in the industry improves. Then I would say competitive pressures will probably abate some. If the industry stays contracted, then I would expect competitive pressures to continue to be robust.

在這方面沒有什麼新鮮事。我們預計這種情況會繼續下去，但這並不是我們以前從未見過的。隨著行業需求的改善，它會隨著需求的變化而起伏。那我想說競爭壓力可能會減輕一些。如果該行業保持收縮狀態，那麼我預計競爭壓力將繼續強勁。

Thank you. I appreciate that.

謝謝。我很欣賞這一點。

Andrew Carter, Stifel.

安德魯卡特，斯蒂菲爾。

Hey, thank you. Good morning. I guess the first question I wanted to ask is about chemicals kind of comprehensive question. Number one, it's been kind of volatile the past couple of years, price skirmishes or whatnot. Where do you see kind of the pricing now going into next year?

嘿，謝謝你。早安.我想我想問的第一個問題是關於化學物質的綜合問題。第一，過去幾年市場波動較大，價格衝突之類的。您認為明年的定價會是如何？

Do you see any give back from your manufacturers? And then a second question on your chemical supply chain. There was obviously the plant fire in Atlanta. I believe it biolab facility. There's a storage. I don't imagine it's not much disruption. You haven't called it out. But could you speak to kind of how your chemical supply chain our procurement is different now than four years ago. Are you just -- do you have just as much risk around one supplier or you much more diversified? Thanks.

您看到製造商有任何回饋嗎？然後是關於您的化學品供應鏈的第二個問題。亞特蘭大顯然發生了工廠火災。我相信它是生物實驗室設施。有一個儲藏室。我不認為這不會造成太大的干擾。你還沒叫出來。但您能否談談您的化學品供應鏈和我們的採購現在與四年前有何不同。您是否只是—您在一家供應商周圍面臨同樣多的風險，還是更加多元化？謝謝。

Yeah, thank you. Andrew. Good morning. Our chemical supply chain is much more diverse than it was, for a couple of reasons. Number one, we have our own packaging facility today that we didn't have that procures product from multiple sources. So from a surety supply perspective, we're in a much better position than we were a few years ago.

是的，謝謝。安德魯.早安.由於幾個原因，我們的化學品供應鏈比以前更加多樣化。第一，我們今天擁有自己的包裝設施，但我們沒有從多個來源購買產品的設施。因此，從保證供應的角度來看，我們的處境比幾年前好得多。

Your first question -- the first part of the question had to do with pricing. I would tell you that, as I mentioned in my comments, overall chemical pricing. Now we there's some up, there's some down but by and large chemical pricing is fairly stable.

你的第一個問題——問題的第一部分與定價有關。我想告訴你，正如我在評論中提到的，整體化學品定價。現在我們有一些上漲，也有一些下跌，但總的來說，化學品價格相當穩定。

And I don't think that that at this point I see any major changes in that as far as the disruption from the fire in in Georgia. It really has no impact on us. And at this point, I would tell you, I think there's limited to no impact on the on the industry. So no major changes.

我認為，就喬治亞州火災造成的破壞而言，目前我認為這方面沒有任何重大變化。對我們確實沒有什麼影響。在這一點上，我想告訴你，我認為對行業的影響有限甚至沒有。所以沒有太大的改變。

And then a second question kind of thinking about new construction. I know that we're kind of, we're at 59,000 units kind of the end of the year. I think that's where your guidance is. Going into next year, I know you need that piece of the business to grow kind of high single digits to hit your long term algorithm.

第二個問題是關於新建築的思考。我知道到今年年底我們的銷量約為 59,000 輛。我想這就是你的指導所在。進入明年，我知道您需要這部分業務實現高個位數成長，以實現您的長期演算法。

Do you need rates to come down and see some easing in these next couple of months for consumers to make that decision next summer or could it be a longer lag in rate improvements or whatever or and just any kind of early indications of how you look at that market next year, no capital costs are still high, pool costs are still high but anything on help on that side would be helpful. Thanks.

您是否需要降低費率並在接下來的幾個月內看到一些寬鬆的政策，以便消費者在明年夏天做出決定，或者費率改善的滯後時間是否較長或其他什麼，或者只是您如何看待的任何早期跡像明年的市場，沒有資本成本仍然很高，資金成本仍然很高，但任何方面的幫助都會有所幫助。謝謝。

Sure. Andrew. So here's what we're hearing from our dealers. Our dealers are telling us the phones are ringing. People want pools that people are asking for budgetary pricing in some cases where they've had pricing from the past. They're refreshing that pricing because there's still the underlying demand. They still want the swimming pool.

當然。安德魯.以下是我們從經銷商那裡聽到的消息。我們的經銷商告訴我們電話響了。人們想要的是人們要求預算定價的池，在某些情況下他們已經有過去的定價。他們正在刷新定價，因為仍然存在潛在需求。他們仍然想要游泳池。

So I would tell you that the overall demand environment is still cautious but there still is demand. If you go back to kind of pre-COVID days, you're talking about an 80,000 pool new build market and we're down, we're going to be 55,000 to 60,000 pools this year, which is obviously much lower than it was during the peak.

所以我告訴大家，整體的需求環境還是謹慎的，但需求還是有的。如果你回到新冠疫情之前的日子，你正在談論一個 80,000 個泳池的新建市場，而我們正在下降，今年我們將有 55,000 到 60,000 個泳池，這顯然比以前低得多高峰期間。

But in order for the return to I would call normal to happen, the housing market is going to have to loosen up a little bit and that's not going to happen. I think until there's a little more movement on the rate side. So I think that the feds attempt with the first rate cut is good. I think it's going to take more than that.

但為了回歸我所說的正常狀態，房地產市場將不得不稍微放鬆一點，但這是不會發生的。我認為直到利率方面有更多的變動。所以我認為聯準會第一次降息的嘗試是好的。我認為還需要更多的時間。

But again, from our perspective, the thing that's very encouraging is home values are still very strong and home equity levels have never been higher. So people have the ability to borrow. I think it's a combination of just the overall economic conditions in the country right now that are causing people specifically at the lower and mid end that would want a pool, to say, I probably need to wait a little bit more to make sure that there isn't a relapse on the inflation side and our overall cost of living is going to increase.

但從我們的角度來看，非常令人鼓舞的是房屋價值仍然非常強勁，房屋淨值水平也達到了前所未有的水平。所以人們有能力借錢。我認為這是該國目前整體經濟狀況的結合，導致中低端的人們想要一個游泳池，也就是說，我可能需要再等待一段時間才能確保有通貨膨脹方面不會復發，我們的總體生活成本將會增加。

I think they've seen we all accepted and had to absorb significant pricing for consumable goods if you will. And I think overtime wages are catching up. I think that if the FED continues to loosen the monetary policy and we get the housing market moving, then I would tell you that the first thing we would probably see is renovation and remodel would be the one of the first things we see pick up followed by new pool construction.

我認為他們已經看到我們都接受並且必須承受消費品的巨大價格（如果你願意的話）。我認為加班工資正在迎頭趕上。我認為，如果聯準會繼續放鬆貨幣政策並且我們讓房地產市場動起來，那麼我會告訴你，我們可能會看到的第一件事是翻新和改造將是我們看到的第一個回升的事情之一透過新池建設。

Thanks. I'll pass it on.

謝謝。我會把它傳遞下去。

Trey Grooms, Stephens.

特雷格魯姆斯、史蒂芬斯。

Yeah, good morning, everyone. Sorry, my line dropped off there in the middle of the Q&A. So please forgive me if you've touched on any of this. But Melanie, you reiterated the EPS range $11.06 to $11.46 we're mostly through the or pretty well through the pool season, as you mentioned, we're making our way through most of October, which I assume is typically the strongest month in the 4Q.

是的，大家早安。抱歉，我的線路在問答過程中中斷了。因此，如果您觸及其中任何內容，請原諒我。但是梅蘭妮，您重申了EPS 範圍為11.06 美元至11.46 美元，我們基本上已經度過了泳池季節，或者相當順利地度過了泳池季節，正如您提到的，我們正在度過10 月的大部分時間，我認為這通常是10 月中最強勁的月份第四季。

So and you gave some pretty good color, on some of the line items here. But I guess the question is what could really kind of get us into either the low end or high end of this range, just especially given where we are in the year. Thanks.

所以你在這裡的一些行項目上提供了一些非常好的顏色。但我想問題是，什麼才能真正讓我們進入這個範圍的低端或高端，特別是考慮到我們今年的處境。謝謝。

Yeah. So the fluctuations in the fourth quarter are going to certainly weather has impacted how long pools within the seasonal market stay open. So whether or not that'll kind of extend into the back half of the fourth quarter, The other thing is going to be the rate of the new pool construction.

是的。因此，第四季的波動肯定會影響季節性市場中泳池開放的時間。因此，無論這種情況是否會延續到第四季後半段，另一件事將是新池建設的速度。

So it depends [neal] and how much -- and how many of those tools are actually impacted significantly in Florida. And then kind of the converse to that is going to be, the labor market in Florida as it as it relates to some of that new construction. So, when I look at it to kind of the low end, we're going to be, I certainly on the low end of we couldn't be on the low end if that new construction number moved out lower.

因此，這取決於 [neal] 以及有多少工具在佛羅裡達州實際上受到了重大影響。與此相反的是，佛羅裡達州的勞動力市場，因為它與一些新建築有關。因此，當我將其視為低端時，我們肯定會處於低端，如果新建築數量下降，我們就不可能處於低端。

We will make up some of that from the repair market in Florida but it's not at the same kind of dollar increment as the building that we would see within that time frame. And then also the speed of recovery could impact us to kind to the higher end.

我們將從佛羅裡達州的維修市場彌補其中的一部分，但這與我們在該時間範圍內看到的建築物的美元增量不同。然後，恢復速度也可能影響我們走向更高端。

Okay. Got it. That's helpful. And then as a follow up and this is kind of getting maybe the cutting [hairs] here just a little bit or splitting hairs. But prior guide for inflation and pricing was 2% to 3%. I think it was, a 1% headwind on the commodity and then 1% to 2% overall, that was the prior guide and now it's 2% with that same kind of 1% headwind on the commodity.

好的。知道了。這很有幫助。然後作為後續行動，這可能是這裡的一點點剪髮或分裂頭髮。但先前的通膨和定價指引值為 2% 至 3%。我認為，大宗商品面臨 1% 的逆風，然後總體是 1% 到 2%，這是先前的指導，現在是 2%，大宗商品也面臨 1% 的逆風。

But overall is now one versus the 1% to 2% again, I know it's a small change but anything to note there on maybe what maybe drove that slight change in the inflation kind of guide here for the year.

但總體而言，現在又是 1% 到 2% 的情況，我知道這是一個很小的變化，但有什麼值得注意的地方，也許是什麼推動了今年通膨指南的微小變化。

Yeah, nothing significant. The pick up in the chemical volumes impacted that slightly. Also, some of the building material components were captured in that commodity level. So that's impacting it. And then really just the mix of products overall.

是的，沒什麼重要的。化學品產量的增加對此略有影響。此外，一些建築材料成分也包含在該商品等級中。所以這正在影響它。然後實際上只是整體產品的組合。

There's just so many factors that, there's just a lot of factors involved in trying to trying to pin that down. And as Melanie said, mix is going to be the biggest thing that impacts the overall impact of the business from inflation.

因素太多了，試圖確定這一點需要考慮很多因素。正如梅蘭妮所說，混合將是影響通膨對企業整體影響的最大因素。

Yes. Got it. That makes sense to me. Thanks a lot. I'll pass it on.

是的。知道了。這對我來說很有意義。多謝。我會把它傳遞下去。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Garik Shmois, Loop Capital.

Garik Shmois，Loop Capital。

Oh, hi. Thanks for having me. I wanted to ask about some of the smaller end markets here. Just first off on commercial, I think it was up 7% in the quarter, down from up [16] in 2Q still, nicely positive. But just wondering if you could speak to, maybe the deceleration and growth and maybe some broader trends on the commercial side considering, it's been an area of focus for you.

哦，嗨。謝謝你有我。我想問這裡一些較小的終端市場。首先就商業而言，我認為本季成長了 7%，低於第二季的成長 [16]，仍然非常積極。但只是想知道您是否可以談談，也許是減速和成長，也許是商業方面的一些更廣泛的趨勢，考慮到這一直是您關注的領域。

Yeah, I wouldn't read too much into that. What I would say on commercial is the function of two things. There's kind of maintenance and repair and there's projects. So projects in the commercial arena as you can imagine are very large. So if a lot of it is timing.

是的，我不會對此進行太多解讀。我想說的商業廣告有兩件事的作用。有維護和修理，還有項目。所以你可以想像商業領域的專案是非常大的。所以如果很多都是時間的話。

So it's when the large projects hit and when the invoice and then when we look further out, we're looking at what is the backlog look like for commercial work and then there's a function of it's a focus area for us. So we continue to gain share in that area by investing in value creating things for our customers.

因此，當大型專案到來時，當發票出現時，當我們進一步觀察時，我們正在研究商業工作的積壓工作是什麼樣的，然後它的功能是我們的重點領域。因此，我們透過投資於為客戶創造價值的事物，繼續在該領域獲得份額。

So, I wouldn't read too much into the 7% versus 16% because I believe when I looked at that it's mostly project driven and when projects actually invoice and also just for to contextualize it, just remember it's still a pretty small portion of the business in total.

因此，我不會過多地解讀7% 與16% 的情況，因為我相信，當我看到它主要是項目驅動的，當項目實際開具發票時，也只是為了將其置於上下文中，請記住，它仍然只是一小部分。

It's encouraging that there's certainly more opportunity there than there is on the residential building side in terms of investments in new construction, large projects, but it's also relatively small. So you kind of have to dimensionalize it too.

令人鼓舞的是，在新建築、大型專案的投資方面，肯定比住宅建築方面有更多的機會，但也相對較小。所以你也必須對其進行維度化。

Yeah, of course. And then I guess just secondly just on the retail part of the business again, I apologize for focusing on some of the smaller end markets here at the end of the call. But, Pinch A Penny sales, I think we're flat in Q3 maybe a little bit softer than the rate of growth. In the last quarter retail your sales into retail actually improved sequentially. So a anything to glean out of the those kind of diverging trends?

是的，當然。其次，我想再次就業務的零售部分而言，我為在電話會議結束時關註一些較小的終端市場而道歉。但是，精打細算的銷售，我認為我們在第三季持平，可能比成長率軟一些。在上個季度的零售業中，零售業的銷售額實際上較上季有所改善。那麼，有什麼可以從這些不同的趨勢中收集到的資訊嗎？

No, I think that the overall consumer, so think about what a retail store is going to sell, retail stores are going to sell things like chemicals which are non-discretionary. That part of the business from a retail perspective has been good. But things like, robotic cleaners, right.

不，我認為整體消費者，所以想想零售店將銷售什麼，零售店將銷售非自由裁量的化學品之類的東西。從零售角度來看，這部分業務一直都很不錯。但像是機器人清潔工之類的東西，對吧。

And toys and games and such tend to be much more discretionary. And where we have seen a -- what we have seen some headwinds this year on the retail side, the biggest area from a headwind perspective is on the cleaner side.

玩具和遊戲等往往更隨興。今年我們在零售方面看到了一些逆風，從逆風的角度來看，最大的領域是清潔方面。

So I have a -- you don't have to have a cleaner but most pools do. I don't have to have a robotic cleaner. It's, just happens to be the best cleaner in the market. But the downside is that they're quite expensive. So if you have a consumer that is struggling with cash flow and the idea of plunking down $1,000 or $700 or $1,500 for a high end robotic cleaner, which is a more of a luxury than a necessity is going to impact the retail by more than it would during normal times.

所以我有一個——你不必有清潔工，但大多數泳池都有。我不需要機器人清潔工。它恰好是市場上最好的清潔劑。但缺點是它們相當昂貴。因此，如果你有一位消費者正在為現金流而苦苦掙扎，並且願意花1,000 美元或700 美元或1,500 美元購買高端機器人清潔工（這更像是一種奢侈品，而不是必需品），那麼對零售業的影響將超過它平時會的。

So I think the retail business is good. I think we continue to take share. I love our value proposition for the independent retailer. I love the Pinch A Penny value proposition. But we're also going to have to deal with the health of the consumer too and the more discretionary items are going to come under more pressure.

所以我認為零售業很好。我認為我們會繼續分享。我喜歡我們對獨立零售商的價值主張。我喜歡「Pinch A Penny」價值主張。但我們也必須處理消費者的健康問題，而更多的非必需品將面臨更大的壓力。

Understood. Thanks for the call.

明白了。感謝您的來電。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Sam Reid, Wells Fargo.

薩姆·里德，富國銀行。

Awesome. Thanks so much. So, wanted to ask a follow up question on your algorithm, but this time, approach it from a more near term perspective. So it sounds like acquisitions will be less of a tailwind. And then you've obviously got fewer new pools entering the base from 2024 to 2025.

驚人的。非常感謝。所以，想問一個關於你的演算法的後續問題，但這一次，從更近期的角度來處理它。因此，聽起來收購將不再是順風車。從 2024 年到 2025 年，進入基地的新礦池顯然會減少。

So just want to maybe contextualize those two dynamics plus anything else that you think might be relevant for 2025 in the context of your 6% to 9% all go.

因此，我只想將這兩種動態以及您認為可能與 2025 年相關的其他任何內容放在 6% 到 9% 的背景下。

I would say, and I'll let Melanie, chime in if I miss something I would say on new pool construction. I would -- and again, we haven't called 2025 number. So it's very hard for me to and the fact that I can't really speculate on what 2025 is because we don't have enough information. But certainly for our long term algorithm to be back and reflective of what is actually happening, we're going to have to see a return to more normal new pool construction.

我會說，如果我錯過了關於新泳池建設的內容，我會讓梅蘭妮插話。我會——再說一次，我們還沒有撥打 2025 的號碼。所以這對我來說非常困難，事實上我無法真正推測 2025 年是什麼，因為我們沒有足夠的資訊。但當然，為了讓我們的長期演算法回歸並反映實際發生的情況，我們將不得不看到恢復到更正常的新礦池建設。

And it's just frankly, it's just too soon for me to tell you what. I think the 2025 new pool construction season is going to be the acquisition. I'm pretty comfortable with what I said on that in terms of I don't think yet given our size that when I look at our acquisition pipeline, which we certainly have things in the pipeline. Just none of them are big enough to really move the needle consistently at that 1% range over time.

坦白說，現在告訴你還為時過早。我認為 2025 年新泳池建設季節將是收購。我對我所說的感到非常滿意，因為我認為考慮到我們的規模，當我查看我們的收購管道時，我們確實有一些東西正在管道中。只是它們中沒有一個足夠大，無法隨著時間的推移真正在 1% 的範圍內持續變化。

Yes. So specifically to the portion of the growth algorithm that relate to the new construction being where we're going to kind of finish out the year. We're very far from normal. So if we finish this year 55,000 to 60,000 new pools pre-COVID, we were around the 80,000 range.

是的。因此，特別是與新建築相關的成長演算法部分，我們將在今年結束。我們離正常人還很遠。因此，如果我們今年在新冠疫情爆發之前完成 55,000 到 60,000 個新泳池，那麼我們的範圍約為 80,000 個。

The (inaudible) growth that could be made up in order to get us there, would be, slightly ahead of the 1% to 2% that's in that current long term algorithm.

為了讓我們實現這一目標，可以彌補的（聽不清楚）成長將略高於目前長期演算法中的 1% 到 2%。

No, that's helpful and then maybe switching gears and touching on Q4. so I wanted to get a sense for the sales number that you're seeing quarter to date. This go around October specifically, I want to say the guidance implies something closer to down 5% for the fourth quarter. Are you tracking at those levels quarter to date above those levels below? Just want to get a sense for that as we head into year end.

不，這很有幫助，然後也許可以換個話題，談談第四季。所以我想了解一下您所看到的季度至今的銷售數字。具體來說，這是在 10 月左右，我想說的是，該指導意味著第四季度的下降接近 5%。您季度迄今追蹤的水平是否高於以下水準？只是想在年底之際對此有所了解。

Yeah, as you can imagine, October is a more critical month of the quarter. And October is tracking above the minus five that you cited so that we're seeing strong demand in Florida right now. As the renovation and remodel, I'm sorry, as the repair work goes on the offset is that what we're not sure of is, the impact on new construction for the remainder of the quarter.

是的，正如您可以想像的那樣，十月是本季更為關鍵的一個月。十月份的氣溫正高於您提到的負五，因此我們現在看到佛羅裡達州的需求強勁。隨著翻新和改造的進行，我很抱歉，隨著修復工作的進行，我們不確定的是，這會對本季剩餘時間的新建築產生影響。

So October is good. And I don't, I think the rest as I look, as I look around the country, I think we're performing well there. But it's the biggest wild card for us in the fourth quarter is going to be the -- what -- is going to be the impact on fewer pools that we think will get built in Florida in the fourth quarter?

所以十月是好的。我不認為，我認為其餘的，當我環顧全國時，我認為我們在那裡表現良好。但對我們來說，第四季最大的不確定因素將是——我們認為第四季將在佛羅裡達州建造的更少的泳池將會受到什麼影響？

And how much of that can be made up for by the repair work? Now, the weather in October so far has been pretty good. So that's favorable as well.

修復工作可以彌補多少？現在看來，十月的天氣一直都很好。所以這也是有利的。

That's very helpful. Thanks so much.

這非常有幫助。非常感謝。

Sean Canin, Bank of America.

肖恩卡寧，美國銀行。

Hi guys. Thanks for taking my question. I just had a couple on the gross margin bridge on slide 6. So it looks like you guys had 100 basis point improvement from supply chain benefits. Can you just talk about whether you expect that to continue to improve or is this kind of a normalized level? And then on the customer mix is that something that you expect to reverse over time? Are we at like a more normalized customer mix after having a bunch of smaller customers during COVID?

嗨，大家好。感謝您提出我的問題。我剛剛在幻燈片 6 的毛利率橋樑上看到了一些。所以看起來你們的供應鏈效益提高了 100 個基點。您能否談談您是否期望繼續改善，或者這是一個正常化的水平？那麼，在客戶組合方面，您預計這種情況會隨著時間的推移而逆轉嗎？在新冠疫情期間擁有了一群規模較小的客戶之後，我們的客戶組合是否變得更加正常化了？

Yeah. So as far as the 100 basis points we specifically included on that bridge, it is more conceptual versus quantitative. So I wouldn't equate that [200] basis points from an improvement standpoint, but to answer your question as it relates to the supply chain benefits, we do continue you to expect to see the benefits related to the private label, our pricing initiative, our CSO initiatives that we have had in place over the last several years that have kind of taken us through this volatile period.

是的。因此，就我們在這座橋上特別包含的 100 個基點而言，它更多的是概念性而非定量性。因此，從改進的角度來看，我不會將[200] 個基點等同起來，但為了回答您與供應鏈收益相關的問題，我們確實繼續讓您期望看到與自有品牌、我們的定價舉措相關的利益，我們在過去幾年中採取的公民社會組織舉措，幫助我們度過了這個動盪的時期。

But that will continue going forward and we have further actions that we intend to take as it relates to that. Specifically to your question on the customer, we have seen in this market where there's fewer pools to be built that our larger customers are winning more of those jobs.

但這將繼續下去，我們打算採取與此相關的進一步行動。具體到你關於客戶的問題，我們已經看到，在這個市場上，需要建立的池較少，而我們的大客戶正在贏得更多的工作機會。

And so that is putting some pressure on our margins from a pricing standpoint because we do have our customer programs with those larger customers. When more pools start getting built and we get back up to that more normalized 80,000 pool level that will allow for smaller pool builders to come back into the market. And so that will put some more balance into our growth margins?

因此，從定價的角度來看，這給我們的利潤帶來了一些壓力，因為我們確實有針對這些大客戶的客戶計畫。當更多的泳池開始建造時，我們將恢復到更標準化的 80,000 泳池水平，這將允許較小的泳池建造商重返市場。那麼這會讓我們的成長利潤更加平衡嗎？

Got it. Thanks. And then the other one I had was just. So it looks like you guys were in line or beat consensus on sales this quarter, but the gross margin came in lower than at least us on the sales side. We're projecting. What do you think kind of drove that? Did you see any increased pricing competition or is it just a difference between what we were expecting and you were expecting on the gross margin?

知道了。謝謝。然後我的另一件就只是。因此，看起來你們本季的銷售情況符合或超過了共識，但毛利率至少低於我們銷售方面的水平。我們正在預測。您認為是什麼推動了這一點？您是否看到價格競爭加劇，或者這只是我們的預期與您對毛利率的預期之間存在差異？

Yeah, when we -- when you look back at our commentary as it relates to second quarter, we did at that point in time project that the margin for both the third and fourth quarter would be similar to last year. And so we haven't made any changes to that expectation.

是的，當我們回顧我們對第二季度的評論時，我們當時確實預測第三季和第四季的利潤率將與去年相似。因此，我們沒有對這項期望做出任何改變。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, with that we'll be concluding today's question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to Peter Arvan, our President, CEO for closing remarks.

女士們、先生們，今天的問答環節就到此結束。我想請我們的總裁兼執行長 Peter Arvan 致閉幕詞。

Thank you all for joining us today. We look forward to reporting our full year and fourth quarter results and initiating our guidance for 2025 on February 20, 2025. Until then, I hope you all take some time to enjoy the holiday season and have a happy and healthy new year. Thanks for your support.

感謝大家今天加入我們。我們期待於 2025 年 2 月 20 日報告全年和第四季度業績，並啟動 2025 年指引。在那之前，我希望大家能花一些時間享受假期，並度過一個快樂健康的新年。感謝您的支持。

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, we'll conclude today's conference call. We do thank you for attending. You may now disconnect your lines.

女士們先生們，我們今天的電話會議就到此結束。我們非常感謝您的出席。現在您可以斷開線路。