Ribbon Communications Inc (RBBN) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Ribbon Communications fourth quarter and full-year 2023 financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions) And as a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

歡迎參加 Ribbon Communications 第四季和 2023 年全年財務業績電話會議。（操作員說明）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Joni Roberts, Chief Marketing Officer. Thank you. You may begin.

現在我很高興向您介紹主持人喬尼·羅伯茨（Joni Roberts），她是首席行銷長。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Good afternoon and welcome to Ribbon’s fourth quarter 2023 financial results conference call. I am Joni Roberts, Chief Marketing Officer at Ribbon Communications. Also on the call today are Bruce McClelland, Ribbon’s Chief Executive Officer; and Mick Lopez, Ribbon’s Chief Financial Officer.

下午好，歡迎參加 Ribbon 2023 年第四季財務業績電話會議。我是 Joni Roberts，Ribbon Communications 行銷長。今天參加電話會議的還有 Ribbon 執行長 Bruce McClelland；以及 Ribbon 財務長 Mick Lopez。

Today’s call is being webcast live and will be archived on the Investor Relations section of our website at rbbn.com or both our press release and supplemental slides are currently available. Certain matters we’ll be discussing today, including the business outlook and financial projections for first quarter of 2024 and beyond are forward-looking statements.

今天的電話會議正在進行網路直播，並將存檔在我們網站 rbbn.com 的投資者關係部分，或我們的新聞稿和補充幻燈片目前均已提供。我們今天將討論的某些事項，包括 2024 年第一季及以後的業務前景和財務預測，均屬於前瞻性陳述。

Such statements are subject to the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in our documents filed with the SEC, including our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. I refer you to our Safe Harbor statement included on slide two of the supplemental slides for this conference call.

此類陳述存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述中包含的結果有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性在我們向 SEC 提交的文件中進行了討論，包括我們最新的 10-K 表格和 10-Q 表格。我建議您參閱本次電話會議補充投影片第二張投影片中所包含的安全港聲明。

In addition, we’ll present non-GAAP financial information on this call. Reconciliations to the applicable GAAP measure are included in the earnings press release we issued earlier today as well as supplemental slides we prepared for this conference call, which again are both available on our Investor Relations section of our website.

此外，我們也將在本次電話會議上介紹非 GAAP 財務資訊。我們今天早些時候發布的收益新聞稿以及我們為本次電話會議準備的補充幻燈片中包含了對適用的公認會計準則衡量標準的調節，這些內容都可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分找到。

And now, I’d like to turn the call over to Bruce. Bruce?

現在，我想把電話轉給布魯斯。布魯斯？

Great. Thanks, Joni, and thanks to everyone for joining us today. I'm very pleased to report solid financial results for the fourth quarter, our strongest quarter of the year and our most profitable quarter in almost three years. Despite a challenging macro environment for telecom suppliers, we're really starting to see the results of our strategy and the investment we have made over the last several years.

偉大的。謝謝喬尼，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。我很高興地報告第四季度的穩健財務業績，這是我們今年表現最強勁的季度，也是近三年來利潤最高的季度。儘管電信供應商面臨著充滿挑戰的宏觀環境，但我們確實開始看到我們的策略和過去幾年投資的成果。

For the first time, our IP optical business generated a profit on an adjusted EBITDA basis and was profitable for the entire second half of the year. Our strategy to cross-sell our portfolio to existing customers is working in all of our regions, US rural, Tier 1 carriers, Japan, India, Europe, and the Middle East. And the focus that we have on the enterprise market vertical continues to offset this period of lower spend by US Tier 1 service providers. I think we're really standing out and executing well.

我們的IP光業務首次在調整後的EBITDA基礎上實現盈利，並在整個下半年實現盈利。我們向現有客戶交叉銷售產品組合的策略正在我們所有地區、美國農村、一級營運商、日本、印度、歐洲和中東地區發揮作用。我們對企業垂直市場的關注繼續抵消了美國一級服務提供者這段時期的支出較低的影響。我認為我們確實脫穎而出並且執行得很好。

Earnings for the quarter were $43 million on an adjusted EBITDA basis, an increase of 48% year over year. And $91 million for the full year, or 11% of sales, a 41% increase versus 2022. Cash from operations were $20 million in the quarter. This is just a great accomplishment given the macro environment.

以調整後 EBITDA 計算，本季收益為 4,300 萬美元，年增 48%。全年銷售額為 9,100 萬美元，佔銷售額的 11%，比 2022 年成長 41%。本季營運現金為 2,000 萬美元。考慮到宏觀環境，這只是一個偉大的成就。

Revenue in the quarter was up 11% sequentially with growth from both segments and up 1% for the full year. This was below our original expectations, but a very solid result given the lower spending from US Tier 1 service providers across the entire industry.

該季度營收季增 11%，兩個部門均實現成長，全年營收成長 1%。這低於我們最初的預期，但考慮到整個行業美國一級服務提供者的支出較低，這是一個非常可靠的結果。

Excluding sales to our large US Tier 1 customers, revenue from all other customers in 2023 grew 8% year over year. The shortfall in revenue this quarter relative to our guidance was due to timing of a large US federal project that has now been awarded, and we expect to recognize revenue this quarter.

不包括對美國大型一級客戶的銷售，2023 年來自所有其他客戶的收入年增 8%。相對於我們的指導，本季收入的短缺是由於現已授予的一個大型美國聯邦項目的時間安排，我們預計將在本季度確認收入。

The real highlight in the quarter was the strong performance in our IP optical network segment, the sixth straight quarter of year-over-year growth. Sales grew 7% year over year, exceeding $100 million for the first time since we acquired ECI.

本季真正的亮點是我們的 IP 光網路領域的強勁表現，這是連續第六個季度同比增長。銷售額年增 7%，自收購 ECI 以來首次突破 1 億美元。

Gross margins were very strong at 44%, reflecting the improvement in product costs, favorable regional mix from North America and EMEA, and higher volumes. The result was a strong positive earnings contribution for the quarter and for the entire second half of 2023. The strategy is really working.

毛利率非常強勁，達到 44%，反映出產品成本的改善、北美和歐洲、中東和非洲有利的區域組合以及銷量的增加。結果是為本季和 2023 年整個下半年帶來了強勁的正收益貢獻。該策略確實有效。

The cloud and edge business continued to drive strong profitability due to higher software mix with gross margin of 400 basis points year over year, and with $34 million of EBITDA or 28% of revenue.

由於更高的軟體組合，雲端和邊緣業務繼續推動強勁的獲利能力，毛利率年增 400 個基點，EBITDA 達到 3,400 萬美元，佔營收的 28%。

In November, we held our annual Ribbon Tech Forum in Plano, Texas, with a significant number of customers in attendance. This was a great opportunity to showcase our latest new products and hear directly from our customers about their priorities and challenges. It was great to see many new names that have become customers over the last year and the solid foundation we've built going into 2024.

11 月，我們在德州普萊諾舉辦了年度絲帶技術論壇，吸引了大量客戶參加。這是展示我們最新產品並直接聽取客戶關於他們的優先事項和挑戰的絕佳機會。很高興看到去年許多新品牌成為客戶，並為 2024 年奠定了堅實的基礎。

Now a little more detail on each of our operating segments before I turn it over to Mick for more detail on our results. Sales of our Apollo optical transport products were very strong in the fourth quarter, increasing 47% quarter over quarter and 22% year over year. For the full year, optical sales increased 13%.

現在先詳細介紹我們每個營運部門，然後再將其轉交給米克以獲取有關我們結果的更多詳細資訊。我們的 Apollo 光傳輸產品第四季的銷售非常強勁，季增 47%，較去年同期成長 22%。全年光學銷售額成長 13%。

We're continuing to innovate with the introduction of the new 1.2-terabit Apollo 9400 solution, which is definitely opening new opportunities and expanding the type of use cases we can address to include high capacity, metro, and long-haul transport, as well as data center interconnect and subsea applications. We've reached general availability on the first version of the 9400, which is focused on high performance applications that maximize capacity over long distances and have made initial customer shipments.

我們不斷創新，推出了新的 1.2 太比特 Apollo 9400 解決方案，無疑帶來了新的機遇，並擴展了我們可以解決的用例類型，包括高容量、地鐵和長途運輸等作為數據中心互連和海底應用。我們已經全面推出了 9400 的第一個版本，專注於高效能應用，可最大限度地提高長距離容量，並已開始向客戶發貨。

Availability is somewhat limited as we ramp production, but we have a good pipeline of customer trials over the next few months.

隨著我們提高產量，可用性受到一定限制，但我們在接下來的幾個月內擁有良好的客戶試用管道。

Sales of our Neptune IP routers grew 16% in 2023, as we've made good progress on our strategy to grow in this product segment. We're focused on several key areas of differentiation that are securing new wins, including TDM circuit emulation, 5G cell site routing, secure network services, and IP MPLS broadband access aggregation. As previously discussed, the Neptune router is now also a key component of our carrier voice core solution, which is a very strategic entry point to carriers such as AT&T.

我們的 Neptune IP 路由器的銷售在 2023 年成長了 16%，因為我們在該產品領域的成長策略方面取得了良好進展。我們專注於確保新勝利的幾個關鍵差異化領域，包括 TDM 電路模擬、5G 蜂窩站點路由、安全網路服務和 IP MPLS 寬頻存取聚合。如前所述，Neptune 路由器現在也是我們營運商語音核心解決方案的關鍵組件，對於 AT&T 等營運商來說，這是一個非常具有戰略意義的切入點。

As expected, EMEA was by far the strongest region in the fourth quarter, with IP optical sales increasing 50% versus the third quarter. This included a very strong quarter with the IDF in Israel and with MTN GlobalConnect in Africa, the seventh largest mobile operator in the world, providing telecom and data services throughout Africa.

如預期，歐洲、中東和非洲地區是第四季迄今最強勁的地區，IP 光纖銷售額較第三季成長了 50%。其中包括以色列 IDF 和非洲 MTN GlobalConnect 的強勁季度業績，MTN GlobalConnect 是全球第七大行動營運商，在整個非洲提供電信和數據服務。

In North America, we continued our momentum with sales increasing 34% year over year, with a combination of both IP routing and optical transport product lines. Growth in this region has been a key part of our strategy, and so it's very satisfying to see the results. Sales to rural broadband providers grew 26% year over year in the quarter.

在北美，我們結合了 IP 路由和光傳輸產品線，繼續保持成長勢頭，銷售額較去年同期成長 34%。該地區的成長一直是我們策略的關鍵部分，因此看到結果非常令人滿意。本季農村寬頻供應商的銷售額年增 26%。

Last week, we announced a strategic win in the US with American Electric Power. AEP is one of the largest energy distributors in the US and manages an extensive, highly secure, reliable network. That's a key part of our national infrastructure.

上週，我們宣布與美國電力公司在美國取得戰略勝利。AEP 是美國最大的能源經銷商之一，管理著廣泛、高度安全、可靠的網路。這是我們國家基礎設施的關鍵部分。

After an extensive technical and commercial assessment, AEP has added the Ribbon networking portfolio to support their critical communication needs, which includes the Neptune, Apollo, and Muse products. We already have a strong presence in the critical infrastructure market segment in Europe and look to further expand in the US with major providers such as AEP.

經過廣泛的技術和商業評估，AEP 增加了 Ribbon 網路產品組合來支援其關鍵通訊需求，其中包括 Neptune、Apollo 和 Muse 產品。我們已經在歐洲的關鍵基礎設施市場領域擁有強大的影響力，並希望與 AEP 等主要供應商一起在美國進一步擴張。

In Asia Pacific, sales to India in the quarter increased 34% year over year and for the full year. And in Japan, we've been successful winning several new accounts, resulting in revenue growth of over 300% in 2023. From a bookings perspective, we had a solid quarter in IP optical with product and service bookings of 1.0 times revenue. Given the significantly higher revenue level, this was a pretty strong result.

在亞太地區，本季對印度的銷售額年增 34%，全年成長 34%。在日本，我們成功贏得了多位新客戶，2023 年營收成長超過 300%。從預訂角度來看，我們在 IP 光纖領域的季度業績表現強勁，產品和服務預訂量是營收的 1.0 倍。鑑於收入水平顯著提高，這是一個相當強勁的結果。

In our cloud and edge segment, the lower spend from US Tier 1 service providers continued to affect our year-over-year comparisons. But excluding US Tier 1s, sales to all other customers were up 4% for the whole year. Even with the lower sales, the contribution earnings were strong with full year adjusted EBITDA of $121 million. Product and service bookings were good in the quarter and were 1.07 times revenue and 1.03 times for the full year.

在我們的雲端和邊緣領域，美國一級服務提供者的較低支出繼續影響我們的年比比較。但除美國一級客戶外，全年對所有其他客戶的銷售額成長了 4%。儘管銷售額較低，但貢獻收益依然強勁，全年調整後 EBITDA 為 1.21 億美元。本季的產品和服務預訂情況良好，是營收的 1.07 倍，是全年的 1.03 倍。

Sales to enterprise customers in 2023 grew 26% year over year, with the strongest growth related to voice modernization projects with the US federal agencies. We collaborate closely with several of our service provider customers, as well as a number of specialized secure federal integration partners to address this market. In particular, we're working closely with Dell to provide a comprehensive solution, as we highlighted in a press release earlier this week.

2023 年對企業客戶的銷售額年增 26%，其中成長最強勁的是與美國聯邦機構的語音現代化專案。我們與多家服務供應商客戶以及一些專門的安全聯邦整合合作夥伴密切合作，以應對這一市場。特別是，正如我們在本週早些時候的新聞稿中所強調的那樣，我們正在與戴爾密切合作以提供全面的解決方案。

In the fourth quarter, we expected to win and generate revenue from the first phase of a large federal project, but our integration partner was finally just awarded the project a few weeks ago. We now expect to recognize initial revenue on the project this quarter, as well as across the year. We have a number of additional opportunities that are in late stages that we anticipate being awarded over the next six months.

在第四季度，我們預計將贏得一個大型聯邦專案的第一階段並產生收入，但我們的整合合作夥伴最終在幾週前才獲得了該專案。我們現在預計將在本季以及全年確認該項目的初始收入。我們還有許多處於後期階段的額外機會，預計將在未來六個月內授予。

In the financial market vertical, we had a significant project in the fourth quarter with one of the largest global banks that included deployment of Ribbon' on-prem SPCs and centralized policy routing for their data center network upgrades.

在金融市場垂直領域，我們在第四季度與全球最大的銀行之一合作了一個重要項目，其中包括部署 Ribbon 的本地 SPC 以及用於其資料中心網路升級的集中策略路由。

And the EMEA region was strong in the fourth quarter for cloud and edge, with a significant win punctuated by an award we'd received from MTN Group called the Rise and Shine Award. The project includes a new cloud-centric voice core supporting interconnect traffic for MTN's wholesale group called Bayobab, and underpins the group's expansive telecommunications service across Africa. We continue to increase our focus on this region, as Africa is expected to be one of the fastest growing regions in the world in 2024.

歐洲、中東和非洲地區第四季度的雲端和邊緣運算表現強勁，我們從 MTN Group 獲得了“崛起與閃耀獎”，取得了重大勝利。該項目包括一個新的以雲端為中心的語音核心，支援 MTN 批發集團 Bayobab 的互連流量，並支撐該集團在非洲的廣泛電信服務。我們將繼續增加對該地區的關注，預計到 2024 年非洲將成為世界上成長最快的地區之一。

Finally, fourth quarter is our strongest period for renewing maintenance and support contracts. Our renewal rates remain very high, and bookings were strong in the quarter. At this point, we have almost 70% of the year's maintenance revenue and backlog for cloud and edge.

最後，第四季是我們續簽維護和支援合約的最強時期。我們的續訂率仍然非常高，本季的預訂量也很強勁。至此，我們幾乎全年70%的維護收入和積壓都用於雲和邊緣。

With that, I'll turn it over to Mick to provide additional detail on our fourth quarter and full year results, and then come back on to discuss outlook for 2024 in the first quarter. Mick?

接下來，我將把它交給 Mick，提供有關我們第四季度和全年業績的更多詳細信息，然後回來討論第一季度 2024 年的前景。米克？

Thank you, Bruce. Good afternoon, everyone. We were very pleased with our financial performance in the fourth quarter and full year of 2023 as we met the midpoint of our adjusted EBITDA profitability guidance due to very strong product gross margins and continued expense management. As always, please refer to our Investor Relations page on the Ribbon website for supplemental financial performance slides.

謝謝你，布魯斯。大家下午好。我們對 2023 年第四季和全年的財務業績非常滿意，由於非常強勁的產品毛利率和持續的費用管理，我們達到了調整後 EBITDA 獲利指引的中點。與往常一樣，請參閱 Ribbon 網站上的投資者關係頁面，以取得補充財務績效幻燈片。

Let's begin with financial results at the consolidated corporate level. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Ribbon generated revenues of $226 million, which is a decrease of 3% from the prior year. For the full year of 2023, revenues were $826 million, an increase of 1% versus the prior year.

讓我們從合併公司層面的財務表現開始。2023年第四季，Ribbon營收2.26億美元，較上年下降3%。2023 年全年營收為 8.26 億美元，較上年成長 1%。

Fourth quarter non-GAAP gross margin was 56.8%, which is 440 basis points higher than prior year due to very positive product mix, mostly in the IP optical networks business unit. For the full year, both business units increased gross margins. But as a result of a higher mix of IP optical products, the gross margin remained at 53.1%, which is the same as the previous year.

第四季非 GAAP 毛利率為 56.8%，比去年同期高出 440 個基點，這得益於非常積極的產品組合（主要是 IP 光網路業務部門）。全年來看，兩個業務部門的毛利率均上升。但由於IP光產品結構較多，毛利率仍維持在53.1%，與前一年持平。

For the fourth quarter, non-GAAP operating expenses were $90 million, an improvement of $7 million, or 8% year over year, driven by reductions in R&D and sales expenses. For the year, operating expenses were $363 million, a net reduction of $24 million, driven by our restructuring programs.

第四季度，由於研發和銷售費用減少，非 GAAP 營運費用為 9,000 萬美元，較去年同期增加 700 萬美元，即 8%。今年，由於我們的重組計劃，營運費用為 3.63 億美元，淨減少 2,400 萬美元。

Quarterly, non-GAAP net income was $22 million, which is a $6 million increase from the previous year. This generated non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.12, which is an increase of $0.03, or 39% versus prior year. Full year 2023 net income was $36 million, which was more than double the prior year result. Diluted earnings per share was $0.21, up $0.10, or 93% higher than 2022.

本季度，非 GAAP 淨利潤為 2,200 萬美元，比上年增加 600 萬美元。這產生了非 GAAP 攤薄每股收益 0.12 美元，比前一年增加 0.03 美元，即 39%。2023 年全年淨利為 3,600 萬美元，是去年業績的兩倍多。稀釋每股收益為 0.21 美元，成長 0.10 美元，比 2022 年成長 93%。

Our non-GAAP tax rate year to date was 34%. Our interest expense for the quarter was $7 million, which is a $1 million increase from the previous year, driven entirely by the interest rate increases. For the year, interest expense totaled $27 million, which is $8 million higher than previous year.

今年迄今為止，我們的非 GAAP 稅率為 34%。本季我們的利息支出為 700 萬美元，比前一年增加了 100 萬美元，這完全是由於利率上漲所致。本年度利息支出總計 2,700 萬美元，較上年增加 800 萬美元。

Adjusted EBITDA was $43 million in the quarter, which is a $14 million improvement year over year. For full year 2023, adjusted EBITDA was $91 million, which is a $27 million increase from the previous year, mostly driven by the enhanced profitability for IP optical networks. Our basic share count was 172 million shares, and our fully diluted share count was 173 million shares for the quarter.

本季調整後 EBITDA 為 4,300 萬美元，年增 1,400 萬美元。2023 年全年，調整後 EBITDA 為 9,100 萬美元，比前一年增加 2,700 萬美元，主要是由於 IP 光網路獲利能力增強所致。本季我們的基本股數為 1.72 億股，完全稀釋後的股數為 1.73 億股。

Now, let's look at the results of our two business segments. In our cloud and edge business, fourth quarter revenue was $122 million, a decrease of 11% year over year, driven by capital expenditure cutbacks from our US Tier 1 service providers. For the full year, revenue was $478 million, which reflects a $30 million, or 6% decrease from 2023. Our services business remained consistent at $293 million, or 61% of revenues, delivering value to our customers of strong profit generation.

現在，讓我們來看看我們兩個業務部門的業績。在我們的雲端和邊緣業務中，由於美國一級服務供應商削減資本支出，第四季收入為 1.22 億美元，年減 11%。全年營收為 4.78 億美元，較 2023 年減少 3,000 萬美元，即 6%。我們的服務業務始終維持在 2.93 億美元，佔營收的 61%，為我們的客戶帶來了強勁的利潤創造價值。

The cloud and edge business had a strong fourth quarter non-GAAP gross margin of 67.8%, up 400 basis points from the prior year, driven by a large number of software sales, which were 69% of total product sales.

受大量軟體銷售（佔產品總銷售額的69%）的推動，雲端和邊緣業務第四季非公認會計準則毛利率強勁，達67.8%，較上年同期成長400個基點。

For the full year of 2023, gross margin was 65.9%, up 80 basis points from prior year, as we experienced lower cost of goods sold. For 2024, we would expect continued margins in the mid to high 60% range. We continued to drive consistent profit contributions from the cloud and edge business segment.

2023 年全年，毛利率為 65.9%，比上年增長 80 個基點，因為我們的銷售成本較低。到 2024 年，我們預計利潤率將持續保持在 60% 的中高水準。我們繼續推動雲端和邊緣業務領域的持續利潤貢獻。

For the fourth quarter, adjusted EBITDA percentage was 28%, or $34 million. This is a decrease of $2 million, or only 5% from the previous year, although revenue decreased 11%. For full year 2023, adjusted EBITDA remained at 25%, or $121 million.

第四季調整後 EBITDA 率為 28%，即 3,400 萬美元。儘管收入下降了 11%，但與前一年相比，減少了 200 萬美元，即僅 5%。2023 年全年，調整後 EBITDA 維持在 25%，即 1.21 億美元。

Let's turn to our IP optical networks business results. We recorded fourth quarter revenue of $104 million, which was an increase of $7 million, led by continued growth in EMEA, India, North America, and Japan. For the year, revenues were $349 million for a strong 12% double-digit growth, driven by the same strategic geographies and new product introductions.

讓我們來看看我們的IP光網路業務成果。我們第四季的營收為 1.04 億美元，成長了 700 萬美元，主要得益於歐洲、中東和非洲、印度、北美和日本的持續成長。在相同的策略性地域和新產品推出的推動下，本年度營收達到 3.49 億美元，實現 12% 的兩位數強勁成長。

Non-GAAP gross margin for IP optical was 44%, up 770 basis points from the prior year. This was mostly caused by a better regional mix from EMEA sales, lower product costs, and increased fixed cost absorption from higher volumes. As we said in the last quarter, with higher revenues, and especially with a greater percentage of sales in EMEA than America, we would improve gross margins beyond our targeted mid to upper 30% range for IP optical networks.

IP 光纖的非 GAAP 毛利率為 44%，較上年增加 770 個基點。這主要是由於歐洲、中東和非洲地區銷售的區域組合改善、產品成本降低以及銷售增加帶來的固定成本吸收增加所致。正如我們在上個季度所說，隨著收入的增加，特別是歐洲、中東和非洲地區的銷售比例高於美國，我們將提高毛利率，使其超出 IP 光網絡中上 30% 的目標範圍。

For the full year of 2023, gross margin was 35.7%, up 210 basis points. For 2024, we believe that we can achieve our targeted gross margin range of mid to upper 30%.

2023年全年毛利率為35.7%，成長210個基點。到2024年，我們相信我們能夠實現30%中上等毛利率的目標。

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was a positive $8 million. This is an improvement of $16 million year on year. This stellar performance validates that the IP optical networks business can achieve positive adjusted EBITDA with quarterly revenues over $100 million and better regional sales mix.

本季調整後 EBITDA 為正 800 萬美元。這比去年同期增加了 1,600 萬美元。這一出色的業績證明，IP 光網路業務能夠實現正調整後的 EBITDA，季度收入超過 1 億美元，並具有更好的區域銷售組合。

For full year 2023, we improve IP optical networks adjusted EBITDA loss from negative $64 million to negative $31 million. Please note that we improve adjusted EBITDA by $39 million from the first half to the second half of the 2023 year in this business segment. We continue to be focused on achieving profitability for IP optical networks.

2023 年全年，我們將 IP 光網路調整後 EBITDA 損失從負 6,400 萬美元改善至負 3,100 萬美元。請注意，從 2023 年上半年到下半年，我們該業務部門的調整後 EBITDA 提高了 3,900 萬美元。我們持續專注於實現 IP 光網路的獲利。

Let's now discuss total company cash flows and capital structure. Cash from operations was excellent, with a positive $20 million in the quarter and $17 million for the full year 2023. We used cash in the quarter of $3 million for capital expenditures and our quarterly $5 million term loan repayment. We ended the quarter with $27 million of cash equivalents and the $75 million revolver loan at zero balance outstanding.

現在讓我們討論公司總現金流量和資本結構。營運現金非常出色，本季為 2000 萬美元，2023 年全年為 1700 萬美元。我們在本季使用了 300 萬美元的現金用於資本支出以及季度 500 萬美元的定期貸款償還。本季結束時，我們有 2,700 萬美元的現金等價物和 7,500 萬美元的未償餘額為零的循環貸款。

Our senior term loan balance was at $235 million, a decrease of $95 million from year end 2022. Per the bank covenant calculations, which include $55 million of our preferred equity and total debt, among other adjustments, we comfortably met both of the amended term loan covenant metrics in the fourth quarter. The bank leverage ratio was 3.06 times, and the fixed charge coverage ratio was 1.55 times. These covenant metrics are great improvements from December of 2022.

我們的高級定期貸款餘額為 2.35 億美元，比 2022 年底減少 9,500 萬美元。根據銀行契約計算，其中包括 5,500 萬美元的優先股和總債務以及其他調整，我們在第四季度輕鬆滿足了修訂後的定期貸款契約指標。銀行槓桿率為3.06倍，固定費用覆蓋率為1.55倍。這些契約指標自 2022 年 12 月以來有了很大改善。

The term loan A matures over one year from now, on March 3, 2025. And the preferred shares mature even later, on September 30, 2025. Given our 2023 financial performance and improved financial market conditions, our objective is to commence refinancing of our capital structure in the very near term. We are confident in the continued support of our financial partners to obtain a flexible and long-term capital structure to sustain a profitable growth.

定期貸款 A 從現在起一年內到期，即 2025 年 3 月 3 日。優先股的到期日甚至更晚，即 2025 年 9 月 30 日。鑑於我們 2023 年的財務表現和金融市場狀況的改善，我們的目標是在短期內開始對我們的資本結構進行再融資。我們對金融合作夥伴的持續支持充滿信心，以獲得靈活且長期的資本結構，以維持獲利成長。

Now, I'll turn the call back to Bruce to provide more comments on our outlook for 2024.

現在，我將把電話轉回給 Bruce，以就我們 2024 年的前景提供更多評論。

Great. Thanks, Mick. Entering the year, I'm very confident in our ability to continue to grow revenue and improve profitability. The investments that we've made in the IP optical business have transformed Ribbon into a data networking company, complemented by a unique voice communications practice with significant differentiation and a high barrier to entry.

偉大的。謝謝，米克。進入今年，我對我們繼續增加收入和提高獲利能力的能力非常有信心。我們在 IP 光纖業務上的投資已將 Ribbon 轉變為數據網路公司，並輔以具有顯著差異化和高進入障礙的獨特語音通訊實踐。

The combination is very powerful with a large addressable market that is constantly undergoing change and disruption, providing an excellent opportunity to expand our share in both the telecom carrier and enterprise markets.

這個組合非常強大，擁有一個不斷經歷變化和顛覆的龐大潛在市場，為擴大我們在電信營運商和企業市場的份額提供了絕佳的機會。

We accomplished a number of strategic goals in 2023. First and foremost, we improved the financial performance of the IP optical networks business every quarter last year, culminating in a profitable second half of the year. This is a dramatic improvement over the previous three years.

2023年我們完成了多項戰略目標。首先，我們去年每季的IP光網路業務的財務表現都有所提高，最終在下半年實現了獲利。與過去三年相比，這是一個巨大的進步。

We grew sales of both our optical and IP routing product lines and had strategic wins in all regions. There are three key factors behind this success. First, the deep relationships Ribbon has with service providers, particularly in North America and markets like Japan and Australia, that we've leveraged to win and grow our IP optical business.

我們的光纖和 IP 路由產品線的銷售額均有所成長，並在所有地區取得了策略性勝利。這項成功背後有三個關鍵因素。首先，Ribbon 與服務供應商的深厚關係，特別是在北美以及日本和澳洲等市場，我們利用這種關係來贏得和發展我們的 IP 光纖業務。

Second, the significant investment we've made to expand our portfolio with unique competitive advantages that have expanded our addressable market. And third, the focus strategy we have on the middle mile segment of the market, where our combined IP and optical portfolio is a perfect fit as networks blur the lines between optical transport and IP routing.

其次，我們進行了大量投資來擴大我們的產品組合，具有獨特的競爭優勢，擴大了我們的目標市場。第三，我們的重點策略是中哩市場，隨著網路模糊了光傳輸和 IP 路由之間的界限，我們的 IP 和光纖組合產品組合非常適合該市場。

In the cloud and edge business, we made good progress on our goal to expand sales in the enterprise market vertical. In particular, we have a strong position with large financial and healthcare providers, and we had a number of very strategic wins with US federal agencies. And while our voice network transformation business was impacted by the lower spend by US Tier 1 service providers, we had a very strong year internationally.

在雲端和邊緣業務方面，我們在擴大企業垂直市場銷售的目標上取得了良好進展。特別是，我們在大型金融和醫療保健提供者中擁有強大的地位，並且我們與美國聯邦機構取得了許多非常具有戰略意義的勝利。儘管我們的語音網路轉型業務受到美國一級服務供應商支出較低的影響，但我們在國際市場上度過了非常強勁的一年。

Finally, we implemented a restructuring of the company early in the year, really the final phase of integration of Ribbon and ECI. This resulted in significant cost efficiencies, but more importantly, has improved execution and is helping unlock new innovation and product opportunities.

最後，我們在年初實施了公司重組，這實際上是 Ribbon 和 ECI 整合的最後階段。這帶來了顯著的成本效率，但更重要的是，提高了執行力，並有助於釋放新的創新和產品機會。

Looking forward, we look to build on these accomplishments. The diversification in our business has been a key reason we're standing out from others in the industry. There are several key macro demand drivers driving investment and different ones that provide a clear roadmap for us.

展望未來，我們希望在這些成就的基礎上再接再厲。我們業務的多元化是我們在業界脫穎而出的關鍵原因。有幾個關鍵的宏觀需求驅動因素推動投資，而不同的驅動因素為我們提供了清晰的路線圖。

First, the investment being made to expand fiber reach is unprecedented and bolstered by governmental funding programs, particularly in the US. This was a major opportunity for us in 2023, and we expect continued growth this year. The middle mile portion of the network is a perfect fit for our portfolio, and we have a great pipeline of opportunities that includes a wide variety of critical infrastructure customers.

首先，為擴大光纖覆蓋範圍而進行的投資是前所未有的，並得到了政府資助計劃的支持，尤其是在美國。這對我們來說是 2023 年的重大機遇，我們預計今年將繼續成長。網路的中英里部分非常適合我們的產品組合，我們擁有大量機會，其中包括各種關鍵基礎設施客戶。

Second, the global investment in deploying 5G has dramatically increased the capacity of the mobile RAN network, and a similar investment is needed in the optical and IP access and aggregation networks. New generative AI applications are still in their infancy, but are expected to create dramatically more traffic on the network in coming years. The access and middle mile parts of the network will require substantial investment to keep pace.

其次，全球對5G部署的投資大大增加了行動RAN網路的容量，並且在光和IP接入和匯聚網路上也需要類似的投資。新的生成式人工智慧應用仍處於起步階段，但預計未來幾年將在網路上創造更多的流量。網路的接入和中英里部分需要大量投資才能跟上步伐。

Third, interactive platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom have become second nature for many of us, and adoption will continue to grow. This is a key catalyst behind the growth in our enterprise business. And finally, there's a relentless focus on lowering the cost to operate networks in order to fund investment in bandwidth and new services, and our solutions are a key enabler.

第三，Microsoft Teams 和 Zoom 等互動平台已成為我們許多人的第二天性，採用率將持續成長。這是我們企業業務成長的關鍵催化劑。最後，人們不斷致力於降低網路營運成本，以便為頻寬和新服務的投資提供資金，而我們的解決方案是關鍵的推動者。

While CapEx spending by US Tier 1 service providers continues to be limited in the first half of the year, we expect this to begin to improve in the second half and be additive to the growth we have seen internationally. We're having detailed discussions with several of our largest customers regarding their plans over the next several years to address their remaining TDM and copper networks, and we expect a big push in this area. We also expect practically all US federal agencies to initiate voice modernization projects in 2024, and we expect to build on the success and the win rate from 2023.

雖然美國一級服務提供者的資本支出在今年上半年仍然受到限制，但我們預計這種情況將在下半年開始改善，並促進我們在國際上看到的成長。我們正在與幾家最大的客戶就他們未來幾年解決剩餘 TDM 和銅纜網路的計劃進行詳細討論，我們預計這一領域將得到大力推動。我們也預計幾乎所有美國聯邦機構都會在 2024 年啟動語音現代化項目，並預計從 2023 年起將在成功和勝率的基礎上再接再厲。

From an investment perspective, we expect 2024 to be very similar to our approach in 2023, including additional efficiencies to offset normal inflationary effects. R&D investment is prioritized to capture new customers and deliver on roadmap commitments, strongly focused on the middle mile opportunity, and the migration to cloud native architectures. We have new products across the portfolio that will continue to improve our competitive positioning and differentiation.

從投資角度來看，我們預計 2024 年將與 2023 年的做法非常相似，包括提高效率以抵消正常的通膨影響。研發投資優先考慮吸引新客戶並兌現路線圖承諾，重點關注中間一英里機會以及向雲端原生架構的遷移。我們的產品組合中擁有新產品，將繼續提高我們的競爭定位和差異化。

Now on to guidance. We expect continued improvement in the financial performance of our IP optical business with high single digit growth in sales. Excluding maintenance, product and service revenues are expected to grow more than 10% year over year. With the higher sales and improved mix and lower product costs, we're targeting gross margins in the high 30s for the year and the potential to be accretive to company adjusted EBITDA.

現在開始指導。我們預期 IP 光業務的財務表現將持續改善，銷售額將達到高個位數成長。不計維護，產品和服務收入預計將年增10%以上。隨著銷售額的增加、產品組合的改善以及產品成本的降低，我們今年的毛利率目標是 30 多美元，並且有可能增加公司調整後的 EBITDA。

In cloud and edge, we're conservatively projecting revenue flat year-over-year with similar margins and EBITDA contribution. Visibility from US service providers for the second half of the year spending is still developing, so there's certainly an opportunity to do better than this as the year progresses.

在雲端和邊緣領域，我們保守地預期營收將同比持平，利潤率和 EBITDA 貢獻相似。美國服務提供者對下半年支出的預期仍在發展，因此隨著時間的推移，肯定有機會做得更好。

Our business has an element of seasonality with the second half typically much stronger than the first half, as we've experienced in 2023. We anticipate a similar pattern in 2024 with the first quarter of the lowest point of the year.

我們的業務具有季節性因素，下半年通常比上半年強得多，正如我們在 2023 年所經歷的那樣。我們預計 2024 年會出現類似的模式，第一季將達到全年最低點。

Overall, we're projecting 2024 revenue in a range of $840 million to $870 million. Excluding maintenance, this implies a product and service revenue growth rate of 6% for the company, which really stands out relative to an overall market that's growing low single digits and as we continue to gain share in 2024 due to the investments we've made to modernize our product offerings. Adjusted EBITDA for the year is projected in a range of $110 million to $120 million, which would be more than 25% higher than 2023 at the midpoint.

總體而言，我們預計 2024 年的營收將在 8.4 億至 8.7 億美元之間。不包括維護，這意味著公司的產品和服務收入成長率為6%，相對於低個位數成長的整體市場來說，這確實很突出，並且由於我們所做的投資，我們將在2024 年繼續獲得份額使我們的產品現代化。今年調整後的 EBITDA 預計在 1.1 億美元至 1.2 億美元之間，比 2023 年的中點高出 25% 以上。

For the first quarter of 2024, we expect the lower US Tier 1 service provider spending to continue and are therefore projecting revenue similar to last year, but with significantly better margins and stronger bookings. Based on this, we're projecting revenue in a range of $180 million to $190 million, non-GAAP gross margins of 51% to 52%, and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA in a range of $5 million to $10 million for the quarter.

對於 2024 年第一季度，我們預計美國一級服務提供者支出將繼續下降，因此預期收入與去年相似，但利潤率明顯更高，預訂量也更強。據此，我們預計本季營收在 1.8 億美元至 1.9 億美元之間，非 GAAP 毛利率在 51% 至 52% 之間，非 GAAP 調整後 EBITDA 在 500 萬美元至 1,000 萬美元之間。

As I stated earlier, demand for bandwidth and the growth in fiber networks is growing exponentially, and AI applications will supercharge this further with more stringent service level requirements. We believe this will be a catalyst for continued growth for Ribbon. As we continue to significantly improve our overall profitability, this should translate into significant value creation for our investors and our employees.

正如我之前所說，對頻寬的需求和光纖網路的成長呈指數級增長，人工智慧應用將透過更嚴格的服務水準要求進一步推動這一趨勢。我們相信這將成為 Ribbon 持續成長的催化劑。隨著我們繼續顯著提高整體獲利能力，這應該會為我們的投資者和員工創造巨大的價值。

Operator, that concludes our prepared remarks, and we can now take a few questions.

接線員，我們準備好的發言到此結束，現在我們可以回答幾個問題。

(Operator Instructions) Erik Suppiger, JMP Securities.

（操作員指令）Erik Suppiger，JMP 證券。

Yeah. Thanks for taking the question, and congrats on strong IP optical. First off, I know your carriers were weak. Did you have any 10% customers in the fourth quarter and for the year?

是的。感謝您提出問題，並祝賀強大的 IP 光纖。首先，我知道你們的航母很弱。第四季和全年有 10% 的客戶嗎？

Yeah. Hi, Erik. So in the fourth quarter, we didn't have a 10% customer. We did for the full year. Verizon was 10% for the full year.

是的。嗨，艾瑞克。所以第四季我們沒有10%的客戶。我們全年都這麼做了。Verizon 全年成長率為 10%。

Okay. And then on the carrier front, it sounds like you think it could pick up -- North American carriers could pick up as we get into the second half. What makes you think that that will pick up in the second half, or what context do you have around timing for improvements there?

好的。然後在運營商方面，聽起來你認為它可能會回升——隨著我們進入下半年，北美運營商可能會回升。是什麼讓您認為這種情況會在下半年有所好轉，或者您對改進時機有什麼背景？

Yeah. Thanks, Erik. Good question. What we primarily sell into the carriers today is our voice modernization products. And so what we've been working on is trying to lower the payback period, basically, for the deployment or the investment in those products.

是的。謝謝，埃里克。好問題。今天我們主要向營運商銷售的是我們的語音現代化產品。因此，我們一直在努力縮短這些產品的部署或投資的投資回收期。

Today, if you're modernizing a Class 4 or Class 5 switch, maybe the payback is seven or eight years. And a lot of it's related to the cost of real estate, power and cooling, and those sorts of factors. Now, if we can get that cost down to three or four or five years, I think it helps really improve the business case. So that's one of the key things that we've been working on.

如今，如果您要對 4 類或 5 類交換機進行現代化改造，投資回收期可能需要七到八年。其中很大一部分與房地產、電力和冷卻成本以及諸如此類的因素有關。現在，如果我們能夠將成本降低到三、四年或五年，我認為這有助於真正改善業務案例。這是我們一直在努力的關鍵事情之一。

And will that be available as you get into the second half of the year?

進入下半年後會出現這種情況嗎？

Yes. I think with the right kind of level of volume, we're able to lower those costs and be in that range. And I mentioned the discussions we're having. I think there's definitely a path here where the spending that we're seeing today in the first half of the year, which is consistent with the second half of last year, starts to grow again in the second half of the year and get back to little more historical levels.

是的。我認為只要有適當的數量水平，我們就能夠降低這些成本並保持在這個範圍內。我提到了我們正在進行的討論。我認為肯定有一條路徑，我們今天在上半年看到的支出與去年下半年一致，在下半年開始再次成長，並回到歷史水平多一點。

Christian Schwab, Craig-Hallum.

克里斯蒂安·施瓦布，克雷格·哈勒姆。

Great. Thanks, guys. My first question is a follow-up to the question that was just asked. In the service provider revenue, the second half being better, can you give us an idea of what we should assume is the rough mix between the first half and the second half of the year?

偉大的。多謝你們。我的第一個問題是剛才提出的問題的後續問題。在服務提供者收入方面，下半年情況更好，您能否告訴我們我們應該假設上半年和下半年之間的粗略組合是什麼？

Yeah, Mick, I don't know if you have that off the top of your head. It's probably, what, 40% to 45% in the first half and 50% to 55%.

是的，米克，我不知道你是否有這個想法。上半年大概是40%到45%，50%到55%。

Yeah. We've been averaging about 45% in the first half and 55% in the second half, and that follows the normal seasonal pattern of most telecom providers where they do their expenditures. They set their budgets in the first quarter and then do most of the expenditures in the third and fourth quarter.

是的。我們上半年的平均利用率約為 45%，下半年的平均利用率約為 55%，符合大多數電信業者進行支出的正常季節性模式。他們在第一季制定預算，然後在第三和第四季完成大部分支出。

Okay. So even though the first half is starting slow, the mix for the year looks to be relatively the same. Great. So then we highlighted in the slides, the BEAD program and increased fiber investment could impact, as you talked about middle mile. Do you expect that to have a noticeable impact in the second half of '24, or is that more of a 2025 event?

好的。因此，儘管上半年起步緩慢，但今年的情況看起來相對相同。偉大的。然後我們在幻燈片中強調，BEAD 計劃和增加的光纖投資可能會產生影響，正如您談到的中英里。您預計這會在 24 年下半年產生明顯影響，還是 2025 年才會發生？

Right. So about half of the programs we're doing today in that rural broadband space are leveraging some sort of governmental-related funding program. So it's not all of them. It's about half of them approximately. And most of those funding programs -- all of them are not BEAD related. There are previous programs like RDOF and ReConnect America, those types of programs.

正確的。因此，我們今天在農村寬頻領域開展的計畫中約有一半正在利用某種與政府相關的資助計畫。所以這不是他們的全部。大約是其中的一半。大多數資助計劃都與 BEAD 無關。之前有 RDOF 和 ReConnect America 等此類計劃。

So BEAD would be additive to the current operating environment. And I don't see that funding coming in in 2024. And if it does, it's probably not into our market segment. It might be in more of the access layer of the network. So I think it's more of a 2025 phenomenon for us.

因此，BEAD 將成為目前操作環境的補充。我認為 2024 年不會有資金到位。如果確實如此，它可能不屬於我們的細分市場。它可能更多地位於網路的存取層。所以我認為這對我們來說更像是 2025 年的現象。

So the good news is, we've done really well growing that business. I think last year we were up about 88% year over year in the rural broadband segment without BEAD funding. So that could be -- it could be -- we should be pretty additive to that.

好消息是，我們在業務發展方面做得非常好。我認為去年在沒有 BEAD 資金的情況下，我們的農村寬頻領域比去年同期成長了約 88%。所以這可能是——可能是——我們應該對此做出相當大的補充。

Dave Kang, B. Riley Securities.

Dave Kang，B. 萊利證券。

Thank you. Good afternoon. First question is on India and more specifically on Bharti. I believe you have three programs there. Just wondering if you can give us an update which program has started, which one is to follow. Any color on that?

謝謝。午安.第一個問題是關於印度，更具體地說是關於巴蒂。我相信你那裡有三個程序。只是想知道您是否可以向我們提供最新信息，哪個程序已經啟動，哪個程序將繼續執行。那上面有什麼顏色嗎？

Yeah. Hey, Dave. So the India business was, again, pretty strong in the fourth quarter. Very consistent with the third quarter for the year. I think in India we were up 34% for the full year and we were up 34% in Q4 relative to the prior year. So a really solid year in India. Bharti being our largest customer there.

是的。嘿，戴夫。因此，印度業務在第四季再次表現強勁。與今年第三季非常一致。我認為在印度，我們全年成長了 34%，第四季比去年成長了 34%。所以在印度度過了非常充實的一年。巴蒂是我們在那裡最大的客戶。

As you mentioned, there's three kind of three areas of the business. One is around the optical transport, the second around cell site routers, and then the third around their IP networking, the IP MPLS access layer, aggregation layer of the network. All of those are active today. The cell site router was the one that we were ramping throughout last year.

正如您所提到的，業務分為三種三個領域。第一個是圍繞光傳輸，第二個是圍繞蜂窩站點路由器，第三個是圍繞 IP 網路、IP MPLS 接入層、網路聚合層。所有這些今天都很活躍。蜂窩基地台路由器是我們去年一直在升級的路由器。

Our production is in good spot now. At this point, it's kind of balanced with the demand picture. And so I think it's kind of leveled out, if you will. It's not -- I don't expect it to grow at the same rate in 2024 as what we saw in 2023 but should still be a pretty solid business.

現在我們的生產狀況良好。在這一點上，它與需求情況有些平衡。所以我認為如果你願意的話，情況已經趨於平穩。我預計 2024 年它的成長速度不會與 2023 年相同，但它仍然應該是一項相當穩健的業務。

So a couple of European vendors, they said that third quarter was actually the peak. And they saw fairly sharp sequential decline in fourth quarter. You're not seeing that, and you still expect some growth, albeit slower pace of '24?

因此，一些歐洲供應商表示，第三季實際上是高峰。他們在第四季度看到了相當急劇的連續下降。你沒有看到這一點，你仍然期望一些成長，儘管 24 世紀的步伐放緩？

Yeah. So what we saw in the fourth quarter was very consistent level to third quarter. We have seasonality in that region, just like we do in others. So with the first part of the year, we'll be slower. The budget cycle in India, budgets are finalized at the end of March. So I think we'll have better visibility on the second half of the year once we've gone through that process.

是的。因此，我們在第四季看到的情況與第三季的水平非常一致。就像我們在其他地區一樣，該地區也有季節性。因此，今年上半年，我們會放慢速度。印度的預算週期，預算在3月底最終確定。因此，我認為一旦我們完成了這個過程，我們將在今年下半年獲得更好的能見度。

And was India 10% or greater than 10% for the quarter and for the year?

印度本季和全年的成長率是 10% 還是高於 10%？

Mick can double check the numbers there. Certainly, the growth, 30% plus growth year over year puts it right in that ballpark, Dave.

米克可以仔細檢查那裡的數字。當然，Dave，年比 30% 以上的成長完全符合這個標準。

Yeah. Certainly, for the company, it is above 10% and twice of that for the IP optical business. Right.

是的。當然，對公司來說，這個比例在10%以上，是IP光業務的兩倍。正確的。

Got it. And just a quick update on Neptune and AT&T. I think you were pretty bullish about maybe eight-figure opportunity. Can you give us an update on that? Maybe not this year, but can you reach that eight figures maybe by next year?

知道了。關於 Neptune 和 AT&T 的快速更新。我認為你對八位數的機會非常樂觀。能為我們介紹一下最新情況嗎？也許今年不行，但明年你能達到八位數嗎？

Yeah. So not a lot of new information to share. And I don't want to get ahead of our customer on their plans. Early deployments are continuing. It's not a fast process to do these migrations. So it does take time to do the implementation. And I think we'll continue to grow the business there as the year progresses.

是的。所以沒有太多新資訊可以分享。我不想在客戶的計劃上領先他們。早期部署仍在繼續。執行這些遷移的過程並不快。所以實施起來確實需要時間。我認為隨著時間的推移，我們將繼續發展那裡的業務。

And I still think the market opportunity is exactly as I described it on our last earnings call. And it will take a bit of time to get to those levels for sure, Dave. It's probably not a this-year thing. But I think as we get into next year.

我仍然認為市場機會正如我在上次財報電話會議上所描述的那樣。戴夫，要達到這些水準肯定需要一些時間。這可能不是今年的事了。但我認為，當我們進入明年時。

And my last question is regarding IP optical on adjusted EBITDA for first quarter. Is it going to be negative or positive?

我的最後一個問題是關於 IP 光學第一季調整後 EBITDA 的情況。它會是消極的還是積極的？

Yeah. So we are expecting good margins in the first quarter, but at lower revenue levels than we had just in the fourth quarter, up considerably year over year, but not again, given the seasonality, it'll be lower than Q4. So I think the adjusted EBITDA on the first quarter is likely negative. We'll see what the final mix looks like, but dramatically better than what it was a year ago.

是的。因此，我們預計第一季會有良好的利潤率，但收入水平比第四季度要低，同比大幅增長，但考慮到季節性，它會低於第四季度。所以我認為第一季調整後的 EBITDA 可能為負。我們將看到最終的混音是什麼樣子，但比一年前好得多。

Tim Savageaux, Northland Capital Markets.

Tim Savageaux，北國資本市場。

Hi, good afternoon. Trying to put a few more numbers together here. There's a lot of them. But in talking about -- I think you talked about cloud and edge being up 4% ex-Tier 1s in '23. I mean, the way I'm looking at it, that means your Tier 1s are down 40% or so, something like that. So, A, is that about right? \

嗨，下午好。嘗試在這裡將更多的數字放在一起。有很多。但在談論時——我想你談到了雲端運算和邊緣運算在 23 年的前一級增長了 4%。我的意思是，按照我的看法，這意味著你的 1 級下降了 40% 左右，類似的情況。那麼，A，這樣說對嗎？\

And you laid out a lot of anecdotal kind of growth drivers that we're honestly not really seeing in the guides very much. But it looks like, if you're able to continue to grow cloud and edge ex-Tier 1s and from the sounds of the federal stuff and enterprise, that should be the case. You're expecting another down year in Tier 1s implicit in this flat guide. Am I getting something wrong there? And I'll follow up.

您列出了許多軼事類型的成長驅動因素，老實說，我們在指南中並沒有真正看到這些驅動因素。但看起來，如果你能夠繼續發展雲端和邊緣前一級，並且從聯邦部門和企業的聲音來看，情況應該是這樣。您預計本扁平指南中隱含的一級一級將再次出現下滑。我那裡有什麼問題嗎？我會跟進。

Yes. On the first part of the question, Tim, the Tier 1s were down in the mid-20s. That sort of ballpark. So not at the 40% range, kind of mid-20s. And what was the second part of the question? Sorry, Tim.

是的。關於問題的第一部分，Tim，Tier 1 的銷量下降到了 20 多歲。那種球場。所以不是在 40% 的範圍內，大約是 20 多歲。問題的第二部分是什麼？對不起，提姆。

Yeah. That was US Tier 1s I was talking about, by the way.

是的。順便說一句，我說的是美國一級。

Yes. (multiple speakers)

是的。（多個發言者）

And that's only for, well, obviously, pertains to cloud and edge.

顯然，這僅適用於雲和邊緣。

For cloud and edge. Right. US tier 1s. That's right, Tim.

適用於雲和邊緣。正確的。美國一級。沒錯，提姆。

All right. Well, if you have IP optical business with US Tier 1s, it'd be a good time to tell us about that right now.

好的。好吧，如果您與美國一級供應商有 IP 光纖業務，現在是告訴我們這一點的好時機。

Well, I mentioned one of the programs on the on the last earnings call and don't have a lot of updates this go around.

嗯，我在上次財報電話會議上提到了其中一個項目，但目前沒有太多更新。

I mean, for you or 20 -- doing these compares.

我的意思是，對於你或 20 個人來說，進行這些比較。

Yeah, no. Let me just be clear. The US Tier 1 decline, we can describe it in two ways relative to the full company revenue or relative to cloud and edge. In the cloud and edge, all other customers, excluding US Tier 1, were up 4% year over year for the full year. At the corporate level, it was 8% given the increase in IP optical, obviously.

是的，不。讓我說清楚。美國一級下降，我們可以用相對於公司全部收入或相對於雲端和邊緣的兩種方式來描述。在雲端和邊緣領域，除美國一級之外的所有其他客戶全年同比增長 4%。在企業層面，考慮到 IP 光纖的成長，這一比例顯然為 8%。

Okay. Just to beat this completely to death and I should have started right here. So you expect you'll be north or south of that 4% growth rate ex-Tier 1s in cloud and edge in '24.

好的。為了徹底打敗它，我應該從這裡開始。因此，您預計 24 年雲端和邊緣領域的前 1 級成長率將達到 4% 的北部或南部。

It's probably a similar number, I think, Tim. The momentum internationally, the programs. In fact, as we book some of these deals, the revenue gets recognized over a period of time. So we've got a good start on that. And so I think I think enterprise, international, federal, they all they all grow this year relative to 2023.

我想，提姆，這可能是個相似的數字。國際上的勢頭、計劃。事實上，當我們預訂其中一些交易時，收入會在一段時間內得到確認。所以我們在這方面有了一個好的開始。因此，我認為企業、國際、聯邦今年相對 2023 年都會有所成長。

Okay. Great. Just one and a half more here. You've got IP optical growth decelerating yet a couple of big wins you just announced. What sort of contribution material? And it doesn't sound like -- sounds like India is a bit of a tough compare, but not horribly. So what sort of a contribution do you have factored in from your big utility and your big telco when you've announced here the last couple of quarters in '24?

好的。偉大的。這裡只剩下一個半了。IP 光纖成長正在減速，但您剛剛宣布了幾項重大勝利。什麼樣的貢獻材料？聽起來不像——聽起來印度是一個有點艱難的比較，但並不可怕。那麼，當您在這裡宣布 24 年最後幾季的消息時，您考慮了大型公用事業公司和大型電信公司的哪些貢獻？

They're not dramatic tens and tens of millions of contributions. Each one of these contributes probably single digit millions this year to the to the revenue line, Tim. And so we need to keep adding those types of customers that will help us continue to grow. As I mentioned, we think the product piece of IP optical grows at 10% or more this year. There'll be a piece of that. Of course, there'll be some regions that don't grow. So you've got to make that up in other areas. So that's our best view at this point.

它們並不是戲劇性的數以千萬計的捐款。提姆，今年這些公司中的每一個都可能為收入線貢獻數百萬個位數。因此，我們需要不斷增加這些類型的客戶，以幫助我們繼續發展。正如我所提到的，我們認為今年 IP 光纖產品將成長 10% 或更多。會有這樣的一塊。當然，也會有一些區域不成長。所以你必須在其他方面彌補這一點。這是我們目前最好的觀點。

Okay. So combined, it looks like there are a significant chunk more than a third of your growth. Plus, you expect India to grow. I'm just trying to get down to what you're telling us about the rest of the world here.

好的。綜合起來，看起來你的成長有很大一部分超過了三分之一。另外，你預計印度會成長。我只是想認真談談你在這裡告訴我們的關於世界其他地方的情況。

Last question for me. If indeed IP optical can breakeven, looks like you're actually forecasting a pretty significant or at least modest margin decline for cloud and edge in next year. It seemed like the anecdotal commentary there was flat. So I just want to try and reconcile those two.

對我來說最後一個問題。如果 IP 光纖確實可以實現盈虧平衡，那麼看起來您實際上預測明年雲端和邊緣的利潤率將出現相當大的或至少適度的下降。那裡的軼事評論似乎平淡無奇。所以我只是想嘗試調和這兩者。

Yeah. So, I know our best view right now is the margin percent -- gross margin percentage for cloud and edge is pretty consistent. It doesn't move around dramatically. It will move 100 basis points here or there, depending on some amount of hardware that we ship. But a lot of it's software, a lot of it's services. So, we don't think there's a dramatic change. If there is, it's in the 100 basis point or so range. I think, Tim, not much more significant than that.

是的。所以，我知道我們現在最好的看法是利潤率——雲端和邊緣的毛利率百分比非常一致。它不會劇烈移動。它會在這裡或那裡移動 100 個基點，具體取決於我們運送的硬體數量。但很多是軟體，很多是服務。所以，我們認為不會有巨大的改變。如果有的話，也在100個基點左右的範圍內。提姆，我認為沒有比這更重要的了。

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the floor back over to Bruce McClelland for closing comments.

謝謝。目前沒有其他問題。我想請布魯斯麥克萊蘭 (Bruce McClelland) 發表結束評論。

Yeah. Thank you. And thanks for everyone being on the call and your interest in Ribbon Communications. We look forward to speaking with many of you at our upcoming investor conferences. We've got the large Mobile World Congress coming up in Barcelona in a few weeks. And we'll see some of you there and the optical OFC Conference in San Diego towards the end of March.

是的。謝謝。感謝大家參加電話會議以及您對 Ribbon Communications 的興趣。我們期待在即將召開的投資者會議上與你們中的許多人交談。幾週後，大型世界行動通訊大會將在巴塞隆納舉行。我們將在 3 月底在聖地亞哥舉行的光學 OFC 會議上見到你們中的一些人。

So with that, thank you, operator. And that concludes our call.

就這樣，謝謝你，接線生。我們的通話到此結束。

Thank you. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。