Ribbon Communications Inc (RBBN) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to the Ribbon Communications first-quarter 2024 financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加 Ribbon Communications 2024 年第一季財務業績電話會議。（操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Joni Roberts, Chief Marketing Officer. Please go ahead, Ms. Roberts.

現在我很高興將電話轉給首席行銷長 Joni Roberts。請繼續，羅伯茨女士。

Good morning, and welcome to Ribbon's first-quarter 2024 financial results conference call. I'm 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.

早安，歡迎參加 Ribbon 2024 年第一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 財務長米克洛佩茲 (Mick Lopez)。

Today's call is being webcast live and will be archived on the Investor Relations section of our website, rbbn.com, where both our press release and supplemental slides are currently available.

今天的電話會議正在進行網路直播，並將在我們網站 rbbn.com 的投資者關係部分存檔，目前我們的新聞稿和補充幻燈片都可以在該部分找到。

Certain matters we'll be discussing today, including the business outlook and financial projections for second quarter of 2024 and beyond, are forward-looking statements. 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. I refer you to our Safe Harbor statement included in the supplemental financial information posted on our website.

我們今天將討論的某些事項，包括 2024 年第二季及以後的業務前景和財務預測，均屬於前瞻性陳述。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。我建議您參閱我們網站上發布的補充財務資訊中包含的安全港聲明。

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 the supplemental slides we prepared for this conference call, which, again, are both available on the Investor Relations section of our website.

此外，我們將在本次電話會議上提供非公認會計準則財務資訊。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，這些幻燈片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. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us at this new time today to discuss our Q1 results and outlook for the year. I'd like to start with a few comments on the major announcement we just released with Verizon this morning.

偉大的。謝謝，喬尼。大家早安，感謝您今天在這個新時間加入我們討論我們第一季的業績和今年的展望。首先我想就我們今天早上剛與 Verizon 發布的重大公告發表一些評論。

As I've mentioned on recent calls, there's a significant opportunity with telecom service providers and large enterprises, including the US federal government, to complete the replacement of legacy TDM voice switching platforms with modern cloud-based solutions. There's a strong ROI for our customers with multiple benefits, including improved overall quality and reliability of the service, significant cost savings from lower power consumption and cooling requirements, a reduction in facilities and floor space that can be repurposed to meet the exponential growth in data consumption for mobile and broadband services, and lower engineering and operations effort needed to manage this complex network, all while significantly reducing the environmental footprint made from providing this critical communication service.

正如我在最近的電話會議中提到的，電信服務供應商和大型企業（包括美國聯邦政府）有一個重大機會，可以用現代的基於雲端的解決方案來完成傳統 TDM 語音交換平台的替換。我們的客戶可以透過多種優勢獲得豐厚的投資回報，包括提高服務的整體品質和可靠性、降低功耗和冷卻要求從而顯著節省成本、減少設施和占地面積，以便滿足數據的指數級增長行動和寬頻服務的消耗，以及管理這個複雜網路所需的工程和營運工作量的減少，同時大大減少了提供這種關鍵通訊服務所造成的環境足跡。

We're very excited about this new multiyear program with Verizon. It's an extension of the ongoing work we've been doing together, but on a much larger scale. Ribbon will provide both product and professional services to rapidly decommission legacy central office equipment while fully maintaining current services and features.

我們對與 Verizon 合作的這項新的多年期計劃感到非常興奮。這是我們一直在共同進行的工作的延伸，但規模要大得多。Ribbon 將提供產品和專業服務，以快速退役遺留的中心局設備，同時完全維護當前的服務和功能。

The initial deployment phase of the program will be over the next three years, leveraging our full portfolio of virtual and cloud native call controllers and session border controllers, advanced analytics, line access, and universal media gateways. We expect the program to generate over $300 million in revenue for Ribbon over that period, with potential for follow-on programs to continue to support Verizon's efforts in building the most advanced networks.

該計劃的初始​​部署階段將在未來三年內進行，利用我們的虛擬和雲端原生呼叫控制器和會話邊界控制器、高級分析、線路存取和通用媒體網關的完整產品組合。我們預計該計劃在此期間將為 Ribbon 帶來超過 3 億美元的收入，後續計劃有可能繼續支持 Verizon 建設最先進網路的努力。

We've worked closely with the Verizon team to reduce the implementation costs by defining a focused large-scale project that has economy of scale benefits. This is a major endorsement of both Ribbon's portfolio and expertise in the migration of these complex communication networks. The measured approach Verizon is taking to migrate services and preserve significant revenue streams is applicable to practically all our other service provider customers, where we aim to develop similar programs and generate significant benefits from this cloud migration.

我們與 Verizon 團隊密切合作，透過定義具有規模經濟優勢的重點大型專案來降低實施成本。這是對 Ribbon 產品組合和在這些複雜通訊網路遷移方面的專業知識的重大認可。Verizon 正在採取的遷移服務和保留大量收入流的衡量方法幾乎適用於我們所有其他服務提供者客戶，我們的目標是開發類似的計劃並從這種雲端遷移中產生顯著的收益。

Now on to our first-quarter 2024 results, we had an excellent first quarter, where our strategy to leverage our long-term relationships to diversify and grow our business continues to pay off. Profitability improved significantly year over year and exceeded the high end of our guidance range with adjusted EBITDA of $12 million. We benefited from a favorable mix of sales to customers in the quarter, particularly in the EMEA region, where sales increased 24% as compared to the first quarter last year.

現在來看看我們的 2024 年第一季業績，我們的第一季表現非常出色，我們利用長期關係實現業務多元化和發展的策略繼續取得成效。盈利能力同比顯著提高，調整後 EBITDA 達到 1200 萬美元，超出了我們指導範圍的上限。我們受惠於本季對客戶的有利銷售組合，特別是在歐洲、中東和非洲地區，該地區的銷售額與去年第一季相比成長了 24%。

The higher sales in EMEA resulted in strong gross margins, exceeding 40% in the IP optical segment, as well as the seventh straight quarter of year-over-year sales growth. This includes customers across a number of markets, including service provider, defense, and critical infrastructure.

歐洲、中東和非洲地區銷售額的增加帶來了強勁的毛利率，IP 光纖領域超過 40%，銷售額連續第七個季度同比增長。這包括多個市場的客戶，包括服務提供者、國防和關鍵基礎設施。

Gross margin in the cloud and edge business was also strong in the quarter, primarily due to continued growth in the enterprise market, with product sales increasing 15% year over year. This includes a number of voice modernization projects with US government federal agencies. The strong gross margin and reduction in operating expenses of 5% year over year contributed to earnings exceeding the top end of our guidance for the quarter.

本季雲端和邊緣業務的毛利率也表現強勁，主要得益於企業市場的持續成長，產品銷售額較去年同期成長15%。這包括與美國政府聯邦機構合作的許多語音現代化計畫。強勁的毛利率和營運費用年減 5%，使得本季獲利超過了我們指導的上限。

Adjusted EBITDA over the trailing 12 months increased to $105 million for the company, a major improvement trend over the last several quarters.

該公司過去 12 個月的調整後 EBITDA 增至 1.05 億美元，這是過去幾季的重大改善趨勢。

While lower spending from US Tier 1 service providers continued to impact our cloud and edge results, with sales declining 11% year over year this quarter, with our new Verizon program and the potential for similar engagements with other customers, we believe we've reached a low point and expect solid recovery in the business. We expect the new Verizon program alone to underpin this business for the next several years.

雖然美國一級服務供應商支出的減少持續影響我們的雲端和邊緣業績，本季銷售額年減11%，但憑藉我們的新Verizon 計畫以及與其他客戶進行類似合作的潛力，我們相信我們已經達到了低點並預計業務將穩步復甦。我們預計新的 Verizon 計劃將在未來幾年內支撐這項業務。

This quarter, we also continue to increase the software content of our product sales, growing from 25% to 29% year over year, increasing margins. The continued growth in enterprise has been a key driver behind the higher software sales, improved margins, and solid earnings contribution. Overall company sales in the quarter were at the lower end of our guidance, with a few million dollars of equipment in transit at the end of the quarter and site readiness delays with a few smaller deployments for rural customers in the US.

本季度，我們也持續增加產品銷售中的軟體內容，年比從 25% 成長至 29%，提高了利潤率。企業的持續成長是軟體銷售增加、利潤率提高和獲利貢獻強勁的關鍵驅動力。本季公司整體銷售額處於我們指導值的下限，本季末有數百萬美元的設備在運輸途中，並且為美國農村客戶進行了一些規模較小的部署，導致現場準備工作出現延遲。

Now a little more detail on each of our operating segments. Building on the momentum from the second half of 2023, IP optical networks sales increased 9% year over year in the first quarter, with the majority of the growth coming from the EMEA region. This resulted in stronger margins for this segment, consistent with the previous quarter at 41%, and a significant improvement of $17 million in adjusted EBITDA versus the first quarter last year.

現在詳細介紹一下我們每個營運部門。秉承 2023 年下半年的勢頭，第一季 IP 光網路銷售額年增 9%，其中大部分成長來自 EMEA 地區。這使得該部門的利潤率提高，與上一季保持一致，為 41%，調整後的 EBITDA 與去年第一季相比顯著提高了 1,700 萬美元。

In EMEA, the critical infrastructure private networks market segment continues to be a great fit for our portfolio, where high performance and information security are major differentiators. We had a number of expansion projects in the defense sector, with customers such as the Israeli Defense Force, the Swiss Army, and the Finnish Defense Forces. We also had several new projects with customers in segments such as energy distribution, railways, and education. This all complemented ongoing business with a number of service provider customers across the region.

在歐洲、中東和非洲地區，關鍵基礎設施專用網路細分市場仍然非常適合我們的產品組合，其中高效能和資訊安全是主要的差異化因素。我們在國防部門進行了許多擴建項目，客戶包括以色列國防軍、瑞士陸軍和芬蘭國防軍。我們也與能源分配、鐵路和教育等領域的客戶進行了幾個新項目。這一切都補充了與該地區許多服務提供者客戶的持續業務。

In the Asia-Pac region, sales to key customers in India, including Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices, were down only slightly year over year and included the full portfolio of both optical transport and IP routing products. There are also very positive signs that Vodafone Idea will complete their long-awaited capital injection, with the company's public offering successfully completing this week. They plan to invest aggressively in 5G upgrades, and we believe we are very well positioned to be a key supplier as they reinvest in their network, driving growth for the India region in the second half of this year.

在亞太地區，對印度主要客戶（包括 Bharti Airtel 和 Tata Teleservices）的銷售額比去年同期僅略有下降，其中包括光傳輸和 IP 路由產品的完整產品組合。還有非常積極的跡象表明，Vodafone Idea 將完成期待已久的注資，該公司的公開發行將於本周成功完成。他們計劃積極投資 5G 升級，我們相信，隨著他們對其網路進行再投資，我們有能力成為主要供應商，推動印度地區今年下半年的成長。

In the Americas region, IP optical sales increased year over year in Canada and Latin America, while shipments into the US were lower in the rural broadband segment this quarter due to customer timing and site readiness, delaying revenue recognition into the second quarter. From a product line perspective, sales of our Apollo optical transport products were once again strong this quarter, increasing 9% year over year. This reflects the stronger mix of these products sold into the EMEA region and is a good start to the year.

在美洲地區，加拿大和拉丁美洲的 IP 光纖銷售額同比增長，而由於客戶時間安排和站點準備情況，本季度美國農村寬頻市場的出貨量較低，導致收入確認推遲到第二季。從產品線來看，本季Apollo光傳輸產品銷售再次強勁，較去年同期成長9%。這反映出銷往歐洲、中東和非洲地區的這些產品的組合更加強勁，是今年的好開始。

I expect this optical growth trend to continue as our new Apollo 9400 platform shipments continue to grow, supporting the highest 1.2 terabit per second speeds available in the market today. We're effectively expanding our addressable market with this platform and are able to better address services such as data center interconnect, complementing the current 9600 platform that's favored by telecom operators. We've shipped more than 50 9400 chassis so far and have a pipeline of more than 20 opportunities in process.

我預計隨著我們新的 Apollo 9400 平台出貨量持續成長，這種光學成長趨勢將持續下去，支援當今市場上每秒 1.2 太比特的最高速度。我們正在透過該平台有效擴展我們的潛在市場，並能夠更好地解決資料中心互連等服務，補充目前受電信業者青睞的9600平台。到目前為止，我們已經發貨了 50 多個 9400 機箱，還有 20 多個機會正在處理中。

Sales of our Neptune IP routers grew 2% year over year in the first quarter, reflecting lower rural sales this quarter. Also, the first quarter of 2023 were the first volume shipments to Bharti for the 5G cell site router last year, priming their deployments and building some inventory. We expect this product line to continue to grow with a very good pipeline of new customer opportunities. Overall, IP optical product and service bookings were 1.07 times revenue in the quarter, building backlog for the second quarter.

我們的 Neptune IP 路由器的銷售額第一季年增 2%，反映出本季農村銷售額的下降。此外，2023 年第一季是去年向 Bharti 首次批量發貨的 5G 蜂窩基地台路由器，啟動了部署並建立了一些庫存。我們預計該產品線將持續成長，並帶來大量新客戶機會。總體而言，本季 IP 光學產品和服務預訂量是營收的 1.07 倍，為第二季累積了積壓。

In our cloud and edge segment, as expected, the lower spend from US Tier 1 service providers continue to affect our year-over-year comparisons, with the reduced spending starting midway through the second quarter last year. Excluding sales to our large US Tier 1 customers, revenue in the first quarter from all other customers grew 1% year over year, despite lower overall industry investment. With the new Verizon program, we expect a significant improvement going forward.

在我們的雲端和邊緣領域，正如預期的那樣，美國一級服務提供者支出的減少繼續影響我們的同比比較，支出減少從去年第二季中期開始。儘管整體產業投資較低，但不包括對美國大型一級客戶的銷售，第一季來自所有其他客戶的收入年增 1%。透過新的 Verizon 計劃，我們預計未來會有顯著的改進。

Enterprise cloud and edge product sales increased 15% year over year in the quarter, with the continued expansion of a major voice modernization project with the US federal agency. We expect this trajectory to continue in the second quarter.

隨著與美國聯邦機構合作的一項重大語音現代化項目的持續擴展，本季企業雲和邊緣產品銷售額年增 15%。我們預計這一趨勢將在第二季度繼續下去。

The cloud and edge business continued to drive strong profitability due to higher software mix, and product and service bookings were good in the quarter at 1.06 times revenue. We expect a much stronger second half of the year in our cloud and edge business, with the continued momentum in enterprise and a significant increase in sales to service providers. This includes the beginning of the new network modernization program with Verizon.

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，本季產品和服務預訂情況良好，達到營收的 1.06 倍。我們預計，隨著企業業務的持續成長以及對服務供應商的銷售大幅成長，我們的雲端和邊緣業務今年下半年將更加強勁。這包括與 Verizon 合作啟動新的網路現代化計劃。

We expect initial product shipments from that project to begin in the third quarter and deployment services to ramp as the program accelerates, exiting the year at $100 million per year run rate, once again with this key customer, providing a strong foundation for growth in the segment. We continue to maintain a strong, reoccurring maintenance business across our customer base and have approximately 80% of this year's maintenance revenue in backlog or under contract for the cloud and edge business, as well as for the IP optical segment.

我們預計該專案的初始產品出貨將於第三季開始，部署服務將隨著專案的加速而增加，以每年1 億美元的運行率結束今年，再次與這個關鍵客戶合作，為該專案的成長奠定堅實的基礎。我們繼續在整個客戶群中保持強大的、經常性的維護業務，今年約 80% 的維護收入處於雲端和邊緣業務以及 IP 光纖業務積壓或合約狀態。

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

這樣，我將把它交給米克，提供有關我們第一季度業績的更多詳細信息，然後回來討論第二季度的前景。米克？

Thank you, Bruce. Good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，布魯斯。大家，早安。

We were very pleased with our financial performance in the first quarter as we exceeded the high end of our guidance for gross margins and adjusted EBITDA on strong performance by IP optical networks in particular. On a trailing 12-month basis, our adjusted EBITDA is $105 million, back to levels over $100 million prior to the 2022 supply chain disruption. As always, please refer to our Investor Relations page on the Ribbon website for supplemental financial information, where you will also see that we have now included an Excel worksheet to facilitate your analysis.

我們對第一季的財務表現非常滿意，因為我們超越了毛利率指引的上限，並且調整後的 EBITDA，尤其是 IP 光網路的強勁表現。在過去 12 個月的基礎上，我們調整後的 EBITDA 為 1.05 億美元，回到 2022 年供應鏈中斷之前超過 1 億美元的水平。與往常一樣，請參閱 Ribbon 網站上的投資者關係頁面以獲取補充財務信息，您還將看到我們現在包含一個 Excel 工作表以方便您進行分析。

Let's begin with financial results at the consolidated corporate level. In the first quarter of 2024, Ribbon generated revenues of $180 million, which is a decrease of 3.5% from the prior year. Non-GAAP gross margin was 55.1%, which is 700 basis points higher than prior year due to a positive product and regional mix. As you will hear, both business segments had significant improvements in gross margin percentages versus prior year.

讓我們從合併公司層面的財務表現開始。2024年第一季，Ribbon實現營收1.8億美元，較上年下降3.5%。由於積極的產品和區域組合，非 GAAP 毛利率為 55.1%，比前一年高出 700 個基點。正如您將聽到的那樣，兩個業務部門的毛利率百分比均較上一年有了顯著提高。

Non-GAAP operating expenses were $91 million, an improvement of $5 million, or 5% year over year, driven by continued reductions in R&D and sales expenses from last year's restructuring efforts. Non-GAAP net loss was negative $1 million, which is a $2 million improvement from the previous year. This generated non-GAAP diluted loss per share of negative $0.01, which is an increase of $0.01 versus prior year.

非 GAAP 營運費用為 9,100 萬美元，年增 500 萬美元，或 5%，這是由於去年重組工作導致研發和銷售費用持續減少。非 GAAP 淨虧損為負 100 萬美元，較前一年減少 200 萬美元。這導致非 GAAP 攤薄每股虧損為負 0.01 美元，比前一年增加 0.01 美元。

Our non-GAAP tax rate year to date was 35%. Our interest expense for the quarter was $6 million, consistent with the previous year.

今年迄今為止，我們的非 GAAP 稅率為 35%。本季我們的利息支出為 600 萬美元，與前一年持平。

Adjusted EBITDA was $12 million in the quarter, which is a great $14 million improvement from last year's EBITDA loss of negative $2 million. This is the best first quarter profit performance in the last three years.

本季調整後的 EBITDA 為 1,200 萬美元，比去年負 200 萬美元的 EBITDA 虧損增加了 1,400 萬美元。這是近三年來最好的第一季利潤表現。

Our basic share count was 172 million shares, and our fully diluted share count was 175 million shares for the quarter.

本季我們的基本股數為 1.72 億股，完全稀釋後的股數為 1.75 億股。

Now, let's look at the results of our two business segments. In our cloud and edge business, first-quarter revenue was $102 million, a decrease of 11% year over year, driven by lower product sales at US Tier 1 service providers. We are increasingly confident that we can grow our revenues for this business segment with the incremental business from Verizon's network modernization program.

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的產品銷售下降，第一季營收為 1.02 億美元，年減 11%。我們越來越有信心，我們可以透過 Verizon 網路現代化計劃的增量業務來增加該業務部門的收入。

The cloud and edge business had a strong first-quarter non-GAAP gross margin of 66%, up about 500 basis points from the prior year. This improvement was driven by an increasing mix of software product sales, which were 68% of total product revenues. The cloud and edge business segment continues its steady cash and profit contribution with an adjusted EBITDA of $17 million, or 17% of revenues.

雲端和邊緣業務第一季非 GAAP 毛利率高達 66%，比上年增長約 500 個基點。這項改進是由軟體產品銷售組合的不斷增加所推動的，軟體產品銷售佔產品總收入的 68%。雲端和邊緣業務部門繼續保持穩定的現金和利潤貢獻，調整後的 EBITDA 為 1,700 萬美元，佔營收的 17%。

Let's turn to our IP optical networks business results. We recorded first-quarter revenue of $78 million, which was an improvement of $6 million, or a 9% increase versus the prior year. Non-GAAP gross margin for IP optical networks was 41%, up about 1,400 basis points from the prior year from 27% in the first quarter of 2023. This resulted in gross profit of $32 million, which is a $12 million, or 64%, improvement from previous year, mostly driven by lower product costs and better regional mix from EMEA sales. If you recall, one year ago, we made sales of our initial long-haul optical transport infrastructure equipment to India at lower margins.

讓我們來看看我們的IP光網路業務成果。我們第一季的營收為 7,800 萬美元，比前一年增加了 600 萬美元，成長 9%。IP光網路的非公認會計準則毛利率為41%，較上年同期成長約1,400個基點，較2023年第一季的27%高。這使得毛利達到 3,200 萬美元，比上一年增加 1,200 萬美元，即 64%，這主要是由於產品成本降低以及 EMEA 銷售區域組合改善所致。如果你還記得，一年前，我們以較低的利潤向印度銷售最初的長途光傳輸基礎設施設備。

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was a loss of $6 million, which is an improvement of $17 million year over year. This is the seventh straight quarter of year-over-year improvement in IPON profitability. We continue to strive for positive adjusted EBITDA for this business segment in 2024 as it continues to grow.

本季調整後 EBITDA 虧損 600 萬美元，年增 1,700 萬美元。這是 IPON 獲利能力連續第七個季度同比改善。隨著該業務部門的持續成長，我們將繼續努力在 2024 年實現正調整 EBITDA。

Let's now discuss total company cash flows and capital structure. Cash from operations was excellent with a positive $13 million in the quarter. That's now two positive cash flow quarters. We used cash in the quarter of $3 million for capital expenditures in our quarterly $5 million term loan repayment. We ended the quarter with $31 million of cash and cash equivalents, an increase of $4 million from the end of 2023.

現在讓我們討論公司總現金流量和資本結構。本季營運現金狀況良好，達到 1,300 萬美元。現在已經是兩個正現金流季度了。我們在季度償還 500 萬美元定期貸款時使用了 300 萬美元現金作為資本支出。截至本季末，我們的現金和現金等價物為 3,100 萬美元，比 2023 年底增加了 400 萬美元。

Our senior term loan balance was at $230 million, and the $75 million revolver loan had zero balance outstanding. Per the bank covenant calculations, which include $55 million of our preferred equity in total debt, among other adjustments, we comfortably met both of the term loan covenant metrics in the first quarter.

我們的高級定期貸款餘額為 2.3 億美元，而 7500 萬美元的循環貸款餘額為零。根據銀行契約計算，其中包括總債務中 5,500 萬美元的優先股以及其他調整，我們在第一季輕鬆滿足了兩項定期貸款契約指標。

Our bank leverage ratio was at 2.71 times, which is within our target range of 2 times to 3 times. The fixed charge coverage ratio was 1.77 times.

我們的銀行槓桿率為2.71倍，在我們2至3倍的目標範圍內。固定費用覆蓋率為1.77倍。

Speaking of debt, we have started the process of refinancing our capital structure, both the term loan and preferred shares. As part of this process, we have already received a B2 rating from Moody's and a B- from Standard and Poor's, both with a stable outlook.

說到債務，我們已經開始為我們的資本結構再融資，包括定期貸款和優先股。作為這一過程的一部分，我們已經獲得了穆迪的 B2 評級和標準普爾的 B- 評級，兩者的前景均為穩定。

You may have noticed that we rescheduled this earnings call from the afternoon to the morning to accommodate the lender's kickoff meeting this very afternoon. Assuming stable market conditions, we expect to have our refinancing done in several weeks. We remain confident in the continued support of our financial partners to obtain a flexible and long-term capital structure to sustain a profitable growth.

您可能已經注意到，我們將本次財報電話會議從下午改到了上午，以適應今天下午貸款人的啟動會議。假設市場狀況穩定，我們預計再融資將在幾週內完成。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 the second quarter.

現在，我將把電話轉回布魯斯，以就我們第二季的前景提供更多評論。

Great. Thanks, Mick. As I said last quarter, I'm very confident in our ability to continue to grow revenue and improve profitability this year. The new Verizon program will provide a strong foundation for the company with opportunity for similar programs with other telecom operators.

偉大的。謝謝，米克。正如我上季度所說，我對我們今年繼續增加收入和提高獲利能力的能力非常有信心。新的 Verizon 計劃將為該公司提供堅實的基礎，並有機會與其他電信營運商開展類似計劃。

We expect revenue from the Verizon program to begin in the third quarter, with deployment ramping over time. The improved margin trend over the last few quarters and the strong profitability in Q1 further increase our confidence of achieving our full-year guidance.

我們預計 Verizon 計劃的收入將於第三季開始，並且部署將隨著時間的推移而不斷增加。過去幾季的利潤率趨勢改善和第一季的強勁獲利能力進一步增強了我們實現全年指引的信心。

In addition to the recovery in the cloud and edge telco business, we continue to add significant new wins with US federal agencies that are initiating their own voice modernization programs. In fact, we have a very strong and growing global government and defense business that leverages our entire portfolio of voice and data products and a strong professional services practice tailored for this market vertical.

除了雲端和邊緣電信業務的復甦之外，我們還繼續與正在啟動自己的語音現代化計劃的美國聯邦機構取得重大新勝利。事實上，我們擁有非常強大且不斷成長的全球政府和國防業務，利用我們的整個語音和數據產品組合以及針對該垂直市場量身定制的強大專業服務實踐。

The scalability, reliability, and information security aspects of our products are significant differentiators, and there's a larger market that we are not yet fully addressing. We have made this a strategic area of investment given the large opportunity, particularly in North America and Europe. Globally, the government and federal market segment accounted for almost 10% of overall sales for Ribbon in 2023.

我們產品的可擴展性、可靠性和資訊安全性是顯著的差異化因素，而且還有一個更大的市場我們尚未完全解決。鑑於巨大的機會，我們已將其作為戰略投資領域，特別是在北美和歐洲。在全球範圍內，政府和聯邦市場部分佔 2023 年 Ribbon 總銷售額的近 10%。

From a portfolio perspective, I'm excited about our innovation pipeline. As I mentioned earlier, our new Apollo 9400 compact modular optical transport platform is gaining momentum and significantly expands the portion of the market that we can address, including long-haul transport, subsea networking, and data center interconnect. While we've already been successful penetrating these markets and have multiple deployments with customers such as Bharti, IPS, Ciena, and Telehouse, the 9400 platform has been purposely designed for the unique environmental requirements of these market segments. We conservatively estimate a $1 billion increase to our addressable market and are excited about the momentum behind this new product, with the industry-leading 1.2 terabit per second coherent optics.

從投資組合的角度來看，我對我們的創新管道感到興奮。正如我之前提到的，我們的新 Apollo 9400 緊湊型模組化光傳輸平台正在蓄勢待發，並顯著擴大了我們可以解決的市場份額，包括長途傳輸、海底網路和資料中心互連。雖然我們已經成功滲透這些市場，並與 Bharti、IPS、Ciena 和 Telehouse 等客戶進行了多次部署，但 9400 平台是專門針對這些細分市場的獨特環境要求而設計的。我們保守估計我們的目標市場將增加 10 億美元，並且對這款新產品背後的動力感到興奮，該產品具有業界領先的每秒 1.2 太比特的相干光學元件。

At the recent Optical Fiber Communication Conference in San Diego, we made a joint announcement with Cisco, highlighting the interoperability between our 9400 platform and the Cisco NCS 1014 platform. Interoperability in optical networking is very rare and is a great endorsement of our open networking strategy. This will enable our customers to stay on the cutting edge of technology without being locked into proprietary solutions.

最近在聖地牙哥舉行的光纖通訊會議上，我們與思科共同發布了一項聲明，強調了我們的 9400 平台與思科 NCS 1014 平台之間的互通性。光網路中的互通性非常罕見，這是對我們開放網路策略的極大認可。這將使我們的客戶能夠保持在技術的前沿，而不必局限於專有的解決方案。

In our IP routing portfolio, we continue to expand our product line and just completed the introduction of the Neptune 2400 high-performance aggregation router. Leveraging a common network operating system, the 2400 is a great fit for middle mile and edge aggregation applications and supports a rich set of IP routing features and capabilities. This allows us to address a growing number of IP services. This 4.8 terabit non-blocking router supports a significant number of 100-gig and 400-gig client-side interfaces, making it an ideal platform for a number of high-capacity applications with coherent ZR+ optical uplinks.

在我們的 IP 路由產品組合中，我們不斷擴展我們的產品線，並且剛完成了 Neptune 2400 高效能聚合路由器的推出。2400 利用通用網路作業系統，非常適合中英哩和邊緣聚合應用，並支援一組豐富的 IP 路由特性和功能。這使我們能夠處理越來越多的 IP 服務。這款 4.8 太比特無阻塞路由器支援大量 100 G 和 400 G 用戶端接口，使其成為許多具有相干 ZR+ 光學上行鏈路的高容量應用的理想平台。

The lens by which our customers manage our portfolio of data networking products is our cloud-native Muse platform. With our customers, we've identified a number of practical applications that can benefit from the power of generative AI. Complex network planning, rapid fault isolation and root cause analysis, and intelligent network optimization are great examples of the way we are leveraging generative AI to improve our products and differentiate our solutions.

我們的客戶管理我們的資料網路產品組合的鏡頭是我們的雲端原生 Muse 平台。我們與客戶一起確定了許多可以從生成式人工智慧的力量中受益的實際應用。複雜的網路規劃、快速故障隔離和根本原因分析以及智慧網路優化是我們利用生成式人工智慧改進產品和差異化解決方案的絕佳範例。

So we're off to a solid start in the first quarter and are making very good progress on our key strategic goals, including achieving sustainable profitability in our IP optical business, returning to growth in our telco voice infrastructure business, diversifying and expanding sales and enterprise market verticals, including financial, healthcare and government information security, and accelerating innovation and capturing cost efficiencies with full integration of our product teams.

因此，我們在第一季有了一個良好的開端，並且在我們的關鍵戰略目標上取得了非常好的進展，包括實現IP 光纖業務的可持續盈利、電信語音基礎設施業務恢復增長、多元化和擴大銷售以及企業市場垂直領域，包括金融、醫療保健和政府資訊安全，並透過我們的產品團隊的全面整合來加速創新並提高成本效率。

For the second quarter, we expect sequential growth in both of our businesses. In IP optical, we expect continued momentum in the EMEA region, as well as growth in North America and Asia Pacific. We expect gross margins to continue to be in the high 30s or better. In cloud and edge, we expect improvement in the US Tier 1 environment, coupled with growth in enterprise, as well as the additional US federal projects.

對於第二季度，我們預計這兩項業務都會較上季成長。在IP光纖方面，我們預期歐洲、中東和非洲地區將持續保持成長勢頭，北美和亞太地區也將出現成長。我們預計毛利率將繼續保持在 30 左右或更高。在雲端和邊緣方面，我們預計美國一級環境將得到改善，加上企業以及其他美國聯邦計畫的成長。

Based on this, for the second quarter, we're projecting revenue in a range of $200 million to $210 million, non-GAAP gross margins of 53.5% to 54.5%, and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA in a range of $20 million to $25 million. Our guidance for the full year remains unchanged, although, as I mentioned earlier, we're definitely off to a good start to meet these financial objectives, along with a strong second half.

據此，我們預計第二季的營收將在 2 億至 2.1 億美元之間，非 GAAP 毛利率將在 53.5% 至 54.5% 之間，非 GAAP 調整後 EBITDA 將在 2,000 萬美元至 25 美元之間百萬。我們對全年的指導保持不變，儘管正如我之前提到的，我們肯定為實現這些財務目標開了一個良好的開端，並且下半年也表現強勁。

Operator, that concludes our prepared remarks, and now, we can 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) Christian Schwab, Craig-Hallum.

（操作員說明）Christian Schwab，Craig-Hallum。

Hey, congratulations on the big Verizon order. Just a couple of questions about that. One, what type of gross margin over time should we assume that that will be done at? And then, as far as the $300 million three-year timeframe, is that back end loaded or does that -- I know it's going to start in the second half, but does it step up big in '25? Any color there would be great.

嘿，恭喜你獲得了 Verizon 的大訂單。對此只有幾個問題。第一，隨著時間的推移，我們應該假設毛利率是多少？然後，就 3 億美元的三年時間框架而言，後端是否已加載，或者是否 - 我知道它將在下半年開始，但它會在 25 年大幅增加嗎？任何顏色都會很棒。

Hey, good morning, Christian. Thank you. So on the gross margin question, we have a mix of product and services that we're supplying to the program. So it may vary a little bit, just depending on the activity in a particular quarter. A blended -- it's probably a little below the current gross margin level for cloud and edge, which is, as you know, high 60s. So it's a little below that, just because of the higher content in hardware and services, but still pretty solid, obviously.

嘿，早上好，克里斯蒂安。謝謝。因此，在毛利率問題上，我們向該計劃提供了多種產品和服務。因此，它可能會略有不同，僅取決於特定季度的活動。混合的——它可能略低於當前雲和邊緣的毛利率水平，如您所知，為 60 多美元。所以它稍微低於這個數字，只是因為硬體和服務的內容更高，但顯然仍然相當穩定。

On the question on the speed and the ramp, we definitely get started in earnest in the second half of this year and achieve full velocity as we get into 2025 and stay at that level for a couple of years effectively. So this is a pretty extensive program. You can imagine the effort that's required to go into these switching centers and switch out equipment seamlessly and everything. So there's quite a -- it's a pretty long process, which is great. It's going to be a great program.

關於速度和坡度的問題，我們肯定會在今年下半年認真開始，並在進入 2025 年時實現全速，並有效地保持在該水平幾年。所以這是一個相當廣泛的計劃。您可以想像進入這些交換中心並無縫切換設備和一切所需的工作量。所以這是一個相當長的過程，這很棒。這將是一個很棒的節目。

Great. And then I just have one quick follow-up. Just on the rural broadband stuff, other people inside the space are kind of suggesting that that really doesn't kick off until Q1 of '25, but it sounds like maybe some of the things that you're working on may start a little bit sooner than that. Did I hear that incorrectly, or how should we be thinking about that?

偉大的。然後我只需進行一次快速跟進。就農村寬頻問題而言，該領域的其他人暗示這實際上要到 25 年第一季才會開始，但聽起來也許你正在做的一些事情可能會開始一點點比那更早。我是不是聽錯了，或者我們該如何思考這個問題？

So good question. So the BEAD program, the $42 billion BEAD program, doesn't really start until next year timeframe. In fact, I think for us, it's kind of second half of next year. About half of the rural broadband programs we have in process today are assisted in one form or fashion from other federal funding programs, like RDOF and those sorts of programs. So we've got a nice base, a nice funnel of activity there, even prior to the larger funding program coming in.

好問題。因此，價值 420 億美元的 BEAD 計畫要到明年才會真正啟動。事實上，我認為對我們來說，這是明年下半年的事情。我們目前正在進行的農村寬頻計劃中約有一半以某種形式或方式得到了其他聯邦資助計劃（如 RDOF 和此類計劃）的援助。因此，即使在更大的資助計劃出台之前，我們也有一個很好的基礎，一個很好的活動管道。

Fantastic. No other questions. Thank you.

極好的。沒有其他問題。謝謝。

Dave Kang, B. Riley Securities.

Dave Kang，B. 萊利證券。

Thank you. Good morning. My first question is the follow-on on that Verizon win. So Verizon was a major customer. So just wondering what's the delta between the old program versus the new one?

謝謝。早安.我的第一個問題是 Verizon 獲勝的後續問題。所以威瑞森是主要客戶。那麼只是想知道舊程式與新程式之間的差異是多少？

Hey. Good morning, Dave. So this is obviously a major step up from the current run rate we're at today. Like I mentioned in the remarks that we'd exit the year at greater than a $100 million per annum run rate with them, which is maybe where we were a few years ago, back when other programs were very active. So we'd get back to that level or better in the next few years here as this program really starts to gain energy.

嘿。早上好，戴夫。因此，這顯然是我們目前運行速度的重大進步。就像我在評論中提到的那樣，我們將以超過 1 億美元的年運行率結束這一年，這可能是我們幾年前的情況，當時其他計劃非常活躍。因此，隨著該計劃真正開始獲得能量，我們將在未來幾年內回到該水平或更好。

So back to where Verizon was several years ago, but what was the run rate in recent years, like in the last year or two? Were they like $50 million going to $100 million or any color there?

那麼回到幾年前 Verizon 的情況，但近年來（例如過去一兩年）的運行率是多少？他們是從 5000 萬美元到 1 億美元還是有什麼顏色？

Sorry, Dave. So the -- given they're a 10%-plus customer, we actually break them out in our Q and our K. I can't remember the exact number for '23, but I think it was in the -- Mick, do you remember what the number was?

對不起，戴夫。因此，考慮到他們是 10% 以上的客戶，我們實際上在 Q 和 K 中將他們分開。

It was 10% or 11%.

是10%或11%。

Yeah, so call it $75 million, $80 million.

是的，所以稱之為 7500 萬美元、8000 萬美元。

Okay. All right. Thanks for that. And then just a question on India, if you can talk about what's going on there. And also, you mentioned the Vodafone Idea. What kind of opportunities do you see, which products? Any color there would be great.

好的。好的。感謝那。然後是關於印度的問題，您能否談談那裡正在發生的事情。而且，您也提到了沃達豐的想法。您看到什麼樣的機會、哪些產品？任何顏色都會很棒。

Yeah, absolutely. So in the first quarter, sales in India were essentially flat to what we did a year ago. And if you recall a year ago, we had a really good quarter. We started to step up the deployments in India. I think we grew 30% total last year. So it's good to see that business continue to be solid. The key customers there today are names like Bharti and Tata and a little bit with Reliance and a few others.

是的，絕對是。因此，第一季度，印度的銷售額與一年前基本持平。如果你還記得一年前，我們的季度表現非常好。我們開始加緊在印度的部署。我認為去年我們的總額增加了 30%。因此，很高興看到業務繼續穩健。如今，那裡的主要客戶包括巴蒂 (Bharti) 和塔塔 (Tata) 等公司，還有信實 (Reliance) 等一些公司。

Vodafone, as you recall, is the third largest mobile operator in the region and needed to refinance their balance sheet, which has been a discussion now for probably a year. It was great to see, actually on Monday this week, they closed the equity raise process that they were doing, the secondary offering. I think it was well oversubscribed according to the articles I read. I think there's a debt funding that follows that.

正如您所記得的那樣，沃達豐是該地區第三大行動營運商，需要為其資產負債表再融資，這一問題已經討論了可能一年了。很高興看到，實際上在本週的周一，他們結束了正在進行的股權融資流程，即二次發行。根據我讀到的文章，我認為它的訂閱量已經很高了。我認為隨之而來的是債務融資。

And then, their strategy is to obviously work on catching up in the market, investing pretty heavily, both in 4G capacity, as well as a 5G buildout. And what we provide is some of the optical and IP infrastructure, as well as we're a provider on the voice side on the cloud and edge business as well. So we're glad to see that really start to move in the right direction and hope that business grows pretty substantially in the second half of the year.

然後，他們的策略顯然是努力追趕市場，在 4G 容量和 5G 建設方面進行大量投資。我們提供的是一些光纖和IP基礎設施，同時我們也是雲端和邊緣業務語音的供應商。因此，我們很高興看到這確實開始朝著正確的方向發展，並希望業務在今年下半年大幅成長。

Got it. And my last question is, the Ciena sounded very cautious about the optical demand, optical market right now, even European market, but I didn't really get that from you guys. Is there like a market share shift going on? Why are you a little bit more optimistic than Ciena?

知道了。我的最後一個問題是，Ciena 聽起來對光學需求、光學市場、甚至歐洲市場非常謹慎，但我並沒有真正從你們那裡得到這一點。市場佔有率是否正在改變？為什麼你比Ciena樂觀一點？

I think it depends on the segments, the part of the market, where we're focused. Clearly, Ciena has a large business with the large carriers, strong business with the ICPs. Where we're doing well is critical infrastructure, defense segments, and some of the carriers. So it's the diversification that we've got that has helped us here.

我認為這取決於細分市場、市場的一部分以及我們關注的重點。顯然，Ciena 與大型營運商有大量業務，與 ICP 也有很強的業務。我們做得好的地方是關鍵基礎設施、國防領域和一些營運商。因此，我們所擁有的多元化對我們有幫助。

Having both an optical portfolio and an IP routing portfolio really helps us. And so the result was, yet again, another quarter of growth, seven quarters in a row now, where we've had year-over-year growth in that segment -- I think it was 9% in the first quarter.

擁有光纖產品組合和 IP 路由產品組合確實對我們有幫助。因此，結果又是一個季度的成長，現在已經連續七個季度了，我們在該領域的同比增長——我認為第一季增長了 9%。

Got it. Thank you.

知道了。謝謝。

Trevor Walsh, JMP Securities.

特雷弗沃爾什，JMP 證券。

Great. Thanks, team. Thanks for taking my questions. Bruce, you mentioned last quarter about the larger federal deal that had slipped into 1Q. Just more for confirmation on that, did the bulk of the revenue expected from that deal then fall in the quarter, or might there be more as that further ramps up next quarter or throughout the year? And then I've got a follow-up just on the broader federal spending atmosphere.

偉大的。謝謝，團隊。感謝您回答我的問題。布魯斯，您上個季度提到了已進入第一季的更大的聯邦協議。只是為了確認這一點，該交易預期的大部分收入是否會在本季下降，或者隨著下個季度或全年的進一步增加，是否會出現更多收入？然後我對更廣泛的聯邦支出氛圍進行了跟進。

Hey, good morning, Trevor. Good question. So as it turned out, that deal that has been awarded, the revenue is actually still coming. So we expect actually more of it here this quarter and throughout the year. In the first quarter, we actually closed another deal, another extension deal with another agency. So you can get the idea there's a lot of these going in parallel.

嘿，早上好，特雷弗。好問題。事實證明，這筆交易已經獲得，收入實際上仍在增加。因此，我們預計本季和全年會有更多這樣的情況。在第一季度，我們實際上完成了另一筆交易，與另一家機構的另一筆延期協議。所以你可以知道有很多這些是並行的。

And as I've mentioned a few times, trying to predict the timing on them tends to be a little bit of a challenge. But it's great to see that we've got, I'll say, multiple irons in the fire. All these agencies need to do a modernization program, not unlike the program we talked about with Verizon, where we're replacing legacy TDM infrastructure with modern cloud-based technology. And so in the first quarter, we had another couple of really substantial deals close and go to revenue. And the one I talked about last quarter is still coming forward, which is great.

正如我多次提到的，試圖預測它們的時間往往是一個挑戰。但我想說的是，很高興看到我們有多個熨斗。所有這些機構都需要實施現代化計劃，這與我們與 Verizon 討論的計劃不同，我們正在用現代的基於雲端的技術取代傳統的 TDM 基礎設施。因此，在第一季度，我們又完成了幾筆真正實質的交易併計入收入。我上個季度談到的那個仍在繼續，這很棒。

Great. Thanks for the color, and that's super helpful and actually a good segue to where I was going to kind of follow up. We hear different takes from companies that we cover that are doing business within the federal sphere around just the government funding via continuing resolution, et cetera, and some of the challenges there with the current Congress.

偉大的。謝謝你的顏色，這非常有幫助，實際上是我接下來要跟進的一個很好的線索。我們聽到了我們所報導的在聯邦範圍內開展業務的公司的不同看法，這些公司只是通過持續決議等方式提供政府資金，以及當前國會面臨的一些挑戰。

Just curious to see what your take is and whether or not that is or isn't affecting some of the timing on some of these things and how you maybe see that progressing through the year. I'm obviously not going to have you pontificate necessarily on the -- along the election outcome, but just how you see that overall federal business flowing and maybe some of the trends that you're seeing specific to Ribbon.

只是想知道你的看法是什麼，這是否會影響其中一些事情的時間安排，以及你如何看待這一年的進展。顯然，我不會讓你對選舉結果進行必然的武斷，而是只是你如何看待整個聯邦業務的流動，也許還有你看到的一些特定於 Ribbon 的趨勢。

We definitely see it as a distraction. Even if funding is allocated and available on a particular program that we're working on which, generally speaking, is the case, either the CR process or the distraction around the shutdown threats back a few quarters ago just tends to be a distraction for the people you're engaged with. They can't help but be distracted by it, particularly if there's a looming shutdown, they're planning around how they manage through that, et cetera.

我們肯定認為這是一種幹擾。即使資金已分配並可用於我們正在進行的特定計劃（一般來說，情況就是如此），但 CR 流程或幾個季度前圍繞關閉威脅的干擾往往會分散人們的注意力。他們情不自禁地被它分散了注意力，特別是如果停工迫在眉睫，他們正在計劃如何應對這種情況，等等。

Again, the good news is we haven't seen any programs be unfunded or canceled or delayed. It's just does it get over the finish line one quarter versus the next one is really what we see. So so far, it seems to be manageable.

同樣，好消息是我們沒有看到任何項目沒有資金、取消或延遲。我們所看到的只是它在一個季度與下一個季度是否衝過終點線。到目前為止，這似乎是可以管理的。

I did emphasize a little bit, and in fact, there's a new slide in our deck that's posted on the website, just how significant the federal and the government space has become for the company in addition to the work we're doing here in the US around voice modernization. We have a really important business internationally with a number of government agencies, both on the military side, the defense side, as well as on the civilian side. We're building out really secure, highly secure information service networks is really important.

我確實強調了一點，事實上，我們的平台上有一張新的幻燈片發佈在網站上，除了我們在美國所做的工作之外，聯邦和政府空間對公司來說也變得多麼重要。圍繞語音現代化。我們在國際上與許多政府機構有非常重要的業務，無論是軍事方面、國防方面或民事方面。我們正在建立真正安全、高度安全的資訊服務網路非常重要。

And I think we're really differentiated there. If you get into the details on the products and the way that we encrypt traffic, the way that we protect message flows, et cetera, is pretty unique. So that whole segment has really grown in force and was almost 10% of sales last year. So it's another important segment in diversifying the company.

我認為我們在這方面確實與眾不同。如果您了解產品的詳細資訊以及我們加密流量的方式、我們保護訊息流的方式等，您會發現非常獨特。因此，整個細分市場確實正在成長，幾乎佔去年銷售額的 10%。因此，這是公司多元化的另一個重要部分。

Great. Terrific. Maybe just one last one for me, and then I'll get back in the queue. You had mentioned in your prepared remarks around just some of the differentiating factors around the security and cyber aspects of the products. I'm just wondering, is it a function of competitive products not really having anything to kind of help customers on that front, or is it more just not -- just something that's not up on par with what you guys are currently doing? Could you maybe just double click a little bit in terms of how you see that differentiation actually playing out on the security front?

偉大的。了不起。也許只是我的最後一件事，然後我會回到隊列中。您在準備好的發言中提到了產品安全和網路方面的一些差異化因素。我只是想知道，這是否是競爭產品的功能，在這方面並沒有真正為客戶提供任何幫助，或者只是沒有——只是與你們目前正在做的事情不符？您能否雙擊一下，看看您如何看待這種差異在安全方面的實際表現？

So I think it comes from the close engagement with a number of these agencies where we're dialoguing with them on what are their requirements, what are their future needs, and then building some of that into the product. So it starts out with somewhat of a custom capability, and then we make it more general that we can bring it to market to other similar agencies.

所以我認為這來自於與許多這樣的機構的密切接觸，我們與他們對話，了解他們的要求是什麼，他們未來的需求是什麼，然後將其中的一些內容構建到產品中。因此，它從某種定制功能開始，然後我們使其變得更加通用，我們可以將其推向市場給其他類似機構。

And it actually helps out the rest of our critical infrastructure business. If we're selling to an energy company or an energy distribution company like American Electric Power, AEP, we talked about last quarter, the capabilities that we built in for a defense application end up differentiating us in that space as well. So it's a bit of a long sales cycle. But once you're in dialoguing, understanding the future requirements, it really makes the whole portfolio better.

它實際上有助於我們其餘的關鍵基礎設施業務。如果我們要向能源公司或能源分銷公司（如美國電力公司、AEP）銷售產品，我們在上個季度談到過，我們為國防應用內建的功能最終也會使我們在該領域脫穎而出。所以銷售週期有點長。但一旦你進行對話，了解未來的需求，它確實會讓整個產品組合變得更好。

Great. Super helpful. Thanks, Bruce, and thanks, Mick. Appreciate the time.

偉大的。超有幫助。謝謝，布魯斯，謝謝，米克。珍惜時間。

Tim Savageaux, Northland Capital Markets.

Tim Savageaux，北國資本市場。

Hey, good morning, and congrats on the results and the outlook, especially on the bottom line execution there. And you mentioned AEP, Bruce, and that was really the focus of my first question. That was one of a couple of deals -- seemingly significant opportunities that you guys talked about last year, along with AT&T. And I guess I wanted to ask about contributions from those opportunities in the first half, I guess, maybe Q1 or Q2, or what your expectations are for the year, and then maybe some broader commentary on your Tier 1 pipeline and IP optical. And I'll follow up from there. Thanks.

嘿，早上好，祝賀結果和前景，特別是那裡的底線執行力。Bruce，你提到了 AEP，這確實是我第一個問題的重點。這是幾筆交易之一——去年你們和 AT&T 談論的看似重要的機會。我想我想詢問上半年這些機會的貢獻，我想可能是第一季度或第二季度，或者您對今年的期望是什麼，然後可能是對您的一級管道和IP 光纖的一些更廣泛的評論。我將從那裡跟進。謝謝。

Hey, good morning, Tim. If I just take those one at a time here, so on AEP, the press release we did with them back early first quarter was at the culmination of signing a contract with them and becoming one of their suppliers in the network. We're now fully engaged with them on that program and have not deployed anything yet, but in process, if you will. So that's mostly a second half year program for us from an actual revenue perspective. So early days still, but great to have that partnership start to develop. And again, very similar to the types of deployments we have in Europe already today with a number of energy distribution customers, like Axpo is an example that's in the Swiss region.

嘿，早上好，提姆。如果我在這裡一次只拿這些，那麼在 AEP 上，我們在第一季初與他們一起發布的新聞稿是與他們簽訂合約並成為他們網絡中的供應商之一的高潮。我們現在正在與他們充分參與該計劃，尚未部署任何內容，但如果您願意的話，我們正在部署中。因此，從實際收入的角度來看，這主要是我們的下半年計畫。雖然還處於早期階段，但很高興能夠開始發展這種夥伴關係。同樣，這與我們今天在歐洲已經為許多能源分銷客戶進行的部署類型非常相似，例如瑞士地區的 Axpo 就是一個例子。

The AT&T engagement continues to progress nicely, where we've been able to leverage both the voice core, as well as our IP routing platforms, into a combined solution that helps them modernize their TDM network, somewhat similar to the Verizon announcement today, but a little different deployment strategy there. Again, that program just continues to progress quarter by quarter throughout this year and hopefully scale into future years here.

AT&T 的參與繼續取得良好進展，我們已經能夠利用語音核心以及我們的 IP 路由平台形成一個組合解決方案，幫助他們實現 TDM 網路現代化，這有點類似於 Verizon 今天的聲明，但是那裡的部署策略略有不同。同樣，該計劃今年將繼續按季度取得進展，並希望能夠擴展到未來幾年。

And maybe, Tim, the other questions around Tier 1 opportunities, again, as we've seen, the sales cycle is long on these, but particular, as I mentioned with the new platform we just introduced, that really moves us into the leading edge around optical transport. We're seeing good engagement there, activity, both from an RFP, RFI process, as well as proof of concept trials in the lab, in network, et cetera. So I'm hopeful we'll progress on some more of those types of announcements as the year goes on here.

蒂姆，也許圍繞一級機會的其他問題，正如我們所見，這些問題的銷售週期很長，但特別是，正如我在我們剛剛推出的新平台中提到的那樣，這確實使我們進入了領先地位光傳輸周圍的邊緣。我們看到了良好的參與和活動，無論是來自 RFP、RFI 流程，或是實驗室、網路等中的概念驗證試驗。因此，我希望隨著時間的推移，我們將在更多此類公告上取得進展。

Okay, great. And then switching over to the cloud edge side, I think last quarter, you're talking about some different trends across the Tier 1 and enterprise federal part of the business sort of leading to kind of a flattish outlook for the year. Seems to be a change here in terms of looking for some growth in cloud edge, maybe as a result of the Verizon deal, maybe some other factors. But can you confirm that your outlook is a little bit stronger here and talk about what's driving that for cloud edge?

好的，太好了。然後切換到雲端邊緣方面，我認為上個季度，您正在談論業務的一級和企業聯邦部分的一些不同趨勢，這導致了今年的前景平淡。在尋求雲端邊緣的成長方面，這似乎是一個變化，可能是由於 Verizon 交易的結果，也可能是其他一些因素。但您能否確認您的前景更為樂觀，並談談是什麼推動了雲端邊緣的發展？

So the answer to that is definitely yes. As we put full-year guidance together back in the early February timeframe, we had visibility on a number of these programs. We obviously had the discussion with Verizon in process at that point, and we're hopeful that that would come to fruition. And as we sit here today, clearly, being able to announce that today is a big deal for us and really puts a solid foundation under that business, not only in the second half of this year, but the next several years.

所以答案是肯定的。當我們在二月初將全年指導整合在一起時，我們對許多此類計劃有了了解。顯然，我們當時正在與 Verizon 進行討論，我們希望這能取得成果。當我們今天坐在這裡時，很明顯，能夠宣布今天對我們來說是一件大事，並且真正為該業務奠定了堅實的基礎，不僅是在今年下半年，而且是在未來幾年。

So that significantly improves our confidence in that view. Not only are we expecting growth in enterprise and federal in cloud and edge, I think we definitely have the opportunity to grow now in service provider, which is a different -- kind of a different message. So it definitely gives us a lot more confidence in the outlook, and we'll see where we're at mid-year.

因此，這大大提高了我們對這一觀點的信心。我們不僅期望企業和聯邦在雲端和邊緣方面的成長，我認為我們現在肯定有機會在服務提供者方面實現成長，這是一個不同的——一種不同的訊息。因此，這無疑讓我們對前景更有信心，我們將在年中看到我們的情況。

Great. Thanks very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Thank you. We reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to Bruce for any further closing comments.

謝謝。我們的問答環節結束了。我想將發言權交還給布魯斯，以徵求更多的結論。

Okay, great. Well, thanks for that, and thanks again for everyone being on the call here early this morning and in the interest in Ribbon Communications. We really look forward to speaking with many of you in the upcoming investor conferences -- we have quite a slate coming up here in the second quarter -- and keeping you updated on our progress.

好的，太好了。好吧，謝謝您，並再次感謝大家今天早上打電話來並對 Ribbon Communications 感興趣。我們非常期待在即將舉行的投資者會議上與你們中的許多人交談——我們在第二季度將有相當多的會議日程——並向你們通報我們的最新進展。

So thanks very much, and have a good week.

非常感謝，祝您一週愉快。

Thank you. That does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your line at this time and have a wonderful day. We thank you for your participation today.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路並度過美好的一天。我們感謝您今天的參與。