Ribbon Communications Inc (RBBN) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Ribbon Communications Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

歡迎參加 Ribbon Communications 2024 年第二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 is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Joni Roberts. Thank you. You may begin.

現在我很高興向您介紹主持人喬尼·羅伯茨。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Good afternoon and welcome to Ribbon's second quarter 2024 financial results conference call. I'm Joni Roberts, Chief Marketing Officer at Ribbon Communications. Also on the call today is Bruce McClelland, Ribbon's Chief Executive Officer; and Mick Lopez, Ribbon's Chief Financial Officer.

下午好，歡迎參加 Ribbon 2024 年第二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. Certain matters we'll be discussing today, including the business outlook and financial projections for third 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.

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。我們今天將討論的某些事項，包括 2024 年第三季及以後的業務前景和財務預測，均為前瞻性陳述。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。

I refer you to our safe harbor statement included in the supplemental financial information posted on our website. 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 financial information we prepared for this conference call which again are both available on the Investor Relations section of our website.

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。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。我們今天稍早發布的收益新聞稿以及我們為本次電話會議準備的補充財務資訊中包含了對適用的公認會計準則措施的調節，這些資訊也可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分找到。

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 afternoon, everyone and thanks for joining us today to discuss our Q2 results and outlook for the rest of the year. I'd like to start this afternoon with a short recap on the progress we've made over the last 18 months executing against our strategic goals and improving the foundation of the company.

偉大的。謝謝，喬尼。大家下午好，感謝您今天加入我們討論我們第二季的業績和今年剩餘時間的展望。今天下午，我想先簡短回顧一下我們在過去 18 個月中在執行策略目標和改善公司基礎方面所取得的進展。

In early 2023, we initiated the final phase of integration of the ECI acquisition by restructuring the organization and integrating common functions such as R&D, operations, customer support and deployment services. This allowed us to capture significant savings and better execute on programs that leverage products and technologies from both our business units, such as the significant investment being made in expanding broadband to more rural regions across the US that will only accelerate with the $42 billion allocated in the Inflation Reduction Act for Rural Broadband.

2023 年初，我們啟動了 ECI 收購整合的最後階段，重組組織並整合研發、營運、客戶支援和部署服務等通用職能。這使我們能夠節省大量資金，並更好地執行利用我們兩個業務部門的產品和技術的計劃，例如為將寬頻擴展到美國更多農村地區而進行的大量投資，隨著2017 年分配的420億美元的推進，這項投資只會加速發展。

The investment that we've made in new products allowed us to capture additional share in regions such as India with the long haul and Cell Site Router programs with Bharti Airtel, increasing our revenue in India by 30% last year. We expect to continue to see these benefits of the new operating structure for years to come. We've also been very successful in growing our business with enterprise customers as they modernize their communication infrastructure and leverage public cloud platforms. Similarly, we won a series of significant multiyear voice modernization projects with US Federal defense agencies that are now underway and will continue well into the future.

我們對新產品的投資使我們能夠透過與 Bharti Airtel 合作的長途和基地台路由器專案在印度等地區獲得更多份額，去年我們在印度的收入增加了 30%。我們預計在未來幾年將繼續看到新營運結構的這些好處。隨著企業客戶實現通訊基礎設施現代化並利用公有雲平台，我們在與企業客戶的業務發展方面也非常成功。同樣，我們與美國聯邦國防機構贏得了一系列重要的多年語音現代化項目，這些項目現在正在進行中，並將在未來繼續下去。

Financial results have improved significantly, particularly in the IP Optical business, where we have now had eight straight quarters of year-over-year higher earnings contribution from the business, resulting in a trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA for the company once again above $100 million in 2024. This allowed us to go to market in the second quarter and complete the refinancing of our credit facility, giving us the financial foundation to continue to execute on our strategy. We couldn't be more delighted with our new financial relationship with HPS and WhiteHorse and their interest in supporting our growth initiatives.

財務業績顯著改善，尤其是 IP 光纖業務，該業務的盈利貢獻現已連續八個季度同比增長，導致該公司過去 12 個月調整後 EBITDA 再次超過 100 美元2024 年將達到 100 萬。這使我們能夠在第二季度進入市場並完成信貸安排的再融資，為我們繼續執行我們的策略提供了財務基礎。我們對與 HPS 和 WhiteHorse 的新財務關係以及他們對支持我們的成長計劃的興趣感到非常高興。

As we look forward to the second half of the year and beyond, we have multiple strong tailwinds supporting the business. The recently announced three-year Verizon voice network modernization contract and the potential for similar projects with other service providers, such as Brightspeed which we announced last week, along with growth in enterprise and US Federal give us high confidence that the Cloud & Edge business will return to growth.

展望今年下半年及以後，我們有多個強大的推動力支援業務。最近宣布的三年期 Verizon 語音網路現代化合約以及與其他服務提供商（例如我們上周宣布的 Brightspeed）開展類似項目的潛力，以及企業和美國聯邦的增長使我們對雲端和邊緣業務將充滿信心恢復增長。

In addition, the recent announcement by Microsoft to suspend development on the Metaswitch portfolio creates an excellent opportunity to further expand Ribbon's share in the global carrier voice infrastructure and unified communications space. Similarly, recent industry announcements, including the Nokia-Infinera combination and the HPE-Juniper deal create disruptions that we intend to capitalize on. These types of consolidations create significant distraction for their businesses and inevitable road map or realignment changes that open the door for alternative solutions.

此外，微軟最近宣布暫停Metaswitch產品組合的開發，為進一步擴大Ribbon在全球營運商語音基礎設施和統一通訊領域的份額創造了絕佳的機會。同樣，最近的行業公告，包括諾基亞-英飛朗合併和 HPE-瞻博網路交易，造成了我們打算利用的顛覆。這些類型的整合對其業務造成了極大的干擾，並且不可避免地需要進行路線圖或重新調整，從而為替代解決方案打開了大門。

The one area that will create a near-term headwind is business we have in Eastern Europe, supporting telecom operators in the deployment of Internet access in this troubled region. As the war in Ukraine continues into its third year, it's become increasingly challenging to operate in Russia and continue to provide products. We, therefore, suspended new shipments and lowered our expectations with a more conservative outlook for the region for the rest of the year. This also had an impact at the end of the second quarter.

近期將產生不利影響的一個領域是我們在東歐的業務，支援電信業者在這陷入困境的地區部署網路存取。隨著烏克蘭戰爭持續到第三個年頭，在俄羅斯開展業務並繼續提供產品變得越來越具有挑戰性。因此，我們暫停了新的發貨，並降低了我們的預期，對該地區今年剩餘時間的前景持更加保守的態度。這也對第二季末產生了影響。

In order to offset the profit contribution shortfall, we're phasing in additional cost-saving actions over the next several months and we continue to target profitability for the IP Optical business, although it will take a little longer than originally projected. 2024 is still expected to be a significant improvement over 2023.

為了彌補利潤貢獻的不足，我們將在未來幾個月內分階段採取額外的成本節約行動，並繼續以 IP 光纖業務的盈利為目標，儘管這將比最初預計的時間稍長。預計 2024 年仍將比 2023 年有顯著改善。

Now on to Q2 results. Revenue came in below our guidance range for the quarter at $193 million. In addition to lower shipments to Eastern Europe, the largest shortfall was a significant Cloud & Edge deal with the US Federal agency that was expected to close in Q2 but slipped out of the quarter. That deal alone would have put us in the revenue guidance range for the quarter and well above the top end of guidance on earnings. Predicting the timing of these US Federal projects continues to be challenging but we are expecting this deal to close this week and is included in our outlook for the third quarter.

現在來看第二季的結果。本季營收為 1.93 億美元，低於我們的指導範圍。除了對東歐的出貨量下降之外，最大的缺口是與美國聯邦機構達成的一項重大雲和邊緣交易，預計將在第二季度完成，但未能在本季度完成。僅憑這筆交易就可以使我們進入本季度的收入指導範圍，並遠高於收益指導的上限。預測這些美國聯邦計畫的時間仍然具有挑戰性，但我們預計這筆交易將於本週完成，並將納入我們對第三季的展望中。

We are building momentum in this large and critical market segment where we have leadership and substantial differentiation. We did close and ship an additional large project in the second quarter to another US defense agency.

我們正在這個龐大且關鍵的細分市場中建立勢頭，我們在該細分市場中擁有領先地位和顯著的差異化優勢。我們確實在第二季關閉了一個額外的大型項目，並將其運送給另一個美國國防機構。

Despite the lower sales, earnings were very solid in the quarter with adjusted non-GAAP EBITDA of $22 million. Gross margins were at the high end of our guidance with strength in both business units. Our continued focus on driving down expenses also contributed to the solid earnings result. Year-to-date profitability for the company increased 65% on an adjusted EBITDA basis as compared to 2023.

儘管銷售額較低，但該季度的盈利非常穩健，調整後的非 GAAP EBITDA 為 2,200 萬美元。兩個業務部門的毛利率都處於我們指引的高端。我們對降低開支的持續關注也促成了穩健的獲利結果。與 2023 年相比，公司年初至今的獲利能力（調整後 EBITDA 基礎上）成長了 65%。

Now a little more detail on each of our operating segments. As a result of lower sales to Eastern Europe, IP Optical revenue in the second quarter was down $3 million year-over-year to $82 million, the first year-over-year decline we've had in eight quarters. Excluding sales to Eastern Europe, revenue from all other customers was up 4% year-over-year and up 35% quarter-over-quarter. Book-to-bill was positive at 1.09x.

現在詳細介紹一下我們每個營運部門。由於對東歐的銷售額下降，第二季 IP Optical 營收年減 300 萬美元，至 8,200 萬美元，這是我們八個季度以來首次出現同比下降。不包括對東歐的銷售，來自所有其他客戶的收入同比增長 4%，環比增長 35%。訂單出貨比為 1.09 倍。

Excluding Eastern Europe, the EMEA region was the strongest market for IP Optical solutions again this quarter, increasing 30% year-over-year and 9% quarter-over-quarter. This includes significant deals with defense agencies such as the Israeli Defense Forces and the Swiss Armed Forces.

除東歐外，歐洲、中東和非洲地區本季再次成為 IP 光纖解決方案最強勁的市場，年增 30%，季增 9%。這包括與以色列國防軍和瑞士武裝部隊等國防機構的重大交易。

The Asia Pac region outside of India was also strong in the quarter, with sales increasing 32% year-over-year. This includes a number of projects we announced this week with long-standing customer, Converge ICT, in the Philippines, the leading fiber broadband provider in the region. The new deployment leverages our new 1.2 terabit per second Apollo 9400 to expand fiber network capacity to support exponential traffic growth from hyperscale and AI applications.

印度以外的亞太地區本季也表現強勁，銷售額年增 32%。這包括我們本週與菲律賓的長期客戶 Converge ICT（該地區領先的光纖寬頻供應商）宣布的多個項目。新部署利用我們新的每秒 1.2 太比特的 Apollo 9400 來擴展光纖網路容量，以支援超大規模和人工智慧應用的指數級流量成長。

Sales to India in the first half of 2024 were down approximately 20% year-over-year, following strong shipments last year when we ramped supply of cell site routers and initial long-haul optical deployments. However, we expect significant growth in the second half of the year with continued better margins.

去年我們增加了蜂窩基地台路由器的供應和初始長途光纖部署，導致出貨量強勁，2024 年上半年對印度的銷售額年減了約 20%。然而，我們預計下半年將顯著成長，利潤率將持續提高。

IP Optical sales in the US were down this quarter as we work closely with customers and engineering firms to deploy products shipped in previous quarters. But we have a very strong pipeline of US Rural Broadband opportunities in the second half. In fact, backlog is currently higher than the entire amount we shipped in the first half of the year.

由於我們與客戶和工程公司密切合作以部署前幾季出貨的產品，本季美國 IP 光纖銷售額有所下降。但下半年我們將擁有大量美國農村寬頻機會。事實上，目前的積壓訂單比我們上半年的總出貨量還要高。

The overall customer mix, along with continued improvement in supply chain costs, resulted in gross margins in line with our expectations at 39%, up year-over-year and down just slightly from the first quarter. Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for IP Optical was negative $4 million in the quarter, a significant improvement year-over-year and sequentially better than the first quarter.

整體客戶結構以及供應鏈成本的持續改善，導致毛利率達到 39%，符合我們的預期，年成長，較第一季略有下降。本季 IP Optical 的非 GAAP 調整後 EBITDA 為負 400 萬美元，較去年同期顯著改善，較上季優於第一季。

In our Cloud & Edge segment, sales were down year-over-year, primarily due to the timing of the large US Federal deal that moved to Q3. Sales to service providers, including US Tier 1 carriers, stabilized and were down only slightly year-over-year. We expect strong growth from service providers in the second half of the year.

在我們的雲端和邊緣領域，銷售額較去年同期下降，主要是由於美國聯邦大型交易移至第三季。對包括美國一級運營商在內的服務提供商的銷售穩定，同比僅略有下降。我們預計下半年服務提供者將強勁成長。

The team is fully engaged in operationalizing the new Verizon advanced voice network platform project. We received initial product orders and shipped a small quantity in the quarter and started some of the advanced network engineering and planning effort for the initial switch locations. This will accelerate rapidly over the next two quarters, and we are on track to achieve our $100 million per year run rate with Verizon by the end of the year.

該團隊全力投入營運新的 Verizon 高級語音網路平台專案。我們收到了最初的產品訂單，並在本季度發貨了少量產品，並為初始交換器位置啟動了一些高級網路工程和規劃工作。這將在接下來的兩個季度迅速加速，我們預計在今年年底前與 Verizon 實現每年 1 億美元的營運率。

Overall activity in the voice transformation area continues to increase, highlighted by our announcement with Brightspeed last week. They are leveraging our portfolio of voice solutions to modernize their legacy central office equipment which includes our multi-service access routing platform, the Neptune 1250. We initiated a similar project with another US MSO this quarter and expect several more this year.

語音轉換領域的整體活動持續增加，上週我們與 Brightspeed 發布的公告凸顯了這一點。他們正在利用我們的語音解決方案組合對其傳統中央辦公設備進行現代化改造，其中包括我們的多服務存取路由平台 Neptune 1250。本季我們與另一家美國 MSO 啟動了一個類似的項目，預計今年還會有更多項目。

The reported Microsoft announcement to discontinue their work on the Metaswitch portfolio has also created significant discussion and interest as operators evaluate options to continue to provide these critical voice services.

據報道，微軟宣布停止 Metaswitch 產品組合的開發工作，這也引起了營運商評估繼續提供這些關鍵語音服務的選項的廣泛討論和興趣。

Our Cloud & Edge recurring maintenance business remained strong this quarter and we expect a modest increase in revenue in the second half. More than 90% of our projected revenue for the year is already booked and we closed a significant three-year renewal in excess of $60 million with one of our larger customers in the last quarter.

我們的雲端和邊緣經常性維護業務本季保持強勁，我們預計下半年營收將小幅成長。我們今年預計收入的 90% 以上已經預訂，並且我們在上個季度與我們的一個大客戶完成了超過 6000 萬美元的三年期續約。

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

這樣，我將把它交給米克，提供有關我們第二季度業績的更多細節，然後回來討論今年剩餘時間的前景。米克？

Thank you, Bruce. Good afternoon to everyone. We were pleased again with Ribbon's ability to meet adjusted EBITDA earnings guidance driven by strong product gross margins and continued focus on operating expense management.

謝謝你，布魯斯。大家下午好。我們再次對 Ribbon 在強勁的產品毛利率和持續關注營運費用管理的推動下達到調整後 EBITDA 獲利指引的能力感到高興。

On a trailing 12-month basis, our consolidated adjusted EBITDA remained over $100 million. Most notably, our IP Optical networks is getting closer to sustained breakeven profitability with the last 12 months adjusted EBITDA of negative $5 million or just under 2% of revenue. Meanwhile, we continue to manage the Cloud & Edge business, resulting in strong EBITDA margin performance of 24% for the last 12 months. With our expectations for revenue growth in both segments in the second half of the year, Ribbon's financial performance will only improve. As always, please refer to our Investor Relations page on the Ribbon website for supplemental financial information.

在過去 12 個月的基礎上，我們的綜合調整後 EBITDA 仍超過 1 億美元。最值得注意的是，我們的 IP 光纖網路越來越接近持續盈虧平衡的獲利能力，過去 12 個月調整後的 EBITDA 為負 500 萬美元，略低於營收的 2%。同時，我們繼續管理雲端和邊緣業務，導致過去 12 個月的 EBITDA 利潤率表現強勁，達到 24%。鑑於我們對下半年這兩個領域營收成長的預期，Ribbon 的財務表現只會有所改善。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資訊。

Let's begin with financial results at the consolidated corporate level. In the second quarter of 2024, Ribbon generated revenues of $193 million which is a decrease of 8.5% from the prior year and below the low end of our guidance. Non-GAAP gross margin was 54.4% which is at the high end of our guidance. This is a 240 basis point improvement over prior year due to a positive product and regional mix and IP optical networks.

讓我們從合併公司層面的財務表現開始。2024 年第二季度，Ribbon 營收 1.93 億美元，比前一年下降 8.5%，低於我們指導的下限。非 GAAP 毛利率為 54.4%，處於我們指導的上限。由於積極的產品和區域組合以及 IP 光網絡，這比去年提高了 240 個基點。

Non-GAAP operating expenses were $86 million, an improvement of $4 million year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter, driven by continued reductions in R&D and sales expenses from last year's restructuring efforts. This is the lowest operating expense level since the merger of Ribbon and ECI in 2020. Non-GAAP net income was $9 million which is a $1 million improvement from the previous year. This generated non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.05 which is an increase of $0.01 versus prior year.

非 GAAP 營運費用為 8,600 萬美元，年比和季比增加 400 萬美元，這是由於去年重組工作導致研發和銷售費用持續減少。這是自2020年Ribbon和ECI合併以來的最低營運費用水準。非 GAAP 淨利潤為 900 萬美元，比前一年增加 100 萬美元。這產生了非 GAAP 攤薄每股收益 0.05 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 $4 million, 42% less than the previous year. This was mostly driven by $6 million of noncash accounting charges caused by the refinancing transaction which included previous debt issuance costs from 2020 and the gain from the sale of the interest rate swap in 2023.

今年迄今為止，我們的非公認會計準則稅率為 35%。本季我們的利息支出為 400 萬美元，比上年減少 42%。這主要是由再融資交易引起的 600 萬美元非現金會計費用推動的，其中包括 2020 年之前的債務發行成本以及 2023 年出售利率互換的收益。

Adjusted EBITDA was $22 million in the quarter, right in the middle of our guidance. It is slightly down $1 million from the prior year and up $10 million from the first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA year-to-date is now $33 million and trailing 12 months is $104 million. Our basic share count was 174 million shares, and our fully diluted share count was 176 million shares for the quarter.

本季調整後 EBITDA 為 2,200 萬美元，正好處於我們指引值的中間位置。比去年同期小幅減少 100 萬美元，比第一季增加 1,000 萬美元。年初至今調整後 EBITDA 為 3,300 萬美元，過去 12 個月為 1.04 億美元。本季我們的基本股數為 1.74 億股，完全稀釋後的股數為 1.76 億股。

Now let's look at the results of our two business segments. In our Cloud & Edge business, second quarter revenue was $111 million, a decrease of 12% year-over-year, driven by lower enterprise product sales, primarily due to the delayed US Federal defense deal. We are increasingly confident that we can grow our revenues for this business segment, especially with the incremental opportunity 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，第二季營收為 1.11 億美元，年減 12%，這是由於企業產品銷售下降（主要是由於美國聯邦國防協議延遲）所致。我們越來越有信心能夠增加該業務部門的收入，特別是在 Verizon 網路現代化計劃帶來的增量機會的幫助下。

Cloud & Edge had strong second quarter non-GAAP gross margin of 66%, consistent with the previous quarter and prior year. Software sales were solid once again and made up 64% of total product revenues. Product and services bookings were good in the quarter at 1.04 times revenue. Cloud & Edge continues its steady cash and profit contribution with an adjusted EBITDA of $26 million or 23% of revenues.

Cloud & Edge 第二季非 GAAP 毛利率高達 66%，與上一季及去年同期一致。軟體銷售再次穩健，佔產品總收入的 64%。本季產品和服務預訂情況良好，為收入的 1.04 倍。Cloud & Edge 持續維持穩定的現金和利潤貢獻，調整後 EBITDA 為 2,600 萬美元，佔營收的 23%。

Let's turn to our IP Optical networks business results. We recorded second quarter revenue of $82 million or a 4% decrease versus the prior year. While we had good revenue growth across most of Europe, this was mitigated by substantial year-on-year decrease of about $6 million from our Eastern European operations. Also, as Bruce mentioned, sales to North America and India were lower this quarter but we anticipate a significant increase in the second half of 2024.

讓我們來看看我們的 IP 光網路業務成果。我們第二季的營收為 8,200 萬美元，比去年同期下降 4%。雖然我們在歐洲大部分地區的收入成長良好，但東歐業務比去年同期大幅減少約 600 萬美元，緩解了這個問題。此外，正如 Bruce 所提到的，本季北美和印度的銷售額較低，但我們預計 2024 年下半年將大幅成長。

Non-GAAP gross margin for IP Optical networks was 39%, up about 800 basis points from the prior year, mostly driven by lower product costs and better regional mix from EMEA sales. This resulted in gross profit of $32 million which is a $6 million improvement from previous year.

IP 光纖網路的非 GAAP 毛利率為 39%，比上年增長約 800 個基點，主要是由於產品成本降低以及 EMEA 銷售區域組合改善。這使得毛利達到 3,200 萬美元，比前一年增加了 600 萬美元。

Actually, our last 12-month non-GAAP gross margin is over 40%, driven by a better product mix, cost of goods sold enhancements and royalty reductions. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was only a loss of $4 million which is a great improvement of $8 million from the second quarter last year. This is the eighth straight quarter of year-over-year improvement in profitability for the IP Optical networks.

事實上，我們過去 12 個月的非 GAAP 毛利率超過 40%，這得益於更好的產品組合、銷售成本提高和特許權使用費降低。該季度調整後的 EBITDA 僅虧損 400 萬美元，比去年第二季的 800 萬美元大幅改善。這是IP 光網路獲利能力連續第八個季度較去年同期改善。

Now, let's discuss total company cash flows and capital structure. Cash flow from operations for the quarter was a negative $10 million but that includes a onetime $7 million preferred equity dividend which is classified as interest. On a normalized basis, cash flow from operations was a negative $3 million for the quarter and a positive $7 million for the first half of the year.

現在，我們來討論公司總現金流量和資本結構。本季營運現金流為負 1,000 萬美元，但其中包括一次性的 700 萬美元優先股股息，該股息被歸類為利息。在標準化基礎上，本季營運現金流為負 300 萬美元，上半年為正 700 萬美元。

Ribbon's capital structure was greatly enhanced in the second quarter. As we had committed, we were able to successfully refinance our term loan A before the end of June with the proceeds of a new $350 million five-year term loan. On June 21, we repaid $230 million of the existing term loan and redeemed in full for $64 million of preferred equity. Additional detail on the transaction is in the second quarter presentation available on our Ribbon Investor website.

Ribbon的資本結構在第二季度得到了極大的增強。正如我們所承諾的那樣，我們能夠在 6 月底之前利用新的 3.5 億美元五年期定期貸款的收益成功為定期貸款 A 進行再融資。6 月 21 日，我們償還了 2.3 億美元的現有定期貸款，並全額贖回了 6,400 萬美元的優先股。有關交易的更多詳細信息，請參閱我們的 Ribbon Investor 網站上的第二季度簡報。

As a result of the refinancing transaction, our liquidity has also improved significantly. We increased our cash balance over $36 million from the first quarter to finish at $67 million of cash and cash equivalents at the end of the second quarter. In addition, we have an untapped $35 million new revolving credit facility.

透過再融資交易，我們的流動性也顯著改善。我們的現金餘額從第一季增加到 3,600 萬美元以上，到第二季末現金和現金等價物達到 6,700 萬美元。此外，我們還有尚未動用的 3,500 萬美元新循環信貸額度。

All in all, this positions Ribbon well into the future with a strong foundation, solid capital structure, enhanced liquidity, less restrictive covenants and especially a new strategic banking group relationship. We are fortunate to be financed by HPS Investment Partners and WhiteHorse Capital due to their financial strength, business acumen and long-term partnership perspective. With them, we will have the financial flexibility to address growth opportunities.

總而言之，這使 Ribbon 憑藉著堅實的基礎、堅實的資本結構、增強的流動性、較少的限制性契約，尤其是新的戰略銀行集團關係，在未來佔據有利地位。由於 HPS Investment Partners 和 WhiteHorse Capital 的財務實力、商業頭腦和長期合作夥伴關係的遠見，我們很幸運能夠獲得他們的融資。有了他們，我們將擁有財務靈活性來應對成長機會。

Now, I'll turn the call back to Bruce.

現在，我將把電話轉回布魯斯。

Great. Thanks, Mick. Now, focusing on the second half of the year, we're expecting significant growth with revenue increasing approximately 25% as compared to the first half. We expect margins to remain relatively consistent with the first half. And with continued OpEx control, bottom line earnings are expected to more than double, very similar to the profile of the business in 2023. There are a number of specific tailwinds supporting the business and our outlook for the second half.

偉大的。謝謝，米克。現在，重點關註今年下半年，我們預計營收將比上半年顯著成長約 25%。我們預期利潤率將與上半年保持相對一致。隨著營運支出的持續控制，底線收益預計將增加一倍以上，與 2023 年的業務狀況非常相似。有許多具體的有利因素支持我們的業務和我們對下半年的展望。

First, the Verizon program is off to a great start and the combined team is fully activated. The first phase of sites to be upgraded have been identified and detailed designs are underway. We're scaling the deployment teams and ramping production on the necessary hardware components and installation material.

首先，Verizon 計畫有了一個良好的開端，合併後的團隊已全面啟動。第一期升級改造場地已經確定，詳細設計正在進行中。我們正在擴大部署團隊的規模，並增加必要的硬體組件和安裝材料的生產。

Revenue on hardware and software is recognized as we ship and the professional service revenue is recognized as the work is performed on each site. Sales to Verizon in the second quarter once again exceeded 10% of sales, increasing 40% quarter-over-quarter and we project sales in the second half of the year to increase approximately 50% versus the first half.

硬體和軟體收入在我們發貨時確認，專業服務收入在每個站點執行工作時確認。第二季對 Verizon 的銷售額再次超過銷售額的 10%，較上季成長 40%，我們預計下半年的銷售額將比上半年成長約 50%。

Second, we expect a strong second half with rural and regional service providers in the US, building out fiber networks using both our optical transport and IP routing solutions. We have a very strong pipeline and growing backlog that projects significant growth versus the first half and will approximately double year-over-year.

其次，我們預計下半年美國農村和地區服務供應商將使用我們的光傳輸和 IP 路由解決方案來建立光纖網路。我們擁有非常強大的管道和不斷增長的積壓訂單，預計與上半年相比將顯著增長，並將同比增長約一倍。

We've increased the number of network engineering and consulting firms we're working with and broadened our geographic coverage to more areas which has helped further increase our opportunity funnel. Approximately 50% of the projects are benefiting from some form of incentive funding such as RDOF and ReConnect. In addition to traditional telecom service providers, we're also seeing a growing number of opportunities with utility providers.

我們增加了合作的網路工程和顧問公司的數量，並將我們的地理覆蓋範圍擴大到更多地區，這有助於進一步擴大我們的機會管道。大約 50% 的專案受益於某種形式的激勵資金，例如 RDOF 和 ReConnect。除了傳統的電信服務供應商之外，我們還看到公用事業提供者的機會越來越多。

Third, we expect a strong second half with enterprise and US Federal and defense agencies with revenue growing more than 50% versus the first half of the year. This includes a number of larger annual enterprise license agreement renewals with financial institutions that provides a solid base of recurring revenue.

第三，我們預計下半年企業以及美國聯邦和國防機構的收入將比上半年成長 50% 以上。這包括與金融機構續簽一些規模較大的年度企業授權協議，為經常性收入奠定了堅實的基礎。

Fourth, we expect the business in India to grow approximately 30% in the second half versus the first half of the year on the strength of stronger fiber network deployments and long-awaited increased network spending by Vodafone Idea. The return of this strategic customer is a major opportunity given the shift away from Chinese manufacturers in this large region.

第四，我們預計印度業務下半年將較上半年成長約 30%，這得益於更強大的光纖網路部署以及人們期待已久的 Vodafone Idea 增加的網路支出。鑑於中國製造商在這一大片地區的轉移，這一戰略客戶的回歸是一個重大機會。

And finally, excluding Eastern Europe, our business in the EMEA region is expected to follow a seasonal trend with sales increasing approximately 30% in the second half. This is a very strong market for our IP Optical business with a base of repeat customers. The combination of all these trends provide us good visibility and the strong growth in the second half of the year.

最後，除東歐外，我們在 EMEA 地區的業務預計將遵循季節性趨勢，下半年銷售額將成長約 30%。對於我們的 IP 光纖業務來說，這是一個非常強大的市場，擁有大量回頭客。所有這些趨勢的結合為我們提供了良好的可見性和下半年的強勁成長。

In addition, as I mentioned earlier, recent changes in the competitive landscape definitely creates opportunities to expand our business with both existing and new customers. In particular, the reported decision by Microsoft to discontinue development on the Metaswitch portfolio and significantly reduced sales and engineering staff is a major opportunity for us to replace existing deployments of session border controllers and voice softswitch and media gateways. We believe the majority of the Metaswitch footprint is with telecom service providers in North America and Europe.

此外，正如我之前提到的，最近競爭格局的變化無疑為我們與現有客戶和新客戶拓展業務創造了機會。特別是，據報道，微軟決定停止 Metaswitch 產品組合的開發，並大幅減少銷售和工程人員，這對我們來說是更換會話邊界控制器、語音軟交換和媒體網關現有部署的重大機會。我們相信 Metaswitch 的大部分業務涵蓋北美和歐洲的電信服務供應商。

In many cases, the Metaswitch deployments are with customers where we don't currently have footprint or where we have a minority share position. This is a great opportunity to provide customers with a migration to a state-of-the-art feature-rich software platform that's deployed at scale with the largest service providers in the world. Our second half projections do not yet include upside from this major market opportunity.

在許多情況下，Metaswitch 部署的客戶是我們目前沒有足跡或擁有少數份額的客戶。這是一個絕佳的機會，可以幫助客戶遷移到最先進的、功能豐富的軟體平台，該平台已由世界上最大的服務供應商大規模部署。我們的下半年預測尚未包括此主要市場機會的上行空間。

Of course, we'll have some headwind from the suspension of shipments to Russia. We estimate this at approximately $20 million to $25 million of revenue in the second half. However, we are implementing a number of expense reduction actions to mitigate a significant portion of the profit shortfall and the additional tailwinds I outlined support the growth we're projecting in the second half.

當然，我們會因暫停向俄羅斯發貨而遇到一些阻力。我們估計下半年的收入約為 2,000 萬至 2,500 萬美元。然而，我們正在實施一系列費用削減行動，以緩解很大一部分利潤缺口，而我概述的額外有利因素將支持我們預計下半年的成長。

In summary, we continue to be focused 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 in enterprise market verticals, including financial, health care and government, information security and accelerating innovation and capturing cost efficiencies with full integration of our product teams.

總而言之，我們繼續專注於我們的關鍵戰略目標，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、多元化和擴大企業垂直市場（包括金融、醫療保健和政府）的銷售、訊息安全、加速創新並透過我們產品團隊的全面整合來提高成本效率。

From a guidance perspective, for the third quarter, we expect continued sequential growth in both of our businesses. We expect gross margins to be consistent with the second quarter, although perhaps down approximately a 100 basis points given the expected mix of shipments.

從指導的角度來看，我們預計第三季我們的兩項業務將繼續實現環比成長。我們預計毛利率將與第二季保持一致，儘管考慮到預期的出貨量組合可能會下降約 100 個基點。

And we expect OpEx to be up a few million dollars versus the second quarter due to variable employment expenses but then to reduce further in the fourth quarter given the cost actions underway.

由於就業費用的變化，我們預計營運支出將比第二季增加數百萬美元，但鑑於正在進行的成本行動，第四季營運支出將進一步減少。

Based on this, for the third quarter, we're projecting revenue in the range of $205 million to $220 million, non-GAAP gross margins of 53% to 53.5% and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA in the range of $25 million to $30 million.

基於此，我們預計第三季營收將在 2.05 億美元至 2.2 億美元之間，非 GAAP 毛利率為 53% 至 53.5%，非 GAAP 調整後 EBITDA 為 2,500 萬美元至 3,000 萬美元。

For the full year, after accounting for the reduced sales to Eastern Europe offset by growth across multiple other areas and continued expense management actions, we believe we're still on track to be in our original guidance range, although more towards the bottom of the range. Therefore, we thought it was prudent to revise our guidance for the full year as follows. Revenue in a range of $830 million to $850 million, non-GAAP gross margins of 54% to 54.5% and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA in a range of $105 million to $115 million.

就全年而言，在考慮到東歐銷售額的減少被多個其他地區的增長和持續的費用管理行動所抵消後，我們相信我們仍有望保持在最初的指導範圍內，儘管更接近於底部範圍。因此，我們認為對全年指引進行如下謹慎修改。營收範圍為 8.3 億至 8.5 億美元，非 GAAP 毛利率為 54% 至 54.5%，非 GAAP 調整後 EBITDA 範圍為 1.05 億至 1.15 億美元。

In conclusion, we are well positioned to benefit from the growing investment in fiber networks to meet the exponential increase in the consumption. And we expect a return to growth in our voice communications business as key customers such as Verizon accelerate modernization of their infrastructure. We're effectively managing things that are in our control and as we continue to significantly improve our overall profitability, this should translate into significant value creation for our investors and employees.

總之，我們處於有利地位，可以從光纖網路不斷增長的投資中受益，以滿足​​消費的指數級增長。我們預計，隨著 Verizon 等主要客戶加速其基礎設施現代化，我們的語音通訊業務將恢復成長。我們正在有效地管理我們控制範圍內的事情，並且隨著我們繼續顯著提高整體盈利能力，這應該轉化為為我們的投資者和員工創造重大價值。

Our original strategy behind the combination of Ribbon and ECI to cross-sell the entire portfolio of voice and data products to a broad common customer base continues to progress and creates a strong foundation for the business to grow in 2025 and beyond.

我們最初的策略是將 Ribbon 和 ECI 結合起來，向廣泛的共同客戶群交叉銷售整個語音和數據產品組合，這一戰略不斷取得進展，並為 2025 年及以後的業務增長奠定了堅實的基礎。

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) Michael Genovesi, Rosenblatt Securities.

（操作員指示）Michael Genovesi，羅森布拉特證券。

Great. Thanks very much. First, congratulations on the strong margins and EBITDA and what sounds like a robust second half revenue outlook across a bunch of end markets. It's good to see all that. But I want to tie a bow on the second quarter and just understand the second quarter a little bit more.

偉大的。非常感謝。首先，恭喜強勁的利潤率和 EBITDA，以及眾多終端市場下半年強勁的營收前景。很高興看到這一切。但我想在第二季打個蝴蝶結，並進一步了解第二季。

We got what you said about enterprise, about Federal and that basically Edge and Cloud would have been in line, Federal deal hasn't slipped. I want to quantify the shortfall in optical in 2Q a little bit more. Like how much was Eastern Europe versus -- it sounds like the US was soft in the second quarter but will be stronger in the second half of the year?

我們得到了你所說的關於企業、關於聯邦的內容，基本上邊緣和雲都會保持一致，聯邦協議並沒有下滑。我想進一步量化第二季光學方面的不足。就像東歐與美國的情況相比——聽起來美國在第二季度表現疲軟，但在下半年會走強？

Yes. Thanks for the question, Mike. So like the first part, I think you've got right. The largest shortfall was this Federal deal which was significant in size. I think as I mentioned in the remarks that it would have gotten us to the guidance range. So we were at $193 million total with the bottom of the range of $200 million. So it gives you an idea of the size of that deal. And obviously, the incremental contribution from that, given it's essentially software, would have resulted in the earnings being even much, much stronger above the guidance range just with that deal alone.

是的。謝謝你的提問，麥克。就像第一部分一樣，我認為你是對的。最大的缺口是這項規模龐大的聯邦協議。我認為正如我在評論中提到的那樣，這將使我們達到指導範圍。因此，我們的總金額為 1.93 億美元，範圍底部為 2 億美元。因此，它可以讓您了解該交易的規模。顯然，考慮到它本質上是軟體，由此產生的增量貢獻將導致收益遠高於指導範圍，僅憑這筆交易。

On the optical side, I think Mick mentioned that the year-over-year change in Eastern Europe was about negative $6 million. So that gives you an idea of the shortfall from Eastern Europe in the quarter, give or take a few million dollars. So, I hope that makes sense.

在光學方面，我認為 Mick 提到東歐的同比變化約為負 600 萬美元。這樣您就可以了解本季東歐的缺口，或多或少有幾百萬美元。所以，我希望這是有道理的。

Yes. And then -- I mean, if we think about the guidance change for the whole year, is the primary moving piece there at Eastern Europe? Is that the way we should think about it?

是的。然後 - 我的意思是，如果我們考慮全年的指導變化，主要的變化是東歐嗎？我們該這樣思考嗎？

Yes. From a negative perspective, it's all Eastern Europe. And I frame that in the $20 million to $25 million range, again, offset by the other tailwinds I mentioned across the board, really a whole variety of different things. So we have a pretty strong outlook for the second half despite the fact that we're reducing shipments into Eastern Europe. And I think that's in line with what we've seen from others, the pickup in the second half and then some of the things a little more specific to us around the Verizon project, around US Rural Broadband expansions, all driving the growth in the second half of the year for us.

是的。從消極的角度來看，都是東歐。我將其範圍定在 2000 萬美元到 2500 萬美元之間，再次被我全面提到的其他有利因素所抵消，實際上是各種各樣不同的事情。因此，儘管我們正在減少對東歐的出貨量，但我們對下半年的前景相當樂觀。我認為這與我們從其他人那裡看到的情況一致，下半年的回升，以及圍繞 Verizon 項目、圍繞美國農村寬頻擴張的一些更具體的事情，所有這些都推動了增長對我們來說是下半年。

Okay. And just a couple more for me. So we've got the Verizon, new deal is already kicking in and you guys announced Brightspeed the other day. Those are pretty impressive names. And should we think about there's something going on in the industry where this is a trend, and we can expect to see more of the same going forward with other customers?

好的。對我來說還有幾個。所以我們已經有了 Verizon，新的交易已經開始生效，你們前幾天宣布了 Brightspeed。這些都是非常令人印象深刻的名字。我們是否應該考慮一下行業中正在發生的事情，這是一種趨勢，我們可以期望在其他客戶中看到更多相同的情況？

Yes. This certainly feels like that, Mike. The other one we talked about earlier in the year was with MTN Group in Africa even with a modernization of their voice infrastructure. And so there's been a series of these. I also referenced another US MSO program.

是的。這確實是這樣的感覺，麥克。我們今年稍早討論的另一件事是與非洲的 MTN 集團合作，即使他們的語音基礎設施已現代化。於是就有了一系列這樣的事情。我還參考了另一個美國 MSO 計劃。

And I think as people look at the investment in their network infrastructure and how do they get more efficiency, drive down costs and be able to feed the growth in fiber and in mobile. It's a really great area to look. And we've done some work to drive down costs in the ROI and getting some good momentum. You overlay that with the opportunity around the Metaswitch footprint which is pretty substantial in the market and gives us some really good momentum around the Cloud & Edge business and the return to growth there.

我認為，當人們專注於網路基礎設施的投資以及如何提高效率、降低成本並能夠滿足光纖和行動業務的成長時。這是一個非常值得一看的地方。我們已經做了一些工作來降低投資回報率的成本並獲得了一些很好的動力。您將其與 Metaswitch 足跡周圍的機會相結合，該足跡在市場上相當大，並為我們圍繞雲端和邊緣業務以及恢復成長提供了一些真正良好的動力。

Great. Great. And then finally, the OpEx -- with OpEx coming down so much -- I mean we like to see it but I guess I just want to ask a question about the R&D requirements of the business, what the R&D intensity looks like right now? How do you protect R&D as you're restructuring this aggressively?

偉大的。偉大的。最後，營運支出——營運支出下降如此之多——我的意思是我們希望看到它，但我想我只是想問一個有關業務研發要求的問題，現在的研發強度是什麼樣的？當你積極重組研發時，你如何保護研發？

Yes. Thanks, Mike. So we're pretty careful about that. I mean R&D is the fuel. It's the engine of the future for sure. We've gotten at it by really coming at it structurally and being able to get the most out of the combined set of resources in the company with the reorganization we started about 18 months ago. And the area we're focused on is really around sustaining engineering, how do we get really, really efficient around the cost structure for supporting the installed base.

是的。謝謝，麥克。所以我們對此非常小心。我的意思是研發是燃料。它肯定是未來的引擎。我們之所以能做到這一點，是因為我們真正從結構上著手，並能夠透過大約 18 個月前開始的重組，充分利用公司的綜合資源。我們關注的領域實際上是圍繞著維持工程，我們如何真正有效地圍繞著支援已安裝基礎的成本結構。

We've actually implemented some really interesting technology that helps our customers upgrade their networks more efficiently and get them on a common software base and that allows us to obviously get more efficient in how we support them as well. So there's a whole series of things that we've gone after there to keep the engine strong, so. But thanks for all the questions, Mike.

實際上，我們已經實施了一些非常有趣的技術，可以幫助我們的客戶更有效地升級他們的網絡，並使他們建立在通用軟體基礎上，這使我們在支持他們的方式上顯然也變得更加高效。因此，我們採取了一系列措施來保持引擎的強大。但謝謝你提出的所有問題，麥克。

Christian Schwab, Craig Hallum Capital.

克里斯蒂安·施瓦布，克雷格·哈勒姆資本。

Hey, good afternoon, guys. So a lot of the questions were answered there. But just on the Rural Broadband, a lot of people are really talking about Rural Broadband or the BEAD (inaudible). You mentioned the other programs. Is the strength that you're seeing for Rural Broadband on the OTN and optical side getting ready for those money to be released? Or are there a few states where you guys are really well positioned where money is getting into the market a little bit faster than, say, broadly based?

嘿，下午好，夥計們。所以很多問題都在那裡得到了解答。但就農村寬頻而言，很多人都在真正談論農村寬頻或 BEAD（聽不清楚）。您提到了其他程式。您所看到的農村寬頻在 OTN 和光纖方面的實力是否已準備好釋放這些資金？或者是否有一些州確實處於有利地位，資金進入市場的速度比基礎廣泛的市場快一點？

Yes. So the BEAD program is not contributing anything yet today. So it's not the source behind the programs we have this year at all. As I mentioned, I think about half the programs -- we estimate half the programs have some Federal assistant or stated assistance behind them. But it's not the new BEAD program.

是的。因此，BEAD 計劃目前還沒有做出任何貢獻。所以這根本不是我們今年計畫背後的來源。正如我所提到的，我想到了一半的計劃——我們估計一半的計劃背後有一些聯邦助理或明確的援助。但這不是新的 BEAD 計劃。

It tends to be RDOF or [ReConnect] funds or a few other sources of funding. It's interesting that our participation in the middle mile portion of the network is probably a spend that's staged a little later than the initial investment around driving fiber, putting in the fiber access equipment, et cetera.

它往往是 RDOF 或 [ReConnect] 基金或其他一些資​​金來源。有趣的是，我們對網路中英里部分的參與可能比圍繞驅動光纖、安裝光纖接入設備等的初始投資稍晚。

And then as that infrastructure gets put in place and the traffic grows, then they have to upgrade the middle mile portion of the network. And so I think it may be just a reflection of the timing on how that works and where our participation is. And yes, we've just got a great funnel of opportunities in the second half here. Some of them are a little larger that really helped, obviously, drive growth.

然後，隨著基礎設施的到位和流量的增長，他們必須升級網路的中英里部分。因此，我認為這可能只是反映了其運作方式以及我們的參與地點的時機。是的，我們在下半場剛剛獲得了很多機會。其中一些規模更大，顯然確實有助於推動成長。

And then the final thing I'll add is we're participating in the optical transport layer as well as the Metro IP routing layer and so, that gives us access to a good source of the program or size -- part of the program as we have a little broader addressable market.

最後我要補充的是，我們正在參與光傳輸層以及城域 IP 路由層，因此，這使我們能夠獲得良好的程序來源或規模 - 程序的一部分，例如我們有更廣闊的潛在市場。

And then on the disruption due to M&A, I mean, are there more opportunities here in the United States on Infinera? I know Infinera opportunities were more data center centric which in more longer haul-ish type of applications. But where -- in both of those acquisitions, the Hewlett Packard-Juniper, the Nokia-Infinera, what products that you have that you think you have the opportunity to be disruptive in the marketplace and maybe take share as road maps are questions and employees are let go?

然後，關於併購造成的干擾，我的意思是，英飛朗在美國是否有更多機會？我知道英飛朗的機會更多以資料中心為中心，適用於更長距離的應用程式。但是，在這兩項收購中，惠普-瞻博網路、諾基亞-英飛朗，你認為自己有哪些產品有機會顛覆市場，並可能作為路線圖獲得份額，這些都是問題和員工被放走嗎？

Yes. So in the case of the Nokia-Infinera deal, it's squarely in the optical transport arena. And as you rightly pointed out, it's not so much in the North American hyperscale data center portion of the market. It's more in Europe and Asia Pac.

是的。因此，就諾基亞與英飛朗的交易而言，它完全是在光傳輸領域。正如您正確指出的那樣，在北美超大規模資料中心市場部分並沒有那麼多。歐洲和亞太地區更多。

And typically, it's in cases where maybe both Nokia and Infinera -- I don't have a share of the deployments at a customer. And they want to make sure they have a diversified customer base or supplier base and so it prevents opportunities for others to come in and win some of that share.

通常情況下，可能是諾基亞和英飛朗——我沒有參與客戶的部署。他們希望確保自己擁有多元化的客戶群或供應商群，因此這阻止了其他人進入並贏得部分份額的機會。

In the case of the HP and Juniper deal, it's squarely in the IP routing space, really in the metro, middle mile and access aggregation layer where perhaps Juniper had a position with a telecom operator and it's an opportunity for us to go in and provide an additional source. And given the focus that we have on the telecom market in particular and the products that we've designed specifically for that type of network, I think it gives us a good position to take more share there as well.

就惠普和瞻博網路的交易而言，它完全屬於IP 路由領域，實際上是在城域、中英里和接入聚合層，也許瞻博網路在電信營運商中佔有一席之地，這對我們來說是一個進入並提供服務的機會。考慮到我們對電信市場的關注，以及我們專門為此類網路設計的產品，我認為這也使我們處於有利地位，可以在那裡獲得更多份額。

Great. And then my last question, I'll sneak in here, Bruce. On the Brightspeed that you just announced, you've done a good job of quantifying the Verizon opportunity at $300 million over the next few years, exit at $25 million-ish in Q4 of this year. Can you give us any color at what the multiyear opportunity of Brightspeed could be?

偉大的。然後是我的最後一個問題，我會偷偷溜進來，布魯斯。關於您剛剛宣布的 Brightspeed，您已經很好地量化了 Verizon 在未來幾年內獲得 3 億美元的機會，並在今年第四季以 2500 萬美元左右的價格退出。您能否告訴我們 Brightspeed 的多年機會可能是什麼？

Yes. Just directionally, not to talk too specific about an individual customer but obviously, Brightpeed's footprint is smaller than the larger Tier 1s fixed line providers like AT&T and Verizon. I think the footprint they picked up was about 6 million lines. And obviously, there's a transition to fiber and IP across the network. But there's quite a substantial footprint of legacy TDM lines there and I think we've worked really successfully to justify the ROI and modernizing a portion of that network at least.

是的。只是定向，不要太具體地談論單一客戶，但顯然，Brightpeed 的足跡比 AT&T 和 Verizon 等較大的一級固定電話提供者要小。我認為他們獲取的足跡約為 600 萬行。顯然，整個網路正在向光纖和 IP 過渡。但那裡有相當大的遺留 TDM 線路，我認為我們已經非常成功地證明了投資回報率並至少對該網路的一部分進行了現代化改造。

And these programs do take time to modernize a switch location, doesn't get done overnight. So it stretches over a period of time. And hopefully, we can continue to grow in the footprint that we're already deploying in, and then identify some of these new customers as well that we can get on board for the similar program.

這些計畫確實需要時間來實現交換器位置的現代化，而不是一朝一夕就能完成的。所以它會延續一段時間。希望我們能夠繼續擴大我們已經部署的覆蓋範圍，然後確定其中一些新客戶，以便我們可以參與類似的計劃。

Great. No other questions. Thank you.

偉大的。沒有其他問題。謝謝。

Tim Savageaux, Northland Capital Markets.

Tim Savageaux，北國資本市場。

Hey, good afternoon. Let's stay on that one for a second because that would be an obvious guidepost to try and at least get a sense of what Brightspeed could mean. And it is a smaller footprint but it's not that much smaller. I think Verizon is what, 17 million, 20 million lines, something like that. Is that a fair way to look at it in terms of proportional? Understanding they've got a big business network over there at Verizon and anything. I guess overall, without pressing you too hard, it seems material or like it could be fair to say?

嘿，下午好。讓我們在這個問題上停留一秒鐘，因為這將是一個明顯的路標，可以嘗試並至少了解 Brightspeed 的含義。它的佔地面積較小，但也沒小多少。我認為 Verizon 就是這樣的，1700 萬條、2000 萬條線路，類似的東西。從比例角度來看，這是公平的方式嗎？了解他們在 Verizon 等地方擁有龐大的商業網絡。我想總的來說，在沒有給你太大壓力的情況下，它看起來很重要，或者可以公平地說？

Yes. No, I think it's very meaningful and it's very strategic. I mean, Brightspeed is an innovator here in the market and we love to be partnered with them here. I guess what I would say a little more generally about this switch modernization, there are some uniqueness depending on the configuration of the switch, how many legacy lines are left, what the split is between businesses and residential, and then what region of the market they're deployed in.

是的。不，我認為這是非常有意義的，非常具有戰略意義。我的意思是，Brightspeed 是市場上的創新者，我們很高興能與他們合作。我想我會更籠統地說一下這種交換機現代化，有一些獨特性，具體取決於交換機的配置、剩餘多少條舊線路、企業和住宅之間的劃分，以及市場的哪個區域他們被部署在.

The cost of power in California is a lot higher than the cost of power in other regions. So you really got to roll up your sleeves and figure out what portion of the installed base has an ROI that makes sense to make the upfront investment.

加州的電費比其他地區的電費高出許多。因此，您確實必須捲起袖子，弄清楚安裝基礎的哪一部分具有投資回報率，這對於進行前期投資是有意義的。

And so again, I don't want to comment too much more on Brightspeed specifically but I would just say more generally, you've got to really look at the details on each one. And so the comparisons aren't just -- they've got a particular number of lines and so it scales proportionately. I know I'm not helping you a lot but that's the nuances behind the scenes.

再說一遍，我不想對 Brightspeed 做太多具體的評論，但我只想更一般地說，你必須真正查看每一個的細節。因此，比較不僅僅是——它們有特定數量的行，因此它是按比例縮放的。我知道我幫不了你太多，但這就是幕後的細微差別。

No, that's helpful. Off the top of your head, you think, hey, maybe these rural markets have actually more voice lines or more traditional voice than the bigger ones as well.

不，這很有幫助。你會突然想到，嘿，也許這些農村市場實際上比大市場有更多的語音線或更傳統的聲音。

While we're on the topic, what about -- can you talk to us about where you stand or if you see any opportunity at the sister company where Brightspeed spun out of? The old CenturyLink, the current Lumen is -- would you put that on then? And maybe you're already there to some degrees, I don't know. But any thoughts there?

當我們談論這個主題時，您能跟我們談談您的立場嗎？舊的 CenturyLink，現在的 Lumen 是－那你會戴上它嗎？也許你已經在某種程度上做到了這一點，我不知道。但有什麼想法嗎？

Yes. So not surprisingly, we've got a large installed base across many of the operators here in the US and Lumen being one of them. Nothing specific to talk about around their plans, around that portion of the network but we definitely have a large footprint that we're continuing to help support and maintain, that's across the network there.

是的。因此，毫不奇怪，我們在美國的許多營運商中擁有龐大的安裝基礎，Lumen 就是其中之一。圍繞著他們的計劃、網絡的那一部分，沒有什麼具體可討論的，但我們肯定有很大的足跡，我們將繼續幫助支持和維護，這是在整個網絡上。

Okay. I think I'll take a break from uncomfortably mentioning customer names and move on to a higher level discussion which is, I think, Mick, that you said you expect growth in both segments in the second half on a year-over-year basis. Just want to confirm that? And it seems like that would put you for the year in IP Optical maybe flat to up a touch. Am I looking at that the right way?

好的。我想我將從令人不安的提及客戶名稱中休息一下，然後轉向更高級別的討論，我認為，米克，您說您預計下半年這兩個細分市場將同比增長。只是想確認一下嗎？看來這會讓你今年的 IP Optical 工作可能持平，甚至有所提升。我的看法正確嗎？

Yes. Let me jump in. Mick can comment on this as well. Obviously, the change in the business in Eastern Europe, the year-over-year growth on IP Optical is a little less than what we'd started the year projecting. I think if you back into it with our new full year guidance, it's up a bit, a tad year-over-year. And the Cloud & Edge business up 2% to 3%, something like that, maybe a little more. So I think you could back into those numbers directionally.

是的。讓我跳進去。米克也可以對此發表評論。顯然，東歐業務的變化、IP 光纖的同比增長略低於我們今年開始的預測。我認為，如果你用我們新的全年指導重新審視它，你會發現它比去年同期有所上升。雲端和邊緣業務成長了 2% 到 3%，類似的情況，也許還多一點。所以我認為你可以有針對性地回顧這些數字。

Right. And any update, given this -- I think it was last quarter, called out a certain amount of enterprise growth either for the quarter, or expectations for the year which implied some continued declines in service provider, and this is Cloud Edge now.

正確的。任何更新，考慮到這一點——我認為是上個季度，都會指出本季或全年的企業成長一定程度，這意味著服務提供者會持續下降，而這就是現在的雲端邊緣。

Given the strength that you're seeing in the second half, or expect to see and I think that was borne out from what we've seen from the carrier reports thus far, is there any update in terms of those dynamics, Tier 1 versus non-Tier 1 and how you're seeing that progress moving forward in Cloud & Edge?

鑑於您在下半年看到或期望看到的實力，我認為這從我們迄今為止從運營商報告中看到的情況得到證實，這些動態方面是否有任何更新，一級與一級非一級以及您如何看待雲和邊緣領域的進展？

Yes, I think you got the math very accurate there, Tim. So I think in the second quarter, service provider for Cloud & Edge was very consistent with one year ago, down a few million dollars and the Tier 1 portion of that very stabilized. So great to see, I'll call it, bottoming out. We said that last quarter, we reached the bottom and expect significant growth in the second half from the service provider piece.

是的，我認為你的數學計算得非常準確，提姆。因此，我認為在第二季度，雲端和邊緣服務提供者與一年前非常一致，減少了數百萬美元，其中一級部分非常穩定。很高興看到，我稱之為觸底反彈。我們表示，上個季度，我們已觸底，預計下半年服務提供者業務將顯著成長。

So the decline in Cloud & Edge in the second quarter year-over-year was essentially mostly enterprise and within enterprise, it was mostly the one Federal deal that contributed most of it. So it's unfortunate, right, that it just closed inside the quarter like we planned, we would had a really strong number in the second quarter, particularly on the earnings line would have been outstanding.

因此，第二季度雲端和邊緣運算的年減基本上主要是企業內部的，而在企業內部，這主要是一項聯邦交易造成的。所以不幸的是，它就像我們計劃的那樣在本季度內結束，我們在第二季度會有一個非常強勁的數字，特別是在盈利方面將會非常出色。

Okay. And last one for me. I do think this shift in competitive landscape is really intriguing and makes a lot of sense. Anecdotally, can you give us anything in terms of immediate customer reaction in the wake of the recent Infinera deal or with regard to the Microsoft apparent news? Is that something that's happening real time from your perspective? And is there anything you can share with us in terms of reaction you're getting across the customer base?

好的。最後一張給我。我確實認為競爭格局的這種轉變確實很有趣且有意義。有趣的是，您能否向我們介紹一下最近英飛朗交易後客戶的即時反應或有關微軟的明顯消息？從您的角度來看，這是即時發生的事情嗎？關於您在客戶群中得到的反應，您有什麼可以與我們分享的嗎？

Yes. So it's definitely happening in real time, not just supposition, I suppose, right? We have a couple of specific examples where -- and again, we're obviously focused on going and trying to capture this. So we're proactive in reaching out and looking for opportunities. But specific cases where we know two vendors that are deployed in the network that are becoming one supplier and we want to be the alternative there providing that supplier assurance.

是的。所以我想這肯定是實時發生的，而不僅僅是假設，對吧？我們有幾個具體的例子——同樣，我們顯然專注於去捕捉這一點。因此，我們積極主動地尋求機會。但在特定情況下，我們知道網路中部署的兩家供應商正在成為一家供應商，我們希望成為提供該供應商保證的替代方案。

So several specific examples like that. They don't translate into revenue overnight. It does take time, obviously but there's several specific examples just like that.

有幾個這樣的具體例子。它們不會在一夜之間轉化為收入。顯然，這確實需要時間，但有幾個類似的具體例子。

On the Metaswitch side, given the abrupt approach taken around the transition there, there's a lot of discussions with customers where maybe they felt comfortable sweating the asset in the network for a continued period of time but now concerned over what the future holds and so discussions around replacing product that's deployed or transitioning from a on-premises solution to more of a cloud-based solution. It just opens up the funnel of opportunity in a pretty broad way.

在 Metaswitch 方面，考慮到圍繞過渡採取的突然方法，與客戶進行了很多討論，他們可能覺得在持續一段時間內在網絡中使用資產很舒服，但現在擔心未來會發生什麼，因此討論圍繞替換已部署的產品或從本地解決方案過渡到更多基於雲端的解決方案。它只是以相當廣泛的方式打開了機會的管道。

So we don't have any of that in our projections for the year because, again, I think it takes time to translate that into wins and revenue, but it's an area we're pretty focused in.

因此，我們今年的預測中沒有這些內容，因為我認為將其轉化為勝利和收入需要時間，但這是我們非常關注的領域。

Great. Thanks.

偉大的。謝謝。

Yes. Thank you, Tim.

是的。謝謝你，提姆。

Dave Kang, B. Riley Securities.

Dave Kang，B. 萊利證券。

Thank you. Good afternoon. My first question is, I was wondering if you can talk about the Neptune's ramp at AT&T and other Tier 1s? I think you mentioned MSO, maybe provide more color on that customer?

謝謝。午安.我的第一個問題是，我想知道您是否可以談談 AT&T 和其他一級公司的 Neptune 坡道？我想您提到了 MSO，也許可以為該客戶提供更多資訊？

Yes. So we pointed out even with the Brightspeed migration that we're doing. It leverages our Neptune router as part of that solution. And it's involved in a couple of different ways as a standard router as well as being able to support what they call TDM circuit emulation, being able to remove legacy TDM circuits or SONET infrastructure and carry it all over an IP fiber network. It really helps reduce the cost of supporting all this legacy in infrastructure.

是的。因此，我們指出，即使我們正在進行 Brightspeed 遷移。它利用我們的 Neptune 路由器作為該解決方案的一部分。作為標準路由器，它具有多種不同的方式，並且能夠支援所謂的 TDM 電路模擬、能夠刪除傳統的 TDM 電路或 SONET 基礎設施並透過 IP 光纖網路進行傳輸。它確實有助於降低支援基礎設施中所有這些遺留問題的成本。

So that concept, that solution that we're using at a Brightspeed, same approach that we talked about with AT&T last year, and it's actually a key enabler in this whole migration. So we wanted to become really a standard element of the voice network modernization and that's the entry point at a number of carriers, large and small.

所以這個概念，我們在 Brightspeed 使用的解決方案，與我們去年與 AT&T 討論的方法相同，它實際上是整個遷移的關鍵推動者。因此，我們希望成為語音網路現代化的真正標準要素，這是許多大大小小的營運商的切入點。

So I don't want to get into specific commenting on a specific customer. But it's an integral part of that solution now and really that linkage between the portfolio that we acquired from ECI and have been investing in how that combination makes a lot of sense for us.

所以我不想對特定客戶進行具體評論。但它現在是該解決方案不可或缺的一部分，實際上是我們從 ECI 獲得的投資組合之間的聯繫，並且一直在投資這種組合如何對我們產生很大的意義。

And can you just talk about the ramp, the trajectory, like, is it going to peak in maybe fourth quarter or next year? And any color on that?

您能否談談成長、軌跡，例如它是否會在第四季或明年達到頂峰？那上面有什麼顏色嗎？

Well, we definitely have a strong second half. And in fact, I think as you do the analysis on the numbers are very strong on Q4. And again, it's similar to what I've heard from others, I know Nokia said something similar this week that the fourth quarter is expected to be unusually strong, if you will. I don't think of that as a peak. I think it's a peak for this year, obviously but it creates a foundation for us to grow into '25.

嗯，我們下半場肯定表現強勁。事實上，我認為正如您所做的那樣，對第四季度數字的分析非常有力。再說一次，這與我從其他人那裡聽到的類似，我知道諾基亞本周也說過類似的話，如果你願意的話，預計第四季度將異常強勁。我不認為這是一個高峰。我認為這顯然是今年的高峰，但它為我們成長為「25」奠定了基礎。

And clearly, we think that's what we'll be able to do despite the reduced business out of Eastern Europe. We're able to -- as the growth we've been able to experience over the last couple of years, be able to continue that trajectory even with that coming out of the view for next year.

顯然，我們認為儘管東歐以外的業務減少，我們仍將能夠做到這一點。隨著過去幾年我們所經歷的成長，我們能夠繼續這一軌跡，即使明年的情況不再如此。

So, that's what we're here for. We want next year to be a significant improvement over this year. And I think the foundation we've created, the wins in some of these larger accounts now really provide us the ability to do that.

所以，這就是我們來這裡的目的。我們希望明年比今年有顯著進步。我認為我們所創建的基礎以及在一些較大客戶中的勝利現在確實使我們有能力做到這一點。

Got it. And then last quarter, you talked about Apollo 9500, sounded like a number of trials. Just if we can get an update, any potential wins in the pipeline?

知道了。上個季度，您談到了 Apollo 9500，聽起來像是多次試驗。如果我們能得到更新，管道中是否有任何潛在的勝利？

Yes, exactly. So that new platform, the 9400 uses the 1.2 terabit at the latest generation optical front end. In fact, the announcement we had, I think, on Tuesday this week with Converge over in the Philippines is using that new platform. So we're able to dramatically improve or increase the capacity on the existing fiber network by migrating from a 400-gig infrastructure to 800-gig basically with that new optical platform. And that's a perfect example, Dave, of a new win with a key customer that we're really helping expand.

是的，完全正確。因此，9400 這個新平台在最新一代光學前端使用 1.2 太比特。事實上，我認為我們週二在菲律賓與 Converge 發布的公告就是使用這個新平台。因此，我們能夠透過使用新的光學平台從 400 G 基礎設施遷移到 800 G 基礎設施，從而顯著改善或增加現有光纖網路的容量。戴夫，這是一個完美的例子，說明我們正在幫助擴大關鍵客戶的新勝利。

If you go check the press release out, they talk about the growth that they're seeing from the hyper data center build-out and AI applications. So I think that's an indication of the future opportunity here with this new platform which has been adapted to be more data center centric, right, the different form factors and the ability to aggregate 400-gig client-size interfaces on this platform is pretty unique.

如果你去查看新聞稿，他們會談論他們從超級資料中心擴建和人工智慧應用程式中看到的成長。因此，我認為這表明了這個新平台的未來機會，該平台已經過調整，更加以數據中心為中心，對吧，不同的外形尺寸以及在該平台上聚合400 GB 客戶端大小接口的能力是非常獨特的。

So we're excited about where that goes. And we had a good second quarter, continue to grow on the deployments at a similar rate as what we saw in the first quarter.

所以我們對它的發展感到興奮。我們的第二季表現不錯，部署量持續以與第一季類似的速度成長。

Got it. And my last question is regarding Vodafone Idea, it looks like they got capitalized. Can you just remind us what customer, how big they were? What products you are providing? And going forward, what opportunities should we expect from these guys?

知道了。我的最後一個問題是關於沃達豐創意，看起來他們被資本化了。您能提醒我們什麼客戶嗎？你們提供什麼產品？展望未來，我們該從這些人那裡期待什麼機會？

Yes. Thanks for that question, Dave. So the India market was in excess of $100 million annually for ECI. Vodafone was probably 30% or so of that. And we're obviously not ramped back to that level. But the second half we see a meaningful improvement in the investment they're making on the optical platforms that we have as well as the IP MPLS platforms that we provide into the market.

是的。謝謝你提出這個問題，戴夫。因此，對 ECI 來說，印度市場每年超過 1 億美元。沃達豐可能佔其中的 30% 左右。我們顯然還沒有回到那個水平。但下半年我們看到他們在我們擁有的光學平台以及我們向市場提供的 IP MPLS 平台上的投資有了有意義的改善。

So it's tens of millions of potential incremental business for us as we go into 2025. And it's just -- it's great to see them back on their feet. And we've done a lot of work to support them over the last couple of years to make sure the network continues to operate successfully. And hopefully, that will translate into new business for us going forward.

因此，進入 2025 年，我們的潛在增量業務將達到數千萬。很高興看到他們重新站起來。在過去的幾年裡，我們做了很多工作來支持他們，以確保網路繼續成功運作。希望這將轉化為我們未來的新業務。

Just to be clear, do you still have that relationship? Or you have to go through a back to square one and get redesigned in and all that? We have to go through that? Or you are one of the incumbents and just waiting for purchase POs?

順便問一下，你們之間還有這種關係嗎？或者你必須重新開始並重新設計等等？我們必須經歷那個嗎？還是您是現任者之一，只是在等待採購訂單？

Yes. We're one of the incumbents and have continued to do a little bit of business with them every quarter to help support keep new adds, new businesses, new revenue streams where they find the money to continue to make those investments. And we continue to support them on local resources, helping operate the network. So there's no rebuilding required at all. We're on the ground ready to roll.

是的。我們是現有企業之一，每季都會繼續與他們開展一些業務，以幫助支持維持新的成長、新的業務、新的收入來源，讓他們找到資金繼續進行這些投資。我們繼續利用本地資源支持他們，幫助營運網路。所以根本不需要重建。我們已經準備好出發了。

Got it. Thank you.

知道了。謝謝。

Yes. Thanks, Dave.

是的。謝謝，戴夫。

Trevor Walsh, Citizen JMP.

Trevor Walsh，公民 JMP。

Great. Thanks for taking my questions. Bruce, maybe a quick one for you around the Eastern Europe business. It seems like that was probably maybe a building type of occurrence happening over time, just seeing challenges and troubles there. So just curious if there was anything in particular that something that broke the camel's back or a change that allowed that caused you to stop operations there? And then secondarily, what's required for that business to come back to return? Is it essentially like a ending of hostilities or what's the outlook from that perspective?

偉大的。感謝您回答我的問題。布魯斯，也許您可以快速了解東歐業務。看起來這可能是隨著時間的推移而發生的一種建築類型的事件，只是看到了那裡的挑戰和麻煩。所以只是好奇是否有什麼特別的事情導致了駱駝的背部受傷或發生了導致您停止運作的變化？其次，該業務需要什麼才能回歸？這本質上是敵對行動的結束，還是從這個角度來看前景如何？

Yes. Thanks for that question, Trevor. So just to recap our approach there. We have a small number of customers, telecom operators that basically provide Internet access and access to information to the people of the region. And we felt like that was something that was important that we would continue to participate in. There's a whole set of regulations and sanctions you've got to be able to manage through in order to be able to do that.

是的。謝謝你提出這個問題，特雷弗。回顧一下我們的方法。我們有少數客戶、電信業者，他們基本上為該地區的人們提供網路存取和資訊取得。我們覺得這是我們將繼續參與的重要事情。為了做到這一點，您必須能夠管理一整套法規和製裁。

And given the heritage of our products coming out of Israel, we were able to continue to support the business there. Those restrictions have recently increased and focused around telecom equipment and those sorts of areas. And so after we finished analyzing the changes, we came to the conclusion that we would suspend shipping new products into the region.

鑑於我們產品源自以色列的傳統，我們能夠繼續支持那裡的業務。這些限制最近有所增加，並集中在電信設備和此類領域。因此，在分析這些變化後，我們得出的結論是，我們將暫停向該地區運送新產品。

It is subject to change; those rules change periodically. And so we'll just watch that carefully. But at this point, we've basically removed it from our view for the rest of the year, impacting approximately $20 million to $25 million in the second half of the year.

它可能會發生變化；這些規則會定期更改。所以我們會仔細觀察。但目前，我們基本上已將其從我們今年剩餘時間的視野中刪除，影響下半年約 2,000 萬至 2,500 萬美元。

Got it. I appreciate the color. Mick, maybe jumping over to you. Good to see the continued improvement on the IP Optical profitability front. Is there anything in any given quarter that might trip you up in terms of just seeing that and continued drive towards profitability that you see? Or is it really just kind of, just continuing to execute and nothing necessarily that can be out of the ordinary and that continued positive progression?

知道了。我很欣賞它的顏色。米克，也許會跳到你身邊。很高興看到 IP Optical 獲利能力的持續改善。在任何特定季度中，是否有任何事情可能會讓您在看到這一點並持續推動盈利方面感到困惑？或者這真的只是一種，只是繼續執行，沒有什麼一定可以不同尋常的，並且持續的積極進展？

As you well know, we've been working on improving the profitability in IP Optical now and it is last 12 months with a negative EBITDA of just $5 million or about less than 2% of the total revenues. And it's really on the back of customer satisfaction, selling to our customers at higher margins and they value that. There's been a regional mix impact.

如您所知，我們現在致力於提高 IP Optical 的獲利能力，過去 12 個月的 EBITDA 為負，僅為 500 萬美元，約佔總收入的不到 2%。這實際上是基於客戶滿意度，以更高的利潤向客戶銷售產品，他們很重視這一點。存在區域混合影響。

Of course, that's very positive and we've also been optimizing our R&D. So we continue committed to bringing this business segment to profitability and a lot of it is going to be contingent on its continued growth.

當然，這是非常積極的，我們也一直在優化我們的研發。因此，我們繼續致力於使該業務部門實現盈利，其中很大一部分將取決於其持續成長。

Okay. Just maybe just one more. With the refinancing of the cap structure, is there anything on the go forward now from an investment perspective or investment priorities that you have now have access to or opened up to that you might not have before? Anything you can give us perspective on in terms of areas that you're looking at that has now changed the game just given that new set of funds liquidity?

好的。也許只剩下一個了。隨著上限結構的再融資，從投資角度或投資優先事項來看，您現在可以獲得或開放了哪些以前可能沒有的東西？您能否就您正在關注的領域向我們提供一些觀點，考慮到新的資金流動性，這些領域現在已經改變了遊戲規則？

We are very fortunate to have these strategic partners. And I think that we now have a very solid capital foundation base. We're focused on executing to our plan. There is nothing really major in the near term that we're focused on. It's really executing the plan that we -- in our strategy we've talked about.

我們非常幸運能夠擁有這些策略夥伴。我認為我們現在擁有非常堅實的資本基礎。我們專注於執行我們的計劃。短期內沒有什麼真正值得我們關注的重大事情。它實際上是在執行我們在策略中討論過的計劃。

Yes. And Mick, just to jump in for a second here. I think it's fair to say that having one or two lenders that we can have strategic discussions with, it just enables us to move a little more quickly than managing a larger bank syndicate if we wanted to do something. The buzzword we used a lot is flexibility. There's just a lot more flexibility in this cap structure than what we had previously.

是的。米克，我想插話一下。我認為可以公平地說，如果我們想做某件事，擁有一兩個我們可以與之進行策略討論的貸方，它只會使我們能夠比管理更大的銀行銀團更快地採取行動。我們經常使用的流行詞是靈活性。這種上限結構比我們以前的結構更有彈性。

That's absolutely right.

這是絕對正確的。

Great. Appreciate the questions.

偉大的。感謝您提出的問題。

All right. Thanks, Trevor. Appreciate it.

好的。謝謝，特雷弗。欣賞它。

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

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。

Great. Well, thank you. Thanks for everyone joining our call here today. We have a couple of great investor conferences coming up over the next six weeks. So we look forward to talking to many of you individually and keeping you apprised of our progress. Thank you very much. Operator, thank you as well.

偉大的。嗯，謝謝。感謝大家今天加入我們的電話會議。在接下來的六週內，我們將舉行幾場精彩的投資者會議。因此，我們期待與你們中的許多人單獨交談，並讓你們了解我們的進展。非常感謝。運營商，也謝謝你。

Thank you. This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。