Roper Technologies, Inc. (ROP) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. The Roper Technologies Conference Call will now begin. Today's call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the call over to Zack Moxcey, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

早安。Roper Technologies 電話會議現在開始。今天的電話會議將被錄音。（接線員指示）現在我想把電話交給投資人關係副總裁 Zack Moxcey。請開始。

Good morning, and thank you all for joining us as we discuss the fourth quarter and full year financial results for Roper Technologies.

早安，感謝各位加入我們，一同討論 Roper Technologies 第四季與全年財務結果。

Joining me on the call this morning are Neil Hunn, President and Chief Executive Officer; Jason Conley, Incoming Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Rob Crisci, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Brandon Cross, Incoming Vice President and Principal Accounting Officer; and Shannon O'Callaghan, Vice President of Finance.

今天早上與我一同參與電話會議的有：總裁兼執行長 Neil Hunn；即將上任的執行副總裁兼財務長 Jason Conley；執行副總裁兼財務長 Rob Crisci；即將上任的副總裁兼首席會計主管 Brandon Cross；以及財務副總裁 Shannon O'Callaghan。

Earlier this morning, we issued a press release announcing our financial results. The press release also includes replay information for today's call. We have prepared slides to accompany today's call, which are available through the webcast and are also available on our website.

今天稍早，我們發布新聞稿公布財務結果。新聞稿亦包含今日電話會議的重播資訊。我們已準備投影片搭配今日電話會議，可透過網路直播取得，亦可在我們的網站上取得。

Now if you please turn to Page 2. We begin with our safe harbor statement. During the course of today's call, we will make forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties as described on this page, in our press release and in our SEC filings. You should listen to today's call in the context of that information.

現在請翻到第 2 頁。我們先從安全港聲明開始。在今天電話會議過程中，我們將作出前瞻性陳述，相關風險與不確定性如本頁、新聞稿以及我們向 SEC 提交的文件所述。請在該等資訊的脈絡下收聽今天的電話會議。

And now please turn to Page 3. Unless otherwise noted, we will discuss our results and guidance on an adjusted non-GAAP and continuing operations basis. For the fourth quarter, the difference between our GAAP results and adjusted results consists of the following items: amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets; purchase accounting adjustments to commission expense; a legal charge related to the settlement of the Berall v. Verathon patent litigation matter. The case related to the sale of certain Verathon products from 2004 through 2016, there are no future financial obligations for Verathon related to this matter; next, transaction-related expenses for completed acquisitions; and lastly, we have adjusted our cash flow statement to exclude the cash taxes paid related to our divestiture activity.

接著請翻到第 3 頁。除非另有說明，我們將以調整後的非 GAAP 以及持續營運基礎來討論我們的結果與指引。就第四季而言，我們的 GAAP 結果與調整後結果之差異包含以下項目：併購相關無形資產攤銷；對佣金費用的購買會計調整；與 Berall v. Verathon 專利訴訟案和解相關的法律費用。該案件與 2004 年至 2016 年期間銷售某些 Verathon 產品有關，Verathon 就此事項不再有任何未來財務義務；其次，已完成併購的交易相關費用；最後，我們已調整現金流量表，以排除與我們資產剝離活動相關所支付的現金稅款。

GAAP requires these payments to be classified as operating cash flow items even though they are related to divestitures. Reconciliations can be found in our press release and in the appendix of this presentation on our website.

GAAP 規定，即使這些付款與資產剝離相關，也必須分類為營運現金流量項目。對帳表可在我們的新聞稿以及本簡報於網站上的附錄中找到。

And now if you please turn to Page 4, I'll hand the call over to Neil. After our prepared remarks, we will take questions from our telephone participants. Neil?

現在請翻到第 4 頁，我將把電話交給 Neil。在我們的準備發言之後，將接受電話與會者提問。Neil？

Thanks, Zack, and good morning, everyone. As we turn to Page 4, we'll walk through our usual year-end agenda, highlights for the most recent quarter and full year, followed by color commentary for each of our segments and then the initiation of our 2023 guidance. Let's go and get started. Next slide, please.

謝謝你，Zack，各位早安。翻到第 4 頁，我們將依照慣例的年終議程進行：先回顧最近一季與全年的重點，接著針對各事業部門提供補充說明，然後開始我們對 2023 年的指引。那我們開始吧。請下一張投影片。

As we heard on Page 5, the main takeaways for today's call are: First, we delivered another great year of strategic, operational and financial progress. To this end, we concluded our multiyear divestiture program, which was centered on improving the quality of remaining portfolio, namely emphasizing less cyclical, more asset-light and higher-growth businesses.

如第 5 頁所示，今天電話會議的主要重點是：第一，我們在策略、營運與財務方面再度交出非常出色的一年進展。為此，我們完成了為期多年的資產剝離計畫，該計畫聚焦於提升剩餘投資組合的品質，也就是強調較不具景氣循環性、更輕資產以及更高成長的業務。

In addition, we successfully deployed $4.3 billion towards market-leading and application-specific software businesses. More on this later, but we also continue to have substantial M&A firepower well north of $4 billion. Organically, we grew just shy of 10% for the year while simultaneously improving the underlying quality of the enterprise. During the course of the year, our businesses did a terrific job of innovating and capturing share, which leads us to our second main takeaway for today's call that we're well positioned for another solid year of performance in 2023. Our higher quality, less cyclical and more highly recurring nature of our portfolio will serve us well during 2023.

此外，我們成功投入 43 億美元於市場領先且具特定應用的軟體業務。稍後會再多談，但我們仍擁有超過 40 億美元的可觀併購火力。在有機成長方面，我們全年成長接近 10%，同時提升企業的內在品質。整個年度中，我們的事業單位在創新與市占擴張方面表現卓越，這也引出今天的第二個重點：我們已為 2023 年再度穩健表現做好準備。我們投資組合更高品質、較不具景氣循環性且更高經常性收入的特性，將在 2023 年為我們帶來助益。

Now as I hand the call over to our Incoming CFO, Jason Conley, let me take a moment and thank Rob Crisci for all he's done for Roper and for me. Rob has been a significant contributor to our success and an important member of our executive team with meaningful insights and contributions across a variety of topics, including our most recent portfolio repositioning.

在我把電話交給即將上任的財務長 Jason Conley 之前，讓我花點時間感謝 Rob Crisci 為 Roper 以及為我所做的一切。Rob 對我們的成功貢獻良多，也是我們高階管理團隊的重要成員，對多項議題提供了深刻洞見與貢獻，包括我們最近的投資組合重新定位。

We're excited to welcome Jason to his new role. Many of you know, Jason, but those of you who do not, Jason has been with Roper for 16 years. He started in Corporate IR and FP&A, then the operating CFO at MHA our one of our businesses and most recently serving as Roper's Chief Accounting Officer. Since his return to corporate, he has been a member of our capital allocation team and has attended every Board meeting. The team and I are excited to partner with Jason for the next leg of our evolution.

我們很高興歡迎 Jason 擔任新職務。許多人都認識 Jason；若有不熟悉的，Jason 已在 Roper 任職 16 年。他從公司投資人關係與財務規劃與分析（FP&A）起步，之後擔任我們旗下 MHA（我們的事業之一）的營運財務長，最近則擔任 Roper 的首席會計主管。自他回到公司端以來，他一直是我們資本配置團隊的一員，並出席每一次董事會會議。團隊與我都很期待與 Jason 合作，迎接我們演進的下一階段。

So with that, looking forward to the partnership with Jason, and thank you, Rob, for all that you've done to make Roper better than when you joined. Jason, let me turn the call over to you, so you can walk through the fourth quarter and the full year financial summary. Jason?

因此，我期待與 Jason 的合作，也感謝 Rob，謝謝你所做的一切，讓 Roper 比你加入時更好。Jason，我把電話交給你，請你帶大家回顧第四季與全年財務摘要。Jason？

Thanks, Neil. I am very excited and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with you and the team in this new role. And of course, thanks, Rob, for your awesome partnership and mentorship over the years. It's been just a great experience working together.

謝謝你，Neil。我非常興奮，也非常感激能在這個新角色中與你及團隊共事。當然，也謝謝 Rob，多年來你出色的合作與指導。能一起工作一直是很棒的經驗。

So first, I'd like to introduce Brandon Cross as our new Principal Accounting Officer. Brandon joined Roper about 5 years ago, progressing to our Assistant Controller and more recently, has led and transformed our audit services function. He has significant M&A and integration experience. So this is a natural and well-earned promotion for him. Brandon, I look forward to working together in your new role.

首先，我想介紹 Brandon Cross 擔任我們新的首席會計主管。Brandon 約 5 年前加入 Roper，晉升為助理財務控制主管，最近則領導並轉型我們的稽核服務職能。他具備豐富的併購與整合經驗，因此這是對他自然而且實至名歸的升遷。Brandon，我期待在你的新職務上一起合作。

Thanks, Jason.

謝謝你，Jason。

If you indulge me, I'll rip on Roper for a few seconds. I've been blessed to help guide and execute our evolution from Roper Industries to Roper Technologies, which has been underpinned by our North Star belief that cash is the best measure of performance. And as we enter 2023, our best years are ahead of us. We have a family of market-leading businesses with durable growth drivers and terrific free cash flow margins. Further, the leadership teams and talent processes at our businesses are the best in the company's history.

容我稍微談談 Roper 幾秒鐘。我很幸運能協助引導並執行我們從 Roper Industries 到 Roper Technologies 的演進，而這一切都建立在我們的北極星信念之上：現金是衡量績效的最佳指標。隨著我們進入 2023 年，我們最好的年份仍在前方。我們擁有一系列市場領先的企業，具備持久的成長驅動因素與優異的自由現金流利潤率。此外，我們各事業單位的領導團隊與人才流程，為公司史上最佳。

And finally, we have significant capacity to execute our proven and disciplined M&A strategy that I've been a part of for many years. I anticipate being quite active on the road this year. So for those on the call, I look forward to either meeting you or reconnecting in the coming months.

最後，我們具備相當大的能力來執行我們已被驗證且紀律嚴明的併購策略，而我多年來一直參與其中。我預期今年會相當頻繁地出差拜訪。因此，對於線上的各位，我期待在未來幾個月與各位見面或再次聯繫。

All right. Let's get into the financials. Turning to Slide 6. We'll do a quick review of our Q4 performance. We capped off a solid year of growth with revenue of over $1.4 billion, which was 14% higher over prior year. Organic growth was 7% with strength across the portfolio, which was enhanced by 10% software recurring revenue growth. Acquisitions added 8 points of growth, led by our Frontline business that closed in early October, and currency was a 2-point headwind.

好，讓我們進入財務數字。請翻到第 6 張投影片。我們先快速回顧第四季表現。我們以超過 14 億美元的營收為這穩健成長的一年畫下句點，較去年同期成長 14%。有機成長為 7%，整體投資組合皆有強勁表現，並受 10% 的軟體經常性收入成長所帶動。併購貢獻 8 個百分點的成長，主要來自我們於 10 月初完成交割的 Frontline 業務，而匯率則帶來 2 個百分點的不利影響。

EBITDA of $592 million, was up 17% over the prior year. We experienced strong operating leverage across the enterprise and improving gross margins in our TEP segment to finish out the year. DEPS came in at $3.92, which was 17% against the prior year and $0.18 above the midpoint of our guidance range.

EBITDA 為 5.92 億美元，較去年同期成長 17%。我們在整體企業層面展現強勁的營運槓桿，且 TEP 事業部門的毛利率在年末持續改善。DEPS 為 3.92 美元，較去年同期成長 17%，並較我們指引區間中點高出 0.18 美元。

Next, we'll look at free cash flow. Free cash flow of $457 million, was down 8% over the prior year. Excluding the Section 174 impact, we were down 3%. And factoring out a $30 million Vertafore tax benefit in 2021 that doesn't repeat, we're up about 3% to 4% in the quarter.

接下來我們看自由現金流。自由現金流為 4.57 億美元，較去年同期下降 8%。若排除第 174 條（Section 174）的影響，則下降 3%。再進一步扣除 2021 年一次性的 3,000 萬美元 Vertafore 稅務利益（今年不會重複），本季約成長 3% 至 4%。

Taking a broader view, you can see we compounded cash 11% over a 4-year period, despite the Section 174 headwind, and we're well positioned for double-digit cash flow compounding going forward.

從更宏觀的角度來看，儘管受到第174條款（Section 174）帶來的不利因素影響，我們在4年期間仍將現金以11%的複合成長率累積成長，且我們已為未來現金流的兩位數複合成長做好充分準備。

Turning to Slide 7. We'll now do a quick overview of our Q4 segment results, as Neil will unpack more detail on the full year a bit later. We had a nice finish to a great year across the 3 segments. For Application Software, revenue was up 22% to $740 million, with organic growth of 7%. EBITDA margin increased to 45.6% in the quarter. We had strong SaaS bookings growth and overall solid net retention throughout the year, which is just naturally rolling through recurring revenue in the quarter.

接著看第7頁投影片。我們先快速概覽第四季各事業部門的表現，稍後Neil會更深入說明全年細節。我們在三個事業部門都為這個精彩的一年畫下漂亮句點。就應用軟體（Application Software）而言，營收年增22%至7.40億美元，其中有機成長7%。本季EBITDA利潤率提升至45.6%。我們的SaaS訂單（bookings）成長強勁，且全年整體淨留存率穩健，這些自然會在本季的經常性收入中逐步反映出來。

Growth was broad-based across the segment, aside from some delayed decision-making in the large government contracting space within Deltek. On margin, we had lower incentive-based SG&A and employee medical costs, so some favorability in the quarter. If you look at the full year margin of 44%, that's about where we would expect to be over a longer horizon.

除Deltek在大型政府承包領域出現部分決策延後之外，本事業部門的成長相當全面。利潤率方面，由於以激勵為基礎的銷售、一般及行政費用（SG&A）以及員工醫療成本較低，因此本季表現較為有利。若看全年44%的利潤率，這大致符合我們對較長期水準的預期。

Our Network Software segment grew nicely in the quarter, with revenue up 9% to $350 million and EBITDA also up 9% to $189 million or 54% of revenue. Growth was led by our freight matching businesses, which continued driving higher ARPU from premium offerings to offset moderating carry activity as we expected.

我們的網路軟體（Network Software）事業部門本季成長良好，營收年增9%至3.50億美元，EBITDA亦年增9%至1.89億美元，約占營收的54%。成長主要由我們的貨運撮合業務帶動，該業務持續透過高階產品推動每用戶平均收入（ARPU）提升，以抵銷如我們預期般趨於溫和的承運活動。

Tech Enabled products revenue was $340 million and grew 5% organically in the quarter. Demand remained strong, and we had some orders that didn't get delivered toward the end of the quarter, which will benefit Q1. EBITDA grew 7% to $119 million, resulting in EBITDA margin of 34.9% or 100 basis points over prior year, with strong operating leverage as the price cost dynamic was neutralized in the quarter.

科技賦能（Tech Enabled）產品營收為3.40億美元，本季有機成長5%。需求依然強勁，且我們有部分訂單在季末未能交付，將有利於第一季。EBITDA年增7%至1.19億美元，使EBITDA利潤率達34.9%，較去年提高100個基點；在本季價格與成本的動態影響趨於中性後，營運槓桿表現強勁。

Turning to the full year 2022 performance on Slide 8. Revenue was 11% higher than prior year to $5.4 billion, with 9% organic growth. EBITDA was 12% better to nearly $2.2 billion, with EBITDA margin coming in at 40.4%. DEPS of $14.28, was 15% over prior year and reflected strong P&L leverage against the 11% revenue growth. Notably, compared to our 2018 pre-divestiture financial profile, our revenue is about $175 million higher, while EBITDA is nearly $365 million higher.

接著看第8頁投影片的2022年全年表現。營收較去年成長11%至54億美元，其中有機成長9%。EBITDA提升12%至接近22億美元，EBITDA利潤率為40.4%。稀釋後每股盈餘（DEPS）為14.28美元，較去年成長15%，反映在11%營收成長下強勁的損益表槓桿效應。值得注意的是，與我們2018年（剝離前）的財務輪廓相比，營收約增加1.75億美元，而EBITDA則增加近3.65億美元。

So through a combination of organic growth and capital deployment, we've grown despite divesting about 40% of our 2018 revenue. And most importantly, the composition of our portfolio today positions us for higher and more durable growth going forward.

因此，透過有機成長與資本配置的結合，即使我們已剝離約占2018年營收40%的業務，仍能持續成長。更重要的是，我們目前的投資組合結構，使我們在未來具備更高且更具韌性的成長動能。

Free cash flow came in at about $1.5 billion, so down 7% versus prior year. It's a bit of the same situation as our fourth quarter with both the 2022 headwinds of Section 174 of nearly $100 million and the nonrepeat of the 2021 Vertafore tax benefit of $117 million. If we normalize for those items, free cash flow grew about 8%.

自由現金流約為15億美元，較去年下降7%。這與第四季的情況有些類似，主要受到2022年第174條款（Section 174）近1億美元的不利因素，以及2021年Vertafore稅務利益1.17億美元未再出現的影響。若將這些項目正常化，自由現金流約成長8%。

We've had a bit of an inventory built within our Tech segment as supply has become more available. This is not a new normal, and we certainly expect that to improve in 2023. If we kind of take this up to a multiyear view, you can see we've compounded cash at 15% over a 4-year period. And as we look forward, the impact from Section 174 will be fairly neutral, and we expect to convert plus or minus 80% of EBITDA to free cash flow. So we're clearly well positioned for double-digit growth.

隨著供應逐步改善，我們在科技事業部門的庫存略有增加。這並非新的常態，我們也確實預期在2023年會改善。若拉長到多年期來看，可見我們在4年期間以15%的複合成長率累積現金。展望未來，第174條款（Section 174）的影響將相對中性，我們預期可將EBITDA的正負約80%轉換為自由現金流。因此，我們顯然已為兩位數成長做好準備。

Turning to Slide 9. Let's take a look at our financial position. We certainly had a lot going on in Q4. On November 22, we completed the majority sale of our industrial businesses, which are now operating under the name Indicor and received $2.6 billion in upfront proceeds. Also in the quarter, we paid $270 million, representing all taxes due related to the majority sale. So this yielded us net proceeds of over $2.3 billion, a very good outcome here indeed. Related to our stake in Indicor, this is now appearing as an equity investment on our balance sheet. We will be updating the fair value of the equity investment each quarter going forward.

接著看第9頁投影片。我們來看看財務狀況。第四季確實發生了很多事情。11月22日，我們完成工業業務的大部分股權出售，該業務現以Indicor之名營運，並取得26億美元的前期款項。同一季度，我們也支付了2.70億美元，代表與該次多數股權出售相關的所有應繳稅款。因此，我們取得超過23億美元的淨收益，這確實是非常好的結果。就我們在Indicor的持股而言，現在在資產負債表上列為權益投資。我們將在未來每一季更新該權益投資的公允價值。

To provide a clearer picture of our continuing operations, we will provide a non-GAAP adjustment for this fair value accounting and any tax expense related to this investment.

為了更清楚呈現我們持續經營業務的狀況，我們將就此公允價值會計處理以及與該投資相關的任何稅費，提供非GAAP調整。

So just looking at our balance sheet, even after our $3.7 billion Frontline acquisition, which was completed in October, our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio stands at 2.7x. So our solid leverage profile, coupled with strong free cash flow generation and an undrawn revolver of $3.5 billion, gives us $4 billion plus of M&A capacity. Clearly, we are very well positioned for disciplined capital deployment in 2023.

僅就資產負債表來看，即使在10月完成了37億美元的Frontline收購後，我們的淨負債對EBITDA比率仍為2.7倍。因此，我們穩健的槓桿結構，加上強勁的自由現金流創造能力，以及35億美元尚未動用的循環信貸額度（revolver），使我們具備超過40億美元的併購（M&A）能力。顯然，我們在2023年非常有利於進行有紀律的資本配置。

And with that, I will turn the call back over to Neil to go through our segment details. Neil?

接下來，我把電話交回給Neil，請他說明各事業部門的細節。Neil？

Thanks, Jason, and well done. Let's turn to Page 11 and walk through our 2022 highlights for our Application Software segment. Revenues here were $2.64 billion, up 7% on an organic basis, and EBITDA margins were 44.1%. Performance across this segment was just solid in 2022. Vertafore, our software business that tech enables property and casualty insurance agencies accelerated their growth, led by continued strength in their Enterprise Class segment. In addition, the 2 Vertafore bolt-on acquisitions are strategically on point, integrated and performing well.

謝謝你，Jason，做得很好。讓我們翻到第11頁，回顧應用軟體（Application Software）事業部門在2022年的重點。該部門營收為26.4億美元，有機成長7%，EBITDA利潤率為44.1%。2022年該部門整體表現穩健。Vertafore是我們以科技賦能產險（property and casualty）保險代理機構的軟體業務，其成長加速，主要由其企業級（Enterprise Class）業務持續強勁所帶動。此外，Vertafore的兩項補強型收購（bolt-on acquisitions）在策略上切中要點，整合順利且表現良好。

As we've been discussing, SaaS migrations have been a key theme for us over the past few years, and 2022 was no different. Both Aderant and Deltek continued their SaaS migration momentum and both grew nicely based on solid customer adds and strong retention. Deltek was particularly strong in their private sector end markets. But as Jason mentioned, Deltek did see some slower decision-making specific to new bookings in the enterprise segment for their GovCon solutions. At our upcoming March 21 Investor Day, you'll get an opportunity to hear directly from the leaders at Vertafore, Deltek and Aderant about how they're competing and consistently winning in the market.

如同我們一直在討論的，過去幾年SaaS遷移一直是我們的關鍵主題，2022年也不例外。Aderant與Deltek都持續保持SaaS遷移動能，並在穩健的新增客戶與強勁留存的帶動下表現良好。Deltek在其私部門終端市場尤其強勁。但如Jason所提到，Deltek在其GovCon解決方案的企業級（enterprise）客群新訂單方面，確實看到一些決策速度放緩。在我們即將於3月21日舉行的投資人日（Investor Day），您將有機會直接聽到Vertafore、Deltek與Aderant的領導團隊分享，他們如何在市場上競爭並持續勝出。

As it relates to PowerPlan, we liked what we saw last year. PowerPlan was strong given their refocused and narrowed strategy combined with a highly aligned team. As a result, PowerPlan crossed a meaningful milestone, launching a SaaS solution for their flagship product, Tax Fixed Assets. Congrats to the team for a great 2022 and looking forward to more great things in 2023.

至於PowerPlan，我們很喜歡去年看到的表現。PowerPlan在重新聚焦且縮窄的策略、以及高度一致的團隊合作下表現強勁。因此，PowerPlan達成一項重要里程碑，為其旗艦產品Tax Fixed Assets推出SaaS解決方案。恭喜團隊在2022年有出色表現，也期待2023年有更多佳績。

2022 is a very good year for application, health care, IT businesses as well. Strata's combination with EPSi has just been great. The integration is complete and the number of EPSi, the Strata has conversions and upsell, cross-sell are both meaningfully ahead of our deal expectations.

2022年對我們的應用、醫療保健與IT業務而言也是非常好的一年。Strata與EPSi的結合非常成功。整合已完成，而EPSi與Strata的轉換，以及向上銷售（upsell）與交叉銷售（cross-sell）的數量，均顯著超出我們對該交易的預期。

CliniSys and Data Innovations continue to win in the marketplace. The internal combination of CliniSys and Sunquest has rejuvenated and energized their high-performance culture, which is enabling the business to more effectively compete and win in the marketplace. Data Innovations continues to gain share and evolve to become the de facto standard as it relates to lab middleware.

CliniSys與Data Innovations持續在市場上勝出。CliniSys與Sunquest的內部整合，重新激發並強化其高績效文化，使該業務能更有效地在市場上競爭並取勝。Data Innovations持續提升市占，並持續演進，逐步成為實驗室中介軟體（lab middleware）事實上的標準。

Finally, Frontline, our cornerstone 2022 acquisition is off to a solid start. We look forward to sharing the strategic and financial success of this business in the quarters and years to come. I'd like to reiterate with what we started with. Performance here strategically, operationally and financially was just great in 2022. Very proud of the team and the performance. Congrats and thanks. Looking to the outlook for 2023, we expect to see organic growth in the mid-single-digit area based on our market positions and growth in recurring revenues.

最後，Frontline作為我們2022年的核心收購案，開局穩健。我們期待在未來幾季與幾年分享該業務在策略與財務上的成功。我想重申我們一開始所說的：2022年在策略、營運與財務層面表現都非常出色。我們為團隊與其表現感到非常自豪。恭喜並感謝大家。展望2023年，我們預期在市場地位與經常性收入成長的支撐下，有機成長將落在中個位數區間。

Turning to Page 12. Revenues in 2022 for our Network Software segment were $1.38 billion, up 13% on an organic basis, and EBITDA margins were strong at 53.3%. As we dig in the business-specific performance, our U.S. and Canadian freight matching businesses were great in 2022. Their exceptional growth is based on many factors, certainly favorable market conditions, but also continued product and network innovations as well as terrific product and package designs that drove increased value for the Network participants.

請翻到第12頁。我們網路軟體（Network Software）事業群2022年營收為13.8億美元，以有機基礎計算成長13%，EBITDA利潤率強勁，達53.3%。深入看各業務的具體表現，我們在美國與加拿大的貨運撮合業務於2022年表現非常出色。其卓越成長來自多項因素，當然包括有利的市場環境，也包括持續的產品與網路創新，以及出色的產品與方案設計，進而為網路參與者帶來更高價值。

iPipeline and iTradeNetwork were stellar performers throughout 2022 and benefited from having strong renewal and expansion activity. iPipeline like that of PowerPlan is benefiting from having a narrowed and more focused strategy, namely Tech Enabling, the life insurance, and annuity distribution network.

iPipeline 與 iTradeNetwork 在2022年全年度皆為亮眼表現者，並受惠於強勁的續約與擴張活動。iPipeline 與 PowerPlan 類似，正受惠於更精簡且更聚焦的策略，也就是技術賦能（Tech Enabling）的壽險與年金分銷網路。

Moving to Foundry, which had another great year as part of Roper. Foundry continues to be the market-leading software in postproduction media entertainment. During 2022, Foundry's product innovations were impressive with several new features focused on ML-based automation. Starting in 2023, Foundry's flagship product Nuke will begin its subscription transition, so looking forward for solid progress on that front.

接著談 Foundry，作為 Roper 的一部分又度過了非常出色的一年。Foundry 持續是後期製作媒體娛樂領域的市場領先軟體。2022年，Foundry 的產品創新令人印象深刻，推出多項聚焦於以機器學習（ML）為基礎自動化的新功能。自2023年起，Foundry 的旗艦產品 Nuke 將開始轉向訂閱制，因此我們期待在此方面取得穩健進展。

Growth in our businesses that focus on alternate site healthcare was led by SHP and SoftWriters and importantly, retention rates across SHP, SoftWriters and MHA remained extremely high. Broadly, the performance across this segment was great. Congrats to the teams for this terrific year of financial performance.

我們聚焦於替代照護場域（alternate site healthcare）的業務成長由 SHP 與 SoftWriters 帶動；更重要的是，SHP、SoftWriters 與 MHA 的留存率仍維持在極高水準。整體而言，本事業群表現非常出色。恭喜各團隊在今年取得如此優異的財務表現。

Turning to the outlook for 2023. We expect to see mid-single-digit organic growth for this segment based on broad and sustained growth across the group and a normalization of market conditions for freight and logistics applications.

談到2023年的展望。我們預期本事業群將呈現中個位數的有機成長，基於集團內廣泛且持續的成長，以及貨運與物流應用市場環境的正常化。

As we turn to Page 13, revenues in 2022 for our Tech Enabled Products segment were $1.35 billion, up 10% on an organic basis. EBITDA margins for this segment were 35.4% for the year. As expected, EBITDA margins expanded in the second half of the year as pricing and supply chain improvements flow through.

請翻到第13頁，我們技術賦能產品（Tech Enabled Products）事業群2022年營收為13.5億美元，以有機基礎計算成長10%。本事業群全年EBITDA利潤率為35.4%。如預期，隨著定價與供應鏈改善逐步反映，EBITDA利潤率在下半年擴張。

Let's start with Neptune, our water meter and technology product business. This past year was just terrific with very strong growth based on strong margin conditions, strong share gains and strong adoption of their static ultrasonic meter technology. In addition, Neptune launched their cellular connectivity solution and did a fantastic job migrating a large chunk of their customer base to their newest data management solution. Spectacular job Neptune, congrats Don to you and your team.

先從 Neptune 談起，我們的水表與技術產品業務。過去一年表現非常出色，在強勁的利潤環境、市占提升，以及其靜態超音波水表技術的強勁採用帶動下，成長非常強勁。此外，Neptune 推出其行動網路（cellular）連線解決方案，並在將大量客戶群遷移至最新資料管理解決方案方面做得非常成功。Neptune 表現太精彩了，恭喜 Don 以及你的團隊。

Northern Digital, which is our precision measurement tech company, continued to see terrific demand for their optical and EM solutions. NDI benefits from having a strategy that is laser-focused on healthcare applications and an R&D capability that is unmatched in the industry. NDI's core tech is using countless life-saving procedures on a daily basis across the globe.

Northern Digital（NDI）是我們的精密量測技術公司，持續看到其光學與電磁（EM）解決方案的強勁需求。NDI 受惠於其高度聚焦醫療照護應用的策略，以及業界無可匹敵的研發能力。NDI 的核心技術每天在全球被用於無數拯救生命的手術程序中。

Verathon turned in another solid year performance in 2022 as well. The growth is based on momentum across their video innovation and single-use bronchoscope product lines. As you saw in the press release, we did take the opportunity to clean up a legacy patent dispute. Make no mistake, the innovation capability at Verathon is nothing short of exceptional, and we cannot be more confident about their most recent product launches and the new concepts in the development pipeline. As it relates to the single-use bronc space, we hope to see Verathon capture the #1 market position in North America in 2023.

Verathon 在2022年同樣交出另一個穩健年度表現。成長動能來自其影像創新與一次性使用支氣管鏡（single-use bronchoscope）產品線的推進。如同你們在新聞稿中所見，我們也把握機會處理一項歷史遺留的專利爭議。毫無疑問，Verathon 的創新能力堪稱卓越，我們對其最新產品上市以及研發管線中的新概念充滿信心。就一次性支氣管鏡市場而言，我們希望在2023年看到 Verathon 在北美取得第1名的市場地位。

Our outlook for the year in this segment is in the high single-digit area and is based on continued strength in backlog at Neptune as well as continued growth across our medical product businesses. Specific to the first quarter, we do have easier comps versus a year ago.

我們對本事業群今年的展望為高個位數成長，主要基於 Neptune 訂單積壓（backlog）持續強勁，以及我們醫療產品業務的持續成長。就第一季而言，相較去年同期，我們的比較基期較容易。

Now please turn to Page 15, and let's review our 2023 and Q1 guidance. For 2023, we're initiating our DEPS guidance to be in the range of $15.90 and $16.20. Underpinning this guidance is expected organic growth of 5% to 6% and a tax rate in the 21% to 22% area. Specific to the first quarter, we're establishing our DEPS guidance to be in the $3.80 to $3.84 range.

現在請翻到第15頁，我們來檢視2023年與第一季（Q1）的指引。針對2023年，我們啟動（initiating）DEPS 指引區間為15.90至16.20美元。支撐此指引的假設包括：預期有機成長5%至6%，以及約21%至22%的稅率。就第一季而言，我們設定 DEPS 指引為3.80至3.84美元。

Now please turn with us to our final page, Page 16. As we turn to this page, we want to leave you with the same key points with which we started. First, 2022 was a year of great accomplishment for our teams and our enterprise. We grew revenue 11%, 9% on an organic basis. And we did this while continuing to increase the underlying quality of our revenue base. In fact, we delivered double-digit increases in our Software organic recurring revenue during 2022.

現在請與我們翻到最後一頁，第16頁。翻到這一頁時，我們想以與開場相同的重點作結。第一，2022年對我們的團隊與企業而言是成果豐碩的一年。我們營收成長11%，以有機基礎計算成長9%。同時，我們也持續提升營收基礎的內在品質。事實上，2022年我們的軟體有機經常性收入（organic recurring revenue）實現了雙位數成長。

EBITDA grew 12%. Our EBITDA margins expanded 20 basis points to 40.4%. Also, we successfully concluded our multiyear divestiture program and deployed $4.3 billion against our long-standing capital deployment strategy, headlined by Frontline Education.

EBITDA 成長12%。我們的 EBITDA 利潤率擴張20個基點至40.4%。此外，我們成功完成多年期的資產剝離計畫，並依循我們長期的資本部署策略投入43億美元，其中以 Frontline Education 為代表性交易。

The second key takeaway is that we're well positioned for double-digit cash flow compounding in 2023 based on our organic revenue growth outlook, contributions from our 2022 acquisition cohort and having well north of $4 billion of M&A capacity. To this end, we continue to be very active in the M&A markets. But as you saw during 2022 and as always, we will remain super patient and highly disciplined to ensure optimal deployment of our available capital.

第二個關鍵重點是：基於我們對有機營收成長的展望、2022年併購組合（acquisition cohort）的貢獻，以及超過40億美元的併購（M&A）能力，我們在2023年具備實現雙位數現金流複利成長的良好條件。為此，我們在併購市場仍非常積極。但如同你們在2022年所見，以及一貫以來，我們將保持高度耐心與嚴格紀律，以確保將可用資本以最佳方式部署。

Finally, and perhaps the most important, the new higher quality Roper portfolio is becoming increasingly more evident, and we've never been more excited about the future of enterprise. As we open up to your questions, we'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that we're hosting an Investor Day on Tuesday, March 21, in New York. We look forward to seeing many of you there. So with that, let's open it up to your questions.

最後，也許是最重要的一點：全新、更高品質的 Roper 投資組合正日益清晰可見，而我們對企業未來的期待從未如此高。在開始回答各位提問之前，我們也想藉此提醒大家：我們將於3月21日（週二）在紐約舉辦投資人日（Investor Day）。期待在現場見到各位。那麼，接下來就開放大家提問。

(Operator Instructions) Today's first question comes from Deane Dray at RBC Capital Markets.

（接線員指示）今天的第一個問題來自 RBC Capital Markets 的 Deane Dray。

Just start with the best wishes to Rob. I remember when he was starting as a rookie Investor Relations professional. And just wish him all the best.

先向 Rob 致上最誠摯的祝福。我記得他剛開始時還是投資人關係（Investor Relations）的新手。祝他一切順利。

Thank you, Deane, I appreciate it. It's been a great decade.

謝謝你，Deane，我很感激。這是很棒的十年。

It's fabulous. And then, Jason, yes, I think, you've been on every one of our callbacks for the 16 years. So you're absolutely -- we know exactly who you are and your experience. And so congrats on the new role.

太棒了。然後，Jason，是的，我想你在過去16年裡每一次回撥電話會議你都在。所以你絕對——我們非常清楚你是誰，以及你的經驗。因此恭喜你擔任新職務。

Thanks, Deane. Appreciate it.

謝謝你，Deane。感謝。

All right. So for a question, maybe we can start with a bit of a macroeconomic sensitivity because you typically, you don't see much of this within Roper. But just since you called out the Deltek delayed decision-making, Neil, is there any change in the pace of like new customer adds or the migration, new logos? Anything that you would point to that perhaps, there is some economic sensitivity reading through in that kind of the pace of business?

好，那提個問題：也許我們可以從一些總體經濟敏感度談起，因為通常在 Roper 內部不太會看到這種影響。但既然你提到 Deltek 的決策延後，Neil，在新增客戶、遷移、或新增標誌性客戶（new logos）的速度上，有沒有任何變化？有沒有什麼你會指出，顯示在業務節奏上讀得到一些經濟敏感度？

Yes. I think the -- if I take it at the highest level, we've been 8% to 10% organic. The last couple of years, obviously, are guiding a little bit below that for 2023. So I think you see it in our guidance model reading through as a general matter.

有。我想——如果我從最高層次來看，過去幾年我們的有機成長大約在8%到10%。顯然，我們對2023年的指引略低於那個水準。所以我認為，從我們的指引模型中，你可以整體上讀出這點。

If you take the Software businesses, our retention rates will stay very high. We expect that to the intimacy and the criticality of our applications. So retention rates to be very high.

如果看軟體業務，我們的留存率將維持非常高。我們預期這是因為我們應用的黏著度與關鍵性。因此留存率會非常高。

But as our customers, I mean, across all these end markets, I mean, if there's macroeconomic sort of headwinds or slowdown, then they're going to be affected to some degree. So we'd expect customer expansion activity maybe a little bit of net new to be slowed a little bit. The Software businesses will be great. They'll grow for sure, but a little bit slower.

但就我們的客戶而言，我是說，橫跨所有這些終端市場，如果有總體經濟的逆風或放緩，他們在某種程度上都會受到影響。因此我們預期客戶擴張活動、以及可能一些淨新增（net new）會稍微放慢。軟體業務會表現很好，肯定仍會成長，但速度會稍微慢一些。

From an end market perspective, we're in a number of end markets that are generally macro insensitive. There's a little bit, obviously, in our transportation business DAT that we called out on the call. That will be a little bit slower. But there's some hedges inside the portfolio. ConstructConnect should be good in the slower economic environment and also our medical product businesses as staffing levels and hospitals gets a little bit easier, patient volume should come back and that should help those businesses.

從終端市場的角度來看，我們所處的多個終端市場整體而言對總體經濟不太敏感。當然，在我們的運輸業務 DAT 方面會有一點影響，我們在電話會議中也提到了。那部分會稍微放緩。但在投資組合內也有一些對沖。ConstructConnect 在較慢的經濟環境下應該表現不錯；另外，我們的醫療產品業務，隨著人力配置與醫院端情況稍微改善，病患量應會回升，這也將有助於這些業務。

And then from a product, Neptune has got a gigantic amount of backlog, which will carry them through much of this year. So we feel pretty well set up. It doesn't mean that we're completely insensitive to macro, but relatively insensitive.

再從產品面來看，Neptune 擁有非常龐大的在手訂單（backlog），足以支撐其度過今年的大部分時間。因此我們覺得整體布局相當到位。這不代表我們對總體經濟完全不敏感，但相對而言不太敏感。

That's real helpful. And then let's just switch over to free cash flow and maybe I'll be accused of quibbling. The $161 million free cash flow conversion is still elite, but it did lag your 5-year average. And I know there's some dynamics here, and you touched on in the remarks, the Section 174 and the comparison from the tax benefit last year. Anything that on the working capital side or maybe the Frontline contribution because they're on a different school year, so maybe more of a third quarter collection. But is there any change in the seasonal tilt on free cash flow conversion?

這很有幫助。接著我們切換到自由現金流，我可能會被說是在吹毛求疵。1.61 億美元的自由現金流轉換率仍然非常出色，但確實落後於你們 5 年平均。我知道這裡有一些動態因素，你也在談話中提到第 174 條（Section 174）以及去年稅務利益的比較。那在營運資金端是否有任何因素？或者是 Frontline 的貢獻，因為他們的學年不同，所以可能更多是在第三季收款。但自由現金流轉換的季節性傾斜是否有任何改變？

Yes, Deane, good question. I think you're spot on. So we typically convert on -- from an EBITDA to free cash flow will be in the 90s typically and Section 174, if we adjust for that we are in the 80s. And so you're right. Frontline has a very seasonal sort of cash collection cadence. So their third quarter is when all the renewals and upsells happen, so most of their cash comes in the third quarter.

是的，Deane，我想你說得很到位。我們通常從 EBITDA 轉換到自由現金流的比例一般在 90% 多；若把第 174 條的影響調整後，我們大概在 80% 多。所以你說得沒錯。Frontline 的現金收款節奏非常具季節性。他們的第三季是所有續約與加購（upsell）發生的時間點，因此大部分現金會在第三季進來。

So in the fourth, you won't see that converting to cash from EBITDA. So that's exactly what you saw. So we're looking forward to next year and especially in the third quarter will be a little bit more weighted than normal.

因此在第四季，你不會看到 EBITDA 轉成現金的情況。你看到的正是這個效果。所以我們展望明年，尤其第三季的權重會比正常情況更高一些。

And our next question today comes from Scott Davis of Melius Research.

我們今天的下一個問題來自 Melius Research 的 Scott Davis。

Congrats, Rob. And good luck, Jason, et cetera. I wish you guys well, but -- good luck.

恭喜你，Rob。也祝 Jason 好運等等。我祝你們一切順利，不過——祝好運。

The et cetera -- both ways...

那個「等等」——兩種意思都有……

Jason, you get to work a few more years with Neil. Good luck.

Jason，你還可以再跟 Neil 一起工作幾年。祝你好運。

Thanks, I guess.

謝謝，我想是吧。

I can say that, I guess. But anyways, I don't want to climb in a minutia here, but I know there's no one particular asset that moves the needle in a huge way. But can we walk back and talk a little bit about PowerPlan? I mean you mentioned the narrower product focus, I think, I heard you say, which didn't really understand what that meant.

我想我可以這麼說。不過總之，我不想鑽牛角尖，但我知道沒有任何單一資產會以非常大的幅度左右整體。不過我們能不能回頭談談 PowerPlan？你提到產品聚焦更窄，我想我聽到你這麼說，但我不太理解那是什麼意思。

And the cloud rollout, again, like is that -- how relevant is that to the business? And -- but maybe if we just go back and you can explain to us again what kind of drives PowerPlan? And I'll just leave it there and leave it...

還有雲端推行（cloud rollout），這對業務的相關性到底有多大？——不如我們回到一開始，你再跟我們解釋一下 PowerPlan 的驅動因素是什麼？我就先問到這裡……

Yes. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about -- any of our businesses, it's been a while since we've been able to do a double-click on PowerPlan. So just reminds you what they do, right? So PowerPlan software and services live at the intersection of the financial system and the asset tracking system for these large utilities, investor-owned and public utilities. And when the PowerPlan software has a perfectly curated view of what the assets look like inside our customer base. When you have that perfectly curated view and these assets are constantly being updated and changed, they're not static, right? And so that's why you have to live between these 2 systems.

好的。感謝有機會談談——我們的任何業務。因為我們已經有一段時間沒有深入（double-click）講 PowerPlan 了。先提醒大家他們是做什麼的：PowerPlan 的軟體與服務位於大型公用事業（utilities，包含投資人持有與公營公用事業）的財務系統與資產追蹤系統之交會點。PowerPlan 軟體能在我們客戶群內，對資產狀況建立一個經過完善整理（perfectly curated）的視圖。當你有這個完善整理的視圖，而這些資產又在持續更新與變動、並非靜態時，你就必須介於這兩個系統之間運作。

And we have this perfectly curated view of what the assets are, then you get the most appropriate tax treatment you can, the most appropriate lease accounting, and a series of other financial benefits associated with that. We bought the business, the business was doing that, but then it was also reaching outside its core customer base and the core products I just described, looking for growth sort of in all the wrong places, if you will.

當我們對資產有這個完善整理的視圖後，你就能取得最適當的稅務處理、最適當的租賃會計處理，以及一系列與此相關的財務效益。我們收購這家公司時，他們本來就在做這些，但同時也把觸角伸到核心客戶群與我剛描述的核心產品之外，去尋找成長——可以說是在一些不太對的地方找成長。

And then we -- what we did -- when we did our strategy work with them going back probably a 1 year, 1.5 years ago is the amount of opportunity inside the core of what they do was large enough to support the growth thesis for many years to come. So it's just refocusing back on the core, that's a common theme. We talked about that. I think you'll see that increasingly more inside of Roper as we do our strategy work, right? So not getting too far away from the core and getting distracted. So that's what they've done.

而我們——我們所做的是——大概在 1 年到 1.5 年前與他們進行策略工作時發現，他們核心業務內部的機會規模已足以支撐未來多年的成長論述。因此就是把焦點重新拉回核心，這是一個常見主題，我們也談過。我想你會看到，隨著我們做策略工作，這樣的作法在 Roper 內會越來越多：不要離核心太遠、不要分心。這就是他們所做的。

The first impact of that is they now have this 100% SaaS solution for their principal product Tax Fixed Assets. It just released in Q4. And we're excited by that because, as you lift and shift your customer base from an on-premise to a cloud solution, there's a tremendous value capture opportunity, and it will unlock some growth for the business.

這帶來的第一個影響是：他們的主要產品 Tax Fixed Assets 現在已經有 100% 的 SaaS 解決方案，並在第四季發布。我們對此感到興奮，因為當你把客戶群從地端部署（on-premise）遷移到雲端解決方案時，存在非常可觀的價值擷取機會，也會為業務解鎖一些成長。

Can you get pricing in the process? Or is this just more about retention?

在這個過程中能提高定價嗎？還是這主要是為了留存？

No, that's the value unlock, right? So we're doing more for our customers with the SaaS solution, right? So we're not just hosting it. There's more features. You're on the latest release, where certainly, we know how to operate our software ourselves better than third parties. And so it's the efficiency and the uptime is higher. And as a result of all that, you do get price. We'll see -- we talked about there's roughly $900 million in legacy on-premise maintenance in our revenue base.

不，這就是價值解鎖的部分。因為透過 SaaS 解決方案，我們為客戶做得更多。我們不只是代管（hosting）。功能更多；你會在最新版本上；而且我們當然知道如何比第三方更好地營運我們自己的軟體。因此效率更高、可用性（uptime）也更高。基於這些，你確實能提高價格。我們也提到過，在我們的營收基礎中，大約有 9 億美元是傳統地端維護（legacy on-premise maintenance）。

And as that is lifting and shifting to the cloud over a long arc of time, that should lift and shift north of 2x, right? So there's $1 billion of growth that's latent inside the portfolio as we lift and shift that on-premise maintenance to the cloud.

當這些在很長的時間軸上逐步遷移到雲端時，應該能提升到超過 2 倍。因此，隨著我們把地端維護遷移到雲端，投資組合內其實潛藏著 10 億美元的成長。

And our next question today comes from Julian Mitchell of Barclays.

我們今天的下一個問題來自 Barclays 的 Julian Mitchell。

And look forward to working with you, Jason. So maybe my first question, just to try and home in a little bit more on the sort of macro framework in the guide. Maybe specifically, I think about 25% of your Software revenue is reoccurring and nonrecurring, so maybe more cyclical kind of talk. Maybe just remind us sort of what the organic growth of those 2 in aggregate was last year and what you're dialing in for 2023 or any flavor of that?

也期待與你合作，Jason。我的第一個問題是想更聚焦一點在指引中的總體經濟框架。更具體地說，我理解你們約 25% 的軟體營收屬於經常性（recurring）與重複性但非合約型（reoccurring）之外的部分，因此可能更具循環性。能否提醒我們去年這兩者合計的有機成長大概是多少，以及你們對 2023 年的假設或任何相關說明？

And then within Network Software specifically, transport and freight, it's almost 1/4 of the revenue. And you mentioned you're dialing in, I think, normalization was your phrase. Maybe just any finer point on what that means exactly of growth this year versus last?

另外，在 Network Software 裡面，運輸與貨運幾乎占了 1/4 的營收。你提到你們在假設中納入——我記得你用的詞是「正常化」（normalization）。能否更精確說明這到底代表今年相較去年成長會如何？

Yes. So let me take -- let's take those. Jason, I take those in sequence. So I'll set up what the difference between recurring and reoccurring revenue is in our base. I'll let then Jason talk about the relative growth rate. Then we'll tackle the DAT freight question you're raising.

好的。那我來回答——我們依序來。Jason，我們按順序處理。我先說明在我們的營收基礎中，recurring 與 reoccurring 的差異；接著讓 Jason 談相對成長率；然後我們再處理你提到的 DAT 貨運問題。

So just to level set what everybody is, if we have a recurring revenue is subscription, contractual recurring revenue. Reoccurring revenue is principally located at our MHA business. We take a percentage of the drug and food spend that goes to the network. And so it's not technically recurring. It's highly reoccurring.

先把定義講清楚：所謂 recurring revenue 是訂閱型、合約式的經常性收入。Reoccurring revenue 主要出現在我們的 MHA 業務：我們會從透過網路發生的藥品與食品支出中抽取一定比例。因此它在技術上不算經常性，但高度重複發生。

So it's not -- and that's probably the most -- one of the most stable parts of our portfolio, long-term care, healthcare, residents and buildings, consuming food and pharmaceuticals, right? So it's highly, secure for lack of a better word. It's not transactional relative to a macroeconomic sort of situation. So I'll stop just in terms of framing recurring versus reoccurring. I'll let Jason take the relative growth rate question.

所以它不是——而且那可能是我們投資組合中最——最穩定的部分之一：長期照護、醫療照護、住民與建築，持續消耗食品與藥品，對吧？所以可以說它高度——用比較貼切的詞是「穩固」。相較於總體經濟情境，它不是那種交易型（transactional）的收入。關於 recurring 與 reoccurring 的框架我先講到這裡，接著讓 Jason 回答相對成長率的問題。

Yes, sure, glad to. So MHA, as Neil mentioned, it's really about drug purchases from the pharmacies, and they have very strong retention in those businesses from a customer standpoint. We always sort of think about the business being at the -- maybe at the bottom end of the mid-single digits, maybe a little bit low singles. And that's sort of what we experienced this year, and that's kind of what we're baking in for next year.

是的，當然，很樂意。所以 MHA，如 Neil 提到的，主要是關於從藥局進行藥品採購，而且從客戶角度來看，他們在那些業務上的留存非常強。我們一直大致認為這項業務的表現大概在——可能是中個位數增長的低端，或略偏低個位數。這也差不多就是我們今年的實際情況，而這也是我們對明年的預期假設。

Great. Okay. Now let's take to your freight and logistics around DAT, specifically. So to remind you, there's this tension between the -- a cyclical freight dynamic and a secular push or a secular benefit that DAT and DAT's customers are experiencing relative to the spot market becoming a more efficient place -- to place freight. So there's tension between those 2.

很好。好。現在我們來談談你們圍繞 DAT 的貨運與物流，特別是 DAT。提醒一下，這裡存在一種拉扯：一方面是週期性的貨運景氣循環；另一方面是結構性的推動力或結構性利多——DAT 以及 DAT 的客戶正受益於即期市場變得更有效率，能更有效率地——安排貨運。所以這兩者之間存在張力。

When -- from a cyclical point of view, we expected and have seen the carrier side of the network reduce a little bit. And it's -- and we expect it to reduce over the course or shrink or get a little bit smaller over the course of this year. DAT grew through the 2019 freight recession. I think DAT has grown every year since 2010. So the business is talking about the rate of growth at DAT, not as it expand and contract. It tends to be much more stickier than that.

從週期角度來看，我們原本預期也確實看到網路中的承運人端略有縮減。而且——我們預期在今年的過程中會持續縮減、收縮或變得稍微小一些。DAT 在 2019 年貨運衰退期間仍然成長。我認為 DAT 自 2010 年以來每年都在成長。所以這門生意討論的是 DAT 的成長率，而不是擴張與收縮。它的黏著性往往比那種循環式的變動更強。

As an early read, January is actually a little bit better. I mean the number of carriers in the network is sort of flattish through January and not declining. And the people in the industry that sort of call like the freight timing. And if there's going to be a freight recession, actually think there's a queuing for a large spring shipping season, mostly around -- this triggered by produce. And we might start -- we're seeing a little bit of that bleed in, but we'll have to see how the next couple of quarters play out.

作為初步觀察，1 月其實稍微好一些。我的意思是，網路中的承運人數量在 1 月大致持平，並沒有下滑。產業裡那些會判斷貨運時點的人認為，如果真的會出現貨運衰退，反而可能會為春季的大型出貨旺季做排隊準備，主要是——由農產品（produce）帶動。我們可能開始——已經看到一點點滲入，但還得看接下來幾個季度的發展。

That's very helpful. And then just within TEP, I understand the recurring piece is minimal there and its 99% product-related. Any flavor you'd give us on the sort of what you're seeing in medical versus Neptune for 2023, any major difference in kind of visibility between the 2 or the growth rate expected?

這很有幫助。接著在 TEP 方面，我理解那裡的經常性收入占比很小，99% 都是產品相關。你能否談談你們對 2023 年醫療（medical）相較於 Neptune 的觀察？兩者在能見度或預期成長率上是否有任何重大差異？

Yes. So we have, the, most visibility we've ever had at Neptune.

是的。所以我們在 Neptune 的能見度，是我們歷來最高的一次。

That's right.

沒錯。

The order volume continues to flow. The order duration, meaning the longer dated orders continues to flow. And so we feel quite comfortable and good how 2023 is shaping for Neptune.

訂單量持續進來。訂單期限，也就是較長期的訂單，也持續進來。因此我們對 Neptune 在 2023 年的走勢感到相當安心，也覺得狀況良好。

For medical products, there's actually -- I think we've talked about a few quarters ago, the reoccurring elements of Verathon, became the largest part of the revenue stream. There's a lot of consumable pull-through on the capital equipment there. Northern Digital has a decently high amount of consumables that are pulled through that CIVCO.

至於醫療產品，實際上——我想我們在幾個季度前談過，Verathon 的經常性要素已成為收入來源中最大的一部分。那裡的資本設備會帶動大量耗材的後續拉動（consumable pull-through）。Northern Digital 也有相當高比例的耗材，會透過 CIVCO 被帶動出貨。

And so it is more procedure and patient driven. And we, like, I said a few minutes ago, we feel that we're decently well set up there, but it's not on our base case, right? So we saw 6% to 8% declines in patient volumes in the areas in which we service in 2022, all tied to hospital staffing levels. And we're cautiously optimistic that as the labor market solution, hospitals be able to staff, and be able to see patient volumes pick back up the prior levels.

因此它更受手術量與病患量驅動。而且，如我幾分鐘前所說，我們覺得那邊的布局相當到位，但這並不在我們的基本情境（base case）之內，對吧？所以我們在 2022 年看到我們服務區域的病患量下滑 6% 到 8%，這都與醫院人力配置水準有關。我們審慎樂觀地認為，隨著勞動市場問題逐步解決，醫院能夠補足人力，病患量也能回升到先前水準。

Our next question today comes from Steve Tusa at JPMorgan.

我們今天的下一個問題來自 JPMorgan 的 Steve Tusa。

Congrats to all. Rob and Jason, I'm looking forward to working with you. Just on the free cash, you mentioned plus or minus 80% conversion to EBITDA. Obviously, the last couple of years have been a bit volatile around all these tax items. But in '21, I think you had a decent number of deferred revenue benefit on the cash flow statement. Maybe just give us a little bit of color looking into next year with concerns around the macro that can be a pretty big variable. I mean are you going to be around that 80% in '23? Or will you be kind of more in between what you did in '21 and '22, I think, adjusted around 70%? Maybe just a bit of color on the free cash, and then I have a follow-up on Frontline.

恭喜各位。Rob 和 Jason，我很期待與你們合作。關於自由現金流，你提到對 EBITDA 的轉換率約為正負 80%。顯然，過去幾年因為各種稅務項目而有些波動。但在 2021 年，我記得你們在現金流量表上有相當可觀的遞延收入帶來的效益。能否請你們稍微談談展望明年、在宏觀環境疑慮下（這可能是很大的變數），你們怎麼看？2023 年會在 80% 左右嗎？還是會介於你們 2021 與 2022 年之間——我想調整後大概是 70%？請就自由現金流多給一點顏色，然後我還有一個關於 Frontline 的追問。

Yes, happy to. No, I think we're feeling very good about the 80%. Our deferred revenue, our renewals were really strong this quarter, and we felt good how it moved up sequentially, how was it up year-over-year. And just what we're hearing from our businesses, we feel good about the renewals. And then we're going to have -- we expect -- I think I said on the call that we'll get some improvement on our inventory ratios next year. We had a little bit of build at the end of this year.

是的，很樂意。不，我認為我們對 80% 這個水準感覺非常好。我們的遞延收入、續約在本季非常強勁，我們對它的季比提升、年比提升都感到滿意。而且就我們從各個業務聽到的情況來看，我們對續約很有信心。另外，我們將會——我們預期——我想我在電話會議上提到，明年我們的庫存周轉比率會有所改善。今年年底我們的庫存有些增加。

Frontline will certainly help with our negative working capital profile. They're at negative 40%. Like I said, most of that will hit in the third quarter when all the renewals take place. Of course, if Section 174 gets repealed, this will be a home run year, but we're not banking on that for now.

Frontline 肯定會幫助我們的負營運資金結構。他們是負 40%。如我所說，其中大部分會在第三季反映，因為所有續約都在那時發生。當然，如果《第 174 條》（Section 174）被廢除，那今年會是大豐收，但我們目前不把這點納入假設。

So like something in the $1.8 billion range for free cash for next year?

所以明年的自由現金流大概會在 18 億美元左右？

I'll let you come to your math on that.

我就讓你自己算那個數學吧。

Okay. We will. And then just Frontline, revenues roughly $95 million this quarter. Is that about right?

好。我們會的。然後關於 Frontline，本季營收大約 9,500 萬美元，對嗎？

No. They were somewhere in the 80s. We had a few days knocked off at the beginning of the quarter because we closed on the 4th.

不。他們大概是在 8,000 多萬。我們在季度初少了幾天，因為我們是在 4 號完成交割。

Okay. By the way, really appreciate all the discussion on the businesses and looking forward to the Investor Day, learning more on this portfolio. So very helpful detail on the moving parts of all the different businesses.

好的。順帶一提，非常感謝你們對各項業務的討論，也很期待投資人日，能更深入了解這個投資組合。你們對各個不同業務的驅動因素提供了非常有幫助的細節。

And our next question today comes from Allison Poliniak with Wells Fargo.

我們今天的下一個問題來自 Wells Fargo 的 Allison Poliniak。

Just want to circle back on DAT. I know you talked about it growing historically through cycles, but it's certainly been an unusual one. A lot of new entrants here. Is there any risk to the retention rate, should that spot rate not hold in terms of stabilization if some of those new entrants, I guess, can't survive?

我想回到 DAT。我知道你們談到它歷來能在景氣循環中成長，但這次確實很不尋常，出現了很多新進者。若即期運價無法維持、在穩定化方面出現問題，是否會對留存率造成任何風險？也就是說，如果其中一些新進者——我想——撐不下去的話？

And then I guess along with that, that premium offering, in this type of uncertainty, does that drive maybe more increase or interest in that premium offering versus just to gain some visibility here in an uncertain market? Just any thoughts there?

另外我想，連同這點，在這種不確定性下，那個高階（premium）方案是否會帶來更多提升或更多興趣？因為大家可能想在不確定的市場中獲得更多能見度。對此有什麼看法嗎？

Yes. So in terms of the number of -- when you say new entrants, I assume you're referring to the number of new carriers that are in the network as opposed to a competitive entrant or the sort, because there really are no new competitive entrants.

是的。就數量而言——當你說新進者時，我假設你指的是網路中新增的承運人數量，而不是競爭對手的新進入者或類似情況，因為實際上並沒有新的競爭性進入者。

Relative to the carriers, yes, I mean, it was -- it's been just a tremendous last couple of years, driven by the things we've talked about for a couple of years, which is the fluidity and the liquidity in the spot market, which is a secular tailwind and then obviously, a huge boom on the cyclical piece.

就承運人而言，是的，我的意思是，過去幾年確實非常驚人，主要由我們談了幾年的因素所驅動：即期市場的流動性與成交深度（liquidity），這是一個結構性順風；然後很明顯地，在週期性那一塊也出現了巨大的繁榮。

We -- historically, when you look at like peak carriers to trough carriers through cycle, it sort of goes -- network carriers declines by plus or minus 10%. We've assumed that it will decline by more than that in our guidance model because the buildup was unprecedented. But -- so that's sort of -- we think we have this conservatively planned in our outlook, but it's unprecedented ramp up leading up to this. We do take some early confidence in the carrier count in the first couple of weeks of January, right?

我們——歷史上，當你看景氣循環中承運人數從高峰到谷底的變化，大致是——網路承運人會下滑正負 10%。我們在指引模型中假設它會下滑超過這個幅度，因為先前的累積增長是前所未見的。但——所以這就是——我們認為在展望中已經相當保守地規劃了，不過在此之前的那段加速成長確實是史無前例。我們也從 1 月前兩週的承運人數量得到一些初步信心，對吧？

So the fact that we're flattish versus continuing to see some declines is certainly encouraging, but it's only a handful of data points we want to see take together. In terms of the premium offering, I mean, DAT has just done a tremendous job creating product and package designs that have more value for all the network participants. It's helped drive some ARPU increases because there's more value that the participants are getting.

因此，我們目前大致持平、而不是繼續下滑，當然令人鼓舞，但這只是少數幾個數據點，我們希望能綜合更多資料一起觀察。至於高階（premium）方案，我的意思是，DAT 在打造產品與方案組合設計方面做得非常出色，為所有網路參與者創造了更高價值。這也有助於推動 ARPU 的提升，因為參與者獲得的價值更多。

So different packages, different features and functionality that they've upsold.

所以不同的套裝方案，有不同的功能與特性，而他們也藉此進行加售。

That's right.

沒錯。

Great. No, that's helpful. And then just in terms of the M&A pipeline, are you still under the new portfolio, PE, primarily your source of opportunities here? Have you expanded it? And if, I guess if you have, are you looking -- I know CRI is your metric that is your foundation. But are you providing any other controls with maybe some new opportunities out there? Just any thoughts there?

很好。不，這很有幫助。接著就併購（M&A）管線而言，在新的投資組合下，私募股權（PE）仍然是你們在這裡的主要機會來源嗎？你們有擴大嗎？另外，我想如果有擴大，你們是否在尋找——我知道 CRI 是你們的核心衡量指標、也是基礎。但你們是否也提供任何其他的控管方式，來因應外面可能出現的一些新機會？想聽聽你們的看法。

Yes. You're right. We've obviously historically sourced all. But in my time here, I think one meaningful deal from private equity. One was from a small founder -- founder, and that has been sort of the pod in which we fish. But we're -- that's not exclusively where we have business development activities going on. We've always looked in public markets. We just haven't found anything that's been compelling from a value point of view yet. We'll continue to look there.

是的。你說得對。我們過去顯然歷來都是從那裡取得所有案源。但在我任內，我想有一筆具代表性的交易來自私募股權。另一筆來自一位小型創辦人——創辦人，而那一直是我們釣魚的池子。不過——我們的業務開發活動並不只侷限在那裡。我們一直也在公開市場尋找，只是從價值角度來看，至今還沒有找到足夠吸引人的標的。我們會持續在那裡尋找。

You could see us get a little bit earlier in the cycle and try to compete a little bit more with private equity sort of half a click earlier in the company's life cycle. So when we did the Vertafore transaction and the Frontline transaction, many of our investors said, why didn't you buy it when the person you bought it from or a private equity firm, you bought it from bought it. And so that's something that you could see us explore in the right situations.

你可能會看到我們在週期上更早一點切入，嘗試在公司生命週期更早半拍的階段，與私募股權更直接地競爭。因為當我們做 Vertafore 交易與 Frontline 交易時，很多投資人都說，為什麼你們不在你們向其收購的那個人或那家私募股權公司當初買入時就買下來？所以這是我們在合適情境下可能會探索的方向。

But still, all that being said, the predominance of what we're going to do is what we've done for the last 20 years, which is sort of lower risk, highly recurring software -- application software businesses from private equity.

但即便如此，我們要做的主體仍會是過去 20 年一直在做的事，也就是從私募股權手上收購風險較低、經常性收入很高的軟體——應用軟體業務。

And our next question today comes from Brad Hewitt with Wolfe Research.

我們今天的下一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Brad Hewitt。

You noted that your adjusted EPS calculation will include the fair value accounting and tax impact of Indicor. But why would you not include the minority interest contribution as well? Just wondering what is the logical downside to not including that, shouldn't it be a positive and growing contribution?

你們提到調整後 EPS 的計算會納入 Indicor 的公允價值會計與稅務影響。但為什麼不把少數股權（minority interest）的貢獻也一併納入？我只是想了解，不納入的邏輯缺點是什麼？它不是應該是一個正向且會成長的貢獻嗎？

Well, it's a calculation that's going to be based on many variables, right? It's mainly an accounting exercise. We don't think that it's going to -- we'd rather see the outcome when we do the exit. We think that's the better reflection of what the economics are going to be. We feel really good about what that's going to look like. We've worked with CD&R on a strategy there. They typically look at several multiples of return on investment, and that's what we're playing for upon exit.

嗯，這個計算會基於很多變數，對吧？它主要是一個會計上的作業。我們認為——我們寧可在退出時再看結果。我們覺得那才是對經濟實質會是什麼樣子的更好反映。我們對那會呈現的樣貌非常有信心。我們已和 CD&R 一起制定了策略。他們通常會看投資報酬率的數倍回報，而這就是我們在退出時所追求的目標。

Okay. Great. That's helpful. And then in terms of price contribution in Q4, what did that look like? And then also how much pricing is embedded in your 2023 guidance?

好的。很好。這很有幫助。那麼就第四季的價格貢獻而言，看起來如何？另外，你們 2023 年指引中內含了多少定價因素？

So price for us, I mean, it's an important lever to our growth algorithm, not just for '22 and '23, but all prior years and all forward years. Teasing out specifically how much is price is a very, very difficult thing across our 27 companies and rolling it up to a number that is meaningful. And so we're not going to share a specific number in that regard.

所以對我們來說，價格——我的意思是，它是我們成長演算法中的一個重要槓桿，不只是對 2022 和 2023 年，而是對所有過去年度以及未來年度皆然。要在我們 27 家公司之間把「到底有多少來自價格」單獨拆出來，並彙總成一個有意義的數字，是非常、非常困難的。因此我們不會在這方面分享一個具體數字。

I'll tell you the pricing, the value capture that we have, given what we do, the criticality of what we do, we've always had pricing power and pricing value capture and there's nothing different with that. Do you want to add anything to that, Jason?

我可以告訴你的是，考量到我們做的事情、我們所做事情的關鍵性，我們一直都有定價能力與定價價值的捕捉，而這點沒有任何不同。Jason，你要補充什麼嗎？

Perhaps, we can go to the next question?

或許，我們可以進到下一個問題？

Our next question today comes from Brendan Luecke with Bernstein.

我們今天的下一個問題來自 Bernstein 的 Brendan Luecke。

Just wanted to take a quick look at macro, one other question here. I was wondering if you could offer any color on your exposure to construction end markets? And how that's playing into your growth expectations for FY '23. And I guess, specifically, I'd be curious around Deltek, ConstructConnect and Neptune as well.

我想快速看一下總體環境，這裡還有一個問題。我想請問你們能否分享一些你們對建築終端市場的曝險情況？以及這如何影響你們對 2023 財年的成長預期。我想更具體地，我會特別好奇 Deltek、ConstructConnect 和 Neptune 的情況。

Yes. So I appreciate the opportunity there. So let's just take it by those 3. So ConstructConnect, to remind you what it is, right, so we have a near perfect database of all the construction -- commercial construction projects that are in the planning phase across North America. As a result when -- it has a bit of countercyclical demand attached to it. So when there is a tremendous amount of new projects and you're a subcontractor, general contracting, building product manufacturer and business is flowing from everywhere, then you don't have to look too hard for what you're going to do next.

好的。很感謝有這個機會。我們就用這三個來談。先說 ConstructConnect，提醒一下它是什麼：我們擁有一個幾乎完美的資料庫，涵蓋北美所有處於規劃階段的建築——商業建築專案。因此——它帶有一些逆景氣循環的需求特性。當新專案非常多，而你是分包商、總承包商、建材製造商，且業務從四面八方湧入時，你其實不需要太費力去找下一個要做什麼。

When there's fewer projects, then you subscribe to the subscription service of ConstructConnect so you can identify what projects are coming down the pipe that you want to try to bid for and win. And so the ConstructConnect has been a modestly good performer for us over the years. We expect it to actually have a good run here in '23 as a result.

當專案變少時，你就會訂閱 ConstructConnect 的訂閱服務，這樣你就能辨識有哪些專案正在進入管線，你想去投標並贏得它們。因此 ConstructConnect 這些年對我們來說一直是表現尚可的業務。我們預期它在 2023 年反而會因此有不錯的表現。

Deltek does have -- it's been a strategic focus -- Deltek. Deltek is 60% government contracting, 40% private sector and private sector, the smallest lever is construction. And we sell software to large contractors, right? That's what we do. That business, we -- in our prepared comments, we talked about how the private sector was very strong in Q4 for Deltek. We would expect and do anticipate some softening on the construction side for Deltek in 2023, and we think we have that fully covered in our guidance.

Deltek 的確有——一直是策略重點——Deltek。Deltek 的營收結構是 60% 政府承包、40% 私部門；而在私部門中，最小的一個槓桿是建築。我們是賣軟體給大型承包商，對吧？這就是我們做的事。這個業務——我們在準備好的講稿中提到，Deltek 的私部門在第四季非常強勁。我們預期並且也確實預見 2023 年 Deltek 的建築端會有一些走弱，而我們認為這已完全反映在我們的指引中。

And then Neptune, we believe strongly that Neptune is not a cyclical business. As you sell water meters and water meter technology to the municipalities when they're -- they tend to have a budget for meters. When there is a large new residential new construction, then a higher percentage of the budget goes to install new meters. When there's fewer new starts, the budget stays the same, but they take the meters and they do the retrofits and trade outs of the aging fleet and infrastructure. So that is a general cross-cycle sort of view of Neptune.

接著是 Neptune，我們堅信 Neptune 不是一個景氣循環型的業務。你把水表與水表技術賣給地方政府時——他們通常會有水表的預算。當有大量新的住宅新建案時，預算中會有較高比例用於安裝新水表。當新開工變少時，預算仍然一樣，但他們會把水表用在既有設備與基礎設施的翻新改裝與汰換老舊車隊（fleet）。所以這是對 Neptune 跨景氣循環的一般性看法。

But then we're further -- our confidence is further buoyed by the fact that we have this just unprecedented amount of backlog at Neptune for 2023. So we think that Neptune will perform well for us this year.

此外，我們的信心還進一步受到支撐，因為 Neptune 在 2023 年有一個前所未有的龐大在手訂單（backlog）。所以我們認為 Neptune 今年會為我們帶來良好表現。

And our next question today comes from Rob Mason at Baird.

我們今天的下一個問題來自 Baird 的 Rob Mason。

Congrats as well to Jason and Rob. Maybe just stick on the Technology Enabled Products area. I think the -- there was a mention of some products didn't ship in the quarter, maybe got pushed. Just to step back, maybe update us where you think you are around supply chain just on the product side in your businesses? And then I'm curious what kind of impact that those deferral shipments might have had in the fourth quarter?

也恭喜 Jason 和 Rob。或許就聚焦在「科技賦能產品」（Technology Enabled Products）這一塊。我想——有提到某些產品在本季沒有出貨，可能被延後了。先退一步看，你們能否更新一下你們在各業務的產品端，就供應鏈狀況而言，你們覺得目前處於什麼位置？另外我也好奇，這些延後出貨對第四季可能造成了什麼影響？

Let me just set it up, and I'll hand it over to Jason. So in TEP, we talk obviously -- about Neptune, we talk about medical products. There's also a small cohort of RF product businesses Inovonics and RF IDeas. The fourth quarter was particularly brutal supply chain wise on those RF product businesses. And so with that, I'll give it to Jason to sort of talk through anything you'd like to.

我先做個鋪陳，然後交給 Jason。在 TEP 方面，我們當然會談到 Neptune，也會談到醫療產品。另外還有一小群 RF 產品業務：Inovonics 和 RF IDeas。第四季就這些 RF 產品業務而言，供應鏈狀況特別嚴峻。因此我把時間交給 Jason，請他說明你想談的部分。

Yes. It wasn't significant, it was probably in the $5 million to $10 million range, and it was across a number of businesses. So I think we expect the first quarter for TEP to be up a little bit more than the rest of the year because of that and because of some of the easier comps. So maybe low double digits in the first quarter, but that's sort of the range. So yes, a lot of this is in the rearview. Of course, things do pop up here and there, but we're not hearing as much sort of meaningful impact in the quarters.

是的。影響不算重大，大概在 500 萬到 1,000 萬美元的區間，而且分散在多個業務上。所以我想我們預期 TEP 第一季會比全年其他季度高一些，原因是這個因素以及一些比較基期較容易。因此第一季可能是低雙位數成長，但大概就是那個範圍。是的，很多都已經過去了。當然，偶爾還是會冒出一些狀況，但我們沒有聽到在各季度有那麼多具實質性的影響。

And as a general matter, we're not the only ones that. But supply chain is generally, as Jason just said, improving, and there's essentially the chip shortage and chip issues. There's more of a glut globally yet. But we're not -- we're not -- concerning that from us. We do think this -- the supply chain issues abate over '23.

而且就一般而言，我們也不是唯一這麼看的。但供應鏈整體上——正如 Jason 剛才所說——正在改善，主要就是晶片短缺與晶片相關問題。全球層面其實已經更偏向供過於求。不過我們——我們——並不擔心這件事對我們的影響。我們確實認為，供應鏈問題會在 2023 年逐步緩解。

Sure, sure. And Neil, you've made several references to Neptune through the call and share gains and the strength in your backlog. And that tends to be a business where share doesn't move around that dramatically. I'm just -- could you expound a little bit just on how what's going on there? What you've done, whether it relates to ultrasonic adoption or the introduction of cellular? Or is this a broader effort at Neptune that's driving that?

當然，當然。Neil，你在這通電話中多次提到 Neptune、市佔提升以及你們在手訂單的強勁。而那通常是一個市佔不會那麼劇烈變動的業務。我只是——你能否多闡述一下那邊到底發生了什麼？你們做了什麼？是否與超音波的採用或蜂巢式（cellular）的導入有關？還是說，這是 Neptune 更廣泛的推動在帶動？

Yes. Neptune has been just a steady and consistent share gainer, made -- the whole time I've been here, right? I mean, for a decade. And the reasons for that are manifold, but they have a product orientation that starts with, they never want to strand their existing customers with technology. So for instance, this goes back to the prior iteration of communication software, but the proprietary protocols between mobile and fixed point, Neptune has a solution where if you're a rural municipality and you can have one fixed point, roaming points and still have some manual reads and the master data management software package in Neptune can ingest all that data and you don't strand a customer having to pick one piece of technology for the totality of what they have to do. So it comes from a product orientation that starts with flexibility.

是的。Neptune 一直是穩健且持續的市佔贏家——在我在這裡的整段時間都是如此，對吧？我是說，十年了。原因很多，但他們的產品導向首先是：他們從不希望用技術把既有客戶「困住」。例如，這可以追溯到上一代通訊軟體，但在行動端與固定端之間的專有通訊協定方面，Neptune 有一套解決方案：如果你是一個鄉村市政單位，你可以設置一個固定接收點、一些漫遊接收點，同時仍保留部分人工抄表，而 Neptune 的主資料管理（master data management）軟體套件可以匯入所有這些資料，讓客戶不必被迫在其所有工作需求上只能選擇單一技術。這源自一種以彈性為起點的產品導向。

The second thing is the products are just particularly well thought out for the long arc of what the customer wants to do. For instance, on the large commercial meters for ultrasonic, you have to be able to read high flow and low flow equally accurate, our products do that. So think about a big hotel application, a trickle that happened 3 in the morning versus the high flow and everybody takes their showers in the morning, our ultrasonic meter will perfectly read the low flow and the high flow and the competitive products have to tend to be focused on one or the other for the precision.

第二點是，他們的產品在客戶長期需求的整體脈絡上，確實設計得非常周全。比如在大型商用超音波水表上，你必須能同樣精準地讀取高流量與低流量，我們的產品做得到。想像一個大型飯店的應用：凌晨 3 點的涓流，對比早上大家洗澡時的高流量，我們的超音波水表能完美讀取低流量與高流量；而競品往往必須在精度上偏重其中一端——不是偏低流量，就是偏高流量。

More so for that application when the ultrasonic -- the battery that drives the ultrasonic technology needs to be replaced. In our case, it's essentially a drop in battery, the competitors have to cut the meter out and replace the meter. So it's small things -- it's seemingly small things like that, that help drive market share gains over a long arc of time.

在那類應用上更是如此：驅動超音波技術的電池需要更換時，我們基本上是直接更換電池即可；競爭對手則必須把水表切除並更換整個水表。就是這些小事——看似小事——在長期累積下，會推動市佔提升。

Final thing I would say, in 2022, it was particularly beneficial for us because we had product availability throughout the totality of the year. And so some of our competitors were quoting year plus lead times. I think our lead times went from like 8 to 12 weeks.

最後我想說的是，在 2022 年，這對我們特別有利，因為我們全年都能供貨。因此有些競爭對手報出的交期超過一年。我想我們的交期大概是從 8 週拉長到 12 週左右。

And so just some accounts that we typically have not had any presence in, they need meters, we can deliver meters, all of a sudden, you have presence and the opportunity to compete in that account. So that's helped gain some market share in the relative short term.

因此，一些我們通常完全沒有切入的客戶，他們需要水表，而我們能交付水表；突然之間，你就有了進入該客戶的存在感與競爭機會。所以這在相對短期內幫助我們取得了一些市佔。

And our next question today comes from Alex Blanton at Clear Harbor Asset Management.

我們今天的下一個提問來自 Clear Harbor Asset Management 的 Alex Blanton。

First, I just want to say that I think your format for the slide presentation this time is probably the best ever. And I think you should stick with it. It's really a great presentation.

首先，我只想說，我覺得你們這次投影片簡報的呈現格式可能是史上最好的一次。我認為你們應該沿用下去。這真的是一個很棒的簡報。

Noted.

收到。

Now most of my questions have been answered, but something came up from one of the other participants, regarding the business that accumulates commercial construction plans. And Barry Sternlicht, who's the CEO of Starwood resigns. CNBC yesterday, saying that in his business and across the board really in commercial construction, as interest rates have gone up, people will complete the projects they have, but hold off on starting new ones. And so that's why he's looking for a big drop in commercial construction in the second half of this year because new projects are sliding. Do you see that in your statistics?

現在我大多數問題都已經被回答了，但有件事是從其他與會者那邊提到的，關於那個彙整商用建築施工計畫的業務。Starwood 的執行長 Barry Sternlicht 昨天在 CNBC 說，在他的業務以及整體商用建築領域，隨著利率上升，人們會把手上的專案做完，但會延後啟動新的專案。因此他預期今年下半年商用建築會大幅下滑，因為新專案正在往後延。你們在統計數據中有看到這種情況嗎？

So it's interesting. So I can add Zack -- ConstructConnect publishes, look at that quarterly. Quarterly, the macro of what they're seeing from a construction planning point of view, and I can have Zack forward that to you. I have not read the -- personally, I've not read the most recent report yet, so I don't want to comment on its content. But we can send that to you.

這很有意思。我可以補充一下——Zack——ConstructConnect 會發布相關內容，你可以按季去看他們從施工規劃角度所觀察到的總體情況，我也可以請 Zack 轉寄給你。我個人還沒讀到最新一期報告，所以我不想評論其內容。但我們可以把它寄給你。

Okay. Because it would seem that if new construction projects are not being put into implementation, it would show up in those numbers, wouldn't it?

好的。因為看起來如果新的建築專案沒有進入實施階段，那應該會反映在那些數字上，不是嗎？

So here's the countercyclical nature of that. And so if you have several hundred thousand construction workers, construction, small subcontracting firms -- ConstructConnect has tens of thousands of customers. So as those hundreds of thousands are looking for work, it only takes a small percentage of that cohort to become a customer of ours to exhibit countercyclical growth behavior, which is what's happened in every prior slowdown in the history that we've been able to observe with ConstructConnect.

所以這裡有它的逆景氣循環特性。也就是說，如果有數十萬名建築工人、建築相關的小型分包商——ConstructConnect 有數以萬計的客戶。當那數十萬人正在找工作時，只要其中一小部分人成為我們的客戶，就足以呈現逆景氣循環的成長行為；而這正是我們在 ConstructConnect 過去每一次可觀察到的景氣放緩期間所發生的情況。

Okay. So you're really talking about your business and market share rather than the overall trend of that market.

了解。所以你談的其實是你們自身的業務與市佔，而不是那個市場的整體趨勢。

Correct.

正確。

And ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our question-and-answer session. We will now return back to Zack Moxcey for any closing remarks.

各位女士先生，我們的問答環節到此結束。接下來我們將回到 Zack Moxcey，請他做任何結語。

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today, and we hope to see you all at our Investor Day on March 21 in New York.

感謝各位今天加入我們，也希望 3 月 21 日在紐約的投資人日能與各位相見。

Thank you. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines, and have a wonderful day.

謝謝。本次會議到此結束。感謝各位參加今天的簡報。您現在可以掛斷連線，祝您有美好的一天。