Rentokil Initial PLC (RTO) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

早安，女士們先生們。

Welcome to our conference call for Rentokil's Initial's trading update for the first three months to the September 30.

歡迎參加我們的電話會議，了解能多潔截至 9 月 30 日的前三個月的交易更新。

This call is scheduled for 45 minutes and now, let me hand it over to CEO, Andy Ransom.

這次電話會議預計持續 45 分鐘，現在讓我將其交給執行長 Andy Ransom。

Please go ahead, Andy.

請繼續，安迪。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Good morning, good afternoon, everyone.

大家早安，下午好。

I'm here with Stuarts and in a few minutes, we'll be pleased to take any questions.

我和 Stuarts 在一起，幾分鐘後，我們將很樂意回答任何問題。

But first, let me just say a few words covering the third quarter and importantly, the actions that we're taking following September's trading update.

但首先，讓我簡單說一下第三季的情況，重要的是，我們在 9 月的交易更新後所採取的行動。

In the third quarter, the group delivered total revenue growth of 3.6% of which organic revenue growth was 2.6%.

第三季度，集團總營收成長3.6%，其中有機收入成長2.6%。

There was good momentum sustained in the group's international regions which in aggregate delivered organic growth of 4.4% in the third quarter, with Europe delivering organic growth of 4.7% and the Asia and MENAT region delivering organic growth of 6.5%.

集團國際地區持續保持良好勢頭，第三季有機成長總計 4.4%，其中歐洲有機成長 4.7%，亞洲和 MENAT 地區有機成長 6.5%。

Year to date, our international businesses outside of North America have delivered a combined organic growth rate of 5%.

今年迄今為止，我們北美以外的國際業務的綜合有機成長率為 5%。

Turning now to North America where in the third quarter overall, we delivered organic revenue growth of 1.4% with North America pest control also up by 1.4%.

現在轉向北美，第三季整體有機收入成長了 1.4%，北美害蟲防治也成長了 1.4%。

Clearly, we were very disappointed to announce in September that the business was underperforming our expectations and since then, we've put in place focused action plans on a number of fronts.

顯然，我們非常失望地在 9 月宣布該業務的表現低於我們的預期，從那時起，我們在多個方面製定了重點行動計劃。

Firstly, in our operations, we've taken decisive actions to mitigate cost overruns.

首先，在我們的營運中，我們採取了果斷行動來緩解成本超支。

Given our elevated workforce costs, this year, we've reduced our sales and service headcount in addition to the normal ongoing offseason headcount reductions.

鑑於勞動成本上升，今年，除了正常的休賽期裁員之外，我們還減少了銷售和服務人員數量。

Over the last few weeks, we've removed around 250 roles from service, sales, and back-office functions with an annualized cost saving of around $22 million.

在過去的幾周里，我們從服務、銷售和後台職能中刪除了約 250 個職位，每年節省了約 2,200 萬美元的成本。

We've been tightly managing overtime and labor as we've entered the offseason.

進入休賽期後，我們一直在嚴格管理加班和勞力。

And as we said in September, material and consumable costs in the North American business have been higher than expected, partly due to inflation.

正如我們在 9 月所說，北美業務的材料和消耗品成本高於預期，部分原因是通膨。

So it's also an impact from our new ordering process for Terminix branches and a weaker termite season that resulted in elevated inventory.

因此，這也是我們對 Terminix 分公司的新訂購流程以及白蟻季節較弱導致庫存增加的影響。

To help mitigate some of these effects, we've now implemented strict ordering controls at branch manager and regional director levels.

為了幫助減輕其中一些影響，我們現在在分公司經理和區域總監層級實施了嚴格的訂購控制。

Some additional cost is due to inflation and that's expected to persist and that's around $7 million on an annualized basis with around $10 million of other material and consumable costs expected to unwind during the fourth quarter and next year.

一些額外成本是由於通貨膨脹造成的，預計這種情況將持續存在，按年化計算約為 700 萬美元，預計第四季度和明年將減少約 1000 萬美元的其他材料和消耗品成本。

Secondly, we've progressed our initiatives to increase organic growth through the Right Way 2 growth plan.

其次，我們透過 Right Way 2 成長計畫推動了促進有機成長的措施。

Whilst we've seen a recent positive improvement in digital inbound lead flow, this is coming from our paid search activities supporting the Terminix brand, in particular.

雖然我們最近看到數位入站潛在客戶流量的積極改善，但這尤其來自我們支持 Terminix 品牌的付費搜尋活動。

In the fourth quarter, we're looking to deliver improved leads for a number of our other master brands whilst also increasing lead generation from our organic search initiatives.

在第四季度，我們希望為我們的許多其他主品牌提供更好的銷售線索，同時也透過我們的自然搜尋計劃增加銷售線索的產生。

In the fourth quarter, we'll also be piloting the opening of at least 10 new satellite branches.

第四季度，我們也將試行開設至少 10 個新的衛星分店。

These are smaller branch offices from which colleagues can cater for the needs of customers and in particular, potential new customers in key target cities.

這些是較小的分支機構，同事可以在其中滿足客戶的需求，特別是主要目標城市的潛在新客戶的需求。

We'll also be assessing the value of a physical presence to the visibility and digital presence of our brands and services.

我們還將評估實體存在對我們品牌和服務的可見性和數位存在的價值。

In sales, we're introducing a back-to-basics approach with increased focus and accountability on executing the selling basics such as improving the speed from lead to inspection and to proposal and increasing the average number of sales proposals per sales rep per day.

在銷售方面，我們引入了一種回歸基礎的方法，更加重視執行銷售基礎知識並承擔責任，例如提高從銷售線索到檢查再到提案的速度，並增加每個銷售代表每天的平均銷售提案數量。

At the half year, we highlighted the need to focus on customer retention initiatives and this program continues to build up as we aim to drive improvements to all phases of the customer experience.

在半年中，我們強調需要專注於客戶保留計劃，並且隨著我們的目標是推動客戶體驗各個階段的改進，該計劃仍在繼續發展。

We're adding three senior leaders in this space in addition to the 40 team members that we've added to the dedicated customer sales team.

除了專門的客戶銷售團隊中新增的 40 名團隊成員之外，我們還將在此領域增加 3 名高階領導者。

Customer retention for the overall North American business improved slightly in the quarter to 79.9%.

本季整個北美業務的客戶保留率略有提高，達到 79.9%。

We're also pleased to see a continued improvement in our North American colleague retention, which moved up from 77.8% to 78.5% with good improvements in both service and sales.

我們也很高興看到我們的北美同事保留率​​持續提高，從 77.8% 上升到 78.5%，服務和銷售都取得了良好的改善。

Other actions have included the appointment of a new Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operating Officer in North America and the appointment of an interim CFO for North America whilst the search is underway for the permanent replacement.

其他行動包括任命一名新的北美首席行銷官和首席營運官，以及任命一名北美臨時首席財務官，同時正在尋找永久替代者。

You may also have noticed that we are recruiting for at least one new Board member with specific experience in US network-based services or industries and/or B2C marketing.

您可能還注意到，我們正在招募至少一位在美國網路服務或產業和/或 B2C 行銷方面具有特定經驗的新董事會成員。

Thirdly, on the integration front, the program proceeded very much to plan in the third quarter with systems and data integration in another 28 branches with combined revenues of $136 million, taking the total number of branches where we've integrated the systems to 36 with revenues of around $172 million.

第三，在集成方面，該計劃在第三季度進行了大量的計劃，在另外28 個分支機構中進行了系統和數據集成，總收入為1.36 億美元，使我們集成系統的分支機構總數達到36個，收入約1.72億美元。

Importantly, at these locations, there was minimal disruption to operations with customer retention stable and colleague retention very strong.

重要的是，在這些地點，對營運的干擾最小，客戶保留率穩定，同事保留率​​非常高。

We're now in a very busy and important fourth quarter for the integration with systems migration continuing in a further 23 branches with a total revenue of around $130 million.

我們現在正處於非常繁忙且重要的第四季度，系統遷移整合在另外 23 個分支機構中繼續進行，總收入約為 1.3 億美元。

Importantly, we're also on track to undertake the first rerouting of our technicians in the integrated branches as well as the piloting of our new service and sales pay plans across eight branches affecting over 250 technicians and around 40 sales colleagues.

重要的是，我們還將在綜合分支機構中對技術人員進行首次重新安排，並在八個分支機構試行新的服務和銷售薪酬計劃，影響超過 250 名技術人員和約 40 名銷售同事。

Over the past year, our business has experienced significant change activities as we've implemented our integration and Right Way 2 growth strategies.

在過去的一年裡，隨著我們實施整合和 Right Way 2 成長策略，我們的業務經歷了重大變革活動。

While we remain confident that these strategies will lead to a stronger and faster growing organization, during Q1 next year, we'll be reviewing our optimum branch network footprint which will be informed by the early results of the new satellite branches that will be opened during the fourth quarter.

雖然我們仍然相信這些策略將帶來一個更強大、更快發展的組織，但在明年第一季度，我們將審查我們的最佳分支機構網路覆蓋範圍，這將根據將於第四季度。

We'll also review the effectiveness of the new technicians and sales pay plans being piloted later this year.

我們也將檢視今年稍後試行的新技術人員和銷售薪酬計畫的有效性。

The review will result in 2025 synergies being pushed out by approximately two months to three months and we'll update the market on this review at the full year results in March.

此次審查將導致 2025 年的協同效應被推遲大約兩個月到三個月，我們將在 3 月份的全年業績中向市場通報此次審查的最新情況。

So we're taking action on many fronts to address costs, to focus on growth, to drive the integration forward, and to add talent.

因此，我們正在多方面採取行動來解決成本問題、專注於成長、推動整合並增加人才。

There's no change to our 2024 guidance.

我們的 2024 年指導方針沒有變化。

We remain convinced about the long-term attractive growth potential of the North American pest control market which continues to grow at around 5% per annum and in the significant opportunity that we have to capture this growth.

我們仍然相信北美害蟲防治市場具有吸引力的長期成長潛力，該市場繼續以每年 5% 左右的速度成長，我們必須抓住這一成長的重大機會。

Our international businesses which account for around 40% of group revenue and profit continue to perform well.

我們的國際業務佔集團收入和利潤的 40% 左右，並持續表現良好。

So with that, let me hand back to the operator and then Stuart and I will be pleased to take any questions.

那麼，讓我把話交回接線員，然後史都華和我將很樂意回答任何問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Annelies Vermeulen, Morgan Stanley.

（操作員指令）Annelis Vermeulen，摩根士丹利。

Hi.

你好。

Hello, again, Andy and Stuart.

安迪和斯圖爾特，你們好。

Just one follow up from me from this morning.

從今天早上開始我只做了一個跟進。

So you mentioned this morning that you've had a significant improvement in five-star Google reviews across your major brands in the last few months.

所以你今天早上提到，在過去的幾個月裡，你的主要品牌的五星級谷歌評論有了顯著的提高。

Is that just that the service quality has improved so dramatically or are you also being more proactive in asking customers to leave those reviews?

只是服務品質有瞭如此顯著的提升還是你們也更加主動地要求顧客留下這些評論？

And equally, is it a KPI that you're measuring your technicians on as in, do you incentivize them to get those reviews?

同樣，這是您衡量技術人員的關鍵績效指標嗎？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Annelies.

謝謝，安妮莉絲。

I'd like to think it's a bit of both and certainly, the second is true.

我想兩者兼而有之，當然，第二個是正確的。

It's been the case I would say for the rest of the group for quite a long time that if technicians are complemented by customers and say thank you for a fantastic job, they're trained to respond to that customer it'd be wonderful if you'd be happy to leave us a review.

很長一段時間以來，我都會對團隊的其他成員說，如果技術人員得到客戶的補充，並對他們出色的工作表示感謝，他們接受過響應客戶的培訓，如果你能做到這一點，那就太好了很樂意給我們留下評論。

And so we're no different than most companies in that regard.

因此，在這方面我們與大多數公司沒有什麼不同。

We don't go soliciting reviews but where we have happy engaged customers who tell us that they're delighted, we do ask them, would you mind doing that?

我們不會徵求評論，但如果我們有滿意的客戶，他們告訴我們他們很高興，我們會問他們，您介意這樣做嗎？

And I think we were not doing that systematically in the US.

我認為我們在美國並沒有系統地這樣做。

If we look at year to date reviews, Terminix just I happened to have it here, Annelies, so thank you for the question.

如果我們看看今年迄今為止的評論，Terminix 只是我碰巧在這裡有它，Annelis，所以謝謝你的問題。

Year to date, in 2023, we had about 14,000 five-star reviews in Terminix.

2023 年迄今為止，我們在 Terminix 上獲得了大約 14,000 條五星級評論。

This year, we've had 38,000 five-star reviews and similar improvements, in fact, bigger improvements on a percentage basis for the other master brands as well.

今年，我們收到了 38,000 則五星評論和類似的改進，事實上，其他主品牌的百分比改進也更大。

So it's definitely something we've been focused on.

所以這絕對是我們一直在關注的事情。

I mentioned on this morning's call that look, if you want to drive up organic search, you need to do three things consistently well: the first is you've got to get your website and webpage content responsive.

我在今天早上的電話會議上提到，如果你想推動自然搜索，你需要始終如一地做好三件事：第一是你必須讓你的網站和網頁內容具有響應能力。

Google has made some big changes to its algorithm recently using generative search.

谷歌最近使用生成搜尋對其演算法進行了一些重大改變。

If you've been searching, you've probably spotted it.

如果您一直在尋找，您可能已經發現了。

The first answer you get to many questions is an AI-generated answer.

許多問題的第一個答案都是人工智慧生成的答案。

And now the websites whose content most closely relates to the answer that the AI has generated will be the most responsive for organic search.

現在，內容與人工智慧生成的答案最密切相關的網站將是對有機搜尋反應最靈敏的網站。

So the first thing is a lot of work going on to update, upgrade, refresh webpage content.

因此，第一件事是進行大量工作來更新、升級、刷新網頁內容。

The second is five-star reviews.

二是五星級評價。

We all know it in our lives.

我們在生活中都知道這一點。

We go towards five-star customers, and we look at those reviews before we make a purchase.

我們面向五星級客戶，在購買之前會先查看這些評論。

That's why it's important.

這就是為什麼它很重要。

And the third factor of driving organic search is the location of the operation.

推動有機搜尋的第三個因素是營運地點。

And that's in part, the reason that we're piloting the satellite branches.

這就是我們試點衛星分支的部分原因。

I'd like to think customer service is part of it as well.

我想客戶服務也是其中的一部分。

Clearly, you have to have happy engaged customers telling you that they love your service for you to have the opportunity to ask them to leave a review.

顯然，您必須有滿意的客戶告訴您他們喜歡您的服務，您才有機會要求他們留下評論。

And we -- if we look at things like our CSAT scores and our NPS scores, they remain consistently high.

如果我們看看 CSAT 分數和 NPS 分數等指標，就會發現它們一直都很高。

I'd like to think it's both, but there's no doubt we'll be more proactive.

我想兩者兼而有之，但毫無疑問我們會更加積極主動。

Thanks, Annelies.

謝謝，安妮莉絲。

Thank you very much and thank you for the stats.

非常感謝您，也感謝您提供的統計數據。

It's a good one.

這是一件好事。

Ollie Davies, Redburn Atlantic.

奧利戴維斯，《雷德本大西洋月刊》。

Hi, Andy.

嗨，安迪。

Hi, Stuart.

嗨，斯圖爾特。

A couple from me.

我的一對。

Just on the guidance of 1% growth in the second half, I guess that implies a slowdown to about 0.5% in Q4.

僅根據下半年 1% 的成長指引，我認為這意味著第四季將放緩至 0.5% 左右。

So just wondering how conservative that is given the sort of positive commentary on leads or is the slowdown basically implied from the rerouting drag from the pilots, give me a route to complete.

因此，只是想知道對線索的積極評論有多保守，或者減速基本上是由飛行員重新航線阻力暗示的，請給我一條要完成的路線。

And then I guess secondly, just on the pilot scheme, I understand you've told those employees the new pay plans, which is kind of going to affect the end of the month.

其次，我想，就試點計劃而言，我知道您已經告訴這些員工新的薪酬計劃，這將影響到月底。

So just wondering what the kind of the early reception has been there.

所以只是想知道早期的接待情況如何。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Yeah.

是的。

Thanks, Ollie.

謝謝，奧利。

I can do maths as good as the next person I suppose.

我想我的數學成績可以跟別人一樣好。

And so you're not wrong to say, well, hang on a minute, if it's circa 1% for the second half and you've done 1.4%, does that imply something like 0.6%?

所以你說，好吧，等一下，如果下半場大約是 1%，而你已經完成了 1.4%，這是否意味著 0.6% 之類的東西？

My honest answer to that is, look, 1.4% is circa 1%.

我對此的誠實回答是，看，1.4% 大約是 1%。

I wouldn't get carried away with 1.4%.

我不會因為 1.4% 就得意忘形。

We're not putting the champagne on ice with 1.4%.

我們不會將 1.4% 的香檳冰鎮。

And it's circa 1%.

大約是1%。

The point about the fourth quarter, it is the offseason.

第四節的重點是休賽期。

We go from summer into fall into winter.

我們從夏天到秋天再到冬天。

So it's historically the offseason.

所以從歷史上看，這是休賽期。

Yes, we've got further integration activity in the fourth quarter.

是的，我們在第四季有進一步的整合活動。

I don't think we're calling off -- we're calling out a -- an expected downturn from performance in the fourth quarter, but for me, 1.4% is circa 1%.

我不認為我們會取消第四季業績預期的下滑，但對我來說，1.4% 大約是 1%。

I'm not saying put us down for 1.4% for Q4, but I'm equally not saying put us down for 0.6%.

我並不是說我們第四季的成長率為 1.4%，但我同樣不是說我們的成長率為 0.6%。

I don't think there's a joining the dots between the two events.

我認為這兩個事件之間沒有任何關聯。

It would be daft of us to say, hey, we've delivered 1.4%; so now we think the new number is 1.4%.

如果我們說，嘿，我們已經交付了 1.4%，那就太愚蠢了；所以現在我們認為新的數字是 1.4%。

The track record of us calling organic growth when small values can move that number quite materially has not been very good, let's face it, in the last 12 months.

讓我們面對現實吧，在過去 12 個月裡，當小值可以大幅改變這個數字時，我們稱之為有機成長的記錄並不是很好。

So I think the best guidance we can give you is each circa 1% for the second half notwithstanding 1.4% in the quarter.

因此，我認為我們可以給您的最佳指導是下半年約為 1%，儘管本季為 1.4%。

On the pilot schemes for the pay, we've not launched those.

關於薪資試點，我們還沒有推出。

I think we launched them I think on November 10, I think it is.

我想我們是在 11 月 10 日推出的，我想是的。

I think that's where I may be wrong, sometime in November.

我想這就是我可能錯的地方，在十一月的某個時候。

I think it's the 10.

我覺得是10號

And what we've done is, what do you call it, some branch consultation.

我們所做的是，你稱之為什麼，一些分支機構諮詢。

So we've not gone to an individual and say, Joe or Sally, this is going to be your new pay.

所以我們不會去找個人說，喬或莎莉，這將是你們的新工資。

We have socialized the elements of the new pay plan with a number of the branches to whom this will be implemented first and overall.

我們已將新薪酬計劃的要素與一些分行進行了交流，這些分行將首先全面實施新薪酬計劃。

And I don't have detail.

而且我沒有詳細資料。

The feedback that was fed back to me was really positive.

回饋給我的回饋非常正面。

People understood the scheme, understood what we were trying to do, and we didn't have a big revolution on our hands.

人們理解這個計劃，理解我們想要做什麼，我們並沒有面臨一場大的革命。

We had positive feedback.

我們得到了正面的回饋。

But until you get there, and people see, the dollars and the cents that they get in their pay at the end of the month, that will be the acid test as to whether these have landed well.

但在你到達那裡之前，人們會看到他們在月底收到的工資中的美元和美分，這將是對這些是否得到良好落實的嚴峻考驗。

We think they'll land well, but at this point, we've just really socialized the high levels of the scheme as opposed to implemented, which happens next month.

我們認為它們會很好地落地，但在這一點上，我們只是真正社會化了該計劃的高水平，而不是下個月實施的。

Allen Wells, Jefferies.

艾倫威爾斯，傑弗里斯。

Hey, good afternoon, Andy and good afternoon, Stuart.

嘿，下午好，安迪，下午好，史都華。

Just to kind of follow on from some of the questions from this morning, the comments you made about kind of satellite branches.

只是為了延續今天早上的一些問題，以及您對衛星分支的評論。

This obviously marks what seems like a bit of U-turn from the big branch strategy that you kind of were pushing initially with the acquisition.

這顯然標誌著您最初在收購中推行的大型分行策略似乎有點大轉變。

There's obviously an optimum branch footprint review as well going on which you've also announced.

顯然，您也宣布了正在進行的最佳分支機構足跡審查。

I'm just thinking, how do you feel about the overall total synergy target that you put out and then upgraded in light of this?

我只是想，您對您提出並據此升級的整體協同目標有何感想？

Obviously, there's been lots of moving parts here as well.

顯然，這裡也有很多移動部件。

So I'd be interested just to see where you kind of see that sitting.

所以我很想知道你在哪裡看到這種坐姿。

I think it was originally that north of $225 million, but we've had changes now.

我認為最初是 2.25 億美元以上，但現在我們進行了更改。

So in terms of the branch strategy, it was obviously critical in terms of driving synergies.

因此，就分支機構策略而言，這對於推動協同效應顯然至關重要。

Maybe just a bit of an update on that as well.

也許也只是對此進行一些更新。

The second question would just be on some of the Board changes.

第二個問題是關於董事會的一些變動。

Maybe you could just say a few words on maybe what some of the early impact of bringing Trian onto the Board as well.

也許您也可以簡單談談將 Trian 納入董事會所帶來的一些早期影響。

And then finally, just because it really wasn't talked about much and slightly less important now, but the hygiene growth obviously slowed a little bit in the quarter.

最後，只是因為現在確實沒有太多談論它，而且重要性也稍微降低了一些，但衛生成長在本季度明顯放緩了一點。

It had been relatively strong.

它相對較強。

Is that just kind of a bumping up against tough comps?

這只是與艱難的比賽相衝突嗎？

Is there anything underlying that's going on in hygiene as we just think about the second half into next year as well?

當我們考慮下半年到明年的情況時，衛生方面是否有任何潛在的變化？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Allen.

謝謝，艾倫。

I'll do the first two.

我會做前兩個。

Maybe Stuart, you pick up hygiene.

也許斯圖爾特，你會注意衛生。

Yeah, your phrase; not mine, U-turn.

是的，你的短語；不是我的，掉頭。

I don't think you can mark us down for a U-turn.

我認為你不能讓我們掉頭。

What I think you can mark us down for is an intelligent reflection on have we got the optimum branch structure here?

我認為您可以給我們留下深刻印象的是我們是否在這裡獲得了最佳的分支結構？

And can we enhance that branch structure through the use of satellite branches?

我們可以透過使用衛星分支來增強分支結構嗎？

So don't treat this as a voltafaccia.

所以不要將其視為 voltafaccia。

Don't say this is a Maggie Thatcher U-turn.

不要說這是瑪姬·柴契爾的掉頭。

This is a reflection and an iteration.

這是一種反思，也是一種迭代。

And we've not said anything about branch size per se and this review of the satellites and the optimum branch is not two separate reviews.

我們還沒有提及任何有關分支大小本身的內容，並且對衛星和最佳分支的審查不是兩個單獨的審查。

This is one and the same thing.

這是一回事。

So what we're saying is, hey, look, I can't sit here two years into the integration and say that we are proud of our organic growth performance and some of our weakened organic growth performance must in part be down to decisions that we've taken and therefore, we have to look more closely at the branch locations.

所以我們要說的是，嘿，聽著，整合兩年後我不能坐在這裡說我們為我們的有機成長業績感到自豪，而我們有機成長業績的一些減弱必須部分歸因於以下決策：我們已經採取了行動，因此，我們必須更仔細地觀察分支機構的位置。

And by all means, the branch size.

無論如何，分支的大小。

But I think the opportunity to seek to have increased number of branches, but small ones in the locations which we believe will drive a level of more local traffic, that is a smart thing to do.

但我認為，尋求增加分支機構數量的機會，但在我們認為會帶動更多當地流量的地點設立小型分支機構，這是明智之舉。

So you could say we should have done it two years ago by all means.

所以你可以說我們無論如何應該在兩年前就這樣做。

But I think it's a smart thing to do.

但我認為這是明智之舉。

So we'll review Q4 and into Q1 and we'll say, well, what do we make of all of that?

因此，我們將回顧第四季度和第一季度，我們會說，好吧，我們對這一切有何看法？

We could come back and say, hey, it doesn't really make any difference, or we could come back and say, this is magnificent, and we need to do a lot of it.

我們可以回來說，嘿，這並沒有什麼區別，或者我們可以回來說，這太棒了，我們需要做很多事情。

Until we've done that work and had some results from that, it's really difficult to say, well, what are the implications for that?

在我們完成這項工作並獲得一些結果之前，真的很難說，這會產生什麼影響？

As I sit here, we're not calling any implications for the outturn on synergies.

當我坐在這裡時，我們並不認為協同效應會對結果產生任何影響。

So we're not saying that this has profound implications on the synergies to be delivered.

因此，我們並不是說這對要實現的協同效應有深遠的影響。

The cost of the satellite branches is relatively low.

衛星分支的成本相對較低。

It's not a big-ticket item, but clearly the number of them that we decide to go with between north and a much bigger number, that's something that we'll come back on.

這不是一個大件物品，但顯然我們決定在北方和更大的數量之間使用它們的數量，這是我們會回來的事情。

So I wouldn't be drawing any conclusions, Allen at this point in terms of the implications for the scale of synergy.

因此，艾倫，目前我不會就協同效應規模的影響得出任何結論。

We still see this as a very, very synergistic integration play with a lot of value still to come.

我們仍然認為這是一個非常非常協同的整合遊戲，還有很多價值。

Could it impact timing, could it impact phasing, could it impact the territories where we go to first and next?

它會影響時間安排，會影響分階段，會影響我們首先進入和接下來進入的領域嗎？

All of that, it could do, but we're not calling any of that at the moment.

所有這些，它都可以做到，但我們目前還沒有呼叫任何這些。

Give us a few months to review the plan, the satellites and we'll come back and tell you what we think.

給我們幾個月的時間來審查該計劃和衛星，我們會回來告訴您我們的想法。

But as we sit here today, not calling any change to total synergy target.

但當我們今天坐在這裡時，並沒有要求對整體協同目標進行任何改變。

Question about Trian, look at one level, I'm not sure.

關於Trian的問題，看一個層面，我不確定。

It's a terribly fair question to ask.

這是一個非常公平的問題。

I wouldn't talk about any Board director, and I wouldn't talk about any shareholder.

我不會談論任何董事會董事，也不會談論任何股東。

I never have done in the past.

我過去從來沒有做過。

But given it is so topical and it is fresh and everyone's sort of got a bit of an interest, all I will tell you is that the relationship with Brian, the new Board member is terrific.

但考慮到它是如此熱門、新鮮，而且每個人都有點興趣，我只能告訴你，與新董事會成員布萊恩的關係非常好。

The contribution to date has been excellent.

迄今為止的貢獻非常出色。

And the Boards, myself, the chair, other directors, Stu, are enjoying having a stimulating and real quality discussion.

董事會、我本人、主席、其他董事、Stu，都喜歡進行令人興奮且真正高品質的討論。

Long may that continue.

但願這種情況能持續下去。

But I'm not going to give a running commentary on this shareholder or any other shareholder, on this Board member or any other Board member but seeing as you ask, and I understand why you do ask, I would say it has been really positive and I've enjoyed it to date.

但我不會對這位股東或任何其他股東、這位董事會成員或任何其他董事會成員發表持續評論，但正如你所問，我理解你為什麼問，我想說這確實是積極的到目前為止我很享受。

Stuart, hygiene, do you just want to pick up Allen's comment on that?

斯圖爾特，衛生，你想聽一下艾倫對此的評論嗎？

Yeah, sure.

是的，當然。

I don't think there's any particular big news there, Allen.

我不認為那裡有什麼特別的大新聞，艾倫。

Actually, UK and Europe had a pretty strong quarter on an underlying basis.

事實上，英國和歐洲的季度基礎相當強勁。

I think in the Pacific, we've got a couple of things.

我認為在太平洋地區，我們有一些事情。

We've definitely got some weakening economy.

我們的經濟確實有些疲軟。

Australia tends to come late to the party, and I think we're seeing a little bit of that.

澳洲往往遲到，我認為我們已經看到了一些這樣的情況。

I think we'll see it in Q4 as well.

我想我們也會在第四季看到它。

And actually probably, they did very well through the pandemic selling lots of air units into corporates and local authorities.

事實上，他們在疫情期間可能做得很好，向企業和地方當局出售了大量空軍單位。

And unsurprisingly, that's beginning to unwind a little bit, but they're sort of living a little bit a victim of their success over the previous three years.

毫不奇怪，這種情況開始有所緩解，但他們有點像過去三年的成功的受害者。

But I mean hygiene in most of the world continues to go pretty well and certainly comfortable to pest.

但我的意思是，世界上大部分地區的衛生狀況仍然很好，而且很容易受到害蟲侵害。

(Operator Instructions) And we currently have no questions and are -- yes, we do.

（操作員說明）我們目前沒有任何問題，而且——是的，我們有。

Andy Grobler, BNP Paribas.

安迪·格羅布勒，法國巴黎銀行。

Hi.

你好。

Good afternoon, Andy and Stuart.

下午好，安迪和史都華。

Just two from me if I may.

如果可以的話，只給我兩個。

Firstly just going back to kind of satellite offices and kind of broader marketing, when you think about the impact of that, is -- are those satellite units offices focused on Terminix?

首先回到衛星辦公室和更廣泛的行銷，當您考慮其影響時，這些衛星單位辦公室是否專注於 Terminix？

So the residential business, is that the area where you're seeing the potential to improve?

那麼住宅業務是您認為有改善潛力的領域嗎？

And on that theme, some of your competitors have looked to door-to-door marketing to try and enhance their presence.

在這個主題上，你的一些競爭對手已經開始尋求挨家挨戶的行銷來嘗試增強他們的影響力。

Is that something that you would consider or thought about within that review?

您在該評論中會考慮或思考這一點嗎？

And then secondly, just in terms of the full branch integration, route optimization and so forth, what are your expectations at this stage?

其次，就全網點整合、路線優化等方面來說，您現階段的期望是什麼？

And I understand it might change given that review of how many branches you'll get through in the first half of next year and maybe for the year as a whole.?

我知道，考慮到明年上半年甚至全年您將通過多少個分支機構的審查，情況可能會改變。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Andy.

謝謝，安迪。

On the first one, so the first one was for the satellite branches, are these Terminix or other branded branches?

在第一個上，第一個是衛星分支機構，這些是 Terminix 還是其他品牌分支機構？

In terms of the pilots and we're doing 10 plus, I need to check on the detail, but I think they're all Terminix.

就飛行員而言，我們正在做 10 多個，我需要檢查細節，但我認為他們都是 Terminix。

They're going to be branded Terminix, or the vast majority are.

它們將被命名為Terminix，或者說絕大多數都是如此。

One of the sort of interesting things that that as you dig into the detail is if you have more than one brand at the same physical location, you're not going to get an optimum online performance.

一件有趣的事情是，當您深入研究細節時，如果您在同一實體位置擁有多個品牌，您將無法獲得最佳的線上表現。

One brand will always outweigh the other brand.

一個品牌永遠比另一個品牌更重要。

So it's possible and either if we've got a strong Terminix branch, we might put a Western Exterminator satellite branch in the locality.

所以這是可能的，如果我們有一個強大的 Terminix 分支，我們可能會在當地設立一個 Western Exterminator 衛星分支。

So I can't say it's going to be exclusively Terminix.

所以我不能說這會是 Terminix 獨有的。

We're going to -- part of what we're going to experiment with, so say, what is the optimum blend.

我們將--我們將要試驗的一部分，所以說，什麼是最佳混合。

So we'll look at the brand piece of that as well as we'll look at the branch piece.

因此，我們將看看其中的品牌部分以及分支部分。

But for the ones that we're piloting in the fourth quarter, I think they're all going to be Terminix or the vast majority.

但對於我們在第四季度試點的項目，我認為它們都將是 Terminix 或絕大多數。

And door to door, I mean I am interested in this, and I'd love to see someone else's economics.

挨家挨戶，我的意思是我對此很感興趣，我很想看看別人的經濟學。

And the issue with door to door and by all means, feel free to ask other companies on the subject but the commissions, the sales commissions that are paid to the door-to-door sales persons is very, very high.

關於挨家挨戶的問題，無論如何，請隨意詢問其他公司的問題，但是支付給挨家挨戶銷售人員的佣金、銷售佣金非常非常高。

And I mean 80%, 90%.

我的意思是80%、90%。

I mean those sorts of commissions.

我指的是這類佣金。

So you sell a door -- you knock on someone's door, they didn't know that they were interested in pest control.

所以你賣了一扇門——你敲了別人的門，他們不知道他們對害蟲防治感興趣。

They weren't planning to buy pest control that day.

那天他們不打算購買害蟲防治劑。

They get a knock at the door, they get a cheery face at the door, it's hot, it's sweaty, the bugs are out, and they ask the customer if they're interested in purchasing pest control and they sold pest control contract to that customer for $1,000.

他們聽到有人敲門，他們在門口看到一張歡快的臉，天氣很熱，出汗，蟲子出來了，他們詢問客戶是否有興趣購買害蟲防治產品，然後他們將害蟲防治合約賣給了客戶客戶支付1,000 美元。

That salesperson is going to get a very substantial incentive with the company that is running that salesforce.

該銷售人員將從經營該銷售團隊的公司獲得非常可觀的激勵。

So that the first issue I have with it is that the cost of sales is very, very high.

所以我遇到的第一個問題是銷售成本非常非常高。

If your bet is that you can sell that customer and keep that customer for 6, 7, or 8 years, the economics on that look all right.

如果您打賭可以出售該客戶並保留該客戶 6 年、7 年或 8 年，那麼從經濟學角度來看，這看起來不錯。

If on the other hand, you sell those customers and they terminate within 12, 24, 36 months, that's a lossmaking account.

另一方面，如果您出售這些客戶，而他們在 12、24、36 個月內終止，那麼這就是虧損帳戶。

And in 12 months, it's horribly lossmaking because you've got to pay for the cost of servicing and the cost of product.

在 12 個月內，它會造成可怕的損失，因為你必須支付服務成本和產品成本。

So I'm unashamedly incredibly cynical and conservative when it comes to that.

因此，在談到這一點時，我毫不掩飾地憤世嫉俗和保守。

But equally, we did pilot door to door in the summer of this year.

但同樣，我們在今年夏天挨家挨戶進行了試點。

It is an effective way of selling more pest control.

這是銷售更多害蟲防治產品的有效方法。

But from the economics of it, I'm far from convinced, Andy.

但從經濟學角度來看，安迪，我根本不相信。

So we're going to dig in and do more work on that.

因此，我們將深入研究並在這方面做更多的工作。

I mean there's been some pretty spectacular failures of door-to-door pest control companies in the past and there's been a few successes of pest control companies in the past using door to door.

我的意思是，過去有一些上門害蟲防治公司的失敗案例，也有一些害蟲防治公司透過挨家挨戶的方式取得了成功。

So it's not for me to say it's not an effective sales strategy, but I do struggle with the economics, but we'll continue to work.

因此，我並不是說這不是一種有效的銷售策略，但我確實在經濟方面遇到困難，但我們會繼續努力。

We'll continue to look and say, what are we missing, why isn't it working?

我們將繼續尋找並說，我們錯過了什麼，為什麼它不起作用？

I do think other competitors have different approaches and so worth asking others as well how they see the economics.

我確實認為其他競爭對手有不同的方法，因此值得詢問其他人以及他們如何看待經濟。

Sorry, your third question.

抱歉，你的第三個問題。

Yeah, the third question, I didn't write down because I don't have the answer for you.

是的，第三個問題，我沒有寫下來，因為我沒有答案給你。

In terms of what the -- what percentage of the network will be integrated through the first half of next year, et cetera.

至於明年上半年將整合多少百分比的網路等等。

I mean clearly, by the end of this year, on a revenue basis, we will have taken just around 10% or just over 10% of the full combined estate of Terminix and Rentokil companies.

我的意思很明確，到今年年底，以收入計算，我們將佔據 Terminix 和 Rentokil 公司全部合併財產的 10% 左右或略高於 10%。

And they will have been fully put through their paces on the systems integration.

他們將完全通過系統整合的測試。

By the back end of this year, we will have piloted a smaller subset of that in terms of the pay plans.

今年底，我們將在薪酬計畫方面試行其中的一小部分。

And we will also have fully rerouted or rerouted for our American colleagues a reasonable chunk of that cohort of around 10% of the business.

我們也將為我們的美國同事完全重新安排或重新安排該群體中約 10% 業務的合理部分。

We won't be doing much of that in the first quarter at all because that's the review period where we're going to go through and say, okay, the pay plan is working, the satellite has been working, et cetera.

我們在第一季根本不會做太多這樣的事情，因為這是我們將進行審查的時期，我們會說，好吧，支付計劃正在發揮作用，衛星一直在發揮作用，等等。

And then we'll pick it up again back in the Q1, early Q2.

然後我們將在第一季、第二季初再次回顧這一點。

And assuming we go to current plan, then it will be 18 months plus 24, 23, 22, 21 months, whatever it is of pretty much uninterrupted rollout and deployment.

假設我們按照目前的計劃，那麼它將需要 18 個月加上 24、23、22、21 個月，無論它是什麼，幾乎不間斷的推出和部署。

But in terms of where we are by June, it would be rash of me to say because that's prejudging where we come out on the review that we've just talked about.

但就六月我們的情況而言，我這樣說有點魯莽，因為這會預先判斷我們在剛才討論的審查中的結果。

Okay.

好的。

But the plan is still to be done by the end of 2026 pretty much?

但到 2026 年底，這個計畫還差不多完成嗎？

Yeah.

是的。

And that's the plan.

這就是計劃。

And could it drift into Q1 given we're pushing it by a quarter?

鑑於我們將其推遲了四分之一，它是否會轉移到第一季？

It could.

可以的。

But again, I've not got a Gantt chart in front of me that goes out beyond 2026.

但同樣，我面前沒有 2026 年後的甘特圖。

But I -- as I sit here today, we're not changing the timetable landing.

但我——當我今天坐在這裡時，我們不會改變著陸時間表。

But it's possible.

但這是可能的。

Let's see where we come out with the review.

讓我們看看我們的評論結果如何。

If we decide that we need to open -- choose to open a lot of satellite branches, then we've got to figure out, okay, let's think about the phasing.

如果我們決定需要開放——選擇開設很多衛星分支機構，那麼我們必須弄清楚，好吧，讓我們考慮一下分階段。

Do we want to do that before we want to do route integration and further branch integration?

在我們想要進行路由整合和進一步的分支整合之前，我們是否要這樣做？

So give us the time to work through that.

因此，請給我們時間來解決這個問題。

And if there are implications either on amounts, to the earlier question or phasing or timing, we'll share that.

如果對金額、之前的問題、階段或時間安排有影響，我們將分享。

But as we sit here today, we're not calling out changes to either quantum or overall timing as we sit today.

但當我們今天坐在這裡時，我們並沒有呼籲對量子或整體時間進行改變。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Cheers, Andy.

乾杯，安迪。

We have no further questions in our queue at this time.

目前我們的隊列中沒有其他問題。

I will now turn the call back over to Andy for closing comments.

我現在將把電話轉回安迪以徵求結束意見。

All right.

好的。

My closing comments are thank you very much, indeed.

我的結束語確實是非常感謝。

I appreciate you joining us.

我很感謝你加入我們。

Many of you joined us this morning.

今天早上你們中的許多人都加入了我們。

Thank you for that.

謝謝你。

We'll be speaking to a lot of you over the coming weeks and months and thanks for the continued interest in the company.

我們將在接下來的幾週和幾個月內與你們中的許多人進行交談，並感謝您對公司的持續關注。

We look forward to updating you in a few weeks' time and tell you what we're finding out about the work that we're doing through Q4 and into Q1.

我們期待在幾週後向您通報最新情況，並告訴您我們對第四季度和第一季所做工作的發現。

But for today, thank you very much indeed.

但今天，真的非常感謝你們。

This concludes today's conference call.

今天的電話會議到此結束。

Thank you for your participation and you may now disconnect.

感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接。