(SCS) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Rob, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Steelcase Second Quarter Fiscal 2024 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Thank you. Mr. O'Meara, you may begin your conference.

早安.我叫羅布，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。此時，我謹歡迎大家參加 Steelcase 2024 財年第二季電話會議。 （操作員說明）謝謝。奧米拉先生，您可以開始會議了。

Thank you, Rob. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for the recap of our second quarter fiscal 2024 financial results. Here with me today are Sara Armbruster, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Dave Sylvester, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Our second quarter earnings release, which crossed the wires yesterday, is accessible on our website. This conference call is being webcast, and this webcast is a copyrighted production of Steelcase Inc.

謝謝你，羅布。大家，早安。感謝您與我們一起回顧 2024 財年第二季的財務表現。今天和我在一起的還有我們的總裁兼執行長薩拉·阿姆布魯斯特 (Sara Armbruster)；以及我們的高級副總裁兼財務長 Dave Sylvester。我們的第二季財報於昨天發布，可在我們的網站上存取。本次電話會議正在進行網路直播，該網路直播是 Steelcase Inc. 受版權保護的作品。

A replay of this webcast will be posted to ir.steelcase.com later today. Our discussion today may include references to non-GAAP financial measures and forward-looking statements. Reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures and details regarding the risks associated with the use of forward-looking statements are included in our earnings release and we are incorporating by reference into this conference call the text of our safe harbor statement included in the release. Following our prepared remarks, we will respond to questions from investors and analysts. I will now turn the call over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Sara Armbruster.

該網路廣播的重播將於今天稍晚發佈到 ir.steelcase.com。我們今天的討論可能包括提及非公認會計原則財務指標和前瞻性陳述。我們的收益發布中包含了對最具可比性的公認會計準則衡量標準的調節以及有關使用前瞻性陳述相關風險的詳細信息，並且我們將通過引用將發布中包含的安全港聲明文本納入本次電話會議。在我們準備好的發言之後，我們將回答投資人和分析師的問題。我現在將把電話轉給我們的總裁兼執行長薩拉·阿姆布魯斯特 (Sara Armbruster)。

Thanks, Mike, and hello, everyone, and thanks for joining the call today. So our second quarter results were much better than we expected as both revenue and adjusted EPS finished above the guidance range that we provided in June. So halfway through the year, we are pacing ahead of the fiscal 2024 targets that we shared in March. And on the strength of our favorable first half performance, we are projecting our full year adjusted EPS will finish between $0.80 and $0.90, which is higher than our target of $0.55 to $0.75.

謝謝麥克，大家好，謝謝您今天加入電話會議。因此，我們第二季的業績遠勝於我們的預期，因為營收和調整後每股盈餘都高於我們 6 月提供的指引範圍。今年已過半，我們正努力實現 3 月分享的 2024 財年目標。鑑於上半年業績良好，我們預計全年調整後每股收益將在 0.80 美元至 0.90 美元之間，高於我們 0.55 美元至 0.75 美元的目標。

We're pleased with the progress we're making in many areas of the business and believe our strategy is helping to drive these improved financial results. Our second quarter adjusted operating income margin of 6.2% is 210 basis points higher than the prior year. This is driven largely by the success we've had implementing our profitability improvement initiative. Our sales teams have continued to capture pricing benefits from the price increases we implemented over the past 2 years in response to the extraordinary inflation we incurred, and our operations teams around the world are continuing to make near-term efficiency improvements while also working to redesign our operational model to drive a lower overall cost structure.

我們對我們在許多業務領域的進展感到滿意，並相信我們的策略有助於推動財務績效的改善。第二季調整後營業利益率為 6.2%，較上年同期高出 210 個基點。這主要是由於我們成功實施了盈利能力改善計劃。我們的銷售團隊繼續從過去兩年中為應對異常通貨膨脹而實施的提價中獲得定價優勢，我們世界各地的營運團隊正在繼續提高近期效率，同時努力重新設計我們的營運模式旨在降低總體成本結構。

We captured additional savings this quarter, and we remain confident in achieving our target of driving over $50 million in annualized net cost of goods sold reductions over the next several years, which is what we communicated at our Investor Day in May. The world of work continues to evolve, and we're seeing a growing number of company leaders talking about the importance of being in the office more regularly and in a coordinated way. Many large companies are implementing workplace strategies that bring their people together in the office on some combination of days.

本季度我們實現了額外的節省，我們仍然有信心實現未來幾年年化淨銷售成本降低超過 5000 萬美元的目標，這是我們在 5 月份的投資者日上傳達的信息。工作世界不斷發展，我們看到越來越多的公司領導者談論更頻繁、更協調地留在辦公室的重要性。許多大公司正在實施工作場所策略，將員工在不同的日子集中在辦公室。

They recognize that being together is a key contributor to shaping their culture and driving business outcomes. And as a strategic partner to many of those companies, we're being asked to help improve the functionality and feel of their workspaces. They're investing to support in-person collaboration and they realize people need privacy for phone and video calls along with their focused individual work, and Steelcase is helping clients meet those needs.

他們認識到，團結一致是塑造文化和推動業務成果的關鍵因素。作為其中許多公司的策略夥伴，我們被要求幫助改善他們工作空間的功能和感覺。他們正在投資支援面對面協作，並意識到人們在電話和視訊通話以及專注的個人工作中需要隱私，而 Steelcase 正在幫助客戶滿足這些需求。

One recent example is the success we've had in the legal and finance sectors. These clients are looking to create a variety of spaces that support both collaboration and privacy and we partnered with several large leading organizations in Chicago, Dallas and New York, to name a few. Our teams have helped these clients design partner and junior partner private offices that support focus, open plant staff spaces that provide both connection and access to privacy, high-performance collaboration spaces that facilitate group engagement plus seamless use of technology and ancillary areas that enhance informal connection and well-being.

最近的一個例子是我們在法律和金融領域的成功。這些客戶希望創造各種支援協作和隱私的空間，我們與芝加哥、達拉斯和紐約等地的許多大型領先組織合作。我們的團隊幫助這些客戶設計了合作夥伴和初級合作夥伴的私人辦公室，以支持專注，開放的工廠員工空間，提供連接和訪問隱私，高性能的協作空間，促進團隊參與，以及無縫使用技術和輔助區域，以增強非正式的氛圍。連結和福祉。

And our recent acquisition of HALCON has accelerated these efforts and is really helping us win a greater share of wallet with these customers. As part of our strategy to lead the workplace transformation, we've prioritized investments in research and product innovation, and we're seeing some evidence of success. In the Americas, our year-to-date revenue from large corporate customers is ahead of our expectations, and our win rates remain strong. We also had double-digit order growth in our continuing business, which we believe is indicative of large corporate customers making changes to existing spaces. But it's not just the fact that these customers are making changes. They're choosing us as their partner.

我們最近收購 HALCON 加速了這些努力，並真正幫助我們贏得了這些客戶的更大份額。作為我們引領工作場所轉型策略的一部分，我們優先投資於研究和產品創新，並且我們看到了一些成功的證據。在美洲，我們今年迄今為止來自大型企業客戶的收入超出了我們的預期，我們的獲勝率仍然很高。我們的持續業務訂單也實現了兩位數的成長，我們認為這表明大型企業客戶正在對現有空間進行變更。但這不僅僅是這些客戶正在做出改變的事實。他們選擇我們作為他們的合作夥伴。

They recognize Steelcase has the insights and solutions they need to help them reimagine and transform their workspaces. We've also been investing to enhance our ability to serve customers and segments beyond those large companies. In those segments in the Americas, our revenue is a little behind our expectations, most notably in our consumer business, and we believe that's related to the broader slowdown in household spending on goods. In Health Care and Education, we saw nice growth in our sales into clinical health care spaces and learning spaces such as classrooms, even as investment levels for administrative and traditional office spaces are pressured.

他們認識到 Steelcase 擁有幫助他們重新構想和改造工作空間所需的見解和解決方案。我們也一直在投資，以增強我們為大公司以外的客戶和細分市場提供服務的能力。在美洲的這些細分市場中，我們的收入略低於我們的預期，尤其是在我們的消費業務方面，我們認為這與家庭商品支出的更廣泛放緩有關。在醫療保健和教育領域，儘管行政和傳統辦公空間的投資水平面臨壓力，但我們看到臨床醫療保健空間和教室等學習空間的銷售額出現了良好增長。

Our international businesses are being impacted by the macroeconomic environment in Europe and China, and that led us to initiate our previously announced restructuring actions. I'm also happy to say that we're seeing results against the goals we've set to support People and the Planet. This fall, we're releasing the 2023 Steelcase Impact Report, which highlights our progress to date and share how this work is making a difference. And I'm proud to share that this year, 12 of our suppliers set science-based targets to reduce carbon emissions in their own operations.

我們的國際業務受到歐洲和中國宏觀經濟環境的影響，這導致我們啟動了先前宣布的重組行動。我還很高興地說，我們看到了與我們為支持人類和地球而設定的目標相悖的成果。今年秋天，我們將發布 2023 年 Steelcase 影響報告，其中重點介紹了我們迄今為止的進展，並分享了這項工作如何產生影響。我很自豪地告訴大家，今年，我們的 12 家供應商制定了基於科學的目標，以減少其自身營運中的碳排放。

This isn't expected to help improve just Steelcases' Scope 3 carbon emissions. It should help all of these suppliers, customers better track indirect emissions. And this effort earned as global recognition for supplier engagement from CDP, where we were in the top 8% of companies globally and the only company from the furniture industry to be recognized for helping our suppliers capital climate change. So I hope you'll download our impact report and read more about our work and our commitment to use our business as a force for good. The report is scheduled to be live on our website on October 4.

預計這不會僅僅有助於改善 Steelcases 的範圍 3 碳排放量。它應該可以幫助所有這些供應商、客戶更好地追蹤間接排放量。這項努力贏得了 CDP 供應商參與的全球認可，我們躋身全球前 8% 的公司之列，也是家具業中唯一一家因幫助供應商應對氣候變遷而獲得認可的公司。因此，我希望您下載我們的影響報告，並詳細了解我們的工作以及我們利用我們的業務作為行善力量的承諾。該報告計劃於 10 月 4 日在我們的網站上發布。

So to summarize, halfway through the year, we are ahead of our target, and we expect that to carry through for the full year. We continue to navigate a dynamic environment, but our demand levels have been fairly stable. We are optimistic that as more companies announced requirements for in-office presence and their employees return more substantially, investment levels will increase. We're pleased with the progress we're making in our strategy to lead the workplace transformation diversify the customers and markets we serve and improve our profitability. So with that, I'll turn it over to Dave to review the financial results and share more details regarding our outlook.

總而言之，今年過半，我們已經領先於我們的目標，我們預計這一目標將持續到全年。我們繼續在充滿活力的環境中航行，但我們的需求水平相當穩定。我們樂觀地認為，隨著越來越多的公司宣布對在職人員的要求以及員工更多地返回，投資水平將會增加。我們對引領工作場所轉型、使我們服務的客戶和市場多樣化並提高盈利能力的策略所取得的進展感到高興。因此，我將把它交給戴夫來審查財務業績並分享有關我們前景的更多細節。

Thank you, Sarah, and good morning, everyone. My comments today will start with the highlights related to our second quarter results, balance sheet and cash flow. I will then cover our outlook for the third quarter and the full fiscal year. Overall, we delivered strong results again this quarter with both revenue and adjusted earnings, exceeding the top end of the ranges we provided in June. And for the full year, as Sara just mentioned, our adjusted earnings outlook is between $0.80 to $0.90 per share, which is significantly above the targeted range of $0.55 to $0.75 that we communicated in March.

謝謝莎拉，大家早安。我今天的評論將從與我們第二季業績、資產負債表和現金流相關的亮點開始。然後我將介紹我們對第三季和整個財年的展望。總體而言，我們本季再次取得了強勁的業績，無論是收入還是調整後的收益，都超過了我們 6 月份提供的範圍的上限。對於全年而言，正如 Sara 剛才提到的，我們調整後的每股盈餘預期在 0.80 美元至 0.90 美元之間，遠高於我們 3 月傳達的 0.55 美元至 0.75 美元的目標範圍。

Through the first half of the year, our profitability initiatives have driven higher gross margins and revenue from our largest corporate customers has also been above our expectations. In addition, our operations have benefited from less supply chain disruption as well as the adjustments we've made, which are contributing to faster order fulfillment patterns and improved operational efficiencies. Our better-than-expected revenue of $855 million was driven by strong performance in the Americas, which benefited from faster order fulfillment patterns and favorable pricing benefits.

今年上半年，我們的獲利措施推動了毛利率的提高，來自最大企業客戶的收入也超出了我們的預期。此外，我們的營運還受益於供應鏈中斷的減少以及我們所做的調整，這有助於加快訂單履行模式並提高營運效率。我們比預期的 8.55 億美元收入好是由美洲地區的強勁業績推動的，這得益於更快的訂單履行模式和有利的定價優勢。

The revenue from International was slightly ahead of our estimates due to favorable project timing. On an organic basis, our consolidated revenue declined 1% compared to the prior year and included 1% organic growth in the Americas and an 8% organic decline in International. Our better-than-expected adjusted earnings were primarily driven by the Americas due to the favorable revenue. Operating expenses were slightly above our Q2 estimate, primarily due to higher variable compensation expense, driven by our better-than-expected earnings.

由於專案時機有利，國際業務的收入略高於我們的預期。在有機基礎上，我們的綜合收入與前一年相比下降了 1%，其中美洲地區有機成長 1%，國際地區有機下降 8%。我們比預期的調整後收益好主要是由美洲地區良好的收入所推動的。營運費用略高於我們第二季的預期，主要是由於我們的獲利優於預期，導致可變薪酬費用增加。

In addition, we have lower-than-anticipated gains from the sale of an aircraft and other aviation assets. The macroeconomic environment across our International markets remains mixed, which drove our organic revenue declines and adjusted operating losses in the International segment in the first and second quarters and led to our previously announced restructuring actions. Over the second half of the year, we expect our International adjusted operating income to approach breakeven due to the projected benefits of those actions becoming more fully realized as well as seasonally higher volume.

此外，我們出售飛機和其他航空資產的收益低於預期。我們國際市場的宏觀經濟環境仍然複雜，這導致我們第一季和第二季國際部門的有機收入下降和調整後的營運虧損，並導致我們先前宣布的重組行動。在今年下半年，我們預計我們的國際調整後營業收入將接近盈虧平衡，因為這些行動的預期效益將得到更充分的實現，並且銷售季節性增加。

Sequentially, as compared to the first quarter, operating income increased by $34 million, driven by a $103 million increase in revenue. And the sequential increase in revenue was driven by normal business seasonality, which includes Smith System and Other education projects that tend to shift during the summer months. As it relates to cash flow and the balance sheet, we generated $120 million of cash from operating activities in the second quarter, primarily driven by adjusted EBITDA of $77 million and a reduction in working capital of $39 million.

隨後，與第一季相比，在收入增加 1.03 億美元的推動下，營業收入增加了 3,400 萬美元。收入的環比增長是由正常的業務季節性推動的，其中包括史密斯系統和其他教育項目，這些項目往往在夏季發生變化。由於與現金流量和資產負債表相關，我們第二季的營運活動產生了 1.2 億美元的現金，主要是由於調整後的 EBITDA 7,700 萬美元和營運資本減少 3,900 萬美元推動的。

Lower inventory was the largest contributor to the reduction of working capital as improved supply chains are driving shorter lead times for raw materials and component parts, which is enabling reductions in safety stocks. Our increased cash balance also benefited from approximately $15 million of proceeds related to the sale of aviation assets. Our liquidity totaled $315 million at the end of the quarter. Our trailing 4 quarter adjusted EBITDA of $251 million represented an increase of 63% compared to the prior year. Our leverage metrics have improved significantly over the last several quarters with net debt now approximating half of our trailing 4-quarter adjusted EBITDA.

庫存減少是營運資金減少的最大因素，因為供應鏈的改善縮短了原材料和零件的交貨時間，從而減少了安全庫存。我們現金餘額的增加也受益於與出售航空資產相關的約 1500 萬美元收益。截至本季末，我們的流動資金總額為 3.15 億美元。我們過去 4 個季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 2.51 億美元，比上年增長 63%。我們的槓桿指標在過去幾季中顯著改善，淨負債目前接近我們過去 4 季調整後 EBITDA 的一半。

Regarding orders in the quarter, we posted a year-over-year decline of 7% in the second quarter, including declines of 7% in the Americas and 5% in International. Although it's difficult to quantify, it's possible the year-over-year comparison may have been impacted by an extended pull-forward effect related to the significant increase in list prices and the introduction of a temporary surcharge in July of the prior year. On a consolidated basis, orders declined 5% sequentially versus the first quarter which is consistent with the sequential decrease in the prior year.

關於本季的訂單，我們第二季年減了 7%，其中美洲下降了 7%，國際下降了 5%。儘管很難量化，但同比比較可能受到與標價大幅上漲和上一年 7 月引入臨時附加費相關的長期拉動效應的影響。綜合來看，訂單量較第一季季減 5%，與去年同期較上季下降一致。

In the Americas, the year-over-year decline was primarily driven by lower project business, partially offset by double-digit growth in our continuing business. The strong growth in our continuing business reflects large companies investing in their existing spaces and potentially correlates with increasing office attendance. In International, the order decline was driven by EMEA, partially offset by growth in Asia Pacific.

在美洲，年減主要是由專案業務減少造成的，但部分被我們持續業務的兩位數成長所抵消。我們持續業務的強勁成長反映了大公司對其現有空間的投資，並可能與辦公室出勤率的增加相關。在國際市場，訂單下降是由歐洲、中東和非洲地區推動的，但部分被亞太地區的成長所抵消。

Within EMEA, demand patterns were mixed with some markets posting order growth in the quarter and on a year-to-date basis, while others declined. And in Asia Pacific, while demand patterns in China remain relatively soft, all other regions have posted year-to-date order growth versus the prior year. In the first 3 weeks of the third quarter of fiscal 2024, our order levels are up 18% versus the same 3 weeks in the prior year, which declined by approximately 20% versus the same period in fiscal 2022. Turning to our outlook for the third quarter.

在歐洲、中東和非洲地區，需求模式參差不齊，一些市場本季和年初至今的訂單成長，而其他市場則下降。在亞太地區，雖然中國的需求模式仍然相對疲軟，但所有其他地區今年迄今的訂單均較上年有所增長。在 2024 財年第三季的前 3 週，我們的訂單水準比上年同期成長了 18%，與 2022 財年同期相比下降了約 20%。第三季。

We expect to report revenue within the range of $780 million to $805 million, which would reflect a 3% to 6% decline compared to the prior year which benefited from a significant backlog of customer orders that had accumulated in part due to supply chain disruptions and extended delivery time frames. Despite the projected decline in revenue, we expect to report adjusted earnings per share of between $0.23 and $0.27, which compares favorably to $0.20 in the prior year. In addition to the projected range of revenue, the adjusted earnings estimate includes estimated gross margin of approximately 32%, operating expenses of between $215 million to $210 million, which is lower compared to the second quarter and includes $10 million of targeted gains from the sale of fixed assets.

我們預計營收將在 7.8 億至 8.05 億美元之間，與前一年相比下降 3% 至 6%，這得益於大量積壓的客戶訂單，部分原因是供應鏈中斷和延長交貨時間。儘管收入預計會下降，但我們預計調整後每股收益將在 0.23 美元至 0.27 美元之間，比去年的 0.20 美元好。除了預期的收入範圍外，調整後的獲利預測還包括約 32% 的毛利率、2.15 億至 2.1 億美元的營運費用（低於第二季），並包括 1,000 萬美元的銷售目標收益固定資產。

Lastly, we expect interest expense and nonoperating items to net to approximately $4 million of expense, and we're projecting an effective tax rate of approximately 26%. For fiscal '24, based on the strength of our first half results and current market conditions, we expect adjusted earnings per share between $0.80 to $0.90, which is significantly above the targeted range of $0.55 to $0.75 we communicated in March. In addition, we're projecting a modest organic revenue decline for the full year which is a few percentage points lower than the targeted modest organic revenue growth we also communicated in March.

最後，我們預計利息支出和非經營項目淨支出約為 400 萬美元，我們預計有效稅率約為 26%。對於24 財年，根據我們上半年業績的強勁表現和當前的市場狀況，我們預計調整後每股收益將在0.80 美元至0.90 美元之間，這大大高於我們3 月份傳達的0.55 美元至0.75 美元的目標範圍。此外，我們預計全年有機收入將小幅下降，這比我們在 3 月傳達的小幅有機收入成長目標低幾個百分點。

In summary, we posted strong year-over-year growth in adjusted earnings, and we generated $115 million of liquidity in the second quarter. And our earnings outlook for the full year is significantly higher than the targets we set at the start of the year. In addition, we're optimistic about the growing number of large companies that are beginning to mandate increased office attendance. As we believe this will help drive additional continuing business and eventually lead to improved project business to better support the transformation of the workplace. From there, we will turn it over for questions.

總之，我們的調整後收益較去年同期強勁成長，第二季產生了 1.15 億美元的流動性。我們對全年的獲利預期明顯高於我們年初設定的目標。此外，我們對越來越多的大公司開始要求增加辦公室出勤率感到樂觀。我們相信，這將有助於推動更多的持續業務，並最終改善專案業務，以更好地支持工作場所的轉型。從那裡，我們將把它移交給問題。

(Operator Instructions) And your first question comes from the line of Greg Burns from Sidoti.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 Sidoti 的 Greg Burns。

Can you just talk about the sequencing of order patterns throughout the quarter and then 18% growth you're seeing in the first couple of weeks of this quarter. Is that still largely continuing business? Or are you seeing any uptick on the project front?

您能否談談整個季度的訂單模式排序以及您在本季度的前幾週看到的 18% 的成長。這在很大程度上仍然是持續的業務嗎？或者您看到專案方面有任何進展？

Greg, across the quarter, order patterns were relatively stable versus prior year, they were a little all over the place because of the pull-forward effects that we had last year when we did the price adjustment and surcharge. But throughout the quarter, they were relatively stable. They were a little heavier, a little better earlier in the quarter, but I attribute some of that Smith System and some of the timing of some larger continuing orders that were placed by customers. Regarding the first 3 weeks of September, I don't know whether a project or continuing drove that.

格雷格，整個季度的訂單模式與去年相比相對穩定，但由於去年我們進行價格調整和附加費時產生的拉動效應，訂單模式有點分散。但整個季度，它們相對穩定。它們有點重，在本季度早些時候好一點，但我歸因於史密斯系統的一些以及客戶下的一些較大的連續訂單的時間安排。關於 9 月的前三週，我不知道是專案還是持續推動了這一情況。

We could look into that. I suspect it's probably more of the same in that we saw a strong continuing business or continued growth in our continuing business and continued declines in project. But we'll follow up on that and let you know if it's different than that. Well, again, what we highlighted is it's a strong growth, but it's versus a relatively easy comp last year, which was down 20% in the first 3 weeks.

我們可以調查一下。我懷疑情況可能更相似，因為我們看到了強勁的持續業務或持續業務的持續成長以及專案的持續下降。但我們會跟進此事，並讓您知道是否與此不同。好吧，我們再次強調的是，這是一個強勁的成長，但與去年相對輕鬆的比較相比，去年的比較在前 3 週內下降了 20%。

And I'd also just point out that 3 weeks don't make a month, which in 1 month doesn't make a quarter. But we thought it was interesting to share that we are seeing continued kind of overall stability in our orders and the versus prior year comparisons are kind of, will start bouncing around a little bit more significantly as we move forward.

我還想指出，三週並不能算一個月，一個月也不能算一個季度。但我們認為有趣的是，我們看到我們的訂單持續保持整體穩定，並且與去年相比，隨著我們的前進，將開始更顯著地反彈。

Okay. With all the commentary we're seeing around stricter kind of return to office mandates and it seems like businesses are landing on what the future of hybrid work is going to look like. Are you seeing, what are you seeing in terms of the preorder activity? Maybe with the conversations you're having with some of your larger customers? Is the pipeline filling? Are you getting a sense maybe that there's more activity behind the scenes? That is building and just kind of maybe waiting for maybe a better macro outlook or something to move forward? What's your view on kind of the pipeline of opportunities?

好的。從所有評論中，我們看到了圍繞更嚴格的重返辦公室規定的評論，企業似乎正在考慮混合工作的未來將會是什麼樣子。您看到了嗎？您在預購活動上看到了什麼？也許是與您與一些大客戶的對話有關？管道是否充滿？您是否感覺到幕後可能還有更多活動？那正在建設中，也許只是在等待更好的宏觀前景或向前推進的事情？您對機會管道的看法如何？

Well, the presales activity is relatively mixed. I mean, there are some indicators that are positive. We've had decent visits in our local showrooms. As an example, there are markets that have positive improvement in quote activity. But in the Americas, our project, our new opportunity creation was down versus last year. I don't know whether that's more of a timing thing than or an indication of maybe pause because of macroeconomic concerns. But what we do see, and do sense, from our sales organization overall sentiment, and what we've been seeing in the Continuing business patterns is that activity is increasing.

嗯，預售活動比較好壞參半。我的意思是，有一些指標是正面的。我們在當地的陳列室進行了不錯的參觀。例如，有些市場的報價活動有正面的改善。但在美洲，我們的計畫、我們創造的新機會與去年相比有所下降。我不知道這是否更多是一個時機問題，而不是因為宏觀經濟擔憂而可能暫停的跡象。但從我們銷售組織的整體情緒以及我們在持續業務模式中看到的情況來看，我們確實看到並感覺到活動正在增加。

And it feels pretty good. And I said that it's potentially correlated. Our growth in continuing business is potentially correlated with increased office spending. That was a hypothesis that we've had for a while that if we got people back in the offices more significantly, we would see higher levels of moves, adds, changes and just general activity would restart. And it feels like we're seeing some of that, and I'm sure as more employees get back in the office at our clients, they're going to start thinking about project activity as well. We just don't know when.

而且感覺還不錯。我說過這可能是相關的。我們持續業務的成長可能與辦公支出的增加有關。這是我們有一段時間的假設，如果我們讓人們更大幅度地回到辦公室，我們會看到更高水準的流動、增加、變化，並且一般活動都會重新開始。感覺我們正在看到其中的一些情況，我相信隨著越來越多的員工回到我們客戶的辦公室，他們也會開始考慮專案活動。我們只是不知道什麼時候。

And your next question comes from the line of Ruben Garner from Benchmark.

您的下一個問題來自 Benchmark 的 Ruben Garner。

Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Can you talk about really the strong margin performance despite a challenging volume environment. Can you talk about how, what that might mean for 2, 3 years from now? If we do get any macro support and maybe not volumes back to pre-COVID peaks, but maybe somewhere in between where we are today and there, what kind of investments you need in people or capacity or anything else that might kind of offset it? Or can we kind of expand margins from here in a normal volume leverage, I guess?

謝謝。大家早安。儘管銷售環境充滿挑戰，但您能談談真正強勁的利潤率表現嗎？您能談談這對 2、3 年後意味著什麼嗎？如果我們確實獲得了任何宏觀支持，但數量可能不會回到新冠疫情前的峰值，但可能介於我們今天和那裡之間，那麼您需要在人員、產能或其他方面進行什麼樣的投資來抵消它？或者我想我們可以從這裡以正常的交易量槓桿擴大利潤嗎？

Well, that's certainly what we're modeling, Rueben. I mean as we look out and model next year or 2 or 3 years out and imagine different scenarios, we're not eroding our gross margins that we've worked really hard to improve. So we're expecting to retain it. And as you can imagine, we, along with others in the industry, have capacity in our system to be able to handle incremental order growth and revenue growth. So I don't imagine that we're going to be significantly investing in capital, as demand patterns continue to improve.

嗯，這當然就是我們正在建模的，Rueben。我的意思是，當我們展望明年或兩三年後的情況並進行建模並想像不同的情況時，我們並沒有侵蝕我們一直在努力提高的毛利率。所以我們希望保留它。正如您可以想像的那樣，我們以及業內其他公司的系統有能力處理增量訂單成長和收入成長。因此，隨著需求模式的持續改善，我認為我們不會大量投資於資本。

Okay. And just a quick follow-up on the, I didn't hear the September 3-week quarter pattern, do you mind just repeating that?

好的。快速跟進一下，我沒有聽到 9 月 3 週的季度模式，您介意重複一下嗎？

Yes. Over the first 3 weeks compared to the prior year, they were up 18%. And just reminded everyone that last year in the first 3 weeks were down 20% versus the previous year. So I mean, they're kind of overall remaining relatively stable, as I think the takeaway.

是的。與去年同期相比，前 3 週成長了 18%。並提醒大家，去年前三週比去年下降了 20%。所以我的意思是，正如我認為的那樣，它們總體上保持相對穩定。

Okay. And coming out of NeoCon, there seems to be at least, I got the sense there was a little bit of excitement that we maybe were reaching an inflection point. It seems like you're seeing some of that with the return to the office and the continuing business. Do you think that there's anything beyond the macro going on with the project environment? Meaning refreshing of offices or tweaking of offices are going to happen in a bigger way, continuing business might drive the growth longer term, and we'll see fewer projects? Or is that, I'm overthinking that? And this is just maybe simple macro pushout?

好的。從新保守主義出來，至少我感覺到有一點興奮，我們可能正在達到一個轉折點。隨著重返辦公室和持續開展業務，您似乎看到了其中的一些情況。您認為專案環境中除了宏觀因素之外還有其他事情嗎？這意味著辦公室的更新或調整將以更大的方式進行，持續的業務可能會推動更長期的成長，而我們會看到更少的專案？還是我想太多了？這也許只是簡單的宏推出？

I don't think so, Rueben. I mean, I'll let Sara add on to this. But if I think back to what some of the retirees told me about recessions back in the '80s, and I think about what we experienced in the early 2000s. Typically continuing businesses is what comes back first and project activity restarts over, not a long period of time, but sometime after. And that makes sense. As CEO and CFO confidence improves, capital spending starts to improve as well. And so you start a rhythm of what I was talking about before. Supporting moves and adds and changes in the business and smaller projects that are often ordered through our continuing agreements with our accounts.

我不這麼認為，魯本。我的意思是，我會讓薩拉補充一下。但如果我回想一些退休人員告訴我的關於 80 年代經濟衰退的事情，我會想到我們在 2000 年代初經歷的事情。通常，持續業務是首先恢復的，專案活動會重新開始，不是很長一段時間，而是在之後的某個時間。這是有道理的。隨著執行長和財務長信心的提高，資本支出也開始改善。所以你開始了我之前所說的節奏。支援業務和小型專案的移動、新增和變更，這些專案通常是透過我們與客戶的持續協議訂購的。

But as things improve further, that is when management teams start thinking about larger initiatives, maybe a move to a different facility, maybe new construction, maybe taking advantage of low lease rates and negotiating a different footprint and a different building, et cetera. That's when we start to see project activity improve. And my sense is that we're going to see the same thing because the office or the workplace is installed on this density model that everyone was pushing towards before the pandemic.

但隨著情況進一步改善，管理團隊開始考慮更大的舉措，也許搬到不同的設施，也許是新建築，也許利用低租賃率並協商不同的佔地面積和不同的建築，等等。那時我們開始看到專案活動有所改善。我的感覺是，我們將會看到同樣的事情，因為辦公室或工作場所是建立在這種密度模型上的，這是大流行之前每個人都在推動的。

And with living on video now, we need more privacy in the office to support it, not only in conference rooms and collaborative settings or and in enclaves, but even in the open plan. which is why Sara talked about some of the products that we have to support that. So we're, I think it's going to happen. I just don't know what, over what time frame.

現在，隨著視訊生活的發展，我們需要在辦公室中提供更多的隱私來支援它，不僅在會議室和協作環境或飛地中，甚至在開放式平面中也是如此。這就是為什麼 Sara 談到了我們必須支持的一些產品。所以我們，我認為這將會發生。我只是不知道什麼，在什麼時間範圍內。

Yes, I'll just add on. I think that's right, continuing business for follow project activity. And I would say that I think as companies start out not just their sort of workplace strategies, but also start out their real estate strategies. I would anticipate that we should see more project activity. In fact, I was talking to a CEO of a large financial services institution a week or 2 ago, and his comment was that during the pandemic, like all of us, right, everybody gets sent home. And as they were in the pandemic, they shed some of their real estate holdings because they didn't need them.

是的，我就補充一下。我認為這是正確的，繼續進行後續專案活動。我想說的是，我認為公司不僅開始製定他們的工作場所策略，而且還開始他們的房地產策略。我預計我們應該看到更多的專案活動。事實上，我在一兩週前與一家大型金融服務機構的執行長交談，他的評論是，在疫情期間，就像我們所有人一樣，每個人都被送回家。在大流行期間，他們出售了一些房地產，因為他們不需要它們。

And his comment to me with now that we're bringing everybody back, we actually don't have enough space to have everybody. So they're looking at investing in new facilities, which would drive project business more than continuing business. So I think if you start to see one, and then a few and then many of those kinds of situations unfold to me, that bodes well for our opportunity to capture that kind of business.

他對我說，現在我們要把所有人都帶回來，我們其實沒有足夠的空間容納所有人。因此，他們正在考慮投資新設施，這將比持續業務更能推動專案業務。因此，我認為，如果你開始看到一種情況，然後出現一些、然後很多這樣的情況，這對我們抓住這類業務的機會來說是個好兆頭。

And one other client example. I was with a tech company in the summer out on the West Coast. And while they are imagining shrinking their real estate footprint, what they said to us and our dealer at the time is that they imagine changing everything within the remaining footprint because they were very focused on a dense model and they know they need to change, and they are driving their people back in the office. So I don't think, if they're changing everything, that's going to probably show up as project activity.

還有另一個客戶的例子。夏天我在西岸的一家科技公司工作。雖然他們正在想像縮小他們的房地產足跡，但他們當時對我們和我們的經銷商說的是，他們想像改變剩餘足跡內的一切，因為他們非常專注於密集模型，他們知道他們需要改變，並且他們正在開車送員工回到辦公室。所以我認為，如果他們改變一切，那可能會以專案活動的形式出現。

Okay. Great. Very helpful. Last one for me. Liquidity was at least somewhat of a concern from investors over the last year and you guys have obviously had a fantastic operating performance over the last year generated quite a bit of cash flow this quarter. Can you just kind of update us on where that gets?

好的。偉大的。很有幫助。最後一張給我。去年，流動性至少在某種程度上是投資者所關心的問題，你們在去年顯然擁有出色的經營業績，本季產生了大量現金流。能告訴我們最新情況嗎？

Yes. I mean, I think, first of all, I'll shout out to the operations teams who have done a terrific job managing through supply chain volatility. They made a lot of changes to our supply chains to help strengthen it, but also a lot of suppliers have also worked through the chaos. So we've been able to work inventories down to a much more, I would say, normal level. I think there's probably a little bit more to be had there. But I don't know that you're going to see another quarter of a $30-plus million reduction in inventory.

是的。我的意思是，我想，首先，我要向營運團隊表示感謝，他們在管理供應鏈波動方面做得非常出色。他們對我們的供應鏈進行了許多改變，以幫助加強它，但許多供應商也擺脫了混亂。因此，我想說，我們已經能夠將庫存降低到正常水平。我認為那裡可能還有更多的東西。但我不知道您是否會再看到四分之一的庫存減少 30 多萬美元。

You might see a few 5s and 10s here and there. And the receivable book is in pretty good shape, and our days payable are averaging what we expect them to average as well. So I think from a working capital perspective, you'll see more you'll see it moving more in sync with the revenue growth as we go forward.

您可能會到處看到一些 5 和 10。應收帳款狀況相當良好，我們的應付帳款天數也達到了我們預期的平均水準。因此，我認為從營運資本的角度來看，隨著我們的前進，您會看到更多它與收入成長更加同步。

Your next question comes from the line of Beryl Bugatch from Water Tower Research.

您的下一個問題來自 Water Tower Research 的 Beryl Bugatch。

Congratulations on the excellent operating performance as well. Sara, you talked to CEOs a lot. I know you talked to a large company CEOs and probably the smaller company CEOs. And the part of the debate has been compliance of associates to some of those, we want you back in the office and now, I think, turning into mandates. Maybe could you give us a little bit of color if there's any dichotomy on that?

也恭喜您優異的經營業績。薩拉，你和執行長談了很多。我知道您與一家大公司的執行長交談過，也可能與小公司的執行長交談過。辯論的一部分是員工遵守其中一些規定，我們希望你回到辦公室，我認為現在變成了強制要求。如果有任何二分法的話，也許你能給我們一點顏色嗎？

I would, I guess I would say that as I talk to CEOs, even just over the past couple of weeks, and I'll say this is anecdotal, so take it for that. But I do hear more CEOs talking and using language that speaks to more willingness to put some teeth into these policies and mandates. I think, I think many CEOs from the very beginning of the pandemic have felt that some level of in-person presence, people being together in the office is important for culture, it's important for innovation, and it's important for driving business strategies and outcomes.

我想，當我與執行長交談時，即使在過去的幾週內，我也會這麼說，我會說這是軼事，所以就這樣吧。但我確實聽到越來越多的執行長在談論和使用語言，表明他們更願意落實這些政策和任務。我認為，我認為許多執行長從大流行一開始就感到一定程度的面對面交流，人們在辦公室裡聚集在一起對於文化很重要，對於創新很重要，對於推動業務策略和成果也很重要。

But there was obviously for various reasons, whether it was the pandemic or the war on talent, you'd be reluctant to push hard. And I definitely hear talking more about that. In fact, I was last week with a CEO of a kind of Fortune 10 size firm who talked about now time, their return to office policies to compensation bonuses. So again, I don't know that that's, I don't know that I would say that that's a widespread at this point. But I do hear more business leaders feeling pretty consistent about turning up the dial on expectations and saying, this is how we work at this company. And if you're employed at this company, we want you to be kind of on board with how we do business here.

但顯然，由於各種原因，無論是疫情還是人才爭奪戰，你都不願意大力推動。我肯定聽到更多關於這一點的討論。事實上，上週我與財富 10 強公司的執行長交談，他談到了他們的重返辦公室政策和薪酬獎金。再說一遍，我不知道，我不知道我會說這是目前普遍存在的情況。但我確實聽到更多的企業領導者對提高期望感到非常一致，並說，這就是我們在這家公司的工作方式。如果您在這家公司工作，我們希望您能夠理解我們在這裡開展業務的方式。

And are the mandates moving from 3 days a week to 5 days a week? Or can you?

任務是否從每週 3 天改為每週 5 天？或者你可以嗎？

I mean, we're definitely seeing some of that. I do think that we have seen some companies move to 4 days a week, or take policies for [example] where they have flexibility in terms of the days per week, but they say, your return to your, as an employee, your work from home has to be limited to no more than a few weeks per year, kind of dough out those days as you see fit. So I do think that there are companies who are feeling more emboldened and feeling more conviction in being able to set those expectations and turning up that dial. Now that's not everyone, of course, but we are seeing that.

我的意思是，我們肯定看到了其中的一些。我確實認為我們已經看到一些公司改為每週工作 4 天，或者採取政策[例如]，他們在每週工作天數方面具有靈活性，但他們說，作為員工，你要回到你的工作每年在家的時間不得超過幾週，您可以根據自己的需求安排在家的時間。因此，我確實認為，有些公司感到更有勇氣，更有信心設定這些期望並調高目標。當然，現在並不是所有人都這樣，但我們正在看到這一點。

Last year, if I remember right, you opined that you thought that post pandemic, the industry could be 20% to 25% lower than it had been pre-pandemic. Have you changed any of that view?

去年，如果我沒記錯的話，您認為大流行後，該行業可能比大流行前低 20% 至 25%。您改變了這種觀點嗎？

Not Really. I mean it was a projection based on a lot of different assumptions, and it was really more communicated more to illustrate why we were leaning into our revenue diversification strategy. As we update that model, we still think the industry is likely to be smaller, especially around large company. But to what degree we don't have a strong view on whether it's smaller than what we originally estimated or larger.

並不真地。我的意思是，這是基於許多不同假設的預測，並且確實進行了更多的溝通，以說明為什麼我們傾向於收入多元化策略。當我們更新該模型時，我們仍然認為該行業可能會更小，尤其是在大公司周圍。但對於它是比我們最初估計的小還是大，我們並沒有明確的看法。

And I know you've given guidance for the third quarter as to the revenue guidance. And you're right, during the last year in the conference call, if I'm right, you said down 20% for the first couple of weeks of September, and I think the quarter came in down 17%, so modestly or pretty close to the same do you see orders. If orders are now up 20% for the first 3 weeks, do we get that same 3% drawdown? What do you think orders will be in the third quarter year-over-year?

我知道您已經給了第三季的收入指引。你是對的，在去年的電話會議上，如果我是對的，你說 9 月的前幾週下降了 20%，我認為該季度下降了 17%，所以適度或相當不錯你看到的訂單接近相同。如果現在前 3 週的訂單量增加了 20%，我們是否會得到同樣的 3% 的回撤？您認為第三季的訂單較去年同期情況如何？

Well, that's a good question. I don't know that I have a orders guide to share today. But I mean, it did start to decline fairly quickly and significantly last year in the third quarter. We, like I said in my scripted remarks, there might have been some pull forward from Q3 into Q2 of last year because of the price adjustment and surcharge that we did in July. So that could have exaggerated the decline a little bit. We don't know because it was, we did the adjustments in the middle of July, but it's possible there was some pull-forward effect.

嗯，這是個好問題。我不知道今天有訂單指南要分享。但我的意思是，去年第三季它確實開始相當快且顯著地下降。正如我在腳本發言中所說，由於我們在 7 月進行了價格調整和附加費，去年第三季可能會出現一些提前至第二季的情況。因此，這可能有點誇大了下降幅度。我們不知道，因為我們在七月中旬進行了調整，但可能存在一些拉動效應。

But because it declined as much as it did last year. And because our orders have been as stable as they've been for the better part of several weeks or quarters, a couple of quarters. It's, you can certainly imagine that you'd expect to see order growth in Q3.

但因為它的下降幅度與去年一樣多。因為我們的訂單在幾週或幾個季度的大部分時間都保持穩定。您當然可以想像您期望在第三季看到訂單成長。

And you're seeing, and you're turning in terms of stability, you're talking about the order pacing, the incoming order pacing in dollar per week? That's the ability?

你看到，你正在轉向穩定性，你正在談論訂單節奏，每週收到的訂單節奏（以美元為單位）？這就是能力？

I think we could have stable orders that post year-over-year growth versus last year. In Q3. That would not be surprising to me.

我認為我們可以擁有穩定的訂單，與去年相比實現同比增長。在第三季。這對我來說並不奇怪。

Okay. And you've gone back, this is the first time in a couple of reports if I remember right, that you actually parsed between continuing business, project business, and marketing programs. And it's a bit interesting that, I'm not quite sure what the project is right now. I always thought a project was new real estate. And hiring of an architect and a designer to specify. And now it looks like it could be the existing real estate redefining the space or somehow reitering moving your desks around?

好的。你已經回去了，如果我沒記錯的話，這是幾份報告中你第一次真正在持續業務、專案業務和行銷計劃之間進行解析。有趣的是，我現在不太確定這個專案是什麼。我一直認為項目是新的房地產。並聘請建築師和設計師來指定。現在看起來可能是現有的房地產重新定義了空間，或者以某種方式重申移動你的辦公桌？

Yes, Budd, this is Mike. So what we find typically is a customer will use a project quote when they're doing something more significant, which we can generalize as a new space or a significant redo of an existing space. So that's how we kind of generalize historically versus a continuing is where they leverage their continuing agreement with standardized pricing in terms and they just order, which is what we think is sort of where they're going first, as they bring people back to the offices, leveraging that continuing agreement to make incremental changes to improve the space but not necessarily changing all of the space over or moving to a new location.

是的，巴德，這是麥克。因此，我們通常發現客戶在做更重要的事情時會使用專案報價，我們可以將其概括為新空間或現有空間的重要重做。因此，這就是我們對歷史的概括，而持續的則是他們利用標準化定價的持續協議，然後他們只是訂購，這就是我們認為他們首先要去的地方，因為他們把人們帶回了現實。辦公室，利用持續的協議進行漸進式變更以改善空間，但不一定改變所有空間或搬到新地點。

So, and that's why we think the Continuing is a little stronger right now, which is why we started to call it out because it was more meaningful as part is trying to understand maybe where things are going to go from here.

所以，這就是為什麼我們認為「繼續」現在更強一點，這就是為什麼我們開始大聲疾呼，因為它更有意義，因為部分是試圖理解事情可能會從這裡走向何方。

Yes. Well, I am confused about that. So hopefully, maybe you can help elucidate us as we as we go forward on that. The asset sales in terms of, for me is my next kind of target, they come back into and they're put against the operating results. So the gains, or at least the gains are the cash flow obviously goes into the operating cash flow. How do we think about that? The delta versus that improved year-over-year that you're getting to $0.90 right now? What's in that new $0.90 that wasn't in what you planned when you were talking about the $0.70 or so in terms of the gains from asset sales.

是的。嗯，我對此感到困惑。因此，希望您能在我們繼續推進這項工作時幫助我們闡明這一點。對我來說，資產出售是我的下一個目標，他們會重新考慮並與營運績效掛鉤。因此，收益，或至少收益是現金流，顯然會進入經營現金流。我們對此有何看法？與去年同期相比，您現在達到 0.90 美元的增量是多少？當您談論資產出售收益的 0.70 美元左右時，新的 0.90 美元中的內容並不在您的計劃之內。

That's a good question. There is one item that's in there that was not planned, and it will help offset the fact that we're selling the aircraft and aviation assets for lower gains than we planned. So there might be a little bit of benefit versus our initial target, maybe $0.01 or $0.02, but we're not talking about $0.05 or $0.10.

這是個好問題。其中有一項沒有計劃，它將有助於抵消我們以低於計劃的收益出售飛機和航空資產的事實。因此，與我們最初的目標相比，可能會有一點好處，可能是 0.01 美元或 0.02 美元，但我們不是在談論 0.05 美元或 0.10 美元。

And when you're netting, you are netting it against also the delta in variable comp or incentive comp that, that helps offset to?

當你進行淨額結算時，你也會根據可變補償或激勵補償的增量進行淨額結算，這有助於抵銷？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. So really that, so it's really apples-to-apples is what you're saying, David, maybe except for $0.01?

好的。所以真的是這樣，所以這真的是你所說的同類，大衛，也許除了 0.01 美元？

A couple of pennies.

幾便士。

Okay. A couple of pennies. Okay. All right. And well, again, congratulations on the financial condition, it's remarkable I've seen this industry do this through the two most incredible periods I've ever seen in my life, which is coming out of Y2K and coming out of the pandemic nobody, nobody wanted either of these periods, and you all have been able to show remarkable strength and resilience storing that and you deserve to be congratulated on that.

好的。幾便士。好的。好的。好吧，再次祝賀我們的財務狀況，這是了不起的，我看到這個行業在我一生中見過的兩個最令人難以置信的時期做到了這一點，一個是走出千年蟲，一個是走出大流行病，無人，沒有人想要這些時期中的任何一個，你們都能夠表現出非凡的力量和韌性來儲存這一點，你們值得對此表示祝賀。

I know it's not a lot of fun on a day-to-day basis. But when you look at it over a longer period of time, it's really a real testament to the culture and strength in Steelcase. So thank you.

我知道這在日常生活中並不是很有趣。但當你從更長的時間來看它時，它確實是 Steelcase 文化和實力的真實證明。所以謝謝。

We appreciate that recognition. And before we move to the next question, I just want to clarify something in my scripted remarks. Apparently, I mentioned that in our Q3 guide that operating expenses, we expected them to be between $215 million and $210 million. I actually meant $215 and $220 million.

我們感謝這種認可。在我們進入下一個問題之前，我只想澄清一下我的腳本言論中的一些內容。顯然，我在第三季指南中提到，我們預計營運支出將在 2.15 億美元至 2.1 億美元之間。我實際上指的是 215 美元和 2.2 億美元。

(Operator Instructions) Next question comes from the line of Steven Ramsey from Thompson Research Group.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自湯普森研究小組的 Steven Ramsey。

Maybe to start with as more mandates for return to office are coming from companies, are you finding that companies are spending on their office ahead of bringing those workers back? Or do they do it after they bring employees back and make adjustments as they get more experience with the new format of work?

也許首先，隨著越來越多的公司要求重返辦公室，您是否發現公司在讓這些員工回來之前在辦公室上投入了資金？或者他們是在讓員工回來並隨著他們對新工作形式獲得更多經驗而進行調整之後才這樣做？

Yes. Good question. So I think our experience thus far has been that it's a little bit of all of the above because remember, all of these companies as they bring people back, they're starting from different points as far as our physical spaces go. So if you're the company that had just done a significant remodel and it really invested just before the pandemic to think about technology integration, social spaces, well-being, et cetera, you might be closer to what you need today as you bring people back and therefore, maybe need to make modest changes.

是的。好問題。所以我認為到目前為止我們的經驗是以上所有情況都有一點，因為請記住，所有這些公司在把人們帶回來時，就我們的物理空間而言，都是從不同的點開始的。因此，如果您是一家剛剛進行了重大改造的公司，並且在大流行之前確實進行了投資來考慮技術集成、社交空間、福祉等，那麼當您帶來人們回來了，因此，也許需要做出適度的改變。

Whereas there are other clients we serve, whose spaces before the pandemic or what we would describe as pretty outdated in terms of how they support the ways of working. So those clients have a much more significant task ahead of them both to attract people back and then to support the way people want to work today. So I think we see some companies who know they need to make investments doing it before they bring people back. I think other companies are taking more of a pilot approach. We'll bring people back. We'll iterate, we'll get employee input, we'll sort of do a bit kind of a bit here and there as we go. It's sum of all of the above.

而我們服務的其他客戶，在大流行之前，他們的空間或我們所說的在他們如何支援工作方式方面相當過時。因此，這些客戶面臨更重要的任務，既要吸引人們回來，又要支持人們今天想要的工作方式。因此，我認為我們看到一些公司知道他們需要進行投資，然後才能將員工帶回來。我認為其他公司正在採取更多的試點方法。我們會把人帶回來。我們會進行迭代，我們會聽取員工的意見，我們會一邊做一些事情，一邊做一些事情。它是以上所有內容的總和。

Okay. That's helpful. And on the continuing business being stronger, you've talked about a lot of verticals in the prepared commentary, which was helpful. That continuing business strength. Is that primarily in the corporate segment? Or are there other verticals that are helping to drive the Continuing business?

好的。這很有幫助。關於持續業務變得更強，您在準備好的評論中談到了很多垂直領域，這很有幫助。持續的業務實力。這主要是在企業領域嗎？或者是否有其他垂直領域有助於推動持續業務？

I don't know that I have that granular level of detail, but I think I'm looking at Mike to see if he agrees, I think it's reasonable to assume that it's mostly driven by large companies. They're the ones that we tend to have the contracts with. We also have contracts with large healthcare institutions and large education institutions. But Sara commented, in those cases, their admin investments are down while their investments in their off carpet or clinical and classroom settings are up. I think it's a fair assumption that it's mostly large company related that is driving the improvement in continuing business.

我不知道我是否有那麼細緻的細節，但我想我正在看看麥克，看看他是否同意，我認為可以合理地假設它主要是由大公司推動的。他們是我們傾向於與之簽訂合約的人。我們也與大型醫療機構和大型教育機構簽訂了合約。但薩拉評論說，在這些情況下，他們的管理投資會下降，而他們對地下或臨床和教室環境的投資則會增加。我認為這是一個合理的假設，即主要與大公司相關正在推動持續業務的改善。

Okay, that makes sense. Right. That makes sense. So if I kind of bridge that to the longer term as you gain share and mature in other verticals, aside from just large company corporate office. Do you think Continuing business becomes a natural part of those customer relationships over time? Or is the nature of how you manage those other spaces less conducive to a continuing business that compares to large corporate?

好吧，這是有道理的。正確的。這就說得通了。因此，如果我將這種情況與更長期的關係聯繫起來，那麼除了大公司的公司辦公室之外，你還可以在其他垂直領域中獲得份額並成熟起來。您認為隨著時間的推移，持續業務是否會成為這些客戶關係的自然組成部分？或者，與大公司相比，您管理其他空間的方式是否不利於持續開展業務？

Well, certainly, some of those verticals like healthcare and education will have project and continuing business with. But on the small to midsized companies, we do have continuing agreements with some companies that are in the, let's say, 300 to 500 employee size. But a lot of that business is more won and done, so to speak. And then, of course, on the consumer retail, there are no agreements with that business as well.

嗯，當然，醫療保健和教育等一些垂直行業將有專案和持續業務。但對於中小型公司，我們確實與一些員工規模為 300 至 500 人的公司簽訂了持續協議。但可以說，很多業務都是更容易贏得和完成的。當然，在消費者零售方面，也沒有與該業務達成協議。

Okay. Helpful. And on the strong cash flow that you generated and now a high level of cash sitting on the balance sheet, how do you think about putting that cash to work to returns or debt reduction? Or do you sort of think, keep it elevated for the time being in the uncertain macro?

好的。有幫助。鑑於您產生的強勁現金流以及現在資產負債表上的大量現金，您如何考慮將這些現金用於回報或減少債務？或者您認為，在不確定的宏觀環境中暫時保持高位？

Well, that's a good question, Steven. We've had a history in the last half dozen years of acquisitions even in the over the last couple of years, we've done two acquisitions with Viccarbe and HALCON and they've been very supportive. They and the others that we've done. We've been very supportive of our strategy, so we continue to look and continue to imagine the possibility of another bolt-on acquisition or two. So there's always that possibility. And we also have continued to attempt to offset dilution related to equity awards that are tied to variable compensation.

嗯，這是個好問題，史蒂文。在過去的六年裡，我們有過收購的歷史，甚至在過去的幾年裡，我們已經對 Viccarbe 和 HALCON 進行了兩次收購，他們都非常支持。他們和我們所做的其他人。我們一直非常支持我們的策略，因此我們繼續尋找並繼續想像另一兩次補強收購的可能性。所以總是存在這種可能性。我們也繼續嘗試抵消與可變薪酬相關的股權獎勵相關的稀釋。

And on occasion, we've been more opportunistic and repurchase additional shares. The dividend is a strong dividend at $0.10 a quarter that the Board approved yesterday. And I imagine that our kind of strong dividend philosophy is going to continue into the future as well. But yes, I mean I also would like to see liquidity continue to build. We're a conservative company that is in a cyclical industry and having a strong balance sheet has always been part of our DNA. It's very strong today, but it's not quite as strong as it has been in the past. So you could also see us just continue to strengthen it as well.

有時，我們會更投機取巧並回購額外的股票。董事會昨天批准了每季 0.10 美元的強勁股息。我想我們這種強大的股利理念也將持續到未來。但是，是的，我的意思是我也希望看到流動性繼續增加。我們是一家保守的公司，處於週期性產業，擁有強大的資產負債表一直是我們 DNA 的一部分。今天它非常強大，但不像過去那麼強大。所以你也可以看到我們也在繼續加強它。

Okay. Helpful. And then last quick question for me. This quarter, a beaten raise when you had an expected organic decline of 3% to 6% for the second quarter. Similar expected organic decline for Q3. My question is, are the factors that drove the beat in the second quarter, are those potentially going to repeat again in the third quarter? Or is some of those factors kind of behind you?

好的。有幫助。然後是我的最後一個快速問題。當您預計第二季度有機下降 3% 至 6% 時，本季的漲幅超出了預期。第三季的預期有機下降也類似。我的問題是，推動第二季業績成長的因素是否有可能在第三季再次重複？還是其中一些因素在背後推動著你？

Well, I mean, we outperformed this quarter because of faster order fulfillment and pricing benefits. Our guide going forward, now that we've seen a couple of quarters of the more normalized fulfillment patterns, our guide go forward assumes that, that will continue. So we've already baked that in. And on the pricing benefits, I mean, we, the magnitude of those benefits year-over-year will get much smaller as we move forward. And so, I don't, it's hard to imagine that those could come in significantly higher than what we've guided prospectively.

嗯，我的意思是，我們本季的表現優於其他公司，因為訂單履行速度更快，定價優勢也更大。我們的指南展望未來，既然我們已經看到了幾個季度更加標準化的履行模式，我們的指南展望未來假設，這種情況將繼續下去。所以我們已經考慮到了這一點。關於定價優勢，我的意思是，隨著我們的前進，這些優勢的規模將逐年縮小。因此，我不認為，很難想像這些數字可能會大大高於我們的預期指導值。

I don't, I mean every guide that we provide is, we call it a 50-50. I mean, okay, maybe it's a 60-40 with a tad more upside than downside. But we guide based on what we know. And for the last couple of quarters, we've had good outcomes from the hard work that people are driving across the business.

我不，我的意思是我們提供的每份指南都是，我們稱之為 50-50。我的意思是，好吧，也許是 60-40，好處多於壞處。但我們根據我們所知道的情況進行指導。在過去的幾個季度中，我們透過整個業務部門的努力工作取得了良好的成果。

And we have a follow-up question from the line of Beryl Bugatch from Water Town Research.

我們也有來自 Water Town Research 的 Beryl Bugatch 的後續問題。

That was a new one. The pronouncation of my name. The -- you had made that point, David, that the industry is stabilizing in the weekly pacing and my math is anywhere near right, it's about $60 million a week on average? And do you see that holding really through, is the standard deviation on that week-to-week, not very high as you're seeing that come in?

那是一件新事。我名字的發音。 David，你已經說過，該行業的每週節奏正在穩定下來，我的數學幾乎是正確的，平均每週約為 6000 萬美元？您是否看到，每週的標準差是否真的堅持了下來，並不像您所看到的那麼高？

I haven't run a standard deviation on it, so I can't speak to that specifically, but it has been remarkably stable as we look at it. I mean I see we average daily orders per week. I see that chart every month, and it's remarkable how steady it's been.

我沒有對其進行標準差，所以我不能具體說明這一點，但當我們觀察它時，它非常穩定。我的意思是我看到我們每周平均每日訂單。我每個月都會看到這張圖表，它的穩定程度令人驚訝。

And when we look at that, with having gone lean and you deliver you can deliver probably half of the orders in a quarter or more in that quarter. Isn't that typically what happens when you look at that?

當我們看到這一點時，透過精益和交付，您可以在一個季度或更多的時間內交付大約一半的訂單。當你看到它時，這不是通常會發生的情況嗎？

If the lead times are more in the 4- to 6-week range, yes, we can do that. We're set up to be able to do that. Lead times aren't back to normal almost on every product, maybe not everyone, a single product, but all the large runners are on standard lead times, which range between a few weeks to maybe 6 weeks.

如果交貨時間在 4 至 6 週範圍內，是的，我們可以做到。我們已經準備好能夠做到這一點。幾乎所有產品（也許不是每個產品）的交貨時間都沒有恢復正常，但所有大型供應商都處於標準交貨時間，範圍在幾週到六週之間。

So in the past, one of the things that you had to stumble through and explain to investors was what happened to the projection of that backlog in terms of how much of it was deliverable in the next 90 days. We haven't heard that number this call. What do you think the backlog, how much of the backlog gets delivered or what is projected for delivery in this quarter?

因此，在過去，您必須偶然發現並向投資者解釋的一件事是，根據未來 90 天內可交付的積壓訂單的預測，會發生什麼情況。我們這次通話沒有聽到那個號碼。您認為本季的積壓情況如何，積壓的情況有多少已交付或預計交付多少？

A much more normalized percentage, which is quite high.

一個更加標準化的百分比，相當高。

The normalized percentage is 80% or so, right, 70% to 80%?

標準化百分比是80%左右，對吧，70%到80%？

I don't know if I know the percentage, exact percentage, but that doesn't sound unreasonable.

我不知道我是否知道這個百分比，確切的百分比，但這聽起來不無道理。

Okay. All right. Well, and so the last part of it, well, then because we've had a dichotomy in order growth and revenue growth in some of the quarters, even in the last third quarter, we had that order degradation of 17% orders. I think revenues were up year-over-year. So I'm just trying to get to, when do we get to a normalized pattern where all of it looks like it's going in the same direction. And that's a question that I think everybody is struggling with?

好的。好的。嗯，所以最後一部分，因為我們在某些​​季度的訂單成長和收入成長方面存在二分法，甚至在最後一個第三季度，我們的訂單下降了 17%。我認為收入同比增長。所以我只是想知道，我們什麼時候能達到一個標準化的模式，所有的事情看起來都朝著同一個方向發展。我認為這是每個人都在努力解決的問題？

Yes. Yes, I understand.

是的。是的我明白。

Okay. you're struggling too.

好的。你也在掙扎。

I don't know the answer. But I mean what I, again, what I'll go back to is the average daily orders per week is remarkably stable in our core business. In the Americas. In international, it's a bit more mixed. Some markets are growing. Others are declining. And, we tend to be more project oriented in Asia than we are, say, in Europe or in the Americas. So it is a little bit more lumpy week-to-week. But in our largest market where we have 70% of our revenue in the Americas, it has been pretty steady.

我不知道答案。但我的意思是，我要再說一遍，我們的核心業務中每週的平均每日訂單非常穩定。在美洲。在國際上，情況更加複雜。一些市場正在成長。其他人則在下降。而且，與歐洲或美洲相比，我們在亞洲往往更注重專案。所以每週都會變得更加不穩定。但在我們最大的市場（我們 70% 的收入來自美洲），情況一直相當穩定。

Okay. I mean I've known you for a pretty long time now. And every time I hear you go, I know that that's, you've got the same issue or trying to get to, because you're pretty definite in your opinions using role. I thank you very much.

好的。我的意思是我已經認識你很久了。每次我聽到你離開，我就知道你有同樣的問題或試圖解決同樣的問題，因為你對角色的看法非常明確。我非常感謝你。

All right. Thanks.

好的。謝謝。

And there are no further questions at this time. Ms Armbruster, I turn the call back over to you.

目前沒有其他問題。 Armbruster 女士，我將電話轉回給您。

So thank you all for joining. We appreciate your interest in Steelcase as we continue to focus on driving improved results, and I hope you all have a great day.

謝謝大家的加入。我們感謝您對 Steelcase 的關注，因為我們將繼續專注於推動業績的改進，並希望大家度過愉快的一天。

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。