Standard Motor Products Inc (SMP) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Standard Motor Products Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this call is recorded. (Operator Instructions) It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Tony Cristello.

大家好，歡迎參加今天的標準汽車產品 2022 年第三季度財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，此呼叫已被錄音。 （操作員說明）現在我很高興將會議交給 Tony Cristello。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on Standard Motor Products Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. I'm Tony Cristello, Vice President of Investor Relations. And with me today are Larry Sills, Chairman of the Board; Eric Sills, President and CEO; and Jim Burke, Chief Operating Officer; and Nathan Iles, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你。大家早上好，感謝您參加標準汽車產品公司 2022 年第三季度收益電話會議。我是投資者關係副總裁 Tony Cristello。今天和我在一起的還有董事會主席拉里·西爾斯； Eric Sills，總裁兼首席執行官；和首席運營官 Jim Burke；和首席財務官 Nathan Iles。

On our call today, Eric will provide an overview of our performance in the quarter followed by Jim, who will give an update on the operations and supply chain. Nathan will discuss our financial results, and Eric will then provide some concluding remarks and open the call up for Q&A.

在我們今天的電話會議上，埃里克將概述我們在本季度的表現，隨後吉姆將提供有關運營和供應鏈的最新信息。 Nathan 將討論我們的財務業績，然後 Eric 將提供一些總結性評論並開始進行問答。

Before we begin this morning, I'd like to remind you that some of the material that we'll be discussing today may include forward-looking statements regarding our business and expected financial results. When we use words like anticipate, believe, estimate or expect, these are generally forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they are based on information currently available to us and certain assumptions made by us. And we cannot assure you that they will prove correct.

在我們今天早上開始之前，我想提醒您，我們今天將討論的一些材料可能包括有關我們業務和預期財務結果的前瞻性陳述。當我們使用預期、相信、估計或期望等詞時，這些通常是前瞻性陳述。儘管我們認為這些前瞻性陳述中反映的預期是合理的，但它們是基於我們目前可獲得的信息和我們做出的某些假設。我們無法向您保證，它們將被證明是正確的。

You should also read our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements.

您還應該閱讀我們提交給證券交易委員會的文件，以討論可能導致我們的實際結果與我們的前瞻性陳述不同的風險和不確定性。

I'll now turn the call over to Eric Sills, our CEO.

我現在將把電話轉給我們的首席執行官 Eric Sills。

Thank you, Tony, and good morning, and welcome to our third quarter earnings call. I'd like to begin by recognizing all of the SMP employees worldwide. We continue to operate in a challenging environment, and our people have helped us successfully navigate it. We just can't thank them enough.

謝謝你，托尼，早上好，歡迎參加我們的第三季度財報電話會議。我想首先表彰全球所有 SMP 員工。我們繼續在充滿挑戰的環境中運營，我們的員工幫助我們成功地駕馭了它。我們對他們感激不盡。

Overall, we're pleased with our top line performance, which marked our ninth consecutive quarter of record-breaking sales. We were up 3% over last year's with both divisions showing gains. Moreover, sell-through continued to be strong, demonstrating the ongoing health of the marketplace and the continued success of our programs with our customers.

總體而言，我們對我們的頂線表現感到滿意，這標誌著我們連續第九個季度創紀錄的銷售額。我們比去年增長了 3%，兩個部門都出現了增長。此外，銷售繼續強勁，表明市場的持續健康以及我們與客戶的計劃的持續成功。

Let me review each segment, beginning with Engine Management. Engine Management sales were up nearly 2% (technical difficulty) with various moving pieces. After a post-pandemic bump, the Wire and Cable portion of the line has returned to its secular decline down about 5%. But excluding this, the balance of Engine Management was up 3.2%, a combination of pricing actions and generally robust demand. This was also reflected in aftermarket customer POS, which, excluding Wire and Cable, remained positive in the quarter even when compared to outsized growth last year.

讓我回顧一下每個部分，從引擎管理開始。 Engine Management 的銷售額增長了近 2%（技術難度），其中包括各種移動部件。在經歷了大流行後的暴漲之後，該線路的電線電纜部分已恢復其長期下降約 5% 的水平。但除此之外，發動機管理的餘額增長了 3.2%，這是定價行動和總體強勁需求的結合。這也反映在售後市場客戶 POS 中，不包括電線電纜在內，即使與去年的大幅增長相比，該季度仍保持正增長。

Temperature Control continues at its solid pace, surpassing last year's sales by 3.3%. However, I think it's more insightful to look at this segment on a year-to-date basis due to how seasonality can shift demand across quarters. And year-to-date, we are ahead by nearly 11%. This strong performance is a combination of a long hot summer even when compared with last year's record heat, compounded by pricing actions taken during the year. As with Engine Management, customer POS was robust throughout, attributable to the warm weather across the country and our ability to retain in-stock positions during a difficult supply chain environment.

溫度控制繼續保持穩健的步伐，比去年的銷售額高出 3.3%。但是，由於季節性如何改變各個季度的需求，我認為從年初至今的基礎上查看這一細分市場更具洞察力。年初至今，我們領先近 11%。與去年創紀錄的高溫相比，這種強勁的表現是夏季漫長炎熱的結合，再加上年內採取的定價行動。與發動機管理一樣，客戶 POS 在整個過程中都很強勁，這歸功於全國溫暖的天氣以及我們在困難的供應鏈環境中保持庫存頭寸的能力。

While top line sales remain favorable, margins have presented a challenge. I'll touch on it, and Jim and Nathan will delve deeper. Along with the rest of the world, all year long, we have been experiencing elevated costs across many inputs. The industry has been largely receptive to passing it through, though there is always a lag in timing.

雖然頂線銷售仍然有利，但利潤率卻帶來了挑戰。我會談到它，吉姆和內森會更深入地研究。與世界其他地區一樣，我們全年都在經歷許多投入的成本上升。該行業在很大程度上接受了通過它，儘管總是存在時間滯後。

Meanwhile, as discussed on our last call, the rapid increase in interest rates, which affect our receivables factoring programs, is creating a significant headwind. And while we are working diligently to adjust for it, both through cost reduction and pricing initiatives, it's impacting our bottom line, as Nathan will speak to.

與此同時，正如我們上次電話會議所討論的那樣，影響我們應收賬款保理計劃的利率快速上升正在造成重大不利影響。雖然我們正在努力通過降低成本和定價舉措來調整它，但正如內森將談到的那樣，它正在影響我們的底線。

So let me talk for a bit about what we've been seeing in the market and how we are thinking about the future. I'll start with our aftermarket business, which makes up about 3/4 of our total revenue. The basic overall backdrop continues to show favorable trends. The vehicle fleet is aging. The lack of new vehicle availability is causing motorists to repair and maintain the vehicles they have. Gas prices peaked and have now substantially dropped, and we were pleased to see it had a negligible impact on miles driven. And while we are heading into a potentially recessionary environment, the aftermarket tends to outperform.

因此，讓我談談我們在市場上看到的情況以及我們對未來的看法。我將從我們的售後市場業務開始，它約占我們總收入的 3/4。基本的整體背景繼續呈現向好趨勢。車隊正在老化。缺乏新車可用性導致駕駛者修理和維護他們擁有的車輛。汽油價格達到頂峰，現在已經大幅下跌，我們很高興看到它對行駛里程的影響可以忽略不計。雖然我們正進入一個潛在的衰退環境，但售後市場往往表現出色。

Furthermore, our product categories tend to fare even better during difficult economic times. First off, they are largely nondiscretionary, meaning the vehicle is not operating properly and repair is necessary. And secondly, our products tend to be professionally installed. And while independent garages surely have product choice, they are less inclined than do-it-yourselfers to trade down to lower-grade products as avoiding vehicle comeback is more important than saving cost, which gets passed on to the car owner anyway. Plus we believe that our market strategy, which focuses on the do-it-for-me market, continues to be very well received by the customers.

此外，在經濟困難時期，我們的產品類別往往表現更好。首先，它們在很大程度上是非自由裁量的，這意味著車輛運行不正常，需要維修。其次，我們的產品往往是專業安裝的。雖然獨立車庫肯定有產品選擇，但與自己動手的人相比，他們不太願意以較低檔次的產品進行交易，因為避免車輛捲土重來比節省成本更重要，成本無論如何都會轉嫁給車主。此外，我們相信我們專注於“為我而做”市場的市場策略將繼續受到客戶的好評。

Additionally, our lesser reliance on the far east for our supply of goods is a major advantage over some of our competitors. It has allowed us to ship at higher levels than many and has helped our direct customers better service their end customers. So while there will always be challenges, the marketplace and our position within it are very strong.

此外，與我們的一些競爭對手相比，我們對遠東地區的商品供應依賴程度較低是一個主要優勢。它使我們能夠以比許多人更高的水平發貨，並幫助我們的直接客戶更好地服務於他們的最終客戶。因此，儘管總會有挑戰，但市場和我們在其中的地位非常強大。

Meanwhile, our specialized non-aftermarket business has remained robust, and we are very excited about where we're headed with the strategy. As we've been discussing on the last several calls, this business focuses on selling custom engineered products into niche on-highway and off-highway end markets such as heavy duty, construction and agricultural equipment, power sports and others. With our recent history of acquisitions in this space, along with many organic business wins, we now enjoy a run rate of about $300 million in sales. Not only is it diverse in the end markets it serves, it's diverse geographically with strong sales in Europe and Asia as well as North America.

同時，我們的專業非售後市場業務保持強勁，我們對戰略的發展方向感到非常興奮。正如我們在最近幾次電話會議中所討論的那樣，該業務專注於將定制工程產品銷售到公路和非公路利基市場，如重型、建築和農業設備、動力運動等。憑藉我們最近在這一領域的收購歷史，以及許多有機業務的勝利，我們現在的銷售額約為 3 億美元。它不僅在其服務的終端市場上多樣化，而且在地域上也多樣化，在歐洲、亞洲以及北美的銷售強勁。

A few weeks ago, we finalized another acquisition, Kade Trading, just outside Hamburg, Germany. SMP has a long history with Kade Trading. They have been the European sales arm for our Chinese joint ventures, selling to niche OE customers throughout Europe. Having them be a part of SMP provides a great strategic step forward. They bring the customer relationships, and as we look to integrate the various pieces of this new market strategy, they present excellent cross-selling access. We welcome them to the SMP team.

幾週前，我們在德國漢堡郊外完成了另一項收購，即 Kade Trading。 SMP 與 Kade Trading 有著悠久的歷史。他們一直是我們中國合資企業的歐洲銷售部門，向整個歐洲的利基 OE 客戶銷售產品。讓他們成為 SMP 的一部分是向前邁出的重要戰略一步。它們帶來了客戶關係，當我們希望整合這一新市場戰略的各個部分時，它們提供了出色的交叉銷售渠道。我們歡迎他們加入 SMP 團隊。

At this point, I'll hand it over to Jim to review our operations.

在這一點上，我將把它交給 Jim 來審查我們的操作。

Thank you, Eric. Good morning. Similar to past quarterly calls, I will provide some insight from an operational perspective. The most prevalent headwind we are facing is from inflationary pressures. Material cost increases have been running in the high single digits in 2022 on top of the similar level increases experienced in 2021. Certain product categories, such as electronic components, have increased on average 25% to 30%, and you're actually fortunate if you can procure your requirements. We have seen moderation on commodity-based metals from earlier peaks in 2022, but current year average costs still exceed 2021 levels.

謝謝你，埃里克。早上好。與過去的季度電話會議類似，我將從運營角度提供一些見解。我們面臨的最普遍的逆風來自通脹壓力。在 2021 年經歷的類似水平增長的基礎上，材料成本在 2022 年一直以高個位數增長。某些產品類別，例如電子元件，平均增長了 25% 到 30%，如果你真的很幸運你可以採購你的要求。我們已經看到基於大宗商品的金屬從 2022 年早些時候的峰值開始放緩，但今年的平均成本仍超過 2021 年的水平。

In addition, our material vendors are also experiencing similar labor and overhead increases, inclusive of wages, benefits, utilities and transportation that they are passing on to their customers. On a more positive note, transportation container costs from overseas in Q3 have dropped below $5,000 per container. In addition to the container cost reductions, we are seeing relief at the ports from vessel backlogs. This will allow us to gradually reduce supplier lead times impacting our increased inventory levels.

此外，我們的材料供應商也經歷了類似的勞動力和間接費用增加，包括他們轉嫁給客戶的工資、福利、公用事業和運輸。更積極的一面是，第三季度來自海外的運輸集裝箱成本已降至每個集裝箱 5,000 美元以下。除了降低集裝箱成本外，我們還看到港口的船舶積壓情況有所緩解。這將使我們能夠逐漸減少供應商交貨時間，從而影響我們增加的庫存水平。

On our prior second quarter earnings call, I stated that our Q2 inventory levels should have peaked, and I anticipated inventory reductions for the balance of the year. During Q3, inventory levels dropped $17 million, and I anticipate further reductions in Q4. From an operational perspective, we are very fortunate to have our significant North American manufacturing footprint. This has allowed us to better control our flow of goods as opposed to other manufacturers that source 100% from overseas.

在我們之前的第二季度財報電話會議上，我表示我們的第二季度庫存水平應該已經達到頂峰，並且我預計今年剩餘時間的庫存會減少。在第三季度，庫存水平下降了 1700 萬美元，我預計第四季度會進一步減少。從運營的角度來看，我們很幸運擁有重要的北美製造足跡。與其他 100% 從海外採購的製造商相比，這使我們能夠更好地控制我們的貨物流動。

Nathan will review our gross and operating margins in more detail, but I want to elaborate on our internal cost reduction efforts besides just pricing to offset these inflationary pressures. Our purchasing, engineering and manufacturing teams together are focused on low-cost sourcing, redesign efforts for substitute materials, reducing costs through manufacturing cell automation, (technical difficulty) buy programs and our ESG efforts, reducing energy usage and waste. These internal cost reduction programs have yielded significant savings, and we are pleased with the sequential margin improvements achieved from the second quarter to the third quarter. However, due to uncertainty, we still are expecting inflation across materials, labor and overhead along with cost increases from higher interest rates.

內森將更詳細地審查我們的毛利率和營業利潤率，但我想詳細說明我們內部降低成本的努力，而不僅僅是定價以抵消這些通脹壓力。我們的採購、工程和製造團隊共同專注於低成本採購、替代材料的重新設計工作、通過製造單元自動化降低成本、（技術難度）購買計劃和我們的 ESG 工作，減少能源使用和浪費。這些內部成本削減計劃已經產生了顯著的節約，我們對第二季度到第三季度實現的利潤率連續提高感到滿意。然而，由於不確定性，我們仍然預計材料、勞動力和間接費用的通貨膨脹以及利率上升導致的成本增加。

In closing, we believe our core strategy focused on delivering premium products with superior customer service offers our customers a compelling value proposition. I thank our worldwide employees for their efforts, making us on being a premier supplier in our industry.

最後，我們相信我們專注於提供優質產品和卓越客戶服務的核心戰略為我們的客戶提供了令人信服的價值主張。我感謝我們全球員工的努力，使我們成為行業中的首要供應商。

Thank you, and I will turn the call over to Nathan for his financial perspective.

謝謝，我將把電話轉給內森，了解他的財務觀點。

All right. Thank you, Jim. As we go through the numbers, I'll first give some color on sales and margins for each division, then look at the consolidated results, cover some key balance sheet and cash flow metrics, and finally, provide an update on our financial outlook for the full year in 2022.

好的。謝謝你，吉姆。在我們查看這些數字時，我將首先對每個部門的銷售額和利潤率進行一些說明，然後查看綜合結果，涵蓋一些關鍵的資產負債表和現金流量指標，最後提供我們財務前景的最新信息2022 年全年。

First, looking at Engine Management. You can see on the slide that Q3 net sales of $251.7 million were up $4.6 million or 1.9% versus the same quarter last year. But excluding Wire and Cable sales, which have returned to secular decline, sales were up $6.6 million or 3.2%, with the increase being a result of higher pricing and robust demand, as Eric highlighted. For the first 9 months, sales in engine of $732.9 million were up 5.8%. But excluding sales of Wire and Cable, year-to-date sales were up 7.6% with the increase driven by sales from acquisitions made last year, higher pricing and strong demand.

首先，查看引擎管理。您可以在幻燈片上看到，第三季度的淨銷售額為 2.517 億美元，與去年同期相比增長了 460 萬美元或 1.9%。但正如 Eric 強調的那樣，不包括已恢復長期下滑的電線和電纜銷售額，銷售額增長了 660 萬美元或 3.2%，增長是由於更高的定價和強勁的需求。前 9 個月，發動機銷售額為 7.329 億美元，增長 5.8%。但不包括電線和電纜的銷售額，今年迄今為止的銷售額增長了 7.6%，這是由於去年收購的銷售額、更高的定價和強勁的需求推動的。

Looking at the margin for engine. Third quarter gross margin rate was 26.2%, down 0.9 points from last year mainly due to inflation in our costs, but also due to lower production volumes as inventory levels moderate. Engine's gross margin for the first 9 months was 26.5% and was down from last year, mainly as a result of higher material and labor costs from persistent inflation not experienced to the same degree during the first 9 months of 2021 and increased transportation expenses resulting from stocking higher levels of inventory.

看看引擎的利潤。第三季度毛利率為 26.2%，比去年下降 0.9 個百分點，主要是由於我們的成本上漲，但也由於庫存水平緩和導致產量下降。發動機前 9 個月的毛利率為 26.5%，較去年有所下降，主要是由於 2021 年前 9 個月未經歷相同程度的持續通脹導致材料和勞動力成本增加，以及運輸費用增加導致備存更高水平的庫存。

Before I leave the topic of gross margin for Engine Management, I'd like to point out that the margin did improve by 0.4 points from the second quarter. This improvement was a result of additional pricing pass-through to customers and our cost savings initiatives. And going forward, we expect to continue to take both additional pricing and cost savings actions to address inflation as necessary.

在我離開引擎管理毛利率的話題之前，我想指出，毛利率確實比第二季度提高了 0.4 個百分點。這種改進是由於額外的定價傳遞給客戶和我們的成本節約計劃的結果。展望未來，我們預計將在必要時繼續採取額外的定價和成本節約措施來解決通貨膨脹問題。

Turning to Temperature Control. Net sales there in Q3 2022 were up $3.9 million or 3.3%. And for the first 9 months, were up $30.7 million or 10.7% with the increases mainly reflecting a very strong summer season and higher pricing, both of which helped the division to outpace a record year last year. The gross margin rate for Temperature Control in the quarter was 28.8%, an increase of 0.4 points from last year, while the gross margin rate for the first 9 months of 27% was down 0.2 points from last year. The increase in margin for the quarter was mainly due to another record sales year, while the slight decrease for the first 9 months was due to cost inflation and some higher transportation expenses related to stocking higher levels of inventory.

轉向溫度控制。 2022 年第三季度的淨銷售額增長了 390 萬美元或 3.3%。前 9 個月增長了 3070 萬美元或 10.7%，增長主要反映了非常強勁的夏季和更高的定價，這兩者都幫助該部門超過了去年的創紀錄水平。本季度溫控毛利率為28.8%，比去年上升0.4個百分點，而前9個月的毛利率為27%，比去年下降0.2個百分點。本季度利潤率的增長主要是由於銷售額再創歷史新高，而前 9 個月的小幅下降是由於成本上漲以及與庫存較高水平相關的一些運輸費用增加。

Turning to our consolidated results. Our consolidated net sales reflected the growth we saw in each division with the third quarter up 3% versus last year and the first 9 months up 7.6% versus last year. Our consolidated gross margin rate was down for the quarter and first 9 months for the reasons noted before. But for each of these periods, we were pleased to report higher gross margin dollars on the back of strong sales growth. Additionally, our consolidated gross margin rate did improve from 26.8% in the second quarter to 28% in the third quarter, helped by the strength of the temp control season but also our pricing and cost savings actions.

轉向我們的綜合結果。我們的綜合淨銷售額反映了我們在每個部門看到的增長，第三季度比去年增長 3%，前 9 個月比去年增長 7.6%。由於前面提到的原因，我們的綜合毛利率在本季度和前 9 個月有所下降。但對於這些時期的每一個，我們很高興在強勁的銷售增長的支持下報告更高的毛利率。此外，我們的綜合毛利率確實從第二季度的 26.8% 提高到第三季度的 28%，這得益於溫度控制季節的強度以及我們的定價和成本節約行動。

Moving now to SG&A expenses. Our consolidated SG&A expenses increased for both the quarter and first 9 months as rapidly rising interest rates continue to drive expenses from customer factoring programs higher. Our consolidated SG&A expenses increased by $6.7 million in the quarter and included $7.6 million of incremental factoring costs. Of note, excluding these incremental factoring costs, our core SG&A expenses were down $0.9 million and as a percentage of sales would have been better than last year.

現在轉到 SG&A 費用。由於快速上升的利率繼續推高客戶保理計劃的費用，我們本季度和前 9 個月的綜合 SG&A 費用均有所增加。我們的綜合 SG&A 費用在本季度增加了 670 萬美元，其中包括 760 萬美元的增量保理成本。值得注意的是，不包括這些增量保理成本，我們的核心 SG&A 費用減少了 90 萬美元，佔銷售額的百分比將好於去年。

SG&A expenses for the first 9 months increased by $21.2 million and included $13.1 million of higher factoring costs and $7.2 million of additional costs from acquisitions. Like I noted for the quarter, excluding incremental factoring costs for the first 9 months, our SG&A as a percentage of sales would have been better than last year. As we noted in our release this morning, we expect to implement price increases to address the climbing cost of our customers' factoring programs.

前 9 個月的 SG&A 費用增加了 2120 萬美元，其中包括 1310 萬美元的更高保理成本和 720 萬美元的額外收購成本。就像我在本季度指出的那樣，不包括前 9 個月的增量保理成本，我們的 SG&A 佔銷售額的百分比會好於去年。正如我們在今天上午的新聞稿中指出的那樣，我們預計會實施提價，以解決客戶保理計劃成本攀升的問題。

With respect to profitability, consolidated operating income, as shown here on the slide, was 8.8% of net sales for the quarter and 8.3% for the first 9 months of the year. And earnings per share and EBITDA were lower than last year for the reasons already discussed.

就盈利能力而言，如幻燈片所示，合併營業收入佔本季度淨銷售額的 8.8%，今年前 9 個月占淨銷售額的 8.3%。由於已經討論過的原因，每股收益和 EBITDA 低於去年。

Turning now to the balance sheet. Accounts receivable of $230.4 million at the end of the quarter were up $49.8 million from December 2021 with the increase typical of the seasonal nature of the business and mainly a result of higher sales during the quarter. Inventory levels finished Q3 at $534.3 million, up $65.6 million from December 2021, with the increase of result of higher sales levels this year and a strategic investment in inventory, to both make sure we meet our customers' delivery expectations and to buffer against supply chain volatility. As we work through our peak seasonal inventory needs, our inventory was reduced $17.1 million from the June 30 levels, as Jim noted.

現在轉向資產負債表。本季度末的應收賬款為 2.304 億美元，比 2021 年 12 月增加了 4980 萬美元，這是典型的業務季節性增長，主要是由於本季度銷售額增加。第三季度的庫存水平為 5.343 億美元，比 2021 年 12 月增加了 6560 萬美元，這得益於今年更高的銷售水平以及對庫存的戰略投資，以確保我們滿足客戶的交付預期並緩衝供應鏈揮發性。正如 Jim 所說，隨著我們應對季節性庫存高峰需求，我們的庫存比 6 月 30 日的水平減少了 1710 萬美元。

Looking at cash flows. Our cash flow statement reflects cash used in operations in the first 9 months of $75.5 million as compared to cash generated of $79.1 million last year, with the biggest driver of cash usage being working capital. Use of cash from working capital mainly stemmed from making strategic investments in inventory as noted, but also the impact of lower accounts payable now that inventories have begun to decline.

看現金流。我們的現金流量表反映了前 9 個月運營中使用的現金 7550 萬美元，而去年產生的現金為 7910 萬美元，現金使用的最大驅動力是營運資金。如前所述，營運資金現金的使用主要源於對庫存進行戰略投資，但由於庫存開始下降，應付賬款減少的影響也是如此。

Regarding investing activities, we continue to invest in our business and used $19.5 million of cash for CapEx during the first 9 months, which was flat with last year. Our financing activities included returns to shareholders in the form of $17.6 million of dividends paid and another $29.7 million paid for repurchases of our stock. Financing activities also included $141.5 million of borrowings, which were used to fund our operations, strategic investments and returns to shareholders. While our borrowings are higher this year, we still finished the quarter with low total debt leverage of 1.7x EBITDA.

在投資活動方面，我們繼續投資於我們的業務，並在前 9 個月為資本支出使用了 1950 萬美元的現金，與去年持平。我們的融資活動包括以支付 1760 萬美元股息和另外 2970 萬美元回購股票的形式回報股東。融資活動還包括 1.415 億美元的借款，用於為我們的運營、戰略投資和股東回報提供資金。儘管今年我們的借款增加了，但我們在本季度末的總債務槓桿率仍然很低，僅為 1.7 倍 EBITDA。

Finally, I want to give an update on our sales and profit expectations for the full year of 2022. Regarding our top line sales, we expect full year '22 sales growth in percentage terms to be in the mid-single digits. This reflects both the sales growth we've seen through 3 quarters this year, and the fourth quarter, we expect to be roughly flat with last year as it's up against a difficult comparison from a year ago and always hard to predict.

最後，我想更新一下我們對 2022 年全年的銷售和利潤預期。關於我們的頂線銷售，我們預計 22 年全年銷售增長百分比將達到中個位數。這反映了我們今年三個季度和第四季度的銷售增長，我們預計將與去年大致持平，因為與一年前相比很難進行比較，而且總是難以預測。

With regard to margins and operating profit, you can see from our results that while our gross margin rate is still under inflationary pressures, we did improve from where we were in the second quarter. Additionally, you can see that despite rising customer factoring costs, our SG&A expenses remain well under control. As such, we are maintaining the updated full year expectations we provided in August, which is that for the full year of 2022, we expect consolidated gross margin will be approximately 27% and consolidated operating profit will be in the range of 7% to 8%.

關於利潤率和營業利潤，您可以從我們的業績中看到，雖然我們的毛利率仍處於通脹壓力之下，但我們確實比第二季度有所改善。此外，您可以看到，儘管客戶保理成本上升，但我們的 SG&A 費用仍然得到很好的控制。因此，我們維持 8 月份提供的最新全年預期，即 2022 年全年，我們預計綜合毛利率將約為 27%，綜合營業利潤將在 7% 至 8% 之間%。

To wrap up, we are pleased to report strong sales growth while even up against a record year last year and gross margin improvement sequentially from last quarter. We thank all of our employees for helping us achieve these results and remain confident in our team's ability to navigate the evolving landscape.

最後，我們很高興地報告強勁的銷售增長，甚至超過了去年的創紀錄水平，並且毛利率比上一季度有所提高。我們感謝所有員工幫助我們取得這些成果，並對我們團隊駕馭不斷變化的環境的能力保持信心。

Thank you all for your attention. I'll now turn the call back to Eric to wrap up.

謝謝大家的關注。我現在將電話轉回給 Eric 以結束。

Well, thank you, Nathan. In closing, let me reiterate that we're pleased with where we're headed. We surely acknowledge that there are many headwinds, including cost increases, supply chain issues and a potential economic downturn, but we view these as relatively short term in nature. As we look to the longer term, we're very excited about our future. Needless to say, technological shifts are heading on our way, but SMP is well positioned to capitalize on them. As we've done for over 100 years, we evolve with automotive technology.

好吧，謝謝你，內森。最後，讓我重申一下，我們對前進的方向感到滿意。我們當然承認存在許多不利因素，包括成本增加、供應鏈問題和潛在的經濟衰退，但我們認為這些在本質上是相對短期的。從長遠來看，我們對未來感到非常興奮。毋庸置疑，技術變革正朝著我們的方向發展，但 SMP 已做好充分利用它們的準備。正如我們 100 多年來所做的那樣，我們隨著汽車技術的發展而發展。

As we head towards vehicle electrification, we are pleased that already about half of our sales are in product categories that are not ICE-dependent, that they're either powertrain neutral, meaning that they are not affected by whether it's an internal combustion engine or not, while other products are specifically targeting these new systems. We're particularly excited about our rapid growth in selling electric compressors to EVs, which is now a global business for us. We are also aftermarket leaders in ADAS products, the advanced safety systems on today's vehicles. And while the market for these products remain in their infancy, we are there with programs as they mature and gain demand.

在我們邁向汽車電氣化的過程中，我們很高興我們已經有大約一半的銷售額屬於不依賴 ICE 的產品類別，它們要么是動力系統中性的，這意味著它們不受內燃機或內燃機的影響。不是，而其他產品專門針對這些新系統。我們對向電動汽車銷售電動壓縮機的快速增長感到特別興奮，這對我們來說現在是一項全球業務。我們還是 ADAS 產品（當今車輛上的先進安全系統）的售後市場領導者。雖然這些產品的市場仍處於起步階段，但隨著它們的成熟和需求的增加，我們會提供相應的計劃。

Meanwhile, as we all know, the aftermarket enjoys the luxury of time. While there is no doubt an acceleration in technology change in new vehicles, it takes many years before they become a meaningful part of the car park and even longer for them to hit their sweet spot. We continue to invest in our company. We have hundreds of engineers focused on new product development and are bringing new technologies into our plants. We've been focused on strategic acquisitions, strengthening our global footprint and gaining access to complementary markets. And I believe we have the strongest team we've ever had. And so we're in a great place to capitalize on our future.

同時，眾所周知，售後市場享有時間的奢侈。雖然毫無疑問，新車的技術變革正在加速，但它們需要很多年才能成為停車場的重要組成部分，甚至更長時間才能達到最佳狀態。我們繼續投資於我們的公司。我們有數百名工程師專注於新產品開發，並將新技術引入我們的工廠。我們一直專注於戰略收購，加強我們的全球足跡並進入互補市場。而且我相信我們擁有有史以來最強大的團隊。因此，我們處於利用未來的好地方。

So that concludes our prepared remarks. At this point, I'll turn it over to the operator, and we'll open it up for your questions.

我們準備好的評論到此結束。這個時候，我會把它交給接線員，我們會打開它來回答你的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Our first question comes from Daniel Imbro with Stephens Inc.

我們的第一個問題來自 Stephens Inc. 的 Daniel Imbro。

I want to start on the pricing dynamic. I think you all touched on it during the prepared remarks, but continuing to pass through maybe further inflation here in the fourth quarter, and I know it's early, but can you talk about any cadence you expect over the next 6 to 12 months?

我想從定價動態開始。我想你們在準備好的講話中都提到了這一點，但在第四季度繼續經歷可能進一步的通脹，我知道現在還為時過早，但你能談談你對未來 6 到 12 個月的預期節奏嗎？

Should we expect further price increases to continue into next year? Are you seeing any pushback from your customers, or in turn, their customers? Just trying to think about how you guys think about pricing and further inflation in the backdrop as we move forward from here.

我們是否應該期望價格進一步上漲會持續到明年？您是否看到客戶或他們的客戶有任何反對意見？只是想想想你們如何看待我們從這裡向前發展的背景下的定價和進一步的通貨膨脹。

Sure. And so this has been, as you're well aware, really a moving target over the last many quarters. And so we've been chasing these cost increases, which started out much more about material costs, freight and so on. And now the greatest headwind, as you're mentioning, has to do with the rising interest rates and the implications on our factoring programs and the rest of our debt. And so we're actively working on overcoming these cost increases.

當然。因此，正如您所知，在過去的許多季度中，這確實是一個不斷變化的目標。所以我們一直在追逐這些成本增加，這主要是關於材料成本、運費等。正如你所提到的，現在最大的逆風與利率上升以及對我們的保理計劃和其他債務的影響有關。因此，我們正在積極努力克服這些成本增加。

And as I believe all 3 of us said, it's really a two-pronged approach. It is about our own internal cost reduction initiatives because we do recognize that we bear some responsibility in managing these costs. And a lot of that is in the blocking and tackling type of cost reduction programs that we've always gone after, but that there is also the pricing component of it as well. We are actively working on it. I really can't speak specifically to the cadence, but we believe that there will be more pricing actions to come. And we're going to continue to pay close attention to where the inflation takes us and act accordingly.

正如我相信我們三個人所說的那樣，這確實是一個雙管齊下的方法。這是關於我們自己的內部成本降低計劃，因為我們確實認識到我們在管理這些成本方面承擔著一些責任。其中很多是我們一直追求的阻止和解決成本降低計劃的類型，但它也有定價部分。我們正在積極努力。我真的無法具體說明節奏，但我們相信未來會有更多定價行動。我們將繼續密切關注通脹將我們帶向何方並採取相應行動。

I think you asked Daniel about implications to -- I guess, in the market to our customers' customer, and really, what we see -- what we have seen is that our products are largely not price sensitive due to their nature, in that, they are nondiscretionary and professionally installed, which typically means that the car owner, whose vehicle needs to be repaired, they -- I don't want to say that they basically have no choice and typically didn't appreciate what the cost is going to be anyway because it's a nonrecurring type of expense for them. And so these -- so inflation does not tend to destroy any demand at the end market.

我想你問過 Daniel 對——我想，在市場上對我們客戶的客戶的影響，實際上，我們所看到的——我們所看到的是，我們的產品由於其性質而在很大程度上對價格不敏感，因為，它們是非自由裁量和專業安裝的，這通常意味著需要修理車輛的車主，他們——我不想說他們基本上別無選擇，而且通常不了解成本的變化無論如何，因為這對他們來說是一種非經常性的費用。所以這些 - 所以通貨膨脹不會破壞終端市場的任何需求。

That's really helpful color. I appreciate it. And then I just had 2 on the Temperature Control segment. I guess, first, how are industry inventory levels? You talked about your inventory -- I think, Nathan, in your remarks. But how are industry levels after a pretty strong quarter? You had a warm summer. Are we entering kind of the winter with depleted inventories ahead of next year? Or how does that bode for next year's temperature control?

這顏色真的很有幫助。我很感激。然後我在溫度控制部分只有 2 個。我想，首先，行業庫存水平如何？你談到了你的庫存——我想，內森，在你的評論中。但是，經過一個相當強勁的季度之後，行業水平如何？你度過了一個溫暖的夏天。我們是否會在明年之前進入庫存耗盡的冬天？或者這對明年的溫度控制有何預兆？

Specific to Temperature Control, what we see is that the customer inventories for those that would have visibility in were relatively consistent throughout the quarter, basically showing that their purchases match their sales. And so as we go towards the fourth quarter and the off-season, their inventories are really in pretty good shape.

具體到溫度控制，我們看到的是，那些可以看到的客戶庫存在整個季度相對一致，基本上表明他們的購買與銷售相匹配。因此，隨著我們進入第四季度和淡季，他們的庫存狀況確實非常好。

Great. And then second one on Temp Control. You mentioned synergies from the Kade acquisition and kind of the opportunity in Europe. Can you just help size up like how big the opportunity is in Europe or maybe you provide more color on the potential synergies you see from that business?

偉大的。然後是溫度控制的第二個。您提到了收購 Kade 的協同效應以及在歐洲的機會。您能否幫助評估一下歐洲的機會有多大，或者您可以為您從該業務中看到的潛在協同效應提供更多色彩？

Sure. Well, as we stated in the announcement a few weeks ago when we announced the deal, the Kade Trading is really relatively small. It's about $6 million in revenue, of which we represented the majority of what they were selling with products that we were manufacturing in Asia and that they were selling into the European original equipment market. What we see as the opportunity here is really just another piece to the broader puzzle of our non-aftermarket global business, which is selling into these more niche original equipment channels, whether it's commercial vehicle, which is a lot of what Kade was selling into, or other construction, agricultural and so on.

當然。好吧，正如我們在幾週前宣布交易時的公告中所說的那樣，Kade Trading 確實相對較小。這大約是 600 萬美元的收入，其中我們代表了他們銷售的大部分產品，這些產品是我們在亞洲製造的，並且他們銷售到歐洲原始設備市場。我們在這裡看到的機會實際上只是我們非售後市場全球業務更廣泛難題的另一個部分，該業務正在向這些更小眾的原始設備渠道銷售，無論是商用車，這都是 Kade 所銷售的大部分，或其他建築、農業等。

And so by -- a lot of these accounts are global accounts, which require local support. And since KaDe Klima had a lot of these great relationships and we didn't have our own real footprint into Europe for the Temperature Control-type products, we believe that it will really open some more doors for us because as you can imagine, these types of accounts, they want to deal with the manufacturer. And Kade was really more of a trading company. This allows them to be working directly with us, the manufacturer of the product. So while we don't have any specific targets to speak of, we see this just as another really nice piece to the overall puzzle as we pursue this global niche OE marketplace with all the different products that we now are able to have in our basket of goods.

因此，這些帳戶中有很多是全球帳戶，需要本地支持。而且由於 KaDe Klima 有很多這樣的良好關係，而且我們在溫度控制型產品方面沒有真正進入歐洲，我們相信它真的會為我們打開更多的大門，因為你可以想像，這些帳戶類型，他們要與製造商打交道。而凱德實際上更像是一家貿易公司。這使他們可以直接與產品製造商我們合作。因此，雖然我們沒有任何具體的目標可言，但我們認為這只是整體難題的另一個非常好的部分，因為我們追求這個全球利基 OE 市場，我們現在能夠在我們的籃子中擁有所有不同的產品的貨物。

We'll take our next question from Scott Stember with MKM Partners.

我們將向 MKM Partners 的 Scott Stember 提出我們的下一個問題。

In the environment that we're in with interest rates and assuming we have some more to go here, could you just talk about how you view your debt structure going forward? And assuming no change, what could we look -- right now, what is the, I guess, the annualized interest expense number that we should look at? Again, this is just for the credit revolver and the other pieces.

在我們所處的利率環境中，假設我們還有更多的事情要做，您能否談談您如何看待您未來的債務結構？假設沒有變化，我們能看到什麼——現在，我猜，我們應該看的年化利息支出數字是多少？同樣，這僅適用於信用左輪手槍和其他部分。

Yes. So Scott, it's Nathan. We believe our capital structure is very adequate for where the business is today. We just did a refinancing back in June that gave us a lot of additional capacity, borrowing capacity, really shored up the liquidity position of the company. So we feel really good about that, and nothing changed on that front.

是的。斯科特，我是內森。我們相信我們的資本結構非常適合今天的業務。我們剛剛在 6 月份進行了再融資，這給了我們很多額外的能力，借貸能力，真正支撐了公司的流動性狀況。所以我們對此感覺非常好，在這方面沒有任何改變。

I think with regard to factoring, in particular, we talked about this on the last quarter's call, I think the way to think about it is with sales that are factored roughly $800 million, each 1% moving interest rates, obviously, is about $8 million. And so if you just look at the interest curves that are out there, that would give you a flavor for where we're at.

我認為關於保理，特別是，我們在上個季度的電話會議上談到了這個問題，我認為考慮這個問題的方式是考慮到大約 8 億美元的銷售額，每 1% 的移動利率顯然約為 8 美元百萬。因此，如果您只看一下那裡的興趣曲線，那會讓您對我們所處的位置有所了解。

And just a pure interest expense number?

只是一個純粹的利息支出數字？

Yes. So Scott, I think it's disclosed in the 10-Ks, 10-Qs, but we're on a 30-day SOFR rate. Obviously, our borrowings at the end of the quarter were about $270 million. And so we'll expect to pay down the borrowings as the inventory levels reduce, but that's kind of what we're looking at today for interest rates.

是的。所以斯科特，我認為它已在 10-Ks、10-Qs 中披露，但我們採用的是 30 天 SOFR 利率。顯然，我們在本季度末的借款約為 2.7 億美元。因此，隨著庫存水平的降低，我們預計會償還借款，但這就是我們今天所關注的利率。

Okay. Looking at the other 25% of the business specialized, could you maybe talk about how you would expect that to perform in the event that we really do go into a recession next year?

好的。看看另外 25% 的專業業務，你能否談談如果我們明年真的陷入衰退，你會如何預期它的表現？

Sure, Scott. The way we view it is that we really are selling into multiple end markets with a relatively good balance across them. So we're not beholden to any one particular end market such as, say, power sports. So we believe that any volatility you would see in difficult economic times in these end markets somewhat get dampened by that diversification, and so we'll obviously watch it closely. But we feel reasonably comfortable that we have that hedging across the different markets.

當然，斯科特。我們的看法是，我們確實在向多個終端市場銷售，並且在它們之間取得了相對較好的平衡。因此，我們不會受制於任何一個特定的終端市場，例如力量運動。因此，我們認為，在這些終端市場的經濟困難時期，您會看到的任何波動都會受到這種多樣化的抑制，因此我們顯然會密切關注它。但我們對我們在不同市場進行對沖感到相當自在。

Okay. And just last question, after the Kade acquisition. Just trying to figure out if this is a way to move into heating products? Or is this more just the way to get into AC in Europe?

好的。最後一個問題，在 Kade 收購之後。只是想弄清楚這是否是一種進入加熱產品的方法？或者這只是進入歐洲 AC 的途徑？

Really, what we're seeing is that in the non-aftermarket portion of our business as well as we're going to see it in the aftermarket as well, it's really about thermal controls of all different types. So while it's air conditioning, it is also -- we're seeing a lot of growth and opportunities in battery cooling technologies, engine cooling technologies. And this really began to a degree with this joint venture that we have in China CYJ that's doing these electric compressors, but it's not solely for passenger compartment air conditioning, it is also about battery cooling on heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks and buses. And so this opens the door for these types of programs as well. I think we're going to start seeing the word thermal management a lot more in this space, and it's not just about air conditioning anymore.

真的，我們看到的是，在我們業務的非售後市場部分以及我們將在售後市場中看到它，這實際上是關於所有不同類型的熱控制。因此，雖然它是空調，但它也是——我們看到電池冷卻技術、發動機冷卻技術有很多增長和機會。這在一定程度上開始於我們在中國的合資企業 CYJ 生產這些電動壓縮機，但它不僅用於客艙空調，還涉及卡車和公共汽車等重型車輛的電池冷卻。因此，這也為這些類型的程序打開了大門。我認為我們將開始在這個領域更多地看到熱管理這個詞，而不僅僅是空調。

Got it. I guess this ties into the EV market, obviously, right?

知道了。我想這顯然與電動汽車市場有關，對吧？

Very much. So we're seeing -- again, this Kade business is quite small, but some of the doors that they're opening for us have to do with cooling for electric vehicles and alternative energy vehicles, where they're not able to just operate with a basic belt-driven compressor air conditioning system off the combustion engine.

非常。所以我們看到 - 再一次，這個 Kade 業務非常小，但他們為我們打開的一些大門與電動汽車和替代能源汽車的冷卻有關，他們無法僅僅運營帶有一個基本的皮帶驅動壓縮機空調系統關閉內燃機。

We'll take our next question from Bret Jordan with Jefferies.

我們將與 Jefferies 一起向 Bret Jordan 提出我們的下一個問題。

In the old days, we used to talk or we used to see Engine Management margins that would bump over 30%, and you used to sort of talk about that having a gradual upward bias. Is that mix structurally different now that those margin levels are off the table? Or is there a potential to get back up to higher margin rates?

在過去，我們曾經談論過，或者我們曾經看到引擎管理的利潤率會超過 30%，而您曾經談論過逐漸向上的偏見。既然這些利潤率水平不在討論範圍內，那麼這種組合在結構上是否有所不同？還是有可能恢復到更高的保證金率？

Yes. So Bret, what we talked about, I think, earlier this year was with the mix shift to the more specialized initial OE business, We thought the margin range would be 28% to 29% rather than up above there. And so when you think about it from a long-term perspective, we would expect to get back into that range when things normalize, whenever that happens. And then to your point, we always have our continuous improvement programs that help us nudge up a bit each year.

是的。所以布雷特，我認為，我們在今年早些時候談到的是向更專業的初始 OE 業務的混合轉變，我們認為利潤率範圍將在 28% 到 29% 之間，而不是高於那裡。因此，當您從長遠的角度考慮時，我們希望在事情正常化時，無論何時發生這種情況，都會回到那個範圍內。然後就您的觀點而言，我們總是有我們的持續改進計劃，幫助我們每年稍微提高一點。

Okay. Because that was my question, I guess, on the non-OE business, how do you see that shaking out from a margin potential standpoint? It's obviously it seems lower gross but maybe comparable EBIT.

好的。因為那是我的問題，我想，在非 OE 業務上，你如何看待從利潤潛力的角度來看的動搖？很明顯，毛利率似乎較低，但息稅前利潤可能相當。

Yes, that's right. That's the right way to think about it, lower gross margins but lower operating expenses to service that channel. And so operating profit and EBITDA are really right in line with where the aftermarket has been historically.

是的，這是正確的。這是正確的思考方式，降低毛利率，但降低為該渠道提供服務的運營費用。因此，營業利潤和 EBITDA 確實與售後市場的歷史水平相符。

Okay. And then, I guess, did you say what the contribution of units versus price was in the roughly 3% growth in the quarter?

好的。然後，我想，你有沒有說在本季度大約 3% 的增長中，單位與價格的貢獻是什麼？

I did not say, and there's a lot of moving pieces in there. And we don't have any specific data, but intuitively, I believe it is more about price than unit volume growth.

我沒說，裡面有很多動人的東西。而且我們沒有任何具體數據，但直觀地說，我認為這更多的是價格而不是單位數量的增長。

Okay. Great. And I guess one question, I guess, sort of following up on the pricing request to offset some of the factoring expenses. Are you seeing inversely any pressure from your customers asking for price concession, given things like shipping costs have come down and some of the material inputs?

好的。偉大的。我想一個問題，我想，有點像跟進定價請求以抵消一些保理費用。考慮到運輸成本下降和一些材料投入等因素，您是否看到客戶要求價格讓步的壓力？

We're in a competitive market for sure, Bret, and nothing new about that. And so we have ongoing discussions with all of these accounts. We also believe we have very strong relationships with all of them and a mutual understanding of the benefit of the partnership that we enjoy and how that helps us both downstream in the market. So we work closely with them, and that's all I have to report on that.

布雷特，我們肯定處於競爭激烈的市場中，這並不是什麼新鮮事。因此，我們正在與所有這些賬戶進行討論。我們還相信，我們與他們所有人都有非常牢固的關係，並且對我們所享受的合作夥伴關係的好處以及這如何幫助我們在下游市場上都有相互理解。所以我們與他們密切合作，這就是我要報告的全部內容。

Okay. Great. If I could slip one more question in on power sports because a peer is also involved in the space. Is this strategy to distribute parts through your traditional retail partners? Or is this a completely different customer base that you're selling that product into? I guess is it on the OE side? Is there an aftermarket component to that segment?

好的。偉大的。如果我可以再問一個關於力量運動的問題，因為同行也參與了這個領域。這種策略是通過您的傳統零售合作夥伴分銷零件嗎？或者，這是一個完全不同的客戶群，而您正在向其銷售該產品？我猜是在OE方面嗎？該細分市場是否有售後市場組件？

It's completely on the OE side. We have -- there's a little bit of service parts through their dealership network. But no, it's not an aftermarket distribution play at all. It's all about new vehicle production.

它完全在OE方面。我們有——通過他們的經銷商網絡有一些服務部件。但不，這根本不是售後市場分銷遊戲。這一切都與新車生產有關。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

We'll take our next question from Robert Smith with Center for Performance Investing.

我們將向績效投資中心的羅伯特·史密斯提出下一個問題。

Could you give me some color on what's happening currently in China as far as it might affect you in your relationships?

您能否就中國目前正在發生的事情對您的人際關係產生影響？

Sure. Thanks for the question, Robert. And to remind you and the rest of the audience, we're really there for 2 purposes. One is to support our North American aftermarket business with low-cost, high-quality products. And as it relates to that aftermarket business, it's a relatively small part of what we do. And we have pretty good amount of redundancy and diversification of supply, so from a risk mitigation-type standpoint.

當然。謝謝你的問題，羅伯特。為了提醒您和其他觀眾，我們真的有兩個目的。一是用低成本、高質量的產品支持我們的北美售後市場業務。由於它與售後市場業務有關，它只是我們工作中相對較小的一部分。而且我們有相當數量的冗餘和供應多樣化，所以從風險緩解類型的角度來看。

As it relates to the other purpose of being there, which frankly, I think, is the more important strategic part, it's about servicing the Chinese original equipment market as well as the global market out of there. And we're really extremely pleased with the performance that we've had out of our joint ventures. I continue to emphasize the one that does electric compressors and some -- one of the darling of the bunch, but really all of them are doing very well. And all of them are actually gearing up towards new energy vehicle technology, both in China as well as the global market. And we're certainly paying very close attention to the geopolitical tensions going on right now. And we'll watch that very closely, but we really remain pretty bullish on what we're doing over there.

因為它涉及到那裡的另一個目的，坦率地說，我認為這是更重要的戰略部分，它是關於為中國原始設備市場以及全球市場提供服務。我們對合資企業的表現感到非常滿意。我繼續強調做電動壓縮機的那個和一些 - 一堆的寵兒之一，但實際上他們都做得很好。實際上，他們都在為新能源汽車技術做準備，無論是在中國，還是在全球市場。我們當然非常密切關注目前正在發生的地緣政治緊張局勢。我們會密切關注這一點，但我們仍然非常看好我們在那裡所做的事情。

Okay. In the non-aftermarket, the acquisition landscape, I assume that your acquisitions are quite opportunistic. And I'm wondering what the -- how do you see the cadence of this going forward? Do you see 1 or 2 acquisitions a year? Or how might this develop further?

好的。在非售後市場，收購領域，我認為你的收購是相當機會主義的。我想知道——你如何看待這個前進的節奏？您一年會看到 1 次或 2 次收購嗎？或者這將如何進一步發展？

Robert, this is Jim Burke. The -- we don't set a target or a goal of completing X number of acquisitions per year or tie it to a specific revenue growth. We're very focused and disciplined in our approach to ensure that it's in the product categories that we're in and possibly expand the channels whether aftermarket or non-aftermarket channels that are there. We have a team that's always evaluating opportunities in the marketplace as they develop and as we look to find and source opportunities. So we're pleased with what we've completed so far and continue to look forward for all the future opportunities, but no specific target that would happen.

羅伯特，這是吉姆·伯克。 - 我們沒有設定每年完成 X 次收購的目標或目標，也沒有將其與特定的收入增長聯繫起來。我們的方法非常專注和自律，以確保它在我們所在的產品類別中，並可能擴展渠道，無論是售後市場還是非售後市場渠道。我們的團隊總是在市場機會的發展以及我們尋找和尋找機會的過程中評估市場機會。因此，我們對迄今為止完成的工作感到滿意，並繼續期待所有未來的機會，但沒有具體的目標會發生。

Well, looking at, say, 5 years, do you have any idea as to what the percentage of category might have in the overall picture? You're at 25% now, I guess.

好吧，看看，比如說，5 年，你知道類別在整體情況中的百分比可能是多少嗎？我猜你現在是 25%。

We don't have any specific expectation. And frankly, we expect to grow both sides of the business, but we do recognize that in our non-aftermarket area, it presents itself with far greater opportunities largely because we're starting from such a low point, but also because it's more global, it's more diverse. There's so many different end markets to target that we really are just very excited about the potential growth opportunities. Similar to Jim's answer on acquisitions, we don't set ourselves with a particular target. We try to do things prudently and opportunistically and chase the right programs. And so we're excited about the progress we're making, and we see that really the sky is the limit on this area of our business.

我們沒有任何具體的期望。坦率地說，我們希望雙方的業務都能增長，但我們確實認識到，在我們的非售後市場領域，它為自己帶來了更大的機會，這主要是因為我們是從如此低的起點開始的，但也因為它更加全球化, 更加多樣化。有這麼多不同的終端市場可供瞄準，我們真的對潛在的增長機會感到非常興奮。與吉姆關於收購的回答類似，我們不會為自己設定一個特定的目標。我們嘗試謹慎和機會主義地做事，並追求正確的計劃。所以我們對我們正在取得的進展感到興奮，我們看到天空真的是我們業務領域的極限。

And looking at this, would you say that most will be accretive as far as looking at 12-month period?

看看這個，你會說大多數人會在 12 個月期間增值嗎？

Yes, Robert. We would expect the acquisitions that we do to be accretive to the bottom line, certainly within the first 12 months, and that's typically what we target.

是的，羅伯特。我們預計我們所做的收購肯定會在前 12 個月內增加利潤，這通常是我們的目標。

Yes. How about the labor picture as far as cost, supply availability and retention? What's happening with you guys?

是的。就成本、供應可用性和保留率而言，勞動力狀況如何？你們怎麼了？

Robert, this is Jim Burke, again. We've been facing pressures on there, everybody with the inflationary pressures that we have. But the shortage of labor especially when we were in season, and I'm speaking specifically more towards the distribution end, that was a challenge, securing warehouse distribution, people and specifically specialized drivers that are there. We've got over the hump with the season being a peak season. And again, we're converting many of our temporary workers that we bring on board to full-time employees and offer and show them the benefits of being a full-time employee with the benefits that SMP offers.

羅伯特，我又是吉姆·伯克。我們在那裡一直面臨壓力，每個人都面臨著我們所面臨的通脹壓力。但是勞動力短缺，尤其是當我們在旺季時，尤其是在配送端，這是一個挑戰，確保倉庫配送、人員和特別專業的司機在那裡。我們已經克服了這個季節是旺季的困難。同樣，我們正在將我們帶來的許多臨時工轉變為全職員工，並向他們展示作為全職員工的好處以及 SMP 提供的好處。

And your retention rates?

你的保留率呢？

Retention rates, again, we're very focused on that, too. During the -- a couple of years ago and really up until now, the turnover was very high as there was high demand, especially in the warehouse and distribution area offering potentially short-term bonuses for hiring. We've really secured and looked to get a stable workforce that's in place, and again, talk about all the benefits of being a long-term employee. So I believe our turnover rate has been reduced and more in a reasonable environment that we could work within.

再次，保留率，我們也非常關注這一點。在幾年前以及直到現在，營業額非常高，因為需求量很大，特別是在倉庫和配送區域，為招聘提供潛在的短期獎金。我們確實確保並希望獲得穩定的員工隊伍，並再次談論成為長期員工的所有好處。所以我相信我們的離職率已經降低了，而且更多的是在我們可以工作的合理環境中。

Let me just add one thing to that. The high turnover that Jim was speaking to within our hourly associates tends to be in the most junior of our employees. We find that once our people spend a couple of years with us, they stay with us for life. And we're very proud of that. We're especially proud of that when you look in our salaried and professional ranks. Our turnover has been extremely low during these last couple of years when you hear about some of the challenges that a lot of other companies have had, notions of The Great Resignation and so on. We believe that our employees truly enjoy working with us, and we have not seen that type of turnover that a lot of other companies have spoken to. We're really very proud of that.

讓我只添加一件事。吉姆在我們的小時工中談到的高流動率往往發生在我們最年輕的員工身上。我們發現，一旦我們的員工與我們一起度過幾年，他們就會終生與我們在一起。我們為此感到非常自豪。當您查看我們的受薪和專業隊伍時，我們為此感到特別自豪。在過去的幾年裡，當您聽到許多其他公司所面臨的一些挑戰時，我們的營業額一直非常低，比如“大辭職”的概念等等。我們相信我們的員工真的很喜歡和我們一起工作，而且我們還沒有看到很多其他公司談到過的那種流動率。我們為此感到非常自豪。

Yes, it sounds good. And just finally, there's been so much written about bringing production back to the United States. Any thoughts on this?

是的，聽起來不錯。最後，關於將生產帶回美國的文章太多了。對此有什麼想法嗎？

Robert, Jim Burke. There have been instances that we do bring production back. And we look, too, with automation, where many times where we may have moved to offshore or south of the border was more manual operations. We have looked at introducing automation into the cells and that was one of the points I made about cost reduction efforts, and it's proven to be beneficial. We have better control over the product and the quality that's there. So it is a focused area that we look at near shoring or reshoring opportunities for sourcing and also for manufacturing. We have -- for our JVs in China, we have repetitive duplicate production facilities to be able to handle that volume so that we're covered and minimize any risk exposure also.

羅伯特，吉姆伯克。在某些情況下，我們確實會恢復生產。我們也看到自動化，很多時候我們可能已經搬到離岸或邊境以南更多的手動操作。我們已經考慮將自動化引入單元，這是我在降低成本方面提出的觀點之一，事實證明它是有益的。我們可以更好地控制產品和質量。因此，這是我們關注採購和製造的近岸或回流機會的重點領域。我們有——對於我們在中國的合資企業，我們有重複的重複生產設施來處理這個數量，這樣我們就可以得到保障並最大限度地減少任何風險敞口。

It appears that we have no further questions at this time. I will now turn the program back over to our presenters for any additional or closing remarks.

看來我們目前沒有進一步的問題。我現在將把程序交還給我們的演示者，以獲取任何補充或結束語。

Okay. We want to thank everyone for participating in our conference call today. If you have any further questions, our contact information is available on our press release or Investor Relations website. We hope you have a great day.

好的。我們要感謝大家今天參加我們的電話會議。如果您有任何其他問題，請在我們的新聞稿或投資者關係網站上找到我們的聯繫信息。我們希望你有一個美好的一天。

This does conclude today's program. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at any time.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以隨時斷開連接。