Standard Motor Products Inc (SMP) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Standard Motor Products Fourth Quarter 2023 earnings conference call.

大家好，歡迎參加今天的標準馬達產品公司 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。

At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode.

此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。

Later, you will have the opportunity to ask questions during the question and answer session.

稍後，您將有機會在問答環節中提問。

You may register to ask a question at any time by pressing star one on your telephone keypad.

您可以隨時按下電話鍵盤上的星號一號註冊提問。

You may withdraw yourself from the queue by pressing star two.

您可以按二號星退出佇列。

Also, today's call is being recorded, and I will be standing by if anyone should need any assist.

另外，今天的通話正在錄音，如果有人需要任何幫助，我將隨時待命。

Now at this time, I will turn things over to Mr. Tony Cristello, Vice President, Investor Relations.

現在這個時候，我會把事情交給投資者關係副總裁 Tony Cristello 先生。

Please go ahead.

請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone, and we appreciate you joining us for our Standard Motor Products Fourth Quarter 2023 earnings conference call.

謝謝大家，大家早上好，我們感謝您參加我們的標準汽車產品 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。

With me today are Larry Sills, Chairman Emeritus, Eric Sills, President and CEO, Jim Burke, Chief Operating Officer, and Nathan Niles, Chief Financial Officer, on our call today.

今天與我一起參加電話會議的有名譽董事長拉里·希爾斯(Larry Sills)、總裁兼首席執行官埃里克·希爾斯(Eric Sills)、首席營運官吉姆·伯克(Jim Burke ) 和財務長內森‧尼爾斯(Nathan Niles)。

Eric will give an overview of our performance in the quarter.

艾瑞克（Eric）將概述我們本季的業績。

Jim will provide update on our change in DC, and Nathan Illes our financial results and our annual guidance.

Jim 將提供我們在 DC 變化的最新信息，Nathan Illes 將提供我們的財務業績和年度指導。

Eric will then provide some concluding remarks, and we'll open up the call for Q&A.

然後埃里克將提供一些總結性評論，我們將開始問答環節。

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 that they will prove correct.

在今天早上開始之前，我想提醒您，當我們使用“預期”、“相信”、“估計”或“期望”等詞語時，我們今天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，但它們基於我們目前掌握的資訊和我們所做的某些假設，我們不能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.

您還應該閱讀我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，以了解可能導致我們的實際結果與前瞻性陳述不同的風險和不確定性的討論。

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

現在我將把電話轉給我們的執行長 Eric Sills。

Thank you, Tony, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to our fourth quarter earnings call.

謝謝托尼，大家早上好，歡迎參加我們的第四季財報電話會議。

I'd like to open by thanking all of the S&P employees globally, whose tireless commitment to S & P makes us who we are.

首先，我要感謝全球所有標普員工，而正是他們對標普的不懈承諾造就了我們。

Fourth quarter capital was a fairly challenging year for SMP.

第四季資本對於 SMP 來說是相當具有挑戰性的一年。

As noted in our release, we saw some different trajectories for our aftermarket business versus our Engineered Solutions business with nuances throughout.

正如我們在新聞稿中所指出的，我們看到我們的售後市場業務與我們的工程解決方案業務有一些不同的軌跡，並且存在細微差別。

So let me get into it by segment, starting with vehicle control and during the fourth quarter, roughly flat to 2022's record year.

因此，讓我按細分市場進行分析，從車輛控制開始，第四季與 2022 年創紀錄的年份大致持平。

Vehicle control demand softened as the fourth quarter progressed, and we finished the year down 1.7%.

隨著第四季的進展，車輛控制需求疲軟，全年下降 1.7%。

As previously discussed, we were impacted throughout the year by two largely nonrecurring events.

正如前面所討論的，我們全年受到兩個基本上不重複發生的事件的影響。

First off, we continued to see the impact of the previously announced customer bankruptcy.

首先，我們繼續看到先前宣布的客戶破產的影響。

And to a lesser extent, we saw less pipeline activity from some of our larger customers throughout the year.

在較小程度上，我們全年一些較大客戶的管道活動有所減少。

But beyond that, we saw general softness in the market in the fourth quarter as evidenced by our customer POS results, which declined as the quarter progressed.

但除此之外，我們看到第四季市場普遍疲軟，我們的客戶 POS 業績證明了這一點，該業績隨著季度的進展而下降。

That said, we believe this is largely a temporary in nature as marketplace dynamics remain strong and we have seen a modest resurgence as 2024 gets underway.

也就是說，我們認為這在很大程度上是暫時的，因為市場動態仍然強勁，而且隨著 2024 年的到來，我們已經看到了溫和的復甦。

Next, I'll discuss our Temperature Control business.

接下來，我將討論我們的溫度控制業務。

As you know, since the majority of the business is tied to air conditioning, it's subjected to more weather-related influences than the other parts of our business.

如您所知，由於大部分業務都與空調有關，因此與我們業務的其他部分相比，它受到更多與天氣相關的影響。

Not only is it seasonal in nature, the timing of weather patterns throughout the year can impact the market.

不僅具有季節性，全年天氣模式的時間也會影響市場。

It is important context to note that 2022 was an outsized year.

值得注意的是，2022 年是非常重要的一年。

It got hot early and set records all summer long feeding 2021 sales by over 8% making for a difficult comparison, 2023 behave quite differently.

它很早就開始火爆，整個夏天都創下了記錄，使 2021 年的銷售額增長了 8% 以上，因此很難進行比較，2023 年的表現截然不同。

We had a slow start to the selling season, and we're well behind on sales entering Q3.

我們的銷售季節開局緩慢，進入第三季時我們的銷售遠遠落後。

Finally, did get hot much of the country and we were able to make up a fair amount of lost ground in the third quarter.

最後，全國大部分地區確實變得炎熱，我們能夠在第三季彌補相當多的失地。

Yet it was too little too late and we finished the year down 3.8%.

但為時已晚，最終我們的業績下降了 3.8%。

The fourth quarter itself was very light, but we caution people not to read too much into it.

第四季本身很輕鬆，但我們提醒人們不要過度解讀。

The fourth quarter is always our lowest period by a lot with customers making certain stocking decisions that can have big influence on a small quarter.

第四季始終是我們最低的時期，客戶做出的某些庫存決策可能會對小季度產生重大影響。

And lastly, I would note that while it's still early, it appears that our preseason orders for 2024 are consistent with past years, so that sums up the aftermarket.

最後，我要指出的是，雖然現在還為時過早，但我們 2024 年的季前訂單似乎與過去幾年一致，因此這對售後市場進行了總結。

Meanwhile, we're very pleased with our Engineered Solutions segment.

同時，我們對我們的工程解決方案部門非常滿意。

Our business focused on global non aftermarket sales into various end markets.

我們的業務專注於各終端市場的全球非售後銷售。

We posted strong sales both in the quarter and for the full year, up 6.7% and 4.7%, respectively.

我們的季度和全年銷售額均強勁，分別成長 6.7% 和 4.7%。

With progress being made on multiple fronts.

多個方面都取得了進展。

After several years of growing this business through both acquisitions and organic product development, we chose to split it out into its own segment at the beginning of 2023 not only has just provided better clarity to various stakeholders.

經過幾年透過收購和有機產品開發來發展這項業務，我們選擇在 2023 年初將其拆分為自己的部門，這不僅為各個利益相關者提供了更好的清晰度。

We also believe it has helped demonstrate to the customers in this space that we are genuinely committed with a tailored strategy, a broad product portfolio and dedicated resources.

我們也相信，這有助於向該領域的客戶表明，我們真誠地致力於量身定制的策略、廣泛的產品組合和專用資源。

And this is truly opening doors.

這確實打開了大門。

We are seeing gains with existing customers as well as new ones and while it often takes time between the business being awarded and when the sales actually begin, the pipeline is robust globally, and we're very excited about where it's headed towards profitability.

我們看到現有客戶和新客戶都獲得了收益，雖然從獲得業務到實際開始銷售之間通常需要一段時間，但全球範圍內的管道很強大，我們對它的盈利方向感到非常興奮。

All year long, we have been facing stubbornly high inflation across a host of cost inputs.

全年以來，我們在一系列成本投入方面都面臨著頑固的高通膨。

And furthermore, our customer factoring expenses continue to present a headwind of $14 million as compared to 2022.

此外，與 2022 年相比，我們的客戶保理費用持續出現 1,400 萬美元的逆風。

I'm proud of the progress we made, both with cost reduction initiatives and pricing actions, allowing us to retain our gross margins on a full year basis.

我對我們在降低成本措施和定價行動方面取得的進展感到自豪，這使我們能夠保持全年的毛利率。

But the headline is that soft sales caused deleveraging of our fixed costs, which in turn hurt our bottom line.

但頭條新聞是銷售疲軟導致我們固定成本去槓桿化，進而損害了我們的利潤。

And Nathan will provide more details during his remarks.

內森將在演講中提供更多細節。

But first, let me turn it over to Jim, who will bring you up to date on our exciting new distribution center.

但首先，讓我把它交給吉姆，他將為您帶來我們令人興奮的新配送中心的最新資訊。

Thank you, Eric, and good morning.

謝謝你，艾瑞克，早安。

I'm happy to share an update on our distribution network strategy expansion plans.

我很高興與大家分享我們分銷網絡策略擴張計劃的最新情況。

We previously announced our new Shawnee, Kansas distribution center and our second quarter 2023 earnings release.

我們先前宣布了堪薩斯州肖尼的新配送中心和 2023 年第二季財報。

To refresh your memory, our US distribution footprint, excluding our forecast training distribution from Fort Lauderdale, Florida for vehicle control of temperature control products currently ships from three primary distribution centers located in dispute onto their junior and windmill, Kansas and Lewisville Texas.

為了讓您重溫記憶，我們的美國分銷足跡（不包括佛羅裡達州勞德代爾堡的溫度控制產品車輛控制預測培訓分銷）目前從位於爭議的三個主要分銷中心運送到堪薩斯州和德克薩斯州路易斯維爾的初級和風車。

This combined footprint is approximately 1.2 million square feet.

總佔地面積約 120 萬平方英尺。

Our plan is to add our new show on EDC. to replace our existing Edwards will DC the new 575,000 square foot joining facility within five miles of the existing Edwards field facility, which will add 211,000 incremental square feet for a new combined 1.4 million footprint.

我們的計劃是在 EDC 上添加我們的新節目。為了取代現有的 Edwards，我們將在現有 Edwards 現場設施 5 英里範圍內建造新的 575,000 平方英尺的連接設施，這將增加 211,000 平方英尺，使新的總佔地面積達到 140 萬平方英尺。

We believe the Shawnee addition will offer us many benefits over our existing network strategy.

我們相信，Shawnee 的加入將為我們帶來比我們現有網路策略更多的好處。

Today, we are single point distribution from our for our products from our existing three DC.s. Our new strategy will be to add popular A. and B high volume skews into Shawnee that are also carried in Virginia and Lewisville per vehicle control, Sean, you will ship the popular A. and B SKUs to customers west of the Mississippi that previously were shipped from Virginia totally across the country, slower moving SKUs will continue to ship from Virginia and put temperature-controlled high volume skews skews Shawnee.

今天，我們從現有的三個 DC 中單點分銷我們的產品。我們的新策略將是將流行的A. 和B 大批量偏向添加到Shawnee，這些產品也在弗吉尼亞州和路易斯維爾每車輛控制中心進行運輸，肖恩，您將把流行的A. 和B SKU 運送到密西西比河以西的客戶，以前從弗吉尼亞州向全國各地發貨，移動速度較慢的 SKU 將繼續從弗吉尼亞州發貨，並將溫度控制的高容量偏向肖尼。

We'll ship the upper half of the US while Lewisville will ship the southern half of the states.

我們將運送美國的上半部分，而路易斯維爾將運送美國的南半部分。

There will.

這裡將。

This will provide us many strategic benefits, risk avoidance with multi-point distribution on popular SKUs, reduce existing capacity constraints in Virginia and Louisville, faster turnaround time for pulling packing and shipping orders within our DCs, transportation cost savings, labor efficiency savings due to overcapacity and retaining 100% of our seasoned and experienced existing management team and associates from our Edwards fill facility it.

這將為我們帶來許多戰略利益，透過流行SKU 的多點配送來避免風險，減少弗吉尼亞州和路易斯維爾的現有產能限制，並加快我們配送中心內包裝和運輸訂單的周轉時間，節省運輸成本，節省勞動效率產能過剩並保留 100% 經驗豐富的現有管理團隊和來自 Edwards 填充設施的員工。

Lastly, incremental distribution capacity for future growth opportunities.

最後，為未來的成長機會增加分銷能力。

Our tradition, our transition plan is basically on schedule as initially disclosed to shortly.

我們的傳統，我們的過渡計劃基本上如最初披露的那樣按計劃進行。

Construction and interior build-out plan was essentially completed in January of this year, our Phase one operational plan called for a soft launch in 2024 with racking and stall that are of RF manual picking continue commencing April of this year.

建築和內部擴建計畫已於今年 1 月基本完成，我們的第一階段營運計畫要求在 2024 年進行軟啟動，並從今年 4 月開始繼續採用 RF 人工揀選的貨架和攤位。

Phase two will entail the installation of automated picking modules and automated consolidation completion scheduled for early 2025.

第二階段將安裝自動揀貨模組，並計畫於 2025 年初完成自動整合。

By the end of 25.

到25月底。

We expect to be fully operational costs and savings from this distribution expansion will be incurred over multiple years 2023 and 24 will see added costs, while savings will be achieved in 25 and 26.

我們預計，此次分銷擴張將在 2023 年和 24 年實現全面營運成本和節省，而成本將在 2023 年和 24 年增加，而成本節省將在 25 年和 26 年實現。

Overall.

全面的。

From an expense standpoint, once fully implemented, we will be incurring incremental lease property and depreciation costs per year of approximately $7 million, offset by efficiency and transportation savings of approximately $3 million for a net ongoing cost, inclusive of incremental capacity of $4 million.

從費用角度來看，一旦全面實施，我們每年將產生約700 萬美元的增量租賃財產和折舊成本，並被效率和運輸節省約300 萬美元的持續淨成本所抵消，其中包括400 萬美元的增量產能。

In addition, we expect to fully exit our owned Edwards mill facility body at the 2025 and anticipate cash proceeds from the sale of the land and building of $20 million plus in 2026.

此外，我們預計將在 2025 年完全退出我們擁有的 Edwards 工廠設施，並預計在 2026 年出售土地和建築物的現金收益將超過 2000 萬美元。

Most importantly, we will be in a much stronger position to better service our customers with added capacity for future growth.

最重要的是，我們將處於更有利的地位，可以更好地為客戶提供服務，並增加未來成長的能力。

Thank you for your attention.

感謝您的關注。

I'll now turn the call over to Nathan.

我現在將把電話轉給內森。

Hi.

你好。

Thank you, Jim.

謝謝你，吉姆。

As we go through the numbers, I'll first give some more color on key drivers of our results for the quarter and full year of 2023 and then provide an update on our financial outlook for the full year in 2024.

當我們瀏覽這些數字時，我將首先對 2023 年季度和全年業績的關鍵驅動因素進行更多說明，然後提供 2024 年全年財務前景的最新資訊。

First, looking at our vehicle control segment, you can see on this slide that net sales of $178.6 million in Q4 were down 5.9% with the decrease driven by a general softness in sales across the industry for the full year sales and vehicle control were down 1.7% with the decline owing to a number of things which occurred during the year, including the impact of a customer bankruptcy early in the year, lower pipeline orders and the general slowness we saw in Q4.

首先，看看我們的車輛控制部門，您可以在這張投影片上看到，第四季的淨銷售額為1.786 億美元，下降了5.9%，下降的原因是整個行業銷售普遍疲軟，全年銷售額和車輛控制部門均下降1.7%，下降的原因是今年發生的一些事情，包括年初客戶破產的影響、管道訂單減少以及我們在第四季度看到的普遍放緩。

Vehicle controls adjusted EBITDA was 11.8% of net sales for both the quarter and full year with both periods down from last year.

車輛控制調整後的 EBITDA 佔本季和全年淨銷售額的 11.8%，兩期間均低於去年。

Looking at the drivers of EBITDA for the quarter, the gross margin rate for vehicle control in Q4 was down primarily due to lower sales volumes.

從本季EBITDA的驅動因素來看，第四季車輛控制毛利率下降主要是因為銷售量下降。

Further, SG&A expenses and vehicle control increased in the quarter from a use of about $1 million of additional expense related to the startup of a new distribution center.

此外，由於與啟動新配送中心相關的約 100 萬美元額外費用，本季的 SG&A 費用和車輛控制費用有所增加。

And that, coupled with lost leverage due to lower sales, resulted in lower adjusted EBITDA.

再加上銷售額下降導致槓桿率下降，導致調整後 EBITDA 下降。

Looking at vehicle control EBITDA for the full year, the EBITDA margin rate decreased one point while the gross margin rate benefited from pricing and savings initiatives, this was more than offset by a combination of higher factoring costs and higher SG&A as a percentage of sales for the full year, SG&A included about $2 million of additional expense for our new warehouse.

從全年車輛控制 EBITDA 來看，EBITDA 利潤率下降了一個百分點，而毛利率則受益於定價和節約舉措，這被更高的保理成本和更高的 SG&A 佔銷售額的百分比所抵消。全年，SG&A 包括我們新倉庫約200 萬美元的額外費用。

While vehicle controls adjusted EBITDA is down year over year, I would point out that we've made a lot of progress offsetting the headwinds we faced recently as our gross margin improvements offset the rising cost of factoring programs for the full year.

雖然車輛控制調整後的EBITDA 逐年下降，但我要指出的是，我們已經取得了很大進展，抵消了最近面臨的不利因素，因為我們的毛利率改善抵消了全年保理計劃成本上升的影響。

Turning to temperature control, net sales in the quarter for that segment of $44.6 million were down 19%, and sales for the full year were down by 3.8%.

至於溫度控制，該部門本季的淨銷售額為 4,460 萬美元，下降了 19%，全年銷售額下降了 3.8%。

As we saw a very soft fourth quarter after quarter after the primary selling season ended temperature controls.

在主要銷售季節結束溫度控制後，我們看到第四季的情況非常疲軟。

Adjusted EBITDA in Q4 was lower than last year and was driven primarily by lower sales volumes, which led to lower leverage of operating expenses in the quarter.

第四季調整後 EBITDA 低於去年，主要是因為銷售量下降，導致該季度營運費用槓桿率降低。

Temp controlled adjusted EBITDA for the full year of 6.7% of net sales was down from last year, primarily as a result of lower sales volume, which put pressure on the gross margin rate and lead to loss of leverage on operating expenses.

全年經臨時控制的調整後 EBITDA 佔淨銷售額的 6.7%，較去年有所下降，主要是由於銷量下降，這給毛利率帶來壓力，並導致營運費用槓桿損失。

But it was also due to the higher cost of customer factoring programs during the year.

但這也是由於今年客戶保理計畫的成本較高。

Sales for our Engineered Solutions segment in the quarter were up 6.7% and sales for the full year, there were up 4.7% as we were pleased to see our sales continue to increase as a result of strong demand and new business wins with both existing and new customers.

我們的工程解決方案部門本季的銷售額增長了6.7%，全年銷售額增長了4.7%，因為我們很高興看到由於強勁的需求以及現有和現有業務的新業務贏得，我們的銷售金額持續成長。新客戶。

Adjusted EBITDA for engineered solutions in the quarter was down from last year as the change in mix of sales during the quarter resulted in lower gross margin for the segment as a reminder, this segment has a widely diversified portfolio of products and customers, and therefore, the gross margin rate can vary quarter to quarter.

本季工程解決方案的調整後EBITDA 較去年有所下降，因為本季銷售組合的變化導致該細分市場的毛利率較低，提醒您，該細分市場擁有廣泛多元化的產品和客戶組合，因此，毛利率可能因季度而異。

While the fourth quarter was down our Q. three rate was up significantly.

雖然第四季有所下降，但我們的第三季成長率卻顯著上升。

So it's important to look at the full year margin rate for the segment.

因此，了解該細分市場的全年利潤率非常重要。

For the full year, adjusted EBITDA for Engineered Solutions was 11.5% and up 0.2 points from last year.

全年工程解決方案調整後 EBITDA 為 11.5%，比去年增加 0.2 個百分點。

The improvement for the year was the result of strong sales growth and a slightly improved gross margin rate.

今年的改善是由於銷售強勁成長和毛利率略有提高。

Turning to our consolidated results.

轉向我們的綜合業績。

Net sales in the quarter were down 5.7% due to lower sales in the energy market.

由於能源市場銷售額下降，本季淨銷售額下降 5.7%。

For the full year, sales were down 1% as lower aftermarket sales were only partly offset by the growth in Engineered Solutions.

全年銷售額下降 1%，因為售後市場銷售額的下降僅被工程解決方案的成長部分抵消。

Consolidated gross margin rate declined for the quarter from the lower sales.

由於銷售額下降，本季綜合毛利率有所下降。

However, our gross margin rate for the full year finished up 0.7 points as our pricing and savings initiatives overcame lower volumes and other headwinds we face.

然而，由於我們的定價和節省措施克服了銷售下降和我們面臨的其他不利因素，我們全年的毛利率最終上升了 0.7 個百分點。

Regarding SG&A expenses were up in Q4 due to costs related to our new DC and some timing between quarters.

由於與我們的新 DC 相關的成本以及季度之間的一些時間安排，第四季度的 SG&A 費用有所增加。

But overall, the well-controlled SG&A costs for the full year were up mainly due to distribution center startup costs and some inflation and overall costs and were higher as a percentage of net sales due to lower sales volumes.

但總體而言，全年控制良好的銷售、管理及行政費用有所上升，主要是由於配送中心啟動成本以及一定程度的通貨膨脹和總體成本，並且由於銷量下降，佔淨銷售額的百分比較高。

Cost of customer factoring programs increased by $14 million in 2023, but you can see the cost leveled out in the fourth quarter, and we're hopeful rates will begin to come down later this year.

2023 年，客戶保理計畫的成本增加了 1,400 萬美元，但您可以看到成本在第四季度趨於平穩，我們希望費率將在今年稍後開始下降。

Looking at the bottom line, consolidated operating income and adjusted EBITDA in the quarter were lower than last year as lower sales and higher factoring costs led to lower profit.

從利潤來看，本季的綜合營業收入和調整後 EBITDA 低於去年，因為銷售額下降和保理成本上升導致利潤下降。

For the full year, consolidated operating income and adjusted EBITDA were down as higher factoring costs and lower sales volumes were only partly offset by improvements in our gross margin.

全年綜合營業收入和調整後 EBITDA 均下降，因為保理成本上升和銷售下降僅部分被毛利率的改善所抵消。

Turning now to the balance sheet and cash flows, the key item here is our inventory level, which finished the year at $507.1 million, down $21.6 million from December last year.

現在轉向資產負債表和現金流，這裡的關鍵項目是我們的庫存水平，今年年底庫存水準為 5.071 億美元，比去年 12 月減少了 2,160 萬美元。

Our cash flow statement reflects cash generated from operations for the year of $144.3 million as compared to cash used of $27.5 million last year.

我們的現金流量表反映了本年度營運產生的現金為 1.443 億美元，而去年使用的現金為 2,750 萬美元。

With the improvement driven by a $97 million improvement in cash flow from inventory and a $68.2 million improvement in cash used for accounts payable as operations normalize during the year financing activity shows significant progress made in paying down our credit facilities by $83.6 million.

隨著年內業務正常化，庫存現金流改善了 9,700 萬美元，應付帳款現金改善了 6,820 萬美元，融資活動表明我們在償還信貸額度方面取得了重大進展，減少了 8,360 萬美元。

As a result of our improved operating cash flows.

由於我們改善了經營現金流。

We also paid $25.2 million of dividends during the year.

我們在這一年還支付了 2520 萬美元的股息。

Our borrowings of $156.2 million at the end of Q4 were much lower than last year, and we finished the quarter with a leverage ratio of one times EBITDA, 33% lower than last year's ratio.

在第四季末，我們的借款為 1.562 億美元，遠低於去年，本季結束時，我們的槓桿率為 EBITDA 的一倍，比去年的槓桿率低 33%。

Before I finish, I want to give an update on our sales and profit expectations for the full year of 2024.

在結束之前，我想介紹一下我們 2024 年全年銷售和利潤預期的最新情況。

Regarding our top line sales, we expect full year 2024 sales will show flat to low-single digit percentage growth as noted in our release this morning, adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of 9% to 9.5% and essentially flat with 2023.

關於我們的營收，我們預計2024 年全年銷售額將呈現持平至低個位數百分比成長，正如我們今天早上發布的消息中指出的那樣，調整後的EBITDA 預計將在9% 至9.5% 之間，與2023 年基本持平。

This estimate includes an operating profit rate flat with 2023 as savings and pricing initiatives offset inflation factoring expenses of $45 million to $48 million, largely flat with 2023 as we remain in a highly uncertain interest rate environment and some additional costs related to the expansion of distribution capabilities in a new warehouse in Shawnee, Kansas, as Jim highlighted before, I would also note that we saw the US dollar weaken against key currencies in 2023, and it has remained at those lower levels to start 2024 in connection with our adjusted EBITDA outlook, we expect our interest expense on outstanding debt to be on average about $3 million to 4 million each quarter, given flat interest rates and we expect our income tax rate to be 25%.

這項估計包括與2023 年持平的營業利潤率，因為儲蓄和定價舉措抵消了4,500 萬至4,800 萬美元的通膨保理費用，與2023 年基本持平，因為我們仍然處於高度不確定的利率環境中，以及與擴大分銷相關的一些額外成本正如吉姆之前強調的，堪薩斯州肖尼的新倉庫的能力，我還想指出的是，我們看到美元兌主要貨幣在2023 年走弱，並且根據我們調整後的EBITDA 前景，從2024 年開始，美元兌主要貨幣一直保持在較低水平，考慮到固定利率，我們預計每個季度未償還債務的利息支出平均約為300 萬至400 萬美元，並且我們預計所得稅稅率為25%。

Borrowings are expected to remain flat by December 2024.

預計到 2024 年 12 月借款將維持不變。

As cash flows normalize, we look to invest approximately $25 million in our new DC and return cash to shareholders via dividends.

隨著現金流正常化，我們計劃向新 DC 投資約 2,500 萬美元，並透過股息向股東返還現金。

To wrap up our outlook, let me make two notes regarding the cadence of these items across the year.

為了總結我們的展望，讓我就這些專案在一年中的節奏做兩點說明。

First, regarding the cadence of earnings across the four quarters in 2024, we expect Q1 will be impacted by headwinds from several things, including the higher costs related to the startup of the new DC and slightly higher year-over-year cost from customer factoring programs as we finally lap rate increases.

首先，關於 2024 年四個季度的盈利節奏，我們預計第一季將受到多方面不利因素的影響，包括與新 DC 啟動相關的成本上升以及客戶保理的同比成本略高計劃隨著我們最終圈速的增加而增加。

Second, keep in mind, our operating expenses are incurred ratably across the year and do not vary with top line sales, and we anticipate total operating expenses, including factoring costs, will be approximately $78 million to $80 million each quarter in 2024.

其次，請記住，我們的營運費用在全年中按比例產生，並且不隨營收變化而變化，我們預計2024 年每季的總營運費用（包括保理成本）約為7,800 萬至8,000 萬美元。

To wrap up while the year ended slower than we hoped, we were very pleased with our efforts to improve our gross margin rates across all segments as well as turning significant improvements in cash flow.

總而言之，雖然這一年結束的速度比我們希望的要慢，但我們對提高所有部門的毛利率以及現金流顯著改善的努力感到非常滿意。

We are very much appreciative of the efforts of all our team members to and meeting these objectives.

我們非常感謝所有團隊成員為實現這些目標所做的努力。

Thank you for your attention, and I'll now turn the call back to Eric for some final comments.

感謝您的關注，我現在將把電話轉回給埃里克，徵求一些最後的意見。

Well, thank you, Nathan.

嗯，謝謝你，內森。

And I'm closing.

我要結束了。

As you've heard, 2023 was a year of ups and downs.

如你所知，2023 年是風風雨雨的一年。

And while the numbers reflect some of the challenges faced in terms of cost pressures and temporary market dynamics.

儘管這些數字反映了成本壓力和臨時市場動態方面面臨的一些挑戰。

We have a lot to be proud of and to be excited about.

我們有很多值得自豪和興奮的事情。

We remain extremely bullish on both of our end markets.

我們仍然非常看好我們的兩個終端市場。

The aftermarket has a long history of resilience.

售後市場有著悠久的彈性歷史。

There can always be some short term highs and lows.

總是會有一些短期的高點和低點。

And while 2023 was a disappointing year on balance it is an extremely stable industry and tends to outperform during difficult economic times, especially in nondiscretionary categories like ours.

雖然總體而言 2023 年是令人失望的一年，但它是一個極其穩定的行業，並且在經濟困難時期往往會表現出色，尤其是在像我們這樣的非全權委託類別中。

Our position within the aftermarket also remains strong.

我們在售後市場的地位也依然穩固。

We have excellent relationships with our trading partners who continue to recognize us as a leading supplier through the numerous awards that we win.

我們與貿易夥伴有著良好的關係，他們透過我們贏得的許多獎項繼續認可我們作為領先供應商的地位。

We continue to be very excited about our Engineered Solutions business quite different from the aftermarket where we enjoy much where we enjoy strong market share here, we are not so much rising on the dynamics of the market itself as we are on getting known as a strong supplier with diverse capabilities and winning new business.

我們仍然對我們的工程解決方案業務感到非常興奮，這與售後市場截然不同，我們在這裡享有強大的市場份額，我們並沒有因為市場本身的動態而上升，而是因為我們被認為是一個強大的公司。具有多樣化能力並贏得新業務的供應商。

Here, I believe we have tremendous potential.

在這裡，我相信我們擁有巨大的潛力。

There are multiple end markets from commercial vehicle to construction and agricultural equipment and sports.

從商用車到建築、農業設備和體育運動，存在著多個終端市場。

And furthermore, the opportunities are global and we're able to take advantage of customer adjacencies with operations in North America, Europe and Asia.

此外，機會是全球性的，我們能夠利用在北美、歐洲和亞洲開展業務的客戶關係。

We do recognize we have work to do on profitability and continue to pursue cost reduction initiatives throughout our organization as well as pricing actions and look forward to progress moving forward.

我們確實認識到，我們在盈利能力方面還有很多工作要做，並將繼續在整個組織內推行降低成本的舉措以及定價行動，並期待未來取得進展。

So while 2023 had its challenges.

因此，儘管 2023 年也面臨挑戰。

We are very excited about the future.

我們對未來感到非常興奮。

So that concludes our prepared remarks.

我們準備好的發言就到此結束。

And at this point, we'll turn it back to the moderator and open it up for questions.

此時，我們會將其轉回給主持人並開放提問。

Thank you, Mr. Sills.

謝謝你，希爾斯先生。

Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, if you do have any questions, please press the star one on your telephone keypad.

女士們、先生們，此時，如果您有任何疑問，請按下電話鍵盤上的星號。

You may remove yourself from the queue at any time by pressing star two.

您可以隨時按二號星將自己從佇列中刪除。

Once again, that is star-one to ask a question and we will pause for just one moment to allow questions.

再說一次，這是提問的首要條件，我們將暫停一會兒以允許提問。

We'll go first today to Daniel Imbro, Stephens.

今天我們首先請見丹尼爾·因布羅（Daniel Imbro），史蒂芬斯（Stephens）。

Hey, guys, this is Joe Enderlin on for Daniel.

嘿，夥計們，我是丹尼爾的喬恩德林。

Thanks for taking the question.

感謝您提出問題。

Good morning.

早安.

When I'm looking at Morning guys, looking to vehicle control point of sales activity slowed through the quarter and you noted some volatility in customer ordering patterns.

當我關注早間人員時，我們發現整個季度的車輛控制點銷售活動有所放緩，並且您注意到客戶訂購模式出現了一些波動。

Is it safe to say you're seeing customers destocking?

可以肯定地說您看到客戶正在減少庫存嗎？

And if so, how long do you expect this will continue.

如果是這樣，您預計這種情況會持續多久。

Yeah.

是的。

Thank you for the question.

感謝你的提問。

And really, no, it's not a it's not a matter of destocking.

事實上，不，這不是去庫存的問題。

And as we look at at their inventories, they've they've been basically flat over the course of the fourth quarter.

當我們查看他們的庫存時，他們在第四季度基本上持平。

So really it had more to do with just a softening in the marketplace of their end demand.

所以實際上這更與市場最終需求的疲軟有關。

And I think that you're kind of hearing that for the big publicly traded distributors on their earnings calls that as the quarter progressed, things softened out there.

我認為您會在大型上市經銷商的財報電話會議上聽到，隨著本季的進展，情況有所緩和。

As I did mention in my prepared remarks, we are encouraged to see that more recently, we've seen a bit of a rebound in outs.

正如我在準備好的發言中提到的那樣，我們很高興看到最近我們看到出局有所反彈。

Don't want to judge things week-to-week, but we do we're encouraged by what we've seen more recently.

不想每週都評判事情，但我們確實對最近所看到的情況感到鼓舞。

Got it.

知道了。

As a follow-up, I guess for that rebound, was there any particular parts or categories you're seeing customers defer orders?

作為後續行動，我想對於這次反彈，您是否看到客戶推遲了訂單的任何特定零件或類別？

It was really across the board.

這確實是全面的。

You have to recognize that we are in such so many diverse categories within vehicle control, hundreds of different categories that we really don't track individual ones to that extent.

你必須認識到，我們在車輛控制中處於如此多不同的類別，數百個不同的類別，我們實際上並沒有在某種程度上追蹤單一類別。

Got it.

知道了。

If I could ask one more looking to the guidance for 2024 EBITDA margin relatively flat with 23 and maybe talk about your conviction in returning to a double digit margin, or can you maybe bucket out why this is more of the long term indication for EBITDA margin?

如果我可以再詢問一下2024 年EBITDA 利潤率的指引，該利潤率相對持平，為23，也許可以談談您對恢復兩位數利潤率的信念，或者您能否闡明為什麼這更多地是EBITDA利潤率的長期指標？

Yes.

是的。

Yes.

是的。

So we did guide flat, as you noted, and a couple of things to keep in mind one, Jim talked about the new DC that we're putting in and there will be some higher costs related to that in 2024.

因此，正如您所指出的，我們確實進行了扁平化指導，還有一些需要記住的事情，吉姆談到了我們正在投入的新 DC，到 2024 年，與此相關的成本將會更高。

We also have factoring costs that remain elevated.

我們的保理成本也仍然很高。

And so while we're certainly working on pricing and savings initiatives that continue year in and year out [22], 2024 will be flat.

因此，雖然我們確實致力於年復一年持續的定價和節約措施 [22]，但 2024 年將持平。

And we would expect as we always talk about in the long term to improve the bottom line incrementally each year, sometimes to 10, 20 basis points, maybe a little bit more depending on what's going on.

我們預計，正如我們一直在長期談論的那樣，每年都會逐步提高利潤，有時會提高到 10、20 個基點，也許會多一點，具體取決於發生的情況。

So we would expect that improve long term, but 24 flat.

因此，我們預計長期來看會有所改善，但 24 日持平。

Got it.

知道了。

That's very helpful.

這非常有幫助。

Thank you, guys.

感謝你們。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

We'll go next now to Bret Jordan of Jefferies.

接下來我們請傑弗里斯的布雷特喬丹 (Bret Jordan) 發言。

Hey, good morning guys.

嘿，早上好，夥計們。

Good morning Bret.

早安，布雷特。

Good morning.

早安.

Could you talk a little bit about sort of the price contribution to growth in 23 and maybe what you're expecting for 24, are you getting any price relief for your factoring expense, I guess specifically?

您能否談談價格對 23 年成長的貢獻，也許您對 24 年的預期是什麼，我想具體來說，您的保理費用是否得到任何價格減免？

Yes.

是的。

So we were able to push through some pricing in 2023 and so on.

因此，我們能夠在 2023 年等方面推動一些定價。

So yes, some of the growth that we did see it was that more so than units, if that's where you're heading with it.

所以，是的，我們確實看到的一些增長比單位的增長還要多，如果這是你的發展方向的話。

And as we head into 2024, nothing specific to report, we are continuing to look for pricing opportunities.

當我們進入 2024 年時，沒有任何具體的報告，我們正在繼續尋找定價機會。

It is a competitive market out there.

這是一個競爭激烈的市場。

And so we do have to work closely with the accounts to get everybody to understand what's happening to the cost structure, but we are continuing to work on it.

因此，我們確實必須與客戶密切合作，讓每個人都了解成本結構的變化，但我們正在繼續努力。

Okay.

好的。

And I guess you talked about the auto plus bankruptcy last year, but is that is the is that channel or those who picked up their market share underperforming in your mix?

我想你去年談到了汽車加破產，但這就是那個管道還是那些在你的組合中獲得了表現不佳的市場份額的人？

It was that the issue you face on a year-over-year basis or just?

這是您逐年面臨的問題還是僅僅如此？

Yes, I guess that's the question.

是的，我想這就是問題所在。

Yes, I think I package it differently differently than that, Brett.

是的，我想我的包裝方式與那不同，布雷特。

It's not that they're underperforming.

這並不是說他們表現不佳。

But when you have a large distributor that goes out, it's going to take awhile for for the channel to absorb that inventory.

但當你有一個大型經銷商出去時，通路需要一段時間才能吸收庫存。

There's been a lot of store closures.

已經有很多商店關門了。

There's been a lot of duplicate locations that are being worked through.

有很多重複的地點正在處理中。

And so I spent the first six months of 2023 at basically zero revenue position as they are unwinding the bankruptcy.

因此，在 2023 年的前六個月，我的收入基本上是零，因為他們正在解除破產。

And that was a big hurt in the first half.

這在上半場是一個很大的傷害。

The second half, once it went to its new owners wasn't like flipping a light switch and it went back to normal.

下半場，一旦它回到了新主人手中，就像按下電燈開關一樣，一切又恢復正常了。

There was a lot of consumption that needed to happen and we see that continuing.

需要進行大量的消費，而且我們看到這種情況仍在繼續。

It's really hard to track it because now it does just kind of get lost in the mix.

追蹤它真的很難，因為現在它確實在混合中迷失了。

But no, it has not fully recovered and we could see that really taking a while for it to shake out when you have a book of business and add as many locations as that that need to get absorbed.

但不，它還沒有完全恢復，我們可以看到，當你有一本業務手冊並添加需要吸收的盡可能多的地點時，它確實需要一段時間才能擺脫困境。

Do you see any sort of spread between the and I guess the health of the WD. market in general versus other larger players?

你是否看到 WD 的健康狀況之間有任何形式的傳播？與其他較大的參與者相比，整個市場的情況如何？

I mean other other other potential issues out there as far as distribution are, are customer changes?

我的意思是，就分銷而言，還有其他潛在問題，客戶是否發生變化？

Yes.

是的。

We believe that if I understand your question, you have a lot of different accounts out there from the large national retailers to the more regional warehouse distributors.

我們相信，如果我理解你的問題，你就有很多不同的帳戶，從大型全國零售商到更多的區域倉庫經銷商。

Many of them are still very healthy, well-capitalized investing in the business, and they're going to do very well.

他們中的許多人仍然非常健康，資本充足，對業務進行投資，而且他們會做得很好。

Will there continue to be ongoing consolidation in that space.

該領域是否會持續持續整合？

I think that's a natural progression in a mature market.

我認為這是成熟市場的自然發展。

We've seen that over the last several years, whether they're acquiring each other or being acquired by the big guys.

在過去的幾年裡，我們已經看到了這一點，無論他們是互相收購還是被大公司收購。

And I guess the good news for us is that we do tend to do business with all of them.

我想對我們來說好消息是我們確實傾向於與他們所有人做生意。

So as those consolidations happen, we tend to fare.

因此，當這些整合發生時，我們往往會受益。

Okay.

好的。

And then I guess the last question, a large national retailer and Engine Management that went private label.

然後我猜最後一個問題是，一家大型全國零售商和引擎管理公司成為自有品牌。

Have you seen volume any volume return there, or are they still primarily privately label?

您是否看到任何卷返回那裡，或者它們仍然主要是自有品牌？

We believe that they are still largely private label arm and we watch them and what their strategy is in the marketplace.

我們相信他們在很大程度上仍然是自有品牌，我們會關注他們以及他們在市場上的策略。

And I guess that's all I have to say about that.

我想這就是我要說的全部。

Did that give you that number share gain as a result of that shift for you?

您的這種轉變是否為您帶來了一定的份額收益？

I believe that there was a few years ago when that when that when it first happened, and we really went arm-in-arm with our other trading partners to go after that share at the installer level, we're quite confident that we did pick up a lot of it because these were these were installers that we're looking for our brands and they were available in the market.

我相信幾年前，當這種情況第一次發生時，我們確實與其他貿易夥伴攜手追求安裝商層面的份額，我們非常有信心我們做到了撿了很多，因為這些是我們正在尋找我們品牌的安裝程序，並且它們在市場上有售。

We just need to point them to that.

我們只需要向他們指出這一點。

So I do believe there was a pretty substantial market share shift at that time and a share shift that we've been able to retain or that our customers have been able to retain.

因此，我確實相信當時市場份額發生了相當大的變化，並且我們能夠保留或我們的客戶能夠保留這種份額變化。

Great thank you.

太好了謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

And ladies and gentlemen, just a reminder, star one, please for any further question today And gentlemen, it appears we have no further questions today.

女士們先生們，只是提醒一下，明星一號，請回答今天的任何進一步問題。 先生們，看來我們今天沒有其他問題了。

I'd like to turn the conference back to you, Mr. Cristello for any closing comments.

克里斯泰洛先生，我想將會議轉回給您，請您發表結束意見。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

We want to thank everyone for participating in our conference call today.

我們要感謝大家今天參加我們的電話會議。

We will be happy to answer any follow-up questions you may have.

我們很樂意回答您可能提出的任何後續問題。

Our contact information is available on our press release or Investor Relations website.

我們的聯絡資訊可在我們的新聞稿或投資者關係網站上找到。

I hope you have a great day.

希望你有美好的一天;希望你今天過得很開心。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Again, ladies and gentlemen, that will conclude these Standard Motor Products Fourth Quarter 2023 earnings conference call.

女士們先生們，標準汽車產品公司 2023 年第四季財報電話會議到此結束。

We'd like to thank you all so much for joining us and wish you all a great day.

我們非常感謝大家加入我們，並祝大家有個愉快的一天。

Good bye.

再見。