Sono-Tek Corp (SOTK) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Sono-Tek Fiscal Year-End 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please also note that this event is being recorded today.

早上好，歡迎參加 Sono-Tek 2023 財年終收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）另請注意，今天正在錄製此事件。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Stephanie Prince of PCG Advisory. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議轉交給 PCG Advisory 的斯蒂芬妮·普林斯 (Stephanie Prince)。請繼續。

Thank you, Joe, and thank you to everyone joining us today. Sono-Tek released their fourth quarter and year-end fiscal 2023 results earlier this morning. If you don't have a copy of the release, please go to the company's website at sono-tek.com and click on the Press Release News tab in the Investors section. The product market and geography sales tables on the last page of the release will be part of today's discussion.

謝謝你，喬，也感謝今天加入我們的所有人。 Sono-Tek 今天早些時候發布了 2023 財年第四季度和年終業績。如果您沒有新聞稿副本，請訪問該公司網站 sono-tek.com，然後單擊“投資者”部分中的“新聞稿新聞”選項卡。新聞稿最後一頁的產品市場和地理銷售表將成為今天討論的一部分。

With me on the call today are Dr. Chris Coccio, Sono-Tek's Chairman and CEO; Steve Harshbarger, President and COO; and Steve Bagley, Chief Financial Officer.

今天與我一起參加電話會議的是 Sono-Tek 董事長兼首席執行官 Chris Coccio 博士； Steve Harshbarger，總裁兼首席運營官；和首席財務官史蒂夫·巴格利。

Before turning the call over to management, I would like to make the following remarks concerning forward-looking statements. Please note that various remarks that may be made on this conference call about future expectations, plans and prospects of the company constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may vary materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those discussed in the company's filings with the SEC. The company assumes no obligation to update the information contained in this conference call.

在將電話轉交給管理層之前，我想就前瞻性陳述發表以下評論。請注意，本次電話會議上可能發表的有關公司未來預期、計劃和前景的各種言論構成前瞻性陳述，以符合《1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法案》中的安全港條款。實際結果可能存在重大差異由於各種重要因素（包括該公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中討論的因素），這些前瞻性陳述所表明的情況有所不同。該公司不承擔更新本次電話會議中包含的信息的義務。

I would now like to turn the call over to Chris Coccio, Chairman and CEO, Sono-Tek. Chris?

我現在想將電話轉給 Sono-Tek 董事長兼首席執行官 Chris Coccio。克里斯？

Good morning, and thank you, Stephanie, and thank you for everyone for joining us. Today, we're going to discuss our fourth quarter and year-end fiscal 2023 results that were released this morning before the market opened. I will begin with some opening remarks, and then Steve Bagley, our Chief Financial Officer, will provide a financial review. Steve Harshbarger, President and COO, will then go through the business and operational results. Following his comments, we'll be happy to open the call for your questions.

早上好，謝謝你，斯蒂芬妮，也謝謝大家加入我們。今天，我們將討論今天上午開市前發布的 2023 財年第四季度和年底業績。我將首先發表一些開場白，然後我們的首席財務官 Steve Bagley 將進行財務審查。隨後，總裁兼首席運營官 Steve Harshbarger 將回顧業務和運營業績。根據他的評論，我們很樂意開啟電話詢問您的問題。

As a reminder, Sono-Tek currently holds 2 earnings calls per fiscal year. This is our fiscal year end call, which ended on February 28, 2023. Our next earnings call for the first half of fiscal year 2024 will be in October of 2023.

提醒一下，Sono-Tek 目前每個財年舉行 2 次財報電話會議。這是我們的財年終了電話會議，於 2023 年 2 月 28 日結束。我們的下一次 2024 財年上半年財報電話會議將於 2023 年 10 月舉行。

Now briefly for those who are new to us, Sono-Tek developed a revolutionary method of applying precision thin film coatings several decades ago. The proprietary technology involves the use of patented high-frequency ultrasonic nozzles incorporated into motion control systems that are able to achieve uniform micron-thick coatings for our customers. Our solutions offer dramatic savings in raw material, water and energy usage and is environmentally friendly among other advantages. The principal advantage is the ability to apply precision thin films, which is very important in today's world.

現在向我們新手簡單介紹一下，Sono-Tek 幾十年前開發了一種革命性的精密薄膜塗層應用方法。專有技術涉及使用集成到運動控制系統中的專利高頻超聲波噴嘴，能夠為我們的客戶實現均勻的微米厚塗層。我們的解決方案可顯著節省原材料、水和能源的使用，並且具有環保等優勢。主要優點是能夠應用精密薄膜，這在當今世界非常重要。

The strategic shift that we made several years ago to offer more complex complete solutions versus component sales has broadened our addressable market and has resulted in significant growth in our average unit selling prices. Our larger machines now commonly sell for over $300,000 and systems prices can reach $1 million, which can meaningfully impact quarterly revenue. Most recently, we remain focused on opening new markets for our technology. This includes 3 main areas with very strong global growth: microelectronics and semiconductors, clean energy including fuel cells and carbon capture and medical devices. All 3 of these sectors are experiencing strong demand from long-term societal needs, and they all benefit from Sono-Tek's unique thin film coating technology and systems.

我們幾年前做出的戰略轉變是提供更複雜的完整解決方案而不是組件銷售，這擴大了我們的潛在市場，並導致我們的平均單位售價顯著增長。我們的大型機器現在通常售價超過 30 萬美元，系統價格可達 100 萬美元，這會對季度收入產生重大影響。最近，我們仍然專注於為我們的技術開闢新市場。這包括全球增長非常強勁的三個主要領域：微電子和半導體、包括燃料電池和碳捕獲在內的清潔能源以及醫療設備。所有這三個領域都面臨著長期社會需求的強勁需求，它們都受益於 Sono-Tek 獨特的薄膜塗層技術和系統。

Now as our capabilities continue to advance, more and more of the over $8 billion global coating market opens to our advanced solutions. Our investments in these areas have begun to pay off with the receipt of our $1 million dollar order in August. The order valued at $1.1 million was also the first from the clean energy sector and also one of the largest in Sono-Tek's corporate history at the time, all important milestones. Since then, we received another $1.1 million order from the same customer as well as 2 other initial orders that are expected to total several million dollars each when the respective production lines are complete.

現在，隨著我們能力的不斷提高，價值超過 80 億美元的全球塗料市場中越來越多的市場向我們的先進解決方案開放。隨著 8 月份收到 100 萬美元的訂單，我們在這些領域的投資已開始得到回報。該訂單價值 110 萬美元，也是清潔能源領域的第一個訂單，也是 Sono-Tek 公司歷史上最大的訂單之一，都是重要的里程碑。此後，我們又收到了來自同一客戶的 110 萬美元訂單，以及另外 2 個初始訂單，預計當各自的生產線完工後，每個訂單的總額將達到數百萬美元。

Revenue for the fiscal year declined by 12% to $15.1 million. Unlike many high-tech equipment manufacturers, we encountered a fair number of supply chain issues that impacted our growth. As a result, and in an effort to avoid this issue again, we've aggressively taken several actions. First, we resolved a large chunk of the supply chain issues by significantly increasing inventory levels and creating very early reorder points even with simple items that we would never expect to have problems with availability. Some of this is reflected in the $870,000 year-over-year increase in inventory that we just reported.

本財年收入下降 12% 至 1510 萬美元。與許多高科技設備製造商不同，我們遇到了大量影響我們增長的供應鏈問題。因此，為了避免再次出現此問題，我們積極採取了多項行動。首先，我們通過顯著提高庫存水平並創建非常早期的再訂購點，解決了大部分供應鏈問題，即使是我們永遠不會想到會出現可用性問題的簡單商品。我們剛剛報告的庫存同比增長 870,000 美元反映了其中的一部分。

After implementing this inventory change, we next isolated the remaining key supply chain issue, which we are addressing by increasing our in-house capabilities to make similar products for our own needs. We actually started this process prior to COVID, and today, we internally produce about 25% of the components that we need in that area. By year-end, we hope to produce about 40% with a long-term goal to manufacture about 60% of the components that we need in-house. We hope that these actions will mitigate any future supply chain issues that may arise.

實施此庫存變更後，我們接下來隔離了剩餘的關鍵供應鏈問題，我們正在通過提高內部能力來解決這個問題，以根據我們自己的需求生產類似產品。實際上，我們在新冠疫情爆發之前就開始了這一流程，如今，我們在該領域所需的組件中約有 25% 是在內部生產的。到年底，我們希望生產約 40% 的零部件，長期目標是在內部生產約 60% 的零部件。我們希望這些行動能夠緩解未來可能出現的任何供應鏈問題。

The delay in receiving critical components we need can be seen in our backlog, which increased 60% during the year end and totaled $8.5 million at fiscal year-end. This is where you can see that several of our largest orders have been held up. We expect this bubble of shipments to work their way through to delivery in fiscal year 2024, beginning in our second fiscal quarter that starts on June 1st. However, due to supply chain delays that lingered into the first quarter of fiscal 2024, which is ending next week on May 31st, Q1 net sales are expected to be slightly below net sales of $3.7 million in Q4 fiscal 2023.

從我們的積壓訂單中可以看出我們需要的關鍵組件的延遲接收，積壓訂單在年底增加了 60%，在財年末總計達到 850 萬美元。在這裡您可以看到我們的幾個最大的訂單已被擱置。我們預計這種出貨泡沫將在 2024 財年實現交付，從 6 月 1 日開始的第二財季開始。然而，由於供應鏈延遲一直持續到將於下週 5 月 31 日結束的 2024 財年第一季度，預計第一季度淨銷售額將略低於 2023 財年第四季度 370 萬美元的淨銷售額。

However, expectations for our net sales for both the first half and 12 months of fiscal 2024 is to show positive year-over-year growth as any remaining supply chain issues ease.

然而，隨著任何剩餘供應鏈問題的緩解，我們對 2024 財年上半年和 12 個月的淨銷售額的預期將顯示同比正增長。

Before I turn the call over to Steve Bagley, our Chief Financial Officer, I want to mention that Steve Harshbarger and I will be presenting at the LD Micro Conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 7, at 11 a.m. Pacific Time or 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It's our first time attending and we look forward to meeting some of you there.

在將電話轉給我們的首席財務官 Steve Bagley 之前，我想提一下 Steve Harshbarger 和我將於太平洋時間 6 月 7 日星期三上午 11 點或 2:00 在洛杉磯舉行的 LD Micro 會議上發表演講下午東部時間。這是我們第一次參加，我們期待在那裡見到你們中的一些人。

Now Steve Bagley will provide additional details on our financial results. Steve?

現在，史蒂夫·巴格利將提供有關我們財務業績的更多詳細信息。史蒂夫？

Thank you, Chris, and good morning, everyone. For fiscal 2023 total sales decreased 12% to $15.1 million, and this was due to delayed shipments resulting from supply chain challenges. And Steve Harshbarger will go more into detail concerning this. During the year, approximately 55% of sales originated outside of the United States and Canada compared with 68% in fiscal 2022. Our gross profit decreased 11% to $7.7 million when compared with fiscal 2022. The gross profit margin was 51% compared with 50% in the prior year. The increase in the gross profit margin was due to less-than-anticipated warranty costs and a favorable product mix when compared to the prior year.

謝謝你，克里斯，大家早上好。 2023 財年總銷售額下降 12% 至 1,510 萬美元，這是由於供應鏈挑戰導致發貨延遲。史蒂夫·哈什巴格 (Steve Harshbarger) 將對此進行更詳細的介紹。年內，約 55% 的銷售額來自美國和加拿大境外，而 2022 財年為 68%。與 2022 財年相比，我們的毛利潤下降 11%，至 770 萬美元。毛利率為 51%，而 2022 財年為 50%。上一年的%。毛利率的增加是由於與上一年相比，保修成本低於預期以及有利的產品組合。

For fiscal 2023, our total operating expenses increased 4% to $7 million compared with $6.7 million in the prior year period. Our research and product development costs increased 24% to $2.1 million for the year, and that is primarily due to increased salaries and the higher cost of research and development materials and supplies, which are for use in the development of new products for new and existing markets. Marketing and selling expenses decreased 6% to $3.2 million for the year. The decline was primarily due to decreases in commissions, salaries and related costs, and these decreases were partially offset by increased travel and trade show expenses.

2023 財年，我們的總運營費用增加了 4%，達到 700 萬美元，而上年同期為 670 萬美元。我們的研究和產品開發成本今年增加了 24%，達到 210 萬美元，這主要是由於工資增加以及用於開發新產品和現有產品的研發材料和用品成本增加所致。市場。本年度營銷和銷售費用下降 6%，至 320 萬美元。下降的主要原因是佣金、工資和相關成本的下降，而這些下降被差旅和貿易展覽費用的增加部分抵消。

General and administrative expenses increased 2% to $1.7 million primarily due to an increase in stock-based compensation expense, which was partially offset by decreases in corporate expenses and bad debt expense. Operating income decreased to $683,000 for the year, primarily due to the decrease in gross profit, combined with the increases in operating expenses. Operating margin for the year was 5% compared with 11% in the prior year.

一般及管理費用增長 2%，達到 170 萬美元，主要是由於股票補償費用的增加，但部分被公司費用和壞賬費用的減少所抵消。本年度營業收入下降至 683,000 美元，主要是由於毛利潤下降以及營業費用增加。本年度營業利潤率為 5%，上年為 11%。

For fiscal 2023, net income was $636,000 or $0.04 per share compared with $2.5 million or $0.16 per share for the prior first fiscal year. The decrease in net income is due to the current period's decrease in operating income and income tax expense combined with the $1 million paycheck protection program loan forgiveness that was recorded in fiscal 2022.

2023 財年，淨利潤為 636,000 美元，即每股 0.04 美元，而上一財年的淨利潤為 250 萬美元，即每股 0.16 美元。淨利潤下降的原因是本期營業收入和所得稅費用減少，加上 2022 財年記錄的 100 萬美元薪資保護計劃貸款減免。

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding increased slightly to approximately 15.8 million shares. Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at February 28, 2023 were $11.4 million, an increase of approximately $700,000 when compared to February 28, 2022. At February 28, 2023, there continues to be no debt on our balance sheet. Capital expenditures for the year were approximately $600,000, all of which is directed to ongoing upgrades of our manufacturing and product development lab facilities.

稀釋加權平均流通股略有增加至約1580萬股。截至 2023 年 2 月 28 日，現金、現金等價物和有價證券為 1,140 萬美元，比 2022 年 2 月 28 日增加約 70 萬美元。截至 2023 年 2 月 28 日，我們的資產負債表上仍然沒有債務。本年度的資本支出約為 600,000 美元，全部用於持續升級我們的製造和產品開發實驗室設施。

And now I'll turn the call over to Steve Harshbarger, President and COO, for an operational review of the year. Steve?

現在我將把電話轉給總裁兼首席運營官 Steve Harshbarger，以進行今年的運營審查。史蒂夫？

Thanks, Steve, and good morning, everybody. Thanks for joining us today. I want to dive a bit deeper into our record high backlog and supply chain going into FY 2024. Let me first explain that Sono-Tek records full revenue recognition at the time of shipment. We only hold back some very small financial allocation for installation activities. So our revenue stream can look lumpy, in particular as we saw more and more of these $1 million-plus platforms.

謝謝史蒂夫，大家早上好。感謝您今天加入我們。我想更深入地了解 2024 財年我們創紀錄的高積壓訂單和供應鏈。首先讓我解釋一下，Sono-Tek 在發貨時記錄了全部收入確認。我們只保留一些非常小的財政撥款用於安裝活動。因此，我們的收入流可能看起來不穩定，特別是當我們看到越來越多的價值超過 100 萬美元的平台時。

Now turning to our results that I wanted to remind you that Sono-Tek breaks down our sales in 3 ways: by market, by product and by geography. And that's how I'm going to address my comments, and you can refer to the short tables on the last page of the earnings press release for all of these details. For FY 2023, total sales decreased by 12% compared to last year to $15.1 million. This decline was primarily due to delayed shipments that resulted from supply chain challenges, some of which Dr. Coccio talked about. All of these delayed orders rolled over into the new fiscal year that began on March 1st.

現在轉向我們的結果，我想提醒您，Sono-Tek 以 3 種方式細分我們的銷售額：按市場、按產品和按地理位置。這就是我將如何表達我的評論，您可以參考收益新聞稿最後一頁的簡短表格以了解所有這些詳細信息。 2023 財年，總銷售額較去年下降 12%，至 1,510 萬美元。這種下降主要是由於供應鏈挑戰導致發貨延遲，Coccio 博士談到了其中一些挑戰。所有這些延遲的訂單都延續到 3 月 1 日開始的新財年。

By product, revenue from multi-access coating systems declined 32% to $6.8 million due to the lingering supply chain issues that we've already mentioned. Fluxing sales increased 71% to $1.2 million. This is due to the continued adoption of our recently updated spray fluxing platform called the SonoFlux X2. We have several large PCB contract manufacturers that are upgrading their systems to this latest model machine. Sales in the other product category continued to grow and increased by 29% to $3.8 million during the year. And this was primarily increased sales of high-value spare parts packages that support our large platform multi-access coating machines that are already in the field. Importantly, we've begun to see that these follow-on sales of spare parts could reach that 10% to 20% of the total order value.

按產品劃分，由於我們已經提到的長期存在的供應鏈問題，多通道塗層系統的收入下降了 32% 至 680 萬美元。助焊劑銷售額增長 71%，達到 120 萬美元。這是由於我們最近更新的噴霧助焊劑平台 SonoFlux X2 的持續採用。我們有幾家大型 PCB 合同製造商正在將其係統升級到這款最新型號的機器。其他產品類別的銷售額繼續增長，年內增長了 29%，達到 380 萬美元。這主要是高價值備件包銷量的增加，這些備件包支持我們已經投入使用的大型平台多通道塗層機。重要的是，我們已經開始看到這些備件的後續銷售可能會達到訂單總額的 10% 到 20%。

By market, key this year of course is the impact of supply chain issues, which clearly can be seen in the revenue declines from these 3 markets. The alternative energy, electronics and medical market sales each decreased by 17%, 23% and 15%, respectively. This is because large portions of all of these markets use our multi-access coating systems, which have been particularly impacted by the delayed deliveries that resulted from these challenges. As I mentioned, all shipments have shifted into the current fiscal year and we have not received a single cancellation.

從市場來看，今年的關鍵當然是供應鏈問題的影響，這從這三個市場的收入下降中可以清楚地看出。可替代能源、電子產品和醫療市場銷售額分別下降了17%、23%和15%。這是因為所有這些市場的很大一部分都使用我們的多通道塗層系統，這些系統特別受到這些挑戰導致的交貨延遲的影響。正如我所提到的，所有發貨都已轉移到本財年，我們沒有收到任何取消訂單。

The industrial market grew by 131% due to the shipment of 71% of a large multisystem order in fiscal 2023. The remaining 20% -- 29% of that order is scheduled for shipment in the current fiscal quarter. The 62% decline in the emerging R&D and other category reflects the shift into other market basket sectors for new applications that have become successfully established.

由於 2023 財年大型多系統訂單的 71% 已發貨，工業市場增長了 131%。該訂單的其餘 20% 至 29% 計劃在本財季發貨。新興研發和其他類別下降 62%，反映出已成功建立的新應用轉向其他市場籃子行業。

By geography, approximately 45% of sales originated in the U.S. and Canada in fiscal 2023 compared to 32% in fiscal 2022. This shift was positively impacted by several U.S. government initiatives to invest in the green energy sector and other research markets. For the year, APAC revenue decreased by 39%, impacted, we believe, by reduced sales to China as a result of several China-based manufacturing sites moving operations back to the U.S. and Mexico. In addition, the strong U.S. dollar temporarily made our products more expensive in Japan and South Korea, where we have good customer relationships, but this resulted in several delayed purchases.

按地理位置劃分，2023 財年約 45% 的銷售額來自美國和加拿大，而 2022 財年這一比例為 32%。這一轉變受到美國政府投資綠色能源領域和其他研究市場的多項舉措的積極影響。今年，亞太地區收入下降了 39%，我們認為，這是由於幾個中國製造工廠將業務遷回美國和墨西哥導致對中國的銷售額減少。此外，美元走強暫時使我們的產品在日本和韓國的價格上漲，我們在這兩個國家有良好的客戶關係，但這導致了一些採購的延遲。

Backlog on February 28, 2023 was $8.5 million, which is 60% higher than as it was last year-end, and reflecting the delayed shipments of several large orders as we've talked about. Customer deposits more than doubled to $2.8 million from $1.2 million, a 143% year-over-year increase. And this increase reflects the new orders we've been receiving during this fiscal 2023.

2023 年 2 月 28 日的積壓訂單為 850 萬美元，比去年年底增加了 60%，這反映出我們已經討論過的幾個大訂單的延遲發貨。客戶存款從 120 萬美元增加了一倍多，達到 280 萬美元，同比增長 143%。這一增長反映了我們在 2023 財年收到的新訂單。

In closing, and as Chris mentioned earlier, our expectations for our first quarter that ends May 31st, the supply chain challenges will still impact our deliveries in the current quarter resulting in lower revenue compared to Q4 FY [2013]. We expect higher revenue in subsequent quarters over the balance of the year as we ship new orders as well as the large number of orders that are presently in our backlog.

最後，正如克里斯之前提到的，我們對 5 月 31 日結束的第一季度的預期是，供應鏈挑戰仍將影響我們本季度的交付，導致收入低於 [2013 年] 財年第四季度。我們預計，隨著我們運送新訂單以及目前積壓的大量訂單，隨後幾個季度的收入將比今年剩餘時間更高。

I'll now turn back to the operator to open this up for Q&A.

我現在將返回接線員以進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question here will come from Bill Nicklin with Circle N Advisors.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自 Circle N Advisors 的 Bill Nicklin。

I have 3 questions, all focused on revenue expansion visibility. The first is kind of the nature of the orders that you're getting now. I've noticed that in your most recent announcements, we see the terminology multiphase program for additional systems and multisystems. What appears to be taking place quite different than the size and cadence of Sono-Tek's orders in the past or at least as long as I've been following the company.

我有 3 個問題，全部集中在收入擴張的可見性上。第一個是你現在收到的訂單的性質。我注意到，在你們最近的公告中，我們看到了用於附加系統和多系統的術語“多階段計劃”。所發生的情況似乎與 Sono-Tek 過去的訂單規模和節奏有很大不同，至少在我一直關注該公司期間是這樣。

The announcements also indicate that individual systems within the order are each priced higher than most orders in the past. And my guess is this is likely because they're from production equipment. So my question is, can you get a little more granular on what is taking place and what this means for the visibility of revenues and revenue growth out over the next few quarters and even years?

公告還表明，該訂單中各個系統的定價均高於過去大多數訂單的價格。我的猜測是，這可能是因為它們來自生產設備。所以我的問題是，您能否更詳細地了解正在發生的事情以及這對未來幾個季度甚至幾年的收入和收入增長的可見性意味著什麼？

Yes, yes. You're correct. The wording of multiphase is significant. For most of these large platform machines would have the very high ASPs that we're now starting to sell more often, the manufacturing cycle is much longer than our smaller $100,000 machines that we have traditionally been selling. So when our customers need the fastest possible deliveries to meet urgent requirements, they need to share this with Sono-Tek, and they start to coordinate their schedules for production requirements. Really, it can be a good year in advance of when they actually need our machines to reach their manufacturing floor.

是的是的。你是對的。多相的措辭很重要。對於大多數大型平台機器來說，我們現在開始更頻繁地銷售這些大型平台機器，其平均售價非常高，因此製造週期比我們傳統上銷售的 100,000 美元的小型機器要長得多。因此，當我們的客戶需要盡可能最快的交貨來滿足緊急要求時，他們需要與 Sono-Tek 共享這一信息，然後他們開始協調生產要求的時間表。確實，這可能是他們真正需要我們的機器到達製造車間之前的好一年。

This does create a situation where we start to get much better visibility of what's likely to come down the pipeline for future orders. And this is what we're seeing, in particular, from the clean energy sector, I would say. Customers are placing their first orders for high-volume manufacturing systems and presenting their planned configurations for the follow-on machines to meet the ultimate production needs, say, that they would have Sono-Tek -- we don't share these current forecast requirements until their production plans, of course, transitions into a PO for us.

這確實創造了一種情況，我們開始更好地了解未來訂單中可能出現的情況。我想說，這就是我們所看到的情況，特別是在清潔能源領域。客戶正在為大批量製造系統下第一批訂單，並展示他們為後續機器設計的配置，以滿足最終的生產需求，例如，他們將擁有 Sono-Tek - 我們不分享這些當前的預測要求當然，直到他們的生產計劃轉變為我們的採購訂單。

But I can tell you that most of our customers buying these large platform systems in the clean energy sector, they aren't just looking to buy 1 or 2 machines. They often have the need to buy 5 to 10 systems to meet their production requirements over the next 1 to 2 years. The urgency of these green energy customers, in particular, going from R&D to pilot lines to multiple high-volume production lines, it's really like nothing that I've ever seen. And it's certainly, of course, driven by these massive amount of money that's being put into this particular industry sector. I don't know, does that answer your question, Bill?

但我可以告訴你，我們大多數客戶在清潔能源領域購買這些大型平台系統，他們不僅僅是想購買一兩台機器。他們通常需要購買 5 到 10 個系統來滿足未來 1 到 2 年的生產需求。尤其是這些綠色能源客戶從研發到中試線再到多條大批量生產線的緊迫性，真是我從未見過的。當然，這當然是由投入到這個特定行業的大量資金推動的。我不知道，這能回答你的問題嗎，比爾？

Yes. Okay. I heard a beep kind of covered you up. Getting even more specific. Given what you're looking at now, what's the largest number of production machines you expect from a single customer? And then on other customer orders, are there similar situations that would may be somewhat smaller number of systems?

是的。好的。我聽到一聲嘟嘟聲把你蓋住了。變得更加具體。鑑於您現在所關注的情況，您期望單個客戶提供的最大生產機器數量是多少？那麼在其他客戶訂單上，是否存在類似情況，系統數量可能會稍微少一些？

Yes, for sure. Again, the larger customers added the green energy sector, again, in particular, that are transitioning from R&D over to high-volume pilot lines they're all looking at multiple lines. They're all looking at 5 to 10, even up to 15 lines that should be happening. And again, these are the machines with the high ASPs that are over $1 million typically. And we are continuing still to get a regular flow of R&D machines on top of that, that are coming in for R&D and pilot line machines that are still -- that's still the kind of flow business I would describe it as [1Z, 2Z] machines that is coming from the R&D sector that will continually fill in the backlog as well. But the ones that are going to make the big impact for our backlog is going to be these big platform, high-volume production machines.

是肯定的。同樣，較大的客戶又加入了綠色能源領域，特別是，這些領域正在從研發轉向大批量試點生產線，他們都在關注多條生產線。他們都在關注應該發生的 5 到 10 行，甚至多達 15 行。同樣，這些機器的平均售價通常超過 100 萬美元。除此之外，我們仍在繼續獲得研發機器的常規流程，這些機器將用於研發和試驗線機器，這仍然是我將其描述為[1Z，2Z]的那種流程業務。來自研發部門的機器也將不斷填補積壓。但對我們的積壓訂單產生重大影響的將是這些大平台、大批量生產機器。

All right. So if I understand correctly, the announcement that you've made where there are $600,000 machines and $1 million machines. The orders that you just referenced will be multiples of that $600,000 or multiples of the $1 million number.

好的。因此，如果我理解正確的話，您所發布的公告中，有 60 萬美元的機器和 100 萬美元的機器。您剛剛引用的訂單將是 600,000 美元的倍數或 100 萬美元的倍數。

Yes, That's -- they all have the high potential of being multiples of that. None of these customers are buying those first production machines for the intent of that being it -- that this is the beginning phase for them. If they only bought 1 machine, there would have been something that went terribly wrong. They all intend to buy multiple machines. The demand for these green energy products right now, it's just skyrocketed so quickly that in order to hit with their volume needs are for their products, they have to buy multiple lines, again, in the area of like typically 5 to 10 systems.

是的，那就是——它們都有很大的潛力成為這個數字的倍數。這些客戶購買第一批生產機器的目的都不是這樣——這對他們來說是一個開始階段。如果他們只買一台機器，就會出現嚴重問題。他們都打算購買多台機器。目前對這些綠色能源產品的需求猛增得如此之快，以至於為了滿足其產品的數量需求，他們必須再次購買多條生產線，通常是 5 到 10 個系統。

All right. Not to belabor it, but just to be clear. On the announcements that you've already made where you said a machine with $600,000, that's for 1 machine. And you expect multiple...

好的。不是為了繁瑣，只是為​​了說清楚。在您已經發布的公告中，您所說的一台機器價值 60 萬美元，那是一台機器的價格。並且您期望多個...

That's for one.

這是一個。

Right, that's for one. So if a customer is going to buy 10 machines over time, then that's $6 million?

沒錯，這是一個人的。那麼，如果客戶打算隨著時間的推移購買 10 台機器，那就是 600 萬美元？

You're 100% correct, yes. So they -- when we see announcements where there's 1 for $1.1 million, that's for 1 machine. And if that customer needs 10, it would be 10 machines, 10x $1.1 million or [$660,000] Correct.

你說得100%正確，是的。所以當我們看到公告說 1 台售價 110 萬美元時，那是指一台機器。如果該客戶需要 10 台，那就是 10 台機器，10x 110 萬美元或 [660,000 美元]，正確。

All right. That's great. Now second question, several industrial companies that I follow have been impeded by supply chain problems. And they now in their conference call say they're coming out of this period and they're having bubbles in shipments. But then they say they're heading back toward what most of them are describing as a broad-based normalization, where normal is lower shipments than in the past few quarters. So the bubble moves through the system. It sounds like you're experiencing the same thing, but given the orders you're getting it's kind of a new normal with expectations of a significantly higher growth for an extended period of time. Am I correct on that?

好的。那太棒了。第二個問題，我關注的幾家工業公司都因供應鏈問題而受到阻礙。他們現在在電話會議上表示，他們正在走出這個時期，並且出貨量出現泡沫。但隨後他們表示，他們正在回到大多數人所說的廣泛的正常化，即出貨量低於過去幾個季度。所以氣泡在系統中移動。聽起來你正在經歷同樣的事情，但考慮到你收到的訂單，這是一種新常態，預計在很長一段時間內會有顯著更高的增長。我的說法正確嗎？

Yes. Supply chain, like you mentioned, it impacted us for FY 2023 revenue. And we will -- certainly will see a revenue bubble working its way through into our FY 2024 due to these delayed shipments. And although we are definitely predicting our revenue to be more lumpy from quarter-to-quarter due to the increased frequency of these large ASP platform machines, we're still feeling very good about continued revenue growth for FY 2024 supplied for -- during the supply chain surge and after the supply chain surge because of these high ASP production systems that are starting to flow more regularly into our backlog.

是的。正如您提到的，供應鏈影響了我們 2023 財年的收入。由於這些延遲的發貨，我們肯定會看到收入泡沫一直持續到 2024 財年。儘管我們肯定預測，由於這些大型 ASP 平台機器的頻率增加，我們的收入將逐季度更加波動，但我們仍然對 2024 財年的持續收入增長感到非常滿意——在由於這些高平均售價的生產系統開始更頻繁地流入我們的積壓訂單，供應鏈激增以及供應鏈激增之後。

When you're only a $15 million to $20 million revenue company, like we are now, it starts to make a huge impact when we start adding a flow of $1 million machines on top of what is our historically normal business already. So I think that's going to be the real big difference as we a flow of these $1 million machines coming in more regularly, and that's what we should be seeing happening.

當您只是一家收入為 1500 萬至 2000 萬美元的公司時，就像我們現在一樣，當我們開始在我們歷史上正常業務的基礎上添加價值 100 萬美元的機器流程時，它就會開始產生巨大的影響。因此，我認為，隨著這些價值 100 萬美元的機器更加頻繁地流入，這將是真正的巨大差異，這就是我們應該看到的情況。

All right. Just again to get quite granular on this, from what you're saying is starting in June, the quarter that's coming up, you will see some improvement in the supply chain issues and then that will continue to improve through the year. But from the orders you're booking, it looks like that, that bubble or a jump in shipments, because of normal shipments plus the catch-up from the supply chain problems, that even with that moving through, you'll be able to replenish our backlog at a higher rate than the shipments are going out.

好的。再次詳細說明這一點，從您所說的 6 月份開始，即即將到來的季度，您將看到供應鏈問題有所改善，然後這一情況將在全年繼續改善。但從你預訂的訂單來看，由於正常的發貨加上供應鏈問題的追趕，泡沫或發貨量的跳躍似乎是這樣的，即使經歷了這一過程，你也將能夠以高於發貨速度的速度補充我們的積壓訂單。

Yes. You're -- you hit the nail on the head. I think if you find that -- if you start tracking our backlog will become the strongest future indicator of where we're heading because we're anticipating our order intake to exceed the shipments going out as our demand for our products increases. So yes, we anticipate a strong enough bookings to replenish our backlog.

是的。你是——你擊中要害了。我認為，如果您發現 - 如果您開始跟踪我們的積壓訂單將成為我們未來發展方向的最有力指標，因為隨著我們對產品需求的增加，我們預計我們的訂單量將超過發貨量。所以，是的，我們預計會有足夠強勁的預訂來補充我們的積壓訂單。

Great. And last question, if you will. It appears as you're going from R&D orders to pilot project orders and production line orders, at least my visualization of a production line, is that your equipment will probably be sitting alongside of your customers' equipment or equipment that your customer is buying from another vendor for a different purpose to have a complete production line. How does this -- and number one, am I correct?

偉大的。最後一個問題，如果你願意的話。看起來，當您從研發訂單轉向試點項目訂單和生產線訂單時，至少在我對生產線的可視化中，您的設備可能會與客戶的設備或客戶購買的設備並排放置另一家供應商出於不同的目的擁有完整的生產線。這是怎麼回事——第一，我是對的嗎？

But number two, how does this affect the nature of the orders you're receiving? And also, does it open orders for arrangement between Sono-Tek and other equipment suppliers or OEMs that might accelerate your growth down the road, where in the past you were selling single units that were kind of stand-alone and there was nothing else driving the business other than a single new order coming in over the [transom]?

但第二，這對您收到的訂單的性質有何影響？此外，它是否會在 Sono-Tek 和其他設備供應商或 OEM 之間開放訂單，這可能會加速您未來的增長，而在過去，您銷售的是獨立的單個設備，沒有其他驅動力除了通過[橫梁]收到的單個新訂單之外還有其他業務嗎？

Yes, it's true what you're saying is that there's, of course, many machines that make up the complete manufacturing line in these coating processes. And we recognize the machine sitting before and after the ultrasonic coating systems are often really critical to the end results of the product that we're coating. And many of our customers would really prefer for Sono-Tek to also supply the equipment standing alongside our coating systems and to take full responsibility for large parts of the manufacturing process. So we've been rapidly increasing the number of strategic outsourcing partners we work with. They're from a variety of several different disciplines. And this allows us to supply an increasingly larger end customer solution, which continues then to drive higher and higher ASP for us. And some of these strategic partners also create some additional potential opportunities for even closer relationships in the future actually.

是的，您所說的確實如此，當然，在這些塗層工藝中，有許多機器組成了完整的生產線。我們認識到，位於超聲波塗層系統之前和之後的機器通常對於我們塗層產品的最終結果至關重要。我們的許多客戶確實希望 Sono-Tek 也提供與我們的塗層系統並存的設備，並全面負責大部分製造過程。因此，我們一直在迅速增加合作的戰略外包合作夥伴的數量。他們來自不同的學科。這使我們能夠提供越來越大的最終客戶解決方案，從而繼續為我們帶來越來越高的平均售價。實際上，其中一些戰略合作夥伴還為未來建立更密切的關係創造了一些額外的潛在機會。

That's great. It looks like you've got the ball teed up here, and I appreciate all your efforts. And let's see what happens. It sounds pretty positive.

那太棒了。看起來你已經做好了準備，我感謝你所做的一切努力。讓我們看看會發生什麼。聽起來很積極。

Appreciate it, Bill. Thanks.

很感激，比爾。謝謝。

And our next question will come from Ted Jackson with Northland.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Northland 的 Ted Jackson。

So I'm going to sort of -- at a more higher level follow-up on to Bill's line of thought. So looking at your backlog which, by the way, is impressive. If I kind of look at the historical backlog, if you look back, say, 2 years and go forward, you used to kind of see your backlog going to be, call it, 25% of the 4-, 12-month revenue. And then clearly, with all the supply chain issues, it's been kind of in the 35% to 40% range in the last part of the fiscal year. If I was to look at that $8.5 million of backlog and the understanding that, that's going to go out in fiscal '24 and say that, hey, that's 40% of fiscal '24 revenue, which would be kind of like the high end -- higher than the high end of what we've seen the last couple of quarters, you'd be pushing north of $20 million of revenue. Is that a fair way to look at your business? Or is that maybe too aggressive for you?

因此，我將在更高的層面上跟進比爾的思路。順便說一句，看看你的積壓工作，令人印象深刻。如果我看一下歷史積壓訂單，如果你回顧過去，比如說 2 年，然後展望未來，你會發現你的積壓訂單將佔 4 個月、12 個月收入的 25%。很明顯，由於所有供應鏈問題，本財年最後一部分的比例在 35% 到 40% 之間。如果我查看 850 萬美元的積壓訂單，並了解這將在 24 財年支出，那麼，嘿，這是 24 財年收入的 40%，這有點像高端 - - 高於我們過去幾個季度看到的最高水平，您的收入將超過 2000 萬美元。這是看待您的業務的公平方式嗎？或者這對你來說可能太激進了？

Well, we haven't given projections about stating what our full fiscal year revenue will be. But everything that's in that backlog right now, $8.5 million, will be shipping out this year -- or we're anticipating, I should say, to shipping out this year. And I don't think there's anything in that backlog right now that's on the edge, for example, of not being able to ship. The order intake is still going really strong. I think that there is no reason for us to anticipate it not to continue to go really strong.

嗯，我們還沒有給出關於我們整個財年收入的預測。但目前積壓的所有訂單（850 萬美元）都將在今年發貨——或者我應該說，我們預計今年發貨。我認為現在積壓的訂單中沒有任何東西處於無法發貨的邊緣。訂單量仍然非常強勁。我認為我們沒有理由預期它不會繼續強勁。

And without saying exactly where we think we're going to come in for the year other than we're going to definitely be showing growth, I think it's looking really positive. Now whether those really large orders that we're anticipating, because there are some really large orders that we're anticipating getting here from multiple systems, whether the majority of those will be able to ship out in FY 2024 or not is a question. Because I wouldn't be shocked if we see our backlog just start to accelerate even with healthy revenue going out. But I wouldn't be surprised if our backlog really starts to beef up and look very, very good for FY 2025 with still a healthy revenue stream going out in FY 2024. Because the production lead time on a lot of these machines is longer than typical for us.

除了我們肯定會表現出增長之外，雖然沒有具體說明我們認為今年會出現什麼情況，但我認為情況看起來非常積極。現在，我們預期是否會收到來自多個系統的一些非常大的訂單，其中大多數訂單是否能夠在 2024 財年發貨，這都是一個問題。因為如果我們看到我們的積壓工作開始加速，即使收入穩定，我也不會感到震驚。但如果我們的積壓訂單真的開始增加，並且看起來 2025 財年非常非常好，並且 2024 財年仍然有健康的收入來源，我不會感到驚訝。因為許多這些機器的生產提前期比對我們來說很典型。

So a lot of these $1 million plus machines can have build times of 6 to 12 months depending on what the configuration is. So it is something we need to just keep in mind, that the long build times on these large platform machines. Our smaller platform machines, which now I consider our flow business, still have relatively short lead times on them, if you're talking about $100,000 or $200,000 machines.

因此，許多價值 100 萬美元以上的機器的構建時間可能為 6 到 12 個月，具體取決於配置。因此，我們需要記住的是，這些大型平台機器上的構建時間很長。我們的小型平台機器，現在我認為是我們的流程業務，如果你談論的是 100,000 美元或 200,000 美元的機器，它們的交貨時間仍然相對較短。

Yes, if I might add here -- talk for a moment, Steve. Over the years, Sono-Tek had a business that's grown at a -- we liked it, 10% growth, whatever. But things have really changed in the last year or so. Moving into -- I think those questions pointed out, we're moving into the production phase of our business. So instead of selling 1 unit that for -- well, it felt good, $0.5 million or something, we're now in a position to sell multiple units. So that's a change in our business structure.

是的，如果我可以在這裡補充一下的話，史蒂夫，請講一下。多年來，Sono-Tek 的業務一直在以我們喜歡的速度增長，10% 的增長，無論如何。但在過去一年左右，情況確實發生了變化。進入——我認為這些問題指出，我們正在進入業務的生產階段。因此，我們現在可以出售多台設備，而不是以 50 萬美元之類的價格出售 1 台設備，感覺很好。這就是我們業務結構的變化。

And the other area that was highlighted in the previous question, is this a bubble that will come and go. And we don't really see it that way because of the large amount of money that the government is putting into this clean energy sector, in particular, which is coming through to us now and over the future. So I think there are 2 changes that have taken place in our business really within the past year or 2, and that's moving into production and the large amount of federal funding in the clean energy area. And then Steve Harshbarger just mentioned the third strategic change, which we're doing, which is pre and post processing. Wherever we see an opportunity to add on to our basic structure, we do it. So I think without forecasting numbers, what I've seen in my tenure is a change in the business structure, and I'm very optimistic about it personally from this comparison with the past.

上一個問題中強調的另一個領域是，這是一個會來去去去的泡沫。我們並不這麼認為，因為政府正在向清潔能源領域投入大量資金，特別是現在和未來我們都會收到這些資金。因此，我認為在過去的一兩年內，我們的業務確實發生了兩個變化，那就是投入生產，以及在清潔能源領域獲得大量聯邦資金。然後 Steve Harshbarger 剛剛提到了我們正在做的第三個戰略變化，即預處理和後處理。只要我們看到有機會添加到我們的基本結構中，我們就會這樣做。所以我認為，在不預測數字的情況下，我在任期內看到的是業務結構的變化，從與過去的比較來看，我個人對此非常樂觀。

Well, I'm optimistic. I just want you to -- don't let me get too optimistic, That's all. It sounds like you guys are on the cusp of really having some good stuff happen. Let's keep going on the revenue stuff. So just thinking about sort of what's going to drive FY '24 revenue. So when we look at your line items, the multi-access systems. Clearly, that's where you've had some hang-ups that's where your larger systems are. They were down quite a bit from '22. Can we -- I mean, given what you're seeing in backlog and given that we're expecting to say $0.5 million of revenue to flow through with some large multisystem -- multiaccess systems in there, is there -- is it realistic that we could see '24 that you come back to -- that you would at least meet what you did in '22 on that particular line item and perhaps exceed it?

嗯，我很樂觀。我只是希望你——別讓我太樂觀，僅此而已。聽起來你們正處於真正發生一些好事的風口浪尖。讓我們繼續討論收入問題。因此，只需考慮一下什麼將推動 24 財年的收入增長。因此，當我們查看您的訂單項時，多訪問系統。顯然，這就是您遇到一些問題的地方，也是您的大型系統所在的地方。與 22 年相比，他們下降了很多。我們能否 - 我的意思是，考慮到您在積壓中看到的情況，並考慮到我們預計 50 萬美元的收入將通過一些大型多系統 - 那裡的多路訪問系統 - 是否現實我們可以看到，您回到 24 年時，您至少會達到 22 年在該特定訂單項上所做的工作，甚至可能會超過它？

Most certainly for the multi-access coating systems, we should be on track to exceeding it this year. And that's partially driven by these delayed shipments that didn't go up for us in FY '2023 that are in our backlog now. So there's a lot of multi-access coating systems that you'll see, especially coming from the clean energy sector and the electronics sector, in particular, that we'll be shipping out in FY 2024. The other good news is where we had our most significant supply chain challenges is in the multi-access coating area.

最肯定的是，對於多通道塗層系統，我們今年應該有望超越它。這在一定程度上是由這些延遲發貨造成的，這些發貨在 2023 財年沒有增加，但現在積壓了。因此，您會看到很多多通道塗層系統，特別是來自清潔能源行業和電子行業的系統，我們將在 2024 財年發貨。另一個好消息是我們在我們最重大的供應鏈挑戰是在多通道塗層領域。

But Sono-Tek, we've done a pretty good job of accelerating our in-house capabilities in this area, which should allow us to achieve shipments at a more expedient manner than what we had encountered this past year. So that should allow us to get ourselves back closer to a norm without supply chain challenges, at least during the second half of this fiscal year, which will help again for the multiaccess coating systems. Because that is -- the orders intake on multi-access coating systems has not slowed. It's actually grown. It's just our ability to ship the machines which makes it appear like it was a slower year in FY 2023.

但是Sono-Tek，我們在加速這一領域的內部能力方面做得非常好，這應該使我們能夠比去年遇到的情況更方便地實現出貨。因此，這應該能讓我們在沒有供應鏈挑戰的情況下回到正常狀態，至少在本財年下半年，這將再次有助於多通道塗層系統。因為，多通道塗層系統的訂單量並沒有放緩。其實已經長大了正是我們運送機器的能力使得 2023 財年看起來是增長較慢的一年。

Then just on the fluxing systems, I mean, you talked about how you're going through kind of an upgrade process, if you would. I mean, you put up the strongest numbers that you've seen in that area since fiscal '19. Is that something that is sustainable? I mean, is that like the strength you've seen in that business as you go through this upgrade and the movement of a lot of manufacturing out of China towards Mexico, U.S.? Is that something that we should continue to see in '24? Or is it the kind of thing that will fade, and we'll go back towards the numbers that we've seen, like say, from '20 through '22?

然後，就通量系統而言，我的意思是，如果您願意的話，您談到瞭如何經歷升級過程。我的意思是，你們提供了自 19 財年以來在該領域看到的最強勁的數據。這是可持續的嗎？我的意思是，這就像您在經歷這次升級以及大量製造業從中國轉移到美國墨西哥時所看到的那樣嗎？這是我們應該在 24 年繼續看到的事情嗎？或者這種情況會逐漸消失，我們會回到我們所看到的數字，比如從“20”到“22”？

Yes. I would predict the fluxing area to remain stable for us. I don't think it's going to go down, but it's not going to show a huge massive increases. It's not where like government sectors are really investing or anything like that. But what has been significant for us there is these customers that are moving from China back to Mexico, in particular, even more so than the U.S. They may already have systems in China, but they don't send those machines back to the U.S. The machines are only valued between $25,000 to $50,000 and it's not really worth them to send back a used machine to Mexico. So they buy new machines.

是的。我預計流動區域對我們來說將保持穩定。我認為它不會下降，但也不會出現大幅增長。這不是政府部門真正投資或類似的地方。但對我們來說，重要的是這些客戶從中國搬回墨西哥，尤其是比美國更多的客戶。他們可能已經在中國擁有系統，但他們不會將這些機器運回美國。機器的價值僅在 25,000 至 50,000 美元之間，將二手機器運回墨西哥並不值得。所以他們購買新機器。

And the great thing about our latest platform system in the fluxing area, the SonoFlux X2, it's about 40% higher priced our traditional spray fluxers. So part of what you're seeing there with increased fluxing revenue is the increasing -- increased ASP of our fluxing platforms as well. There's a good reason why they haven't increased ASP because they reduce your flux by a lot more compared to our old systems, and they have a lot more functionality. So customers that have tried them and said, "Oh, wow, this is really worth upgrading our own fluxing system that we have from Sono-Tek already to our new Sono-Tek machine."

我們在助焊劑領域最新的平台系統 SonoFlux X2 的偉大之處在於，它的價格比我們傳統的噴霧助焊劑高出約 40%。因此，隨著助焊劑收入的增加，我們助焊劑平台的平均售價也在不斷增加。他們沒有增加 ASP 是有充分理由的，因為與我們的舊系統相比，它們減少了更多的流量，並且具有更多的功能。因此，嘗試過這些產品的客戶會說：“哦，哇，這真的值得將我們自己的助焊劑系統從 Sono-Tek 現有的助焊劑系統升級到新的 Sono-Tek 機器。”

Shifting over to the income statement and just on the OpEx side. So we've got all this wind in your sails. I mean, is there any -- I mean, how should we think about your operating expenditures in '24? Are there any serious investments that need to be made in your sales and marketing or your R&D efforts? Or is that something that's going to be more kind of steady state, moderate growth?

轉向損益表，僅關注運營支出。所以我們已經為你的風帆提供了所有的動力。我的意思是，有沒有——我的意思是，我們應該如何考慮你們 24 年的運營支出？您的銷售和營銷或研發工作是否需要進行大量投資？或者這會是一種更加穩定、溫和的增長？

We did...

我們做了...

I guess I'm asking is what we see some operating leverage is where I guess it's worth going with it.

我想我要問的是，我們看到一些運營槓桿是值得的。

Got you. We started to see some operating leverage the prior year that I suspect, going into FY 2025 is when we'll probably see the most leverage start to occur, that we've already invested quite a bit into -- it's all just been finished recently into expanding our manufacturing facility and invested those finances into that right now. So we've taken one more building that we had been renting. And all the expenditures and things to renovate to be able to do production in those areas, of which now we're starting to do has now happened. So a lot of the expenses have been completed in that area. Did you have anything else to add on that one?

明白你了。我懷疑，前一年我們開始看到一些運營槓桿，進入 2025 財年，我們可能會看到最大的槓桿開始出現，我們已經投入了大量資金 - 這一切最近剛剛完成擴大我們的製造設施，並立即將這些資金投入其中。所以我們又租了一棟我們一直租用的大樓。為了能夠在這些地區進行生產而需要進行的所有支出和翻新工程，我們現在開始做的事情現在都已經發生了。所以很多費用都在那個領域完成了。您對此還有什麼要補充的嗎？

When you look at the operating expenses, the R&D, that's always pretty much for product development. So we should see some of that come down the line, hopefully, in revenue. The marketing and selling, what -- the decrease what you see there is primarily in commissions due to the decrease in sales. But overall, one major variable of course is always our advertising, our trade show. And that started to pick back up last year due to COVID. So you should see something there. The G&A, if you look at it, it was flat. And I would -- I don't expect anything to really come through on that next year, but that's my expectation right now.

當你看一下運營費用和研發費用時，你會發現這大部分都用於產品開發。因此，我們應該會看到其中一些有望在收入方面有所體現。營銷和銷售，你看到的減少主要是由於銷售額的減少而導致的佣金的減少。但總的來說，一個主要變量當然始終是我們的廣告、我們的貿易展覽。由於新冠疫情，這種情況從去年開始回升。所以你應該在那裡看到一些東西。 G＆A，如果你看一下，它是持平的。我不希望明年能真正實現任何目標，但這就是我現在的期望。

And I should also add -- yes, this is Chris, just to add to what Stephen Bagley was saying, we do put a lot of emphasis on what's called research and development or product development. But the other issue, of course, as you all know, inflation is occurring in salaried people as well and particularly in the top level engineering talent. So we're doing what we have to do to maintain a quality workforce there as opposed to starting losing people to some other company and then having to retrain. So there's 2 things going on there, our continued emphasis on R&D and the inflation of salaries that's taking place.

我還應該補充一點——是的，這是克里斯，只是為了補充斯蒂芬·巴格利所說的，我們確實非常重視所謂的研究和開發或產品開發。當然，眾所周知，另一個問題是通貨膨脹也發生在工薪階層，特別是頂級工程人才身上。因此，我們正在做我們必須做的事情來維持那裡的高素質勞動力，而不是開始將人員流失到其他公司，然後不得不進行再培訓。因此，有兩件事正在發生，我們對研發的持續重視和正在發生的工資上漲。

I mean, that's one of the major -- that just -- as an offshoot, as Chris mentioned on the salaries, that's where you would see leverage in a number of different ways because it takes people a little bit of time to get up to speed, But we've had to maintain our current level of our engineers here. So that will pay off.

我的意思是，這是主要的 - 只是 - 作為一個分支，正如克里斯在工資中提到的那樣，你會以多種不同的方式看到槓桿作用，因為人們需要一點時間才能達到目標速度，但我們必須保持我們工程師目前的水平。這樣就會得到回報。

Just because you brought this -- brought up the investment with regards to the new building and the productivity. How should we think about CapEx in '24? Maybe call it [$50,000] 2023, I mean, should we think it kind of flat should maybe taper off a little bit now that you've kind of moved through that?

僅僅因為你帶來了這個——帶來了對新建築和生產力的投資。我們應該如何看待 24 年的資本支出？也許稱之為[50,000美元] 2023年，我的意思是，既然你已經經歷了這個過程，我們是否應該認為它應該逐漸趨於平緩？

Although we did finish our expansion needs here, I think we anticipate it to be flat though, because I think we're going to have to be continuing to expand based on our projections looking forward. So where I thought it might go down a little bit this year, I'm no longer anticipating it to go down as long as we see this really strong order intake happening. We'll have to just be continuing our expansion plans, which would give us similar CapEx expenditures.

儘管我們確實在這裡完成了擴張需求，但我認為我們預計它會持平，因為我認為我們必鬚根據未來的預測繼續擴張。因此，我認為今年可能會略有下降，但只要我們看到真正強勁的訂單量發生，我就不再預計它會下降。我們必須繼續我們的擴張計劃，這會給我們帶來類似的資本支出。

Okay. And then my last question, and then I'm hogging the mic, but you've built up this inventory. You kind of went through it being -- part of it being your response to the supply chain issues. Will we see these inventory numbers ever trend down? Or should we expect this to be kind of the new norm going forward?

好的。然後是我的最後一個問題，然後我霸占了麥克風，但你已經建立了這個庫存。你經歷過這件事——其中一部分是你對供應鏈問題的回應。我們會看到這些庫存數量呈下降趨勢嗎？或者我們是否應該期望這成為​​未來的新常態？

I would hope that they will trend down, but I don't see it happening this fiscal year. Right now, we're still just so cautious with supply chain issues. And until we see that supply chain -- these issues resolve 100%, it's just forcing us to make the inventory very high at this moment. Now it's very safe inventory, we're having a nice flow of orders, but it's just forcing us to keep it high at this point. But hopefully, at some point, when the world returns back to normal with supply chain, that we won't have to worry about that.

我希望它們會呈下降趨勢，但我認為本財年不會發生這種情況。目前，我們對供應鏈問題仍然非常謹慎。在我們看到供應鏈這些問題 100% 解決之前，這只會迫使我們目前的庫存非常高。現在庫存非常安全，我們的訂單流很好，但這只是迫使我們目前保持高水平。但希望在某個時候，當世界供應鏈恢復正常時，我們就不必擔心這個問題。

Yes, I think we all learned a lesson, too. I mean, we've managed our inventory levels very aggressively in the past. And we saw this coming to some extent, so we started to build up inventory, not enough though to forestall any problems as seen in our numbers. I think what Steve said is true, though. As we find out that the supplies are now available we can back off a bit, but I don't think we'll ever go down to the level that we were before.

是的，我想我們也都吸取了教訓。我的意思是，我們過去非常積極地管理庫存水平。我們在某種程度上看到了這種情況的發生，因此我們開始建立庫存，但還不足以防止我們的數據中出現任何問題。不過，我認為史蒂夫說的是真的。當我們發現物資已經到位時，我們可以稍微退一步，但我認為我們永遠不會下降到以前的水平。

Okay. Well, that's it for me, and I just want to finish and just say I'm looking forward to '24 and '25. It seems like you guys are on the cusp of some really exciting stuff, and I'm looking forward to watching it play out.

好的。好吧，這對我來說就是這樣，我只想結束並說我很期待 '24 和 '25。看來你們正處於一些非常令人興奮的事情的風口浪尖，我很期待看到它的結果。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Thanks, Ted.

謝謝，特德。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question here will come from [Avi Fisher] with Long Cast Advisors.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題將來自 [Avi Fisher] 和 Long Cast Advisors。

Just 2 or 3 quick questions. What products are delayed because of supply chain issues, which...

只是 2 或 3 個簡短的問題。哪些產品因供應鏈問題而延遲，哪些...

Yes. The primary product line is our multi-access coating machines. That's where we really got clabbered. And those multi-access coating machines are very heavily used in our larger platform systems directed at both the electronics sector and the green energy sector and a little bit in the medical sector as well. But they're not very commonly used in the industrial sector, for example.

是的。主要產品線是我們的多通道塗層機。這就是我們真正被搞砸的地方。這些多通道塗層機在我們針對電子行業和綠色能源行業以及醫療行業的大型平台系統中大量使用。但例如，它們在工業領域並不常用。

Okay. So presumably, I mean, what we're really talking about is a robot, right? The robot arm that comes from a supplier, right, that you get from a supplier?

好的。所以想必，我的意思是，我們真正談論的是機器人，對吧？來自供應商的機械臂，對吧，你從供應商那裡得到的？

Yes. It's motion -- I describe it as motion platforms and product handling platforms. But it's -- they're not, for example, like simple XYZ -- Vanilla robot systems that you might see from some manufacturers. Most of our systems are highly custom and engineered for the application. But you are correct in saying that it's a robot.

是的。它是運動——我將其描述為運動平台和產品處理平台。但它是——例如，它們不像簡單的 XYZ——您可能會從某些製造商那裡看到的普通機器人系統。我們的大多數係統都是針對應用程序進行高度定制和設計的。但你說它是機器人是正確的。

And are those coming from -- I mean, presumably, I think those are coming from like ABD or from somewhere in Japan? Is that...

那些來自——我的意思是，大概，我認為那些來自 ABD 之類的地方，或者來自日本的某個地方？就是它...

While we do have 1 robot that we purchased from -- it's a very inexpensive robot from Japan, which is kind of like a Vanilla machine that just steps out the same thing. It's for a very, very low entry point for small universities. The majority of our robots are all custom-engineered solutions and they're manufactured in the U.S., either by Sono-Tek or in combination with our partners. And the product that we're looking at there, unfortunately, they're -- our partner, there is no equivalent vendor to them in the U.S. or Europe that has similar sort of products, their capabilities, I should say -- even more so than products, it's the capabilities.

雖然我們確實有一個從日本購買的機器人，但它是一個來自日本的非常便宜的機器人，有點像普通機器，只是做出同樣的事情。對於小型大學來說，它的入學門檻非常非常低。我們的大多數機器人都是定制設計的解決方案，由 Sono-Tek 或與我們的合作夥伴聯合在美國製造。不幸的是，我們在那裡看到的產品是——我們的合作夥伴，在美國或歐洲沒有與他們相當的供應商擁有類似的產品，他們的能力，我應該說——甚至更多所以，與其說是產品，不如說是能力。

There are some out of China that we've identified, but they have their own supply chain and shipment problems coming out of China as well. That's why we were really heading down the path of bringing a lot of this expertise in-house and increasing our own internal capabilities. Even though this industry partner, other than the delayed shipments, they're a really good quality, really good price, But we need to get a little more control ourselves of the supply chain. So that's why we brought some of those talents internally within Sono-Tek.

我們已經確定了一些來自中國的產品，但他們也有自己的供應鍊和來自中國的運輸問題。這就是為什麼我們真正走上了將大量專業知識引入內部並提高我們自己的內部能力的道路。儘管這個行業合作夥伴，除了延遲發貨之外，他們的質量非常好，價格非常好，但我們需要對供應鏈有更多的控制。這就是我們在 Sono-Tek 內部引進一些人才的原因。

Is there -- I'm just going to sort of say something, like presumably whoever this partner, you're a fairly small partner to them currently. But as your addressable market grows, as your R&D clients move into production, is there an opportunity for you actually to instead of doing this on your own to get closer to your partner and say, "Hey, let's work together. We think we can sell multiples of the units we're selling now, that will move us up the priority chain, will be a little more important to them." And now you may have a co-branded product that can address a large -- an even larger market. Is that something you thought about at all?

是嗎——我只是想說點什麼，大概不管這個合作夥伴是誰，你目前對他們來說都是一個相當小的合作夥伴。但是，隨著您的目標市場的增長，隨著您的研發客戶投入生產，您是否有機會真正與您的合作夥伴建立更密切的聯繫，而不是自己做這件事，並說：“嘿，讓我們一起工作。我們認為我們可以出售我們現在正在出售的產品的倍數，這將使我們的優先級鏈上升，對他們來說會更重要一些。”現在，您可能擁有一款可以滿足更大市場的聯合品牌產品。你有想過嗎？

The partner is someone -- do you want to answer that question, Dr. Coccio? Are you speaking up?

合作夥伴是某個人——你想回答這個問題嗎，Coccio 博士？你在說話嗎？

Yes, You're on the right track, and we are doing what you say without necessarily going so far as co-branding. But we've had multiple conversations with that vendor, who is more than a vendor in our eyes because we work so closely together. And we brought customers in to show them how capable they are to serve us and therefore we do serve the customer. So yes, we're -- the alternative, as Steve pointed out is, yes, you can go to China. But we're not going to go to China to look for that type of thing, not just for the supply chain issues, but also for the potential loss of some of the business technology and some of our proprietary information.

是的，您走在正確的道路上，我們正​​在按照您所說的去做，而不必走到聯合品牌的地步。但我們與該供應商進行了多次對話，在我們眼中，他不僅僅是一個供應商，因為我們合作得非常密切。我們引入客戶是為了向他們展示他們為我們服務的能力，因此我們確實為客戶服務。所以，是的，我們——正如史蒂夫指出的那樣，另一種選擇是，是的，你可以去中國。但我們不會去中國尋找這類事情，不僅僅是因為供應鏈問題，還因為一些商業技術和一些專有信息的潛在損失。

So I think we're on the right track in terms of both helping our partners do better with us. And also, as Steve has pointed out, we're on a track to be able to produce a substantial amount of these particular specialty robotics, if you want to use that word, we call them multiaccess systems in-house.

因此，我認為在幫助我們的合作夥伴與我們一起做得更好方面，我們走在正確的軌道上。而且，正如史蒂夫所指出的那樣，我們有望生產大量這些特殊的專業機器人，如果你想用這個詞，我們稱它們為內部多路訪問系統。

I'm sorry if you said this. Have you elaborated on how much you expect to spend on this pursuit to bring more in-house?

如果你這麼說我很抱歉。您是否詳細說明過您預計將花費多少資金來實現這一目標，以吸引更多的內部人員？

We've already made the bulk of the investment upfront already. And it actually started prior to COVID is when we started this process because we recognized our high dependence on this vendor. And it's mostly been in R&D and engineering talent that we had to bring in. And so this -- the machines that we are now shipping that we've taken on through internally made products are going -- shipping out now from Sono-Tek. As Dr. Coccio mentioned, there's about 25% of them are coming out internally made right now. But the bulk of the investment is already done at this point.

我們已經預先進行了大部分投資。它實際上是在新冠疫情之前我們開始這個流程的時候開始的，因為我們認識到我們對這個供應商的高度依賴。我們必須引進的主要是研發和工程人才。因此，我們現在通過內部製造的產品運送的機器正在從 Sono-Tek 運送出去。正如 Coccio 博士提到的，目前大約有 25% 是內部製造的。但目前大部分投資已經完成。

Now it's just continuing to upgrade and improve it to the next level. But again, our industry partner is actually very good as a partner. So we appreciate them for their capabilities as well. But I think it's a smart move for us to have both of these avenues going at the same time. But we don't see any other big significant investment coming down the pipeline for that.

現在它只是繼續升級和改進到一個新的水平。但話又說回來，我們的行業合作夥伴實際上是非常好的合作夥伴。因此，我們也感謝他們的能力。但我認為同時採用這兩種途徑對我們來說是明智之舉。但我們沒有看到任何其他重大投資正在醞釀之中。

Got it. And just to clarify what you just said, it sounds like you're having this parallel track of you're continuing to work with your partner and also doing some more in-house.

知道了。為了澄清你剛才所說的，聽起來你在繼續與你的合作夥伴合作的同時也在內部做更多的事情。

Yes, that's correct. That's correct.

對，那是正確的。這是正確的。

Okay. One last question. You've talked in the past about kind of roll-to-roll. And I see on your website, you have this wide track system. But I didn't hear you -- maybe I missed it, but I didn't hear you talk too much about the roll-to-roll systems. Can you just sort of talk about how that's progressing, perhaps some of the units you're selling or what -- how that pipeline looks.

好的。最後一個問題。您過去曾談到過卷對卷。我在你們的網站上看到，你們有這個寬軌系統。但我沒有聽到你的聲音——也許我錯過了，但我沒有聽到你過多談論卷對卷系統。您能否談談進展如何，也許是您正在銷售的一些單位，或者管道的外觀。

Yes, sure. We are still progressing with the project. It's still an active program. We still have customers that come in and we've sold a few roll-to-roll machines at this point. The primary target market for us for roll-to-roll, you might recall, is going towards the green energy sector for coating of membranes used for fuel cells or carbon capture or green hydrogen generation. And we have -- that customer remains very much is expressing that they plan to go to roll-to-roll, but we still have not seen them make the transition. We actually thought they would have done it this year.

是的，當然。我們仍在推進該項目。它仍然是一個活躍的計劃。我們仍然有客戶進來，目前我們已經售出了一些卷對捲機器。您可能還記得，我們​​卷對卷的主要目標市場是綠色能源領域，用於燃料電池或碳捕獲或綠色氫生成的膜塗層。我們的客戶仍然表示他們計劃轉向卷對卷，但我們仍然沒有看到他們進行轉變。我們實際上認為他們今年就會做到這一點。

But right now, it seems like they're primarily just focused on single pieces and not going to roll-to-roll yet. But they still are talking about short term, making the transition to roll-to-roll. So we have got ourselves to a point where we're ready to transition with the market when they are prepared to make that move. But we're kind of waiting for the market to go there. And we still believe it will go there, and we'll be ready when it does happen.

但現在，他們似乎主要只專注於單件，而不是卷對卷。但他們仍在談論短期，向卷對卷過渡。因此，當市場準備採取行動時，我們已經做好了與市場過渡的準備。但我們正在等待市場走向那裡。我們仍然相信它會到達那裡，並且當它確實發生時我們會做好準備。

And has this customer sort of deferred because they're looking at other technologies? Are they looking at CBD instead? Or are they just looking to raise funding so they can move ahead at scale?

該客戶是否因為正在考慮其他技術而推遲了？他們是否正在關注 CBD？或者他們只是想籌集資金以便大規模推進？

Yes, it's actually broadly for the whole industry is looking to go towards -- not one particular customer. The whole industry for these coating of membranes is looking to go towards roll-to-roll ultimately, although they are not doing it today right now at this very moment. And that it's not a replacement. For this particular application of coatings membranes, they don't -- they can't do this application by CBD. So for our competition in this particular area is slot-die coating. But thankfully, we have some performance advantages about our coatings compared to slot-die, which makes most customers choose our technology over slot-die technology.

是的，這實際上是整個行業所尋求的目標——而不是某一特定客戶。整個膜塗層行業都希望最終走向卷對卷，儘管他們目前還沒有這樣做。而且它不是替代品。對於塗層膜的這種特殊應用，他們不能通過 CBD 來進行這種應用。因此，我們在這個特定領域的競爭是狹縫模頭塗佈。但值得慶幸的是，與狹縫模頭相比，我們的塗層具有一些性能優勢，這使得大多數客戶選擇我們的技術而不是狹縫模頭技術。

And are -- so this -- the roll-to-roll opportunity, broadly speaking, it's not even in the backlog right now?

從廣義上講，這是否是卷對卷的機會，現在甚至還沒有積壓？

Broadly speaking, it's not, We'll get an occasional machine here and there. We are still making advances behind the scenes in our laboratories with it, and we are bringing customers in to see it. They can understand the technology and they can prepare for us for when they want to make the transition that they've got a partner in Sono-Tek that is prepared for them when they want to do that.

從廣義上講，事實並非如此，我們偶爾會在這里或那裡得到一台機器。我們仍在實驗室的幕後利用它取得進展，並且我們正在邀請客戶來參觀它。他們可以了解技術，並且可以在他們想要進行過渡時為我們做好準備，因為他們在 Sono-Tek 中有一個合作夥伴，可以在他們想要這樣做時為他們做好準備。

And when or if your clients are ready to move up to a production scale, how long would it take you to produce the first unit?

當您的客戶準備好提高生產規模時，您需要多長時間才能生產出第一台產品？

I don't think it would take us long at all because we have the machines in-house right now. We've actually made the bulk of the investment there, which allows us to show these systems to the customers. So we're close. Now again, these are almost always to some level customized machines. So it's going to be long lead time products. But when they say they're ready, I think we're prepared to take the orders.

我認為這根本不會花很長時間，因為我們現在就有內部機器。實際上，我們在那裡進行了大部分投資，這使我們能夠向客戶展示這些系統。所以我們很接近。再說一次，這些幾乎總是在某種程度上定制的機器。因此，這將是交貨時間較長的產品。但當他們說他們準備好了時，我想我們已經準備好接受訂單了。

And this concludes our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Dr. Chris Coccio for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回給 Chris Coccio 博士做總結髮言。

Yes. Thank you, and thank you to everyone for joining us today. Sono-Tek has a strong outlook for growth based on the high utility of our products in many high-tech and emerging markets. We look forward to our next call in October that will review the midyear 2024 results. So please contact us directly if you have any questions before that. Be well, stay safe. And I would just remind you once again that we will be at LD Micro in Los Angeles, Wednesday, June 7th. Thank you all.

是的。謝謝大家，也感謝大家今天加入我們。基於我們的產品在許多高科技和新興市場的高實用性，Sono-Tek 擁有強勁的增長前景。我們期待 10 月份的下一次電話會議，審查 2024 年年中的結果。因此，如果您在此之前有任何疑問，請直接聯繫我們。保持健康，保持安全。我想再次提醒您，我們將於 6 月 7 日星期三在洛杉磯的 LD Micro。謝謝你們。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you very much for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.

會議現已結束。非常感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開線路。