Simpson Manufacturing Co Inc (SSD) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Simpson Manufacturing Company third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call at this time. All participants aren't on this and only mode. (Operator Instruction) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎此時參加辛普森製造公司 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。並非所有參與者都處於此且唯一的模式。（操作員說明） 溫馨提示，本次會議正在錄音中。

It is now my pleasure to hand the call over to Kim Orlando with ADDO Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我很高興將電話轉交給 ADDO 投資者關係部門的 Kim Orlando。請繼續。

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Simpson Manufacturing Company's third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Any statements made on this call that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on certain estimates and expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual future results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

女士們先生們下午好，歡迎參加辛普森製造公司 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。本次電話會議所做的任何非歷史事實陳述均為前瞻性陳述。此類陳述基於某些估計和預期，並受到許多風險和不確定性的影響。未來的實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的結果有重大差異。

We encourage you to read the risks described in the company's public filings and reports which are available on the SECs or the company's corporate website. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws we undertake no obligation to update or publicly revise any of the forward-looking statements that we make here today, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. On this call, we will also refer to non-GAAP measures such as adjusted EBITA, which is reconciled to the most comparable GAAP measure of net income in the company's earnings press release.

我們鼓勵您閱讀公司公開文件和報告中描述的風險，這些文件和報告可在 SEC 或公司網站上找到。除適用證券法要求的範圍外，我們沒有義務更新或公開修改我們今天在此做出的任何前瞻性聲明，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件或其他原因。在本次電話會議上，我們還將提及調整後 EBITA 等非 GAAP 指標，該指標與公司收益新聞稿中最具可比性的 GAAP 淨利潤指標進行了調整。

Please note that the earnings press release was issued today at approximately 4:15 PM Eastern time. The earnings press release is available on the investor relations page of the company's website at ir.simpsonmfg.com. Today's call is being webcast and a replay will also be available on the investor relations page of the company's website.

請注意，收益新聞稿於東部時間今天下午 4:15 左右發布。收益新聞稿可在公司網站 ir.simpsonmfg.com 的投資者關係頁面上取得。今天的電話會議正在網路上直播，並且公司網站的投資者關係頁面上也將提供重播。

Now, I would like to turn the conference over to Michael Olosky, Simpson President and Chief Executive Officer.

現在，我想將會議交給辛普森總裁兼執行長 Michael Olosky。

Thanks Kim. Good afternoon, everyone and thank you for joining today's call. With me today is Brian Magstadt, our Chief Financial Officer. My remarks today will provide an overview of our third quarter performance and updates on our end markets. Brian will then walk you through our third quarter financials and fiscal 2024 outlook in greater detail.

謝謝金。大家下午好，感謝您參加今天的電話會議。今天和我在一起的是我們的財務長 Brian Magstadt。我今天的演講將概述我們第三季的業績和終端市場的最新情況。然後，布萊恩將向您詳細介紹我們的第三季財務狀況和 2024 財年展望。

Before we jump in, I'd like to take a moment to share our deepest condolences with all of those who are impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Hurricanes Milton this past month. It's unfortunate circumstances such as these that inspire our mission to provide solutions that help people design and build safer, stronger structures.

在我們開始之前，我想花點時間向所有上個月受到颶風海倫和颶風米爾頓影響的人們表示最深切的哀悼。正是諸如此類的不幸情況激發了我們的使命，即提供解決方案來幫助人們設計和建造更安全、更堅固的結構。

In staying true to our founders core values. We are pleased to be in the position to assist with the recovery efforts through donations to both the American Red Cross and Samaritan's Purse to help the effective communities recover and rebuild. While the storms are impacting our sales in the Southeast region. I'm pleased to report that none of our employees were injured in the storms and that our facilities did not sustain any damage. Our thoughts continue to be with all of those that were affected by these tragic events.

忠於我們創辦人的核心價值。我們很高興能夠透過向美國紅十字會和撒瑪利亞救援會捐款來協助復原工作，以幫助有效的社區恢復和重建。雖然風暴正在影響我們在東南地區的銷售。我很高興地報告，我們的員工沒有在風暴中受傷，我們的設施也沒有任何損壞。我們的思念仍然與所有受這些悲慘事件影響的人同在。

Now turning to our results, our third quarter net sales totaled $587.2 million which was above the prior year quarter despite the housing markets in both the US and Europe remaining under pressure. Importantly, we continue to outperform the US housing market. Our trailing 12 months, North American volume growth exceeded US housing starts by approximately 500 basis points as a result of our growth strategy.

現在轉向我們的業績，儘管美國和歐洲的房地產市場仍然面臨壓力，但我們第三季的淨銷售額總計 5.872 億美元，高於去年同期。重要的是，我們的表現持續跑贏美國房地產市場。由於我們的成長策略，過去 12 個月，北美銷量成長超過美國新屋開工量約 500 個基點。

North American volumes for third quarter were relatively flat with last year which led to net sales of $461.4 million versus $456.8 million in the third quarter of 2023. This includes a small benefit from our recent acquisitions. While product mix drove a higher average sales price per pound in the quarter customer mix resulted in greater volume discounts applied.

第三季北美銷售與去年持平，淨銷售額為 4.614 億美元，而 2023 年第三季為 4.568 億美元。這包括我們最近收購的一小部分好處。雖然產品組合推動了本季每磅平均銷售價格的上漲，但客戶組合卻導致了更大的批量折扣。

To further break down our North American volume performance the national retail market saw high single digit improvements due to our home center merchandizing, additional shelf space, and customer salesforce education efforts. We saw component manufacturer volumes improve modestly over last year as we have continued to increase our market share by onboarding multiple trust component manufacturers.

為了進一步細分我們的北美銷售表現，由於我們的家居中心銷售、額外的貨架空間和客戶銷售人員教育工作，全國零售市場出現了高個位數的成長。我們看到組件製造商的產量比去年略有提高，因為我們透過引入多家值得信賴的組件製造商來繼續增加我們的市場份額。

Our commercial and residential markets both experience low single-digit declines due to difficult market conditions. We achieve mid-teens volume growth year over year in the OEM market as we have continued to gain market share. So it remains a relatively small contributor to our revenues today.

由於市場條件困難，我們的商業和住宅市場均出現低個位數下降。隨著我們不斷獲得市場份額，我們在 OEM 市場的銷量實現了十幾歲左右的同比增長。因此，它對我們今天的收入貢獻仍然相對較小。

Turning to Europe, our third quarter net sales of $121.2 million increased by 1.8% or 1% on a local currency basis year over year. Our European business also outperformed the local market as we benefited from new customer wins and product applications. On a consolidated basis our third quarter gross margin declined to 46.8% from 48.8% in the third quarter of last year. So remained approximately 160 basis points above the pre-COVID run rate.

轉向歐洲，我們第三季淨銷售額為 1.212 億美元，年增 1.8%，以當地貨幣計算年增 1%。我們的歐洲業務也優於當地市場，因為我們受益於新客戶的贏得和產品應用。綜合來看，我們第三季的毛利率從去年第三季的 48.8% 下降至 46.8%。因此，仍比新冠疫情前的運轉利率高出約 160 個基點。

We continue to make investments in our people, engineering equipment, software and other capabilities to provide even better support to our customers in anticipation of an acceleration housing starts in the mid-term. While our result in operating margin declined by approximately 290 basis points to 21.3% versus last year, it remained approximately 500 basis points above the pre-COVID run rate. in regard to future SG&A investments, we will continue to monitor the market and control costs accordingly. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA totaled $148.3 million for the quarter, a decline of 6.6% year over year.

我們繼續對人員、工程設備、軟體和其他能力進行投資，為我們的客戶提供更好的支持，以期中期房屋開工加速。雖然我們的營業利潤率比去年下降了約 290 個基點至 21.3%，但仍比新冠疫情前的運行率高出約 500 個基點。關於未來的SG&A投資，我們將繼續監控市場並相應控製成本。該季度綜合調整後 EBITDA 總計 1.483 億美元，年減 6.6%。

Now turning to our growth initiatives which are underscored by our company ambitions including strengthening our values based culture, being the business partner of choice, striving to be an innovative leader in the markets we operate, continuing above market growth relative to US housing starts, returning to the top quartile of our proxy peer groups for operating income margin, and longer term returning to the top quartile of our proxy peer groups for return on invested capital.

現在轉向我們的成長計劃，這些計劃強調了我們公司的雄心，包括加強我們基於價值觀的文化、成為首選的業務合作夥伴、努力成為我們經營的市場的創新領導者、相對於美國新屋開工率繼續高於市場成長、回歸在營業收入利潤率方面躋身我們代理同行組的前四分之一，並從長遠來看，在投資資本回報率方面回到我們代理同行組的前四分之一。

As a reminder, our market focused approach enables us to better serve our customers and identify new product and application opportunities. I'd now like to highlight some of these new business wins within our five end use markets during the quarter which are a direct result of the investments we've been making in our business to drive above market performance.

謹此提醒，我們以市場為中心的方法使我們能夠更好地服務客戶並發現新產品和應用機會。現在，我想強調本季我們在五個最終用途市場中取得的一些新業務勝利，這是我們為推動高於市場表現而對業務進行投資的直接結果。

Beginning with the national retail space, our home center customers are increasing their shelf space of Simpson product to better serve their end customer. We expanded our off shelf merchandizing efforts resulting in new carts for anchors and fasteners in hundreds of additional store locations. In the component manufacturer market we are committed to ongoing investment and growing our offering in this space to bring a more comprehensive set of solutions to the market.

從全國零售空間開始，我們的家居中心客戶正在增加辛普森產品的貨架空間，以更好地服務他們的最終客戶。我們擴大了貨架銷售工作，在數百個其他商店地點推出了用於錨和緊固件的新推車。在組件製造商市場，我們致力於持續投資並增加我們在該領域的產品，以便為市場帶來更全面的解決方案。

This was evident with the expansion of our equipment offering through the acquisition of Monet DeSauw and our continued investment in software solutions. Monet DeSauw is a leading manufacturer of large Sauw's used in the fabrication of trusses within the US and Canada, much like Simpson Monet's goal is to provide customers with the latest technology and best quality products with fast and reliable support and dependable maintenance.

透過收購 Monet DeSauw 擴大我們的設備供應以及我們對軟體解決方案的持續投資，這一點就顯而易見了。Monet DeSauw 是美國和加拿大用於製造桁架的大型 Sauw 的領先製造商，就像 Simpson Monet 的目標一樣，為客戶提供最新的技術和最優質的產品，以及快速可靠的支援和可靠的維護。

By acquiring Monet, we expand our trust business by offering quality Sauw's and proprietary saw interface software directly to our existing component manufacturing customers. Monet also gives us an entry point to new customers.

透過收購 Monet，我們直接向現有的零件製造客戶提供優質的 Sauw 和專有鋸介面軟體，從而擴大了我們的信託業務。莫奈也為我們提供了新客戶的切入點。

And as discussed in our last call, our acquisition of CSD further enables us to offer a more complete suite of software solutions for our customers. In the residential market we continue to gain market share in the Northwest by partnering with a large pro dealer customer. This benefits not only our connector business but also our anchor and fastener products in each location helping us increase our attachment rates.

正如我們在上次電話會議中所討論的，對 CSD 的收購進一步使我們能夠為客戶提供更完整的軟體解決方案套件。在住宅市場，我們透過與大型專業經銷商客戶合作，繼續獲得西北地區的市場份額。這不僅有利於我們的連接器業務，也有利於我們每個地點的錨固件和緊固件產品，幫助我們提高連接率。

Additionally, we hosted purchasing teams and leaders from several national customers of our Gallatin, Tennessee facility to discuss opportunities with our innovative fastening solutions to our production plan and perform hands on demonstrations. Each event included a visit to our future Gallatin facility job site driving home our commitment to investing in future growth and manufacturing in the USA.

此外，我們還接待了來自田納西州加勒廷工廠的幾個全國客戶的採購團隊和領導，討論我們的創新緊固解決方案在生產計劃中的機會，並進行了實際演示。每場活動都包括參觀我們未來的加勒廷工廠工地，以加深我們對投資美國未來成長和製造業的承諾。

Our dedication to relentless customer service was recognized with several supplier awards announced in the third quarter including awards from Do it best, Southern Carlson and David Weekly Homes. In the commercial market our field support and dedication educating engineers, distributors and contractors continues to earn specifications and generate demand in the field. Some recent examples include product specifications for a casino, a peer project and several structural steel buildings.

我們對不懈客戶服務的奉獻精神獲得了第三季宣布的多項供應商獎項的認可，其中包括 Do it best、Southern Carlson 和 David Weekly Homes 授予的獎項。在商業市場中，我們的現場支援和奉獻精神教育工程師、經銷商和承包商不斷贏得規格並產生現場需求。最近的一些例子包括賭場、同行項目和幾座鋼結構建築的產品規格。

Additionally, during the quarter we acquired quick frames USA the leader in engineered structural roof frames within the US, Canada and Mexico which provide top quality steel connection products to commercial contractors. And finally in the OEM market, we developed a national relationship with a leading building products manufacturer to provide connectors and fasteners for their offsite construction solution.

此外，本季我們收購了 Quick Frame USA，該公司是美國、加拿大和墨西哥工程結構屋頂框架的領導者，為商業承包商提供優質的鋼製連接產品。最後，在 OEM 市場，我們與一家領先的建築產品製造商建立了全國合作關係，為其異地施工解決方案提供連接器和緊固件。

We also saw continued growth in mass timber providing connection solutions on several projects including our newly offered temporary bracing for mass timber. The M&A pipeline remains active as we continue to evaluate tuck in opportunities within our core competency that help us accelerate traction on our key growth initiatives.

我們還看到大體積木材的持續增長，為多個項目提供連接解決方案，包括我們新提供的大體積木材臨時支撐。隨著我們繼續評估核心能力範圍內的機會，併購管道仍然活躍，這有助於我們加快關鍵成長計畫的牽引力。

In regard to our facility investments the expansion of our Columbus, Ohio facility remains on track to become fully operational in early 2025. The completion of our newly constructed fastener facility in Gallatin, Tennessee will follow in late 2025.

關於我們的設施投資，俄亥俄州哥倫布市設施的擴建仍有望在 2025 年初全面投入營運。我們位於田納西州加拉廷的新建緊固件工廠將於 2025 年底竣工。

Before I conclude, I'd like to highlight a few important corporate developments. As many of you know, our CFO, Brian Magstadt, announced his intention to retire effective at the end of the year 2024. Brian joined Simpson in 2004 and has been an integral part of the company for the past 20 years and helped champion our strong culture. On behalf of the entire Simpson team I'd like to thank Brian for his invaluable contributions to the company that have resulted in extraordinary growth, improved profitability and increased stockholder value. We wish him all the best in his retirement.

在結束之前，我想強調一些重要的企業發展。眾所周知，我們的財務長 Brian Magstadt 宣布打算在 2024 年底退休。Brian 於 2004 年加入辛普森，在過去 20 年裡一直是公司不可或缺的一部分，並幫助維護了我們強大的文化。我謹代表整個辛普森團隊感謝布萊恩對公司的寶貴貢獻，這些貢獻帶來了公司的非凡成長、獲利能力的提升和股東價值的增加。我們祝福他退休後一切順利。

Our comprehensive search for a new Chief Financial Officer continues and we hope to have some positive news to share with you in the near future. Lastly, we are pleased to commemorate our 30 anniversary as a publicly traded company by ring the NYSE closing bell in September. Since we went public back in May of 1994, we have evolved from an approximately $150 million in annual sales to a world leader in structural solutions with greater than $2 billion in annual sales and a total compounded annual growth rate in our stock of approximately 15%.

我們仍在繼續全面尋找新的財務官，我們希望在不久的將來能與您分享一些正面的消息。最後，我們很高興在 9 月敲響紐約證券交易所收盤鐘聲，以紀念我們作為一家上市公司成立 30 週年。自 1994 年 5 月上市以來，我們已從年銷售額約 1.5 億美元發展成為年銷售額超過 20 億美元、股票年複合成長率約為 15% 的結構解決方案全球領導者。

I am incredibly proud of all that Simpson has accomplished and want to express my gratitude to our team members, valued customers, suppliers and stockholders for all of their contributions to our success over the years.

我對辛普森所取得的成就感到無比自豪，並向我們的團隊成員、尊貴的客戶、供應商和股東表示感謝，感謝他們多年來為我們的成功所做的貢獻。

In summary, despite near term macroeconomic challenges, we remain optimistic in our ability to outperform US housing starts which we now expect to decline in the low single-digit range from 2023 and grow in the low single-digit range in 2025. European housing starts are expected to decline in the high single-digits compared to 2023 with meaningful growth pushed out further into 2026 and beyond. As usual, we'll provide our 2025 outlook on our Q4 results call in February.

總而言之，儘管近期面臨宏觀經濟挑戰，但我們對跑贏美國新屋開工率的能力仍持樂觀態度，目前我們預計美國新屋開工量將從2023 年開始在低個位數範圍內下降，並在2025 年以低個位數範圍成長。與 2023 年相比，歐洲新屋開工量預計將出現高個位數下降，而有意義的成長將進一步推遲到 2026 年及以後。與往常一樣，我們將在 2 月的第四季業績電話會議上提供 2025 年展望。

With that. I'd like to turn the call over to Brian, who will discuss our third quarter financial results in greater detail.

就這樣。我想將電話轉給布萊恩，他將更詳細地討論我們第三季的財務表現。

Thanks Mike and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us on our third quarter earnings call today. Before I begin, I'd like to mention that unless otherwise stated, all financial measures discussed in my prepared remarks, refer to the third quarter of 2024 and all comparisons will be year over year comparisons versus the third quarter of 2023.

謝謝麥克，大家下午好。感謝您參加今天的第三季財報電話會議。在開始之前，我想提一下，除非另有說明，我準備的發言中討論的所有財務指標均指 2024 年第三季度，所有比較均是與 2023 年第三季度的同比比較。

And Mike, I appreciate your comments as it's been a pleasure to serve as the company's CFO since 2012. I made the choice to retire from the company at the end of this year concluding a rewarding 20 year career at Simpson working for Simpson has been one of the true successes and joys of my life. Simpson's employees are some of the best people I have ever known. Throughout my tenure I've seen the company experience tremendous growth in all aspects. I could not be more proud of all that Simpson has achieved and of our adherence to bark's principles which continue to guide us this day. Although I will be retiring, I intend to remain as long as is necessary to bring my successor up to speed and will remain a shareholder.

麥克，我很感謝您的評論，因為自 2012 年以來擔任公司的財務長是我的榮幸。我決定在今年年底從公司退休，結束在辛普森的 20 年有意義的職業生涯，為辛普森工作是我一生中真正的成功和快樂之一。辛普森的員工是我所認識的最優秀的人之一。在我的任期內，我看到公司在各方面都經歷了巨大的發展。我為辛普森所取得的一切成就以及我們對巴克原則的堅持感到無比自豪，這些原則至今仍指導著我們。儘管我即將退休，但只要有必要，我就打算繼續留任，以便讓我的繼任者跟上進度，並繼續擔任股東。

Now, turning to our third quarter results, our consolidated net sales increased modestly $587.2 million. Within the North America segment net sales increased by 1% to $461.4 million. Wood construction product sales were up 0.6% and concrete construction product sales were up 3.1%.

現在，我們來看看第三季的業績，我們的綜合淨銷售額小幅成長了 5.872 億美元。北美業務淨銷售額成長 1%，達到 4.614 億美元。木質建築產品銷售額成長 0.6%，混凝土建築產品銷售成長 3.1%。

In Europe, net sales increased 1.8% to $121.2 million primarily due to higher sales volumes and the positive effect of $1.5 million in foreign currency translation, which was partially offset by price decreases in some regions.

在歐洲，淨銷售額成長 1.8%，達到 1.212 億美元，主要是由於銷量增加以及 150 萬美元外幣換算的正面影響，但部分地區的價格下降抵消了這一影響。

Consolidated gross profit decreased 2.8% to $275 million resulting in a gross margin of 46.8% compared to 48.8% due primarily to changes in product mix, investments to help us provide better support to our customers in higher factory overhead and labor costs. On a segment basis our gross margin in North America decreased to 49.5% compared to 51.8% primarily due to higher factory overhead and warehouse costs as a percentage in net sales which were partially offset by efficiency gains.

綜合毛利下降2.8% 至2.75 億美元，毛利率從48.8% 下降到46.8%，這主要是由於產品結構的變化以及幫助我們在更高的工廠管理費用和勞動力成本方面為客戶提供更好支持的投資。從分部來看，我們北美地區的毛利率從 51.8% 下降至 49.5%，這主要是由於工廠管理費用和倉儲成本佔淨銷售額的百分比上升，但部分被效率提升所抵消。

Our gross margin in Europe decreased to 36.6% from 37.9% primarily due to higher labor, factory overhead, warehouse and freight costs as a percentage in net sales which were partly offset by lower material costs. I'll speak to our European aspirations shortly. From a product perspective, our third quarter gross margin on wood products was 46.3% compared to 48.1% and was 48% for concrete products compared to 47%.

我們在歐洲的毛利率從 37.9% 下降至 36.6%，主要是由於勞動力、工廠管理費用、倉庫和貨運成本佔淨銷售額的百分比上升，但材料成本下降部分抵消了這一影響。我很快就會談到我們的歐洲願望。從產品角度來看，第三季木製品毛利率為 46.3%，去年同期為 48.1%；混凝土產品毛利率為 48%，去年同期為 47%。

Now turning to our operating expenses. In the last 12 months, the majority of the employees we've added are in sales, engineering -- engineering services and digital solutions. And we've increased investment in professional services which are intended to drive forward our growth initiatives. Specifically, total operating expenses were $148.9 million an increase of $7 million or 4.9% primarily due to increased personnel costs, higher professional fees, greater advertising and trade show costs which were partially offset by a reduction in variable incentive compensation and travel expenses.

現在轉向我們的營運費用。在過去 12 個月中，我們新增的大多數員工從事銷售、工程、工程服務和數位解決方案工作。我們增加了對專業服務的投資，旨在推動我們的成長計劃。具體而言，總營運費用為1.489 億美元，增加了700 萬美元或4.9%，主要是由於人員成本增加、專業費用增加、廣告和貿易展覽成本增加，但可變激勵薪酬和差旅費用的減少部分抵消了這些費用。

As a percentage of net sales total operating expenses were 25.4% compared to 24.5%. To further detail, our SG&A our third quarter research and development and engineering expenses decreased 4.3% to $23.7 million primarily due to lower variable incentive compensation costs and lower professional fees, partially offset by an increase in personnel costs.

總營運費用佔淨銷售額的比例為 25.4%，去年同期為 24.5%。更詳細地說，第三季的銷售、管理和行政費用（SG&A）研發和工程費用下降了4.3%，至2,370 萬美元，主要是由於可變激勵薪資成本和專業費用的降低，部分被人員成本的增加所抵消。

Selling expenses increased 4.2% to $54.6 million primarily due to the higher personnel costs. On a segment basis selling expenses in North America were up 4.3% and in Europe, they were up 3.1%. General and administrative expenses increased 9% to $70.6 million primarily due to increased personnel costs and higher professional fees, particularly in our digital solutions space. In addition to higher amortization expense, partially offset by lower variable incentive compensation costs.

銷售費用增加 4.2% 至 5,460 萬美元，主要是因為人員成本增加。以細分市場計算，北美地區的銷售費用增加了 4.3%，歐洲地區的銷售費用增加了 3.1%。一般和管理費用增加了 9%，達到 7,060 萬美元，主要是由於人員成本和專業費用的增加，特別是在我們的數位解決方案領域。除了較高的攤銷費用外，變動激勵補償成本的降低也部分抵銷了這種影響。

These investments are intended to bring innovative solutions to our various customer markets. As a result, our consolidated income from operations totaled $124.9 million a decline of 11% from $140 million. Our consolidated operating income margin was 21.3% down from 24.2%. In North America, income from operations decreased 9.1% to $123.3 million primarily due to reduced gross profit along with higher operating expenses from personal costs, software licensing, and IT costs, professional fees, intangible amortization expense and advertising and trade show costs partially offset by lower variable incentive compensation.

這些投資旨在為我們的各個客戶市場帶來創新的解決方案。因此，我們的綜合營運收入總計 1.249 億美元，比 1.4 億美元下降了 11%。我們的綜合營業利潤率從 24.2% 下降到 21.3%。在北美，營運收入下降 9.1% 至 1.233 億美元，主要是由於毛利減少以及個人成本、軟體授權和 IT 成本、專業費用、無形攤銷費用以及廣告和貿易展覽成本等營運費用增加，部分抵銷了較低的可變激勵薪酬。

In Europe income from operations decreased 18.2% to $12.6 million due to lower gross profit along with higher personnel and depreciation costs. As previously mentioned, we have been incurring costs this year to support the optimization of the European footprint, including the realization of defensive synergies from Taco which has resulted in some margin compression over last year.

在歐洲，由於毛利下降以及人員和折舊成本上升，營運收入下降 18.2% 至 1,260 萬美元。如前所述，我們今年一直在承擔成本來支持歐洲足跡的優化，包括實現 Taco 的防禦協同效應，這導致去年的利潤率壓縮。

Our mid-term target of 15% operating income margin in Europe remains unchanged. Assumptions include improved economic conditions, the anticipated realization of our offensive synergies, and broader secular trends including the growing use of wood construction and increasingly stringent environmental regulations that drive new applications.

我們歐洲 15% 營業利益率的中期目標維持不變。假設包括經濟條件的改善、我們進攻性協同效應的預期實現以及更廣泛的長期趨勢，包括木結構建築的使用不斷增加以及推動新應用的日益嚴格的環境法規。

Our effective tax rate was 26.1%, approximately 20 basis points higher than the prior year period. Accordingly net income totaled $94 million or $2.21 per fully diluted share compared to $104 million or $2.43 per fully diluted share. For the third quarter adjusted EBITDA of $148.3 million declined 6.6%.

我們的有效稅率為 26.1%，比去年同期高出約 20 個基點。因此，淨利潤總計為 9,400 萬美元，即完全稀釋每股收益 2.21 美元，而淨利潤為 1.04 億美元，即完全稀釋每股收益 2.43 美元。第三季調整後 EBITDA 為 1.483 億美元，下降 6.6%。

Now turning to our balance sheet and cash flow, our balance sheet remained healthy with cash and cash equivalents totaling $339.4 million at September 30, 2024, down $15.4 million from our balance at June 30, 2024, due primarily to our recent acquisitions as well as changes in working capital, primarily raw material purchases.

現在轉向我們的資產負債表和現金流，我們的資產負債表保持健康，截至2024 年9 月30 日的現金和現金等價物總額為3.394 億美元，比2024 年6 月30 日的餘額減少1,540 萬美元，這主要是由於我們最近的收購以及營運資金的變化，主要是原料採購。

Our debt balance was approximately $465.4 million net of capitalized finance costs and our net debt position was $126 million. We have $375 million remaining available for borrowing on our primary line of credit. Our inventory position as of September 30, 2024, was $583.4 million which was up $49.8 million compared to our balance as of June 30, 2024, on higher pounds.

扣除資本化融資成本後，我們的債務餘額約為 4.654 億美元，淨債務部位為 1.26 億美元。我們的主要信貸額度尚有 3.75 億美元可供借款。截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，我們的庫存部位為 5.834 億美元，由於英鎊增加，與截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日的餘額相比增加了 4,980 萬美元。

While finished goods inventory is slightly elevated we are working to reduce those levels in the fourth quarter while maintaining our high service levels. During the third quarter, we generated cash flow from operations of approximately $102.6 million compared to $200.9 million. We invested $106.5 million for capital expenditures including our facility investments as well as acquisitions and paid $11.8 million in dividends to our stockholders.

雖然成品庫存略有上升，但我們正在努力在第四季度降低這些水平，同時保持高服務水平。第三季度，我們的營運現金流約為 1.026 億美元，而去年同期為 2.009 億美元。我們投資了 1.065 億美元用於資本支出，包括我們的設施投資和收購，並向股東支付了 1,180 萬美元的股息。

While we did not repurchase shares during the quarter, approximately $50 million remained available from our $100 million share repurchase authorization as of September 30.

雖然我們本季沒有回購股票，但截至 9 月 30 日，我們仍可獲得約 5,000 萬美元的 1 億美元股票回購授權。

Now I'll turn to our updated 2024 financial outlook. Based on business trends and conditions as of today October 21, our guidance for the full year ending December 31, 2024, is as follows. We now expect our operating margin to be in the range of 19% to 19.5% although it is still well above our pre-COVID average. This is below our expectation and ambition.

現在我將談談我們更新的 2024 年財務展望。根據截至 10 月 21 日的業務趨勢和狀況，我們對截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的全年指引如下。我們現在預計我們的營業利潤率將在 19% 至 19.5% 之間，儘管它仍遠高於新冠疫情前的平均水平。這低於我們的預期和野心。

We invested in a market environment that hasn't grown and has lagged our anticipated volume expectations. We are working to get our cost in line with the market and improve our overall profitability. Additional key assumptions include a revised expectation for US housing starts to be down from 2023 levels.

我們投資的市場環境尚未成長且落後於我們預期的銷售預期。我們正在努力使我們的成本與市場保持一致，並提高我們的整體獲利能力。其他關鍵假設包括修訂後的美國新屋開工預期將低於 2023 年的水準。

After sales due to slowing construction activity in the wake of storms in the southeast, a lower overall gross margin based on the addition of new warehouses and increases in labor and factory tooling as a percentage of net sales, $4 million to $5 million in expected total cost to pursue defensive synergies in Europe, as well as other acquisition opportunities.

售後由於東南部風暴過後建築活動放緩，加上新倉庫的增加以及勞動力和工廠工具佔淨銷售額百分比的增加，總體毛利率較低，預計總額為 400 萬至 500 萬美元在歐洲追求防禦協同效應以及其他收購機會的成本。

And in the current challenging housing market, we are working to balance our growth focused investments while ensuring we deliver a strong operating income margin. Next interest expense on the outstanding revolving credit facility and term loans which have borrowings of $75 million and $431 million as of September 30, 2024, respectively is expected to be approximately $4.9 million including the benefit from interest rate and cross currency swaps. Mitigating substantially all of the volatility from changes in interest rates.

在當前充滿挑戰的房地產市場中，我們正在努力平衡以成長為重點的投資，同時確保我們提供強勁的營業利潤率。截至2024 年9 月30 日，未償還循環信貸額度和定期貸款的借款分別為7,500 萬美元和4.31 億美元，其下一次利息支出預計約為490 萬美元，其中包括利率和交叉貨幣掉期的收益。大幅緩解利率變化帶來的所有波動。

Interest on our cash and money markets is expected to offset this expense. Our effective tax rate is estimated to be in the range of 25.3% to 25.8% including both federal and state income tax rates based on current tax laws. And finally, our capital expenditures are estimated to be in the range of $175 million to $185 million which includes $90 million to $100 million for the Columbus facility expansion and the new Gallatin fastener facility construction with the remaining spend carrying over into 2025.

我們的現金和貨幣市場的利息預計將抵消這筆費用。根據現行稅法，我們的有效稅率估計在 25.3% 至 25.8% 範圍內，包括聯邦和州所得稅稅率。最後，我們的資本支出預計在 1.75 億至 1.85 億美元之間，其中包括 9,000 萬至 1 億美元用於哥倫布設施擴建和新加勒廷緊固件設施建設，剩餘支出結轉至 2025 年。

In summary, while our third quarter results reflected a challenging environment we have outperformed US housing starts by approximately 500 basis points on a trailing 12 months basis as we've invested in improving the customer experience and expanding our offerings.

總而言之，雖然我們第三季的業績反映了充滿挑戰的環境，但由於我們在改善客戶體驗和擴大產品範圍方面進行了投資，因此在過去12 個月的基礎上，我們的房屋開工率比美國新屋開工率高出約500 個基點。

While our solid balance sheet and cash generation support, ongoing investments in growth that position us well to benefit from a recovery in US housing starts, we are focused on balancing our costs in the short term with our growth strategy until we see a rebound in housing starts growth.

雖然我們穩健的資產負債表和現金產生支援以及持續的成長投資使我們能夠從美國新屋開工復甦中受益，但我們仍致力於平衡短期成本與成長策略，直到看到房屋市場反彈開始生長。

With that. I will now turn the call over to the operator to begin the Q&A session.

就這樣。我現在將把電話轉給接線員以開始問答環節。

Daniel Moore, CJS Securities.

丹尼爾·摩爾，CJS 證券。

Good afternoon, Mike, Brian. Thank you for taking the questions.

下午好，麥克，布萊恩。感謝您提出問題。

Hello Dan.

你好丹。

Hi Dan.

嗨丹。

And just let me start quickly, Brian first congrats to you and thanks for all your help over the last 10-plus years. It's been greatly appreciated and wish you all the best. Hope a chance to chat one or two more times, officially at least.

讓我快速開始吧，Brian 首先向您表示祝賀，並感謝您在過去 10 多年中提供的所有幫助。我們非常感謝並祝您一切順利。希望有機會再聊一兩次，至少是正式的。

Thank you, let me state that.

謝謝，讓我聲明一下。

Absolutely. Let me start with what's, just kind of Q4 and the outlook. How much of an impact do you expect the hurricanes to have on your Q4 sales and up income as it relates to the revised guidance?

絕對地。讓我從第四季的情況和前景開始。您預計颶風會對您第四季度的銷售和收入產生多大影響，因為這與修訂後的指導有關？

So Dan, it's Mike. So we've certainly seen our customers have some real slowdowns in the southeast from both the hurricanes. We've got some customers that have had some of their facilities significantly impacted. As the hurricanes were coming in, we saw a lot of slow down before and then a bit of a slowdown afterwards.

丹，是麥克。因此，我們確實看到我們的客戶在東南部因兩次颶風而出現了一些真正的放緩。我們的一些客戶的一些設施受到了嚴重影響。當颶風來襲時，我們看到之前有很大的放緩，之後也有一點放緩。

There's also a little bit of concern that the storms are going to take labor that would normally go to new housing starts and take that to the repair and renovation piece. So we haven't really dialed in the specific guidance and how that's going to impact us. But for our business that operates in that area, the forecast for fourth quarter is definitely lower than we thought it was going to be.

還有一點擔心的是，風暴將帶走通常用於新房開工的勞動力，並將其用於維修和翻新工作。因此，我們還沒有真正制定具體的指導方針以及這將如何影響我們。但對於我們在該領域運營的業務來說，第四季度的預測肯定低於我們的預期。

And Dan, it's Brian. So as we think about the fourth quarter, I would expect a gross margin pretty comparable, maybe slightly up from Q4 of 2023, resulting operating margin a little better than Q4 of 2023 to get us into that 19% to 19.5% overall 2024 operating margin,

丹，是布萊恩。因此，當我們考慮第四季度時，我預計毛利率相當，可能比2023 年第四季略有上升，因此營業利潤率比2023 年第四季好一點，使我們的2024 年整體營業利潤率達到19% 至19.5% ,

Understood, helpful. And maybe turning to the outlook that you provided. To start with the expectation of low single digit growth in US Housing starts as we think about '25. Maybe, just talk about the key assumptions underlying that view and is -- and your longer term target is to outpace by 250 basis points. You've obviously been doing better than that. So how do we think about your kind of expectations for growth above and beyond the market over the next 12 months or so?

了解了，有幫助。也許會轉向您提供的前景。首先，我們預計 25 年美國房屋開工率將出現低個位數成長。也許，只要談談該觀點背後的關鍵假設，您的長期目標是超過 250 個基點。顯然你做得比那更好。那麼，我們如何看待您對未來 12 個月左右的成長超出市場水平的預期？

Yes. So Dan, we're getting input from our customers and then all the various forecasters, we use one group in particular because they can break down the market by regions which aligns with how we run the business. And the feeling that we're getting is -- it's going to be in the 3% to 4% housing start market next year in the US. Europe will probably be a low single digit 1% or 2% of the numbers that we're seeing from most of the forecasters.

是的。因此，丹，我們從客戶以及所有不同的預測者那裡獲取意見，我們特別使用一組，因為他們可以按與我們經營業務的方式一致的地區來細分市場。我們得到的感覺是——明年美國新屋開工率將達到 3% 到 4%。與我們從大多數預測者看到的數字相比，歐洲可能會是一個較低的個位數，即 1% 或 2%。

I mean, there's still a lot of uncertainty. We -- I think the general consensus is second half is going to be better in the first half. But, as we've seen over the last six quarters, there's a lot of variability in how those housing starts ramp up and then ultimately slow down a little bit.

我的意思是，仍然存在著許多不確定性。我們——我認為普遍的共識是下半年會比上半年更好。但是，正如我們在過去六個季度所看到的那樣，這些住房開工量的增長和最終放緩的方式存在很大差異。

I think the key point we want emphasize is we as a team are not happy with our guidance of below 20% from an operating income perspective. We view 20% as the floor and we're going to do everything we can to get back there next year.

我認為我們要強調的關鍵點是，從營業收入的角度來看，我們作為一個團隊對低於 20% 的指導感到不滿。我們認為 20% 是下限，我們將盡一切努力爭取明年回到這個水平。

That's really helpful, Mike. And then, I think you answered my next question about Europe. You indicated you didn't expect meaningful growth to come back until '26 but it doesn't sound like that next year being down significantly either just up flat to up slightly. Is that the way to think about your kind of near term view?

這真的很有幫助，麥克。然後，我想你回答了我關於歐洲的下一個問題。您表示您預計直到 26 年才會出現有意義的成長，但聽起來明年不會大幅下降，或只是持平或略有上升。這是你思考近期觀點的方式嗎？

Yeah. So the governments in Europe and in the central bank over there, they have started to lower interest rates. Housing starts across Europe is probably going to be down high single digits this year. So I'll bounce back to 1%-ish, 2%-ish growth would be a good thing. We are starting to see some increased activity just from a quoting perspective over there that we're feeling a little bit better on.

是的。因此，歐洲各國政府和央行已經開始降低利率。今年歐洲各地的新屋開工量可能會大幅下降個位數。所以我會反彈到 1% 左右、2% 左右的成長將是一件好事。從報價的角度來看，我們開始看到一些活動增加，我們感覺好一點了。

The target there really though Dan is make sure that we hit that 15% operating income in the midterm. And then really control costs until we see a significant jump up in the market over there.

Dan 的目標實際上是確保我們在中期達到 15% 的營業收入。然後真正控製成本，直到我們看到那裡的市場大幅上漲。

Got it. And then it's been two or three quarters of modest retrenchment in terms of margins in Europe. Do you expect to start to see some improvement next year based on that forecast?

知道了。然後，歐洲的利潤率出現了兩到三個季度的小緊縮。根據該預測，您預計明年會開始看到一些改善嗎？

Well, a big part of that Dan is we're working on our defensive synergies over there and right sizing our footprint. So Brian touched on some of those costs. Those obviously won't repeat. So we think that will help us lead you at a better gross margin in Europe going forward.

嗯，丹的一個重要部分是我們正在那裡努力提高我們的防守協同作用並正確調整我們的足跡。布賴恩談到了其中一些成本。這些顯然不會重複。因此，我們認為這將有助於我們帶領您在歐洲取得更好的毛利率。

Perfect, very helpful. Maybe just quickly talk a little bit more about the acquisitions. I think it's Monet DeSauw and quick frames in terms of what they bring to the table. And then any trailing 12 month revenue EBITDA figures to give us a sense from a modeling perspective. Thanks again.

完美，非常有幫助。也許只是快速談談收購。我認為這是莫內·德索和快速框架所帶來的。然後，任何追蹤 12 個月的收入 EBITDA 數據都可以從建模的角度讓我們有所了解。再次感謝。

Yes. So if you look at Monet, Monet helps us offer a complete solution to component manufacturers. And we had a big presence at the BCMC show a couple of weeks ago. That's the large trade show for trust manufacturers. We have a lot of really good feedback from customers of Monet that are not yet our current customers and we had a lot of feedback from our current customers happy that we continue to expand our equipment offering. So we're pretty excited about that going forward. I think that's a fantastic company. And Kevin who built that has done a wonderful job. And by the way, still with us.

是的。因此，如果您看看 Monet，Monet 會幫助我們為零零件製造商提供完整的解決方案。幾週前，我們在 BCMC 展上大展身手。那是信託製造商的大型貿易展。我們從莫奈的客戶那裡得到了很多非常好的回饋，但這些客戶還不是我們目前的客戶，我們從目前的客戶那裡得到了很多回饋，我們很高興我們繼續擴大我們的設備供應。所以我們對未來感到非常興奮。我認為那是一家很棒的公司。建造這個的凱文做得非常出色。順便說一下，仍然和我們在一起。

If you look at the combined revenue that we've had from those acquisitions in the US, here in the US, it's less than $5 million impact in the quarter, Dan.

Dan，如果你看看我們在美國的這些收購帶來的綜合收入，在美國，本季的影響還不到 500 萬美元。

And, Dan, I would say on a, on a go forward basis and I would expect, for at least how we're looking through the balance of 2024 a little less than $10 million in total revenue on those. We're not disclosed, we're not for the acquisition --

Dan，我想說的是，在未來的基礎上，我預計，至少我們在 2024 年的剩餘時間裡，這些產品的總收入略低於 1000 萬美元。我們沒有透露，我們不支持收購--

And that's for the total '24 impact to your P&L as opposed to Q4. Is that right?

這是 24 年對損益表的整體影響，而不是第四季。是這樣嗎？

No. That would be for the fourth quarter. The amount that we're modeling for our numbers so that we get to the operating income guidance based on current expectations.

不。那是第四季的情況。我們為數據建模的金額，以便我們根據當前預期得出營業收入指導。

Okay. Combined revenue from both, less than $10 million for Q4.

好的。第四季兩者的總收入不到 1000 萬美元。

Right.

正確的。

All right. I'll jump on queue. Thank you. Again.

好的。我會插隊。謝謝。再次。

And just to answer your quick frame piece that we're pretty excited about that because that gives us another tool to sell into the commercial space. So it's prefabricated, structural support for things to go into the roof of commercial building. So it's a great fit for the business model. They've also built a good business. So we're pretty excited about that going forward as well.

只是為了回答您的快速框架，我們對此感到非常興奮，因為這為我們提供了另一種向商業領域銷售的工具。因此，它是預製的結構支撐，用於將東西放入商業建築的屋頂。所以它非常適合商業模式。他們也建立了良好的業務。因此，我們對此也感到非常興奮。

Okay. Operator, next question.

好的。接線員，下一個問題。

All right.

好的。

Tim Wojs, Baird.

提姆·沃伊斯，貝爾德。

Hey guys, good afternoon. I'll echo my comments on Brian. Thanks for all the help. So we'll still talk, but I just wanted to acknowledge that. Maybe just the first piece, so on the margin comments, I mean, I guess my kind of outlining that 20% margin is kind of the floor on an EBIT basis, I guess, A, is that new? Because I want to say you said high-teens in the past. And then secondly, I guess how do you kind of get there next year? I mean, do you just kind of throttle back some of the investments and invest at a slower rate relative to the updated view on starts to get some benefits from raw materials? Are you actually going to cut investments? Just how do you kind of, I guess adjust to this lower level of market activity?

嘿夥計們，下午好。我會回應我對布萊恩的評論。感謝您的所有幫助。所以我們仍然會討論，但我只是想承認這一點。也許只是第一部分，所以關於利潤率評論，我的意思是，我想我概述的 20% 利潤率是息稅前利潤基礎上的下限，我想，A，這是新的嗎？因為我想說你過去說過青少年時期。其次，我想明年你會如何達成這個目標？我的意思是，相對於開始從原材料中獲得一些好處的最新觀點，您是否只是減少了一些投資並以較慢的速度進行投資？你真的要削減投資嗎？我想你是如何適應這種較低水準的市場活動的？

Good question. So as you know, Tim, one of our financial ambitions is to be in the top quartile of our proxy peer group. We think that the 21%-ish is right at that kind of top quartile range. And again, our view is 20% max. I mean, we've got a great team, we've got a great business model. We need to be able to translate that into good profitability and 20% is good profitability. So anything below that, we are going to work to improve on.

好問題。提姆，如您所知，我們的財務目標之一是躋身代理同業群體的前四分之一。我們認為 21% 左右的比例正好在最高四分位數範圍內。再說一遍，我們的觀點是最多 20%。我的意思是，我們有一支出色的團隊，我們有一個出色的商業模式。我們需要能夠將其轉化為良好的獲利能力，20% 是良好的獲利能力。因此，低於這個標準的任何事情，我們都會努力改進。

So the question then is how do we get there? So, as you've seen from our SG&A investments, the last couple of quarters, that's been well below our SG&A growth rates is probably the last 18 months. So we will continue to dial that in. We're going to be even more selective on where we make investments and where we add both on the SG&A side and on the cost of goods side.

那麼問題是我們要如何到達那裡？因此，正如您從我們過去幾季的 SG&A 投資中看到的那樣，這可能遠低於我們過去 18 個月的 SG&A 成長率。所以我們將繼續撥入這一點。我們將更有選擇性地進行投資，以及在SG&A 方面和商品成本方面進行投資。

The balance here is we want to provide great support to our customers. As you know, that's all part of being their supplier of choice and to do that, it's a people intensive business model. So we need the investment in the cost of goods and we need it in the SG&A because they are for the most part single sourcing us, we just need to be more selective about making those investments, Tim.

這裡的平衡點是我們希望為我們的客戶提供大力支持。如您所知，這是成為他們選擇的供應商的一部分，而要做到這一點，這是一種人員密集的商業模式。因此，我們需要對商品成本進行投資，也需要對銷售、一般管理費用進行投資，因為它們大部分是單一採購給我們的，我們只需要在進行這些投資時更有選擇性，Tim。

Okay. So it's not a necessarily a cutting of the base. It's just being more selective relative to the growth rate is the way to --

好的。所以這不一定是對底座的切割。只是相對於成長率更具選擇性才是解決問題的方法--

More selective. Yes.

更有選擇性。是的。

Okay. Got you. Okay. And then, second, just Brian can you help me with like the how to think about the gross margin sequentially? Because if I heard you right, it sounds like gross margins should be kind of flattish to maybe up slightly sequentially. I guess you have -- a lower revenue quarter. It sounds like you want to take some inventory down in the fourth quarter. So kind of what's the piece I'm missing there.

好的。明白你了。好的。然後，第二，布萊恩，你能幫我想想如何依序考慮毛利率嗎？因為如果我沒聽錯的話，聽起來毛利率應該持平，甚至可能會略有上升。我猜你的季度收入較低。聽起來你想在第四季減少一些庫存。那麼我在那裡缺少的是什麼。

Yeah. So when we look at the annual to get into that operating income guide, we would assume flattish to just slightly up gross margin from last year. So last year, 43.9% fourth quarter, gross margin. We've got some as a percent of revenue, modeling out slightly higher factoring, tooling as a percent of revenue. [Your count] of warehouse as percent relatively flat, potentially benefiting a little bit on the freight line.

是的。因此，當我們查看年度營業收入指南時，我們會假設毛利率與去年持平或略有上升。那麼去年第四季的毛利率為43.9%。我們有一些佔收入的百分比，建模出略高的保理，工具佔收入的百分比。 [您的]倉庫百分比相對持平，可能對貨運線路有利。

And then we think we're in a really good position from a material perspective and there might be a little help there but all in, it's pretty close to -- those are the puts and takes to get us to again, flattish gross margin in the fourth quarter of '24 versus '23.

然後我們認為，從物質角度來看，我們處於一個非常好的位置，可能會有一點幫助，但總而言之，它非常接近——這些是讓我們再次達到持平毛利率的看跌期權和看跌期權。與'23 的第四季。

Okay. Got you. Okay. I misunderstood a little bit of that. Okay. And then in North America, what was the price mix kind of contribution and aggregate? Was it about flat in total?

好的。明白你了。好的。我對此有一點誤解。好的。那麼在北美，價格組合的貢獻和總量是多少呢？總共大約持平嗎？

Yeah, so we had a couple of things there. So as we look at -- one of our key metrics that we follow as, you know, is pound shipped. That's how we measure our volume increases, but not every pound shipped is worth the same dollars. So as we compared this year, third quarter to last year third quarter, just the slight change in the mix of products that went out the door, slight, a little higher dollar per pound, ship.

是的，所以我們有一些事情。因此，正如我們所看到的，我們遵循的關鍵指標之一是運輸磅數。這就是我們衡量銷售成長的方式，但並非每一磅出貨都值得相同的美元。因此，當我們將今年第三季與去年第三季進行比較時，出貨的產品組合略有變化，每磅運費略有上漲。

There was a bit of an offset there was the -- bigger builders are getting bigger, same thing with some of our distribution partners and consolidation and as more sales go into those larger customers as a percent of the total, a little bit higher of a rebate paid relative to if -- more call it, smaller customers who are a bigger piece of the pie. So those were the two that nearly offset.

有一點抵消——更大的建築商正在變得更大，我們的一些分銷合作夥伴和整合也是如此，隨著更多的銷售進入這些更大的客戶，佔總數的百分比，略高一點相對於如果——更確切地說，較小的客戶是蛋糕中更大的一塊——支付的回扣。所以這兩個幾乎抵消了。

Okay. All right. Got you and then I guess the last one I just have is on as you kind of bring on like, the Columbus Ohio facility. Is there a way to kind of talk about what the startup cost for that might be or if there's going to be startup costs with, I guess that both coming online and then kind of Gallatin coming online later in '25.

好的。好的。找到你了，然後我想我剛剛擁有的最後一個正在播放，就像你在俄亥俄州哥倫布市的設施一樣。有沒有一種方法可以討論啟動成本可能是多少，或者是否會有啟動成本，我想這兩者都會上線，然後加拉汀會在 25 年晚些時候上線。

Sure. I think we'll be part of our 2025 guide that will come out with the fourth quarter. We'll provide some additional details on how all that's going to impact, that year's operating income. From my Ohio perspective, we're adding to the existing footprint there. So it's -- I'm not sure that there would be a significant amount of OpEx. We're moving -- we're, we're adding on additional space under roof on our existing spot. Gallatin a little bit different. That's spot that's across town. There, I would anticipate some the moving costs and the like. So, but right now we'll provide that a little more granularity on that In February.

當然。我認為我們將成為第四季度發布的 2025 年指南的一部分。我們將提供一些額外的細節，說明這一切將如何影響當年的營業收入。從我俄亥俄州的角度來看，我們正在擴大那裡現有的足跡。所以我不確定是否會有大量的營運支出。我們正在搬家，我們正在現有地點的屋頂下增加額外的空間。加拉廷有點不同。那是城對面的地方。在那裡，我會預計一些搬家費用等。所以，但現在我們將在二月提供更詳細的資訊。

Okay. Understood. I'll hop back in the queue. Thanks, everybody.

好的。明白了。我會跳回到隊列中。謝謝大家。

Thanks, Tim.

謝謝，蒂姆。

Thanks, Tim.

謝謝，蒂姆。

Kurt Yinger, D.A. Davidson.

庫爾特·英格，D.A.戴維森。

Great, thanks and good afternoon, everyone. I just wanted to start off on steel and maybe take it from two sides. The first is, I mean, just given what we've seen kind of on a year-to-date basis, maybe just talk about how that has impacted your maybe initial views on what gross margin could look like next year as we've gone through the last six months or so.

太好了，謝謝大家，下午好。我只是想從鋼鐵開始，也許可以從兩個方面進行。我的意思是，首先是考慮到我們今年迄今為止所看到的情況，也許只是談談這如何影響了您對明年毛利率的初步看法，因為我們已經經歷了過去六個月左右的時間。

And then on the other side, maybe more of a pricing conversation. Have you seen any more kind of competitive actions out there? Maybe it's on the fastners side where the competitors sets a little bit more fragmented or anything that would suggest that pricing and any declines there could be a conversation going into next year.

另一方面，也許更多的是定價對話。您還看過其他類型的競爭行為嗎？也許在緊固件方面，競爭對手的設定更加分散，或者任何表明定價和任何下降可能會在明年進行的對話。

So from a steel perspective, Kurt, you know, we're obviously keeping a close track on that and we're feeling pretty comfortable with where we are cost wise in that area. We are certainly seeing a lot of other costs go up to maybe counterbalance some of the stuff that you've seen from the steel market lately. But the bottom line is, we feel for the most part, the materials are going to our cost of goods. We're in a good shape on going forward.

因此，從鋼鐵的角度來看，庫爾特，你知道，我們顯然正在密切關注這一點，並且我們對該領域的成本明智感到非常滿意。我們當然會看到許多其他成本的上升，這可能會抵消您最近在鋼鐵市場上看到的一些成本。但最重要的是，我們認為在很大程度上，材料將影響我們的商品成本。我們正處於良好的前進狀態。

And then from a pricing perspective, again Kurt, we're selling the value. We're less than 1% of the [bill of] material. We're bringing a ton of innovation. We're providing a ton of support to our customers. And so the emphasis is really on service. Of course, we get asked a lot about pricing and we try to emphasize the value that we're bringing to the table.

然後從定價的角度來看，庫爾特，我們正在出售價值。我們只佔[bill of]材料的不到1%。我們帶來了大量的創新。我們正在為客戶提供大量支援。因此，重點實際上是服務。當然，我們經常被問到有關定價的問題，我們試圖強調我們所帶來的價值。

At this point, we haven't really seen any significant moves from any of our competitors in this area from a pricing perspective over the last 6 to 12 months.

目前，在過去 6 到 12 個月內，從定價角度來看，我們還沒有真正看到任何競爭對手在這一領域採取任何重大舉措。

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. And then just going back to the commentary around operating margins and the 20% floor, I guess considering the level of investment that we've seen and kind of be a starts assumption for 2025, is there a good framework to think about? It starts are up low single digits. You expect to outperform that on the top line that you think you can lever operating expenses still or I guess how would you have us frame that?

知道了。好的。這很有幫助。然後回到關於營業利潤率和 20% 下限的評論，我想考慮到我們所看到的投資水平以及 2025 年的開始假設，是否有一個好的框架可供考慮？它的啟動是低個位數。您期望在頂線上表現優於您認為您仍然可以槓桿運營費用的水平，或者我猜您將如何讓我們構建這一點？

So if you go back a little bit, fourth quarter 2023 housing starts are up 4%. We go into the first quarter. We've got the big builder show, everybody's pretty optimistic. All of the big builders are feeling really optimistic. Still a slight increase 2% and then all of a sudden second quarter, the housing starts kind of fell through the floor for lack of a better word and they were down [7%].

因此，如果您回顧一下，2023 年第四季新屋開工量增加了 4%。我們進入第一季。我們舉辦了大型建築展，每個人都非常樂觀。所有大型建築商都感到非常樂觀。仍然小幅增長 2%，然後突然第二季度，新屋開工量因缺乏更好的詞而跌破底線，並且下降了[7%]。

So when we were going into this year, we were certainly assuming a lot better market scenario. And we just kept assuming it was going to pick up based off a lot of feedback from our customers, frankly. And you see the big builders do well, but it's the smaller builders in the multifamily that are not doing well. So when we look into next year, we're really trying to -- and we're not going to give guidance now, but we're really trying to make sure that we're at that 20% mark from an operating income level. And we're still working through the details and more to come when we announce our fourth quarter results.

因此，當我們進入今年時，我們當然假設了更好的市場狀況。坦白說，我們只是根據客戶的大量回饋假設它會回升。你會看到大型建築商做得很好，但多戶住宅中的小型建築商卻表現不佳。因此，當我們展望明年時，我們確實在努力——現在我們不會提供指導，但我們確實在努力確保我們的營業收入水平達到 20% 的水平。當我們宣布第四季度業績時，我們仍在研究細節和更多內容。

Got it. Okay. And then just lastly, wondering if there's any implications, risks, or opportunities around the true value, bankruptcy filing, and any exposure you might have there.

知道了。好的。最後，想知道真實價值、破產申請以及您可能面臨的任何風險是否有任何影響、風險或機會。

Yeah, Kurt, it's Brian. So we have sold to true value in the past and we're evaluating the potential buyer that they've announced who we sell to. And then have really good relationship with, of course. We need to see that transaction come to fruition. But the revenue to true value itself, not a material amount for Simpson, but they have been one of our co-op customers in the past. So, and we'll continue to evaluate how that news is coming out as far as do we do we put them, do we extend credit. How are we selling to them. Those are conversations we're having right now.

是的，科特，我是布萊恩。因此，我們過去已經以真實價值出售，我們正在評估他們宣布我們出售給誰的潛在買家。當然，然後與我們建立良好的關係。我們需要看到這筆交易取得成果。但真正價值本身的收入，對辛普森來說並不是一個重大數額，但他們過去一直是我們的合作客戶之一。因此，我們將繼續評估該消息的發布情況，我們是否會提供這些消息，我們是否會提供信貸。我們如何向他們銷售。這些是我們現在正在進行的對話。

Makes sense. Okay, appreciate the color guys. Thank you.

有道理。好吧，欣賞一下顏色。謝謝。

Thanks, Kurt.

謝謝，庫爾特。

Thanks, Kurt.

謝謝，庫爾特。

Thank you. This concludes today's question and answer session and this will also conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time and thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的問答環節到此結束，今天的會議也到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路，感謝您的參與。