STAAR Surgical Co (STAA) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the STAAR Surgical Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) This call is being recorded today, Tuesday, February 21, 2023.

女士們先生們，美好的一天。謝謝你的支持。歡迎參加 STAAR Surgical 第四季度和 2022 財年財務業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）今天，即 2023 年 2 月 21 日，星期二，正在錄製此電話。

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Brian Moore, Vice President, Investor, Media Relations and Corporate Development for STAAR Surgical.

此時，我想將會議轉交給 STAAR Surgical 投資者、媒體關係和企業發展副總裁 Brian Moore 先生。

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us on the STAAR Surgical conference call this afternoon to discuss the company's financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 30, 2022. On the call today are Tom Frinzi, Chair of the Board, President and CEO; and Patrick Williams, Chief Financial Officer. The press release of our fourth quarter results was issued just after 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time and is now available on STAAR's website at www.staar.com.

謝謝你，運營商。大家下午好。感謝您參加今天下午的 STAAR Surgical 電話會議，討論公司截至 2022 年 12 月 30 日的第四季度和財政年度的財務業績。今天的電話會議是董事會主席、總裁兼首席執行官 Tom Frinzi；和首席財務官 Patrick Williams。我們第四季度業績的新聞稿是在下午 4:00 之後發布的。東部時間，現在可以在 STAAR 的網站 www.staar.com 上獲得。

Before we begin, let me quickly remind you that during the course of this conference call, the company will make forward-looking statements. We caution you that any statement that is not a statement of historical fact is a forward-looking statement. This includes remarks about the company's projections, expectations, plans, beliefs and prospects. These statements are based on judgment and analysis as of the date of this conference call and are subject to numerous important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，讓我快速提醒您，在本次電話會議期間，公司將做出前瞻性陳述。我們提醒您，任何不是歷史事實陳述的陳述都是前瞻性陳述。這包括關於公司的預測、期望、計劃、信念和前景的評論。這些陳述基於截至本次電話會議之日的判斷和分析，並受到許多重要風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中描述的結果存在重大差異。

The risks and uncertainties associated with the forward-looking statements made in this conference call and webcast are described in the safe harbor statement in today's press release as well as STAAR's public periodic filings with the SEC. Except as required by law, STAAR assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or actual outcomes and does not intend to do so. In addition, to supplement the GAAP numbers, we have provided non-GAAP adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share and sales in constant currency.

與本次電話會議和網絡廣播中所做的前瞻性陳述相關的風險和不確定性在今天的新聞稿中的安全港聲明以及 STAAR 定期向美國證券交易委員會提交的公開文件中有所描述。除法律要求外，STAAR 不承擔更新這些前瞻性陳述以反映未來事件或實際結果的義務，而且也不打算這樣做。此外，為了補充 GAAP 數據，我們提供了非 GAAP 調整後淨收入和調整後每股收益以及按固定匯率計算的銷售額。

We believe that these non-GAAP numbers provide meaningful supplemental information and are helpful in assessing our historical and future performance. A table reconciling the GAAP information to the non-GAAP information is included in today's press release. Following our prepared remarks, we will open the line to questions from publishing analysts. We ask analysts limit themselves to 2 initial questions, then re-queue with any follow-ups. We thank everyone in advance for their cooperation with this process.

我們相信這些非 GAAP 數據提供了有意義的補充信息，有助於評估我們的歷史和未來業績。今天的新聞稿中包含一張將 GAAP 信息與非 GAAP 信息進行核對的表格。在我們準備好的評論之後，我們將打開出版分析師的問題熱線。我們要求分析師將自己限制在 2 個初始問題上，然後重新排隊並提出任何後續問題。我們提前感謝大家在這個過程中的合作。

And with that, I would now like to turn the call over to Tom Frinzi. Tom?

有了這個，我現在想把電話轉給 Tom Frinzi。湯姆？

Thanks, Brian, and good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I will begin with an overview of our results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year before turning my commentary to my first 50 days as CEO and our priorities for 2023. Patrick will then provide additional details on our financial performance and outlook for 2023. We will then open the call to questions.

謝謝，布賴恩，大家下午好，感謝您加入我們。我將首先概述我們第四季度和財政年度的業績，然後將我的評論轉向我擔任首席執行官的前 50 天和我們 2023 年的優先事項。然後帕特里克將提供有關我們 2023 年財務業績和展望的更多詳細信息。我們將然後打開問題的電話。

I am pleased to report that once again in fiscal 2022, STAAR achieved a multi-quarter track record of market-leading top line growth. ICL sales grew 27% year-over-year, and in constant currency, 32%. ICL units grew 33%. We continue to maintain our position as one of the few high-growth publicly traded medical device companies with positive GAAP earnings while also increasing our investments in key areas to continue future growth. STAAR is also a company that generates strong operating cash flow. In fiscal 2022, we increased cash on our balance sheet by over $25 million through internal generated funds, ending the year with over $225 million of cash and investments.

我很高興地報告，在 2022 財年，STAAR 再次取得了市場領先的收入增長的多季度記錄。 ICL 銷售額同比增長 27%，按固定匯率計算增長 32%。 ICL 單位增長了 33%。我們繼續保持我們作為為數不多的具有正 GAAP 收益的高增長公開交易醫療器械公司之一的地位，同時增加我們在關鍵領域的投資以繼續未來增長。 STAAR 也是一家產生強勁運營現金流的公司。在 2022 財年，我們通過內部產生的資金在資產負債表上增加了超過 2500 萬美元的現金，到年底現金和投資超過 2.25 億美元。

Fourth quarter sales results also increased. ICL unit growth was up 20% year-over-year, and ICL sales were up 21% in constant currency year-over-year. In the fourth quarter, year-over-year ICL sales growth was led by our APAC and North America regions while EMEA sales were up slightly on a sequential basis. Year-over-year ICL unit growth by country in the fourth quarter was as follows: in China, units up 18%; Japan, units up 33%; India, units up 19%; and the U.S., units up 109%.

第四季度的銷售業績也有所增長。 ICL 銷量同比增長 20%，按固定匯率計算，ICL 銷售額同比增長 21%。第四季度，ICL 銷售額同比增長由我們的亞太地區和北美地區引領，而 EMEA 銷售額環比略有增長。第四季度按國家/地區劃分的 ICL 銷量同比增長如下：在中國，銷量增長 18%；日本，單位增長 33%；印度，出貨量增長 19%；和美國，單位增長 109%。

I know top of mind for many of you is the state of the market in China and our progress in the U.S. So let's begin with China. During the fourth quarter, refractive procedures, including EVO in China were impacted by COVID. First, beginning with the change in consumer behavior that STAAR called out on the November 2, 2022 earnings call. Later, protests and the lifting of the country's COVID Zero policy follow. Then a subsequent rise in COVID infections further impacted the level of refractive procedures in the fourth quarter. Against these operating backdrop, we are proud to deliver 18% ICL unit growth in China for the fourth quarter of 2022.

我知道你們中的許多人最關心的是中國市場的狀況以及我們在美國的進展。所以讓我們從中國開始。在第四季度，包括 EVO 在內的屈光手術在中國受到了 COVID 的影響。首先，從 STAAR 在 2022 年 11 月 2 日的財報電話會議上提出的消費者行為變化開始。隨後，抗議活動和該國 COVID 零政策的取消接踵而至。隨後 COVID 感染的增加進一步影響了第四季度的屈光手術水平。在這些運營背景下，我們很自豪能夠在 2022 年第四季度實現 18% 的中國 ICL 單位增長。

Through the first 7 weeks of the first quarter of 2023, we see encouraging signs of market stabilization, restoration and resilience. Weekly sales results and end market procedural volumes in China are in line with our expectations. So while we consider it premature to declare that the China market has fully normalized, we do have greater confidence today that the market in China will further normalize as we approach the peak summer implant season for ICL procedures. The strong EVO commitments from our larger customers in China, the largest refractive market in the world and many of the 1,200-plus surgeons in China that implant our lenses bolsters our confidence at this time that we can meet our sales outlook for the full year fiscal 2023.

在 2023 年第一季度的前 7 週，我們看到了令人鼓舞的市場穩定、恢復和彈性跡象。中國的每週銷售業績和終端市場程序量符合我們的預期。因此，雖然我們認為現在宣布中國市場已經完全正常化還為時過早，但我們今天確實更有信心，隨著 ICL 手術的夏季植入高峰期臨近，中國市場將進一步正常化。我們在中國的大客戶、世界上最大的屈光市場以及中國 1,200 多名為我們植入鏡片的外科醫生中的許多人對 EVO 的堅定承諾增強了我們的信心，使我們能夠實現全年財政年度的銷售預期2023.

Turning to the U.S. ICL unit growth exceeded the outlook we previously provided, up 55% year-over-year in fiscal 2022 and up 109% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. We exited the fourth quarter with more than 600 surgeons certified to implant EVO lenses in the U.S. While we continue to train and certify surgeons in the U.S., our focus for 2023 is increasing surgeon comfort, confidence and commitment to EVO by surrounding our surgeon customers with sales, clinical and marketing support as they work to add EVO to their practices and/or transform their practices for more lens-based refractive standard.

談到美國 ICL 的單位增長超過了我們之前提供的前景，2022 財年同比增長 55%，第四季度同比增長 109%。我們在第四季度結束時有 600 多名外科醫生獲得了在美國植入 EVO 鏡片的認證。在我們繼續在美國培訓和認證外科醫生的同時，我們 2023 年的重點是通過圍繞我們的外科醫生客戶提高外科醫生的舒適度、信心和對 EVO 的承諾銷售、臨床和營銷支持，因為他們致力於將 EVO 添加到他們的實踐中和/或轉變他們的實踐以獲得更多基於鏡片的屈光標準。

From a marketing perspective, we are receiving positive feedback from U.S. surgeons that our marketing is raising EVO brand awareness and consumer desirability. The data also illustrates that our marketing is having a positive impact on sales. As an example, in our targeted cities during the fourth quarter of 2022, we achieved greater sales growth where we activated advertising compared to key cities where we did not advertise. During the fourth quarter, when we launched the Joe Jonas advertising campaign, we saw sales growth almost double in targeted cities where we advertise as compared to key cities where we did not advertise. Activity on our Doctor Finder has also increased.

從營銷的角度來看，我們收到了來自美國外科醫生的積極反饋，即我們的營銷正在提高 EVO 品牌知名度和消費者的需求。數據還表明，我們的營銷對銷售產生了積極影響。例如，在我們 2022 年第四季度的目標城市，與我們沒有做廣告的主要城市相比，我們在激活廣告的城市實現了更大的銷售增長。在第四季度，當我們推出 Joe Jonas 廣告活動時，我們發現與未投放廣告的主要城市相比，投放廣告的目標城市的銷售額幾乎翻了一番。我們 Doctor Finder 上的活動也有所增加。

Doctor Finder visits in the U.S. were up approximately 600% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. We are also surrounding our U.S. surgeons with clinical and sales support to demonstrate the medical and economic promise of EVO no matter the surgical setting. As many of you already know, the predominant procedure in our industry, laser vision correction has been experiencing challenges. At the same time, increased compression and reimbursement for cataract IOLs and other ophthalmic procedures as more and more doctors showing interest in EVO. The refractive surgery industry has been looking for the next big technology. We believe it is EVO.

第四季度，Doctor Finder 在美國的訪問量同比增長了約 600%。我們還為我們的美國外科醫生提供臨床和銷售支持，以證明無論手術環境如何，EVO 的醫療和經濟承諾。正如你們中的許多人已經知道的那樣，激光視力矯正是我們行業中的主要手術，一直面臨著挑戰。與此同時，隨著越來越多的醫生對 EVO 表現出興趣，白內障 IOL 和其他眼科手術的加壓和報銷增加。屈光手術行業一直在尋找下一個重大技術。我們認為是EVO。

My meetings in recent weeks with surgeon customers confirm the growth opportunity for EVO in the U.S. In one meeting, I met with an individual surgeon, increasing his commitment to EVO from 100 lenses per year to 500 plus. In another instance, I met with a laser vision correction chain that is increasing its commitment to EVO from 500 lenses to 2,000-plus annual lenses in 2023. I'm also encouraged by EVO's increasing presence in clinical papers on podiums and industry panels.

我最近幾週與外科醫生客戶的會面證實了 EVO 在美國的增長機會。在一次會議中，我會見了一位外科醫生，將他對 EVO 的承諾從每年 100 個鏡片增加到 500 多個。在另一個例子中，我遇到了一個激光視力矯正鏈，它正在將其對 EVO 的承諾從 500 個鏡頭增加到 2023 年的 2,000 多個年度鏡頭。EVO 在講台和行業小組的臨床論文中越來越多的出現也讓我感到鼓舞。

Next week, as part of the American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgeons, AECOS, in their Winter Symposium, STAAR's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Scott Barnes, will participate in a panel with other key opinion leaders and speak to the benefits of EVO. The panel is titled life after LASIK. As I reflect on my first 50 days as CEO, I have been able to more closely assess STAAR's business, people and overall strategy. Our international business is well established and will continue to show growth. We are now EVO-focused on realizing the tremendous potential that the U.S. market represents. As a direct result of STAAR's prudent fiscal management over the last several years, we are now in a position of financial strength and stability.

下週，作為美國-歐洲眼科醫師大會 (AECOS) 的冬季研討會的一部分，STAAR 的首席醫療官斯科特·巴恩斯 (Scott Barnes) 博士將與其他主要意見領袖一起參加小組討論會，並談論 EVO 的好處。該小組的標題是 LASIK 術後的生活。在我擔任 CEO 的頭 50 天裡，我能夠更仔細地評估 STAAR 的業務、人員和整體戰略。我們的國際業務已經建立，並將繼續增長。我們現在 EVO 專注於實現美國市場所代表的巨大潛力。作為 STAAR 過去幾年審慎財務管理的直接結果，我們現在處於財務實力和穩定的地位。

We plan to take full advantage of STAAR's financial strength to build the U.S. market, particularly given the refractive surgery market dynamics I described earlier. To accelerate consumer awareness, surgeon confidence in EVO adoption in the U.S., STAAR will move forward with even greater intent and purpose. In 2023, this will include investments in additional sales, practice development and clinical applications personnel as well as doubling our spend on EVO digital marketing campaigns. It's time. It's lens-based refractive surgeries time, which means it's EVO's time.

我們計劃充分利用 STAAR 的財務實力來建立美國市場，特別是考慮到我之前描述的屈光手術市場動態。為了提高消費者意識，外科醫生對美國採用 EVO 的信心，STAAR 將以更大的意圖和目標向前邁進。到 2023 年，這將包括對更多銷售、實踐開發和臨床應用人員的投資，以及將我們在 EVO 數字營銷活動上的支出增加一倍。是時候了。現在是基於晶狀體的屈光手術時間，這意味著 EVO 的時間到了。

Patrick?

帕特里克？

Thank you, Tom, and good afternoon, everyone. Total net sales for Q4 2022 were $64 million, consistent with our January 9 pre-announcement as compared to net sales of $59 million in Q4 2021. The $5 million year-over-year increase in Q4 2022 net sales is attributable to a 15% or $8.1 million increase in ICL sales, partially offset by a $3.1 million decline in other products, which primarily consists of cataract IOLs. The company announced on November 2, 2022, that we will no longer support our noncore lower-margin cataract IOL business after 2023.

謝謝你，湯姆，大家下午好。 2022 年第四季度的總淨銷售額為 6400 萬美元，與我們 1 月 9 日的預先公告一致，而 2021 年第四季度的淨銷售額為 5900 萬美元。2022 年第四季度淨銷售額同比增長 500 萬美元是由於 15% ICL 銷售額增加 810 萬美元，部分被其他產品（主要包括白內障 IOL）下降 310 萬美元所抵消。公司於 2022 年 11 月 2 日宣布，我們將在 2023 年之後不再支持我們的非核心低利潤率白內障 IOL 業務。

ICL sales represented 96% of total company net sales in Q4 2022. U.S. sales normalized for allowance for sales reserves were $4.5 million in Q4 2022, up 94% compared to Q4 2021 sales of $2.3 million. EVO was approved on March 25, 2022. Therefore, the year-ago period includes both Visian ICL and EVO ICL sales. We have posted a U.S. ICL sales supplement to our investor website under latest quarterly results. For Q4 2022, reported net sales included a $3.8 million negative impact from changes in constant currency, primarily the yen in Europe and the impact of the transient headwinds in China that Tom discussed earlier.

2022 年第四季度，ICL 銷售額占公司淨銷售額的 96%。2022 年第四季度美國銷售儲備金折讓標準化銷售額為 450 萬美元，比 2021 年第四季度 230 萬美元的銷售額增長 94%。 EVO 於 2022 年 3 月 25 日獲得批准。因此，去年同期包括 Visian ICL 和 EVO ICL 的銷售額。根據最新的季度業績，我們已在我們的投資者網站上發布了美國 ICL 銷售增刊。對於 2022 年第四季度，報告的淨銷售額包括固定貨幣變化帶來的 380 萬美元負面影響，主要是歐洲的日元以及 Tom 之前討論過的中國短暫逆風的影響。

For fiscal 2022 reported net sales of $284 million included a $12.9 million negative impact for changes in constant currency, as outlined in the constant currency table in today's earnings release. Our outlook for fiscal 2023 net sales is for ICL sales of approximately $340 million, representing 26% growth over fiscal 2022 ICL sales of approximately $270 million. We anticipate the calendarization of sales in fiscal 2023 will be weighted towards the second half of the year as transient headwinds subside. As a reminder, Q1 and Q4 has historically represented our seasonally lowest quarters. We expect Q1 2023 net sales will be up sequentially from Q4 2022 and in the range of $65 million to $67 million. U.S. sales in the first quarter are expected to be approximately $5 million, which represents approximately 100% year-over-year sales growth.

對於 2022 財年，報告的淨銷售額為 2.84 億美元，其中包括 1290 萬美元的固定貨幣變化的負面影響，如今天的收益發布中的固定貨幣表所述。我們對 2023 財年 ICL 淨銷售額的展望是約 3.4 億美元，比 2022 財年約 2.7 億美元的 ICL 銷售額增長 26%。我們預計，隨著暫時的逆風消退，2023 財年的銷售日曆將集中在下半年。提醒一下，第一季度和第四季度歷來代表我們季節性最低的季度。我們預計 2023 年第一季度的淨銷售額將比 2022 年第四季度環比上升，在 6500 萬美元至 6700 萬美元之間。第一季度美國銷售額預計約為 500 萬美元，同比銷售額增長約 100%。

Turning back to Q4. Gross profit for Q4 2022 was $49.8 million or 77.7% of net sales as compared to gross profit of $45 million or 76.3% of net sales for Q4 2021 and $60.5 million or 79.5% of net sales for Q3 2022. The 140 basis point year-over-year increase in gross margin is due mainly to product and geographic mix, partially offset by increased period costs associated with manufacturing projects. The sequential decrease in gross margin of 180 basis points from Q3 2022 is primarily due to product and geographic mix. For fiscal 2023, we expect gross margin will be approximately 80% for the full year and each quarter.

回到第四季度。 2022 年第四季度的毛利潤為 4980 萬美元，占淨銷售額的 77.7%，而 2021 年第四季度的毛利潤為 4500 萬美元，占淨銷售額的 76.3%，2022 年第三季度的毛利潤為 6050 萬美元，占淨銷售額的 79.5%。140 個基點年 -毛利率的同比增長主要是由於產品和地域組合，部分被與製造項目相關的期間成本增加所抵消。從 2022 年第三季度開始，毛利率連續下降 180 個基點，這主要是由於產品和地域組合。對於 2023 財年，我們預計全年和每個季度的毛利率約為 80%。

Moving down the income statement. Total operating expenses for Q4 2022 were up 30% year-over-year to $48.8 million as compared to $37.6 million in Q4 2021 and $46.8 million for Q3 2022. Taking a closer look at the components of operating expenses, G&A expense for Q4 '22 was $14.8 million compared to $11.5 million for Q4 2021 and $14 million for Q3 2022. The year-over-year increase in G&A is due to increased compensation-related expenses, facilities costs and outside services. The sequential increase in G&A is due to higher facility costs associated with our expanding corporate and manufacturing operations.

向下移動損益表。與 2021 年第四季度的 3760 萬美元和 2022 年第三季度的 4680 萬美元相比，2022 年第四季度的總運營費用同比增長 30%，達到 4880 萬美元。仔細查看運營費用的組成部分，即 2022 年第四季度的 G&A 費用2021 年第四季度為 1150 萬美元，2022 年第三季度為 1400 萬美元。G&A 同比增長是由於與薪酬相關的費用、設施成本和外部服務增加。 G&A 的連續增加是由於與我們不斷擴大的公司和製造業務相關的設施成本增加。

For fiscal 2023, we expect G&A expense will be approximately 18% of net sales for the full year. For Q1 2023, we expect G&A expense will be approximately $13 million and increase slightly for each subsequent quarter. Selling and marketing expense was $24.2 million for Q4 2022 compared to $17.1 million for Q4 2021 and $23.1 million for Q3 2022. The increase in selling and marketing expense from the prior year is due to increased advertising and promotional activities, trade shows and sales meetings, travel expenses and compensation-related expenses.

對於 2023 財年，我們預計 G&A 費用將佔全年淨銷售額的 18% 左右。對於 2023 年第一季度，我們預計 G&A 費用將約為 1300 萬美元，並在隨後的每個季度略有增加。 2022 年第四季度的銷售和營銷費用為 2420 萬美元，而 2021 年第四季度為 1710 萬美元，2022 年第三季度為 2310 萬美元。銷售和營銷費用較上年增加的原因是廣告和促銷活動、貿易展覽和銷售會議增加，差旅費和與補償相關的費用。

The sequential increase in selling and marketing expense from Q3 2022 is due to increased marketing, promotion and advertising expenses, partially offset by decreased trade shows and sales meetings. For fiscal 2023, we expect selling and marketing expenses will be approximately 38% of net sales as we make the important investments in EVO ICL patient awareness and our sales organization that Tom discussed earlier.

從 2022 年第三季度開始，銷售和營銷費用的環比增加是由於營銷、促銷和廣告費用增加，部分被貿易展覽和銷售會議的減少所抵消。對於 2023 財年，我們預計銷售和營銷費用將占淨銷售額的 38% 左右，因為我們對 EVO ICL 患者意識和湯姆之前討論的銷售組織進行了重要投資。

In terms of calendarization, we expect selling and marketing expense will be approximately $30 million for Q1 2023 and $33 million each quarter thereafter. Research and development expense was $9.8 million in Q4 2022 compared to $9.1 million for Q4 2021 and $9.6 million for Q3 2022. The year-over-year and sequential increase in R&D is due to increased expenses associated with our U.S. post-approval studies. For fiscal 2023, we expect R&D expense will be approximately 13% for the full year, which is approximately $11 million each quarter. Operating income in Q4 2022 was $1 million or 1.5% of net sales as compared to $7.4 million or 12.5% of net sales for Q4 2021.

在日曆化方面，我們預計 2023 年第一季度的銷售和營銷費用約為 3000 萬美元，此後每個季度為 3300 萬美元。 2022 年第四季度的研發費用為 980 萬美元，而 2021 年第四季度為 910 萬美元，2022 年第三季度為 960 萬美元。研發的同比和連續增長是由於與我們的美國批准後研究相關的費用增加。對於 2023 財年，我們預計全年研發費用約為 13%，即每個季度約為 1100 萬美元。 2022 年第四季度營業收入為 100 萬美元，占淨銷售額的 1.5%，而 2021 年第四季度為 740 萬美元，占淨銷售額的 12.5%。

Operating income for fiscal 2022 was $43.8 million or 15.4% of net sales as compared to $33.3 million or 14.5% of net sales for fiscal 2021. We expect operating margin for fiscal 2023 will be approximately 12%. For Q4 2022, net income was $5.9 million or $0.12 per diluted share compared to net income of $4.9 million or $0.10 per diluted share for Q4 2021. On a non-GAAP basis, adjusted net income for Q4 '22 was $6.8 million or $0.14 per diluted share compared to adjusted net income of $9.5 million or $0.19 per diluted share for Q4 2021. A table reconciling the GAAP information to the non-GAAP information is included in today's financial release. For fiscal 2023, we expect our effective tax rate will be approximately 25% to 30%, subject to no significant change in our valuation allowance.

2022 財年的營業收入為 4380 萬美元，占淨銷售額的 15.4%，而 2021 財年的營業收入為 3330 萬美元，占淨銷售額的 14.5%。我們預計 2023 財年的營業利潤率約為 12%。 2022 年第四季度淨收入為 590 萬美元或攤薄後每股收益 0.12 美元，而 2021 年第四季度的淨收入為 490 萬美元或攤薄後每股收益 0.10 美元。在非 GAAP 基礎上，2022 年第四季度的調整後淨收入為 680 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.14 美元與 2021 年第四季度調整後的淨收益 950 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.19 美元相比，稀釋後的份額。今天的財務報告中包含一張將 GAAP 信息與非 GAAP 信息進行核對的表格。對於 2023 財年，我們預計我們的有效稅率將約為 25% 至 30%，但我們的估值準備金不會發生重大變化。

Turning now to our balance sheet. Our cash, cash equivalents and both short-term and long-term investments available for sale totaled $225.5 million as of December 30, 2022, as compared to $199.7 million at December 31, 2021. In fiscal 2022, we generated $35.7 million in cash from operations and invested $18.1 million in property and equipment. For fiscal 2023, we expect to invest approximately $26 million in property and equipment, which includes approximately $2 million of carryover capital expenditures that were planned for fiscal 2022. Our strategic investments in property and equipment are primarily to support manufacturing capacity expansion and a strong trajectory of sales growth.

現在轉向我們的資產負債表。截至 2022 年 12 月 30 日，我們的現金、現金等價物以及可供出售的短期和長期投資總額為 2.255 億美元，而 2021 年 12 月 31 日為 1.997 億美元。在 2022 財年，我們從中產生了 3570 萬美元的現金運營，並在財產和設備上投資了 1810 萬美元。在 2023 財年，我們預計將在財產和設備上投資約 2600 萬美元，其中包括計劃在 2022 財年結轉的約 200 萬美元資本支出。我們在財產和設備方面的戰略投資主要是為了支持製造能力擴張和強勁發展軌跡的銷售增長。

This concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

我們準備好的發言到此結束。接線員，我們現在準備好接受提問了。

Absolutely. (Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Margaret Kaczor with William Blair.

絕對地。 （操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Margaret Kaczor 和 William Blair 的台詞。

Great. I wanted to start maybe with the guidance for the year and whether you guys can give us a more detailed sense, I guess, on a geographic unit growth basis, it's being implied and kind of how the inputs may have changed versus the guidance in January? And I asked because it sounds like the guidance was directionally, at least come to directionally more bullish on China as you expected maybe headwinds in Q2 previously, and you're seeing things ease now, and then similarly on the U.S. with the $5 million to start the year.

偉大的。我想從今年的指導開始，你們是否可以給我們更詳細的感覺，我想，在地理單位增長的基礎上，這是暗示的，以及輸入與 1 月份的指導相比可能發生了怎樣的變化？我之所以問，是因為聽起來指導意見是定向的，至少正如你預期的那樣，在方向上更加看好中國，可能是之前第二季度的逆風，現在你看到情況有所緩和，然後美國也有類似的 500 萬美元到開始新的一年。

Sure, Margaret, this is Tom. Thank you for the question. And as it relates to China, I think -- I don't know if we would say bullish is the right word, but we certainly are confident. Our local team certainly has expressed confidence in terms of what's happening at the street level with China. We're not seeing COVID testing. There are no travel restrictions. We're seeing more normal refractive procedures being done at the eye clinic. So together with the confidence of our local team, I think we remain confident that we can deliver on the China's projections for this year as previously stated.

當然，瑪格麗特，這是湯姆。感謝你的提問。就中國而言，我認為——我不知道我們是否會說看漲是正確的詞，但我們當然有信心。我們當地的團隊當然對中國街頭髮生的事情表示了信心。我們沒有看到 COVID 測試。沒有旅行限制。我們看到更多正常的屈光手術在眼科診所進行。因此，加上我們當地團隊的信心，我認為我們仍然有信心能夠如前所述實現中國對今年的預測。

Yes. Margaret, I think in relation to your question on the composition, nothing has materially changed, right? We gave the guidance back on early January, the $340 million. We reconfirm that today. You heard Tom's comments just now. So we're feeling good about where we're at and where the year is shaping up at this point. But the overall composition is nothing has materially changed when we gave the original guidance.

是的。瑪格麗特，我認為關於你關於作文的問題，沒有任何實質性的改變，對吧？我們在 1 月初給出了 3.4 億美元的指導。我們今天再次確認。你剛才聽到了湯姆的評論。因此，在這一點上，我們對我們所處的位置以及今年的發展方向感覺良好。但是當我們給出最初的指導時，整體構成並沒有發生任何實質性的變化。

Okay. Great. And then on the U.S. EVO launch, Tom, I appreciate your comments and kind of the outlook there that was encouraging. But I'm curious if we could follow up a little bit on the practice development efforts that you spoke to launching. What kind of support are you going to provide? How broadly might this roll out as a benefit, timing of impact and maybe any metrics if you trial this that you saw that, that made you want to kind of double down on it?

好的。偉大的。然後在美國推出 EVO，湯姆，我感謝你的評論和令人鼓舞的前景。但我很好奇我們是否可以跟進您所說的啟動實踐開發工作。您將提供什麼樣的支持？如果你嘗試這個你看到的，這會讓你想要加倍努力，那麼這會作為一種好處、影響的時間以及可能的任何指標而推廣到什麼程度？

Sure. Again, I would just say, given my experience in launching products, I think a team approach makes a lot of sense in what we're doing in terms of increasing our head count both with sales personnel, practice development personnel and clinical apps people is really surrounding the customers, specifically from a practice development point of view, how do they become a lens-based refractive surgery practice? How does it get reduced into the fabric of that practice?

當然。再一次，我只想說，鑑於我在推出產品方面的經驗，我認為團隊方法對於我們在增加銷售人員、實踐開發人員和臨床應用程序人員的人數方面所做的事情很有意義。真正圍繞客戶，特別是從實踐發展的角度來看，他們如何成為基於晶狀體的屈光手術實踐？它如何減少到該實踐的結構中？

And we're just coming off of a practice development seminar recently held in Austin, Texas, which was well attended by practices where they learn the tools and the programs we have available to certainly drive towards that end goal. But I think, again, surrounding the customer with this team approach where clinically marketing-wise and sales-wise with common management, so decision-making as close to the customer is certainly a recipe that has proven successful, and we're poised for a strong year in the U.S.

我們剛剛結束最近在得克薩斯州奧斯汀舉行的實踐發展研討會，參加者眾多，他們學習了我們提供的工具和程序，這些工具和程序肯定會推動實現最終目標。但我再次認為，以這種團隊方法圍繞客戶，在臨床營銷和銷售方面採用共同管理，因此盡可能貼近客戶的決策肯定是成功的秘訣，我們已準備好美國強勁的一年

Thank you, Margaret. Operator, next question.

謝謝你，瑪格麗特。接線員，下一個問題。

Absolutely. Our next question comes from the line of Bill Plovanic with Canaccord.

絕對地。我們的下一個問題來自 Bill Plovanic 與 Canaccord 的對話。

Tom, Patrick, it's [John] on for Bill. Can I? Just a follow-up on the Margaret's question, could you just talk about the hiring cadence of the clinical and sales reps for 2023? And beyond the cadence, typically how long these reps take to become productive?

湯姆、帕特里克，[約翰] 替比爾上場。我可以嗎？只是瑪格麗特問題的後續問題，你能談談 2023 年臨床和銷售代表的招聘節奏嗎？除了節奏之外，這些代表通常需要多長時間才能變得富有成效？

Sure. Thank you for the question, John. Again, I think at an overarching number, we're going to increase our field infrastructure by 50%. We've already hired 2 or 3 people in Q1, and we'll continue to look to hire people throughout the first half of this year. So they are productive in the back half of the year. So I would say we're looking at very experienced people, people that understand missionary type selling as we bring them into the organization or working in practices that had a cataract refractive mindset, if you will. So I think the start-up is probably a quarter, but we hope to increase our infrastructure in the first half, so they are effective in the back half.

當然。謝謝你的問題，約翰。同樣，我認為總體而言，我們將把現場基礎設施增加 50%。我們已經在第一季度招聘了 2 或 3 名員工，我們將在今年上半年繼續招聘。因此，他們在下半年富有成效。所以我想說我們正在尋找非常有經驗的人，當我們將他們帶入組織或在具有白內障屈光心態的實踐中工作時，了解傳教士式銷售的人，如果你願意的話。所以我認為啟動可能是一個季度，但我們希望在上半年增加我們的基礎設施，以便他們在後半年發揮作用。

Great. And just a follow-up, too, for me. As you [past] the 50 days, I'd be really curious what you've learned in terms of reality versus your expectations going in? And perhaps a little bit on the strategy of more KOL engagement?

偉大的。對我來說也是一個後續行動。當你 [過去] 50 天時，我真的很好奇你在現實與你的期望方面學到了什麼？也許還有一點關於更多 KOL 參與的策略？

Yes. No, I appreciate it. And as said, I -- the first 50 days, there's been no surprises, which is the good thing. As I've thought about our strategy, our people, our business in general, I'm extremely encouraged. And if anything, just bringing maybe more focus to increasing the infrastructure in the U.S. and continuing to support the infrastructure we have outside the United States, and I think there's growth potential in both those segments of our business. So nothing dramatically changed. I think just reinforcing what STAAR has said historically and maybe bringing just some added direction and focus to making sure we're putting our best foot forward in a market which today is white space, I mean, the U.S. And we're excited about what we're prepared to do here.

是的。不，我很感激。正如所說，我 - 前 50 天，沒有任何意外，這是好事。當我考慮我們的戰略、我們的員工和我們的總體業務時，我感到非常鼓舞。如果有的話，可能只是將更多的注意力放在增加美國的基礎設施上，並繼續支持我們在美國以外的基礎設施，我認為我們這兩個業務領域都有增長潛力。所以沒有什麼顯著的改變。我認為只是強化 STAAR 歷史上所說的話，也許只是增加一些方向和重點，以確保我們在今天是空白市場的市場上發揮最大的作用，我的意思是，美國我們對什麼感到興奮我們準備在這裡做。

Thank you, John. Operator, next question.

謝謝你，約翰。接線員，下一個問題。

Our next question comes from the line of Anthony Petrone with Mizuho.

我們的下一個問題來自 Anthony Petrone 與 Mizuho 的對話。

Congrats again, Tom, on the first 50 days here. So I have one on China, one on the U.S. On China, maybe just a little bit of the rescheduling of procedures that have been pushed out due to COVID, how substantial was that in 4Q? Is that still occurring here in 1Q? And sort of what is the timing to recapture those surgeries that, if you will, got put back into your backlog? And then I'll follow up with one on U.S.

再次祝賀，湯姆，在這裡的前 50 天。所以我有一個關於中國的，一個關於美國的關於中國的，也許只是一些因 COVID 被推遲的程序的重新安排，第四季度的影響有多大？第一季度還會出現這種情況嗎？如果你願意的話，重新獲得那些被重新放入你的積壓手術的時間是什麼時候？然後我會跟進一個關於美國的

Anthony, it's Patrick. I'll take that since it was on my watch before Tom got here. So as we talked about, there was about $5 million in Q4 that we took out of our Q4 number in '22. And so as Tom said, we're feeling really good about it. We always talked about it, this was transitory in nature. They weren't going out and getting any refractive procedure, right, because everything was either locked down or getting relieved and people were unfortunately getting affected.

安東尼，是帕特里克。我會接受它，因為在湯姆來之前它就在我的值班範圍內。因此，正如我們所說，我們在 22 年的第四季度從第四季度的數字中扣除了大約 500 萬美元。正如湯姆所說，我們對此感覺非常好。我們總是談論它，這本質上是暫時的。他們沒有出去接受任何屈光手術，對吧，因為一切都被鎖定或得到緩解，不幸的是人們受到了影響。

So as Tom said, we're back on track. The end market numbers in China are very, very encouraging for us. And so that led to obviously the reconfirmation of guidance once again and the comments that we made in our prepared comments.

正如湯姆所說，我們重回正軌。中國的終端市場數據對我們來說非常非常鼓舞人心。因此，這顯然導致再次確認指南和我們在準備好的評論中發表的評論。

Great. And a follow-up on the U.S. side would be around the FDA proposals for patient disclaimers for LASIK that the comment period there came to a conclusion in the end of November last year, we should see, I guess, a final draft guidance at some point this year. So a couple of questions here. One, what would be your expectation for timing for a final draft document to be published for the LASIK patient disclosure requirements? And then two, should we expect ICL to show up as an alternative to LASIK in the final documentation?

偉大的。美國方面的後續行動將圍繞 FDA 對 LASIK 患者免責聲明的提議進行，那裡的評論期於去年 11 月底得出結論，我想我們應該在某些時候看到最終的指南草案今年點。所以這裡有幾個問題。第一，您對針對 LASIK 患者披露要求發布最終草案文件的時間有何期望？其次，我們是否應該期望 ICL 在最終文檔中作為 LASIK 的替代品出現？

Thanks, Anthony. Let me try to answer that. If I could predict what the FDA is going to do, I'd probably be doing something different than what I am doing. So I can't really comment on the timing of their decision. But as I've said before, it's a practice of medicine issue I think at STAAR, we don't want to get in the middle of. But as it relates to us, I mean, let me remind you, less than a year ago, FDA did a careful review of EVO's clinical trial data [to have it] safe and effective and granted us approval. So I don't think we're impacted by this, but the timing around when it might come out and the tailwind that potentially it could cause for us, I think is an unknown at this point in time.

謝謝，安東尼。讓我試著回答一下。如果我能預測 FDA 將要做什麼，我可能會做一些與我正在做的不同的事情。所以我不能真正評論他們決定的時機。但正如我之前所說，我認為在 STAAR，這是一個醫學實踐問題，我們不想介入其中。但就我們而言，我的意思是，讓我提醒你，不到一年前，FDA 對 EVO 的臨床試驗數據進行了仔細審查 [以使其] 安全有效並批准了我們。所以我認為我們不會受此影響，但它可能出現的時間以及它可能給我們帶來的順風，我認為目前尚不清楚。

Thank you, Anthony. Operator, next question.

謝謝你，安東尼。接線員，下一個問題。

Our next question comes from the line of Zach Weiner with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Zach Weiner 與 Jefferies 的對話。

Just one on diopter correction average throughout the year. Can you talk about the average lens correction that you saw in China in 4Q and how that trended throughout the year?

全年只有一個屈光度矯正平均值。你能談談你在第四季度在中國看到的平均鏡頭校正以及全年的趨勢嗎？

Yes, Zach. We haven't really given those metrics. Occasionally, we'll talk about the majority of the lenses being below minus 10 now, and that's still the case. But I think overall, as we're in a market, we tend to see the migration down the diopter curve. And clearly, that's an area of focus for the company, not just in China but globally. And certainly, I know Tom has talked about that specifically in the U.S., especially as we look to go forward.

是的，扎克。我們還沒有真正給出這些指標。偶爾，我們會談論現在大多數鏡頭都低於負 10，現在仍然如此。但我認為總的來說，當我們處於市場中時，我們傾向於看到屈光度曲線的遷移。顯然，這是該公司關注的一個領域，不僅在中國，而且在全球範圍內。當然，我知道湯姆在美國特別談到了這一點，尤其是在我們展望未來的時候。

Got it. That's helpful. And then just on ASP in China. How has that trended throughout the year?

知道了。這很有幫助。然後就在中國的 ASP 上。全年的趨勢如何？

Yes. We're good on ASP. I think maybe I'll answer this in terms of the gross margin. We saw a little bit of a dip in our gross margin for Q4, and I want to make sure everyone understand that, that was more of a byproduct of some one-timers as we close out the year. As you heard in our prepared comments, our gross margin for 2023 is going to hit that -- I guess it's maybe that magical 80% plus number in terms of gross margin as we go forward. So there should be 0 concern about ASPs, the nature of our contracts, the nature of how we set stuff up. We don't get variation in pricing.

是的。我們擅長 ASP。我想也許我會根據毛利率來回答這個問題。我們看到第四季度的毛利率略有下降，我想確保每個人都明白，這更多是我們結束這一年時一些一次性產品的副產品。正如您在我們準備好的評論中所聽到的那樣，我們 2023 年的毛利率將達到這一水平——我想隨著我們前進，就毛利率而言，這可能是神奇的 80% 以上的數字。因此，對 ASP、我們合同的性質、我們如何設置東西的性質應該有 0 個擔憂。我們沒有得到定價的變化。

And there should be no concern about gross margins in the fourth quarter. As I said, that's sort of some one-timers as we close out the year. It was also one of our lower quarters in terms of overall revenue. And of course, you've got to absorb some of those fixed overhead costs, which did impact it. So we're in good shape overall when it comes to ASP and gross margins as we move through this year.

而且第四季度的毛利率應該不用擔心。正如我所說，在我們結束這一年時，這有點像一次性的。就整體收入而言，這也是我們較低的季度之一。當然，你必須吸收一些固定的間接費用，這確實影響了它。因此，在我們今年的平均售價和毛利率方面，我們總體上處於良好狀態。

Thank you, Zach. Operator, next question.

謝謝你，扎克。接線員，下一個問題。

Our next question comes from the line of David Saxon with Needham.

我們的下一個問題來自 David Saxon 與 Needham 的對話。

Congrats, Tom, on your first earnings call. Maybe I'll start with Pat. I just wanted to see if you could talk about how much of the investments tied to the U.S. launch are expected to continue into '24? And how we should think about the rate of margin expansion over kind of the next 24 months or so as the U.S. launch range? It seems like guidance is implying some contraction in the first half and then kind of switches to expansion in the back half. So are there any reasons why that margin improvement should continue into '24? And if so, I mean, should we think of the kind of 15% that's implied in the back half as a good jumping off point for our '24 estimates?

湯姆，恭喜你參加了你的第一次財報電話會議。也許我會從帕特開始。我只是想看看您是否可以談談與美國發射相關的投資中有多少預計會持續到 24 年？我們應該如何考慮未來 24 個月左右的利潤率擴張速度作為美國的發射範圍？指導意見似乎暗示上半場有所收縮，然後在後半場轉向擴張。那麼，為什麼利潤率的提高應該持續到 24 年，有什麼理由嗎？如果是這樣，我的意思是，我們是否應該將後半部分隱含的 15% 視為我們 24 年估計的良好起點？

Yes. I think we haven't obviously given 2024. We're getting our arms around 2023. At some point, we have talked about doing an Analyst Day, Investor Day, where we would provide long-term metrics. I think for now, you're on the right track. Clearly, this is a year, as Tom outlined, where we want to make some strong investments specifically in the U.S. market, and as we move throughout this year, then we'll see how that goes. But we're clearly one of the only companies out there that's growing at the rate that we're growing and still throwing off cash and still have a very nice operating margin profile, et cetera. So I think directionally, you're okay, but I don't want to back us into a corner as of yet, but it's a very, very elegant and leverageable business model at the end of the day.

是的。我認為我們顯然沒有給出 2024 年的時間。我們正在為 2023 年左右做準備。在某個時候，我們討論過舉辦分析師日、投資者日，我們將在其中提供長期指標。我認為現在，你走在正確的軌道上。顯然，正如湯姆所概述的那樣，今年是我們希望專門在美國市場進行一些強有力的投資的一年，隨著我們在今年的行動，我們將看到進展情況。但我們顯然是僅有的幾家以我們正在增長的速度增長並且仍在扔掉現金並且仍然擁有非常好的營業利潤率等等的公司之一。所以我從方向上想，你還好，但我還不想把我們逼到牆角，但歸根結底，這是一個非常非常優雅且可利用的商業模式。

Okay. Got it. That's helpful. And then on the U.S. launch, can you just talk about the growth? And is that coming from new doctors or existing doctors increasing the volumes? And then, I guess, for new doctors, how long does it typically take for them to fully incorporate ICLs into their practice and kind of reach a steady state in terms of volumes?

好的。知道了。這很有幫助。然後在美國推出時，你能談談增長嗎？這是來自新醫生還是現有醫生增加了數量？然後，我想，對於新醫生來說，他們通常需要多長時間才能將 ICL 完全納入他們的實踐並在數量方面達到穩定狀態？

Yes. Thank you, David. Let me attempt to answer your question because I think it's a little bit of a combination of both. But as I said in our prepared remarks, our focus is certainly, we'll continue to certify doctors as they come on board. But I think it's equally important for us to go deep with the customers we currently have. And that's why we're increasing our infrastructure and surrounding the customers we currently have as they continue to reduce EVO into the fabric of their practice and make that transition from being more laser vision focus to maybe lens-based focus. So a little bit of both. But clearly, I think as we go deeper with the customers we currently have and really drive adoption of our procedure business will take care of itself.

是的。謝謝你，大衛。讓我嘗試回答您的問題，因為我認為這是兩者的結合。但正如我在準備好的發言中所說，我們的重點當然是，我們將繼續在醫生上任時對其進行認證。但我認為，深入了解我們目前擁有的客戶對我們來說同樣重要。這就是為什麼我們正在增加我們的基礎設施並圍繞我們目前擁有的客戶，因為他們繼續將 EVO 減少到他們的實踐結構中，並使這種轉變從更多的激光視覺焦點轉變為基於鏡頭的焦點。所以兩者兼而有之。但很明顯，我認為隨著我們深入了解我們目前擁有的客戶並真正推動採用我們的程序業務將自行解決。

Thank you, David. Operator, next question.

謝謝你，大衛。接線員，下一個問題。

Our next question comes from the line of Thomas Stephan with Stifel.

我們的下一個問題來自 Thomas Stephan 與 Stifel 的對話。

Great. First one on the U.S., sort of a modeling question, but Patrick, maybe this is for you. Can you just help us a bit with how we should be thinking about the U.S. ICL revenue cadence in 2023? Appreciate the 1Q figure of I think you said $5 million. But can you just help us with the key assumptions or expectations back in your view on the ramp for 2023? And then as a tack on, I'll go for it here. But just on 2024, any guardrails you could provide just on the U.S. ICL sales ramp?

偉大的。第一個關於美國，有點像建模問題，但是帕特里克，也許這是給你的。您能幫我們談談我們應該如何考慮 2023 年美國 ICL 的收入節奏嗎？欣賞第一季度的數字，我想你說的是 500 萬美元。但是，您能否幫助我們了解您對 2023 年增長的看法中的關鍵假設或期望？然後作為補充，我會在這裡堅持下去。但是就在 2024 年，您可以在美國 ICL 銷售坡道上提供任何護欄嗎？

So I'll stick with 2023, and we're probably going to punt on 2024. But in terms of the cadence, it's consistent to what we said before, right? We said this is going to take about 18-month journey for the surgeons to get all up and running. That's really going to happen as we move into Q4 of this year. We talked about approximately $5 million in Q1. We would expect to see some sequential growth as we move throughout the year with really a back-end loaded number as we approach, honestly, looking to approximately double our U.S. business from 2022 to 2023. We did provide that supplement out there. And if you look at it, we did approximately $15 million in revenue in 2022 and the doubling is consistent to some of the comments we've made previously.

所以我會堅持 2023 年，我們可能會在 2024 年下注。但是就節奏而言，它與我們之前所說的一致，對吧？我們說過，外科醫生需要大約 18 個月的時間才能啟動並運行。當我們進入今年第四季度時，這真的會發生。我們在第一季度談到了大約 500 萬美元。老實說，我們希望在全年移動時看到一些連續增長，實際上是後端負載數字，希望從 2022 年到 2023 年將我們的美國業務增加一倍左右。我們確實在那裡提供了補充。如果你看一下，我們在 2022 年的收入約為 1500 萬美元，而且翻了一番與我們之前發表的一些評論一致。

Got it. That's helpful. And then if I can pivot to China a bit. I mean it sounds like it's coming back very strong. And over the past 2 years to 3 years, it's performed extremely well as well. So how should we be thinking about ICL demand just as the economy reopens, people can travel, they can spend on a greater, I guess, a variety of things besides self-improvement. We saw this a bit with clear aligners, maybe as an example. I guess what I'm trying to ask is, what gives you the confidence there hasn't been sort of a pull forward in demand that we've heard about and then maybe we won't see an air pocket as wallet share competition in China picks up?

知道了。這很有幫助。然後，如果我可以稍微轉向中國。我的意思是聽起來它的回歸非常強勁。在過去的2年到3年裡，它的表現也非常好。那麼，隨著經濟重新開放，人們可以旅行，他們可以花更多的錢，我想，除了自我提升之外，我們應該如何考慮 ICL 需求。我們在透明矯正器上看到了一點，也許作為一個例子。我想我想問的是，是什麼讓你相信需求沒有像我們聽說的那樣向前發展，然後我們可能不會看到錢包份額競爭中的氣穴中國接盤？

Yes. No, I'll take a crack at that, Tom. And certainly, Patrick can add his comments as well. But as I've said earlier, our local team is extremely confident, our in-country or end user demand is starting to pick up, which tells us the refractive procedures are approaching back to normal status, which continues to bolster our confidence in our ability for the China team to meet their goals for this year. So we're very confident and very excited about what China is going to be as part of our overall business this year.

是的。不，我會嘗試一下，湯姆。當然，Patrick 也可以添加他的意見。但正如我之前所說，我們的本地團隊非常有信心，我們在國內或最終用戶的需求開始回升，這告訴我們屈光手術正在接近恢復正常狀態，這繼續增強我們對我們的信心中國隊實現今年目標的能力。因此，我們對今年中國將成為我們整體業務的一部分充滿信心和興奮。

Yes. And I think it's a good reminder. We've talked about this as well in the past that in our Chinese market, we've got 65-ish STAAR employees on the ground that Tom referred to. And we have a very rigorous forecasting of cadence around globally. But specifically in China, we know exactly what's being sold in the end market, as Tom said. And so we -- that gives us further confidence in terms of reorders and everything else when it comes to China and where we'll end up not only this quarter as we move throughout the year.

是的。我認為這是一個很好的提醒。我們過去也談到過這個問題，在我們的中國市場，我們有 65 名 STAAR 員工，湯姆提到了這一點。我們對全球範圍內的節奏進行了非常嚴格的預測。但正如湯姆所說，特別是在中國，我們確切地知道終端市場上銷售的是什麼。因此，我們 - 這讓我們對中國的再訂單和其他一切更有信心，而且我們不僅會在本季度結束，因為我們會在全年移動。

Thanks, Tom. Operator, next question.

謝謝，湯姆。接線員，下一個問題。

Our next question comes from the line of Ryan Zimmerman with BTIG.

我們的下一個問題來自 BTIG 的 Ryan Zimmerman。

Glad to get on the call here and ask a few. I guess I want to ask a couple, if I could. Number one, as you think about China and what is contractually obligated with your end market customers for the year? And what dictates whether those contracts are maintained? I mean if COVID were to spike again, what kind of impact would you have? Because as I look at the first quarter implied unit growth, it's about 6% at the midpoint of the guidance. And so I'm trying to figure out is, is there going to be kind of fits and starts here with inventory levels just given that slowdown in the first quarter. I appreciate your comments on kind of both of those topics, guys.

很高興接到這裡的電話並問了一些問題。如果可以的話，我想我想問一對夫婦。第一，考慮到中國以及今年與終端市場客戶的合同義務是什麼？是什麼決定了這些合同是否得到維持？我的意思是，如果 COVID 再次飆升，您會產生什麼樣的影響？因為當我看第一季度隱含的單位增長時，它在指導的中點約為 6%。因此，我想弄清楚的是，考慮到第一季度的放緩，庫存水平是否會有所調整併從這裡開始。伙計們，我感謝您對這兩個主題的評論。

Yes. So I'll come back to the guidance, right, and the $340 million and the composition of it, Ryan. I think Tom made a comment that we have over 1,200 individual physicians out there in China right now. And so on top of that, I know that there was some work done on DocFinders and things of that nature. There's not always a one-to-one ratio between accounts and physicians. And as I said in my question before, we've got very good visibility in the end markets. We know exactly what's happening by procedure, by account. And so the question around -- and I think you used the word pockets or maybe a pause or something like that, we're just not seeing it. So I'll just come back to you, we feel good about the guidance we gave. We reconfirmed it today, and China is doing very well as part of our prepared comments.

是的。所以我會回到指導，對，以及 3.4 億美元及其構成，Ryan。我記得 Tom 說過我們現在在中國有超過 1,200 名個人醫生。因此，最重要的是，我知道在 DocFinders 和類似性質的事情上已經完成了一些工作。賬戶和醫生之間並不總是一對一的比例。正如我之前在問題中所說，我們在終端市場的知名度非常高。我們確切地知道按程序、按帳戶發生了什麼。所以周圍的問題 - 我認為你使用了口袋這個詞或者暫停或類似的東西，我們只是沒有看到它。所以我只是回到你身邊，我們對我們提供的指導感覺很好。我們今天再次確認了這一點，作為我們準備好的評論的一部分，中國做得很好。

Okay. And then I'm going to try and just ask 2 more. Hopefully, Brian will not cut me off. I apologize, Brian. But number one, as you work through the IOL business, that separate business, I mean, you've had negative price pressure as a result of that through the past few years. Now that that's going away, how do you -- you commented earlier on price, Patrick, but do you anticipate needing to use price as a lever in the U.S. launch? And maybe this is more geared towards Tom, will you use promotions with price in the U.S. launch to spur demand?

好的。然後我會嘗試再問 2 個。希望布賴恩不會打斷我。我道歉，布賴恩。但第一，當你從事 IOL 業務時，我的意思是，在過去的幾年裡，你一直承受著負價格壓力。現在它已經消失了，你如何 - 你之前評論過價格，帕特里克，但你是否預計需要在美國推出時使用價格作為槓桿？也許這更適合湯姆，您會在美國發佈時使用價格促銷來刺激需求嗎？

And then I'll sneak in my last question here. R&D is going up to $11 million a quarter, as you said, Patrick, what are you guys spending on because you're not in a clinical trial. So I'm curious kind of where that R&D is going this year. Obviously, we know where the sales and marketing spend is going, but I'm curious if you could comment on that as well? Sorry, Brian, I know I'm one over.

然後我會在這裡偷偷提出我的最後一個問題。正如你所說，帕特里克，研發費用每季度高達 1100 萬美元，因為你沒有進行臨床試驗，所以你們花了多少錢。所以我很好奇今年研發的方向。顯然，我們知道銷售和營銷支出的去向，但我很好奇您是否也可以對此發表評論？對不起，布賴恩，我知道我已經結束了。

Yes. Ryan, let me try to address your price issue as it relates to the U.S. I think the old adage holds true even in this case, if you sell on price, you can lose on price. And price is a non-factor in terms of our growth strategy in the U.S.

是的。瑞安，讓我試著解決你的價格問題，因為它與美國有關。我認為即使在這種情況下，古老的格言仍然適用，如果你按價格出售，你可能會在價格上損失。就我們在美國的增長戰略而言，價格不是一個因素。

And then on the R&D side, Ryan, it does include other stuff besides just sort of what people think of traditional R&D. We've got clinical in there. We're still doing the post follow-up on the original supplement of the PMA, right? It's a 3-year follow-up. We did have a second part of that study, we had to do related to IOP. But we've also got quality in there and other things. So we just want to make sure that we're supporting the organization, as Tom talked about, one of the big things that's clinical, and we want to make sure we have a strong podium presence, et cetera. And I -- we feel good about that number, and we'll see how it trends as we move throughout the year.

然後在研發方面，Ryan，除了人們對傳統研發的看法之外，它確實包括其他內容。我們在那裡有臨床。我們仍在對 PMA 的原始補充進行後續跟進，對嗎？這是一個 3 年的後續行動。我們確實有該研究的第二部分，我們必須做與 IOP 相關的事情。但我們也有質量和其他東西。所以我們只想確保我們支持組織，正如湯姆所說的那樣，這是臨床上的一件大事，我們想確保我們有強大的講台存在，等等。我——我們對這個數字感覺很好，我們會看到它在全年移動時的趨勢。

That concludes the Q&A session. I would like to turn the call back over to Tom Frinzi.

問答環節到此結束。我想把電話轉回給 Tom Frinzi。

That concludes our call. I want to thank everyone for joining us today. Please reach out to Investor Relations with any questions you may have. Thank you.

我們的通話到此結束。我要感謝大家今天加入我們。如有任何問題，請聯繫投資者關係部。謝謝。

That concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You have a wonderful day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。你今天過得很愉快。