STERIS plc (STE) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everybody, and welcome to the STERIS PLC second-quarter 2025 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, today's event is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加 STERIS PLC 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意，今天的活動正在錄製中。

I would now like to turn the call over to Julie Winter, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係部門的朱莉溫特 (Julie Winter)。請繼續。

Thank you, Eric.Aand good morning, everyone. As usual, speaking on today's call will be Mike Tokich, our Senior Vice President and CFO; and Dan Carestio, our President and CEO.

謝謝你，艾瑞克。與往常一樣，我們的高級副總裁兼財務長 Mike Tokich 將在今天的電話會議上發言。以及我們的總裁兼執行長 Dan Caresio。

I do have a few words of caution before we open for comments. This webcast contains time-sensitive information that is accurate only as of today. Any redistribution, retransmission, or rebroadcast of this call without the expressed written consent of STERIS is strictly prohibited. Some of the statements made during this review are or may be considered forward-looking statements.

在我們公開徵求意見之前，我確實有幾句話要提醒大家。此網路廣播包含時效性訊息，僅在今天準確。未經 STERIS 明確書面同意，嚴禁對本次通話進行任何重新分發、轉播或轉播。本次審查期間所做的一些陳述是或可能被視為前瞻性陳述。

Many important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, those risk factors described in STERIS' securities filings. The company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, or future events, or developments. STERIS' SEC filings are available through the company and on our website.

許多重要因素可能導致實際結果與前瞻性聲明中的結果有重大差異，包括但不限於 STERIS 證券文件中所述的風險因素。本公司不承諾因新資訊、未來事件或發展而更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述。STERIS 的 SEC 文件可透過本公司和我們的網站取得。

In addition, on today's call, non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted earnings per diluted share, adjusted operating income, constant currency organic revenue growth, and free cash flow will be used. Additional information regarding these measures, including definitions, is available in our release as well as reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. Non-GAAP financial measures are presented during this call with the intent of providing greater transparency to supplemental financial information used by management and the Board of Directors in their financial analysis and operational decision-making.

此外，在今天的電話會議上，將使用非公認會計準則財務指標，包括調整後每股稀釋收益、調整後營業收入、恆定貨幣有機收入成長和自由現金流。有關這些措施的更多信息，包括定義，以及 GAAP 和非 GAAP 財務措施之間的調節，請參閱我們的新聞稿。本次電話會議期間提出了非公認會計準則財務指標，旨在為管理階層和董事會在財務分析和營運決策中使用的補充財務資訊提供更大的透明度。

With those cautions, I will hand the call over to Mike.

出於這些警告，我會將電話轉交給麥克。

Thank you, Julie. And good morning, everyone. It's once again my pleasure to be with you this morning to review the highlights of our second-quarter performance from continuing operations. As you saw in the press release, we have continued the momentum from the start of the fiscal year. Total as-reported revenue grew 7% in the second quarter. Constant currency organic revenue also grew 7% in the quarter, driven by volume as well as 240 basis points of price.

謝謝你，朱莉。大家早安。我很高興今天早上再次與大家一起回顧我們第二季度持續營運業績的亮點。正如您在新聞稿中看到的那樣，我們從本財年伊始就延續了這一勢頭。第二季報告總收入成長 7%。在數量和價格上漲 240 個基點的推動下，本季固定貨幣有機收入也增加了 7%。

Gross margin for the quarter decreased 50 basis points compared with the prior year to 43.7%. Positive price and favorable material costs were offset by labor inflation and productivity. Reflecting the decline in gross margin, EBIT margin decreased 30 basis points to 22.2% of revenue compared with last year. The adjusted effective tax rate in the quarter was 22.7%, net income from continuing operations in the quarter was $212.2 million, and adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations were $2.14, a 15% increase over last year.

本季毛利率較上年同期下降 50 個基點至 43.7%。積極的價格和有利的材料成本被勞動力通膨和生產力所抵消。與去年相比，息稅前利潤率下降了 30 個基點，至收入的 22.2%，反映出毛利率的下降。本季調整後的有效稅率為22.7%，該季持續營運淨利為2.122億美元，調整後持續營運每股收益為2.14美元，比去年同期成長15%。

Capital expenditures for the first half of fiscal 2025 totaled $210 million, and depreciation and amortization totaled $228 million. Capital expenditures were higher year over year, mainly due to timing. We continued to pay down debt during the quarter, ending with $2.2 billion in total debt. Total debt to EBITDA at quarter end was approximately 1.5 times gross leverage. Free cash flow for the first half of fiscal 2025 was $344.5 million, right at the halfway mark of our full-year guidance of approximately $700 million.

2025財年上半年資本支出總額為2.1億美元，折舊及攤提總額為2.28億美元。資本支出較去年增加，主要是由於時機的原因。本季我們繼續償還債務，債務總額達 22 億美元。季度末 EBITDA 債務總額約為總槓桿率的 1.5 倍。2025 財年上半年的自由現金流為 3.445 億美元，正好是我們全年指引約 7 億美元的一半。

With that, I will turn the call over to Dan for his remarks.

接下來，我會把電話轉給丹，聽他的講話。

Thanks, Mike, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us to hear more about our second-quarter performance and our outlook for the rest of the fiscal year. As you heard from Mike, we had another strong quarter. Looking at our segments, healthcare constant currency organic revenue grew 7% in the quarter, led once again by strong recurring revenue streams. Our outperformance in consumables and services continues to be driven by procedure volumes in the US as well as price and market share gains.

謝謝麥克，大家早安。感謝您加入我們，詳細了解我們第二季的業績以及本財年剩餘時間的展望。正如您從麥克那裡聽到的，我們又經歷了一個強勁的季度。看看我們的細分市場，醫療保健按固定匯率計算的有機收入在本季度增長了 7%，這再次受到強勁的經常性收入流的帶動。我們在消耗品和服務方面的出色表現繼續受到美國手術量以及價格和市場份額增長的推動。

Healthcare capital equipment revenue declined 2% in the quarter due to the timing of shipments. Orders grew over 30% in the second quarter, which reflected in the $405 million healthcare backlog. We now anticipate that the healthcare capital equipment revenue will be flat to slightly down for fiscal 2025, mainly due to the timing of shipments during the fiscal year in the difficult fourth quarter comparisons. We remain confident in our expectations of a strong year for our healthcare segment and expect that the recurring revenue outperformance will more than make up for the lower capital equipment revenue.

由於出貨時間的原因，本季醫療保健資本設備收入下降了 2%。第二季訂單成長超過 30%，這反映在 4.05 億美元的醫療保健積壓訂單上。我們現在預計 2025 財年的醫療資本設備收入將持平或略有下降，這主要是由於本財年第四季的出貨時間比較困難。我們對醫療保健領域強勁的一年仍然充滿信心，並預計經常性收入的優異表現將足以彌補資本設備收入的下降。

Margins have held up nicely in healthcare with pricing, positive productivity, and lower material costs offsetting labor inflation. Turning to AST, constant currency organic revenue grew 9%, with 6% growth in services and a significant quarter in the capital shipments. Supporting growth in services, global medtech customers were stable, and we saw the first signs of increased bioprocessing demand. We continue to anticipate bioprocessing revenue in the second half of our fiscal year will grow.

醫療保健領域的利潤率保持良好，定價、積極的生產力和較低的材料成本抵消了勞動力通膨。就 AST 而言，固定匯率有機收入成長了 9%，其中服務成長了 6%，資本出貨量成長顯著。全球醫療技術客戶保持穩定，並支持了服務業的成長，我們看到了生物加工需求增加的初步跡象。我們繼續預期本財年下半年的生物加工收入將會成長。

EBIT margins in AST were impacted by labor and energy costs, which continued to increase for the segment. In addition, we recorded a long-standing loss on a capital equipment order in our Mevex business unit. We would expect margins will improve from these levels in the second half of the year.

AST 的息稅前利潤率受到勞動力和能源成本的影響，該部門的勞動力和能源成本持續增加。此外，我們的 Mevex 業務部門的固定設備訂單長期虧損。我們預計下半年的利潤率將較目前水準有所改善。

Constant currency organic revenue growth for life sciences was 3% in the quarter, driven once again by strong growth in consumables. As expected, the divestiture of the CECS business on April 1 impacted our as-reported revenue. Margins benefited from favorable mix, pricing, and the divestiture.

在消耗品強勁成長的推動下，本季生命科學領域以固定匯率計算的有機收入成長了 3%。正如預期的那樣，4 月 1 日 CECS 業務的剝離影響了我們報告的收入。利潤率受益於有利的組合、定價和資產剝離。

Turning to our outlook for fiscal 2025, for the full year, we are reiterating our outlook from continuing operations, including 6% to 7% constant currency organic revenue growth and adjusted earnings per diluted share of $9.05 to $9.25. Our expectations for free cash flow are also unchanged at about $700 million, with about approximately $360 million in capital spending.

談到我們對 2025 財年的全年展望，我們重申了對持續經營業務的展望，包括 6% 至 7% 的固定匯率有機收入增長以及 9.05 美元至 9.25 美元的調整後每股攤薄收益。我們對自由現金流的預期也維持在約 7 億美元不變，其中資本支出約 3.6 億美元。

For your modeling, we do have a few moving pieces we wanted to highlight. From a segment perspective, life science revenue is now anticipated to be about flat for the year, with declines in capital equipment somewhat mitigated by the strength in consumables. Healthcare is now anticipated to grow mid- to high single digits with continued strength in recurring revenues.

對於您的建模，我們確實有一些想要強調的感人片段。從細分市場的角度來看，生命科學收入預計今年將持平，消耗品的強勁在一定程度上緩解了資本設備的下降。隨著經常性收入的持續強勁，醫療保健產業目前預計將實現中高個位數成長。

The outlook for AST continues to be high single-digit revenue growth for the year, but we no longer expect to exit the year at double-digit revenue growth. All in, we expect constant currency organic revenue growth to be 6% to 7% for the full fiscal year. From a profit perspective, we now anticipate margins to be about flat for the year. All in, we are pleased with the first half of the fiscal year. The diversified nature of our segments continues to be a benefit to our total performance.

AST 的前景仍然是今年高單位數收入成長，但我們不再期望今年以兩位數收入成長。總而言之，我們預計整個財年以固定匯率計算的有機收入成長率為 6% 至 7%。從利潤角度來看，我們現在預計今年的利潤率將持平。總而言之，我們對本財年上半年感到滿意。我們部門的多元化性質繼續有利於我們的整體業績。

That concludes our prepared remarks for the call. Julie, would you please give the instructions so we can begin the Q&A?

我們為電話會議所準備的發言到此結束。朱莉，請您給予指示，以便我們開始問答？

Thank you, Mike and Dan, for your comments. Eric, can you please give the instructions for Q&A, and we can get started.

謝謝邁克和丹的評論。艾瑞克（Eric），您能否給問答說明，我們就可以開始了。

(Operator Instructions) Jacob Johnson, Stephens.

（操作員說明）Jacob Johnson，Stephens。

Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking the questions, maybe a couple on AST. First, just on the loss on the large equipment sale, can you frame up the magnitude of that loss, just how much of a headwind that was to margins in the segment given they were down sequentially? And then I'm curious, I think that was still included in your adjusted EPS. Was this something that was contemplated in the guidance for the year? Or is this something kind of a bad -- proverbial bad guy that you're overcoming?

嘿，早安。感謝您提出問題，也許有幾個關於 AST 的問題。首先，就大型設備銷售的損失而言，您能否概括一下損失的嚴重程度，考慮到該部門的利潤率連續下降，該部門的利潤率受到了多大的阻力？然後我很好奇，我認為這仍然包含在你們調整後的每股盈餘中。今年的指導方針中是否考慮到了這一點？或者這是你正在克服的某種壞人——眾所周知的壞人？

[Jacob], the impact to margins was about 200 basis points on that loss itself. And -- I mean, we had contemplated a loss, but not as large of a loss. So we were a little bit surprised by the amount. But it is a one-time event that will not reoccur. And it goes back to the original acquisition of Mevex back in, I think, 2020. We had taken quite a while to fulfill that order, and we had no ability to adjust the costing on that project.

[Jacob]，此損失本身對利潤率的影響約為 200 個基點。而且——我的意思是，我們曾考慮過損失，但損失沒有那麼大。所以我們對這個數字有點驚訝。但這是一次性事件，不會再發生。我認為這可以追溯到 2020 年對 Mevex 的最初收購。我們花了相當長的時間來完成該訂單，我們沒有能力調整該項目的成本計算。

Got it. Thanks for that, Mike. And then Dan, I heard you mention no longer exiting the year at double digits for AST, but then it seems like maybe some positive bioprocessing commentary there. You just talked about any kind of incremental headwinds you've seen in AST that could be offsetting bioprocessing or maybe bioprocessing is not coming back as quickly as you thought.

知道了。謝謝你，麥克。然後丹，我聽說你提到今年 AST 不再以兩位數的速度退出，但似乎那裡可能有一些積極的生物加工評論。您剛剛談到了您在 AST 中看到的任何一種增量逆風，這些逆風可能會抵消生物加工的影響，或者生物加工可能不會像您想像的那麼快恢復。

We're actually very optimistic on bioprocessing being accretive to our growth, especially in the second half of the year. And I think at this point, we're halfway through the year. And although the growth has been nice, it's not maybe where I had hoped it would be from a med-tech perspective at this point. And although we see it continuing to improve based on run rate, I don't believe we're going to exit at a double-digit multiple at this point. I think we're going to get there eventually. I'd hoped it would be by fourth quarter. And what we're seeing now is it's probably a little later than that.

實際上，我們對生物加工能夠促進我們的成長非常樂觀，尤其是在今年下半年。我認為此時此刻，我們已經過半了。儘管成長勢頭不錯，但從醫療技術的角度來看，這可能還沒有達到我所希望的水平。儘管我們看到它的運行率繼續提高，但我不相信我們目前會以兩位數的倍數退出。我想我們最終會到達那裡。我本來希望是在第四季。我們現在看到的情況可能會比那晚一點。

Got it. Thanks, Dan. I'll leave it there.

知道了。謝謝，丹。我會把它留在那裡。

Brett Fishbin, KeyBanc.

布雷特‧菲什賓 (Brett Fishbin)，KeyBanc。

Hey, guys. Thanks so much for taking the questions. Just one on the healthcare capital equipment updates. So I appreciate the update moving from low single-digit growth expectation to flat to slightly down. I was really just hoping if you could parse that out a little bit, maybe between progress year to date versus where you thought you'd be coming into the quarter? And then maybe a little bit around the backlog moving pieces and why that stepped up this quarter? Thanks very much.

嘿，夥計們。非常感謝您提出問題。只是關於醫療資本設備更新的一項。因此，我很欣賞這項更新，從低個位數成長預期變為持平甚至略有下降。我真的只是希望你能稍微分析一下，也許是在今年迄今為止的進展與你認為進入本季度的情況之間？然後也許是關於積壓的移動部分，以及為什麼本季積壓的情況增加？非常感謝。

Yes. I mean a little bit detailed. I mean on the quarter, specifically, it wasn't the best quarter for shipments. We ran into some weather-related delays and things like that with the hurricanes at the end of the quarter that did impact some shipments, especially in the southeast. Our backlog remains incredibly strong, and we keep stacking up really strong order months on top of each other, especially in the healthcare organization.

是的。我的意思是稍微詳細一點。我的意思是，具體而言，本季並不是出貨量最好的季度。我們遇到了一些與天氣相關的延誤，以及季度末的颶風，這確實影響了一些發貨，特別是在東南部。我們的積壓訂單仍然非常強勁，而且我們一直在不斷累積非常強勁的訂單，尤其是在醫療保健組織中。

The reality is that with six months remaining to book and ship, we're talking about margins of 1% or 2% in one direction or the other. I wouldn't spend too much time on this in terms of -- and more importantly, we're more than offsetting it with the higher profit mix of consumables and services that's coming through.

現實情況是，預訂和發貨還剩 6 個月，我們談論的是某個方向或另一個方向 1% 或 2% 的利潤。我不會在這方面花太多時間——更重要的是，我們透過消耗品和服務的更高利潤組合來抵消它。

All right. Cool. And then just as my follow up on the operating margin expectation. Is the change in language really just tied to the pace of, call it, sequential improvement at AST and the favorable revenue mix? Or is there anything else that changed from the prior quarter? And then maybe just a follow up to that, how do we get confident or investors get confident in your ability to return to a level of operating margin expansion for next year? Thank you again.

好的。涼爽的。然後就像我對營業利潤率預期的跟進一樣。語言的變化真的只是與 AST 的連續改進和有利的收入組合的步伐相關嗎？或者與上一季相比還有什麼變化嗎？然後也許只是後續行動，我們或投資者如何對您明年恢復營業利潤率擴張水準的能力充滿信心？再次感謝您。

Yes. Brett, the impact is definitely related to AST. Obviously, with AST not performing at our expectations and exiting at double digits, we are not going to be able to drive that EBIT margin improvement. Other than that, I would say there's nothing else that we would point to that would stop us from obtaining our long-term goal of continuing to expand the EBIT margin on an annual basis.

是的。Brett，影響肯定和AST有關。顯然，由於 AST 的表現未達到我們的預期且以兩位數的速度退出，我們將無法推動息稅前利潤率的提高。除此之外，我想說，沒有什麼可以阻止我們實現繼續每年擴大息稅前利潤率的長期目標。

Patrick Wood, Morgan Stanley.

派崔克‧伍德，摩根士丹利。

Amazing. Thank you for taking the questions. I've just got two, please. I guess on the first one, I know it's quick, but have you heard from any of your customers around supply chain changes, tariffs coming in? Do you have any expectations for how that might move things around and if there could be an effect, positive or negative, for you guys?

驚人的。感謝您提出問題。我只有兩個，拜託。我想在第一個方面，我知道它很快，但是您有沒有收到任何客戶關於供應鏈變化、關稅的消息？您對這將如何改變事情以及是否會對您產生積極或消極的影響有什麼期望嗎？

No, we haven't really, Patrick, and thanks for the question. But what we have seen over the last few years as it relates to the AST business, there's a lot of reshoring and front-shoring, I would say. We've seen enormous growth in our Asia Pacific region, particularly in Malaysia, where we've got a number of newbuilds that have come online over the last couple of years, with a lot of business that has as located there as it's more of a front-shoring operation in anticipation of some challenges that might or may not occur as it relates to China.

不，我們真的沒有，派崔克，謝謝你的提問。但我想說的是，我們在過去幾年中所看到的與 AST 業務相關的情況是，有大量的回流和前端外包。我們看到亞太地區的巨大成長，特別是在馬來西亞，過去幾年裡我們有許多新船上線，很多業務都位於那裡，因為它更多的是預期與中國相關的一些可能會或可能不會發生的挑戰的前置作業。

That's really helpful. And then I guess the only other one was there's not a lot of public data on it, but the yield litigation side of things. Do we have any update on that on upcoming news flow? Or anything you can help give us a sort of sense for how that's playing out in the -- over the next few months?

這真的很有幫助。然後我想唯一的另一個是沒有太多的公共數據，但事情的收益訴訟方面。我們對即將發布的新聞流有任何更新嗎？或者您可以幫助我們了解未來幾個月的情況？

Yes. What I would say is we do have litigation related to the Waqigail-Illinois facility that we owned for a little over three years from 2005 to 2008 under the Isomedix name. And we have provided some significant disclosures in the Q. And I would point to those, and I think it's best that we continue on our path of not discussing ongoing litigation until there is something more definitive to discuss, but I'll refer you to the Q and ask that you look there.

是的。我想說的是，我們確實有與伊利諾伊州瓦奇蓋爾工廠相關的訴訟，從 2005 年到 2008 年，我們以 Isomedix 名義擁有該工廠三年多一點。我們在問題中提供了一些重要的披露。要求你看那裡。

Totally get that. Thanks so much, guys.

完全明白了。非常感謝，夥計們。

Michael Polark, Wolfe Research.

邁克爾·波拉克，沃爾夫研究中心。

Good morning. Thank you. I want to ask on healthcare consumables and services. There's obviously a lot of stuff, a lot of products and services in those two lines. And you mentioned share gains as a driver of the differentiated growth. Can you unpack that for us? What's going especially well? Can you -- is it in the processing department? Is it OR consumables? Is it repair stuff? Is it all of it? Where are you seeing differentiation in share?

早安.謝謝。我想詢問醫療耗材和服務。顯然，這兩條線有很多東西、很多產品和服務。您提到份額收益是差異化成長的驅動力。你能為我們拆開它嗎？什麼事進展得特別順利？你能——在加工部門嗎？是OR消耗品嗎？是修東西嗎？是全部嗎？您在哪裡看到份額差異？

Yes. It's all of that, to be honest with you. We've shipped an awful lot of capital equipment over the last 18 months or so. And we've really positioned ourselves nicely as it relates to some of the large IDM GPO contracts on the consumable parts, especially in sterile processing. And I think it's just that and the fact that procedure volumes are particularly strong in the US that's driving consumption of our consumables business as well as our services business, which is just having a gangbuster year as well.

是的。老實說，這就是全部。在過去 18 個月左右的時間裡，我們運送了大量的固定設備。我們確實已經很好地定位了自己，因為它涉及到一些大型 IDM GPO 易損件合同，特別是在無菌處理方面。我認為正是這一點以及美國的手術量特別強勁這一事實推動了我們的消耗品業務以及我們的服務業務的消費，而我們的服務業務也剛剛經歷了強勁的一年。

Can I ask you a follow up on the balance sheet? It's obviously under-levered, let's say, versus your history. So can you comment on the M&A pipeline? How does it look? Seller expectations? And if the M&A kind of opportunity set is not overly compelling at the moment, is there a chance this becomes more assertive with share repurchase? Thank you so much.

可以問你資產負債表的後續狀況嗎？比方說，與你的歷史相比，它的槓桿率顯然不足。您能否對併購管道發表評論？看起來怎麼樣？賣家的期望？如果併購類型的機會目前還不太引人注目，那麼是否有可能透過股票回購變得更有自信？太感謝了。

We cannot comment on the M&A pipeline. I mean, if we have news and when it's appropriate, we'll discuss that. Clearly, we're in a position where we have plenty financial powder, if you will, to move on something, and we definitely have the internal capacity from a management and integration capability. But the timing of our abilities and opportunities don't always sync up. So we'll see how that plays out.

我們無法對併購管道發表評論。我的意思是，如果我們有消息並且在適當的時候，我們會進行討論。顯然，我們擁有充足的財力（如果你願意的話）來推進某些事情，而且我們絕對擁有管理和整合能力的內部能力。但我們的能力和機會的時機並不總是同步的。所以我們將看看結果如何。

But I would also add that deal standpoint, it is robust. But at the same point in time, most of the -- what we're looking at is smaller tuck-in acquisitions, which is what we historically have done. And we did buy $100 million of shares back in the first half of the fiscal year, which is reflected in the balance sheet and the debt right now.

但我還要補充一點，從交易的角度來看，它是穩健的。但在同一時間點，我們所關注的大多數都是規模較小的收購，而這正是我們歷史上所做的。我們確實在本財年上半年回購了 1 億美元的股票，這反映在現在的資產負債表和債務中。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Mike Matson, Needham & Company.

（操作員說明）Mike Matson，Needham & Company。

Yes, thanks for taking my questions. So I heard the commentary around labor and energy costs continuing to pressure your margins to some degree. Just given kind of the general cooling and inflation we've seen, is this just sort of lagging kind of some of the other, I guess, costs? Or is there something else going on here that's causing those to be higher?

是的，感謝您回答我的問題。因此，我聽到有關勞動力和能源成本的評論在某種程度上繼續對您的利潤造成壓力。考慮到我們所看到的普遍降溫和通貨膨脹，我猜這是否只是其他一些成本的滯後？或者是否有其他原因導致這些值更高？

I would say, Mike, the labor, obviously, is the lagging piece, and we should anniversary that sometime during the fiscal year. Unfortunately, the energy costs are really something that are out of our control. And I think there is also a bit of a timing issue too. Because as we incur those energy costs, we cannot pass those on immediately. So there is definitely a little bit of a lag there too.

我想說，麥克，勞動力顯然是落後的部分，我們應該在本財年的某個時候紀念這一點。不幸的是，能源成本確實是我們無法控制的。我認為也存在一些時間問題。因為當我們承擔這些能源成本時，我們無法立即將其轉嫁出去。所以肯定也有一點滯後。

Yes, okay. And then bioprocessing, I just was wondering if you can give us a sense of how much of AST that is? I think the last time I looked or the last time I heard you guys say something, that was 10% of AST; and if so, about 2% of your total revenue. Is that accurate?

是的，好的。然後是生物加工，我只是想知道您能否讓我們了解一下 AST 的含量？我想我上次看或上次聽你們說某事時，那是 AST 的 10%；如果是這樣，大約佔總收入的 2%。準確嗎？

It's based on the reduction that we saw over the last 1.5 years to sort of the new set point. It's less than that. I mean it's in the 6% to 8% of the AST revenue ballpark or something like that and projected to grow nicely off of that new level.

它基於我們在過去 1.5 年中看到的減少來排序新的設定點。比那個少。我的意思是，它佔 AST 收入的 6% 到 8% 左右，預計將在新水平上大幅增長。

Okay. All right. Got it, thanks.

好的。好的。明白了，謝謝。

Yes, sure thing.

是的，當然可以。

Michael Polark, Wolfe Research.

邁克爾·波拉克，沃爾夫研究中心。

Thank you for taking the follow up. I want to ask on AST, medtech customer trends. Dan, I think you mentioned not quite where you thought it could or should be. Do you think this is just the inventory management stuff? Or is there something else going on that you've picked up? Thank you.

感謝您的跟進。我想問 AST、醫療科技客戶趨勢。丹，我認為你沒有提到你認為可以或應該的地方。您認為這只是庫存管理的事情嗎？或者您還發現了什麼其他事情嗎？謝謝。

I think it's two things. I do definitely think it's inventory management. Just like STERIS has done a nice job of bringing down our inventory this year, I think a lot of our medtech customers are taking the same opportunity. And then sometimes what I've seen is the classic bullwhip effect. We saw pretty strong growth in AST for end of Q4, early Q1, and then we saw a slowdown where they had maybe overproduced a bit and are keeping tight controls on inventory.

我認為這是兩件事。我確實認為這是庫存管理。就像 STERIS 今年在降低庫存方面做得很好一樣，我認為我們的許多醫療技術客戶也在抓住同樣的機會。有時我看到的是經典的牛鞭效應。我們看到第四季末、第一季初 AST 成長相當強勁，然後我們看到了放緩，他們可能生產過剩了一點，並且正在嚴格控制庫存。

Overall, what I would say is procedure rates is what drives that business. And right now, the procedure rates versus the AST growth are not matched up. And I think that as those converge, we'll see better growth out of AST. I mean all that 6% is not that disappointing. I mean, let's not be overcritical here. It's just we hold that business to a very high standard.

總的來說，我想說的是手術費率是推動這項業務的因素。目前，手術率與 AST 增長並不匹配。我認為，隨著這些因素的融合，我們將看到 AST 更好的成長。我的意思是，6% 並沒有那麼令人失望。我的意思是，我們不要太挑剔。只是我們將該業務保持在非常高的標準。

Understood. Since I'm here, I'll ask one more. On life sciences, the margin has been perking up. You commented on it. Is it simply lower equipment as a portion of that segment, so it's a mix thing? Or are you taking other kind of self-help actions to defend profit? Thank you.

明白了。既然來了，我就再問一個。在生命科學領域，利潤率一直在上升。你對此發表了評論。它是否只是該細分市場中較低設備的一部分，所以它是一個混合的東西？或者你正在採取其他類型的自救行動來捍衛利潤？謝謝。

It's all mix. That consumable business is growing incredibly nicely, and that is the higher-margin business there. And that is more than offsetting the decline in capital and from a profit perspective, but from a percentage perspective is driving it up.

都是混合的。消費品業務成長得令人難以置信，而且是利潤率較高的業務。從利潤的角度來看，這不僅抵消了資本的下降，而且從百分比的角度來看，它正在推動資本的下降。

Thanks for taking the follow up.

感謝您的跟進。

Sure thing.

當然可以。

Jason Bednar, Piper Sandler.

傑森·貝德納，派珀·桑德勒。

Hey. Good moring, everyone. Thanks for taking my questions, and apologies upfront here from asking anything that is already covered, just juggling on a few calls here this morning. I want to start on EO. And again, apologies if you can't answer these, but I'll try anyways.

嘿。大家早安。感謝您提出我的問題，並提前向您道歉，因為今天早上我只是在處理幾個電話，所以詢問了已經涵蓋的任何內容。我想從 EO 開始。再次，如果您無法回答這些問題，我深表歉意，但無論如何我都會嘗試。

Can you specify whether -- what you've disclosed in the 10-Q this morning, whether you're a co-defendant or sole defendant in those cases where you are defending against? Why not settle these cases out of court? Just maybe looking for -- not necessarily your entire legal strategy, but there is risk in going to trial, of course. And then can you help us with what kind of insurance you might have against the situation?

您能否具體說明您今天早上在 10-Q 中披露的內容，您是您所辯護的案件中的共同被告還是唯一被告？為什麼不在法庭外解決這些案件呢？也許只是尋找——不一定是你的整個法律策略，但當然，接受審判是有風險的。那麼您能幫助我們了解您針對這種情況可以購買哪種保險嗎？

Yes. Other than M&A strategy, the other thing we absolutely don't talk about is legal strategy. So I will refer you to the comments that are in the Q, and to say that we'll stay on our comments around ongoing litigation at this time.

是的。除了併購策略之外，我們絕對不談論的另一件事是法律策略。因此，我將向您推薦 Q 中的評論，並表示我們目前將保留對正在進行的訴訟的評論。

Okay. I mean, I guess, Dan, the insurance pieces and part of legal strategy and the defendant versus sole is more factual. I mean, any comment on either of those?

好的。我的意思是，丹，我想，保險部分和法律策略的一部分以及被告與唯一的比較更符合事實。我的意思是，對其中任何一個有什麼評論嗎？

I have no comment, no.

我沒有意見，沒有。

Okay. Okay, fair enough. In AST, the outlook sounds like maybe a hair lower today. Is that exclusively bioprocessing related? Are there any adjustments that you're seeing or moderation, I should probably better say, on pricing in that category?

好的。好吧，很公平。在 AST 方面，今天的前景聽起來可能略有下降。這完全與生物加工有關嗎？我應該更好地說，您在該類別的定價方面是否看到了任何調整或調整？

No. It's just -- honestly, it's just the volumes that we've seen year to date and the trend. If we were up 1.5 points higher year to date, we'd be telling you there's no change in the AST outlook for the whole end of the year. But based on run rate, we've adjusted that to take a much more conservative approach.

不。老實說，這只是我們今年迄今為止看到的數量和趨勢。如果今年迄今為止上漲 1.5 個百分點，我們會告訴您整個年底的 AST 前景沒有變化。但根據運行率，我們對其進行了調整，以採取更加保守的方法。

Okay. And does that influence at all the, I guess, your confidence in seeing improved margins within that segment, adjusting, of course, for the equipment last year, that was kind of an idiosyncratic drag? But looking forward, does the delayed timing on getting back to double-digit growth in AST affect how you think about incremental margins in that segment?

好的。我想，這是否會影響您對看到該細分市場利潤率提高的信心，當然，對去年的設備進行調整，這是一種特殊的阻力？但展望未來，AST 恢復兩位數成長的延遲時間是否會影響您對該細分市場增量利潤的看法？

No, adjusting out the one-time loss on the capital for Mevex, we would expect margins to be strong in the second half of the year, in AST in particular.

不會，在調整掉 Mevex 的一次性資本損失後，我們預計下半年的利潤率將會強勁，尤其是 AST。

Okay. All right, thank you.

好的。好的，謝謝。

Yes, sure thing.

是的，當然可以。

Mike Matson, Needham & Company.

麥克馬森，李約瑟公司。

Yes, thanks. Just one quick one here. So with the margins now expect -- our margins are now expected to be flat. You're still reiterating the EPS guidance. So I mean, does it still kind of fall within that range, maybe at the lower end or something? Or is there something else going on in the P&L to offset that?

是的，謝謝。這裡只是一個快速的。因此，按照目前的預期利潤率，我們的利潤率預計將持平。您仍在重申 EPS 指導。所以我的意思是，它是否仍然落在這個範圍內，也許在較低端或其他什麼地方？或者損益表中是否有其他事情可以抵消這一點？

Yes, Mike, it does fall within the range, but we are seeing an impact or a favorable impact on interest expense. We now expect interest for the full year to be about $90 million.

是的，麥克，它確實在這個範圍內，但我們看到了對利息支出的影響或有利影響。我們現在預計全年利息約為 9000 萬美元。

Okay, got it. Thanks.

好的，明白了。謝謝。

Jacob Johnson, Stephens.

雅各約翰遜、史蒂芬斯。

Hey, thanks. Since everybody else is doing a follow up, I figured I'll join them. Just on the life sciences business, the strong consumable demand, can you flesh out kind of what you're seeing in that business? What's driving that demand? And just curious, I think there's a lot of debate around kind of what's going on with pharma demand, maybe at a higher level, kind of what are you seeing from those customers right now?

嘿，謝謝。由於其他人都在跟進，我想我會加入他們。就生命科學業務而言，強勁的消耗品需求，您能具體說明您在該業務中看到的情況嗎？是什麼推動了這種需求？只是好奇，我認為圍繞製藥需求的變化存在著許多爭論，也許在更高的層面上，您現在從這些客戶身上看到了什麼？

Yes. I would say, keep in mind, we've got somewhat easy comps last year. There was a lot of destocking going on in our consumables business, in particular, in the barrier products space as well as the chemistry space. And so against those relatively easy comps, we've seen very strong recovery from our core customers that are back in full production.

是的。我想說，請記住，去年我們的比賽比較簡單。我們的消耗品業務正在進行大量去庫存，特別是在阻隔產品領域和化學領域。因此，與那些相對簡單的比較相比，我們看到我們的核心客戶恢復了全面生產，恢復非常強勁。

Got it. Thanks for the follow up.

知道了。感謝您的跟進。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. This will conclude our question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the conference back over to Julie Winter for any closing remarks.

謝謝。我們的問答環節到此結束。現在我想將會議轉回朱莉·溫特（Julie Winter）發表閉幕詞。

Thanks, everybody, for taking the time to join us today, and we'll be at a few conferences here this fall and look forward to just catching up with many of you then.

謝謝大家今天抽出時間加入我們，今年秋天我們將參加一些會議，期待屆時能與你們中的許多人見面。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you, everybody, for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。謝謝大家參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。