STERIS plc (STE) 2026 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the STERIS PLC third-quarter 2026 conference call.

各位好，歡迎參加 STERIS PLC 2026 年第三季電話會議。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Please note this event is being recorded.

請注意，本次活動正在錄影。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Ms. Julie Winter, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, ma'am.

現在我將會議交給投資者關係副總裁朱莉·溫特女士。請您開始吧，女士。

Thank you, Chuck, and good morning, everyone. Speaking on today's call will be Karen Burton, our Senior Vice President and CFO and Dan Carestio, our President and CEO.

謝謝查克，大家早安。今天參加電話會議的有我們的高級副總裁兼財務長凱倫·伯頓和總裁兼執行長丹·卡雷斯蒂奧。

And I do have a few words of caution before we open for comment.

在開放評論之前，我還有幾點需要提醒大家。

This webcast contains time-sensitive information that is accurate only as of today. Any redistribution, retransmission, or rebroadcast of this call without the express written consent of STERIS is strictly prohibited.

本次網路直播包含時效性訊息，僅截至今日有效。未經STERIS明確書面許可，嚴禁以任何形式轉載、轉發或重播本次直播內容。

Some of the statements made during this review are or may be considered forward-looking statements. 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's 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.

本次審查中所作的部分陳述構成或可能被視為前瞻性陳述。許多重要因素可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述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訂任何前瞻性陳述。 STERIS的美國證券交易委員會（SEC）文件可透過公司及公司網站查閱。

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 press 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，我們將使用非公認會計準則（非GAAP）財務指標，包括調整後每股稀釋收益、調整後營業收入、以固定匯率計算的有機收入成長率和自由現金流。有關這些指標的更多信息，包括定義，請參閱我們的新聞稿以及GAAP和非GAAP財務指標的調節表。本次電話會議提供非GAAP財務指標旨在提高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的透明度。

With those questions, I will hand the call over to Karen.

帶著這些問題，我將把電話交給凱倫。

Thank you, Julie. And good morning, everyone. It's my pleasure to be with you this morning to review the highlights of our third quarter performance from continuing operations.

謝謝你，朱莉。大家早安。今天早上很高興能和大家一起回顧我們持續經營業務第三季的業績亮點。

For the third quarter, total as reported revenue grew 9%. Constant currency organic revenue grew 8% in the quarter, driven by volume as well as 200 basis points of price.

第三季度，以報告計算的總收入成長了 9%。以固定匯率計算，本季有機收入成長了 8%，這主要得益於銷售成長以及價格上漲 200 個基點。

Gross margin for the quarter declined 70 basis points compared with the prior year to 43.9%. Positive price and productivity, primarily driven by volume, were more than offset by increased tariffs and inflation.

本季毛利率較上年同期下降70個基點至43.9%。儘管銷售成長推動了價格和生產效率的提升，但關稅上漲和通貨膨脹抵消了這些利好因素。

EBIT margin decreased 40 basis points to 22.9% of revenue compared with last year, mainly driven by the decline in gross margin, which was somewhat mitigated by operating expense discipline.

息稅前利潤率較前一年下降 40 個基點至營收的 22.9%，主要原因是毛利率下降，但營運費用控制在一定程度上緩解了這一影響。

The adjusted effective tax rate in the quarter was 24.2%, a small decline from 24.5% in the third quarter of last year. The year-over-year decrease was driven primarily by changes in geographic mix.

本季調整後的實際稅率為24.2%，較去年同期的24.5%略有下降。年比下降的主要原因是地域結構的變化。

Adjusted net income from continuing operations in the quarter was $249.4 million. Earnings per diluted share from continuing operations were $2.53, a 9% increase over the prior year.

本季持續經營業務的調整後淨利為2.494億美元。持續經營業務的稀釋後每股收益為2.53美元，比上年同期成長9%。

Capital expenditures for the first nine months of fiscal 2026 totaled $278.8 million, and depreciation and amortization totaled $363.1 million.

2026 財年前九個月的資本支出總額為 2.788 億美元，折舊和攤提總額為 3.631 億美元。

We ended the quarter with $1.9 billion in total debt. Gross debt to EBITDA at quarter end was approximately 1.2 times. Free cash flow for the first nine months of fiscal 2026 was 736 -- $7.6 million (sic - see press release, "$737.6 million") with year-over-year improvement driven primarily by an increase in earnings and lower capital spending.

本季末，我們的總債務為19億美元。季度末總債務與EBITDA比率約為1.2倍。 2026財年前九個月的自由現金流為7.36億美元（原文如此，請參閱新聞稿「7.376億美元」），年成長主要得益於獲利成長和資本支出減少。

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

接下來，我將把電話交給丹，請他發言。

Thanks, Karen, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us to hear more about our third quarter performance.

謝謝凱倫，大家早安。感謝各位參加本次第三季業績報告會。

Karen covered the quarter at a high level, so I will add some commentary on our segments. Starting with healthcare, constant currency organic revenue grew 8% for the third quarter with growth across all categories. Service continued its streak of outperformance growing 11% in the third quarter. Consumables also performed well with growth of 8%. Healthcare capital equipment revenue increased 7% for the quarter, with backlog remaining over $400 million. Orders were down 1% year to date against difficult comparisons to last year. EBIT margins for healthcare in the quarter decreased 100 basis points to 24.3% as volume, pricing, and restructuring program benefits were more than offset by increased tariffs and inflation.

Karen已經對本季度進行了概括性的總結，因此我將補充一些關於我們各業務板塊的評論。首先是醫療保健業務，以固定匯率計算，第三季有機收入成長8%，所有類別均成長。服務業務延續了其優異表現，第三季成長11%。耗材業務也表現良好，成長8%。醫療保健資本設備營收本季成長7%，積壓訂單仍超過4億美元。由於與去年同期相比基數較高，今年迄今的訂單量下降了1%。本季醫療保健業務的息稅前利潤率下降100個基點至24.3%，原因是銷售、價格和重組計畫帶來的收益被關稅上漲和通貨膨脹所抵銷。

Turning to AST. Constant currency organic revenue grew 8% for the quarter, with 9% growth in services and 103% growth in capital equipment revenue. Services benefited from stable medical device volumes, bio-processing demand, and currency. EBIT margins for AST were 45.1%, up 30 basis points from the third quarter of last year as the additional pricing and volume were more than able to offset increases in labor and energy in the unfavorable mixed impact from strong capital growth.

再來看AST業務。以固定匯率計算，本季有機收入成長8%，其中服務收入成長9%，資本設備收入成長103%。服務業務受惠於醫療器材銷售穩定、生物加工需求旺盛以及匯率有利。 AST的息稅前利潤率為45.1%，較去年第三季成長30個基點，主要得益於價格上漲和銷售成長，足以抵銷強勁資本成長帶來的不利影響，包括勞動力和能源成本的增加。

Constant currency organic revenue increased 5% for life sciences in the quarter, driven by 11% growth in consumables. Capital equipment also performed well with 7% growth in backlog holding over $100 million. Margins declined 20 basis points as volume and price were more than offset by tariffs and inflation.

本季生命科學業務以固定匯率計算的有機收入成長了5%，主要得益於耗材業務11%的成長。資本設備業務也表現良好，積壓訂單超過1億美元，成長了7%。由於關稅和通貨膨脹抵消了銷售和價格的成長，利潤率下降了20個基點。

From an earnings perspective, we grew the bottom line [9% in the quarter] to $2.53 per diluted share. Included in that number is approximately $16 million of pre-tax tariff impact, which primarily impacted our healthcare segment.

從獲利角度來看，我們本季淨利成長了9%，達到每股攤薄收益2.53美元。該數字包含了約1600萬美元的稅前關稅影響，這主要影響了我們的醫療保健業務。

Turning to our outlook for fiscal 2026, as noted in the press release, we are maintaining our outlook for the year. This includes approximately 8% to 9% as reported revenue growth and constant currency organic revenue growth of 7% to 8%. Our earnings outlook of $10 -- $10.15 to $10.30 is also being maintained. Although with $10 million more in anticipated tariffs, the higher end of that range is less likely. Free cash flow is expected to be $850 million and CapEx remains unchanged at $375 million. We are pleased with our performance year to date, delivering constant currency organic revenue growth of high-single-digits and double-digits earnings per share, despite the tariff headwinds.

關於2026財年的展望，如新聞稿所述，我們維持先前的年度展望。這包括約8%至9%的已公佈收入增長和7%至8%的固定匯率有機收入增長。我們維持每股收益10美元至10.15美元至10.30美元的預期。儘管預計關稅將增加1000萬美元，但達到該區間上限的可能性較小。自由現金流預估為8.5億美元，資本支出維持在3.75億美元不變。我們對年初至今的業績感到滿意，儘管面臨關稅帶來的不利影響，我們仍實現了高個位數的固定匯率有機收入成長和兩位數的每股盈餘成長。

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

我們為這次電話會議所準備的演講到此結束。查克，請你給指示，我們可以開始問答環節了。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Brett Fishman, KeyBanc.

Brett Fishman，KeyBanc。

Just was hoping maybe at a high level, company-wide you could just touch on how you're thinking about, fourth quarter constant currency growth, just thinking about you're kind of tracking a little bit above the high end of the 7% to 8% FY26 range and maintain 7% to 8% for the year. So just kind of wondering if there's any incremental concerns or temporary items impacting 4Q or maybe if you know it sets up as we should be thinking about at the higher end or potential upside.

我只是想從公司層面，簡要談談您對第四季度以固定匯率計算的成長的看法。目前來看，你們的成長速度略高於2026財年7%至8%的預期區間上限，並計畫全年維持7%至8%的成長目標。所以我想知道是否存在任何可能影響第四季度業績的額外因素或暫時性問題，或者您是否了解目前的成長前景是否如預期般樂觀，甚至存在潛在的成長空間。

Thank you.

謝謝。

As we look at the fourth quarter, and as we said last quarter, we do have a bit of a slowdown in the second half, so -- and that would (technical difficulty) be my caution on getting too excited about the fourth quarter, so that is why we're holding that 7% to 8% constant currency. Last year's fourth quarter was a solid quarter, so it's a tough comparison as well, particularly in AST where we had a really strong capital equipment fourth quarter, which is not expected this year.

展望第四季度，正如我們上個季度所說，下半年成長率確實有所放緩，因此——這也是我謹慎看待第四季業績的原因，所以我們維持7%到8%的固定匯率預期。去年第四季表現穩健，因此今年的業績也難以直接比較，尤其是在資產支援技術（AST）領域，去年第四季資本設備業務表現強勁，而今年預計不會出現這種情況。

Brett, this is Julie.

布雷特，這位是朱莉。

Just to add on healthcare too, we've been saying all year we don't expect healthcare services to stay in the team. We slowed a little bit to 11% in the third quarter. We would expect continued slowing in that business in the fourth quarter.

再補充一點關於醫療保健業務，我們今年一直在說，我們預計醫療保健服務不會繼續留在團隊中。第三季度，該業務成長速度略微放緩至11%。我們預計第四季該業務成長將持續放緩。

Alright perfect. Thank you very much.

好的，太好了。非常感謝。

And then maybe just one more from me. I was just interested you know to hear maybe a little bit more about what you're seeing around you know capital equipment backlog activity in in both segments you know I think the health care backlog is you know showing stability you know kind of in that in in the same range it's been the last couple quarters but seeing some pretty strong growth out of the life sciences backlog so just any thoughts on kind of what's going on there would be appreciated. Thanks again.

我可能還有一個問題。我很好奇，想了解您目前對資本設備積壓訂單活動的看法，尤其是在醫療保健和生命科學這兩個領域。我認為醫療保健領域的積壓訂單目前比較穩定，基本上維持在過去幾季的水平，而生命科學領域的積壓訂單則出現了相當強勁的成長。所以，如果您能就此發表一些看法，我將不勝感激。再次感謝。

Yeah Brett, this is Dan.

是的，布雷特，我是丹。

The life science one is easy because that's just a recovery comparison to where we were a little over a year ago when pharma wasn't spending as much and we started booking strong orders Q3 last year and that's continued. And it continues today and as those continue to flush out we're just in a much better spot from a macro perspective than we were a little over a year ago, so that's positive.

生命科學領域的情況比較簡單，因為它只是與一年多前的情況進行對比，當時製藥業的支出並不多，而我們從去年第三季度開始就獲得了強勁的訂單，並且這種勢頭一直持續至今。隨著這些訂單的陸續發放，從宏觀角度來看，我們的處境比一年多前好得多，這是個正面的訊號。

On the healthcare side, we've had strong orders all year. I mean we're down 1% versus prior year which was a blowout year in terms of order intake. So we have not felt any meaningful slowdown as it relates to capital spending and I go back to what I've said many times is you know a lot of times our products are treated almost the utility, they're needed for capacity they're essential in the hospital and if the procedures continue to grow at some nominal rate or location changes that capacity has to be put in place as it relates to sterilization, disinfection, et cetera. So we've been fairly resilient whereas I know maybe some others have seen some capital slowdown.

在醫療保健方面，我們全年訂單都很強勁。我的意思是，我們只比去年下降了1%，而去年訂單量可是非常驚人的。所以，就資本支出而言，我們並沒有感受到任何明顯的放緩。我再次強調，我們的產品通常被視為必需品，是醫院維持運作所必需的。如果手術量繼續以一定的速度增長，或者手術地點發生變化，那麼就必須配備相應的消毒、滅菌等設備。因此，我們展現了相當強的韌性，而我知道其他一些公司可能已經出現了資本支出放緩的情況。

Mac Etoch, Stephens.

Mac Etoch，Stephens。

Maybe just to follow-up on Brett's capital equipment question Life Sciences. I'd just like to know how you would, characterize the current conditions in that end market and how conversations with customers are evolving around US onshoring and capacity expansions. Thanks.

或許我想就Brett提出的關於生命科學領域資本設備的問題做個後續探討。我想了解您如何描述該終端市場的現狀，以及您與客戶就美國本土化生產和產能擴張進行的溝通進展。謝謝。

I'd say in general, Matt, any time there's a juxtaposition of manufacturing locations, we tend to benefit on the capital side of things because they're putting in new capacity. Clearly, there's been some pretty big announcements in the last few months in North Carolina and Pennsylvania and other states that have got commitments to build large, new processing capacity, and fortunately for us a lot of that capacity is aseptic manufacturing type products, which tends to be our sweet spot.

馬特，總的來說，我認為，只要生產基地分佈在附近，我們往往就能在資金方面受益，因為他們會投入新的產能。顯然，在過去幾個月裡，北卡羅來納州、賓州和其他一些州都宣布了要建造大型新加工產能的重大項目，對我們來說幸運的是，其中許多產能都用於生產無菌產品，這正是我們的優勢所在。

So it's definitely a positive macro for us right now. I think the more important thing is that despite some of the pricing pressures in pharma and some of the regulatory changes that may be coming there, nonetheless they seem to be a much better spot than they were a year and a half ago when there was some confusion. So all in all it's been a positive for us.

所以，目前宏觀經濟情勢對我們來說無疑是利好消息。我認為更重要的是，儘管醫藥產業面臨一些價格壓力，也可能即將迎來一些監管變化，但總體而言，它們的情況比一年半前好得多，當時市場還比較混亂。總而言之，這對我們來說是個好消息。

Appreciate that. And then you know obviously the $10 million increase in tariff related costs that popped up on the press release. I'd just like to potentially get an update on your mitigation efforts and, get your sense of how you'll be able to maybe offset a majority of these costs in FY27 if that's possible.

非常感謝。另外，您也知道新聞稿中提到的關稅相關成本增加1000萬美元。我想了解貴公司在緩解這一成本方面所做的努力，以及如果可能的話，您打算如何在2027財年抵消大部分成本。

Sure, yeah, there's a wide variety of mitigation efforts going on and we are optimistic about our ability to continue to absorb those as we go forward and fully as we move forward they range from shifting product movement supplier negotiations, alternative suppliers, it honestly, the hardest work and the biggest part is looking for other cost reductions and an ability to offset those costs with productivity improvements, efficiencies in our facilities and across the offices -- back office as well.

當然，是的，我們正在採取各種各樣的緩解措施，並且我們樂觀地認為，隨著我們不斷前進，我們有能力繼續吸收和全面吸收這些措施。這些措施包括調整產品運輸、供應商談判、尋找替代供應商等等。說實話，最困難、最重要的部分是尋找其他降低成本的方法，並透過提高生產力、提高我們設施和辦公室（包括後台辦公室）的效率來抵消這些成本。

Hey Mac, this is Julie.

嘿，麥克，我是茱莉。

Just the ads on the third quarter and the $10 million for the year is mainly driven by metals, and we see an uptick in metals with more capital equipment sales. So the mixed shift to capital has a direct impact on the tariff exposure for this year.

光是第三季的廣告收入以及全年1000萬美元的收入主要來自金屬業，而隨著資本設備銷售的成長，我們看到金屬業出現成長。因此，資本支出的多元化成長直接影響了今年的關稅風險敞口。

Michael Polark, Wolfe Research.

邁克爾·波拉克，沃爾夫研究中心。

I'll stay on tariffs, and then I want to shift to AST. So just on tariffs, can you remind the $55 million that's now in the guidance. Is that six months just December and March or was there an impact in the September quarter as well and I asked just because I'm trying to understand like what how much we'll need to annualize it.

我先說說關稅，然後我想轉到AST（短期交易服務）。就關稅而言，您能否提醒一下目前指引中提到的5500萬美元？這六個月的金額是指12月和3月，還是也包括9月份的季度？我這麼問是因為我想了解我們需要將其年化多少。

We were $16 million in the third quarter, Mike, and we would expect that to step up a little bit in the fourth. The $55 million is an annual run rate for fiscal '26, and we have been incurring tariffs every quarter.

麥克，我們第三季的營收是1,600萬美元，預計第四季會略有成長。 5500萬美元是2026財年的年度運行率，我們每季都會產生關稅。

It seems that Mr. Polark has disconnected.

波拉克先生似乎已斷開連線。

Patrick Wood, Morgan Stanley.

派崔克‧伍德，摩根士丹利。

Two kind of both on the like macro regulatory side. CMS had two different proposals. There was obviously the PPE sort of onshoring, some of the API stuff on the drug side. Curious if you think that would have any effect to supply chain shift and if that could affect you guys in a positive way.

宏觀監管方面有兩種不同的方案。 CMS提出了兩種不同的提案。顯然，其中一種是個人防護裝備（PPE）的本土化生產，另一種是藥品原料藥（API）方面的一些問題。我想知道您是否認為這會對供應鏈轉移產生任何影響，以及這是否會對您產生積極影響。

And then the other one was like another CMS, proposal they're obviously getting rid of for a lot of surgeries the inpatient only list. They did that obviously for musculoskeletal, but they're doing it for some of the soft tissue surgeries and things. Is there a chance that that pulls more procedures into the ASC and do you view that ASC shift as a good thing or a bad thing for you guys?

另一項提案是CMS提出的，他們顯然要取消許多手術的住院限制。他們已經取消了肌肉骨骼手術的限制，但現在也取消了一些軟組織手術。這是否有可能導致更多手術轉移到門診手術中心（ASC）進行？您認為這種轉變對你們來說是好事還是壞事？

Yeah, sure, Patrick. This is Dan. Nice to hear from you.

當然可以，派崔克。我是丹。很高興收到你的來信。

I would say that, the ASC shift has generally been a positive for us. There's new capacity demands. There's also a higher degree of clinical support that those facilities need than maybe large acute care facilities in terms of sterilization, disinfection, and that's something that STERIS is uniquely, positioned to provide and we've been able to do that quite well.

我認為，ASC（門診手術中心）的轉型總體上對我們來說是積極的。它帶來了新的容量需求。與大型急診機構相比，這些機構在消毒滅菌方面需要更高水準的臨床支持，而STERIS在這方面具有獨特的優勢，並且我們在這方面做得相當出色。

In terms of the PPE shift, I have not yet seen any material commitments of major manufacturing moving to US at this point that would have an impact on, I mean, that would largely be an AST play, right, in terms of PPE that needs that sterile drape and gown type stuff, but I've read about it but I haven't seen any impact from it as of this point.

就個人防護裝備的轉移而言，目前我還沒有看到任何大型製造商將生產轉移到美國的實質承諾，這會產生影響。我的意思是，這在很大程度上取決於抗菌藥物管理，對吧？就需要無菌鋪巾和防護服之類的個人防護裝備而言，我讀過相關報道，但到目前為止我還沒有看到任何影響。

And in terms of your question on the API relocation, I have not seen an impact on that yet either.

至於你提到的 API 遷移問題，我目前還沒有看到任何影響。

No, that's helpful.

不，這很有幫助。

And then just very quickly as a follow-up, we had chatted before about potentially, I don't know, it's hard for what you can and can't say but a bit more of a commercial push, in a me across some of your product lines on the sterilization side. Is that still something a more integrated model and competing a little bit more aggressively in EMEA? Is that still something that's on the cards?

然後，作為後續跟進，我們之前聊過，或許可以——我不知道，這很難說清楚——但你們可能會在滅菌產品線中加大一些商業推廣力度。這是否仍然是你們考慮的更一體化的模式，以及在歐洲、中東和非洲地區更積極地競爭的計劃？這是否仍在計劃中？

Absolutely, yes, that's something we're committed to. We've made a lot of structural changes in EMEA in terms of how we're going to approach go-to-market. It's going to take a while to get that fully formulated and executed. It's a long process, but we're confident in the direction that we're heading.

當然，是的，這是我們一直致力於的方向。我們在歐洲、中東和非洲地區（EMEA）的市場推廣策略方面進行了許多結構性調整。這些調整需要一段時間才能完全制定並執行。這是一個漫長的過程，但我們對前進的方向充滿信心。

Mike Matson, Needham & Company.

Mike Matson，Needham & Company。

So I wanted to follow-up on Mike Pollack's question on the tariff exposure in '26. I think maybe what he was trying to get at was like the what's the incremental exposure in '27. I know you probably can't give us a dollar amount and you're not giving guidance, but if you've been paying tariffs for basically all four quarters of '26, does that imply that kind of any incremental tariff impact in '27 will be small, less than 25% worth effectively or --

所以我想就麥克·波拉克關於2026年關稅風險的問題做個後續說明。我想他可能想問的是2027年的新增風險是多少。我知道您可能無法給出具體金額，也沒有給出任何指引，但如果您在2026年幾乎四個季度都在繳納關稅，這是否意味著2027年新增關稅的影響會很小，實際影響小於25%？

I think that's a logical approach. Obviously, the tariffs did fluctuate during the year, especially in the first half of our year as rates settled in. And we're seeing it come through and reflected in a different mix but I don't -- I think it's reasonable to say that it wouldn't be more than another quarter's worth kind of level.

我認為這是一個合乎邏輯的做法。顯然，關稅在這一年中確實有所波動，尤其是在上半年，隨著費率趨於穩定。我們看到這些波動正在顯現，並反映在不同的費率組成中，但我認為可以合理地推斷，關稅水平不會超過一個季度的水平。

Based on current (multiple speakers) (laughter) --

根據當前情況（多位發言者）（笑聲）－

Yeah, I understand.

是的，我明白了。

(multiple speakers) that clarification what's in place right now.

（多位發言者）澄清目前的情況。

Yeah, okay, and then just, your leverage ratios at just over one time, it's been -- I think it's been a few years since you've done any acquisition, so it used to be a pretty big part of the STERIS story. So maybe why haven't you been doing more deals and what's the outlook is -- do you have a pipeline of things that you're looking at and can we expect to see more in the next few years?

好的，還有，你們的槓桿率略高於1倍，而且──我想你們已經好幾年沒有進行收購了，收購曾經是STERIS發展歷程中非常重要的一部分。那麼，你們為什麼沒有進行更多交易呢？未來前景如何？你們目前是否有正在考慮的項目？我們能否期待在未來幾年看到更多收購？

Well we've been active on smaller sort of bolt-on product acquisitions and some channel acquisitions over the last couple of years. Doing major transformative M&A is not easy. It's something that we feel we're good at and we have the muscle for and we're good at integration. But we also have a very disciplined approach at what meets our financial criteria and where we add value from a customer perspective. So we're looking but at this point, we've kissed a lot of frogs and not a lot of them have turned out to be princes.

過去幾年，我們一直積極進行一些規模較小的產品收購和通路收購。進行大規模的轉型併購併非易事。我們認為自己擅長這類收購，也具備相應的實力和整合能力。但我們對符合財務標準和能從客戶角度創造價值的收購目標有著非常嚴格的控制。所以，我們一直在尋找合適的收購目標，但目前為止，我們已經嘗試過很多次，但真正成功的並不多。

Jason Bittner, Piper Sandler.

傑森比特納，派珀桑德勒。

I got to follow the frog kissing comment here. I'm going to start with cash flow guidance here. (laughter)

我得接著剛才那個「親吻青蛙」的評論繼續說下去。我先從現金流指導說起。 （笑聲）

You left that unchanged, but look based on where you're at for the first nine months that target just looks like a layout. So I guess why not bump that higher? I get not changing revenue. I get that changing the EPS guide but are there any cash flow fluctuations you're anticipating at your end that would keep you from clearing that guidance bar?

你沒有改變目標，但根據你前九個月的表現來看，這個目標看起來只是個空想。所以我想，為什麼不把目標提高一些呢？我理解你不改變營收，也理解你調整每股盈餘預期，但你預期現金流方面會有什麼波動，會導致你無法達到預期目標嗎？

Yeah, I think it's (technical difficulty) you're right, we are very confident with that guidance. A lot of times in the fourth quarter, timing really matters so we've got a heavy capital quarter. Some of those that activity will shift into next year in terms of cash collections. So it's a little bit harder to predict in the fourth quarter, especially since it is winter and weather can play a part, so a little bit of conservatism there.

是的，我認為（技術難題）你說得對，我們對這個指引非常有信心。第四季很多時候時機至關重要，因為我們這個季度資本支出很大。其中一些現金回收活動會推遲到明年。所以第四季的預測比較困難，尤其是在冬季，天氣狀況可能會產生影響，因此我們在這方面採取了較保守的策略。

Fair enough, and then for a follow-up. I did want to peek a little bit ahead to fiscal '27. So you're sitting on a healthy backlog that's no secret. The AST momentum is obvious for you and the broader market. The street's only modeling 6% growth for next year. Is there a reason you wouldn't be able to maintain your typical [7-11] growth algorithm beyond fiscal '26? I know a lot have asked here today about tariffs and kind of the impact on tariffs in fiscal '27, but any other considerations we should have in mind whether it's top-line or margin related.

好的，那接下來我想問一個問題。我想稍微了解一下2027財年的情況。你們目前積壓了大量訂單，這已不是什麼秘密。 AST的成長動能對你們和整個市場來說都顯而易見。華爾街預測明年的成長僅為6%。你們是否有理由認為無法在2026財年之後繼續維持7-11一貫的成長模式？我知道今天很多人都在問關稅以及關稅對2027財年的影響，但除此之外，我們還應該考慮哪些其他因素，無論是與營收或利潤率相關的。

I mean, obviously we're in the throes of our planning period right now, but I would say in a general sense the macros don't look negative to us right now, and when obviously next quarter we're going to give you guys some solid guidance of where we think we're going to land in fiscal '27, but at this point I don't see a lot of downside or anything materially changing in the market today.

我的意思是，很顯然我們現在正處於規劃階段，但總的來說，宏觀經濟情勢目前看起來並不悲觀。當然，下個季度我們會給大家一些關於2027財年業績的明確指引，但就目前而言，我認為市場不會有太大的下行風險或任何實質的變化。

Michael Polark, Wolfe.

麥可·波拉克，沃爾夫。

I'm so sorry. What happened earlier, I don't know, it just dropped and took me a bit to get back in (multiple speakers) my follow-up on (laughter)

非常抱歉。之前發生了什麼，我也不知道，它突然就停了下來，我花了點時間才重新接上話（多人發言）我的後續發言（笑聲）

My follow-up was going to be on AST services. If somebody asked this and you answered it, I missed it, but just in the quarter in constant FX, AST services line up 6%, the prior two quarters was up 10% constant FX if that makes some assumptions on the math. So can we just get a little extra color on kind of how you've seen the fiscal year play out in AST. Why the December quarter might have been a little bit below the prior two and what's a good way to think about constant FX AST services growth in this current March quarter.

我原本打算就AST服務進行後續提問。如果有人問過這個問題，而您已經回答過了，那我可能錯過了。但就本季而言，以固定匯率計算，AST服務成長了6%，而前兩個季度以固定匯率計算成長了10%（假設計算中存在一些假設）。所以，能否請您更詳細地談談您對本財年AST業務發展的看法？為什麼12月季的業績可能略低於前兩季？以及如何看待本季以固定匯率計算的AST服務成長？

Sure, yeah, what I would say is like we kind of had a strange start to the quarter. We don't get in and talk about months sequentially, but October was really weak and then it got better in November, and then we had a really strong December. So and there's nothing I can point to. There wasn't anything uniquely geographic. There wasn't any customer subsegment that we look at that was off. It was just a general softness in the volumes that we're seeing across the global network that seemed to have had righted itself by December.

是的，沒錯，我想說的是，我們本季的開局有點奇怪。我們通常不會按月份來分析，但十月份確實很疲軟，十一月份有所好轉，十二月份則非常強勁。所以，我找不到什麼特別的原因。這並非某個特定地域的問題，也不是我們關注的任何客戶細分群體出現了異常。只是我們觀察到的全球網路整體銷售量疲軟，但到了十二月份似乎已經恢復正常。

If I can just follow-up there and then I'll feed. Any you know for several quarters now we've been asking about just the tariff impact you know customers changing order flows as part of their tariff mitigation, any fresh view as to whether that could explain some of this kind of quarter-to-quarter-to-quarter movement.

如果我能跟進一下，然後我會提供資訊。你知道，過去幾個季度以來，我們一直在詢問關稅的影響，例如客戶為了應對關稅而改變訂單流程，有沒有什麼新的觀點可以解釋這種季度間的波動？

There was speculation and this is somewhat anecdotal, but we have heard from some customers they built ahead of tariffs a bit and got product in different locations. I can't say definitively that was a material impact on the volumes and maybe that's why there's some slight inventory adjustment that we saw in the fall, but we haven't seen any movements that have impacted us negatively because we're well positioned all around the globe to work with our customers for sterilization.

有一些猜測，也有一些零星的傳聞，但我們從一些客戶那裡了解到，他們提前生產了一些產品，趕在關稅生效前交付，並且產品分佈在不同地區。我無法斷言這是否對銷售產生了實質影響，或許這就是我們在秋季看到庫存略有調整的原因，但我們沒有看到任何對我們造成負面影響的因素，因為我們在全球範圍內都擁有完善的設施，可以與客戶合作進行滅菌處理。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Ms. Julie Winter for any closing remarks. Please go ahead.

問答環節到此結束。現在我將會議交還給朱莉·溫特女士，請她作閉幕致詞。請開始吧。

Thank you everyone for taking the time to join us this morning to hear more about our performance in the quarter, and we look forward to seeing many of you on the road in March.

感謝各位今天上午抽出時間與我們一起了解本季的業績，我們期待在三月的路上見到你們中的許多人。

The conference is now concluded.

會議到此結束。

Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

感謝您參加今天的報告會。您現在可以斷開連線了。