意法半導體 (STM) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the STMicroelectronics First Quarter 2024 Earnings Release Conference Call and Live Webcast. I am Moira, the Chorus Call operator. I would like to remind you that all participants will be in listen-only mode, and the conference has been recorded. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. (Operator Instructions)

女士們、先生們，歡迎參加意法半導體 2024 年第一季財報發布電話會議和網路直播。我是莫伊拉，合唱呼叫操作員。我想提醒您，所有與會者都將處於僅聽模式，並且會議已錄製。演講結束後將進行問答環節。 （操作員說明）

At this time, it's my pleasure to hand over to Celine Berthier, Group Vice President, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

此時此刻，我很高興將工作交給集團副總裁兼投資人關係主管 Celine Berthier。請繼續。

Good morning. Thank you, everyone, for joining our first quarter 2024 financial results conference call. Hosting the call today is Jean-Marc Chery, ST's President and Chief Executive Officer. Joining Jean-Marc on the call today are Lorenzo Grandi, President of Finance, Purchasing, ERM and resilience, our Chief Financial Officer; Marco Cassis, President, Analog, Power and Discrete, MEMS and Sensors Group, Head of STMicroelectronics strategy, System Research and Application and Innovation Office.

早安.感謝大家參加我們的 2024 年第一季財務業績電話會議。今天主持電話會議的是 ST 總裁兼執行長 Jean-Marc Chery。今天與 Jean-Marc 一起參加電話會議的還有我們的財務長、財務、採購、企業風險管理和復原力總裁 Lorenzo Grandi； Marco Cassis，模擬、功率和分離、MEMS 和感測器事業部總裁，意法半導體策略、系統研究和應用與創新辦公室負責人。

This live webcast and presentation materials can be accessed on ST's Investor Relations website. A replay will be available shortly after the conclusion of this call.

您可以在 ST 的投資者關係網站上存取該現場網路廣播和演示資料。本次電話會議結束後不久將進行重播。

This call will include forward-looking statements that involve risk factors that could cause ST's results to differ materially from management's expectations and plans. We encourage you to review the safe harbor statement contained in the press release that was issued with the results this morning and also in ST's most recent regulatory filings for a full description of these risk factors.

這次電話會議將包括前瞻性陳述，這些陳述涉及可能導致 ST 的業績與管理層的預期和計劃存在重大差異的風險因素。我們鼓勵您查看今天早上發布的結果新聞稿中包含的安全港聲明以及 ST 最新的監管文件中包含的安全港聲明，以獲取對這些風險因素的完整描述。

Also, to ensure all participants have an opportunity to ask questions during the Q&A session, please limit yourself to one question and a brief follow-up. I'd now like to turn the call over to Jean-Marc, ST's President and CEO.

此外，為了確保所有參與者都有機會在問答環節提問，請限制自己提出一個問題並進行簡短的後續。我現在想將電話轉給 ST 總裁兼執行長 Jean-Marc。

Thank you, Celine. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining ST for our Q1 2024 earnings conference call. Let me begin with some opening comments.

謝謝你，席琳。大家早安，感謝您參加 ST 的 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。讓我先發表一些開場評論。

Starting with Q1. First quarter net revenues of $3.47 billion and gross margin of 41.7%, both came in below the midpoint of our business outlook range, driven by lower revenues in Automotive and Industrial, partially offset by higher revenues in Personal Electronics. Looking at our year-over-year performance, Q1 net revenues decreased 18.4%. Gross margin at 41.7%, was down from 49.7%; operating margin decreased to 15.9% from 28.3% and net income decreased 50.9% to $513 million. On a sequential basis, net revenues decreased 19.1%.

從 Q1 開始。第一季淨收入為 34.7 億美元，毛利率為 41.7%，均低於我們業務前景範圍的中點，這是由汽車和工業收入下降推動的，但部分被個人電子產品收入增加所抵消。從我們的年比表現來看，第一季淨收入下降了 18.4%。毛利率為 41.7%，低於 49.7%；營業利益率從 28.3% 下降至 15.9%，淨利潤下降 50.9% 至 5.13 億美元。淨收入季減 19.1%。

During the first quarter, our customer order bookings remained weak in Industrial across all geographies and much lower than expected. This indicates that the industrial inventory correction will be stronger and last longer than anticipated in January. Additionally, towards the end of the quarter, we started to see some reduction in automotive backlog.

第一季度，我們所有地區的工業客戶訂單預訂仍然疲軟，遠低於預期。這顯示1月份工業庫存調整將比預期更大、持續時間更長。此外，到本季末，我們開始看到汽車積壓訂單有所減少。

On Q2 2024. Our second quarter business outlook is for net revenues of about $3.2 billion at the midpoint, declining year-over-year by 26% and sequentially by 7.6%. Gross margin is expected to be about 40%.

2024 年第二季。預計毛利率約40%。

For the full year 2024, compared with our January expectations, the market environment has further deteriorated with an even stronger inventory correction in Industrial slowing the expected growth in the second half of the year compared to our previous expectations. Automotive has entered a deceleration phase with demand slowing down compared to our January expectations.

就 2024 年全年而言，與我們 1 月的預期相比，市場環境進一步惡化，工業庫存調整幅度更大，導致下半年預期成長較我們先前的預期放緩。汽車產業已進入減速階段，需求與我們 1 月的預期相比有所放緩。

We will now drive the company based on a revised plan for full year 2024 revenues in the range of $14 billion to $15 million. Within this plan, we expect gross margin in the low 40s. We plan to maintain our net CapEx plan for full year 2024 about $2.5 billion, focusing on our strategic manufacturing initiatives.

我們現在將根據修訂後的計劃推動公司 2024 年全年收入在 140 億美元至 1500 萬美元之間。在此計劃中，我們預計毛利率將在 40 左右。我們計劃將 2024 年全年的淨資本支出計劃維持在 25 億美元左右，重點關注我們的戰略製造計劃。

Now I will move to a detailed review of the first quarter. Before commenting Q1 results, let me remind you that starting in 2024, ST is organized in 2 product groups, split into 4 reportable segments. Therefore, from Q1 2024, we report revenues and operating income according to those 4 new reportable segments.

現在我將詳細回顧第一季。在評論第一季業績之前，讓我提醒您，從 2024 年開始，ST 將分為 2 個產品組，分為 4 個可報告部門。因此，從 2024 年第一季開始，我們根據這 4 個新的可報告分部報告收入和營業收入。

In Q1 net revenues decreased about 18.4% year-over-year. Analog Products, MEMS and Sensors was down 13.1%, mainly due to MEMS and Imaging. Power & Discrete products decreased 9.8%, mainly due to Discrete. Microcontrollers revenues declined 34.4%, mainly due to general purpose microcontroller. Digital ICs and radiofrequency products declined 2.1% due to a decrease in ADAS, more than offsetting an increase in radiofrequency communications.

第一季淨收入年減約 18.4%。模擬產品、MEMS 和感測器下跌 13.1%，主要是由於 MEMS 和成像。電力和離散產品下降 9.8%，主要是由於離散產品。微控制器收入下降 34.4%，主要是由於通用微控制器。由於 ADAS 的下降，數位 IC 和射頻產品下降了 2.1%，足以抵消射頻通訊的成長。

By end market, Industrial declined more than 40%. Personal Electronics about 13%. CECPs or communication equipment and computer peripherals about 10% and automotive about 2%. Year-over-year, sales decreased 11.5% to OEMs and 30.8% to distribution.

從終端市場來看，工業品跌幅超過40%。個人電子產品約佔13%。 CECP 或通訊設備和電腦週邊設備約佔 10%，汽車約佔 2%。與去年同期相比，原始設備製造商的銷售額下降了 11.5%，分銷商的銷售額下降了 30.8%。

On a sequential basis, Q1 net revenues came in 320 basis points below the midpoint of our outlook, mainly reflecting lower revenues in Automotive and Industrial, partially offset by higher revenues in Personal Electronics.

環比來看，第一季淨收入比我們預期的中點低 320 個基點，主要反映了汽車和工業領域收入的下降，但部分被個人電子產品收入增加所抵消。

Overall, Q1 net revenues decreased 19.1% sequentially with a decline of 14.2% in Analog products, MEMs and Sensors, 15.1% in Power & Discrete and 25.3% in Microcontrollers and 23.8% in Digital ICs and RF products.

整體而言，第一季淨收入季減 19.1%，其中類比產品、MEMS 和感測器下降 14.2%，功率和分立裝置下降 15.1%，微控制器下降 25.3%，數位 IC 和 RF 產品下降 23.8%。

Looking by end market, Industrial was down 28% sequentially, Personal Electronics 21%, CECP 15% and Automotive 14%. Excluding the impact of capacity reservation fees and of a specific customer 2023 inventory replenishment effect, Automotive was down 8%. Gross profit was $1.44 billion, decreasing 31.6% year-over-year. Gross margin of 41.7%, 60 basis points below the midpoint of ST guidance decreased 800 basis points year-over-year, mainly due to the combination of sales price and product mix, unused capacity charges and reduced manufacturing efficiencies.

從終端市場來看，工業市場季減 28%，個人電子市場較上季下降 21%，CECP 環比下降 15%，汽車市場較上季下降 14%。排除產能預留費和特定客戶 2023 年庫存補充效應的影響，汽車產業下降了 8%。毛利為14.4億美元，年減31.6%。毛利率為41.7%，比ST指引中點低60個基點，較去年同期下降800個基點，主要是因為銷售價格和產品結構、未使用產能費用和製造效率降低等綜合影響。

Operating margin was 15.9% compared to 28.3% in the year ago period. All reportable segments were down on a year-over-year basis with a net decline in MCU and Power & Discrete. On a year-over-year basis, net income decreased 50.9% to $513 million from $1.04 billion and diluted earnings per share decreased 50.9% to $0.55 from $1.10.

營業利益率為 15.9%，去年同期為 28.3%。所有可報告部門均較去年同期下降，其中 MCU 和電源與分立元件出現淨下降。與去年同期相比，淨利潤從 10.4 億美元下降 50.9% 至 5.13 億美元，稀釋每股收益從 1.10 美元下降 50.9% 至 0.55 美元。

Net cash from operating activities decreased to $859 million in Q1 compared to $1.32 billion in the year ago quarter. First quarter net CapEx was $967 million compared to $1.09 billion in the year ago quarter. Free cash flow was negative at $134 million compared to positive $206 million in the year ago quarter. Inventory at the end of the first quarter was $2.69 billion, compared to $2.87 billion in the year ago quarter. Days sales of inventory at quarter end was 122 days compared to 104 days in the previous quarter and 122 days in the year ago quarter.

第一季經營活動產生的淨現金減少至 8.59 億美元，去年同期為 13.2 億美元。第一季淨資本支出為 9.67 億美元，去年同期為 10.9 億美元。自由現金流為負數 1.34 億美元，而去年同期為正數 2.06 億美元。第一季末的庫存為 26.9 億美元，而去年同期的庫存為 28.7 億美元。季末庫存銷售天數為 122 天，上一季為 104 天，去年同期為 122 天。

Cash dividends paid to stockholders in Q1 2024 totaled $48 million. In addition, ST executed share buybacks of $87 million as part of our current share repurchase program. ST's net financial position of $3.13 billion as of March 30, 2024, reflects total liquidity of $6.24 billion and total financial debts of $3.11 billion.

2024 年第一季向股東支付的現金股利總計 4,800 萬美元。此外，作為我們目前股票回購計畫的一部分，ST 也執行了 8,700 萬美元的股票回購。截至2024年3月30日，ST的淨財務狀況為31.3億美元，反映出總流動性為62.4億美元，總金融債務為31.1億美元。

I will now go through a short update on some of our strategic focus areas in Q1. In Automotive, we saw a slowdown in semiconductor demand compared to our January expectations. This was characterized by some reduction in backlog and reduced forecast from some of our customers, including adjustments related to electric vehicle production decreased. We continue to execute our strategy, supporting car electrification during the quarter. We had wins with our third-generation silicon carbide MOSFET technology for traction inverter at a top manufacturer of electric vehicles as well as with the maker of e-compressor controller that extend EV driving range, increasing our current design win pipeline. We also won sockets with our smart fuses in new automotive architecture designs with multiple customers.

我現在將簡要介紹第一季我們的一些策略重點領域的最新情況。在汽車領域，與我們一月份的預期相比，我們看到半導體需求放緩。其特點是積壓訂單減少，一些客戶的預測也有所減少，包括與電動車產量相關的調整減少。我們將繼續執行我們的策略，在本季支援汽車電氣化。我們憑藉用於牽引逆變器的第三代碳化矽MOSFET 技術贏得了一家頂級電動車製造商的青睞，並贏得了延長電動車行駛里程的電動壓縮機控制器製造商的青睞，從而增加了我們目前的設計贏得管道。我們也透過智慧保險絲在多個客戶的新型汽車架構設計中贏得了插座。

In car digitalization, we saw further momentum with our portfolio of automotive microcontrollers. This included wins with our later-generation Stellar MCUs in zonal control, drivetrain and chassis solution for a major truck maker. In ADAS, our partner (inaudible) has delivered (inaudible) production candidate hardware and software of the (inaudible) IQ 6 Lite to customers. The IQ 6 Lite is already set to be installed in 46 million vehicles over the next few years. Our pipeline of design wins in smart mobility confirms the strength of our technology and product portfolio to successfully take advantage of the continued structural growth of this key market for ST.

在汽車數位化方面，我們的汽車微控制器產品組合看到了進一步的發展動能。其中包括我們的新一代 Stellar MCU 在區域控制、傳動系統和底盤解決方案方面為大型卡車製造商贏得的勝利。在 ADAS 領域，我們的合作夥伴（聽不清楚）已向客戶交付了（聽不清楚）IQ 6 Lite 的生產候選硬體和軟體。未來幾年，IQ 6 Lite 預計將安裝在 4,600 萬輛汽車上。我們在智慧移動領域取得的一系列設計成果證實了我們的技術和產品組合的實力，能夠成功利用意法半導體這個關鍵市場的持續結構性成長。

In Industrial, during the quarter, the ongoing correction accelerated it is impacting all the main subsegments, both in consumer and in B2B industrial and is spread globally. In Industrial Embedded Processing solutions, in March, we held our flagship STM32 Summit event, which attracted an audience of over 5,000 developers around the world. Around this event, we announced new low-cost wireless and high-performance microcontrollers as well as new devices in our 64-bit microprocessor family.

在工業領域，本季持續的調整加速影響了消費者和 B2B 工業領域的所有主要細分市場，並且波及全球。在工業嵌入式處理解決方案方面，我們於 3 月舉辦了旗艦 STM32 峰會活動，吸引了全球 5,000 多名開發者的觀眾。圍繞著此次活動，我們發布了新型低成本無線和高效能微控制器以及 64 位元微處理器系列中的新裝置。

We also announced an advanced process based on 18-nanometer FD-SOI with embedded phase change memory to support next-generation embedded processing device. For developers using sensors for industrial applications, we introduced a new all-in-one tool for MEMS sensor evaluation and development, connected closely with STM32 microcontroller ecosystem. It supports our wide portfolio of MEMS sensors and include tools for embedding Edge AI in industrial (inaudible).

我們還宣布了基於 18 奈米 FD-SOI 的先進工藝，具有嵌入式相變存儲器，以支援下一代嵌入式處理設備。對於在工業應用中使用感測器的開發人員，我們推出了一款用於 MEMS 感測器評估和開發的新型一體化工具，該工具與 STM32 微控制器生態系統緊密相連。它支援我們廣泛的 MEMS 感測器產品組合，並包括用於在工業中嵌入 Edge AI 的工具（聽不清楚）。

We continued to develop momentum on Edge AI with increasing usage of our tools and solutions by customers. For example, we announced recently a (inaudible) tire pressure monitoring system for (inaudible) based on Edge AI algorithm running on an STM32 microcontroller.

隨著客戶越來越多地使用我們的工具和解決方案，我們繼續發展邊緣人工智慧的勢頭。例如，我們最近發布了一款（聽不清楚）胎壓監測系統（聽不清楚），該系統基於在 STM32 微控制器上運行的 Edge AI 演算法。

We also announced a collaboration on the (inaudible) reference design for high-performance telecom and AI server power supply with (inaudible) supplies high efficiency power solution for high-performance computing, AI, deep learning, cloud and other advanced applications (inaudible) ST silicon carbide, galvanic isolation and microcontroller technologies. This is an important collaboration since it brings on top of our focus on Edge AI, another opportunity around AI for ST, the new power architecture for AI servers. In power energy management applications, we had a broad range of design wins, including in data centers, renewable energy systems, white goods and factory automation. Overall, we believe that the sustained design-in and development activity with our customers and distributors in industrial will enable ST to take advantage of the next market up cycle in an even stronger position.

我們也宣布就高效能電信和人工智慧伺服器電源的（聽不清楚）參考設計與（聽不清楚）為高效能運算、人工智慧、深度學習、雲端和其他高階應用（聽不清楚）提供高效能電源解決方案進行合作ST 碳化矽、電流隔離和微控制器技術。這是一次重要的合作，因為它使我們對 Edge AI 的關注更加深入，這是 ST 圍繞 AI 的另一個機會，即 AI 伺服器的新電源架構。在電力能源管理應用中，我們贏得了廣泛的設計勝利，包括資料中心、再生能源系統、白色家電和工廠自動化。總體而言，我們相信，與工業客戶和分銷商的持續設計和開發活動將使意法半導體能夠以更強大的地位利用下一個市場上升週期。

In Personal Electronics and computer peripherals, during Q1, all our engaged customer programs were running as expected in a market context of stabilization driven by AI. In communication equipment, we received awards for RF (inaudible) front ailing modem solutions from a new player in the (inaudible) EO satellite market.

在個人電子產品和電腦週邊設備方面，第一季度，我們所有參與的客戶程式都在人工智慧驅動的穩定市場背景下按預期運作。在通訊設備方面，我們因 RF（聽不清楚）前端故障調製解調器解決方案獲得了來自（聽不清楚）EO 衛星市場新參與者的獎項。

Finally, I would like to mention that we have recently published our 27th Annual Sustainability Report, highlighting our long-standing commitment in this area. We continue to make substantial progress towards our ambitious targets for carbon neutrality. In 2023, our Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions were down 45% in absolute terms compared to 2018, and we source now 71% renewable energy, on track to reach our target of 100% by 2027. Long-term power purchasing agreements are a key part of our strategy, and we signed another significant agreement in Italy earlier this month.

最後，我想提一下，我們最近發布了第 27 份年度永續發展報告，強調了我們在這一領域的長期承諾。我們繼續在實現雄心勃勃的碳中和目標方面取得實質進展。到2023 年，我們的範圍1 和範圍2 溫室氣體排放量與2018 年相比，絕對值下降了45%，目前我們使用71% 的可再生能源，預計在2027 年實現100% 的目標。電協議這是我們策略的關鍵部分，本月稍早我們在義大利簽署了另一項重要協議。

Now let's move to our second quarter 2024 financial outlook and our plans for the full year 2024. For Q2, we now expect net revenues to be about $3.2 billion at the midpoint, representing a year-over-year decrease of about 26% and a sequential decrease of about 7.6%. We revised down our plan for full year 2024 revenues to be in the range of $14 billion to $15 billion, representing a decline over 2023 of about 19% to 13%. This takes into consideration the accelerated inventory correction in Industrial as well as a deceleration phase starting in Automotive. We plan to maintain our plan to invest about $2.5 billion in net CapEx focusing on our strategic manufacturing initiatives.

現在讓我們展望 2024 年第二季度的財務展望以及 2024 年全年的計劃。我們將 2024 年全年營收計畫下調至 140 億至 150 億美元，較 2023 年下降約 19% 至 13%。這考慮到了工業領域的加速庫存調整以及汽車領域開始的減速階段。我們計劃維持淨資本支出投資約 25 億美元的計劃，重點關注我們的策略製造計劃。

To conclude, we continue to adapt our plans according to these asynchronous market dynamics with a down cycle in Industrial, a deceleration in Automotive and stabilization in Personal Electronics and Computer Peripherals. In parallel, we will continue to execute our strategic initiatives consistently with our established strategy and operating model. Thank you for your attention, and we are now ready to answer your questions.

總而言之，我們將繼續根據這些非同步市場動態調整我們的計劃，其中包括工業的下行週期、汽車的減速以及個人電子和電腦週邊設備的穩定。同時，我們將繼續按照我們既定的策略和營運模式執行我們的策略舉措。感謝您的關注，我們現在準備好回答您的問題。

We will now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) The first question is from Joshua Buchalter from TD Cowen.

我們現在開始問答環節。 （操作員說明）第一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Joshua Buchalter。

I guess to start, obviously, we see the numbers coming down a little bit, but I wanted to try to break that up a little bit. And obviously, there have been some headlines at your lead silicon carbide customer. Could you maybe spend a minute or two walking us through how much of the lowered outlook in particular in auto is related to that lead customer and maybe update us on your silicon carbide outlook for 2024.

我想一開始，顯然，我們看到數字有所下降，但我想嘗試稍微打破這一點。顯然，您的主要碳化矽客戶出現了一些頭條新聞。您能否花一兩分鐘向我們介紹一下，尤其是汽車行業的前景下調在多大程度上與該主要客戶有關，並可能向我們介紹您對 2024 年碳化矽前景的最新情況。

I will take the question. Yes, in Automotive, okay, compared to our, let's say, January expectation for the full year, we have acknowledged a decrease. Half of the decrease is related to electrical vehicle production decrease from an important customer. And half of the decrease in Automotive is more related to what we say, some inventory control and tuning from OEM, which are adapting themselves to mix change between battery-based electrical vehicles, hybrid vehicle and thermal combustion engine 1. So the decrease -- the deceleration phase means okay, what we have announced today in Automotive. As a takeaway, half is linked to an adjustment, okay, of the forecast because production decreased from one important customer. And the other one is more inventory control and mix adjustment because now it's well known that carmaker -- the change (inaudible) between electrical car, hybrid car and thermal combustion engine 1.

我來回答這個問題。是的，在汽車領域，與我們一月份對全年的預期相比，我們承認有所下降。一半的下降與重要客戶的電動車產量下降有關。汽車行業下降的一半更多地與我們所說的一些庫存控制和原始設備製造商的調整有關，這些控制和調整正在適應基於電池的電動汽車、混合動力汽車和熱力燃燒發動機之間的混合變化1 。 所以下降——減速階段意味著好的，我們今天在《汽車》雜誌上宣布的內容。值得一提的是，一半與預測的調整有關，因為一個重要客戶的產量下降了。另一個是更多的庫存控制和組合調整，因為現在眾所周知，汽車製造商——電動車、混合動力車和熱內燃機之間的變化（聽不清楚）1。

Got it. I appreciate the color. As a follow-up, obviously, you understand again, numbers are coming down and you mentioned that industrial weakness is expected to last into the second half. Maybe you can give us sort of your -- some of the assumptions that are underlying the back half ramp and firstly, there's some seasonality at your lead customer. Maybe you could help us give us some clues on how much of that is driving sort of the back half ramp? And then also big picture, how is your comfort level with where you expect your industrial customers' inventory levels to be coming out of the second quarter?

知道了。我很欣賞它的顏色。作為後續行動，顯然，您再次理解，數字正在下降，並且您提到工業疲軟預計將持續到下半年。也許您可以向我們提供您的一些假設，這些假設是後半坡道的基礎，首先，您的主要客戶存在一些季節性。也許您可以幫助我們提供一些線索，了解其中有多少是在後半坡道上行駛的？然後還有一個大局，您對工業客戶第二季度庫存水準的預期程度如何？

Well, overall, yes, we believe that Q2 is a bottom point, within the range we have indicated. Clearly, we expect a growth in H2. This growth will, let's say, overall enable ST to come back 2023 revenue run rate between Q4 2024 and Q1. Automotive, let's say, will increase in H2. Personal Electronics will increase in H2 related to our engaged customer program. And Industrial will start to smoothly increase in Q3 and accelerate in Q4.

嗯，總的來說，是的，我們認為第二季是一個底部點，在我們指出的範圍內。顯然，我們預計下半年會出現成長。可以說，這種成長總體上將使 ST 在 2024 年第四季至第一季之間恢復 2023 年的營收運行率。比如說，汽車產業將在下半年有所成長。與我們的客戶計劃相關的個人電子產品將在下半年增加。工業將在第三季開始平穩成長，並在第四季加速成長。

Of course, we have a pretty good visibility on backlog in Automotive, Personal Electronics and Computer Equipment and Computer Peripheral. We know that the visibility on Industrial is shorter because again, there is a important distraction related to inventory level, both at OEM level and in the channel. However, we see some, let's say, kind of green spot that makes us thinking that order will come back in Q2 for additional billings in Q3 smoothly and acceleration in Q4. The risk is embedded in the range of what we have indicated.

當然，我們對汽車、個人電子產品、電腦設備和電腦週邊設備的積壓訂單有很好的了解。我們知道，工業領域的可見度較低，因為同樣存在與庫存水準相關的重要幹擾，無論是在 OEM 層級還是在通路中。然而，我們看到了一些綠點，讓我們認為訂單將在第二季恢復，第三季的額外帳單將順利進行，第四季將加速。風險包含在我們所指出的範圍內。

The next question is from Stephane Houri from ODDO.

下一個問題來自 ODDO 的 Stephane Houri。

Actually, the question now is on my side, on the Automotive, you've talked about deceleration, but I guess that you mean decline in fact. So can you maybe specify it? And also, if you could give us some clarification on what you expect for silicon carbide going forward. You've talked about lower EV forecasts. What are you expecting for this year? Are you still targeting the same targets for 2025 and beyond?

實際上，現在的問題是在我這邊，在汽車方面，您談到了減速，但我猜您實際上指的是下降。那你能指定一下嗎？另外，您能否向我們澄清一下您對碳化矽未來的期望。您談到了較低的電動車預測。今年有什麼期待？ 2025 年及以後您是否仍設定相同的目標？

We classify the deceleration. What we indicated in January, we say as computed because we are not reporting the segment, the Automotive overall was expected to grow, let's say, a low mid-single digit and clean from effect that we share with you. So capacity reservation fees and one really specific, let's say, inventory (inaudible) present.

我們將減速度分類。我們在一月份表示的情況，我們之所以說是計算出來的，是因為我們沒有報告該細分市場，汽車行業整體預計將增長，比方說，增長幅度為中低個位數，並且不受我們與您分享的影響的影響。因此，容量預留費和一項非常具體的費用，比如說庫存（聽不清楚）。

In January, okay, our expectation was to have Automotive growing, let's say, high single digit, really low double-digit. But now if I repeat the same view, let's say, for the year, Automotive has computed and reported will decrease 5% clearly. And if we remove from the capacity reversion fee and inventory of one specific customer, it is a very slight growth, 1% to 2%. That's the reason why we classify it as deceleration and not a correction or not a decrease, which is the case clearly of Industrial.

一月份，好吧，我們的預期是汽車產業的成長，比如說，高個位數，低兩位數。但現在，如果我重複同樣的觀點，假設今年汽車業已計算並報告將顯著下降 5%。如果我們除去某個特定客戶的產能恢復費用和庫存，成長幅度非常小，為 1% 到 2%。這就是為什麼我們將其歸類為減速而不是修正或下降的原因，工業領域的情況顯然是如此。

About silicon carbide, because you asked a question, we do believe that our revenues this year will go about $1.3 billion. So it's a growth, let's say, about $150 million, $200 million compared to last year. Yes, it is a slower growth when we compare '23 versus '22 and which was basically USD 500 million. But again, it is related to the fact that there is one specific important customer that adjusted their plan for the full year 2024. For the rest, we see some, let's say, change -- big change, okay, some time from module to package or (inaudible) not good die. So we have to adapt ourself okay to this change. However, I would like to repeat that -- this doesn't change our view that it still will reach above $5 billion in 2030. And that, okay, we will have, of course, a growth in 2025 that will put us on this trajectory. And the course in 2025, should be expected with design award that we have about USD 500 million.

關於碳化矽，因為你問了一個問題，我們確實相信今年我們的收入將達到 13 億美元左右。比如說，與去年相比，成長了約 1.5 億美元、2 億美元。是的，當我們比較 23 年和 22 年時，成長速度較慢，基本上為 5 億美元。但同樣，這與以下事實有關：有一個特定的重要客戶調整了 2024 年全年的計劃。聽不清楚）不好死。所以我們必須讓自己適應這種改變。然而，我想重複一遍——這並沒有改變我們的觀點，即到2030 年它仍將達到50 億美元以上。 而且，好吧，我們當然會在2025 年實現增長，這將使我們能夠實現這一目標。 2025年的課程預計將獲得約5億美元的設計獎。

Okay. Okay. And I've got a follow-up about the gross margin actually. With such a strong decline in sales through the year. I would have expected a stronger impact on gross margin. Can you maybe give us the elements of the resistance of the gross margin and maybe specify also with the underutilization charges.

好的。好的。我實際上對毛利率進行了跟踪。今年銷售額大幅下降。我原本預計會對毛利率產生更大的影響。您能否向我們提供毛利率阻力的要素，並可能還指定未充分利用費用。

Yes. And maybe I take this question. When we are exiting the -- with the current visibility on Q2 on our guidance, we will exit the first half of the year with a gross margin that is slightly below, let's say, the 41%. Because -- and this is impacted by a significant level of (inaudible) unsaturation charges because we will have around 230 basis points of unloading. When we look at the projection of the year. At this point, let's say, we are -- our expectation for the second half is to improve our gross margin in respect to the first half about very slightly because the level of unsaturation will remain quite significant.

是的。也許我會回答這個問題。當我們退出時——根據我們的指導，當前第二季度的可見度，我們將以略低於 41% 的毛利率退出今年上半年。因為——這受到大量（聽不清楚）不飽和費用的影響，因為我們將有大約 230 個基點的卸載。當我們看今年的預測。在這一點上，我們對下半年的預期是，我們的毛利率比上半年略有提高，因為不飽和水平仍然相當高。

The second half will be impacted by more than 200 basis points of unsaturation charges, so similar to the one of Q1. So we do expect that to be substantially similar to the -- what had happen in the first half, slight improvement. Maybe while in H1, we will be slightly below 41%. In the second half, we will be slightly above 41%. And the level of unsaturation that is peaking in Q2 will go down but remaining quite significant. So there will be a sort of flattish gross margin in the range of 40%, 41% during the year.

下半年將受到超過200個基點的不飽和費用的影響，與第一季類似。因此，我們確實預計這將與上半年發生的情況基本相似，略有改善。也許在上半年，我們的比例會略低於 41%。下半年，我們會略高於41%。第二季達到高峰的不飽和度水準將會下降，但仍相當顯著。因此，年內毛利率將維持在 40% 至 41% 之間。

Next question is from Francois Bouvignies from UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀集團 (UBS) 的 Francois Bouvignies。

I just wanted to come back on the full year guidance. Jean-Marc, you talked about the Automotive will decrease 5% for this year on a reported basis. Can you maybe give the color on the other divisions, what you expect for the full year by end market and ideally by products as well (inaudible) that would be great to have the full year implied for each products and end markets.

我只想回到全年指導。 Jean-Marc，您談到，根據報告，今年汽車產業將下降 5%。您能否介紹一下其他部門的情況，您對全年終端市場的期望，以及理想情況下按產品（聽不清楚）的預期，如果能夠為每個產品和終端市場提供全年暗示，那就太好了。

Lorenzo, maybe you can comment, okay, this full year by reportable segment.

洛倫佐，也許您可以按可報告的細分市場來評論這一整年。

Okay. We can have a look at the full year, let's say, by reportable segment. As you know, these are the new reportable segments. When we look at the Analog Product, MEMS and Sensors, these, let's say, the expectation to be around a decline of 10% for this and where we will have a substantially holding in the Analog Products, flattish in the Analog Products. MEMS are softening with some decline (inaudible) then don't forget that here is where we account Imaging. And here, there is this impact related to the module that was present in 2023, is not any longer present in 2024 and Imaging is declining. When you take it out this impact, actually Image is not a decline, but as reported is declining. So these sector, Analog Product, MEMS and Sensors will decline in the range of 10%. This is based on the expectations.

好的。我們可以按可報告部分來查看全年情況。如您所知，這些是新的可報告分部。當我們觀察模擬產品、MEMS 和感測器時，我們預計會下降 10% 左右，而我們將大量持有類比產品，與類比產品持平。 MEMS 正在軟化並有一些下降（聽不清楚），然後不要忘記這裡是我們考慮成像的地方。這裡，存在與 2023 年存在的模組相關的影響，2024 年不再存在，並且成像正在下降。當你把這個影響去掉之後，實際上Image並不是下降，而是像報道的那樣下降了。因此，模擬產品、MEMS 和感測器這些部門將下降 10% 的範圍。這是基於期望。

Power & Discrete. Power & Discrete will be a lower decline. We will be in the range of mid-single digit for these areas. In which the bigger decline is on Discrete part. Then we have a microcontroller. Here, microcontroller definitely is the area in which the general (inaudible) are particularly impacted by the dynamic of the market of Industrial. So here, the decline will be significant, will be in the range of 30%, with much more resilience on the microcontroller in Automotive, but a significant decline for the microcontroller general (inaudible) that are mainly addressing the Industrial market.

電源和離散。 Power & Discrete將出現較低的跌幅。這些領域的業績將處於中個位數的範圍內。其中降幅較大的是離散部分。然後我們就有了一個微控制器。在這裡，微控制器絕對是一般（聽不清楚）特別受工業市場動態影響的領域。因此，在這裡，下降將是顯著的，將在30% 的範圍內，汽車領域的微控制器具有更大的彈性，但主要針對工業市場的通用微控制器（聽不清楚）將顯著下降。

Finally, the digitalized season RF, here, the decline will be also in this case, in the range of 10%. I'm talking, of course, decline at the midpoint of our indication for the year. And here is in the range of around 10%. Here, the main impact is coming from a decline in the ADAS product, where you know that last year, we had this replenishment of inventory in one particular customer. So this year, these areas of our product that these products will decline. While on the other side, RF communication will increase our revenues, but not enough in order to offset the decline on the other areas. This is more or less a dynamic that we see for the year in terms of segment reporting.

最後是數位化季節RF，在這裡，下降也會在這種情況下，在10%的範圍內。當然，我說的是今年指標中位數的下降。這裡的範圍是 10% 左右。在這裡，主要影響來自 ADAS 產品的下降，去年我們對一個特定客戶進行了庫存補充。所以今年我們這些領域的產品這些產品將會下降。另一方面，射頻通訊會增加我們的收入，但不足以抵消其他領域的下降。這或多或少是我們今年在分部報告上看到的動態。

Industrial, just Industrial and Personal Electronics. I mean, I guess, (inaudible) MCU, Industrial, roughly the same. That's what we should look at.

工業，只是工業和個人電子產品。我的意思是，我猜（聽不清楚）MCU，工業，大致相同。這才是我們該關注的。

Clearly, I complement Lorenzo's point. And so I repeat. So Automotive, we see a minus 5% clean, let's say 1%, industrial, minus 30%. So for sure, you can correlate now what we anticipate on general purpose (inaudible) which is the most impacted by MCU (inaudible), but in a certain extent, General (inaudible), Analog and Power & Discrete as well. For Personal Electronics, clean from the famous module, we have no more. Basically, it will be slightly decreasing, minus 2%, minus 3%, which is consistent, okay, with the overall market.

顯然，我補充了洛倫佐的觀點。我重複一遍。因此，汽車業的清潔度為負 5%，假設為 1%，工業業為負 30%。因此，可以肯定的是，您現在可以將我們對通用（聽不清楚）的預期關聯起來，這是受MCU（聽不清楚）影響最大的，但在某種程度上，通用（聽不清楚） 、類比以及電源和分立元件也是如此。對於個人電子產品，除了著名的模組之外，我們沒有更多的了。基本上會小幅下降，負2%，負3%，這個和整體市場是一致的，好吧。

And on CECP, okay, it will be minus 4%. With a strong growth within our (inaudible) customer programming the LEO satellite, which is offset by legacy, we decided to disengage. So we see the perfect correlation, in fact, between products, so microcontroller, Power and General Purpose, Analog versus Industrial. And we also see, as I have said in my script, the correlation between the OEM decreasing much less than the distribution. So (inaudible) industry-owned market, it is an inventory correction along the channel.

而在 CECP 上，好吧，它將是負 4%。隨著我們（聽不清楚）客戶對 LEO 衛星程式設計的強勁成長（被遺留問題所抵消），我們決定退出。事實上，我們看到了產品之間的完美關聯，例如微控制器、電源和通用、類比與工業。正如我在腳本中所說，我們也看到，OEM 之間的相關性下降幅度遠小於分佈之間的相關性。所以（聽不清楚）產業擁有的市場，這是沿著通道的庫存修正。

Great. And maybe my follow-up would be on the pricing front? I mean it's kind of a housekeeping question nowadays. Every quarter, we want to have some color on the pricing, given the level of demand and potential overcapacity. Do you see any move here on the pricing front, maybe not for this quarter, but going forward, what is the dynamic that you see and how China is impacting the pricing in the market?

偉大的。也許我的後續行動是在定價方面？我的意思是，現在這是一個家事問題。每個季度，考慮到需求水準和潛在的產能過剩，我們都希望在定價上能有一些色彩。您認為定價方面有什麼變化嗎？

I take the question Jean-Marc. In terms of pricing, what can you say is that in Q1, we were saying entering in the quarter that we're expecting, let's say, something in the low single-digit price impact. But at the end, this is what happened was a slightly -- a few basis points higher than our expectation, not dramatically different than our expectation. Of course, with the different dynamics, because there is much more resilience in some areas in some geography and in some final market. Automotive is more resilient. While for sure, in some geographies like maybe Asia and Industrial, the price pressure is a little bit higher. But it will still remain in this level. We have not seen a significant drop in pricing. The assumption that we have today -- the visibility, I would say, more than the assumption that we have today for the current quarter is that there is still some price erosion, let's say, in the range of 1%, 1.5%. And stability -- definitely stability in Automotive, where the renegotiation has been already done. But still some decline in -- especially, we continue to see some decline in Industrial and in our general purpose microcontroller.

我回答讓-馬克的問題。在定價方面，你可以說的是，在第一季度，我們說進入本季度，我們預計會出現低個位數的價格影響。但最終，發生的情況比我們的預期略高了幾個基點，與我們的預期並沒有太大不同。當然，動態不同，因為某些地區、某些地區和某些最終市場的彈性要大得多。汽車更具彈性。可以肯定的是，在某些地區，例如亞洲和工業地區，價格壓力會稍微高一些。但仍將維持在這個水準。我們沒有看到價格大幅下降。我們今天的假設——我想說的是，可見性比我們今天對當前季度的假設更大，那就是價格仍然存在一定程度的侵蝕，比如說，在 1% 到 1.5% 的範圍內。還有穩定性——在汽車領域絕對是穩定的，因為重新談判已經完成了。但仍然有一些下降——特別是，我們繼續看到工業和通用微控制器領域有所下降。

But we have taken this assumption that some erosion will continue over the next quarters. Without taking assumption that there will be a significant drop. For the time being, we don't see this. We see that there is a normal discussion in terms of pricing with some erosion of course, on the areas in which the demand is weaker and maybe in some geographies in which the pressures are to be a little bit higher. But I repeat in our visibility today, we do not embed stronger price decline as we have no evidence for that in our discussion with the customers.

但我們假設未來幾季將繼續出現一些侵蝕。不假設會出現大幅下降。目前，我們還沒有看到這一點。我們看到，在定價方面存在正常的討論，當然，在需求較弱的地區以及可能在壓力稍高的某些地區，定價方面存在一些侵蝕。但我今天在我們的知名度中重申，我們不會嵌入更強勁的價格下跌，因為我們在與客戶的討論中沒有證據表明這一點。

The next question is from Didier Scemama from Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Didier Scemama。

Just wondered about the second half. I mean, the last 4 quarters, you've been effectively well below normal seasonality, and your second half guide is effectively seasonal versus the first half. I appreciate, look, it's a difficult environment, especially Industrial, you've got now a beginning of a downturn in Automotive. What's the risk (inaudible) that you are sandbagging a bit too much in the second half at this stage? And related to that, what's the risk also that your gross margin guidance for the second half is a bit too conservative? And I've got a follow-up.

只是想知道下半場的情況。我的意思是，過去 4 個季度，您的業績實際上遠低於正常的季節性，而您的下半年指南與上半年相比實際上是季節性的。我很欣賞，看，這是一個困難的環境，尤其是工業領域，汽車產業現在已經開始陷入低迷。在這個階段，你在下半場沙袋太多的風險是什麼（聽不清楚）？與此相關的是，你們下半年的毛利率指引有點過於保守，還有什麼風險？我有後續行動。

Well, basically, in the second half of 2024, in the middle of the range, we have indicated, but we expect to grow, I have to say about $1 billion or a little bit higher on that $1 billion. It is clear that part of this growth is related to backlog we have already, especially in (inaudible) engage customer program both in Personal Electronics and communication equipment. It is based also on Automotive on the backlog of the (inaudible) frame order we had, okay, which is the usual visibility we have.

嗯，基本上，在 2024 年下半年，在這個範圍的中間，我們已經指出，但我們預計會增長，我不得不說大約 10 億美元，或者比這 10 億美元稍高一些。很明顯，這種成長的部分原因與我們已經積壓的訂單有關，特別是在個人電子和通訊設備方面的（聽不清楚）參與客戶計畫。它也基於我們擁有的（聽不清楚）框架訂單積壓的汽車，好吧，這是我們通常擁有的可見性。

(inaudible) the key question is clearly the Industrial where today, as the backlog coverage is slightly below, I have to say, standard of backlog coverage as (inaudible) this period of time. But again, we know because there is 2 distortions, very short lead time from any, let's say, semiconductor supplier and distortion from inventory. It is clear that, again, the booking that we will enter in Q2 and Q3, be label for 2024 for Industrial as well as (inaudible) business in Q4 will be important. At this stage, having made the reset that we share with you today, we consider the risk to the Industrial that potentially would not materialize in H2 is within the range we have indicated. That's the reason why, okay, we have done this significantly set compares the midpoint of what we say in (inaudible) of about $1.9 billion. I guess you have already done the computation.

（聽不清楚）關鍵問題顯然是今天的工業，因為積壓覆蓋率略低於，我不得不說，積壓覆蓋率的標準為（聽不清楚）這段時間。但我們再次知道，因為有兩種扭曲，即任何半導體供應商的交貨時間都很短，以及庫存的扭曲。很明顯，我們將在第二季和第三季進入的預訂、2024 年工業以及第四季（聽不清楚）業務的標籤將非常重要。現階段，在進行了我們今天與您分享的重置後，我們認為下半年可能不會實現的工業風險在我們指出的範圍內。這就是為什麼我們這樣做的原因是，與我們所說的（聽不清楚）約 19 億美元的中點相比，我們做了這件事。我想你已經計算過了。

This $1.9 billion, $1.3 billion is Industrial by the way and $600 million is Automotive. And I said Automotive, half is electrical car from one specific. And the other one is a mix change, okay, and inventory correction. On Industrial, okay, again, having made this $1.3 billion adjustment, now we do believe even if we have to continue to monitor very carefully, the plan we have of booking billable in 2024, the risk is within the range we have provided.

這 19 億美元中，13 億美元是工業領域，6 億美元是汽車領域。我說汽車，其中一半是電動車。另一個是組合變化，好吧，還有庫存調整。在工業方面，好吧，再次進行了 13 億美元的調整，現在我們確實相信，即使我們必須繼續非常仔細地監控我們在 2024 年預訂計費的計劃，風險也在我們提供的範圍內。

Sorry, maybe I can add two words about the gross margin. But I think that at this stage, our visibility on the gross margin is that the second half in the range of 41%, slightly above 41% vis-a-vis (inaudible) assumption considering the fact that for sure, at this level, let's say, we will continue this level of revenues. We will continue to have a significant level of unloading charges.

抱歉，也許我可以添加兩個關於毛利率的單字。但我認為，在現階段，我們對毛利率的可見度是下半年在41% 的範圍內，略高於41%（相對於（聽不清楚）假設），考慮到這一事實，可以肯定的是，在這個水準上，假設我們將繼續維持這種收入水準。我們將繼續收取高額的卸貨費。

We are planning the second half at 77% loading for our trucks as we will, let's say, continue to keep under control at the level of our impact. But there could be some opportunity maybe to do better. There could be, as usual, some risk if maybe the price pressure is higher than what we have embedded. But I think that at this level, this is a reasonable level in which the company should stay all over the year.

我們計劃下半年卡車裝載率為 77%，因為我們將繼續控制影響水準。但也許有一些機會可以做得更好。像往常一樣，如果價格壓力高於我們設定的壓力，可能會存在一些風險。但我認為，在這個水平上，這是公司全年應該保持在的合理水平。

And obviously, if Industrial comes back a bit better, your margins will be better. I just have a quick question on your Automotive business, Jean-Marc. So one of your customers publicly disclosed that they're going to accelerate the introduction of lower-priced electrical vehicles. And I think you had sort of articulated in the past that you felt like you were pretty well positioned to capture the platform for that particular customer. So I wondered: A, is the $500 million you just mentioned earlier in your script related to that? And then, B, how do you feel about your position now that, that ramp is coming a bit earlier than expected?

顯然，如果工業恢復得更好一點，你的利潤率就會更高。我只是想問一個關於您的汽車業務的簡單問題，Jean-Marc。因此，您的一位客戶公開透露，他們將加速推出價格較低的電動車。我認為您過去曾明確表示，您覺得自己處於非常有利的位置，可以為特定客戶佔領平台。所以我想：A，你剛才在劇本中提到的5億美元與此有關嗎？然後，B，既然斜坡比預期來得早一點，你對自己的處境有何看法？

It's clear that on, first of all, this year, the $1.3 billion for silicon carbide MOSFET is growth. So we have to be satisfied with this growth. Yes, it's below our expectation. Why? Because mainly one customer classified the 2024 year as a transition and expect, okay, to come back to a growth trajectory, '25 and beyond. We will participate to this growth trajectory. And of course, it will contribute to the USD 500 million growth of silicon carbide we will execute next year.

很明顯，首先，今年碳化矽MOSFET的13億美元是成長的。所以我們必須對這種成長感到滿意。是的，這低於我們的預期。為什麼？因為主要是一位客戶將 2024 年歸類為過渡年，並期望回到成長軌跡，即 25 年及以後。我們將參與這一成長軌跡。當然，這將為我們明年執行的 5 億美元碳化矽成長做出貢獻。

Maybe a final quick one, if I may. Any changes or any reason why we should not look at your 2025, 2027 financial ambition, $20 billion of revenue, 50% gross margin, 30% operating margin. Has anything changed in that -- perhaps more back-end loaded, I appreciate that, but anything changed in your mind?

如果可以的話，也許是最後一次快速的。我們不應該考慮您 2025 年、2027 年財務目標、200 億美元收入、50% 毛利率、30% 營業利潤率的任何變化或任何原因。這方面有什麼變化嗎——也許後端負載更多，我很欣賞這一點，但你的想法有什麼變化嗎？

We have not changed our model. By the way, we expect this year to organize the Capital Market Day in November, the Investor Relations will communicate to you. And of course, it will be a unique opportunity to share the situation and to share the update.

我們沒有改變我們的模型。對了，我們今年預計11月舉辦資本市場日，投資人關係部會跟大家溝通。當然，這將是一個分享情況和更新最新情況的獨特機會。

The next question is from Andrew Gardiner from Citi.

下一個問題來自花旗集團的安德魯·加德納。

I just was interested in the point you're making, Jean-Marc, on Industrial and in particular, into distribution inventory. You've given us an update in your prepared comments regarding where you sit on your own books. But where do you view things in the channel at the moment? How much further are you expecting things to decrease? And therefore, so how is that, therefore, influencing the value framing the second half?

讓-馬克，我只是對你在工業方面，特別是分銷庫存方面提出的觀點感興趣。您已在準備好的評論中向我們提供了有關您在自己的書籍中的位置的最新資訊。但您目前在頻道中的哪個位置查看內容？您預計情況會進一步減少多少？那麼，這如何影響下半年的價值框架呢？

Well, today, overall, we have assessed that we have an excess of inventory in the channel distribution of about 2 months. Clearly, the POS, okay, of the distributor will be the first key KPI that will start, okay, to decrease these 2 months of inventory. And with the visibility and the discussion we have with them, in that is these 2 months, okay, will be absorbed, okay, by Q3. And that's okay. By Q3, we will be in position to reincrease smoothly our POP and to accelerate in Q4. Well, unfortunately, that's the reason why in Q2, we cannot accelerate our POP, that's the reason why we continue to decrease in Industrial. So this is the visibility we have today.

那麼今天總體來說我們評估了我們在通路分銷方面的庫存過剩了大約2個月。顯然，分銷商的 POS 將是第一個關鍵 KPI，它將開始減少這 2 個月的庫存。憑藉我們與他們的知名度和討論，這兩個月，好吧，將在第三季度吸收。沒關係。到第三季度，我們將能夠順利重新增加 POP 並在第四季度加速。不幸的是，這就是第二季我們無法加速 POP 的原因，這也是我們工業持續下降的原因。這就是我們今天所看到的。

So again, POS monitoring is very critical. But again, we are seeing some green spot that the end customer and applications -- some end applications are coming back to growth. And sequentially, okay, it will translate in POS increase and start to translate in inventory decrease and for us POP increase in Q3. So this is today the plan we have built discussing with our customers and also what is making us confident is that looking at some results of competition going straight to end customers, we have seen a restart. So means when the channel inventory will be absorbed, our POP will rise again.

再次強調，POS監控非常關鍵。但我們再次看到最終客戶和應用程式的一些綠點——一些最終應用程式正在恢復成長。接下來，好吧，它將轉化為 POS 增加，並開始轉化為庫存減少以及第三季的 POP 增加。這就是今天我們與客戶討論制定的計劃，讓我們充滿信心的是，看看直接面向最終客戶的一些競爭結果，我們看到了重啟。所以意味著當渠道庫存被消化掉的時候，我們的POP將會再次上升。

Also, perhaps one for you, Lorenzo, as we're coming through a slightly deeper trough in the cycle than anticipated, how are you managing the OpEx for the year? Can you just sort of update us in terms of the levels we should have in our model?

另外，洛倫佐，也許您也有一個問題，因為我們正在經歷比預期稍深的周期低谷，您如何管理今年的營運支出？您能否告訴我們模型中應具有的層級的最新資訊？

Of course, this year, we will have control of our OpEx for which we will continue to protect for sure, the innovation and the R&D, but we will prioritize other programs, let's say, that are definitely important, but if you want less critical than, let's say, the innovation and the introduction of the new products. So today, we do expect for the year compared to last year, a moderate increase in our expenses. We do not expect a decline, a moderate increase that we size between 2%, 2.5%.

當然，今年，我們將控制我們的營運支出，我們將繼續肯定地保護創新和研發，但我們將優先考慮其他項目，比如說，這絕對重要，但如果你想要不那麼重要的話比方說，創新和新產品的推出。因此，今天，我們確實預計今年的支出與去年相比會略有增加。我們預計不會下降，我們預計會出現 2% 至 2.5% 之間的適度增長。

Consider also that I'm talking about net OpEx, means that including also the level of grants that are increasing this year in respect to last year. This is more or less what we see today for the evolution of our OpEx in the year, in 2024.

還要考慮到我談論的是淨營運支出，這意味著還包括今年相對於去年增加的撥款水準。這或多或少就是我們今天看到的 2024 年營運支出的演變。

The next question is from Sandeep Deshpande from JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Sandeep Deshpande。

I have a question firstly in terms of your guidance, clearly, I mean, there has been inventory overhang in your supply chain and slowdown in the market. But is there any impact from pricing in the guidance at all? And what do you see in terms of the pricing environment at the moment in microcontrollers specifically as well as in your discrete market?

我首先有一個關於您的指導的問題，顯然，我的意思是，您的供應鏈中存在庫存過剩和市場放緩。但指南中的定價有任何影響嗎？您對目前微控制器以及離散市場的定價環境有何看法？

I take this question, Sandeep. Yes, as I was saying before, we have embedded some pricing impact in our indication of the -- for sure, there are, as I was saying before, different dynamics between the different markets that we serve. The most impacted in terms of pricing is microcontroller, definitely. Industrial in general and microcontroller. Anyway, when we look overall, the dynamic, for instance, when I look at the dynamic of Q1, our price decrease was in the range of low single digits, a little bit higher than what we were expecting, and this is also partially explaining why we missed partially our gross margin midpoint guidance, but not dramatically higher.

我回答這個問題，桑迪普。是的，正如我之前所說，我們在我們的指示中嵌入了一些定價影響——當然，正如我之前所說，我們服務的不同市場之間存在不同的動態。就定價而言，受影響最大的肯定是微控制器。一般工業和微控制器。不管怎樣，當我們看整體的動態時，例如，當我看第一季的動態時，我們的價格下降是在低個位數的範圍內，比我們預期的要高一點，這也部分解釋了為什麼我們部分未能達到毛利率中點指引，但並未大幅調高。

Moving forward, we continue to expect some erosion, let's say, for instance, in Q1, average company, considering that some areas like Automotive, we have a renegotiation now, there is no any longer price decline moving forward or not so (inaudible) and not so big. Let's say, we have a model, something in the range of 1%, 1.5% price decline. And moving forward in Q3 and Q4, some still, let's say, price decline. As I was saying before, in any case, at this stage, we don't see a huge impact on pricing, a very significant impact on pricing. For sure, in some area, I repeat, like microcontroller. In some geographies, yes, it's a little bit higher than the average of the company, definitely higher than the average of the company. And these results being embedded in our numbers.

展望未來，我們繼續預期會出現一些侵蝕，例如，在第一季度，普通公司考慮到汽車等某些領域，我們現在正在進行重新談判，未來價格不再下降或不再下降（聽不清楚）而且沒那麼大。假設我們有一個模型，價格下降幅度在 1% 到 1.5% 之間。展望第三季和第四季，有些價格仍然會下降。正如我之前所說，無論如何，在現階段，我們沒有看到對定價的巨大影響，對定價的非常重大的影響。當然，在某些領域，我重複一遍，例如微控制器。在某些地區，是的，它比公司的平均水平高一點，絕對比公司的平均水平高。這些結果被嵌入到我們的數據中。

And I mean just following up on that question, I mean, Automotive, as you said, is not changing at all this year. I mean you will negotiate new prices in December, I mean, that actually means that there is another price change next year in Autos given that the Industrial market, which uses similar chips, you're seeing a big correction this year. And then Autos will see that next year in the pricing. And then following on that, I mean, on the gross margin, are there any one-offs in your gross margin this year? I mean, clearly, you talked about the underutilization charge in the year, but there were some positives last year. Are there any positives being repeated this year, which is helping your gross margin at all?

我的意思是，就這個問題進行跟進，我的意思是，正如您所說，汽車今年根本沒有改變。我的意思是，你們將在 12 月協商新價格，這實際上意味著明年汽車行業的價格將再次發生變化，因為使用類似晶片的工業市場今年將出現大幅調整。然後汽車明年就會在定價中看到這一點。接下來，我的意思是，在毛利率方面，你們今年的毛利率有沒有一次性的情況？我的意思是，很明顯，您談到了今年的未充分利用費用，但去年也有一些積極的一面。今年是否有任何正面因素重複出現，這對您的毛利率有幫助？

In terms of pricing, what can I say is that the main let's say, discussion with the Tier 1 (inaudible). So the price has been embedded in this dynamic. So we do not expect, this was not embedded at this stage, any renegotiate in terms of price for 2024. What -- for what concern the impact of gross margin, well, you have not to forget that our gross margin, more than on one time, is helped by the capacity reservation fees. These are not disappeared this year in respect to last year. Yes, they are not high like it was last year. They are declining in respect to last year. Still they are, let's say, giving a positive impact. So this is also if you want -- also answering to your first point about pricing in Automotive. Of course, we have the capacity reservation fees still there. You understand that there is no strong pressure here, there is still, let's say, from our customer, they're willing to secure the capacity to secure the availability of the parts. As we have said already in the past, this is an element that definitely we will see declining over the next year and the following years because we know we have already, let's say, the contract done, yes. This will go down moving forward. This year, definitely it is still an element that is impacting positively our gross margin I would say, in a meaningful way, still a positive impact.

在定價方面，我能說的是主要是與一級的討論（聽不清楚）。所以價格已經融入了這種動態。因此，我們預計，現階段不會就 2024 年的價格進行任何重新談判。與去年相比，今年這些並沒有消失。是的，他們不像去年那麼高。與去年相比，它們有所下降。可以說，它們仍然產生了積極的影響。因此，如果您願意的話，這也是對您關於汽車定價的第一點的回答。當然，我們仍然有容量預留費。您知道，這裡沒有強大的壓力，比方說，我們的客戶仍然願意確保有能力確保零件的可用性。正如我們過去已經說過的，這是一個我們肯定會在明年和接下來的幾年中看到下降的因素，因為我們知道我們已經，比如說，合約完成了，是的。這將繼續下降。今年，它肯定仍然是對我們的毛利率產生積極影響的一個因素，我想說，以有意義的方式，仍然是一個積極的影響。

Okay. So we have time for one last question.

好的。我們還有時間回答最後一個問題。

The last question is from Jerome Ramel from BNP Paribas.

最後一個問題來自法國巴黎銀行的傑羅姆·拉梅爾（Jerome Ramel）。

Yes. Quick two questions. The first one would be, where are the lead times currently? And what is the loading of your front-end fabs. And then I have a quick follow-up.

是的。快問兩個問題。第一個是，目前的交貨時間是多少？您的前端晶圓廠的負載是多少？然後我會進行快速跟進。

Lead time with average of below 3 months, is very short. And taking into account the inventory level we have, we are also capable to capture some spot term business within the quarter quite easily. Front-end loading...

平均交貨時間不到3個月，非常短。考慮到我們的庫存水平，我們還能夠輕鬆地在本季度內獲得一些現貨業務。前端加載中...

Front-end loading, let's say, Q2 is really the bottom, I would say, because in Q2, we see a front-loading of 72% for our fabs. With a significant impact in terms of loading charges. They will be in the range of 300 basis points on our gross margin in this quarter. So it's an important impact. Notwithstanding this, with this level of revenues, we see our inventory increase in terms of value because we were launching our production with a different expectation for the evolution of the second half. But the number of days will increase. We will continue to keep under control our inventory. So in the second part of the year, the unloading charges, which continue to be material and the level of saturation of our fab will increase, but not so much. We will remain in the range of 77%. So similar to the one of Q1, if you want.

前端負載，比如說，我想說，第二季度確實是底部，因為在第二季度，我們看到我們晶圓廠的前端負載率為 72%。對裝載費用產生重大影響。本季我們的毛利率將在 300 個基點左右。所以這是一個重要的影響。儘管如此，在這樣的收入水準下，我們的庫存價值有所增加，因為我們對下半年的發展抱持不同的預期。但天數會增加。我們將繼續控制我們的庫存。因此，在今年下半年，卸載費用仍然很重要，而且我們晶圓廠的飽和程度將會增加，但不會增加那麼多。我們將保持在77%的範圍內。如果你願意的話，與 Q1 非常相似。

At the end, we do expect that our inventory exiting -- our inventory (inaudible) 115 days. That is a little bit higher in respect to our model, if you wanted, but for year like 2024, I think control is the right level.

最後，我們確實預計我們的庫存會耗盡——我們的庫存（聽不清楚）115 天。如果你願意的話，這相對於我們的模型要高一點，但對於像 2024 年這樣的年份，我認為控制是正確的水平。

Any other follow-up?

還有其他後續嗎？

Yes. I had follow-up. Concerning China, all the fears around China ramping up capacity for (inaudible) node and so on. What's your view and current visibility on Chinese customers? I assume recently, you signed some major silicon carbide deal with some car OEMs in China. So I just like to understand how you see the dynamics there?

是的。我有後續行動。關於中國，所有圍繞中國增加（聽不清楚）節點容量的擔憂等等。您對中國客戶的看法和目前的知名度如何？我想最近，你們與中國的一些汽車原始設備製造商簽署了一些重要的碳化矽協議。所以我想了解您如何看待那裡的動態？

Well, I think China is quite simple. China is no more super-booming market. It's a market with some growth, where clearly you have competitors pretty aggressive, but not including Chinese, believe me, American and Japanese as well. And here, the recipe always the same, is to have the right features and performance of (inaudible) and the high quality and the right price. However, okay, I repeat that we have engaged ourselves in adequate, I believe, strategy for our footprint. So of course, with our (inaudible) agreement for silicon carbide. But more and more, we are developing activity with Chinese foundry located in China for our microcontroller for our BCD and for our other (inaudible). So in such a situation, we have all the ingredients to compete in China, because it is a key market for ST. And we believe, looking at the activity we have on designing and development on our STM32 and when we organize the summit and when we see what we have in our pipeline, that ST will be a strong competitor in China for the future.

嗯，我覺得中國很簡單。中國不再是超級繁榮的市場。這是一個有一定成長的市場，顯然你的競爭對手相當激進，但不包括中國人，相信我，也包括美國和日本人。在這裡，秘訣始終是相同的，就是擁有正確的功能和性能（聽不清楚）以及高品質和合適的價格。不過，好吧，我再說一遍，我相信我們已經為我們的足跡制定了充分的策略。當然，我們（聽不清楚）同意碳化矽。但我們越來越多地與位於中國的中國鑄造廠開展活動，為我們的 BCD 和其他（聽不清楚）微控制器開發活動。所以在這種情況下，我們擁有在中國競爭的所有要素，因為這是ST的一個關鍵市場。我們相信，看看我們在 STM32 上的設計和開發活動，當我們組織峰會時，當我們看到我們的產品線時，ST 將成為中國未來的強大競爭對手。

With this, I see the end of the time. So this completes our call.

至此，我看到了時間的終結。這樣就完成了我們的通話。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, the conference is now over. Thank you for choosing Chorus Call, and thank you for participating in the conference. You may now disconnect your lines. Goodbye.

女士們、先生們，會議現在結束了。感謝您選擇 Chorus Call，也感謝您參加本次會議。現在您可以斷開線路。再見。