TreeHouse Foods Inc (THS) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the TreeHouse Foods fourth-quarter 2023 conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.

歡迎參加 TreeHouse Foods 2023 年第四季電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意此事件正在被記錄。

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to TreeHouse Foods for the reading of the Safe Harbor statements.

此時，我想將電話轉給 TreeHouse Foods，以閱讀安全港聲明。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us today. Earlier this morning, we issued our earnings release and posted our earnings deck, both of which are available within the Investor Relations section of our website at treehousefoods.com. Before we begin, we would like to advise you that all forward-looking statements made on today's call are intended to fall within the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

早安，感謝您今天加入我們。今天早些時候，我們發布了收益報告並發布了收益報告，這兩個內容都可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分獲得：treehousefoods.com。在開始之前，我們想告知您，今天電話會議中所做的所有前瞻性陳述均符合 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款。

These statements are based on current expectations and projections and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Information concerning those risks is contained in the company's filings with the SEC. A reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to their most direct comparable GAAP measures can be found in the release and the appendix tables of today's earnings deck.

這些陳述是基於目前的預期和預測，涉及可能導致實際結果與我們的前瞻性陳述有重大差異的風險和不確定性。有關這些風險的資訊包含在該公司向 SEC 提交的文件中。非公認會計準則衡量指標與其最直接可比較的公認會計準則衡量指標的調節可以在今天的收益報告的新聞稿和附錄表中找到。

With that, let me now turn the call over to our Chairman, CEO, and President, Mr. Steve Oakland.

現在，讓我將電話轉給我們的董事長、執行長兼總裁史蒂夫·奧克蘭先生。

Thank you, Matt, and good morning, everyone. Please join me in welcoming Matt as our new Investor Relations officer. Today, I will share with you our fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 financial results as well as provide a highlight of our 2024 guidance.

謝謝你，馬特，大家早安。請和我一起歡迎馬特成為我們新的投資人關係官。今天，我將與您分享我們的 2023 年第四季和全年財務業績，並重點介紹我們的 2024 年指引。

On slide 3, you can see key takeaways for the quarter, but I want to start by discussing some highlights from the year. Fiscal 2023 represented our first full year operating as a more simplified private brands snacking and beverage. With this sharpened focus, we successfully executed on our strategic priorities, including initiatives to build depth in our higher-growth, higher-margin categories, better optimize our supply chain, and improve our service levels.

在幻燈片 3 上，您可以看到本季的主要要點，但我想先討論今年的一些亮點。2023 財年是我們作為更簡化的自有品牌零食和飲料運營的第一個全年。憑藉這一重點，我們成功地執行了我們的策略重點，包括在高成長、高利潤類別中建立深度的舉措，更好地優化我們的供應鏈，並提高我們的服務水準。

As a result, we finished the year with a stronger portfolio, enhanced capabilities and depth, all while investing in our supply chain to better align it with these priorities. We delivered annual net sales growth of 4% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 25%.

因此，我們在這一年結束時擁有了更強大的產品組合、增強的能力和深度，同時投資我們的供應鏈，以更好地使其與這些優先事項保持一致。我們的年度淨銷售額成長了 4%，調整後的 EBITDA 成長了 25%。

We are also executing on our capital allocation strategy, which is balanced across investments in the business, maintaining a strong balance sheet and returning capital to shareholders. We used our balance sheet strength to return $100 million of capital to our shareholders via share repurchase in 2023. This is in addition to and did not impede the capital allocated to strategically invest across the businesses.

我們還執行我們的資本分配策略，該策略在業務投資之間保持平衡，保持強勁的資產負債表並向股東返還資本。我們利用我們的資產負債表實力，在 2023 年透過股票回購向股東返還了 1 億美元的資本。這是對分配給各業務進行策略性投資的資本的補充，並且不會妨礙該資本的分配。

Importantly, our reshaped portfolio and enhanced strategic focus will enable us to gain share and increase our competitive relevance across an industry with strong consumer tailwinds. Specifically, the private brand market outperformed relative to national brands again this quarter, which we will discuss in further detail shortly.

重要的是，我們重塑的投資組合和增強的策略重點將使我們能夠在消費者強勁的行業中獲得份額並提高我們的競爭相關性。具體來說，本季自有品牌市場的表現再次優於國家品牌，我們很快就會對此進行更詳細的討論。

We remain confident we are well positioned to capture the opportunities ahead for private brands with our focus on delivering growth. That being said, we realize that execution across the businesses remains paramount in the near term, both for our customers and for our shareholders. We are investing in our supply chain to drive consistency and predictability. And I believe these capabilities provide significant opportunity to achieve even better performance for TreeHouse in the coming year.

我們仍然相信，我們有能力抓住自有品牌未來的機遇，專注於成長。話雖這麼說，我們意識到，對於我們的客戶和股東來說，短期內跨業務的執行力仍然至關重要。我們正在對供應鏈進行投資，以提高一致性和可預測性。我相信這些功能為 TreeHouse 在未來一年實現更好的性能提供了重要的機會。

Turning now to a brief summary of our fourth-quarter results on slide 4. As a reminder, late in the third quarter, we were impacted by a broth recall and some discrete supply chain disruption that occurred in our pretzels and cookies businesses, which will extend into our fourth-quarter results. In the fourth quarter, we spent significant dollars to restore our broth facility, and we will provide more detail later on how we plan to restart that business in the first half of 2024.

現在轉向投影片 4 上我們第四季業績的簡要總結。提醒一下，在第三季末，我們受到了肉湯召回以及椒鹽捲餅和餅乾業務中發生的一些離散供應鏈中斷的影響，這些影響將延續到我們第四季度的業績中。在第四季度，我們花費了大量資金來恢復肉湯設施，稍後我們將提供更多細節，說明我們計劃如何在 2024 年上半年重啟業務。

With all of this considered, net sales came in at nearly $911 million, which while down year over year was in line with our expectations, given the supply chain issues I just mentioned. Adjusted EBITDA of $108.4 million, which was just above the midpoint of the guidance range reflects our continued progress against supply chain savings initiatives across the businesses.

考慮到所有這些因素，淨銷售額接近 9.11 億美元，考慮到我剛才提到的供應鏈問題，儘管同比下降，但符合我們的預期。調整後的 EBITDA 為 1.084 億美元，略高於指導範圍的中點，反映出我們在整個企業的供應鏈節約計劃方面持續取得進展。

Pat will provide greater detail on our outlook for the full year of 2024, where we expect net sales in the range of $3.43 billion to $3.5 billion, representing flat to 2% year-over-year growth. This top-line guidance reflects the impact from the current restart of our broth facility, which we expect to continue to pressure results in the first half of the year.

Pat 將更詳細地介紹我們對 2024 年全年的展望，我們預計淨銷售額將在 34.3 億美元至 35 億美元之間，年增 2%。這一頂線指引反映了我們肉湯工廠目前重新啟動的影響，我們預計這將繼續給上半年的業績帶來壓力。

We are laser focused on restoring our broth business to full production, and we are currently executing a turnaround plan that when complete will result in a world-class facility, much like our other broth operations in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Given this backdrop, we expect our volume growth to be stronger in the second half of the year. Additionally, we expect adjusted EBITDA in the range of $360 million to $390 million. Again, Pat will provide more detail.

我們專注於恢復肉湯業務的全面生產，目前正在執行一項週轉計劃，該計劃完成後將建成世界一流的設施，就像我們在安大略省列治文山的其他肉湯業務一樣。在此背景下，我們預計下半年銷售成長將更加強勁。此外，我們預計調整後 EBITDA 在 3.6 億至 3.9 億美元之間。帕特將再次提供更多細節。

With that, I'll dive into our strategic update. Throughout the year, TreeHouse continued to advance our portfolio strategy in an effort to focus on higher-growth, higher-margin categories. As detailed on slide 5, we are in an advantaged position today across most of our categories.

接下來，我將深入介紹我們的策略更新。在這一年中，TreeHouse 繼續推動我們的投資組合策略，努力專注於高成長、高利潤的類別。正如幻燈片 5 所詳述的，我們今天在大多數類別中都處於優勢地位。

In 2023, we invested capital with a focus on enhancing our competitive positioning, driving consistency of execution in our supply chain, building our capabilities where we see significant growth opportunities. We also furthered our portfolio strategy by making investments in seasoned pretzels, coffee, and pickles, which are all growth categories. This is in addition to the divestiture of a noncore snack bars business, which we completed earlier this year.

2023 年，我們投資的重點是增強我們的競爭地位、推動供應鏈執行的一致性、在我們看到重大成長機會的地方建立我們的能力。我們也透過投資調味椒鹽捲餅、咖啡和泡菜（這些都是成長類別）來進一步推進我們的投資組合策略。這是我們今年稍早完成的非核心小吃店業務剝離的補充。

Now moving on to our supply chain initiatives, we have continued to invest directly into our supply chain as you can see on slide 6, which we believe strengthens our competitive positioning and partnerships with our customers. We remain diligent on implementing our TMOS strategy and other supply chain initiatives. These efforts have contributed to improved execution and margin performance, including 130 basis points of adjusted gross margin expansion this year. Continued progress on the supply chain initiatives in the coming years should allow us to further expand margins.

現在轉向我們的供應鏈計劃，我們繼續直接投資於我們的供應鏈，正如您在幻燈片 6 中看到的那樣，我們相信這會加強我們的競爭地位以及與客戶的合作夥伴關係。我們仍然努力實施我們的 TMOS 策略和其他供應鏈計劃。這些努力有助於提高執行力和利潤率表現，包括今年調整後的毛利率擴大了 130 個基點。未來幾年供應鏈計畫的持續進展將使我們能夠進一步擴大利潤。

I'm happy to share that in 2023, our TMOS initiatives resulted in a 5-point increase of our overall equipment effectiveness or OEE compared to the prior year. And in 2024, we are off to a strong start with even more cost savings projects in place. Additionally, we are in the early stages of our procurement savings exercise, which continues to progress according to plan. Importantly, our scale enables us to build strategic relationships with our suppliers. In this environment, with total category volumes lower and private brands growing, we are finding our current and potential supply base eager to do business with TreeHouse.

我很高興與大家分享，2023 年，我們的 TMOS 措施使我們的整體設備效率或 OEE 比前一年提高了 5 個百分點。到 2024 年，我們將迎來一個良好的開端，推出更多成本節約項目。此外，我們正處於採購節約活動的早期階段，該活動將繼續按計劃進行。重要的是，我們的規模使我們能夠與供應商建立策略關係。在這種環境下，隨著品類總量的下降和自有品牌的成長，我們發現我們目前和潛在的供應基地渴望與 TreeHouse 開展業務。

Additionally, we are making progress in our network optimization plans. These plans are designed to drive future margin improvements. We are currently migrating a portion of our single-serve coffee operations to our new coffee center of excellence in Northlake, Texas, which will simplify our network and deliver planned synergies by eliminating one facility.

此外，我們的網路優化計劃正在取得進展。這些計劃旨在推動未來利潤率的提高。目前，我們正在將部分單杯咖啡業務遷移到位於德克薩斯州北湖的新咖啡卓越中心，這將簡化我們的網絡，並透過消除一個設施來實現計劃中的協同效應。

We are pleased with the progress we're making on these initiatives, which are designed to drive margin improvement in future quarters. We are on track to achieve gross supply chain savings of approximately $250 million through 2027, which will support our long-term growth.

我們對這些舉措所取得的進展感到高興，這些舉措旨在推動未來幾季的利潤率提高。到 2027 年，我們預計將實現供應鏈總成本節省約 2.5 億美元，這將支持我們的長期成長。

Next, I would like to provide some context on the broader trends surrounding the industry and private brands. As you have heard from other CPG companies, the macro environment continues to be challenged by inflationary pressure and general economic concerns among consumers. The net effect of these has resulted in overall lower category volumes. While overall food and beverage unit consumption declined year over year, the broader private brand market remained nearly flat, continuing to outperform relative to national brands.

接下來，我想提供一些有關行業和自有品牌的更廣泛趨勢的背景資訊。正如您從其他消費品公司聽到的那樣，宏觀環境繼續受到通膨壓力和消費者普遍經濟擔憂的挑戰。這些因素的淨效應導致整體品類銷售下降。儘管整體食品和飲料單位消費量同比下降，但更廣泛的自有品牌市場幾乎持平，相對於國內品牌而言，其表現繼續優於國內品牌。

These dynamics weighed on our sales volumes, similar to what you've seen across the CPG industry. If we look at our full-year performance, excluding price, we outpaced the measured retail market in four of our top five categories and believe the investments we're making in our portfolio and capabilities improve our competitive positioning heading into 2024.

這些動態影響了我們的銷售量，類似於您在整個消費品產業所看到的情況。如果我們看看我們的全年業績（不包括價格），我們在前五個類別中的四個類別中超過了零售市場，並相信我們在產品組合和能力方面的投資將提高我們進入2024 年的競爭地位。

Turning to slide 7, similar to the past few quarters, we want to emphasize that retailers increased shelf prices in the fourth quarter to reflect inflation, especially in the categories in which TreeHouse operates. You will see that in December, shelf prices reached a high for the year, which illustrates the meaningful absolute dollar savings that a basket of private brand goods delivers for consumers. Specifically, within our categories this past quarter, a shopper would have saved approximately $18 on a basket of our goods relative to a basket of branded goods.

轉向幻燈片 7，與過去幾季類似，我們想強調零售商在第四季度提高了貨架價格以反映通貨膨脹，特別是在 TreeHouse 經營的類別中。您將看到 12 月的貨架價格達到了年內的最高點，這說明一籃子自有品牌商品為消費者帶來了有意義的絕對美元節省。具體來說，在上個季度我們的類別中，相對於一籃子品牌商品，購物者購買一籃子我們的商品可節省約 18 美元。

On slide 8, private brand unit share continues to remain at a quarterly all-time high above 20% and was most pronounced during the holiday season. It is also worth noting that private brands have gained unit share for over 100 consecutive weeks. Again, these trends reiterate the important role private brands play for retailers and consumers.

在投影片 8 中，自有品牌單位份額繼續保持在 20% 以上的季度歷史高位，並且在假期季節最為明顯。另外值得注意的是，自有品牌的單位份額連續100週以上成長。這些趨勢再次重申了自有品牌對零售商和消費者的重要角色。

Additionally, we've heard many of our branded peers discuss their plans to make greater investments in marketing and promotion to drive volume recovery across the industry. We believe that will be beneficial in bringing the consumer back to the shelf where the private brand value proposition is most apparent.

此外，我們還聽到許多品牌同行討論了他們計劃在行銷和促銷方面加大投資，以推動整個行業銷量的恢復。我們相信，這將有利於將消費者帶回自有品牌價值主張最明顯的貨架上。

On slide 9, we've provided a look at price gaps in our categories, which remain elevated when compared to historic levels. We believe these price gaps are a key contributor to the continued share growth of private brands. Additionally, I wanted to briefly touch upon private brand promotions as we hear retailers continue to voice their support for private brands and a desire to return to merchandising.

在幻燈片 9 中，我們展示了我們類別的價格差距，與歷史水平相比，價格差距仍然較高。我們認為，這些價格差距是自有品牌份額持續成長的關鍵因素。此外，我想簡要談談自有品牌促銷活動，因為我們聽到零售商繼續表達對自有品牌的支持以及重返商品銷售的願望。

On the right side of slide 9, we've included promotional data for national brands and private label in our categories. What we found historically is that while national brands tend to get a higher level of promotion, overall, private brand promotion generates a higher return on investment. We believe this performance illustrates the importance of private brands to retailers as a means to drive shopper traffic and loyalty.

在投影片 9 的右側，我們在類別中包含了國家品牌和自有品牌的促銷數據。我們從歷史上發現，雖然民族品牌往往會獲得更高水準的推廣，但整體而言，自有品牌推廣會產生更高的投資回報。我們相信這一表現說明了自有品牌對於零售商作為推動購物者流量和忠誠度的手段的重要性。

As it relates to the fourth quarter specifically, the promotional activity increased among national brands, but remained relatively low for private brands. Importantly, we still performed well despite this heavier level of promotion. We believe we are well positioned should increase promotional activity return to private brands.

就第四季而言，民族品牌的促銷活動有所增加，但自有品牌的促銷活動仍然相對較低。重要的是，儘管促銷力度加大，我們仍然表現良好。我們相信，我們處於有利位置，應該加大促銷活動對自有品牌的回報。

Before I turn the call over to Pat for more detail on our financial performance and our outlook, I'd like to reinforce some of our achievements from the past year. Despite the ongoing economic uncertainty, our company is in a strong financial position with our current balance sheet and capital structure. We've also made significant investments in our categories and our supply chain to drive growth. With our strong net sales pipeline and the right team of people in place to execute on our strategy, I am energized as we begin 2024 and look forward to keeping you updated on our continued progress throughout the year.

在我將電話轉給帕特以了解有關我們財務業績和前景的更多詳細信息之前，我想強調一下我們過去一年所取得的一些成就。儘管經濟持續存在不確定性，但我們公司目前的資產負債表和資本結構仍處於強勁的財務狀況。我們也對我們的品類和供應鏈進行了大量投資，以推動成長。憑藉我們強大的淨銷售管道和執行我們策略的合適團隊，我在 2024 年開始充滿活力，並期待向您通報我們全年持續進展的最新情況。

Now I'll turn the call over to Pat.

現在我將把電話轉給帕特。

Thanks, Steve, and good morning, everyone. I'd like to start by also expressing my appreciation to the entire TreeHouse team for a strong close to the year. I am proud of everything we accomplished in 2023 and remain confident in our ability to execute in 2024.

謝謝史蒂夫，大家早安。首先，我也要向整個 TreeHouse 團隊表示感謝，感謝他們在今年取得了出色的成績。我為我們在 2023 年所取得的一切成就感到自豪，並對我們在 2024 年的執行能力充滿信心。

I'll start with the summary of our fourth-quarter results on slide 10. Net sales of $910.8 million and adjusted EBITDA of $108.4 million both declined versus the prior year, which was in line with our expectation. We delivered net sales at the low end of our guidance range and adjusted EBITDA at the midpoint. Adjusted gross margin performance drove the improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin, which returned to almost 12%

我將首先在投影片 10 上總結我們第四季的業績。淨銷售額為 9.108 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 1.084 億美元，均較上年下降，符合我們的預期。我們的淨銷售額處於指導範圍的低端，調整後的 EBITDA 則處於中點。調整後毛利率表現推動調整後 EBITDA 利潤率改善，恢復至近 12%

Let me walk through this in greater detail. On slide 11, we provided a look at our year-over-year net sales drivers. Our net sales decline was primarily driven by challenges at our broth facility as well as discrete supply chain disruptions within our pretzel and cookie business that we discussed last quarter. The remaining decline was primarily due to planned exits of lower-margin business.

讓我更詳細地介紹一下這一點。在投影片 11 中，我們展示了同比淨銷售驅動因素。我們的淨銷售額下降主要是由於我們的肉湯工廠面臨的挑戰以及我們上季度討論的椒鹽捲餅和餅乾業務中的離散供應鏈中斷所致。剩餘的下降主要是因為計劃退出利潤率較低的業務。

These items were partially offset by the volume from our coffee and seasoned pretzel acquisition. Our pricing was roughly flat because we've now lapped the pricing actions that we've taken over the last couple of years, primarily to recover from inflationary pressures.

這些項目被我們的咖啡和調味椒鹽捲餅採購量部分抵消。我們的定價大致持平，因為我們現在已經放棄了過去幾年採取的定價行動，主要是為了從通膨壓力中恢復過來。

Moving to slide 12, I'll walk you through our profit drivers. Volume and mix including absorption was a headwind of $33 million in the quarter. PNOC or pricing net of commodities contributed $38 million. While we have seen some commodities move lower relative to recent all-time highs, many of our ingredients and packaging inputs still remain elevated compared to historical levels. As you would expect, our procurement and logistics teams are hard at work executing initiatives throughout our network to drive profitability improvement given the current environment.

轉到投影片 12，我將向您介紹我們的利潤驅動因素。本季的銷售量和組合（包括吸收）逆風達 3,300 萬美元。PNOC 或扣除大宗商品的定價貢獻了 3800 萬美元。雖然我們看到一些商品相對於近期的歷史高點有所下降，但我們的許多原料和包裝投入與歷史水平相比仍然處於較高水平。正如您所期望的那樣，我們的採購和物流團隊正在努力在整個網路中執行舉措，以在當前環境下推動獲利能力的提高。

Next, supply chain and operations were a $9 million drag year over year, primarily due to investments in labor, mainly to attract and retain workers in our plants where we plan to drive growth in 2024. Lastly, SG&A and other negatively impacted profit by $7 million year over year. This was largely a result of temporary operating expenses associated with the exit of the transition services agreement. I'm pleased with our team's work in efficiently winding down those services, which represented a significant milestone in finalizing that divestiture and our transformation.

其次，供應鏈和營運年比拖累了 900 萬美元，這主要是由於勞動力投資，主要是為了吸引和留住我們工廠的工人，我們計劃在 2024 年推動工廠的成長。最後，SG&A 和其他因素對利潤產生了年比 700 萬美元的負面影響。這主要是由於與過渡服務協議退出相關的臨時營運費用。我對我們的團隊在有效結束這些服務方面所做的工作感到高興，這代表了完成剝離和轉型的一個重要里程碑。

Moving on to the balance sheet on slide 13, we continued to be in a position of strength. In the quarter, we repaid approximately $155 million of borrowings under our revolving credit facility and received repayment of the seller note receivable. Coupled with our improved adjusted EBITDA performance, we ended the year with our leverage ratio at approximately 2 times.

轉到投影片 13 上的資產負債表，我們繼續處於優勢地位。本季度，我們根據循環信貸安排償還了約 1.55 億美元的借款，並收到了賣方應收票據的償還。加上調整後 EBITDA 業績的改善，我們的槓桿率在年底達到了約 2 倍。

Turning to slide 14 to recap, in 2023, we deployed capital consistent with our three priorities. We invested in the business to strengthen our depth and capabilities in the categories where we operate, including $140 million of CapEx investment and deployed $105 million in coffee and pretzels. We improved our balance sheet, building our cash position, reducing leverage, and we returned $100 million of capital to shareholders through share repurchases.

轉向幻燈片 14 來回顧一下，2023 年，我們根據我們的三個優先事項部署了資本。我們對該業務進行投資，以加強我們在經營類別中的深度和能力，其中包括 1.4 億美元的資本支出投資，並在咖啡和椒鹽捲餅方面部署了 1.05 億美元。我們改善了資產負債表，建立了現金狀況，降低了槓桿率，並透過股票回購向股東返還了 1 億美元的資本。

Moving into 2024, we will continue to be disciplined and execute against our capital allocation strategy. Much of our near-term spend will remain focused on gaining further category leadership and depth of offerings and increasing our supply chain efficiency to fuel our growth.

進入 2024 年，我們將繼續遵守紀律並執行我們的資本配置策略。我們的近期支出大多將集中在獲得進一步的類別領導地位和產品深度，並提高我們的供應鏈效率以推動我們的成長。

Now turning to our guidance and outlook for 2024, I'd like to spend a few moments framing how we are thinking about the year on slide 15. From a macro perspective, we've seen weakness in overall food and beverage consumption volumes over the last year. Recently, while national brand volume has been down, private brands volume has been flat in our categories. We believe it is prudent to assume no significant changes to the consumption environment in the near term. Therefore, we are not assuming a return to historical consumption trends in 2024.

現在轉向我們對 2024 年的指導和展望，我想花一些時間在幻燈片 15 上闡述我們對這一年的看法。從宏觀角度來看，我們看到去年整體食品和飲料消費量疲軟。最近，雖然國內品牌銷售量有所下降，但我們品類中自有品牌的銷售量卻持平。我們認為，謹慎的假設是近期消費環境不會有重大變化。因此，我們不假設 2024 年會恢復到歷史消費趨勢。

Having said that we see a number of opportunities to grow our top line organically, particularly in the businesses where we strengthened our capabilities last year, including coffee, pretzels, and pickles. Our enhanced depth and capabilities are quickly enabling new bid opportunities. And we continue to hear interest from retailers in partnering on innovation, including seasonal items, which is another opportunity for TreeHouse to drive profitable volume growth for both our company and our retail grocery partners.

話雖如此，我們看到了許多有機增長我們收入的機會，特別是在我們去年加強能力的業務中，包括咖啡、椒鹽捲餅和泡菜。我們增強的深度和能力正在迅速創造新的投標機會。我們不斷聽到零售商對合作創新（包括季節性商品）的興趣，這是 TreeHouse 為我們公司和零售雜貨合作夥伴推動盈利量增長的另一個機會。

In addition to these organic growth opportunities, we have the benefit of volume from our recent coffee and pretzel acquisitions during the first half of the year, as well as the annual volume from the Bick's pickle business that we acquired in January. While we continue to believe our business is well positioned to grow in line with the annual targets that we've previously outlined, our ability to grow sales in 2024 will be temporarily constrained by the efforts to restart our broth facility.

除了這些有機成長機會之外，我們還受益於今年上半年最近收購的咖啡和椒鹽捲餅業務的銷量，以及我們一月份收購的 Bick's 泡菜業務的年銷量。雖然我們仍然相信我們的業務處於有利位置，可以按照我們先前設定的年度目標實現成長，但我們 2024 年銷售成長的能力將暫時受到肉湯工廠重啟工作的限制。

With this in mind, slide 16 reflects that we expect net sales in the range of $3.43 billion to $3.5 billion, which represents flat to 2% year-over-year growth. We expect the net sales impact due to our broth facility will be approximately $60 million, which partially mutes the growth contribution from the rest of the business particularly in the first half of the year. We expect our overall volume and mix to be slightly positive for the year. From a pricing perspective, we are planning for a modest decline year over year.

考慮到這一點，投影片 16 反映出我們預計淨銷售額將在 34.3 億美元至 35 億美元之間，年成長持平至 2%。我們預計肉湯設施對淨銷售額的影響約為 6,000 萬美元，這部分削弱了其他業務的成長貢獻，特別是在今年上半年。我們預計今年的整體銷售和產品組合將略為樂觀。從定價角度來看，我們計劃同比小幅下降。

Moving to profitability, we expect adjusted EBITDA in a range of $360 million to $390 million. We are confident in the progress that we've made in implementing our supply chain savings initiatives and believe we are on track to deliver significant gross savings in 2024. However, as is the case with top-line guidance, we expect the investments we have already made in our broth facility and the related volume impact to constrain our profit growth.

至於獲利能力，我們預計調整後 EBITDA 在 3.6 億美元至 3.9 億美元之間。我們對實施供應鏈節約計畫所取得的進展充滿信心，並相信我們預計在 2024 年實現顯著的總節約。然而，與頂線指導的情況一樣，我們預計我們已經對肉湯設施進行的投資以及相關數量的影響將限制我們的利潤增長。

We estimate the adjusted EBITDA impact from the restart of our broth facility will be approximately $20 million for the year. Additionally, we expect free cash flow of at least $130 million. Finally, we anticipate net interest expense of $56 million to 62 million, capital expenditures of approximately $145 million.

我們估計，今年肉湯工廠重啟帶來的調整後 EBITDA 影響約為 2,000 萬美元。此外，我們預計自由現金流至少為 1.3 億美元。最後，我們預計淨利息支出為 5,600 萬至 6,200 萬美元，資本支出約為 1.45 億美元。

With regard to the first quarter, we are expecting net sales of $780 million to $810 million, which represents a year-over-year decline of approximately 7% at the midpoint. The decline will be driven primarily by the impact of the broth facility, which will also adversely impact our volumes.

就第一季而言，我們預計淨銷售額為 7.8 億美元至 8.1 億美元，中位數將年減約 7%。下降的主要原因是肉湯設施的影響，這也將對我們的產量產生不利影響。

Also, I'll remind you that we are now lapping a historically strong net sales performance in Q1 2023, which saw a significant benefit from our accumulative pricing actions to recover inflation and the pipeline build that we discussed last year. Based on these factors, we would expect our organic sales to be down high single digits, partially offset by the low single digit contribution from the acquisition volume in coffee, pretzels, and pickles.

另外，我要提醒您的是，我們現在在2023 年第一季實現了歷史上強勁的淨銷售業績，這從我們為恢復通膨而採取的累積定價行動以及我們去年討論的管道建設中獲益匪淺。基於這些因素，我們預期我們的有機銷售額將下降高個位數，部分被咖啡、椒鹽捲餅和泡菜採購量的低個位數貢獻所抵消。

In terms of profitability, we expect adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $45 million to $55 million. The unfavorable volume and related absorption impact from our broth facility will be a significant driver of the Q1 year-over-year decline. Additionally, we expect higher operating expenses due to the temporary cost associated with the exited TSA agreement and selective investments we are making in labor to attract and retain talents in certain markets.

在獲利能力方面，我們預計調整後的 EBITDA 將在 4500 萬美元至 5500 萬美元之間。我們的肉湯設施的不利體積和相關吸收影響將是第一季同比下降的重要驅動因素。此外，由於與已退出的 TSA 協議相關的臨時成本以及我們為吸引和留住某些市場的人才而進行的選擇性勞動力投資，我們預計營運費用將會更高。

I'd also like to provide some additional context on the general net sales and adjusted EBITDA cadence of our business as a result of our reshaped portfolio and what you can expect in 2024. We have included slide 20 in the appendix, which outlines our historical cadence. As it relates to sales, we typically experience lower sales in the first half of the year with the second quarter being our seasonally lowest quarter from a volume standpoint and higher sales in the second half of the year, which is driven by our seasonally strongest fourth quarter period.

我還想提供一些關於我們業務的整體淨銷售額和調整後的 EBITDA 節奏的額外背景資訊（由於我們調整了投資組合）以及您對 2024 年的預期。我們在附錄中加入了投影片 20，其中概述了我們的歷史節奏。就銷售而言，我們通常會在上半年經歷較低的銷售額，從銷售的角度來看，第二季度是我們季節性最低的季度，而下半年的銷售額則較高，這是由我們季節性最強的第四季推動的季度期間。

The split is slightly more pronounced on adjusted EBITDA, driven by stronger demand and higher utilization, which is also most pronounced in the fourth quarter. Given the constraints impacting us in the first half due to our broth facility, we would expect our 2024 sales and adjusted EBITDA performance to be more second half weighted than our historical cadence.

在需求強勁和利用率提高的推動下，調整後 EBITDA 的分化更為明顯，這在第四季也最為明顯。考慮到我們上半年因肉湯設施而受到的限制，我們預計 2024 年的銷售額和調整後的 EBITDA 表現將比我們的歷史節奏更重視下半年的表現。

With that, I'll turn it back over to Steve for closing remarks. Steve?

至此，我將把它轉回給史蒂夫做總結發言。史蒂夫？

Thanks, Pat. I'd like to reiterate that our performance this year is a testament to the dedication of our entire TreeHouse team. We delivered annual net sales growth of approximately 4% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 25%. I believe this past year provides a proof point of our ability to deliver on our long-term growth algorithm that we outlined at our Investor Day last year.

謝謝，帕特。我想重申，我們今年的表現證明了整個 TreeHouse 團隊的奉獻精神。我們的年度淨銷售額成長約 4%，調整後 EBITDA 成長 25%。我相信，過去的一年證明了我們有能力實現我們在去年投資者日概述的長期成長演算法。

Our transformation has allowed TreeHouse to become more profitable on our smaller net sales base. As you can see on slide 16, but for the impact of our broth facility, we are on the path to $400 million in adjusted EBITDA. We have outlined what we believe is a prudent outlook. Current consumption trends remain challenged, and while private brands are outperforming, the current growth trend remains flat, impacting our ability to drive top-line growth in the near term.

我們的轉型使得 TreeHouse 在我們較小的淨銷售基礎上變得更加有利可圖。正如您在幻燈片 16 中看到的那樣，如果沒有肉湯設施的影響，我們的調整後 EBITDA 預計將達到 4 億美元。我們概述了我們認為審慎的前景。當前的消費趨勢仍面臨挑戰，儘管自有品牌表現出色，但當前的成長趨勢仍然持平，影響了我們在短期內推動營收成長的能力。

Over the long term, we still believe our categories provide the opportunity for strong growth. Given that the second half of the year is key to delivering on our outlook, I'd like to reiterate a few factors that give me confidence in our ability to achieve our goals. First, we've won new business that starts shipping in the second half of the year. The investments that we've made to strengthen our capabilities are enabling these new business wins, particularly in categories like coffee, refrigerated dough, and pickles.

從長遠來看，我們仍然相信我們的類別提供了強勁成長的機會。鑑於下半年是實現我們前景的關鍵，我想重申一些使我對我們實現目標的能力充滿信心的因素。首先，我們贏得了下半年開始出貨的新業務。我們為增強能力而進行的投資正在幫助我們贏得這些新業務，特別是在咖啡、冷藏麵團和泡菜等類別中。

Second, we have a robust sales pipeline for the business. It's the strongest the company has had since I joined in 2018, which is a testament to our commercial teams, the strength of their customer relationships, and our operations. Third, we are starting the year with more supply chain cost savings projects in place than we've ever had and expect our continued rollout of TMOS to drive additional savings throughout 2024. And finally, keep in mind that as we move into the second half of 2024, the investments we've made in broth, pretzels, and cookies should enable us to fully service these categories during their seasonal peak.

其次，我們擁有強大的業務銷售管道。這是自 2018 年我加入以來該公司最強大的一次，這證明了我們的商業團隊、客戶關係的實力以及我們的營運。第三，我們在今年開始實施了比以往更多的供應鏈成本節約項目，並預計我們繼續推出 TMOS 將在 2024 年推動更多成本節約。最後，請記住，隨著我們進入 2024 年下半年，我們在肉湯、椒鹽捲餅和餅乾方面的投資應該使我們能夠在這些類別的季節性高峰期間提供全面的服務。

As we look ahead, I'm confident that the transformative actions that we've taken to sharpen our portfolio focus and strengthen our capabilities as a company well positioned to deliver the growth and profitability that we've outlined.

展望未來，我相信我們所採取的變革行動將加強我們的投資組合重點並增強我們作為一家公司的能力，有能力實現我們概述的成長和獲利能力。

With that, I'll turn the call over to the operator to open the line up to your questions.

這樣，我會將電話轉給接線員，以解答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Johnny Shamir, Barclays.

（操作員說明）Johnny Shamir，巴克萊銀行。

Hey, Steve and Pat. It's Andrew Lazar. How are you?

嘿，史蒂夫和帕特。我是安德魯·拉扎爾。你好嗎？

Yeah, good morning, Andrew.

是的，早上好，安德魯。

Good morning. I guess first off, if we exclude the $20 million impact in the first quarter from restarting the broth facility, EBITDA is still expected to be lower year over year in the first quarter in a pretty material way. And I know part of that is also the difficult year-ago comp that you mentioned. I guess what's driving this, how does that play into your confidence in the EBITDA growth, obviously that you see for the remainder of the year? Like, are there other things going on in the first quarter that we should be aware of?

早安.我想首先，如果我們排除第一季重啟肉湯工廠造成的 2000 萬美元的影響，預計第一季 EBITDA 仍將大幅同比下降。我知道其中一部分也是你提到的去年困難的比賽。我想是什麼推動了這一點，這對您對 EBITDA 成長的信心有何影響，顯然您對今年剩餘時間的預期？例如，第一季還有其他我們應該注意的事情嗎？

Hey, this is Pat. I don't think there's other things going on that need to be aware of. I would say we tried to make some of the comments when we talked about the historical cadence of the business. And if you went back to what we had guided in Q1, it was a $65 million to $80 million. And so something in that range, I think is what you would think of in that normalized range from a Q1 perspective.

嘿，這是帕特。我認為沒有其他事情需要注意。我想說，當我們談論該業務的歷史節奏時，我們試圖發表一些評論。如果你回到我們在第一季的指導，那就是 6500 萬至 8000 萬美元。因此，我認為從第一季的角度來看，您會在該標準化範圍內想到該範圍內的內容。

So we actually think that the Q1 we're describing ex that broth the impact is a reasonable number for Q1. So I think it's really just lapping some of the pricing and then some of the volume pull-forward that we did in Q1 of 2023.

因此，我們實際上認為我們描述的第一季的影響對於第一季來說是一個合理的數字。因此，我認為這實際上只是我們在 2023 年第一季所做的一些定價和銷售的前移。

Got it. And then I think you mentioned maybe in the press release, some potential deflationary pricing actions in certain categories. Is that primarily more in pass-through categories, maybe such as like coffee or do you see it is more widespread? And if so, is it just manage price gaps as branded players ramp back up their promotional levels to maybe more normal levels? And maybe you can get into that a little bit. Thanks so much.

知道了。然後我想你可能在新聞稿中提到了某些類別的一些潛在的通貨緊縮定價行為。這主要是在傳遞類別中更多，例如咖啡，還是您認為它更普遍？如果是這樣，當品牌廠商將促銷水平恢復到更正常的水平時，它是否只是管理價格差距？也許你可以稍微了解一下。非常感謝。

Yeah, sure, Andrew. I'll take that. Yes, most of the pricing that we pass through are contractual price throughs on commodity up and down, right? Deflation and inflation, they go through automatically. Coffee is a great example of that. It's so volatile that most of those contracts have a deflation -- have an escalator and de-escalator clauses in them.

是的，當然，安德魯。我會接受的。是的，我們通過的定價大多是商品上下的合約價格，對嗎？通貨緊縮和通貨膨脹，它們會自動經歷。咖啡就是一個很好的例子。它的波動性很大，以至於大多數合約都有通貨緊縮——其中有自動扶梯和自動扶梯條款。

It's interesting when you when you mentioned promotion, in the -- we all know that the fourth quarter was a much more promoted quarter for CPG, almost back to pre-pandemic levels, not quite. But you still saw private label gain share in the quarter, right?

有趣的是，當您提到促銷時，我們都知道，第四季度是 CPG 促銷力度更大的季度，幾乎回到了大流行前的水平，但不完全是。但您仍然看到自有品牌在本季度獲得了份額，對嗎？

And I think we talked about on this call the basket being about $18, right? The peak last year was $20, right? So even in the most promoted category or promoted quarter of the year, there's still a pretty substantial gap between private label and branded.

我想我們在這次電話會議上討論過籃子價格約為 18 美元，對嗎？去年的高峰是20美元，對吧？因此，即使在一年中促銷最多的類別或促銷季度，自有品牌和品牌之間仍然存在相當大的差距。

I was disappointed quite frankly that we didn't see more private label promotion during the quarter. We had the inventory to do it, but I think quite frankly, the performance of it relative to brand gave the retailers confidence that they could deliver their numbers without doing it. So we actually would look forward to a little more promotion on our side.

坦白說，我很失望我們在本季沒有看到更多的自有品牌促銷活動。我們有足夠的庫存來做到這一點，但我坦率地認為，它相對於品牌的表現讓零售商有信心他們可以在不這樣做的情況下交付他們的數字。所以我們實際上期待我們這邊能有更多的促銷。

Great. Thanks so much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Matt Smith, Stifel.

馬特史密斯，史蒂菲爾。

Hi, good morning, Pat and Steve. You called out investments you've made to improve the portfolio in the broadly favorable environment for private label and TreeHouse in particular. But if we look at the 2024 outlook, the underlying volumes, excluding acquisition and the impact of the broth business are still well below that 2% to 3% growth target. Can you talk about the factors keeping you below that outlook? You talked about no assumption an improvement in consumption, but that should be partially offset or offset by the new business wins that you've talked about.

嗨，早上好，帕特和史蒂夫。您提到了自有品牌（尤其是 TreeHouse）普遍有利的環境中為改善產品組合而進行的投資。但如果我們展望 2024 年的前景，不包括收購和肉湯業務的影響，基本銷量仍遠低於 2% 至 3% 的成長目標。您能談談導致您低於這一前景的因素嗎？您談到沒有假設消費會有所改善，但這應該會被您談到的新業務勝利所部分抵消或抵消。

Sure, sure. Let's talk about that. We guided to a midpoint of 1% growth for next year or for this year. I guess it is now for '24. And if you think about a macro environment where units are flat, and we've guided deflation. That means we've got to have a couple of percent unit growth to make that happen, right? And so we just think guiding stronger than that with the uncertain consumer environment is imprudent at this time. But in order to meet the guidance that we have, and we wouldn't do that if we didn't see the strength of both our underlying business and our new businesses, we think you've got to grow about 2% to make that happen.

一定一定。我們來談談這個吧。我們預計明年或今年的成長中點為 1%。我想現在是24年了。如果你考慮單位持平的宏觀環境，我們已經引導了通貨緊縮。這意味著我們必須有幾個百分點的單位成長才能實現這一目標，對吧？因此，我們認為目前在不確定的消費環境下採取更強硬的指導是不謹慎的。但為了滿足我們的指導，如果我們沒有看到我們的基礎業務和新業務的實力，我們就不會這樣做，我們認為你必須成長約 2% 才能實現這一目標。

Thank you for that, Steve. And if I could ask a follow-up question relating to the broth business, private-label volumes actually returned to growth at the category level in January. Are you seeing market share gains by other private label manufacturers? And if that is the case, what are your expectations in the rebuild of the broth business? Is there a period of time where you're contending with contract losses even after the facilities back up and running?

謝謝你，史蒂夫。如果我可以問一個與肉湯業務相關的後續問題，自有品牌銷售實際上在一月份恢復了類別層面的成長。您是否看到其他自有品牌製造商的市佔率增加？如果是這樣的話，您對肉湯業務的重建有何期望？是否有一段時間，即使在設施恢復並運作後，您仍面臨合約損失？

It's interesting. Private label is a -- broth private label is a great category for us. And we've had to allocate to our customers given that we're producing significantly less. I'd remind you that we have two broth facilities, though, right? We have ramped our Richmond Hill, Ontario plant up to its maximum capacity. So where we are losing some sales.

這真有趣。自有品牌是一個－肉湯自有品牌對我們來說是一個很好的類別。鑑於我們的產量大幅減少，我們不得不向客戶分配資金。我想提醒您，我們有兩個肉湯設施，對嗎？我們已將安大略省列治文山工廠的產能提高到最大。所以我們正在失去一些銷售。

I think the customer recognizes both the quality and the service they've had from us up into this point. So there will be some customers that probably have to source broth somewhere else. But I think we've built enough reputation that we'll work our way through this, and our broth business will be significant going forward.

我認為客戶已經認可了我們迄今為止提供的品質和服務。因此，有些顧客可能不得不從其他地方購買肉湯。但我認為我們已經建立了足夠的聲譽，我們將努力解決這個問題，我們的肉湯業務未來將取得重大進展。

Thank you, Steve. I'll pass it on.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。我會把它傳遞下去。

Jim Salera, Stephens.

吉姆·薩萊拉，史蒂芬斯。

Hi, guys. Thanks for taking my question. If we could drill down a little bit more on the broth piece. I know you guys have talked about it before, and obviously you have -- you're underway in fixing that. Is there any risk that that situation changes as we move into 2024? Or do you guys feel confident on the number you provided around it that you have really good visibility into that?

嗨，大家好。感謝您提出我的問題。如果我們能在肉湯片上再深入一點就好了。我知道你們之前已經討論過這個問題，顯然你們已經討論過──你們正在解決這個問題。當我們進入 2024 年時，這種情況是否有改變的風險？或者你們對你們提供的數字有信心嗎？

I think just because of the risk, we have been cautious in what we've guided here, right? I think we've guided very cautiously here. We do run a world-class broth facility, so we know where this one was and where it needs to be. And I think we have the right resources. We've not spent a penny them to make that happen, right?

我認為正是因為存在風險，我們對此處的指導一直持謹慎態度，對吧？我認為我們在這裡的指導非常謹慎。我們確實經營著世界一流的肉湯設施，因此我們知道這個設施在哪裡以及它需要在哪裡。我認為我們擁有合適的資源。我們沒有花他們一分錢來實現這一目標，對嗎？

We bought this business 10 years ago, right? TreeHouse bought it 10 years ago. It has been a drag on the results since then. I think we recognized in the third quarter when we faced -- look, we should really recall some of this product. We stepped in and did a full recall, I mean a full rebuild of this business and its capital, its people, its process. So it will be a world class. It will be a driver for TreeHouse when we're done with this. It has historically been a drag.

我們十年前就買下了這家公司，對嗎？TreeHouse是10年前買的。從那時起，它就一直拖累結果。我認為我們在第三季度認識到，當我們面臨時，我們真的應該召回一些該產品。我們介入並進行了全面召回，我的意思是全面重建該業務及其資本、人員和流程。所以這將是世界級的。當我們完成這個之後，它將成為 TreeHouse 的驅動程式。從歷史上看，這一直是個拖累。

We addressed three of our worst facilities in 2023, right? We started with the cookies. We talked to you about that early in the year. We addressed some legacy capital needs in our dough business. And cookies and dough were drivers in last year, and unfortunately, you didn't see that because of this broth piece. But I think we will have the three riskiest parts of our business addressed when we finish this. And we think our ongoing maintenance programs will be sufficient to make us a much more reliable and consistent vendor going forward.

我們在 2023 年解決了三個最糟糕的設施，對嗎？我們從餅乾開始。我們在今年早些時候就此事與您討論過。我們解決了麵團業務中的一些遺留資本需求。餅乾和麵團是去年的驅動因素，不幸的是，你沒有看到這一點，因為這塊肉湯。但我認為，當我們完成這項工作時，我們將解決業務中風險最大的三個部分。我們認為我們正在進行的維護計劃將足以使我們成為未來更加可靠和一致的供應商。

Great. And then I think you mentioned this is in the prepared remarks or in the press release. But you guys talked a little about labor inflation, and that's actually something that we've seen come up with a couple of other companies that have reported. And I guess, given during COVID, obviously, there's a lot of competition around like warehouse labor and that same labor pool, but I would think that some of that has rolled back.

偉大的。然後我想你在準備好的發言或新聞稿中提到了這一點。但你們談論了一些關於勞動力通膨的問題，這實際上是我們看到其他幾家公司報告的內容。我想，在新冠疫情期間，顯然存在著許多競爭，例如倉庫勞動力和相同的勞動力池，但我認為其中一些已經回滾。

And so I guess I'm surprised that there's still the same level of labor inflation. If you could just give any color around that and some of the challenges you're seeing there?

因此，我想我對勞動力通膨仍然保持相同水平感到驚訝。您是否可以對此以及您在那裡看到的一些挑戰給出任何顏色？

Yeah, I don't know if it's the same level of labor inflation, but we still see labor being relatively elevated and the availability of the workforce on the market. And so we'll be competitive market wise. I don't think it's not the major driver that we worry about, but it is something that we're focused on to ensure we're being an employer of choice in the markets in which we operate, and some geographies are more challenging than others.

是的，我不知道勞動力通膨水準是否相同，但我們仍然看到勞動力相對較高，市場上勞動力的供應量也相對較高。因此，我們將在市場競爭中保持明智。我認為這不是我們擔心的主要驅動因素，但這是我們關注的事情，以確保我們成為我們經營所在市場的首選雇主，並且某些地區比其他地區更具挑戰性其他的。

Yeah. And I would also say there's probably a few facilities that are unionized, and those tend -- the labor impact of those tends to happen when new contracts are renewed, right? So it does a little bit of a lag in the expense until the contracts are renewed. And I would expect those contracts to be renewed at more favorable labor rates for them. So I think we'll have a little bit of labor inflation going forward. But as Pat said, it's not what we think of when we think of the risks in our business.

是的。我還想說，可能有一些設施加入了工會，這些設施對勞動力的影響往往會在續簽新合約時發生，對嗎？因此，在續約之前，費用會有一點滯後。我預計這些合約將以對他們更有利的勞動力價格續約。所以我認為未來將會出現一些勞動力通膨。但正如帕特所說，當我們考慮業務風險時，我們所想到的並不是這個。

Got it. That's helpful. Thanks, guys. I'll hop back in the queue.

知道了。這很有幫助。多謝你們。我會跳回到隊列中。

Rob Moskow, TD Cowen.

羅布·莫斯科，TD·考恩。

Hi. I had a couple of questions, Steve. The first was I just want to understand the prepared remarks about branded activity that you've seen from branded players. I think you said that you've taken a look at those plans, and you're encouraged that it will help category growth. But when I look at those plans, it does look like you intend to be more promotional.

你好。我有幾個問題，史蒂夫。首先，我只是想了解您從品牌玩家那裡看到的有關品牌活動的準備好的評論。我想你說過你已經看過這些計劃，你很高興這將有助於品類的成長。但當我看到這些計劃時，看起來你們確實打算進行更多促銷。

And I think that this slide that you showed on slide 9 showing that the price gaps getting more and more narrow, it would seem to me that they will continue to get more narrow. So did I understand your comments correctly that this is more of a positive than the negative, and what does it mean for price gaps?

我認為你在投影片 9 上展示的這張投影片顯示價格差距越來越窄，在我看來，它們將繼續變得越來越窄。那麼，我是否正確理解了您的評論，即這更多是積極的而不是消極的，這對價格差距意味著什麼？

Sure, sure. So remember, price gaps are now returning to historic levels where private label grew, okay? And those are percentage price gaps, not penny price gaps. So 20% of -- a product that now costs $4 that used to cost $3, right? So the moment of truth -- I think the old A.G. Lafley comment about the moment of truth right in front of shelf -- is when the consumer walks up to the shelf and looks at both private label and branded.

一定一定。所以請記住，價格差距現在正在恢復到自有品牌成長的歷史水平，好嗎？這些是百分比價格差距，而不是美分價格差距。那麼，現在售價 4 美元的產品的 20% 以前售價 3 美元，對嗎？因此，關鍵時刻——我認為雷富禮 (A.G. Lafley) 老先生關於貨架前的關鍵時刻的評論——是當消費者走到貨架前，同時查看自有品牌和品牌產品的時候。

So we think even in the promotional environment, the absolute penny gap is so significant. Along with the better-quality assortment that our retailers have in front of the consumer right now, we need eyes in front of the shelf, right? Private label price decisions are made at the shelf. So if you drive traffic to the shelf, we hope categories grow, and we're confident that private label will get its share of that category growth given the absolute penny gaps that are in front of us now.

因此，我們認為即使在促銷環境下，絕對的一分錢差距也是如此巨大。除了我們的零售商現在向消費者提供的品質更好的產品之外，我們還需要在貨架前註視著我們，對嗎？自有品牌的價格決定是在貨架上做出的。因此，如果你增加貨架上的流量，我們希望類別能夠成長，並考慮到我們現在面臨的絕對差距，我們相信自有品牌將在該類別成長中獲得自己的份額。

Okay. And then my follow-up, I think you said that OEE improved 5 points from a year ago, how does that take into account the broth issues? And then I think you had some issues in pretzels and cookies in third quarter as well. To what extent did those issues hurt those numbers if at all?

好的。然後我的後續行動，我想你說 OEE 比一年前提高了 5 個點，這是如何考慮肉湯的問題？然後我認為第三季椒鹽捲餅和餅乾也遇到了一些問題。這些問題在多大程度上損害了這些數字（如果有的話）？

Yeah. I think we've got investment and TMOS across our whole network, so we have multiple plants. And so obviously, we're talking about one plant and the impact there, and we have invested in other plants. We talked a bit about dough, that was a plant where -- a network where we didn't operate as effectively, and we put some maintenance in the middle of the year and then that allowed us to service the season.

是的。我認為我們在整個網路中都有投資和 TMOS，所以我們有多個工廠。顯然，我們正在談論一家工廠及其影響，我們也投資了其他工廠。我們談了一些關於麵團的問題，那是一個工廠，我們的網路運作效率不高，我們在年中進行了一些維護，然後這使我們能夠為整個季節提供服務。

So I think you're seeing where we've made the investments earlier on that's starting to pay off with those efficiencies. And we really look at our broth facility as the last one where we can go drive further improvement from a service standpoint. We think in most other places, we're there.

因此，我認為您已經看到了我們早期進行的投資已開始透過這些效率獲得回報。我們確實將肉湯設施視為我們可以從服務角度進一步改進的最後一個設施。我們認為在大多數其他地方，我們都在那裡。

And there continues to be opportunity in 2024. We think we can continue to be more efficient and eliminate waste throughout our network. And we've got a lot of cost savings plans in place, things that we plan for in 2023 that will be executed or are being executed in '24 that gives us confidence around how we think about margin next year.

2024 年仍有機會。我們認為我們可以繼續提高效率並消除整個網路的浪費。我們已經制定了許多成本節約計劃，我們計劃在 2023 年執行的計劃將在 24 年執行或正在執行，這讓我們對明年的利潤率有了信心。

Well, and Rob, just so you know, we do aggregate all of our 26 facilities, so the broth plant is one of them. And so it did probably tamp that number down just a bit, right? And it will tamp it down in the first two quarters, but that gives you a sense. Even with that last year, we grew 5% in OEE, right?

好吧，羅布，您知道，我們確實聚集了所有 26 個設施，所以肉湯工廠就是其中之一。所以它可能確實稍微壓低了這個數字，對嗎？它會在前兩個季度壓制它，但這給了你一種感覺。即使去年，我們的 OEE 也成長了 5%，對嗎？

Now to be fair, TreeHouse was not at the top of the OEE hill, right? We have some room to grow, and we have -- that's why there's the kind of cost savings in our network that there is, right? There is substantial opportunity in our network, and the good news is we're making progress at it attacking it.

公平地說，TreeHouse 並不位於 OEE 山頂，對吧？我們有一些成長空間，而且我們有——這就是為什麼我們的網路可以節省成本，對嗎？我們的網路中存在大量機會，好消息是我們在攻擊方面正在取得進展。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

Rob Dickerson, Jefferies.

羅布·迪克森，杰弗里斯。

Great. Thanks so much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Good morning, Rob.

早安，羅布。

How's it going? I just wanted to ask a little bit more about, I guess, the pricing cadence of the year, right? I mean, it seems like, given that guidance for Q1 with vol mix down some, let's say, mid-single digits, just to right-size it back to net. I mean, it sounds like pricing might be down by 4%, maybe 3% to 4%. But then the comment for the year is down modestly and just to kind of get to the full-year year-over-year guide, it would seem like maybe there's a little bit more price investment in Q1. But then at the same time, back to Andy's question on the pass-through dynamic, it would seem like, given its contractual that there's not like a tremendous amount of flex. So just say any color you can give us to how you see that year-over-year pricing dynamic playing out as we move through the year? Thanks a lot.

怎麼樣了？我想我只是想多問一點關於今年的定價節奏，對嗎？我的意思是，考慮到第一季的指導，成交量混合下降了一些，比如說，中個位數，只是為了將其大小調整回淨值。我的意思是，聽起來價格可能會下降 4%，也許是 3% 到 4%。但隨後對今年的評論略有下降，只是為了獲得全年同比指導，似乎第一季的價格投資可能會更多。但與此同時，回到安迪關於傳遞動力的問題，考慮到其合同，似乎並沒有大量的靈活性。那麼，您可以用什麼顏色來告訴我們您如何看待這一年的定價動態？多謝。

Yeah. Maybe I'll start with the full year. And what we're really anticipating is low single digit impact of pricing. And that's the pass-through that Steve described, where we have lower cost than some of our commodities and those types of things or true pass-throughs. So we think from a profit that will be consistent through the year. So I don't think we're seeing much difference in Q1 in terms of that low single digit. I think you'll have the broth impact and then I think you'll have some of the same consumption trends that we saw in Q4 carry into Q1, and that's really how we thought about Q1.

是的。也許我會從全年開始。我們真正期望的是定價的低個位數影響。這就是史蒂夫所描述的直通，我們的成本比我們的一些商品和那些類型的東西或真正的直通要低。因此，我們認為全年利潤將保持穩定。因此，我認為我們在第一季的低個位數方面沒有看到太大差異。我認為你會受到湯汁的影響，然後我認為你會看到我們在第四季度看到的一些相同的消費趨勢會延續到第一季度，這就是我們對第一季的看法。

Okay, got it. And then I guess just in terms of the innovation pipeline that we were able -- fortunate enough to see some of it back at your Investor Day. Clearly, it seems like retailers are very proactive in trying to remerchandise private label. Have you had certain conversations with retailers that just give you the conviction that clearly that innovation can get on the shelf and drive velocities?

好，知道了。然後我想就我們能夠的創新管道而言——很幸運能夠在投資者日看到其中的一些。顯然，零售商似乎非常積極地嘗試重新推銷自有品牌。您是否與零售商進行過某些對話，讓您確信創新顯然可以上架並推動速度？

Yeah, Rob, I mean, the reason we're so confident to guide what we've done is there is new business in pretzels, coffee, pickles. We actually have visibility into contracts that will start January of '25, right? We've got some awards that go that. That's how far out some of this stuff works.

是的，羅布，我的意思是，我們之所以如此有信心指導我們所做的事情，是因為椒鹽捲餅、咖啡和泡菜領域有新業務。我們實際上可以了解將於 25 年 1 月開始的合同，對吧？我們已經獲得了一些與此相關的獎項。這就是其中一些東西的作用範圍。

So when we saw you at the Investor Day, we were presenting those things. They are now in the pipeline, and we'll see those on the shelf over the course of this year and into next year or so. So yeah, we have great visibility into that right now.

因此，當我們在投資者日見到您時，我們正在展示這些東西。它們現在正在籌備中，我們將在今年和明年左右看到它們上架。是的，我們現在對此有很好的了解。

Now sometimes the date pushes a month or two. We've been conservative so that we won't be impacted if that happens, right? But there, Rob, the visibility is pretty good on that right now.

現在有時日期會延後一兩個月。我們一直很保守，這樣如果發生這種情況我們就不會受到影響，對嗎？但羅布，現在這方面的可見度非常好。

All right, super. And then just to sneak a quick one in. D&A guide for the year, I don't think you provided; sometimes you do. I don' t know if you have that. That's it. Thanks.

好吧，超級。然後只是為了快速地偷偷溜進去。今年的 D&A 指南，我認為你沒有提供；有時你會。我不知道你有沒有。就是這樣。謝謝。

Yeah, we can give you that offline when we announce significant changes.

是的，當我們宣布重大變更時，我們可以離線向您提供該資訊。

All right, cool. Thank you.

好吧，酷。謝謝。

William Reuter, Bank of America.

威廉·路透，美國銀行。

Hi, good morning. I have two. The first is in your non-pass-through categories, what's your outlook for input costs for the year?

早安.我有兩個。第一個是非傳遞類別，您對今年的投入成本有何展望？

Yeah, I think we continue to see relatively elevated commodity overall. And so we're not seeing significant deflation, perhaps some modest disinflation in a couple of commodities. But overall, we're seeing things that still remain relatively elevated history. And so really relatively smaller similar to last year.

是的，我認為我們繼續看到商品整體相對較高。因此，我們沒有看到嚴重的通貨緊縮，也許某些商品出現了溫和的通貨緊縮。但總的來說，我們看到的事情仍然是相對較高的歷史。所以與去年類似，確實相對較小。

Okay. And then last year, you completed a couple of acquisitions. They were -- some were modest in size, and some are a little bigger. What's your outlook for M&A in 2024 and beyond? Your leverage is clearly low after you received the proceeds from the meal prep divestiture. I guess, interest in increasing that leverage to try and expand into new categories or build out our existing ones further.

好的。去年，您完成了幾項收購。它們有的尺寸適中，有的稍大一些。您對 2024 年及以後的併購前景有何看法？在您收到膳食準備剝離的收益後，您的槓桿率顯然很低。我想，有興趣增加槓桿率，嘗試擴展到新的類別或進一步建立我們現有的類別。

Well, I think you just articulated it, right? We don't see the need given the cash flow we'll have this year to increase our leverage significantly. We think we can execute our capital allocation strategy. It will be invested in businesses to drive depth in the categories, right, make us more attractive and better operators. It will be invested in our plants so that we don't have events like what we had in the third quarter, right? It's to fortify that supply chain through CapEx and maintenance.

嗯，我想你剛才已經表達清楚了，對吧？考慮到今年我們將擁有的現金流，我們認為沒有必要大幅提高槓桿。我們認為我們可以執行我們的資本配置策略。它將投資於業務以推動類別的深度，對吧，使我們更具吸引力和更好的營運商。它將投資於我們的工廠，這樣我們就不會發生像第三季那樣的事件，對嗎？這是透過資本支出和維護來強化供應鏈。

There'll be some automation expense, right? There will be some investments to make us more efficient and let us supply labor at those places that are high value. And then it will be maintaining that balance sheet and returning capital to shareholders, right? So we really feel like the transaction and now the pay down of the note allow us to do all three of those things.

會有一些自動化費用，對嗎？將會有一些投資來提高我們的效率，讓我們在那些高價值的地方提供勞動力。然後它將維持資產負債表並將資本返還給股東，對嗎？所以我們真的覺得這筆交易和現在的票據支付使我們能夠做這三件事。

Perfect. All right. That's all for me. Thank you.

完美的。好的。這就是我的全部。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Carla Casella, JPMorgan.

（操作員指示）Carla Casella，摩根大通。

Hi. Somewhat following on Bill's question, you're sitting on a large cash balance now after recouping that debt that accrued. And I'm just wondering you're netting that out to get to your 2.1 times leverage, but do you anticipate using any more of your excess cash to pay down debt?

你好。就比爾的問題而言，在收回應計債務後，您現在擁有大量現金餘額。我只是想知道您是否正在將其淨額扣除以達到 2.1 倍的槓桿率，但您是否預計會使用更多的多餘現金來償還債務？

I think we laid out our priorities. We want to maintain the solid balance sheet. The goal is not to go -- return to the historical levels of leverage that we've had in TreeHouse. And so I think our first priority is to go invest back in the business, and so that's clearly where we see the greatest opportunity for TreeHouse. And we'll continue to do it in a very disciplined way, like you saw us do last year.

我認為我們已經列出了我們的優先事項。我們希望保持穩健的資產負債表。我們的目標不是回到 TreeHouse 的歷史槓桿水平。所以我認為我們的首要任務是重新投資業務，這顯然是我們看到 TreeHouse 最大機會的地方。我們將繼續以非常有紀律的方式來做這件事，就像你去年看到的那樣。

And so if we need to stay at relatively lower levels of leverage, we'll do that. We're not in a hurry to go spend the cash in one way or the other. And I think we'll maintain a very balanced approach across all of those.

因此，如果我們需要保持相對較低的槓桿水平，我們就會這樣做。我們並不急於以某種方式花掉這筆錢。我認為我們將在所有這些方面保持非常平衡的方法。

Carla, the other thing I would say is we're really proud of our current debt structure, right? Our 4% bonds and with the swaps, the rest of our debt is incredibly priced to the market today. And so we think that investing some of those funds in our business and returning to shareholders makes a lot of sense right now. So I think should that change, we'll look at it differently. But given the fact that overnight deposits, I think, they equal or are more than what our debt structure is there's no reason for us to pay a lot of it down in a hurry.

卡拉，我要說的另一件事是，我們對目前的債務結構感到非常自豪，對吧？我們的 4% 債券和互換，我們其餘的債務今天的市場定價令人難以置信。因此，我們認為將其中一些資金投資於我們的業務並回報股東現在很有意義。所以我認為如果這種情況發生變化，我們會以不同的方式看待它。但我認為，考慮到隔夜存款等於或超過我們的債務結構，我們沒有理由匆忙償還大量債務。

That makes complete sense. And you're still targeting your comfort level with leverage 3 to 3.5 times?

這是完全有道理的。您仍然以 3 至 3.5 倍槓桿為目標？

That's right.

這是正確的。

Okay. And then just one follow-up question on the costs. Can you give us a little bit more color in terms of how much of the lower freight impacted -- benefited the quarter? And then what are the biggest drivers within freight? Is it gas, labor, other?

好的。然後是關於成本的一個後續問題。您能否給我們更多的資訊來說明運費下降對本季的影響有多大？那麼貨運中最大的驅動力是什麼？是天然氣、勞動力還是其他？

Yeah, I think we've seen freight market somewhat stabilize. I think that's happened over the last couple of quarters. I don't know that it's -- a lot of that is on the distribution expense within our P&L. I don't know that it's the largest driver. I think our outlook is that that will continue to be consistent in terms of how we think about that, and a lot of it is shipment to our distribution centers or to our customers. So think about that --

是的，我認為我們已經看到貨運市場穩定下來。我認為過去幾個季度就發生了這種情況。我不知道其中很大一部分是在我們的損益表中的分銷費用。我不知道這是最大的驅動力。我認為我們的前景是，我們的想法將繼續保持一致，其中許多是運送到我們的配送中心或我們的客戶。所以想一想--

Yeah, and freight availability, I mean the key is as the economy slowed down a bit, freight is much more available. And so it will be interesting over time if that capacity drives carrier rates down, right? I think we've seen a little bit of that as spot rate has come down, but we'll see what happens as we go forward. The best thing is we've got great availability. We're able to be on-time in full because the carrier shows up on time. So that was not the case as you know a year or so ago, but it is the case today.

是的，還有貨運，我的意思是，關鍵是隨著經濟放緩，貨運變得更加可用。因此，隨著時間的推移，如果這種容量會降低營運商的費率，那將會很有趣，對嗎？我認為隨著即期匯率的下降，我們已經看到了一些情況，但我們將看看未來會發生什麼。最好的事情是我們有很好的可用性。我們之所以能夠準時到達，是因為承運人準時出現。所以，大約一年前並非如此，但今天卻是這樣。

Okay, that's great. And just one clarification on your EBITDA adjustment, your guidance for 2024. So with and without the $20 million impact from the broth facility disruption, will that be one -- are those $20 million of one-time items that you'll call out in EBITDA? Or is that $20 million on top of other one-time items that might be adjusted in your EBITDA?

好的，太好了。關於您的 EBITDA 調整和 2024 年指導，僅作一項澄清。那麼，無論肉湯設施中斷是否會造成 2000 萬美元的影響，這是否是您在 EBITDA 中提到的 2000 萬美元的一次性項目？或者說，這 2000 萬美元是在您的 EBITDA 中可能調整的其他一次性項目之外的嗎？

No, I would look at that slightly different. I think that the $20 million is really lost sales and profits of what we can't deliver while we do the ramp up. And so we've done the majority of the investment that we need to do in the fourth quarter. And now we're on a very disciplined ramp up of that facility and getting all of our lines up and running, and so that's really the guide. I wouldn't say that those are adjustments. We're just trying to show what the impact of that is and what does the rest of the business doing.

不，我的看法略有不同。我認為這 2000 萬美元實際上是由於我們在擴大產能時無法交付的產品而造成的銷售和利潤損失。因此，我們已經在第四季度完成了所需的大部分投資。現在，我們正在對該設施進行非常嚴格的升級，並讓我們所有的生產線都投入運行，這就是真正的指南。我不會說這些是調整。我們只是想展示這會產生什麼影響以及其他業務部門在做什麼。

Okay. Great. That's helpful. Thank you. That's all I had.

好的。偉大的。這很有幫助。謝謝。這就是我所擁有的一切。

Jon Andersen, William Blair.

喬恩·安德森，威廉·布萊爾。

Hi, good morning, everybody. On slide 5 in the presentation, there are three categories I think that you've call out is categories where you see (inaudible) or better competitive positioning since in-store bakery, liquid beverages, and tea. Just wondering if you can talk about those a little bit where you sit, with the competition, what the opportunity is, and what the action plan is to improve that? Thanks.

嗨，大家早安。在簡報的第 5 張幻燈片中，我認為您已經指出了三個類別，這些類別是您認為（聽不清楚）或自店內麵包店、液體飲料和茶以來具有更好競爭地位的類別。只是想知道您是否可以談談您所在的位置，競爭，機會是什麼，以及改善這一點的行動計劃是什麼？謝謝。

Sure. And if you would have gone back a year, you'd put -- you'd have seen coffee there, right? And so I think what we're doing is we're showing you the categories that we feel are good consumer categories. But we need that we need to make some investments to give us the kind of depth and capability to make us that preferred vendor with a customer.

當然。如果你回到一年前，你會在那裡看到咖啡，對嗎？所以我認為我們正在做的是向您展示我們認為是良好消費者類別的類別。但我們需要進行一些投資，以賦予我們一定的深度和能力，使我們成為客戶的首選供應商。

So the Northlake coffee -- we call our coffee center of excellence, but the north the Northlake coffee acquisition has had an enormous impact very, very quickly on the coffee business. We would like to do that in the tea business. Our aseptic business, we think we're doing the right thing, right? And we think we were there; we will be back there.

因此，北湖咖啡——我們稱之為咖啡卓越中心，但北湖咖啡的收購很快就對咖啡業務產生了巨大影響。我們希望在茶葉產業做到這一點。我們的無菌業務，我們認為我們正在做正確的事情，對吧？我們認為我們在那裡；我們會回到那裡。

And then if you think about things like liquid beverages, that's a very small business for us. That's our ready-to-drink, mostly coffee beverages. And we just think we're subscale there, right? We do a lot of niche producing there, but it's subscale and small. So it's those kinds of things.

如果你想想液體飲料之類的東西，這對我們來說是一個非常小的業務。那是我們的即飲飲料，主要是咖啡飲料。我們只是認為我們的規模不夠，對吧？我們在那裡做了很多利基生產，但規模較小。就是這樣的事情。

And in-store bakery, which we think is a great category, we're a cookie provider, right? So we participate. We're the largest-scale provider, but in only one category on that table when you walk in a grocery store, and you see that big in-store bakery table. So is there an opportunity for us to maybe use that connection with the customer and that infrastructure to have more placements on that table, right? It's that simple, right.

店內麵包店，我們認為這是一個很棒的類別，我們是餅乾供應商，對吧？所以我們參與。我們是規模最大的供應商，但當你走進一家雜貨店時，你會看到店內的大麵包桌，桌子上只有一個類別。那麼，我們是否有機會利用與客戶的聯繫和基礎設施來在該表上獲得更多展示位置，對嗎？就這麼簡單，對吧。

We simply make the best for us to trigger cookies on the table, but we really don't participate in the rest of it. And so we would look at capabilities, and maybe that's a foreshadowing of places where we do at least one for capabilities, whether they be build or buy.

我們只是盡最大努力觸發桌面上的cookie，但我們實際上不參與其餘的事情。因此，我們會專注於能力，也許這預示著我們至少會為能力做一項工作，無論是建造還是購買。

Okay. That's helpful. Thanks. You mentioned the three facilities that you've invested in, cookies, dough, and broth, which is, I guess, in process. Are there any other -- I don't know if I should call them -- problem plants like this that you need to do remediation work in? Or is it more routine investments you get beyond this point?

好的。這很有幫助。謝謝。你提到了你投資的三個設施，餅乾、麵團和肉湯，我想這三個設施正在進行中。還有其他——我不知道是否應該稱呼它們——像這樣的問題工廠需要進行修復工作嗎？或者超越這一點你會得到更多的常規投資？

And then just second part, on the $250 million in gross cost savings through 2027, can you just update us on the cadence of those savings if it's changed at all from what you presented at Investor Day, middle of last year? Thanks.

接下來是第二部分，關於到2027 年總成本節省2.5 億美元的問題，如果這些節省的節奏與您在去年年中投資者日上介紹的情況相比有任何變化，您能否向我們介紹一下這些節省的最新情況？謝謝。

Sure. I'll take the first, and Pat, maybe you take second one. I think -- look, we had thought that our cookie plants and our dough plants were underinvested in for a number of years. They were run incredibly hard during the COVID period when you couldn't do that kind of maintenance. And so we knew those were areas we needed to invest. We caught those last year.

當然。我選第一個，派特，也許你選第二個。我認為——看，我們曾經認為我們的餅乾工廠和麵團工廠多年來投資不足。在新冠疫情期間，它們的運作異常艱難，無法進行此類維護。所以我們知道這些是我們需要投資的領域。我們去年就抓住了這些。

We had funds planned in '24, quite frankly, for broth, and the broth plants just needed pull forward. But I feel like the autonomous maintenance work we're doing. We have invested in our engineering organization and our maintenance teams. I think our ongoing efforts will keep us from having the same kind of problems in the future.

坦白說，我們在 24 年計劃了用於肉湯的資金，而肉湯工廠只需要向前推進。但我覺得我們正在做的自主維護工作。我們投資於我們的工程組織和維護團隊。我認為我們持續的努力將使我們將來不再遇到同樣的問題。

So I think we're addressing maybe the last real risk that was in our system and, quite frankly, drag on our financials, right? Broth should be a driver. This Cambridge facility should be a driver, and that's what our goal is. It has for 10 years been a drag.

因此，我認為我們正在解決可能是我​​們系統中最後一個真正的風險，坦白說，這會拖累我們的財務狀況，對嗎？肉湯應該是一名駕駛。這個劍橋工廠應該成為一個驅動力，這就是我們的目標。10年來，這一直是個拖累。

And then regarding cost savings, so if I take TMOS first, that has the most maturity in terms of launch. And so we will enter this year with a number of projects in place. And so think of TMOS as relatively ratable over that three-year period. From a procurement, we're really pleased with the reaction and the response we're getting across our base. But that work is happening here in the first part of the year where we're renegotiating contracts. And so I would think of that as starting to ramp up into the back half of this year.

然後關於成本節約，所以如果我首先採用 TMOS，那麼它在發布方面是最成熟的。因此，今年我們將有許多項目到位。因此，TMOS 在這三年期間的評級相對較高。從採購中，我們對我們基地的反應和回應感到非常滿意。但這項工作是在今年上半年進行的，我們正在重新談判合約。因此，我認為這種情況將在今年下半年開始加速。

There's a few low-hanging fruit things that will pay off a little bit earlier but think of the bulk of the savings as happening in the second half of this year and into 2025. And then similar for logistics, we reached a major milestone in the fourth quarter where we separated our logistics network from the business that we sold in the meal prep business. And so we're going about the work now to go optimize our network. And so think of that as ramping up over the course of this year and really starting to pay off into late '24 and into '25.

有一些容易實現的目標會提前一點得到回報，但大部分節省將在今年下半年到 2025 年實現。與物流類似，我們在第四季度達到了一個重要里程碑，我們將物流網絡與我們在膳食準備業務中銷售的業務分開。因此，我們現在正在著手優化我們的網路。因此，可以認為這一點在今年會有所增加，並在 24 世紀末和 25 世紀真正開始產生回報。

I did guide, though, that given the maturity especially of TMOS and the progress on the on a procurement exercise, we have more projects in place and more run model savings in this plan. And so I think it de-risks the plan so far this year.

不過，我確實指出，考慮到 TMOS 的成熟度以及採購工作的進展，我們在該計劃中部署了更多項目，並節省了更多運行模型。因此，我認為今年到目前為止，這降低了該計劃的風險。

Okay. Thanks very much.

好的。非常感謝。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Steve Oakland for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回史蒂夫·奧克蘭發表閉幕詞。

Yes. I'd just like to thank you all for being with us today, and we look forward to sharing our progress as we go on this year. So have a great day, and we'll talk to you all soon.

是的。我只想感謝大家今天與我們在一起，我們期待分享我們今年的進展。祝您有美好的一天，我們很快就會與大家交談。

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。