Toro Co (TTC) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Toro Company fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2024 earnings conference call. My name is Marvin, and I'll be your coordinator for today. (Operator Instructions).

女士們、先生們，大家好，歡迎參加 Toro 公司 2024 財年第四季和全年收益電話會議。我叫馬文，今天我將擔任您的協調員。（操作員指令）。

I'll now turn the presentation over to your host for today's conference, Julie Kerekes, Treasurer and Senior Managing Director of Global Tax and Investor Relations. Please proceed, Ms. Kerekes.

現在，我將演講交給今天會議的主持人、財務主管兼全球稅務和投資者關係高級董事總經理 Julie Kerekes。請繼續，Kerekes 女士。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Our earnings release was issued this morning, and a copy can be found in the Investor Information section of our corporate website, thetorocompany.com. We have also posted a fourth quarter earnings presentation to supplement our earnings release, along with an updated general investor presentation.

謝謝大家，早安。我們的收益報告已於今天早上發布，您可以在我們公司網站 thetorocompany.com 的投資者資訊部分找到一份副本。我們還發布了第四季度收益報告以補充我們的收益報告，以及更新的一般投資者報告。

On our call today are Rick Olson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Angie Drake, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Jeremy Steffan, Director, Investor Relations.

今天我們電話會議的嘉賓是董事長兼執行長 Rick Olson；安吉‧德雷克 (Angie Drake)，副總裁兼財務長；以及投資者關係總監 Jeremy Steffan。

During this call, we will make forward-looking statements regarding our plans and projections for the future. Forward-looking statements are based upon our historical performance and current expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. Additional information regarding these factors can be found in today's earnings release and in our investor presentation, as well as in our SEC reports.

在本次電話會議中，我們將就未來計畫和預測做出前瞻性陳述。前瞻性陳述是基於我們的歷史績效和當前預期，並受風險、不確定性和其他因素的影響，這些因素可能導致實際結果與這些陳述所預期的結果有重大差異。有關這些因素的更多資​​訊可以在今天的收益報告和我們的投資者介紹以及我們的 SEC 報告中找到。

During today's call, we will also refer to non-GAAP financial measures which we believe are important in evaluating the company's performance. For more details on these measures, the most comparable GAAP measures and a reconciliation of the two, please refer to this morning's earnings release and our investor presentation. And I will now turn the call over to Rick.

在今天的電話會議中，我們還將參考我們認為對評估公司績效非常重要的非公認會計準則財務指標。有關這些指標、最具可比性的 GAAP 指標以及兩者對帳的更多詳細信息，請參閱今天早上的收益報告和我們的投資者介紹。現在我將電話轉給里克。

Thanks, Julie, and good morning, everyone. During fiscal 2024, we delivered net sales growth in an extremely dynamic operating environment, enhanced our best-in-class distribution network and began to successfully execute on our major productivity initiative we call AMP. And we introduced exciting new products that help our customers succeed with innovations they value.

謝謝，朱莉，大家早安。在 2024 財年，我們在極具活力的營運環境中實現了淨銷售額成長，增強了我們一流的分銷網絡，並開始成功執行我們稱為 AMP 的主要生產力計劃。我們推出了令人興奮的新產品，幫助我們的客戶透過他們重視的創新取得成功。

As we closed out the year, our market leadership position across all our businesses remain strong. Our innovative product lineup is extremely compelling, and we are confident in our ability to deliver value to our shareholders into the future.

隨著這一年接近尾聲，我們在所有業務中的市場領導地位依然強勁。我們的創新產品陣容極具吸引力，我們有信心在未來為股東創造價值。

Looking at our full year financial performance, we reported net sales of $4.58 billion, which were up about 1% over last year. This marks our 15th consecutive year of top line growth and demonstrates the strength of our balanced portfolio, as well as the disciplined execution by our talented team.

回顧我們的全年財務業績，我們報告的淨銷售額為 45.8 億美元，比去年增長了約 1%。這是我們連續第 15 年實現營收成長，證明了我們均衡的投資組合的實力，以及我們優秀團隊的嚴格執行。

We delivered exceptional net sales growth for underground construction products and golf and ground solutions. Our team substantially increased production within our manufacturing footprint as we strategically managed output to address strong end market demand and satisfy our customers. This sustained demand continues to keep order backlog elevated for these businesses.

我們的地下建築產品和高爾夫及地面解決方案的淨銷售額實現了卓越的成長。我們的團隊在製造範圍內大幅提高了產量，因為我們策略性地管理產量以滿足強勁的終端市場需求並讓客戶滿意。持續的需求使得這些企業的訂單積壓量持續居高不下。

Top line growth for the fiscal year was also exceptional in our Residential segment. This was driven by successful new product introductions that exceeded expectations, along with the strength of our mass channel, including the first 10 months of our new strategic partnership with Lowe's. This relationship is off to a fantastic start, highlighted by our respective leadership in the zero-turn mower category. We were honored to be recognized by Lowe's as Vendor of the Year for their seasonal and outdoor department.

本財年我們的住宅業務營收成長同樣十分出色。這是由於超出預期的成功推出的新產品，以及我們大眾通路的實力，包括我們與 Lowe's 建立新的策略合作夥伴關係的前 10 個月。這種合作關係開局良好，尤其體現在我們分別在零轉彎割草機領域佔據領導地位。我們很榮幸被 Lowe's 評為季節性和戶外部門的年度供應商。

The strength in these areas helped offset industry-wide dynamics affecting other parts of our portfolio. These dynamics included the post-pandemic correction and macro caution we're navigating with lawn care products in our dealer channel, as well as two consecutive seasons of below average snowfall for our snow and ice management businesses.

這些領域的優勢有助於抵消影響我們投資組合其他部分的產業動態。這些動態包括我們在經銷商通路中對草坪護理產品進行的疫情後調整和宏觀謹慎，以及我們的冰雪管理業務連續兩個季節的降雪量低於平均水平。

Turning to profitability. We delivered adjusted diluted earnings per share of $4.17 for the full year, in line with our expectations. Our margins were affected by product mix, given the outsized growth in our Residential segment and reduced shipments of higher-margin snow products. However, on a full year basis, productivity and net price benefits offset inflation, including the cost of adjusting production throughout the year as demand patterns continue to shift.

轉向盈利能力。我們全年調整後的每股攤薄收益為 4.17 美元，符合我們的預期。由於住宅部門的超額成長以及高利潤雪產品的出貨量減少，我們的利潤率受到了產品結構的影響。然而，從全年來看，生產力和淨價格效益抵消了通貨膨脹，包括隨著需求模式不斷轉變而全年調整生產的成本。

We're extremely pleased to deliver an increase of more than $300 million in free cash flow for the year. This enabled us to return nearly $400 million to shareholders, including share repurchases of about $250 million and an increase in our regular dividend payout. These actions demonstrate our confidence in our ability to generate strong free cash flow and deliver positive financial results into the future.

我們非常高興今年的自由現金流增加了 3 億多美元。這使我們能夠向股東返還近 4 億美元，其中包括約 2.5 億美元的股票回購和增加定期股息支付。這些舉措表明，我們對自己產生強勁自由現金流和未來實現積極財務業績的能力充滿信心。

Turning to the fourth quarter. Net sales increased 9.4% over last year, driven by increased output and shipments for our underground construction equipment and golf and grounds products, as expected. We also saw growth in shipments of lawn care products to our mass channel and strong dealer demand for our newly launched Exmark Lazer Z professional-grade zero-turn mowers.

展望第四季。淨銷售額較去年同期成長 9.4%，這得益於我們的地下施工設備以及高爾夫和場地產品的產量和出貨量增加，符合預期。我們也看到草坪護理產品向大眾通路的出貨量成長以及經銷商對我們新推出的 Exmark Lazer Z 專業級零轉彎割草機的強勁需求。

These new models raise the bar for reliability, cut quality and productivity and offer Exmark's exclusive Adapt technology to quickly adjust the deck rake without tools. This enables optimum performance on any turf in any conditions. As Exmark celebrates 30 years of leadership, it's no surprise that Exmark mowers are preferred 2:1 by landscape professionals over the next best-selling brand.

這些新車型提高了可靠性、切割品質和生產率的標準，並提供了 Exmark 獨有的 Adapt 技術，無需工具即可快速調整甲板耙。這使得它在任何條件下的任何草皮上都能發揮最佳性能。在 Exmark 慶祝其 30 年的領導地位之際，Exmark 割草機在園林專業人士中的受歡迎程度以 2:1 的比例位居第二暢銷品牌之列，這並不奇怪。

Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter increased 34% to $0.95. This result was in line with the outlook we shared on our third quarter call. Similar to the full year, sales mix was a margin headwind during the quarter, with more residential growth and less snow shipments than originally expected.

第四季調整後每股攤薄收益成長 34% 至 0.95 美元。這一結果與我們在第三季電話會議上分享的展望一致。與全年類似，本季的銷售組合對利潤率構成了阻力，住宅成長較多，而雪出貨量低於最初預期。

Even so, our team executed with discipline to prudently manage expenses and drive the best possible outcome. Throughout the year, we advanced our 3 enterprise strategic priorities of accelerating profitable growth, driving productivity and operational excellence and empowering people. I'll highlight examples of each.

即便如此，我們的團隊仍嚴格執行紀律，審慎管理開支並達到最佳結果。全年我們推進了三大企業策略重點：加速獲利成長、提高生產力和卓越營運、以及增強員工能力。我將重點介紹每個例子。

First, we continue to leverage innovation breakthroughs across our businesses. Innovation is the lifeblood of our company and key to driving long-term profitable growth. During the year, we introduced new products aligned with market growth trends and the productivity needs of our customers.

首先，我們繼續在整個業務中發揮創新突破的作用。創新是我們公司的命脈，也是推動長期獲利成長的關鍵。這一年，我們推出了符合市場成長趨勢和客戶生產力需求的新產品。

Some examples include the Ditch Witch W8 Warlock series vacuum excavator for underground construction, which provides maximum performance in a compact footprint. This enables underground contractors to safely and efficiently expose, install and make repairs to utility infrastructure even in congested areas.

一些例子包括用於地下施工的 Ditch Witch W8 Warlock 系列真空挖掘機，它在緊湊的空間內提供最大的性能。這使得地下承包商即使在擁擠的地區也能夠安全且有效率地暴露、安裝和修復公用設施基礎設施。

The Toro Groundsmaster e3200 fully electric out front rotary mower for golf and grounds. This machine leverages our proprietary hyperCell battery system to increase productivity with significantly quieter operation, 0 exhaust emissions and no compromise on cut quality.

Toro Groundsmaster e3200 全電動前置旋轉割草機，適用於高爾夫球場和場地。該機器利用我們專有的 hyperCell 電池系統來提高生產效率，同時顯著降低運行噪音，實現零廢氣排放，並且不影響切割品質。

And we launched new and improved zero-turn mower models across all 3 of our brands: Exmark, Toro and Spartan. We also continue to advance our autonomous solutions and are planning wider launches of residential and professional autonomous mowers in fiscal 2025.

我們在所有三個品牌（Exmark、Toro 和 Spartan）中推出了全新改良的零轉彎割草機型號。我們也將繼續改進我們的自動化解決方案，並計劃在 2025 財年更廣泛地推出家用和專業自動化割草機。

Second, our team did an outstanding job of delivering productivity gains this year in a quickly changing environment. We remain on track to deliver $100 million of annualized run rate savings by fiscal 2027 from our multiyear productivity initiative named AMP for amplifying maximum productivity. As we've discussed, we intend to prudently reinvest up to half of the savings to further accelerate innovation and long-term growth.

其次，今年我們的團隊在快速變化的環境中出色地提高了生產力。我們仍有望透過名為 AMP 的多年生產力計劃實現 1 億美元的年度運行率節約，到 2027 財年，該計劃旨在最大限度地提高生產力。正如我們所討論的，我們打算謹慎地將一半的儲蓄重新投資，以進一步加速創新和長期成長。

In its first year, our team implemented $14.5 million of annualized run rate cost savings, slightly ahead of our expectations. We also made targeted portfolio adjustments to further position the company for profitable growth, including divestitures and brand consolidations.

在第一年，我們的團隊實現了 1,450 萬美元的年化運行成本節約，略高於我們的預期。我們也進行了有針對性的投資組合調整，包括資產剝離和品牌整合，以進一步幫助公司實現獲利成長。

Earlier this month, we implemented additional adjustments to better align our organizational structure for our long-term strategic priorities. This resulted in the difficult action to reduce our workforce by approximately 300 primarily salaried employees. Obviously, this wasn't a decision we took lightly.

本月初，我們實施了額外的調整，以便更好地調整我們的組織結構，以適應我們的長期策略重點。這導致了一項艱難的舉措，即減少約 300 名主要受薪員工。顯然，我們並不是輕易做出這個決定的。

And third, we ensure our employees and channel partners were aligned and empowered to deliver superior customer care in what was once again a very dynamic operating environment. Our team remained agile and never wavered from our commitment to doing business the right way. In doing so, they successfully strengthened our market leadership in our attractive end markets.

第三，我們確保我們的員工和通路合作夥伴能夠協調一致並有權在非常動態的營運環境中提供卓越的客戶服務。我們的團隊保持敏捷，並始終堅定不移地以正確的方式開展業務。透過這樣做，他們成功地鞏固了我們在具有吸引力的終端市場的領導地位。

I'd like to reiterate the high confidence we have in our ability to capitalize on future growth opportunities while simultaneously driving profitability improvement. With that, I'll turn the call over to Angie.

我想重申，我們對自己利用未來成長機會同時提高獲利能力的能力充滿信心。說完這些，我就把電話轉給安吉。

Thank you, Rick, and good morning, everyone. We were pleased to deliver net sales growth in the quarter and for the full year. At the same time, we drove productivity and net price benefits and continue to make progress in addressing elevated order backlogs and field inventories.

謝謝你，里克，大家早安。我們很高興看到本季和全年淨銷售額實現成長。同時，我們提高了生產力和淨價格效益，並在解決訂單積壓和現場庫存增加方面繼續取得進展。

Consolidated net sales for the quarter were $1.08 billion, up 9.4% from Q4 last year. Reported EPS was $0.87 per diluted share, up from $0.67 in the fourth quarter of last year. Adjusted EPS was $0.95 per diluted share, up 34% from $0.71 a year ago. For the full year, net sales of $4.58 billion were up from $4.55 billion last year. Reported EPS was $4.01 per diluted share. This compares to $3.13 last year, which included a noncash impairment charge in our Professional segment.

本季綜合淨銷售額為 10.8 億美元，較去年第四季成長 9.4%。報告的每股收益為 0.87 美元，高於去年第四季的 0.67 美元。調整後每股收益為 0.95 美元，較去年同期的 0.71 美元成長 34%。全年淨銷售額為 45.8 億美元，高於去年的 45.5 億美元。報告每股收益為每股 4.01 美元。相比之下，去年同期為 3.13 美元，其中包括我們專業部門的非現金減損費用。

On an adjusted basis, full year EPS was $4.17 per diluted share, down slightly from $4.21, a reflection of product mix, with growth weighted to our Residential segment.

經過調整後，全年每股收益為 4.17 美元，較 4.21 美元略有下降，這反映了產品組合的變化，其中增長主要集中在住宅部門。

Now to the segment results. Professional segment net sales for the fourth quarter were $913.9 million, up 10.3% year-over-year. This increase was primarily driven by higher shipments of golf and grounds products and underground construction equipment as we address the sustained demand that has kept order backlog elevated and net price realization.

現在來看看分部結果。第四季專業部門淨銷售額為 9.139 億美元，年增 10.3%。這一增長主要得益於高爾夫和場地產品以及地下建築設備的出貨量增加，因為我們滿足了持續的需求，導致訂單積壓量高企以及淨價實現。

This was partially offset by lower shipments of compact utility loaders, as expected, given that field inventories have replenished and lower shipments of snow and ice management products, also as expected, given elevated field level heading into the season.

緊湊型多用途裝載機的出貨量下降部分抵消了這一增幅，因為現場庫存已經得到補充，這是意料之中的；此外，由於進入季節時現場庫存水平上升，冰雪管理產品的出貨量也下降，這也是意料之中的。

For the full year, Professional segment net sales decreased 3.2% to $3.56 billion and comprised 78% of total company net sales. Professional segment earnings for the fourth quarter were $169.7 million on a reported basis, up from $124.5 million last year.

全年專業部門淨銷售額下降 3.2% 至 35.6 億美元，占公司總淨銷售額的 78%。第四季專業部門獲利 1.697 億美元，高於去年的 1.245 億美元。

When expressed as a percentage of net sales, earnings for the segment were 18.6%, up from 15%. The positive change in profitability was primarily due to productivity improvements, net sales leverage, net price realization and product mix. This was partially offset by higher material and manufacturing costs.

如果以淨銷售額的百分比來表示，該部門的收益為 18.6%，高於 15%。獲利能力的正面變化主要歸功於生產力的提高、淨銷售槓桿、淨價格實現和產品組合。但材料和製造成本的上漲部分抵消了這一影響。

For the full year, Professional segment earnings were $638.9 million, up from $509.1 million in fiscal 2023. As a percentage of net sales, segment earnings were 18%, up from 13.9% last year.

全年專業部門獲利 6.389 億美元，高於 2023 財年的 5.091 億美元。分部收益佔淨銷售額的百分比為 18%，高於去年的 13.9%。

Residential segment net sales for the fourth quarter were $155.1 million, up 4.5% compared to last year. Growth in the quarter was primarily driven by higher shipments of lawn care products to our mass channel, partially offset by lower shipments of snow products and higher sales promotions. For the full year, Residential segment net sales were $998.3 million, up 16.9% from $854.2 million in fiscal 2023 and comprised 22% of total company net sales.

第四季住宅部門淨銷售額為 1.551 億美元，較去年同期成長 4.5%。本季的成長主要得益於大眾通路草坪護理產品出貨量的增加，但被雪產品出貨量的下降和促銷活動的增加部分抵消。全年住宅部門淨銷售額為 9.983 億美元，較 2023 財年的 8.542 億美元成長 16.9%，占公司總淨銷售額的 22%。

The Residential segment reported a loss of $13.8 million compared to a $4.5 million profit last year. The year-over-year decrease was largely due to higher material and freight costs, higher warranty and marketing expense and product mix. This was partially offset by productivity improvements.

住宅部門虧損 1,380 萬美元，去年則獲利 450 萬美元。年比下降主要是由於材料和運費成本上升、保固和行銷費用上升以及產品組合增加。生產率的提高部分抵消了這一影響。

As we expected, we recognized an outsized impact of higher material and freight costs in the quarter. This was due to the timing of production and shipments throughout the year. The variability was more pronounced than typical, given the unique circumstances. We prioritized being a good supplier, while at the same time, adjusting to rapidly changing demand dynamics.

正如我們預期的那樣，我們認識到本季材料和運費成本上漲產生了巨大影響。這是由於全年生產和發貨的時間安排所致。考慮到特殊的情況，這種變化比典型的情況更為明顯。我們優先考慮成為優秀的供應商，同時適應快速變化的需求動態。

For the full year, Residential segment earnings were $78.4 million, up from $68.9 million. As a percentage of net sales, segment earnings were 7.9%, compared to 8.1% last year. This was largely a reflection of product mix within the segment this year, with the reduction in snow shipments and the weighting towards entry level zero-turn mowers.

全年住宅部門獲利 7,840 萬美元，高於 6,890 萬美元。分部收益佔淨銷售額的百分比為 7.9%，去年為 8.1%。這很大程度上反映了今年該領域的產品結構，雪出貨量減少，入門級零轉彎割草機的銷量增加。

Turning to our operating results for the total company. Our reported and adjusted gross margin were 32.4% and 32.3%, respectively, for the quarter. This compares to 33.5% and 33.6%, respectively, in the same period last year. The decrease was primarily due to higher material, freight and manufacturing costs. This was partially offset by productivity improvements.

談談我們整個公司的經營業績。本季我們的報告和調整後毛利率分別為 32.4% 和 32.3%。而去年同期這一數字分別為 33.5% 和 33.6%。下降主要是由於材料、運費和製造成本上漲。生產率的提高部分抵消了這一影響。

For the full year, reported and adjusted gross margins were 33.8% and 33.9%, respectively. This compares to 34.6% and 34.7% in fiscal 2023. The change was primarily driven by higher material and manufacturing costs and product mix. This was partially offset by productivity improvements.

全年報告和調整後的毛利率分別為33.8%和33.9%。相較之下，2023 財年這一比例分別為 34.6% 和 34.7%。這項變化主要是由於材料和製造成本以及產品組合上漲所致。生產率的提高部分抵消了這一影響。

SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales for the quarter improved to 22.3% from 23.9% a year ago. The improvement was primarily driven by net sales leverage, lower incentive compensation and lower marketing costs. This was partially offset by higher warranty expense. For the full year, SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales was 22.2% compared to 21.8% last year.

本季銷售、一般及行政開支佔淨銷售額的百分比從一年前的 23.9% 改善至 22.3%。這項改善主要得益於淨銷售槓桿、較低的激勵薪酬和較低的行銷成本。但較高的保固費用部分抵銷了這項影響。全年銷售、一般及行政開支佔淨銷售額的百分比為 22.2%，去年為 21.8%。

Operating earnings as a percentage of net sales for the quarter were 10.1%, up from 9.6% in the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, operating earnings as a percentage of net sales were 10.9%, an 80 basis point improvement from the fourth quarter a year ago. For the full year, operating earnings as a percentage of net sales were 11.6%, and on an adjusted basis, were 12.2%. These both compared to 9.5% and 12.9% on a reported and adjusted basis, respectively, in fiscal 2023.

本季營業利潤佔淨銷售額的 10.1%，高於去年同期的 9.6%。經調整後，營業收入佔淨銷售額的百分比為 10.9%，比去年同期第四季提高了 80 個基點。全年營業收入佔淨銷售額的 11.6%，調整後為 12.2%。相較之下，2023 財年報告和調整後的比例分別為 9.5% 和 12.9%。

Interest expense for the quarter was $14.5 million, down from $14.9 million last year. The decrease was primarily due to lower average outstanding borrowings and lower average interest rates. Interest expense for the full year was $61.9 million, up $3.2 million. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to higher average interest rates, partially offset by lower average outstanding borrowings.

本季利息支出為 1,450 萬美元，低於去年的 1,490 萬美元。下降主要是由於平均未償還借款減少及平均利率下降。全年利息支出為 6,190 萬美元，增加 320 萬美元。同比增長主要由於平均利率上升，但平均未償還借款下降部分抵消了這一增長。

The reported and adjusted effective tax rates for the fourth quarter were 17.7% and 16.9%, respectively. These compare with 19.1% and 19.3% a year ago. The decreases were primarily due to a more favorable geographic mix of earnings this year. For the full year, the reported effective tax rate was 18.3% compared to 17.7% in fiscal 2023. The increase was primarily due to the impact of noncash impairment charges in the prior year and lower tax benefits recorded as excess tax deductions for stock compensation in the current year.

第四季報告和調整後的有效稅率分別為17.7%和16.9%。相比之下，一年前這一比例分別為 19.1% 和 19.3%。下降的主要原因是今年獲利的地域組合更有利。全年報告的有效稅率為 18.3%，而 2023 財年為 17.7%。成長的主要原因是去年非現金減損費用的影響，以及當年記錄為股票薪酬超額稅收減免的稅收優惠減少。

This was partially offset by a more favorable geographic mix of earnings this year. The adjusted effective tax rate for the full year was 18.8% compared to 20.4% a year ago. The year-over-year improvement was largely due to a more favorable geographic mix of earnings.

今年更有利的地域收益組合在一定程度上抵消了這一影響。全年調整後有效稅率為 18.8%，去年同期為 20.4%。年成長主要得益於更有利的獲利地理分佈。

Turning to our balance sheet. Accounts receivable were $459.7 million, up 12.8% from a year ago, primarily driven by increased shipments to our mass channel, as well as payment terms to that channel. This increase was expected, given the initial year of our strategic partnership with Lowe's.

轉向我們的資產負債表。應收帳款為 4.597 億美元，比去年同期成長 12.8%，主要由於我們大眾通路的出貨量增加，以及該通路的付款條件改善。考慮到我們與 Lowe's 建立策略合作夥伴關係的第一年，這一增長是意料之中的。

Inventory at the end of Q4 was $1.04 billion, down 4.5% compared to last year and slightly lower sequentially from the third quarter. The year-over-year decrease was driven by reductions in both finished goods and work in process, primarily driven by lower balances related to lawn care products. This was partially offset by higher levels of compact utility loaders, as expected.

第四季末庫存為 10.4 億美元，較去年同期下降 4.5%，較第三季季減。與去年同期相比，下降是由於成品和在製品的減少，主要是由於與草坪護理產品相關的餘額減少。正如預期，這一差距被緊湊型多用途裝載機的更高水平所部分抵消。

Accounts payable were $452.7 million, up 5.3% from last year, primarily driven by the timing of material purchases. Full year free cash flow was significantly higher year-over-year at $471 million. This reflects a conversion ratio of 112% of reported net earnings, much improved from 50% in the prior year.

應付帳款為 4.527 億美元，比去年同期成長 5.3%，主要受材料採購時間的影響。全年自由現金流較前一年大幅增加，達 4.71 億美元。這反映出報告淨收益的轉換率為 112%，較前一年的 50% 大幅提高。

Importantly, our balance sheet remains strong and provides financial flexibility. Our leverage ratio is within our stated target of 1x to 2x on a gross basis, and we continue to benefit from our investment-grade credit ratings. During the quarter, we refinanced our $600 million revolving credit facility and a $270 million term loan that were both set to expire in October of 2026.

重要的是，我們的資產負債表依然強勁並提供財務靈活性。我們的槓桿率在我們設定的 1 倍至 2 倍的總體目標範圍內，並且我們繼續受益於投資級信用評級。在本季度，我們對 6 億美元的循環信貸額度和 2.7 億美元的定期貸款進行了再融資，這兩筆貸款均將於 2026 年 10 月到期。

We replaced those facilities with a $900 million revolver and a $200 million term loan. The increased revolver size is a reflection of the substantial growth in our company since the last upsize in 2018, which was prior to the Charles Machine Works acquisition. This larger revolver also provides a mechanism to reduce future refinancing risk and easily accommodate modestly sized acquisitions.

我們用 9 億美元的循環信貸和 2 億美元的定期貸款取代了這些貸款。左輪手槍尺寸的增加反映了我們公司自 2018 年上次擴大規模（即收購 Charles Machine Works 之前）以來的大幅成長。這種規模較大的循環信貸也提供了一種降低未來再融資風險和輕鬆適應中型收購的機制。

Our disciplined approach to capital allocation remains unchanged, with our first priority to make strategic investments in our business to drive long-term profitable growth both organically and through acquisitions. We invested about $100 million in capital expenditures during fiscal 2024 and expect to invest another $100 million in fiscal 2025.

我們對資本配置的嚴謹方法保持不變，我們的首要任務是對我們的業務進行策略性投資，以透過有機成長和收購推動長期獲利成長。我們在 2024 財年投資了約 1 億美元的資本支出，並預計在 2025 財年再投資 1 億美元。

Our next priority is to return capital to shareholders, both through our regular dividend and through share repurchases. We increased our dividend $0.08 per share or 6% for fiscal 2024. And our Board just approved another 6% increase for the first quarter of fiscal 2025. This consistent increase in our regular dividend payout over time demonstrates the conviction we have in our strong and sustainable future cash flows.

我們的下一個任務是透過定期股利和股票回購向股東返還資本。我們將 2024 財年的股利提高至每股 0.08 美元，即 6%。我們的董事會剛剛批准將 2025 財年第一季的薪資再增加 6%。我們的定期股息支付額隨著時間的推移持續增加，顯示我們對未來強勁且可持續的現金流充滿信心。

With respect to share repurchases, we continue to fund buybacks with excess free cash flow while maintaining our leverage goals. We invested nearly $250 million in fiscal 2024 to repurchase about 2.8 million shares, while also paying off our outstanding revolver borrowings and $70 million of term loan.

對於股票回購，我們將繼續利用過剩的自由現金流為回購提供資金，同時保持我們的槓桿目標。我們在 2024 財年投資了近 2.5 億美元，回購了約 280 萬股，同時也償還了未償還的循環借款和 7,000 萬美元的定期貸款。

We plan to continue repurchasing shares in fiscal 2025, a reflection of our strong conviction and future profitable growth opportunities. In addition to the dividend increase, our Board authorized an additional 4 million shares under our repurchase program, putting the total authorization at just over 8 million shares heading into the new fiscal year.

我們計劃在 2025 財年繼續回購股票，這反映了我們的堅定信念和未來獲利成長機會。除了增加股利外，董事會還根據回購計畫批准額外回購 400 萬股股票，使得新財年的總授權數量略高於 800 萬股。

Before I provide details on our fiscal 2025 outlook, I want to take a few moments to address three topics that have been top of mind for investors. First, order backlog, which is our open order book at a point in time. We ended the year with a backlog of about $1.2 billion. This has improved from about $2 billion a year ago, but still elevated over what we would consider a normal range.

在詳細介紹我們的 2025 財年展望之前，我想花一點時間來討論投資者最關注的三個主題。首先，訂單積壓，這是我們在某個時間點的未結訂單。截至年底，我們的積壓訂單量約為 12 億美元。這一數字較一年前的約 20 億美元有所改善，但仍高於我們認為的正常範圍。

The elevation is attributable to 2 areas of our business: underground construction and golf and grounds. We continue to expect backlog will be close to normal by the end of fiscal 2025. Importantly, we expect the sustained strength in these businesses will help avoid a significant gap as demand and supply normalizes. We also expect [the old] inventories of our lawn care and snow products to normalize, which should provide some offset.

業務的成長歸因於我們業務的兩個領域：地下建築以及高爾夫和場地。我們繼續預計到 2025 財年末積壓訂單將接近正常水準。重要的是，我們預計這些業務的持續強勁將有助於避免在供需正常化時出現重大缺口。我們還預計，草坪護理和雪產品的舊庫存將恢復正常，這應該會提供一些補償。

Second, field inventory. Field levels remain higher than ideal for our lawn care and snow businesses and much lower than ideal for underground construction equipment. For lawn care products, we still have a little work to get back to normal, similar to where we were at the end of last quarter. Importantly, we made significant progress in reducing dealer field inventories of lawn care products during fiscal 2024, driven by lower shipments, coupled with retail sales growth that outpaced industry averages.

二是現場清查。對於我們的草坪護理和除雪業務來說，場地水平仍然高於理想水平，而對於地下施工設備來說，場地水平則遠低於理想水平。對於草坪護理產品，我們還需要做一些工作才能恢復正常，類似於上個季度末的狀況。重要的是，由於出貨量下降，加上零售額增長超過行業平均水平，我們在 2024 財年在減少草坪護理產品經銷商現場庫存方面取得了重大進展。

This outperformance and sell-through demonstrates the strength of our brands and market share and our attractive positioning as homeowner markets eventually rebalance. We expect to enter the upcoming turf season as well as the snow preseason in the second half of fiscal 2025 in a much better field position compared to fiscal 2024.

這種優異的表現和銷售量證明了我們的品牌和市場份額的實力，以及我們在房主市場最終重新平衡時具有吸引力的地位。我們預計，在 2025 財年下半年，我們將迎來即將到來的草坪賽季以及雪季前賽，與 2024 財年相比，我們的賽場狀況會好得多。

Third, I would like to comment on inventory financing. In our industry, inventory floor plan financing programs are the standard. From our dealer or distributor perspective, the financing operates the same, whether it is through Red Iron or another financial institution. From our perspective, the JV structure allows us to recoup a portion of the floor planning costs we pay as the OEM, which is a positive for us.

第三，我想談談庫存融資。在我們的行業中，庫存平面圖融資計劃是標準。從我們的經銷商或經銷商的角度來看，融資運作方式相同，無論是透過 Red Iron 或其他金融機構。從我們的角度來看，合資結構使我們能夠收回作為 OEM 支付的部分平面規劃成本，這對我們來說是有利的。

In terms of Red Iron receivables, the balances move around seasonally as expected, given the retail flow also follow seasonal patterns. With this, our Red Iron DSO ticked up slightly sequentially from Q3 as is typical, given the normal flow. However, compared to the fourth quarter of last year, we saw a slight improvement after adjusting for the onboarding of new acquisition balances.

就 Red Iron 應收帳款而言，由於零售流量也遵循季節性模式，因此餘額也會按預期隨季節變化。因此，考慮到正常流量，我們的 Red Iron DSO 從第三季開始按季度略有上升，這是正常現象。然而，與去年第四季相比，我們在調整了新收購餘額後看到了略微的改善。

Importantly, our network of dealers and distributors remains financially sound. One data point to consider is the amount of repurchases we were required to make during fiscal 2024, which was immaterial as usual given the strength of our channel and brands.

重要的是，我們的經銷商和經銷商網路仍然財務穩健。需要考慮的一個數據點是我們在 2024 財年需要進行的回購金額，考慮到我們通路和品牌的實力，這一金額通常並不重要。

Now moving to our fiscal 2025 outlook. With the backdrop I just provided and based on our current visibility, we expect total company net sales growth in a range of 0% to 1% for the full year. This assumes continued strong demand and stable supply for our businesses with elevated backlog, a continuation of the macro caution we have seen in markets connected to homeowners and weather patterns aligned with historical averages. It also considers the additional adjustments needed to normalized field levels of lawn care and snow products.

現在轉向我們的 2025 財年展望。根據我剛才提供的背景和我們目前的狀況，我們預計全年公司淨銷售額成長率將在 0% 至 1% 之間。這意味著我們的業務需求持續強勁、供應穩定、積壓訂單增加、與房主相關的市場持續保持宏觀謹慎、天氣模式與歷史平均值一致。它還考慮了對草坪護理和雪產品的標準化現場水平所需的額外調整。

For the Professional segment, we expect full year net sales to be up low single digits. For the Residential segment, we expect net sales to be down high single digits, which considers the continued rebalancing of our mass partners, as well as the full year impact of last year's top divestitures.

對於專業業務領域，我們預計全年淨銷售額將成長個位數。對於住宅部門，我們預計淨銷售額將下降高個位數，這考慮到我們大眾合作夥伴的持續重新平衡，以及去年最大資產剝離對全年的影響。

Looking at profitability. For the full year, we expect improvement in both adjusted gross margin and adjusted operating earnings as a percentage of net sales. We also expect both the Residential and Professional segment earnings margins to be higher than last year. With this backdrop, we anticipate full year adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $4.25 to $4.40.

從盈利能力來看。就全年而言，我們預計調整後的毛利率和調整後的營業利潤佔淨銷售額的百分比都將有所改善。我們也預期住宅和專業部門的獲利利潤率都將高於去年。在此背景下，我們預計全年調整後攤薄每股收益將在 4.25 美元至 4.40 美元之間。

Additionally, for the full year, we expect depreciation and amortization of about $125 million to $135 million, interest expense of about $54 million, an adjusted effective tax rate of about 20% and a free cash flow conversion rate of about 100% of reported net income.

此外，我們預計全年折舊和攤銷約為 1.25 億美元至 1.35 億美元，利息支出約為 5,400 萬美元，調整後有效稅率約為 20%，自由現金流轉換率約為報告淨收入的 100%。

Turning to the first quarter of fiscal 2025. We anticipate total company net sales to be similar year-over-year. We expect Professional segment net sales to be up low single digits and Residential net sales to be down mid-single digits compared to the same period last year.

展望2025財年第一季。我們預計公司淨銷售額總額將與去年同期持平。我們預計，與去年同期相比，專業部門淨銷售額將成長低個位數，而住宅部門淨銷售額將下降中個位數。

Looking at profitability. For the first quarter, we expect total company adjusted operating margin to be slightly lower year-over-year. We expect the Professional segment earnings margin to be similar to slightly higher than the same period last year and the Residential segment earnings margin to be slightly lower. Overall, we expect our first quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted diluted EPS to be slightly lower year-over-year.

從盈利能力來看。對於第一季度，我們預計公司調整後的整體營業利潤率將比去年同期略有下降。我們預計專業部門的獲利利潤率將與去年同期相似或略高，而住宅部門的獲利利潤率將略低。整體而言，我們預計 2025 財年第一季調整後稀釋每股盈餘將比去年同期略有下降。

We continue to build our business for long-term profitable growth and are excited about the momentum we are seeing with AMP. As our current [Drive for 5] employee initiative sunsets, we are introducing our next initiative called AMP It Up.

我們將繼續打造我們的業務以實現長期盈利增長，並對 AMP 的發展勢頭感到興奮。隨著我們目前的 [Drive for 5] 員工計劃結束，我們將推出下一個計劃，名為 AMP It Up。

This new initiative will align and incent all employees to drive productivity and profitability, with a goal to achieve a total company adjusted operating earnings margin of at least 14% by full year fiscal 2026. We are confident in our ability to drive productivity gains and profitability improvement across the enterprise. With that, I'll turn the call back to Rick.

這項新措施將協調並激勵所有員工提高生產力和獲利能力，目標是到 2026 財年全年實現公司調整後營業利潤率至少達到 14%。我們有信心提高整個企業的生產力和獲利能力。說完這些，我就把電話轉回給瑞克。

Thank you, Angie. We entered the new fiscal year with confidence and optimism. In an environment that has included industry-wide headwinds in some of our markets for the past few years, we've improved our operational capabilities and invested in innovation to position the company for long-term growth.

謝謝你，安吉。我們滿懷信心和樂觀地進入了新的財政年度。過去幾年，我們的部分市場面臨全行業逆風的局面，但我們提升了營運能力，並投資於創新，為公司的長期成長做好準備。

Importantly, our business fundamentals and market leadership remain strong. Looking ahead, we are keeping a close eye on macro factors, including the economy, consumer and business confidence and the geopolitical environment. We're closely monitoring the benefits and risks of any potential policy changes under the new administration and are prepared to take actions as appropriate.

重要的是，我們的業務基礎和市場領導地位依然強勁。展望未來，我們密切關注宏觀因素，包括經濟、消費者和商業信心以及地緣政治環境。我們正在密切關注新政府下任何潛在政策變化的利益和風險，並準備採取適當的行動。

I'll now comment on the demand dynamics in our specific markets. For underground construction, we expect demand to remain strong, supported by both public and private multiyear spending. We have visibility into the compelling runway of projects to address global infrastructure needs, including communications, utilities and data centers. Infrastructure spending remains a positive outlier in the broader construction industry, with consistent growth projected for the foreseeable future.

我現在將評論我們特定市場的需求動態。對於地下建築，我們預計需求將保持強勁，並受到公共和私人多年支出的支持。我們對滿足全球基礎設施需求（包括通訊、公用事業和資料中心）的一系列專案有著深入的了解。基礎設施支出在更廣泛的建築業中仍然是一個積極的異常值，預計在可預見的未來將保持持續成長。

For specialty construction, which includes our Toro Dingo and Ditch Witch SK lines of compact utility loaders, field levels have been replenished across the industry. For the rental market, which is a meaningful part of specialty construction, expectations are for a return to mid-single-digit growth next year following 3 years of double-digit growth. Next month's American Rental Association Show should provide some initial visibility into 2025's order patterns. We'll be watching this, along with demand trends in construction and landscape markets, where we expect some macro caution for homeowner projects.

對於專業建築工程而言，包括我們的 Toro Dingo 和 Ditch Witch SK 系列緊湊型多用途裝載機，整個行業的現場水平已經得到補充。對於作為專業建築的重要組成部分的租賃市場而言，預計在連續三年實現兩位數增長之後，明年將恢復到中等個位數增長。下個月的美國租賃協會展會應該會為 2025 年的訂單模式提供一些初步的了解。我們將密切關注這一點，同時關注建築和景觀市場的需求趨勢，我們預計房主專案將在宏觀上保持謹慎。

For golf and grounds, grounds played and new golfer data reinforce that the industry has sustained momentum worldwide. This, in turn, reinforces the durability of demand. We expect continued emphasis on equipment and irrigation investments for existing courses, as well as demand driven by new course development.

對於高爾夫和場地而言，打過球的場地和新高爾夫球手的數據進一步證明該行業在全球範圍內持續保持發展勢頭。這反過來又增強了需求的持久性。我們預計，我們將繼續重視對現有球場的設備和灌溉投資，以及新球場開發所推動的需求。

For lawn care solutions, starting with landscape contractors, we expect stable retail demand, driven by regular replacement activity with some pockets of price sensitivity given the interest rate environment and field inventory that remains elevated in the industry.

對於草坪護理解決方案，從景觀承包商開始，我們預計零售需求穩定，受定期更換活動的推動，鑑於利率環境和行業內仍然較高的現場庫存，一些領域存在價格敏感性。

For homeowners, we expect the caution we have seen in these markets to continue into 2025. We will be watching how macro factors and interest rates affect consumer spending patterns over and above regular replacement needs. And certainly, favorable turf growing conditions would be beneficial.

對於房主來說，我們預計這些市場中看到的謹慎態度將持續到 2025 年。我們將關注宏觀因素和利率如何影響除常規替代需求之外的消費者支出模式。當然，良好的草皮生長條件是有益的。

For snow and ice management, contractor budgets are in good shape following a better turf growing season. If more normal snowfall patterns return in fiscal 2025, we would expect in-season retail to pick up for both contractors and homeowners. So far, the weather patterns appear to be tracking more favorable than last year, but it's still early in the season.

對於冰雪管理而言，隨著草皮生長季節的到來，承包商的預算狀況良好。如果 2025 財年恢復更正常的降雪模式，我們預期承包商和房主的季節性零售業將會回升。到目前為止，天氣狀況似乎比去年更有利，但現在仍處於季節初期。

For residential and commercial irrigation and lighting, we expect the outlook for commercial projects to be solid and outpace demand for homeowner projects. For homeowners, we expect continued caution, at least in the near term. And finally, for agricultural micro irrigation, we expect similar conditions to last year, with generally stable demand from growers.

對於住宅和商業灌溉和照明，我們預計商業項目的前景穩健且超過房主項目的需求。對於房主來說，我們預計至少在短期內他們會繼續保持謹慎。最後，對於農業微灌溉，我們預期情況與去年類似，種植者的需求整體穩定。

For all of our irrigation businesses, we are committed to designing end-to-end solutions that address the worldwide need for efficient water use. For example, our Aqua-Traxx Azul drip tape lineup for micro irrigation offers unmatched precision, enabling growers to maximize crop yield with the least amount of water.

對於我們所有的灌溉業務，我們致力於設計端到端的解決方案，以滿足全球高效用水的需求。例如，我們的用於微灌溉的 Aqua-Traxx Azul 滴灌帶系列提供無與倫比的精度，使種植者能夠用最少的水來最大限度地提高作物產量。

We're also focused on automation that helps our customers stay connected so they can easily manage and improve outcomes from any location. This includes our Toro Lynx and Toro DXi central control systems for golf and commercial applications, as well as our Tempus Ag automation system for agricultural use.

我們也專注於自動化，幫助我們的客戶保持聯繫，以便他們可以輕鬆地從任何位置管理和改善結果。其中包括用於高爾夫和商業應用的 Toro Lynx 和 Toro DXi 中央控制系統，以及用於農業的 Tempus Ag 自動化系統。

Before we take questions, I'd like to reiterate why we're so excited about the future and what we see is the greatest growth opportunities ahead. First, we are excited about the underground construction business, which has extremely compelling near- and long-term prospects driven by strong global trends.

在我們回答問題之前，我想重申我們為什麼對未來如此興奮，以及我們看到的未來​​最大的成長機會。首先，我們對地下建築業務感到興奮，在強勁的全球趨勢的推動下，該業務具有極其引人注目的近期和長期前景。

There is rapidly growing demand for data communication infrastructure and energy grid modernization, as well as a global focus on replacing aging infrastructure. Importantly, we are very well positioned as a worldwide leader with the most innovative, comprehensive equipment and brand lineup in the industry, as well as a best-in-class channel and deep relationships.

數據通訊基礎設施和電網現代化的需求正在迅速增長，全球也開始關注更換老化的基礎設施。重要的是，我們作為全球領導者，擁有業內最具創新性、最全面的設備和品牌陣容，以及一流的管道和深厚的關係。

Second, our golf business is also exciting due to the winning combination of positive long-term market fundamentals, coupled with our strong market leadership. Like underground construction, we have deep relationships and a comprehensive lineup of industry-leading innovative products and solutions. And we have a distinct competitive advantage as the only company to offer both equipment and irrigation solutions for this market and as the worldwide market leader in both.

其次，我們的高爾夫業務也令人興奮，這得益於長期積極的市場基本面與我們強大的市場領導地位的成功結合。與地下工程一樣，我們擁有深厚的關係以及全面的行業領先創新產品和解決方案。作為唯一一家同時為該市場提供設備和灌溉解決方案的公司，也是這兩方面的全球市場領導者，我們擁有獨特的競爭優勢。

Third, we continue to strengthen our multi-brand leadership in the important zero-turn mower space. This represents the largest single lawn care category for both our Professional and Residential segments. We've enhanced our market leadership position through investments in our innovative product lineup and the strategic development of our independent dealer networks and mass partnerships. We're positioned extremely well for further growth, especially as these markets return to normal strength.

第三，我們持續加強在重要的零轉彎割草機領域的多品牌領導地位。這是我們專業領域和住宅領域最大的單一草坪護理類別。我們透過對創新產品陣容的投資以及對獨立經銷商網路和大眾合作夥伴關係的策略發展，增強了我們的市場領導地位。我們已為進一步的成長做好了充分準備，特別是當這些市場恢復正常實力的時候。

Fourth, we have a proven ability to leverage our technology and innovation investments across our broad portfolio. This enables the accelerated development of new products that help our customers drive productivity and superior results while enhancing the Toro Company's competitive advantage and ensuring market leadership into the future.

第四，我們已經證明有能力利用我們廣泛的產品組合中的技術和創新投資。這使我們能夠加速新產品的開發，幫助我們的客戶提高生產力和卓越的成果，同時增強 Toro 公司的競爭優勢並確保未來的市場領導地位。

We are excited about the upcoming retail launches of autonomous products across our portfolio, including residential, commercial and golf applications. This includes our Toro Haven robotic mower, Exmark Turf Tracer with XiQ technology and GeoLink Solutions autonomous fairway mower.

我們對即將在零售市場推出的整個產品組合中的自動化產品感到非常興奮，其中包括住宅、商業和高爾夫應用。其中包括我們的 Toro Haven 機器人割草機、採用 XiQ 技術的 Exmark Turf Tracer 和 GeoLink Solutions 自動球道割草機。

We will continue to drive return on innovation with prioritized investments, including the key technology areas of alternative power, smart connected and autonomous solutions. And finally, it comes down to our disciplined execution and consistent financial performance.

我們將繼續透過優先投資來推動創新回報，包括替代能源、智慧互聯和自動駕駛解決方案等關鍵技術領域。最後，這一切都歸功於我們嚴格的執行和穩定的財務表現。

We've reported 15 consecutive years of top line growth. We've built a strong and agile organization that has been resilient through many macro cycles. We have a talented team that is determined to capitalize on all of our opportunities. And we have the best network of strategically aligned channel partners focused on going above and beyond to serve our customers every day. All of this positions us extremely well to drive value for our customers, our channel partners and our shareholders in both the near and long term. With that, we will open up the call for questions.

我們已經連續15年實現營收成長。我們已經建立了一個強大而敏捷的組織，在多個宏觀週期中具有良好的彈性。我們擁有一支才華橫溢的團隊，他們決心利用我們的所有機會。我們擁有最好的策略一致管道合作夥伴網絡，致力於每天為客戶提供超越期望的服務。所有這些都使我們能夠在短期和長期內為客戶、通路合作夥伴和股東創造價值。現在，我們將開始提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Eric Bosshard, Cleveland Research Company.

艾瑞克‧博薩德（Eric Bosshard），克里夫蘭研究公司。

Two things. I guess, first of all, the Residential profit contraction in the quarter was a little different than, I guess, what many 4Qs have looked like. Anything unique or any way you could help us better understand the Residential profit performance in the quarter?

兩件事。我想，首先，本季住宅利潤收縮與許多第四季的情況略有不同。您有什麼獨特之處或方法可以幫助我們更了解本季住宅利潤表現嗎？

Good morning, Eric. Yes, I'll take this one. So we anticipated a tougher quarter in Q4 for Residential. We had less volume as usual, and mix also played a role with that with snow and more entry-level zero-turn mowers. We also have focus on being a good supplier, which we mentioned in our prepared remarks, and that drove some increased freight, some manufacturing efficiencies and some additional programming as well. Overall, just a reminder, if you look at the full year, we're at about 8% operating margin -- or Residential margin for the year.

早安，埃里克。是的，我要這個。因此，我們預計第四季度住宅市場將會更加艱難。我們的產量像往常一樣少，而且由於下雪和更多入門級零轉彎割草機，混合天氣也發揮了一定作用。我們也致力於成為一個優秀的供應商，這一點我們在準備好的評論中提到過，這也推動了貨運量的增加、製造效率的提高以及一些額外的編程。總的來說，提醒一下，如果看全年，我們的營業利潤率或全年住宅利潤率約為 8%。

Okay. And then, Rick, I thought it was helpful to hear a lot of tailwinds that you see within the business as we move forward. I guess the question is, 90 days ago, I think the expectation was Pro up 15%, and it was up 10% in the quarter. And I know there was talk of 5% or perhaps a path to 5% growth in '25, and now it's 0 to 1. And so I guess my question is, with the tailwinds certainly intact, like, what's different in terms of the revenue performance in Pro in the quarter and the total outlook in '25?

好的。然後，里克，我認為聽到你在我們前進的過程中看到的許多業務順風是有幫助的。我想問題是，90 天前，我認為預期 Pro 會上漲 15%，而本季上漲了 10%。我知道 1925 年曾有人談論過 5% 的成長率，或者可能是 5% 的成長路徑，但現在卻是 0 到 1。所以我想我的問題是，在順風勢頭完好的情況下，Pro 本季的營收表現和 25 年的整體前景有何不同？

Yes. I think if you -- first of all, good to hear from you, Eric. If you look at the Pro business, if you look at just in general, our outlook for next year, it does reflect a little bit of the caution that we saw and started to talk about in the third quarter, particularly with those -- the homeowners that are buying the professional products from the landscape contractor side. So that's part of what continues into next year as well. We have yet to see how that plays out, along with other factors.

是的。我想如果您—首先，很高興收到您的來信，艾瑞克。如果您看一下專業業務，如果您僅從總體上看，我們對明年的展望確實反映了我們在第三季度看到並開始談論的一點謹慎，特別是對於那些從景觀承包商那裡購買專業產品的房主。所以這也是明年將繼續發生的事情的一部分。我們尚未看到其與其他因素共同發揮作用的結果。

And then keep in mind, snow has -- we're off to an okay start, I guess, for the season, but that's factored in as well. We do see, obviously, continued strength in Pro from the major areas where we've had backlog, the underground construction and golf and grounds, which are in extremely healthy conditions. So it's really these other factors.

然後請記住，雪已經下了——我想，對於這個季節來說，我們有一個不錯的開始，但這也是考慮因素。顯然，我們確實看到 Pro 的持續強勁發展，從我們積壓的主要領域來看，地下建築、高爾夫球場和場地都處於極其健康的狀況。所以這其實是其他因素。

CULs were off a little bit, and we see some adjustments taking place in that as we get into the first part of the year. But we're well positioned in our markets from a leadership standpoint and well positioned for the future for Professional growth. I think it just reflects the caution that we talked about in the third quarter.

CUL 略有下降，隨著我們進入今年上半年，我們看到一些調整正在發生。但從領導的角度來看，我們在市場上佔據有利地位，並且為未來的專業發展做好了準備。我認為這只是反映了我們在第三季談到的謹慎。

Mike Shlisky, D.A. Davidson and Company.

施利斯基（Mike Shlisky），地區檢察官戴維森公司。

Can I get a little more detail on the AMP It Up initiative that you mentioned, Rick? Looking at your slides here, it's got a nice looking logo. I guess I'm curious how it differs from the original AMP program that you've got here, I guess, is it an amped up version of what you're already doing? And a little bit more about what's involved? Does it involved taking more employee suggestions and [word in] for it? Or are there other things we should be thinking about here?

瑞克，我能否進一步了解你提到的 AMP It Up 計畫？看看你這裡的幻燈片，它有一個很漂亮的標誌。我想我很好奇它與您這裡的原始 AMP 程式有何不同，我想，它是您正在做的增強版嗎？還有更多牽涉的內容嗎？它是否涉及採納更多員工的建議並付諸實行？或者我們還應該考慮其他事情？

Well, first of all, I'll let Angie talk about this. She's actually -- our sponsor of AMP, and AMP It Up is really an extension of our AMP initiative. If it's -- if you recall, Mike, you've got a lot of history with us, so you understand some of the employee initiatives that have been really central to focusing our employee base on what's really critical.

好吧，首先，我讓安吉來談論這個問題。實際上，她是我們的 AMP 贊助商，AMP It Up 實際上是我們 AMP 計劃的延伸。如果是 — — 如果你還記得的話，麥克，你和我們有很多合作歷史，所以你了解一些員工計劃，這些計劃對於讓我們的員工專注於真正關鍵的事情至關重要。

In this case, we're really compounding the emphasis on our AMP initiative, amplifying maximum productivity by really focusing our entire employee base on productivity, cost improvements, efficiency, lean factors, et cetera. And with that, Angie? Does that kind of cover?

在這種情況下，我們真正加大了對 AMP 計畫的重視，透過真正讓全體員工專注於生產力、成本改進、效率、精實因素等來提高最大生產力。那還有安吉嗎？有這種掩護嗎？

Yes, that covers it really well. This year, it's going to be -- or this time, it's going to be a 2-year employee initiative. And just a reminder, it's our internal goal, it's not guidance, but -- it will be a profitability focus, like you mentioned, Mike, with all employees being focused on profitability. So really aligns with that productivity initiative that Rick mentioned and for all of us to go look for ways to become more profitable.

是的，這確實涵蓋得很好。今年，或者說這次，這將是一項為期兩年的員工計畫。提醒一下，這是我們的內部目標，不是指導，而是——它將以盈利為重點，就像你提到的，麥克，所有員工都將專注於盈利能力。因此，這確實與 Rick 提到的生產力計劃相一致，並且我們所有人都在尋找提高盈利能力的方法。

Okay. Fair enough. I also want to ask about your autonomous products that you've mentioned a few times in your comments, Rick. It sounds like it's going to be a bit of a larger launch than maybe previous tests have been, so this is a real retail launch here.

好的。很公平。我還想問你在評論中多次提到的自主產品，里克。聽起來這次的發表會比以前的測試要大一些，所以這是一次真正的零售發表會。

Any thoughts as to what the penetration might be after the first year, maybe secondly, after the 50 -- like, what's the curve you expect to see here given the prior kind of where it delivers? It might differ by the Residential versus the Professional group? Just kind of thoughts as to what that might mean mix-wise and margin-wise over some period of time would be appreciated.

您認為第一年後的滲透率會是多少？住宅組和專業組之間可能會有所不同嗎？如果您能思考這對一段時間內的混合和邊際意味著什麼，我們將不勝感激。

Yes, you are correct. This is a pretty significant launch across three areas. So that includes both our golf -- it includes our golf business, the commercial equipment with the Turf Tracer and the Haven on the consumer side, of the homeowner side. If you look at penetration, we don't have specific numbers that we're talking about at this time, but the penetration would be higher in the kind of the order that I gave them. So higher penetration in golf and the commercial applications.

是的，你說得對。這是一次涉及三個領域的相當重要的發布。所以這包括我們的高爾夫業務，包括消費者方面的 Turf Tracer 和 Haven 等商業設備，以及房主方面的設備。如果你看一下滲透率，我們目前還沒有具體的數字，但按照我給的順序，滲透率會更高。因此在高爾夫和商業應用方面的滲透率更高。

The residential businesses are already a very competitive business from a robotics standpoint. So just by nature, there are a lot more players there. But this is really the fruits of the labors of many people and the investments that we've made through the years. These are really astonishing technology, if you have a chance to see it operate, see these machines operate, and it's really an indicator of more to come.

從機器人的角度來看，住宅業務已經是一個競爭非常激烈的行業。因此從本質上來說，那裡有更多的玩家。但這其實是許多人的勞動和我們多年來的投資的成果。這些都是非常令人驚嘆的技術，如果你有機會看到它的運作，看到這些機器的運轉，這真的預示著更多的技術將會到來。

I would just add, Mike, it's probably the reason why you're asking the question, but the timing could not be better as our customers are extremely concerned about labor availability as we go forward. So there's more interest than ever. So there's been a lot of work that have gone into these products and this technology and the timing of introducing could not be better.

我想補充一點，麥克，這可能是你問這個問題的原因，但現在的時機再好不過了，因為我們的客戶非常關心我們未來的勞動力供應問題。因此人們的興趣比以前任何時候都大。我們為這些產品和這項技術投入了大量精力，推出的時機也非常好。

Exciting, Rick. Thanks so much for the discussion. I'll hop back in the queue.

令人興奮，里克。非常感謝您的討論。我將重新回到隊列中。

Thanks, Mike.

謝謝，麥克。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

David MacGregor, Longbow Research.

麥格雷戈（David MacGregor），長弓研究公司（Longbow Research）。

I guess I wanted to start on the Residential business and stronger-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter, but first quarter guide is down mid-single digits. Can you just discuss the extent to which fourth quarter programming promotions may have pulled forward unit volume from first half '25?

我想從住宅業務和第四季強於預期的成長開始，但第一季的指引下降了中等個位數。您能否討論一下第四季度的節目促銷活動對 25 年上半年的單位銷售的影響程度？

Yes. Good to talk to you, David. And really, if you look at the first quarter guide, it's really consistent with what I mentioned before. It really reflects what we talked about in the third quarter. More caution from our homeowners as we head into this year, the lower snow even relative to last year.

是的。很高興與您交談，大衛。事實上，如果你看一下第一季的指南，它與我之前提到的確實一致。這確實反映了我們在第三季所談論的內容。今年，我們的房主要更加謹慎，因為與去年相比，降雪量甚至更少。

And as we -- consistent with our commentary previously, the channel has a lot of snow product in it right now. So we even now, we're getting a little bit of snow happening. It's drawing down that field inventory, and it creates more of an opportunity for the second half for us. So that's -- the snow itself is a headwind, and those will be part of the snow story as we get into the second half of the year.

與我們之前的評論一致，該頻道現在有很多雪產品。所以現在，我們這裡還會下一點雪。這減少了現場庫存，為我們下半年創造了更多機會。所以，降雪本身就是一種逆風，而這些將成為我們進入下半年降雪故事的一部分。

Yes, those are probably some of the bigger factors than -- if you look at -- if you do look at our forward projections on residential, we would be taking out the pulp divestiture that becomes part of it. And bottom line, the positive side is, what's driving our business there is a great product lineup with the investments that we've made in that area.

是的，這些可能是一些更大的因素——如果你看一下——如果你看一下我們對住宅的前瞻性預測，我們將會取消其中的紙漿資產剝離。最主要的是，積極的一面是，推動我們業務發展的是我們在該領域的投資以及出色的產品陣容。

So any caution that you see there just reflects what we talked about in the third quarter. It's still kind of the off-season for the spring product. So we'll really see how that flows and the macro factors that were there, if there's improvements in those.

因此，您看到的任何謹慎都只是反映了我們在第三季所談論的內容。現在仍然是春季產品的淡季。因此，我們將真正觀察其流程和存在的宏觀因素，以及這些因素是否有所改善。

Right. So I have a follow-up question, but I just want to clarify here. So you're saying that pull forward was not an issue here in terms of strength in 4Q versus the weakness in 1Q?

正確的。所以我有一個後續問題，但我只是想在這裡澄清一下。所以您是說，從第四季的強勁表現和第一季的疲軟表現來看，提前拉動不是問題嗎？

Nothing unusual for us with regard to pull forward. It's an atmosphere right now. There is a lot of industry-wide promotion. The independent factors that we can see are actually in a better -- significantly better field position than our competitors.

對我們來說，向前推進沒有什麼不尋常的。這就是現在的氛圍。全行業範圍內有大量推廣活動。我們所能看到的獨立因素實際上比我們的競爭對手處於更好的——明顯更好的領域地位。

You also can get -- there are factors, for example, new product introductions. Our Exmark team introduced a new Lazer platform. I think we mentioned in our prepared remarks. Those have entered the market. So there are a lot of factors, but we don't have any discomfort about pull forward in the fourth quarter.

您還可以獲得—例如新產品介紹等因素。我們的 Exmark 團隊推出了一個新的 Lazer 平台。我想我們在準備好的發言中提到過。這些已經進入市場了。因此，有許多因素，但我們對於第四季的提前到來並沒有任何不適。

Okay. And then my follow-up question is just with regard to the 2025 guidance. And you've talked about net sales growth relatively flat, maybe up 1%. But you've got your margins -- adjusted gross margins up and not slightly. I mean there's no word slightly in there. So you feel like though you're setting up for a pretty good incremental performance -- incremental margin performance. And I was wondering if you could just sort of talk about the puts and takes within that incremental margin performance? What is driving that strength in '25?

好的。我的後續問題是關於 2025 年的指導。您剛才談到淨銷售額成長相對平穩，可能成長 1%。但是你的利潤率已經調整了，毛利率有上升，而且幅度不小。我的意思是這裡面沒有任何字。因此，您會感覺自己正在為實現相當不錯的增量性能——增量利潤性能做好準備。我想知道您是否可以談談增量利潤表現中的損失和收益？推動25年這種實力的因素是什麼？

And Angie can maybe speak to the specifics, but just in general, it reflects our strategy to position ourselves next year with -- even if there's lower growth on the top line, we want to position ourselves to be able to improve profitability. That's reflected in AMP, but it's reflected in the actions that we've taken that we've described even workforce reduction, those kinds of things, but positioning ourselves to be able to improve profitability. And if we are surprised to the positive, we won't regret positioning ourselves to be more competitive as well.

安吉也許可以講一下具體細節，但總的來說，它反映了我們明年的定位策略——即使營收成長較低，我們也希望能夠提高獲利能力。這反映在 AMP 中，但也反映在我們所採取的行動中，我們甚至描述了裁員之類的事情，但我們的定位是能夠提高盈利能力。如果我們對正面的一面感到驚訝，我們不會後悔將自己定位為更具競爭力。

Yes. But I'll just also add that some product mix, we expect some additional snow and it will be better in the back half than it is in the first half.

是的。但我還要補充一點，對於一些產品組合，我們預計還會有一些降雪，下半年的情況會比上半年更好。

Great. Do you expect that raw materials will be a good guide next year?

偉大的。您預計明年原料會起到良好的指導作用嗎？

I think we're pretty stable on our commodities overall. Some favorability, maybe to continue into the first half of '25.

我認為我們的商品總體上相當穩定。一些有利因素也許會持續到25年上半年。

Tim Wojs, Baird.

蒂姆·沃斯，貝爾德。

Maybe just my first question is maybe just the EPS kind of cadence for the year. So thanks for the Q1 comments. I guess as you think about the rest of the year, I mean, should we expect -- or are you expecting earnings growth on a year-over-year basis for the remaining 3 quarters? Or is the guidance kind of more second half weighted than that? Trying to kind of think about how that -- how we should kind of pace earnings through the year.

也許我的第一個問題只是今年的 EPS 節奏。非常感謝您對 Q1 的評論。我想，當您考慮今年剩餘時間的表現時，我的意思是，我們是否應該預期——或者您是否預期剩餘 3 個季度的盈利將同比增長？或者該指引是否更側重於下半年？試著去思考一下——我們應該如何在全年調整獲利速度。

So we haven't guided specifically for the rest of the year there. But our cadence is typically that our second and third quarters are our largest quarters as is typical. We do expect to close into a more normal backlog by the end of F '25. And for sales and EPS both, we expect our second half to be greater than our first half really because of that snow and lawn care field inventory being in a better position.

因此，我們沒有針對今年剩餘時間做出具體指導。但我們的節奏通常是第二季和第三季是我們最大的季度，這是典型的。我們確實希望到 F'25 年底能夠實現更正常的積壓。就銷售額和每股盈餘而言，我們預計下半年的業績將比上半年有所提高，因為雪和草坪護理領域的庫存狀況更好。

Okay. And I guess on the backlog, you ended the year at $1.2 billion. You've kind of chewed through a fair amount of that. I mean, what do you kind of imply -- when you say normalized backlog and kind of ending the year at a normalized number, what are you kind of implying for that? And I guess within the $1.2 billion, how much of that today is golf and how much today of that is underground now?

好的。我想，就積壓訂單而言，到年底您的訂單量已達 12 億美元。你已經咀嚼了相當多的東西了。我的意思是，當您說正常化的積壓和以正常化的數字結束一年時，您到底在暗示什麼？我猜想，在這 12 億美元中，有多少是用來打高爾夫的，又有多少是用於地下活動的？

Yes. The two largest remaining areas that you called them out are golf and grounds and underground. And -- what we've talked about is getting down to a more normal run rate. That makes the positive thing about those two remaining areas is the long-term demand trends for them look to be extremely positive. So our goal this year is to bring them down to the more long-term run rates because the demand looks quite durable there.

是的。您提到的剩下的兩個最大的區域是高爾夫球場和場地以及地下。而且——我們所討論的是將運行率降至更正常的水平。剩下的兩個地區的積極因素是，它們的長期需求趨勢看起來非常積極。因此，我們今年的目標是將其降至更長期的運行率，因為那裡的需求看起來相當持久。

And I mean the good news, we also have offsets. We have businesses that are going through a correction right now that we would expect to return to contributing to that as we get into this year. So it really speaks to the strength of the portfolio. We've been able, over the last two years, to really weather those corrections in those markets with the business that we're talking about here with underground and golf and grounds.

我的意思是好消息，我們也有抵消。我們的業務目前正在經歷調整，我們預計今年內這些業務將重新恢復成長。所以這確實體現了投資組合的實力。在過去的兩年裡，憑藉我們在這裡談論的地下、高爾夫和場地業務，我們已經能夠真正抵禦這些市場的調整。

I would just add to that, we've made progress in both of those businesses for volume for golf and grounds and underground construction in F '24.

我想補充一點，2024 年我們在高爾夫、場地和地下建造這兩項業務的規模都取得了進展。

Our ability to produce within our given footprint has been a tremendous help to our business. And it really speaks to the work that our operations people are doing.

我們在既定的佔地面積內進行生產的能力對我們的業務產生了巨大的幫助。這確實體現了我們的營運人員所做的工作。

Okay. So you don't have like a normal -- like you don't have like a number where you're saying like $700 million or something like that, it's a normal backlog?

好的。所以你沒有像正常情況那樣——例如你沒有像你說的 7 億美元或類似的數字，這是一個正常的積壓訂單？

We've got something in mind. I think that we're thinking it's probably south of $600 million.

我們心裡已經有想法了。我認為我們認為這個數字可能在 6 億美元以下。

Okay. That's helpful. And then I guess just -- I mean on this is like mathematically, can you prevent like an air pocket in fiscal '26 in like golf and underground? Just -- I guess if you're shipping backlog, you're kind of technically overshipping demand. So just if you have normal demand next year, I guess, does it like mathematically imply that those businesses are down? Just trying to understand if there's a way to kind of prevent it. I know like landscape probably normalizes, but it just seems like you could have still some kind of volatility in those businesses, too.

好的。這很有幫助。然後我想只是——我的意思是從數學上來說，你能否在 26 財年防止高爾夫球場和地下出現氣穴？只是——我想，如果你的出貨積壓，從技術上來說，你的出貨量就超過了需求。所以，如果明年需求正常，我猜，這從數學上是否意味著這些業務會下滑？只是想了解是否有辦法可以預防這種情況。我知道情況可能會恢復正常，但似乎這些業務仍可能存在某種波動。

I think the key really is the durability of the demand. So demand continues at a more normal rate, and we can return to a more normal rate of fulfilling the demand. We have high confidence in the quality of the orders that are out there right now. In fact, we've gone through an exercise to refresh them and make sure that they're current. So we've got high confidence in the demand that's there. We have good confidence in the future demand, and our work is to manage that to a more normal level.

我認為關鍵確實在於需求的持久性。因此需求持續以更正常的速度成長，我們也可以恢復到更正常的滿足需求的速度。我們對目前訂單的品質非常有信心。事實上，我們已經進行了練習來更新它們並確保它們是最新的。因此，我們對那裡的需求非常有信心。我們對未來的需求充滿信心，我們的工作是將其管理到更正常的水平。

And if there's not a collapse in demand in the market, which we don't believe there will be, we have the ability to manage that back down to a more normal rate without the air pocket market that you're talking about. And then back up to that -- yes, the backup to that plan is that we -- the strength of the portfolio, we have other businesses that will be coming back online. Eventually, snow will return to normal of the landscape contractor business. That's getting healthier as well.

如果市場需求沒有崩潰（我們認為不會發生這種情況），我們有能力將產量降至更正常的水平，而不會出現您所說的氣泡市場。然後回到那個話題——是的，該計劃的後盾是我們——投資組合的優勢，我們還有其他業務將重新上線。最終，降雪將使景觀承包商的業務恢復正常。這也變得更健康了。

Okay. I understand. And then if I could squeeze one more, last one in. Just on the upcoming administration, I guess, do you explicitly have anything in the guidance related to tariffs? And then how have you kind of thought about integration?

好的。我明白。然後如果我能再擠進一個，最後一個。就即將上任的政府而言，我想，你們的指導意見中是否有明確的與關稅相關的內容？那麼您對於整合有什麼看法呢？

I know a lot of your products drive productivity, so that could be a positive. But -- is there a risk that some of your customers could actually just have a lower earnings year if they just don't have as much labor to complete the same number of jobs? I guess how have you -- how would you kind of answer that question?

我知道你們的許多產品都提高了生產力，所以這可能是一件正面的事情。但是——如果您的某些客戶沒有足夠的勞動力來完成同樣數量的工作，那麼是否存在這樣的風險：他們實際上可能面臨當年收入較低的情況？我想您會如何回答這個問題呢？

Maybe going backwards. Most of our customers really have jobs that have to get done one way or another. So they've got -- sort of maintaining a property, let's say, or a golf course or a municipality, that work has to be done. And if they are restricted on labor, they are going to be exceptionally interested in higher productivity machines, whether it's -- the ultimate would be autonomous, but we also have many solutions that just provide much higher productivity with the high return on investment, so that we believe demand for those products will be greater. So we view that as a positive, although it's going to be a challenge for our customers.

也許是倒退。我們的大多數客戶確實都有必須以某種方式完成的工作。所以他們必須要進行一些維護工作，像是維護一處房產、一個高爾夫球場或是一個市政當局。如果他們在勞動力上受到限制，他們就會對生產力更高的機器格外感興趣，無論是——最終是自動化的，但我們也有很多解決方案，可以提供更高的生產力和高投資回報，所以我們相信這些產品的需求會更大。因此，我們認為這是一件正面的事，儘管這對我們的客戶來說是一個挑戰。

And then just back to tariffs, just a couple of things. We have not included the effect of tariffs in our guidance. And I would just remind that the vast majority of our products are produced in the United States and virtually all of our professional products. We do have production in Mexico for some of our more price competitive products.

然後回到關稅問題，只有幾件事。我們的指引中沒有考慮關稅的影響。我只想提醒一下，我們的絕大多數產品都是在美國生產的，幾乎所有的專業產品都是在美國生產的。我們確實在墨西哥生產一些價格更具競爭力的產品。

And with regard to China, specifically, we've substantially reduced our China risk since 2016. So we've done some positioning for this current situation. I think the biggest thing is we're closely monitoring all of the factors and making sure that we've got mitigations in place for anything that would be negative. And then on the flip side, just making sure we take advantage of what we see as a number of very positive potential moves that are out there as well.

具體來說，就中國而言，我們自 2016 年以來大幅降低了中國風險。所以我們對目前的情況做了一些定位。我認為最重要的是我們正在密切監視所有因素，並確保針對任何可能產生的負面影響採取緩解措施。另一方面，我們要確保能夠利用我們所看到的一些非常積極的潛在舉措。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Josh Wilson, Raymond James.

喬許威爾森、雷蒙詹姆斯。

Just a point of clarification. First, as it relates to the '25 guidance, when you talk about stable conditions for landscape contractor and Intimidator, does that mean you're assuming sales of those subsegments are flat year-on-year in '25 versus '24?

只需澄清一點。首先，就 '25 指引而言，當您談到景觀承包商和 Intimidator 的穩定條件時，是否意味著您假設這些子細分市場的銷售額在 '25 年與 '24 年相比持平？

I'd say we're still working down the field inventory for both of those. We haven't said that they're flat, but we are -- we will be working those down for both snow and lawn care field and including both of those that you mentioned. But we expect it to be better year-over-year.

我想說我們仍在對這兩件物品進行現場清點。我們沒有說它們是平的，但是我們會——我們會將它們用於除雪和草坪護理領域，包括你提到的兩個領域。但我們預計，情況將逐年改善。

We quoted an 80% number, I believe, in the third quarter of the work that we've done to bring field inventory down. We probably would have expected that to go even further at this point, we're probably at a similar level. So we still have some work to do to adjust our field inventory where we are in a much better position than we were last year at this time.

我認為，我們在第三季為降低現場庫存所做的工作佔了 80%。我們可能已經預料到這種情況會走得更遠，我們可能處於相似的水平。因此，我們仍需要做一些工作來調整我們的現場庫存，目前我們的狀況比去年同期好得多。

Ted Jackson, Northland.

北地的泰德傑克森。

Thanks very much. Skin and teeth, got it by the Q&A. Good morning. My first question is pretty simple. It's kind of the flip side of the earlier question with regards to working through the backlog and the air pocket.

非常感謝。皮膚和牙齒，透過問答了解。早安.我的第一個問題很簡單。這有點像是之前關於解決積壓和氣泡的問題的另一面。

As you normalize your dealer inventory and you -- let's say, you hit your expectation of getting that normalized before you exit this year, wouldn't the flip side being the case that where we could see a pickup in your sales because you're no longer having to deal with that headwind? And that would be something that could be a tailwind for you in 2026 and perhaps even the second half of '25?

當您使經銷商庫存正常化時，假設您在今年退出之前達到了使庫存正常化的預期，那麼另一方面，我們是否可以看到您的銷售額回升，因為您不再需要應對逆風？這是否會成為您在 2026 年，甚至 2025 年下半年的一大助力？

I think, Ted, you speak to -- I mean, there's a couple of elements of that. First of all, the movement of our various markets. So if you did have a continuation of healthy markets for golf and underground, which we believe has a long demand looks positive from our perspective at this point. And with the recovery potentially in landscape contractor and some of the areas that have been a little bit muted, that would be a combination that would be positive, net positive for sales. So I think that's definitely true. True, but subject to how the year plays out, macroeconomics, et cetera.

我認為，泰德，你談到了——我的意思是，其中有幾個因素。首先，我們各個市場的動向。因此，如果高爾夫和地下市場確實持續保持健康，我們相信其長期需求從目前的角度來看是積極的。而且隨著景觀承包商和一些一直不太景氣的領域的復甦，這樣的組合對於銷售來說會是積極的，淨利好。所以我認為這絕對是真的。沒錯，但要取決於今年的情況、宏觀經濟等等。

Yes. Well, we know it's going to snow [in May]. Just pointing that out, at least where we are. You're all aware of that. So second question.

是的。我們知道要下雪了[在五月]。只是指出這一點，至少我們現在的情況是這樣的。大家都知道這一點。所以是第二個問題。

You commented in the last call that you were seeing the rental market softened. And I was looking for an update on that. I mean if you listen to the calls during the third quarter for most of the rental houses, they're clearly kind of -- they're not getting the utilization rates they had in the past. The outlooks for them is a little more subdued, pulling back on some of their CapEx. I mean I know it's just one portion of your business and not like the thing that drives everything. But what have you seen with that business as you've gone through the fourth quarter?

您在上次通話中表示，您發現租賃市場有所疲軟。我正在尋找有關此事的最新消息。我的意思是，如果你聽聽第三季大多數租賃公司的電話，你會發現他們顯然沒有達到過去的使用率。他們的前景稍微暗淡一些，縮減了部分資本支出。我的意思是，我知道這只是你業務的一部分，而不是推動一切的因素。但是，在第四季度，您對該業務有何看法？

I think we may have called out more caution from our rental customers. That is not a huge portion, a significant portion of our especially construction business, the compact utility loaders, Toro and Ditch Witch. And two sides of that, so the national rental people had done some capital investments over the last several years.

我認為我們可能應該呼籲租賃客戶更加謹慎。這不是一個很大的部分，而是我們特別是建築業務、緊湊型多用途裝載機、Toro 和 Ditch Witch 的很大一部分。從兩個方面來看，全國租賃人員在過去幾年中都進行了一些資本投資。

So their fleets are relatively more new. And I think the caution that they've seen is just in some of the construction areas that have resulted in less rental. They have obviously much better commentary on that than we do.

所以他們的船隊相對較新。我認為他們所看到的謹慎只是在某些建築領域，這導致了租金的下降。他們對此的評論顯然比我們好得多。

On the independent rental, those tend to be more towards homeowner projects, landscaping projects, et cetera. And that's where we see a very similar kind of caution to our homeowners that shows up in landscape contractor or landscape contractor, professional [disease] and residential business. So we think that that -- we expect that to kind of move with the consumer confidence and other factors, the macro factors that we've talked about and more normalizing.

就獨立租賃而言，這些往往更傾向於房主項目、景觀美化項目等等。這就是我們在景觀承包商或景觀承包商、專業[疾病]和住宅業務中看到的與房主非常相似的謹慎態度。因此我們認為，我們預計這會隨著消費者信心和其他因素、我們所討論的宏觀因素和更正常化的趨勢而變化。

Okay. I'll leave it too. The Q will be out later today. Is that correct?

好的。我也會留下它。Q 將於今天稍晚發布。那正確嗎？

That's correct.

沒錯。

This concludes the question-and-answer session. Ms. Kerekes, please proceed to closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。請凱雷克斯女士致結束語。

Thank you, Marvin, and thank you, everyone, for your questions and interest in The Toro Company. We wish you a safe and joyous holiday season. We look forward to talking with you again in March to discuss our fiscal 2025 first quarter results.

謝謝你，馬文，也謝謝大家的提問和對 Toro 公司的關注。我們祝福您有個安全、快樂的假期。我們期待在三月再次與您交談，討論我們的 2025 財年第一季業績。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the presentation. You have a good day.

感謝大家參加今天的會議。本次演講到此結束。祝你有美好的一天。