UFP Technologies Inc (UFPT) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the UFP Technologies first-quarter 2026 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加 UFP Technologies 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。(接線員指示) 請注意，本活動將被錄音。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Ron Lataille, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

現在我想把會議交給財務長 Ron Lataille。請開始。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and thank you for joining us on our 2026 first-quarter earnings conference call. With me on today's call is our CEO and Chairman, Jeff Bailly. Today, we will make some forward-looking statements within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which is subject to risks and uncertainties.

謝謝，接線員。各位早安，感謝各位參加我們 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。今天與我一同出席的還有我們的執行長暨董事長 Jeff Bailly。今天我們將在 1995 年《美國私人證券訴訟改革法案》的意義下發表若干前瞻性陳述，其準確性受風險與不確定性影響。

Wherever possible, we will try to identify those forward-looking statements by using words such as believe, expect, anticipate, pursue, forecast and similar expressions. Our forward-looking statements are based on our estimates and assumptions as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates or views on any subsequent date.

在可行情況下，我們將嘗試使用例如 believe、expect、anticipate、pursue、forecast 及類似用語來辨識這些前瞻性陳述。我們的前瞻性陳述係基於截至今日的估計與假設，不應被依賴為代表我們在任何後續日期的估計或觀點。

Please refer to the cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information and the risk factors in our most recent 10-K, including disclosures of the factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. During this call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, which include organic sales growth, adjusted gross margin, adjusted operating income, adjusted SG&A, adjusted earnings per share and EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures discussed in this call is contained in the associated press release and is available in the Investor Relations section of our website.

請參閱我們最新 10-K 中關於前瞻性資訊的警示性聲明與風險因素，包括可能導致結果與所表達或暗示內容出現重大差異之因素的揭露。在本次電話會議中，我們將討論非 GAAP 財務衡量指標，包括有機銷售成長、調整後毛利率、調整後營業利益、調整後 SG&A、調整後每股盈餘以及 EBITDA 與調整後 EBITDA。本次電話會議所討論之 GAAP 與非 GAAP 指標的調節表載於相關新聞稿，並可於我們網站的投資人關係專區取得。

I'll now turn the call over to Jeff.

我現在把電話交給 Jeff。

Thank you, Ron, and thank you to everyone joining the call. I am pleased with our first quarter results and start to the year, including important progress on our strategic growth initiatives. Our revenue grew 4.1% with medical sales growing 5.9% and our non-medical sales declining 15% as we continue to focus our efforts on best fit fast-growing segments in the MedTech space. Growth in our Robotic Surgery, Patient Surfaces & Support and Interventional and Surgical segments of 7%, 11% and 15%, respectively, were partially offset by declines in Wound Care as two major customers slowed temporarily due to excess inventory.

謝謝你，Ron，也感謝所有參與本次電話會議的各位。我對我們第一季的表現以及今年的良好開局感到滿意，其中也包括我們在策略性成長計畫上的重要進展。我們營收成長 4.1%，其中醫療銷售成長 5.9%，非醫療銷售下滑 15%；我們持續將資源聚焦於 MedTech 領域中最契合且快速成長的區隔。我們在機器人手術、病患表面與支撐，以及介入與外科等區隔分別成長 7%、11% 與 15%；但由於兩家主要客戶因庫存過剩而暫時放緩，傷口照護業務的下滑抵銷了部分成長。

EPS grew more slowly than revenue due in part to, number one, start-up costs related to our four simultaneous program launches, each of which is slowly ramping up and expected to make meaningful contributions in the second half of the year. Number two, softer results at AJR versus Q1 of 2025 as they continue to work through their labor inefficiency issues related to turnover following our E-Verify or legal right to work process last year. And number three, non-recurring legal expenses related to a cyberattack and the CEO transition.

每股盈餘（EPS）的成長速度較營收慢，部分原因包括：第一，與我們同時啟動的四個專案導入相關的啟動成本；各專案正逐步爬坡，預期在今年下半年將做出具體貢獻。第二，AJR 相較於 2025 年第一季的表現較弱，因其仍在處理去年我們導入 E-Verify（或合法工作權）流程後，因人員流動所造成的勞動效率不彰問題。第三，與網路攻擊及執行長交接相關的一次性法律費用。

A lot of exciting things are happening on the business expansion front. In addition to the four successful program launches, three of those four customers have already asked us to double our capacity on the new programs. We are also adding new buildings in both Santiago, DR and La Romana DR to expand capacity and accommodate forecast growth in patient surfaces & support and robotic surgery. In both locations, we are co-investing with our customers and will take possession of the buildings in the second quarter of this year.

在業務擴張方面，有許多令人振奮的進展。除了四個成功的專案導入之外，其中四家客戶中的三家已要求我們將新專案的產能加倍。我們也正在多明尼加共和國的聖地牙哥（Santiago, DR）與拉羅馬納（La Romana, DR）增建新廠房，以擴充產能並因應病患表面與支撐以及機器人手術的預測成長。在兩個地點，我們都與客戶共同投資，並將於今年第二季取得這些建物的使用權。

We're also in the planning stages to add capacity in the APAC region to meet growing demand in Asia. Our new product development labs in La Romana and Grand Rapids are performing well, adding new programs and new talent to meet growing customer demand. On the acquisition front, we are reviewing multiple opportunities. Although we have been outbid on a couple of recent opportunities, we remain disciplined in our approach to vetting and valuing strategic acquisitions. The three acquisitions we completed in 2025 and the four in 2024 are all performing well and have increased our value to customers and strengthened our position in the market.

我們也正處於規劃階段，準備在亞太（APAC）地區擴增產能，以滿足亞洲日益成長的需求。我們位於拉羅馬納與大急流城（Grand Rapids）的新產品開發實驗室運作良好，持續導入新專案並延攬新人才，以因應客戶需求的成長。在併購方面，我們正在評估多個機會。儘管在近期幾個案子上我們被更高出價者超越，但我們在審核與估值策略性併購時仍維持紀律。我們於 2025 年完成的三項併購以及 2024 年完成的四項併購目前表現皆佳，提升了我們對客戶的價值，並強化了我們在市場中的地位。

Mitch Rock is excited to take over as CEO in June and is well prepared to succeed. We have a deep team of talented managers supporting him who understand our strategy and how they fit in. This team, together with our vendor partners, add significant value to our blue-chip customers in growing market segments. Each of these three critical components of our success, our team, our customers and our vendor partners, trust and respects Mitch and looks forward to continuing to grow with UFP. So for these reasons and many more, I'm very excited about the future of UFP Technologies and the value it can create for our shareholders.

Mitch Rock 對於在六月接任執行長感到振奮，且已做好充分準備以勝任此職。我們有一支深具實力的管理團隊支持他，了解我們的策略以及各自的角色定位。這個團隊與我們的供應商夥伴一起，為我們在成長型市場區隔中的一流客戶（blue-chip customers）創造顯著價值。我們成功的三個關鍵要素——我們的團隊、我們的客戶以及我們的供應商夥伴——都信任並尊重 Mitch，並期待與 UFP 持續共同成長。因此，基於這些以及更多原因，我對 UFP Technologies 的未來以及其為股東創造的價值感到非常振奮。

Thank you, and I will now hand it back to Ron to provide more color on our financials.

謝謝，接下來我把電話交回 Ron，請他就我們的財務狀況提供更多說明。

Thank you, Jeff. Before reviewing operating results, I'd like to give a brief update on tariffs and the impact of the conflict in Iran on our raw material input costs. In general, effective tariffs are net down from our last update. This should have a positive prospective impact on margins. Additionally, as our suppliers seek refunds from the government, we will be looking for these to flow through to us in the form of vendor credits.

謝謝你，Jeff。在檢視營運結果之前，我想先簡要更新關稅以及伊朗衝突對我們原物料投入成本的影響。整體而言，實際有效關稅相較於我們上次更新已呈淨下降。這應可對毛利率帶來正向的前瞻性影響。此外，隨著供應商向政府申請退稅/退款，我們也將尋求這些利益以供應商折讓（vendor credits）的形式回饋至我們。

Countering these savings are raw material inflationary increases caused by the increased price of oil stemming from the conflict in Iran. It is difficult to estimate the ultimate impact as the news changes daily, and therefore, the price of oil has been volatile. It remains our expectation that we will pass these through to our customers.

抵銷上述節省的是原物料的通膨性上漲，原因在於伊朗衝突推升油價。由於新聞每日變化，因此油價波動，難以估計最終影響。我們仍預期會將這些成本轉嫁給客戶。

Moving to operations, as Jeff mentioned, overall sales were up 4%, fueled by a 6% increase in medical sales. Strength in this area was driven by our robotic-assisted surgery, patient surfaces and support and interventional and surgical submarkets. As anticipated, organic sales growth for the quarter was essentially flat as we are slowly ramping our new programs and our non-medical business continues to soften. We anticipate that the new program revenue growth will accelerate in the second half of the year.

回到營運面，如 Jeff 所提，整體銷售成長 4%，主要由醫療銷售成長 6% 所帶動。此領域的強勁表現來自我們的機器人輔助手術、病患表面與支撐，以及介入與外科等次市場。如預期，本季有機銷售成長基本持平，因我們的新專案仍在逐步爬坡，同時非醫療業務持續走弱。我們預期新專案帶來的營收成長將在今年下半年加速。

In addition, approximately $1 million in sales pushed into the second quarter due to a cyber event at one of our key customers. Of note, sales to our two largest customers collectively grew 7.5% during the first quarter. Gross profit as a percentage of sales or gross margin increased to 28.8% from 28.5% last year.

此外，由於我們一位關鍵客戶發生網路事件，約 100 萬美元的銷售遞延至第二季。值得注意的是，我們對前兩大客戶的合計銷售在第一季成長 7.5%。毛利占銷售比重（即毛利率）由去年的 28.5% 提升至 28.8%。

This improvement was despite continued labor inefficiencies at AJR, which, although diminishing, are still impacting cost of sales. Helping to drive the improvement was a more than 200% increase in revenue in Santiago, Dominican Republic, enabling us to leverage fixed overhead costs at this location.

即便 AJR 仍存在持續的勞動效率不彰（雖已逐步改善），並持續影響銷貨成本，本次改善仍得以實現。推動改善的因素之一，是我們在多明尼加共和國聖地牙哥的營收成長超過 200%，使我們得以在該據點攤提並槓桿化固定間接成本。

SG&A expenses for our first quarter of 2026 increased by $2.2 million to $21 million. This is largely due to approximately $750,000 in wages and benefits for back-office investments made at various times during 2025 to support our larger organization as well as approximately $0.5 million in non-cash equity compensation.

我們 2026 年第一季的 SG&A 費用增加 220 萬美元至 2,100 萬美元。這主要是因為約 75 萬美元的薪資與福利（用於 2025 年不同時間點所進行的後勤/後台投資，以支援更大型的組織），以及約 50 萬美元的非現金股權薪酬。

We also incurred approximately $0.5 million in non-recurring legal expenses due to the cyber breach incident in mid-February as well as the anticipated CEO transition. Adjusted operating margin for the first quarter was 16.7% of sales and adjusted earnings per diluted share outstanding was $2.48, up slightly from last year. We generated approximately $3.2 million in cash from operations during our first quarter. This was lower than is typical as a much stronger March sales month created a correspondingly high working capital need. Since March 31, we have paid down approximately $4 million in debt. Capital expenditures were $1.7 million during our first quarter, and we ended with a leverage ratio of approximately 1.14 times.

我們也因為 2 月中旬的網路資安入侵事件，以及預期中的 CEO 交接，產生了約 50 萬美元的一次性法律費用。第一季調整後營業利益率為銷售額的 16.7%，調整後稀釋每股盈餘為 2.48 美元，較去年小幅上升。我們在第一季營運活動產生約 320 萬美元的現金。這低於一般水準，因為 3 月銷售表現強勁，對應帶來較高的營運資金需求。自 3 月 31 日以來，我們已償還約 400 萬美元的債務。第一季資本支出為 170 萬美元，期末槓桿比率約為 1.14 倍。

With that, I now turn it back to the operator for questions.

接下來，我把時間交還給接線員進行提問。

(Operator Instructions)

(接線員指示)

Brett Fishbin, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Brett Fishbin，KeyBanc Capital Markets。

Hey, guys, good morning. Thank you very much for taking the questions. I just wanted to maybe start off with the robotics segment and I saw in the press release, you mentioned 7% growth in this category. I was hoping you could just discuss this a little bit more, maybe touch on the contribution from the new products that are starting to ramp in this segment? And then also just curious how growth is trending across your larger customer base outside of the large robotics customer?

嗨，各位，早安。非常感謝讓我提問。我想先從機器人業務部門開始。我在新聞稿中看到你們提到此類別成長 7%。想請你們再多談一些，是否能提及在這個部門中，開始放量的新產品對成長的貢獻？另外也想了解，除了那家大型機器人客戶之外，你們較大型的其他客戶群的成長趨勢如何？

Sure. Thanks, Brett. So the 7% growth was a blend, but it's primarily anchor programs at this -- or existing programs at this point. The new programs that we've launched are still in their infancy stage. But over time, they will be a bigger and bigger component of our growth. So we are pleased with the start to the year in the robotic surgery area, particularly at the 7%, it was a little higher than we had originally forecast. With respect to -- what was the second part of the question, I'm sorry?

當然。謝謝你，Brett。這 7% 的成長是混合而成，但目前主要來自核心專案——或說既有專案。我們新啟動的專案仍處於初期階段。但隨著時間推進，它們將在我們的成長中占比愈來愈大。因此我們對機器人手術領域今年的開局感到滿意，尤其是 7% 的成長，略高於我們原先的預測。至於——抱歉，問題的第二部分是什麼？

I was just curious, I guess you kind of addressed it. I was asking about the new product launches and then also just how non-Intuitive customers overall are doing.

我只是好奇，我想你剛剛有部分回答了。我是在問新產品上市的情況，以及整體而言非 Intuitive 的客戶表現如何。

Yeah. Our business is becoming more and more diverse, more and more diverse within Intuitive with additional programs and more and more diverse with additional customers. And I think you'll consider -- you'll continue to see less of a dominant position in that one customer as we go forward.

是的。我們的業務正變得愈來愈多元：在 Intuitive 內部，透過新增專案而更加多元；在客戶面，也透過新增客戶而更加多元。我想你們會看到——未來那單一客戶的主導性會持續降低。

And then maybe just more broadly, you mentioned four large programs that are currently in the ramp phase. So maybe just a little bit more flavor around how you're thinking about those opportunities. I know you mentioned that they're expected to become significant contributors in the back half. Maybe just a little bit more detail on how you're thinking about that.

再更廣泛一點，你們提到目前有四個大型專案正處於放量爬坡階段。能否再多提供一些細節，談談你們如何看待這些機會？我知道你們提到它們預期在下半年成為重要貢獻來源。想請再多說一些你們對此的看法。

Yeah. I mean three of the four programs are brand new and one was a transfer. And so the three new programs, each of those customers has already asked us to at least double our capacity with them. So three very successful launches, but the start-up revenue still is small. So the revenue will ramp into Q2 and be more robust in Q3 and Q4 and then continue on. And as we add new capacity, those three programs will be meaningful contributors. Two were robotic surgery and one was an infection prevention.

好的。四個專案中有三個是全新專案，另一個是移轉過來的。至於三個新專案，每一位客戶都已要求我們至少把對他們的產能提高一倍。因此這三個都是非常成功的導入，但起步階段的營收仍然不大。營收會在第二季開始爬升，第三季與第四季會更為強勁，之後也會持續成長。隨著我們新增產能，這三個專案將成為有意義的貢獻來源。其中兩個是機器人手術，另一個是感染預防。

All right. Perfect. And last question for me. Just the non-medical business was down a little bit more than we were expecting. I wanted to just ask if you think that's kind of the right way to think about it for the rest of the year from a growth perspective or if anything is changing in a notable way as the year progresses? Thank you so much for taking the questions.

好的。完美。我最後一個問題。非醫療業務的下滑幅度比我們預期稍大一些。想請問從成長角度來看，你們是否認為今年剩餘時間大致也會是這樣的走勢，或是隨著年度推進，有沒有任何顯著的變化？非常感謝讓我提問。

Yeah, absolutely. So the dominant drop was in automotive, which I think is going to be the new normal as we literally phase out of this market. There was also a softer side in the aerospace and defense, and that will flip. We already have some activity that's going to take that from slowing back to growing. But I think you'll see advanced components continue to be little to no growth over time in certain markets like automotive, we will completely phase out of.

是的，當然。主要的下滑來自汽車領域；我認為這將成為新的常態，因為我們正逐步退出這個市場。航太與國防也有較疲弱的一面，但那會反轉。我們已經有一些活動，將使其從放緩回到成長。但我認為，先進零組件在某些市場（例如汽車）長期可能會維持小幅成長或幾乎零成長；而汽車市場我們將會完全退出。

Perfect. Thanks, again.

很好。再次感謝。

Justin Ages, CJS Securities.

Justin Ages，CJS Securities。

Hi. Morning, all. You mentioned the four large programs ramping and contributing in the second half. Can we dig down a bit and just talk about the impact to profitability from those? How long will those headwinds -- well, I don't want to call them headwinds, but how long will those like start-up costs be in there? Are we going to see that go down once the programs start contributing more in the second half?

嗨。各位早安。你們提到四個大型專案正在放量，並會在下半年帶來貢獻。我們能否再深入一點，談談這些專案對獲利能力的影響？這些阻力——我不想稱之為阻力——但像是啟動成本會持續多久？當這些專案在下半年開始貢獻更多時，我們是否會看到這些成本下降？

Yes, absolutely. So the start-up costs relate to getting the whole team there prepared, trained, et cetera, before the volume follows. So all those hires have been made, those people have been trained. And as the volume ramps up, we'll be absorbing those costs. And so the fixed costs won't go up, but the revenue will.

是的，絕對會。啟動成本主要與在產量跟上之前，先把整個團隊準備好、完成訓練等相關。因此所有招募都已完成，人員也已受訓。隨著產量爬升，我們就會把這些成本吸收掉。因此固定成本不會上升，但營收會增加。

So I think you'll see just a smooth plus. They're very slow starts. We'll ship a handful of parts and then a pallet and then eventually, they'll sort of turn on the spigot. And by the second half of the year, I think it will be robust contributions from all 3 of those brand-new programs.

所以我認為你們會看到平順的正向改善。一開始會非常慢。我們會先出貨少量零件，接著是一個棧板，然後最終會像打開水龍頭一樣放量。到了今年下半年，我認為那三個全新專案都會帶來強勁的貢獻。

Okay. I appreciate that. And then you mentioned taking control of two buildings, one in La Romana and one in Santiago. Can you just remind us how many buildings you have in each location then and what the capacity looks like after that? Because you mentioned already customers you have are asking for increased capacity. So just wondering if there are new additional buildings that are already kind of on your pipeline coming down the pike.

好的。謝謝說明。另外你們提到接手兩棟建物，一棟在 La Romana，一棟在 Santiago。能否提醒我們各地點屆時總共有多少棟建物，以及接手後的產能概況？因為你們提到既有客戶已要求提高產能。所以想了解是否還有新的額外建物已在規劃中、即將推進。

So in La Romana, this will be our sixth building. And so it's not exactly even how much capacity it adds, but it's approximately one-sixth more capacity. And so that's primarily for robotic surgery. We set up a big infection prevention program in one of the other buildings. So the La Romana campus is dominantly robotic surgery.

在 La Romana，這將是我們的第六棟建物。新增的產能不太容易精確對應，但大約等於增加六分之一的產能。這主要用於機器人手術。我們在其他建物之一設置了一個大型的感染預防專案。因此 La Romana 園區以機器人手術為主。

In Santiago, we're adding our third building, and that one is predominantly patient surfaces and support. And that will probably stay that way for the time being. So if we have new low-cost country applications, we'll probably be directing them towards La Romana in the short term because that team is very experienced and their quality systems and everything have been going for literally decades, whereas Santiago is a little more of a start-up situation still.

在 Santiago，我們將新增第三棟建物，而那裡主要是病患表面產品與支援相關。就目前而言，短期內大概會維持這樣的配置。因此如果我們有新的低成本國家應用案，短期內可能會把它們導向 La Romana，因為那裡的團隊非常有經驗，品質系統等也已運作了數十年；相較之下，Santiago 仍較偏向新創、起步階段的狀態。

Thanks for taking the questions.

感謝讓我提問。

(Operator Instructions)

(接線員指示)

Andrew Cooper, Raymond James.

Andrew Cooper，Raymond James。

Hey, everybody. Thanks for the questions. Maybe first, I just want to touch a little bit on the Wound Care drags you called out tied to inventory. I guess can you give a little bit of a sense of magnitude for those programs? And then what gives you the confidence and comfort that this is purely an inventory dynamic that should normalize as the year progresses?

各位好。感謝讓我提問。也許先想稍微談一下你們提到、與庫存相關的傷口照護（Wound Care）拖累。我想請問你們能否就那些專案的影響幅度提供一些概念？另外，是什麼讓你們有信心並感到安心，認為這純粹是庫存的動態，會隨著今年進行而恢復正常？

So these are both -- I mean, they're large customers within wound care, but not necessarily large customers in the whole of UFP Technologies. Both had inventory issues that they thought were in the sort of eight-month range of impact to us. But at the same time, we have two major programs that were in the development stage in wound care.

這兩家——我的意思是，它們在傷口照護領域都是大客戶，但不一定是 UFP Technologies 整體層面的大客戶。兩家都有庫存問題，他們認為對我們的影響大概會落在八個月左右。但同時，我們在傷口照護方面也有兩個主要專案正處於開發階段。

So I'm still long term, very bullish on wound care. There seems to be a resurgence of interest in this area. So to answer your question, probably a three-quarter impact from the slowdown in wound care and then back to normal. And then probably next year, we'd be overlaying some new programs.

所以從長期來看，我對傷口照護仍然非常看多。看起來這個領域的興趣正在回升。因此回答你的問題，傷口照護放緩的影響大概會持續三個季度，之後回到正常。然後大概明年，我們會再叠加一些新專案。

Okay. Helpful. And then shifting a little bit to the AJR business. I guess two-part question. First, can you give us a sense -- I know you called out the 200% growth in what's coming out of Santiago, but what inning of that transition of getting those products from Illinois to Santiago, would you say we're in?

好的。很有幫助。接著稍微轉到 AJR 業務。我有一個兩段式問題。第一，你們提到從 Santiago 出貨的成長達 200%，但就把這些產品從伊利諾伊轉移到 Santiago 的進度而言，你們會說我們現在大概在這個轉移的第幾個階段？

And then a similar question when we think about the labor headwinds, where are we in terms of temp labor versus full-time hires and really sort of getting those hires trained and back to full capacity and where you would expect to be to start working down that backlog in a more meaningful way?

第二，類似地，當我們思考勞動力逆風時，就臨時工與全職招募的比例而言，我們目前處於什麼狀態？以及在把這些新進人員訓練完成、恢復到滿載產能方面，你們預期何時能更有意義地開始消化那個積壓訂單？

Yes, absolutely. So with respect to the transfers, we think in terms of three major programs. So number one, completely transferred and running at rate. Number two, now completely transferred and so about to ramp up in rate. So we had sort of a tripling of volume over the last 12 months, and that will continue to grow.

是的，當然。就轉移而言，我們以三個主要專案來看。第一個，已經完全轉移並以既定產能運行。第二個，現在也已完全轉移，正準備把產能拉升。過去 12 個月我們的量大概成長到三倍，而這還會持續成長。

Program number 3 has not really started. So we have the space, the lease. We've got the equipment that's shown up on site, but there's a long sort of PPAP and protocol that we have to go through before that will get up and running. And that may take more than a year, frankly, to be a meaningful contributor to Santiago. With respect to AJR, as Santiago comes up, it takes some pressure off AJR.

第三個專案其實還沒有真正開始。我們有空間、也簽了租約。設備也已經運到現場，但在正式上線前，我們還需要走一套很長的 PPAP 與相關流程/規範。坦白說，這可能需要超過一年，才會對 Santiago 成為有意義的貢獻者。至於 AJR，隨著 Santiago 產能拉升，會替 AJR 減輕一些壓力。

So we have a lot of employees in Chicago. We've really fueled -- or geared up quickly to get our backlog down. The problem is not only do we have backlog, but our customer was growing rapidly. So we've been working quite a bit of overtime with a less efficient crew. And so that overtime is already beginning to subside a little.

所以我們在芝加哥有很多員工。我們確實——也可以說是快速加速——來降低積壓訂單。問題在於不僅我們有積壓訂單，我們的客戶也在快速成長。因此我們用較沒效率的團隊做了相當多的加班。而這些加班現在已經開始稍微下降。

And then as we transfer more work, the less efficient employees will sort of naturally fall off and the ones that are most efficient and eligible for overtime and incentives, et cetera, will be the ones that stay. So I expect to see a smooth plus on that. With respect to progress between Q3 and Q4, I think we cut the problem about in half. Between Q4 and Q1, we made about a 25% improvement. So there's still a ways to go.

接著，隨著我們轉移更多工作，效率較低的員工會某種程度上自然退出，而效率最高、且符合加班與獎勵資格等的人會留下來。所以我預期這會是一個平順的正向改善。就 Q3 到 Q4 的進展而言，我認為我們把問題大概砍半。Q4 到 Q1 之間，我們又改善了大約 25%。所以還有一段路要走。

But I think it will accelerate when we ramp up in Santiago because, again, we have to keep all employees, whether efficient or not right now just because we're trying to get out of backlog situation. And then we'll end up with a more efficient crew when we're done, a smaller, more efficient crew in Illinois.

但我認為當我們在 Santiago 拉升產能時，改善會加速，因為——再說一次——目前我們必須保留所有員工，不管效率高不高，因為我們正努力擺脫積壓訂單的狀況。等到完成後，我們在伊利諾伊會留下更有效率的團隊——規模更小、效率更高的團隊。

Okay. Great. Super helpful. And then maybe last one, just would love a little bit more color on sort of what you're seeing in the M&A landscape and how you're thinking about it. I know you called out a couple of opportunities that were interesting, but maybe not as interesting from a dollar perspective to you as others. So just would love maybe the latest thinking on what that landscape looks like.

好的。很棒。非常有幫助。最後一個問題，我想更了解你們在併購（M&A）環境中看到的情況，以及你們如何思考。我知道你們提到有幾個機會很有意思，但從金額角度來看，對你們而言可能不如對其他人那麼有吸引力。所以想請你們分享一下最新看法：目前那個環境大概是什麼樣子？

Yeah. We have a number of discussions underway. I would say that it's a little quiet right now, frankly. There were some big deals that went through that we bid on, a couple unsuccessfully, which we are absolutely fine with, by the way. And if we get outbid, we'd rather outbid by a lot than miss it by a little.

是的。我們正在進行多項討論。坦白說，我會說現在稍微安靜一些。有一些大型交易已經完成，我們也有參與投標，其中有幾個沒有得標——順帶一提，我們完全可以接受。而且如果我們被出價超過，我們寧可對方高出很多，也不要只差一點點而錯失。

So we are very disciplined in our process, both vetting strategically, vetting for culture and then vetting for value. We do have some small ones that we're working on, and we do have still one very large one that's percolating in the background that will probably take quite a while to come to fruition if it does. But the perfect deals for us are more the medium-sized ones. And there's not as many of those as we'd like to see in the pipeline, but we are looking at deals every single week, and we have meetings with prospects every single week.

所以我們在流程上非常自律：包含策略面審視、文化面審視，以及價值面審視。我們確實有一些小型案子正在推進，同時背景中仍有一個非常大型的案子在醞釀；如果真的成案，可能也需要相當長的時間才會開花結果。但對我們而言，最理想的交易其實是中型案。而這類案子在管線中沒有我們希望看到的那麼多；不過我們每週都在看案子、也每週都會和潛在標的開會。

So the pipeline is constantly being refilled and then vetted and some stuff falls off. So I mean, I still believe that over the next multiple years, acquisition growth will still be 50% of our overall growth. It's just hard to time. That's it.

所以管線會不斷補充、再被篩選，然後有些案子會被淘汰。因此我的看法仍是：在未來好幾年，併購帶來的成長仍會占我們整體成長的 50%。只是很難掌握時間點。就這樣。

Thanks. I'll stop there. Thanks for the questions.

謝謝。我就先到這裡。謝謝讓我提問。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Jeff Bailly, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, for any closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。我想把會議交回給董事長兼執行長 Jeff Bailly，請他做結語。

Yes. Thank you, operator, and thank you to everybody joining the call. Just to close, this is my last call as CEO, and I really appreciate all the support of our shareholders. I'm super excited about the future of the company. UFP is still the largest investment I have by multiples of greater than 10 over the next largest stock, and it's the most exciting stock in my portfolio.

是的。謝謝接線員，也謝謝各位參與本次電話會議。最後補充一下，這是我以執行長身分主持的最後一次電話會議，我非常感謝股東們一路以來的支持。我對公司的未來感到非常興奮。UFP 仍然是我最大的投資，規模是我第二大持股的 10 倍以上，也是我投資組合中最令人興奮的一檔股票。

I think the team of people taking over is super fired up and super excited. And it's a very deep, deep team of people. And so Mitch is well respected. He is ready to go, and he's well prepared to succeed. I will be there for the next year as Executive Chair to support him with acquisitions, key strategic hires, et cetera. But I just want to say thank you, and I appreciate everybody.

我認為接手的團隊非常有衝勁、也非常興奮。而且這是一個非常深厚、非常深厚的團隊。因此 Mitch 備受尊敬。他已準備就緒，也已做好充分準備以取得成功。接下來一年我會以執行董事長的身分在旁支持他，協助併購、關鍵策略性招募等。但我只想說聲謝謝，也感謝大家。

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

本次會議到此結束。感謝各位參加今天的簡報。您現在可以掛線。