UniFirst Corp (UNF) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the UniFirst Corporation Fourth Quarter Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加 UniFirst 公司第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the conference over to Steven Sintros, President and Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.

我現在將會議交給總裁兼執行長史蒂文·辛特羅斯 (Steven Sintros)。請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning. I'm Steven Sintros, UniFirst's President and Chief Executive Officer. Joining me today is Shane O'Connor, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. We'd like to welcome you to UniFirst Corporation's conference call to review our fourth quarter results for the fiscal year 2023.

謝謝你，早安。我是史蒂文‧辛特羅斯 (Steven Sintros)，UniFirst 總裁兼執行長。今天與我一起出席的是執行副總裁兼財務長 Shane O'Connor。我們歡迎您參加 UniFirst Corporation 的電話會議，回顧我們 2023 財年第四季的業績。

This call will be on a listen-only mode until we complete our brief remarks, but first, a brief disclaimer. This conference call may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. The words anticipate, optimistic, believe, estimate, expect, intend and similar expressions that indicate future events and trends identify forward-looking statements.

在我們完成簡短的評論之前，本次電話會議將以只聽模式進行，但首先是一個簡短的免責聲明。本次電話會議可能包含前瞻性陳述，反映本公司目前對未來事件和財務表現的看法。這些前瞻性陳述存在一定的風險和不確定性。預期、樂觀、相信、估計、預期、打算等詞語以及表明未來事件和趨勢的類似表達方式均屬於前瞻性陳述。

Actual future results may differ materially from those anticipated depending on a variety of risk factors. For more information, please refer to the discussion of these risk factors in our most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

根據各種風險因素，未來的實際結果可能與預期結果有重大差異。如需了解更多信息，請參閱我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表格和 10-Q 表格中對這些風險因素的討論。

I'm pleased to report that we closed the year with a fourth quarter that modestly exceeded our expectations in both top and bottom line performance. We accomplished a lot as a team in fiscal 2023, that will help strengthen our company as we move forward, growing our business, making strong progress in our technology transformation and closing on our midyear acquisition of Clean Uniform.

我很高興地向大家報告，我們第四季的營收和利潤表現都略高於我們的預期，結束了這一年。我們作為一個團隊在2023 財年取得了很多成就，這將有助於在我們前進的過程中加強我們的公司，發展我們的業務，在技術轉型方面取得強勁進展，並完成我們年中對Clean Uniform的收購。

I want to sincerely thank all of our team partners who continue to always deliver for each other and our customers, as we strive towards our vision of being universally recognized as the best service provider in the industry. All while living our mission of serving the people who do the hard work.

我要真誠地感謝我們所有的團隊合作夥伴，他們始終為彼此和我們的客戶提供服務，我們努力實現被普遍認為是業內最佳服務提供者的願景。我們始終實踐著辛勤工作的人們服務的使命。

I want to take a couple of minutes to expand on fiscal year '23, what we accomplished as a company and what we have in store moving forward. It comes as no surprise that as we report our final 2023 results that we have continued the company's long-standing record of always growing our top line.

我想花幾分鐘時間來詳細介紹一下 23 財年，我們作為一家公司所取得的成就以及我們未來的發展方向。毫不奇怪，當我們報告 2023 年最終業績時，我們延續了公司始終保持營收成長的長期記錄。

Our full year fiscal 2023, fiscal revenues increased 11.6% to $2.233 billion. Our Core Laundry operations showed strong organic growth during the year, driven by solid new account sales as well as the impact of the effort to work with our customers to share in the impact of the inflationary environment.

2023 財年全年，財政收入成長 11.6%，達到 22.33 億美元。我們的核心洗衣業務在這一年中表現出強勁的有機成長，這得益於穩定的新客戶銷售以及與客戶合作分擔通膨環境影響的努力的影響。

Overall growth was also bolstered by our midyear acquisition of Clean Uniform. We couldn't be more pleased with what we were able to bring Clean into the UniFirst family. We continue to feel they are a tremendous fit within our organization in terms of their focus on service excellence as well as overall culture.

我們年中收購 Clean Uniform 也促進了整體成長。我們對能夠將 Clean 引入 UniFirst 家族感到非常高興。我們仍然認為，就卓越服務和整體文化的關注而言，他們非常適合我們的組織。

The early days of bringing our companies together have been very constructive with initial efforts being focused primarily on retaining Clean's most important assets, its people and its customers. We are also very excited about leveraging some of the experience and knowledge that the Clean team has with respect to UniFirst CRM technology. As well as some of the proprietary applications that Clean has built to further enhance the usability and efficiency of our CRM.

我們公司合併的初期非常具有建設性，最初的努力主要集中在保留 Clean 最重要的資產、員工和客戶。我們也非常高興能夠利用 Clean 團隊在 UniFirst CRM 技術方面擁有的一些經驗和知識。以及 Clean 為進一步增強 CRM 的可用性和效率而建立的一些專有應用程式。

As we discussed last quarter, due to the strong leadership and service reputation that Clean brings with it, as well as the complexities of where we are in our technology transformation, we will be strategic and patient and the full integration of the 2 businesses. That being said, in the 6 months since the closing date, Clean has produced very solid operating results.

正如我們上季度所討論的，由於 Clean 帶來的強大領導力和服務聲譽，以及我們技術轉型的複雜性，我們將策略性地、耐心地對這兩項業務進行全面整合。話雖如此，自交割日起的 6 個月內，Clean 取得了非常穩健的營運表現。

Our Specialty Garments segment contributed very strongly on the top and bottom line in fiscal 2023, with record revenues and profits during the year. As a reminder, our Specialty Garments segment is made up of both our Nuclear and Cleanroom operations. Our Cleanroom division continues to show steady growth in profitability, which we expect to continue as we move forward. As we have mentioned over the years, our Nuclear division's results can be more volatile based on the impact of certain projects. As well as swings in activity with some very large customers.

我們的特種服裝部門對 2023 財年的營收和利潤做出了非常強勁的貢獻，全年營收和利潤均創歷史新高。提醒一下，我們的特種服裝部門由我們的核子和無塵室業務組成。我們的無塵室部門的獲利能力繼續穩定成長，我們預計隨著我們的前進，這一趨勢將繼續下去。正如我們多年來所提到的，我們核部門的表現可能會因某些項目的影響而更加不穩定。以及一些非常大的客戶的活動波動。

In fiscal '24, we do expect the Nuclear division of this segment to take a step back from its record-setting 2023 results, due to decreased revenue from its Canadian customers. We believe very strongly in the bright future of our First Aid and Safety division, which grew 22.5% in fiscal '23. We continue to make investments in the sales and service infrastructure of this segment to expand our footprint and ensure that we can reach existing UniFirst customers. As well as new prospects in the market that have a strong need for these products and services.

在 24 財年，我們確實預計該部門的核部門將比其創紀錄的 2023 年業績有所回落，因為來自加拿大客戶的收入減少。我們對急救和安全部門的光明未來充滿信心，該部門在 23 財年成長了 22.5%。我們繼續對該細分市場的銷售和服務基礎設施進行投資，以擴大我們的足跡並確保我們能夠涵蓋現有的 UniFirst 客戶。以及對這些產品和服務有強烈需求的市場新前景。

As expected, the investments to expand our reach and route structure have certainly limited our ability to expand the profitability of this segment, but we are happy with the progress towards the longer-term goal of building a much larger, more profitable business that meets our customers' needs.

正如預期的那樣，擴大我們的業務範圍和航線結構的投資無疑限制了我們擴大該細分市場盈利能力的能力，但我們對建立一個規模更大、利潤更高的業務以滿足我們的需求的長期目標所取得的進展感到高興。客戶的需求。

As we have discussed throughout the year, we have progressed -- we have continued to progress on 2 large technology initiatives designed to transform the company in terms of our overall capabilities and competitive positioning. These initiatives are the rollout of our new CRM and our corporate-wide Oracle ERP system.

正如我們全年討論的那樣，我們已經取得了進展——我們在兩項大型技術計劃上繼續取得進展，這些計劃旨在改變公司的整體能力和競爭地位。這些措施包括我們新的 CRM 和全公司 Oracle ERP 系統的推出。

With respect to our CRM systems project as of today, we've effectively deployed a 100% of our U.S. core laundry operations onto the new system. Going forward, there is still work to be done to optimize the new system, including further enhancements to our CRM, full conversion to our new barcode technology, aligning with Clean's technology footprint. As well as integrating with our ERP.

截至目前，我們的 CRM 系統專案已將美國核心洗衣業務 100% 有效部署到新系統上。展望未來，優化新系統仍有工作要做，包括進一步增強我們的 CRM、全面轉換為我們的新條碼技術、與 Clean 的技術足跡保持一致。以及與我們的 ERP 整合。

Over the next 2 or 3 years, we will continue to expand cost through our operating results and capital expenditures related to these key initiatives. Shane will provide additional commentary and estimates of these costs in his comments shortly as we think it is important to understand the impact that these initiatives are having on our results.

未來兩三年，我們將繼續透過我們的經營業績和與這些關鍵措施相關的資本支出來擴大成本。肖恩很快就會在他的評論中提供額外的評論和對這些成本的估計，因為我們認為了解這些舉措對我們結果的影響非常重要。

Overall, we continue to be excited about how these investments will continue to position the company for future success. I'm proud of the fact that the company continues to make solid progress and contributions in the area of environmental, social governance, ESG. The nature of our industry and rental model has always allowed us as a company to do our part of enhancing the economy's environmental footprint, given our role as a natural recycler. As well as the better utilization of resources in operation like ours enables.

總體而言，我們仍然對這些投資將如何繼續為公司未來的成功奠定基礎感到興奮。我為公司在環境、社會治理、ESG領域不斷取得紮實的進步和貢獻感到自豪。鑑於我們作為自然回收者的角色，我們的行業和租賃模式的性質始終使我們作為一家公司能夠盡自己的一份力量來提高經濟的環境足跡。以及在像我們這樣的營運中更好地利用資源。

We continue to make investments in progress in the areas of reduction of water consumption, growing our fleet of electric delivery vehicles, renewable sources of energy like solar, upgrading facilities with LED lighting, environmentally efficient laundry detergent, creative textile recycling and more. While many of these efforts have been ongoing, we are preparing ourselves to increase the level of measurement and reporting to ensure we are focused on making the right investments to meaningfully impact the environment, support our customers and have a positive impact on our business.

我們持續在減少用水量、擴大電動送貨車車隊、太陽能等再生能源、採用 LED 照明昇級設施、環保洗衣粉、創意紡織品回收等領域進行投資。雖然其中許多努力一直在進行，但我們正在準備提高衡量和報告的水平，以確保我們專注於進行正確的投資，以對環境產生有意義的影響，支持我們的客戶並對我們的業務產生積極影響。

As we've discussed throughout the year, our profits in our Core Laundry compared to prior years have continued to be pressured by higher operational costs, being impacted by the inflationary environment. As we look forward to fiscal '24 and beyond, margin improvement will certainly be a key focus of the organization. Executing on our growth model, while also managing costs in areas we can control will be critical, all are assuring we don't impact our ability to execute on our transformational initiatives or adversely affect our customer service levels.

正如我們全年討論的那樣，與往年相比，我們核心洗衣店的利潤繼續受到營運成本上升和通膨環境影響的壓力。當我們展望 24 財年及以後時，利潤率的提高無疑將成為該組織的重點關注點。執行我們的成長模式，同時在我們可以控制的領域管理成本至關重要，所有這些都確保我們不會影響我們執行轉型計劃的能力或對我們的客戶服務水平產生不利影響。

In addition to day-to-day execution, we are focused on margin opportunities in many areas. As I mentioned, there is work being done, optimizing the use of our new CRM, including leveraging some of Clean's proprietary technology across all of UniFirst. Areas such as strategic pricing and account profitability and strategic manufacturing and sourcing represent significant opportunities.

除了日常執行之外，我們還關注許多領域的利潤機會。正如我所提到的，我們正在進行工作，優化我們新 CRM 的使用，包括在整個 UniFirst 中利用 Clean 的一些專有技術。策略定價和客戶獲利能力以及策略製造和採購等領域代表著重大機會。

Although some of these benefits going forward will be more significantly enabled through the implementation of our ERP, which Shane will discuss more about shortly, we continue to focus on these areas and others, we feel can move the needle in the near to midterm.

儘管透過實施我們的 ERP，未來的一些好處將得到更顯著的實現（Shane 將很快對此進行討論），但我們將繼續關注這些領域和其他領域，我們認為可以在近期到中期取得進展。

Overall, we expect fiscal '24 to be another solid year for UniFirst. As our outlook includes, we expect our top line to surpass $2.4 billion. And at the midpoint, consolidated EBITDA to improve by approximately 20%. Although some of that growth is attributable to lower key initiative costs, even excluding this benefit, EBITDA is projected to show double-digit growth.

總體而言，我們預計 24 財年對 UniFirst 來說將是另一個穩健的一年。正如我們的展望所示，我們預計我們的收入將超過 24 億美元。中期來看，綜合 EBITDA 提高了約 20%。儘管這種成長在一定程度上歸因於關鍵舉措成本的降低，但即使排除這一收益，EBITDA 預計仍將呈現兩位數成長。

Overall, we expect to accomplish these goals, all while continuing to always deliver for our customers and continue our journey to transform the company in terms of technology and overall capabilities. I'd like to once again thank our thousands of dedicated team partners who make everything we accomplish as a company possible. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Shane, who will provide more details on our fourth quarter results. As well as our outlook for fiscal '24.

總的來說，我們期望實現這些目標，同時繼續為客戶提供服務，並繼續我們在技術和整體能力方面改造公司的旅程。我要再次感謝我們數千名敬業的團隊合作夥伴，是他們讓我們公司所取得的一切成就成為可能。因此，我想將電話轉給肖恩，他將提供有關我們第四季度業績的更多詳細資訊。以及我們對 24 財年的展望。

Thanks, Steve. Consolidated revenues in our fourth quarter of 2023, were $571.9 million, an increase of 10.7% from $516.4 million a year ago. And consolidated operating income increased to $36.1 million from $33.3 million or 8.5%.

謝謝，史蒂夫。 2023 年第四季的合併收入為 5.719 億美元，比去年同期的 5.164 億美元成長 10.7%。綜合營業收入從 3,330 萬美元增至 3,610 萬美元，增幅為 8.5%。

Net income for the quarter increased to $27.6 million or $1.47 per diluted share from $26.2 million or $1.39 per diluted share. As we mentioned last quarter, due to the increase in noncash acquisition-related intangibles amortization, that we will be incurring as a result of the Clean acquisition, we believe that EBITDA will become a valuable metric for us to include in our commentary going forward.

該季度淨利潤從 2,620 萬美元或稀釋每股 1.39 美元增至 2,760 萬美元或稀釋每股 1.47 美元。正如我們上季度所提到的，由於 Clean 收購導致我們將產生與非現金收購相關的無形資產攤銷的增加，我們相信 EBITDA 將成為我們未來評論中包含的一個有價值的指標。

Consolidated EBITDA increased to $69.2 million compared to $60.2 million in the prior year or 15%. Our financial results in the fourth quarters of fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022 included $6.1 million and $9.1 million, respectively, of costs directly attributable to our key initiatives. In addition, we incurred costs related to the acquisition of Clean Uniform, during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 of approximately $0.3 million.

合併 EBITDA 增至 6,920 萬美元，而前一年為 6,020 萬美元，增幅為 15%。我們 2023 財年和 2022 財年第四季的財務表現分別包括直接歸因於我們關鍵措施的成本 610 萬美元和 910 萬美元。此外，我們在 2023 財年第四季也產生了與收購 Clean Uniform 相關的成本約 30 萬美元。

The effect of these items on the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 and 2022 combined to decrease both operating income and EBITDA by $6.4 million and $9.1 million, respectively. Net income by $5.3 million and $7.6 million, respectively, and diluted EPS by $0.28 and $0.40, respectively.

這些項目對 2023 財年第四季和 2022 財年第四季的影響合計導致營業收入和 EBITDA 分別減少 640 萬美元和 910 萬美元。淨利潤分別增加 530 萬美元和 760 萬美元，攤薄後每股收益分別減少 0.28 美元和 0.40 美元。

Our Core Laundry operations revenues for the quarter were $505 million, an increase of 10.1% from the fourth quarter of 2022. Core Laundry organic growth, which adjusts for the estimated effect of acquisitions, as well as fluctuations in the Canadian dollar, was 5.3%. This organic growth rate was impacted by pricing efforts over the last year to share with our customers the cost increases that we have incurred in our business as well as solid sales performance.

我們本季的核心洗衣業務收入為 5.05 億美元，較 2022 年第四季成長 10.1%。根據收購的估計影響以及加幣波動進行調整後，核心洗衣業務的有機成長為 5.3% 。這一有機成長率受到去年與客戶分享業務成本增加以及穩定銷售業績的定價努力的影響。

Core Laundry operating margin decreased to 6% for the quarter from 6.3% in prior year. However, the segment's EBITDA margin increased to 12.2% from 11.8%. The costs we incurred related to our key initiatives and the Clean acquisition were recorded to the Core Laundry operation segment, and combined to decrease both the Core Laundry operating and EBITDA margins for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 and 2022 by 1.3% and 2%, respectively.

本季核心洗衣店營業利潤率從去年同期的 6.3% 下降至 6%。然而，該部門的 EBITDA 利潤率從 11.8% 增加到 12.2%。我們產生的與關鍵措施和Clean 收購相關的成本已記錄到核心洗衣業務部門，這些成本加起來使2023 財年第四季度和2022 財年第四季度的核心洗衣業務利潤率和EBITDA 利潤率分別下降1.3% 和2%，分別。

The segment's operating and EBITDA margins were further impacted by higher merchandise, payroll and payroll-related costs. Which were partially offset by lower energy and legal costs as a percentage of revenues. The purchase accounting for the most -- for the recent Clean Uniform acquisition additionally impacted the segment's operating margin, most notably in the form of elevated noncash purchase related intangibles amortization.

該部門的營運利潤率和 EBITDA 利潤率進一步受到商品、工資和工資相關成本上漲的影響。能源和法律成本佔收入百分比的下降部分抵消了這一影響。此次收購影響最大—最近收購的 Clean Uniform 也影響了該部門的營業利潤率，最顯著的是與非現金購買相關的無形資產攤銷增加。

Energy costs for the quarter were 4.3% of revenues, down from 5.3% a year ago. Revenues from our Specialty Garments segment, which delivers specialized Nuclear decontamination and cleanroom products and services, were $41.4 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, an increase of 13% over 2022. The segment's top line growth was primarily driven by its cleanroom and North American Nuclear operations. Segment's operating income during the quarter was $6.8 million, an increase of 69.4% over 2022.

本季能源成本佔營收的 4.3%，低於去年同期的 5.3%。我們的特種服裝部門提供專業的核淨化和無塵室產品和服務，2023 財年第四季的收入為 4,140 萬美元，比 2022 年增長 13%。該部門的營收成長主要由其無塵室和北方美國核子行動。該部門本季營業收入為 680 萬美元，比 2022 年成長 69.4%。

Our First Aid segment's revenues in the fourth quarter of 2023 increased to $25.4 million from $21.2 million, with both the wholesale and van operations contributing to this growth. However, the segment had an operating loss of $0.9 million during the quarter. These results continue to reflect our investment in expanding our First Aid van business and building the foundation for what we expect to eventually be a much larger business.

我們的急救部門的收入在 2023 年第四季從 2,120 萬美元增加到 2,540 萬美元，批發和貨車業務都對此成長做出了貢獻。然而，該部門本季的營運虧損為 90 萬美元。這些結果繼續反映了我們對擴大急救車業務的投資，並為我們期望最終成為更大的業務奠定了基礎。

At the end of fiscal 2023, we continue to reflect a solid balance sheet and financial position with no long-term debt and cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $89.6 million. We did not repurchase any additional common stock under our current stock repurchase program during the quarter.

到 2023 財年末，我們繼續保持穩健的資產負債表和財務狀況，沒有長期債務，現金、現金等價物和短期投資總計 8,960 萬美元。本季我們沒有根據目前的股票回購計畫回購任何額外的普通股。

Cash provided by operating activities for the year increased to $215.8 million compared to $122.6 million in prior year, primarily due to lower working capital needs of the business. In fiscal 2023, we continue to invest in our future with capital expenditures of $172 million in the acquisition of 5 businesses for which we paid $306.2 million.

本年度經營活動提供的現金增加至 2.158 億美元，而前一年為 1.226 億美元，主要是由於業務營運資金需求減少。 2023 財年，我們繼續投資未來，資本支出 1.72 億美元收購了 5 家企業，我們為此支付了 3.062 億美元。

The most significant being the Clean Uniform acquisition for a purchase price of approximately $300 million. I'd like to take this opportunity to provide our outlook for fiscal 2024, which will include one extra week of operations, compared to fiscal 2023, due to the timing of our fiscal calendar.

其中最重要的是 Clean Uniform 收購，收購價格約 3 億美元。我想藉此機會提供我們對 2024 財年的展望，由於我們財年日曆的時間安排，與 2023 財年相比，其中包括額外一周的運營。

At this time, we expect our full year revenues for fiscal 2024 will be between $2.415 billion and $2.435 billion. We further expect that our fully diluted earnings per share will be between $6.52 and $7.16. This guidance includes $16 million of costs, that we expect to incur attributable to our key initiatives, which at this point, relate only to the CRM and ERP projects.

目前，我們預計 2024 財年全年營收將在 24.15 億美元至 24.35 億美元之間。我們進一步預期完全稀釋後的每股盈餘將在 6.52 美元至 7.16 美元之間。該指導包括 1600 萬美元的成本，我們預計這些成本歸因於我們的關鍵舉措，目前僅與 CRM 和 ERP 項目相關。

These key initiative costs decreased our EPS assumption by $0.64. Consolidated EBITDA is expected to be $307.8 million, an increase of 21.5%. This outlook assumes Core Laundry revenue growth at the midpoint of the range of 9.4%. And its organic growth, which also excludes the effect of the extra week to be 4.8%. Core Laundry operations operating and EBITDA margins are assumed to be 6.4% and 12.5%, respectively. Which were decreased by our key initiative cost assumptions by 0.7%.

這些關鍵舉措成本使我們的 EPS 假設降低了 0.64 美元。綜合 EBITDA 預計為 3.078 億美元，成長 21.5%。這個前景假設核心洗衣店營收成長在 9.4% 的中點。排除額外一週的影響，其有機成長為 4.8%。核心洗衣業務的營運利潤率和 EBITDA 利潤率假設分別為 6.4% 和 12.5%。我們的關鍵計劃成本假設降低了 0.7%。

Our Core Laundry operations operating and EBITDA margin improvement, compared to 2023 reflects lower direct costs we expect to incur related to our key initiatives, primarily due to the conclusion of the domestic rollout of our CRM system and our ERP initiative entering implementation phases that are largely capitalizable.

與2023 年相比，我們的核心洗衣業務營運和EBITDA 利潤率有所提高，反映出我們預計與我們的關鍵舉措相關的直接成本將會降低，這主要是由於我們的CRM 系統在國內的推出以及我們的ERP 計劃進入實施階段，這在很大程度上是由於可大寫。

As well as moderating merchandise costs and other input costs as the inflationary headwinds that have been impacting our operating environment and have continued to ease. Energy costs are expected to be 4.3% of revenues in fiscal 2024. And next year's effective tax rate is assumed to be 25%. Our Specialty Garments revenues are forecast to be down from 2023 by approximately 2%, due to projected declines in the Canadian Nuclear business, partially offset by continued growth in the cleanroom business.

以及商品成本和其他投入成本的下降，以及一直影響我們經營環境並持續緩解的通膨逆風。 2024 財年，能源成本預計將佔收入的 4.3%。明年的有效稅率預計為 25%。由於加拿大核電業務的預期下降，我們的特種服裝收入預計將比 2023 年下降約 2%，但無塵室業務的持續成長部分抵消了這一下降。

The change in business mix will have a larger impact on the profitability of this segment, and we expect operating income will be down approximately 17%. As we have commented in the past, this segment's results can vary significantly from period to period, due to seasonality as well as the timing and profitability of nuclear reactor outages and projects.

業務結構的變化將對該板塊的獲利能力產生較大影響，我們預計營業收入將下降約17%。正如我們過去評論的那樣，由於季節性以及核反應器停駛和項目的時間和盈利能力，該部門的表現在不同時期可能會有很大差異。

Our First Aid segment's revenues are expected to be up approximately 13% compared to 2023, and the segment's profitability is expected to be marginally positive. We expect that our capital expenditures in 2024 will approximate $150 million, which reflects lower new facility investments that have strategically run high over the last few years. Partially offset by higher application development investments, most significantly related to our ERP implementation.

與 2023 年相比，我們的急救部門的收入預計將成長約 13%，並且該部門的獲利能力預計將略有上升。我們預計 2024 年的資本支出將約為 1.5 億美元，反映出過去幾年戰略性高位的新設施投資減少。部分被更高的應用程式開發投資所抵消，其中最重要的是與我們的 ERP 實施相關。

Throughout 2023, we have focused our efforts on the global design phase of our ERP initiative, which was not capitalizable. Starting in the first quarter of 2024, we will be entering implementation phases of our initiative, where the majority of the costs will now be capitalized. We expect our ERP implementation will be a multiyear initiative that will continue through 2027, with early phases focused on master data management and finance capabilities, followed by subsequent phases with the procurement and the supply chain focus.

在整個 2023 年，我們的工作重點是 ERP 計畫的全球設計階段，但該階段尚未資本化。從 2024 年第一季開始，我們將進入該計劃的實施階段，其中大部分成本現在將被資本化。我們預計 ERP 實施將是一項多年計劃，將持續到 2027 年，早期階段側重於主資料管理和財務能力，隨後階段將專注於採購和供應鏈。

We expect the total amount of this project to be approximately $85 million and have partnered with one of the world's largest strategy through execution, professional services firms to assist us in our implementation effort. We expect this initiative and the capabilities it will enable, will provide the following benefits to our organization.

我們預計該專案的總金額約為 8500 萬美元，並與全球最大的策略執行專業服務公司之一合作，協助我們實施工作。我們預計這項措施及其所帶來的功能將為我們的組織帶來以下好處。

Improved inventory planning and forecasting will allow us to manage our inventory levels more effectively, improve the time to install new accounts and fulfill the daily needs of our existing customers. As well as improved direct sourcing costs.

改進的庫存規劃和預測將使我們能夠更有效地管理庫存水平，縮短安裝新帳戶的時間並滿足現有客戶的日常需求。以及改善直接採購成本。

Improved visibility and centralized management of local stock room inventory will enable us to more effectively utilize our used garment inventory. Enhanced procurement capabilities will enable us to centralize sourcing with enhanced strategies around vendor management and negotiation as well as improved visibility, oversight and analytics into organizational spend.

提高本地庫房庫存的可見性和集中管理將使我們能夠更有效地利用我們的二手服裝庫存。增強的採購能力將使我們能夠透過圍繞供應商管理和談判的增強策略來集中採購，並提高組織支出的可見性、監督和分析。

Automation of manual processes will enhance the efficiency of our back-end office functions and simplification of our IT architecture and improvement in our data quality will reduce operational complexity and cost to deliver. We believe that these benefits will provide 150 to 200 basis points of improvement to our EBITDA margins. However, we caution that the larger value will be derived from the later phases of the project and will take time to realize.

手動流程的自動化將提高我們後端辦公室功能的效率，簡化我們的 IT 架構，提高資料品質將降低營運複雜性和交付成本。我們相信，這些好處將使我們的 EBITDA 利潤率提高 150 至 200 個基點。然而，我們警告說，更大的價值將來自專案的後期階段，並且需要時間才能實現。

Our guidance assumes our current level of outstanding common shares and no unexpected changes generally affecting the economy. This concludes our prepared remarks, and we would now be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

我們的指導假設我們目前的已發行普通股水平，並且沒有普遍影響經濟的意外變化。我們準備好的演講到此結束，我們現在很樂意回答您可能提出的任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Manav Patnaik with Barclays.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的馬納夫·帕特奈克（Manav Patnaik）。

This is Ronan Kennedy on for Manav. Can I just please confirm the overall contribution to the extent you disclose them from pricing versus new business? And then the cross-sell penetration and how those compare to historic levels and what the outlook for each of those components is contemplated in the guidance for '24?

我是馬納夫的羅南肯尼迪。我能否確認您從定價與新業務中揭露的整體貢獻？然後是交叉銷售滲透率，以及與歷史水準相比如何，以及 24 世紀指導中對每個組成部分的前景如何？

So we have not historically broken out those components, but I can give you directionally what we're seeing with respect to, I guess, the broader 2023 and what we expect going forward. Particularly pricing being a large item that we've talked about, given the inflationary condition, we expect that impact to decrease. We've seen some of that over the back half of '23, and we expect that in '24 as well.

因此，我們歷史上並沒有分解這些組成部分，但我可以向您提供我們所看到的關於更廣泛的 2023 年的情況以及我們對未來的期望。特別是定價是我們討論過的一個大問題，考慮到通貨膨脹狀況，我們預計這種影響會減少。我們在 23 年下半年已經看到了其中的一些情況，我們預計在 24 年也會如此。

We expect contribution from new account sales and retention to be similar in 2024. As well as cross-sell. I think we, the other components of our growth, reasonably stable trajectory. In terms of often one of the other components we talk about is wearer levels. And I would say wearer levels have continued to be stable through the back half of this year, and that's at this point what we've assumed going through '24.

我們預計 2024 年新客戶銷售和保留的貢獻將相似。交叉銷售也是如此。我認為我們，我們成長的其他組成部分，軌跡相當穩定。我們通常談論的其他組成部分之一是佩戴者的水平。我想說的是，今年下半年佩戴者的水平繼續保持穩定，這就是我們目前假設的 24 年情況。

That's helpful. And as a follow-up, if I may, just confirm the assumptions for the broader macro and then more specifically for the merchandise amortization materials, commodity and labor inflation. And how pricing -- where you will be pricing with regards to capturing the impact of those?

這很有幫助。作為後續行動，如果可以的話，我只是確認更廣泛的宏觀假設，然後更具體地確認商品攤銷材料、商品和勞動力通膨的假設。以及如何定價——你將在哪裡定價以捕捉這些影響？

Yes. In terms of a couple of different things you mentioned there. In terms of our overall merchandise costs, we have talked a lot in the last couple of years, how we've seen escalating merchandise costs, both from a quantity perspective coming off some of the lows of the pandemic, when less merchandise was infused given the labor environment. The strong growth in heads, in labor coming out of the pandemic has obviously caused our merchandise to escalate, exacerbated by higher cost of merchandise in a number of different areas, including freight, raw materials and so on.

是的。就您提到的幾件不同的事情而言。就我們的整體商品成本而言，過去幾年我們已經談論了很多，我們如何看到商品成本不斷上升，無論是從數量角度來看，還是從大流行的一些低點來看，當時注入的商品較少勞動環境。疫情造成的人口和勞動力的強勁增長顯然導致我們的商品價格上漲，而包括貨運、原材料等在內的許多不同領域的商品成本上漲則加劇了這種情況。

A number of things are happening at this point that are causing our merchandise costs and trajectory to start to flatten. And it really exists in all areas. We're getting a little bit more to a mature population coming off the lows of the pandemic. And also, as you can imagine, we are experiencing lower freight costs, bringing in product, raw material costs, if you follow things like cotton and in some cases, on a smaller extent, things like rubber for mats and so on, have also moderated from a year ago.

此時發生的許多事情導致我們的商品成本和軌跡開始趨於平緩。而且它確實存在於各個領域。對於擺脫大流行低點的成熟人口來說，我們得到了更多的幫助。而且，正如你可以想像的那樣，我們正在經歷較低的運費，帶來產品和原材料成本，如果你關注棉花等物品，在某些情況下，在較小程度上，墊子橡膠等物品也有所下降。從一年前開始主持。

So those things are starting to work our way through the supply chain and contribute to the fact that our merchandise cost overall is starting to flatten a bit.

因此，這些事情開始在我們的供應鏈中發揮作用，並導致我們的商品成本整體開始趨於平緩。

Our next question comes from the line of Tim Mulrooney with William Blair.

我們的下一個問題來自蒂姆·馬爾魯尼和威廉·布萊爾的對話。

I just wanted to follow up on the the retention aspect of the business? I know last quarter, you mentioned that you've seen a slight tick up in customer attrition over the last few months, but I know your retention rates historically been pretty darn high. So we're just curious how your current rate compares to historical standards? And if you've seen any change in customer attrition relative to when you were talking about this last quarter.

我只是想跟進業務的保留方面？我知道上個季度，您提到過去幾個月客戶流失率略有上升，但我知道您的保留率歷來相當高。所以我們只是好奇你們目前的利率與歷史標準相比如何？與您談論上個季度時相比，您是否發現客戶流失發生了任何變化。

Yes. I would say not much of a change since last quarter. It's just been a few months. I think overall for the year, the comment stands that we were a bit higher.

是的。我想說自上季度以來沒有太大變化。才過了幾個月。我認為今年總體而言，評論表明我們的水平要高一些。

When you say historical, I would say that our retention had improved for a couple of years. And then we kind of took a little bit of a step back this year. A lot of feedback during the pandemic and so on, maybe a lot of decisions from customers, whether it's changing vendors, both on the sales and retention side, were sort of delayed and maybe a little more energy around that this year as people looking to control their own costs, maybe put more things out to bid. It's just anecdotally maybe some of the things that could have impacted it.

當你說歷史時，我會說我們的保留率在幾年內有所提高。然後今年我們有點退了一步。在大流行等期間，可能有很多來自客戶的反饋，無論是在銷售還是保留方面更換供應商，都被推遲了，今年可能會有更多的精力，因為人們希望控制自己的成本，也許可以把更多的東西拿出來競標。這只是傳聞，也許有些事情可能會影響它。

So certainly, our ongoing growth model assumes continued high retention rates and a lot of the things that we're focused on as a company. With our technology transformation and process transformation is to continue to improve that retention. So I would say not much of a change from a few months ago.

當然，我們持續的成長模式假設持續的高保留率以及我們作為一家公司關注的許多事情。我們透過技術改造和流程改造來不斷提高這種保留率。所以我想說與幾個月前相比沒有太大變化。

Okay. Steve. One other -- actually, I have 2 more quick ones. So following up on the ERP comments, Shane, that you made at the end. I just want to make sure I've got this right. It's a multiyear initiative that's going to continue through 2027. Benefits should be 150 to 200 basis points EBITDA margins, but most of that's going to be realized towards the end of the project. So -- and it will maybe take some time after that. So is that -- just want to make sure I'm thinking about this correctly. Like the benefits from this, we likely won't see a lot of this until fiscal 2027 or later. Is that correct?

好的。史蒂夫.另外一個——實際上，我還有兩個更快的。 Shane，請跟進您最後提出的 ERP 評論。我只是想確保我做對了。這是一項多年計劃，將持續到 2027 年。收益應為 EBITDA 利潤率提高 150 至 200 個基點，但其中大部分將在項目結束時實現。所以——之後可能需要一些時間。就是這樣——只是想確保我對這個問題的思考是正確的。就像由此帶來的好處一樣，我們可能要到 2027 財年或更晚的時間才能看到很多這樣的好處。那是對的嗎？

Yes. Yes. I think that, that's sort of what I was communicating there. Now in the earlier -- in some of the earlier phases, there will be benefits that will be realized right, as we go through some of those FICO centric or finance-centric activities.

是的。是的。我想，這就是我在那裡交流的內容。現在，在早期的一些早期階段，當我們進行一些以 FICO 為中心或以金融為中心的活動時，將會正確實現一些好處。

But the more meaningful value that is being sort of communicated here is really around the supply chain capabilities, as well as the procurement capabilities that are some of the later phases. So yes, the more meaningful value is expected to be realized in those later phases when we get to, I guess, the capabilities that I had mentioned.

但這裡傳達的更有意義的價值實際上是圍繞著供應鏈能力以及後期階段的採購能力。所以，是的，當我們達到我提到的功能時，預計會在後期階段實現更有意義的價值。

One thing I want to add to that, and I sort of alluded to it in my comments, is we certainly think supply chain is a big area of opportunity. And during the pandemic, as many companies experience is disruption in their supply chain. In many cases, it was more about getting product than being able to optimize, maybe where you got product and how you've got product.

我想補充的一件事是，我在評論中提到了這一點，我們當然認為供應鏈是一個巨大的機會領域。在疫情期間，許多公司都經歷了供應鏈中斷的情況。在許多情況下，更多的是獲得產品而不是能夠優化，也許你在哪裡獲得產品以及如何獲得產品。

And so we are making efforts and initiatives to improve in those areas that we think can help our cost and profitability over the next few years. Even leading into the benefits that the supply chain ERP benefit will ultimately accelerate and enable. So I just wanted to make that comment in the context is we're not waiting to the end of the ERP to make improvements in these areas, but the ERP will eventually enable those fully.

因此，我們正在努力並採取措施來改進那些我們認為可以幫助我們在未來幾年降低成本和提高獲利能力的領域。甚至導致供應鏈 ERP 的好處最終將加速和實現。所以我只是想在這樣的背景下發表評論：我們不會等到 ERP 結束才在這些領域進行改進，但 ERP 最終將充分實現這些目標。

Understood, and understood it's a longer-term project I wanted to make sure I just had the timing right on that stuff, but I appreciate the extra color there. My apologies to be their analysts. I'm going to try to sneak one more in really quick, which is just wanted to -- on a housekeeping question, just wanted to understand how much the Clean Uniform acquisition contributed to revenue in the quarter? And what quarter do you expect to see that impact from that extra work week in fiscal 2024?

理解並理解這是一個長期項目，我想確保我在這些東西上的時機正確，但我很欣賞那裡的額外色彩。我很抱歉成為他們的分析師。我將嘗試快速地再悄悄加入一個，這只是想——就內務管理問題而言，只是想了解 Clean Uniform 的收購為本季度的收入貢獻了多少？您預計 2024 財年哪個季度會看到額外工作週帶來的影響？

Yes. So again, when we acquired Clean, it was about $90 million. Their run rate for the quarter is largely in line with that. And actually -- I'm sorry, I missed the second part of the question.

是的。同樣，當我們收購 Clean 時，價格約為 9,000 萬美元。他們本季的運行率基本上與此一致。事實上——抱歉，我錯過了問題的第二部分。

No worries. I was just curious, is that extra work week always in the fourth quarter? Does it sometimes sit in different quarters? Just -- just curious when we should be adjusting for that out of organic growth?

不用擔心。我只是好奇，額外的工作週總是在第四季嗎？有時它會坐在不同的地方嗎？只是——只是好奇我們什麼時候該調整有機成長？

Yes, that's a good question. Yes, the extra week is going to be in our fourth quarter. And we usually time it in the fourth quarter, historically have over the last number of instances, where we've had a 53-week year.

是的，這是一個好問題。是的，額外的一周將在我們的第四季進行。我們通常將其時間安排在第四季度，歷史上有過這樣的情況，即我們一年有 53 週。

Our next question comes from the line of Kartik Mehta with Dorscoast Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Dorscoast Research 的 Kartik Mehta。

Steve, maybe just your thoughts on where -- how your customers are feeling about the economy. And obviously, based on the guidance, it seems as though you're not anticipating much of a pullback on the economy, and I'm assuming that your customers are giving you pretty positive feedback on how they're feeling about their business.

史蒂夫，也許只是您對客戶對經濟的感受如何的想法。顯然，根據指導意見，您似乎預計經濟不會出現太大回調，而且我假設您的客戶正在就他們對業務的感受向您提供非常積極的反饋。

Yes. I would say a pretty stable environment. I think you see it with the some of the job creation numbers coming out recently. We're obviously always cautious given the environment with interest rates, whether there's another shoe to drop.

是的。我想說的是一個相當穩定的環境。我想你可以從最近公佈的一些創造就業機會的數字中看到這一點。考慮到利率環境，我們顯然始終保持謹慎，無論是否還有另一隻鞋要掉下來。

But right now, I would say companies are still making investments, hiring. We see it a little bit on our own hiring side. It may be a little bit easier to bring in employees, but it's still a competitive labor environment out there.

但現在，我想說的是，公司仍在進行投資、招募。我們在招募方面也看到了一點。引進員工可能會更容易一些，但仍然是一個競爭激烈的勞動力環境。

Which, to us, tells us that people aren't pulling back, and that's really what we're seeing from our customers right now. So we think it's a pretty healthy environment right now. Obviously, we continue to to look out for any indicators of that turning, but we have not built any of that into our assumptions.

對我們來說，這告訴我們人們並沒有退縮，而這正是我們現在從客戶身上看到的。所以我們認為現在是一個非常健康的環境。顯然，我們繼續尋找這種轉變的任何跡象，但我們沒有將任何這些納入我們的假設中。

And then, Steve, I think you had said or maybe, Shane, on pricing that you're expecting a little bit of a pullback from where you were last year just because of what's happened with inflation. And I'm wondering, is any of that pullback related to a change in the environment, where you're seeing extra competition? Or is this all related to just lower inflation or customers are asking -- aren't willing to pay that extra like they did a year or 2 ago?

然後，史蒂夫，我想你曾經說過，或者可能是肖恩，在定價方面，你預計由於通貨膨脹的原因，你預計價格會比去年有所回落。我想知道，這種回調是否與環境的變化有關，你看到了額外的競爭？或者這一切都與較低的通貨膨脹有關，或者客戶要求——不願意像一兩年前那樣支付額外費用？

Yes. I think everyone is trying to be as cautious as they can with cost. Ourselves included and our customers included. I think as far as the competitive environment goes, I think it remains, right? It remains stable from prior quarters, prior years. It's aggressive, it's competitive, but I wouldn't say there's been any near-term change in that.

是的。我認為每個人都在成本方面盡可能保持謹慎。包括我們自己，也包括我們的客戶。我認為就競爭環境而言，我認為它仍然存在，對嗎？與前幾季和前幾年相比，它保持穩定。它很有侵略性，很有競爭力，但我不會說這方面近期有任何變化。

And we continue to work with our customers. So I don't want to give the impression that we can't obtain price as necessary given the environment, but it's a little bit pulled back from a year ago, I would say.

我們將繼續與客戶合作。因此，我不想給人留下這樣的印象：鑑於環境，我們無法獲得必要的價格，但我想說，與一年前相比，價格略有回落。

Right. And just one last question. I think, Shane, you talked about on the Specialty Garment side that you're expecting Nuclear. That part of the business to be down, but Clean energy should continue to grow. What's the breakout of that business within that segment?

正確的。還有最後一個問題。我想，肖恩，您在特種服裝方面談到您正在期待核能。這部分業務將會下降，但清潔能源應該會繼續成長。該業務在該細分市場的突破是什麼？

At this point in time, that segment is about 50-50 Nuclear versus cleanroom.

目前，該細分市場的比例約為 50-50 核室與無塵室。

Our next question comes from the line of Andy Wittman with Brad.

我們的下一個問題來自安迪·惠特曼和布拉德的對話。

I guess I just wanted to make sure I understood the '24 guidance a little bit better. So Shane, I guess maybe this one is coming our way. If I looked at it on a Clean basis, excluding your key initiatives costs, it looks like the EBITDA margins implied about 13% compares to about 13% if you adjust out the factors in '23 by my calculation.

我想我只是想確保我更好地理解 '24 指導方針。所以肖恩，我想也許這個會出現在我們面前。如果我在乾淨的基礎上看它，排除你的關鍵舉措成本，看起來 EBITDA 利潤率大約為 13%，而如果你根據我的計算調整 23 年的因素，則 EBITDA 利潤率約為 13%。

So first I wanted to confirm that. But also, it feels like with the cleanroom -- not the cleanroom, the Nuclear business being down and penalizing margin there, you're picking up a little bit of margin on the Core segments because the merchandise because of the labor, some of the things you called about, but it's just a pretty modest increase on those factors. Am I thinking about that the way you're thinking about the '24 guidance correctly, just to start out with?

首先我想確認這一點。而且，感覺就像是潔淨室——而不是潔淨室，核業務正在下滑，那裡的利潤受到懲罰，你在核心部分獲得了一點利潤，因為商品由於勞動力，一些你打電話詢問的事情，但這些因素只是略有增加。我是否以您正確思考「24 小時指南」的方式來思考這個問題？

No, that's exactly right. If I take a look at my Core, I'm expecting a little bit of margin improvement, about 20, 30 basis points of improvement. Sort of excluding the impact of the lower key initiative costs.

不，完全正確。如果我看我的核心，我預期利潤率會有所改善，大約 20、30 個基點的改善。某種程度上排除了較低的關鍵計劃成本的影響。

Really what that is, just to break that down for you, we had mentioned the fact that merchandise is moderating. Still seeing a little bit of a headwind. It's probably 10 to 20 basis points on the merchandise side. But obviously, the headwind that we're seeing there is significantly reduced from the -- what we've experienced over the last couple of years, which is a positive trend.

實際上，為了向您解釋這一點，我們已經提到了商品正在放緩的事實。仍然看到一點逆風。商品方面可能有 10 到 20 個基點。但顯然，我們看到的逆風比過去幾年經歷的情況顯著減少，這是一個正面的趨勢。

The Clean acquisition and the nontangible amortization, which actually is impacting my operating income, but not my EBITDA. But on the operating income side, that's probably about 30 basis points of headwind as well. Energy is about 20 points or 20 basis points of benefit. And then there's a number of other input costs that have trended lower as Steve sort of articulated -- and I articulated in my comments, as the inflationary pressures are continuing to ease, we're seeing some favorable trends there as a percentage of revenues that are sort of offsetting those other items.

Clean 收購和無形攤銷實際上影響了我的營業收入，但不影響我的 EBITDA。但在營業收入方面，這也可能是大約 30 個基點的阻力。能源大約是20個點或20個基點的收益。然後，正如史蒂夫所闡述的那樣，許多其他投入成本呈下降趨勢 - 我在評論中闡述了，隨著通膨壓力持續緩解，我們看到了一些有利的趨勢，即佔收入的百分比有點抵消其他項目。

Okay. That makes sense. I guess maybe my question is with the CRM being effectively fully implemented here, the items that you talked about really are not, I don't think, affected by the implementation of the CRM. So the question, I guess, is where can there be benefits to the CRM in 2024, that may arise as positive or maybe why isn't there more contribution from some of the efficiencies that -- I know you've talked about this as kind of a customer retention tool and it's not all about efficiencies. But I would think there'd be maybe a little bit more. So maybe, Steve, could you address that?

好的。這就說得通了。我想也許我的問題是，隨著 CRM 在這裡有效、全面實施，您談到的專案實際上並沒有（我認為）受到 CRM 實施的影響。因此，我想，問題是 2024 年 CRM 會帶來哪些好處，這可能會帶來積極的好處，或者為什麼某些效率沒有做出更多貢獻——我知道您已經談到過這一點一種客戶保留工具，它不僅僅與效率有關。但我認為可能還會有更多。史蒂夫，你能解決這個問題嗎？

Sure. I think some of it -- you mentioned some of it, right? And we talked about some of the modernization of the work that our route drivers have to do, which was critical in us kind of getting in place from an employee retention perspective and a customer service perspective.

當然。我想其中一些——你提到了其中一些，對嗎？我們討論了路線司機必須完成的一些工作現代化，這對於我們從員工保留角度和客戶服務角度落實到位至關重要。

Overall, I've talked about merchandise control, as being one of the areas that the CRM helps enhance. And I think we are starting to see some of that. So when we talk about the moderation of our merchandise. And our ability to collect on charges, if there's loss merchandise and the overall tracking of merchandise, I think we are seeing improvements in that area.

總的來說，我已經談到了商品管制，這是 CRM 幫助增強的領域之一。我認為我們已經開始看到其中的一些情況。所以當我們談論我們的商品的適度性時。如果有商品遺失，我們收取費用的能力以及對商品的整體跟踪，我認為我們正在看到這方面的改進。

I think as we've deployed the CRM, some of that has been muddied by the inflationary condition. And so hopefully, as we move forward, we'll continue to see more of that come through in the area of lower merchandise as a percent of revenue and start really seeing some of that that benefit.

我認為，當我們部署 CRM 時，其中一些已因通貨膨脹狀況而變得混亂。因此，希望隨著我們的前進，我們將繼續看到更多的產品在收入中所佔比例較低的領域取得進展，並開始真正看到其中的一些好處。

I will say, and I made comments in my prepared remarks about this. We continue to enhance the CRM. Clean had some good experience with the CRM and some applications that they had built to enhance the usability of the CRM, some of that in the area of account profitability, tracking and maintenance. And so we think that getting some of that benefit as well. We think we can improve around the edges in the areas of price management and so on.

我會說，我在準備好的發言中對此發表了評論。我們持續增強 CRM。 Clean 在 CRM 方面擁有一些良好的經驗，並且他們建立了一些應用程式來增強 CRM 的可用性，其中一些應用程式涉及帳戶盈利能力、追蹤和維護領域。因此，我們認為也能獲得一些好處。我們認為我們可以在價格管理等領域進行改進。

So it's really customer retention, merchandise management and I'd say, management of revenue and pricing, there are the areas. And so it's it's implicit in our results, and we'll continue to drive efficiency of the CRM to try to pull as much out of it as possible.

所以這實際上是客戶保留、商品管理，我想說的是，收入和定價管理，這些領域。因此，它隱含在我們的結果中，我們將繼續提高 CRM 的效率，以盡可能發揮其最大作用。

Our next question comes from the line of Andrew Steinerman with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的安德魯斯坦納曼。

Shane, did you mention the intangible amortization from Clean in the fourth quarter? And could you just also give us a sense of what that amortization will be in '24?

Shane，你有沒有提到第四季 Clean 的無形攤提？您能否讓我們了解 24 年的攤提金額是多少？

Yes. Let me get that in front of me. So -- so one of the things that we did do to provide that visibility in our press release, we've included in a footnote underneath our cash flow, what the noncash intangibles amortization is, so that you can see that component of that.

是的。讓我把它放在我面前。因此，我們在新聞稿中為提供這種可見性所做的事情之一就是，我們在現金流下方的腳註中包含了非現金無形資產攤銷是什麼，以便您可以看到其中的組成部分。

Just to call that out, that amount in the fourth quarter was $19.3 million, versus $15.1 million in last year's comparable quarter. And the majority of that difference equates to the Clean Uniform acquisition. Right? That difference being about $3.5 million in the quarter is sort of what the run rate would project for next year as well.

需要指出的是，第四季的金額為 1,930 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,510 萬美元。其中大部分差異與 Clean Uniform 的收購有關。正確的？本季的差異約為 350 萬美元，這也是明年運行率的預測值。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from the line of Josh Chan with UBS.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 UBS 的 Josh Chan。

I guess for your core margin improvement of 20 to 30 basis points next year, could you give us a sense of how that would flow through through the year? Are you expecting margins to be down in the first part of the year and then you recover some of it in the back half? Just kind of could you help us with kind of the shape?

我猜你們明年的核心利潤率將提高 20 到 30 個基點，你能否讓我們了解這一年將如何發展？您是否預計今年上半年利潤率會下降，然後下半年會再恢復一些？您能幫我們設計一下形狀嗎？

Yes. I mean that margin realization really, I mean, aside from some of the seasonality that we see in our quarters where oftentimes, we have slightly higher profitability in our first quarter. And obviously, our second quarter is down from a margin perspective because of the timing of some costs that we incur as well as the impact of the holidays. Right? There's slight -- or there's a slight margin improvement, as we go throughout the year.

是的。我的意思是，除了我們在季度中經常看到的一些季節性因素之外，我們第一季的獲利能力確實略高。顯然，由於我們產生的一些成本以及假期的影響，我們第二季的利潤率有所下降。正確的？隨著我們全年的發展，利潤率略有改善。

Again, primarily driven by the impact of the merchandise continuing to moderate, as we go throughout the year as a percentage of revenues. But it's relatively -- it's relatively nominal. Again, our profitability will trend mainly towards the seasonal experience it historically had.

同樣，主要是受到商品的影響持續放緩的影響，因為我們全年的收入百分比。但這是相對的——相對名義上的。同樣，我們的獲利能力將主要取決於歷史上的季節性經驗。

Okay. Perfect. And I guess for my follow-up, you did mention that CapEx would be tapered off a little bit from, at least on the facility side of things. And so could you just talk about the rationale behind that? Do you feel like your facilities are in good shape heading into next year?

好的。完美的。我想在我的後續行動中，您確實提到資本支出將逐漸減少，至少在設施方面是如此。那麼您能談談這背後的理由嗎？您認為明年您的設施狀況良好嗎？

Yes. In general, when you look at the elevated CapEx, that elevated CapEx really comes from new facility, new plant processing plant builds. That's the biggest a plant runs $20 million or so these days. And so if you have 2 or 3 of those going on, that's where you sort of get that elevated CapEx.

是的。一般來說，當你看到資本支出的增加時，你會發現資本支出的增加實際上來自新設施、新工廠加工廠的建設。這是目前最大的工廠，耗資約 2000 萬美元。因此，如果你有 2 到 3 個這樣的事情發生，那就是你獲得更高資本支出的地方。

And we had more projects to sort of centralizing around the last couple of years. Overall, we continue to invest in our existing facilities, make sure we're replacing equipment, increasing automation where we can. The commentary around lowering the CapEx really is around, when you look at the outlook for this year and into next year, less large project builds going on.

在過去的幾年裡，我們有更多的專案需要集中。整體而言，我們持續投資現有設施，確保更換設備，盡可能提高自動化程度。當你審視今年和明年的前景時，關於降低資本支出的評論確實存在，大型項目的建設正在減少。

And a couple of the ones we had going on with replacing facilities, older facilities that we had obtained through acquisitions. So we're a little further along in that road map, but we will continue to invest in the facilities, just at a little bit of a lower rate on the new plant builds.

我們正在更換一些設施，我們透過收購獲得了舊設施。因此，我們在該路線圖上已經走得更遠了，但我們將繼續投資於設施，只是新工廠建設的速度稍微低一些。

(Operator Instructions) There are no further questions at this time. I will turn the call back over to you.

（操作員說明） 目前沒有其他問題。我會將電話轉回給您。

Great. I'd like to thank everyone for joining us today to review our fourth quarter results. We look forward to speaking to everyone again in January, when we expect to report our first quarter performance. Thank you, and have a great day.

偉大的。我要感謝大家今天加入我們回顧我們第四季的業績。我們期待在一月份再次與大家交談，屆時我們預計將報告第一季的業績。謝謝您，祝您有美好的一天。

That does conclude the conference call for today. We thank you for your participation and ask that you please disconnect your line.

今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與，並請您斷開線路。